NOVPUB
Chapter 232
Before leading Suho to the site of the double dungeon, Jiwoo made a brief stop at her guild. The reason was simple—to instruct her PR department to lay the groundwork for Suho’s mission to North Korea.
In the meantime, Suho began handling his own tasks one by one.
First of all...
“I’m going to have to make better use of my Shadow Exchange skill from now on.”
“An excellent decision, Young Monarch,” Beru responded.
The incident in India had proven just how effective Shadow Exchange could be.
“There is no telling when traces of the Church of the Outer Gods will be found again,” Suho continued. “It’d be smart to spread out shadow soldiers as broadly as possible.”
“As expected of your brilliance! You have plenty of shadow soldiers now. If you spread the small fries everywhere, getting around will be easier for you. Of course, your father was able to spread Monarch’s Domain across the entire globe, so this wasn’t necessary for him. You will have to do a little extra legwork since you aren’t at his level yet.”
Beru was alternating between compliments and jabs to encourage Suho, but he found that the jabs stung a little too much.
Regardless, he had seized the meeting with the association’s S-rank hunters as a chance to discreetly place his soldiers within their shadows.
Interesting. Even these S-rank hunters can’t sense the presence of soldiers hiding in their shadows.
Of course, if a soldier actually left a shadow, they would be instantly noticed. But if they simply stayed silent and followed quietly, the hunters would probably be unaware unless they were especially sensitive.
However, Suho wasn’t done yet.
“Let’s send some out to other countries as well.”
“Ah! How do you suggest we do this?” Beru asked.
“Easy. Just hitch a ride on the shadows of flight attendants.”
“Well, well! Talk about smart! Your legwork is—”
“Be honest with me. You’re just making fun of me, aren’t you?” Suho asked.
But Beru had already melted back into the shadows.
***
With that, Suho placed countless shadow soldiers on various flights, effectively sending them all over the world. When the planes landed, the soldiers would naturally follow the passengers and wander the various destination countries.
He didn’t just send one or two per country—he sent several, ensuring they would scatter and explore widely.
I have plenty of soldiers now. I should spread them out as much as possible to aid in the search.
Suho didn’t intend for the soldiers to just stroll about lazily, however.
“Target shady areas. Focus on dangerous areas and places where villains are likely to be. If you find a villain about to harm someone, feel free to take them out.”
Suho did not care if the soldiers were spotted as a result of his orders. After all, thanks to China’s live broadcast, the followers of the Itarim already knew that the person wielding the power of shadows was Korean. Given the situation, it would be better for the shadow soldiers to appear in multiple countries, making it harder to pinpoint Suho’s location.
“Assuming they now know I’m based in South Korea, I’ll scatter even more soldiers here. I need to protect my family too,” Suho remarked to Beru.
“So you’re aiming to become a real vigilante? It reminds me of old times. You have grown into a fine young man,” the shadow ant said with teary admiration.
He seemed extremely pleased that Suho was following so closely in Jinwoo’s footsteps, even without anybody telling him to.
***
Suho’s next stop was the dungeon in Pyeongtaek.
[Pyeongtaek’s Third Dungeon]
There was now a sign posted in front of it.
—Access Restricted to Woojin Guild Members Only
This dungeon was where Suho had once had an unpleasant encounter with the Black Tortoise Guild.
It was also the location of a gate to the demon realm, where Esil’s followers could be found. Since the magic beasts within the gate were all demons in Esil’s service, Suho had purchased the surrounding land without clearing the dungeon.
“All of you! Get out here, now!”
As soon as Suho entered the dungeon, he let the demons he’d brought with him from India tumble out.
“Thank you so much, Suho!” Esil exclaimed, genuinely moved.
This meant more to her than simply increasing the number of individuals in her employ. Demon nobles gained tangible strength from commanding more demons.
Countless bloodstones flew toward Esil, courtesy of the new demons. She breathed the air of the demon realm deeply as she took them in. When she opened her eyes, a powerful aura radiated from her body, completely different from before.
