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Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 143
           
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Chapter 143
I Came Back And Conquered It All
100th Floor (1)
We opened the door and entered the portal.
Woong! I felt like my body was being swept away instantly, as if I was being floated away.
As the light disappeared, what unfolded in front of us was a large space.
"It's indoor this time, isn't it?"
Artificial touches could be observed all around the vicinity.
It couldn't be distinguished from which world the architecture was based from, but the most prominent feature was that it was large and wide.
It felt like we were in an indoor gymnasium.
And another peculiarity about it was…
"Eek, that's unpleasant."
Euclid trembled.
"Hmm? It doesn't bother me."
Nate tilted his head as if to question what was wrong with the sight before us.
"Can't you feel it? Isn't a chill flowing through your body right now?"
"No, I know it's different, but… Is it that bad?"
Naturally, their reactions would differ from one another.
It must have been a familiar air and ambiance for Nate, who had spent years in the same room with zombies during his captivity at a laboratory in the United States. Furthermore, due to the nature of his unique skill, there was no way he would feel repulsed by it.
– Hmm, this is unusual.
Genograche bent his knees and laid his hand on the floor. He then picked up the black bricks that made up the floor with his hands.
– That's a terrible evil spirit. It has killed quite a lot in this place.
The brick floor he touched was stained with dark dullness, and strange forms of stains lingered everywhere.
The negativity that crawled through spines came from all around the spaces. That included the walls, ceilings, and the very floor that we were standing on with our own two feet.
I asked him a question as if to test the water.
"Killed a lot? Like you in the past?"
He then suddenly flared up.
– You should compare what you could compare! This is nothing compared to the body you are holding.
I couldn't help but wonder. The boss on that floor must have existed in some other dimension. If so, was it a demon? It could've been classified as one based on its looks and acts I had seen in my past life.
But my train of thoughts stopped there.
– kekekeke!
Telepathy swiftly entered our minds. That time around, the mental waves weren't coming from the devil's sword.
"It's approaching us!"
Clearing the 95th floor made me experience one of the most challenging battles I had ever fought during my entire climb throughout the Tower in my previous life.
'I had been injured pretty badly, too. Even the legion of skulls that used to protect me were wiped out.'
I had overcome the crisis of dying in the Tower several times, but I thought I was really going to meet my maker on that floor.
Well, even if I barely managed to survive and get to the 100th floor, I ended up dead there in the end.
Goong!
Dark energy converged and began to take the form of an unpleasant shape in front of us.
As its appearance gradually took shape, everyone's faces hardened.
There was no wind inside, but the cape fluttered according to the wave of power that shook the space.
Every time the piece of black cloth was lifted, the horrible body inside it was boldly revealed.
Euclid once again recited the words that she had been muttering several times ever since she came to the Tower with us.
"I swear… I keep seeing all kinds of stuff the longer I live…"
To describe it, it was like a life-size anatomical specimen figure in the science room. It had abnormal physiology with all the epidermis and fat removed and muscles and intestines distinctly visible.
At least not all parts of the body were present.
"Retch!"
Nate and Genograche showed no signs of bafflement, but Hibiki and Euclid turned visibly pale as they stared at it in disgust.
The boss monster's body in the air was a mess starting from under its waist as if it had been mashed with a giant hammer.
Its nerves, bones, and muscles swayed in shreds. Its organs were also not a pleasant sight to see.
An anatomical model that lost its lower body looked down at us from the sky wearing a black cape.
Piercing energy leaked from its eyes that bore a foreign texture.
– Finally… You have all come all the way here. I have been waiting for you…
A shady laugh rang out.
I observed its Core. As expected, in the same case as the boss from the other floor, it was weaker than in my previous life.
I mumbled the boss's name.
"… Blood Lich."
A terrible memory from my past life came into my mind. He was not at all an easy guy to deal with.
At that time, however, the difficulty level was set based on the five-member party, and at the moment, it seemed that the power was adjusted based on our three-member party. That was because Euclid and Genograche were treated as 'possessions' or 'by-products of special abilities,' just like Nate's authority.
– All of you…
The Lich pointed at us with his dark, blood-colored finger.
– are Fresh flesh, fresh blood… Fresh Core…! It's redolent. It is almost entrancing. Hand it to me. All that you have… hand it to me!
Blood drops fell from its crushed lower body.
The small drops inflated in an instant. A small puddle on the black brick was created, causing it to boil explosively!
Grrrrrr!
The amount of blood increased at an exponential rate. As if a large rock was thrown into the lake, blood continued to ripple as it spread a large wave around it.
The red fluids wavered as it drew concentric circles gathered by itself to form certain shapes.
Bones grew, flesh grew. Countless monsters were born from inside its body.
Chimeras.
– Advance! Devote their fresh bodies to me!
Gooooooooo!
A group of monsters that did not know of anything but anger rushed in.
None of them looked like each other. One had eyes hanging in front of the leg that kicks the ground, and there's one that had another head in its mouth. There were some that had been turned upside-down and crawled with their fins on their back. One of the chimeras shrieked as it leaned back on its pill-bug-like scales.
They were monsters of chaos born from the blood of the Blood Lich.
We were surrounded by those that quickly filled about half of the dome-like interior.
Soon enough, the inevitable clash happened!
Baaang!
However, it was not the usual attack magic, the zombie line, or the rampant sword energy that blocked them.
With the Scepter of Ishad raised at the front, Hibiki chanted a spell.
An opaque shield of light stopped them from approaching us any closer than the perimeter it created.
[Enhanced Conditional Barrier (Rank: SSS)]
The shield she created was more than powerful enough to block off any attacks that were coming from beyond its diameter, but it didn't disturb the forces that were sending attacks from within its protection.
"Squeaaal!"
Chaos unfolded due to that.
Even after their retreat path was blocked by a shield barrier that was as strong as a steel drum, they didn't give up. Instead, they tried with everything they've got to push with force.
Their weight overlapped, and the force pushing from behind was added to the mix as well. Even when the way to go forward was blocked, their eyes, which were stained with madness, only made them cause even more mayhem, all for the sake of moving forward and further forward.
As a result…
Crush! Crack!
The bodies of the ones that were at the very forefront of their ranks were gradually crushed.
"Screeech!"
Eventually, each one of them started to turn into blood blobs.
But even in that situation, we didn't aim for the chimeras.
– Hmm?!
Instead, we went beyond the barrier, which let our power go through without any problems, and focused our entire firepower at the Blood Lich in the rear!
'It doesn't really matter how many chimeras we fight off and slay!'
That was the first reason why we struggled so much against that floor's boss monster in my past life.
It summoned chimeras indefinitely, and the process almost didn't consume even a single droplet of the Lich's power.
To be precise, it was more like his Mana was being consumed and then recovering swiftly afterward. When the climbers killed the chimeras, the monsters would absorb the power of their opponents at that moment before returning everything to their creator, Blood Lich.
'If the chimeras are continuously created over and over again using that power, the vicious cycle would only repeat!'
At that time, Hibiki couldn't use the same SSS-Class defensive magic and couldn't maintain magic spells of a lower level for long due to her low Mana capacity.
We were not fools, so we instinctively knew that the Lich had to be killed first, but we couldn't move beyond the wall of monsters despite our desire to move forward and fight it openly.
Additionally, it was Angelica who had the ability to use long-ranged attacks other than Hibiki, but her firepower was not overwhelming enough to drive the Lich to a corner.
However, the situation was a lot different in my current life.
"Squeal!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
Boom! Boom! Crush!
It didn't matter how the monsters surround us caused chaos. Hibiki's magic was safely defending us all.
Of course, her Mana was wearing out quickly because it was such a considerably powerful spell.
[Mana Legacy!]
However, Euclid was prepared to refill her Core even before it could show any signs of revealing its bottom.
