Rapidly Changing World (1)
Cha Seong Hyeon, after receiving Seon Yul’s report, immediately began an investigation.
This was an extremely sensitive matter for them, one that could not be dismissed carelessly.
Since the investigation would be handled by the Bureau anyway, Seon Yul did not get further involved.
To involve himself any further would inevitably mean sharing information he himself did not wish to disclose, so he stopped there.
Leaving the remaining rat to be caught by the Bureau, Seon Yul returned to Jeju Island.
He believed that just as rapid growth was important, so too was sufficient rest. So he planned to thoroughly rest in Jeju for about a week.
During the recent PvP, a new ‘Heavenly Cuisine’ recipe had unlocked, and it just so happened to be a seafood dish. So while gazing at the Jeju coastline, he began cooking Heavenly Cuisine.
It was a recipe he had received after achieving 40 successful PvP victories, and its effect was quite interesting.
Turtle Haeshintang (Heavenly Cuisine) <SS+>
— By adding a turtle-type monster shell to haeshintang made with chicken, abalone, and octopus and boiling it together, you can create a special haeshintang. In particular, the higher the quality of the turtle-type monster shell added, the better the dish’s effects become.
[Cooking Effect] Luck increases significantly.
[Duration] 6 hours.
Having come down to Jeju, Seon Yul sat on the second-floor balcony of the detached house he had rented, gazing at the distant sea as he diligently prepared chicken, abalone, and octopus.
He carefully washed the SSS-grade Mountain Turtle shell fragments he possessed and prepared them as well.
Afterward, he placed the samgyetang ingredients and chicken into the pot, simmering them over medium heat for a long time. Then he added the abalone, octopus, and Mountain Turtle shell fragments all at once and boiled them briefly at high heat to finish the dish.
The completed haeshintang was…
Astonishingly, it had become an SSS-grade dish.
Perhaps because he had added SSS-grade Mountain Turtle shell fragments, the final dish exceeded the original recipe’s grade.
Interestingly, when the grade increased, the cooking effect changed from ‘Luck increases significantly’ to ‘Luck increases greatly.’
Honestly, he did not know what exactly the increased luck effect would do, but just reading it made him feel good for no reason.
‘Good luck is always good.’
Seon Yul decided he would continue cooking this haeshintang regularly in the future.
Naturally, it tasted excellent as well. Sitting on the balcony, he finished three bowls of rice with the haeshintang in no time, then went out for a leisurely walk.
While Seon Yul was resting comfortably in Jeju like this, the Republic of Korea Gate Management Bureau was in great turmoil.
There were three main reasons for the Bureau’s commotion.
The first was the investigation into the Stone Gate mole discovered due to AbsoluteSafetyFirst’s report.
The second was a cooperation request that had come in from the US (World Gate Management Bureau).
And the third was an issue currently making global headlines… an issue Korea could not avoid either.
Today as well, Director Jeong of the Bureau was discussing these matters with his most trusted subordinate, Cha Seong Hyeon.
“The Stone Gate mole has been identified as Jeong In su, who already fled. We are currently tracking his whereabouts… We’ve confirmed he departed for China, but we cannot determine whether he actually entered China or used it as a transit point to flee to another country.”
“Isn’t it almost certainly China? The only ones bold enough to openly pull something like this are China’s Dimension Management General Administration.”
“I think that’s the most likely scenario as well, but there’s no concrete evidence yet… We’re digging through everything from Jeong In-su’s bank accounts to his communication records, but nothing is turning up. It seems everything was exchanged through community mail.”
Community mail was a messenger service with absolute confidentiality while also functioning as a transaction tool.
That was why tracking a mole was inevitably even more difficult.
“For now, continue investigating that matter… But the biggest issue right now is the official document from the US.”
“Sigh, I’ve reviewed it after it was forwarded to me.”
“How should we handle this?”
A single report lay on Director Jeong’s desk.
It was a printed copy of the cooperation request from the US.
The content of the document itself was very short.
But the hidden meaning behind it was the problem.
To summarize its contents:
‘If an Invasion Event or Birth Event occurs in another country, please cooperate so that assistance from the Republic of Korea’s mana user AbsoluteSafetyFirst can be obtained quickly.’
…That was essentially it.
If the intent truly had been nothing more than those words at face value, Director Jeong and Cha Seong Hyeon would not have been this troubled.
They knew the real meaning hidden behind the message.
More precisely, they knew who ultimately influenced the sending of this document.
‘The United States.’
The world’s most powerful nation is often called the Heavenly Nation.
Even though the era of mana civilization had begun, America was still America, and it exerted enormous influence worldwide.
The US (World Gate Management Bureau) might appear on the surface to be a supranational organization transcending all countries, but in reality, it was heavily influenced by the United States.
“It seems the U.S. is very curious about AbsoluteSafetyFirst. Especially not just his identity, but the precise limits of his abilities.”
“After what he showed in Jeju… it must have been decisive. From America’s perspective, it probably felt like we had suddenly become a nuclear-armed country.”
“But the truly troublesome part is that the US’s cooperation request is extremely reasonable. They clearly have the authority to request such cooperation, and unless there is a major issue, it would be correct for us to comply. Our usual argument about national autonomy doesn’t carry much weight here.”
“Still, there’s some room to argue, isn’t there?”
“There is. But if we reject even this reasonable and justified request… We’ll be categorized alongside China’s Dimension Management General Administration.”
