Chapter 16

〈 Chapter 16 〉 Part 2 (2)

<April 4th, 2020, 10:00 AM, Park near City Hall>

In the end, I couldn’t sell the A-Rank Monster Core.

‘In games, you could just sell S-Rank Cores all over the place.’

Why does it suddenly get so realistic here? Sang-woo passionately argued about the dangers of the A-Rank Monster Core and refused to buy it outright.

‘There’s no point in me consuming it anyway.’

At the top of the monster hierarchy are the Seven Lieutenants. Among them, the “strongest” title belongs to Blazing Phoenix.

There’s no point in risking contaminating pure magic power by eating some random A-Rank Core.

‘Should I have Deokbae eat it?’

That’s a no-go too. His growth is too slow; he hasn’t even fully absorbed a C-Rank Core yet. If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve used the Core to create a monster instead.

‘I would’ve definitely made an A-Rank one if I thought it would succeed.’

Next time I make a monster, I’ll definitely use an A-Rank Core – no, an S-Rank Core.

I glanced at Deokbae for a moment before returning my eyes to my smartphone.

“What should I do now?”

There’s no immediate need to enter New Seoul. So first, I need to head to Yeouido in Seoul.

“Because that thing is there.”

A fragment of a god. The divine artifact brought by Seongju when he tried to summon the Otherworldly God, which was destroyed and scattered across the world.

The core of the Otherworldly God, fragmented into 27 Cube pieces scattered around the globe.

“Half of them are being researched by various associations worldwide, while the rest remain hidden.”

Each fragment is about the size of a single piece of rock candy. Impossible to detect with magical sensors, finding these fragments requires an immense amount of manpower.

“I’ll destroy every single one without leaving any behind.”

The story ends when you defeat the final boss, Seongju.

But that’s just the normal ending. To achieve the true ending, you must also defeat the avatar summoned by Seongju.

If Seongju is the fake boss, then the Otherworldly God is the real ultimate boss. And Phoenix only survives in the true ending.

“If I go for the normal ending, things will feel unresolved.”

It’ll end with ominous text suggesting the Otherworldly God will eventually come to Earth.

Even if we kill Seongju and reach the ending, the Otherworldly God will find its way to Earth someday. The key lies in the fragments of the god, the Cubes. Before it can cross over using traces of its physical form, I must recover and destroy all the fragments.

“Let’s start with the ones whose locations are clear.”

Three fragments lie on the Korean Peninsula.

One in Daejeon, one in Pyongyang, and one in Seoul-Yeouido.

“But Yeouido is kind of inconvenient to visit.”

Truthfully, I don’t really want to go there.

A small island at the heart of Seoul. This island, where a shard of the divine fragment is hidden, plays a major role in the main storyline unfolding in Korea.

“The place where Blazing Phoenix dies.”

In the game, the Phoenix flies across the Pacific Ocean and lands on the ruins of the National Assembly, marking the beginning of the battle.

Throughout the entire Yeouido area, the protagonist’s party battles against the Phoenix. In the end, with all allies defeated, the protagonist faces the Phoenix alone.

Prepared to perish, the protagonist unleashes sealed powers.

The Phoenix goes berserk, awakening to its identity as a spirit.

Seongju attempts to re-brainwash the newly awakened Phoenix.

With the combined chaotic energies of three special abilities, the Phoenix transfers all its strength to the protagonist for revenge against Seongju before vanishing.

“Maybe I’ll experience a similar fate.”

A place where I might die.

Though unpleasant, I need to go to Yeouido to retrieve the Cube.

“Right. Let’s collect the Cubes first and think about it later.”

Gurgle.

“…Right. I should eat something first.”

I haven’t eaten anything properly since leaving Yeongjong Island. I dug into my pocket and pulled out two banknotes.

“20,000 won should be enough for two people.”

Standing up from the bench, I approached Deokbae sitting on a distant bench. He seemed to be asleep, unmoving, with a little sparrow pecking at his hood.

Chirp chirp.

Perhaps because he’s a nature-based monster, wild animals don’t seem to care about him. Those birds probably think Deokbae is just a big rock.

Flap flap.

As I reached out, the bird flew away startled. At the same time, Deokbae opened his eyes.

“What is it?”

“You were awake?”

Deokbae straightened his hood and stood up from the bench, casting a shadow over me with his height nearing 2 meters.

“I wasn’t sleeping in the first place.”

“Is that so? Then let’s go eat.”

“…Eat?”

I nodded.

“That’s right. I may not be good at many things, but I take care of male employee benefits thoroughly.”

“You’re buying lunch?”

Smiling, I pointed to the buildings beyond the park.

“Yes. We’ll kill time while I teach you various things.”

* * *

“Thank you for coming.”

Without looking at the departing customers, Giwoo greeted them from his seat. He had been sitting at the counter for two hours when the first customer finally arrived, but he wasn’t particularly pleased.

“This day is ruined.”

After Incheon fell into this state, Giwoo’s parents urged him to move to the countryside, to his grandmother’s house in Jeonju.

“But how can those buildings be more important than human lives?”

