The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Ares’s Forgotten Past

The two continued walking.

After several minutes, Ji Won suddenly spoke.

"By the way, Tae Ho."

"What is it?"

"Where are you planning to go tonight?"

Ares glanced at him.

"Now that i think about it."

"It’s already getting late."

Ji Won pointed toward the darker streets ahead.

"You shouldn’t wander around alone at night, especially if you’re an E-rank Awakener."

"Why?"

Ji Won looked at him seriously.

"Because not every Awakener uses their strength responsibly."

He lowered his voice.

"There are Awakeners who use their abilities to threaten ordinary people, commit crimes, extort businesses, or even settle personal disputes by force."

"An ordinary police officer might be able to deal with an unarmed criminal, but what happens when the criminal can move several times faster than a normal human or can use magic?"

Ares nodded.

"That would be a problem."

"That’s why Korea has the South Korea’s Awakening Administration."

Ji Won continued explaining as they walked.

"It’s a government organization responsible for managing Awakener-related incidents. They monitor Awakeners, investigate crimes involving them, regulate guilds, handle dungeon emergencies, and deploy specialized personnel when an Awakener becomes dangerous."

"So they’re basically specialized law enforcement."

"Pretty much."

Ji Won nodded.

"There are ordinary officers working there too, but the important cases are handled by Awakeners who are trained specifically for that kind of situation. Some of them are powerful enough to restrain high-ranking Awakeners."

"I see."

Ares looked around.

So they have something like a government-controlled force specifically for Awakeners.

That made sense.

With how widespread Awakening had become, relying entirely on ordinary police forces would have been impossible.

As they continued down the street, Ji Won suddenly slowed and looked toward the opposite side of the road.

"Tae Ho, look over there."

Ares followed his gaze.

Several people were walking together, most of them appearing to be staff or security personnel, but one woman immediately stood out from the group.

She was an elegant woman with long dark-blue hair that fell neatly down her back, calm blue eyes, and refined features that gave her a composed and dignified appearance. She wore a white-and-navy Awakener uniform, and even from a distance, there was something about her presence that made her noticeably different from the people accompanying her.

Ares quietly observed her.

Ji Won lowered his voice.

"That’s Yoon Ha-eun."

"Who?"

"She’s one of Korea’s eight S-rank Awakeners."

Ares looked at her again.

"S-rank?"

"Yeah."

Ji Won nodded.

"I’ve seen her on the news countless times. She’s incredibly famous."

"What makes her so famous?"

"Aside from being an S-rank Awakener, she’s also the guild master of the Horizon Guild."

Ji Won continued explaining as they walked.

"She’s only twenty-five, too, which makes her one of the youngest S-rank Awakeners in Korea."

Ares quietly activated True Sight without saying anything.

Information immediately appeared before his eyes.

Name: Yoon Ha-eun

Rank: S

Class: Summoner

Ability: Astral Summoning

Mana Capacity: S

Physical Enhancement: A

Ares’ expression remained unchanged.

Summoner.

He continued observing her.

"She’s not an ordinary Summoner, either," Ji Won added.

Ares glanced at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Most Summoners specialize in calling creatures to fight for them, but Ha-eun’s ability is different."

Ji Won looked toward the woman again.

"Her Astral Summoning allows her to summon several creatures simultaneously, and they aren’t limited to ordinary animals or low-level monsters. Some of her summons are reportedly powerful enough to reach A-rank."

"So she can control multiple powerful summons at once?"

"Exactly."

Ji Won nodded.

"That’s why she’s considered one of the strongest Summoners in the country. Her mana capacity is enormous, so she can maintain multiple summons for a long time, and unlike most Summoners, she’s also physically strong enough to defend herself if something gets through her summons."

Ares understood.

So that’s what I was sensing.

She’s not ordinary at all. An S-rank Awakener really is a completely different level of existence compared to the average person.

Ares glanced at Ha-eun one more time.

No wonder I could feel such a dense presence from her.

Ji Won smiled.

"She’s beautiful too, right?"

Ares looked at him.

"That’s what you’re focusing on?"

"What? I’m just saying."

Ji Won laughed awkwardly.

"She’s twenty-five, an S-rank Awakener, and the guild master of one of Korea’s major guilds. Of course people talk about her."

The group gradually disappeared farther down the street.

