Chapter 147. What We Can Do (5)
It only took Lotte a few minutes to get from Gangwon-do to Seoul. When we arrived at the café we promised to meet, the guild members were all waiting around a big table.
… Furthermore, there was a circle of cameramen and Guardians surrounding them from a distance. Even the outside of the café was crowded with them. I nonchalantly walked into the café. The ones with power should be inside.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. Are you guys done warming up?”
“Son, get these things away. They’re bothering me.”
Because of the conversation we just had and the wyvern sitting outside the café, everyone turned their attention toward me. Just from a glance, it seemed all three of Korea’s S rankers were in this café!
“Are you really the Dragon Knight?”
“Dragon Knight, why are you destroying Korea’s gates?”
“Dragon Knight, are you really Korean?”
I raised my hand and lightly waved across the air. A small whirlpool appeared and pushed them back. Of course, the S rankers didn’t get pushed back from just this, but I didn’t care.
I brought my hand up to Otus’ Secret. Then I changed my hair and eye colors. My eyes became black like it normally was, and my hair became grafy.
It was Yeon Hwawoo’s appearance.
“Ah, you are!”
“Yeon Hwawoo, Korea’s fourth S ranker!”
“Right, I’m Yeon Hwawoo. Just like you said, I’m also the Dragon Knight.”
I replied calmly. Whistles rang and sighs were heard.
“Korea also had an SS ranker!”
“Why did you keep your identity hidden!?”
“What is your relationship with the Flame Witch, Hwaya Mastifo… Kuk!”
I decided to ignore the reporter that disappeared with a scream.
Although we were in a café, there were so many cameras that it was no different than a press conference. It simply meant that a lot of people were interested in us. Of course, I suspected that over half of them were angry at us, but when I glanced at Hwaya, she nodded and messaged me.
[It will spread to the whole world. I already confirmed it.] [Thanks for giving me the spotlight, Hwaya.] [I’m the one who should be thankful, Shin.]
I opened my mouth, looking at the people eyeing me.
“It is because I wasn’t an SS ranker until just recently. Furthermore, I had no intention of joining Guardian or Freedom Wing.”
“Are you saying the power of S ranker you showed as Yeon Hwawoo was real?”
“That’s right.”
Then, a man in his prime stepped forward. He was one of Korea’s S rankers and a close-ranged type attacker. The man, who I couldn’t remember the name of, asked.
“Do you still have no intention of joining Korea’s Guardian now that you have become an SS ranker?”
“No. I believe I found my own place.”
“Then why are you disturbing public order?”
People looked flustered by the S ranker suddenly diving into the core problem. I could see why. No matter how valuable Field Dungeons were, a single SS ranker was still much more valuable. Now that the truth that I was Korean was revealed, Korea’s Guardian would be better off coaxing me to join them. In any case, I was thankful for his to-the-point question. I didn’t want to talk to them for long.
“I want to ask why you think it is disturbing public order.”
“Woo, Woo Youngha-ssi, you shouldn’t…”
The S ranker, Woo Youngha, ignored the Guardian trying to stop him and shouted.
“If this isn’t disturbing public order, then what is!? I do not obtain monster remains or Mana Stones by hunting such weak monsters. However, I know how important those things are to Korea’s economy. Why is a Korean ranker trying to screw us over?”
“When gates naturally disappear after a certain period of time, Field Dungeons might appear like in America or Britain, but there’s also a chance for strong monsters, like the one I fought before, to appear.”
“That is something we should control. It is absurd to destroy all gates because of such a small risk. Furthermore, monsters might appear even when you break the gates!”
“Hm, it seems you do not know what my companions did for the past month.”
“…”
For the past month, Guild Revival had destroyed Event Dungeons and cleared potential Event Raids without any outsider being hurt. With how famous the story was, there was no one who hadn’t heard of it.
“Is that really it? You’re destroying the gates to prevent uncontrollably strong monsters from running amok?”
“What are you talking about? It’s also to prevent Field Dungeons from appearing.”
“Why is that, Dragon Knight?”
The reporters jumped in once again. I replied to them with a question of my own.
“Do you think this will be the last time that gates will appear?”
“…”
“When gates appear again, will you protect the low-ranked gates again to turn them into dungeons?”
“Of course not. We will only maintain a manageable number!”
“Who said the number of gates that will appear will be within your control? Once they escape your control even once, it is all over. The number of dungeons on Earth will only increase, and humans’ territory will disappear.”
“That’s why we should create dungeons now! To control that exact situation! Dungeons give everything an Awakened needs!”
“Don’t bullshit me. Even before the gates appeared, the Awakened were free to earn money and buy equipment they wanted. Furthermore, the equipment that can come from dungeons you can manage is easy to see, so you’re still saying that? If Guardian manages the dungeons, do you think they will invest the money they earn into all Awakened?”
Looking at Woo Youngha, I continued.
