Chapter 73 – World Dungeon Summit(2)
“Are the preparations complete?”
“Yes, they are.”
“Good.”
Choi Min-jun nodded and stood up.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
The long, narrow corridor was dimly lit with only occasional lights.
The sound of footsteps echoed, particularly clear and loud.
“Phew...”
Choi Min-jun quickly reached the end of the corridor and caught his breath. Then, with a click, he opened the door.
A bright cavern appeared before Choi Min-jun as he opened the door.
Hundreds of ability users with sharp, gleaming eyes were seated there.
“Waaah!”
Cheers erupted as Choi Min-jun appeared.
Choi Min-jun closed his eyes for a moment to savor it, then raised his hand.
As if by magic, the cavern fell silent.
Everyone stared intently at Choi Min-jun’s face.
“A candle in the wind. The fate of the world is like a candle before the wind. Yet the fools dulled by peace are deceiving everyone while ignoring the blade falling before their eyes.”
A quiet but powerful voice echoed through the cavern.
“These fools have no intention of avoiding the blade or grasping it. They only whisper lies that it’s safe to cover everyone’s eyes.”
“...”
“Will you just watch as the world perishes in their hands?”
“No!”
The ability users responded loudly to Choi Min-jun’s words.
“That’s right. You have chosen. To save the world with me.”
“...”
“As if heaven is helping us, an opportunity has been given. Tomorrow. The incompetent ones who leave the world in danger will gather in Korea.”
“...”
“We will kill them. And we must open a new world. Our world!”
The eyes of those gathered glowed red, and their breathing became rough.
“Of course, it won’t be easy. Many will die, and we might even fail.”
“...”
“Are you afraid?”
“No!”
A resounding voice shook the cavern.
It was a satisfactory response.
“The world calls us terrorists. What nonsense. Are we terrorists?”
“No!”
“That’s right. Now the world will know that fact. Tomorrow. We will no longer be terrorists, but the world’s saviors. We will be reborn as heroes.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
Incheon International Airport.
It was natural to see foreigners wandering around this world-famous airport.
Nevertheless, the eyes of many people were drawn to two individuals, a man and a woman, walking through the airport.
“Whew, I heard Korea was a small country, but it’s more developed than I thought?”
The blonde man with a pompadour hairstyle whistled as he looked around.
“What era did you come from? Korea’s national competitiveness surpassed that of most European countries long ago.”
The woman with short brown hair shook her head as she looked at the man.
“Really? I didn’t know. Even so, why hold the summit in a country like this? We could have done it in America. Besides, wasn’t it under martial law until recently?”
“Whether before or after the dungeon incident, Korea’s public safety has been among the world’s best. Even that martial law situation was at a level that would be considered normal in other countries now. And they say the ability users’ skills are quite high here, so it’s worth experiencing.”
“Are you some kind of spokesperson for Korea? Why are you taking their side so much?”
“I’m just stating facts.”
The man frowned, seemingly displeased.
“Anyway, let’s go. We shouldn’t keep our President waiting.”
The man and woman walking through the airport.
Nearly a hundred people followed behind them in perfect order.
The identity of these individuals, all fully armed and exuding a fierce aura, was none other than America’s top-ranked guild, Warriors.
Among them, the blonde man was Eden, the guild master, and the woman with short brown hair was Ella, the vice guild master.
These individuals, considered the best in America, had landed in Korea to protect the American President attending the World Dungeon Summit.
***
Ippotranslation
***
The Second World Dungeon Summit.
Leaders from as many as 100 countries gathered in Seoul to attend this summit.
The rapidly changing difficulty of dungeons.
The endless byproducts pouring out of dungeons.
The increasingly serious crimes committed by ability users.
This gathering, assembled to discuss these issues and the world that had changed after the tutorial, was one of the largest summits in history.
“Quite a crowd has gathered.”
“Yeah. It feels thrilling after a long time, doesn’t it?”
“Stay still, you madman.”
And the enormous number of ability users gathered to protect them.
As these individuals, each possessing powerful abilities, gathered, even Kang Hyeon struggled to suppress the excitement welling up inside him.
“As expected of world-class, it’s interesting.”
“Some of them might be tough even in a one-on-one fight.”
“Yeah. Especially that blonde guy from the American side. Just looking at him, I can tell he’s in our league.”
“You noticed him too? Heh.”
At that moment, Kang Hyeon’s eyes met with those of the blonde man, Eden, sitting far away.
As Eden smiled and waved his hand, Kang Hyeon smiled back and returned the wave.
“Bastard. Acting like we know each other when we’ve never met.”
Kang Hyeon, who had been moving his hand and mouth separately, soon stopped and looked around.
Besides Eden, there were many other strong individuals that caught his senses.
“I thought Choi Dong-woo and Han Se-yeon were the biggest monsters, but the world is indeed vast.”
“Yes. With this level of force, even if a terrorist attack were to happen, it seems it would be suppressed immediately.”
Kang Hyeon nodded at Shin Seong-a’s words.
“That’s right.”
Until now, the terrorists’ method had been to remove the main core inside dungeons to release monsters.
However, all nearby dungeons were currently in a perfectly cleared state.
