'A... planned heist?'
"Pububu...?!"
Pouch jumps onto Yeon Yujun's shoulder, suddenly terrified by the loud explosion of smoke bombs, and everyone in the auction hall is panicking except for the awakeners like Seo Hwigeon.
"This isn't supposed to happen..." Seo Hwigeon mutters, pulling Yeon Yujun to his side as an instinct or habit that Yeon Yujun has no time to process.
Everyone's in danger. The weapon is about to be stolen.
Yeon Yujun notices silhouettes of masked people approaching the displayed weapon on stage.
The loud alarm blares throughout the room, causing almost everyone present to have already left their seats and escaped through the entrance and exit.
Suddenly, a slice of the sword cuts through the smoke, giving everyone left in the auction hall a clear view of what's happening—
"Stop that!" Song Dohyun hisses, with the expression he used to have when he was scared that his plans were falling apart.
One of the masked thieves turns their head in their direction and simply grabs the sword while it's still in its display case.
When Song Dohyun is about to attack the enemy, he is suddenly stopped by a masked rabbit man wielding a sword, halting his attack.
The masked rabbit nods to his allies, and they run toward the exit.
"They... they're getting away...!" But as Yeon Yujun is about to chase after the thieves, he is stopped by Seo Hwigeon's firm grip.
"You stop them, I'll keep the two occupied."
Seo Hwigeon gestures toward Song Dohyun and the mysterious masked rabbit who are fighting on stage.
Yeon Yujun looks in their direction and nods, "Alright. I'll get the weapon."
Then Seo Hwigeon releases him, allowing Yeon Yujun to run after the other thieves holding the
Yeon Yujun runs down the long hallway, seeing the other three running with the weapon.
"Pouch! Give me any item to use my skill!"
"P-pupu!!"
Pouch accessed Yeon Yujun's inventory in the system menu, scrolling down for a few seconds before finally selecting the
An iron sword appears in Yeon Yujun's hand as he runs; the sword suddenly ignites in flames, consuming a bit of his mana for the sprinting skill.
( "[B+] Sprint" skillis now activated! )
Thanks to his skill, he manages to catch up with the masked thieves, using the burning sword on his wrist—
"Argh...!"
It burns against his skin, a deep cut appearing from it. Blood flows freely onto the ground, causing the masked thieves to stop and look down at the pool of blood beneath them.
( "[S+] Bloodseal" skillis now in effect! )
Red puddles turn into spikes that bind their feet and hands, preventing any movement, and the display case drops to the ground with a loud shatter.
Yeon Yujun seizes this moment to activate his <[S] Concealment> skill, making his face unrecognizable when the thieves turn to look behind them.
( "[S] The Mind's Eye" is now activated! )
( "[S] The Mind's Eye" skill is upgraded to "[SS] The Mind's Eye" with enhanced stats! New information has been added to the skill. Would you like to view it? )
'Damn it! I have no time for that stupid stuff!'
Yeon Yujun dismisses the hologram screen; his senses immediately sharpen, and his eyes effortlessly access restricted profiles. The wound on his wrist vanishes.
However, the profiles of the thieves are useless... They're just unawakened individuals with guts. He ignores their names, refusing to label them.
"Who sent you here?"
Yeon Yujun asks, bending to pick up the sword from the shards while the binds tighten, attempting to coax them into talking.
"O-Our Master...!" responds one of the frightened masked thieves.
'Master? The rabbit man? He's definitely a skilled awakener... but why would he trust my weapon with them?' Yeon Yujun furrows his eyebrows at the thought, then stands up and points the sword at the deer-masked man's neck.
"Why would your Master trust you with this?" Yeon Yujun gestures to the sword in his hand as the
"Pupu...!!" Pouch tries to call out to Yeon Yujun, as if it has something to say.
"W-we don't know anything...! W-we're... just told to do our jobs... W-we're not...!" the frog-masked man tries to explain himself, but he suddenly falls dead to the ground.
'What the hell...? Is this...'
Yeon Yujun suddenly realizes that something is very wrong; everything doesn't add up...
"What? What do you mean by that?" Yeon Yujun attempts to extract more information from the deer-masked man, but just as he's about to speak... he loses his breath and collapses to the ground, just like the other.
