Chapter 163
Chapter 163. Counterattack
The disposal of the revealed People from Another World was entrusted to the Dice Guild.
Park Jae-kyung intended to keep him alive until all this mess was sorted out.
She planned to let him watch the other People from Another World die in front of him.
She aimed to return the horrific experiences she had faced back to him.
“Your colleague was an ordinary citizen, huh?”
The woman who claimed to be Paras’s companion was undoubtedly Korean.
With the revelation that he was the one who caused this incident, she looked utterly incredulous.
Thanks to the thoroughly concealed identity at the company.
“So what information did Ji-han find out?”
Park Jae-kyung was curious about what Yoo Ji-han had extracted from Paras.
Memories drawn from the magic of the People from Another World.
She thought that maybe the answer to resolve their current situation could be there.
To that, Yoo Ji-han said,
“First of all, I want to clarify that I didn’t uncover everything.”
There were limits to Yoo Ji-han’s abilities to glimpse memories through someone else’s magic.
He couldn’t look through all the memories someone had built up over the years.
“I don’t know the current location of Yoon Do-ha, whom you’re most curious about. But I did learn their objectives.”
“And what is that?”
“To conquer Korea.”
“……!”
At his response, Park Jae-kyung’s expression quickly hardened.
“The name of the world the People from Another World originally lived in is Ajesia. After Ajesia faced a crisis of destruction, they made a last-ditch effort to attempt dimension travel.”
“Is dimension travel really possible?”
“I don’t know the specific method.”
“Why did Ajesia fall?”
“Because of a large number of meteorite impacts. It seems they found it hard to survive on the devastated land.”
Ajesia faced a crisis of destruction from small meteorites that suddenly fell from the sky.
The survivors who managed to endure that crisis banded together and successfully attempted dimension travel, arriving on Earth.
“Since they possessed technology for monster mutations, they matched the IUPC’s desire for cohabitation with monsters. Moreover, since they resembled Asians, they were able to blend into society without suspicion.”
“……I understand the circumstances. But why did they choose to invade?”
Park Jae-kyung couldn’t comprehend the reason behind the People from Another World’s targeting of Korea.
After all, they could have revealed their identities and sought cooperation from the country, which could have helped them.
Unlike other races, they wouldn’t have faced discrimination due to their similar appearance to humans on Earth.
“The People from Another World believe they can use Earth to rebuild the fallen Ajesia.”
“What?”
“Jae-kyung, you know that Florun only grows in specific regions, right?”
“I’ve heard it can only be found in Korea, Japan, some parts of Germany, and the United States.”
The cultivation areas for Florun, considered one of the best artifact materials, are so few worldwide that they can be counted on one’s fingers.
In other areas, they couldn’t even sprout, and there hasn’t been a proper explanation for why.
“Among such special lands, Korea seems the most manageable when considering population and area.”
“A bit regretful, but yes…”
“They aim to draw out all the latent power on Earth, starting with Korea, to restore the fallen Ajesia. That’s their ultimate goal.”
“……”
Stunned by the shocking revelation, Park Jae-kyung found herself at a loss for words for a while.
*
After finishing the conversation with Park Jae-kyung, Yoo Ji-han returned to the 2nd floor of the mart.
The citizens who spotted him flinched in surprise.
Yoo Ji-han had become unintentionally perceived as someone who randomly attacked others.
Ignoring the reactions around him, he ascended to the rooftop of the mart.
“Squeak!”
“You made it.”
Min Yu-ri and Chilla were on the rooftop, keeping watch over the surroundings along with other heroes, even in the dark night.
In contrast, many of the buildings surrounding them were devoid of lights unlike the mart, which still had electricity.
“Where’s Si-hoo?”
“He went down earlier.”
Nodding along, Yoo Ji-han settled next to Chilla and the Sylph.
Leaning against the soft, gray-furred creature, its fur tickled his skin.
‘So tired.’
Was it the result of using sampling? His body felt a bit lethargic and exhausted.
However, he had successfully grasped the core information regarding the current crisis.
An incredible ability to extract information even from a defiant enemy!
Having used his ability, he could handle this level of cost.
“Yu-ri.”
“Yes?”
Yoo Ji-han conveyed the general information about the People from Another World to Min Yu-ri.
This information would be disclosed to the expeditionary force gathered in the mart at dawn the next day.
Upon hearing what he shared, Min Yu-ri spoke seriously.
“If that plan succeeds, what will happen here?”
“Well, if we lose all our strength, Earth might face destruction.”
The idea that restoring another world comes at the cost of Earth’s demise was a scenario that could be easily envisioned.
“……Pfft!”
At that moment, Min Yu-ri unexpectedly burst into laughter.
Yoo Ji-han subtly turned his head to glance at her face.
“If I hadn’t joined Sweet Fun back then, I’d probably still be busy hunting Giant Cats without even knowing this would happen, right?”
“Well… that’s uncertain.”
Yoo Ji-han scratched his head at her words.
It was true that Min Yu-ri’s decision to disband her guild and join Sweet Fun had brought about significant changes in her life.
Had she not joined, she might have led a life similar to before.
