Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Laying the Foundations (9)
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- K: Anyone hearing this would think I threatened you to come out no matter what. If you're scared, don't come.
'Looking at him, his personality is pretty rough, huh.'
Of course, Cello still showed up at the meeting spot despite hearing those words.
And now she was repeating the same things she'd said in the group chat.
Ethan just couldn't wrap his head around her way of thinking.
She'd come all the way here on her own two feet, so why was she still dragging on about being anxious and uneasy?
Was she hoping someone would agree with her?
'No one like that's here.'
Everyone gathered here was a cut above the rest.
They had confidence in their own abilities.
Even if K came charging in, they wouldn't go down without a fight.
In the worst case, they figured they could escape with their lives.
People with that kind of self-assurance wouldn't voice worries about getting beaten by K.
'They probably formed alliances behind the scenes just in case.'
Ethan himself had received an offer like that. To team up and break out if things went south.
He'd made some excuse and turned it down, but on reflection, that kind of prep was only natural.
'It's idiotic to walk into a gathering of strangers without a single plan.'
But openly admitting her anxiety like Cello was doing wasn't a smart move.
It just made her look like she lacked confidence in herself.
In the end, Cello was ignored by the other players and left standing alone.
And right on cue, a new player arrived.
"Um, is this the group chat meetup for today...?"
"What's your code name? I'm Fabian."
"Ah! I'm Plumeria. Nice to meet you."
"Ethan Lembron."
"I'm Lily."
That made nine people at the meeting spot.
The group chat K had created had thirteen players in it.
Even subtracting the one who'd died, that left twelve—and nine had shown up.
Over half the chat had turned up in person.
Ethan suddenly found the situation intriguing.
'Could I have gathered these people in one place?'
No, impossible.
'I might've tried.'
He could've reached out to various players and made a group chat like K did.
But he never could've gotten this level of turnout.
This meeting had happened because K was the one who called it.
One reason they'd come was probably to get info from K.
He wasn't just another top contender—he was in a league of his own, untouchable.
Not a rival to compete with, but a goal to chase.
'They figure he knows even more.'
It'd be ridiculous to say he didn't.
The way skills divided mana by grade, the background on evolved monsters, the hole between Bihar and Earth.
All info they wouldn't have known without K spilling it.
He was always one step ahead of everyone else.
Not chasing someone else's back, but forging a path that others had no choice but to follow.
That's why so many had shown up—because he was the one who'd set this up.
Ethan pulled out a super-precise watch that could be brought in now that servers were linked and checked the time.
'Ten minutes left.'
Until the appointed time.
Still some buffer, but just in case, he opened the chat and messaged K.
The organizer himself hadn't arrived yet, after all.
- Ethan Lembron: Where are you?
- K: Robole, why?
- Ethan Lembron: Looks like everyone's who's coming is here.
- K: Already? They all have firecrackers up their asses or what?
- Ethan Lembron: Said they're nervous so they got here early.
- K: Scared to fight a boss mob, huh? Lololol
- Ethan Lembron: Honestly, I'm a bit scared too.
It'd be a lie to say he wasn't.
They were hunting an evolved monster today, after all.
A terrifying beast that might've wiped out a top party's squad.
'Not certain, but probably.'
Yesterday, the chat headcount suddenly dropped. The missing name: Jebla.
He'd tried adding them as a friend through another player, but got a message saying the player was dead.
The whole last party he'd run missions with, gone.
Conclusion: total party kill. And maybe they'd run into an evolved monster.
"It's dangerous, we have to admit that."
"No way something happens with this lineup."
"Then what about Jebla's party getting wiped yesterday? You gonna say it was bad luck?"
"We need to take Jelly's words seriously. If an evolved monster really killed them, we should be on alert."
"I'm admitting it's risky to some degree. But a whole party wipe? That doesn't add up."
"Yeah, Jebla's group cleared 2-level missions four times. No way they go down easy."
The no-shows were probably spooked by that incident.
But instead of coddling them, K stuck to the plan and pushed the hunt forward.
Because today's goal wasn't just bagging an evolved monster.
'More precisely, it's to send a warning to the Russian government.'
It all traced back a few days to a message in the chat, around when server linking was underway.
- Maxim: Things feel off right now. Looks like the government's trying to turn players into soldiers.
Maxim's identity was already exposed to the Russian government, and he was under their watch.
So it was pretty credible info, but K's response was nonchalant.
- K: Ooh, ballsy.
- Maxim: Not funny. They’ve got my family under watch too!
Russia was that kind of country.
They'd bulldoze through things no other nation could dream of, thanks to no pesky human rights groups or political factions.
Their history left no room for doubt.
And Maxim, who knew that better than anyone, couldn't hide his anxiety.
- Maxim: They wanna make an organization to represent and protect players. How about starting with me?
- K: We really need that?
Maxim snapped at the lukewarm reply, but by the time K finished, the chat vibe had shifted.
