Chapter 36: Break Time (4) (1/2)
Episode 3: Age of Ghosts / Chapter 36: Break Time (4)
TL: emptycube
Editor: Obelisk
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Breakfast with the president.
Some were, depending on their tastes, scrapping the bottom of a bowl of pumpkin porridge, eating injeolmi{1} or even drinking sujeonggwa{2}.
A new announcement appeared.
{The Throne Game has completely ended now. King titles revoked. ‘1/3 Qualifications of the Sovereign obtainers’ are now ‘Leaders of Hundred’ and ‘2/3 Qualification of the Sovereign obtainers’ are now ‘Leaders of Ten Thousand’}
“What?”
In a single stroke, the breakfast became disordered.
“Wow… What is this? Now it doesn’t sound as cool.”
A king, no, a Leader of Ten Thousand dejectedly mumbled to himself.
Choi Hyuk and the president, who could guess what was happening, exchanged meaningful looks.
The breakfast ended in confusion and the president asked Choi Hyuk to stay behind for a moment.
He confirmed the important information Karik had given them by comparing each other’s memories. This was also beneficial to Choi Hyuk as humans couldn’t completely remember everything.
“That mission, does it start tomorrow?”
“That is correct. We have to wait until tomorrow to know exactly what is going on. The position humans are in and their objective… even those things are unknown.”
The president nodded his head at Choi Hyuk’s words. Then he added,
“A report arrived before breakfast. It said that there is a portal leading to a land in Yeouido Park.”
Choi Hyuk was a bit surprised. The colonizing was a matter the Giant Orc Karik stressed on. It seemed that it had already been initiated.
‘A portal… What is behind it? Why do we have to colonize? How dangerous is it?’
As these lands he had only heard of really appeared, more specific questions crossed his mind.
The president stared hard at Choi Hyuk who was deep in his own thoughts and asked.
“Good luck on the mission. Are you planning on exploring the land?”
Choi Hyuk nodded his head.
“I probably have to. Considering Karik’s tone, it seems to be mandatory.”
The president nodded. Then he looked at him with desperate eyes.
“If you do explore… please give us some information about it. The only person I can lean on is Sovereign Choi Hyuk. I will do all I can to support you.”
There were only 39 sovereigns in the world. Among them, the only sovereign the president knew was Choi Hyuk as he was the only sovereign in Korea.
The president felt burdened by the risk of an unknown land that they had to colonize. So he hoped that Choi Hyuk would explore it first and give him some information. Of course, if that was the case, it meant that Choi Hyuk would have to take the risk himself.
Choi Hyuk felt that the president was a bit selfish. Colonizing a new land. An unknown land. No one knew how dangerous it would be.
Still…
“Okay.”
Choi Hyuk accepted the president’s request. He had to colonize it anyways and Karik’s words implied that it would be impossible for sovereigns to cooperate with each other.
If he could receive the president’s support by doing something he already had to do, it wasn’t bad.
“Thank you. Thank you.”
Choi Hyuk shook hands with the happy president.
On his way back with Baek Seoin, Lee Jinhee appeared wearing a baseball cap. She had just come back from visiting her hometown.
“Are your parents okay?”
Baek Seoin asked carefully. Lee Jinhee pouted.
“They were soooo healthy. When I said I was going back to Seoul, they said they would break my legs.”
“Probably. Weren’t they frightened?”
“Well. It’s not something you can avoid because you want to.”
Lee Jinhee shrugged her shoulders. She then looked up at Choi Hyuk.
“Anyways… leader… I heard the news.”
Choi Hyuk looked at her. What did she hear? That he killed Song Simin’s group?
No. Looking at her careful expression, he knew what she had heard. She was talking about his mother’s death.
“… It just happened that way.”
Choi Hyuk slightly avoided her gaze and walked ahead. He didn’t want to show her his eyes. Since it was obvious they would look sad.
“Anyways, let’s gather for a moment. There’s a lot to discuss.”
Choi Hyuk walked ahead swinging his arms. Baek Seoin and Lee Jinhee followed behind him.