Thanks to that, the other party members were able to aim for the Blood Lich from afar, calmly and leisurely.
[Sephirot Guardian Bow]
I took out my ranged weapon from the snake inventory.
The SSS-Rank artifact in my hand not only increased the strength of my ranged attacks by 25% but also created arrows made out of Mana the moment I willed it to existence.
Creak!
As I pulled the bowstring backward with great strength, causing the bow to bend, the metal string resounded with a warping sound. A blue arrow was then formed out of thin air, already nocked on it. Twenty shots, loaded.
I released the bowstring right away.
Loose!
Paht!
– No…?!
Boom! Boo-boo-boom!
The Lich wrapped himself in a red shroud. The arrows that hit the target exploded and shook. I could see its Mana being chipped off.
That wasn't where our bombardment ended, either.
– He turned his body into undead? However, he failed while trying to be greedy when he did not have enough ingredients. Just die here! K-hahahaha!
Genograche, who understood his opponent's nature, used various sword movements that allowed him to fire out sword energies, creating a storm out of it. After that, Nate summoned his multi-caliber cannons and fired cannonballs made out of light intensively at the floating undead.
– How dare you, bastards?!
The Lich's bafflement was evident on its mental waves.
He changed the kind of chimeras he created. That time he made a protective meat shield that flew around his body to keep himself safe.
However, our attacks accurately only hit localized areas, and they were dealing tremendous damage to its body faster than it could rebuild the chimera that would fall down after it died.
As that process was repeated nonstop, the Lich seemed to have quickly decided. His eyes glowed red.
'It is faster than in my previous life!'
The second reason why the Last Five struggled at that time was that the Blood Lich even transformed in that state.
It was almost as if it was casting a powerful curse upon itself, accompanied by a limitation.
The spell temporarily made him gain more power in exchange for a blurred reason.
"Screech!"
As it must have realized that it was no longer useful, he seemed to have cut off the cord of life connected to the chimera without second thoughts.
The bizarre monsters that had no Cores in their hearts fell as they screamed in unison.
The abominations it created then started rolling around.
Their shape began to change.
Bubbling!
"Ugh!"
Euclid puckered her face once again.
The flesh of the fallen things on the floor melted, and their bones broke.
The Chimeras' bodies boiled and bubbled to the point where it became difficult to recognize their shapes.
They quickly flocked to the center like a torrent sweeping through the shallow riverbed. The Blood Lich waited for them at that place.
Goooooo!
The appearance of the Blood Lich, who was flying around with only its torso intact, disappeared, and a colossal monster wearing body fluids and flesh of melted monsters appeared in its stead.
While it was in that form, wide-area spells would no longer work against it.
We had to destroy the life vessel hidden deep in its disgusting body with a precise and decisive blow to kill it permanently.
I had to get as close as much as I could and deliver that one blow!
Kyaaaaa!
The bizarre monster recited spells as if it was what its instincts were telling it, considering its cold logic had already collapsed.
While my colleagues were covering me, I charged forward, emanating sword energy.
Not long after, its spell collided against my sword energy!
Swish!
The monster pulled itself out in an instant with a Blink spell. A curse then began to stream out of its red eyes, but…
– The [Status Effect Resistance (Rank: SSS)] skill has resisted the [Curse of the Boiling Blood (Rank: SS)] skill!
Kaaaaargh!
The attempt to kill me by boiling the blood cells flowing through my veins all at once was executed in vain.
I shot a purple light ray towards him.
Genograche and I blocked every retreat route it could take from either side of it as we charged toward the atrocious being.
'In my previous life, Randy was the only party member that could handle battles revolving around close-quarters combat.'
However, as I had said, the situation was far different from my past life.
Rumble!
The sound of thunder rang. Genograche's sword energy was intertwined with the lightning, which was an item-effect, drawing a firm straight line. As the Lich's body was pierced, it stiffened for a moment.
I used that opportunity to rush in from behind it.
Swaaaaaa!
The moment I thrust my sword forward, the surrounding became filled with blinding brilliance.
Purple rays ran through the air in front of the path of the devil's sword. But the glow was not the same as before.
The advantage of [Arta's Sword Dance], which I loved as much as I had trained for the longest time, was its abnormal movements, which couldn't be distinguished between dynamic and static movements, and the power it accumulated over time.
However, that texture that I just made while stabbing was different.
I superimposed the incomparably potent energy without borrowing the repeated movements and power of time. I then unleashed all of it all at once.
And with that one attack, I could feel its Mana being taken away in chunks.
Soon after that, the sight that everything was dyed with purple had disappeared.
– …!
The scene that greeted me was the life vessel in the place where I had stabbed, vanishing without a single trace.
Gooooooo!
The meat chunks that formed its colossal body began to collapse slowly, turning mushy and even liquefying as they fell to the ground.
The battle was over.
– What?
In the place where the Lich's body disappeared, a golden armor was looking at me through the fluttering darkness.
There was no expression, but through its telepathy that followed, it showcased the baffling emotions that filled it.
– Hey. You… Did you just…
I nodded.
"Yes, I've tried to imitate it a bit."
From the 50th floor all the way to the 95th floor, Genograche was stirring the battlefield like a fish in the water.
His sword movements were diverse, deep, and powerful.
Remembering that everything didn't make one perfect, there was also a lack of absolute time to train it. Therefore, I had to focus only on [Arta's Sword Dance] when it came to sword movement skills accompanied by body movements.
However, as our climb to the top of the Tower followed, and as I watched on the feast of the devil's luxurious skills… Some kind of enlightenment had built inside of me as well by itself, and I reflected on it little by little while hunting. Although Genograche, who was too busy killing for its own excitement, wouldn't have noticed.
And at that moment, I unfolded the first completed 'Grain.'
-… Did you perhaps improve the [Arta's Sword Dance] by yourself? Of the Lord Arta's sword?!
I nodded quietly, and the devil's sword murmured something along the lines of "This absurd bastard."
"Now, then."
I looked at my companions and addressed them.
"There aren't much for the floors left for us to Clear. We head straight to the 100th floor in this way!"Novels online
Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 144
           
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Chapter 144
I Came Back And Conquered It All
100th Floor (2)
After knocking down the Blood Lich, the high-temperature hell on the 96th floor, the giant maze of the next floor after that, the nest of monsters that learned SS-Class stealth skill on the next level, and the stage where we had to fight illusions in the 99th floor… were more manageable than the 95th floor.
That was because the mission's difficulty was rapidly reduced if the attack method and the means of resistance were thoroughly prepared.
Of course, it was a lot more difficult than the 95th floor's challenge for those who weren't prepared.
Hence, in conclusion, we broke through the 99 floors way faster than normal.
Nate, who was picking up Mana Cores by using his subordinates, asked me as if he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, yeah. Jin-Wook, by the way…"
"Hmm?"
"When the main quest starts, are there going to be a great number of new Gates on Earth right away? Like blip-blip in an instant, out of control?"
I shook my head in disagreement.
If it proceeded that way, the natives of many worlds would have hesitated to enter the main.
The reality was nothing like that.
"It's said that from the time that the dimensional bird hatches, the frequency of Gate occurrences will gradually increase."
At first, it would slowly increase at such a pace that it would remain unnoticeable.
And after enough time had passed to ensure that humanity would've already adjusted to it, the pace would begin to hasten exponentially.
Adam said that such a phenomenon seemed to have a firm intention to expand the range of passages that could lead to other dimensions and vice versa rather than having the primary purpose of providing more dungeons to Clear.
As Euclid must have felt curious, she joined in the conversation.
"It's an issue that's been bothering me a lot lately, but what the hell is the main quest? It should be different from the tutorial that you guys are doing right now, right? But won't the Awakened beings only be forced to Clear the dungeons like what they're already doing and defend when they broke? Is that all there is?"
