The next day I did what I was normally supposed to do. However, those who encountered me at the Myongjin Shelter didn't act the way they used to.
Of course, I didn't feel upset or displeased with their behavior, and I acted like like that to them. After all, they saw me the way I intended them to.
In other words, I did not express regrets or anger over their reactions, nor did I give any extra meaning to their actions on my whim.
Moreover, it was pretty natural that they behaved like that. It would be weirder if they had accepted me as if nothing had happened in a situation where I had become a top star overnight.
Of course, there were some who didn't change their behavior towards me at all. Those were my family, and some of the people who knew my real identity from the beginning.
Of course, it didn't mean they accepted me without question. My dad, my brother, and my sister kept telling me they were sorry. My mom cried for some time, holding me.
I didn't say anything, because I knew why they were acting and talking like that. I didn't have any regrets for my actions, and I'd had no choice but to act like that. If I was faced with the same situation next time, I would do the same thing without hesitation.
The one person who changed his attitude the most was none other than Captain Jungdae Lim, who was in charge of the security forces of the Myeongjin Shelter. He was formerly a special forces lieutenant colonel. I didn't know the details, but he had been working as a mercenary for several years around the world after being discharged from the military dishonorably. All I knew was that my father had hired him several years ago. Since he was a reliable man, my father had appointed him as the chief of the security forces of the Shelter. He had cast glances at me on many occasions for no particular reason.
So, I asked him why the change in attitude.
"Well, it's because you acted without any hesitation."
"Is that all?" Because I had killed Smith's party?
I was neither happy nor sad at that, since I'd had to kill them in such a situation.
Capt. Lim said, "It was not because you killed them so boldly, but because I was very surprised by your cold-hearted judgment that you should or should not kill somebody in such a situation. Obviously, it was right that you killed the five members of Smith's party. If you had saved even one of them, you would have been criticized as irresolute, indecisive, or cowardly. But it was right that you didn't kill the soldiers. Even if you had killed them, it wouldn't have been beneficial to you at all, and you would have been labelled as a murderer."
"..."
"I had no choice but to be surprised after you made a decision like that so quickly, when you didn't have any real experience on the battlefield."
As if he was very proud of me, Capt. Lim kept extolling me, looking straight into my eyes, "On the battlefield, allies are scarier than enemies. In particular, the commander who commands and directs his troops is more frightening than hundreds or thousands of enemies. Everyone's lives depend on his choice. When I watched you behaving resolutely, I really felt it was right that I came to this place and I made the right choice, all because I believe I would not be killed foolishly by your wrong choice."
After he finished speaking, he turned around to leave as if he was done.Then he stopped in place as if something came to mind and spoke up, "Oh, you have given 60 tanks as well as numerous guns and ammunition to our security forces, right? So, they also like you very much, saying you remind them of their younger days in the army."
I didn't hold him, of course…
--------------
At the Land of Titan, level 1500 hunting ground, the next day...
I was busy cleaning up the mess from yesterday.
Since I was born again as a swan from an ugly duckling of the Myongjin Guild, I had to show up at various places to prove that the Myongjin Shelter was a safe place.
After I was done taking care of those matters yesterday, I accessed Revival Legend right away after having breakfast because I hadn't yet reached level 1200 and there was an ongoing event.
[All new hunting grounds in all the regions have been released.
-An event is held in commemoration of the new hunting grounds.
: 1 point when you kill one monster in the level 1300 hunting ground.
: 3 points when you kill one monster in the level 1500 hunting ground.
*Even if the majority of the hunting party launch multiple attacks, only the person who deals a final blow will earn points.
-The total duration of the event is ten days. Rewards will be given to ten people in the order of the highest scores they get during the event.]
Of course, I had wasted the last three days, but it didn't matter.
There were still six days left, and what I earned up until then would be enough. I started hunting again.
------
While Juyoung was hunting alone in there, a great number of people around the world were very excited.
Of course, if the battle had taken place within Revival Legend, it would not have drawn as much attention as it had. But the battle took place in reality, so they could not calm down easily, which is what he had been looking forward to.
The power of Asirante, Juyoung Hong, was the dominant topic of conversation!
At the Holdridge headquarters in New York, USA...
"Yeah, it may be Blink, or it should be. I'm sure it was Blink. But the question is why his Blink had no cooldown."
When one of the top executives spoke, the others didn't respond. They didn't know the answer, either.
As far as they knew, there was no skill without a cooldown.
Of course, one could reduce one's skill cooldown by using passives and buffs related to an increase in willpower or decrease in skill cooldown, but when the top executives here checked on it, Juyoung Hong's Blink had no cooldown at all.
Moreover, Blink had a relatively long cooldown. As a matter of fact, they could confirm clearly that something they had not imagined was possible really happened when a skill related to one's movement had little or no cooldown.
"How can we catch him?"
"Can we catch him at all?"
What's more, that wasn't the only problem for the Holdridge Group.
"Alright, let's believe that it's Blink. As far as we know, it's definitely Blink. But what is that?"
There was something weird around Juyoung, as if it was protecting him.
"..."
"..."
"..."
As expected, they remained silent again, having never seen it before.
Of course, something like a protective shield for Juyoung was not invincible. It was burned, torn and damaged here and there by the Smith party's attack.
But the problem was that there were so many of the things!
Some of the damaged stuff withdrew itself into the ground, and was replaced with something new. The things were powerful enough to neutralize the Shaking Land skill that inflicted considerable damage on an opponent!
"Oh my God! I doubt Juyoung is playing the same Revival Legend that we are."
And it wasn't just the Holdridge people who thought the same. Everybody who witnessed the battle between Juyoung and Smith's party felt the same way!