Misfortune or fortune.
The shocking news that five nests had been eradicated overnight was overshadowed the following day by the announcement of the operation to subdue the Storm Dragon Tempestra.
Compared to the potential threats of regional nests or the Abyss’s master, Actor, the Storm Dragon Tempestra was an existing Calamity witnessed by the majority of Seoul’s residents.
Naturally, it garnered unparalleled attention.
And so did the identities of the Awakened Ones participating in it.
That’s why a crowd had gathered in front of the Management Bureau building.
Ever since the world changed, Awakened Ones had become larger stars than celebrities.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
Piercing through the admiring gazes, I arrived at the Management Bureau building where one of the employees greeted me. After checking my ID, she guided me inside.
“Mr. Nam Joo-yeon is assigned to Team Two. Please wait here.”
“Team Two?”
“Team One will directly confront the Storm Dragon Tempestra. Team Two’s job is to support them while chasing away other calamities. Teams Three and Four are also present, but they won’t enter the nest.”
Apparently, in this eradication team, I held a relatively important role.
“Can’t I just be on Team Three or Four?”
“B-Class Awakened Ones can’t shirk their duties. It’s an obligation, you know.”
That blasted obligation.
Why does this country love obligations so much, from national defense and beyond? And yet they offer so little in return.
While I was grumbling, a man with a cropped haircut approached me from the opposite side and extended his hand for a handshake. It turned out that he and I were old acquaintances.
“Mr. Nam Joo-yeon, it’s been a while.”
Condition-Wook had, for some time now, started speaking casually to me again.
“So, I ended up leading Team Two. I didn’t expect to see you here again. Anyway, good luck working together.”
“Ah…”
It wasn’t exactly someone I wanted to see.
Ever since an imposter claiming to be an Actor killed a Management Bureau employee in front of my house.
“Why do you look so tense? Are you nervous?”
Condition-Wook patted my back.
Unbeknownst to us, a Three-Star Calamity, the Wanderer Knight Albert, stood behind him.
“Ah, this guy? I got him from Synthesis. Rumor has it that he’s stronger than the average Three-Star Calamity, but I got lucky.”
“Amazing. Congratulations.”
“Nah, no need to flatter me like that.”
Indeed, the Wanderer Knight Albert was a named calamity of rock attribute, possessing an exceptional performance even among Three-Star Calamities.
“As for the luck, it seems you’ve got it too.”
Condition-Wook gestured to my side. At that moment, through the Management Bureau’s power survey, I had already summoned a calamity.
[3★ Faded Spirit Luciven is on guard.]
An azure attribute, Three-Star Calamity.
It was a trophy from the nest eradication led by Selene the day before.
As its name suggests, it was indeed a named calamity and boasted impressive abilities.
Moreover, since the Storm Dragon was an azure attribute calamity, Luciven, who could reduce such attacks, would play an important role.
“With a Three-Star Calamity backing you, if this eradication succeeds, Mr. Nam Joo-yeon might be promoted to A-Class.”
“Hmm… I don’t necessarily want to be an A-Class.”
“Eh? You didn’t know that A-Class Awakened Ones receive monthly stipends? You, Mr. Nam Joo-yeon, surely know how street refugees without ration cards are now wailing on the streets. In a chaotic world like ours, you need to secure your share.”
Fortunately, Condition-Wook didn’t seem to suspect that I had been involved in the nest destruction the previous night. After all, that day, I was giving directions from my house and synthesizing calamities. And unlike Selene the Blackened Saint, who could act independently and undertake long-distance expeditions due to her higher-level calamities, I currently didn’t possess such capabilities.
Anyway, Team Two’s responsibility was straightforward: to support Team One. Or rather, more accurately, they would have to confront the dragon itself.
Condition-Wook pointed to the A-Class Awakened Ones checking the roster some distance away. Judging from their appearance, the leader of Team One seemed to be Yoo Jun-seo, the familiar face from the news. Beside him stood two Three-Star Calamities.
“That guy is quite remarkable. Originally in the public interest sector, after the incident, he swiftly obtained calamities and became an instant mega-star. His personality is despicable, though.”
Condition-Wook gave a bitter smile as he placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Anyway, there are such types of people who quickly adapt to the new world and find success. Mr. Nam Joo-yeon, in a certain sense, wouldn’t you be categorized among them? We’ve been blessed, haven’t we? Being an A-Class Awakened One is something other Awakened Ones strive and fail to achieve.”
