“They’re saying they want to find people from our world, the awakened ones, to side with the filial addicts? But those guys want to destroy the world. Yet so crazy people might actually join their side...”
There are plenty of people who think, as long as I live well, that’s enough. ‘Want to help destroy your world? I’ll help, and you’ll survive to get stronger and live longer.’ There would be plenty of people willing to take that deal. Even if not that, many would be blinded by imdiate gains.
And maybe so just want to, because they want to.
“Transcendent beings want us to be their pawns and fight each other? They’ve always been a pain, but soon humanity might vanish too.”
“...A pain?”
The rookie sulked, ears drooping.
“I’ll make exceptions for you and the elder. Considering what I’ve been through, it’s irritating. The hardships won’t end anyti soon.”
The rookie smiled brightly at being called an exception. Yeah, he still seems innocent. Though he’s called rookie, he’s probably lived for ages—just odd.
“So, what, should Chatterbox’s hunters and ours hold a ranking match? The winner gets what they want? That wouldn’t be bad.”
I’d actually welco that. Seong Hyunjae has the strength of a ranking match’s number one. With experience crossing worlds, unless you’re a transcendent, beating him would be impossible.
Excluding the special case of Seong Hyunjae, the actual top hunter in our world was Yuhyun. She was growing faster now than before regression. And Yerim, in a place with enough water, would be a tough opponent even for Yuhyun and Seong Hyunjae.
Director Song is also involved in saving the world! She’d willingly help, and Hyunah would definitely chip in. Liet, an innate S-Rank, probably wouldn’t side with the filial addicts either. Their relationship was already strained because of Diarma.
If it ca to team battles, Noah would be a great support. And Myungwoo would back them up.
No matter how you look at it, we’d have a big advantage.
“Nothing’s set in stone yet! The filial addicts need ti to prepare. Chatterbox did influence the Honey world after the Curse Poison Dragon Lord and the King of Harmlessness, though.”
“Could the China side be connected to Chatterbox too?”
“I don’t know. The Demon King is definitely a subordinate of the King of Harmlessness!”
The elder sister of Park Ha-yul also seed suspicious.
“You said there are five innate S-Ranks in our world. Then they’d try to take the other two too.”
“Probably. Honey, want so coffee?”
“Yeah. I think I’ll have an iced one; my stomach feels upset.”
Sitting at the table, I looked outside. The view was the ocean—vast and blue, without a coastline in sight. I wondered if I was on a cliff, so I leaned closer to the window.
...Am I floating above the sea?
“Iced Aricano’s here~”
The rookie extended his tentacle to set the glass on the table. Why was there a mini umbrella in the iced Aricano? And I drank it.
“Honestly, I don’t know why people drink Aricano. It looks cool, though.”
“It’s said to be the most popular drink in Honey’s world.”
“Still can’t say who the remaining innate S-Ranks are?”
The rookie nodded while making a strawberry latte.
“No info, and there are restrictions now. For a while, no one except the Honeys can interfere. Minimum interference only! Mainly system automation.”
“Too bad. I should’ve checked sooner. Or maybe I should check now. Maybe they can be persuaded.”
“No.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Because the Honeys... I an, here.”
A globe appeared in the center of the table. The rookie spun it with his tentacle and pointed at Korea.
“Around here. Like this.”
The tentacle traced a circle centered on Korea, including parts of Russia, China, Mongolia, Japan, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines.
“You can’t leave this area.”
“What? We’re trapped?”
“Until the filial addicts finish preparing. Especially since Chain has extended its reach overseas too. They can’t stop what’s done but no more from now.”
“Even dungeons?”
“Yes. Don’t tackle new dungeons outside here for now.”
What the hell? Of course, I plan to stay in Korea, but still.
“What about simple trades? People overseas will ask to raise Gi Seung-su. And Myungwoo’s equipnt too.”
“As long as the Honeys don’t leave or ask you to co first, it’s fine.”
“What if there’s an auction? Would that count as calling them over?”
“Well, invitations can be specific, but don’t invite broadly!”
So, only specific invites allowed, not open calls.
“If an innate S-Rank cos to Korea on their own, then it’s fine to entice them?”
“Yes. It’s fine inside the zone. But going outside or calling specific people outside is forbidden.”
“What about trades? Like overseas auctions?”
“SS-Rank or above can’t trade. It’s said Honeys already have too much equipnt and skills.”
“Honestly, they got all that because transcendent beings ssed around. They worked their asses off for nothing.”
If those beings hadn’t touched our world, we wouldn’t have gotten any of that.
“Don’t know the exact tiline yet?”
“No. The difference is too big; it’s still being discussed. They can’t just hand everything out. Honeys had to pay fair prices.”
“Getting it without hardship would be cheating.”
I hope they suffer as much as we did. Wait, does that an experience increases too? But it’d ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) be weird to get it without suffering. What if they worked hard and got nothing? Hope they’re wasting their efforts.
“Well, at least we won’t have to worry about transcendent beings for a while. Oh, can the elder still teach classes?”
“Yes. Chaos was kicked out mid-eting as an outsider. Everyone was tired and agreed on that.”
“...Kicked out?”
“He overturned the eting. But Chaos can’t use powers above a certain level in Honey’s world. He can’t use systems or other tech, so minor interference is tolerated.”
