Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Commander Appointment (2)
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Song Hana paced anxiously in front of the inn.
'What the hell did you do?'
Song Hana was burning up inside.
A sudden break.
Kang Hyun-su's outing.
She had been hoping nothing serious had happened.
Then, out of nowhere, war broke out between the Zhonghua Guild and the Cabal Guild.
She wanted to dismiss it as mere coincidence.
'It's definitely connected.'
She had this strange conviction that Kang Hyun-su had sparked the war between the Zhonghua Guild and the Cabal Guild.
It stemmed from the rumors spreading through the streets.
- The culprit behind the disappearances of Zhonghua Guild players all this time was the Cabal Guild.
- The Cabal Guild had picked a fight while the Zhonghua Guild's guild master and elites were away on a major expedition.
It was Kang Hyun-su's group who had made the Zhonghua Guild players vanish.
Yet the Cabal Guild, appearing out of nowhere, had taken the blame.
'A massive number of players are going to die.'
A clash between two giant guilds representing their nations.
This could easily escalate into a war between the Mightor Kingdom and the Lamepazil Kingdom if mishandled.
"Where's Kang Hyun-su?"
As soon as Tu Hwang returned from gathering intel outside the inn, he asked about Kang Hyun-su's whereabouts.
"Anything else you've learned?"
"The Zhonghua Guild suffered a crushing defeat in the first battle."
"Really? That's unexpected."
Most people staying in Luzabenu had predicted an easy win for the Zhonghua Guild in this fight.
A crushing defeat in the very first battle?
"The Cabal Guild's strength must be no joke."
Tu Hwang relayed the information he had collected to Song Hana.
"But seriously, why hasn't this guy shown up? He didn't get caught up in the war, did he?"
Having finished briefing, Tu Hwang asked Song Hana with a worried look.
"No way."
Song Hana trusted Kang Hyun-su.
"Well, even if a bigger war broke out, that guy would come out unscathed."
Tu Hwang trusted Kang Hyun-su too.
He had only sought her agreement to ease his own worries, just in case.
Thud. Thud.
At that moment, familiar footsteps reached Tu Hwang's ears.
His perky rabbit ears twitched like radar, pinpointing the source.
He turned his head toward it.
"Kang Hyun-su!"
"Hyun-su!"
The culprit who had worried them both appeared.
"Where the hell have you been and what have you been doing?"
"We can't just let this slide."
Faced with Tu Hwang and Song Hana's scolding, Kang Hyun-su gave a faint smile and spoke.
"Let's head inside first. I'm starving—gotta eat. I'll explain everything after."
"You're really going to tell us?"
Song Hana asked, looking puzzled.
She thought he might dodge it like before.
But he was offering a detailed explanation?
"Yeah."
Song Hana's eyes sparkled at Kang Hyun-su's firm answer.
"So, what are we eating? I'm hungry too."
Kang Hyun-su let out a chuckle at Tu Hwang's question.
"Your favorite. You'll eat too, right?"
"Sure."
The three headed to the restaurant on the first floor of the inn.
They ordered so much food the table nearly buckled, ate their fill, and returned to their room.
Click!
They locked the door.
With top-notch security and soundproofing, no noise would leak outside.
"So, explain what you did."
At Song Hana's prompt, Kang Hyun-su calmly began.
The story was simple.
How he had pitted the Zhonghua Guild against the Cabal Guild.
What gains they would reap from that fight.
He explained it all steadily.
"So we've completely cleared suspicion?"
"And the Zhonghua Guild won't be managing any hunting grounds because of this war?"
Kang Hyun-su nodded at Song Hana and Tu Hwang's questions.
"But is this really okay? The Zhonghua Guild guys are annoying enough that they deserve to vanish, but the Cabal Guild is innocent."
"Right. Plus, the Cabal Guild has a great reputation. If they get wiped out like this, it's a huge loss for humanity."
Kang Hyun-su gave a faint smile at Song Hana and Tu Hwang's words and spoke.
"The Cabal Guild was created by the Demon King's minions."
"What?"
Song Hana jumped in shock.
"Is that true?"
Tu Hwang's eyes widened as he asked.
"Yeah."
"How do you know?"
Song Hana didn't ask for proof.
Nor did she doubt Kang Hyun-su's claim that the Cabal Guild served the Demon King's minions.
Tu Hwang had asked if it was true.
But he wasn't doubting Kang Hyun-su.
He was just so shocked that he had to ask again, fully believing.
"I got a new skill recently."
With that, Kang Hyun-su shared the details of his Future Foresight skill.
"Future Foresight?"
"There's a skill like that?!"
Song Hana and Tu Hwang were stunned.
It was blatantly overpowered, aside from the long cooldown drawback.
"You saw the future with that skill?"
Kang Hyun-su nodded at Song Hana's question.
"Can we go home to Earth in the future?"
Song Hana urgently asked Kang Hyun-su.
'Going home.'
Among those forcibly dragged from Earth to Atlantis, many yearned to return home.
They had gained superhuman power.
But at the cost of risking their lives in battle.
Peace swapped for bloody war.
And.
'No TV, no computers, no internet.'
That wasn't all.
No sweet-and-sour pork, no ramen, no pizza, no cola, no kimchi.
The vast majority of Earth-born players desperately wished to return.
Not everyone, of course.
Those who had seized absolute power and influence—unlike their ordinary Earth lives—preferred to live eternally in the Atlantis dimension.
