In the early days of the Cataclysm, the ruptures were a disaster.
It was a catastrophe that couldnt be resolved unless the world came together to tackle it.
The number of awakened players was relatively small.
No system had been established like it was now.
Thanks to this, the world stopped meaningless competition between countries and worked together to counter the ruptures. The international cooperation organization AAU was created based on that.
In my time. We didnt have this kind of shit.
Rattle
Head of AAUs Korean branch, Park Minjae.
He pulled out a can of coffee in the lounge.
Likewise, Sung Hyunjoon and Yoon Sookyum, the two men held canned coffee in their hands.
Sung Hyunjoon whispered quietly.
No, sunbae. In this day and age, who says theyre treating a cup of tea and then giving a 300-won canned coffee? Branch Manager, I didnt see you that way before but youre completely stingy.
Tilt.
Instead of saying anything, Yoon Sookyum smacked his lips.
How long had it been since hed had coffee from the vending machine?
However, the atmosphere was unusual and this was not the time to discuss types of coffee.
Chug
You guys have seen the news, right?
Yes, I have.
Im still watching it, and Im really upset.
Sung Hyunjoons brow furrowed mercilessly.
They know all this and yet still do that? If it was for money or power in the first place, would he make a quest like this!? Hoyeol-nim is not an idiot!
Thats what I mean.
How many years had he been rolling in this dirty society?
If there was one thing he learned after holding the title of AAUs branch manager and naturally interacting with government officials. It was that that kind of ignorance was really what triggered people.
These smart people who graduated from prestigious universities dont know what even small citizens like us know? Theyre just pretending not to know. This isnt the first time theyre cursing at us. Theyre going to pretend to be innocent until the end.
He always felt this, but human beings were really clever.
Maybe there is no difference between humans and those demon bastards.
Hey, even if its the Branch Manager who said that..
Im not kidding. I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
Now that the number of players had increased and the system had been established.
The ruptures at the ordinary recommended level werent a big problem for humanity.
However, if you asked whether there was any damage caused by the ruptures.
Of course, there were lots of them.
Although not as bad as in the early days of the Cataclysm, people, innocent citizens, are dying every day. However, the so-called high-ranking people have now become a bit more comfortable with their lives. Are they spinning their mind in a shitty direction?
Last night, a golden Sunday evening.
Park Minjae received a call from a government official.
As a person to a person, these men have no formality. Formality.
They called him on the weekend.
To sum up the phone call that made him angry just thinking about it, it was simple.
Park Minjae sneered.
They want to control Lee Hoyeol.
Yes?!
Why are you surprised? Considering whats going on now, its not strange.
Lee Hoyeol, what had he done so far?
Although he had the ability to be called the pinnacle, he didnt pursue wealth or fame.
He just quietly cleared the ruptures like the players who were called heroes in the early days of the Cataclysm.
Who had benefited more from Lee Hoyeol than anyone else?
Of course, it was the government of the Republic of Korea.
From VIP to the lower line. Whether they were real or not, they must have used all their bluffing. Even if Lee Hoyeol looks unruly, he has a connection with us. Well, I can understand why the other countries are fooled. Why? Because they have a cooperative relationship of mutual assistance and helping each other.
He had guessed it, but it was real?
High-level information just poured out of the mouth of the AAU branch manager.
In case anyone overheard.
Yoon Sookyum carefully looked around and then whispered.
Its been like that since Inazuma, right?
Inazumas guild master, Hisagi Kazuma.
Right after the Hokkaido Frost crisis.
He officially declared in front of reporters that he would cut ties with the Japanese government.
The criticism of the Japanese government, which not only violated the AAU international agreement but also did dirty things behind the scenes, was no joke.Checkk new 𝒏ovel ch𝒂pters at nov𝒆lbin(.)com
Park Minjae snorted.
Think about it carefully. If you look back to that time.
?
Only ordinary citizens or netizens criticized the Japanese government. The countries that should have been the most sensitive toward the issue have never come forward and criticized it. What does that mean? It just wasnt revealed. Their situation was all the same.
There was also another link, AAU.
So, the high-ranking people want to replace that link with a dog collar. Arent they reckless? The players can kill a truckload of these guys just by lifting a single finger.