Choi Hyuk’s bedroom. Choi Hyuk sat on his bed, Baek Seoin brought a chair to sit on and Lee Jinhee sat down with her legs curled up on his desk.
“So 39 sovereigns… Consumables… And he said ‘Congratulations on passing the new recruit training’?”
Baek Seoin brooded over Choi Hyuk’s words.
“Right. It was exactly as Jung Minji predicted. They are trying to make us into an army.”
“Who are they? God?”
As if it made her blood run cold, she hugged herself.
Choi Hyuk smirked and changed the mood. It became serious.
“Anyways… you all know what my goal is?”
Getting revenge on them, Choi Hyuk didn’t explicitly say those words.
He felt that he shouldn’t. Though he didn’t think they were listening to each and every conversation… it wasn’t bad being careful and he was superstitious that if he spoke what he truly desired, it would muddle his pure heart.There was even a saying, ‘the Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao’{3}.
“Wow…”
Lee Jinhee let out a small shout.
Baek Seoin and Lee Jinhee both understood Choi Hyuk’s intentions.
‘So he’s planning on getting revenge on the ones who created this game!’
This was why Lee Jinhee let out a shout.
Choi Hyuk asked in a low voice.
“You can probably guess but this fight is going to be incomparably harder than the fight against the wyvern, that fake dragon. Think it through once more. Are you still going to follow me?”
He said this prepared that they would separate from him.
However, the two replied without hesitation.
“Didn’t I say that if you kill the wyvern I will serve you as my king? What follower leaves his king? And I have a grudge against them as well.”
Baek Seoin said while fixing his posture.
On the other hand, Lee Jinhee gently lowered her legs. She tightly clenched fists above her knees.
“As expected, hyung… I like that you think big.”
She had an expression that was a mixture of nervousness and excitement. She started calling him ‘leader’ when Baek Seoin nagged her by saying, ‘It’s fine that you’re close but still you need to call him by his official title. The leader is the leader, not a hyung,’ however, looking at how she reverted back to ‘hyung’, it seemed her heart was beating wildly.
He had sort of expected this. Choi Hyuk nodded his head.
“Good. Then, let’s examine the current situation…”
The three put their heads together and started to examine their current situation. First, he shared the traits of a sovereign.
——————–
{Sovereign}
1. No limit to the number of followers.
2. Able to have long-distance communication with followers.
3. Able to increase designated followers’ stats by 10%. No use on followers with higher Retribution than you. (Current Retribution: 20 (★★★) Able to designate 102 followers)
4. Right to colonize land.
5. Right to use the supply store of the Flame Wing Tribe. (Locked)
——————–
“They say that the kings who had 2/3 Qualifications to be a Sovereign had been demoted to ‘Leaders of Ten Thousand’ and the buff that increased their followers’ stats by 5% was removed. In other words, they were nerfed.”
Same with Choi Hyuk, the buff of the ‘King without Subjects’, ‘Increase followers’ stats by 20%’, had disappeared as well. Instead, he was now able to appoint 102 followers and increase their stats by 10% but this was also a nerf. It was a bit iffy since although he was now able to have an unlimited number of followers, he didn’t plan on increasing the number of followers right away, so it was a nerf.
Choi Hyuk asked Baek Seoin.
“Then is there no point for people to join ‘Leaders of Hundred’ or ‘Leaders of Ten Thousand’?”
“That’s not true. They say troops will receive their own missions. We don’t know exactly what mission it is; it will definitely be better to do it together than by themselves. Leaders of Hundred can create a troop with 99 members while the Leaders of Ten Thousand will be able to create troops with 9, 999 members. If we look at it like a game, then the Leaders of Hundred have the right to create a raid and Leaders of Ten Thousand have the right to create a guild. Also, since their members now have the ability to communicate over short distances… it looks like people will gather under Leaders of Hundred and Ten Thousand.”
Baek Seoin momentarily looked at Choi Hyuk before adding in.
“If there isn’t a sovereign.”