Chapter 155 – Casting Vote (1)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
On January 1, 2020, mankind realised that the world had transformed into a game overnight and that anything could happen in the upcoming years.
This was why people haven’t gathered in the streets of Manhattan to shout ‘Happy New Year’ since 2020.
By the end of December, governments in every country had to make tremendous efforts to prevent their citizens from hoarding supplies.
In spite of that, the citizens still held onto the supplies that they collected while wishing that the new year would pass without incident.
Guilds and players also ceased all dungeon attacks at the end of December in order to prepare for whatever might happen in the new year.
The same was true for the Messiah Guild.
On December 31, there was only one official activity that was conducted by the Messiah Guild.
“2023, a long year, is passing.”
The Savior Lee Se-jun.
His speech at the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, about 10 minutes before the new year, was the only activity that they did.
It was the moment when the Messiah Guild, which was busy attacking dungeons around the world, was at its calmest.
But on the contrary, it was also the moment when the Messiah Guild’s presence reached its highest point in the year.
For most people in the world who were afraid of the New Year, Lee Se-jun was the only one that they could rely on.
Unsurprisingly, only very special people were able to witness Lee Se-jun’s New Year’s speech in person.
Even Korean celebrities who always received VIP treatment whenever there was an event in Korea, could only get seats on plastic chairs in a corner, and even then, only the truly special ones were allowed to attend.
Of course, regardless of this, countless people flocked the Gwanghwamun Square to spot Lee Se-jun from a distance.
It was the same for Kim Woo-jin.
Before he returned to the past, he, who was a loyal member of the Messiah Guild, happily came out to Gwanghwamun Square to listen to Lee Se-jun’s New Year’s Speech from a distance.
“We’ve made a lot of progress. And we’ve made many sacrifices.”
He’d made up his mind after listening to the speech.
He would listen to it closer next time.
Even now, after returning to the past, Kim Woo-jin was listening to Lee Se-jun’s New Year’s Speech from a distance.
“But I won’t stop here.”
And his determination was the same as it was before.
Next time, he wanted to listen to it from a closer distance.
‘The day this space narrows, I will chop off your head.’
That way he could take his life.
“Save the world with me. Let’s put an end to this game.”
As soon as Lee Se-jun finished his speech, the clock behind him struck 12, signalling the start of the new year.
And at that moment, the world became silent.
Only after realising that they hadn’t received any notifications, did people began to smile, clap and cheer.
“Ahhh! Savior!”
“Lee Se-jun, save us!”
They began to cheer for the world’s only savior.
In all the commotion, Kim Woo-jin took out his cellphone and sent a text message.
[I passed Isaac Ivanov’s test.]
After sending that message, Kim Woo-jin turned around and left.
2024, the new year, had begun.
…
If you block a flowing river, after you unblock it, the force of the water would be much stronger.
The moment the new year started after December, where they stopped all activities, and the moment when they confirmed that nothing else had happened that year, the world looked very similar.
[Lightning Emperor, guild transfer?]
[The Messiah Guild gains a new sponsor!]
[The Frontier Guild Acquires three UK guilds!]
As if they were waiting, huge pieces of news began to pop out and make headlines in each media outlet.
[The Great One Guild commences 6 Floor dungeon attack!]
[The Kunlun Guild is attacking two 6 Floor dungeons at the same time!]
[The Phoenix Guild challenges its third 6 Floor dungeon!]
At the same time, the large guilds began announcing 6 Floor dungeon attacks one after the other.
Naturally, Oh Se-chan and his subordinates were also extremely busy.
“What happened in Europe?”
“Checking.”
“Where is the Lightning Emperor now?”
“Last seen in Australia.”
“Is the information that the Messiah Guild is being sponsored by both Coca-cola and Pepsi-cola at the same time correct?”
“Yes!”
“Damn, they get to drink cola every day. I’m jealous!”
“Yes?”
They didn’t even have enough time to eat.
This was why.
Ding!
“Ah, that’s it.”
Oh Se-chan’s cold gaze was locked onto Lee Jin-ah who was taking a pile of steamed buns from the microwave.
“Ah, hot! Hoo, hoo!” (TL: I suppose that’s the sound of him blowing)
“Ah, fuck.”
And the reason the Oh Se-chan began to shout angrily at Lee Jin-ah who was happily eating his steamed buns.
“Lee Jin-ah, what the hell are you doing you bastard?”
Lee Jin-ah, who sat at the table in the center of the office, responded when he heard Oh Se-chan’s words.
“What do you mean what am I doing? I’m eating steamed buns. Steamed buns are the best during winter!”
When he heard such a bright reply, Oh Se-chan put his hands on his bald head which had become red from his increased blood pressure.
“You…”
It was then.
“Hyung you should eat some too. I bought a lot on purpose.”
