ch 232
Became a Swordmanship Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 232
As soon as I entered the press conference room, countless reporters and camera flashes poured toward me.
"Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok, was what you used to suppress the terror yesterday a newly developed magic?"
"You went missing while challenging Hell's Gate, so how and where have you been staying all this time?"
"Did you clear Hell's Gate? The portal hasn't disappeared though…."
"How did you restore the building? I heard that Hunter School buildings don't have restoration magic or anything like that installed."
Whew, they're all rushing at me like moths to a flame, pouring out questions.
Honestly, I had expected this to some degree, but it's beyond what I anticipated.
There are really many reporters, and on one side there are even foreigners who appear to be foreign correspondents.
I said I would take questions later and pushed through the reporters to arrive in front of the platform.
I took a deep breath and stepped up, but… huh?
Se-jin was supposed to host today's press conference, but she is just standing there quietly without saying anything.
It's not like she'd be nervous because there are many reporters or anything.
I guess the story from earlier was quite a shock to her.
"Ahem, Hunter Kim Se-jin?"
"Ah, I'm Kim Se-jin, the Guild Master of Ares Guild, hosting today's press conference. You must have many questions, but we'll give you the opportunity to ask them after Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok finishes his story."
"Hello. I'm Kang Shin-hyeok. Although Hunter Kim Se-jin said earlier that we'd take questions later, I think you must have many questions, so let's take about 4 questions first."
I had prepared how to talk about this, but since there's quite a lot to discuss, it seems much better to let the reporters ask some questions first, explain, and then proceed.
Since I didn't give her advance notice about this part, Se-jin glared at me, but I ignored it and pointed to a reporter in red clothes who was in front.
"I'm Reporter Park Ji-ho from JBS. You went missing while challenging Hell's Gate in America, so could you please explain what happened during that time?"
"I cleared Hell's Gate and came back."
"You cleared Hell's Gate? But I don't think we heard news that it disappeared. Is it perhaps a fixed portal?"
"No. Hell's Gate had a different nature from the portals you've all known until now. I can't tell you the exact details, but while general fixed portals remain even after all monsters are eliminated, Hell's Gate still has its internal danger elements even after being cleared."
The venue instantly became noisy.
"The next question is… oh, the foreign correspondent sitting in the third row? Please ask your question."
"I'm Chris from BNC. The Hell's Gate that Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok challenged was a portal in America, but yesterday Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok appeared in Korea. Could you please explain this part and also tell us about the abilities you showed while suppressing Antas's terror yesterday?"
I said to ask questions one at a time, but did the interpretation not go well?
Still, well, it's not like they're unrelated topics.
"I obtained several rewards while clearing Hell's Gate. What I used to suppress the terror yesterday were abilities I gained as rewards. This should also answer the previous question, but are there any of you here who have been to America?"
Most of the reporters raise their hands.
"Oh, there are many. Then could you please come forward? First come, first served, about ten people."
"What?"
"What is he trying to do?"
Everyone was puzzled, but instantly ten reporters came forward.
Seven were women and three were men, but since Se-jin might say something if I held a female reporter's hand here, I held a male reporter's hand and had all the other reporters hold hands with each other too.
"Then we'll depart. You might feel a bit dizzy."
As soon as I spoke, I used teleportation magic.
"Is everyone okay? Please look ahead."
All the reporters who moved while holding hands couldn't help but be shocked.
"This… this is impossible."
"How is this…."
"Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok, could this place be…."
"Yes. As you can see, what's in front is the Statue of Liberty. This place is New York."
At first I thought about taking them to Grand Canyon where Hell's Gate was, but to make them most certainly know that we came to America, showing them the Statue of Liberty would be better.
"What are those people?"
"Are they Hunters?"
"Everything around us is in English…."
"Really… America…."
"Shall we go back now? Oh, before you go, you all have phones, right? Let's take a photo for proof."
I gathered the reporters to take a photo and returned to the hotel banquet hall where the press conference was being held.
"You must have been very surprised by our sudden disappearance. We briefly went to America."
Everyone snorted and didn't believe it, but the reporters who went to America with me all said in unison that we had been to America and even released photos.
However, since there were more people who didn't go than those who did, they seemed not to believe us.
Eventually, I took most of the reporters in the conference room and teleported several more times to various countries like Japan and England to prove it.
"I think this is sufficient proof, so let's stop here and take more questions. The reporter in the black shirt sitting in the back?"
"I'm Reporter Hwang Su-ryeok from KBA. You said earlier that you gained various abilities while clearing Hell's Gate, and besides the teleportation ability you just showed us, could you tell us if there are other abilities?"
"The wide-range sleep magic I used yesterday when restoring the building and suppressing the terrorists is the same, and there are various others, but it's a bit difficult to talk about them all. Now, let's take questions only up to this one, and I'll continue taking questions after my story ends."