Giwoo couldn’t understand. It’s simple: they could temporarily relocate and return later. Once the monsters are dealt with, Incheon will be restored.

This convenience store was one of the buildings owned by Giwoo’s parents. They had more than enough money to hire part-time workers, but even with double the minimum wage, no one wanted to work here.

“We should run away too.”

Having grown up spending his parents’ money extravagantly, Giwoo never considered running away alone against their orders. As a result, despite disliking it, he ended up guarding the empty convenience store and playing the role of shopkeeper.

“What interesting content is there?”

Among the meaningless ways to pass time, YouTube remained the best option.

At least the internet connection in the building hadn’t been cut off yet.

“Popular videos… Oh.”

Among the thumbnails filled with various heroes, a video with over 100 million views caught his eye.

[China’s War God! Slicing an S-Rank Monster with a single strike?!]

“What nonsense is this?”

Giwoo started the video, skipping through the annoying commentary until he reached the main content.

“Wow.”

Draped in green armor, with a long beard flowing beneath his mask, the mighty figure of Guan Yu, a legendary Chinese hero reincarnated as a modern-day hero, strode across the desert. At the end of the desert, a furious black-colored monster rampaged violently.

“Black Scorpion?!”

Though smaller than the ones he’d seen before, it was undoubtedly an S-Rank Black Scorpion. One prick from its poisonous stinger could instantly take down a B-Rank Hero.

Without any fear, Guan Yu approached, spinning his crescent blade as if on a leisurely stroll. Enraged, the Black Scorpion charged at Guan Yu, spreading its pincers wide.

Just before its tail pierced through the mask, Guan Yu’s spinning crescent blade drew a blue line, creating a vortex.

Slice! Slice!

Keeeek!

Like weeds cut by a lawnmower, the Black Scorpion’s tail was severed. The venom dripping from the tip was dispersed by the wind pressure generated by Guan Yu.

Whoosh.

The extremely toxic venom melted the desert sand momentarily but didn’t touch Guan Yu at all. Gripping his spinning crescent blade tightly, he raised it high in a diagonal slash.

“Woah! Ultimate attack!”

Every hero has a signature “ultimate attack.” Since the previous great Chinese hero, Zhang Fei, named his ultimate attack “Musou,” Guan Yu inherited the technique.

Slice!

The crescent blade split the Black Scorpion like a crescent moon. With a single swing, Guan Yu stopped in place.

“Huh?”

Giwoo recalled Guan Yu’s ultimate attack. Didn’t he usually spin three times like a figure skater performing a triple axel?

What’s going on? Is his condition off today?

Kiaaaak…

Before he could finish his thought, the Black Scorpion let out a deathly scream and stopped moving. Following the trajectory of the crescent blade’s strike, its upper body slid and collapsed to the ground.

“Wow!”

What am I watching right now? Giwoo covered his mouth with his hand and paused the video. Goosebumps ran down his back, making his thoughts freeze.

“What, what!”

He replayed the video. In the video, Guan Yu cleanly bisected the Black Scorpion with exactly one strike.

“Wow. Seriously. Even the Round Table has limits.”

Round Table.

The world-class heroes transcending gender, age, skin color, nationality, and ideology. Named under the leadership of British hero Sir Gawein, this organization dedicated itself solely to “world peace.” While some members, like China’s “War God,” were heavily influenced by their respective countries, they were undoubtedly top-tier heroes.

“There’s one each from China and Japan… sigh.”

It was a moment of shattered East Asian pride. Unfortunately, among the twelve Round Table heroes, there weren’t any Koreans.

“At least we still have two. Whew.”

Guangjian and Snow Princess. The only two S-Rank Heroes in South Korea.

“It would be amazing if we had just one more S-Rank.”

They were such rare talents that they were protected like sacred treasures in critical areas of their respective countries.

Guangjian in New Seoul, Snow Princess in Busan.

If Seoul or Incheon had heroes comparable to these two, the central region wouldn’t have deteriorated to this extent.

However, people moved to the cities where these two resided for safety. Especially Seoul experienced the fastest population decline after Guangjian relocated to New Seoul at the government’s request.

Ultimately, only two types of people remained in Seoul, Incheon, and southern Gyeonggi Province: those who lacked the resources to move elsewhere or those who stayed for various reasons. Giwoo’s family stayed in Seoul due to “real estate.”

Tinkle tinkle~

“New apartments in the outskirts of New Seoul cost 2 billion won each…”

Should I try becoming a hero coin investor? Pick any random hero on the Hero Channel, support them generously, and hope they hit the jackpot. If successful, the returns could be hundreds of times the initial investment. A friend’s story still lingered in his memory.

“Ugh. Even if I became a hero, I’d probably lose all my followers.”

Weekly lottery winners number around five to six people, but the probability of becoming a hero is even more extreme.

Some awaken while sleeping, others survive a monster attack. The mechanism of hero awakening remains completely unknown. If only he knew the method of awakening, he’d pay millions to try it.

“So, you know, hero awakening isn’t that complicated. There are seven types of magic power, right? Whether or not someone can sense the type of magic power suited to their constitution determines whether they awaken as a hero.”

