Chapter 103

I squashed the squirming, struggling bug.

It didn’t even take much strength.

Crunch-

At the same time, a message appeared.

-Your Level has increased!

-You have gained 5 additional Stats.

-Please distribute your remaining Stats!

A message I was now used to.

“Hoo.”

Level 399

Stamina : 305 Strength : 311

Mana : 1,040 Sense : 315

Two months had passed since my Advanced Magic turned into S-Rank.

During that time, I had devoted myself entirely to hunting.

I might not have known if I hadn’t tasted it, but I could feel myself getting stronger with every Level up.

I had to admit it. I was addicted to this.

Besides, this was the most crucial moment.

Only 1 Level left until Level 400.

An Awakener’s Rank changes every 50 Levels.

Just as there was a world of difference between Level 349 and 350, the same would be true for 399 and 400.

I’d probably get something equivalent to SS-Rank.

With that thought, I stopped the Gate.

The procession of Monsters that had been endlessly pouring out came to a halt.

“Hoo-ah.”

Only then did Jung Hye-in gasp for breath, looking like she could finally live.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Is it… over?”

“Yes. It’s over.”

As if she had been waiting for it, Jung Hye-in collapsed to the ground.

“It’s really over, right?”

“Yes. It’s really over.”

Uncharacteristically, Jung Hye-in sought confirmation several times.

Jung Hye-in quietly caught her breath.

The feeling of relief was strong.

Well, it was understandable.

I had worked her to the bone for two months.

She had even said she’d rather go back to the Mainland and be thrown into a dangerous mission.

I felt a little sorry, but Jung Hye-in had also grown a lot during that time.

Seeing as her Level, which was 370, had gone up to 380.

In other words, Jung Hye-in had also grown to her limit.

As long as her potential Rank was capped, this would be the extent of her growth.

After catching her breath, Jung Hye-in suddenly spoke.

“Thank you.”

“?”

“I learned a lot thanks to you. How to move, how to balance offense and defense.”

She even bowed her head deeply.

Receiving such a greeting while Monster blood dripped from her felt like a scene from a horror movie.

“Let’s go.”

It was a shame, but things were about to get busy for a while.

With no time to devote to hunting.

“I’m all ready!”

Choi Soo-jung said boisterously. When she first came to Jeju Island, she had been trembling, but now she looked completely confident.

“I’m ready too!”

Kim Soo-gyeom and Lee Won-sik were similar. A competitive spirit blazed in their eyes. It seemed they wouldn’t back down no matter who appeared as an enemy.

It made sense.

I don’t know when they grew up so much, but they had already reached A-Rank, Level 300.

Even I hadn’t expected them to grow this quickly.

“Come rain or shine, I’ll be loyal to you for life, Hyung…”

“Shut up and get in line.”

“Yes, sir!”

A quiet laugh broke out.

I looked behind them.

I could see the Association agents who had come here three months ago, one by one. A total of 40 people.

When they first arrived, the majority were C-Rank, but now, almost all of them were A-Rank.

Perhaps because of that, every single one of them had a bright face.

“I’m an A-Rank… This isn’t a dream, is it?”

There was even an agent who muttered such things.

That was after I saw the agent next to him slap his cheek and say, “It’s not a dream.”

“Does headquarters know about this situation right now?”

Im Han-na asked Hong Gyeong-pyo. But her gaze was fixed on me.

“I doubt it. They’ve been so busy over there lately, they haven’t had time to receive reports.”

Hong Gyeong-pyo shrugged.

“You know. The situation on the Mainland is a total mess right now.”

“The Association is going to be turned upside down again when we go back. A whole bunch of A-Ranks are about to pour in out of nowhere.”

“They’ll be grinning from ear to ear. Especially when they’re short on people.”

“I just feel bad for the ones who didn’t come here.”

“Even on the Mainland, the application rate for Jeju Island is supposedly through the roof. It used to be no different from a place of exile, but now you can’t go even if you want to.”

Hong Gyeong-pyo chuckled, “Heh heh,” while looking at me slyly.

What’s with that guy?

Im Han-na gestured at me with her chin, a strange look on her face.

“Did you know? That among us these days, you’re being called an extraterrestrial, Mr. Choi Gi-woong.”

“An extraterrestrial?”

“Because everything you touch succeeds in an unbelievable way. Come to think of it, Head of department Kim has a good eye for people.”

“?”

“He said it at first, didn’t he? That he was planning to make you an Awakener training officer. I think you would have done a good job at that too, Mr. Choi Gi-woong.”

Come to think of it, that was true.

Back then, I was a nuisance, but now I was being treated completely differently.

“Are you perhaps an extraterrestrial?”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind.”

Im Han-na ended her words anticlimactically. With good timing, the sound of a ship’s horn could be heard from far away.

Bwoooo-

The presence I could feel from within it numbered well over 200 people.

They were bringing not only Association personnel but also people who had found Ian’s Traces.

The aura felt from there was positive.

It meant the value of the Hunting Ground was rising.

I was on my way back after seeing the kids off.

The highest point of the Jeju Island branch.

I entered the room that had been assigned to me.

A blast of hot air hit me. The computer was running at full tilt.

“Is it going well?”

Han Seung-hoon, sensing my presence, lifted his head. He looked gaunt, like someone who hadn’t slept in days.

Right next to him, Association President Yeo Ju-kyung was perched on a chair.

The answer came from Yeo Ju-kyung’s lips.

“A 7000% return in two months. Not bad.”

I don’t know much about investing, but this seemed to be beyond just “not bad.”

“Isn’t that great?”

