Episode 102.
“They’re the type of people who can make the front page of the newspaper.”
“They aren’t that great. Now the center of world’s power is players.”
The meeting of representatives of Korean players was great, but the meeting at the UN headquarters was incomparable. What’s even more surprising was that they were all paying attention to Jung Si-woo. Of course, there were many outstanding players in other countries, but his strength and unique characteristics made him the most prominent player.
“I wish there won’t be any pestering people asking about the phantom bike.”
“There won’t be a mishap like that. Technically, it is your right, and no one else has the right to pry into it. Above all, Si-woo isn’t a regular attendee but a UN guest today. So just say whatever you want.”
As soon as Seria entered the building, she talked to the staff of the secretariat for a long time before bringing over a thick bundle of documents and handing them to Jung Si-woo and Lee Seo-hee. The script focused on what they should be familiar with and what they should say in relation to the “power of God.”
“Of course, if you think it’s not enough, you can add to it…actually, it’s helpful enough for me if Mr. Si-woo just nods.”
“Do you think I’m going to be frightened by saying a few words in front of these people?”
“Of course not.”
Marina looked at Seria with a very strange look because of how polite she was to Jung Si-woo.
“She wasn’t supposed to be that kind of character. You are suddenly so calm even if you are subject to the power of god…”
“Marina Bissett, I never thought you’d understand my noble determination with your empty brain.”
“A noble determination…is that noble? Huh? Especially, I’d like to ask you deeply about how you treat Si-woo?”
“Can’t you put that shallowness aside?”
Jung Si-woo decided to ignore the two women that always argued. When he walked towards his designated seat, they found Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha’s seats were also kindly arranged, but they weren’t the main focus today, so they didn’t have to appear.
“Is it okay for me to be here?”
“You’re qualified to be here just because you’re in good condition even after encountering the power of God. Just relax. No one here will look down on you.”
“I’m scared of Si-woo, who talks like a calm cartoon character.”
“You’re ashamed to be next to Oppa?”
“Not that!”
Jung Si-woo looked around the people quarreling as he passed by. As expected, Kim Ha-ryong, who was strongly jealous of him, was most noticeable. But…
‘But he doesn’t feel like the Last Boss, no matter how hard I look.’
The final boss who walks on the royal road first acts friendly to the main character and makes him misunderstand they are an ally, but his face rots little by little during the middle of the story, and at the end, he must rule as the strongest man. A man who shows hostility as he is from the beginning and whines at a woman would never a boss-class man. No matter how much he hid his power, he was beaten up by Jung Si-woo on a rainy day even though he was thought to be the strongest in Korea, so Jung Si-woo was disappointed.
‘Korea was able to clear the 32nd stage of the dungeon for the first time because of his reckless operation, Marina’s help, and sacrificing Ah-rin and others. China has already cleared the 32nd stage of the dungeon, and China is likely to clear the 33rd stage of the dungeon for the first time.… We didn’t have to pay attention to our country’s strongest man in the first place.’
However, in today’s works, it is also preferred to make an unexpected move to embarrass the main character, so you shouldn’t be at ease. He doesn’t have any intention of being relaxed in the first place.
“Everyone involved with god’s power, including today’s attack, is a target of attention. The problem is that we don’t know if other strong people carry the power of god…”
Even Kim Ha-ryong, who was never considered the world’s strongest player, was hiding the power of god. Therefore, no matter how many of the top players gathered in this hall have the power of god, it was unlikely that Jung Si-woo would notice it. If that happened, all of them had to be monitored. It was impossible for Jung Si-woo before, but it was possible now.
‘Everyone gather around. In non-visible mode.’
Jung Si-woo summoned the group of ghosts that was spread all over the world to hunt monsters. Ghosts controlled by the Soul Force Skills were a collection of mana, but players couldn’t recognize ghosts who were determined and hid their own traces.
‘It’s slow, but it’s growing steadily. I’m really going to catch up with my ability.’
Jung Si-woo exclaimed, confirming the ghosts gathered in the non-visible mode. In a short period of time, their overall level has grown by one or two. Of course, as they are fundamentally subordinate to Jung Si-woo, no matter how strong they are, it was impossible to surpass Jung Si-woo’s level, but it seemed that his skills could handle up to 200. Maybe when he grew, his skills would grow, and his limits would widen!
‘Now, we’re going to take one at a time.’
Ghosts were selected mainly from those who were the strongest of the 79 players. Of course, they couldn’t be compared by simple combat capability, but the ghosts managed to safely settle near the players without getting caught.
“Si-woo, why are you frowning all of a sudden?”
“It’s because I’m hungry.”
It’s okay when the amount of information was low because they were flocking at once, but if he accepted the information captured by the scattered ghosts all at once, his head would explode due to overload. He instructed the ghosts to send information about each player only when they acted or said something strange. Since all the Soul Force members were mentally subordinate to Jung Si-woo, it was very comfortable that he could perfectly direct their actions without having to say anything.