“That would be unacceptable… But it’s so predictable. After making this request and finding some way to connect with AbsoluteSafetyFirst, they’ll attempt all kinds of persuasion… while cooperating, they’ll continuously conduct tracking and thorough analysis of his abilities.”
“That’s the problem.”
“Hmm….”
Because the US request was so well-timed and well-crafted, Director Jeong and Cha Seong Hyeon felt as though they had been cornered in a game of baduk with no escape.
Certainly, countries worldwide were already making extensive preparations for the second Invasion Event and Birth Event.
“What if we respond like this?” Cha Seong Hyeon suggested.
“How?”
“We announce that AbsoluteSafetyFirst personally refuses all forms of direct contact, which is currently the only viable method of refusal available to us. At the same time, since he has been responding positively to cooperation under our control, we request that all matters be entrusted entirely to us.”
“Doesn’t that feel like we’re writing the scenario however we want?”
“It doesn’t matter. AbsoluteSafetyFirst will never respond to inquiries from other nations or users anyway. And what I’m saying isn’t fabricated… if they want cooperation from him, we do have to negotiate.”
“So it’s not a lie, just a cleverly edited truth?”
“Yes. The most important thing is how we persuade AbsoluteSafetyFirst. And as you know, Director, we simply have to give him whatever he wants.”
“That part was already decided, so it’s fine. Responding this way would certainly help us hide him as much as possible.”
“Yes, we must hide him. Especially now. Compared to the power he holds, his level is still low. If too much is exposed, not only will it invite all kinds of danger, but if another country were to take AbsoluteSafetyFirst from us… I don’t even want to imagine it.”
“That must never happen. It’s already difficult enough with Jumong acting these days recklessly. If something goes wrong with AbsoluteSafetyFirst, too, that would be absolutely unacceptable.”
“I’ll handle this issue properly.”
“Alright. I’m trusting you.”
“And lastly, regarding the Gate Rush issue… it seems to be growing increasingly severe.”
Gate Rush.
It was a term that had emerged recently.
Over the past few months, not only had the frequency of Gate appearances increased worldwide, but the grades of the Gates being generated had also sharply risen.
It wasn’t merely an increase… the numbers were still rising at this very moment.
The US had named this phenomenon ‘Gate Rush,’ and it had become the most serious global issue.
“Several countries have already failed to properly block the increasing Gates, resulting in over half their territory becoming mana field zones. Africa is the worst-hit continent… At this rate, predictions suggest the entire African continent could become a mana field zone.”
“Is it that bad?”
“Some more alarmist voices are claiming an apocalypse is approaching.”
“How long do you think we can hold out?”
“If the Gate Rush continues worsening at this rate, within months, we won’t be able to handle Gates immediately as we do now. And if it continues without stopping afterward… within a few years, a terrible world could unfold.”
“Then we need to become stronger to prevent that.”
“Additional strike team reinforcement plans have already been formally approved via fast track. We’re expanding strike team size, easing usage conditions in the northern dungeon regions to raise soldier-class mana users to hunter-class as much as possible, providing support so guilds under our control can grow further… We’re doing everything we can.”
“Project R needs to accelerate as well.”
“We’re doing our utmost there too.”
“…Nothing is easy.”
“At this point, the hypothesis that the Gate… or rather, the system, wants the destruction of Earth is almost proven. In this situation, all we can do is attempt everything within our power.”
“Watching humans still fail to unite even in a situation like this… I can almost understand why the system would want to destroy Earth… or humanity.”
“A bleak reality indeed….”
***
Jeju Island.
After enjoying several days of rest, Seon Yul decided that before becoming busy again, he should try using his newly acquired ability, ‘The Dead Tell No Tales,’ at least once.
Since there was no other usable ability aside from Real Painting, there was no need to deliberate over ability selection.
He immediately entered Absolute Space and consumed two high-grade magic stones to register ‘White Tiger – Real Painting’ as a rental ability.
At that moment, just like when he had first awakened Absolute Space, Seon Yul instinctively understood how to use Real Painting.
It was as if the method was engraved directly into his mind, allowing him to easily manifest a mana brush in his right hand.
Tsssts.
Holding the mana brush, Seon Yul slowly began drawing in the air according to what came to mind.
There was definitely an issue of proficiency… he could not complete drawings in a single breath like White Tiger.
To begin with, most Real Painting drawings were relatively simple, but no matter how simple, finishing them within seconds like White Tiger was impossible.
Even with extensive practice, matching White Tiger’s speed did not seem easy.
However, even if slower, simply drawing in midair itself was not difficult.
After about 20 seconds, Seon Yul finally completed one drawing.
Real Painting [Spike Crow].
It was the crow White Tiger had drawn for reconnaissance.
Seon Yul injected shadow mana into the completed drawing.
Flap!
The drawing transformed into a living crow.
The newly created crow lightly flew up and perched on Seon Yul’s shoulder.
It waited for commands.
‘Fly outside and patrol near the house.’
Seon Yul issued the order mentally.
Immediately, the crow exited through the opened entrance of Absolute Space.
“So even if it’s created inside, it’s maintained outside…”
After confirming that the crow remained intact outside, Seon Yul flicked the brush and canceled the summon.
Sssss.
The crow disappeared as it was reverse-summoned.
Having completed the basic test, it was now time for the truly important one.
That was
Among all Real Painting drawings, the one he coveted the most:
‘The Door.’
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