“Hmm...... the turnout is even lower than I expected.”
[the Church]’s evangelist.
Lee Haein looked over the people gathered here and thought.
‘Is it because they doubt this invitation, or does it mean there just aren’t many survivors left to begin with?’
She and her comrades were survivors from Chungcheong Province.
They had managed to live, somehow.
But.
The trials they endured were absurdly grueling.
‘As expected, maybe there just aren’t many people who succeeded in building power the way we did.’
Those trials must have come down on others as well.
So even if the number of people who overcame them was small, it wasn’t strange.
‘No—jumping to certainty right away might be too rash.’
Even Seoul itself, right now.
By the Church’s judgment, it had been a place with a high probability of total annihilation.
Yet it had survived this solidly and even grown its power.
So it was possible other survivor groups also held unexpected strength.
......And.
That was precisely.
‘Besides...... we’ll find out soon anyway.’
Despite the possibility that this might be a trap.
That was why she had come here.
While each faction’s introductions proceeded, she listened quietly to their stories.
So that as much as possible, other people’s eyes wouldn’t come to her.
And then, a short while later.
“A detailed explanation...... won’t be necessary, right.”
The head of that Legion.
The moment First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok opened his mouth and everyone’s attention converged on those lips.
‘Now.’
Seizing the gap when other people’s eyes weren’t on her,
she decided to carry out her purpose.
Sssshk.......
The power flowing inside her body
moved toward her eyes.
[‘System Stigma - Eye’ activates.]
Then—
[Lv.30]
Above the head of the person she was looking at,
a number rose into view.
And she.
‘......Heh.’
She couldn’t help letting out a victorious laugh without thinking.
Because.
‘This was the faction we thought we had to be the most wary of...... and it’s only 30?’
What she was looking at was the faction the Church had been most wary of.
The ruler of the Legion.
This was the authority she possessed.
As an evangelist of the Church.
A blessing granted to her so she could select those to spread the faith to.
‘For a limited time...... the power to view the other party’s information.’
Being able to steal a look at the other party’s information with no conditions—
It was an outrageously powerful ability.
Because of her own lack of virtue, she couldn’t see much information.
Not just “not much”—to the point that she could only see a name and a number.
But.
In this world, even that was enough.
Because level was the most certain indicator.
And when she looked at First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok’s face with that power,
she had been secretly expecting something.
‘A faction that achieved 100% Occupation Rate.’
Even their Church couldn’t achieve 100% that quickly.
Among the information that Legion shared over the radio, there was a lot that was useful to them as well.
He was the head of such a faction.
She had expected to see how much strength he held—
But.
‘And this is the result.’
Level 30.
It wasn’t low.
Rather, anyone who had crossed level 30 was an extremely rare powerhouse in this world.
But she felt no emotion at that number.
Because.
‘Compared to the Cardinal, it’s nothing at all.’
The middle-aged man sitting in front of her.
His level reached 35.
‘A true superhuman...... who has reached a realm so high no human can compare.’
Compared to that, level 30 was far too shabby.
Even setting the Cardinal aside, even she herself had reached level 31.
‘So the Legion...... has a high chance of being less than we thought.’
Either Gangwon’s survival difficulty had been absurdly low.
Or they had relied on military firepower and neglected growth as awakeners.
One of the two.
She had been wary when she listened to that radio.
But maybe they had simply gotten lucky and acquired an awakener who could revive a radio.
Disappointment was large at the low level compared to what she had expected,
but she just shrugged it off lightly.
‘Our Church must accomplish the great work. And for that.’
Turning her gaze to other faces, she thought.
‘We need to confirm humanity’s level.’
This was.
The reason the Church had accepted the government’s invitation.
[Yoo Jeongsuk Lv.27]
[Jo Beomseok Lv.29]
‘Pfft...... those two won’t be able to survive much longer.’
Looking at a few people,
she was disappointed at their lower-than-expected level.
[Gang Shincheol Lv.34]
‘Lower than the Cardinal, but to think someone besides the Cardinal exists with a level like this......! They say the faction isn’t large, but it’s a target we have to be wary of.’
And when she looked at someone else,
she felt strong interest and wariness at a higher-than-expected level.
But that was all.
‘......How shabby. Did every faction besides us neglect growth as awakeners?’
Seoul was like that.
Gangwon was like that too.
It was true that having pre-collapse humanity’s firepower was something to be wary of.
But as awakeners, their strength lagged far behind what the Church had anticipated.
‘Maybe.......’
Confirming that, she thought.
