บท 243: Chapter 229
Yoo Jinho's plan was quite similar to Woo Jinchul's goal in a macroscopic sense.
'If Woo Jinchul wants to unite Hunters by creating an association, I'll unite them with money.' The virtual reality simulation training project was something any Hunter would be tempted by. Especially the heads of large guilds where most Hunters were concentrated.
"CEO Yoo, can our guild participate in that project too?" Starting with Hyeonmoo Gang, other S-rank Hunters also expressed strong curiosity and interest.
"I want to participate as well. If there's a limit on the number of people in the beta test, I want to try it first. I'll gladly hand over my data."
In fact, S-rank Hunters were the ones who didn't have a proper place to train freely. If they used their full strength, the entire surrounding area would be devastated. So in short, it was a natural disaster-level nuisance. There was a reason why Liu Zhigang, who wandered around China and freely unleashed his power everywhere, was called a crazy old man. S-rank Hunters, who knew this reality better than anyone, couldn't help but accept the conditions offered by CEO Yoo Jinho.
"North Korea? I'll cheer you on."
"They say you should seek out hardship when you're young, so why should an old man stop you? Have a safe trip."
"I agree. He's a newbie who's stronger than Grandpa Ma Dongwook, so he'll be fine."
"Wait, aren't you going to answer my question…? I'm asking what happened in India!?"
The S-rank Hunters actively gathered around Suho and showed their friendliness.
"Thank you all."
Although Lim Tae-Gyu was a bit bothersome, Suho was able to obtain the unanimous approval of the five S-rank Hunters thanks to Yoo Jinho. However, just like Association President Woo Jinchul, Yoo Jinho's goal in completing the virtual reality training program wasn't to have other Hunters help Sung Jinwoo or Sung Suho in battle. Rather, the opposite.
'It's to give them a taste of the true horror that humanity will face in the future.' Yoo Jinho looked at the S-rank Hunters who had lost all memories of the past era with a bitter gaze.
When Woo Jinchul first brought this project proposal two years ago, Yoo Jinho joined hands with him despite not knowing about the past. But from the moment all his memories returned thanks to Suho, Yoo Jinho put all his company's efforts into the Solo Leveling project. The direction of which had become much clearer than before.
'It's training on the surface, but it's actually closer to evacuation drills.'
"We've prepared more than you can imagine." They couldn't even comprehend the true meaning behind his words. So, they looked forward to it.
The game he created would have an incredibly high difficulty level.
'I've implemented an overwhelming difficulty that even S-rank Hunters can't handle.'
So they would despair and be frustrated before it. They would thoroughly realize their powerlessness and struggle to simply survive. To give as strong of a warning to all of humanity as possible, Yoo Jinho had even implemented survival quests in the game where they had no choice but to desperately run away within the time limit.
'…This is the best preparation I can do. Jinwoo.'
Yoo Jinho missed Sung Jinwoo more than ever today. He recalled the memories of the previous era that none of the people gathered here remembered, with a bitter expression. Especially when the battle with the Dragon Emperor was imminent. The interview where Sung Jinwoo strongly warned the world.
– Please get away from the Gates. As far as possible. Please flee as far as you can.
– Flee far away!
Those words from Sung Jinwoo were enough to move the world. At the warning that a number of magical beasts beyond human understanding would pour out, terrified people struggled to get away from the Gates. All the roads were quickly blocked by cars, and the streets were filled with deafening honking. But the greater the movement, the greater the opposing force…
Not everyone trusted Jinwoo's words.
– Tell him to stop talking nonsense!
– Hunter Sung Jinwoo! No matter how much you scare people with gibberish, you won't be able to monopolize all the Gates. I'm not scared one bit!
'The ignorant are brave.'
That's right. Humanity was ignorant. People who didn't know much usually couldn't even comprehend how much knowledge they lacked. That's why they were reckless, empowered by ignorance. The only thing left of countless Hunters and countries who dismissed Sung Jinwoo's warning and were arrogant enough to fight the Dragon Emperor's army directly, were their desperate screams and despair burned into Yoo Jinho's memory.
'…So this time, I'll let them experience beforehand... What true fear is...'
How powerless humanity was against extraterrestrial invaders. And when the reality of that fear truly comes to humanity.
