Chapter 432 – Return After Long Absence
Seong-il realized that Min Ye-jin’s words were true. When he thinks the Resistance is quite believable, she tries to ask what she really wanted to know.
“…Can I ask more questions?”
“However much!”
“Actually… A guardian of reason or Min Ye-jin… Senior?”
“Call me sister. Sister.”
“Haha… Yes. Sister.”
Seong-il smiles and nods at the short-haired beauty’s cool answer.
“Anyway, I don’t have much resistance to following the rules here, but apart from that, I don’t want to take school classes, so can’t I just clear the dungeon?”
“…Do you dare?”
“Yes. Before I realized my combat abilities, I remember being bullied severely just because I was a non-combat person. Now I’m fed up with school.”
“Ah… You… Did you receive ‘stimulation’ training?”
“Stimulation… Education?”
“Yes. It is an act of continuous mental torture on the test subject in order to quickly and strongly awaken its abilities.”
“Fuck… What does that have to do with the awakening of alternative abilities…”
Even now, thinking of Go Young-tae, he feels the urge to beat him to death, but Seong-il feels anger boiling when Min Ye-jin says that was intentional.
“Actually… They have a relationship.”
“…?”
“Usually, it is said that awakening of abilities is closely related to emotions. Like longing for something or wanting to escape pain.”
“What the fuck… Can’t it?”
“That’s right. It must have been deliberately harassing you and stimulating negative emotions. That way, you’ll wish to ‘get rid of the pain.’
“Or… Do you mean…?
“Yes. From the perspective of the aliens, you are a ‘half defective product’.”
“What?”
Min Ye-jin’s words that make Seong-il hot. His emotions are clouded with anger, and his voice even trembles.
“What can I do? In order for the aliens to awaken their abilities to the level they want, entry into the dungeon is essential. It’s impossible for non-combatants, right? That’s why they’re ‘defective’.”
“Fuck…”
“It’s not necessarily another emotion, but the reason why they give ‘pain’ through ‘harassment’ is to take their anger out on you, right?”
“…!?”
“…I tried to awaken him as a competent person, but then a ‘defective product’ that could not be developed appeared. So, take out your anger by making your life painful, and induce the second awakening by adding ‘stimulus’. It’s okay. It’s good. Or use it to relieve the stress of those with combat abilities or to inspire a sense of superiority.”
“…”
When he realizes that he has been treated worse than a laboratory rat, Seong-il bites his lip in anger.
‘Fuck… I lived a life of pain every day because of two two-hour sparring classes each week… Is this just an alien bastard’s resentment?’
Min Ye-jin makes a bitter expression when she sees Seong-il blushing with anger.
“I’m sorry… Did I just say that…”
“No. That’s what I was asking. What… By the way, you managed to keep a non-combatant alive? Fuck you bastards. Should I say thank you for not culling like a male chick? Shit…”
“…Actually, that also has a ‘use’, so I’m keeping it alive.”
“…Again?”
“Huh.”
Min Ye-jin ponders whether or not to talk while watching Seong-il’s eyes. Her seongil sees the expression on her face, takes her lightly, takes a deep breath, then proceeds to reassure her.
“Tell me. Even if it’s painful, I need to know what I know.”
“Huh…”
At Seong-il’s firm response, Min Ye-jin manages to control her emotions and continues her words to him.
“…Even if it’s a non-combat type, anyway, the fact that they’ve awakened their psionic ability means that there’s a high possibility that the second generation will also awaken their psionic ability.”
“No way…?”
“Yes. Combat and non-combat abilities are manifested randomly, so your second generation could be born with combat abilities.”
“…”
“As you’ve heard from Illax, they prefer to reproduce humans naturally, if possible, for religious reasons, avoiding acts such as factory artificial insemination…”
“Stop! It’s okay. I understand.”
“…”
Seong-il cuts off Min Ye-jin’s words as if she can’t hear them anymore. She quietly shuts her mouth and grants her holy day’s demands.
