The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 14

A global chat app that could easily connect anyone in the world.

Due to the app's nature, security was maintained, and records were immediately deleted, making it a favorite among many people.

Tiring-

And in that app, a single room was created, and ten people entered it.

Light: Hey~ Is everyone doing well~

Starting with that conversation, as if taking attendance, the others posted one by one, announcing their presence.

Poison: Wow! Wow! I'm doing incredibly well! But is everyone okay? Are you all doing well?

Strength: Oh! This is the first time we're having a conversation like this in reality, not in Pantheon.

Magic: That's certainly true. Besides, the ten of us have only gathered to talk like this once, even in Pantheon.

Black Magic: Now that you say it, it really sinks in. How is everyone doing?

Alchemy: It's obvious without even looking. Since dungeons have appeared, they must have gone in, caught a boss, and come out. A few are probably already moving to secure their positions.

Fist: Oh, that's right. I just went into a dungeon, cleared the boss room, and came out. They even gave me some kind of item after I cleared it.

Heal: Well, the people here may think differently, but in that regard, we're probably similar.

Magic: Hmm, by the way, the other two haven't said anything. It seems like they're here, though.

Fist: Those two have always been a bit prickly and taciturn.

Starting with such simple conversation, they began to share the information they each had, one by one.

And among those conversations, there was information that most people knew, but there was also information that could cause a considerable stir if it spread.

Light: Then let's decide to gather like this occasionally if anyone has something they want to say or information to share. Is that okay?

Poison: I don't mind! Everyone here probably knows a lot of information!

Magic: I agree too. The more information, the better.

Black Magic: I agree on that point. I'll also share if I find out anything.

Alchemy: Me too. Since we don't know how the situation will unfold, it wouldn't hurt to have something like this.

Strength: Well, it's certainly better to have it than not.

Fist: I agree too! If you find any interesting monsters, please let me know!

Heal: I'm good with it too.

Sword: I don't mind.

Element: Same here.

Thus, in a small group chat with only ten people, a small promise was made among them after a short conversation that only they knew about.

It was something that happened in less than ten minutes, but considering the names of the people participating in this conversation, the value and weight of this short conversation were by no means light.

This conversation was the signal that the [Kings] were about to make their move in earnest.

***

After learning that the dungeon had been cleared, Kim Jae-hyun, still sitting on the park bench, took out his phone and called Cheon Yuhwa.

"Yes, miss. As you said, there really was a dungeon in the corner of the park, and after waiting a bit, it was really cleared."

"Hmm, is that so?"

"You don't seem very surprised."

"Of course not. I was the one who said there was a dungeon there, and I was the one who said it would be cleared."

Cheon Yuhwa spoke a little languidly while unwrapping a candy, as if asking something obvious.

Since Cheon Yuhwa was right, Kim Jae-hyun, who had nothing to say, was blank for a moment before changing the subject.

"How are things on your end, miss?"

"Hmm~ Well, there were no particular problems."

Cheon Yuhwa said, putting a candy in her mouth and looking behind her.

People equipped with gear were entering the dungeon she had just come out of.

In just a little while, they would be mining the resources inside the dungeon and loading them onto a truck.

'Then I'll have to sell them somewhere.'

As she planned her next steps inwardly, she turned the subject back to the original one in a languid voice.

To Cheon Yuhwa, the dungeon where Kim Jae-hyun was was more concerning than the LV.1 dungeon she had already cleared.

"Have you finished securing the personal information of the players who entered that dungeon?"

"Yes, perhaps because of the location, not many people entered in the first place, so it didn't take much time."

Kim Jae-hyun said, recalling the personal information of the people who had entered.

"However, there is one person whose personal information I could not confirm."

"......You couldn't confirm it?"

At Kim Jae-hyun's words, Cheon Yuhwa's tone sank a little.

Sensing that, Kim Jae-hyun answered in a light voice, as if it were nothing, trying to dispel her thoughts.

"Ah, it's not that they're not in the database or anything. It's just that one person wearing a hat went in, and their face was just too exquisitely hidden."

"I see......"

Although Cheon Yuhwa replied as such, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was still off.

No, rather, the feeling of unease she had before the call had become even stronger.

The man she knew loved bad luck that brought about various troublesome incidents, and he was loved by bad luck.

Cheon Yuhwa couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad that her prediction was correct and fell silent for a moment.

And through that silence, Kim Jae-hyun, who had guessed her expression on the other end of the phone, realized there was nothing more he could do and reported what he had found out in a voice mixed with a small sigh.

"For your information, now that the news of the dungeon being cleared has spread, many people have entered the dungeon to awaken their special abilities."

"Was there anyone worth paying attention to among them?"

