Chapter 229
Jinho’s plan, as a whole, aligned quite well with Jinchul’s objectives.
If Jinchul wants to bring hunters together through the association, I’ll bind the whole thing together with money, Jinho thought.
His virtual reality training project was too sweet for any hunter to resist. For the leaders of the large guilds where hunters were most concentrated, it was even more enticing.
“Mr. Yoo, would you mind if my guild participated in that project?”
“I’d like to get in as well. If there’s a limit on beta testers, let us be the first. You can have all the data on us that you want.”
Interest swelled among the S-rank hunters. Hyun Mukang was the first to voice his eagerness, but he was far from the only one.
For all their power, even S-rank hunters had no proper place to train freely. If they released their full strength, the surroundings would be reduced to rubble. Entire landscapes could become wastelands in minutes. There was a reason why the wandering Liu Zhigang, who wreaked havoc throughout China with his wild displays of power, had earned the reputation of a madman.
The S-rank hunters knew this better than anyone, so not one of them hesitated at Jinho’s condition—to support Suho’s trip to North Korea in exchange for participation in the beta.
“Ah, North Korea? He can go whenever he wants.”
“It’s good to face harsh conditions while you’re still young. Builds character. Go ahead, kid.”
“I’m in agreement as well. He’s stronger than Ma Dongwook, after all. He’ll be just fine.”
“So what happened in India, huh? You gonna tell us or what?”
The S-rank hunters crowded around Suho, treating him like one of their own.
“Thank you, everyone,” he said.
Though Taegyu had been a bit of a nuisance, Suho now had unanimous agreement thanks to his uncle.
Just like when Jinchul founded the association, Jinho had a goal in creating his virtual reality program. However, it was not to enable other hunters to aid Jinwoo or Suho in battle. If anything, it was the opposite.
I want to give them a taste of the true fear that awaits humanity.
Looking at the S-rank hunters who had no memories of the previous era, Jinho felt bitter.
Two years ago, when Jinchul first brought the proposal to him, he had agreed to help even without the memories of his past life. But once Suho restored those memories, he channeled all his resources into the project.
His direction was clear now. The project had always been about training, but it wasn’t just for battle.
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It’s training for evacuation.
“Whatever you’re imagining, I promise we’ve made something even better.”
The others hadn’t understood what he meant by those words. They were free to look forward to the game he’d created. It was more than difficult—it was merciless.
I’ve created a level of difficulty that not even an S-rank hunter will be able to handle.
He wanted them to feel hopeless and crushed. He wanted them to confront their own helplessness and struggle with all their might just to survive.
To send such a powerful warning to all of humanity, Yoo Jinho had explicitly designed survival quests within the game, forcing players to run to safety within a limited time frame. The goal was not to win, not to fight—just to survive.
Jinwoo, this is all I can do for you.
He missed his friend more than ever today.
With a weary smile, he reflected on a past not everyone remembered. He recalled a time just before the battle with Antares. The countries that had scoffed at Jinwoo’s urgent warning to run had been wiped off the face of the earth.
Ignorance leads to bravery.
Indeed, humanity had been ignorant. People with little knowledge rarely understood just how much they didn’t know, giving them a false sense of courage.
The nations and hunters who had ignored Jinwoo and claimed they would stand and fight against Antares had gone to their deaths, screaming in despair. Jinho had witnessed it all firsthand.
This time, I’ll make them understand, so they’ll know what true fear is.
He wanted them to recognize just how powerless humanity was against these alien invaders. When the real terror came for humanity, he wanted everyone to flee without hesitation, to trust the words of Jinwoo and Suho unconditionally, and to run with every ounce of strength they had.
That was the true project he and Jinchul had in mind, the real purpose behind the game he’d developed.
Of course, Jinho hoped this nightmarish scenario would never come about at all. Then the game can simply remain a game.
The S-rank hunters, clueless about his thoughts, clamored to join the closed beta.
Jinho smiled brightly at them. He offered the opportunity to the desperate Mukang.
“Mr. Hyun Mukang, since you’re so eager, would you like to be the first to experience the beta?”
“What? You’re actually allowing my guild to participate?” Mukang asked, perking up immediately.
Jinho hadn’t forgotten what the man had done. He actually had no hard feelings toward Mukang as a person, but there was a price to pay for failing to manage his subordinates properly and putting Suho in danger.
“Yes,” he replied. “If you wish, I will let you go first. We need data from S-rank hunters to make the game as complete as possible.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”
Ignorance really does make people brave, huh? Jinho was certain that Mukang would be the first to get a taste of utter despair.
Beru was just as unforgiving. He screeched, his voice sharp as a blade, “Don’t think this is over! Hand over that rune stone you mentioned before!”
Mukang jolted in shock as a shadowy figure suddenly materialized in front of him.
My god! I didn’t even sense it until it spoke!
Despite its obvious hostility, the summon was tiny. Mukang still couldn’t help but feel his blood run cold.
Beru, ignoring the man’s reaction, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in close. “That rune stone only adds two summons, but you should be honored to be able to aid the young monarch with anything!”
“Y-yes! He can have it! J-just get this thing off me, Suho!” Mukang stammered, unsure how to handle the small creature gripping him. He couldn’t simply swat it away in this situation.
Someone finally intervened—Jiwoo, the S-rank leader of the Blue Dragon Guild. Now that the important part of the discussion was over, she took the chance to ask about Beru, who had interested her from the start.