“It will be too late if we don’t start getting rid of them now. Monsters did not emerge for the prosperity of humans. They are invaders trying to chase us out and replace us. This, I can guarantee. Even if we don’t increase the number of monsters by leaving the gates alone, there are still countless monsters threatening our land. You should have caught a glimpse of that through the monster called Flame Drake.”
Woo Youngha’s eyes shook. I see, so he was there. No, he wasn’t there while we were fighting the Flame Drake. Did he run away? In any case, he shut his mouth. I continued, not just to him, but to everyone watching.
“In terms of ability, we are confident that we are second to none. You should think carefully about why we are destroying the gates when we have nothing to gain from them.”
“Isn’t it to prevent other Awakened from getting stronger?”
“If we didn’t act and let you all do as you wanted, they would get eaten by the monsters before they could get stronger.”
“Why Korea?”
“I’m Korean, and I also grew up in Korea. Shouldn’t I protect my country first?”
Then, I lightly smiled.
“But I don’t understand why you’re limiting us to just Korea.”
My words made them freeze for a second.
“You mean…”
“Danger doesn’t go away just because all of Korea’s gates disappear. My companions spent the past month destroying the gates of weak countries. Do you not understand what this means?”
“You’re thinking of destroying other countries’ gates too!?”
“Dragon Knight, you are Korea’s ranker! As a ranker, if you break the laws of other countries, you will also bring harm to Korea!”
As a Korean, there was a clear difference between clearing Korea’s Event Dungeons and other countries’ Event Dungeons. The former could be justified, while the latter was a crime. At least, that’s what the reporters were saying. It was laughable.
“I won’t trouble countries that plan on destroying their gates on their own. But I will not allow countries to selfishly turn gates into dungeons.”
“What you are saying is a crime!”
“That’s fine. If any country dares to regard my actions as representative of Korea, I will make sure they come to regret it. Then, Korea will not receive much backlash.”
“M-My god…!”
I was done joking. It was now time to say what I came to say.
“Hwaya.”
“Yeah.”
What I took from Hwaya was a piece of paper recording all the locations of Event Dungeons ranked S or above. I was still surprised four of them had been in Korea, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.
“In the past, it took two months before the gates turned into dungeons. If the gates all take the same amount of time, we have exactly one month left.”
“R-Right.”
“I heard that Guardian, Freedom Wing, and some rogues were trying to destroy these S rank dungeons. In truth, other than the fact that everyone is trying to ignore dungeons ranked A or below, I think it is an excellent plan.”
“The Guardian headquarters and we also agree. For that, we—”
I cut him off and continued.
“And in the past month, exactly 12 gates were destroyed. They were all S rank dungeons, and in the process, over 40 rankers got killed or injured. Plus, not once did more than 3 SS rankers come together.”
“Getting the project started was a pain. However, from now on, the number of injured or deceased should decrease, while the number of destroyed gates should increase.”
“You mean you can destroy 34 remaining gates until the next month?”
I grinned. Everyone should have understood already.
That it was impossible.
“Where will you give up and where will you save? I can guarantee that you will waste more time deciding that, and let more gates become dungeons. Can you confidently say that won’t be the case?”
“…”
“Neglecting the gates that you should be able to destroy for profit, while neglecting the gates you must destroy because you can’t come to a consensus, because of conflict of interest, because of lack of ability… When the day comes where there are more monsters than humans on Earth, I wonder if you can still say we are disturbing public order.”
I announced.
“We are Guild Revival. Our members aren’t too different from the rest of you. Heavy and cumbersome things like humanity or nation have been put aside. We gathered to first protect our friends and family.”
“Guild Revival.”
“He said Revival.”
“I heard of Team Revival before.”
Ignoring their murmuring, I continued, declaring my intention to all those listening from beyond the camera.
“We will take care of all of the gates in Korea, starting with the two S+ rank gates and S rank gates. After that, you should have no doubt about our abilities. We can talk again then. All of you must compensate us for helping to destroy other countries’ S rank or above gates.”
If you wanted something, you have to pay for it. Give and take. It was the most basic principle that even children understood.
Between safety and resources, what would they choose? To be honest, it didn’t matter how they reacted, so I maintained my nonchalant expression. Why?
It was obvious. We would destroy all Event Dungeons regardless! This was just a proclamation. To tell them to crawl on their own!
I had no intention of letting even a single Event Dungeon escape. I would protect Earth, obtain stats, piss off Guardian, Freedom Wing, and Ciara, and get rewards from bosses! There was nothing so full of benefits! I already missed a month’s worth of Event Dungeons to train, so I couldn’t possibly miss any more!
“I hope everyone will watch over us. We will show you the power and will of Guild Revival.”
With a composed expression, yet eager eyes, I glared at each of the cameras and shouted inwardly.
‘Just you wait, Event Dungeon! I’m coming around to sweep you up!’