‘There may not be any faction in this land that can threaten the Church’s prestige.’
Maybe they could proceed with the plan faster than expected.
As she was thinking that—
Stare.......
‘......!’
She felt it.
A gaze fixed on her face.
‘I aimed for timing when other people’s eyes wouldn’t converge...... was I too obvious?’
The one looking at her was the man standing behind First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok.
A man with a bleak, sharp impression that made the one being watched feel strangely uneasy.
Her ability was certainly powerful, but it had the small drawback that she had to look at the target closely.
Afraid that might look suspicious, she had picked her timing as carefully as possible, but—
‘Everyone else will be focused on First Lieutenant Kim’s words...... but he’s not one of First Lieutenant Kim’s ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) subordinates, is he.’
She thought she had made a mistake.
At the same time,
she also felt a kind of ridicule at the fact that the gaze being sent at her belonged to a soldier from that Legion.
‘Hmph...... even if you stare at me with eyes that murderous.’
It was an organization whose leader was only level 30.
That man, too, would be at most an awakener in the high 20s.
Thinking that,
she glared back at the gaze he sent her, but......
[Lv.40]
“S...... forty......!!!!??”
For the first time in her life,
she doubted the blessing granted to her.
*****
‘Th-there’s no way......!’
Even their leader at level 35 was a strong man worthy of being called a superhuman beyond humanity.
The overwhelming martial might he had shown in Chungcheong Province
had made it possible for her not to fear even the soldiers she saw in Seoul.
......Yet even that superhuman was only level 35.
‘And it’s forty......!’
And.
As she was reeling at that fact—
Smile.
The other party, who had been looking at her without a word.
That man, who had reached level 40, suddenly formed a light smile and then—
“Shh.......”
He brought a finger to his lips.
“......!”
At that sight, Lee Haein’s face
began to run with cold sweat like a waterfall.
‘That...... don’t tell me!’
She screamed inwardly.
‘He knew?’
Only then,
she was able to realize it.
‘I...... he knew I was stealing a look at him......!’
If someone at level 35 was called a superhuman—
Then a being at 40......
Was something that surpassed even that.
A being that belonged to something else entirely.
*****
The woman staring at me in shock.
It seemed the others didn’t notice, focused on First Lieutenant Kim’s words,
but I heard what she said clearly.
“F-forty.......”
Words cut off halfway.
But.
That alone was enough to understand why she was shocked.
‘Forty.’
That was none other than—
[Awakener : Shin Youngjun]
[War Cook Lv.40]
My level.
[Lv.31 Order Evangelist]
I skimmed her status window.
And I couldn’t help letting out a bitter laugh.
[Stats]
[Skills]
[Traits]
That was all a normal awakener’s status window showed.
But.
Our unit members’ status windows had one more.
[Martial Arts]
This was probably
something that wasn’t classified as a skill or trait, but was considered natural enough to be listed on the status window.
And.
[Stigma]
[System Stigma - Eye]
Wasn’t it said that when I look into something, that something can also look into me?
It was exactly as those words said.
‘With someone like me around, you should’ve considered there could be similar cases.’
[You can view some of the information of all targets.]
[Currently permitted information - name, species, level]
While I was checking other people’s information.
They had been checking others’ levels as well.
‘Now I finally understand that weird behavior from earlier.’
Jo Beomseok’s level had risen to 29 as he went through that last battle,
but conversely, that meant he wasn’t even 30.
Yoo Jeongsuk’s level was even lower than Jo Beomseok’s.
On the other hand.
The group that woman belonged to.
The middle-aged man who was their leader was level 35.
‘No wonder she was sneering.’
The same with the expression she made when she looked at Gang Shincheol with interest.
Maybe it was the first time she’d seen someone with a level similar to their leader’s.
And her sneer at First Lieutenant Kim, too—
The famous Legion.
She must have sneered at the underwhelming level for its leader.
......And now.
“M...... no way...... how could forty.......”
The way she was trembling in shock.
That was.
The result of seeing my level.
‘......Well, it is a bit on the unbelievable side.’
The higher your level goes, the harder it is to raise it.
Around level 30, even raising a single level takes an enormous amount of time.
And levels like 9, 19, 29—
At the levels right before you cross into the next stage, you need an amount of experience that can’t even be compared to before.
The highest-level person here was level 35.
Yet it wasn’t 39.
It was the next stage—level 40.
So I understood why she was shocked like that.
Of course.
Just because I understood didn’t mean I could let it slide.
‘First Lieutenant Kim is serving as the external leader because it’s also to keep it from being discovered that I’m the leader.’
