CH 267

Video calls were fairly common these days.

They were even available as a Hunter skill, just like a number of other day-to-day necessities—all Hunters could purchase translation skills from the Hunter Store, and it was not uncommon for them to connect directly to GodTube. Of course, video calls were a given.

—You have started a Hunter Awakening business, would you be willing to pass on the skills to us? We will pay you royalties, of course.

When it came to gathering information, no other Hunter was as good as A/B.

‘By the way… if I need to expand my business to the United States, I am going to have to either make that staff that [Creator_of_magic] made or ask [Creator_of_magic] to make that staff for me. Wasn’t that thing a limited item they only created ten per year? Can they make more? I need to talk to [Creator_of_magic] about this one. Maybe I should just buy the blueprints, or at least pay them royalties.’

“This requires a special item to be crafted, and I only have one hundred of them right now. I’m not sure if I will be able to make more, either. In any case, if we’re to make a deal… This is a rare item, and I would like to be compensated in a different way than with royalties.”

—In a different way? Like what?

“I would like the United States to move some troops.”

—I see. This is about what’s happening in Antarctica, right? And the pile of machinery in the depths of Antarctica… You’re the one behind that, right?

Search "pawread dot com" for the original.

“Of course. Don’t you think that the world is the crazy one for just leaving that thing alone?”

Ji-Cheok was talking about the Black Shroud that basically put Antarctica in a different dimension.

The very fact that the international community was letting that slide was proof that they were out of their minds.

‘How can you be so calm when you don’t know what kind of disaster that thing can bring to our world?’

Ji-Cheok didn’t even see anybody doing any research on this… There were probably a bunch of secret societies lobbying behind the scenes. It had to be the secret societies and the Gods that controlled them. And Ji-Cheok had a hunch that this was done by not just one God, but at least five or so Gods. Otherwise, they could not have pulled off something of that magnitude.

—That… I guess you’re right. There is a lot of lobbying going on inside the political scene. Thanks to that, we were able to identify the enemy but…

“Who is the enemy? The Golden Horizon?”

—No, It’s not them. They’re British.

‘Wasn’t the United States Golden Horizon’s home turf? And suddenly the enemies are British?’

—The United States is the most powerful country in the world, but the British are just as powerful, and they used to dominate the world. There are two large secret societies in Britain. Surprisingly, one of them is on our side.

‘There are good guys in a secret society?’

“I’ve never heard such a thing.”

—We have good guys in the U.S. too. I don’t know about Korea though… Anyway, in Britain, the Lake of Dawn and the Knights of the Round Table fight all the time. For the record, the Knights of the Round Table are the good guys.

‘The Knights of the Round Table you say… This organization must be connected to King Arthur and his knights.’

«Master, the Lake of Dawn is also connected to the legend of King Arthur. They serve a Goddess named [Queen_of_Avalon].»

‘Hm… [Queen_of_Avalon]...Isn’t she a fairy queen? I know she’s also a God.’

«That is correct, Master.»

Hearing Cheok-Liang’s answer, Ji-Cheok rummaged through his memory for a moment.

As he recalled, Avalon was an idealized island nation. It was ruled by a fairy queen, and King Arthur went there to do something… Ji-Cheok could not quite remember the whole thing, but he did know that said lady did, in fact, exist, and she was a God.

‘[Queen_of_Avalon]... I have heard that she is a very popular God of the British… And she’s the evil one? Besides, the name Knights of the Round Table makes me think they are part of the King Arthur faction, doesn’t it? Aren’t the Lake of Dawn also on the same side? Why are they fighting each other?’

«There has to be a backstory that we do not know about, Master.»

‘I suppose so, but it’s a bit odd.’

«In that case… They might be tricking us. What if they are actually on the same side and just pretending to be fighting each other?»

‘A trick! It could be.’

«Of course, it is only a possibility, but if you are aware of the possibility, it might remove the element of surprise when it is actually true. If you trust them without any suspicion, it might be too late when they betray you.»

‘Yes, you’re right. You are so smart, Cheok-Liang!’

«You are too kind, Master.»

Cheok-Liang’s tail flicked with joy.

—Lake of Dawn is interfering in America. Golden Horizon are just bystanders. We are trying to stop those idiots, but whatever we do can only buy us time.

“So you’re saying you can’t stop them, right?”

—Yes.

“Hm… Is the United States going to try to stop them after millions of people died?”

‘It’s not just Americans. The rest of the world seems too stupid to realize how disastrous this is.’

—What a terrible thing to say.

“But it might actually happen.”

—Do you know something that I don’t?

“I have a skill that can sort of see the future. It’s like I can sense something ominous and bad is going to happen in the future. If we leave that thing alone, it’s going to wipe out the entire South America and Australia, plus the southern part of Africa.”

Ji-Cheok was working his ass off to prevent a cataclysm, but if the whole world kept ignoring it, the disaster he had predicted was bound to happen.

“I’ve been looking into it personally, and it turns out that thing is a barrier that divides dimensions. If we do not destroy that barrier and smash what is in there, there’s going to be a lot of bloo—”

Ji-Cheok suddenly felt chills down his spine. It was a cool and ominous sensation.