“I’m sure that’s how it would have been. Regardless of what others said or did, I would just be busy hunting Giant Cats with Chilla to make money… spending such boring and meaningless days.”
“Just being a one-person guild is already impressive. I don’t think it’s fair to criticize as useless.”
“Are you overestimating me?”
“If this is overestimating, then more than half of the Rank 4 heroes should have already fallen.”
“Come on, even so, that much is…”
Min Yu-ri waved her hands, indicating that he was exaggerating.
But Yoo Ji-han had never once overestimated her abilities.
With an abundance of magic power in her body, Min Yu-ri was essentially a weapon overflowing with bullets.
If conditions were right, who could ignore a ranged dealer who could endlessly attack from the backlines?
“If this situation wraps up well, we should further investigate treatment options for your younger sister, Min So-yeon.”
“How?”
“Since there are many new monsters now, the byproducts produced will also increase. For instance, the milk from the cows we encountered in Imsil. If we submit those for research at the lab, we might find some clues.”
“Ah….”
The emergence of new monsters would lead to the discovery of new materials.
If they were lucky, they could gain valuable information.
“But there’s no need to feel grateful to those guys.”
“I know.”
Min Yu-ri tightly pressed her lips together.
The intentional creation of monsters and mutations by the IUPC.
She felt a strange emotion at the thought that it might provide a chance to treat her sister.
“Yu-ri, I’m going to take a quick nap.”
“Sure. Rest easy.”
Yoo Ji-han closed his eyes, leaning against Chilla.
Min Yu-ri quietly observed his face as he slept.
‘Looks like he’s really tired.’
The hero who had shown the most activity among the expeditionary forces today was undoubtedly Yoo Ji-han.
It was surprising that he hadn’t shown signs of fatigue until now.
‘Am I relying too much on Ji-han?’
When operating alone, she never even considered relying on anyone but Chilla.
Now Min Yu-ri was relying on Yoo Ji-han for a lot of things.
On the bright side, it was trust in the party’s leader.
But whether this change was entirely positive was uncertain.
“Squeak.”
Chilla gazed at Min Yu-ri with half-open eyes.
As if to say she was lost in unnecessary thoughts.
Feeling as though her thoughts had been read, Min Yu-ri shot a glare at Chilla.
“……Why are your eyes like that?”
“Squeak, squeak. Squeak, squeak squeak.”
“I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Squeak!”
It seemed Chilla was patting her chest with a fist, expressing frustration at the communication barrier.
*
The next morning.
Yoo Ji-han woke up from resting at the spot where the tents for sale were set up.
‘I slept so well.’
Normally, they would have to take turns keeping watch around the clock.
However, knowing that Yoo Ji-han played a big role in ensuring their safe arrival in Suncheon, the team was excused from the night watch.
As he took his party to the food corner on the 2nd floor, they found people already having breakfast.
Yoo Ji-han’s party quickly blended in and had a simple meal of cereal.
“They’re trying to conquer Korea?”
“How dare they!”
After the meal, the information that Yoo Ji-han discovered was relayed to the other expedition members.
The recipients of the information quickly erupted with anger.
“Vice Guild Master, what will be our next move?”
“I’ll wait for Jung Gi-jun until 10 AM.”
Jung Gi-jun and the remaining members of the Red Hole Guild, who had departed earlier, failed to arrive at Suncheon Station overnight.
Park Jae-kyung decided to wait briefly for them at this location.
“If Jung Gi-jun hasn’t arrived by the time lunch is over, we’ll head to Yeosu immediately. Of course, the Red Hole members are welcome to stay here. But in that case, please take on the responsibility of protecting the survivors here.”
“Understood.”
The Red Hole members went out in front of Suncheon Station to wait for Jung Gi-jun and his companions.
However, as the designated time approached, they still hadn’t shown up.
Meanwhile, at that moment, Yoo Ji-han was discussing the strategy for entering Yeosu with Park Jae-kyung.
“You suggest splitting the party into three groups?”
“Yes, let’s divide the members as much as possible to take different routes.”
“But….”
Park Jae-kyung showed confusion at Yoo Ji-han’s proposal to split the expeditionary force into smaller groups.
Originally, it would have been right to divide them from Suncheon, but she was worried since the number of expedition members had already been reduced by nearly half and they had faced various accidents on their way.
Splitting up meant weakening their power.
However, Yoo Ji-han kept persuading her.
“The enemies have already grasped our expeditionary force’s movements. They are tracking us by some means. But they can’t track everyone here. If we split our numbers, it will create significant confusion for them. With luck, we might even identify who among us is being tracked.”
“While that’s a reasonable opinion, it could be more dangerous.”
“Everyone is prepared for that level of risk after engaging in this expedition.”
“Hmm….”
In the end, Park Jae-kyung nodded.
She accepted Yoo Ji-han’s opinion.
“Like before, my party will move together with you.”
“Okay.”
Following Park Jae-kyung’s directive, the expeditionary force split into combinations of familiar Rank 2 and Rank 3 Parties.
Watching the busy heroes around him, Yoo Ji-han thought,
‘It’s counterattack time from now on.’
In a situation where the information gap with the enemies had significantly narrowed.
To those somewhere out there giving orders,
He would repay them several times over for everything they had put him through.
