Chapter 58: Mask of trust

Behind the mask of trust, in the darkness of manipulation, lies the true horror: a puppeteer pulling strings of sanity, weaving a nightmare from the fragile threads of the mind.

~MilkLover.

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"You've known all this time, haven't you?" Jinwoo asked quietly. 

The car fell silent.

His voice remained even, but a storm raged within. All this while, had Azaroth simply been observing him like some specimen?

And did he know about my System?

"I know..."

"...." 

'I Know'

Those two words echoed in Jinwoo's mind like a warning bell. 

A mixture of suspicion, fear, and (rage?) churned within Jinwoo's chest. Azaroth's observations were too accurate to be mere coincidence. But what can he do now? If Azaroth really knew about the system... Does that mean he would have to—

"I know that you are much more powerful than you show to others... More powerful that what your rank suggests."

Jinwoo's hands clenched into fists.

The car fell into a tense silence. Jinwoo waited for Azaroth's next words, his mind racing with questions and doubts Azaroth could ask or the demands he would make or or or... At this moment, his mind was overwhelmed and struggling to function properly..

"I know that you are tense... Me asking you about this all of a sudden must be stressful." Azaroth spoke gently. " I had doubts that you are at least a D-rank when I saw you in that B-rank dungeon... But after seeing your documents you were E-rank, I thought to ignore the matter brushing it off.. But when I saw C to B-rank aura coming from you in the A-rank dungeon..."

He paused.

Jinwoo's mind raced, contemplating how much Azaroth truly knew. 

Jinwoo asked, eyes flinty. "A.. Azaroth.. You must have had your own theories. But then.. you said nothing, continuing as usual. Why is that?"

Azaroth just sighed a little giving an expression that he didn't wanted to say this but he is forced- "At first I didn't know what to make of you hiding your strength. But upon reflection, jumping to conclusions didn't feel right that's why I decided to ask you directly... After all, I know you are not a spy from other guilds. So I thought you must have a reason to hide your awakening"

"Maybe it's because you were traumatized to be a hunter once again after, you know what I'm talking about, right?"

Jinwoo just nodded.

The weight of Azaroth's words eased some of the tension in his shoulders. He wasn't being accused or suspected of betrayal, and Azaroth seemed to have no ill intentions, he had just waited for a long time but when Jinwoo didn't tell him, he just asked. Simple as that. 

Haa..Azaroth seems unaware of my secret but just questioned me because hiding my strength.

"That's a reason, or maybe you were doing it for Jinah as being a Porter of our guild was still good and less life-threatening... Ah, I don't know man.."

Jinwoo listened intently, tension leaving his frame. He opened his mouth to say something but then hesitantly closed his mouth.

Azaroth looked at him and slightly chuckled.

"You don't need to explain if you don't want man... But—

"Jinwoo, as one of the members of The Hunters Guild and a squad leader I must consider the safety of my members first.." Azaroth's tone became serious.

"Though I believe in you. I can't risk the life of those when they don't even know that their porter is hiding his strength for whatever reasons and that porter is at their back when they are inside a life-threatening Dungeon gate.. You get what I mean, right?"

Jinwoo looked down, face darkened by guilt. Azaroth continued, "I'm not asking for explanations. Those are your secrets to keep. But as your friend, well if you consider me one, I need to know my team is not walking blindly into danger, and that you have no ulterior motives"

Jinwoo felt a pang of guilt. 

'H-How could he be so good to us all...'

 Azaroth's concern for the safety of his team was genuine. Jinwoo had never intended to jeopardize anyone's safety.

'What should I say.. Can he really trust me..? After all this..? I don't know about my system, What if, what if it asks me to suddenly kill them inside the dungeon..? '

Azaroth's voice sounded again.

"I just want you to promise me that I can trust you."

"I- I.." Jinwoo hesitated a little.

He wasn't the Sung Jinwoo from the Manhwa. He hadn't even killed a single person after getting his system because everything was dealt by Azaroth.

