Chapter 106
The Chinese Hunters’ decision to withdraw.
And the shocking defeat of the Five Emperors.
When the news first reached the public, the Chinese people were surprised, but mostly took it in stride.
─We have plenty of land in our own country anyway. We don’t care about some North Korean territory.
└Why’d they even go stirring up trouble over there?
Some even tried to save face.
─Big Brother Kim (Kim Segyun) really is unbeatable. Even the five strongest among 1.3 billion people couldn’t match him.
└It was the same when soccer was popular. China never once beat Korea.
└The Korea jinx isn’t over.
─Big Brother Kim really is the strongest in the world. If he stepped in, there was nothing they could do.
Kim Segyun was quite popular in China, too.
It would have been stranger if a powerhouse being recognized as the new strongest in the world weren’t popular.
But...
When it was obvious Kim Segyun must have intervened if the Five Emperors had been defeated, the truth came out.
─My older brother’s in the People’s Liberation Army, and he says Kim Segyun didn’t even get involved?
└Fake news is a crime.
└It’s true. I saw the video, too.
Starting with that post, public opinion began to stir and spread...
At last, it exploded over a video someone released.
There hadn’t even been an all-out war to begin with.
The Five Emperors, overconfident in their own strength, had challenged them to one-on-one duels.
Kim Segyun had accepted...
And the arrogant Five Emperors had been soundly defeated by the Korean Hunters without Kim Segyun even lifting a finger.
That was all it seemed to show.
─I get Zephyros, but who are the others?
└The one who didn’t fight was Lee Seong-hyeok, once considered North Korea’s number one. The one who utterly crushed the Fist Emperor... no idea.
└Apparently, he’s someone who retired ages ago and then came back.
─It’s obvious, obvious. Those idiots with nothing but fat in their bellies got careless again. The Korean Hunters were respectful and gave it their all, while ours just messed around and got their asses handed to them.
For the Chinese people, it was a tremendous shock.
They had already accepted Kim Segyun as beyond their league, but since they thought everyone besides him was no match for the Five Emperors, they couldn’t find any explanation other than carelessness.
As the truth spread, public opinion openly turned against the Five Emperors.
The most prominent were the Ten Kings (十王), who ranked directly below the Five Emperors and had suffered quite a lot from being overshadowed by them.
And the Chinese government, too, seemed to be taking this opportunity to undermine the Five Emperors’ standing, as state-run media went all out criticizing them.
Of course, from the perspective of the Five Emperors, who hadn’t been careless and had fought with all their might, it was downright absurd.
They had stepped up for their country without asking for much in return, and had come up with the most reasonable method possible—a series of one-on-one duels—to reduce Kim Segyun’s influence.
But...
Could they really be blamed for the result?
It wasn’t their fault that the Korean Hunters had been much stronger than expected.
“These bastards are cooking the hound after the hare hunt! We won’t just sit here and take it!”
The Five Emperors weren’t individuals acting alone.
Disciples, subordinates, followers, students, believers.
They were called by various names, but each of the Five Emperors was the leader of an organization.
Moreover, the Chinese government and the Ten Kings alike...
had completely misunderstood one thing.
The Korean Hunters were simply too strong...
They’d forgotten that the Five Emperors were still powerful enough to deserve their titles, at least in China.
The Five Emperors’ moves began when the Sword Emperor’s Myriad Sword Society (萬劍會) crushed the organization of the Sword King, one of the Ten Kings.
As the powers in various parts of China began to move...
cracks began to appear in the solid power structure the Chinese Communist Party had maintained for more than fifty years.
The Five Emperors had initially said they would respect the Chinese Communist Party’s authority, but things quickly took a turn for the worse, with them detaining the city governors in the regions they controlled, among other things.
China’s division...
already seemed like an unavoidable fate.
**
On second thought, if I could boost my reflexes up to ten times...
that would almost completely offset the 90% penalty, wouldn’t it?
“Ah, but there’s one crucial problem.”
My necklace slot wasn’t free.
I had a translation necklace in the necklace slot.
It was purely for utility and had no effect on combat, but it was incredibly useful.
But swapping it in and out...
“That’d be such a hassle.”
Besides, taking off the necklace would lower my increased maximum mana again.
As a bonus, the army I’d worked so hard to maintain would disappear.
My class depended on maintaining a huge mana pool, so swapping was basically impossible.
But should I give up on translation?
Well, realistically, I should.
I know giving it up is the right thing...
But it felt strange to start learning languages all over again at this point...
And it’d be a pain to drag an interpreter around.
Even if I learned English, there was no way it could match the convenience of a necklace that translated any language.
“Maybe I should look for something for another slot. Like a ring?”
I’ll look for a ring first.
It’s the slot I have most available.
Might as well use some Hunter Association points, too.
They just keep piling up, and I hardly ever get a chance to use them.
I might as well contact them right away.
“Hello, Mr. Association President?”
─Oh my, what could bring Hunter Kim Segyun to call me?
