Episode 13

 

   5.

 

   

 

[Due to your vigorous activities of your faithful believer <Gu Min-Soo>, many people begin to take an interest in you and the deity you worship. This earns you 10 <Divinity Points>].

 

   

 

A person with 5.4 million subscribers on MyTube was definitely a person with 5.4 million subscribers.

 

As I requested, Gu Min-Soo did a livestream a little while later.

 

   The topic of the livestream was very simple.

 

   It was about the medium-sized gate in Yeouido, which I had dealt with last time by myself.

 

Despite the rushed nature of the live stream, Minsoo managed to get two more experts and two famous player MyTubers to analyze my Yeouido footage.

 

   This distracted the attention from the Baek Myung Church video, and many people started to pay attention to my video again.

 

   The end of the livestream was also the best part.

 

   

 

-I will be hosting the main character of the video in the next stream, and I will announce it on my channel once the schedule is finalized, so please be patient.

 

   

 

   An intentional cliffhanger.

 

   The ripple effect was multiplied, and the internet community, including MyTube, immediately turned into an arena.

 

   

 

“Player K, now that you’re out of the kiddie pool, are you going to start the main action?”

 

   “Lol, the Ministry of Ability Management didn’t seem to be able to figure out the identity of the hidden player, so how could a MyTuber recruit him?”

 

   “Lol, they’re just going to put someone in a cosplay and let them do their thing. Isn’t that what MyTubers do?”

 

“Hyung isn’t that kind of person ;-;”

 

   “Was there ever a controversy about Player K? No, there wasn’t.”

 

   “Isn’t it convincing that he’s wearing a patient’s uniform? It was filmed in a hospital.”

 

   

 

   No matter which site I went to, there was a cyber battleground on the topic, and within half a day, interest in me had skyrocketed.

 

   “Hmmm.”

 

   I lay back in bed and checked my  smartphone to see how the internet community was reacting, then put it down with a light breath.

 

   5.4 million MyTubers had just poured oil on my cooled rice cake, and it was burning hotter than I’d ever imagined.

 

   At this rate, my plan is going to go off without a hitch.

 

   My plan is not that complicated.

 

   I’m going to livestream through Min-Soo to attract aggro, and then hold a press conference at the Ministry of Ability Management to make sure the public gets the message.

 

   From then on, it’s about expanding the church and gaining new members.

 

   It’s a showcase of sorts, and if everything goes according to plan, we should be able to make a good first impression on the public without too much trouble.

 

   Just as I was about to end the day by organizing my plans for tomorrow.

 

   Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom.

 

My phone, lying on my bed, started vibrating wildly, and I picked it up in irritation.

 

And just as I was about to check what the heck the notification was about.

 

   Bam!

 

The door burst open, and In Wook ran in with an urgent look on his face.

 

   “Hyung!”

 

   “Wait. I need to check my phone.”

 

   Uhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

   My  smartphone kept vibrating, so I checked it first.

 

   On my  smartphone, the disaster text that In Wook showed me last time was still ringing.

 

「October 17th, 9:32 PM, a mid-sized irregular chaos gate with a radius of 1.5km has appeared near Korea University Hospital in Guro District. The gate type has been confirmed as Undead.」 「Until the situation is under control, all citizens near the affected area should promptly evacuate to shelters according to the instructions of the evacuation personnel.」 「Declaration of emergency mobilization for players. This disaster alert is sent only to the relevant recipients. Among the players who have received this alert, those with Hunter rank C or above should respond to the mobilization order.」

 

Eeeee-!

 

Before I could finish reading the disaster alert, the apartment’s PA system started blaring sirens.

 

And soon, an announcement recommending evacuation followed, and I frowned while listening to it.

 

Why did an irregular gate have to appear at the hospital where the survivors of Min-Soo’s filming crew from the previous abyss dungeon were hospitalized?

 

“…Damn causality.”

 

This was too artificial to be dismissed as a coincidence.

 

It was closer to a blatant trap.

 

“Hyung…. Hyung…”

 

“Were you surprised, Si Yeon? It’s okay. Your brothers are here.”

 

Si Yeon, who was startled by the sudden commotion, came out to the living room sobbing, and In Wook tried to comfort her while saying to me.

 

“I’ll evacuate with Si Yeon, so you can go ahead, hyung.”

 

“I haven’t even said I’m going yet.”

 

“I heard the irregular hunter from the neighboring country can handle even ultra-large gates alone. You’ll go anyway, even if I try to stop you. You’re not inferior to those kids from the neighboring country, right?”

 

“How could that be?”

 

I’m also curious about who is playing such a nasty prank.

 

As I was having a brief conversation with In Wook.

 

Ding dong.

 

Someone rang our doorbell.

 

In Wook immediately opened the door, and soon, neatly suited agents from the Ministry of Supernatural Management bowed their heads politely and said,

 

“We will escort your family members. It is an order from the director to evacuate Shi Yu’s family members as the top priority.”

 

“Please take good care of them.”

 

“We will escort them to the safe house of the Ministry of Supernatural Management located in the safe zone. Shi Yu, you can move with Team Leader Kim who is waiting downstairs.”

 

I nodded lightly, then bent my knees for a moment to meet Si Yeon’s eyes.

 

Si Yeon’s eyes were already brimming with tears.

