Chapter 56
Part 55
"That's right."
"You remember the message I sent asking you to pull only some of the personnel deployed in each city and send them to Gwangmyeong."
"Yes. So the boss appeared in Gwangmyeong."
"No."
"?"
"Bosses appeared in both Incheon and Gwangmyeong."
"What?! W-Were there always that many boss monsters?"
"I can't give you a definite answer on that."
Yugeon deliberately kept his response vague.
Before his regression, only one boss had ever appeared during each wave.
But after he regressed, two had suddenly appeared at once.
He still didn't know whether it was only a temporary anomaly...
Or whether the number of bosses would continue increasing from now on.
"A boss monster can command every monster that emerges from the Tower."
"...So that's why the first and second waves caused so much damage."
Seunggil tightly shut his eyes and shook his head.
Back then, the entire world had suffered catastrophic losses.
An enormous number of people had died, and even now, not every missing person had been accounted for.
"If you know this much, Mr. Yugeon..."
"Yes. It's related to my Unique Ability."
"I knew it!"
Yugeon lied without the slightest hesitation.
After all, he really was the only one who possessed that knowledge.
That made it unique knowledge, didn't it?
"But the information can change to some extent. This latest wave is a perfect example."
"Ah... So Gwangmyeong was added suddenly?"
"Yes. Fortunately, even if something is suddenly added, I can still detect it. That's why we were able to respond in time."
"Thank goodness."
"So when you share this information with the other countries, make sure you tell them one more thing."
"What would that be?"
"If they want information about boss monsters from now on, they'll have to pay for it."
"..."
Seunggil stared at Yugeon in stunned silence.
How exactly was he supposed to say something like that to other countries?
"Information is power, and information is money. Have you forgotten how much Korea once paid China?"
"Ah..."
Floor 43.
Floor 45 was known as the Wailing Wall of Humanity.
But in reality, the entirety of Sector 5, Floors 41 through 50, was a Wailing Wall.
For Korea, however, the real wall had been Floor 43.
Most major guilds had been stuck there.
China had been the country that sold Korea the strategy for clearing Floor 43.
The price had been ten Legendary items and three years of unpaid expedition support from twenty of Korea's top Awakeners.
After extensive debate and deliberation, Korea had eventually accepted the terms.
Out of the fifteen Legendary items the country possessed at the time, ten had been handed over.
And for three years, Korea's top Awakeners had been forced to participate in expeditions requested by China without compensation.
Four Korean Awakeners had even died during those expeditions.
Of course, China hadn't been the only country to make outrageous demands.
France and Germany, which had also cleared Floor 43, had demanded even more.
"So if they want information on boss monsters from now on, tell them to pay an appropriate price for it."
Yugeon leaned back slightly.
"I'll be generous and tell them the timing of the Monster Waves for free."
"..."
"And tell them not to try getting clever. If they don't want to pay, then neither I nor my companions need to go where the boss appears."
Boss monsters were important.
But not every boss needed to be killed immediately.
More precisely, there were some bosses that didn't need to be killed at all.
Most had to be eliminated quickly because they commanded the monsters.
However, there had also been a few boss monsters that ended up helping humanity.
"Urgh... Understood."
In the end, Seunggil nodded.
What else could he do when Yugeon had already made up his mind?
"Then I'll be going."
Bzzzt.
Bzzzt.
"Hyung... Eilen Noona keeps sending me messages."
Woojin looked at Yugeon with an awkward expression.
It had been ten days since they returned from Alvheim.
Whenever Eilen contacted them, Yugeon had simply replied that he was busy and would visit later.
As a result, dozens of messages were now arriving every day.
"Hmm. Looks like the king is starting to get impatient."
Yugeon checked the calendar and smiled faintly.
The king had probably endured the first week while trying to remain patient.
But now that ten days had passed, it seemed he could no longer wait and was constantly pressuring Eilen for answers.
"Just tell her we'll be coming soon."
It was about time to throw the fish a little bait.
So far, he had only dangled an empty fishing line in front of a starving fish.
He needed to toss it a small piece of bait and calm it down.
Of course, a starving fish would never be satisfied with something so small.
If I keep testing their patience, our relationship might actually fall apart.
Yugeon took out his phone and checked the calendar again.
"We're going back to Alvheim in four days."
"We're finally going?"
"Think the king will come running to greet us?"
Mincheol and Hwarin laughed.
They had already gotten used to Yugeon's personality, so neither of them seemed particularly concerned.
Woojin, who was still young, looked somewhat anxious, though.
"But before that, there's somewhere I need to go."
"What about us?"
"You three will clear all of Sector 4."
Yugeon looked at Mincheol first.
"Mincheol, this time use only the axe side. Don't use the hammer."
Then Hwarin.
"Hwarin, summon only ten undead so you can improve your control."
Finally, Woojin.
"Woojin, clear the floors without using the World Axis Ore."
He paused.
