# 029. Long Live the King (13)
[If you hand that over to me, I’ll give you what you need. It’s not a bad deal since that object is of little use to you anyway. But time is short, so you must decide quickly.]
Jaehee looked at Jeongwoo. But Jeongwoo stood there with a clueless expression. Jaehee tried to consult with Jeongwoo, but suddenly his voice wouldn’t come out. He felt goosebumps rise as he experienced the strange sensation of something restraining his body.
[While you’re connected to me, you’re within a barrier. The barrier will only last about 30 seconds from now. So decide quickly.]
30 seconds?
It was bewildering enough that a Constellation was directly speaking to him, but now that he couldn’t discuss it with Jeongwoo, his mind went blank. Although Jeongwoo had spoken of it as if it were nothing special, if a Constellation was making this kind of offer, wasn’t it actually something extraordinary? Even if Jeongwoo knew many things, he couldn’t possibly know everything. As Jaehee thought this, the Constellation spoke urgently.
[I swear it’s meaningless to you. But to me, it’s precious. Having lost my physical form, it will take time, but if I embrace it again and infuse it with my essence, I can become a snake once more. Though you killed me, I bear no resentment. That was simply my fate. But it is still young, so please show mercy.]
Suddenly his mouth felt parched. If it had simply asked for the item because it would be helpful, he probably would have refused. But now that it was saying this was to revive a young being, the white orb in his hand felt heavy. Jaehee looked once at the white orb, once at Jeongwoo, then sighed.
“Take it.”
[Thank you. I will help you once when you most need it.]
But wait, wasn’t this something Jeongwoo found? Is it okay for me to give it away like this?
As he was thinking this, the orb in his hand slowly disappeared. And the moment it vanished completely, his surroundings darkened. Though it was pitch black, it wasn’t as frightening as when they’d entered Ouroboros’s cave.
[This is my repayment for your mercy. It’s what will happen in the near future.]
— If you don’t become king, you’ll lose everyone close to you.
As he flinched at the sudden voice, a white light appeared before his eyes. The light drew a rectangular shape in the black void. The rectangle emitted a faint light, and at some point, many people began to appear.
A crying child, ruins that looked like a battlefield, a dying woman, a family having a picnic on a lawn, students laughing and running around a university campus, an ordinary family’s dinner…
Various random scenes appeared faster and faster. Eventually, they moved so quickly that it was impossible to tell what was being shown, and only the blurred faces of people were visible.
Then suddenly, it stopped at one particular scene. It was a reporter from some broadcasting station.
“Citizens, I am now at the scene with the disaster response headquarters, reporting for your safety. The disaster response headquarters and the Awakened Management Bureau have designated the current situation as a Class A disaster. This is happening across the entire Republic of Korea, and the same situation is occurring worldwide.”
Jaehee felt dazed watching the reporter speaking in such a grave tone.
While in the tutorial, he had worried a lot about what might be happening in the outside world. But when he actually came out, wasn’t the world functioning much better than he’d worried about? Why was this broadcast appearing now?
“There is still no clear explanation for this sudden large-scale contamination event. What we do know is that this contamination is occurring simultaneously in the soil and air, and it is lethal to humans.”
The screen showed a huge mushroom growing in a residential area. It looked almost as tall as a utility pole. But it wasn’t just one mushroom. Mushrooms as large as adult men could be seen springing up everywhere like bamboo shoots after rain.
The screen flickered again.
“What you’re seeing now is a residential area in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. This is drone footage because the area is currently inaccessible. The mushrooms are emitting toxic substances and reproducing very rapidly. The toxins released by the mushrooms are extremely lethal to living organisms and can cause death even with brief exposure. The death toll has already reached hundreds, but we haven’t even been able to properly recover the bodies. Families are holding funerals with only photographs of the deceased. The government is recommending evacuation to safe areas, but in reality, it’s difficult to say where is truly safe.”
The reporter’s voice became increasingly emotional, until it sounded like he was almost sobbing at the end. The screen showed people in mourning clothes clutching photographs of the deceased and wailing.