“Suho, I’ve been curious for a while. I thought you reawakened, like me. Did you have that summon before that point? And if you reawakened as a combat hunter, what new skills do you have? How have you changed?”
Her questions came out rapid-fire. It was clear she’d been holding them in for a while.
“Sorry, that was a lot at once,” she admitted. “I’m just excited to finally meet someone like me.”
Suho gently tugged a loudly protesting Beru away from Mukang, then responded, “Not at all. I had some questions about you as well.”
“That’s good to hear! Since we’re in the same boat, let’s compare notes. I mean, think about it. They say reawakenings are rare, but I think that’s only because of errors in mana detection. And I’ve never seen anyone besides you and me suddenly become an S-rank hunter. There’s no way that much of a difference comes from a simple error.”
The floodgates had burst now that Jiwoo had the opportunity to talk.
Suho was serious, however, when he said he was also curious about her.
I’m only pretending to have reawakened to disguise my level-up system, but how did she reawaken? She even looked younger after her transformation. To Suho, she was equally fascinating.
Jiwoo seemed to notice what he was thinking, as she jumped to the most important question first. “Oh, right! Could we start with this one? Do you remember the exact moment you reawakened too?”
“The moment?”
“Yes. For me, it’s a really important question.” Jiwoo’s eyes, which had been filled with excitement, suddenly became serious. Recalling the moment of her own reawakening, she continued cautiously, “Suho, did you also... awaken from Eternal Slumber?”
“Eternal Slumber?” Suho asked, uncomprehending.
“What did you say?!”
Jinho, however, reacted far more intensely. His face turned grave as he pushed through the gathered hunters to join the conversation.
“Jiwoo! Is this true? You recovered from Eternal Slumber?”
Seeing the grave look on Jinho’s face, Suho recalled the phenomenon.
Eternal Slumber was a condition that had been appearing more frequently all over the world. It was also referred to as “the Final Sleep,” and it affected those who struggled to adapt to the mana saturating the atmosphere as more and more gates opened across the planet. Without warning, these people would fall into a deep sleep—and never wake up.
It was only recently that academics had qualified the illness with a name. At first, there were too few cases for the medical community to understand the cause and its connection to mana. However, as the number of victims slowly increased, it became impossible to ignore.
The medical world, now grasping its severity, scrambled to create a solution. The result was a mana crystal-powered life-support system, a device that did the bare minimum to keep victims alive until they could awaken.
Even with all this knowledge, there was something about Jiwoo’s story that didn’t sit right with Suho.
“You reawakened after you woke from the disease?” he asked. “From what I know, only people whose bodies are not compatible with mana are affected. But you—”
“Yes,” Jiwoo interrupted. “Indeed, I was already a hunter before I contracted the illness. Judging by your reaction, I guess you weren’t like me after all.”
Her face grew a little sullen at Suho’s response. She had good reason to be disappointed.
“It wasn’t just me. All my teammates succumbed to the illness, even though they were adapted to mana. I’m the only one who eventually woke up.”
“So you were all affected at once? Where?”
“A double dungeon.”
Suho and Jinho stiffened. Beru, who had been creeping forward to antagonize Mukang again, stopped dead in his tracks.
All three considered different implications.
A double dungeon? Is she referring to a void gate?
The Architect couldn’t have left anything else behind...
A mix of emotions flooded them, their thoughts racing.
Beru was certain that this double dungeon Seo Jiwoo mentioned wasn’t the Cartenon Temple which Jinwoo had encountered before. If that was the case, then what happened inside that dungeon to cause hunters to fall into a coma?
Jinho was just as confused. Just like before, more people are falling prey to Eternal Slumber in this life. But back then, the only people who woke up without any help were Jinwoo’s mother and my father...
As Jinho didn’t know the exact reason behind it, Suho stepped forward and asked the most critical question.
“How did you wake up?”
“Hmm.” Jiwoo paused. “I really don’t know. I gave the same answer to the medical staff when they asked. The best I could tell them was that it just sort of... happened.”
“So you don’t know the reason at all?”
“No,” she admitted. “That’s why I was so eager to talk to you. If you went through the same thing, I was hoping you’d know how to awaken my companions.”
Her excitement from before had dulled into bitter disappointment. She hung her head.
Suho remained quiet, watching her carefully as he mulled over her words. After a moment, he said, “Did you have any dreams while you were asleep?”
“Dreams...?”
“Yes. In my case, it was a dream that prompted my reawakening.”
Suho simplified his history in that one sentence. It wasn’t entirely false. After all, it was through a dream he had as a teenager—a dream linked to his father—that he accepted the level-up system.
“A dream... Well, yes. I did dream about something,” Jiwoo said, her expression settling. A faint, distant memory surfaced in her mind about a dream she had while she was trapped in unconsciousness. “A... dark sea.”
“A sea?”
“Yes. An endless, pitch-black sea. There was no land in sight, just a vast ocean of black water. I was floating, with no sense of direction. The most I could do was drift about like a corpse.”
Jiwoo wrapped her arms around herself as if the memory was enough to give her chills.
“Then somehow, I managed to grab onto something. I clung to it with all my strength.”
[Antares, the Monarch of Destruction, smiles faintly.]
“I found a... tree, with its roots deep underneath the water’s surface.”
In that moment, Suho realized what Antares was smiling about.
“The World Tree...” he whispered.