Chapter 436 – Results (3)
“So basically, they’re going to look for people from our world—Awakened—to support the Filial duty addicts’ side? No, but they’re trying to destroy the world. And yet there are absolutely people crazy enough to side with them… yeah, there definitely are.”
There were plenty of people in the world whose mindset was, as long as I live well, that’s enough. Want to help us destroy your world? In return, we’ll let you survive, become stronger, and live longer. There were more than enough people who’d grab that offer without hesitation. And even apart from that, there would be lots of people blinded by immediate gain.
And then there might be some who would do it simply because they wanted to.
“So the Transcendents want us to become pieces on their board and make us fight among ourselves? The Transcendents were already rotten to begin with, but at this rate I feel like I’m going to lose what little love for humanity I had left.”
“…Rotten?”
Newbie’s ears drooped as they became dejected.
“I’ll make an exception for you and Elder. Considering what I went through, I’ve got a right to be annoyed. And it feels like there’ll be no end to the trouble ahead, too.”
At the word exception, Newbie broke into a bright smile. Right, this one still seemed innocent. For someone called Newbie, they had lived an awfully long time. They really were peculiar.
“Then what, are Chatterbox’s Hunters and our Hunters going to hold some kind of ranking match? If it’s a fair fight and the winner gets what they want, that wouldn’t be so bad.”
I’d welcome that, if anything. For one thing, Sung Hyunjae possessed the strength of the number one fighter in the rankings. With the experience from passing through multiple worlds piling up even unconsciously, it would be impossible for anyone who wasn’t basically on the level of a Transcendent to beat him.
And if you excluded the special case that was Sung Hyunjae, then the real number one Hunter in our world was Yoohyun. On top of that, he was growing faster now than he had before my regression. And besides him, if Yerim had enough water, then even Yoohyun—no, even Sung Hyunjae—would find her troublesome to deal with.
If I said, This is about saving the world! Chief Song would lend his strength willingly too, and of course Ms. Hyuna would step in as well. Riette, a born S-rank, didn’t seem like the sort to take the Filial duty addicts’ side either. She and Diarma were already on bad terms because of what had happened.
And if it turned into a team battle, Noah would be incredibly reassuring too. On top of that, Myeongwoo would be backing us up from behind.
No matter how I looked at it, it felt like we had far too much of an advantage.
“Nothing’s been decided in detail yet! The Filial duty addicts need time to prepare, after all. Though Chatterbox has already been affecting Honey’s world, succeeding the master of the cursed poison dragon species and the King of Harmlessness.”
“Wait, don’t tell me what’s happening on the China side is connected to Chatterbox too?”
“I don’t know about that either. But the demon king is definitely a vassal of the King of Harmlessness!”
That noona of Bak Hayul’s was looking more suspicious by the second.
“You said there are five born S-ranks in our world. Then they’ll try to get hold of the other two, won’t they.”
“Probably. Honey, do you want coffee?”
“Oh, yeah. Make it iced. Feels like my stomach might turn otherwise.”
I said that as I went over and sat at the table. The view outside the window was the sea. Nothing but a vast stretch of deep blue sea spread out without end. There wasn’t a coastline in sight anywhere, so for a second I wondered if we were high on a cliff and leaned toward the window.
…Are we floating on the sea?
“Your iced Americano is ready~”
Newbie stretched out a tentacle and set a glass on the table. Why in the world was there a tiny umbrella stuck in my iced Americano. And it was bitter.
“Honestly, I have no idea what’s supposed to taste good about Americanos. They do look kind of cool, though.”
“I heard it’s what people in Honey’s world drink the most.”
“You still can’t tell me who the remaining born S-ranks are?”
Seated across from me, Newbie created a strawberry latte and nodded.
“We don’t have the information, and right now there are restrictions too. For a while, besides helping you Honeys, interference really will be minimal! Mostly just automated system responses!”
“That’s a shame. I should’ve looked sooner. No, should I dig around even now? Maybe I can persuade them.”
“You can’t.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You Honeys too, I mean, here.”
A globe appeared in the middle of the table. Newbie spun it around with a tentacle and tapped Korea.
“Around here. Like this.”
The tip of their tentacle drew a circle centered around Korea. Parts of Russia, China, and Mongolia, as well as Japan, Taiwan, and the upper part of the Philippines, fell inside the circle.
“You can’t leave outside this area.”
“What? So we’re trapped?”
“Until the Filial duty addicts finish preparing, yes. Especially since Chain has already extended its reach overseas. We can’t do anything about what’s already been touched, but no more from here on.”
“What about dungeons too?”
