It was just as it appeared.

The Non-Awakened Division—and in fact, the entire Awakening Department—was in chaos because of the draft-dodgers Su-ho had apprehended.

After assessing the situation, Su-ho began to speak but stopped, nodding instead.

“Understood. Where should I wait in the meantime?”

“Wait? Oh, right, waiting. That’s… uh… an issue, isn’t it? You don’t have an assigned desk yet… hmm… what should we do?”

No plan at all.

Even with all the work piling up, they didn’t even have a desk for him.

As Um Jun-sung pondered, Su-ho cut in.

“If it’s an issue, I’ll stay with the general manager. My training at the Awakening Department is already finished.”

“Oh, would you? That works. I’ll let you know as soon as the evaluation is completed.”

“Understood.”

It could take a few days—or maybe even longer. The Awakening Department was in a full-blown emergency.

This might actually work out well.

The longer he waited, the more free time he’d have.

Pulling out his phone, Su-ho called Jeong Cheol-min.

“Ah, Su-ho,” Jeong answered promptly.

“Hello, sir. Are you in the office today?”

“Yes, I’m in the Gate Division right now. Why?”

“I completed my training with the Awakening Department as of yesterday. But according to Um, everyone handling evaluations is too busy, so they’ve asked me to wait. I don’t have a desk, though. Is there anywhere I could wait?”

“Wait, you finished your training already? That’s fast! I heard there was some incident at the Awakening Department yesterday… I’ll come down to see you. Meet me by the elevator.”

“Alright.”

Huh. Seems like news travels slowly around here.

Su-ho waited at the elevator, and soon Jeong arrived.

“Want to grab a coffee?”

“Let’s head to our usual spot.”

“Sounds good.”

The two headed to the courtyard, where they got two cups of coffee from the vending machine. Handing a cup to Su-ho, Jeong spoke.

“But how did you finish training so quickly? Theory exams are one thing—you’re smart, so I get that—but field training isn’t exactly a breeze.”

“Well, somehow I managed to get through everything.”

“Geez… you might be the only person who can talk about field training so casually. But I heard something on the way down—apparently, the chaos in the Awakening Department is all because of you. Is that true?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s because of me, but the Non-Awakened Division is busy dealing with draft-dodgers. I caught over twenty of them yesterday.”

“Draft-dodgers?!”

“Yes.”

Su-ho briefly explained how these individuals had exploited the Awakening laws to dodge military service. As he spoke, Jeong nearly dropped his cup of barley tea.

“What the… no wonder everyone’s been so tight-lipped.”

“Tight-lipped?”

“Yeah, no one from the Awakening Department would say a word about what’s going on. Everyone’s just watching the situation unfold in silence.”

Ah, that makes sense.

It wasn’t exactly good news, and departments don’t usually advertise their failures. The less noise about it, the better for their reputation.

Changing the subject, Su-ho asked, “By the way, sir, do you know much about office politics?”

“Office politics? Why do you ask?”

At the mention of politics, Jeong’s expression stiffened slightly, but Su-ho remained nonchalant.

“Well, I figured it’s about time I learned. Wherever you go, there are factions and alliances, right? I’m not looking to join any, but I’d like to know enough to avoid stepping on the wrong toes.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Jeong visibly relaxed, his expression softening.

What an open book, Su-ho thought. This is why I asked him.

Despite appearances, Jeong was sharp and cautious, someone who survived by walking a tightrope in office politics.

Jeong finally replied, “On the surface, there are two main factions: the Vice President’s faction and the Special Division Head’s faction.”

What?

Su-ho was taken aback. He hadn’t known that Park Gyu-min and Pi Seong-yeol were faction leaders.

By the time Su-ho had started paying attention to politics in his previous life, the two were on the same side.

So it wasn’t an alliance—they were absorbed into one faction.

In the past, it seemed like Pi Seong-yeol had more power, which likely meant he had absorbed Park Gyu-min’s faction.

He must’ve slowly gathered information and tightened his grip, like with the recent scandals.