At those words, Kim Jae-hyun answered while biting into the ice cream he had bought from the convenience store.

"No, there were no rankers of the Thousand or higher."

At Kim Jae-hyun's answer, Cheon Yuhwa was a little disappointed.

"Alright, the work here is done, so I'll head over there now. You keep a close eye on the situation there. Contact me if there are any changes in the dungeon or if the person whose identity we couldn't confirm comes out."

"Yes, I understand."

Hearing Kim Jae-hyun's usual blunt yet reliable answer, Cheon Yuhwa chuckled and hung up the phone.

The multi-million-dollar luxury car speeding through downtown Seoul was like a kind of indulgence, so no one dared to approach it.

Thanks to that, Cheon Yuhwa could comfortably be lost in thought.

Clink-

The candy in her mouth made a small sound as it hit her teeth.

Savoring the taste, she recalled a memory that was difficult to call either the past or the future.

One of the 11 dungeons cleared in less than an hour.

The clearers of ten of those dungeons were revealed.

But for one dungeon, the one where Kim Jae-hyun was now, the clearer never came out.

Occasionally, people would claim to have cleared that dungeon, but upon investigation, they were all revealed to be lies from people who simply wanted attention.

Unfortunately, since the dungeon was located in a park, there were no CCTVs or the like, so the people at the time came to this conclusion.

That the player who challenged the boss room had died along with the dungeon's boss.

At the time, Cheon Yuhwa had thought so too.

It was the most plausible guess.

But a considerable amount of time after that, Cheon Yuhwa saw a certain player and came up with another possibility.

The possibility that the player themselves had hidden that fact.

Thinking about it with common sense, it was a strange nonsense with no reason, but Cheon Yuhwa knew one player who showed such nonsensical behavior.

That was why Cheon Yuhwa had kept this place in mind from the beginning of her planning and had asked the most trustworthy Kim Jae-hyun to monitor it.

"If it's really him... it's not a bad start."

She looked out the window with the heart of a fisherman hoping to have caught a big one.

And her pounding heart, whether in a good or bad sense...

...lasted for a day.

***

There is a saying that mountains and rivers change in ten years.

It is a figurative expression that the world changes after a long time, but a long time is not necessarily needed for the world to change.

Only a day had passed since dungeons appeared in the world.

In the face of the unprecedented situation that had suddenly descended, defying common sense, the governments of each country mobilized various methods to deal with the situation at hand.

One country set only a certain number of rules and guaranteed the public freedom regarding dungeons.

At first, some people expressed dissatisfaction with that country's decision.

But when the information that the carcasses of monsters brought by people who entered the dungeons were being bought at high prices spread, people changed their tune, welcomed the country's policy, and entered the dungeons armed in their own ways.

The country applauded the sight of its citizens entering the dungeons by spending their own money and praised their courage with various sweet words.

At the same time, they used all available media to stimulate people's heroism, talked about the powerful strength players could have, and listed the various benefits that could be obtained through hunting monsters.

There were no lies.

In fact, not only various research institutes and the governments of each country, but also the fashion and design industries, which seemed completely unrelated, wanted the carcasses or hides of monsters.

But the country's government also made the negative aspects of monster hunting faint.

They pushed down the danger of monsters, the fear of the unprecedented phenomenon of dungeons, and the intangible damage that could be obtained from it, and instead raised only the shining things to the surface.

They induced the public to voluntarily jump into a new competition and sought to gain benefits through it.

Conversely, another country did not give the public freedom over dungeons and completely banned entry into them.

Their argument was that dungeons contained numerous monsters and could endanger people.

The government of that country armed its soldiers with various types of firearms that had only been used for threats and decoration until now and sent them into the dungeons.

The public's reaction to the government's appearance was favorable.

They thought the government was moving to protect them.

But the reason the government took such action was not out of the good intention of protecting the public, but for its own greed.

Monsters.

To the poor public, they might only look like monsters, but in the eyes of the upper class who held power, they literally looked like walking gold.

Moreover, it didn't even take much effort to obtain them.

Although they were monsters, it was difficult for them to withstand the concentrated fire of soldiers moving in organized groups.

Also, this was a measure to exclude any unforeseen situations.

Their government had so far controlled the public based on the absolute military power of guns and trained soldiers.

Therefore, even if the public harbored different thoughts or raised their voices, they could easily be silenced based on the power they had.

In such a situation, the public's power suddenly grows stronger?

There was no way they would tolerate the existence of such a seditious seed.

Even if the public were to enter the dungeons, it had to be postponed as much as possible and done only after a basic system for them to control the public was in place. That was their thought.

Only a day had passed, but the world was floundering in the rapids of drastic change.

With the appearance of dungeons, the world began to change rapidly.

(End of Chapter)