Hibiki added an assumption.
"Or is it like an upgrade to the screening quest we shared? Perhaps it's a mission to meet special conditions?"
I hadn't experienced it as well in my past life, but Adam already told me about it.
If it was necessary to categorize it, Hibiki's guess was close to the truth.
"Think of it as the list of quests' publicity becoming different. Although only a few can access it right now, all the hunters who have accepted the main quest will have access in the future. Of course, the level of difficulty will rise as well."
More importantly, the same quest list was shared by all main-dimensional species.
Therefore, although I had been able to monopolize the screening quests that occurred within the Earth so far, in the future, I would have to compete with not only the Earth's people but also the foreign dimensions' Awakened.
In the process, the list of screening quests during the tutorial would disappear. That was why I had completed the most quests that gave me a lot of points before climbing the Tower.
"So… You mean that the message pops from the moment that the bird hatches from the egg, right?"
"Yes. The system will propose to all the Awakened individually, asking if they would accept the main quest."
Since the world's change would accelerate from that moment anyway, it was, of course, beneficial to accept it.
Was the only one who would kick that offer away be the only 'immortal' of my previous life?
Her goal was to only open more Gates as a side effect of hatching the Dimensional Bird.
While we were exchanging conversations in that manner, we finally finished sifting through the battlefield.
"Now, then…"
I stared at the tightly closed door that served as the entrance connecting to the 100th floor.
I looked at Hibiki unbeknownst to me. She asked, not knowing my intention.
"Is there something that I can help you with…"
I bitterly smiled and shook my head.
"It's nothing."
It's just that I had suddenly remembered the event in my past life.
That door was the last among the puzzles encountered while climbing the Tower. Likewise, its difficulty was the most terrible of them all.
I wrapped my head around to figure out the contents in my previous life, but it was Hibiki, who was a 'legitimate' hunter, who opened the door. It reminded me of the memory of handing over the finishing touches to her.
Comparing what happened then and what was happening right at that moment, truly, a lot had changed.
I slowly raised my hand and aimed at the door.
Woo-ng!
Azure river-stream-like energy flowed from the tip of my finger.
Mana concentrated and changed its form dozens of times in a second. It tapped on multiple locations, sometimes slowly, sometimes swiftly, like fireflies. Whenever there was such a collision, a spark would splash across the circuit of the door.
Some time passed, and finally…
Goo-woong-woo!
The tightly sealed door opened.
"Let's go."
Now, it's time to finish it off- this short but prolonged climb.
The time consumed from entering the first floor to reach the 100th floor was about two months.
Comparing it to a year in the past life, it was an outrageously improved speed.
*
As the door opened, an unfamiliar humid air welcomed us.
"Huh? It's warm!"
Although the surrounding was tightly sealed, leaving no openings, it was like a warm spring wind was blowing past us.
"You said that there would be no battle here, right?"
"Yes. You don't have to worry about anything."
I mumbled inwardly. In my current life, truly, we didn't have to worry about anything.
"The atmosphere somehow… It makes me feel relaxed, huh?"
So far, if we looked at each floor of the Tower that we climbed, there were places where space was connected to other sites to form a field. There were also places where space was twisted like a complicated maze. Likewise, there were ordinary rooms similar to the size of the Tower as observed from the exterior of it…
What was felt in common on all of those floors was tight tension and high pressure.
But in that place, on the last floor, there was no sense of such feeling.
Among us, the one that felt the unique atmosphere most vividly seemed to be the dragon.
"Ah… Melancholic. This place definitely reminds me of my past…"
"Memories of your past?"
"Yup, it's similar to the baby days when I was still in an egg."
Did it really reach a point where it reminded me of a place where dragons would lay their eggs?
Indeed, the purpose was similar.
All of our glances stopped at the same location. An oval sphere was placed on top of the small altar. It was the Dimensional Bird's egg.
As I stared at the altar…
Crack!
I grit my teeth without me knowing.
"Mr. Jin-Wook, are you alright?"
Hibiki asked me with a worrisome face.
I barely suppressed the memory resurfacing in my mind and replied to her query.
"Ah, don't worry. My thoughts just wandered for a bit."
Looking at the altar, I couldn't help but think of what happened back then.
The last moment of the life I lived as Choi Seung-Hyun, the past life. Those memories left a scar in my soul.
The scenery of reality and nightmares of the past connected.
"···"
Although it had become a dust-free altar, there was a scene that overlapped in my vision, like an apparition, where blood flowed on it.
I remembered the old man, Choi Seung-Hyun's scream… the awful reverberation of flesh being pierced and bones disconnecting.
Randy pushed the blade of the devil's sword against his neck with a blank expression. Hibiki tossed her body around as she made a vibration wave. Nate allowed his very own subordinates to kill him with their bones.
All of that was followed by the stench of blood… the too-pungent stench of blood.
"… Jin-Wook?"
Nate cautiously called out to me.
I barely managed to shake off my thoughts.
"Sorry. Let's get this over with already."
It ended in tragedy in my past life, but I would reach the end of the absolutely opposite direction of that moment.
It felt new. Instead of anger, it filled my heart with anticipation and fulfillment.
I had been doing many things since I was reincarnated, but I felt like only then was I taking the right first step.
A lot had changed already, and more things would change from then on.
However, it would be in a much more positive direction than in my past life!
As I thought to myself in silence, we slowly walked towards the egg.
'Thinking about it, I couldn't even touch it when I came here as Choi Seung-Hyun.'
That was a matter of course since Angelica controlled us to kill us and snatched the egg in the middle.
Woo-ng!
As I went closer, it became vividly visible in my eyes.
A life form was asleep in the thin shell. I could sense it's Mana Core.
What was only a tiny illustration of light gradually added clarity and wrapped around the whole egg.
'It must be programmed to start preparing to hatch when a climber comes near.'
It was reasonable when I thought about it.
If the Dimensional Bird hatched by itself there even before the climbers of the dimension reached a decision, it would make the reason for their climb meaningless.
I placed my hand over the shell, allowing me to feel its warmth.
Then…
I knew it from the strange feeling that had nothing to do with [The Successor's Eyes].
The presence inside that egg was looking at me.
At that moment, the Dimensional Bird that hadn't been born yet recognized me.
– …Huh?
Telepathy flowed out from the gray-white eggshell.
But within it, a slightly unstable emotion was mixed in.
The mental wave continued. That content almost sounded out of the blue.
– … Could it be that you want to kill me?
It spoke in a way that was like crying, frightened whispering, or even like pleading.
Would it have reacted the same way when Angelica in my previous life touched it?
While I was lost in thoughts and did not answer right away, it spoke again in a voice that only I could understand.
– I realized it as soon as I became conscious. The purpose of those who come all the way here is one of the two: to break me or to hatch me.
"…"
– If I'm right about what I'm worried about, I hope you wouldn't. It's only been 30 seconds since I gained my consciousness. I think it's too sad to die after the 30 seconds that you have given me cognition. I haven't even seen the world outside of this shell.
Considering that it was begging for it to be spared… And that it had only been 30 seconds since it gained awareness, it was very calm telepathy.
Only then did I speak to it in return.
"I won't break you. I came all the way here to hatch you."
A brief silence transpired before it could reply.
-Ah, really?!
There was a delight in its words that asked me in surprise.
As if the bird in the egg was genuinely relieved, it let out a giggle-like mental wave.
In an instant, the texture of emotions changed 180 degrees.
– Is that true? That's a relief. Good thing. I didn't want to die. I thought it would be too sad to die as soon as I was able to think.
Since the bird was also a systematic entity, it seemed that it was already aware of its duties and the situation it was in.
As if to prove that point, the Dimensional Bird asked me a question.
– Then… As of now, how many experience points do you have?
I answered calmly.