Not to mention that other things had happened in this story like - he fighting the Spider queen inside the abnormal dungeon while the spider queen killed— no, ate the warrior and Miss Healer was sliced in front of him reminding him of the double dungeon incident. 

And the one who had saved him that day was none other than the man who gave him a new job under his guild and a good life - Azaroth Morningstar.

His character arc had gone a different route than the canon.

Unlike the canon him who saw the uglier side of humanity by constantly being backstabbed by the people resulting in him killing humans and turning cold. He had seen that there were people who cared for others, cared for him, his family, high-ranking people with genuine heat who didn't look down upon him for his low rank but conversed with him on the basis of his personality, Good people he could trust and lean on.

As the car continued down the bustling streets of Seoul, Jinwoo felt a mix of emotions. 

He wasn't the calm, cold, and collective Jinwoo, but a rather nieve one.

And all that change had happened because of this man.

So Jinwoo when looking at the man who was waiting for his response, still trusting him after finding out that he was hiding his rank...

Jinwoo strengthened his resolve...

"You can trust me," Jinwoo replied, his voice choked but resolute.

Azaroth chuckled softly, his eyes reflecting a mix of understanding and relief at Jinwoo's response. 

He respected Jinwoo's decision to keep certain aspects of himself private but was glad to hear the promise of trust.... Or that's how Jinwoo was seeing things....

Inside Azaroth was cursing Jinwoo like crazy...

'The fuck is wrong with this shameless protag!?' Azaroth shouted inside his head, trying hard to maintain his calm personality.

He was here talking with this dude instead of going on a date with Yoo Soohyun or playing with his pet Song Yi. All because he could confuse this bastard by asking about the secret and then guilt-tripping him into telling him about his system.

Well, that was not what he wanted, but shouldn't he at least trust him enough and tell him that he can grow stronger by fighting..?

'Look at him smiling like that! Where is the trust huh!?'

After showing him that he trusted Jinwoo he expected that Jinwoo would at least tell about ANYTHING. If he did that Azaroth would try to help him... But NO! This fucker wasn't even sharing trivial information like he could summon daggers or potions from the system!

*sigh*

At least everything was not for nothing. Now, Azaroth was the one person Jinwoo could truly confide in about his hidden strength.

The trust had been hard to come by, but now he finally had someone who understood and accepted him not telling his reasons.

And Who knows, perhaps in the future he would feel comfortable enough to share even more of his secrets with Azaroth..?

"So, mind telling me what your actual rank is?" Azaroth's questioned Jinwoo.

Jinwoo felt a pang of uncertainty. How much should he reveal? With a hesitant breath, he replied, "It should be around C to B rank."

"And why aren't you re-evaluating yourself— ah! because you are hiding.. makes sense as to why you don't know for certain"

Azaroth nodded thoughtfully, seemingly accepting Jinwoo's answer without pressing further. Instead, he shifted the conversation to a more encouraging tone.

"You should be stronger now. You can easily fight the monsters you were fearful of back then," Azaroth remarked, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

"T-That's true.."

Jinwoo's confusion lingered, wondering why Azaroth didn't delve deeper into the matter. However, he silently nodded in acknowledgment, grateful for Azaroth's trust

As the car sped up through the bustling city streets, Jinwoo stole glances at Azaroth.

 Why had Azaroth chosen to let the topic go so quickly? And had he shown trust and told everything he knew about him without gaining anything..?

Azaroth remained focused on driving, his expression unreadable.

And why is HE, the busy person he is... was going to have dinner which his sister made..?

Yeah, because he was friends with Jin Ah far before he knew Jinwoo.

But just because he is Jinah's friend...

Don't tell me there is something between Jinah and him..!

Jinwoo looked at him with a shocked expression...

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Author Note: The previous Power Stone goal didn't go well, but I hope to get them next time.

So give stones!

I also realized one thing... My vocabulary is like that of a caveman... *Sigh* 

But it's not a problem coz it's easier for you all to understand what's going on in the story... lol.

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Azaroth has started doing crazy experiments! Kekeke