# 050. Day and Night (4)
“The Guild Master is… a Zero?”
“Yes. This name may be unfamiliar to Jeongwoo-ssi and Jaehee-ssi, but in this world, there aren’t just Awakened Ones. Besides Awakened Ones, there are beings called Zero who are outside classification. Zeros have various abilities, but they aren’t classified like Awakened Ones, nor do they receive missions.”
Jaehee never expected to hear the term “Zero” here. He glanced at Jeongwoo with a tense expression. Jeongwoo was also rigid. Jaehee’s mouth went completely dry. The unexpected statement left him at a loss for words.
In fact, Jaehee didn’t really know what a Zero was or exactly what abilities they possessed. He understood they were Awakened Ones who realized their abilities before the tutorial, but what that meant was ambiguous. Even when he had pressed the issue several times, Jeongwoo had only given vague answers.
Perhaps today he might finally learn what a Zero really was, the thought flashed through his mind.
“Guild Master… how did you become a Zero? Why do Zeros have no classification?”
“Hmm, since you haven’t joined the guild yet, I can’t tell you everything, but Zeros are those who awakened before the Great Awakening, before the tutorial. They might have awakened through an encounter, or they might have awakened on their own by seeing beyond the world. There are probably more Zeros who haven’t revealed themselves besides me.”
Shinhoo’s tone was friendly, but there was no real substance to his words. Someone who knew nothing might be shocked by that level of information, but Jaehee already knew this from what Jeongwoo had told him.
“Hmm.”
Meanwhile, Shinhoo, who had been observing the two, wore a peculiar expression.
Information about ‘Zeros’ was something even the Management Bureau didn’t know much about. This was because the existence of Zeros itself had not yet been disclosed. The fact that they weren’t surprised meant they already knew about the existence of Zeros.
Jeongwoo showed almost no change in expression, making it difficult to read anything from him, but in contrast, Jaehee seemed exactly his age, clumsy at concealing or hiding things.
Zero, huh.
He had revealed his trump card, but instead, he was the one who was more surprised.
Even though he had said this person was the last Awakened One to exit the tutorial, it seemed he had kept an ace up his sleeve. Shinhoo felt an unquenchable thirst and picked up the wine in front of him.
Shinhoo had once craved success more than anyone. So he had clawed his way up relentlessly. He made positions that others could only dream of his own.
He made the SG Group, which had seemed impossible for him to attain in his lifetime, his own, and he brought to their knees all those who had looked down on him. He thought he would be happy after achieving what he had so desperately wanted.
After all, he had sacrificed everything for it.
But once he reached the summit, it was boring and trivial. Rather, he could no longer feel the tenacity and exhilaration he had experienced climbing up from the bottom.
He had trampled on others to seize wealth that wasn’t his, but to feel nothing but gloomy boredom at the summit was absurd.
That’s when a new world opened up. He realized that everything he had been craving until now was nothing. He understood what he truly needed to seize. After that, his stopped clock began to tick again. The boring world now became his exciting hunting ground.
Then came the tutorial and the Awakened Ones. This world was becoming more interesting than he had anticipated. Shinhoo felt excitement and exhilaration from it.
If asked what had most recently piqued his interest, he would undoubtedly say it was the two people in front of him.
The two emitted the distinctive musty smell of those with secrets.
Interesting.
Shinhoo inwardly muttered as he looked back and forth between Jeongwoo and Jaehee, then lightly tapped the table.
“This isn’t fair. I’ve told you, but you remain silent. Revealing that I’m a Zero was my trump card. Which one of you is a Zero?”
At Shinhoo’s words, Woo Jeongwoo and Shin Jaehee quickly exchanged glances. He almost laughed at the innocent actions of these young ones. Shinhoo quickly bit his lip before he started cackling like a madman.
“Jaehee-ssi? Is Jaehee-ssi a Zero? I ask because you showed no surprise at all about the Zero story, which even the Management Bureau doesn’t know much about.”
“No. I was surprised. It’s just, rather than that…”
“I’m a Zero.”