Since I’m not a job with outstanding combat ability,
I could be placed in an assassination crisis at any time.
I’ve actually almost been assassinated by the White Mane tribe before.
“A soldier higher level than the leader” might be plausible—
But my level wasn’t at a level where that explanation would work.
If she starts babbling about my level here, the real owner of the Legion will become known.
......In that case.
Hmm.
“Th-this can’t be...... how could forty—”
While she was still in shock,
I looked at her and lightly snapped my finger.
“......!”
When she looked at me,
I raised one finger and brought it in front of my lips.
“Shh.......”
“......!”
A gesture meaning “be quiet,”
that works anywhere in the world.
“Ah, ahh.......”
Then.
On her face, already filled with shock, cold sweat began to run.
*****
If there was one saving grace,
it was that what she could see was only level, name, and species.
‘My job is a cook.’
Since I’m a buffer, not a combat job, without people to eat my food, I’m weaker than a combat job in the early 30s.
With my condition not good right now, I’d be even weaker.
But she didn’t know that,
and she would’ve only seen my level, so—
‘She probably thinks I’m something like a level 40 combat job.’
The higher your level, the harder it is to raise it,
and the higher your level, the larger the gap per single level becomes.
Around level 30, even if awakeners in the early 20s rushed you as a squad, you could handle them.
But if it were a level 40 combat job—
‘They might be able to deal with every other awakener here.’
......The problem is that isn’t me!
Well, what can I do.
What matters is
that she will think that way.
-.......
With trembling eyes, she stared at my face for a long time.
Then, a little later.
As if she had mustered courage, she looked at my face and moved her lips.
-You...... knew?
I hadn’t learned anything like lip-reading, but given the situation,
it wasn’t hard to understand what she was trying to say.
Nod.
To her question,
I silently nodded.
Then.
-......!
Her face, already stained with shock, turned even paler.
She hesitated for a moment, then moved her trembling lips and said.
-Please...... forgive me.......
Among awakeners, even asking someone about their information is considered rude.
I’d wondered if it was a culture only in Gangwon,
but a similar culture had formed among survivors from other regions spread throughout Gangwon, and even among the people I met in Gyeonggi Province.
Because the status window lists all of a person’s power and trump cards.
In this era, where you must doubt even fellow humans,
even asking about someone’s level is taken as a threat.
And she had even stolen a look at someone’s level.
‘She’s saying she committed a sin worthy of death, right.’
She looked at me with trembling eyes.
I put on a deliberately pondering expression, then—
Nod.
With a light smile,
I nodded.
-Thank......!
As if greatly relieved, she drew in the breath she’d been holding back.
Watching her, I thought.
‘Even if it’s a sin worthy of death, I can’t kill her anyway.’
The me she was seeing would be a level 40 combat-job awakener,
but I wasn’t.
I couldn’t just draw a blade here.
Besides—
‘They’re one of the largest factions here along with Seoul.’
Seoul seemed to have few awakeners and to rely on military firepower.
If we judged by awakener power alone, they were the largest faction among those I’d met here.
I had no intention of suddenly becoming hostile here.
......The fact that the Legion has a separate leader would basically be exposed, but still.
They, too, wouldn’t want to make an enemy of a faction that has a level 40 awakener.
And since I’d already warned her, this fact wouldn’t spread to the other factions.
‘......You said [the Church], didn’t you?’
To think there was someone with an ability like that.
They might be a target we need to be more wary of than I’d expected.
“Hm...... to think such a threat was lurking in North Korea.”
......As I was thinking that,
a voice came.
“I understand well enough what you’re trying to say, First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok.”
“Certainly, if a crisis like that is lurking in North Korea...... then everyone should cooperate and respond.”
While I was having a staring contest with that woman,
First Lieutenant Kim, in his own way, had been proceeding with his original work.
The reason we came to Seoul.
To inform them of the threat lurking in North Korea,
and push cooperation among humans.
‘So the conversation moved that far while I wasn’t listening.’
It seemed First Lieutenant Kim had already revealed the North Korea threat and even proposed cooperation.
I couldn’t focus enough to hear it,
but First Lieutenant Kim is the kind of person specialized in this in the first place, so he must have explained it well on his own.
“We agree with that intent as well, but if we have one suggestion.......”
......But then.
The person sitting at the head seat—Seoul.
No, the [government] side’s figure looked down at First Lieutenant Kim and said.
“If we’re going to combine our strength, then...... isn’t it important who becomes the center of gravity?”