Wouldnt that be hydrochloric acid, not cider?
(TL notes: Cider is the refreshing feeling when a bad situation is resolved.)
As they were listening, they felt relieved.
They even kept looking around, wondering if someone else was listening.
The speech was that remarkable.
Cling
But as if he didnt care.
Park Minjae threw the cleanly empty can into the trash can.
Then he continued.
Thats why I got an offer.
An offer?
An offer to get a good seat with Lee Hoyeol. For me.
Yoon Sookyum and Sung Hyunjoon looked at Park Minjae.
They must have made a tremendous offer.
There must be a reason why branch heads in other countries cooperated with their government even if it violated the AAU agreement. Clearly, Branch Manager Park also received a huge offer.
They could be certain of that.
Thats why they had doubts.
Sung Hyunjoon swallowed dry saliva and asked.
But, is it okay for you to tell us this?
Park Minjae smiled.
Yes, if youre going to do something bad, its best to do it secretly.
He opened the lounge door wide and closed it.
Well, I told you this because I would definitely refuse.
?!
Sung Hyunjoon couldnt help but feel surprised.
It was an offer that anyone would have felt pressured by. He didnt say it, but it was obvious that the offer had a mixture of threats and intimidation. Plus material temptation.
When Park Minjae left the lounge, Sung Hyunjoon opened his mouth.
Sunbae, werent you surprised?
I was surprised. Even if he has taken the position of branch manager, he is still the same as before.
Hes still the same as before?
Oh, you dont know because your work period was short.
He recalled the days at Cosmo.
Our Branch Manager Park has been famous since he was a regular employee.
He was famous? As what? A stingy person?
Well, thats an irrefutable fact.
Yoon Sookyum laughed even as he thought about it again.
Unique among hundreds of thousands of Cosmo employees around the world. Our Branch Manager Park. He was the one who officially defeated Raymond Sean.
Y-Yes?!
.
.
.
Park Minjae pulled on his stuffy tie.
Damn it, since when did developers start wearing suits?
From now on, he would have to dress comfortably.
Because you never know when and where you might splash poop on your clothes.
Park Minjae recalled his earlier commitment.
If he couldnt walk with Lee Hoyeol.
He would get the obstacle out of his way.
AAU?
High-ranking people?
It was all great.
The corners of Park Minjaes mouth went up.
Its my specialty. Crash into the higher-ups.
Even in the past when he had been worse off than he was now, he was the one who had attacked the sky-high CEO Raymond Sean.
Park Minjae relaxed slightly. Okay, great. Where should he start? Park Minjae sat in front of the desk of the branch managers office.
Ill hang out with you as much as you want on Lee Hoyeols behalf.
Click
What is this?
Park Minjae didnt have to step up.
No, maybe he would never have to in the future.
Park Minjae, who was looking at the monitor, murmured.
W-What kind of bullshit is this?!
What was playing on the screen was a live press video.
The angle reflected an invisible fog.
Soon, subtitles popped up on the screen.
[Eyewitness says, at the same time as the rupture was created, London disappeared!]
Literally.
Exactly as you saw it.
London, into the fog.
It had disappeared.
*
Emergency.
The petty disputes that had been occurring until just now went to nothing.
They went back to the beginning of the Cataclysm.
This was on a different level from the ruptures they had seen so far.
Yes, it felt like they were seeing the beginning of the apocalypse that AAU had predicted.
7th in the guild rankings, Second Sun of England.
Guildmaster, Schraig, was silent.
Drip
He looked at London in the pouring rain.
No, could he still call it London?
Even in London, where sunny days were rare, this was on a different level. Really, it was a rain fog where you couldnt see an inch ahead. All of the area where the fog spread wide was the rupture area.
Buzz buzz
The vibrations had been going on for a while.
It was probably a call from the superiors asking him to come up with a solution.
But Schraigs head had stopped working since earlier.
What on earth do you want me to do?
London, the whole place had become a rupture.
What it meant was simple.
The citizens of London had disappeared into the rupture.
Along with London.
Second Suns executive, Zachary, held onto the strings of reason.
Its not just citizens inside the rupture. There are players, especially our Second Sun guild members. Theres no need to worry. I am sure theyre handling it well.
