Chapter 9
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: First Return
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[Early this morning, an unbelievable incident occurred at the Bosingak Pavilion in Jongno-gu, where the New Year's bell-ringing ceremony was held. Over ten thousand people collectively lost consciousness. Let's first look at the footage to see what happened.]
The video showed an unbelievable scene.
A winged woman appeared from the sky with a flash of light.
[People are bewildered by the appearance of a woman who looks like an angel. She moves her lips as if to say something, but nothing can be heard. A moment later, a young man asks the angel a question, and his head explodes like a firecracker.]
The scene of a human being murdered was broadcast in its entirety.
Even with the mosaic, the brutality was vividly felt.
[Tens of thousands of people at the scene fall into a panic. The angel then mutters for a long while, as if explaining something, before the people lose consciousness. Approximately ten thousand people have fallen into a deep sleep.]
The people in the video collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, losing consciousness.
Soon, the police were seen investigating the remaining people.
[According to witness testimonies, the angel claimed to have taken people between the ages of 15 and 29 to another dimension. It was truly a preposterous claim, but with so many witnesses and the angel's image captured on video, it had to be believed.]
[Notably, this phenomenon occurred nationwide. Reports of angel sightings and people falling into narcolepsy surged from all over. Investigations revealed that, as previously stated, they were all between the ages of 15 and 29.]
[It has been confirmed that this is not limited to our country. Japan, China, Russia, the United States, and more. Over 128 countries have confirmed cases of this narcolepsy. Truly, people all over the world have lost consciousness.]
1.8 billion people had been abducted to another world.
Their souls, of course, not their bodies.
Shocking articles continued to flood the news sections of portal sites.
In response, netizen comments were split into two camps.
└ What the? Are the reporters all on drugs?
└ Why are only these kinds of absurd articles being posted?
└ It's not even April Fools' Day.
└ 1.8 billion souls kidnapped? Lmao, the scale of this fake news is insane.
└ Hahahaha for real, the reporters' teamwork is on another level.
└ The video's probably fake, not even worth watching.
Many couldn't believe the articles, which were hard to accept at face value.
└ Are the people above me all elementary schoolers? You think reporters have nothing better to do than post fake news on New Year's Day?
└ My point exactly. Can't they see it's all over other news sites too?
└ The guys above would probably just laugh and die if someone told them a war broke out and they needed to run.
But a surprising number of people did believe it.
However, as public broadcasts, radio, and the internet all covered the same story, people had no choice but to accept it.
That this wasn't some prank, but the reality unfolding before their eyes.
└ I thought it was a lie, but it's real…….
└ WTF is going on?
└ The article next to this one explains it in detail. It’s a survival game with 20 rounds.
└ What, so am I going to be taken by the angel too?
└ Seems like you don't have to worry unless you're between 15 and 29.
└ How can you not be worried, dude? 1.8 billion people aren't waking up from their sleep…….
└ My friend's older brother was apparently taken. He lost consciousness. He's still breathing though…….
└ I'm a 49-year-old father. My only son, a middle schooler, won't wake up no matter how much I try. I don't know what to do. Please, someone tell me what to do.
└ My little brother is sleeping and won't wake up. What do I do? T_T
└ FR, what do we do now? Is the world ending?
└ Haha, good. This shitty world. Just let it all burn.
Ryu Min sighed as he scrolled through the news comments on his phone.
'It's finally begun.'
The internet was ablaze with talk of the survival game.
It finally sank in that he had returned to Earth.
'But this is only the beginning.'
Ryu Min scanned another article.
[Around 5:20 AM, about half of those who fell into narcolepsy have woken up…….]
[The other half have stopped breathing, suffering cardiac arrest…… effectively deceased.]
[Death toll in Seoul approximately 900,000. Nationwide estimate is 4.5 million.]
[An unprecedented crisis as 11% of the nation's population has died.]
[Global death toll is roughly 900 million. The world in chaos due to narcolepsy death shock.]
Articles about the deaths lined up one after another, but the real problem lay elsewhere.
[Survivor states, "It was like being in a game, creating a character and completing quests"…….]
