Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Monster Incident Fallout
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[The total casualties from this monster incident number 3,137 dead and 22,111 injured. The injured are currently receiving treatment and being sent home...]
[The government on this monster incident...]
[Why did attacks of such an unprecedented nature occur?]
[Fallen special forces officer Kim Chang-sik...]
Over a dozen displays flickered with various screens. Though from different broadcasters, they all covered the same topic.
The shock this monster incident delivered to the 34th Earth was immense.
'Three thousand in just three minutes?'
Sixty percent of deaths on the 34th Earth came from suicides.
Not because its people were particularly suicidal, but because other causes of death were virtually nonexistent. No accidents, no disasters. Incurable diseases were just textbook terms. The major hospitals here could boast, "We save everyone except the dead."
Yet in such a 34th Earth, over three thousand people had died at once.
It was the worst disaster in nearly fifty years.
[Many of you have heard about the monster incident.]
[This is no longer someone else's problem! We must ensure such a tragedy never happens again...!]
[Regarding the enactment of the Monster Special Act...]
The monster incident was a cosmic catastrophe, but to the people of the 34th Earth, it had been someone else's affair.
That was only natural. Humans forget even pandemics killing hundreds of thousands in neighboring countries once they turn away. How much more so for another planet, another civilization?
But now, the people of the 34th Earth saw the monster incident as "our problem."
[Quick responses from Transcendents have been the talk of this incident. How was such a feat possible?]
[It's precognition ability. Our Fate Sect grasps the flow of all karma in the world to see the future!]
One display showed an interview with the Tower Lord of the Fate Mage Tower, Lucky Strike.
[But I've heard monster incidents can't be foreseen. Above all, Transcendents are immune to precognition, aren't they?]
[True. But you don't need to see the stone falling into the pond to know where it lands. By peering into the futures of ordinary humans or buildings, we can make rough predictions. It's usually difficult, but... those things attempted a massive terrorist attack. With ripples this big, even a Grand Mage of Fate couldn't miss it.]
Lucky Strike's words finally explained the 34th Earth's swift response.
'They knew in advance. Makes sense—it was too fast otherwise.'
This incident had been shocking in many ways.
Transcendent-level monsters—even eleven of them—had popped up in the middle of the city, yet it was over in three minutes.
'And they weren't level 20, but level 22...'
I recalled the Deep Sea Chaos, ShimGon.
I'd taken it down in just three minutes... but it wasn't weak at all.
'On my level. No, maybe even stronger.'
Of course, I would've won in a fight. With my log-in/log-out ability, I could drag it into a prolonged battle and overcome any foe not vastly superior to me!
But three minutes, no matter what?
"Huh..."
A groan escaped me.
In Ardenia, I was the Emperor—Han Jae-yeon—what kind of existence was that?
I was a living legend, a myth descended to the mortal realm. A giant who opened a new era, master of the continent.
But on Earth?
What was it?
Three minutes.
"Three minutes..."
Even if I'd been in that monster's shoes, nothing would've changed. Log-in/log-out wouldn't help. Holding out longer would just mean more SWAT teams and soldiers piling in. Maybe even Transcendents, so five minutes would've been impressive.
'The gap is this huge.'
I knew the 34th Earth was practically a demon realm, so Transcendent monsters would naturally be exterminated, but three minutes was still mind-blowing.
"O~ Isn't that Gwanghwamun's new star?"
Someone tapped my shoulder and sat beside me. I smiled at the familiar face.
"Captain."
"I'm discharged now—what captain? Call me Dong-gyu hyung."
"No, even so, 'hyung' feels..."
He was Major General Shin Dong-gyu, who commanded our unit during my service. Back when I was a troublemaker, he'd pulled strings multiple times to keep me out of military prison. He was also the one who gave me Cheda, whom I still kept with me.
"Tsk. Anyway, what have you been up to since discharge? I was gonna offer you a job at my company if life went south, but a Transcendent? You have no idea how shocked I was watching the news."
"Honestly, I'm surprised too."
For me, my Ardenia time was decades ago, but from an outsider's view, my agony with trash mana affinity was just a few years back.
An entry-level Awakened becoming a Transcendent in a few years?
'It defies common sense.'
If I hadn't been designated an Apostle of the Game God, even on the anomaly-filled 34th Earth, suspicions about me would've run rampant.
"Well, your ability is truly insane. Psychic bullets enhanced with penetration only barely dented its scales, yet you crumpled its head with a single sword stroke..."
"Oh... right, you were there too? Gwak Jae-woo."
"Yeah. I was..."
"Hey~ Dong-gyu, you here! You ditched mercenary work for the military, and now this? And you show up without even a bottle of booze, you clueless punk?"
The elder who bellowed interrupted, and Major General Shin Dong-gyu laughed.
"Keuk. Is that battle maniac Jae-hyun still roaming the stars?"