Oh Se-chan’s eyes widened at Lee Jin-ah’s words before saying.
“…you know how much I care about you, don’t you?”
Along with those words, Oh Se-chan quickly sat across from Lee Jin-ah and picked up a steamed bun.
“Uh, hot. Hoo, hoo.”
Lee Jin-ah, who’d already eaten three buns, started talking to Oh Se-chan, who was mumbling while blowing on his first.
“How’s your work going?”
“Everything is going as I expected.”
“You know how much I suffered last year right? It was all thanks to my hard work. So you should be grateful.”
Oh Se-chan gave a big smile.
“If it was outside of my expectations, that would mean that the world was turning in the right direction.”
“Huh?”
Lee Jin-ah opened his mouth in shock at Oh Se-chan’s statement before promptly shoving three steamed buns into it. (TL: all this talk about steamed buns is making me crave some…)
Oh Se-chan answered with a slight frown on his face.
“I’m sure that something shocking is going to happen this year.”
“A shocking event?”
“It’s a major event that will cause more than five OECD(1) members to become virtually infamous by next year.”
Lee Jin-ah showed a surprised expression at the words that were even more shocking than he expected, and stuffed two buns in his mouth before asking.
“Would that really happen? Even if a monster escapes from a 6 Floor dungeon, there would be ways to escape from it even if we can’t handle it right?”
In response to Lee Jin-ah’s question, Oh Se-chan picked up a steamed bun before continuing.
“That’s true, but people are much more terrifying than monsters.”
“People?”
“You know that Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America are protesting for their lives right?”
“Yes.”
“But has their protest caused anything to change?”
“It hasn’t.”
“So what would you do in a situation where there is no change even after you’ve been protesting till you rip your throat?”
“They will protest harder.
“That’s right, Bin Laden sent a plane into the Twin Towers with that in mind.”
Then, as if he’d grasped the severity of the situation, Lee Jin-ah picked up a steamed bun.
Oh Se-chan also picked one up while thinking.
‘There are already signs.’
Oh Se-chan invested a countless amount of money in order to understand the situation around the world.
‘It wouldn’t be strange if the situation escalates soon.’
So it would be strange if he didn’t know that the world had a warehouse full of gunpowder that was primed to explode at any moment.
In fact, there was already some movement.
In Eastern Europe and the Middle East, some radical groups began preparing for and planning to implement acts of terrorism.
‘We’ve only been lucky so far.’
Until recently, they’d managed to stop any plans in advance, but no matter how big an umbrella was, it could not stop the rain perpetually.
At some point, there would be a moment when you were splashed by rainwater.
‘This is the best stage for the Messiah Guild.”
And it would be the moment when the Messiah Guild practically ruled the world.
The Messiah Guild is the only place to lean on in a world filled by the terror of monsters where even governments had lost their function.
‘So before that, we need something to fight against the Messiah Guild somehow.’
At the moment, regardless of what Oh Se-chan wanted to do, he had no way to stop the Messiah Guild.
‘Kim Woo-jin should grow quickly.’
This was the reason that Oh Se-chan wanted Kim Woo-jin to grow faster so that he could have more influence.
“So when’s the next dungeon?”
“Don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“From now on, you can’t just attack any dungeon.”
Of course, Oh Se-chan did not forget that they needed to be even more cautious at times like these.
“You and Kim Woo-jin can only attack 3 Floor dungeons three more times or so. After that comes 4 Floor dungeons. As you know, 4 Floor dungeons are completely different from 3 Floor dungeons.
The number of floors is one thing, but also 4 and 5 Floor dungeons are the main stages for mid sized guilds. And it’s not guild members, it would be their Guild Master taking part in the dungeons.”
It was then.
“Hey, boss.”
A subordinate walked over to Oh Se-chan.
“Ah, would you like to have a steamed bun?”
Oh Se-chan handed a steamed bun to his subordinate.
“No, that’s not it.”
However, the subordinate refused the bun before saying.
“I think you should check this out.”
“What is it?”
“An A+ rank dungeon was found.”
“A+ rank?”
The subordinate nodded at the question.
“Yes, and it appears to be a 3 Floor Dungeon.”
Oh Se-chan smiled at those words.
“Kim Woo-jin has a lot of luck with dungeons. A+ rank dungeons, which would be hard for others to attack even if they wanted to, are just lined up for him.
Someone would think that he knew an A+ rank dungeon was coming which is why he increased his level.”
But the smile didn’t last long.
“But this information came from the Dragon Slayer channels.”
“What?”
Oh Se-chan was surprised.
“Wait, so you got information about this A+ rank 3 Floor dungeon from the Dragon Slayer?”
“Yes.”
“No way…”
The subordinate then confirmed what Oh Se-chan was thinking.
“The Dungeon Boss of this dungeon is expected to be a Hatchling.”