Requests and Favors
"Alright, I'll do it."
"I have no face to show. For the head of state to make such a request like this."
Head of state. He had not misspoken. Kim Samhyen, the President of South Korea, sat across from me and bowed his head slightly, as if ashamed. For the President himself to come and ask a favor in order to slay the yokai known as Mudugwi was an act beneath his dignity. Yet my own achievements and the fact that he happened to be passing through the area had made this meeting possible. Even if the nation stood on the brink of collapse.
Moreover, to keep the Steel One entrenched along the DMZ in check, half of the nation's Awakened and the army's main forces had been deployed to the front. In other words, there were no people left. Naturally, most of South Korea below the DMZ had descended into chaos, and free-roaming Awakened who could travel the entire country alone were precious. More precisely, obedient troops were precious. And among them, those capable of operating solo with exceptional operational endurance were even rarer.
From the start, people had begged for protection instead of fighting. Even those who possessed power. And when they had power, they harbored other intentions, just like those bastards. They fled, turned away, chose the easy path. They used the excuse that they had been nothing more than gamers a month ago to avoid doing what they could. They refused to lift a finger even for things that required no risk to their lives, instead clinging parasitically to the few who wielded strength as makeshift forces. I disliked it. Of course, minors were excluded. I could not yet burden children with such loads.
"Well then, let's call this a negotiation and slack off a bit. Here's some warm adlay tea."
Since I had accepted the request as a change of pace, I rose briefly and handed over the warm adlay tea. The President stared at it for a moment before taking a sip.
"Far better than the coffee I drink every day."
Even if it was a lie, I was grateful. In these unprecedented times following the events that had befallen the history founded by Dangun, the President's responsibilities and duties must have been nothing short of a nightmare. On top of that, with the poor communication environment, he had to occasionally show his face to prevent the populace from falling into panic. It was hell itself. Even now, stopping by to make this request while on his inspection tour seemed almost impossible.
"And this is payment for the adlay tea."
When the President snapped his fingers, his escort placed a cloth-wrapped rod on the table. As the cloth was unwrapped, a sword of simple design emerged.
"...I can feel my energy in it."
"Indeed. It was forged by dissolving your blood and the talismans you provided in water."
I understood. At least it had been provided for research purposes, and now it had returned like this. I had no complaints.
Shrrrng.
The blade that slid from its scabbard gleamed silver, radiant like a mirror.
"It is forged from a tungsten alloy. To improve the conductivity of energy that was pointed out last time, silver has been added to the alloy this time."
The escort continued his explanation, but I let it pass through one ear. For now, I simply tested the sword's weight and the condition of its edge, then slowly channeled energy into it for a final inspection.
Whoosh!
The sword swung downward, dispersing the energy gathered within it. After the series of motions that resembled shaking off blood, the blade returned to its scabbard.
"Hmm, it's a fine sword. Certainly not a treasured blade, but there's no fault to be found in it as a weapon."
"That's a relief. As resources have become abundant with the emergence, tungsten... is the most plentiful mineral on the Korean Peninsula, so we should be able to mass-produce weapons with it."
The President clenched his fist. It was expected. The Korean Peninsula, once saddled with the stigma of being a geological museum. Uranium, gold, silver, and oil were all present. It was merely a land with an abundance of resource types and nothing more. But now that resources had become plentiful as well, that stigma would likely be shed. Though life would remain hellishly difficult, at least there were resources to survive on, and hope had appeared.
"So, when should I depart? I can leave tomorrow."
"Oh dear, this old man got lost in thought for a moment. In that case, a large number of supply trucks heading to Gangwon Province will depart tomorrow. I'll secure a spot for you on one."
"I might as well provide escort along the way."
"...I'd be grateful if you did, but I'd prefer you conserve your strength until the fight with Mudugwi. Well then, I must be going as I have a schedule."
The President rose, leaning on his cane. With some assistance from his escorts, he exited through the open cafe door.
"Take care."
"Haha, I'm always grateful."
The door closed. The President departed, and I washed the cup that had held the adlay tea. Then I flipped the sign hanging as "OPEN" to "CLOSED."
"It's quiet."
In these chaotic times, few eccentrics—or rather, people with leisure—came to a cafe for coffee. But even accounting for that, it was far too empty. Just a month ago, even without customers, the counter and kitchen here had been bustling.
"..."
I stared quietly at the frame in the corner of the counter.