With a bright smile, she turned to Suho. “Can you feel it? I’ve regained all of my original strength. It’s all thanks to you, Suho.”
“Hmm. Judging by human standards, you’re about S-rank now,” he said.
“C’mon, can’t you be a little more touched at moments like this?” She pouted, a little put out by his lukewarm reaction.
Suho, however, was feeling a tinge of disappointment. Sure, compared to when he had first met Esil, starving and on the brink of death, her new form looked amazingly confident and self-assured. But based on his experiences thus far, even the power of an ordinary S-rank hunter would not be much help in the fight against the followers of the Itarim.
“Can you get even stronger than this?” he asked.
“Hey... Not everyone can get stronger by continually fighting.”
“But I thought you said demons get stronger by devouring each other.”
“That’s true, but there are limits to our growth. To go beyond that, I’d have to devour a demon far stronger than me. But there are no such demons left in the universe.”
“So you’d have to eat something like the World Tree, like Vulcan did, if you wanted more power.”
“Vulcan was a special case, as I told you before. There is a more convenient and traditional way, though. I could become the Demon King.”
Esil’s confident words piqued Suho’s curiosity. After all, to create the Elixir of Life, he needed Purified Blood of the Demon King—a resource he could only obtain if Esil became the King of Demons anyway.
“When can that happen?” he asked.
“Well, it’s hard to say...”
Esil squinted and gazed up at the cracked, torn skies of the demon realm, split open by the rift. Ominous energy swirled just beyond, hinting that enemies might appear at any moment.
“A king must protect and rule,” she said. “For demon nobles, that meant holding onto our territories and defending them. For us, that is how we grow and survive.”
Suho cocked his head. “Protect? What are you protecting, exactly?”
“This entire world.”
“What?”
Esil glanced around at their surroundings with bitter eyes. “Antares told you that the nightmare bulbs drag human souls into the Sea of the Afterlife, right? But you know as well as I do that demon souls don’t end up there. I doubt even the nightmare bulbs would be interested in us.”
“Yeah. I was told that demons simply wander around the realm after death until they’re born again as new demons at some point.”
“Yes. Do you know what that means? This place is our home but also our prison. No matter how much we try to escape, we all get pulled back here eventually.”
Suho’s eyes widened. “The demon realm, a prison?”
“Yes. There’s a reason that demons are said to live in hell. The demon realm is essentially a giant fishbowl. Our souls are stuck here, forced to fight endlessly, just like the Absolute Being once did. Now that I’ve gathered so many demons, some threat will come my way soon enough, forcing me to prove I have the right to survive.”
As Esil spoke, an ominous thundercloud loomed in the air.
“When that moment comes, if I protect this land, I will earn the right to be king,” she declared, turning her back on the sky. A fierce light shone in her eyes.
***
Meanwhile, the S-rank hunters were giving their all to help Suho—or rather, Yoo Jinho was squeezing them dry.
“With five S-rank votes secured, we’ve cleared the first hurdle to sending Suho to North Korea. Now all we need is the public’s approval,” Lee Sehwan said.
He was giving a briefing on the next step, which was referred to as the “national vote.” This was a special procedure created by Woo Jinchul, with a few marked differences from ordinary public votes.
First of all, any South Korean citizen, regardless of age or gender, could cast a vote.
Second, there was no “yes” or “no” choice—the only possible vote was “no.”
Third, if a majority of the population voted “no,” the hunter would not be allowed to go. Invalid or abstained votes were regarded as votes for the hunter, rather than against them.
The strangest detail was the first one—that of one vote for everyone regardless of age or gender. This meant that even newborn babies had the right to vote. Of course, since infants couldn’t vote themselves, their legal guardians or parents would vote on their behalf.
This clause was in place because parents bore the responsibility for their children’s safety. In other words, if even a small amount of unease spread through public sentiment, countless parents would cast not just their own votes but also additional votes on behalf of their children, essentially multiplying the impact of their opposition.
This was why swaying public opinion was extremely important.
