# 033. The King’s Arrival (4)
The process of deliberation was painful, but once he made up his mind, everything happened in an instant.
“Excuse me, Section Chief. Could you possibly take Yeong-i to her father? He should be in Gangnam area right now. It’s not far from here. I’d call him myself if phone service was available.”
“Ah, if it’s the Gangnam area, Lee Shin-hoo-ssi, aren’t you heading back to your guild anyway? I think you could contact him on your way there.”
At Yong-tae’s words, Jaehee looked at Shin-hoo. Though he felt somewhat uneasy about Shin-hoo, there was no other option. Besides, as the head of Guild Sahae, being next to Shin-hoo would probably be the safest place right now.
“Sure. Just give me the exact address, and I’ll take her there. If we can’t find him, she can stay at our guild.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. We should help each other in difficult times. I’ve been wanting to get to know you better anyway, so I’ll think of this as an opportunity.”
Yeong-i clutched Jaehee’s clothes with a visibly tense expression. It was uncomfortable having to entrust such a small child to a complete stranger, but there was no choice right now. Jaehee exhaled briefly and stroked Yeong-i’s head.
“Yeong-i.”
“Mmm.”
“Oppa will bring mom back. If you follow this mister here, he’ll take you to daddy. Wait with daddy, and oppa will come soon with mom. Can you be good and listen well?”
“With mom? You’ll come back with mom?”
“Yes. I need to go now so I can bring mom back. Can you wait, Yeong-i?”
Yeong-i hesitated for a moment before nodding. Though she was a clever child, it would be difficult for her to understand this entire situation. Still, she was being so brave by not throwing a tantrum.
Jaehee sent a text to his father just in case, then looked at Yong-tae.
“Daejeon Station, I’ll go. Is there a way to get to Daejeon Station?”
“The fastest way right now would be by helicopter. Two Awakened Ones who are near Daejeon have agreed to go to Daejeon Station. Since civilian casualties are expected to be highest at Daejeon Station compared to other areas, we’ll be sending Awakened Ones as soon as we can gather them.”
Jaehee smiled one last time and waved to Yeong-i.
* * *
Though it was his first time riding a helicopter, it wasn’t as exciting as he’d expected. Besides himself, there were two other Awakened Ones who had been hastily recruited. One was a middle-aged man with a rough appearance, and the other was a young woman. Not only was the helicopter noise loud, but no one attempted to speak or greet each other. The atmosphere was heavily subdued. Jaehee just fidgeted with his phone, which showed no new notifications. The last recorded call was a missed one from Jeongwoo. Jaehee sent another text to Jeongwoo.
[Jeongwoo, are you okay? Are you safe? Please contact me. I’m heading to Daejeon Station now.]
He had also texted and called his stepmother several times, but there was no response. Now he could only hope she was safe.
“We’re landing now! We can’t get close to Daejeon Station right now, so we’re heading to the nearest possible landing spot. Landing in 5 minutes! Please get ready!”
The pilot’s voice came through the headphones. Jaehee leaned out to look through the window. Even at a glance, he could see a large blackened area. So that’s the contamination erosion.
Before landing, Jaehee checked his Status Window once more.
Something he had discovered when accepting Yeong-i as his subject was that he could see Yeong-i’s basic status in the subject list on his Status Window. Though he couldn’t see detailed information, it was at least a relief to know that Yeong-i was alright.
While checking his Status Window, Jaehee also reviewed his skills again.
Excluding passive skills, he had four: King’s Radiant Majesty, King’s Solemn Command, King’s Veil, and King’s Blessing. Since he had no subjects other than Yeong-i, he probably couldn’t use King’s Solemn Command. King’s Veil and King’s Blessing seemed to be defense or support-type skills. That left only King’s Radiant Majesty, and the fact that it was a taming skill seemed a bit absurd. Shouldn’t there be at least one attack skill? he wondered.
“Awakened Ones, please come this way!”
After disembarking from the helicopter, they saw Management Bureau staff waiting for them. As the three approached, a tired-looking woman came forward.