“…Still, the school we built on the ark is very humane. Although the content of the classes is not much different from the university you went to.”
『Sureureung…!!』
While Min Ye-jin is persuading her, a negative feeling passes through Seong-il’s head. He realizes that the response is to warn him not to go to Ark School.
‘Why…? Could it be that the school of the ark is hiding some ulterior motive?’
『Chrill!!』
As soon as he thinks about it, the emotion that tells him otherwise. Seong-il thinks about the reason for the sudden reaction.
‘Ah… Is that so!?’
After thinking about it, Seong-il roughly realizes why Gam-eung told him not to go to school.
‘Is it because when I take classes at school, many of my abilities, such as my martial arts, are naturally exposed? The most threatening problem among them is to accidentally expose the 『Game Master』?’
As I thought of the hypothesis, I felt a soft sensation in my head. Seong-il realizes that his hypothesis is correct.
‘I shouldn’t be going to school… But, then the way to leave this place is…’
Seong-il was in trouble for a while. When Min Ye-jin is silent, she misunderstands that she has fallen into cognitive dissonance because of her pain in the past, so she calmly watches Seong-il.
‘Yes… University life for non-combatants would have been torture, so I wouldn’t be hasty to admit to this school even because of the trauma.’
That’s when Min Ye-jin was in an illusion. Her holy day reminds her of her eclectic one and asks her out.
“…Is it okay if I don’t go to school and just clear the dungeon?”
“Why? Of course… As a result, it’s true that you can awaken just by clearing the dungeon… But, taking classes at school would be good for you in all respects, such as speed and stability? Their advice is never something to be ignored. It’s not something you can easily hear.”
Min Ye-jin says it would be better for her to go to school, and she strongly persuades Seong-il.
‘Absolutely not. It would be difficult if the Game Master was discovered while appraising my abilities.’
‘In addition, even if I don’t have the help of talented people here, I have no problem growing up… Even if I’m not a real hunter, the world in the game is overflowing with competent teachers…’
‘Also, in real life, if I’m wasting my time taking classes, and the aliens complete their plan, our world is over.’
No matter how much you think about it, the school life of the ark has no merit. Seong-il, who has completely organized her thoughts, replies to Min Ye-jin with a determined expression.
“You saw the smart band earlier. I’m virtually no different than a B-level person. Besides, I actually cleared a level 7 dungeon solo. What do I have to go to school for?”
“Hmm…”
Seong-il’s logic is quite convincing. Min Ye-jin is speechless at his words.
“…But, why do you only want to go to dungeons?”
“I’m just annoyed. I’m disgusted with the alien bastards who pushed me into this world and I want to kill them.”
“…”
“Also, you said that the dungeon core is a very difficult thing to reproduce? I can’t think of a better way to harass the aliens than to keep it out of the hands of the government or aliens.”
“…”
Min Ye-jin is silent at Seong-il’s words. She feels that what he said makes sense, and starts thinking about something for a while.
“…If so, it’s not like there isn’t a way.”
“Oh… What is it?”
“Haa… First of all, apart from not taking classes, I sometimes group up with aspiring hunters who are taking classes at school to clear lower dungeons.”
“Ah… Well, I can do that much.”
Min Ye-jin’s condition perfectly suited Seong-il’s taste. When Seong-il gave a positive answer, Min-ye-jin was also satisfied, so she smiled and continued her words.
“Then…If you prove your skills to a certain extent, you will become the Under Hunter of the Ark.”
“…Under Hunter?”
“Yes. It’s a group of hunters created by our ‘Guardians of Reason’. They are elite agents who specialize in clearing level 5 or higher dungeons, or attack government and alien bases.”
“Like…”
Min Ye-jin’s condition seems to be getting better the more she listens. In the meantime, Seong-il realizes that there is a contradiction in her condition.
“Wait a minute… Something doesn’t make sense?”