“…”
Reflecting on my life so far—living off a modest inheritance from my parents, unable to secure employment—it was true that I was now being treated exceptionally well. But the problem lied in recognizing that the state of the world now was due to my stepping away from a game.
As I was lost in these trifling thoughts, Condition-Wook began speaking again.
“… Anyway, it’s a shame.”
“Shame?”
“There was that unfortunate incident near Mr. Nam’s house where one of our employees was killed. I didn’t intend to make things unpleasant for you, but an unpleasant event still occurred. I asked someone to keep an eye on you, but please don’t take it too harshly. Protecting Awakened Ones is an obligation of the Management Bureau, after all.”
Ah, so their employee was indeed assigned to monitor me.
I nodded, maintaining a calm expression to the best of my ability.
“It’s fine. I had no idea.”
Truthfully, it didn’t trouble me. I hadn’t even noticed the surveillance, and, at the very least, I had no direct involvement in that murder.
Condition-Wook seemed to confirm my expression and loosened his hand from my shoulder.
“Anyway, we will soon be heading out for the Storm Dragon’s eradication. How do you feel? Can we count on you for the fight? You’ve seen that beast up close.”
“Hmm…”
The Storm Dragon Tempestra from the Disaster Order had adequate characteristics, attack power, and durability. It was versatile but stronger than Hellfire Guardians. Still, the quality of Awakened Ones had improved since the last eradication.
“…Perhaps, with the soldiers present too, we can manage to eradicate it.”
“Is that so?”
Condition-Wook chuckled, looking westward toward the nest with a shrug.
“I hope so.”
Apparently, Condition-Wook did not consider this eradication to be ending easily, and I agreed with him on that point. After all, who controlled the Storm Dragon Tempestra but none other than the owner of the tower rising in Yeouido?
[5★ Storm Mirien is watching you.]
…Indeed.
A message flashed like this.
It was a memory of a distant past.
A fragment from my previous life now buried in oblivion.
“Eat this. It’s the highest grade mana stone. Keep eating and prove your worthless existence to me.”
The girl was an experimental subject.
An object owned by a wizard once dreaming of transcending heaven.
Used and discarded during the process, she was a disposable vessel.
“You are my nourishment. That’s why you were born.”
Wizards are renowned for not discriminating in the means to achieve results. In that sense, the wizard owning this girl was no different. She ate just enough to survive but consumed more mana stones than food. Her heart, deemed of no vessel value, was replaced with a mana stone, and her limbs were replaced with crystalline extensions.
The girl was closer to a puppet than a human.
She had no particular grievances.
From the moment she was born, she was a slave to the wizard, destined to be exploited as a vessel until death.
Thus, when she plunged a ceremonial dagger into the heart of her master, there was no particular reason behind it.
“Cough! You, you wench! How dare you betray me!”
It was an instinct for survival.
The wizard had overlooked one fact in his experiments: through the repeated trials, she was becoming less a simple puppet and more a quasi-omnipotent deity.
An inherently incomplete being inevitably converges towards completeness.
After killing her master, the wizard, the girl adopted his name.
“Mirien.”
The nameless test subject decided she would now strive for omnipotence and perfection.
Not out of any motivation.
Only the survival instinct.
A natural extension of the logic leading to perfection.
“…I need a heart.”
Mirien first intended to extend her lifespan. Currently, she was on borrowed time. Without a heart, she could not live long. Extending her life was essential to pursuing omnipotence, transcending the heavens.
Like her previous master, she turned the continent into chaos, capturing vessels for experiments. To accumulate even a speck of mana, she killed all humans in sight and used their essence as fuel.
Thus, during that time, she earned the nickname “Storm of the North Sea, Wizard aspiring to transcend heaven.”
Mirien was an unrestrained wild mare, a natural disaster.
More than half the continent’s population sacrificed their lives for her extended lifespan. The more massacres she committed, the more mana seeped into the mana stone embedded in her chest, and Mirien felt satisfaction.
For the emotionless natural disaster, it was the only gratification.
However, Mirien’s goal was never realized.
Because heroes from the continent gathered to punish the cruel wizard.
“Kill the witch!”
On the brink of death from the blade, Mirien leaped off the top of her tower.
[Accessing the Rift.]
Her final gamble was to entrust her body to another dimension.
And in this newly arrived rift dimension, the creature in human form gained a new emotion.
[Rift Overlord ‘Actor’ presents 5☆ Beating Moon Heart to 5★ Storm Mirien.]
“…Ah.”
The emotion of love.
