The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 110

A fishing boat is crossing the dark night sea.

So far, there was nothing particularly strange.

But after a brief look at the fishing boat, strange things began to catch the eye one by one.

Despite the name 'Manseonho' written in large letters on the side of the boat, it was racing through the night sea without stopping for a moment, as if it had no intention of catching fish at all.

On top of that, it didn't have a single light on in this dark night.

But there was no problem with navigation.

Because unlike its tacky name and old-looking exterior, the inside of the Manseonho was equipped with state-of-the-art technology that could easily handle automatic navigation.

Thud-

"Now, then, let's start the meeting."

Joker lightly tapped the round table and gathered the attention of the people present to himself.

Alpha, who had been thinking about something with his mouth shut and his eyes blank and transparent as usual, raised his head.

Beta, who had been checking his three batons with a slightly anxious hand movement, turned his head.

Irie, who had been wondering how he, who was suitable for rear support, had ended up here, rolled his eyes, which were turbid with various emotions, towards Joker.

Lee Shin, who was looking forward to the upcoming incident, looked at Joker with a spinning smile.

Joker looked at each of them and opened his mouth.

"First, let's start with a simple situation summary."

Although everyone except Lee Shin was on informal terms, since it was strictly a mission, they decided to use formal language.

"We have succeeded in planting detectors on the 24 guild members of [Dawn] who were carrying out an operation in Korea. And those guys are now returning to the [Dawn] guild house without knowing anything."

Irie, who had been dragged here vaguely without hearing anything, opened his mouth wide after hearing Joker's words.

He had guessed what was going on.

"Our purpose is to grasp the movements of the [Dawn] guild members who have arrived in Japan to collect information, and at the same time, to collect information on the [Dawn] leadership... you could say we are a kind of advance party."

'Advance party?'

Lee Shin, who had heard Joker's words, tilted his head slightly as if he had heard something strange and was lost in thought.

Without noticing Lee Shin's state, Joker proceeded with the meeting.

"Any questions?"

Swoosh-

At the same time as Joker's words ended, Irie, who had been sitting quietly, raised his hand.

"What is it?"

"Why did the situation suddenly become like this?"

The doctor asked Joker, using formal language in accordance with the format of the meeting.

Looking at Irie, who had a face full of complaints, Joker said confidently.

"It wasn't sudden. It was an operation that started a week ago, but we just kept it a secret from Mr. Irie."

Hearing Joker's words, Irie stared blankly at him, then turned his head and looked at Alpha and Beta next to him.

At that, Alpha and Beta turned their heads to another place and avoided Irie's gaze.

The two were also accomplices with Joker.

"...Why didn't you tell me?"

"If I told you, I thought you would bother me by saying you wouldn't go, so I just didn't tell you."

At Joker's confident words, the doctor had nothing to say and closed his mouth.

Because even he himself thought that the probability of that happening was high.

"Haa, I can't even report this as workplace bullying."

The sorrowful muttering of a man in his 30s soaked the night sea, but everyone present cleanly ignored his words.

At that, Irie said, grumbling.

Perhaps to appeal the fact that he was sulking, he no longer used formal language.

"But to think there are only this many people... aren't you thinking too lightly? The guys from [Dawn] aren't that easy."

Unlike his light tone, Irie's words were hitting the core.

Since he had seen the recent appearance of [Dawn] with his own two eyes, his words carried weight.

In Irie's eyes, what they were trying to do now seemed too reckless.

But Joker shook his head.

"Honestly, it's not that I haven't thought that it's unsettling... but after listening to Mr. Jae-hyun and investigating myself, I thought there was a definite possibility. I even thought that now is the right time."

"Hmm? What did you see that made you think that?"

Thud- Thud- Thud-

Joker tapped the screen of the tablet on the table with his finger.

"First, the fact that Japan is in a mess right now."

Although not as much as Korea, Japan was a country that had managed to block the damage caused by dungeons well.

Because the moment dungeons and monsters appeared, many people who had been cooped up in their rooms went crazy and started to enter dungeons.

But that was now backfiring and sweeping through Japan.

Several pictures appeared on the tablet.

"...What kind of end-of-the-century scenery is this?"

Pictures of people cosplaying various characters from games, manga, and anime, shouting something with determined faces, appeared on the tablet.

"Protests have broken out in various parts of Japan."

"Huh? What for all of a sudden. No, more importantly, are you seriously showing me this picture as a protest scene?"

Irie asked as if he were dumbfounded, but Joker just calmly spat out one sentence.

"It's because of the World Dungeon."

"Even if you say World Dungeon all of a sudden... don't tell me it's a protest to let them enter the World Dungeon?"

Irie asked with a feeling of 'just in case'.

And Joker, who had heard Irie's words, nodded his head.

"Puhahaha!"

Lee Shin, who had been listening to the two's conversation from the side, burst out laughing after hearing the story.

But no one could think of stopping him.

"Currently, protests are breaking out in various parts of Japan, with people wanting to enter the World Dungeon. The picture I just showed you is a picture of those protesters."