“To put it simply, the whole purpose of this national vote is to make it easy to block the mission. Mr. Woo clearly didn’t want anyone crossing north,” Sehwan said, concluding his explanation.
Taking a deep breath, he surveyed his audience. Jinho and the S-rank hunters—famous individuals representing the country—had gathered today to support Suho. He swallowed dryly, a prickle of anxiety rising within him.
“In most cases, people believe voting ‘no’ is only natural.”
He brought up a screen displaying the current online public opinion.
“These are the opposing statements. Most state the obvious, but the points are quite reasonable.”
—[Reasons for Opposing]
—The fewer S-rank hunters there are, the more danger the people are in.
—We are concerned that our hunters will be scouted by other countries.
—What is the point of uniting North and South Korea at a time like this?
—It will only mean more land to protect, and South Korea will gain nothing from it.
“Now, let’s look at the arguments in favor.”
He swapped to a different slide.
—[Reasons for Supporting]
—Do you not remember the COVID-19 pandemic?
—The Great Cataclysm came out of nowhere. Who’s to say the situation won’t resolve itself?
—Before that happens, we have to unite the peninsula.
—If there are any survivors up there, we have to save them.
“Political motivations aside, the last reason is a concern we also share,” Dongwook said, rubbing his thick beard and tutting.
Yoonho nodded solemnly, his expression grave. “If there are any survivors, we must save them before it’s too late.”
“True, but wouldn’t it be more efficient to clear the dungeons popping up in South Korea instead of sticking our necks into North Korea’s business? Shouldn’t we focus on helping people right in front of us?” Mukang interjected. “Ahem. Of course, that’s not to say I’m against it or anything.”
Mukang opposed Yoonho’s words out of habit, only to catch himself when he noticed Jinho’s gaze. Since he had already agreed to support Suho’s mission, there was no point in arguing his own personal opinions.
He cleared his throat again and added, “Anyway, as long as we get support from the big guilds, public sentiment should shift in our favor. If we can ease the public’s fears, they won’t actively oppose the mission.”
“Exactly. You can trust us on this.”
“The moment the voting starts, we will ensure the public has full confidence in Suho.”
Because VR training access was on the line, the S-rank hunters were especially eager to voice their support in front of Jinho.
But the CEO, who was there as Suho’s representative, maintained a stony expression.
“So...” he said coldly.
Everyone tensed at the chill in his voice.
“Are you telling me that you hope to get into the beta test simply by doing that? That would practically be letting you in for free.”
The S-rank hunters flushed, scrambling for excuses.
“Well, you see, we’re trying to—”
“Do you have any idea how meaningful our guild’s support can—”
“Oh, please. We’re all busy. Let’s not waste time,” Jinho said, cutting them off. “All I’m hearing is that you want to play for free. Your guilds will get publicity, brand recognition, and training benefits, and you’ll reap all the rewards while paying nothing.”
At his words, the S-rank hunters sighed in resignation.
“So what do you want from us, then?”
“As you know, the Black Tortoise Guild has been in a bit of a bind and is short on funds. We were hit with a massive tax bomb recently.”
“The Fiend Guild is already on the brink of collapse.”
“Ah, finally. Now we’re having a real conversation,” Jinho said, giving a slanted smile as they indicated surrender. “I don’t need your money. The only thing I care about is Suho’s safety. So what will you offer to ensure his safety?”
The S-rank hunters clamored to contribute.
“Are you asking for hunter equipment instead of money?”
“What kind of weapons do you need? Suho seems to be a tanker, if what I saw earlier is correct. Perhaps armor or—”
“Would you accept mana crystals?”
“I have some skill rune stones in my guild’s storage, but...”
Jinho’s smile broadened as their offers piled up.
“Good. Bring it all out. Suho can pick what he likes.”
At this, the S-rank hunters—official guardians of the nation—shared one thought.
That thief!
Even street thugs weren’t this brazen. Who knew it would be so hard just to gain access to a game?
But in the end, all they could do was sigh.
