Chapter 7

The dorm I was assigned to looked like something out of a military training camp.

Still, it was free, and since it was a two-person room, it would be perfect for me and Mala-nim to share.

After washing myself with water for the first time in fifteen years in the empty shower room, I returned to find a Bureau staffer waiting inside.

He spoke in a rushed tone.

“New clothes are over there. Your roommate will be here soon, so wait a bit.”

“My robe?”

“Huh? You mean that rag lying on the bed? Someone must’ve thrown it out during cleaning.”

“Ah…”

“Was it important?”

I shook my head.

I was supposed to get the robe that had come off the lich from Yoo Se-byeol anyway, so it was fine.

But roommate? I hadn’t heard anything about that.

When I was about to ask, I noticed the staffer’s expression wasn’t good.

He glanced around, then lowered his voice.

“Commander Ha Yeri called suddenly, so we put you in a spare room for now. But be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your batchmate is the most dangerous among this year’s recruits. His overall ranking is mid-to-upper, but in terms of pure combat power, he could join Division 1 tomorrow and no one would question it. He’s a monster.”

At the word “monster,” Mala-nim poked their head out from my sleeve.

I quickly buttoned it up again, but the staffer was too eager to leave to notice.

“He applied to the Special Unit because no guild in Korea would take him anymore. Even here, his roommates kept changing. They call him the Butcher of Bishkek.”

“Oh…”

“He has an ability that rips flesh from bone in an instant. And if anyone gets in his way, even allies, he uses it without hesitation…!”

That actually sounded pretty practical.

Like having unlimited boneless fried chicken without paying extra.

“Isn’t he right behind you?”

“Wha—!”

The staffer jumped with a scream, collapsing to the floor.

I looked up and saw the original owner of the room standing outside the door, taller than the frame itself.

He had just finished a shower, his upper body bare, covered in scars and tattoos.

In an instant, the cozy two-person room Mala-nim and I had claimed looked more like a prison cell from a Hollywood crime film.

I greeted my new roommate.

“Come in. I’m Hayan.”

“…”

“Will you take the bottom bunk? With your height, the top must be uncomfortable.”

The man, who looked Slavic, sat on the bottom bunk with a wet towel draped over his head.

He stared at the wall in silence, ignoring every question I asked, as if practicing a vow of silence.

But I had endured fifteen years of crushing loneliness in the Demon Realm.

Sure, Mala-nim was always with me, but most of our conversations were one-sided.

Inside Gates, making noise was dangerous, so I had learned to keep quiet.

Now, even if my roommate was mute or a hardened criminal, I craved conversation.

“Your muscles are impressive. Are you an Awakened with body reinforcement?”

“…”

“I heard you’re one of the top recruits this year. What’s the recruitment process like?”

“…”

“You don’t seem Korean. Where are you from? Let me guess—Russia?”

“…”

“Do you like octopus sashimi? I can make a killer octopus dish. Want to try it?”

“…”

And so, after five hours of me chattering nonstop from the top bunk, the man finally opened his mouth.

“Alexei.”

“Oh, so you’re Alexei. I’m Hayan. Do you speak Korean?”

“Shut up. Alexei doesn’t talk to cowards.”

“Coward? Me?”

Coward? What part of me was he talking about?

Pretending to be eaten by my own tentacles to fool Division 3?

Acting like I was losing to the Elder Lich to make Yoo Se-byeol worry?

Or maybe lying during registration that my ability was just using magic?

Even just today, there were too many things to suspect. I had no idea which one he meant.

As I tried to secretly ask Mala-nim for advice, Alexei’s voice rumbled again from below.

“The Special Unit selection is over. Anyone who came late gets shoved to the back.”

So I really had arrived a step behind everyone else.

Some kind of aptitude test?

There must’ve been paperwork, interviews, and other exams before this, so of course a sudden newcomer wouldn’t be welcome.

But it wasn’t something to worry about.

“Everyone here is a rival. Alexei needs an oath.”

“Oath?”

“No more talk. I humored you, now sleep.”

“You can’t just leave me hanging after saying that. Alexei? Hey, Alexei~?”

“…”

He’d gone mute again.

When I flicked the lights on and off repeatedly, a loud bang hit me from behind.

Was a new roommate always this much trouble? How unfair.

Still, I had my reasons too.

There were too many things I didn’t know in this place.

And there was no way I could sleep in the same room with someone openly hostile.

If the Demon Realm had taught me anything, it was this: always bring chopsticks into a Gate¹, and remember that carelessness and ignorance lead to early graves.

Winning Alexei over wasn’t just for my safety—it was essential for gathering information.

Staring up at the ceiling, I whispered,

“This won’t do, Mala-nim. Let’s use it.”

『Fear not.』

“I didn’t want to, either. But it’s better than ending up as hamburger meat in my sleep.”

『Fear not.』

“No, it’s useless to try to stop me. Tonight… I’ll become a demon.”