Irie looked at the tablet screen once more.

They looked like people who were cheering at an animation festival, not protesters.

"...I'm dumbfounded."

"I was also dumbfounded when I first heard it, but it's not an incident that can be taken so lightly. When I actually investigated, protests were a common occurrence, and there were even places where armed clashes broke out."

"...I'm really dumbfounded."

Irie, feeling a strange sense of emptiness of unknown origin, leaned back in his chair.

And after cooling his head for a moment, he calmly continued to think.

It was certainly a ridiculous incident that made him chuckle.

But it was also a big enough incident that it could certainly be used.

The world had changed.

It was a crazy world where a person who was dedicated to cosplay would enter a dungeon for the reason of wanting to imitate the abilities of the character.

That's why a protest like this was not something to be taken lightly.

In fact, the armed clashes that came out after searching the tablet seemed to have been quite intense, and looking at the map, it even seemed that this incident was expanding on an even larger scale.

"Anyway, to say the important point, a fairly strong level of armed protest has occurred, and because of that, the Japanese government has secretly decided to mobilize the power of [Dawn]."

"You're going to take advantage of the gap where [Dawn]'s power is dispersed here and there."

At Irie's words, Joker nodded his head.

"Yes, on top of that, since various parts are creaking from fighting with the [Black Dragon Society], it's a good timing."

"I see... and considering the [Dawn] guild members who were put into the World Dungeon... it's certainly a shame to just let this timing pass."

When chaos breaks out, it's natural to have to pour in strength to resolve it.

And from the perspective of those aiming for the neck, it was natural to try to make good use of that gap.

"But even so."

Irie was still skeptical of the plan.

"I understand that a crack has appeared in their bodies. But to make that crack bigger, you naturally need a certain amount of strength. Do you have that much strength?"

Irie looked at Joker with serious eyes.

It was an eye that demanded an answer to his question.

"Ah, that's fine."

But the answer came from an unexpected place.

Irie turned his head to the side.

Lee Shin was facing Irie with a spinning smile.

"Because I'll make sure to widen that crack."

'Bigger and more certain than you think.'

Lee Shin, satisfied with the gift Cheon Yuhwa had given him, began to weave a new plan in his head using the current information.

***

Kim Jae-hyun looked at Cheon Yuhwa, who was wrapped in particles of light, and said.

"Did you finish the contract well?"

At that, Cheon Yuhwa tapped the particles of light with her fingertips and smiled.

"Yeah, fortunately, the elves were also cooperative, and there was an unexpected fortunate encounter, so I was able to sign the contract more easily than I thought."

"That's a relief."

Kim Jae-hyun, after finishing such a simple pleasantry, brought out the reason he had come here.

"We've received a call from the people who went to [Dawn]. It's a report that the plan is proceeding well."

"Hmm... did you prepare well so that they can move right away when they arrive in Japan?"

"Yes."

Kim Jae-hyun nodded his head without hesitation.

"We've received a call from the broker that all preparations are complete, and we've also put in a generous amount of funds to operate in Japan."

"Really? Then there shouldn't be any problems. Let's focus on our own work."

"...Yes?"

Kim Jae-hyun, at Cheon Yuhwa's unexpected reaction, showed a question mark.

Unlike usual, when she would list her worries in preparation for all sorts of situations, this time she was trying to move on without even checking properly, so he had sensed something strange.

"Aren't you going to worry about the possibility of failure this time or set up countermeasures for it?"

At Kim Jae-hyun's blatant words, Cheon Yuhwa smiled lightly.

"I won't. Because that guy will do well on his own."

As she said that, two emotions appeared on Cheon Yuhwa's face.

One was faith, and the other was worry.

At that, Kim Jae-hyun, thinking that Cheon Yuhwa was worried in a corner of her heart, opened his mouth to reassure her.

"It will be fine. Since I said that the main purpose of this mission is exploration, he won't do anything reckless..."

But Cheon Yuhwa cut off Kim Jae-hyun's words.

"No, it won't end with exploration. He won't come back until he's finished off [Dawn]."

"Yes?"

At Cheon Yuhwa's sudden words, Kim Jae-hyun, wondering if it was a joke, stopped talking and looked at her.

But Cheon Yuhwa was shaking her head, saying it wasn't a joke.

"...With that much strength?"

Most of the personnel they had sent to Japan had abilities specialized in combat support, such as information gathering or support, instead of combat.

In other words, the actual combat personnel sent were the members of [Blue Moon] and Lee Shin.

At that, Cheon Yuhwa chuckled and said.

"That was the best we could do. In the first place, that guy hates it when other people interfere in his fights. The fact that he even included [Blue Moon] was probably him enduring a lot."

Probably, Lee Shin, after persuading [Blue Moon], would try to change the course from support to directly attacking [Dawn] themselves.

And in that process, he would bring up some absurd story to shut the mouths of others.

Because the Lee Shin that Cheon Yuhwa remembered was such an absurd fellow.

(End of Chapter)