Episode 76.
[Meanwhile, players who have been searching for dungeons in the Sky Castle haven’t been able to give a clear answer to the situation. It seems certain that monsters appear in a pattern that is different from when they appear in dungeons.]
[The government has been pushing for player management policies since the Sanha-dong incident…]
[The Ministry of Defense is pushing for the development of new weapons as part of the Great Monster Plan and technology partnership with the United States…]
“Okay, It’s a mess.”
Jung Si-woo looked through his phone and nodded. Less than a day after the earth entered the New Age, the situation was running very smoothly toward the extremes. There was also a plan that would surely result in hundreds of livelihoods being corrupted.
“That’s human. There is no way that everyone will put in an effort to protect the country just because some monsters appeared and hundreds of mountains or rivers that didn’t exist before suddenly appeared. Oh, yes, of course.”
“I wish people could have had a little bit of the reflection and awakening that comes in cartoons…”
Soo Ah-rin also thought that the government was trying to whitewash the people with their policies. Whether they believed everything was accepted under the excuse of “the sake of the country,” the policy was forcing players to sacrifice themselves without reasonable compensation. The players were shouting for freedom while certain groups were fulfilling their interests.
They had always been like that. It wouldn’t change in the future, not until the end of humanity. Of course, Jung Si-woo was no different from them. Or at least Jung Si-woo thought so. So what Jung Si-woo did was, of course, hunt monsters to secure mana stones and gain experience. He had collected enough monster beads over the last three days, so he wanted to hunt for more mana. Although it was a pity that the earth had become like this, it wasn’t difficult to secure Mana stones.
People were happy to survive from the monsters, and Jung Si-woo was happy to acquire mana stones. It was a win-win strategy, just like right now.
“They’re all dead.”
“All those monsters…”
“Thank you, thank you!”
Just a moment ago, there was an orc group that was hunting humans, but they were all killed at the hands of Jung Si-woo.
“Okay, okay, if you’re going to thank me, give me money later. And get up on your own because I know you can get up.”
He moved back and forth, shaking his hands at the people who were trying to take the bag from him. But there was no reaction.
“I guess there is nothing here.”
“I think so.”
When Jung Si-woo withdrew the explorer and the secret dozer, Soo Ah-rin responded with a nervous look and muttered. After the battle was over, he wondered if there was a passage to another world, but there was none. It meant that these were monsters that naturally occurred on earth.
“What happened to the world? I mean, a group of level 100 orcs just showed up so casually.”
“There are also trolls over level 200.”
Fortunately, they never met such a powerful monster except during the change. Due to the tectonic shift of the earth, there was a problem with the communication networks, so it wasn’t possible to grasp the information of the country easily, but there was no such sighting of monsters of that level on the internet.
“That’s a relief. If there were five more trolls in this situation, a couple of cities would’ve been devastated.”
“Wouldn’t a napalm bomb be able to overpower them?”
“It’s the same thing. If you subdue monsters with napalm bombs, the city will still be devastated.”
“Kyaaah, I didn’t know about that.”
That was the disadvantage of military weapons. It overpowered monsters and humans alike. If there was no choice, there might be a way to evacuate civilians and use their weapons while leaving only monsters behind, but it would be faster for the monsters to move in than for the civilians to escape.
“We need something. We can’t keep doing this anymore.”
Jung Si-woo sighed as he got on the bike. Soo Ah-rin shook his phone while sticking her head out from his arms.
“But I think something is going on in the meantime, Oppa.”
“There must be good people who can’t bear to see us all go down.”
“And I’m seeing posts praising you.”
“It’s also the government’s favorite way to make one’s good deeds very one-sided and make it sound like a natural obligation to others…what? Me?”
The bike, which was soaring through the air, creaked and paused, doing a little twist. Jung Si-woo accepted the phone from Soo Ah-rin and confirmed the image of him decorating the main page of various portals. It was the photo of himself sticking his hammer in the head of the troll.
“Oh, my god, Zelna…”
“So your faith was there.”
“I look so cool here!”
“If you get too conceited, you’re going to be in danger, Oppa.”
But in fact, Soo Ah-rin also thought the photo was very good. She wanted to set her background screen as him slaying the troll. What was unfortunate was that his face wasn’t showing because of the helmet.
“No, it’d be a total disaster if your face was showing.”
“I think we’re socially done, Hyeong-nim. Even at this moment, your humiliating nickname is being renewed. Ghost Rider, Nuclear Hammer…”
“Don’t read it. I told you not to read it.”
