Second Survival D-1.

Time flew, and now only one day remained.

Having spent another spectacular day, Roy lay in bed, white steam curling up from his rice.

“Ha... I feel alive.”

Roy rested an arm on his forehead and sighed. Yeonwoo chuckled.

“You’ve still got plenty of fight in you, though. Well, not as much as me.”

Yeonwoo strutted over, shoulders high—today he’d succeeded in forging his third arrow after the second.

“If you work hard, you can do anything. Just watch me.”

“Yeah. I’ve seen—and you look like you’re gonna die, hyung.”

“What...!? I’m perfectly fine right now.”

“Go look in the mirror first.”

Roy nodded toward the wall ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) mirror. In it, a gaunt Yeonwoo stood, much thinner than at enrollment.

“Look who’s talking! You look like you’re gonna die too.”

“That’s why I’m lying down.”

As Yeonwoo said, Roy’s energy drained completely, and he closed his eyes.

While others obsessed over boosting their abilities, Roy had to do the opposite, leaving him mentally exhausted. On top of that came Seohyunwoo’s endless nagging.

I never pegged him for someone so....

Seohyunwoo’s public image was something like this: Ice Prince, cold, silent as a shadow or ghost. Who would’ve guessed he’d turn out to be a nonstop nitpicker?

I wouldn’t have minded if I hadn’t known.

More than half Roy’s stress came from Seohyunwoo. Just controlling flames demanded immense focus, and Seohyunwoo meddled in every detail. This won’t work, that won’t work...

Shouldn’t have given him an opening.

But to survive until the end, Roy needed allies who understood his situation and could help. That position rightly belonged to Taeeon and Yeonwoo—yet neither believed he was truly S-rank. Seohyunwoo, however, approached Roy first, despite never being told. Plus, he was a strong top contender—why not use him? Lately though, it almost felt like Seohyunwoo enjoyed tormenting him...

Ah, whatever.

“Hey, how’s it going with him? You two talking at least?”

“That hyung never stops talking.”

“Don’t exaggerate. You dreaming?”

“I’m serious. His nagging’s off the charts. My ears feel like they’re bleeding.”

“That’s ridiculous. You think I don’t know flame control?”

Just then, freshly showered Taeeon appeared, eyes wide.

“What? What are you two talking about?”

“Flame control.”

“...You want me to work on flame control?”

Taeeon cocked his head, and Yeonwoo’s brow furrowed again.

“I’m losing it. Did this ham go to a Korean uni or what?”

“Why that again...?”

With a pout, Taeeon asked; Yeonwoo pounded his chest with his fist, insisting it wasn’t “flame” but “waist.” Taeeon looked confused, when suddenly there was a knock.

Knock knock—

As if saved, Taeeon bolted to open the door.

“Who is it—oh, Hyunwoo?”

Seohyunwoo?

Roy’s brow narrowed. Sensing Seohyunwoo’s gaze, Roy quickly pulled the blanket over himself, thinking:

Damn, why are you here?

They’d been paired for the day, stuck together nonstop. He’d finally gotten a break, only for that ghost to find his room.

“Here to see Roy?”

Seohyunwoo nodded and glanced at Roy’s bed.

Please say he’s asleep!

But oblivious Yeonwoo yanked off the blanket, waking him.

“Puppy, your partner’s here. Came to see you.”

“...Grr.”

“Huh? Weren’t you awake a moment ago? Hey, look. Wake up.”

Shut up, Yeonwoo! Couldn’t gaslighting block out this cue? Desperate to look away, Roy heard Seohyunwoo’s voice.

“Salv...ation—”

Quwon?

What is he saying... “Salvation”? Salvation Church?!

Roy’s eyes snapped open. He’d been nagged into forgetting entirely over the past few days, but now he remembered.

Right—I asked him to look into that Salvation Church lady.

In an instant, Roy’s attitude shifted. He’d thrown an arm over Seohyunwoo’s shoulder.

“Hyung, want a cola? Or I can walk you back to your room.”

“Cola? If it’s cola, I’ll—”

“No, you stay here. I’ll get it. Zero-cal?”