Ares watched them for another moment before turning his attention back to Ji Won.

"By the way, how many Awakeners are there in Korea?"

"Hm?"

Ji Won thought for a moment.

"I don’t know the exact number, but probably around forty percent of the population."

Ares stopped walking for a moment.

"Forty percent?"

"Approximately."

Ji Won nodded.

"Awakening became much more common over the past decade. Some people awaken naturally, while others awaken after exposure to dungeon energy or certain mana-rich environments."

Ares looked around at the people walking through the streets.

Forty percent...

That’s far more than I expected.

"That’s quite a lot."

"Yeah," Ji Won replied with a small laugh. "Sometimes it feels like almost everyone around here is an Awakener."

No wonder this country had an entire system built around Awakeners.

Ji Won suddenly looked toward him.

"Anyway, aren’t you going home?"

Ares became quiet.

Then he gave a small shrug.

"About that..."

"Hm?"

"As I told you earlier, I’m broke."

Ji Won stared at him.

"Wait, when you said you were broke, did you mean you don’t actually have a place to stay?"

"Pretty much."

"How did that happen?"

"A lot of things happened."

Ares gave him a vague answer rather than explaining the truth.

Ji Won remained quiet for a moment.

Then he scratched the back of his head.

"Then why don’t you stay at my place for a while?"

Ares looked at him.

"Your place?"

"Yeah."

Ji Won nodded.

"I’m the only one living there right now because my father is in the hospital, so there’s an empty room."

He hesitated slightly before continuing.

"If you’re okay with it, you can stay there until you figure things out."

Ares raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"You’re willing to let a stranger into your house?"

Ji Won laughed.

"It’s not like I’m completely careless."

He looked at Ares.

"But judging from everything I’ve seen today, I don’t think you’re a bad person."

He paused.

"And besides, if you really were dangerous, you could’ve killed me inside the dungeon earlier."

Ares smiled faintly.

"That’s true."

"So?"

Ares thought about it briefly.

"Then I’ll accept."

Ji Won smiled.

"Good."

"I’ll help you pay the rent."

"You don’t have to."

"We’re hunting together tomorrow, aren’t we?"

"That’s true but..."

"Then I’ll contribute."

Ji Won considered arguing, but eventually gave up.

"T-then."

The two continued walking through the quiet residential streets.

After several minutes, Ji Won stopped in front of a modest two-story rental building.

"We’re here."

He unlocked the entrance and led Ares upstairs.

The apartment itself was small but clean, with a simple living room containing a sofa, a low table, several chairs, and a television. The kitchen was connected to the living area, while two bedrooms were located farther down the hallway.

There wasn’t anything luxurious about the place.

It was simply a normal home.

Ares looked around.

Despite everything that’s happened to him, he keeps his house this clean.

His gaze moved toward the kitchen.

Back when I was an assassin, my room was always a mess.

He almost smiled at the thought.

I was never particularly fond of cleaning.

Ares looked around again.

And unlike my old organization, there doesn’t seem to be anyone here whose job is to clean up after me.

Ji Won placed his belongings beside the sofa.

"Make yourself comfortable."

Ares nodded.

"Thanks."

"I’ll show you the room."

Ji Won walked down the hallway and opened one of the bedroom doors.

Inside were two separate beds positioned against opposite walls.

Ares looked at them.

Ji Won nodded.

"This used to be my brother’s room."

His voice became quieter.

"He died five years ago."

Ares looked toward him.

Ji Won continued after a brief silence.

"My mother died that same day."

He glanced toward the second bed.

"There was a monster attack."

His expression remained calm, but the sadness behind his words was obvious.

"We couldn’t save them."

Ares didn’t interrupt.

"After that, my father became sick after a few years."

Ji Won looked toward the empty bed.

"He’s been in the hospital for a long time now."

Ares slowly nodded.

"Sorry to hear that."

"No it’s okay, you don’t have to worry about that."

Ji Won pointed toward the bed near the window.

"You can use that one."

"What about you?"

"I’ll use the other."

Ares placed his bag beside the bed.

"Alright."

Ji Won turned toward the doorway.

"If you need anything, just tell me."

Ares sat down on the edge of the bed and looked across the room at the second one.

Ares remained lying on the bed, staring quietly at the ceiling.

