Chapter 25
Part 24
Kim Seunggil looked surprised.
Yugeon's action was an obvious refusal.
“If Mongolia hadn't transferred it yet, I would've refused directly. Since the money has already arrived, use it for the Association.”
“Excuse me...? Why...?”
Kim Seunggil stared blankly.
Two hundred billion won.
Enough to buy an SSS-rank Mana Stone.
No...
Forget Mana Stones.
It was enough money to do almost anything.
Why would anyone refuse it?
Wait... I heard he took Baruoden's Mana Stone.
Was that why he did not care about two hundred billion?
No.
Even then, refusing this much money made no sense.
And he didn't say to return it to Mongolia. He told the Association to use it.
That meant...
He intended to make the Association owe him.
“Awakener Han Yugeon... It seems you need something from the Association.”
“You're quick.”
Yugeon smiled.
This side of Kim Seunggil was exactly as he remembered.
“I was going to explain this later, but I'll bring it up now. The government intends to grant you the same privileges given to the Great Stars.”
“Great Star privileges... even though I'm not Level 100?”
The Great Stars received extraordinary benefits.
Complete tax exemption.
Debt forgiveness.
Clearing of criminal records.
Free medical treatment.
Tax-free monster loot.
And more.
They were privileges normally given only to Level 100 Awakeners regarded as national military assets.
But Yugeon was not Level 100.
“Haha. That's an amusing joke.”
“...”
Kim Seunggil stared at him.
Then his eyes widened.
“Y-You're really not Level 100?!”
Yugeon silently looked back.
Seunggil became even more shocked.
If he was below Level 100...
How had he displayed such overwhelming strength in Mongolia?
How had he killed Baruoden in a single strike?
“Hyung wasn't Level 100?”
“Really? I thought you were Level 100 too.”
“Nunim, you thought so too? Same.”
Mincheol and Hwarin quietly laughed.
Whether Yugeon was Level 100 or Level 200...
What did it matter?
He had saved them.
Besides, after living with him...
Levels seemed almost meaningless when applied to Han Yugeon.
“...”
Watching them...
Kim Seunggil became even more confused.
No. Wait. Think about this.
He frowned.
Han Yugeon was not Level 100.
That also meant...
He still had room to grow.
If he's this strong below Level 100...
How powerful would he become after reaching Level 100?
It was difficult even to imagine.
Of course...
Level was not an absolute measure of combat power.
There were Level 95 Healers in other countries who had poor fighting ability.
Still...
Level could not be ignored completely.
I need to discuss this with the Association President.
Kim Seunggil's gaze changed.
If Yugeon was telling the truth...
Then it became even more important to understand why he wanted the Association to owe him.
“What do you want from the Association?”
“More precisely, I want something from both the Association and the government.”
“Could you explain?”
“I want national emergency alert authority.”
“National emergency alert authority?”
“To be precise, government-recognized disaster warning authority. From now on, when I warn about a disaster, I want the Korean government to issue it as an official emergency warning, not as the personal claim of an individual.”
“...”
Kim Seunggil finally understood.
He had heard Han Yugeon was the one who warned media organizations around the world that a Wave was coming.
Most had laughed and ignored him.
The Wave happened anyway.
Countries that had at least placed personnel near Towers managed to respond quickly.
But if an entire country officially announces the warning...
Other countries could no longer dismiss it casually.
It would be an official disaster declaration from a government.
“You know when Waves are going to happen.”
“Roughly. Actually, let me correct that. I can determine when they're going to happen.”
Not 'I know.' 'I can determine.'
Kim Seunggil rubbed his chin.
So it might not be perfect knowledge.
But he could roughly determine the timing.
If that was true...
The Korean government should be the one begging for his cooperation.
Yet Yugeon had offered this arrangement first.
He moved first during this Wave too.
He probably thinks I'm some kind of saint.
Yugeon read Seunggil's expression and smiled.
From Seunggil's perspective...
Yugeon probably looked like someone sacrificing personal profit for global safety.
That conclusion made sense.
But Yugeon was not acting from noble duty.
He knew how the Holy Grail functioned.
Civilization and humanity need to survive if I want my wish.
He did not know exactly how much of humanity and civilization needed to remain.
So the safest choice was to save as many as possible.
Though I'll still kill everyone who deserves it.
Snap.
Yugeon snapped his fingers.
Kim Seunggil returned from his thoughts.
“There's one more thing I want.”
“Another request?”
“Command authority.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Like I said, I can roughly determine when Waves will occur. Sometimes large parties may be necessary. When that happens, I want absolute command authority. Even if the party includes a major guild master or a national-level Awakener, I want everyone under my command.”
“Hmm...”
This time...
Kim Seunggil looked troubled.
Unlike the previous request...
This would be difficult.
The government could probably grant national emergency warning authority.
Seunggil could bring it to the Association President.
Then the matter could be passed to the President.
But command authority was different.
If command authority were given to Yugeon...
Major guilds might refuse participation out of pride.
The government could force them to obey...
But if it pushed too hard, powerful Awakeners might simply change nationality.
Worse...
Wave suppression operations sometimes involved foreign Awakeners.
Korea could not simply decide who commanded another country's forces.
Yugeon smiled.
Good.
This reaction was exactly what he wanted.
The command authority request was bait.
He did not actually want it.
Even if the government gave Yugeon command authority...
Would major guilds obey properly?
Would foreign Awakeners?
Would Great Stars?
Of course not.
So he deliberately made a difficult request first.
“If that's too difficult, I'll replace it with something else.”
“H-Haha. If you could do that, it would certainly make things easier for both the government and Association.”
Kim Seunggil awkwardly wiped away sweat.
He had been wondering how to respond.
This was a relief.
“Then give me exemption authority.”
“Ugh... Could you explain what that means too?”
Kim Seunggil rubbed his forehead.
“From now on, during every Wave, I'll operate independently. I won't be assigned to any official party. My companions and I will move separately.”
“...”
Kim Seunggil sighed.
Exemption authority.
More accurately...
Yugeon wanted independent operational authority.
“Haa... Awakener Han Yugeon. I'll be honest. What you're asking for is basically independent operational authority. It's easier than the command authority you asked for. I can definitely bring it to the Association President and the government. But depending on the situation, even this may be difficult.”
Inside Korea...
It was possible.
If Yugeon wanted to fight with his own party, other guilds had little right to complain.
But foreign joint operations were different.
Suppose the operation took place in America.
And America was the main force.
Then America would appoint the commander.
Yugeon would be expected to obey.
“In situations like that, we can't interfere. It could become an international diplomatic issue.”
“Don't worry about that.”
“Oh! Then you mean you'll follow orders in those situations?”
Kim Seunggil brightened.
Finally...
Something easy to agree on.
Yugeon smiled.
“No. I simply won't participate in those operations.”
“...What?”
Kim Seunggil's face immediately froze.
“Y-You wouldn't participate... even during a Wave?”
“When Waves happen, monsters come out of Towers all over the world. There's no reason I need to travel abroad. I can just eliminate the monsters coming out in Korea.”
“Other countries may ask us for help.”
“They're asking us for help, but they'll command us while receiving that help?”
“No, I mean...”
“If necessary, I just won't tell them when the next Wave is coming.”
“...”
Kim Seunggil went silent.
Knowing when the Wave would happen...
Was the real reason he had been sent here.
The Association and government had ordered him to obtain that information.
“They ordered you to find out when the next Wave will happen... and how I know it.”
“...”
“Didn't they?”
Kim Seunggil could not answer.