"Enough to hatch you."
Adam's experience points were used up while purchasing various items, but after that, as I went steadily collecting it, I gathered enough points to hatch the egg.
The bird in the egg then raised another question.
– Then… When can I go out? When can I take a look around the world?
It was like a child pestering for toys. I exuded a mixture of impatience and anticipation.
The Dimensional Bird did not hide its unstable joy.
– Hmm? When are you going to hatch me?
I replied firmly.
"Right now."
*
A few days before Seo Jin-Wook reached the 100th floor…
Secretary Kim entered the office without the owner and was spreading documents on Seo Jin-Wook's desk.
All of those were a work report form for his time of absence used by the Celestial Dragon.
It had already been two months since the Tower exploration team had started the climb.
There was no exact promise of when he would return, but Secretary Kim was updating the reports every day so that he could immediately check the status of the guild as soon as he got back.
"Phew."
After cleaning up, he sighed with a slightly grim look.
'When in the world will the Guild Master come back?'
Secretary Kim knew that they planned to go back and forth between the Earth and the Tower a few times after determining if they would return on a 25-floor basis. That was also the case with the official exploration plans announced to the public.
He knew so, but he was still continuing his work with the hope of 'perhaps.'
Two months later, the world was still boiling up with news about Seo Jin-Wook and the Tower, and the government and the media collaborated to come up with a rosy outlook for the future. There was a voice of high expectation of what the future would unfold after the tutorial ended.
And, of course, everyone's attention was focused on speculation as to what floor Seo Jin-Wook would have climbed by then. Experts and non-expert experts poured out their assumptions.
– It's already been two months. Wouldn't they have climbed to around the 20th floor at least?
– Come on, that's too much. Australian aliens said it took more than five years to get to the 50th floor. If so, would they have gone up one or two floors based on simple arithmetic?
– Why do you calculate that so simply? They said that the difficulty level would get higher as they go up. The lower floors must have been broken through quickly. Wouldn't they have climbed at least ten floors by now?
The experts' opinion also said that they might be staying between the 5th and 10th floors.
The gate they entered was closely monitored by the government every day, and they were always checking and sharing to the public that there was no change in the 'Current Number of Entrants' that the system message showed.
'But it's been two months, and it would be nice if he would return at least once.'
At that moment…
Knock-knock.
A visitor drew Secretary Kim's attention by knocking on the door that was already open.
As he turned his head, a happy light enveloped his face after such a long time.
"Mr. Adam!"
The being in front of him was Adam Abrams that hadn't shown himself in a while.
Having just returned from his hometown, he suddenly asked a question first.
"How about Seo Jin-Wook? Isn't he back yet?"
"Yes, he hasn't come out even once yet after he went inside the Tower."
Adam calculated the time they had been in there based on Earth's concept of time in his head.
"Hmm. Two months…"
"Don't you think he would be on the 10th floor by now? If they were to reach the 25th floor, which is the point of return, they're still…"
But Adam's assumption was utterly different from Secretary Kim's.
"Then they should be almost done by now."
"… Huh?"
He talked to secretary Kim, who was standing with a puzzled look on his face.
"I think he'll be back in a few days anyway, so I'll stay here for a while. My room is still there, right?
"…Ah, yes. It's remained in the same state as you left it."
As if he thought it was a joke, Secretary Kim called without further questioning and checked the room's cleaning status.
Then the alien thought, drawing attention from him.
'I brought him some good news, but our timings were a bit off.'
The news that time was also about Mercadius.
After the audit, the Union sent a group of skilled beings to Earth to capture Mercadius.
They watched him in a different way than the [Observer's Eye], and it was unknown what kind of analysis they ended up with, but it seemed that they finally decided to strike Mercadius.
The bizarre species was said to still be living on a deserted island in the Indian Ocean, disguised as a human with brown skin.
'They've already lost an employee, so their members must have been sharpened before being dispatched. We should look forward to hearing them finishing their work properly this time.'
However, while thinking about it, anxiety remained in the corner of Adam's heart.
And the extraordinary foreboding became more and more intense when he saw the special news that aired a few days later.
An emergency report reported that a tsunami was caused by an undersea volcano erupting near an uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean. It swept through neighboring countries, causing terrible damage.Novels online
Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 145
           
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Chapter 145
I Came Back And Conquered It All
The Second Cataclysm (1)
2039 would be remembered as an unforgettable year for humankind.
After the Cataclysm, the world rode a rough current, preventing it from returning to its daily life of the past, but there were exceedingly many accidents that year.
And looking back, most of them were related to Seo Jin-Wook.
If to choose two of the most significant events that shook the world, one example would be the tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
And even before the aftermath was resolved, the world was exposed to another shock.
"Oh! There's a problem! Another one!"
"What? What's going on?"
"They said that another strange message appeared to the hunters again!"
The rumors that began to spread on the Internet at one point were confirmed to be accurate by public news.
– Breaking news! It is confirmed that the same system message has appeared to all Awakened today. A similar phenomenon occurred today again as the message about the 'Tower of Choice' was shared a few months ago.
All of the hunters read it with their eyes wide open.
The contents were as follows.
– The selected users have completed Clearing the Tower of Choice!
– From here on out, all the protective provisions and restrictions on tutorial quests that have been applied to your world will be removed.
– Screening quests that were previously shared cannot be processed anymore.
– Instead, all of the Awakened individuals that are registered in the current world can start the 'Main Quest.' There is no separate screening, and all choices are subject to the free will of the Awakened.
– You can enter the Gates as usual without proceeding with the Main Quest, but you have to take the risk of missing more opportunities.
– Will you start the Main Quest?
What that fact meant was clear.
The whole world was shocked.
"Seo Jin-Wook Cleared the Tower of Choice!"
He did so at an unbelievably quick rate.
"What? They said the Pezra's been Clearing it for years! Didn't they say the Tower usually takes ten years?"
"And they completed the Tower in two months? This is really… No, this is a lot scarier than it is awesome."
The Pezra species quickly sent their congratulatory message.
– A heartfelt congratulation to our precious neighbors, the people of Earth. We could not hold back our amazement by the rapid climbing that no other world has ever experienced.
– We sincerely hope that the transaction between our two dimensions will continue as it always has been, even if your dimension's Awakened beings proceed with the Main Quest as it will be of no problem to enter a dungeon as it was before.
The content was also released to the press. Throughout the publicization, it was once again emphasized that the Clear time made by Seo Jin-Wook was an amazing achievement even by the standards of other aliens.
"Does that imply that Seo Jin-Wook turned out to be of a class beyond Earth? Then that means that we have nothing to be shy about even if compared to other dimensions!"
"How about the Celestial Dragon's official statement?"
"They only made a brief announcement. They informed the public that it is most definitely certain that they Cleared it. They also said they'd postpone the interview until a later date because they're fatigued."
Everyone was shocked and excited, but some expressed their anxiety.
"Hold on… Then what happens to our world from now on?"
The time of the Clear was a lot shorter than everybody expected, so there was also a lot of vague anxiety and uncertainty.
However, there was no noticeable change in the beginning.
It was heard from the Pezra that the appearance of Gates would gradually increase, but no statistical indicators appeared for some time.
Furthermore, there were fewer dangerous situations reported that could be called accidents because Seo Jin-Wook delayed the collapse of dungeons with the [Aurora of Stability] on his own in those hazardous areas.
After returning to Earth, the members of the exploration team relaxedly rested and prepared for the future without standing in front of the media for the time being.
"You're saying that the tsunami is related to Mercadius, right?"
Adam explained to Seo Jin-Wook what happened while they were in the Tower.
The explosion of an underwater volcano occurred on the same day the forces of the Union attacked to catch him.
After that accident, Mercadius, as well as the allies of the Union, disappeared. The fact that his whereabouts were untraceable was a different part from the death of a former observer.