Schraig let out a false laugh.
Haha, do you really think so?
What?
Its beyond what we can handle with. You know?
A message appeared before his eyes.
Information about ruptures.
[Dungeon: City of Gloomy Rain]
[Recommended level: Lv.600~Lv.900]
[Collapse progress: 0.1%]
He could understand the rampaging recommended level.
From the [Cracked Dimension Gap] rupture to the [Thefern Labyrinth].
There had been ruptures that boasted a recommended level a step higher than this.
Yeah, what he couldnt understand was the [dungeon].
The two syllables before the ruptures name.
Schraig grabbed his pounding head.
Its a dungeon. Its not something you can clear by simply hunting monsters. Damn it. To find the clear conditions, you have to go through them one by one!
In the days when Arcana was just a game.
Dungeons were notorious for their heinous difficulty.
To put it simply, it was a place full of powerful monsters at the level of the [predator zone] and full of threatening traps at the level of [labyrinth]. That was what the [dungeon] was.
Schraigs voice became more intense.
Id be happy if this was a game. Even at the risk of the experience point penalty. Considering the dungeons rewards, its worth dying a few times. But its not a game, is it? Lives are at stake, everyone.
To clear the dungeon.
They had to find the [depth of the dungeon].
But it was a dungeon full of powerful monsters and traps.
Not only that, what was its scale?
At a minimum, it was at the scale of London.
Im sorry, Zachary. I am not confident.
Schraig looked at his trembling hands.
Fear.
The rupture devoured ordinary people who werent players?
Up until now, this was something that couldnt have happened.
In the first place, ordinary people couldnt enter or witness a rupture. But maybe because it was a dungeon. Not only did it take London, engulfing its citizens wasnt enough.
In there, my wife is in there!!
Even ordinary people could clearly see the strange rain fog that made it impossible to see an inch in front of them.
They yelled non-stop.
Schraig clenched his teeth.
Damn it.
He had jumped into the ruptures again and again feeling the same way.
But he hadnt been alone.
He had guild members to follow in his footsteps.
Jumping into the dungeon without a proper plan?
It would be like throwing away your experience point, no, your life. He was familiar with it through his experience from the time when Arcana was just a game.
What made someone like him a hero and hope for his country?
He felt helpless.
The pouring rain dampened his body.
It wasnt just Schraig.
Pitter-patter
It weighed heavily on everyone who watched London shrouded in rain fog.
It made them depressed.
Made them lethargic.
To a strange degree.
Schraig, or rather everyone who was hit by the rain, muttered.
I cant do anything
Pitter-patter
The moment their bodies were about to cool down.
In the barrage of rain.
There was a sound of shoes.
Tap tap
In the large crowd.
There was a single open black umbrella.
As if he wouldnt allow a single drop of rain to splatter on his clothes.
A man was holding an umbrella with an upright posture.
Soon, he opened his mouth.
Can you hear me, Schraig?
?
At the same time, Schraigs vision flashed.
[Status abnormality, helplessness, is canceled.]
It was only then that Schraig realized.
I, when did I get status abnormality?
In an instant, reflexively.
He looked at the man who woke him up from the status abnormality.
A black long umbrella and silver hair contrasting with it.
He faced Hoyeol.
Before Schraig could open his mouth, Hoyeol continued.
Id like to ask you to guide me around London, is that possible?
.
.
.
Such a widespread status abnormality.
Just looking at the recommended level, it was at least at the level of demon king.
Yes, you had to be at that level to be called a dungeon owner.
Naturally, it was my first time to witness a dungeon.
But how could I be so calm?
This time, I would confidently answer that it was thanks to my preparation rather than Grandfels iron face. To be precise, my desperation to get my moneys worth paid off.
Right.
I was referring to the [Map That Connects All Things] that I had used calculatingly.
A brooch gave off its presence on the jackets lapel.
[Hexagram Brooch 1/6]
[Grade: Unique]
[Restriction: Lv.100]
[Effect: Restores 10% of the mana you consume.]
[Description: It is part of a brooch where six come together to become one. The effect has been significantly reduced because it is only a small part.]
Yes, [City of Gloomy Rain].
There was a second [Hexagram Brooch] beyond that fog.