Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: ACT.15 Return of the Kings (1)
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“In this world, only one person can ultimately survive.”
“One person…!?”
Hwang Chan-jin’s words caused a stir.
It shocked not only Han Hyeok-jun, but also Jo Min-ah, who had been watching the situation.
No matter how much you struggled, only one person could make it to the end.
Anyone who heard those words would feel the hope they were desperately clinging to crumble.
‘That can’t be right.’
What Hwang Chan-jin said was partly true.
The 98th ending did prevent the apocalypse, but it concluded with a lone survivor.
The name of the ending was even ‘Planet of Solitude’.
The 99th ending, Uroboros, was the one you get by reaching the 98th ending after meeting the conditions for the ‘Regression’ trait.
However, in the 00th ending I ultimately reached, many people survived.
The fact that so many people were alive was what paved the way to the 00th ending.
“No, you’re lying.”
“It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. What I’m saying is the truth.”
After saying that, Hwang Chan-jin sheathed his sword and started to leave.
“The guilds will be back soon.”
“…”
“I’m going to keep moving forward. To survive until the very end.”
With those last words, Hwang Chan-jin quickly left.
He intended to move quickly to prepare for what was next.
‘It’s about time.’
The return of the guilds that had entered the giant gate on Ganghwa Island to clear it.
Things were about to get more complicated.
One thing I didn’t understand was why Hwang Chan-jin, who knew so much, had joined the Jamryong Guild.
If he’d played through it that many times, he should have known it was better not to join a guild. Why did he make that choice?
And of all guilds, he chose Jamryong.
“Just as I suspected…”
Jun Bo-ra muttered something, then suddenly approached me and said.
“I’m going to go, too. It seems like something’s come up that I need to look into.”
Without even waiting for my reply, she used teleport and disappeared.
Seeing her react with ‘just as I suspected’ to Hwang Chan-jin’s actions, it seemed she intended to investigate him.
It appeared Jun Bo-ra didn’t trust Hwang Chan-jin either.
‘Could it be that Jun Bo-ra thinks Hwang Chan-jin is the Strategy King?’
Then it would make sense why she didn’t suspect me.
In reality, Hwang Chan-jin’s playstyle was very similar to mine when I played as the Strategy King.
It wasn’t that our playstyles were identical.
It was merely the ‘impression’ he gave.
“Se-hyeon. I…”
“Go on. You have things you need to do, too, right?”
“Sorry. I’ll see you later.”
Finally, Han Hyeok-jun left as well.
The temporary alliance, formed by chance to subdue the disaster, was now broken, and only Jo Min-ah and I were left.
As I looked at the night sky, which had grown dark enough for the stars to be clearly visible, I felt like a typhoon had just swept through.
…It was true that you could see the stars well in Seoul once the city lights were gone.
“That’s a lie, right…? An ending where only one person survives.”
Bothered by what Hwang Chan-jin had said, Jo Min-ah asked cautiously.
She said it must be a lie, but her face showed a lingering unease, as if she couldn’t completely shake it off.
“No, it’s not. And even if it were, I’d change it.”
“R-Right?”
“Of course.”
As I spoke with a gentle smile, Jo Min-ah’s expression relaxed, as if she were relieved.
“But what does it mean to know the end of the game? I mean, this situation is like a game.”
“In a way, it is a game. The word ‘game’ has many meanings.”
I deflected the question, neither confirming nor denying it.
I still wasn’t sure if it was better to tell her that this was originally a game or not.
I gave a bitter smile and said to Jo Min-ah.
“And there’s something more important than that.”
“Huh? More important?”
“We have to walk.”
“Ah.”
Seeing Jo Min-ah’s eyes turn into dots, I burst out laughing.
“It’s okay. Since the disaster has been eliminated, there won’t be any more monsters around here.”
“Th-That’s a relief…”
Those who were infected by the spores for a long time were practically moving corpses.
When the spores vanished in that state, they just became corpses.
This area, where the disaster’s power was strongest, had ironically become the safest place now that the disaster was gone.
Still, it would take some time to get to the Seoul City Hall area, but for now, there were no significant threats, so we could travel at ease.
“There’s something I have to do before we head back, so wait here a moment.”
I turned my gaze to the giant tree.
The disaster was gone, but this giant tree it had created by absorbing the surrounding plants still remained.
As if to announce that a great battle had taken place.
If you looked up, you could just make out the top of the giant tree.
It was about as tall as a 20-story apartment building. There was something up there I had to get.
My old self wouldn’t have been able to climb an ordinary tree, but now…
*Swoosh!*
After leaping as high as I could, I started running straight up the tree.
Jo Min-ah’s surprised shriek reached me from below; she already looked as small as a bean.
It was something anyone with a certain level of mana and agility could do, but it was still amazing enough to make me let out a disbelieving laugh sometimes.
To think a person could change this much in less than two weeks.
‘At first, I thought the old tree remaining was just for dramatic effect.’
Near the very top of the old tree, there was a hole.
A space that seemed artificially created.
And in its center, as if to say ‘this is the real reward,’ sat a jewel with an overwhelmingly powerful effect.
[Source of Life (Hidden)]
The life force of nature absorbed by the Disaster of Verdure, now crystallized.
Negates a fatal attack once and resurrects the holder.
Simply possessing it increases the Health stat by 5.
Who would have thought something like this would be left here?
Moreover, it was at a height that was normally impossible to reach with the stats one would have around the time of defeating the Disaster of Verdure.
You never had a reason to come back to this place, so as you progressed through the game, you’d eventually forget about it.