That fact could be interpreted as both good and bad.
"In all cases, it should be our priority to join the Union as soon as possible."
Seo Jin-Wook also agreed to that sentiment. He shared some of the secrets with the government to hasten the procedure of joining the said organization.
Those secrets revolved around the story of Mercadius and the Union.
"You mean that… the world…· is going to end?"
The government started to listen even though the story would've raised suspicions and doubts, even calling it absurd, if they were still in the past.
Seo Jin-Wook's status had risen that high.
"The Union will soon come into contact with the Earth. If you wait a little bit, you'll be able to check the evidence yourself. What I want is to start a discussion behind the scenes in advance so that I can gather opinions quickly without being baffled between the Earthlings."
As Seo Jin-Wook intended, the Korean government secretly shared the information with other governments and began to coordinate their opinions in advance.
In the meantime, Seo Jin-Wook barely revealed himself in public.
The requests for interviews blew up, but apart from the discussion with the government, he didn't entertain any other people.
After a few days, a request for a meeting came from an opponent that he couldn't just turn a blind eye to.
"Guild Master? It's a bit difficult to say no. Please check this one out."
Seo Jin-Wook, who confirmed the request delivered by e-mail, gave an unexpected expression.
The letter was in the name of the Guild Master of the Gate Keepers.
*
Back then, there were influential groups of people in South Korea called the Four Major Guilds.
The Gate Keepers were also responsible as one of the pillars, but they often showed a different behavior compared to how the others competed and fiercely fought each other.
It was a public-interest guild that focused on not Clearing the dungeon but checking the conditions of the Gates periodically and surveying the dungeons inside. That became their primary business.
They protected the Gates left unbid by guilds blinded by greed and filled up space where the government's touches couldn't reach.
'Grand Croix and the Destruction Blade have fallen to almost the level of destruction, but the Gate Keepers are still thriving.'
The reason was simple. They had no business clashing with the Celestial Dragon.
Another peculiarity that they had was that the guild's head had little information known about him by the public other than his name and age.
That remained to be the situation even at that age.
Of course, I knew the reason behind it. Hunter, officially known as the Guild Master, was only a puppet boss with only his name hanging on. The Vice Guild Master acted on behalf of most of the work, knowing that their tail would eventually get stepped on if they were active in outside activities.
Then who was the real owner of their guild?
'It's not the Vice Guild Master as well as a lot presumes.'
The Gate Keepers was a colossal guild that couldn't be operated with only the cheap gate fees they charged.
Therefore, what was inevitable for survival was the separate mobilization of funds, but there was no such thing for the Vice Guild Master.
After all, there was only one conclusion. There was a wealthy person behind the Gate Keepers, moving vast amounts of money and supporting their activities revolving around the public interest.
I sent my greeting to the secret owner first. It was a courtesy to the elderly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you like this, Mr. Chairman."
He was an old man with chapped hair but had glistening eyes.
Additionally, he was also an ordinary non-Awakened without a Mana Core.
He talked to me with respect in his voice. He was not an Awakened himself, but I could see how he managed to bring a guild to climb up to Korea's top 2.
"You're not surprised. Have you known all this time? I asked for it, so I don't think that the government would have leaked it first even to you, Guild Master."
I was much younger than him, but he spoke in a polite manner. I answered with proper courtesy in return.
"Looking at the circumstances, I simply had an accurate guess."
It was a fact that was eventually revealed as Korea got devastated in my past life.
He was the kind of person who could move such massive amounts of wealth while making the government think that they could trust him.
The owner of the Gate Keepers, the old man in front of me, was the Yujin Group chairman, Korea's No. 1 Financial Group.
"Seeing that the media didn't find you, you must have made a substitute appear at the guild."
"Yes, I did."
About 20 years after the Cataclysm, society became relatively stable, and hunters began to gain strength.
As a result, they focused only on Clears that they could gain money and items. Meanwhile, the government was in charge of monitoring the Gate, but their abilities were limited due to finite resources.
The chairman, who learned about the fact early on, wanted to contribute to the country by creating a guild as well.
The reason why he didn't put the name of his company in front was simple. He didn't want to set a precedent for large companies to run such large guilds.
They were wary of the organizations that existed solely for profit joining in the market that was already running centered around private profits more than it needed to be.
'It was a wise choice, seeing that after Han-Seol passed, other large companies lurked around, desiring the Celestial Dragon's share.'
I asked him a question.
"Then, the reason you came to see me today is…"
"Wouldn't you already have an idea of that as well?"
He continued in a low voice.
"The tutorial quest has been announced to be over, hasn't it? The Dimensional Bird is awake, and there will be more dungeons appearing across the world in the future."
After pointing out the overall change, he talked about the Gate Keepers' reality and the Celestial Dragons' status.
"No matter how hard I think about it, I thought that our guild's capabilities couldn't keep up with the changes. The guild consisting of many middle and lower rank hunters has managed to play its role so far, however…"
He was paying close attention to the flow of time.
"I thought there would be a need for more force than that in the future. So I thought about it. Who has the ability and motivation to take over my role now? There was only one person."
His words were also within the scope of my expectations. However, the direction had changed a lot from my past life.
"Are you leaving it to me?"
"Yes, I hope it turns out to be so."
The chairman came to propose a merger wherein the Gate Keepers would be absorbed by the Celestial Dragon.
The old man continued, praising me and my abilities lightly.
"And as I've checked, I think you've got a lot more money now than I have. I don't think it's going to be too much of a burden to manage it."
He had even searched deep enough to find such private information.
I didn't need a lot of time to think about it. In the future, we shouldn't compete within Earth but with other dimensions anyway. Internally, it was better to unite forces as fast as possible, and the starting point was Korea.
Although the Celestial Dragon had already taken an overwhelming position, it was planning to absorb or make the other guilds its subordinates at a faster pace in the future.
Naturally, Dungeon Gate management would be much easier if the Gate Keepers were managed directly by my supervision than in the current situation, in which operations were divided.
"Of course, I'm going to hand over all my shares, and I don't dream of management rights. However, since I'm afraid that you'll think it's a bit of a heavy burden…"
Since he was already expecting a situation where I would decline his proposition, the price the chairman suggested was reasonable.
However, it was an unnecessary concern. I was already ready to accept it anyway.
"Yes, I will proceed that way. Thank you."
I then expressed my gratitude to the elderly who had contributed to the country without anyone knowing.
"You've done a great job."
The old man laughed silently.
At that moment, the four ancient guilds of Korea were absorbed entirely by and integrated into the Celestial Dragon.
*
A few days after the meeting with the chairman, the Union's 'affiliation proposal' that the governments had been waiting for was finally delivered.
Since the era of interacting with more diverse dimensions approached, being included in a large organization that would achieve the mainstream was essentially the same as having strong support.
Also, the Union's rules on the affiliate dimension felt slightly strict, but in return, the federation also had to do its best to ensure Earth's safety.
Of course, the countries that had already spoken in sync shared their opinions. Polls from each country showed similar trends.
But there were exceptions everywhere.
Almost naturally, it was the same country again that rejected the notion.
– The People's Republic of China cannot trust that unidentified group of aliens who call themselves the 'Union' and insists that all exchanges be suspended until they have been proven safe and harmless!
The paradigm was already changing, and the balance of power was not the same as before.
However, some government leaders considered such change a terrible nightmare and did not want to immerse themselves in the axis's slow movement. The result was a farfetched resistance.
Eventually, a month after the Union proposed, Earth's opinions couldn't come together.
There was only one option for the remaining countries.
"It would be better to gather the will of as many countries as possible, but…"
"If this happens, the only way for the negotiating group to join the Union is to exclude China and a few other countries."
There was a reason to fiddle with the plan that had been put off as a last resort.