That elder... impressive as always. Now that the Korean dungeons are safer, we should focus on the kids’ training. Maybe practice team battles too. The teacher has skills, but I have to prepare for possibly not joining.
And...
“Should we form a party?”
“A party?”
“For high-level hunters.”
Maybe we’ll discover innate S-Ranks. If not, we’ll just apply keywords to all promising hunters. Just have to be careful not to get caught—damn. I have a son twice my size anyway.
Mom, dad, siblings, aunts, uncles—everyone’s invited.
“If we gather fifty S-Ranks, everything’s solved, right? Can we do that now?”
“...I don’t recomnd it.”
The rookie’s eyes rolled, dodging the question. Huh?
“What? Why all of a sudden?”
“Honey wants to stay with the people around him.”
“That’s true, but what if I die?”
“Not that, but still. Chaos said the Crescent Moon won’t give up easily. He didn’t tell details.”
True, saving our world won’t free Seong Hyunjae. Gathering fifty might only solve the root cause trying to swallow our neighborhood. That was the original goal. Now, the grudges of both Crescent Moon and Chatterbox remain.
“Can you tell exactly what you planned to do with fifty? Might co in handy soday.”
“No. But Honey won’t be able to stay in this world anymore.”
Then where would he go? Could he take my younger sister? She wouldn’t want to stay without .
“Any other news? What about Crescent Moon?”
“That’s it for now. Crescent Moon seems awakened but only sent ssages, hasn’t moved. Sharing so authority with Chatterbox and the system. Of course, Honey info is top secret. And...”
The rookie frowned.
“Other transcendent beings are starting to take interest. This is the first ti sothing this big has happened.”
“Is it because you’re a rookie?”
“Even transcendent beings older than are worried. Chaos was baffled too.”
If the elder’s that worried, it must be serious. Hope we’re not just shrimp caught between whales. Please leave us alone.
“If they’re eting, they should all sign contracts and settle this cleanly.”
“Yes, I’ll try!”
Then the rookie stuck out his head. I wondered why, then reached out to stroke his fluffy hair.
“Thanks for your hard work. Please keep it up.”
“Yes!”
His smiling face faded. Darkness briefly ca, then red light spread. Raising my eyelids, sunlight stread between the curtains near the bed. The sun had risen. Probably long ago.
“You’re awake?”
Yuhyun’s voice ca. Sitting up in bed, I was offered a sandwich and vegetable juice. The deep green in the glass startled , but it didn’t taste bad. At least it wasn’t dicine.
Kkiang.
Peace jumped onto the bed, rubbing her cheek against my hand.
“What ti is it?”
“Just before ten.”
I’d slept longer than I thought. As I got down, my sister helped , offering a cane.
“It goes in the inventory and reduces weight.”
“I don’t really need a cane.”
Better than nothing. Others seed to have already woken. Heading to the living room, I saw them gathered. They must have eaten breakfast.
“First, I have so news. No unrelated people nearby, right?”
The S-Ranks confird none.
“We got a ssage from the rookie. Transcendent beings won’t interfere directly for a while. Instead, they plan to ask hunters overseas for cooperation.”
Explaining what I heard from the rookie, Yerim’s eyes lit up first at the ntion of hunters possibly fighting. Yuhyun seed a bit interested too.
“If it’s not against transcendent beings, it won’t be hard to protect you.”
“Han Yuhyun, you don’t have to step up! Korea’s surrounded by sea on three sides. Sweep them before they can get close!”
Director Song’s face darkened. Yerim, calm down.
“There’s preparation to be done, so no one here should leave the area for now.”
“Am I trapped too?”
“Yes.”
Director Song’s expression brightened a bit. At least we’re spared from being dragged across the globe for now.
I explained the exact boundaries and precautions.
“Think of it as laying low for a while.”
Of course, we can co and go as we please, but this needs to be discussed in Korea.
“Any news from the Murim Alliance?”
Seong Hyunjae nodded.
“A helicopter has arrived. Transport prep is done, so it’s recomnded to send the goblins and baby monsters ho first.”
“Yes. Yunyun, take the kids ho first.”
“Okay! Going ho!”
“You should co too.”
Yuhyun suggested I should leave first. That’s true, but...
“The Murim Alliance leader is a woman, right?”
I wanted to check. Could she be related to Park Ha-yul’s elder sister? If her skill is like that, she’d be optimized, so we could spot her early.
“She’s not suspected, but eting her won’t hurt.”
Seong Hyunjae stood up.
“Can I co along? I’m curious too.”
Yerim raised her hand enthusiastically. No objections. Yuhyun frowned a bit. Director Song looked displeased.
“I think Han Yujin should return as soon as possible.”
“I’ll just quietly pay my respects. Might as well build connections. It’d be bad if Murim Alliance sided with the filial addicts.”
Judging from their actions, it doesn’t seem likely, but still.
“I have to go back first.”
Director Song looked worriedly at Seong Hyunjae, who smiled calmly.
“Don’t worry. You’ll rest comfortably in a hospital suite.”
“Please take good care of the kids, Director Song.”
Director Song sighed. I really won’t cause trouble. Does she really not trust that much?
“What about Noah?”
“Director Song alone should be enough to ensure a safe return.”
“That’s enough.”
Director Song sounded like she wanted to keep as many people near as possible. In the end, she and Yunyun would take the kids back to Korea first.
The rest boarded the helicopter sent by the Murim Alliance.
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