Later, when someone like Hwang Chan-jin comes here to get this, he’ll probably make a frustrated face when he finds it’s already been taken.
I chuckled and leaped out of the hole.
***
*Fzzzt…*
A remote location on Ganghwa Island.
In an empty field, a discharge of energy suddenly crackled in mid-air, and a human figure appeared.
“Phew. It’s finally over. First time I’ve ever spent so long inside a gate. How many days has it been?”
“It hasn’t been days. Exactly 17 days and 6 hours have passed.”
“Really? Huh. I had no sense of time in there, I didn’t realize that much had passed.”
“But there were almost no casualties. It was our first time on such a large-scale raid, so I believe it was the right choice.”
“That’s right. In a profession where your life is on the line, life is the most important thing.”
First, five people appeared, and then a large number of people followed, walking out in a line.
Gate Closing.
This was the sight that appeared when one successfully forced a gate to close by entering it and defeating the boss residing within.
“But I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Did something happen?”
The middle-aged man who had appeared first, Choi Dae-han, the master of the Donghae Guild, squinted toward the mainland.
The master of the Jamryong Guild, Seong Woo-hyeon, also felt a sense of unease, and his expression hardened.
“…There is indeed an ominous aura in the air. Ah, please excuse me, I have to take a call.”
As Seong Woo-hyeon stepped away for a moment, Choi Dae-han scratched his head roughly and groaned.
Perhaps because he had walked the path of a martial artist even before awakening as a player, Choi Dae-han was more skilled than others at seeing the form of energy with his eyes.
To him, the sky over the city was clearly and vividly stained with a murky energy.
“What? Is that true?”
Seong Woo-hyeon, who was on the call, raised his voice.
“This is…”
Seong Woo-hyeon sighed deeply and ended the call.
It wasn’t the reaction to good news.
A look of weariness crept onto the faces of those who had been waiting for Seong Woo-hyeon to finish his call.
“Everyone. It seems we must return immediately.”
“It’s not every day the great master of the Jamryong Guild gets so flustered. What’s wrong?”
“Well…”
After a long sigh, Seong Woo-hyeon organized his thoughts before slowly opening his mouth.
“This is a report from a guild member who remained in Seoul and was not part of the expedition.”
“That smart young lady, Kim Ji-hyeon? Right? What did she say?”
“Yes. She says the ‘Gate Opening’ phenomenon has recurred. And it’s been over a week.”
“What?”
Gate Opening was a phenomenon where a massive number of gates appeared indiscriminately.
A disaster that had happened once in the past and never again since.
The fact that it had happened, of all times, while they were away, filled everyone there with shock.
“…Since most players B-rank and above were drafted for the raid, there wouldn’t have been enough personnel to bring the situation under control. The situation must be quite severe.”
Lee Min-hwa, the master of the Hongryeon Guild, said with a grave expression.
“The army and police can’t stop the monsters, and the number of players we left behind is small… If it’s been over a week, it must be close to the worst-case scenario.”
“Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Luckily, just like during the first Gate Opening, many people have awakened as players. It’s said that thanks to a few exceptional individuals among them, the damage was minimized.”
“Exceptional individuals?”
“Yes.”
A subtle smile crept onto Seong Woo-hyeon’s lips.
On his communication device, a picture of Kim Se-hyeon was displayed.
‘He directly participated in the subjugation of a monster presumed to be at least S-rank…’
A player who awakened only about 10 days ago subjugated an S-rank monster.
Even if he wasn’t alone, that wasn’t the important part.
In fact, if they’d said he did it alone, he wouldn’t have believed it.
Seong Woo-hyeon put his communication device away and, with his usual smiling face, said.
“Let’s head back as well.”
“Sly old fox. I can see right through you.”
“Is that so?”
A heavy pressure emanated from his smiling face.
The man who had made the sarcastic remark waved his hand with a displeased expression.
“Stop pressuring me with that smile.”
“Pressure? Haha. I was just pleased that you seem to understand my heart so well, Kim Hyo-jong-nim.”
‘Bullshit.’
He felt like cursing him to his face, but Kim Hyo-jong swallowed his irritation and backed down.
In a catastrophic situation with hordes of monsters running rampant, they had to avoid fighting amongst themselves as much as possible.
No, that was just an excuse.
‘Scary, so scary. The master of the number one guild.’
Each guild had sent their elites, and naturally, the Jamryong Guild had the most members present.
In such a situation, it was obvious who would win if a war broke out between the guilds.
Was that all?
With other guilds watching eagerly for an opportunity, he couldn’t afford to show any weakness.
After confirming that Kim Hyo-jong had completely backed off, Seong Woo-hyeon withdrew the oppressive mana he had been emitting.
“If you’re done with your childish squabble, let’s get moving. We seem to have a lot to do.”
“Let’s.”
As a woman gave them a look of disdain and chided them, Seong Woo-hyeon also nodded and started moving.
Kim Hyo-jong, grumbling, and the other guild masters followed suit.
As their leader moved, the large number of players began to move in perfect order, a sight nothing short of spectacular.
‘Kim Se-hyeon.’
The reports about Kim Se-hyeon he had just seen kept circling in Seong Woo-hyeon’s mind.
Overwhelming leadership and an abnormal growth rate. And despite that, a potential that seemed to have no limits.
A newcomer so exceptional that even Kim Ji-hyeon, who rarely showed any weakness, described him as ‘making her feel futile’.
Could there be a more coveted prize?
Seong Woo-hyeon adjusted his rimless glasses, the corners of his mouth lifting into a wide smile.
‘I won’t let him get away.’