It all started to make sense now. Even in his previous life, Pi Seong-yeol had been secretive, rarely sharing information with anyone outside his closest circle.

Jeong continued, “It’s actually pretty simple. Each department’s senior managers stick together. The Awakening and Administration Divisions are aligned with the Vice President, while the Gate and Resource Divisions are with Pi Seong-yeol.”

“And the Association President?”

“The President doesn’t need a faction—he’s at the top. He just has to focus on finishing his term smoothly. He’s more concerned with external relations.”

“That makes sense.”

“Anything else you want to know?”

“No, that’s all. I just wanted to be cautious. I’ll keep this in mind and be careful with my words and actions.”

“Good. By the way, what are you going to do about not having a desk? If you want, I can set up a spot in the Gate Division for you.”

“That’s kind of you, but if it’s alright, could I study in the café or the underground library instead? If I’m in the Gate Division, people might keep asking me about the Awakening Department.”

“True. Okay, I’ll get you some materials. Head to the library, and I’ll bring them over.”

“Thank you.”

Jeong chuckled. “You might want to start with Administration. It’s all desk work—no field training. You’ll probably just have to sit through a lot of exams.”

“Got it.”

True to his word, Jeong brought study materials from various departments. Su-ho reviewed them thoroughly in the underground library before storing them in his inventory.

“This should cover the theory exams…”

Now, it was time to prepare for the task given by the Vice President.

Su-ho left the association building and made a call.

“Team Leader.”

“Oh, Yeon-hwa. Are you in Paju?”

“Yes, I am. Why?”

“I’ll be there in 30 minutes. Gather the team.”

“Understood.”

Hanging up, Su-ho drove to the Nexus Academy in Paju. Despite arriving early, the Banshees were already there, waiting for him.

“Boss!”

“You’re here.”

“Yeah. Take a seat.”

“Aren’t you on duty?”

“This is legitimate leave. Anyway, it’s time to get started.”

“Started with what?”

“The promise I made to you.”

“Oh.”

The promise to the Banshees: revenge against the APA.

Though a heavy subject, the mood was serious as Seo Gi-won leaned in, fully focused. He now knew the Banshees’ backstory.

Ku Yeon-hwa, her face grim, asked, “Aren’t you still in training? You said revenge would start once you joined the Special Division.”

“That was the plan, but during training, I learned something interesting. If things go well, we might stir things up before then.”

Su-ho shared everything he’d discovered during his training and the information he’d gotten from Jeong. When he finished, Yeon-hwa asked cautiously, “So you’re planning to sow discord through the Vice President’s request?”

“No. The opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“We’re going to take him down.”

“Take him… down?”

Su-ho outlined his plan. The Banshees were stunned as they listened.

“Is this… really okay?”

“Why not? Sowing discord isn’t as easy as it sounds. Let’s keep things simple.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility.”

Seeing the determination in Su-ho’s eyes, the Banshees exchanged glances before nodding.

“Understood.”

“Good. Let’s move.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll meet them?”

“Yes. Come with me.”

Su-ho deliberately timed his visit to the Vice President’s office for the end of the workday. Convincing him that he’d arranged a meeting with the information brokers, Su-ho personally drove him to a remote location outside Seoul.

After a long drive, they arrived at an isolated roadside area. As Su-ho parked the car, Park Gyu-min looked around, annoyed.

“What kind of people insist on meeting in a place like this?”

“They’re very security-conscious. The meeting locations always change. Please understand.”

“Tsk… so, where are they?”

In the distance, figures began to approach. Clad in black suits and wearing eerie masks, they were the Banshees.

Seeing them, Park Gyu-min visibly tensed. The darkness and the eerie silence of the area didn’t help.

Still, he trusted one thing—he was with the Sword Saint, An Su-ho.

That was when Su-ho turned to face him directly.

“Vice President.”

“Huh? What?”

“Apologies for deceiving you.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“It’s simple. You’ve been kidnapped.”

“Wha—”

“Go to sleep.”

BAM!

With one swift punch, Su-ho knocked Park Gyu-min unconscious. The Vice President collapsed sideways onto the ground.