Vroooom! The wind blew. It was not the air moving on its own, but the resistance of air created by a moving object. Even so, feeling such wind was rather pleasant.
"Miss! Come inside the truck instead of doing that."
"I'm fine. It's cool, and the scenery is nice from here."
"Hahaha, don't blame me if you catch a cold~"
The truck driver closed the window with a hearty laugh. From his perspective, it was only natural to worry about someone riding atop a moving truck in winter weather. The inside of the truck was surely warm. But it really was fine. Ever since the game had manifested in reality and my body had become that of my game character, this level of cold did not even register.
"Hey! Noona! Want to chat with us?!"
"Hmm?"
At that moment, a voice that had not yet shed its student-like quality came from one of the two-and-a-half-ton trucks escorting the supply convoy. A hundred percent chance it was a flirtatious remark. I could have ignored it, but I willingly accepted the invitation, leaping from the truck and landing lightly on the two-and-a-half-ton vehicle.
"If it's boring, I'm leaving right away."
"Whoa, you actually came?"
Twenty pairs of eyes with trembling pupils greeted me, accompanied by foolish exclamations. It seemed they had thrown out the flirtation on a whim but had not expected me to actually come.
"Hey, hey, Dahoon. Ask that thing."
"Ah, yes."
The private called Dahoon stepped forward hesitantly toward me. If the story turned out strange, I planned to shove him away hard enough not to injure him too badly.
"Um, there's someone in Seoul I fell for at first sight. An Awakened. But there's one problem."
"Go on."
It was more interesting than expected.
"Well... this might be rude to say, but in online games, people often play as the opposite gender, right?"
"Ah, so you're worried whether the Awakened you fell for at first sight is actually a woman or a man inside?"
"Yes."
It was certainly an important issue. Gender identity was a significant matter, and it applied to me as well. First, to share my thoughts...
Hah.
Along with a sudden chill, I let out a short sigh. Tearing through the cover of the two-and-a-half-ton truck, I leaped upward and drew five talismans, fixing my gaze on the targets. There were five attacks. All aimed at sniping the two-and-a-half-ton trucks carrying soldiers.
'Their goal must be plunder.'
If massacre had been the intent, they would have simply overturned the lead truck to block the path. That was all.
「Haste Command.」
「Ice Explosion」
I imbued the talismans with energy and spells, then flung them toward the five attacks targeting the trucks.
Boom!
Five explosions carrying cold rang out, and the trucks came to a simultaneous halt. Fortunately, the road remained intact, and while the sudden stop might have caused injuries, there would be no fatalities.
"Don't attack the trucks! There might be fuel in them!"
"Kill all the soldiers!"
"Give us food! Fooood!"
As their attack failed, humans with crazed eyes emerged from the forest and began charging. Moreover, not only were their eyes deranged, but some had crossed the line entirely, rushing toward the two-and-a-half-ton trucks while brandishing guns.
One month. Though only a month had passed since Glorious Land had manifested on the Korean Peninsula, had ordinary humans already turned into looters? If they were isolated, I could understand, but perhaps these were the type who enjoyed such things, or maybe they were simply hungry enough to make such demands.
'The Awakened who attacked seem to have fled. Our side's Awakened are moving now.'
Deaths would likely occur. In an era when every hand was precious, killing one another was inefficient and went against my personal morals.
「Haste Command.」
「Frost Metal Barrier」
Once again, I raised talismans, imbued them with spells, and erected a wall of frost between the trucks and the looters.
'Huh?'
The appearance of the massive frost wall, like an illusion, halted the looters' charge. I stood before them, placing a hand on the sword at my waist.
"I'll count to five. Surrender. Even now, if you turn yourselves in and become laborers for the country, your crimes..."
"Don't be scared! It's just one woman!"
One of the men aimed a gun at me and shouted. He had likely crossed the line and would not respond to my call for surrender.
Whoosh!
I leaped toward the man aiming the gun. Though the distance was nearly twenty meters, my enhanced body allowed me to reach the target in the blink of an eye—faster than he could pull the trigger.
Whoosh!
Crack!
The sword I swung, scabbard and all, shattered the man's left arm and sent it flying.
Thud!
The man flew several meters, rolled across the ground, crashed into a tree, and only then came to a stop. The looters began backing away, witnessing my speed.
"I'll say it again. Surrender. That was me going easy on you."
Fortunately, the example worked. This time, the looters discarded their weapons and surrendered quietly.