“Everyone! The Night of the Dead is about to begin. Is everyone ready?”
As the sun sank beyond the western mountains and the sky began to turn red, Yang Yumi’s lively voice rang out.
Jaehee had instructed Yang Yumi to record everything that was happening and do a live broadcast. Once the dead actually attacked, no one would have the presence of mind to watch a broadcast.
But still, Yang Yumi’s broadcast would inform people about how to act during the dead’s attack and what was dangerous. In other words, Yang Yumi’s broadcast was a manual. A manual for dealing with the dead.
They had continuously informed people to become subjects and that simply submitting an application through the system would result in automatic enrollment, but despite that, there were surely still those who hadn’t joined anywhere. Yang Yumi’s broadcast was for them.
“Those things will be coming soon, and even if you’ve prepared yourself, you’ll be scared and afraid. I know. We all felt that way when we first fell into the tutorial. I’ll say it again—the best response is to decide on a King and become a subject. Right now, Shin Jaehee-nim, the guild master of Eternal Guild, is automatically accepting subjects as long as they submit an application. And if possible, I recommend coming here to the Eternal Guild office. If you come near here, you can receive the protection of the King’s Veil. This entire area will be under Eternal Guild’s protection.”
Yang Yumi’s voice was peculiar. It was lively yet had the power to make you focus.
Yang Yumi’s broadcast was displayed on the large screen in the office. More people than expected were watching her broadcast. Beside it, the combat personnel who were outside could also be seen. Because Yang Yumi had attached cameras to each guild member, everyone’s situation could be monitored from the office. Jaehee quickly searched for Jeongwoo.
He looks even more handsome on screen.
Jeongwoo was staring ahead with an expressionless face, but Jaehee knew he was quite tense.
After watching Jeongwoo for a while, he called up the system window and checked the subject list.
The number of subjects was still climbing frantically in real-time even now.
The current number of official subjects was 537. Temporary-rank subjects exceeded 200,000.
Seeing that number made him sigh. It was certainly an enormous number, but there were surely still many people who hadn’t joined anywhere.
“What’s the situation with the other guilds and Kings?”
“After we released the data and started broadcasting, most guilds followed us and are encouraging enrollment through broadcasts or the internet. But… it’s about Guild Sahae.”
“Guild Sahae?”
“Guild Sahae is acting really strange. Guild Sahae is our country’s largest guild, isn’t it? It’s the most influential place, but there’s no movement at all.”
“None at all?”
“Yes. Even when I tried contacting people I know in Guild Sahae, there’s no response. Something is strange.”
After Guild Master Lee Shinhoo’s disappearance, the guild members are also unreachable?
Something felt unsettling, but there was no time to look into it further now.
“Have Jeongwoo and the other combat teams all entered preparations?”
“Yes. Everyone has prepared for combat and gone down.”
This quiet building was packed with non-combat guild members and guild members’ families. Not just this building. All the buildings in the area were the same. With so many people, it should have been noisy, but everyone was quiet. Only occasionally could the sounds of small children be heard.
Jaehee approached the large glass window. The sky was dyed completely red. Looking at that sky, he took a deep breath. With Yang Yumi continuously filming him from beside him, it was difficult to say or do anything carelessly. Thinking that 200,000 people—not just 20,000—were watching him made his shoulders feel newly heavy.
It was when the red of the sky was turning into deep darkness.
[Global Mission, Night of the Dead, preview begins.]
The moment a yellow system message blinked in his vision, light was disappearing from far away.
At a pace neither too slow nor too fast, lights went out one by one. The sight was like light being consumed by black waves and disappearing.
The city that never sleeps, Seoul—it took only a few minutes for it to be completely submerged in darkness.
“N-no way…!”
It wasn’t simply a power outage. The humming sound of computers running could still be heard. The world right now was one where light itself had disappeared.
Flashlights were useless, and phones were useless. They were trapped in complete darkness.
This pitch-black darkness where you couldn’t see an inch ahead was terror and restraint in itself, even without doing anything.
“King’s Veil.”
[The limit of the King’s Veil’s size extends to where the King’s strongest vassal is located. Currently, Shin Jaehee’s strongest vassal is General Woo Jeongwoo. Would you like to declare territory up to where General Woo Jeongwoo is located? yes or no]
This was why Jeongwoo couldn’t be with him and was far away from Jaehee. He hadn’t known before, but he’d discovered it while experimenting with the King’s Veil skill with Jeongwoo a few times. The King’s Veil could be deployed to the distance between Jaehee and Jeongwoo. Jaehee quickly pressed yes.
Then a milky-white glowing hemisphere began to slowly spread from around Jaehee. People watched with their mouths agape. Seeing light in a world that had been pitch-black as if colored with black crayon brought emotion and relief. The hemisphere expanded as if stretching. It pushed back the darkness as if devouring it, greedily expanding its influence.
[Granting the King’s Veil to the subjects.
King’s Veil lv1: A territory declaration that can protect subjects. Where the King’s Veil is deployed, no dark night can penetrate. It protects subjects from all harmful elements.
Would you like to manually adjust the King’s Veil’s size? yes, no
* Inside the King’s Veil, wounds heal at a constant rate. Speed is proportional to skill level. Inside the King’s Veil, detoxification and curse removal occur at a constant rate. Speed is proportional to skill level. Complete protection from external harmful elements. Those outside cannot perceive inside the veil. However, all functions are reduced for temporary veils where the King does not reside. Duration: 10:00:00 Recovery rate: 7%]
Sighs of relief burst out here and there. Voices saying they were glad they’d joined Eternal Guild could be heard from all around. Although they had witnessed strange things like monsters and Awakened Ones until now, regular people rarely got to see skills like this since they were fundamentally ordinary people. That’s why the King’s Veil felt impressive to them.
“Whew…”
As the space that had been filled with darkness gradually filled with light, breathing became easier.
Jaehee glanced around and saw that most of the guild members, including Yang Yumi standing beside him, had their mouths hanging open looking at the King’s Veil.
The King’s Veil.
This was their first time actually seeing the King’s Veil too. While there were quite a few who claimed to be Kings, none had actually displayed a King’s skill. Moreover, the King’s Veil basically included a recovery function. Regular people were too tense to feel it well, but the Awakened Ones were definitely feeling this effect. The fatigue that had accumulated from running around busily without proper sleep for days was gradually melting away.
“At this level… it’s almost a cheat skill…”
In the office that had become bright from the deployed King’s Veil, Yang Yumi’s broadcast was running again.
Jaehee searched for Jeongwoo’s figure again among the various video feeds on the screen.
“Those who are particularly weak in mental barriers or lack confidence, step back! If you still feel anxious energy even after combat has started, don’t try to endure it—you must enter inside the veil!”
Jeongwoo’s voice echoed through the darkness. It was an order from someone much younger than them, but no one complained about it being offensive.
Where Jeongwoo needed to be today was the front line where the dead’s attack was taking place.
If Jeongwoo retreated, the veil would shrink by that much. No matter what happened, he had to hold his position here.
In other words, it was a defensive battle.
Knowing this, the guild members didn’t talk back even though the young Jeongwoo was giving orders and nagging.
The Night of the Dead. Wasn’t it a mission with an ominous name from the start? Being strong and having high combat power didn’t mean one could resist mental attacks.
As they were glaring at the billowing pitch-black darkness, something surged up from within it.