[Had to fight monsters called goblins on a plain with bare hands…….]
[Breaking! Survivors, calling themselves 'Players,' confirmed to be able to summon weapons and armor from thin air…….]
'The real problem is that the players' abilities have carried over into reality.'
Although the people at Bosingak hadn't heard the explanation because the angel died, they didn't return to Earth empty-handed.
They came back with their player abilities intact.
'The system itself is a power rooted in the soul, so it can be used even if the body changes.'
Of course, he had learned this information by torturing an angel in a previous regression.
'It won't have much of an effect now since their stats are low, but…….'
Later, as levels rise and they grow stronger, players would become truly transcendent beings.
'When that time comes, some unscrupulous players will start to wield their power in reality like outlaws.'
The birth of one-man armies that even military forces and the latest weaponry couldn't control.
'By then, I won't be able to just focus on quests like now. All sorts of problems will erupt after returning.'
The other world and reality.
A world filled with chaos in both places was only a few months away.
He couldn't just stand by and watch such a world come to pass.
If he did, Earth would be destroyed before they even reached the 20th round.
'There's only one way. I have to control the players with overwhelming power. Unruly beasts only bow to superior strength.'
Ryu Min intended to unite the players through force, just as he had always done.
Only then could he quell the chaos and set his sights on the final boss.
Of course, he needed to take a different approach than before.
He had to lead four others, besides himself, to the final round.
'It would be best to bring a Priest and a Buffer. If the boss room requires a minimum of five people, it must be that strong.'
A few candidates came to mind, and he had a plan for how to win them over to his side, but…….
'Now is not the time to act. There's something more important to do right now.'
After the first round ended and he returned to Earth, Ryu Min immediately left the bell-ringing ceremony.
The place he headed to was none other than his home.
A multi-family house in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.
*Beep, beep, beep—click!*
The first thing Ryu Min saw upon entering was a cup ramen container in the sink.
'Looks like he had cup ramen for dinner again.'
It was a familiar sight, one he had seen in his previous life as well.
It was a scene he saw every time he came home.
Ryu Min opened the closed bedroom door.
A person was sleeping soundly on a mattress on the floor.
It was his younger brother, Ryu Won, a third-year in middle school.
His one and only remaining family member.
"Won. Wake up."
Ryu Min shook him, and Ryu Won tossed and turned before blinking his sleepy eyes open.
"…Hyung?"
"Get up. It's morning."
"What time is it?"
As he spoke, Ryu Won glanced at the wall clock.
"What? It's only six."
"There's no time to sleep in."
"What is it? What's going on?"
"I'll explain later, so just get dressed. Let's go out."
"Where are we going? If you're thinking of watching the sunrise, I'd rather get more sl—"
"Listen to me."
At the low, firm voice, Ryu Won shut his mouth and looked at his brother.
His brother's unusual atmosphere made Ryu Won's expression turn serious as well.
"Hyung, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
"This isn't the time to be sleeping peacefully. The world is in an uproar."
"Why? You said you were going to the bell-ringing ceremony. Did something happen there?"
"Just come out. We'll talk as we walk."
The brothers passed through the narrow kitchen and went outside.
The cold morning air, not yet dissipated, made his brother shiver once.
"Let's walk for a bit."
"Okay."
The brothers walked silently through the dim alley.
Ryu Won turned his head and glanced at his brother.
'What happened to make him look so serious?'
Seeing a side of his brother he had never seen before, Ryu Won couldn't bring himself to ask, only observing him cautiously.
He figured his brother would tell him eventually, but his aura was subtly different from before.
'No, he's completely different.'
His chin was raised, his eyes held a powerful glint, and his stride was confident.
He wondered if this was really his brother, who used to seem so small with his hunched shoulders.
"You."
After they had walked a certain distance, Ryu Min spoke.
"You don't know what's happening in the world right now, do you?"
"Of course not. Why? Did something happen while I was sleeping?"
"Check the online news."
Ryu Won did as he was told, looking at the internet on his phone.
"Whoa… what is this?"
Stopping in his tracks, Ryu Won couldn't take his eyes off his phone for a long while.