 

Si Yeon asked me in a trembling voice,

 

“Where is oppa going?”

 

“I’ll be back soon, Si Yeon. Can you stay with your hyung?”

 

“You’ll come back quickly, right?”

 

At those words, I smiled bitterly, then hugged Si Yeon and answered,

 

“I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

 

“If you’re late, there’s a fine, big brother. You know that, right?”

 

“Is the fine perhaps tteokbokki?”

 

“That’s right!”

 

I still can’t buy you tteokbokki with my own money because I’m unemployed.

 

I should probably resolve this quickly and come back.

 

 

It only took 15 minutes to get from our house to the control area of the irregular chaos gate.

 

In the vehicle heading to the scene, Team Leader Kim told me about the information that had been identified about the gate so far.

 

The main type of monsters emerging are undead, the gate core has not been confirmed yet, and the entry requirement is having a Hunter rank C license or above.

 

According to Team Leader Kim, this was the first time since the Busan disaster three years ago that an irregular chaos gate had appeared in an urban area.

 

“We’ve arrived, Shi Yu.”

 

While listening to Team Leader Kim’s explanation, we had already reached our destination.

 

I nodded and got out of the car.

 

And soon, a scene of chaos unfolded before my eyes.

 

“Players participating in the gate subjugation mission, please come this way!” “Citizens, please cooperate with the evacuation operation as much as possible. Currently, a rescue team consisting of players is expected to enter the affected area…”

 

Citizens were evacuating, and soldiers were controlling them.

 

And that’s not all.

 

There were people trying to enter the controlled area to find their families and citizens clinging to the soldiers and pleading.

 

If you were to directly depict the word ‘chaos’, it would probably look like this.

 

Fortunately, at least a minimum level of order was being maintained.

 

Even in the serious situation of a gate appearing in an urban area, people were somehow still moving.

 

“This way.”

 

Following Team Leader Kim’s guidance, I immediately entered the controlled area.

 

And soon, a new scenery unfolded.

 

Unlike the outside where the screams and shrieks of some citizens echoed, the inside of the controlled area had a surprisingly orderly atmosphere.

 

[The ominous energy of a <Chaos Gate> is detected in this area.]

 

If it weren’t for this message window that appeared before my eyes, I might not have even realized that the current situation was an emergency.

 

Groups of people who seemed to be players were gathered and waiting in various places, and some of them were even laughing loudly as if exchanging jokes.

 

I frowned at the sight of those players.

 

It didn’t look good.

 

Just a few steps away, you could hear the wailing sounds of other people.

 

No matter how much you try to relieve tension by exchanging jokes, laughing out loud in this situation was grating on my nerves.

 

Seeing my reaction, Team Leader Kim, who had been observing me, said with an understanding tone,

 

“They must be guild-affiliated players. It may not sit well with you, but for them, it’s natural. They won’t readily engage until the sector allocation is complete. Especially in a sudden situation like this.”

 

“Sector allocation?”

 

“To the general public, chaos gates are just disasters, but to players, they are a type of business. By now, representatives from each guild are probably determining the subjugation areas among themselves.”

 

What an interesting world.

 

Personally, I don’t consider myself a saint, but even I found this situation unpleasant.

 

No, to be honest.

 

“It’s rather disgusting.”

 

It was disgusting.

 

Does this mean the world has been reorganized to revolve around players to that extent?

 

Of course, it’s understandable.

 

In a sense, it’s an inevitable change.

 

In a world where the power of players is the most important, naturally, everything would change to prioritize players.

 

Even if you just look at YouTube, the content has shifted to focus on players, right?

 

I’m not saying that change is wrong.

 

It’s just that I don’t like what I see. So, I’m going to be a bit spiteful this time.

 

After staring at them for a long time with a furrowed brow, I said to Team Leader Kim,

 

“You remember the condition I requested from the Ministry of Supernatural Management in relation to the previous Baek Myeong-gyo incident, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I’d like to change that condition a bit.”

 

“…Please go ahead.”

 

Team Leader Kim gulped and looked at me, and I continued in a languid voice,

 

“I’ll handle this gate alone. Give it all to me.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Deploy the rest of the personnel for survivor rescue, and I’ll take care of everything related to combat. Of course, I’ll also take the byproducts.”

 

I said that while lightly stretching. Then, I tapped my shoulder lightly like last time.

 

Woong!

 

Divine power enveloped my entire body in an instant.

 

White flames briefly flared up around my body, and soon those flames transformed into a black priest’s robe, covering me.

 

The remaining flames naturally spread out in all directions, brightly illuminating the dark streets.

 

In that dazzling and dizzying radiance that seemed to blind the eyes just by looking at it, I quietly recited a prayer while kneeling on my right knee.

 

“Bestow your merciless judgment upon those damned beings. I gladly offer the miserable demise of the wicked.”

 

[The information of the active skill <Sanctification> is synchronized!] [For a certain period of time, the effect of <Sanctification> is imbued in the area around you!] [The power of demons and undead located in that area is greatly reduced, and undead below a certain level are immediately destroyed.] [The causality governing dimensions is observing you.]

 

The divine power pouring out from my feet dyed the asphalt ground and spread out, and soon that divine power began to glow white, painting the dark sky with light.

 

A splendid radiance that poured out into the night sky.