Therefore, to attack this place, they would have no choice but to come directly.
“Unless someone’s head is completely empty, there won’t be any madman attacking this place.”
Just the forces gathered here alone would be more than enough to overthrow a decent-sized country.
Moreover, an enormous number of soldiers are on standby around the conference venue.
The area near the conference hall is completely controlled, making it impossible to even enter or exit.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
Sergeant Kim, who had little experience handling radios, tapped it a few times.
“No, sir. I’ve closely observed the communications specialist doing this before, and you’re doing it correctly.”
“Really? Then why aren’t they answering?”
“I don’t know about that, sir.”
“Phew! This is Wild Dog Three, Wild Dog Three, we have an emergency situation.”
-Screech...
Despite continuous attempts, only irritating static came from the radio.
“Shit... What the hell is going on?”
“Sergeant Kim. I’m scared...”
“It’s okay. Don’t tremble. Let’s go to the command post.”
“What..? Wouldn’t it be better to hide like this?”
“No! We don’t know what might happen. Besides, this isn’t just about our lives now. Get a grip.”
“...”
“If you understand, let’s go.”
The scene that followed was consistent.
Corpses. Corpses. Corpses.
The fellow company members who were laughing and chatting just yesterday were all lying cold and lifeless.
Private Park seemed to have completely fallen into a state of panic.
“S-S-Ser-Sergeant Kim! This is strange. Let’s just...”
“Are you suggesting we desert?”
“...”
“You go. I need to check the command post.”
At Sergeant Kim’s cold words, Private Park’s eyes welled up with tears.
“Then I’ll go too...”
Finally, they arrived at the command and control room located near the conference venue.
However, it was no different from other places.
Checking inside, they found officers and generals alike, dead with their eyes rolled back, regardless of rank.
All the communication equipment had already been destroyed.
“Haa...”
“Sergeant Kim, what do we do now?”
“What do we do! Just run...”
That’s when it happened.
Sergeant Kim’s head quickly turned at the sound of footsteps from the side.
“Who’s there?!”
“Were there still some left?”
A familiar face entered Sergeant Kim’s view as he quickly assumed a shooting stance.
‘Choi Min-jun...’
A name etched in his memory from hearing it dozens of times during the pre-briefing.
He thought he would never encounter someone like this as a low-ranking soldier, but here he was in reality.
“Hup!”
There was no hesitation.
He took a deep breath and assumed the shooting stance he had practiced hundreds of times over nearly two years.
And without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
“Huh?”
His finger didn’t move.
“Shit, what’s wrong with this?!”
“Ugh... We’re going to die. We’re going to die!!!”
“Private Park! Get a grip, you bastard! Quickly, raise your gun!”
Sergeant Kim shouted, but Private Park was just trembling, sitting down.
“What a piece of trash.”
-Bang!
For a moment, Sergeant Kim’s thoughts stopped.
‘What just happened..?’
Private Park’s head exploded, blood gushing out like a fountain, and flying flesh hit his face.
“Park Yoon-woo... Hey...”
Sergeant Kim’s voice trembled as he called out to Private Park.
“Park Yoon-woo...!”
Sergeant Kim called out desperately, but Private Park was no longer in a state to answer.
“You, you bastard! Aaaah!”
Kill him.
The only thought was to pull the trigger and kill that man.
His finger hurt as if it would break, but he moved it with all his might.
‘Just a little, just a little more...!’
-Click
For a moment, Sergeant Kim’s finger moved slightly.
-Bang!
“Hmm?”
Choi Min-jun stroked his cheek. His palm was stained with his own red blood, something he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Interesting guy. Were you an ability user?”
“Haa, haa...”
Sergeant Kim slowly caught his breath.
He wanted to swear right away, but the overwhelming pain made his head burn white-hot.
His broken finger had swollen up to twice its original size.
“Geurgh!”
Suddenly, something began to choke Sergeant Kim. The powerful pressure made it impossible for him to breathe.
“You. What’s your name?”
“...ck.”
“What?”
Choi Min-jun frowned at the faint sound.
He loosened his hold on Sergeant Kim slightly and asked again.
“What’s your name? Come answer me.”
Only then could Choi Min-jun properly hear Sergeant Kim’s words.
“Fuck off.”
“I was starting to like you for having some guts after a long time... But I guess it can’t be helped.”
Sergeant Kim felt his throat constricting again.
‘Is this how everyone else died...’
The physical pain made his mind hazy, but what hurt more was the pain in his heart.
‘I curse you even in death.’
All Sergeant Kim could do was glare at Choi Min-jun as hard as he could while clinging to his fading consciousness.
“I’ll ask one last time. Come answer me.”
“F-Fu...”
“Fuck off! You crazy bastard!”
Suddenly hearing a voice from the side, Choi Min-jun hurriedly put up a magic shield.
-Crash!
However, the hastily made shield shattered like glass, and Choi Min-jun, hit directly by the attack, flew like a cannonball and crashed into the wall.
“Nice to meet you. This is our first time, right? I’ve heard so much about you it feels like we’ve been hanging out every day. Fuck.”
Kang Hyeon, who had delivered a satisfying side kick, smiled contentedly.