"Is this for real? An angel appeared and people were taken to another world?"
"To be precise, only their souls were taken."
"Don't tell me you were too, Hyung?"
Ryu Min nodded.
"I managed to survive and come back after killing 100 goblins in that other world."
"…"
He told the truth, but his brother still wore a look of disbelief.
"Then why wasn't I taken?"
"You're not 15 yet."
Ryu Won was entering his third year of middle school this year, but since his birthday hadn't passed, he was still technically 14.
It was a small mercy in a desperate situation.
Still struggling to grasp the reality of it all, Ryu Won continued to read the articles.
The comment sections were filled with the lamentations of people who had lost siblings and children.
There were too many witnesses for it to be a lie.
"Ha… how could this happen…."
Sighing, Ryu Won looked back at his brother.
He found it amazing that his brother, with his small frame, had managed to survive.
"Are you okay, Hyung? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Don't worry about me."
"How can I not worry? You're the only family I have."
The day their parents died in a car accident.
When Ryu Won was a sobbing mess, it was his brother who had comforted him.
'Hyung is stronger than anyone.'
Anyone else might mistake his frail-looking brother for a middle schooler himself, but Ryu Won thought differently.
'To me, Hyung is like a father.'
It was too cheesy to say out loud, but Ryu Won looked up to and relied on his brother as a father figure.
But still, he couldn't help but worry.
'Mental strength and fighting skills are two different things.'
He acknowledged his brother's mental fortitude, but that didn't mean he was a good fighter.
Not only was he small, but he also came home beaten up all the time.
'Whenever I asked, he'd just say he'd handle his own problems and tell me not to worry.'
How could he not worry if his brother was hurt?
As he was thinking this, Ryu Min spoke nonchalantly.
"I know what you're thinking."
"Huh?"
"Don't worry. In the other world, there's a system called 'stats,' so physical conditions are meaningless. Even women can fight goblins on equal footing."
"Ah… so that's how it was?"
"And in a little bit, when you see me in action, you won't be worried at all."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Follow me if you want to find out."
"No. I'm not moving a single step until you tell me where we're going."
His brother was being stubborn, but Ryu Min just let out a dry laugh.
He had already experienced this exact reaction in his last life.
"You want to know?"
"Is that even a question?"
"Bang Tae-gyu."
At the mention of the name, his brother's face stiffened.
"We're going to your personal bully's hideout right now."
"What?"
"You've been bullied throughout your school life, haven't you? By a punk named Bang Tae-gyu."
"H-how did you know…?"
Ryu Won couldn't help but be shocked.
He had never once mentioned being bullied.
In fact, he had always said with a smile that he had many good friends and that school was fun.
The reason was simple.
He didn't want to be a burden to his brother.
He didn't want to add to the troubles of his brother, who was already working part-time jobs just to support them.
But somehow, his brother knew.
"You… knew all along?"
"Did you think I wouldn't?"
"…"
At Ryu Min's words, Ryu Won bit his lower lip.
'I thought I didn't let it show….'
Ryu Won thought his own mistake had given him away, but in truth, Ryu Min hadn't known.
He hadn't known his brother was getting beaten up at school.
'Back then, I was getting beaten up by Hwang Yong-min myself, and I didn't have the time to pay attention because of my part-time jobs.'
Ryu Min only found out the truth a few hours after returning from the first round.
His brother, who had gone out early in the morning, had suddenly returned home blind.
'It turned out he was beaten by that punk, Bang Tae-gyu.'
For Ryu Min, who had been oblivious to the bullying, it was a shocking event.
'To think my brother was being bullied, just like me.'
He felt a lingering guilt for failing to protect him as an older brother.
He was sorry, feeling as if he had passed down his own weakness to his brother.
That's why Ryu Min had no choice but to get involved in his brother's affairs.
After all, he was his precious, one and only family.
"But Hyung. What did you say just now? We're going to that guy's hideout?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Why, you ask?"
Ryu Min's lips curved into a smirk.
"I can't just let the guy who bullied my little brother get away with it. I should at least break his arm."
Just break it?
'I'll beat him half to death so he can't even think of bullying anyone ever again.'