Chapter 270
Chapter 270
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 270
Chapter Title: Return (4)
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‘Disaster’ is not a title given simply for being strong.
No matter how powerful a being is, if it doesn't cause much damage or isn't hostile, it isn't classified as a Disaster.
In other words, a 'Disaster' is called a Disaster precisely because it is a disaster for humanity.
Beings that could destroy a nation with ease if left alone. Or beings that inflict immense damage.
‘And yet.’
The precursor to a Disaster has appeared, but they aren't trying to stop it.
It's not like they don't know about Disasters; the Regressors know better than anyone.
In Japan, under the dictatorial rule of the Yamato Guild, their silence means that most players won't make a move.
‘Are they saying they don't care if their own country is destroyed?’
Madmen.
No, it's nothing new.
It's not like they've only been crazy for a day or two.
“You're getting a call.”
Choi Yeon-soo's words snapped me back to my senses.
It was a call from Cier.
Unable to shake the feeling that the timing was strangely opportune, I moved some distance away from the other two and answered the call.
-I heard. You caused quite a scene in America, didn't you?
“News travels fast since we're both in Salvatio. Anyway, I had something to ask you, too.”
-It's about the Yamato Guild's movements, isn't it?
Cier was a Regressor, too.
She never said how far she'd progressed, but the fact that she immediately brought up the Yamato Guild suggested she was quite far along.
Then again, that's probably why she holds a high rank in Salvatio.
-Just yesterday, an order came down from Salvatio. If you felt the Yamato Guild's actions were strange, that's why.
“An order?”
-As of this moment, do not attempt to conquer the Disaster. To be precise, maintain a state of neither failure nor success.
“...”
I thought it was strange.
They couldn't possibly be unaware of what would happen if they simply ignored the Disaster.
They aren't trying to defeat it, but they aren't neglecting it either, maintaining an ambiguous situation.
But that's the harder thing to do.
Salvatio's order, simply put, was to control the Disaster.
It meant they intended to control the timing of its strengthening and weakening at will.
If they made even one mistake and it grew stronger than they could control, it would be a fight for survival.
It wasn't a decision that could be made lightly.
‘Are they thinking they can manage it somehow since it's still the early to mid-game, and they know the strategy to defeat the Disaster?’
In Japan's case, it was even more plausible.
Because the Disaster that would later appear in Japan had a fairly clear-cut strategy.
‘Even so.’
Before that, there was something I couldn't understand.
‘What's their objective?’
Salvatio is also hostile toward the Order.
That was something I had already confirmed.
The spy planted in the Order, the Saintess's reaction...
Above all, since Salvatio is trying to prevent the apocalypse, the Order, whose goal is to summon Disasters, must be a thorn in their side.
After a Disaster is defeated, Shurue appears to collect its remnants. To see this as a measure to prevent that seems too extreme.
The risk of failure is far greater.
If they fail to stop the Disasters around the world and they all start rampaging at once, it would surely become a chaotic mess, like Taego and Jong-eon teaming up to run wild.
‘Looks like I have no choice but to go to Japan after all.’
I've already clashed with the Yamato Guild twice.
Once in the Otherworld. And again in Busan.
Oni, the Disaster, the Yamato Guild, and the Prophet.
There were too many things to resolve in the single region of Japan.
I scratched my head in frustration.
“I had to go to Japan anyway, but this just makes it more certain.”
-Is that so? Se-hyeon. If you're going to Japan, there's something you must be especially careful about.
“About the Yamato Guild's strength?”
-That's a little off, but not entirely wrong... Do you happen to know about the Sword Saint's family?
“To some extent.”
I recalled the Sword Saint I'd briefly crossed blades with in the Otherworld.
A character who was featured prominently in the Japan arc of EOA.
To be precise, the family behind him is the key.
Even in a family where generations of children are born with outstanding talent for the sword, the current generation is unparalleled.
There's him, the Sword Saint, but also his family.
His father and grandfather, who taught him the sword. And his older sister, the 'Sword Empress', who is said to be even more skilled than the Sword Saint himself.
If you were to name the strongest person in Japan right now, it would probably be her.
-That family doesn't belong to any power group and is said to only act when the world is in great turmoil, but his family... especially his sister, is very fond of him. If you go up against the Yamato Guild, you'll inevitably face them.
“It's fine. I have my own ways. And I'll be going with my companions.”
-I see. I'll help, too. My family and theirs have been close for a long time, and I have a personal connection, so if I say something, it should prevent any major conflict.
I remembered Cier saying she was also from a famous martial family but left because she didn't like it.
I knew she had to be from somewhere impressive to use such martial arts, but I never imagined she'd have a connection to the Sword Saint's family.
“You must have been really surprised when you saw the Sword Saint in EOA, then.”
-Absolutely. It was enough to make me wonder if the game developers knew the Sword Saint personally. No, considering how strikingly similar reality is to EOA now, maybe they really did know. Seriously, what kind of game was EOA?
Cier laughed awkwardly.
This reaction.
It seemed that even Cier had no clue about EOA's true nature.
I deliberately changed the subject.
“What about your family? They must be quite prominent to have maintained ties with the Sword Saint's family.”
-Ah, that's...
Cier's voice trailed off.
-Sorry. I'd rather not talk about it.
I stepped on a landmine.
Asking someone who ran away from home what their family was like was a mistake from the start.
I changed the subject for what felt like the umpteenth time today.
“By the way, your way of speaking has changed.”
-Huh?
“You've gone back to your old, stiff way of talking. You weren't like that last time.”