“Since we don’t have much time, I’ll brief you here. Daejeon Station is currently being eroded at a very rapid pace. There are a considerable number of civilians inside the station, and the area is surrounded by military forces. While no monsters have emerged from inside yet, if they do, we anticipate enormous casualties. You need to quickly clear out the monsters inside.”
“Are there any Awakened Ones currently inside Daejeon Station?”
The question came from the middle-aged man. The Bureau staff nodded.
“Yes. Two Awakened Ones who happened to be in Daejeon entered after the erosion began. They went in for reconnaissance but haven’t reported back. We can’t confirm whether communication has simply been cut off or if something else has happened. The two are Ju Se-rin-ssi and Yang Jeong-il-ssi, both offensive types. If you find them, it would be best to move together.”
Jaehee was startled by the familiar names. Ju Se-rin and Yang Jeong-il?
He couldn’t imagine why those two would have gone in together. It wasn’t Kang Min-gyu, who had been constantly clinging to Se-rin, but Yang Jeong-il?
In Jaehee’s memory, Yang Jeong-il was just someone who followed Kang Min-gyu around, agreeing with his nonsensical statements.
“So our rescue team going in now consists of just the three of us?”
“That’s right.”
The woman who had asked the question looked at the man and Jaehee, then sighed heavily. Though it could have been taken as an offensive gesture, neither the middle-aged man nor Jaehee said anything. After seeing the massive contaminated area at Daejeon Station, sighing was a natural reaction. Daejeon Station itself appeared to be engulfed by the gate, painted black. It looked as if it had been swallowed by a Black Hole.
“The erosion at Daejeon Station is spreading much faster than in other areas. As soon as situations in other areas are resolved, more help will likely come here.”
“Are conditions in other areas better than here?”
“Yes. Daejeon Station seems to be the most severe. The other areas are gradually being cleared up. Most importantly… as the mission completion rate increases, new erosion sites are not appearing.”
Wondering what the Bureau staff meant, Jaehee checked his mission.
[◇ Global Mission: Become a king or become a subject. ◇
Countdown D-15 (Progress: 38.759%)]
The progress rate had increased at an astonishing speed. Even now, the numbers continued to rise in real time. When Jaehee looked at the Bureau staff, she nodded.
“Yes, it’s just a prediction, but we believe the expansion of erosion sites will likely stop once the progress reaches 50%.”
Awakened Ones knew that the system responded to their words and actions in unpredictable ways. Because of this, they refrained from speaking either positively or negatively about the system. Though the staff member didn’t curse out loud, Jaehee felt like he could hear the unspoken curses directed at the system.
“This is a communication item. Since there’s no way to contact each other once inside the dungeon, we developed this—think of it as a kind of walkie-talkie. However, as it’s still a test item, it’s unstable and has limited uses. The usage method is simple. Just blow on this leaf.”
Jaehee received the leaf from the staff. All three leaves were slightly larger than a palm, and it was fascinating that these were communication items. He couldn’t imagine how they could possibly be used for communication. As he was examining the leaf, turning it over, the staff continued.
“It’s a consumable item. When only the leaf veins remain and the leaf becomes transparent, it means its lifespan is over. The lifespan varies depending on the length of the call, location, and surrounding conditions, so you must check the leaf’s condition periodically. I can give you three leaves. Based on your reports after entering, we’ll plan a second rescue team, so please make sure to provide interim reports. Also, this Polaroid camera is an S-rank item. The Management Bureau purchased it from the Galaxy Shop. You absolutely cannot damage or lose it. When you take a photo, the subject enters the photo. It’s for rescuing civilians you encounter. Since time stops inside the photo, it can also be useful when someone has sustained critical injuries.”
Kim Ji-su took the camera. It was the first time Jaehee had seen a photo that people could enter. Ji-su carefully examined the camera before putting it in her inventory.
“These are all the items I can give you. If any of you don’t have enough food in your inventory, please let me know.”
The three Awakened Ones glanced at each other before shaking their heads. Thanks to Jeongwoo’s insistence, Jaehee had enough food in his inventory to last a month comfortably. The others probably also had either valuable items or food in their inventories.
“Very well. Let’s depart now. Please take good care of the people inside.”
And so, the three headed toward Daejeon Station.