'…This time, may everyone flee without a word.'
May they absolutely trust Sung Jinwoo and Sung Suho's words and desperately flee this time… This was the true goal of Project: 'Solo Leveling' planned by Woo Jinchul and himself.
'…Of course, the best-case scenario would be that such a day never comes. Then this will remain just a fun game until the end.'
Yoo Jinho smiled brightly at the S-rank Hunters who were all eager to participate in the closed beta test, unaware of his true intentions. He also gave Hyeonmoo Gang, who was looking at him with pleading eyes, a chance.
"Representative Hyeonmoo Gang. If you're that eager, would you like to participate in the beta test yourself?"
"Yes? Are you really allowing our guild to participate?" Hyeonmoo Gang's expression brightened rapidly.
But Yoo Jinho held a grudge. He had no ill feelings towards Hyeonmoo Gang personally, but the price for his failure to manage his subordinates and endangering Suho was high.
"Yes. If you wish, I'll give you the first trial voucher, Representative Hyeonmoo Gang. We need data from S-rank Hunters to improve the game's completeness anyway."
"Thank you! CEO Yoo!"
Again, ignorance was brave. He guaranteed that Hyeonmoo Gang would be the first to experience the extreme difficulty and taste despair. But when it came to holding grudges, Beru was no better than Yoo Jinho.
[Kieek! Don't think this is the end! Hand over the additional summon rune stone you mentioned earlier!]
"…!" Hyeonmoo Gang was startled and stepped back as he saw the black shadow suddenly appearing in front of him and yelling.
'How?! I couldn't even sense him approaching until he was right in front of me!'
Despite the ferocious aura, it was a summon of a tiny size. Still he couldn't help but feel goosebumps. Regardless, Beru grabbed Hyeonmoo Gang by the collar and threatened him with an even more menacing expression.
[It's only two, but you should know what a great honor it is to be of even a little help to our Master!]
"I-I'll give it… Please someone… Please get this summon off me…" Hyeonmoo Gang, who was suddenly grabbed by the collar by Suho's small and precious summon, was at a loss for what to do. It was quite awkward to shake off this small hand in this situation.
Then a savior appeared. S-rank Hunter Seo Jiwoo of the Blue Dragon Guild.
As the important conversation ended, Seo Jiwoo, who had been interested in Beru since his first appearance, pointed at him and spoke to Suho.
"Hunter Sung Suho. I've been curious, I heard you're also a reawakened person like me? Was that summon with you before reawakening? So you reawakened as a combat type? What's your new skill? What kind of changes have there been?" She had been holding back, but Seo Jiwoo had a lot of questions she wanted to ask from the moment she first saw Suho.
"Haha. Sorry for the barrage of questions. Actually, I was very happy to hear that the new guy was a reawakened person."
Suho, suddenly bombarded with questions from Seo Jiwoo, subtly pulled Beru away with one hand stopping him from threatening Hyeonmoo Gang, and answered,
"I was actually curious too."
[Kieek…!]
"That's great! Then shall we have a chat since we're in the same boat? It's commonly believed that reawakened people appear occasionally, but in reality, most of those cases are just measuring device errors. This is the first time I've seen a case like yours or mine where someone suddenly becomes so much stronger… With this much difference, there's no chance of it being a measurement error."
"…"
Seo Jiwoo poured out words without pause once she had the chance. But Suho was also genuinely curious.
'In my case, I used being a reawakened person as an excuse because of the leveling up system, but how did this person really reawaken?' Moreover, her situation was special. She became younger with reawakening. In many ways, Seo Jiwoo's case was just as interesting to Suho as his was to her. And as if sensing his thoughts, she asked the question most important to her first.
"Ah, right! Then can you answer this first? Do you also have memories of the moment of reawakening?"
"The moment of reawakening?"
"Yes. It's a very important matter to me." Seo Jiwoo's eyes, which had been sparkling with excitement, turned serious. And she carefully continued, recalling the moment of her reawakening.
"Hunter Sung Suho, are you… someone who woke up from Eternal Slumber like me?"
"…Eternal Slumber?"
"Eternal Slumber?!"