They feared losing their player powers upon completing the quest after training camp and returning to Earth.
If that happened?
They'd go back to ordinary civilian lives.
Even if they kept their powers upon return.
What use would player strength have in peaceful Earth?
Those gripped by such fears had no intention of completing the quest.
Why?
They figured ruling as a power player in Atlantis beat returning to Earth.
For Earth players to return home, they needed total victory over the Demon King's army.
'That's why traitors emerge.'
Some fully defected to the Demon King's army for greater power and eternal rule.
Others passively dragged their feet, hoping the war lasted forever.
'And plenty of those passive ones fell for the Demon King's temptations.'
The temptations were sweet.
Conquer Atlantis, then Earth is next.
Succeed, and a chunk of Earth's land becomes your domain.
Many had fallen for it.
'If word got out sooner that we had a choice, things would be different.'
Once all-out war with the Demon King's army began, the quest would update.
Along with it, the option to return to Earth or stay in Atlantis upon completion.
If the update came sooner?
More power players would fight the Demon King's army aggressively.
Of course, it wasn't flawless.
'If staying became known early, native Atlanteans would fiercely resist other-dimensional players.'
Worst case, it could spark civil war.
Pros and cons either way.
"I don't know. The skill duration is too short to see much."
"Okay."
Song Hana looked disappointed.
"No need to be let down. Once this war ends, we can go back to Earth."
"Right?"
The war's end.
Return to Earth.
That was the wish of most Earth-born players.
"Sorry to kill the mood."
Tu Hwang spoke up, a bit grumpy.
"Why not just reveal the Cabal Guild are Demon King minions? They'd get crushed instantly."
Tu Hwang was right.
But there was a fatal flaw.
"You guys believe me because you're you—who else would?"
"Just reveal the skill info."
"They still wouldn't buy it. I'd just get in trouble."
The Cabal Guild was thorough.
They left zero evidence of being Demon King minions.
Kang Hyun-su's word was the only proof.
And no one could rule out him fabricating a false future.
Crucially.
'More people would want to control me.'
Some would monopolize future info through him, or fake futures to expand their forces.
Kang Hyun-su calmly explained to Song Hana and Tu Hwang the immense value of Future Foresight and the chaos revealing it would cause.
Truth be told, Future Foresight wasn't that valuable.
You couldn't choose what future to see.
But Kang Hyun-su deliberately omitted that.
Why?
'So they won't question my future actions.'
For a regressor like Kang Hyun-su, Future Foresight was the perfect tool to justify his moves.
"Got it. My lips are sealed."
Tu Hwang mimed zipping his mouth.
"I won't breathe a word either."
Song Hana gazed at Kang Hyun-su with moved eyes.
Tu Hwang and Song Hana.
Both were deeply touched.
The more they heard, the more they realized how dangerous revealing Future Foresight was.
Yet Kang Hyun-su had risked it to share the 'truth' with them.
It meant absolute trust in Song Hana and Tu Hwang.
'Just as planned.'
Kang Hyun-su smiled inwardly at their touched expressions.
He had revealed it knowing this outcome.
Future Foresight had also confirmed their loyalty to him.
Which meant.
'100% chance they'll accept my proposal.'
Kang Hyun-su spoke in a calm voice.
"That's why I have a proposal for you two."
"A proposal?"
"What's that?"
"I got a new skill this time."
Kang Hyun-su's new skill.
Commander Appointment.
[Commander Appointment – C-Rank]
- Active skill
- Consumes stats to appoint soldiers as commanders.
- Summoned beasts or players appointed as company commanders gain 10% to base stats.
- Summoned beasts or players appointed as platoon commanders gain 5% to base stats.
- Summoned beasts or players appointed as squad commanders gain 1% to base stats.
- Summoned beasts appointed as commanders partially regain their pre-death intelligence.
- Reconstituting a deceased commander doubles stat consumption.
- Fixes job rank and skill rank identically.
- Personnel limit: Company commanders 1/4, Platoon commanders 0/12, Squad commanders 0/48
This skill.
'It's not limited to summoned beasts.'
It works on players too.
Stats increase by rank, albeit variably.
Plus, appointing as commander.
'You get the Commander’s Blessing effect too.'
Stats amplify multiplicatively.
If the skill rank rises then?
The compounded boosts grow even more.
Result?
'Transcendent power.'
And as long as Kang Hyun-su doesn't perish.
'Immortality.'
- Reconstituting a deceased commander doubles stat consumption.
'This means I can revive fallen commanders via the Battalion Formation skill.'
Even if they're players, not summoned beasts.
Decisively.
This skill has one hidden effect.
Absolute loyalty.
'Just like summoned beasts can't rebel against me, appointed player commanders can't rebel either.'
No, they can't even act against him at all.
That's not all.
Summoned beasts offer absolute loyalty to Kang Hyun-su.
Appointed player commanders' loyalty to him grows over time.
Commander Appointment was the 'skill' Kang Hyun-su had long awaited.
Kang Hyun-su explained to Song Hana and Tu Hwang the benefits of receiving it.
Stat boosts, immortality, etc.
"Want to receive the Commander Appointment skill?"
Having finished explaining, Kang Hyun-su proposed to Song Hana and Tu Hwang: 'Contract with me and become my loyal commanders.'
After a brief moment of thought, Song Hana and Tu Hwang spoke at once.