Ignoring Mala-nim’s protests that I should just shut up and sleep, I kicked off my blanket and climbed down.

Sensing movement, Alexei’s hand was already on the axe at his bedside.

Pressure radiated from his massive body, as if he might crush me any second.

I faced it head-on, summoning a single tentacle.

Sorry, Mala-nim. I never wanted to use this again.

“Die, rookie.”

If Alexei had a fault, it was simply that his nature clashed too badly with mine.

Because tentacles didn’t have bones.

“Forty-first Tentacle—Suggestion.”

As his axe swung down, I finally released it.

The tip of the violet appendage split open, and a massive eye blinked awake.

“…!”

The round eyeball gleamed with jewel-like brilliance in its iris.

Alexei froze, caught mid-swing.

His muscles trembled as he struggled to resist with sheer willpower, but it was already too late.

The Forty-first Tentacle, as its name implied, was one of Suggestion—hypnosis.

Unless the target was a mage shielded by mental wards or a swordsman trained in inner energy, there was no easy way to resist it.

Alexei was a strong Awakened, a warrior through and through, but against the curse-like Forty-first Tentacle, he had no defense.

From that moment on, my words weren’t just words to Alexei anymore.

“Alexei.”

Once ensnared, whether it was self-harm or murder, he would be forced to obey. A terrifying ability—so overwhelming compared to the other tentacles that I avoided using it unless absolutely necessary. It could shatter someone’s mind completely.

Looking into his frightened eyes, I gave him an order.

A cruel declaration that would change the course of his entire life.

“From today on, I am your ‘friend.’”

“…Friend?”

“Yes, a comrade. Close enough to share a bed, someone you can entrust your back to, and even if we fight, we reconcile quickly.”

“…Comrade. Brother…”

Hmm, maybe “brother” struck deeper than “friend.”

Either way, it didn’t matter.

I placed my hand over his rough, calloused grip on the axe and said,

“Fine. Brother works too.”

“Hayan…”

“So then, won’t you tell me about yourself, Alexei? To your brother.”

“I see. You lost your whole family to the retainers of an Archduke and came here for revenge.”

“Their Gate last appeared in Korea. If I join the Special Unit, I can hunt him. There are plenty of others I need to kill as well.”

“I once felt the same. When I lost my eighty-sixth one, who always defied me, it felt like the world collapsed. But revenge only breeds more revenge. We should bless the birth of new life instead.”

“Hayan… you’re broad-minded. I want to learn how you stay so composed.”

“Well, it’s not that complicated… after three days, they usually regenerate on their own.”

“…?”

That night, after a heart-to-heart, we ended up closer than actual brothers.

It took a while to convince Alexei to put one of my wriggling tentacles into his mouth by calling it live octopus, but eventually it worked.

Chewing with relish, he said the texture felt like he was avenging his family, and he loved it.

“The sun’s about to rise. You didn’t sleep a wink—will you be okay?”

“Alexei is fine. I’m going to morning training. Want to come?”

“I just came back from a Gate today. I’m tired.”

“Understood. I’ll return before lunch. Let’s eat together then, Hayan.”

When Alexei grabbed his axe, I pulled out the Ninety-ninth Tentacle—a body pillow tentacle that helped with deep sleep—and prepared for bed.

Then I remembered something I’d forgotten and stopped him at the door.

“Right, what exactly is this ‘oath’ you mentioned?”

“Oath… it’s a promise.”

“Yes, I figured that much. I mean, what specifically?”

“…Specifically?”

He rubbed his drowsy eyes, then answered.

“It’s a privilege for top-performing recruits. Commanders or Deputy Commanders who want someone under them offer an oath. Words spoken as an oath must always be kept. They’re protected under the names of the Outer Gods.”

“Ah…”

So basically, a kind of guarantee layered onto a salary negotiation.

Each division ran their own tests, but even within the Special Unit there was competition for strong recruits.

And if a Commander made the oath, that meant they were at least Upper Level, maybe higher. Very tempting.

Alexei’s reason for wanting an oath was obvious—it tied back to his revenge.

“When I tried to rebuild my burned hometown, a criminal group from a neighboring country attacked and killed everyone. I’ll discover who they were and separate bone from flesh.”

“That’s… tragic.”

“But after hearing you, Hayan, I think differently now. We should live with more love than hatred. Still, if I see them in Korea, I will kill them.”

“Well, I didn’t really do anything, but I’m glad you’ve had a change of heart.”

In times like these, when a single strong Awakened could serve as a nation’s strategic weapon, his story wasn’t impossible at all.

In a roundabout way, by using the Tentacle of Suggestion, I’d prevented a potential war in Central Asia’s future. Not a bad result.

After Alexei left, a thought struck me.

Oaths… Division 3’s Commander position was vacant.

If I could secure an oath from Deputy Commander Yoo Se-byeol, maybe I could even gain her cooperation in recovering the Star Scar.

I’d have to score well on the aptitude test first—and then, casually bring it up.