Chapter 42
Part 41
Allowing a particular Awakener to operate outside the chain of command during a national disaster.
There was no precedent for such an arrangement.
To make matters worse, Yugeon had not even been officially recognized as a Great Star.
"The higher-ups have said they'll discuss it once you become a Great Star."
"..."
"I'm sorry. I simply don't have enough influence..."
Seunggil lowered his head again.
After all, he was only a manager.
He could submit reports to the Association President, but persuading the government was beyond his authority.
"Please raise your head."
"...Pardon?"
"You've done your job. Why do you keep apologizing?"
Yugeon's voice was calm.
In truth, he had expected this outcome.
Even before his regression, the government's responses had always been slow.
People died because the government was slow to act, and only after those deaths did it finally begin to move.
Back then, I was alone, so it didn't really matter to me.
But things were different now.
"Then let's make a deal."
"...A deal?"
Seunggil tilted his head.
What could someone like Han Yugeon possibly need badly enough to negotiate with the Association?
"I know when the next Monster Wave will occur."
"..."
"And the monsters will emerge much sooner than anyone expects."
Clatter!
The glass in Seunggil's hand toppled onto the table.
Water spilled across the documents, but he paid no attention to it.
"W-What did you just say?"
"Another wave will occur sooner than expected."
"..."
Seunggil's mouth fell open.
At the airport, Yugeon had said he could roughly determine when a wave would occur.
But now he was speaking with something close to absolute certainty.
"I-Is that true? Do you really know?"
"Yes."
"..."
Seunggil swallowed.
The same thing had happened during the third wave.
Yugeon had sent information to news stations around the world.
Most of them had ignored his warning.
But the Monster Wave had occurred on the very day he predicted.
Since then, a particular theory had been circulating within the Association.
Perhaps Yugeon's Unique Ability was related to foresight.
"Are you saying... you'll give us that information?"
"In exchange for the Independent Operational Authority."
Seunggil moved the wet documents aside and straightened his posture.
The date of the next Monster Wave.
This was not merely information.
It was an important bargaining chip that the government could use in its dealings with other countries.
This isn't something the Association President can decide alone.
It would have to reach the presidential office.
No.
It absolutely had to.
"I'll negotiate with them. No, I'll make sure they approve it."
"I look forward to hearing the result."
"Then, could you tell me the date...?"
"Bring me the approval first. I'll tell you then."
Yugeon rose from his seat.
"By when should I give you an answer?"
"The sooner, the better."
Step. Step.
"Awakener Han Yugeon!"
Yugeon turned when Seunggil called out just as he reached for the door handle.
"...Is it really that urgent?"
Seunggil's expression had become serious.
The sooner, the better.
Those words meant they didn't have much time.
"Who knows?"
Click.
Thud.
Yugeon left the reception room without answering.
However, Seunggil had already understood the situation from his expression.
Four days later, Yugeon received a message from Seunggil.
[Independent Operational Authority Approved.]
Excellent.
Yugeon immediately gave him the date.
And from that day onward, the entire world was thrown into an uproar.
Floor 27, [Bloodstained Training Ground].
"ROAAAAAR!"
"Chwiiik!"
Orc Berserkers were charging across the red earth with weapons in their hands.
There were roughly a hundred of them.
Behind them, ten Ogres advanced, their heavy footsteps shaking the ground.
"Noona, are you ready?"
"Yeah."
Grab.
Hwarin took out the crown left behind by the Lizardman King.
She placed it on her head.
BZZZZZZT!
Her hair whipped around violently, and the red of her eyes deepened.
"Ugh..."
Hwarin suddenly clutched her forehead.
The locations of every dead creature on the entire floor flooded into her mind at once.
So this is... the power of domination?
When she received the lantern, her body had felt lighter.
But this was the opposite.
Her head felt unbearably heavy.
"Are you okay, Noona?"
"I'm fine. Just give me a moment."
Haa.
Hwarin took a deep breath and organized the overwhelming flood of sensations.
Then she opened her eyes.
Raise Skeleton.
CRRRRACK!
The red earth split apart, and Skeletons began crawling out of the ground.
Floor 27 was an arena where monsters constantly fought and killed one another.
In other words, there was an abundance of materials buried beneath the ground.
RUMBLE!
"...Wow!"
Woojin watched with his mouth wide open.
A hundred.
Two hundred.
The number kept increasing.
"Chwiiik?!"
The charging Orcs faltered.
"Mincheol, take the center."
"Yes!"
Dash!
Mincheol charged forward with his shield raised.
Giant's Roar.
BOOOOOOM!
The Orcs, which had momentarily hesitated, all turned toward Mincheol.
"Woojin, now."
"Yes!"
BZZT!
Woojin snapped his fingers, causing the space beneath Mincheol's feet to distort slightly.
Dash!
At the same instant, Mincheol shot forward like a bullet.
He was nearly 191 centimeters tall, with an enormous frame.
He was also wearing armor and carrying a heavy shield.
Yet his movements were now as light as a feather.
"I've reduced your gravity! You have three seconds!"
"That's plenty!"
BOOM!
Mincheol landed in the middle of the Orcs and swung Giant Slayer's Shatter.
