Episode 169 Summary (9)
“Is there anything special?”
“Yes, President.”
“Thank goodness.”
If anything happens, you will be contacted anyway, but Association President Baek Seung-cheol made it a habit to ask as soon as he got to work. And I was relieved to hear the answer.
After the world changed, things happened so suddenly somewhere in the world that I got into the habit of checking for such things.
Thanks to the fact that he is the president of an association representing awakened people in Korea, he is often called out when something happens. If there were no such incidents, I could work comfortably.
‘At some point, the ship’s body will appear through the gate.’
There was one more factor that made his heart restless.
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It is none other than a huge invasive species that has recently begun appearing in dungeons, the ship body.
The ship body, an invasive species that has evolved from the super-giant floating bodies that simply float in the sky, is a difficult enemy that has a huge body, firepower, and mobility at the same time.
Thanks to the thick biological armor and magic shield, the only proper way to deal with it so far is to send awakeners inside and attack the inside.
Thanks to this, there were casualties every time, and thanks to each country wanting to preserve the power of the awakened, neglecting the ships that appeared in the dungeon became routine.
However, the only thing that could be left unattended was when they were quietly staying in the dungeon.
The correlation between gates and dungeons has long been known. In order to attack the dungeon to reduce the gate frequency, you eventually had to catch the ship, and it was impossible not to fight once the ship popped out of the gate in the first place.
“President of the Association, these are documents related to the Awakened Academy.”
“Uhm… … .”
In the end, all problems of this era depend on the number or quality of awakened people in each country.
As he continued to think about it, a document related to it happened to appear in front of him.
Documents on none other than an educational institution that educates awakened people. Neglecting the awakened superhumans is a loss both to them and to the country, so this is an organization created to prevent confusion and expand the power of the awakened by mandating them and training them regardless of gender and age.
It wasn’t long before they started running, but everyone was paying attention, and it was natural that the president of the association was also concerned.
‘Jiyeon, it would be better if we could use her as an instructor.’
While fumbling around with documents related to the academy, he thought of Jiyeon Lee and sighed.
Although she is known as a hero who protects everyone on the field, Jiyeon Lee was actually a very important person.
Baek Seung-cheol wanted her to stay in the rear rather than risk going out into the field, but Ji-yeon Lee, who lived with the mindset of fighting for the people, had no intention of doing that at all.
‘Wouldn’t it be okay if I soothe him well? Still, he’s a young kid.’
He thought about ways to persuade Lee Ji-yeon to leave the dangerous scene. And one of the methods that came out after much deliberation was to use the academy as an excuse to train the next generation.
The other method was to use ‘him’ who was always next to Jiyeon Lee.
Lee Ji-yeon’s dedicated person in charge and manager who has been working with Ji-yeon Lee since she was a not-so-famous awakened person.
Even when asked secretly, Lee Ji-yeon always denied it, but in fact, most people, including Baek Seung-cheol, doubted the relationship between the two and were only half-confirmed.
‘Once I promote her to team leader and move her to internal work, I think Ji-yeon will follow her lover.’
Therefore, Baek Seung-cheol thought that if he used him well, he could persuade Lee Ji-yeon.
“President of the Association?”
“What’s going on?”
It was at that time that he received a call as he was deep in worry.
He was working at ease and casually asked the reason.
“What do you mean? “Did I hear wrong?”
“Jeong, it’s true. “I really got a call from the President’s office, so I think you should go quickly.”
“Why is the President’s Office suddenly? No, you want me to bring other people too?”
Baek Seung-cheol’s eyes widened as if he was taken aback by the secretary’s words.
It is not a secret communication sent directly to him, but a formal communication through the secretary’s office, but it is still a call from the president demanding security.
I couldn’t figure out what was happening.
In addition, they said that they would like to see Jiyeon Lee and other awakened people together.
It wasn’t an incredibly urgent and big deal, but it was clear that it wasn’t a simple task either.
“What should I do?”
“If you say that, you. Of course we should cooperate. “Get in touch with me right away.”
It was sudden and embarrassing, but I had no right to refuse. Anyway, the Awakened Association cooperates faithfully with the government.
Following his orders, the secretary immediately contacted the awakened people. At the same time, Baek Seung-cheol prepared to go out.
It only took a few hours for all the awakened people who received the urgent call to gather at the association.
Among them was Changhyun, who came with Jiyeon Lee, who was originally on a day off.
“I don’t know why either. “The President said he would explain it when everyone gathers, so I have no choice but to go first.”
“Something big happened, right?”
“Right now, that’s right. So don’t worry too much.”
He later moved with the Awakened. The location is the conference hall where the president is. It wasn’t a place that required a lot of security, but it wasn’t a public place either.