Was he a junior of Teacher Zephyros?
The new president of the Korean Hunter Association was being almost excessively deferential.
Well, it was good for me if he treated me well.
“Could you let me know if you have any translation rings for sale? I’d like to buy one.”
─A ring with a translation function? Doesn’t Hunter Kim Segyun have ‘Whisper of the Wind Spirit’?
“I need the necklace slot.”
─Ah! Of course! That was a foolish thing for me to say... I’m sorry.
“No need to apologize.”
─I’ll check as quickly as possible and let you know, but I don’t believe there are any rings on the level of Whisper of the Wind Spirit, even among legendary-grade items. At least, not as far as I know.
“Relic-grade is fine, too.”
─Yes, I’ll look into it.
A little while later, he called back, sounding troubled.
─Um, Hunter Kim Segyun. I’m sorry, but there are no translation rings listed in the database at all. They all come as necklaces. And those necklaces are essentially inferior versions of Whisper of the Wind Spirit. I checked all the transaction records in the database, too... This is the only ring with a translation function.
Looking at the data he sent...
What the hell is this...
[Ring of Whispering]
Grade: Legendary-grade ring
Description: A ring that can whisper your thoughts.
Details: You may designate a target up to 10 times every 24 hours. The target can hear whatever you wish to tell them.
─It can only target ten people, and you can speak to just one person at a time. This is all there is for rings with a translation function.
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
After hanging up with the Hunter Association president, I fell into thought.
The old one isn’t just good—it’s the very best.
Just when I was wondering if I’d have to settle for that one...
Oh, right. I still haven’t used my level 40 reward.
[Legendary Wearable Item Selection Ticket]
Details: You may choose one legendary-grade wearable item. You can narrow the search by item name, function, or equipment slot.
I’d been kind of dismissive of it because it was only a legendary item.
Maybe this could solve my problem?
“Use item.”
[Using Legendary Wearable Item Selection Ticket.]
[What item would you like to select?]
“Slot: ring. Translation function.”
[Searching...]
[5 search results found.]
Oh, five?
I eagerly looked at the search results...
“Damn it.”
All five had roughly similar performance.
The Ring of Whispering I’d just seen was among them.
None of them measured up to the necklace I was wearing now.
“If only the necklace’s performance could be transferred to a ring.”
[Searching...]
Huh? It can search for something like that, too?
[1 search result found.]
[Destruction King Fugus’s Favorite Random Game]
Grade: Legendary-grade weapon
Description: A hammer imbued with some of the power of a master craftsman who earned people’s ire through frequent crafting and enhancement failures. It is said to produce absurd results at a low probability.
Details: Usable once per hour. 10% chance to transform an item into an item for a random equipment slot, of legendary grade or lower. 40% chance nothing happens. 50% chance the item is destroyed.
Uh, well...
... How many translation necklaces were for sale in the world?
The very, very, very fortunate thing was...
Translation necklaces were at least fairly common items on the market.
Because they were craftable necklaces.
Of course, they were legendary-grade, so the materials were expensive and they were incredibly hard to make.
That’s why I could buy them for 10,000 Hunter Association points.
For now, I bought about a hundred and got started.
The success chance was 10%, and the slot was random.
Roughly speaking, the odds were about 1%, so I figured one would come out of a hundred...
“Aaaaaagh!”
It had been a while since I realized I had absolutely no luck with odds like these.
I spent 1.38 million Hunter Association points and used nearly 138 translation necklaces before I finally got one transformed into the ring form I wanted.
The catch was that it took 138 hours, too, but I considered it lucky that I got it in that many attempts.
The other 12 successes... were completely random.
One turned into a dagger, another into a helmet...
I thought about selling them, but decided to hold onto them for now.
Maybe they’d be useful someday.
Anyway, now I could wear ‘Immortal’s Idleness’ while retaining the translation function.
The problem was that I had to constantly use a certain amount of Pride to boost my reflexes...
But compared to ten times my maximum mana, that was nothing.
Tenfold, huh...
I mean, ten times.
Was there anything on Earth that could threaten me now?
**
A few months passed after the battle with the Five Emperors.
[As the civil war in China continues to spiral out of control...]
“Tsk, tsk. Why are those people always fighting over there?”
“... You’re not saying that because you don’t know why, are you?”
“I don’t know.”
Why were they fighting?
It was someone else’s country, anyway. Did I need to care any more than that?
I’d always been a little cynical about things like that, but after becoming ten times stronger, it felt even worse.
It felt like I’d lost interest in the things happening on Earth.
I wanted to level up fast and get into dungeons in the level 70 range.
“... Let’s not even talk about it.”
What was this? Male menopause?
“Hey, by the way, don’t you have work?”
“I had plenty of work. That’s why I need to rest.”
This was probably the busiest period of my life.
Aside from getting ten times stronger...
I helped Lee Seong-hyeok take control of the North Korean regime.
It wasn’t difficult.
It wasn’t just anyone who had stepped forward, but Lee Seong-hyeok, one of the most respected people in North Korea.
