Jeju's Radiant Resurrection

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The day Jeju Island's Tower was bathed in light, the world was plunged into shock.

News articles flooded the media, and public opinion boiled over.

But the most stunned of all were somewhere else entirely.

The resurrected ones.

"Wh-what the hell... how is this...?"

"I-I definitely died, though?"

They wandered Jeju Island in a daze, bumping into each other one by one.

After a flurry of exchanged opinions, they pinpointed a crucial common thread.

"Everyone here a Jeju local, right?"

"And you were all Awakeners."

"Same now. Status Window's working fine."

And then.

"Buildings, roads—nothing left. Terrain's totally flipped. But yeah, this has gotta be Jeju."

"That over there? No matter how you slice it, that's Hallasan, ain't it?"

"Yeah, spot on. Tower position seals it. Color wasn't like that before, though."

Some questions were answered.

But the confusion lingered.

Why had they come back to life?

Thududududu—!

Soon, helicopters, passenger ships, and cargo vessels—over a dozen from the mainland—arrived.

Food and water were unloaded, and massive temporary shelters sprang up at breakneck speed.

The bustling Korean Awakener Management Agency agents finished verifying identities.

"Total: 4,524. All confirmed fatalities from the early Tower outbreak."

"Hard to believe even seeing it. This even possible?"

The agents split up to explain the situation as best they could.

The core rundown went like this.

Jeju Island, turned into a land of death by the Tower rampage following Gyeongsangnam-do.

"It's been quite some time since then."

And three days ago.

All monsters on Jeju eradicated, likely triggering the resurrections.

The explanation only piled on more confusion.

"Eradicating monsters? How's that even feasible? Sounds bogus."

"Right? If there was a rampage, the land should've been wrecked. Not this pristine paradise."

The backlash was inevitable.

Too surreal to swallow whole.

The officials silently queued up video footage.

Jeju during the rampage. Swarming with monsters, a deathscape.

And then.

The explosion's aftermath cleared—nothing left standing.

The resurrected gaped, slack-jawed. Someone finally stammered.

"Wh-what the hell is that? Fake footage?"

"Hitchhiker's skill."

"Skill? That's a skill? And who's Hitchhiker...?"

The answer came from elsewhere.

"Acquisition score: 2.05 million points?"

"Th-this a glitch?"

From memory, Korea had scraped by with barely a million per round.

Over two million? From one floor?

Brains stalled out.

The agents, beaming with pride, chimed in.

"You ain't seen nothing yet. Plenty more where that came from."

More shocks incoming?

The resurrected huddled in shelters, absorbing every detail of the past rounds.

Hitchhiker's debut.

China's Lycanslope ticket.

Tower anomaly trial. Tartarus.

And.

"Us, perennial basement-dwellers, taking first place..?"

"Haha! Thought even resurrection wouldn't make this real. But here we are."

Tears flowed.

Pinch all you want—this was reality.

Consensus formed quick.

"So everything—all down to one guy?"

"Yup. Awakener nicknamed Hitchhiker. Even us coming back."

Once settled, the Agency made a cautious pitch.

"If you're up for re-climbing the Tower, we can offer full support."

Full support. Literal.

Hitchhiker's rampage and national feats had unblocked funding—warehouses overflowed.

"R-re-climb the Tower?"

"I'm... not so sure."

Hesitation gripped them. Trauma from dying once already.

Then one guy bellowed.

"Hell yeah! I'll give it a shot! Low floors still, bail if it's dicey!"

Hot-blooded type—dashed in before full briefing.

And.

Pop!

Back in a flash. Unscathed.

The anxious crowd sighed relief.

"Y-you bailed, right?"

"Smart move! Better safe than sorry!"

"No one's calling you coward."

The man blinked, dazed.

"Uh, no. Cleared it."

"Huh?"

"What...?"

Shock didn't end there. He dumped mana stones.

Eyes bulged. What the...?

Agent, smug: "Hitchhiker's maxed national feats. Plus top-nation perk: 100x mana stone drop buff."

Shouts erupted.

"Me too—re-climb!"

"M-me next!"

"Count me in! With buffs like that!"

All stats +200%. 100x drops.

How to resist?