Adam once warned me through the following words:
'If you get an offer, you'd better accept it as soon as possible. Among those that didn't join the Union, there are vicious species that only aim for dimensions which just started the main quest.'
The fact was even stated in the Union's proposal.
However, China threw a monkey wrench, saying they couldn't trust anything they were saying.
Then one day, the situation that the Union and Adam were worried about occurred.
– Breaking news!
An unexpected incident occurred in Taipei City, Taiwan.
An opaque dome surrounding a 10-kilometer radius from the center of the city suddenly appeared.
All physical movements were interrupted, and even communication was blocked.
People soon learned that it had nothing to do with the Taiwanese government's intentions.
At the Gate opened in the barrier, hundreds of species began to cross almost all at once.
It was the emergence of invaders that the advisor warned me about.Novels online
Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 146
           
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Chapter 146
I Came Back And Conquered It All
The Second Cataclysm (2)
The difficulty of the Gate near Taiwan's University of Science and Technology was D-Class, and it had been about five years since it appeared.
There had been several opinions that the Gate should be closed because it was too close to Taiwan's central government building, Taipei's presidential office, and the Executive office, but it hadn't been acted upon.
The reason was simple. It was the same as the reason why the other countries maintained an opened Gate for as long as they could until it turned to 'very unstable' status.
They couldn't give up the supply of Mana Core.
"Why close the dungeon Gate where the Cores are flowing out constantly? Don't be ridiculous!"
Taiwan already had a small territory and had fewer dungeons to stably mine Cores from.
In that situation, the dungeon had an adequate difficulty of D-Class, its patterns of monsters were not complicated, and it didn't have a layout where it took time to solve puzzles and explore mazes. All of those factors made it an excellent mining site.
Eventually, the Taiwanese hunters Cleared the Gate four times. Likewise, that meant it had been expanded four times, and if possible, it would have been expanded repeatedly.
The reason why they stopped at only four times was also evident. They had reached the boundaries of dungeons that were expanded from other worlds.
The Taiwanese were very nervous when they found out, but fortunately, there were no signs of invasions coming over the wall from the other side.
"How about any response? Nothing? Then just let it be! If we close all the Gates for these things, where will we get our Cores?"
All of those circumstances overlapped, so they were forced to let their guard down.
"Taipei 3 Dungeon, confirming current entrant as 0. Everything is clear. I'll report again after the standby team enters."
The Gate was always monitored by government personnel. Hunters periodically checked the system message and reported no changes in the number of people entering.
However, the message always showed only the number of Awakened who had entered through our world.
The change occurred when the dungeon was empty. It happened in the split of a second due to a gap between shifts.
Whooooong!
The blue Gate surface shook.
"Oh, what?!"
While the hunters panicked, pale hands came through the Gate. Then they dropped something toward the asphalt floor and disappeared back inside. The speed was enough to make their senses distorted.
"!"
The black sphere that the hand dropped fell to the ground. It was a movement that could barely be caught by the eyesight of hunters outside the Gate.
"Damn it!"
He felt a sense of danger and moved his body. He tried to run towards it with adding force in his leg muscles. It is a reflexive behavior. He felt like he shouldn't be letting it touch the ground.
He thought he would have to hit it back up and put it back in the Gate.
Tak!
The object collided with the ground faster than the hunter could come into contact with it.
Boosh!
A white flash engulfed the surrounding.
It spread in all directions, forming a half-spherical shape that was placed upside down.
Light seeped into the air continuously. It continued to expand and stopped only when it had surrounded the parts of Taipei. The radius was nearly 10 kilometers.
And everyone near the border saw a terrible sight.
The light that passed through all the objects gained mass suddenly.
Shhhh!
The buildings were cut in a curved line.
Cars, traffic lights, roads, signs, and trees were divided into both sides, showing smooth, round cuts.
Some very unlucky Taiwanese also lost much of their bodies. If one was lucky, his arms and legs were cut off. Otherwise, he had his guts and brain poured on the floor.
Mercilessly slicing all matter placed on the boundary, the light formed a shape. It became an opaque glass bowl-like dome and isolated the city.
Woong! Woooong!
The Gate started to vibrate again.
"#@*&%@#%!"
The one that came out was the owner of the pale hand that dropped the artifact.
The species, named 'Ogatu,' revealed itself out of the dimension gate with equipment and weapons unfamiliar to Earthlings.
And he wasn't alone.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"A-aliens! Hunters! Call the hunters!"
"Someone report…!"
After expanding the dungeon several times from that world as well, the gate entrant limit linked to the world of Ogatu had risen to a few hundred.
Rattling, aliens continued to pour out of the blue door. And without hesitation, they targeted the citizens with their gun-shaped weapons in their hands.
Swish!
Every time a certain liquid was sprayed, it covered a distance of 10 meters in front of them in a fan-shape.
"K-argh!"
Citizens exposed to the substance fell as their pupils dilated.
As if to prove that the aliens' intention was not murder, those who collapsed didn't die. Instead, they maintained their breathing.
"T-the phone's not working!"
"Oh, shit, at this rate… Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"
In the meantime, the ones outside the barrier were in chaos as well.
The central part of the country, where institutions that could be considered the core of the country were located, was put under quarantine in an unidentified dome.
Not only was it impossible to infiltrate, but it was also impossible to communicate using radio waves or skills.
Knowing that immediate outside aid was unavailable, the hunters in the dome gathered by foot and prepared to respond.
"At least we should come forward and resolve this situation!"
It was clear that all of that was the aliens' work that suddenly appeared from the Gate.
The pale-skinned creature, the Ogatu unit, paralyzed the surrounding citizens at random and suddenly stopped their act at some point.
Afterward, they piled their motionless bodies around the Gate as if they were cargoes.
The intention was clear. The aliens were holding them as hostages.
While the Awakened humans kept watch, alien troops began to set up campsites near the Gate. Their relaxed look seemed like they were waiting for someone.
'Now, I will use the skill from here.'
The hunters, who were hidden from the enemy's sight, telepathically spoke.
[Stealth!]
The gathered hunters quietly approached the Gate, performing Stealth of A-Rank as a group.
The hunters trapped inside the dome agreed that the priority was to break down the wall somehow. The source seemed to be the black artifact sprinkling light around it at the center of the campsite.
While they were ever so carefully approaching it…
Beep! Beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep!
The devices worn on the wrists of the Ogatu made a sharp noise in unison.
It was similar to a warning sound.
'N-no! Everybody retreat!'
Sensing the danger, a hunter telepathically ordered them to fall back.
But it was already too late.
"As expected, they're uncivilized."
Snickering in their language, the Awakened Ogatu stopped what they were doing at once and put up their artifacts.
Then they pull the trigger along the direction the wrist display guided.
Swiiiiish!
The weapon did not operate in a relaxed manner that sprayed gas according to the atmospheric flow.
Even though there was no pressure sensed that pushed through the air, it filled the front ten meters with gas with each shot.
The effect was also immediate.
"Keup!"
"G-aaargh!"
Thud!
The location of the hunters, whose Stealth skill had been disabled, was revealed as they fell.
As the Ogatu people approached with leisurely steps. Another note rang on their wrists this time.
The aliens who interpreted the meaning smiled satisfactorily.
That caused their sharp, shark-like teeth to be revealed.
"This is an outstanding harvest."
The equipment they had was indicating that the opponents were Awakened beings that had already activated their Mana Cores.
Whoong! Woooong!
At that moment…
The surface of the Gate shook once again.
And new beings showed themselves.
"Oh, it's very neatly organized. Good job!"
Several aliens, which matched the exact number of those who first crossed the Gate, traveled to Earth again.
The sequential movement was inevitable since only a limited number of entrants could enter the dungeon at once.
With the surrounding area completely blocked in that manner, the Ogatu gradually advanced their troops to Earth.