The public, the Hunters, even the military all knelt before Lee Seong-hyeok.
Of course, it wasn’t as if no one resisted...
Wow, I had no idea Lee Seong-hyeok was such a terrifying person.
He suppressed the military and Hunters who fought back desperately in their regions as if they’d run into the person who’d killed their parents.
Without even leaving me a chance to step in.
Anyway, after taking control of all of North Korea...
I started my real job.
I cleared every unclaimed Gate in North Korea that I was currently capable of clearing.
At the same time, once South Korean Hunters were given permission to clear Gates in North Korean territory, it was as if the Wild West had opened up... no, the Wild North, and South Korean Hunters swarmed into North Korea.
On top of that, North Korea wasn’t a WDDO member.
Since reunification hadn’t happened yet, the WDDO couldn’t do anything to stop North Korea from controlling its Gates.
A WDDO inspection team came to protest, asking if this wasn’t effectively reunification... but President Kang Min-guk and Lee Seong-hyeok, head of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, casually brushed them off.
‘North Korea is an independent country.’
‘Joseon is an independent country with no connection to the Republic of Korea. We just happen to have close ties.’
Of course, the WDDO warned that if this continued, they might impose economic sanctions on South Korea for continuing to send Hunters to a non-member country...
But with China, one of the main pillars behind such measures, in such turmoil, the WDDO itself was wavering.
The United States was still there, though.
Anyway...
“You know how many unclaimed Gates I’ve cleared over the past few months...”
“Yeah, I get it, you’ve been busy. I get it, but...”
Zephyros clutched his head and sighed.
“Why are you relaxing in the NIS director’s office?!”
“The TV here is big.”
They’ve got a gigantic TV here.
It was meant for video conferences, though.
“I’ll put one in your office, too, so please just go.”
“Oh, really? The same size?”
“Fine, sure. Just go already.”
It might look like I was loafing around, but I was officially on duty.
I had bacteria spread throughout the entire NIS building, keeping watch.
About once a month, I came in secretly and conducted a security inspection.
Thanks to that, we were properly preventing espionage and information leaks.
“I’ve already finished all my work, anyway. I’m heading home now.”
“Yeah, hurry up and go.”
I waved goodbye and left the NIS building.
[Time remaining: 2 days, 2 hours, 23 minutes]
“The Demon Lord Assembly’s coming up soon.”
Almost all the time that had started at six months had passed.
It was about time to head over to North Korea.
Fortunately, the situation there had been resolved beforehand, so I didn’t think I’d have much trouble getting in.
Come to think of it, I toppled the North Korean regime and nearly unified the country just to get in there.
Was that for real?
[Time remaining: 2 days, 2 hours, 22 minutes]
But the moment the time changed, one minute less...
[A massive storm sweeps over the Demon Realm.]
[The Demon Lord Assembly has been canceled due to an unexpected situation in the Demon Realm.]
[Epic Saga Mission 54/70, ‘Gremory’s Survival’ continues.]
[Return to Demon Lord Gremory’s territory immediately!]
[Time remaining: 22 minutes]
[The mission will fail if Demon Lord Gremory dies!]
System messages suddenly appeared one after another.
“W-what?”
There had definitely been 2 days, 2 hours, and 22 minutes left!
What was this sudden storm, and where had the two days and two hours gone?!
“No, seriously... What kind of unbelievably unfair bullshit is this?”
Wasn’t returning early with two days to spare enough?
But from Seoul to North Hamgyeong Province in 22 minutes...
“Guess I’d better hurry.”
As I focused methane-producing bacteria into boosters formed around both hands,
I shot straight up into the sky.
I broke the sound barrier in an instant, and my flight began amid a shattering sonic boom.
**
Gremory’s territory.
Her territory, which had been busy preparing for the Demon Lord Assembly for the first time in hundreds of years...
was being battered by an overwhelming storm that even the power of a Demon Lord couldn’t hope to stop.
Storms like that sometimes swept through the Demon Realm.
Gremory had sometimes used her authority as a Demon Lord to counteract them.
But now...
It was a kind of storm that even the highest-ranking Demon Lord couldn’t be sure they could stop.
“Lady Gremory! You have to get away!”
“... If the Savior comes, they’ll be able to stop it!”
“B-but...!”
How in the world could anyone stop that?
Perhaps someone like Baal, counted among the strongest of the Demon Lords, could do something about it.
No matter how amazing the savior of the 72 Demon Realms was...
At that very moment.
A man appeared before Gremory in a flash of brilliant light.
It was Segyun.
“Savior!”
Gremory cried out in delight, and her retainers looked at him with hopeful expressions as well.
Once his form had fully materialized and he came to his senses, Segyun looked at Gremory and asked,
“What in the world is going on?”
“Over there...”
And after he took in the enormous storm right before his eyes...
“... What are you all doing?”
“Pardon?”
“Not running away.”
I was the first to start running in the opposite direction from the storm.