“Some say this is a tragedy brought about by environmental pollution, while others claim it’s happening because a king wasn’t chosen in time. But the exact reason remains unknown. Currently, Awakened guilds and the Management Bureau are dispatching Awakened Ones to remove the mushrooms, but they can’t keep up with the rate of proliferation. Moreover, even the Awakened Ones are not immune to the mushrooms’ toxins, making removal efforts even more difficult. The issue isn’t just the toxins emitted by the mushrooms. The soil where the mushrooms grow is also being contaminated at a rapid rate. Perhaps the Earth is truly heading toward its end.”
The reporter’s words were utterly grim. The screen showed the Gwanghwamun area filled with gathered people. The entire area was packed with protesters holding picket signs.
The camera moved closer to the people, showing one by one what each person was shouting.
“This is all a government conspiracy! People! Open your eyes! The government conducted a dangerous experiment that failed and is now making citizens pay the price!”
“This is Earth’s final warning to foolish humans! This is not the end! It’s the beginning! After suffering from environmental pollution all this time, Earth has finally drawn its sword against humanity! Even now, we must apologize to Earth and stop all factories!”
“Repent! Repent! Only those who repent and follow the Doomsday Cult will receive salvation!”
“We are the Awakened Union! Why must Awakened Ones be responsible for this entire situation? Awakened Ones are citizens too! Awakened Ones are people too! Awakened Ones are now being forced to work with less than two hours of sleep a day! Is this a country? What kind of nation deprives its citizens of freedom and forces them into labor?”
“The only god is the System God! There is only one! Those who do not obey the System God! You will face the iron hammer of the apocalypse! Repent and obey the System God!”
Just watching it was draining. Everyone was rambling on about their own concerns in a disorganized manner.
It was truly chaotic, a complete mess. Everyone was raising their voices to assert their own claims. There were even religious groups he’d never seen before. The Doomsday Cult was where Se-rin belonged, but the System Church that worshipped the System as a god was something new. It seemed to have formed after the Status Window became visible to ordinary people.
Seeing this made his mind go numb. Is this… really… going to happen…?
The camera pulled back, making the people in the frame smaller. The countless people filling Gwanghwamun soon looked like mere dots. The camera didn’t stop but kept moving higher and higher. The blue ocean and land came into view. People of various races quickly passed by, as if to show that the same situation was occurring everywhere on Earth.
Eventually, the screen showed the Earth itself. As if filmed from space, the blue Earth appeared. The Earth gradually lost its color, becoming monochrome. And then, as if it had lost its vitality, it crumbled in an instant.
Watching this, Jaehee felt his strength leaving his hands.
This is all because of you. The Earth is being annihilated because it has no king.
King, fulfill your duty.
At that moment, everything before his eyes suddenly brightened.
“Jaehee! Jaehee! What’s wrong! Snap out of it!”
Jeongwoo was shaking Jaehee with a pale face.
The barrier created by the Constellation had lifted, and everything had returned to normal. It was incomparable to the fear he’d felt in Ouroboros’s cave. His hands trembled and his legs wobbled. Jaehee grabbed Jeongwoo tightly.
He had never even thought about such things. It was beyond his comprehension.
Is all this what happens if there’s no king?
If there’s no king, the Earth will perish…?
He slumped to the ground. He felt like screaming.
But why, why do I have to be the king?
Let someone who wants to be king do it. There are so many people in the world smarter than me, why do I have to do it? Why am I a Royal Road? Something must be wrong.
Various thoughts that couldn’t escape his lips whirled in his mind.
“Jaehee, what happened? Suddenly a barrier appeared, and I couldn’t do anything. I was about to forcibly tear through it. It looked like a barrier created by a Constellation.”
“Jeongwoo… Do I, do I really have to become king? Is there no other option?”
Jeongwoo gazed at Jaehee silently, then wiped away his tears with a finger.
“This can’t be helped, Shin Jaehee. You’re already my king.”
Jaehee couldn’t understand why he was crying, but tears streamed down his face.