-Th-that's because my subordinate said it would be better to speak that way... Ugh, never mind! Hang up!
I wonder if it's the same person who got buried in the ground last time.
He's probably about to achieve oneness with the earth again.
I offered a moment of silence.
After hanging up and returning to my spot, Choi Yeon-soo, who had been looking at the documents I was reading, spoke to me.
“So when are you going to Japan?”
“I have some things to prepare. It's going to be just as chaotic as America.”
“Should I go, too?”
“No. I've already decided who I'm taking, so it's fine.”
Basically, the members of Rebellion.
But there are two others besides them.
There were two people it would be good to bring along.
“I found stuff, too! Huff, huff. The contest isn't over yet, is it?”
“It wasn't a contest to begin with.”
Min Gyeong-hoon held out a stack of papers even thicker than the ones Choi Yeon-soo and Kim Hee-chan had given me.
He researched this much in such a short time?
I flipped through the documents, quietly impressed.
“How about that? I'm more competent, right? Kim Hee-chan. You might have been better than me before, but not anymore. We need to have a rematch.”
Kim Hee-chan showed no interest whatsoever.
Despite that, Min Gyeong-hoon continued trying to provoke him.
I closed the documents and said.
“Too bad, but Kim Hee-chan wins.”
“What!? That can't be!”
I tapped my finger on the data Kim Hee-chan had researched.
“Information isn't all about quantity. It's about quality. Kim Hee-chan excluded everything I might already know and focused on things I wouldn't know. Things I'd be curious about. Important things. Peculiarities I might be able to use. And suspicious points. He organized and summarized all of that systematically and neatly. That's why his report is this size. You, on the other hand, prioritized quantity, so yours includes 'useless' information.”
“Th-that's...”
Unable to refute, Min Gyeong-hoon hesitated before lowering his head.
“Sorry. I think I got too heated.”
It's good that he admits it right away.
Min Gyeong-hoon is just getting carried away right now; he's by no means an idiot.
After all, Min Gyeong-hoon is also a once-in-a-generation genius.
Min Gyeong-hoon is like Zhou Yu lamenting about Zhuge Liang.
“Still, researching this much in such a short time is no easy feat. Considering that, you're amazing, too.”
“R-really?”
Min Gyeong-hoon scratched his head, looking sheepish.
“If you don't fix that habit of being so easily swayed by a single word, you'll never catch up to me.”
“What did you say, you bastard!?”
“Stop. If you want to compete that badly, I'll give you another chance. Try this.”
“I don't really want to compete with him...”
“I'll do it! I'll do it right now! What is it!”
Min Gyeong-hoon pushed Kim Hee-chan's cheek aside and stepped forward.
It's quite remarkable that Kim Hee-chan doesn't get angry at all, given how he's being unilaterally pestered by Min Gyeong-hoon.
I took the warp gate device out of my inventory.
“You said before that there was no way to travel between continents using dimension stones, right?”
“Yeah. There isn't. I've researched it so much. I can swear it on my genius brain.”
“Then I guess you're not a genius?”
“What!? You don't believe me!? I'm so serious about dimension stones! If a method like that really existed and I'd found even a single clue, I would have researched it for a week straight without sleeping!!”
“This is the device that contains that method. Take a look.”
I showed the device that creates warp gates to Min Gyeong-hoon, who was ranting passionately as if having a seizure.
Min Gyeong-hoon's eyes lit up as he snatched it away, and then he immediately fell silent.
“N-no way. How is this method even...?”
“Fascinating. What does it use? Magic?”
“Magic was real? For real?”
“It is. It hasn't been long since I found out myself, but it's a fact that it exists.”
Min Gyeong-hoon and Kim Hee-chan became engrossed in the warp gate device and began to study it.
While Min Gyeong-hoon knew nothing about magic, Kim Hee-chan seemed to know nothing about dimension stones, and an incredibly fast exchange of information began between the two.
‘Ah.’
Now I get it.
The Saintess must have used this to come here during the Disaster of Defiance.
I should assume that the Salvatio members spread across various countries have at least one of these per major faction.
“Kim Se-hyeon. Can I study this?”
“I'll be using it soon, so don't take it apart. I don't have a replacement, so it'd be a problem.”
“You don't have to worry about that. I can figure out its structure without disassembling it.”
Min Gyeong-hoon grinned and activated his 'Hacking' trait.
All sorts of holograms appeared right above the warp gate device, and a 3D model, along with explanations, began to be displayed.
I see. So he's hacking the object itself to extract its structure and other information.
If he can do that, I guess I have nothing to worry about.
Choi Yeon-soo asked casually.
“By the way, was it okay to leave those three there?”
“It might be for the best.”
Lee Min-hwa will teach the twins how to handle fire, and Cha Eun-ha will be able to learn something related to Jeon Do-jin from Choi Dae-han and Lee Min-hwa.
As long as there was nothing I could directly help them with, there was no need for me to lead them around here as well.
“I think my business here is done, so I'm leaving. You can put those two in important positions right away.”
“They certainly seem capable. Phew. I've been so busy because we lacked talented people, but this should make things a little better.”
Choi Yeon-soo groaned and patted his shoulders.
When it comes to talent, you can't get much better than those two.
I gave a slight smile and returned home.
“It feels like it's been a long time.”
Choi Yeon-soo must have been taking care of the place, as there wasn't much dust.
I sat down and immediately took an elixir from my inventory.
Two S-rank Elixirs of Mana.
One stolen from Graham's warehouse, and one purchased from the special shop.
With these, I can break through the wall of 80 mana stat.