"Hahaha! Did you see his face when the old lady stepped in between us? The look on that arrogant bastard's face was priceless."
This is Shin in all his glory: extremely spiteful, arrogant, and above all, insolent. I still wonder how I ever became friends with someone like him—but I have to admit, it was hilarious. Everyone was laughing so hard at what Shin did that Tom decided to send us all home for the day, claiming we wouldn't be able to work properly because of an "incident."
"Still, who would've thought? He's Grid, the director's adopted son."
"Yeah, I didn't expect that either… and yet you still beat him up!"
"I know, right? I'm just that strong."
That asshole… I thought as he laughed his heart out. Still, that explains how he knows the Art of the Mountain Tiger…
It really is a shame Shin couldn't learn that art, especially since that was the whole reason he enrolled in this academy in the first place. But I guess no one could have predicted that a genius like Jack would also be a candidate for it. He's just… too strong.
"By the way, why did she go through all that trouble just to give both of you a senior technician position?"
Shin didn't answer immediately. He took a moment to think, as if his pride had taken a hit.
"She was gauging our levels…"
"Oh? Then that's fine, right? You handled it well!"
Despite my compliment, Shin's expression remained stiff.
"If the fight had continued, I'm not sure I would've won—and that really pisses me off."
He sighed, looking unusually serious.
"What?" I asked, following his gaze.
Behind me, a beautiful young woman walked past on the other side of the street. It was Cynthia.
Shin's expression slowly turned into disappointment.
I forgot… he also lost to Jack in that regard.
"Anyway! Let's go eat—I'm treating. Today was exhausting, after all!"
"That's why I love you, Shin. You never forget what really matters: after effort comes comfort."
Laughing and joking, our two heroes headed toward an all-you-can-eat buffet to end the day on a high note.
…..
At the police headquarters, at that very moment, the giant was laughing for what felt like the hundredth time at the scene he had witnessed earlier.
"And then he whistled and slapped him a third time—hahaha!"
He was reenacting the whole thing in front of colleagues who hadn't been there that morning. They were dying of laughter.
"Wait, I'm calling my mom right now to tell her this."
That was when Céline stepped in, trying to salvage what little honor Grid had left.
"Tom! Enough!"
Just as everyone stopped laughing, the voice coming from Tom's phone echoed dramatically through the room.
"Hello? Yes, sweetie, I saw your message. So? Tell me how that newcomer got his ass kicked!"
Tom's face froze. It clearly screamed This is not the time, Mom.
"I'll call you back later, Mom," he muttered, hanging up.
Céline sighed and rubbed her temples.
"We need to talk."
The atmosphere shifted instantly, from lighthearted to solemn.
"I'll remind you that the special forces only collaborate with the local police for a good reason."
"Yes, sorry, ma'am. I got a little too comfortable."
Céline shot him a sharp look, wondering how someone who looked so respectable could behave like this. He was a level-1 Awakened, on the verge of reaching level 2, and the chief of police—yet here he was. Then she recalled another young man who contradicted that thought entirely: someone with a doctorate in humiliating his enemies.
"Maybe I shouldn't have tested those two… look at the nonsense you're causing because of it."
"Sorry…"
"Let's drop it. We have more important matters to discuss. You already know this, but if Unit 15 of the Special Forces is here, it's not because of the internship—that's just an excuse. Haru, you're up."
A figure emerged from the shadows: a young woman with a captivating presence. She had something unique about her—tall for a woman, though still nothing compared to the giant.
She had short, blood-red curly hair that gave her the air of an authoritative woman, complemented by eyes shining with intelligence and wisdom.
"I'm one of the Special Forces' information-gathering specialists, and the head of the scientific team of Unit 15. According to our intel, the Ruby Mafia has indeed established its base within your city. It has already spread across the entire country. We're here to investigate the origin of this criminal organization and their special drugs—substances that allowed monsters to infiltrate the city, even though since the Great War, only a handful of monsters should still exist."
When she finished, a young man with the build of an MMA fighter raised his hand. He had dark skin, short white hair, and a physique that matched his appearance.
"I'd like to know why Rubis hasn't been dismantled yet, despite its illegal activities—especially if, according to our information, most of its members are level-0 Awakened."
It was a perfectly reasonable question. The government clearly had the manpower to crush such an organization effortlessly—and God knows it never hesitated when its profits were at stake.
"The leader of the organization has ties to Valhalla."
Haru answered curtly, lowering her gaze as she spoke, fully aware of the weight of her words.
Everyone was stunned.
In this world, Awakened were not equal. And I'm not talking about their formal levels, but their actual power. There were fewer than four hundred level-3 Awakened in the entire world, each strong enough to threaten an entire nation.
Yet even among them, there were existences best avoided.
The legendary World Top 100.
They weren't just gods to ordinary humans— even Awakened themselves revered them. And even among gods, there were hierarchies. Among those hundred natural disasters, ten were known as the Ten Kings—the most powerful existences of the human race.
Valhalla was an organization made up of extremely powerful Awakened, belonging to one of those Ten Kings, known as the Warrior Queen.
That was why the government hesitated to act against Rubis.
"…That's a problem," Tom muttered.
He had no idea just how deep the quagmire they were stepping into truly was—or what the future had in store for them.