A few hours after Cheol-gon’s group left.  

As night fell, we began to set up a sentry and prepare for bed.  

Suddenly, there was a knock.  

Someone had come to the building we were in.  

“…Who could it be at this hour?”  

In the past, people knocking late at night usually didn’t have good intentions.  

Especially in today’s world.  

Together with the soldiers preparing for bed, I cautiously opened the door.  

Then,  

“Good evening.”  

A pale-skinned man was standing at the door.  

Behind him were two people who looked like subordinates.  

“…Who are you?”  

“I was introduced by Mr. Park Cheol-gon.”  

Park Cheol-gon.  

That was the name of the leader of the survivor group from earlier.  

He did say he would go and introduce us quickly to the other side.  

But still, it’s been only a few hours since Cheol-gon left.  

I didn’t expect the person from the other side to come this quickly.  

Especially at this hour.  

I was a bit flustered.  

I told the soldiers behind me,  

“For now, let’s take turns on sentry duty and going to bed, as we planned earlier.”  

“Yes.”  

“Gwang-il and Su-hyeok, come with me.”  

They guided us to the corner of the building.  

We lit a candle, making sure the light didn’t leak out through the windows.  

“My introduction is late. I am from the [Gangwon-do Survivor Union] guild.  

“Guild…?”  

“Ah, you may not know about it. When a certain number of Awakened gathers, the system recognizes them as an organization. Small groups are called clans, and large ones are called guilds. It’s rare for there to be many Awakened, so a lot of people don’t even know about the existence of clans.”  

Clans. Guilds.  

Of course, we know about them too.  

[Guild Name: Iron Legion]  

We’re also a guild-scale organization.  

‘As far as I remember, you need over a hundred Awakened to reach guild status.’  

I thought it would be a fairly large group, but a hundred Awakened or more, huh.  

“I’m Gwon Wantae, the one in charge of recruitment for the guild.”  

He offered to shake hands as he said that.  

Suddenly coming up with an official title, huh.  

Well, my official title would be the guild leader, but…  

‘Externally, Lieutenant Kim is the one playing the representative role.’  

“I’m Shin Young-joon, the chef.”  

“The chef?”  

He let out a muffled laugh.  

“Ah, I see. Then who should I speak with?”  

“Since I’m the highest-ranking soldier here, you can talk to me.”  

“The chef…? Alright, I understand.”  

Hmm.  

I’m not too pleased about this.  

“Ahem. First of all, I apologize for the late-night visit.”  

The man sitting down said.  

“But I hope you can understand. We were very eager to meet with you as soon as possible.”  

“Meet with us?”  

“From what Cheol-gon told me, you are special forces, if I’m not mistaken.”  

“…Something like that.”  

“Ah, I see!”  

The man exclaimed.  

“As the rumors have said, we’ve been fortunate enough to secure a lot of weapons and food supplies.”  

“The rumors were hard to believe at first, but it’s true.”  

“Yes, but there is one thing that we are lacking, trustworthy people.”  

Having an abundance of weapons and food is not everything.  

In the end, it only has meaning if there are trustworthy humans to make use of them.  

“If you are indeed special forces, you would be able to handle the weapons we have. Moreover, you are reliable people vouched for by Mr. Cheol-gon. We are eager to have you join us as soon as possible.”  

“I see.”  

“Let me be direct. Please join our union.”  

“Ah, about that…”  

I was going to propose an alliance, not joining them.  

But he cut me off and continued.  

“Of course! I’ve heard you possess military equipment like firearms and vehicles. As former special forces, you must be confident in your combat prowess. But trust us. If you join us, we can make you even stronger.”  

“Are you referring to awakening?”  

“You know about it. Perhaps some of you are already awakened. But the number is likely not high.”  

Hmm.  

Over 90% of us are awakened, but…  

“However, if you join us, we can immediately awaken you. You will gain power incomparable to your days as a normal human. You won’t have to worry about being killed by monsters anymore.”  

They can immediately turn us into awakened, huh.  

Mentioning the existence of the [Guild], I gather they have over a hundred awakened individuals.  

With this level of force, it’s not strange for them to know about awakening.  

‘But… Awakening isn’t exactly an easy task, separate from that.’  

It requires directly killing living monsters.  

Given the danger, the awakening process must be handled carefully.  

‘Perhaps they’re exaggerating a bit to recruit talented individuals?’  

No.  

It’s possible they have some extraordinary power.  

Maybe they have an abundance of captured monsters ready for awakening.  

I looked closely at the man’s face.  

[Ingredient Appraisal (Enhanced)]  

But the information before my eyes was a bit strange.  

[Species – Human (Vampire)]  

[Freshness – Excellent]  

[Awakened: Gwon Wantae]  

[Class: Lesser Vampire Knight Lv. 14]  

[Abilities: Lesser Blood Drain, Lesser Mist, Lesser Dark Affinity…]  

‘…Hmm.’  

I’m not sure how to feel about this.  

It’s as if I’ve seen something I shouldn’t have.  

I discreetly glanced at the two men standing behind him as well.  

[Class: Novice Vampire Knight Lv. 7]  

[Class: Novice Vampire Knight Lv. 8]  

This…  

It doesn’t seem like I’m seeing things wrong.  

Hiding my change in expression, I asked him:  

“From what you’ve said, it seems you are an awakened as well.”  

“Yes, that’s correct.”  

“May I ask what class you have awakened to?”  

At that, the man’s face twitched slightly.  

“Hmm. You should know that among awakened, inquiring about each other’s information is considered rude.”  

“Is that so? I didn’t know that.”  

“…I don’t mind sharing. I’m a warrior. I wield swords.”  

Gwon Wantae lightly tapped the three swords at his waist.  

A warrior.  

[Class: Lesser Vampire Knight]  

[A class bestowed upon those chosen by nobles to become their kin]  

‘Damn.’  

Warrior, my ass.  

Vampire knight?  

No matter how I look at it, that’s an ominous name.  

I had a fleeting hope that they might be vampires friendly to humans, but…  

[Lesser Blood Drain]  

[Recovers vitality through blood draining]  

[Can increase abilities by completely draining the life of the human species]  

[Currently drained human lives – 37]  

That hope didn’t last long.  

37 drained lives.  

That wasn’t a big number.  

These guys.  

They are the enemies of humanity.  

“May I ask one more thing?”  

“Yes, anything.”  

Mr. Park Cheol-gon.  

At first, he had mistaken us for deserters, but after realizing his mistake, he had tried to repay the favor we had done him.  

“What happened to that person?”