When his eyes fall on the last person alive—a lizard-masked girl—she shakes her head, refusing to speak.
'Are they... under a [contract spell]?'
That thought instantly crosses his mind. Of course, the [contract spell] makes them swear not to reveal any information until the contract is fulfilled, only then can they speak freely again or die instantly for failing to do so.
"Bubu!!!" Pouch jumps down from his shoulder and climbs onto the sword. "Pupu... pupu!!!" it screeches in distress, catching Yeon Yujun's attention.
"Bubu! Pubu!!!"
"It's... fake...?"
"Bubu!!"
The entire time… the weapon he now holds, the one he lost long ago because of Song Dohyun at the Great Vortex… he's holding a replica?
'Does that mean someone already has it?'
"Pupu!" Pouch quickly points back to the inside of the auction hall with its small paw, and Yeon Yujun nods.
'Their Master must have it then, using the bait to lure me out… Does he know I'm alive, or something?' But that thought seems impossible, only Seo Hwigeon and probably Song Dohyun knew.
"Let's go!"
And he's determined to get it back, one way or another.
***
—CLAAAANG!!
The swords clash between Song Dohyun and the masked rabbit man. They're still fighting on the stage, with Seo Hwigeon showing no intention to intervene.
In fact, he appears amused by the fight so far despite Song Dohyun having no progress on defeating the masked rabbit man.
Yeon Yujun steps out of the exit area, panting, with the replica of the
( "[S] Concealment" skill is now deactivated.)
He cancels his skill. His grey eyes immediately find the stage where Song Dohyun and the masked rabbit man are fighting.
His eyes widen when he sees the rabbit man holding the original
"Bait… You've fallen for the bait," the masked rabbit says, his voice hoarse and deep as he pushes Song Dohyun away with a powerful impact, sending him crashing against the wall.
"Agh...!"
"Here I thought I was the only one who's desperate for Our Savior's weapon!" Yeon Yujun dislikes the name "Our Savior" coming from the insane man... Is that the feeling of being worshipped too much?
'If only he knew I was Eight... I'll crush his hopes even harder.'
Then his eyes land at Song Dohyun. 'Looks like someone's just all talk,' Yeon Yujun thinks. Now is not the time to mock Song Dohyun.
"Bait? The replica bait you orchestrated? Yeah, sure, of course," he says, throwing the sword aside just as Seo Hwigeon materializes behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You have the weapon of a powerful… and traitorous person. What do you plan to do with it?" Seo Hwigeon acts smug, his technique of winning conversations is seemingly effective on Yeon Yujun.
"What a sneaky skill, Hwigeon," the masked rabbit man tilts his head slightly. "Me? With this weapon?" He hoists it up, showing it to everyone still present in the auction hall.
Seo Hwigeon scoffs. "Yeah, what else?"
"I… I will offer this to the savior of all South Korea!" the masked rabbit man declares, causing everyone to look at him in disbelief rather than terror or weariness.
"Savior who?" Song Dohyun chuckles painfully, rising from the wall and wiping blood from his lips.
"Eight, of course. Who else?"
'Right… even after I was declared dead and branded a traitor, some still believed I was alive… as Eight,' Yeon Yujun facepalms, shaking his head at the plot twist, but the masked rabbit man is not backing down without a fight.
"So, if one of you plans to take this sword from me… you'll have to fight us."
"Us? Your fellow thieves already ran away!" Seo Hwigeon points at the exit area where Yeon Yujun came out earlier, chasing the thieves.
The masked rabbit man laughs—a villainous laugh that makes Yeon Yujun cringe, along with Pouch on his shoulder.
As his laughter fades, he spreads his arms as if basking in the flashing lights of the alarm and the spotlight still on the stage, holding the sword tightly in his right hand.
He looks up and chuckles. "I told you, those are just the baits…"
Suddenly, seven masked individuals emerge behind the stage, weapons and skills activated… Eight against three in this battle?
"I'll be your host for this afternoon, I, Eunho of the Eight Believers!" the masked rabbit man announces himself with a booming laugh that grates on Yeon Yujun's nerves.
'This insane guy…'
"Let's begin the show now… shall we?"
Now, Yeon Yujun hopes someone from Seo Hwigeon's guild or the