“Fuck.”

—What is it?

“It’s already too late. Sigh. I tried my best to stop it, but it’s too late.”

«Master, the Dark Shroud is dissipating.»

After observing Antarctica using the production factories that were being built and installed to surround the continent, Cheok-Liang informed him of what was going on.

“I’m ending the call. Something is happening in Antarctica. You can find it on your own.”

—Wait…

Beep.

As soon as he cut off communication of A/B, he turned to Cheok-Liang.

“Connect me to the screen.”

«Yes, Master.»

A video appeared in front of him.

“We’re sooo fucked…”

«The entire coastline is going to be drowned by a tsunami.»

The most important part of Antarctica, to Ji-Cheok, was the South Pole—the place where Ji-Cheok was supposed to install the Ultra-Large Dimensional Barrier Generator. However, what he saw on the screen was a huge oval-shaped Gate, at least five kilometers tall, hovering over that exact spot.

The sheer size of it was insane. It was the biggest dungeon that the humans had ever seen. The energy radiating from the Gate had melted all the ice around it, leaving the bare ground scorching with heat.

Nothing had even emerged from the dungeon yet, and it was still melting all the ice in Antarctica.

‘Jesus… You’re saying those bastards used the Dark Shroud of Dimensional Divide to open a dungeon like that? You’re saying that those bastards help create that dungeon to kill us all?’

Already, the sea level is rising rapidly, and the tsunami is engulfing the coastline… At this rate…»

“Sigh… Good thing we knew this was coming. Let’s get to work.”

«Yes, Master!»

The Mana Ignition Pillars, which were being installed in the deep ocean to surround Antarctica, were supposed to use that energy for burning mana, but he also made it possible to switch functions on the fly.

‘If it weren’t for this… The tsunami would have washed away the shoreline within minutes. Millions? No, tens of millions of people would have been injured, killed, or just… gone. It would have created a terrible catastrophe that would have only benefited those hungry sea monsters.’

Ji-Cheok could not let that happen.

No, he was not going to let that happen.

Moments later, the screen showed a few changes.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The countless Mana Ignition Pillars that surrounded Antarctica were originally programmed to use the energy for a massive Dispel.

However, they were also programmed with the same functions as the ones Ji-Cheok had installed at the North Pole—the power of Cold.

The energy generated by burning mana was thus converted into ice magic, and more Mana Ignition Pillars than anyone could count began to spew out energy that froze everything around them.

Crack!

In an instant, the seawater froze.

The ice from the depths of the ocean rose to the surface at once, while more and more ice kept forming in the deep trenches. Within moments, the entire ocean around Antarctica was freezing. The new ice shelf absorbed all the water generated by the meltdown in Antarctica.

From up high, it kind of looked like a bald spot.

The circular area of Antarctica was scorching with heat, and the ocean around it was completely frozen. It was a surreal, astonishing sight for all the viewers—and there were many. Even the lobbying of the secret societies could not stop the world from watching what was going on in Antarctica.

The ice surrounding the dungeon looked amazing even by itself, but the monstrous size of the Gate had people all over the world in awe and terror. It had never happened before that a dungeon did not have monsters jumping out of it.

Usually, when a Dungeon Break happened, it was common sense that monsters would pop out as soon as the Gate appeared. However, this common sense had been shattered.

And that was not even the only problem.

After the Gate was created, an inexplicable heat wave had melted the entirety of Antarctica and was now keeping it hot. It was hotter than the hottest spots in the desert, and the sizzling on the ground could actually be observed by the naked eye.

Even the global climate had been shaken by the sheer heat, and if it hadn’t been for the sudden appearance of the mysterious ice continent, the entire world would have been devastated by the tsunami caused by the melted ice.

This had all happened within the span of minutes!

It was no wonder the world was in a panic, and the two groups that had planned it were also in a panic.

⌜We have definitely confirmed that Um Ji-Cheok was involved.⌟

A robed figure, the representative of Sephiroth Zohar, spoke on the screen. They were the group that had decided to join forces with the Lake of Dawn to receive Nimueh’s Spellbook.

On the other side of the screen, a gentle-looking old man stared blankly.

⌜He is clearly stronger than I have imagined. His production capacity is already overwhelming the entire world.⌟

“I had no idea he had such skill… I’m shocked.”

⌜Because of him, no offerings were collected. The souls of those who died in the tsunami were supposed to be sacrificed to unleash the monster in the dungeon…⌟

“That’s why I said we can’t leave him alone any longer. If we leave him alone, we will eventually fail to ascend.”

⌜Well, that’s pretty clear now. In any case, what we have prepared will soon be lost. We have to do something.⌟

“We have no choice. We will just have to find a way to get the offerings elsewhere.”

⌜What do you have in mind?⌟

“There were many magic circles for sacrifices created in the past. One of them is still there, in the United States.”

Britain once ruled the world by sea. It created countless colonies and exploited them to make the country shine. What was now known as the U.S. was one such colony.

The very foundation of the country was set by revolting against Britain. The original thirteen colonies fought and won a war of independence against the British, finally emerging as the United States of America.

With that piece of history in mind, it was no wonder that the legacy of these British secret societies was still on American soil.