Praise and gratitude for Hitchhiker bloomed across Jeju.

Jeju restoration, day 4.

Cha Minhyuk rode shotgun in a work vehicle, touring the island.

"Crane coming through!"

"Construction B-Team on site!"

Cheers echoed everywhere.

Roads, water, power grid—full infrastructure blitz underway.

"Whoa... Team Leader, never seen construction this blisteringly fast."

"Gotta be, right? Presidential decree dumping national budget."

Cha Minhyuk's lips curved up.

Real driver? Closer to Hitchhiker.

Agency trust chamber. The letter delivered there.

Agency leaked to press, kicked off work pronto.

Hitchhiker fever showed no signs of cooling.

Cha Minhyuk inwardly grinned.

Then his aide piped up.

"Team Leader, weirdly, don't you feel energized just on Jeju?"

"You too?"

"Yes! Fatigue gone, like after a full night's sleep! The whitened Tower's effect?"

Possible.

But Cha Minhyuk figured Hitchhiker's doing.

He'd gotten the heads-up.

"Planning some vitality experiments on Jeju folks."

Mind-blowing every time. Where did the power end?

He toured sites, checked progress, issued orders.

Final stop: makeshift runway.

"Team Leader! Mainland jet lands in 5."

"Hold tight."

Destination via jet: America.

Scout US-China-Japan alliance, sure—but priority one was last round's feat.

No ordinary event—to warrant pre-warning via feat.

Likely catastrophic. Rank-flipping level.

Must snag America's half of the intel.

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For Hitchhiker.

For Korea.

Shoooooo—

Jet touched down.

Cha Minhyuk, aides, guards—lean crew boarded.

Agency stretched thin from workload.

Hostile Korea-US vibes meant army wouldn't guarantee safety anyway.

'Zero worries.'

He had backup.

"First time on a plane!"

Hitchhiker's proxy in the shadows.

Only seen the bear plush, but Chinese spy takedown proved ironclad.

"First flight?"

"Yup. Super exciting—oh, Hitchhiker said no chit-chat."

"Sorry, my bad."

"Nah! Zipping it now!"

Silence flowed.

Proxy squirming like lips itched? Nah, imagination.

Sensory link with Carmina: ON.

—Whoa! That's it! No—damn, still dies?

What's in view? Game screen, character flailing.

Ignoring outside, glued to handheld.

This won't do. Chimed in.

[Roll-dodge there, then basic attack chain.]

—Know it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but character's sluggish! Can't Acceleration Orb it!

[Pros don't blame the character.]

—Argh! 58th try! Fail again, I ain't vampire!

Never were.

Flight's smooth anyway.

Barring some lunatic missile.

[Ping telepathy if trouble.]

—Roger!

Sensory link: OFF.

Then cleared Floor 43 with Yulia, Hati.

Simple extermination. No Carmina, but Meteor Fall and Black Hole maxed score.

Ranking check.

"Fierce competition, Your Majesty."

"Krrrng! Krrrng!"

All cracked 10 million easy.

Bottom up:

4th. Central Asia—Russia, India reps. 2 billion pop + max link bonus.

3rd. Western Europe—Germany, UK. Tower powerhouses, hefty links.

2nd. US-China-Japan. USA obvious.

Dumped gear/tech on China/Japan.

Plus.

(...)

【Kazuhiro [Floor 52] (USA)】

【Ye Tao [Floor 45] (USA)】

(...)

See that monstrosity?

China/Japan S/A-ranks all USA citizens now.

"What's their game?"

"Sharing USA's maxed national feat buffs. China/Japan high, but USA's superior."

Other schemes possible. America's black heart.

'Schemes.'

USA pulling China into alliance—key goal.

Info thin, but guess:

'Vote securing.'

China: ~1.4 billion.

World #2 pop post-India.

Add US/Japan: ~2 billion monster.

Korea: ~50 million. Laughable.

David vs. Goliath win needs two keys.

1: Gratitude amplification rate.

2: Other nations' votes.

Brain churning.

Hati, c'mere to my lap. Pet while pondering.

How much time passed?

Shoooooo—

Korea flag gleaming on the jet, over target airspace.

America's melting pot sprawled below.