What fresh nonsense is this? Giwoo checked his tablet, thinking a strange video had auto-played. Beyond the paused tablet screen, a high school girl with blue hair stood with carts full of snacks and daily necessities.

“Excuse me?”

Startled, Giwoo bit his tongue. The girl pointed to the cup noodles and triangle rice cakes stacked on the cart.

“Can I check out please?”

“Ah, yes. Yes.”

Trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, he scanned each item’s barcode one by one.

His clumsiness had absolutely nothing to do with occasionally glancing at the girl.

The girl kept chatting endlessly with the giant man standing beside her. To Giwoo, her voice sounded like cheerful bird chirping.

“Magic power has ‘attributes,’ you know. Have you played any games? Ah, you haven’t. Well, have you heard of Aristotle’s four elements theory? You know, warmth, moisture, etc., composing the elements? Actually, what Aristotle discovered weren’t the characteristics of the elements but the characteristics of magic power. Simply put, fire, water, wind, earth – these four types of magic power. Though it’s actually different, this world uses this setting. Just unnecessarily complicating things.”

While continuing her explanation, the girl seemed thirsty and added a latte nearby. The giant man glanced at it and added another drink next to it.

“What? Your favorite drink?”

“…1+1.”

The grating voice of the giant man startled Giwoo, causing him to drop the cola can he was about to scan. The can rolled and hit Giwoo’s shoe.

“I’ll, I’ll replace it! Just a moment!”

Embarrassed by his mistake, Giwoo rushed to the fridge and returned to the counter with the same drink. Feeling like the hooded giant was glaring at him, his hands trembled even while fetching the cola.

“Hmm. Anyway, those four types of magic power are the most common attributes. Attributes may be fixed, but how special abilities manifest varies from person to person. You, for example, would probably fall under durability.”

Pausing briefly at the girl’s words, Giwoo’s eyes darted around. Did she mean the giant man was a hero?

“A? Me? Of course I’m fire attribute. What other attribute would I have? Burning blue flames! The very sun! That’s me!”

Watching the girl dramatically stretch her hand toward the ceiling, Giwoo felt his heart might explode. Her confident smile was incredibly charming.

“…Nonsense.”

The giant man turned away, seemingly unimpressed with the girl’s antics, and began browsing other items. The girl froze for a moment, lowered her arm, and made eye contact with Giwoo. Giwoo had just finished scanning the last barcode.

“Would you like me to pack it for you?”

“Yes… Wait.”

The girl inspected the checkout counter and scrunched up her face upon seeing something. Even her frowning expression was beautiful.

“Fees for bags too? Really. They copy everything.”

She pointed at the mountain of food she had piled up.

“…Pack it please. Seriously.”

Giwoo briefly considered waiving the fee and packing it for free but quickly dismissed the idea. His parents had been meticulously charging for every bag since Incheon’s situation worsened. Getting caught would mean certain death.

“The total comes to 22,100 won.”

“…”

Surprise flickered across the girl’s face for the first time. The cash she pulled out of her pocket consisted of only two green bills.

“Uh, hold on.”

The girl frantically searched her pockets but froze immediately. Only dust trickled out of her pockets.

“Ah, haha, ha… How many should I remove?”

The girl glanced at the price tags on the cart and began removing items from the plastic bag. Her neck, partially hidden by the teal scarf, turned red.

“…Hold on.”

The giant man returned to the cart. Seeing him, the girl smiled brightly as if she’d encountered a savior.

“Of course! You can help… Uh, what’s that in your hand?”

The girl bit her lip upon seeing the two hot bars in the giant man’s hand. She looked ready to unleash multiple exclamation marks at any moment.

“Exhale. With all the items you’ve picked up, we need to remove some, and now you’re adding more…”

“Move aside.”

“Huh?”

“Let me see.”

The girl stared at the giant man with wide eyes. The giant shrugged and placed the hot bars on the checkout counter.

“Huh? Hold on. We don’t have enough money, remember? Are you an idiot?”

Tsk. Did Giwoo imagine the mocking laugh from the giant man?

The giant pulled out 5,000 won from his own pocket, took the money from the girl, and handed three bills to Giwoo. Receiving the bills, Giwoo tapped on the POS machine and started gathering change.

“Received 25,000 won.”

“Take care of the change yourself.”

The giant nonchalantly grabbed the hot bars he had picked up.

“…What is this?”

As the girl stared at him incredulously, the giant casually peeled off the wrapper of the hot bar.

“Reheat it yourself.”

Without further ado, he handed the unwrapped hot bar to the girl, grabbed the bag of food, and left the convenience store.

“Hey.”

Holding the hot bar in her hand, the girl asked Giwoo,

“Will hitting him with this kill him?”

“No…”

After Giwoo replied, the girl nodded and left the convenience store.

Tinkle tinkle.

The jingling bell announced the departure of the customers. Giwoo sat back down in his chair, feeling as if he’d been possessed by a ghost.

“People still use cash these days?”

Giwoo scratched his neck and snapped back to reality.

“Hey! Take your change!”