*
"The Ogatu."
Adam saw the video and immediately affirmed it.
"That's what I warned you about."
The Senator, who attended through a video conference, spoke with a shadow cast on his face.
"The organization called the Union warned us as well."
I was having a discussion with those two about Taiwan.
The Senator already knew that Adam was an alien.
Since it was a fact that would be widely known soon as long as we had entered Main Quest, I shared his true identity in advance.
Adam continued to explain.
"As with any other Main Quest race, they're thoroughly driven for profit. They don't just kill and destroy at random. It means that they're of a different level from those cow heads."
He explained it by comparing it to the uncivilized Botarch.
"But I'm not saying they're less vicious. Do you know what the most expensive item dealt on the black market between the main dimensions is?"
I replied based on what I heard.
"It's a race similar to humans. Intelligent creatures. Among them, prospective Awakened who are selected by the system and can activate the Mana Core."
"Exactly. They're invading for that."
Even if they came into contact with the Awakening Stone, those without a minimum amount of Mana didn't receive the system's invitation.
However, among the vicious species who had already completed the tutorial, there was a technology that enabled them to inject a small amount of Mana forcibly.
Even if they were forcibly Awakened, they would be around the level of F-Rank hunters on Earth, and the reaction would kill them within ten years since their Awakening.
The Ogatu people did such things to the non-Awakened prisoners and then took them to their parent dimension through a Gate that only the Awakened could enter and sold them.
Of course, they were not intended to be used for hunting. They were to be used as miners who would be enslaved in a dungeon or remove Cores from monsters' carcasses.
They were turned into slaves with a lifespan of 10 years at best.
"That's right. They're slave traders."
He said the demand for the dimensions that didn't join the Union was high.
The Senator leaked a hum.
"So, that's why they didn't kill them but put them to sleep. Then if their colleagues slowly come over from their mother dimensions, they would prepare the facility for the forced Awakening?"
"Yes."
"Damn it, if so, quickly…."
The Senator's words were cut off. It seemed that someone other than us contacted him. Immediately, he showed an irritating reaction.
"What! I told you I was on a very important phone call. I told you that even if the president calls, don't put him on the… Huh? Really? The president did so?"
He asked for our understanding and disappeared from the screen for a moment.
Then a few minutes later, his face, when he returned, had turned ashen.
"What's the matter?"
The Senator gritted his teeth and spoke.
"It's about the shield surrounding Taipei."
After a dome quarantined Taiwan's capital, the Taiwanese outside, needless to say, tried to break down the wall by using
After testing it several times, it was concluded that dozens of ballistic missiles must be fired at it all at once for it to be disabled.
Of course, it was only theoretically possible and infeasible.
If that much explosive power exploded all at the same time against the dome, would it solely destroy the shield?
That couldn't be the case. Even after breaking the dome, the flames and shock waves would sweep the barrier's interior and exterior, effectively turning the heart of Taipei into ruins.
However, the use of Mana Core bombs currently circulating in the market couldn't produce enough destructive power to be on par with the missiles.
"What about it? What's with the shield?"
The Senator's face was mixed with anger and absurdity.
He gritted his teeth and made a sound.
"I think China wants to get rid of it regardless of the method taken."
"… What?"
"A suspicious movement was just spotted in the 866th Missile Brigade of the People's Liberation Army of China. And almost at the same time, the Chinese Communist Party ordered all Taipei citizens to evacuate through the Internet and broadcasting. 'China' to 'Taiwanese people,' even."
The direct distance between Taiwan and mainland China was about 130 kilometers in the shortest area.
The Chinese government was keeping a close eye on what was happening in the dome.
As time went by, the number of aliens crossing the Gate increased. Even at that moment, the interior was considered already taken over, but it was apparent why more reinforcements were coming over without stopping.
It was possible to infer that the alien troops would eventually expand the dome, expand its perimeter within the Earth, and declare it their territory.
And China never wanted them to cross the strait.
"… No way."
"As you know, China and Taiwan claim each other's lands as their own."
I felt a headache.
"It seems like they plan to declare it as an act of defense for their territory and not an act of invasion."
"The act means… Is it what I think it is?"
The Senator replied with a look that told me he had never thought he would say the following words.
"Yes, those maniacs are planning to pour missiles into downtown Taipei before more of the aliens can come over to Earth!"
Novels online
Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 147
           
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Chapter 147
I Came Back And Conquered It All
The Second Cataclysm (3)
After a moment of silence…
"… They must be crazy."
China was planning an unimaginable atrocity.
For a brief moment, I found myself unable to speak.
Ring!
Another call request was made on a separate line from the line where I spoke to the Senator.
I talked to him before he picked it up.
"There's a call from the Korean government."
In the hologram, the Senator replied as if he already knew.
"It seems that both governments, the United States and South Korea, have ended their discussion."
It became a situation where Taiwan's president and other key officials of the administration and the military had been quarantined inside the Taipei Dome.
The military command, including the vice president who was staying outside the dome, quickly formed a temporary base.
They sent help requests worldwide, judging that they couldn't solve the current situation with their capabilities, but most of them had no concrete solution.
According to experiments conducted by the Taiwanese hunters outside the dome, cracks on the wall were created when introduced with shock using Mana.
However, The gap was only wide enough for a single person to barely pass through, and it recovered after a short time.
It seemed impossible to completely overturn the situation only by sending a few hunters inside through such efforts. They had no choice but to judge so.
But they couldn't just launch missiles either, so while everyone was hesitant, China was trying to put that absurd plan into action.
"What's the launch time that the Chinese government announced?"
"It's 24 hours from now."
If the missiles were fired immediately without notice, a disastrous massacre would take place outside the dome as well.
It seemed that China considered that even they couldn't handle an incident of that level.
That's why they must've given them a grace period.
Taipei citizens outside the dome had already begun evacuating after being warned of the bombing.
It was noticeable what kind of chaos would be unfolding at the scene.
"That's just one day. I think that's enough, but I'll check it out for the last time."
I talked to the Korean government on the phone, confirmed the Senator's conjecture as accurate, and called another person.
The response was quick as if he was on standby.
– Yes, Guild Master?
It was the researcher with droopy dark circles under his eyes. J/V's CTO, Jonathan Gray.
I skipped the formalities and got to the point.
"Can you get it moving in 24 hours?"
He had a pale face full of fatigue, but his eyes were intense.
The Chief Technology Officer answered with a burning look of enthusiasm.
"Of course, it will be ready by then, and we'll be able to ship it out! You've already read the manual, right? It must be hard to memorize because it's quite long…"
Of course, there's nothing to worry about if it came to memorizing.
"Then, I'll leave you to it."
Taiwan's 'ordinary hunters' gave up infiltrating the Dome because they thought nothing could be done about the situation with their power. The other countries failed to send reinforcements because they couldn't find a solid solution to it.
But it was already prepared in Korea.
Hunters with exceptional standards and powerful means to replace ballistic missiles…
And all the related personnel had already agreed.
*
The world immediately protested China's unilateral announcement and pointed out that it was practically an act of war, but they didn't even pretend to hear it.
The Taiwanese military was also prepared to respond to the pre-announced artillery attack, but it was impossible to put up their anti-aircraft defense with their troops fully.
"No way. No matter how crazy they may be, would they actually launch the missiles?"
Time went by with many doubting about it.
Twenty-four hours had passed since the Chinese government issued an 'evacuation order' to Taipei citizens living in the People's Republic of China's territory, not Taiwan's, according to their claim.
Dozens of medium-range ballistic missiles were fired from missile bases in Shandong, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces in mainland China over time.
"They launched them! They actually did!"
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Sharp siren noises throughout Taiwan, as well as neighboring countries, ripped people's ears.
