Seoul (15)

Eventful was the best word to describe this year.

Although spring wasn’t over, many events have already occurred that caused people to tremble in anxiety and fear.

First, the Tutorial stopped as soon as this year began.

But I didn’t know if the word ‘stopped’, which the media used, was appropriate.

Although challengers had stopped returning to Earth, there may be something we didn’t know about going on inside the Tutorial.

The number of people entering the Tutorial had decreased. As a result, martial arts academies and Tutorial preparation courses were suffering.

Recently, those who dreamed of the Tutorial, and treated it as a chance to reverse their lives, felt deprived of the opportunity they were supposed to be given.

No one knew when the Tutorial would resume. Maybe it would never.

However, every day was frustrating for those who gave up their studies and livelihoods to enter academies or were training their physical fitness for the slim chance of becoming a Tutorial challenger.

The more severe problem was that there were no returnees from the Tutorial and a decrease in new Awakened.

Since the cataclysm, humanity had steadily restored power.

Last year, the South Korean government announced that all of the nation’s systems had been restored to normal, and the accident rate caused by the appearance of gates and attack of monsters stabilized.

Still, monsters remained throughout the country, but the safety of large cities like Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and metropolitan cities had been secured. Protection around railroads and highways linking the cities improved.

Studies showed that the population’s quality of life was improving rapidly every month, and netizens often said that things were becoming better.

Of course, this significant recovery was because of the decrease in the number of monsters.

There was no denying the countless bloody campaigns led by soldiers and the Awakened to protect the people. The fact that such Awakened would no longer come from the Tutorial led to serious concerns.

What would they do if monsters started to appear again? The supply of Awakened has stopped entirely, which increases the value of the Awakened that already exist.

The second problem was the emergence of the G-class monster in Pyongyang. It was ultimately subjugated, but it stirred chaos throughout the country.

The airports and ports filled with people rushing to go abroad, and the highway heading to Busan wasn’t very different from a parking lot.

Questions about stopping evacuations and pushing ahead with subjugation had been raised. In the process, intense criticism was poured on the guild, which had been silent.

Experts speculated that this incident may lead to the worst outcome, especially when taking into account the rise in Awakened’s value.

People feared the Korean Awakened who had returned to Korea may go abroad again.

It turned out that there was an intense backlash on the Korean people within the guild since most of its members were overseas citizens.

The third problem that had rattled Korea this year was the emergence of the Awakened Lee Ho-jae. As soon as he appeared, he exploded the square in front of Seoul Station, where many people had gathered. But little had been discussed about that incident.

Because after that day, that happened.

People were anxious instead of angry because the explosion revealed a power beyond imagination but produced no deaths. And early that day, the guild announced that Lee Ho-jae, the Awakened, had alone defeated Pyongyang’s G-class.

It was too unrealistic to accept.

People were confused about how the G-class could be dealt with so easily and quickly, and whether it was right to subjugate it like this.

They got more news without even confirming whether the Pyongyang G-class was dead.

Early in the morning, G-classes were slaughtered every two or three hours, and eventually, all G-classes whose locations were known were destroyed before evening.

The government of each country was moving quickly, contrary to the reactions of those who were still confused even after a week.

Sankei News reported that Japan had already offered the largest-ever contract.

In the midst of this the Korean government announced that it will award an honorary medal to him, which raised concerns about the government’s impractical actions and the need to retain Lee Ho-jae.

-wakdbe [1]

They’re not going to give him the Medal of Honor to be patriotic, are they? I hope not, really.

-skrkxdm

If I were him, I would go abroad.

The damage to monsters in Korea was not serious anyway, so it wasn’t hard to handle them. In Southeast Asia, the Awakened were almost treated like kings.

-alrnrdlskwnd

I expect him to go to the United States or China.

-rmsep dlwjdehaus

Isn’t it that overwhelmingly strong for the Awakened? Not long ago, the other Awakened said that it was impossible to attack Pyongyang.

-vmdisd

I didn’t think it would matter if they just released all the Awakened and signed only one person, Lee Ho-jae.

-xozmffj

In the first place, there were only a few who contracted with the Korean government.

-dcjjj

If he signed a contract, what would happen if he exploded again?

-ahfmrpTek

But was it true that the G-class was defeated?

Wasn’t he just trying to f*ck with the government? It was almost impossible to check because the G-class didn’t move much.

-xozmffj

The same events played out in other countries such as Russia and Brazil.

-rrrnrnr

In other countries, they called him God’s warriors and the hope of humanity.

Why do Koreans not believe it?

-rmsepcn

But why did he blow up Seoul Station?

* * *

“Yes, why did he make it explode?”

Kim Min-hyuk, who was reading the article’s comments, murmured.

There was an easy way to become famous: be treated as a hero by the people.

He clicked his tongue. It was just a pity.

“What.”

“No, nothing.”

When Kim Min-hyuk did not answer, Lee Ho-jae also turned his head as if he was not interested.

The two were now at the Sangam World Cup Stadium.

In the middle of the vast football stadium was a gate that had lost its light and appeared translucent. It was a closed gate, from which no monsters appeared.