Seo Jiwoo's words evoked a more intense reaction from Yoo Jinho than from Suho. Yoo Jinho pushed aside the other S-rank Hunters he was dealing with and immediately joined the conversation.
"Hunter Seo Jiwoo! Is that true? You're someone who woke up from Eternal Slumber?"
Seeing Yoo Jinho's serious expression, Suho recalled the phenomenon called 'Eternal Sleep Disease' that had recently started occurring around the world. This symptom, nicknamed the 'Eternal Slumber' meant a phenomenon where people who couldn't adapt to the mana mixed in the air due to the increasing number of Gates opening across the globe suddenly fell asleep and didn't wake up for days, months, or even forever. It was relatively recent that the medical community named it 'Eternal Sleep Disease.' Until then, the number of people who suffered from it was so small that it was difficult to statistically confirm that it was a magic-related phenomenon. But these days, the number was gradually increasing. The medical community, sensing the seriousness of this, belatedly developed a life support device using magic stones to barely keep them alive until they woke up. Suho, who was well aware of this fact, found something strange in Seo Jiwoo's words and asked,
"You reawakened after waking up from Eternal Slumber? As far as I know, Eternal Slumber only occurs in those who are constitutionally unsuitable for mana, but Hunter Seo Jiwoo…"
"That's right. I'm a case where I contracted Eternal Slumber while already awakened and active as a Hunter. Judging from your reaction, Hunter Sung Suho, you seem to be a different case." Seo Jiwoo looked a little disappointed at Suho's reaction. And there was a good reason for that.
"It's not just me. All my colleagues who were with me in 'that place' that day fell into Eternal Slumber despite having mana adaptability. I'm the only one who woke up."
"Where is that place?"
"A double dungeon."
"…!"
At Seo Jiwoo's words, Suho and Yoo Jinho's expressions changed drastically. Even Beru, who was stealthily coming out to threaten Hyeonmoo Gang again, reacted sharply. Although at this moment, the three of them were all thinking of completely different things.
'If it's a double dungeon, could it be a Void Gate?'
'There's no way there's another Architect's legacy, is there?' A mix of emotions surged through Beru, but he was sure. The double dungeon that Seo Jiwoo and her colleagues entered couldn't be the double dungeon that Sung Jinwoo entered in the past, the Cartenon Temple. Then what happened to the Hunters who entered it and fell into Eternal Slumber?
Yoo Jinho was equally confused. 'Just like in the past, the number of people falling into Eternal Slumber is increasing in this era as well. But even back then, the only ones who woke up on their own were Jinwoo's mother and my father…' Instead of Yoo Jinho, who didn't know the specific reason, Suho asked Seo Jiwoo the essential question.
"How did you wake up from Eternal Slumber?"
"Hmm. I gave the same answer to the medical staff, but I don't really know. I just woke up somehow."
"You don't know the reason at all?"
"Yes. That's why I wanted to ask you. If you went through the same thing as me, I thought you might know how to help my colleagues who are still asleep."
The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Looking at Seo Jiwoo, who lowered her head with a bitter expression, Suho pondered for a moment and asked again,
"Then did you have any dreams while you were asleep?"
"…Dreams?"
"Yes. In my case, the trigger for reawakening was a 'dream'." Suho answered with one word, summarizing his experience.
It wasn't a lie. You could say he had accepted the current leveling up system in a dream he had during puberty because of his father.
"Dream… Yes, I did have a dream." Seo Jiwoo's expression turned serious at Suho's question. She recalled a distant sensation she had experienced while she was in an endless sleep due to Eternal Slumber.
"…A black sea."
"Sea?"
"Yes. An endless black sea. There was no land anywhere, just a vast ocean where I was drifting aimlessly. All I could do there was float like a corpse." Seo Jiwoo wrapped her arms around herself as if even recalling that moment gave her goosebumps.
"Then I barely managed to grab onto something and desperately clung to it." And as soon as she finished those words.
[The King of Dragons, the Monarch of Destruction, smiles faintly.]
"What I clung to was a giant… tree that had its roots deep in that black sea."
At that moment, Suho realized what the Dragon Emperor was about to say.
"…The World Tree."
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Craftyprogamer
Craftyprogamer Edited by Fotnmc
1/9/24
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