The hammer side crushed three Orcs simultaneously.
Whoosh!
He twisted his wrist and swung the axe blade on the opposite side.
Slash!
"Chwiiik!"
An Orc Berserker was cut cleanly through the waist.
Good. I'm finally getting the hang of this.
Mincheol grinned.
It was a weapon that combined a hammer and an axe.
At first, he had struggled to control his wrist because the weapon's center of gravity shifted with every swing.
But after spending three weeks practicing with it, his body had finally begun moving naturally.
BOOM!
BOOM!
At the spots where the Orcs had fallen...
CRACK.
The fallen Orcs began standing up again.
Some had broken necks.
Others had been cut in half at the waist.
"Chwii... ik..."
"...That's creepy."
Woojin rubbed his arms.
The Orcs that had just died were now their allies, attacking the other Orcs.
Hwarin hadn't even cast another spell.
[King's Edict]
Dead creatures among the monsters under your control can be dominated without consuming mana.
"Mincheol, don't kill them. Push them toward the Skeletons."
"Yes!"
Mincheol drove the Orcs back with his shield.
The retreating Orcs were impaled by the Skeletons' spears.
CRACK.
Those Orcs rose again.
CRRRRACK.
Then the Orcs killed by those newly raised Orcs rose as well.
"Uh... This is getting a little..."
Woojin's expression grew complicated.
Excluding the undead that Hwarin had originally summoned from the ground, the Orcs continued turning into undead one after another.
The group of 150 Orcs had somehow become part of Hwarin's army.
"Grrrr!"
Eventually, only the ten Ogres remained.
"Woojin."
"Yes!"
BZZZZT!
Woojin spread both hands, and the space surrounding the Ogres began folding.
"You're not going anywhere!"
"ROAAAAR?!"
The Ogres took steps, but their bodies remained in the same place.
With the space folded around them, they couldn't escape no matter how hard they ran.
"Now."
Death Hands.
WHOOSH!
Black hands seized the Ogres' ankles.
At the same moment...
Dash!
Mincheol stepped on a Skeleton's shoulder and leaped into the air.
"Haaaaah!"
CRUNCH!
The axe blade of Shatter split an Ogre's neck.
BOOOOM!
When the last Ogre collapsed, silence settled over the training ground.
"Haa... Haa..."
Thud.
Hwarin dropped to her knees and panted heavily.
At the same time, all the undead she had raised collapsed into piles of bones.
"Noona!"
"I'm fine. It's just... my head hurts a little."
Hwarin waved her hand and smiled.
Thanks to the lantern, the death energy was no longer consuming her.
However, her head felt as though it was about to burst.
Controlling more than four hundred creatures simultaneously...
The strain on her brain was far greater than she had imagined.
"Well done."
Step. Step.
Yugeon, who had been watching from the edge of the training ground, slowly approached.
"Yugeon... I... I couldn't control them properly. I just let everything go at the end."
"That's normal at your current level."
Yugeon's answer was calm.
In his previous life, she had turned the entirety of Floor 78 into a land of death.
Four hundred creatures?
Compared to what she had controlled back then, it was practically nothing.
Of course, she had to abandon her humanity to accomplish that.
But things were different now.
She had the lantern.
She had companions.
And she was using her powers while retaining her sanity.
It didn't matter if her progress was slow.
"Yugeon Hyung, how did I do?"
"Your spatial folding was good. But it took you five seconds to restrain all ten Ogres."
"..."
Woojin's shoulders slumped.
"I'm not saying that was bad. At your current level, holding ten Ogres for five seconds is impressive."
"Oh! Really?"
"But when you overlap spaces, make sure your allies have put some distance between themselves first. Otherwise, they'll get caught in it too."
"Ah! Understood!"
Woojin nodded.
"Hyung, what about me?"
Mincheol approached with an expectant expression.
"Looks like you've finally gotten comfortable with your weapon."
"Haha! Thank you!"
"But when you jumped earlier, you didn't check where you were going to land, did you?"
"...Ah!"
"Always check your landing point before jumping. Otherwise, you could put yourself in danger. What would you have done if you'd landed in an area where Woojin had overlapped space? Make sure you confirm your landing point next time."
"Yes!"
Mincheol, who had briefly looked dejected, nodded energetically.
Three weeks passed.
During that time, the three of them entered the Tower and trained every day.
Mincheol managed to defeat the Orc Lord by himself using Shatter.
Woojin reached Level 33.
And Hwarin...
"Yugeon! I managed to control six hundred today!"
"Really?"
"But I got a nosebleed."
"I told you to stop before you pushed your body too far..."
Yugeon shook his head as he looked at the three of them.
Lately, they had been training like mad, almost as though they were competing against one another.
Of course, he had deliberately encouraged them to do so.
It was exactly what he wanted.
Nevertheless, their enthusiasm had exceeded his expectations.
Time passed, and midnight eventually arrived.
The three of them went upstairs to their respective rooms and fell asleep.
Yugeon remained alone on the living room sofa.
He opened his Status Window.
[Time of the Next Wave]
June 5, 2040
Boss Appearance Location: Incheon