“Yes. For the time being, don’t clear any new dungeons outside this area either.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean. I mean, sure, I’d been planning on staying stuck to Korea anyway, but still.
“Then what about simple trade? People overseas come asking me to raise kiseungsu for them, and there’s Myeongwoo’s equipment too.”
“It’s okay as long as you Honeys don’t go out yourselves or tell them specifically to come.”
“Then what if I hold something like an auction? Does that count as calling them in?”
“Mm, just don’t invite any specific person precisely!”
So in other words, Come if you’re interested would be allowed.
“If a born S-rank comes to Korea on their own, then trying to win them over is allowed, right?”
“Yes. Inside the zone, it’s fine. What you can’t do is go outside the zone, or call in a specific person from outside it.”
“What about transactions? Like overseas auctions.”
“Anything SS-rank or above can’t be traded. There were complaints that you Honeys already possess too many powerful items and skills.”
“Honestly, we only got all that because the Transcendents kept pulling stupid crap. We worked our asses off for it.”
If they had just left our world alone and not meddled, we’d never have gotten any of it in the first place.
“So the exact duration still isn’t decided, right?”
“Right. The difference between the two sides is too big, so that part is still being discussed. It’s impossible to just give things away unconditionally, after all. Everything you Honeys got was through fair compensation too.”
“If they got it without working for it, that’d be cheating.”
I hoped their side suffered for it too. Wait, but then wouldn’t that mean they’d gain experience too? It wasn’t like I could say they should receive it effortlessly, either. I hoped they struggled like hell and got nothing much out of it. Please, by all means, let your efforts be wasted.
“Still, I guess at least for a while we won’t have to worry about the Transcendents. Oh, Elder teaching classes is still allowed, right?”
“Yes. Chaos-nim got kicked out midway through, so technically he’s a non-party. Everyone was sick of it, so they agreed to allow that.”
“…Kicked out?”
“He flipped the table during the meeting. In exchange, though, in Honey’s world he can absolutely never use power above a certain rank. Since he doesn’t know how to handle systems or other techniques, they agreed to overlook slight interference.”
That really was Elder for you. Amazing in his own way. In that case, since Korean dungeons would be safe for the time being anyway, I ought to focus on the kids’ lessons. Maybe I should even have them practice team battles just in case. I had the Teacher skill, sure, but I had to take into account the possibility that I might not be able to participate.
And then—
“Maybe I should throw a party.”
“A party?”
“For high-rank Hunters.”
If things went well, I might be able to find one of the born S-ranks that way. And if not, that was fine too—I could just slap keywords onto every Hunter who looked promising enough. As long as I was careful not to let anyone notice the keywords, who cared, damn it. I had sons way bigger than me already, anyway.
Mother, father, siblings, aunts, uncles, everybody come on over.
“You said that if I gathered fifty S-ranks, you’d solve everything. Does that still apply now?”
“…I don’t recommend it.”
Newbie rolled their eyes away from me and answered.
Huh?
“What’s that supposed to mean all of a sudden?”
“Honeys, I mean, Honey wants to stay together with the people around you, right?”
“Well, obviously. Why, would I die or something?”
“Not that, but still. And Elder said Crescent Moon wouldn’t give up easily. They wouldn’t tell me the details, though.”
Then again, even if we saved our world, that didn’t mean Sung Hyunjae would become free. What gathering fifty S-ranks could solve was only the problem of the Source trying to swallow our neighborhood. That had been the only goal at the beginning. Now it wasn’t just Crescent Moon anymore—Chatterbox’s grudge would still remain too.
“Can’t you tell me exactly what you were planning to do with those fifty? We might need to use it in an emergency.”
“I can’t. But Honey would no longer be able to remain in this world.”
Then where would I go? Would I be able to bring my brother with me? He’d never stay behind without me.
“Is there any other news or information? What about Crescent Moon?”
“That’s all for now. Crescent Moon seems to have woken up, but only sent word and hasn’t made any moves. Chatterbox is sharing part of the system authority with her. Of course, all information about you Honeys has been classified top secret. And…”
Newbie made a troubled face.
“It feels like even the Transcendents from other Sources are getting more and more interested. I’m telling you, this kind of huge event has never happened before.”
“Isn’t that just because you’re Newbie?”
“Even the Transcendents older than me are saying it. Even Chaos-nim said, What kind of mess is this?”
If even Elder was saying that, then it must really be true. We weren’t going to end up as shrimp crushed between fighting whales, were we? Please, just leave us alone.
“If they’re all gathering anyway, make every last Transcendent sign a contract. Once it’s over, they all have to cut their hands off cleanly from our world.”