At that moment, he became disillusioned with himself, thinking that it was better than the Chinese restaurant rider.
“But it’s a natural flow. You need to be active.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re quickly clearing things up, and you’re moving all over the country with your superior mobility, Hyeong-nim.”
Players didn’t use their mana to fly; what they consumed was physical strength. Players couldn’t fly around as they wished because it would waste their stamina before the battle. On the other hand, Jung Si-woo wasn’t only riding a bike that could be charged as much as he wanted, but he was also used to continuous battles, so it looked like he was popping up all over from the east to the west.
“Gil-dong, the helmet guy.”
“Pfft.”
“Stop it, you guys. I’ll really punch you both.”
Yong Se-ha and Soo Ah-rin couldn’t look happier. Jung Si-woo, who had been quietly active without showing himself, was proud and happy to receive the attention of many people. Come to think of it; they were players who belonged to the elite guild Soaring Tempest. He had been calm because of his situation, but now he thought he was actually thirsty for attention. They denied Jung Si-woo’s idea.
“No, I’m just glad you’re finally getting a fair evaluation.”
“It would have been a lie If I said that I didn’t enjoy the public attention. I’m just not happy with the way you have to hide, especially when you should be proud of yourself. “
Jung Si-woo smirked at their words. He expected to be exposed anyway. If he had wanted to avoid it, he would’ve moved more carefully.
“Yes, I don’t have to be careful anymore. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to take my helmet off.”
A player who had no wings that could enter dungeons different from the Sky Castle and even open passages to other worlds. If Jung Si-woo had been discovered when he was weaker than now, he would’ve been in a very difficult situation. In the worst case, there was a possibility that he would be treated the same as the monsters pushed out of the world. But it didn’t matter anymore. He could beat up all the guys who wanted to argue; that was possible for Jung Si-woo now.
“Anyway, this is the right direction. Even if you move with the thought of wanting to be strong, there are definitely people who are saved, and they deserve to know who they must be thankful for.”
“The hero Nuclear Punch…ouch.”
Jung Si-woo gave a nookie to Yong Se-ha and Soo Ah-rin, then continued on his bike. Since then, he had been racing through the air at a pace not comparable to other players, killing all the monsters that appeared. He didn’t even think about catching them all; he hunted only those who stepped into people’s lives.
“Oh, that man! That bike!”
“Whoo.”
There were times when he encountered other players on the way, but even when they approached with surprise, Jung Si-woo ignored them, so there were no conflicts.
“What the hell is that artifact?”
“Jeez, I don’t know what level of the dungeon he got that from. I don’t think the 33rd stage dungeon is even cleared yet.”
“That was fast — he’s already out of sight!”
Monsters of all levels and from all kinds of places were swept away by Jung Si-woo before they could properly cause damage.
“Is this the last one? My level isn’t going up.”
Jung Si-woo grumbled as he cut the head off the giant lizard and pulled out the mana stone. He remained level 100 even after a full day of fighting, even though he fought monsters higher than his level.
“You’re not a normal level 100. So even if you absorb the monsters’ records and mana, your growth will be slow.”
“I know that. I want to grumble.”
Jung Si-woo shrugged and swallowed the mana stone. When there was no one around him, he would absorb them on the spot like this.
[Mana increased by 1]
“I’m glad that my mana is going up, at least.”
Jung Si-woo was overwhelmingly strong compared to his level, but his mana was low compared to his level. Perhaps that was why eating a few mana stones left by elite monsters steadily increased his mana. At this rate, he would soon be able to make the five senses passive skills!
“Fortunately, Soaring Tempest is also in full swing. I thought they would leave Korea altogether.”
“Maybe there was a big deal?”
Jung Si-woo nodded at the face of Kim Ha-ryong, the master of the Soaring Tempest Guild, who was taking pictures at a press conference because he was busy trying to erase Jung Si-woo’s image on the main portal.
“Maybe he’ll come to pick a fight with me sooner or later.”
“So, you’ve mastered the prediction skill now…?”
“No.”
The Soaring Tempest Guild’s performance began to be uploaded gradually as intended, but it wasn’t easy to push away Jung Si-woo’s existence. They must be displeased with that flow.
“Well, if they don’t pick a fight with me, it’s better because I’ll be less bothered. But If they do pick a fight…”
They would have to pay the price for bothering him. Jung Si-woo mumbled and drove his bike. But was the road to becoming the double-track master still long and rough? Two days later, Jung Si-woo didn’t face the Soaring Tempest Guild even after civilization had stopped due to sudden changes and began to roll back.
Instead, an unexpected meeting came to him.