[I brought him here, but he left alone.]
“I can’t help it. “Because I’m an ordinary person.”
Changhyun, who was left alone after Jiyeon Lee left, smiled bitterly as he watched the back of the car leaving.
It was natural as long as he was working while hiding his identity.
‘What on earth is going on?’
He didn’t really care, but was more curious about why they suddenly summoned the most awakened people in Korea and took them away.
* * *
“… … What does that mean? “You mean another world?”
“I’m just saying what I heard from the U.S. Ambassador. It’s true.”
The president protested to the people who looked at him with an expression of injustice.
It was worth it. I said it with all my sincerity, but all I got back was looks like, ‘What is this?’
“They said the United States has been interacting with them for quite some time. With people from other worlds struggling with monsters just like us. “All the mysterious technologies and objects they brought out came from there.”
“Well, if that’s true, why on earth are you telling us that now?”
The one who understood the fastest was Baek Seung-cheol, who had heard all the sounds.
While everyone was at a loss for words and trying to understand the situation, he was convinced that the President was not just making empty remarks and asked why.
“I heard that the place is quite dangerous right now. He said that there was a limit to sending a few awakened people from the United States to help like now, so he tried to contact allies first.”
The President told him everything he had heard. It was the moment when the secret about the church, in a different world from here, was revealed.
“Of course, we don’t have that much spare money, but he said it was an investment worth trying. It is said that the awakened people dispatched there through struggle and exchange achieved great achievements.”
“Aren’t you saying that they will ultimately send us as mercenaries to a world we don’t even know where we are?”
“I added that I can’t refute it, but I want you to know. “This is as noble a task for everyone as fighting invasive species.”
The President showed one piece of data received from the United States.
This video was clearly filmed using an action cam.
Those who saw it with bated breath were shocked and their eyes widened.
What appears in the video are terrible monsters. It was the appearance of demons such as orcs, trolls, gargoyles, and other mutants that had undergone strange mutations and were running amok.
“Those monsters are rampant and are threatening the lives of the people there. But that’s not all. “Those monsters are nothing but new blood.”
The President glanced at his speechless companions, then winked at his Chief of Staff and showed him another video.
This time, it is a video containing the appearance of monsters.
However, the monsters in this video were a little different from the previous video.
Unlike the previous monsters, which were all rampage, chaos, and madness, it was cold, mechanical, and heavy. The moment Lee Ji-yeon saw the black shell, she flinched without realizing it.
“Isn’t that a ship of an invasive species?”
In the silence, someone put into words the thoughts that people only had in their heads.
What you see on the screen is a huge creature floating in the sky and bombarding the ground. Its appearance, swimming in the sky with a black body wriggling several huge tentacles, was very similar to the appearance of the monster that has recently emerged as the most troublesome monster.
“They said no one knows the identity of those monsters. Except that the world there is on the verge of destruction due to their appearance. But as I just said, those monsters have some similarities to invasive species. “Maybe we can find a way, right?”
That was the end of the video. However, the shock it left behind was still evident, so the President opened his mouth and rubbed his head as if he had a headache.
“It is obvious that the intention was to hide it until now and then reveal its identity. But diplomatically, we can’t just ignore it.”
Even if the world is in crisis, interests disappear at once, and it is impossible for everyone to come together as one.
Just as the alliance against the church and the demon world alliance could not come together quickly. This was a natural result, and it was the same for the people of Earth.
Since it was like a kind of instinct, a separate method was needed to suppress that instinct. For example, falling into a big crisis.
“Since we cannot deploy all the awakened forces, we will expand support from our allies. Of course, there is a price to pay.”
“Is this already decided?”
“No, I do not force my people into danger as I please. That’s why I called you here for at least an explanation.”
The President passed the choice over to the awakened people who were called here.
In the end, they were told to go to an unknown place and fight, because they believed that they had to make their own choices.
Naturally, the majority of awakened people expressed resistance to going to a place that could not be compared to Earth and fight. However, there were also people who were swayed by the saying that they could become stronger if they went there.
‘What should I do?’
Jiyeon Lee rolled her eyes. If Baek Seung-cheol, who happened to make eye contact with me, hadn’t used his facial expression to convey that he absolutely couldn’t do it, I might have made the choice without hesitation.
“It must be difficult, right? “If we go there, we can truly understand and learn what power we have.”
“… … “You received such a call from America?”
In the end, Lee Ji-yeon, who postponed judgment, called Chang-hyeon that afternoon and told him about the incident, ignoring security and other issues.
It was a given that his eyebrows twitched when he answered the phone, hearing a story that was so familiar.