Now then, what should I do?

He had originally intended to return to his own world after figuring out what had happened, but the more he thought about it, the less practical that seemed.

If I go back now, it’ll probably take a long time before I can even return here.

Dimensional travel wasn’t something he could casually perform without preparation, and even if he managed to return to his original world, there was no guarantee that he could immediately find his way back to this one.

Besides, there was another problem.

If I bring those three with me, we’ll definitely stand out.

Ares sighed internally.

Draven was already troublesome enough under normal circumstances, and bringing him into a completely unfamiliar world filled with modern technology, Awakeners, guilds, and dungeons would almost certainly create problems.

Especially Draven.

He could already imagine the kind of trouble that man would somehow manage to cause.

He can be careless sometimes.

Ares closed his eyes for a moment.

I guess I’ll stay here for the time being.

It wasn’t an unpleasant option, either.

There was still a tremendous amount he needed to learn about this world, and the dungeon system alone was interesting enough to keep him occupied for quite some time.

Then another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Now that I think about it...

Ares opened his eyes again.

Does my old organization still exist?

He remained silent.

The organization he had once belonged to wasn’t some small group that would disappear after one or two generations.

It had been one of the most famous assassination organizations in the world, possessing countless elite assassins and highly trained professionals who operated across different countries and territories.

And the man who had adapted him into the organization...

Ares’ expression softened slightly.

He’s not that old.

When that man had taken him in, he had only been twenty-five years old.

Thirteen years have passed since then.

Ares stared at the ceiling.

If he’s still alive, he’d only be 50 or 51.

That wasn’t particularly old.

In fact, considering how strong and experienced he had been even at that age, there was a good chance he was still alive.

I should ask Ji Won tomorrow.

Of course, explaining why he was asking about an organization from another world would be somewhat troublesome.

Still, there had to be some way to approach the subject without revealing too much.

Ares shifted slightly beneath the blanket.

Thinking about that man brought back memories he hadn’t thought about in a long time.

He had been strict.

Extremely strict.

When it came to training, the man had shown absolutely no mercy.

Ares still remembered the hellish training sessions he had been forced to endure, the endless physical conditioning, the repeated combat exercises, the countless injuries, and the ridiculous situations he had been thrown into simply because his teacher wanted to see whether he could adapt.

He even made me jump from the roof of a house once.

Ares almost laughed.

I nearly broke my ankle.

At the time, he had genuinely thought the man had gone insane.

Looking back, however, he understood why.

That training had saved his life countless times.

The man had taken a starving child who had nowhere to go and turned him into an assassin capable of surviving situations that would have killed an ordinary person instantly.

He was strict, but he wasn’t cruel.

Ares closed his eyes.

Despite everything, the man had always looked after the people under him.

He provided food.

Shelter.

Training.

And, more importantly, a place where someone like Ares could belong.

If it weren’t for him, I probably would’ve died starving somewhere in Korea.

Ares remained still.

Back then, he hadn’t had anything.

No family.

No money.

No future.

That man had been the first person to give him a purpose.

I wonder if he’s still alive.

Ares’ thoughts became quieter.

After his death, some of the other assassins had also died during missions.

He remembered receiving reports about them before his final assignment, one name disappearing after another as the organization continued sending people into increasingly dangerous situations.

And then there had been his own final mission.

The mission that had ended his previous life.

Ares slowly exhaled.

Thirteen years...

So much time had passed.

For someone like him, thirteen years didn’t feel particularly long.

But for ordinary people, it was enough time for an entire life to change.

People could grow older.

Organizations could collapse.

New leaders could take control.

Old enemies could disappear.

And the people he once knew might no longer even remember him.

Ares opened his eyes.

Still...

A faint smile appeared on his face.

It would be nice to know what happened to them.

He turned onto his side and pulled the blanket slightly higher.

For now, there was nothing he could do.

Tomorrow, he would ask Ji Won about the things he needed to know.

Perhaps he’d discover something useful.

Perhaps he wouldn’t.

Either way, there was no reason to rush.

Ares slowly closed his eyes.

The unfamiliar sounds of the city were faintly audible through the window, but they gradually faded as sleep began taking hold.

Tomorrow...

His thoughts became increasingly distant.

I’ll figure everything out tomorrow.

And with that thought, Ares finally fell asleep.

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