- K: Don't freak out. Players are already military assets. Once we operate on Earth, we're no different from soldiers.
- K: I don't think it's bad to have a player army set up in advance. They can handle the admin, unit formation, all that crap. Even better if we snag a spot in it.
- K: Of course, we'd need to build a foundation to move independently, not just follow orders.
Questions flooded in. K hadn't shared hole info with them yet.
He was worried it'd be abused. Someone might try dragging monsters to Earth.
'Can't stop someone figuring it out and causing trouble on their own.'
But K had agonized over not wanting to cause tragedy himself.
'Can't hide it forever, though.'
Building a player base on Earth needed cooperation from lots of people.
To spread the word on player needs, you couldn't keep hole info secret.
In the end, K revealed it in the chat.
Players freaked at the news that monsters could invade Earth anytime.
Some even challenged K's words in disbelief.
K didn't soothe them. He went hard, like he wanted to kick them out.
- K: Don't wanna believe it? Then don't. I go out of my way to answer, and this is how you act?
- K: The height of ingratitude. If you're gonna be like that, fuck off. I don't wanna share info with trash like you anyway.
After a long silence, Maxim spoke up again.
- Maxim: How the hell are players supposed to build a base to ignore the government and take the lead? Is there even a way?
- K: With holes wide open, what's hard about it?
K's point: Make government officials realize manhandling players could bring big trouble.
Simple way to do it.
- K: Let's go bag an evolved monster sometime.
You had to catch it first to send it through a hole, after all.
'Talk about bold.'
What kind of mind comes up with throwing an evolved monster at Russia to prove player value?
- K: Tried it myself—chop off the limbs, and it's safe to transport. Warning, protest, pretty solid method.
Just as Ethan shook his head with a wry chuckle, light flared from a nearby teleport magic circle.
Someone else arriving at the outpost.
As the glow faded, revealing a masked figure standing there.
Players with detection magic froze.
"Huh...?"
Before stunned Fabian could even exhale, the masked figure approached.
'It's K.'
He'd already cleared entry missions, so his mana was massive.
No wonder the detection users were shocked.
"You guys are early? Skip the long intros? It's K."
Sure enough, that voice etched clearly in his memory.
Ethan wanted to beam at K and greet him warmly.
But no dice. They'd already agreed to keep their connection hidden.
No smile, no joy—he had to consciously harden his expression.
Whether K knew of his restraint or not.
- K: Thought you looked too slick, turns out it's you. Not crying today?
- Ethan Lembron: No tears today!
K was busy teasing long-lost Ethan.
His relaxed vibe felt a bit off from their first meeting.
But it also warmed Ethan. Few players were this close to him.
As Ethan chatted with K, feeling proud yet a tad cocky, K finished intros with the others.
No time to waste—he jumped straight into hunt prep.
"You're Maxim? Got a good mission spot?"
"Yeah, 03-332. Average mana in the forties, no overlapping numbers in the mission list like you said."
"Direction and distance?"
"East, about forty minutes."
"Good. You head back to Earth and enter from there. We'll move as is."
"Me alone? What if I run into monsters...?"
"Just kill 'em. Hold out till we link up—can't you manage that?"
"......"
"While Maxim enters, we'll move and do quick position matchups among same roles."
Gotta avoid friendly fire, he added, clapping to get attention.
"What're you waiting for? Don't drag it out—move!"
The players snapped into action under K's orders.
* * *
The Russian government hadn't taken the bizarre phenomena starting months ago lightly.
They'd secured a hefty number of players right after the first selection.
One day, after prolonged management and oversight.
Watching the players keep growing, the government thought.
- What if we turn them into human weapons?
The greed of those craving stronger national power knew no bounds.
In a globalized world, dominance required power.
So amid heavy moves to tightly control and militarize players.
"Kieeeek!"
A roar echoed through the military facility housing player entrances to other worlds.
From a monster gushing black blood, its four legs severed, jaw torn off.
The chaos from the sudden event was brief.
Alert soldiers moved fast.
Meanwhile, Maxim, who'd crossed to Earth with the evolved monster, hesitated and backed away.
'It actually worked...?'
He'd half-doubted, but K was right.
Maxim's face was ashen.
"Back off! Maxim Bagayev, back off now!"
The repeated warnings barely registered through his shock.
But as warning shots rang out—bang, bang-bang—he forced himself to snap to.
- Bullets probably won't pierce it easy.
- Mention that, make 'em calculate player influence themselves later.
- They need to think they have to partner with us, not just use us one-sidedly.
As he took one more step back, K's warning and advice flashed through his mind.
Maxim raised his hands and shouted in a stiff voice.
"There's a hole! A hole's open!"
But the soldiers ignored him, aiming guns and restraining him.
Still, Maxim persisted.
"Those monster bastards can come through here!"
The soldiers subduing him per orders froze, faces hardening.
Damn System