The city of Neo-Seongnam was pretty at night with its lights shining under a bit of rain but the streets were really crazy. People had heard about what happened at the subway station. They were all talking about it. They were saying that a boy was involved and also a knight in armor and some weird shadows that seemed to be moving like they were alive. The Neo-Seongnam streets were full of rumors, about the boy and the armored knight and those strange shadows.
Kang Ji-Hoon walked through the streets. He was bloody but he was steady.
The knight was following him silently its metallic steps were echoing in the alleyways.
People were looking at Kang Ji-Hoon and the knight they were scared. They thought this was amazing but not many people were brave enough to go near Kang Ji-Hoon and the knight.
Above those holographic banners were flashing alerts:
[Unauthorized Dungeon Activity – No Witnesses]
[High Alert: Neo-Seongnam District]
The System was a little shaky for a moment, in Ji-Hoons eyes.
[Legion Authority Sync: 5.2% → 5.5% | Observation Detected – Multiple Parties]
The man felt like someone was watching him. He was really sure that someone was keeping an eye on him. The man knew he was being watched.
From a rooftop that was pretty close by three hunters were watching him. There were two men and one woman. You could tell they were from a guild because they had the guild symbols on them which meant they were fairly good, at what they did even if they were not the best.
Someone said he is alone. There are no bursts of mana and he is not calling anything but the way he gets things done is really amazing. His efficiency is just unreal.
The woman asked this question in a voice "Do you think he is one of them?"
"Who? The Legion?"
"No " she said, her eyes got smaller. "It is someone someone who is dangerous."
Ji-Hoon ignored them. He did not need a confrontation not at this point.. The city was already reacting to the situation. Whispers about Ji-Hoon had become chatter over the city. This chatter had become panic in circles where people were really worried, about Ji-Hoon and what he might do.
Back at the edge of the city the lady with silver hair was. Watching from a really tall building. The haired observer had a small crystal disk in her hand and her fingers were tapping on it. This was the kind of crystal disk that the silver-haired observer had tried to use a while back, in Chapter 5.
The woman said that he is growing faster than they thought he would. His authority sync is going up. The things that make him part of the Legion are starting to show.. At the same time he is still being very careful. He thinks about what he's doing and he likes to work alone by himself as a solo person. The Legion traits are coming out in him.
A shadow came away from the darkness, behind her. This was a man who was wearing a coat. You could not see his face because it was too dark.
"Watching him is not enough " he said. "If this person just keeps doing what he is doing without anyone stopping him he could become a threat to the things that the people in charge want to control to everything that the people, in charge want to control."
The woman, with the silver hair smiled a little. "Then we speed things up with the project. We add something to the mix."
The man nodded. "We need to test The Legions host in every way. We are talking about his emotions. How he handles pain and survival. Lets see if The Legions host is still a person, after all this."
Ji-Hoon walked into a street. This street had a building that had fallen down. It was a reminder of a problem that happened at the dungeon a few weeks ago. Ji-Hoon got down on his knees for a moment to check his sword. He saw some burn marks on the walls. Ji-Hoon thought that every little thing was important. He wanted to think about every danger that could happen to him. Ji-Hoon was being very careful, with the dungeon and everything related to the dungeon.
The knight moved a little closer to Ji-Hoon. Its symbol was glowing softly. There was silence. The knight did not say anything to Ji-Hoon. It did not give him any orders.. Ji-Hoon felt that the connection, between him and the knight was getting stronger.
A soft noise caught his attention. It was not really away and it was not really loud either. It was close, by. The noise sounded like it was made by a human being.
The man turned around.
A young girl, no older than sixteen was hiding behind a crate her eyes wide. The girls coat was all. Her face was dirty. The girl was not a hunter, at not a real one. But the way the girl looked at him the girls eyes were sharp and she was thinking hard it was clear the girl knew what she was doing the girl was clever and the girl wanted to survive.
Ji-Hoon knelt down a bit making sure to keep some distance, between them. "Who are you?" he asked Ji-Hoon wanted to know who this person was so he asked again "Who are you really?"
She stopped for a moment. Then she said something with a smile, on her face:
Someone who wants to see what the boy and his friend can really do. The boy and his friend are going to have to show everyone what they are capable of. The boy and his friend will have to try their best to make this happen.
The knight moved closer and got in her way. Ji-Hoon put his hand on the knights armor.
The man said she is not a problem he said this in a voice though the System marked the woman right away.
[Foreign Authority Detected – Unknown]
[Emotional Anchor: Potential]
Ji-Hoons eyes met hers. That is when things got really interesting. You could see the curiosity, in his eyes a challenge and then there was something more something that Ji-Hoon and the girl did not say out loud something that was just understood between Ji-Hoon and her.
The Legion trait is not doing much now it is just waiting and watching to see how I feel emotionally.
The girl stood up straight. You could tell she thought the knight was really something but it did not scare her off. The girl was impressed by the knight. The knight did not frighten the girl.
She said "I have heard the stories about the subway and the shadows. You were, by yourself. You made it through. That is really rare when it comes to the subway and the shadows."
Ji-Hoon did not say a thing he just let her words hang there in the air.
The woman said "this is the beginning" and then she stepped back, into the dark. She told me that she would be watching the situation that she would be keeping an eye on me that the introduction was the start and she would be watching.
She was there one minute and then she was gone. It was like she vanished into air.. Just like that the woman disappeared from our sight.
The city was being. She was being followed. People from the Guilds were writing down everything she did. These Guilds noted her presence in their reports. Now the Guilds and these unknown observers, above the city were waiting to see what would happen next because the ripple effect of her actions had begun and it was starting to spread.
Ji-Hoon held the blade really tight the knight was next to him. Rain was falling down from the roofs all around them. The sound of the raindrops was loud. Ji-Hoon and the knight were standing there getting wet from the rain that was dripping, from the rooftops.
[Legion Authority Sync: 5.5% → 6.0% | External Variables Detected]
The path that was once quiet and easy to follow is not, like that anymore. Now there are dangers that are all around. The hunters, the people who are watching and the unknown people who are involved. They are all moving around trying to figure things out and keeping a close eye on the solitary path.
Ji-Hoon let out a breath. Ji-Hoons lips turned up into a smile.
"Good " he said to himself. The game is getting interesting.
The knights symbol was shining really bright. It was like the symbol was making a promise to always be loyal, to the knight. The knights symbol was quiet. It was still making this promise.
Neo-Seongnam was awake now. The boy who walked alone had just started to make his mark on Neo-Seongnam. This was the beginning for the boy, in Neo-Seongnam.
End of Chapter 9