“No, I’d like to—”

Bang!

Roy shut the door without listening to Yeonwoo. He had secrets to share—and he couldn’t bring that oblivious hyung along. Slipping past the camera, Roy sneaked up to the rooftop.

“...”

Seohyunwoo watched Roy deftly pick the lock in fascination.

“Oh, this? I found it. Tried it, and it opened.”

—Of course that was a lie. He’d gone to steal the SD card and grabbed the key when it happened to be lying nearby.

Seohyunwoo shook his head at Roy’s brazen answer.

“You should’ve just told me why you came. I almost misunderstood.”

Seohyunwoo sighed quietly—still unconvinced.

“I’m the type to sleep the moment my head hits the pillow.”

“You were so obvious pretending to sleep. The eyelids are thin, so if you move them closed, the eyeball movement shows—”

“Ugh, more nagging! Okay, fine, I faked sleeping. Happy?”

“It’s not nagging. I told you: all skills hinge on small details.”

Seohyunwoo calmly berated Roy about how Roy’s habit of glossing over things kept him stuck as trash-tier. His nagging usually went on four rounds—but after nodding mindlessly for a while, Seohyunwoo finally got to the point.

“So, what did you want to tell me?”

Instead of answering, Seohyunwoo produced a wax-sealed envelope stamped with the number 2.

“But first, there’s something you need to know. Pluton classifies intel into five grades.”

Grade 5 is public information—worthless for ranking or easily found by a simple search, like public data or news articles. Grade 4 is guild-collected data still accessible to other guild Awakeners. From Grade 3, security tightens: no public release; only Pluton members and some government-linked data. Then Grade 2.

“Grade 2 is confidential—only high-ranking officers can view it. Even if you request it, they won’t share unless you meet conditions.”

From Grade 2 up, requests are denied unless you’re A-rank or above. Roy was lucky to be S-rank.

“So this woman is Grade 2?”

Seohyunwoo nodded. Grade 1 was top-secret—only guild masters and a select few could access it. As a recent Pluton recruit, Seohyunwoo could see only up through Grade 2. He was an exception; normally recruits under ten years couldn’t view Grade 2.

“Because you’re active on field missions?”

“Right.”

Additionally, leaking any intel—regardless of grade—means gouging out eyes and tongue, then expulsion. Clients are not exempt.

This really is an assassination guild...!

Exceptions exist if you pay the price or provide value—Roy had done so, so he was safe.

“I thought she was just some cult lady... but you got this fast?”

“I already had the info.”

Roy broke the wax seal and withdrew a document.

[Lee Hasin]

She was Grade 2 because three guild members who infiltrated the church after contact went missing.

“Missing? All three?”

“Lee Hasin is a pseudonym. She poses as a believer to recruit people—I don’t know why.”

But she was definitely a key figure in the church. Thinking her a common cult, they approached lightly—and three members vanished. Pluton could no longer ignore it. Now Seohyunwoo’s visit had temporarily paused further investigation.

“Can I ask why you care?”

Roy hesitated. Pluton didn’t yet know Salvation Church’s link to Awakening drugs.

Maybe I should leak some info and erase my debt? Then just lie back and reap the benefits.

But this blissful thought was brief. Pluton only handled information—they didn’t hunt Blood Fiends directly. That meant waiting for the government or other guilds to intervene...

That’ll be too late.

Why was Roy hurrying? To strike before they made their move. In other words, he’d have to handle it himself. Roy shrugged and feigned innocence.

“I just got this card inviting me to the church. You know me, I’m got a good hunch.”

“...You?”

His hunch was so bad he couldn’t handle a single flame properly, despite being S-rank. Seohyunwoo’s cold glare met Roy’s.

“Thought I might try believing in God, but it gives me the creeps. Since you’re the stalking expert, I wanted to ask you.”

“Sto...!”

At the unheard-of term, Seohyunwoo’s gaze wavered. Unwilling to leave with only the documents, Roy used the moment to spark a flame. With no cameras and his guardian-partner right there, he clenched his envelope.

Fwoom!

“Ah!”

“I Roi...!”

The envelope exploded.