“What do you say? Is this good enough?”

“Yes, it’s alright.”

It wasn’t alright. Although damaged, the World Cup stadium itself remained.

The location was good. One cannot even see anything amiss if they just put a lid on it. The Association had come up with the best they could when Lee Ho-jae asked for it.

“The president of the Association is carrying out the procedures of his father’s death?”

“Oh, he was fighting cancer. Maybe we should postpone our appointment until after the funeral.”

“Okay, then. We don’t have to meet him.”

As delays continued to stall the appointment, Park Min confided in Kim Min-hyuk about his relationship with the Mantis in advance.

When Park Min first met the mantis, he noticed that the mantis was relatively weak for a G-class. He confessed that he tried to increase his influence and widen the Association by meeting with Pyongyang’s G-class and succeeding in conquering it.

It was too much for the Association’s Awakened alone, but he thought it would be possible if it included the Guild’s Awakened, Lee Joon-suk, and Lee Ho-jae, who was expected to arrive soon.

His confession matched well with the testimony of the mantis.

“No, his efforts weren’t bad. Just that his ambition was a little bigger than his skills, so it’s hard to say anything. More than anything else, it’s like pulling someone out of mourning. Let’s leave him alone.”

Lee Ho-jae gave high marks that Park Min did not attach himself to the Ruler, but instead dug a trap to hunt the mantis. Of course, his purpose was personal gain, but it was the same for everyone.

He was going to see if he had told the truth or had any more information to hide, but he felt it was too much work to question the person in charge.

“For now, I’ll have to decorate it.” Lee Ho-jae said while looking around the empty soccer field.

Then, structures and furniture began to appear in the air. A ceiling appeared around the gate, and a wall was erected. A building appeared in the middle of the soccer field at once.

“Like a god…”

“Because I am a god,” Lee Ho-jae replied to Kim Min-hyuk, who looked dazed.

* * *

[Lee Ho-jae]

The reason why a gate was needed was simple: to create a path to the Tutorial. To be more precise, make a way to the 60th floor of the Tutorial.

The gate wasn’t necessary, but it was better than nothing.

“It may take some time.”

“How long?” asked Kim Min-hyuk.

To be honest, I couldn’t guarantee it either.

“At best it could be a month, but it could also be never.”

I had to connect my area on the 60th floor of the Tutorial with this place, but the problem was that I couldn’t be sure how long it would take to locate it.

I expected it to resolve within a few months, but it was hard to be sure.

“That’s too long. Is it something you have to do right now?” asked Kim Min-hyuk.

Of course, it was something that I had to do right away. It was very urgent.

For me, my area on the 61st floor was more important than the Earth or the people on the Earth.

Without the Old Man and Grandma, there was no one to take care of the place.

I wanted to have it connected to here as soon as possible. There wouldn’t be any problems right now, but I felt weirdly uncomfortable.

It was similar to how I felt when I didn’t close the front door of my house, and didn’t turn off the stove.

It also included specific measures to get ownership of the Tutorial from Kirikiri.

I wanted to make a connection with the Hundred Gods Temple before I dealt with them directly.

“If there’s any problem, then…”

“Tell Hochi. He’ll take care of it.”

While I was busy, I decided to fix and hand over the earth’s dungeons in return for Kim Min-hyuk’s favor.

As Hochi liked dungeons, I thought he would do Kim Min-hyuk’s favor well.

“Hmm…”

Kim Min-hyuk seemed somewhat dubious.

Was he nervous?

That fellow was always so worried that it was hard to tell.

* * *

“Of course, just call me.”

At Hochi’s confident answer, Kim Min-hyuk was somewhat relieved.

Hochi shut the novel he was reading aloud.

“You don’t have to help me right now. If there’s a problem later on, then…”

“No, I just happened to finish reading all the novels here.”

Kim Min-hyuk thought about the number of novels and comic books he had in here. It wasn’t enough to finish reading in just a week.

Of course, it was a little different for Hochi who didn’t sleep and read all week.

“Should I get you some more books?”

Kim Min-hyuk thought that he’d read almost all the novels already in the bookstore, but he was willing to find him new novels if Hochi wanted it.

“Nah, I’ve read enough, so I’ll do something else.”

Kim Min-hyuk felt uneasy again.

What do you mean something else?

“I’m going out.”

“…where?”

“To buy something delicious.”

Kim Min-hyuk felt his heart pound.

Hochi shouldn’t be in front of people now. It’d be crazy.

“…Can’t I just buy it for you?”

Hochi shook his head firmly.

“I wanted to go to the restaurant and try it myself. I want a drink! Yong-yong, you’re coming too, right?”

Then Yong-yong, who was sitting on Hochi’s lap, nodded and stood up. Kim Min-hyuk’s anxiety spiked.

“Seregia, let’s go. I’ll buy you something delicious.”

Seregia, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa, jumped up from her seat as if it were natural.

Kim Min-hyuk grew beyond anxious and desperate at that sight.

Notes from Imagine:

[1] The text was really written like that. As for why we do not yet know.

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