CHAPTER 230: THE SEVEN STARS ASSEMBLY (6)

“W-What do you think you’re doing, Mr. Oh-Jin?!” Namgung Hui’s jaw dropped as he stared at Kwon Oh-Jin in shock and disbelief.

Kicking a guard to enter the room? This wasn’t some back-alley market. It was a gathering of candidates to be selected as the next Seven Stars. To pull something like this was madness.

“That’s what I should be asking you,” Kwon Oh-Jin said coldly and calmly. Still sitting in his seat, he looked at Namgung Hui with chilling eyes. “Did you order this?”

“Order what?”

“When I tried to enter the conference room, the guard said I wasn’t qualified and attacked me. He even used his Stigma.”

“Excuse me?”

Namgung Hui looked at Kwon Oh-Jin as if he were talking nonsense. He had ordered the guard to block the door and use being late as an excuse, but had never told the guard to attack Kwon Oh-Jin, let alone use his Stigma. That was crossing a line. Even if a candidate was unqualified, they were still a nation’s representative.

“I never gave such an order,” Namgung Hui said.

“Is that so? Because he said he was acting on your command when he attacked me.”

“That’s absurd!” Namgung Hui slammed the table and sharply narrowed his eyes. “Do you have any proof?”

“There’s a security camera in the hallway. We can check the footage.”

“You’ll have to take responsibility for what you just said.”

Namgung Hui’s expression twisted into a scowl as he called Wei on his phone. Before long, Wei entered the conference room carrying a tablet with the footage loaded.

“Go ahead. Play it,” Namgung Hui ordered.

“Y-Yes.”

Wei’s forehead was beaded with sweat from hurrying over. He began playing the footage.

The video showed the guard standing in front of the door like a character from a martial arts novel, swinging his fist at Kwon Oh-Jin.

“You can’t go in there!”

A faint blue glow emanated from the guard’s left chest, clear evidence that he had activated his Stigma.

“What the...?” Namgung Hui stared at the screen in disbelief.

The guard looked like he had downed a dangerous cocktail of drugs. Namgung Hui felt like he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

“You have no right to sit alongside Mr. Namgung Hui!”

Even the audio had been captured with Namgung Hui’s name clearly stated. Silence fell over the conference room.

Kwon Oh-Jin turned to Namgung Hui. “Do you still not know what’s going on?”

“I... I never gave such an order.”

“That’s strange. Are you saying that the guard acted on his own?”

“That’s...” Namgung Hui trailed off, his face stiffening.

A woman at the front of the room, standing before a lifelike hologram made from Astral Relics, calmly said, “That’s enough. I believe this matter should be resolved between the two of you afterward.”

Her cold and business-like tone rang throughout the room.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a time for explaining the tournament rules and schedule?”

The woman pushed her thick-rimmed glasses up her nose and looked around the room.

All twenty-eight Awakeners turned toward her.

Unfazed by the earlier commotion, she continued calmly. “My name is Olivia. I’m the chief coordinator of this Seven Stars Assembly, and I usually work as Mr. Allen Oskal’s aide.”

With that brief introduction, she resumed speaking formally.

“Since we have a new arrival, I’ll quickly summarize what was already covered.”

The hologram shifted, forming a wide map from a bird’s-eye view.

“This is the dungeon where the tournament will take place.” She pointed to various parts of the hologram with a laser pointer. “Within the dungeon are different terrains consisting of mountains, underwater zones, deserts, and so on. Your starting points will be randomly assigned.”

Twenty-eight light pillars appeared throughout the hologram.

“Rankings will be based on a point system. The candidate with the most points within the time limit will be declared the winner.”

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded as he took in the dungeon’s layout from the hologram.

“There are two ways to earn points. First, you can earn points by defeating monsters roaming within the dungeon. The stronger the monster, the more points you’ll get.”

“And the second?”

“There will be civilians placed in specific locations within the dungeon, arranged by the assembly.”

Civilians?

“Of course, we’ve prepared minimum safety measures for them.” Olivia calmly continued. “You’ll earn more points if you successfully rescue these civilians and escort them to a designated safety zone within the dungeon. However, these points won’t be fixed as they’ll vary depending on the civilian’s evaluation.”

In short, each civilian would act as a sort of judge.

“You’ll be tested to see whether you truly deserve to be called the hope of humanity from the perspective of ordinary people.”

Namgung Hui quietly raised his hand. “I have a question.”

Olivia nodded.

“What’s the difference in points between killing a monster and rescuing a civilian?”

“That depends on the monster’s rank, so I can’t give you an exact number. If the civilian you rescue gives you the highest evaluation, you can earn a substantial amount of points in one go.”

“So it’s a matter of steadily racking up points by hunting monsters or taking the risk and trying to earn a large amount at once through rescues.”

“Exactly.”

Namgung Hui nodded, seeming satisfied.

Kwon Oh-Jin looked at Namgung Hui with a mildly surprised expression.

I thought he would already know everything about the tournament.

When Kwon Oh-Jin found out that Namgung Hui had deliberately given him the wrong schedule, he assumed that Namgung Hui had some kind of connection with the assembly. It seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Any other questions?”

A blonde young man raised his hand. He wore a uniquely designed bow on his back that looked like it was made of leaves.