There are still many people raising their hands, but it's slightly fewer than before.
It seems everyone is writing articles since the facts I've already revealed are scoops.
The real thing hasn't even started yet though.
"The reporter in the white padding on the far right?"
"I'm Hong Seon-ho from Fact Today. There are many speculations about Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok's future moves, and I'm curious whether you're returning to school or going to Hunter Kim Se-jin's Ares Guild. There are also people who think Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok might create a new guild. Please let us know your plans."
"Fortunately, that question has an answer in the story I'm about to tell. Instead of answering, let me start my story. The reason I called all of you here today is to warn about and prepare for a global crisis that will come in the future."
"A warning about the future?"
"What is he trying to say?"
"A future crisis, what's he talking about?"
The venue became noisy again.
I took a breath and opened my mouth again.
"Within the next 10 years, the safe zones of all portals around the world will disappear and monsters will pour out."
"All portal safe zones will disappear?"
"That's such nonsense…."
Like when I first announced the teleportation magic earlier, everyone seems not to believe it.
But since I expected this reaction, I ignored it and continued speaking.
"The monsters so far have had no intelligence, right? But intelligent powerful monsters and even beings called their kings will appear on Earth, and due to that situation, about 30% of the world's population will die."
According to the original work, it's not 10 years but about 5-6 years later, but the future has already changed because of me.
Due to the changes, it might be delayed further or come faster.
That's why today I decided to open everything up.
I can't guarantee how much it will be delayed or accelerated, but since the Primordial Heavenly Honored One directly showed me and even warned me, the fact that the event will occur won't change….
"As one of the abilities I gained as a reward for clearing Hell's Gate that I mentioned earlier, I can see the future. Honestly, I thought a lot about whether I should tell you this fact. Because unlike teleportation, I can't definitively prove it to you."
"Can't it be prevented?"
Someone from the murmuring crowd of reporters throws a question at me.
"…Like a natural disaster, it can neither be prevented nor avoided."
The atmosphere becomes increasingly serious with my answer.
It's exactly the reaction I expected.
In the original work's latter half, before the Demon King's descent part begins, the protagonists hold a press conference and warn about the future crisis just like I'm doing now.
But the result was completely disappointing.
Even though they built fame and recognition no less than mine now by defeating Antas, they were treated as doomsday theorists and ignored because there was no way to prove it.
Other countries came to their senses and cooperated with the protagonists only after the incident occurred.
Of course, the protagonists eventually gathered Hunters using the World Hunter Association, which they could at least influence, and ultimately won and saved the world.
But with 30% of the world's population dead, is that really victory and salvation?
The world population is roughly 8 billion, 30% would be 2.4 billion.
That's saying more than 240 times Seoul's population would die.
Moreover, in the future that Primordial Heavenly Honored One showed me, even a being called Demon God, more powerful than the Demon King, appeared, so perhaps close to 50% rather than 30% of people might die.
When I read it as a novel, it was just simple numbers, but to me this world is not a novel but reality.
Even if the victims are people I don't know at all and have never met, they would be precious people who are someone's parents, children, and lovers….
So I have absolutely no intention of being treated as a doomsday theorist and ignored like the protagonists in the original work.
"Nevertheless, the reason I'm revealing this fact is because I believe that if all countries and Hunters around the world cooperate and work together, we can reduce the damage. I plan to use every method I can to reduce the damage from that incident, and in the process, I plan to exclude everything that I think will not cooperate or become a hindrance."
"Exclude?"
"Are you saying you'll even use force if they don't comply with your will?"
"Come on, surely not."
The venue instantly became noisy again.
"To avoid misunderstanding, let me say it once more. The exclusion I mentioned earlier should be understood in the literal sense of the word. And one more thing, whether it's individuals, groups, or countries, if they don't cooperate, there are no exceptions."
Exclusion, to reject and exclude without accepting.
The best would be for everyone to cooperate obediently, but honestly, the possibility of that is close to zero.
Then in the end, the answer is only a show of force.
That's why I didn't hide my abilities even during yesterday's terror, and today I even revealed teleportation.
"Even countries?"
"That guy is really saying he'll use force if they don't believe his words."
"Isn't he crazy?"
"Why is he acting like that?"
Everyone looks at me like I'm a strange person and whispers, but I silently continued speaking.
"I've already decided on the first target to exclude."
"What, you announced it today and already decided on an exclusion target?"
"He's really lost his mind."
"Where is it?"
"The first target is the international criminal organization Antagonist. They claim to eliminate discrimination between Hunters and ordinary people, and including yesterday's terror, they've consistently carried out terrorism around the world, killing many people, both Hunters and ordinary citizens. To indirectly prove that I've seen the future, I will exclude them before this year ends."