“Huh? What?”
“…Earlier, I said that the possibility of being a ‘suitable person’ is high, so it’s a very dangerous situation to wander around the outside right now, right?”
“It did?”
“So you said that you prevent me from leaving the ‘Ark’, but doesn’t it make sense to have me clear the ‘Dungeon’? A dungeon is a space outside in the first place? Besides, I heard that students usually clear low-level dungeons, so their skills won’t be able to stop me, a B-class hunter, right?”
Far from being taken aback by Seong-il’s sharp question, Min Ye-jin nodded as if she was proud of his question.
“That’s a good question. First of all… Remember this?”
“Hmm…?”
Min Ye-jin, who out of the blue raised her own right hand and brought it to her Seong-il’s face. A smart band with a rather familiar design catches his eye.
“That…?”
“Yes. It’s a smart band that identifies levels and infections.”
“What was it like?”
Seong-il frowns at Min Ye-jin’s sudden behavior.
“Whoa… Actually, this isn’t just a smart band.”
“…Sure?”
“This is also a high-tech device for detecting the status of allies and moving space for escape.”
“!!”
“Well… In a good way, it’s an escape device… But in a bad way, it’s a device that allows you to be forcibly summoned?”
“Under…”
“Even, you can’t take it off easily. If you try to take it off, your wrists will be blown off.”
“…It’s some kind of bomb necklace? Ha! When would you do something like that…”
“I’m sorry… I admit I cheated. But, I will never keep filling it. I swear.”
Seong-il puts on an annoyed expression when he lets out a mouth-watering sound that doesn’t even make Min Ye-jin.
“Geez… Really. All agents are required to wear a bandage for at least 24 hours to check for infection after going out on an external mission.”
“…After that, will you release them?”
“Of course!! It’s such a valuable piece of equipment… It’s a very rare piece of equipment that we don’t have much in our ark!!”
“Ah, well… If that’s the case…”
“Anyway, since we’ve put in a safety net, we’re not afraid to send you outside, even if it’s limited.”
“I see. There’s a device that sends you to this place… Wait a minute!! Then why didn’t you use it when you fought Professor Wooyoung Jo the other day!?”
“That’s it, is this for one person? I can’t abandon you and escape alone.”
“…”
Min Ye-jin’s answer without saying anything. Embarrassed, Seong-il starts asking another question to change the subject.
“…Aren’t you worried about me betraying you and revealing the location of the ark? I might leak information in the form of leaving traces outside.”
“Cuk-Cook… This place? You?”
“…Why? I’m not very smart, but I’m a person with 『Emotion』 Abilities. I’m good at grasping space and information.”
“Whoa… Even so, it’s impossible for you to figure out the details of this place. No one knows the coordinates of this dimension except for Illax.”
“Hmm…”
“Even inside the dimension, the coordinates are constantly moving, so insiders can never sell the coordinates here. There are many defensive rules to prepare for that.”
“Rule…?”
“Yes. For example, sending agents out at a fixed time and date in batches, then moving the dimension and changing the coordinates…”
Difficult explanations that are difficult to understand. Realizing that there are many devices in preparation for betrayal, Seong-il nods as if he understands.
“Haa… Okay. Then I’ll ask you one last question.”
“Say.”
“The Ark… So, what is the true purpose of the Guardian of Sanity? Illax didn’t elaborate.”
“The true purpose… Something like that is too grandiose… Our goal is to disturb the aliens of the Transcendence Church as much as possible.”
“…That’s all?”
“Yeah… We’re cornered to the point where that level of terror is the best. In fact, our position is hopeless. It’s close to hitting a rock with an egg.”
“…”
“…But, shouldn’t I do something? I can’t die like a dog like this.”
Seong-il feels that Min Ye-jin’s words are true. He thinks with a bitter expression.
‘Certainly… If I don’t play a leading role in the world as the Game Master said, our world might not have an answer.’
