Chapter 174: Countdown.

The space war was quite interesting.

Starting with one spaceship, each conquered planets.

Using that place as a base, they developed civilization.

As in a real-time strategy game, which building to construct first, which technology to research first, and when to produce how many forces.

All of this was very important.

A single decisive battle with no information.

One had to find the right path through contemplation and intuition.

Since the opportunity is only once, if one is eliminated too early, they would think it’s regrettable.

The prepared defense measures were very strong.

Trick or treat.

When the enemy invaded the base, there were two ways to defend.

One was to block the opponent’s attack (trick) using forces.

The other was to give resources to the opponent to prevent attack, which is treat.

Using both appropriately was the way to victory.

The Space Empire took the path of building up from the beginning.

If bluffing would work, use bluffing; if it’s dangerous, use treat.

If a fight is necessary, disturb the opponent with a small number of forces to slow the advance.

By properly using the asteroid zone, they overcame several times the number of forces.

With admirable tactics, they somehow endured the early stages.

Based on the production facilities expanded in the early stages, the Space Empire succeeded in rapidly increasing technology and the number of forces in the latter half.

Thus, the Space Empire conquered the universe.

Although dramatic scenes occurred several times.

“…How boring.”

An achievement shines only if there are people who recognize it.

Now that all attention is focused on the ground, what happens in space is just an extra.

“Don’t you know that not everything that succeeds gets attention? We just chose the path that doesn’t get attention.”

“But boss….”

“Captain.”

“But Captain, isn’t this too meaningless?”

The man called Captain smiled bitterly.

He wasn’t without regret either.

But what can be done?

All interest is completely on the ground, so the magnificent scenes didn’t even get noticed and all passed by.

There was no opponent left to fight, so it was impossible to wage a suffocating war.

“Stop….”

Let’s go down to the ground and participate in the monster ball.

Just as the Captain was about to say that, suddenly an alarm started ringing.

[Here comes a new challenger!]

[Will you accept?]

[Yes / No]

Next to the suddenly appeared screen, the opponent’s information was displayed.

“The Alliance?”

It seemed like a suddenly added opponent, but soon they realized it wasn’t that.

“Boss…. Captain! These are from the global server!”

Global server.

They knew such a thing existed, but it was completely separated, there was no interaction, and not much information came in.

So, it wasn’t an object of interest.

Now, at this moment, it changed.

“To prepare something like this at the end.”

Korea vs. the world.

Is there any Korean gamer who wouldn’t boil over at this?

The Captain pressed [Yes] vigorously.

[2:59:59]

The countdown began.

“Bo…. Captain! They’re saying they’ll broadcast this on the ground! Not only that, but they’ll also broadcast the highlights of the space war made until just before the war starts!”

Upon hearing that, the Captain grabbed his captain’s hat and pressed it down firmly.

“Kids.”

“Say! Yes, say!”

“We’ve set up the board, so it can’t be overshadowed by other things on the ground, right?”

“Say! Yes, say!”

The Captain smirked and shouted vigorously.

“This is the final war! Let’s burn it up spectacularly!”

***

Global server.

It was a space for people other than those in Korea.

Halloween is more popular overseas than in Korea.

There were many people who wanted to participate in this event.

But unlike Korea, which has very good accessibility, overseas, the means to participate in this event were limited.

Koreans could participate in the event through <Terminal Slime> after finishing their work life.

However, for people overseas, they had to go to Korea or Chile where <Terminal Slime> is, and either way, it took several hours to move.

For those who have to work, it was an impossible schedule to handle.

To participate in the Halloween event, setting aside a whole month was hindered by the timing in November.

It wasn’t vacation season, and there was Thanksgiving, sports leagues, and year-end preparations.

In many ways, it was a busy time.

Although the number of people entering through the <Terminal Slime> opened late in various parts of the world increased.

“How did Koreans clear this so quickly?”

“Their blood must clearly contain nanomachines that activate when playing games.”

The speed of subjugating special entities was clearly slower compared to Korea.

The event was based on Korean time, and when 16 hours remained until the event ended.

The global server somehow succeeded in subjugating Gluttony and Jealousy, but there wasn’t enough time to deal with Arrogance.

They found the old man who brews stars, but there was no time to carry out the task.

It was already too late to turn to subjugation.

Alchemy Slime asked them.

Korea has succeeded in saving Arrogance, and the monster ball is about to be held, so don’t they want to participate in that?

The space war was also progressing slower than in Korea.

There were more people interested in SF overseas than in Korea, and many more participants.

As a result, competition intensified, leading to overall forces being worn down.

Moreover, there was no clearly superior force.

It seemed like they would continue fighting until the event ended.

Alchemy Slime proposed to them.

Don’t they want to unite and fight against the Space Empire that pacified the universe in the Korean server?

The global server accepted Alchemy Slime’s proposal.

The boundary dividing the world collapsed.

***

The highlights of the space war being broadcast from the giant sphere placed in the square.

People gathered with their attention focused on that.

They heard the news from the square that they would broadcast the space war.

It’s the confrontation between the Korean server and the global server.

Upon hearing that news, the people were surprised.

“Global server? Did such a thing exist?”

There were many people who didn’t even know that the global server existed.

“Right. Halloween is so popular overseas, do you remember seeing any foreigners?”

“No… right? With monsters roaming around, there’s no way I’d remember if there were foreigners or not.”

“Anyway, it exists. They held a similar event there, but ultimately failed to subjugate Arrogance and pacify the universe, so they came over to our side.”

“They were competing, huh. That’s surprising. If we were clearly superior, it wouldn’t be strange for posts full of national pride to be uploaded.”

“There were some.”