"Shut up! I'll die fighting in space."
Major General Shin Dong-gyu exchanged warm greetings with the elders who recognized him.
'As expected, the Major General was a space merc too.'
Many elders here were former space mercenaries.
Countless players who couldn't abandon combat after the Apocalypse Project had left Earth, spending half their lives battling in space.
[Many Transcendents appeared during this incident, right?]
[Yes. Shining from Sky Soft, Grand Summoner Haindel, and elder-level Prahya and Choco were there. Most notably, Mercenary Management Director Cheon Hyun-il, who rarely appears, and the recently famous Han Jae-yeon also shone!]
[We were lucky to avoid greater losses.]
The displays replayed footage of multiple Transcendents in action. Just three minutes of combat, but all the more overwhelming for it.
[Gasp! Director Cheon Hyun-il...!]
[He could have dodged but took it with his body. Without him, that attack alone would've added at least 500 deaths...]
"What're you watching?"
I turned at the new voice.
There stood a polar bear of a man so tall even I had to look up—which was rare.
"Watching the Director's exploits."
"Exploits? I just took one hit and gave one back."
I followed Cheon Hyun-il as he chuckled, turned, and walked off. I'd come to the Mercenary Agency at his summons, after all.
Obviously not for sparring.
'No time for that.'
I glanced at the display.
It showed Director Cheon Hyun-il taking a humanoid monster's attack with his body.
[Level 22]
Torch King Dallin
'The unquenchable cursed flames... If that had landed in the city center, it'd have been a total disaster.'
The ShimGon I'd fought was defensive with weak offense, but this Dallin was different.
Pure offense specialized—an all-or-nothing berserker type.
Good thing it was the 34th Earth... It could've been fatal. Even surviving, he'd suffer long-term effects from tanking that blow.
Indeed, Hyun-il's upper body ahead of me was wrapped in bandages pulsing with immense mana.
'Worthy of public adoration.'
"Tired, so handle this quick."
He rummaged in his desk drawer and handed over a palm-sized, gleaming stone plaque.
"Merit plaque. Says you took down an unexpected Transcendent monster in this incident."
Looks like the precog system missed ShimGon.
Obvious reason.
'Because of me.'
The government foresaw this monster incident due to the massive casualties they would've caused otherwise.
But Gwanghwamun Square, where I was, ended up blocked by me, so no Transcendent prep.
'The world of precog is mysterious... Even total blind spots have their uses.'
Amazed, I asked,
"Does this have effects like a mercenary ID?"
"What? Effects on a merit plaque? It's just decoration. But it comes with a prize."
He handed me an envelope.
Peeking inside, elegant script read:
[150 billion gold.]
"..."
I barely stifled a gasp, but Hyun-il sharply read my excitement.
"What? Why are you so thrilled? Don't tell me you're broke?"
"Ahem! W-well, not sure."
"Hm? What's up? You don't seem extravagant. What Transcendent lacks for money?"
He tilted his head in confusion, then shrugged.
"Whatever, if you love money, that's fine by me. Work hard as a merc."
"Yes, sir. And thank you. You must be exhausted."
"You're a merc now, so it's my job. Expect a mission assignment soon—get ready."
I left the office under his send-off.
My steps felt light as if floating.
My chest was bursting.
'Whoa! Being a Transcendent rocks!'
Just three minutes of fighting, and 150 billion? A one-time payout, but insane profit!
'Nice. Boost pay-to-win power for a Heroic legion? Or ramp up Giggas production...'
Lost in happy thoughts, I spotted the lobby display at the Mercenary Management Agency.
[The government joint memorial for monster disaster victims is scheduled in three days. Relevant parties...]
[Fallen soldiers and police...]
[Why did my son have to die!? Why!]
"..."
My swelling excitement deflated a bit.
'Right. Not a time to just celebrate.'
This monster incident was far from normal. Unlike before, with only level 10-ish monsters, Transcendents swarmed in.
The 34th Earth, a near-demon realm, kept deaths to three thousand—but other planets, other civilizations?
'All this... might be because of me.'
The timing was too coincidental. Monsters struck right when I returned from a decade in Ardenia.
What if real-world time paused while I was in Ardenia, but [Her] time didn't?
And monsters piled up over ten years to hit Earth...
"Home."
[Teleporting to designated location.]
My etherized mercenary ID activated, zapping me back to my one-room.
I sat in a chair, organizing my thoughts.
"Can't do much right now. Not confirmed yet."
But if this hypothesis held, I'd need to rethink Ardenia time cautiously. Short stays might be fine, but long ones like now could bring bad results.
"Meow!"
Then Cheda leaped onto the desk, meowing lowly—an alert.
"What?"
I turned; it flopped over, exposing its broad belly.
There, it read:
[StockN: Alert! Nemesis stock price plummeting!]
[Nemesis (↓10%)]