“You’ve come a long way from Korea, so you haven’t eaten, haven’t you? Do you want an energy bar?
“I don’t like that.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t prepare enough in-flight meals.”
Jung Si-woo was also a man who had been deeply indebted to energy bars lately. Seria felt sorry for no reason when he refused. He was a funny guy.
[Dear players, please take your seats. The first World Player Representative Conference (WPRC) will begin shortly.]
How much longer did he wait? There was a strange silence in the hall when the broadcast came out of the conference room. Everyone gathered here was sharing this historical moment. The pressure, neither tension nor emotion, was binding them all.
“Mother!?”
“Madam!?”
Meanwhile, Soo Ah-rin and Lee Seo-hee shouted in surprise. Jung Si-woo narrowed his eyes and gave them a hard time.
“Hey, your voice is loud.”
“Si-woo Oppa, did you know she’d be here?”
“Why are you so indifferent!? That’s my mom’s doing the broadcast!”
Yes, the broadcast that just came out was the voice of Jung Si-woo’s mother, but it was English. It was natural that they were surprised, but Jung Si-woo wasn’t.
“I knew you were here because I had a ghost on you. I knew you were in charge of something, but I didn’t know you were involved with the UN.”
Jung Si-woo laughed without tension, but the group who listened to him couldn’t laugh. They knew Jung Si-woo was a very special person, but they didn’t think his family was this special!
“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised about this since you’re the ‘Mom Radar.’”
“I told you not to call me weird nicknames.”
“Hey.”
“Mother!”
“Madam!”
At this point, his mother had drawn near him. Of course, he sensed her approach, but as always, he was gently slapped by his mother’s hand. Lee Seo-hee and Soo Ah-rin were surprised and said hello in a hurry, but she ignored them.
“Oh, Mom. You look like you’re in your forties when you dress up like this!”
“I am in my forties!”
His mother was wearing a suit that was neat and sophisticated, so she didn’t look like a housewife but like a person who worked here from the start. His mother didn’t tell him why she was here, nor did Jung Si-woo bother to ask that. Lee Seo-hee and Soo Ah-rin gave up their understanding, and Marina and Seria, who didn’t understand Korean well, just tilted their heads. Jung Si-woo explained briefly.
“It’s my mom.”
“Si-woo’s?”
“Mr. Si-woo’s?”
The two stood up from their seats with more astonishment than Soo Ah-rin and Lee Seo-hee. His mother faced them with a bright face and whispered so that only Jung Si-woo could hear her.
“Son, if you don’t want to get stabbed by any of them, you’ll have to arrange some of those relationships.”
“It’s not like that.”
“And your father tells you to stop beating up Korean guys if possible.”
Jung Si-woo briefly agonized over his mother’s sudden remarks and responded by pointing his finger at Kim Ha-ryong.
“Except for him. We’ll have to leave him out when we calculate Korean.”
“…Yes, I understand. Then there’s nothing we can do.”
His mother nodded with a bitter smile at her son, that didn’t easily back down, and then she stepped back. He thought she came all the way just to tell him that.
“Then I’ll leave you alone. It’s a solemn occasion, so don’t talk too much with the kids.”
“It’s not an elementary school class meeting…”
He waved his hand at his mother. The rest of them looked at him with puzzled eyes, but, of course, he didn’t explain. He just put his head down and said nothing.
“Did you think my mom would be an average person?”
“I don’t know if that was a clear answer, but…”
About five minutes later, when all the attendees sat in place, the meeting finally began. An agenda that wasn’t comparable to the Korean player representative meeting regularly popped up and was discussed casually. There were many rejected, but there were also quite a few things that were passed after consultation with the representatives of the players, and each one of them had a huge impact on the faltering global situation.
One of them was the formation of the World Players Council (WPC). The organization had representatives from each country and aimed to include all players. Based on the cooperative system with the UN, not the governments of each country, the goal was to unite players in preparation for a monster outbreak that couldn’t be dealt with by one country’s power. It was also an agreement to help players from other countries and prevent them from stepping out.
“Now that I’m done with my work at Mt. Seorak, I’m preventing bad guys like the Soaring Tempest Guild.”
“Marina, your voice is loud.”
He thought Soo Ah-rin was the only one who didn’t care about what she said, but Marina was also tough. Perhaps she was determined to be openly hostile, and he smiled bitterly as he gave her a little tap on the forehead. In the the launch of the WPC had been discussed.
“The UN will launch an artificial island outside of the sky castle. That way, civilians won’t be able to enter the castle, but they will be able to communicate directly with it. Also, we would like to set up a warp gate on this artificial island through a joint study with B&Y. We can get to the heart of the world…”
“Oh, this is what you were planning.”
The players of the sky castle would be happy, but Jung Si-woo listened to the meeting because he was very nervous. After a long wait, now it was their turn.
“Next, about an incident in Arizona last August…”
Jung Si-woo’s eyes sparkled. It was the moment when the main talk began.
