Chapter 40

Candidate for Sainthood?

What is this?

Jin-woo stood with a puzzled expression.

“The light just…”

Bishop Jack Mersher smiled at him.

“Ah… you acquired the divine power stat.”

It seems as if the bishop knew about it.

Jin-woo listened quietly to the bishop’s explanation.

“After the world changed, some priests received a stat called divine power. It was quite controversial because other members of the church didn’t… In time, I learned that some of the priests’ divine powers include baptism or blessing.”

“Then, did Priestess Emily bless me and gave me divine power?”

“Of course, not everyone can do it. It occurs only with people who have enormous faith.”

Faith?

Jin-woo wondered if he had such a thing.

He had none.

He stopped believing after his experiences.

If there was a god, his father would not have been killed by monsters.

If there was a god, his mother would have never died slowly and painfully from cancer.

[You are different from others.]

Different?

[Yes. Ordinary humans have faith in God. But in your case, you did not just believe. You experienced divine power yourself.]

Do you mean the Holy Blade? Because, as I said, it was simply a skill…

[It’s not that simple. It’s a good stat to have, anyway.]

Jin-woo agreed. It’s good to have it as an option.

He used divine power forcibly from the sword and the divine power orb, but now, those options are gone.

Seeing the notification about the Western Demon King, there was a high possibility that more demons exist.

Divine power was absolutely necessary to deal with them.

By the way, she’s a candidate for sainthood? No wonder she’s already a priestess at that young age…

“Thank you,” Jin-woo told Priestess Emily.

“Ah… No… It was only possible because you were devoted to your faith.”

She looked embarrassed but kept making eye contact with him.

Jin-woo found it a bit burdensome.

He turned his head toward Oliver.

“What happens to London after I leave?”

“The British government intends to build a barrier. The plan was being made even before the monsters appeared.”

“Even before?”

“Yes. Governments around the world were preparing for an emergency as larger numbers of monsters come out of gates. In fact, from the time the First Gate appeared, we were already trying to implement a plan to build a barrier.”

This is the first time I heard it.

“The reason the plan was not implemented was because some of the gates appeared within the city. Even if we build a barrier, it could not stop all the monsters.”

“But it will be different this time.”

“Yes. All the gates opened and all the monsters in the dungeon poured out. If a giant species appears, we cannot stop it, but we will be able to discover and prepare in advance.”

“More than anything else, I think that the citizens can have a sense of security.”

Jin-woo nodded at Han Yu-ra’s words.

“I guess it’s not only the British who were making preparations.”

“All the countries were getting ready. We have also finished facilities that can build barriers at any time. It looks like we can build a barrier in 30 to 60 days.”

It’s a pretty quick time.

But it will be possible.

This is a matter of national survival.

So, it was obvious that all manpower and resources would be exhausted for it.

“I have a request for you,” Oliver looked at Jin-woo.

“Yes?”

“Could you please postpone returning to Korea for two days? We need time to notify each guild and government and temporarily build a defensive line near the border.”

When Jin-woo leaves England, the monsters will return.

They need time to prepare for that.

It wasn’t an unreasonable request.

Above all, Oliver has helped them a lot during their stay in England.

“Okay. Then, I will leave in two days.”

“Yes. I will prepare the plane accordingly.”

There have been many changes.

But people were adjusting to it again.

* * *

Upon returning to the hotel, Jin-woo checked his inventory.

There was an invitation from the Demon King of the West.

Master, do I also tear the admission ticket to get inside the tower?

[Yes. When you tear the ticket, you will be able to meet the guy who sent the invitation. Before that, check the information written on the invitation.]

Jin-woo checked the invitation.

Unlike the admission ticket, something like a black picture was painted.

[Tsu! These guys always send invitations in their own language.]

“Hmm… … An expiration date and a number of people are written on it.”

[Huh?]

“I have the skill of being a linguist. I told you last time.”

[Oh, does that even decipher the languages outside of this world?]

“Yes.”

[That’s a useful technique. It will be used in more various ways in the future.]

“That would be great. Anyway, why is there a limit of five people?”

[Five people? Surprising.]

“Do you know anything?”

[I will tell you once we’re in the tower. If they catch me speaking here, they…]

“You can tell him.”

A third, unfamiliar voice joined in their conversation.

Jin-woo was startled and turned his head quickly.

He saw a man in a butler’s uniform.

He had white skin and a single horn on his head.

I can’t feel any energy from him.

It was completely different from when he confronted the demon kings.

Every creature has its own energy.

After learning martial arts from the swordsman, Jin-woo has learned to feel this energy from others, anytime, anywhere.