The expected time of impact was only a few minutes. Everyone predicted a disastrous outcome.
It was then that an unexpected event occurred.
Late at night, the central point connecting the Korea-China coastline- on the West Sea.
At that time, when there were rarely ships traveling, a huge island was floating in the air.
Dozens of elongated objects similar to the cannon opening sprang up from its side.
And it quickly concentrated blazing energy as if it didn't need to warm up.
Zoom!
Artillery shells with intense power cut through the air.
It thundered through at a speed that seemed to ignore the laws of physics and rushed toward the designated coordinates.
And a few seconds later…
The command of the Chinese military's missile command was sent in chaos.
They confirmed that the IRBM they fired at Taiwan disappeared from the radar without a trace.
*
While China was enveloped with shock…
Dark darkness fell in the campsite of aliens, which was built in front of the Taipei gate.
As they were diurnal, just like humans, most of the Ogatu were asleep, and only the guards were on duty, spread throughout the vast area.
Their bodies were similar in shape to humans, but they had pale, corpse-like skin. Small chats came and went from all over the place, perhaps to soothe their boredom. Their language sounded similar to how human ears perceived seagull noises.
"How many of our troops have crossed so far?"
"There are over a thousand now."
"We won't relax until we get 10,000."
"Yeah, it's always been that pattern."
They hadn't yet started internal control, although they already blocked any movement by building the dome.
Their mission was to preoccupy the area around the Gate. They would then form a base until the rest of the troops arrived. That was because they knew that the natives in the dome couldn't escape anyway.
They chatted leisurely without knowing that missiles that were supposed to blow up their entire vicinity had been shot down en route.
It happened in a split second. A colossal structure with a diameter of more than 3 kilometers appeared on top of them.
There was no air resistance involved in the enormous object's movement, and no noise or glare could be heard or seen.
It suddenly appeared on the dome's boundary but couldn't be seen from below because it was covered by an optics light source.
The artificial island, Imperial Tactical Fortress, which floated hundreds of kilometers away from the open sea seconds ago, slowly opened its lower compartment.
Whoong!
A faint ray of light shoots down five strands.
Each beam of light was shaped like a tube that had an empty interior.
The moment it touched the surface of the dome…
Weeeeing!
A sound of alarm rang throughout the settlement.
The guards, who were leisurely relaxing, yelled in unison.
"Alert! Alert!"
The source of the mess was falling from the dark sky.
The Tactical Fortress's rays were easily cracked through the dome's surface, and they were preventing it from recovering again. They weren't enough to break down the entire dome, but they could at least make a small hole.
And as if to ride down the tubes, five people from high altitude fell into the dome.
It was the biggest Awakened who moved before anyone else.
"The hostages are there."
Adam moved quickly.
Like the other time when we attacked the Botarch, he was in charge of the hostages again.
It was a task distributed in consideration of one's ability.
"Alert! Intruder!"
Instead of distributing the paralyzed humans throughout the camp, the Ogatu put them in one place. It was for the sake of easy management. Of course, they didn't forget to concentrate on a lot of guards there in case of emergency.
Although it wasn't a bad choice, logically speaking, it eventually became the worst choice because of one
The being aiming for the place was capable of 'packing' hostages rapidly while simultaneously slaughtering the guards there.
'First, put a shell on the humans.'
The prisoners were piled up, unconscious with their mouths sealed.
Their bodies were restrained with an installation that looked like a mixture of a cargo pallet and a coffin.
It was preparation done to ease pushing them into the forced Awakening device and letting them enter the Gate later on, but as a result, it helped Adam rescue them easily.
'I truly get to do all sorts of things on Earth.'
It was inevitable since he was cooperating with the successor.
"Attack! Attack!"
Instead of weapons used to paralyze hostages, the Ogatu unit fired Mana shells made to kill.
They had weapons that were hard to see at the tutorial stage.
But it wasn't that astonishing for Adam.
'That's worse than shooting a sword energy using most of the standard skills.'
Adam overpowered their bombardment with only a few gestures and created a thin blood film on his back.
Shortly after that, a scene occurred where he seemed like he was throwing a cloth and opening it. A thin-looking but powerful shield quickly covered the prisoners.
After protecting the prisoners and simultaneously preparing to 'suck' them in…
"Die!"
Swoosh!
Body deformation happened in the blink of an eye.
Countless needles sprayed from his pores in all directions.
"!"
In an instant, the Ogatu guards became flesh and intestines clumps and scattered everywhere.
A thick layer of blood fog settled down.
Adam was the only one standing in good condition.
The prisoners, wrapped in the blood film behind his back, hadn't come to their senses just yet, but they weren't in any harm.
Adam mumbled through a communication device in his ear.
"This side is done."
Seo Jin-Wook's answer came right back.
– Alright. This side will be ready soon.
The two humans and a sword, Nate, Hibiki, and Genograche, also swept the aliens from all sides and took their souls out.
Aiming at the bodies that Hibiki froze with a spell, the [Guardian Program] multi-caliber cannonballs fired, shattering them.
The golden-armored demon charged on top of the wave that the undead monsters swept through. Like a Border Collie that ran on top of a flock of sheep, he stepped on zombie shoulders and heads as he fired sword energies against the aliens.
And not far away, there was a purple storm that broke the enemy with more relentless force than anyone else.
He ran in a straight line like a tank.
Along the intensely pushed trajectory, crushed limbs and pieces of white and red flesh flew around.
"G-aaaargh!"
"Stop it! Stop him! Stop him!"
The war situation was entering an unexpected phase for the Ogatu unit.
They, who had an absolute advantage in numbers, couldn't suitably defend against a small number of intruders, causing their battlefield formation to collapse.
All of them were above S-Class Awakened in human standards and were equipped with what Earthlings lacked, yet it wasn't working.
One thousand units versus five people… It was a ridiculous imbalance, but it was mockingly easily pierced.
'Where are you?!'
Seo Jin-Wook swung purple sword energy constantly as he tried to find the target.
He followed the Mana's flow around him by using both [Penetration] and [The Successor's Eyes].
He had only one goal: the artifact that formed the barrier of this dome.
"!"
Not long after, he finally found it.
[Arta's Sword Dance!]
"No!"
Mana struck the battle tent, penetrating the alien that was trying to protect it with a scream until the end.
Boo-boom!
Whoooong!
At that moment, the dome, which was completely covering 10km of space around it, disappeared in an instant.
"You bastaaard!"
In front of Seo Jin-Wook, a man who appeared to be the Ogatu unit commander revealed itself. Hate and anger flared up in its blue eyes.
"How dare an uncivilized race like you…!"
I understood its words' meaning through interpretation magic, but I had no intention to reply to it.
What's important at that moment was that the dome blocking the place from external attacks had finally disappeared.
Without hesitation, Seo Jin-Wook instructed Euclid, who remained in the Fortress's cockpit, through telecommunications equipment.
"Now!"
Immediately, the Tactical Fortress, which was hiding in the optical display, appeared.
It was finally revealed to the eyes of those below, and the commander looked up stiffly.
"T-that's-"
A look of surprise stained his face.
"A Tactical Fortress?!"
He froze up.
"H-how? That's not supposed to be available in the tutorial world…!"
It was a powerful weapon that even the world residents, who had already entered the Main Quest for a long time, couldn't easily get their hands on.
It was supposedly impossible to be spotted on Earth that just started the Main.
The commander's retina staring at it was engraved with rain streams made by hundreds of strands of light from the mobile fortress.
That was the last view he saw.
Bam! Boo-boo-boo-boom!
The storm of the lasers burned through the air.
Every time it hit the ground, an Ogatu soldier was oxidized to fog, and only the burnt marks and blood lumps scattered all over the point of impact remained.
It was an accurate and precise blow that didn't send shock waves to nearby buildings, prisoners, or allies.
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