“You must be Orlando Vale. Yes, go ahead.”

“You said the monsters are ranked and the points vary by rank. How many ranks are there?”

“There are five ranks of monsters in the dungeon, each identifiable by the color of the necklace around their necks.”

A hologram flickered and displayed five colors: white, green, blue, red, and black.

“The lowest rank is white, and the highest is black.” Olivia stopped her laser pointer at the color black. “There is only one black-ranked monster in the dungeon, and... defeating it will immediately secure you first place in the tournament.”

Orlando’s eyes sparkled with intrigue. “Instantly first place?”

“Yes. However, even for someone of your caliber, taking down a black-ranked monster will not be easy.”

“Hmmm.”

Rather than being intimidated, the candidates showed excited expressions at the challenge. The monster was so powerful that they even received a warning in a place where only high-ranking Awakeners, besides Kwon Oh-Jin, gathered.

“Hehe. What, did you bring in a Named or something?” A bald man with a square jaw and a sturdy build grinned. He was Jason Hardy, known as the Iron Fist, and considered one of the top candidates to become a Seven Stars.

“I can’t disclose any further details,” Oliva said.

“Haha! Excellent! Then I’ll aim for that black one!” Jason clenched his fist as if warning the other candidates.

“Any other questions?”

No more hands were raised.

Olivia nodded and turned off the hologram. “You’ll be transported to the dungeon from the hundredth floor, where the opening ceremony was held, using a warp device we’ve prepared. The time limit is six hours. Hunt down as many monsters and rescue as many people as possible.”

The rules were extremely simple.

Honestly, it’s almost too simple, but I won’t complain.

He liked that they didn’t overly complicate it.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow at noon in the banquet hall. There will likely be a crowd watching the tournament, so please come early to avoid the chaos.”

Olivia began walking out of the conference room.

“Oh, one last thing.” She turned around before leaving and looked around at the candidates with heavy eyes filled with purpose. “Don’t forget why you’re here. You’ve all gathered to become the heroes who will light the way forward for humanity.”

With that, she exited. An awkward silence fell over the room, but not for long.

“The black-rank! If I take it down, I’m guaranteed to become a Seven Star!”

“No, I think it’s safer to just focus on the lower-ranked ones—”

“Rescuing civilians might actually be more rewarding if it’s done right.”

The remaining candidates quickly broke into groups and began discussing strategies.

Even Namgung Hui, who had glared at Kwon Oh-Jin earlier like he was about to kill him, now deeply discussed with the other Chinese candidates.

Looks like he completely forgot about the guard incident.

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked as he recalled the guard who had been taken to the infirmary. Well, it actually worked out better for him like this.

If they keep watching the footage, they might figure out it was an illusion.

With no particular ally and no fellow candidates from his own country, Kwon Oh-Jin stood from his seat and simply walked out.

“A hero, huh...” he muttered the word that left an awkward feeling in his mouth as he stepped into the elevator.

***

“Do your best, Oh-Jin!”

The next day, at the warp device leading to the dungeon, Song Ha-Eun hugged Kwon Oh-Jin and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“If you don’t come in first place, you’ll be swimming your way back home.”

“What is this, the World Cup?”

“Pretty much.” Song Ha-Eun chuckled and playfully smacked his shoulder. “I’ll be cheering you on, so let’s throw a party when you get back!”

“You’re already acting like I’ve won.”

“That’s because I believe in my Oh-Jin.”

Kwon Oh-Jin smiled amusingly at her shrugging.

Vega fluttered up and gently landed on top of his head. “My child, are you truly going in without me?”

“Well, the rules say I have to go in alone.”

“But you and I are practically one.” Vega pouted, clearly displeased.

Kwon Oh-Jin gently picked her up from his head.

“I’ll go in alone for now. I don’t want any issues if people start saying I cheated even after winning.”

“Hmph. Very well, then.” Vega sighed in disappointment but nodded. “I shall bless you myself if you return as one of the Seven Stars.”

He nodded and stepped into the warp device installed in the hall.

Woong!

Light from the Astral Relic swirled around him.

It feels different from entering a gate.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant sensation as his stomach slightly churned.

“Let’s see.”

He glanced down at the silver bracelet on his wrist that the assembly had handed out. It displayed a glowing zero.

This must be my current number of points.

He pressed the red button on the side of the bracelet.

Woong.

A hologram activated, revealing a bird’s-eye view map of the dungeon like the one in yesterday’s briefing.

“Looks like a mini-map.”

A red dot simply marked his current location on the hologram. The map didn’t show any nearby monsters or civilians in hiding.

“This way... looks like mountains.”

After orienting himself with the map, Kwon Oh-Jin began walking at a steady pace.

I’ll head to the underwater zone first.

Thanks to Water Affinity and the Stigma of Seahorse, Kwon Oh-Jin felt comfortable with underwater combat, where most Awakeners were weakest. If he could get to a water-heavy area first, he would be able to monopolize the monsters there.

“Perfect.”

Using his wire shooter, he launched himself into the air between rocky cliffs and tall trees, soaring with impressive speed toward the underwater terrain.

Bang!

Just then, a high-pitched scream echoed through the forest. “Kyaaaaa! S-Somebody help me!”