Even the four demon kings had this energy, albeit stranger than the others.

However, the presence in front of him now does not emanate such energy.

Jin-woo wondered if the stranger was alive.

[An observer. Do you mean he is qualified?]

“That’s correct.”

“Observer?” Jin-woo didn’t know what it meant.

The swordsman nodded.

[These guys are observers and judges. They play various roles.]

“Thank you for the brief explanation,” the stranger said. “Oh, can I have some of these cookies?”

He pointed to the cookies on the table.

Jin-woo nodded.

“Thank you.”

The stranger sat on a sofa and began to eat snacks in earnest.

It was a weird scene, but it doesn’t matter right now.

“Master, you said they were judges. What are they judging?”

[The game. The tower is a kind of an arena. There, beings of various dimensions play games.]

“Various dimensions?!”

[That’s right. There is not only one dimension in this world. There are countless dimensions such as the Moorim where I was from, the world you live in, and the demon king’s dimension.]

Jin-woo had expected it to some extent, but it was still shocking to have it confirmed as a reality.

“What sorts of games are they playing?”

“Survival.”

The stranger answered him.

“Who… … But what survival are you talking about?”

“It is the survival of the species. Oh, it’s a little weird to say this To be precise, you can think of it as dimensional survival.”

“What is that… … ?”

[If you lose a match, your dimension will disappear.]

“What?!”

Jinwoo looked at the swordsman with surprised eyes.

“Is that possible?”

[Enough…]

“Enough. That’s it.”

The observer got up from his seat and stopped the swordsman.

“Don’t say more than that. If you reveal too much, it won’t be much fun later.”

The swordsman frowned, but that was it.

What the hell is this guy? How could he make master behave?

Everything was questionable.

“Many questions may complicate your head. But now you only need to remember one thing.”

He took the last remaining cookie and put it in his mouth.

“Invitation letters must be used before the deadline. If you’re too late, you lose your chance to play. What would happen, then?”

The Observer smiled.

“Well, and my name is Riel, not Observer. Next time, please call me by my name. Oh, excuse me, can I take this cookie?”

Jin-woo nodded.

“This is really good. Hopefully, this world will not disappear. It’s hard to find delicious sweets like this. Well then.”

He bowed down and disappeared.

Jin-woo stared at the spot where Observer Riel was.

“Master…”

[Tell me.]

“Have you tried that match, too?”

[I tried.]

“Where have you been?”

[67th floor.]

“How many floors are there?”

[I do not know either. Ask the octopus about it.]

“Mister Octopus?”

Jin-woo looked at the swordsman with a puzzled face.

The swordsman flew through the air and landed on the table.

Then he reached out for Jin-woo’s smartphone and started watching videos on YouTube.

[The first person to reach the last floor is that octopus.]

“What?!”

* * *

Korea.

The Taewang Guild headquarters was full of people.

Evacuees.

At first, only citizens of Seoul and nearby areas came, but recently, more refugees were coming in from all over the country.

The guild headquarters and other nearby buildings were secured and used as shelters.

In the conference room of the guild headquarters, intense meetings were going on every day.

“The work of pushing the defense line further south from Seoul to Gyeonggi-do is progressing smoothly.”

“The number of monsters found in Seoul has decreased by 30%. No monsters have been found near Samseong Station in the last 48 hours.”

“The team of Director Lee Jong-cheol, who was dispatched to Busan, joined the 53rd Division. It will be put into full-scale operation from tomorrow.”

“I have been requesting supplies from the Runanculus Guild.”

There were a lot of things the Taewang Guild did.

Not only were they securing the safety of the citizens, but they were also fighting monsters in cooperation with the army and the police.

The guild members were being put into most of the work.

Lin Xiao’s side is complaining day after day, but with the current situation, it was stopped at the level of dissatisfaction.

“I received a call that Mr. Kang Jin-Woo will arrive in Korea with the relic tomorrow.”

“Oh oh-!”

“Is he finally coming?!”

Everyone was well aware of the effectiveness of relics.

The people in the room began to smile brightly.

“The official announcement will be made by the government, so please finish as much as you can.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

The meeting ended in a good mood.

Everyone was tired of the long meetings and the daily battles, but they left the conference room with smiles on their faces.

Park Tae-sung, who was left alone, got up from his seat and walked to the window.

A strange tower loomed from a distance.

It’s not just in Korea.

There were towers like this from all over the world.

Park Tae-sung muttered to himself as he watched the scene.

“Finally…”

The time has come.

“I can’t hide it anymore.”

Now is the time to reveal his identity.

And the secrets of this world.