“Yes, I’ll try my best!”
Then Newbie leaned their head toward me. For a second I wondered what they were doing, then I reached out and rubbed their fluffy head.
“You worked hard. Thanks. Keep taking care of us.”
“Yes!”
The smiling face blurred away. Darkness briefly covered my vision, then reddish light bled into it. When I lifted my eyelids, I saw sunlight filtering through the curtains and stretching all the way to the bed. So the sun was up. It looked like it had been up for quite a while too.
“You’re awake?”
I heard Yoohyun’s voice. When I pushed myself up on the bed, he held out a sandwich and a fruit-and-vegetable juice. I flinched a little at the dark green liquid filling the glass, but the taste wasn’t bad. At least it wasn’t medicine.
—Kkiang.
Peace jumped up onto the bed and rubbed his cheek against my hand.
“What time is it?”
“Not quite ten yet.”
I slept more than I expected. As I got down from the bed, my brother supported me and held out a cane.
“They said it can go into your inventory, and it has a weight-reduction effect too.”
“I don’t need a cane.”
Though it was better than nothing. It seemed like everyone else had already gotten up. When I came down to the living room, they were all gathered there. They’d probably all had breakfast already too.
“First, there’s something I need to tell everyone. There aren’t any outsiders nearby, right?”
The S-ranks confirmed that there weren’t.
“I received contact from Newbie. For a while, the Transcendents won’t be interfering directly. Instead, they’re planning to seek cooperation from Hunters overseas.”
I explained what I had heard from Newbie. At the mention that it might turn into fights among Hunters, Yerim’s eyes lit up first. Yoohyun also looked at least a little interested.
“If our opponents aren’t Transcendents, then protecting Hyung won’t be difficult either.”
“Han Yoohyun, you won’t even need to step up! Korea’s surrounded by sea on three sides. We can wipe them out before they even get close!”
Chief Song’s expression darkened. Yerim, calm down, sweetheart.
“It’s because they need time to prepare for that that we aren’t allowed to leave a certain zone for a while. Everyone here included.”
“So I can’t leave either, then.”
“That’s right.”
Chief Song’s expression brightened slightly. At least for the time being, he had escaped the fate of being dragged to the other side of the planet.
I also explained the exact area and the precautions we had to take.
“For a while, please think of it as quietly staying under restraint.”
Of course, nothing stopped us from simply not going out and making them come in instead. That was something to discuss once we returned to Korea.
“Did the Martial Arts Alliance contact you?”
At my question, Sung Hyunjae nodded.
“The helicopter has arrived. Preparations for transport are complete as well, so I recommend sending the dokkaebis and the baby monsters back to Korea first.”
“Okay. Yoon Yoon, head back first with the kids.”
“Yeah! We’re going home!”
“Hyung should go too.”
Yoohyun said it would be best if I went first as well. And that was true, but—
“The Martial Arts Alliance Leader is a woman, right?”
I wanted to confirm it. I was wondering whether she might be the noona Bak Hayul had mentioned. If that kind of skill had been involved, then there was a high chance it had been an Optimized Awakening. If that was the case, maybe I’d be able to tell by using Promising Sprout.
“She isn’t someone I know of as suspicious. But meeting her wouldn’t hurt.”
Sung Hyunjae said that as he rose from his seat.
“Can I come too? I’m curious.”
Yerim shot her hand high into the air. It wasn’t as though there was any reason she couldn’t. On the other hand, Yoohyun frowned slightly. Chief Song didn’t look pleased either.
“I think it would be better for Mr. Han Yoojin to return to Korea as quickly as possible.”
“I’ll behave and just look at her face. I may as well make some connections while I’m at it. It’d be a problem if the Martial Arts Alliance ended up crossing over to the Filial duty side.”
Judging from what they’d been doing so far, it didn’t seem likely, but still.
“As for me, I have to return first.”
Chief Song looked at Sung Hyunjae with worried eyes. A smooth smile curved Sung Hyunjae’s lips.
“Do not worry. I shall let you rest comfortably in a VIP hospital room.”
“Please take good care of the kids, Chief Song.”
Chief Song swallowed a sigh. I’m really not going to cause trouble. Did he really have so little faith in me?
“What are you going to do, Mr. Noah?”
“Wouldn’t Chief Song alone be more than enough to keep the route back to Korea safe?”
“It would.”
Chief Song said it like he wanted even one more person attached to my side if possible. In the end, only Chief Song and Yoon Yoon went ahead to Korea first with the kids.
The rest of us boarded the helicopter sent by the Martial Arts Alliance.
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