Jeongwoo interrupted Jaehee’s stuttering.
Jaehee was startled by Jeongwoo’s expressionless face. Since entering Guild Sahae, Jeongwoo’s expression had been consistently blank, but now there was a chilling atmosphere that was hard to describe as merely expressionless.
If until now he had been hiding his true self, after hearing Shinhoo’s talk about being a Zero, Jeongwoo seemed to be revealing himself as he truly was. Why was he acting this way? While Jaehee was assessing Jeongwoo’s mood, Jeongwoo continued speaking.
“And Shinhoo-ssi, if you’re a Zero, then you must have a Contract Constellation.”
Jaehee looked at Jeongwoo with wide eyes.
Contract Constellation? This was the first time he had heard this term. Jaehee perked up his ears. Since Jeongwoo rarely talked about Constellations or Zeros, he had to listen carefully on occasions like this.
“What is your Contract Constellation, Shinhoo-ssi? Ancient Memory? Dark Night? Or could it be… Dawn of Whispers? As you may know, I recently got badly burned by Dawn of Whispers and hold a grudge, so I hope it’s not your Contract Constellation.”
As he said this, Woo Jeongwoo smirked. It was a light smile, but seeing it, Jaehee realized for the first time how terrifying a smiling face could be. He had thought he knew Jeongwoo better than anyone, but looking at him now, that seemed completely wrong.
As the smiling person changed, the atmosphere became strange. Until just now, Shinhoo had been smiling continuously, but now it was Woo Jeongwoo who was smiling. Seeing that cold, knife-edge smile sent chills down his spine.
Shinhoo realized his initial impression of Jeongwoo was completely wrong.
He had thought Jeongwoo was hiding something but was still just a slightly precocious child. But this was no child—this was a predator hiding its fangs. Woo Jeongwoo smiled, and Shinhoo’s face hardened.
“This story hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but since we’re both Zeros, let me start first. This will be new to Jaehee and others, so let’s kindly explain from the beginning. Behind this ridiculous game that can be called the King Game, there are invisible guests. The ones called Constellations.”
As Jeongwoo continued to smile, Shinhoo’s face grew increasingly rigid.
“Uninvited guests whom we can’t drive away, the kind of nasty visitors who participate in our game without paying the entry fee. Of course, from their perspective, they’re not playing for free, but compared to others, it might as well be free. They claim to pay their share to participate in the game, but while we have to bet our lives, what they bet is just pocket change. And if they win in such a game? Then it’s the jackpot. Isn’t that right, Shinhoo-ssi? Guild Master?”
Jeongwoo’s tone was light, almost mocking. With each time Jeongwoo addressed him, Shinhoo’s face grew darker.
“You… what are you? Who are you…?”
“Just a Zero like you. Now tell me. Is your Contract Constellation Dawn of Whispers? Or… let’s see, there aren’t that many Constellations interested in Earth right now. So even if you don’t tell me, it won’t be hard to find out.”
Shinhoo glared at Jeongwoo without saying a word. Then after a while, he spoke.
“Woo Jeongwoo. Since you brought it up first, I’ll say this: I don’t have a habit of threatening kids, but I don’t treat them like kids either.”
“Heh, Shinhoo-ssi. Those are words you say when you have the skills to back them up. Do you have those skills? If you don’t want your head to suddenly fall off one day, you should learn some humility.”
Jaehee was startled by Jeongwoo’s sharp words and looked at him. It seemed he no longer cared that Shinhoo was an older adult. Since this was the first time Jaehee had seen this side of Jeongwoo, he gulped.
Jeongwoo’s eyes flashed dangerously. For a moment, it felt as if the temperature had dropped by several degrees. It was so cold that he could feel the chill through his clothes.
Jaehee stood up and grabbed Jeongwoo’s hand. He hoped Jeongwoo would calm down, but Jeongwoo only gently put his arm around Jaehee’s shoulder and patted him, without reducing his intensity.
Jeongwoo was cold rather than appearing excited.
With a crackling sound, the entire table suddenly froze.
And from the table, the floor began to freeze as well.