“Really? I don’t remember seeing any.”

“Have you ever searched for this event on a portal site?”

At his friend’s words, the man pondered for a moment.

“No. Yeonseul prepared a dedicated bulletin board this time. It’s much better managed, so why would I bother going into that den?”

“That’s why you didn’t see it.”

The man realized the reason a little later.

“Yeonseul must have put restrictions on global server content. Why did he do that?”

“Probably to avoid situations where competition between countries arises.”

“Ah, I see. Definitely. If competition started, I wouldn’t feel like proceeding leisurely. Arrogance would have entered the subjugation route instead of the salvation route.”

Even though Alchemy Slime divided the bulletin board, if the global server had been chasing closely, it would have become more of a topic.

Because the difference was quite significant, it could pass quietly like this.

“I hope no one does any teabagging for no reason.”

“Don’t worry, Yeonseul won’t forgive people like that.”

“True, I guess.”

As a shadow fell over him, the man absentmindedly looked up at the sky.

“Wow….”

In the sky, a giant whale was flying.

When that whale spouted water, monsters spewed out along with it.

“Is that a new monster?”

“No, it looks like people in costumes.”

It wasn’t just the whale.

“That’s a raid boss!”

The raid boss Lily from the previous event was flying in the sky.

People jumped out from there.

A massive snake burst out from under the ground.

As it opened its mouth, people poured out.

The people from the global server arrived spectacularly.

Those who came weren’t all of them.

“Nine-tailed fox! A new sister has appeared!”

“I want to be buried in that tail!”

“It’s a giant….”

“That day, humanity remembered.”

“That looks like a Korean goblin.”

“Yeah, really.”

Unseen monsters appeared.

“A crane is flying around carrying a cabin on its back?”

“A sphinx is passing by and giving problems to people!”

“Let us rest today.”

The mysterious force that had left returned.

“A witch! A witch has come out of the forest!”

“Really?”

“Now’s the chance! If you miss this, the opportunity won’t come again!”

“They say a scarecrow has appeared too.”

“I’m not interested in that.”

Special entities also came.

And for them, various events were held.

“There’s a ball at the royal castle tonight.”

“There’s a martial arts tournament at the Colosseum.”

“We have to watch the space war too.”

Besides the big events, there were plenty of small events prepared.

“The forest of alcohol has come right next to the city for you to experience.”

“A mummy’s palace has been created next to the city.”

“Beauty contest-.”

“Handsome man contest-.”

“Storytime reading from fairy tale books-.”

“S-rank Hunter Sage’s piano concert-.”

While enjoying all this, various foods and drinks were prepared so that mouths wouldn’t be bored.

Additionally, there were reactions from different monsters meeting.

“The witch and the nine-tailed fox started a staring contest!”

“The dwarfs and the Korean goblin started a drinking contest!”

“In the sky, the raid boss and the crane are in a chase!”

“The sphinx is giving problems to the scarecrow, and the scarecrow is subtly smart!”

All sorts of things happened simultaneously.

While pondering where to go, you’d end up distracted in an unrelated place.

After watching that, there’d be another sight to see.

It wasn’t a festival as a means for merchants to make money.

Everyone was lost in a true festival for enjoyment.

“One day is too short!”

It was chaotic enough to elicit joyful screams.

“With all this chaos, is it true that the ball, martial arts tournament, and space war broadcast haven’t even started yet?”

The main events hadn’t even begun yet.

***

Numerous people and monsters gathered, creating a joyful chaos.

But I couldn’t participate in it or even watch it.

“The pride of Korea and world-famous S-rank Hunter Seo Gisu is now spouting flames-“

An emergency news broadcast was playing on the screen.

Seo Gisu, who landed at Gimpo International Airport on a charter plane, was walking while scattering golden sparks.

He’s walking this way.

Is there even a sliver of sanity left to avoid damaging the <Slime> that’s covering taxis and subtrains?

If public transportation isn’t available, he could request a vehicle from the Peace Guild.

Maybe he’s trying to sort out his emotions while walking.

Emotions and impulses that weren’t suppressed during the over 10-hour flight won’t be managed just by walking.

“-Seo Gisu is famous for actively subjugating monsters summoned by evil god worshippers. Experts speculate that such monsters might have been summoned in Korea-.”

He’s clearly coming to kill me.

He’s coming to burn me, convinced that I’ve become a monster.

I knew a day like this would come someday.

I expected it.

“I expected it.”

What dwells in Seo Gisu is extremely vicious.

Compared to the curse that dwells in me, it’s not inferior at all.

If Seo Gisu notices that I’ve become a monster, he’ll naturally come to kill me.

It’s as obvious as flipping a coin and getting heads or tails, so I expected it.

“I expected it, but.”

And when I only imagined it.

The difference when that became reality was overwhelmingly vast.

My body trembled.

“One. Just one more.”

My current level is 79.

In this situation where leveling up just one more might completely free me from this damn curse.

“Are you coming to kill me?”

Even after walking for a while, the intensity of the flames spewed by Gisu in the screen didn’t decrease at all.

“Ha. Ha….”

A futile laugh escaped involuntarily.

“Gisu. Gisu.

When you went mad and rampaged, I stopped you.

When you were struggling, I was by your side.

When you lost your way, I led you.

My friend Gisu, whom I’ve always helped.”

Emotions boiling up in my chest are overwriting the memories.

“Turning into this state and despairing. Despairing. Despairing.

Even if I despair again, to me who has endured somehow.”

The voice coming from my throat freezes coldly.

“You, who are one of the causes of me becoming like this.”

The corners of my mouth that had risen arbitrarily went down.

“You shouldn’t do this to me.”

My entire body turned red and black.