“A guy who sees the future is doing it, so he should at least do this much. Right?”

Yeo Ju-kyung patted Han Seung-hoon’s shoulder.

Han Seung-hoon stretched and looked at me.

“I did my best. I pulled every future I could, whether it existed or not.”

Futures, options, even cryptocurrency. He said there was nothing he hadn’t touched.

“How much did you gather?”

“It’s scattered all over the place, so it’ll take a while to check.”

“Roughly.”

“800 million.”

Then he added.

“Dollars.”

About 1 trillion won in Korean currency.

Despite the result of earning that much in two months, Han Seung-hoon’s face was displeased.

He then made an apologetic expression.

Anyone else would think he was crazy.

For the genius investor of a lifetime, who had earned 1 trillion won in two months, to say he was sorry.

But there was a reason for it.

Our plan was simple.

The Project to Make Every Citizen an A-Rank.

To do that, we needed an enormous amount of money.

The Items they would wear, the Potions they would drink, and the Hunting Grounds where they could hunt safely.

All of that was impossible without money.

A sum of 1 trillion won was an amount that felt astronomical to me, but the plan we had established was much, much bigger than that.

“Alternatively, there’s a way to mess with the government guys and siphon off some of their budget.”

Yeo Ju-kyung said.

Han Seung-hoon shook his head.

“If we twist the future any more than this, there’s no telling what might happen. It’s already on a knife’s edge.”

“You’ve twisted the future once, what’s to say you can’t do it a second time?”

Yeo Ju-kyung said sarcastically.

She still didn’t like the idea of twisting the future so drastically.

“The grand framework must not collapse. For example…”

Han Seung-hoon gestured at me with his chin.

“This guy falling for some scheme is an absolute no-go.”

“Why don’t you just kiss his ass, you punk.”

Yeo Ju-kyung frowned.

“If you had seen what I saw, Association President, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

“Was a situation like this also in the future you saw?”

Han Seung-hoon shut his mouth.

Last month, I heard the news that the number of deaths from Monsters and Demons had exceeded 1,000.

This was clearly a sign that the damage was gradually becoming greater than in the future Han Seung-hoon had seen.

It also meant that the Demon side was picking up their pace as well.

The atmosphere sank. At that point, I cut in.

“Let’s get started.”

“Without waiting any longer?”

“Yes. We can’t help it if things don’t go according to plan.”

Han Seung-hoon’s expression became strange. His face, which had been dead just a moment ago, came alive.

“The preparations are all done.”

He chuckled and tapped on the computer keyboard.

On the other hand, Yeo Ju-kyung’s expression grew a little darker.

“As I said, I’m against this operation.”

Yeo Ju-kyung stared at the monitor as if looking at a bomb.

“When this goes off, it’s going to be enormous. We might not be able to handle it.”

Imagine Civilian 1, walking down the street, becoming an A-Rank Awakener.

He could protect himself and his family from Monsters, but conversely, he could also harm others.

This was what Yeo Ju-kyung was concerned about.

“It’ll be better than the world ending.”

“There are more problems. The existing Awakeners won’t accept the new Awakeners. That’s how it is. Power is not something you share.”

“We’ll have to endure that much of a trial.”

“Your power will be tarnished.”

“I’m not the one stepping forward.”

“?”

The one who should receive the attention is Rachel Carson.

I would be behind the scenes, controlling her.

Around that time, Han Seung-hoon entered the largest community site in South Korea.

-Click here if you want to become an Awakener.

A typical clickbait title.

[To all my friends trembling at home alone. You can’t even go outside because you don’t know when a Monster or Demon might kill you, right?

Even now, you don’t know when a Gate might burst open.

Those Awakener bastards probably have no idea how much terror we feel, do they? They don’t have to worry about dying. That’s right. I’m talking about those bastards living it up in Jeju Island.]

Yeo Ju-kyung and I simultaneously looked at Han Seung-hoon.

“Is that what you usually think?”

Han Seung-hoon cleared his throat.

“If we’re going to create a divide, we might as well do it properly, right?”

This was why we were carrying out this operation anonymously.

We planned to deliberately provoke a certain amount of conflict.

If conflict was going to happen anyway, it was better for us to be at the forefront and control it.

“This is insane.”

While Yeo Ju-kyung was frowning, the post continued.

[So, I couldn’t just stand by and watch anymore. I’ll let you in on a secret.

In this world, there is Mana… no. It’s better for you guys to see this for yourselves rather than through words or text.

The data I’ve posted below is a thesis I’ve researched for decades. It means it can’t be compared to some cheap snake oil.

Well, whether you believe it or not is up to you, but I’m saying this so you don’t have to hide at home anymore.

Well then, see you next time.]

Attached files: Basic Elementalism, Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Mana Cultivation Method, Basic Magic, Divinity…

“Should I post it?”

“Go ahead.”

Han Seung-hoon pressed the upload button with the expression of someone playing with fire.

Click-

The post went up.

It was a historic moment, but naturally, there was no reaction.

But I had no doubt that it would soon heat up.

It was when Han Seung-hoon had hit the refresh button about five times.

A notification came in that a comment had been posted.

-What is this, you weeb.

-?

-Downvoted for long post.

That was it.

The post Han Seung-hoon had put so much effort into was buried in a tsunami of new posts.

With the view count not even exceeding 100.

But none of us were disappointed.

We knew it would turn out this way.

I immediately picked up my phone.

-Yes.

“Lee Seok-jae. Start the interview.”

-Understood.

The guy who was the first to become an Awakener from a Civilian will prove this post to be true.