Chapter 171 – Awakening (5)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
[Is it okay for players to target other players?]
[The ugly side of j.a.pan has been revealed!]
The aftermath of the terrorist attack on Kim Woo-jin did not end, but instead became progressively stronger as the days pa.s.sed.
This was because none of j.a.pan’s neighbouring countries would let such a perfect opportunity pa.s.s.
[The Russian Government condemns the j.a.panese Government!]
[The Korean Government demands an apology and compensation from the j.a.panese Government.]
Among them, the attacks from Korea, which Kim Woo-jin belonged to and Russia, which Isaac Ivanov belonged to, were the fiercest.
[The j.a.panese Government announces the emergence of a new pseudo-terrorist organisation.]
[j.a.pan, ‘This has absolutely nothing to do with the j.a.panese Government.]
Under such circ.u.mstances, when j.a.pan announced that the attack on Kim Woo-jin was carried out by a new radical cult group, no one could accept it.
– What pseudo-terrorist cult, it sounds more like the government did it!
– Does it make sense that some new cult group would be able to put so many players in a 3 Floor dungeon?
– Are they really trying to cut off their tails like this? Do they think we were born yesterday?
– Can we wake them up with a nuclear punch?
On the contrary, the public opinion and the accusations against the j.a.panese government intensified as a result of their announcement.
In the face of such circ.u.mstances, the j.a.panese government had two options.
One was to pretend to be unaware and withstand all sorts of criticism and pressure at a state level, or to offer compensation.
-I got a call from the j.a.panese government. They want to know how we want to deal with this situation.
In the end, the government chose the latter.
They offered to compensate Kim Woo-jin who had been injured while carrying out his mission.
-Of course, it will be a humanitarian compensation. However, they added the condition of removing the need for an apology.
But that didn’t mean that they would apologize.
On the contrary, the j.a.panese government was trying to avoid apologizing by offering compensation.
-They’re such a bunch of b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.
“Their compensation should be pretty good.”
It was already amazing that they were offering compensation when taking j.a.pan’s history into account.
Nevertheless, the reason why they offered to give compensation first was quite simple.
-Well, what else can they do when Park Yong-wan is making such a fuss.
The amount of pressure that Park Yong-wan was putting on them was not small.
-Looking at what Park Yong-wan has been doing these days, he will probably never see eye to eye with j.a.pan again.
“He’s quite patriotic.”
-Right, he’s a great patriot.
It was the same determination as though he was making a life or death decision.
If j.a.pan did not handle this properly then Park Yong-wan would not be able to live under the same sky as j.a.pan!
-That’s why Park Yong-wan’s popularity in Korea these days is no joke. Is he more popular than the Messiah Guild yet?
For the Korean people, this was something that they were incredibly enthusiastic about.
In a sense, wasn’t Park Yong-wan doing something that even the Messiah Guild didn’t dare to do?
He was actually openly attacking j.a.pan.
It would be strange if the impression that the Korean people had of Park Yong-wan and the Phoenix Guild did not improve as a result.
-And your popularity is rising rapidly too.
At the same time, Kim Woo-jin’s popularity in Korea also began rising at an alarming rate.
This was due to the fact that Kim Woo-jin’s ident.i.ty as Isaac Ivanov’s teammate had been exposed.
No official announcement had been made, but the situation was already known to everyone.
After all, there weren’t many players in the Phoenix Guild who used Blood Poison and were active in 3 Floor dungeons.
-Your fanbase has already emerged.
Naturally, Kim Woo-jin fans also began appearing.
-Now we’ll not only get Choco Pies and Bulgogi, but also Cheonggukjang(1) and Hongeo Samhap(2) as gifts…kehum!
Oh Se-chan, who realised what he’d been about to say, suddenly coughed at the end instead of finis.h.i.+ng his sentence.
After that, he spoke in a serious tone, changing the mood.
-So what are you going to ask the j.a.panese government for?
After asking this question, Oh Se-chan added something just in case.
-I wouldn’t ask for an item.
Kim Woo-jin smiled lightly at his words.
It was a smile of satisfaction at Oh Se-chan, who was able to perfectly guess his thoughts.
“It seems you knew that I would make that decision.”
-We can always get items later.
As Oh Se-chan said, Kim Woo-jin had no intention of asking for an item at this point.
-We could always trade it, steal it or take it forcefully whenever you decide what you want. Like the others.
There were many other ways to obtain items.
-It’s compensation from the j.a.panese government, not from a guild, so it should be compensation that only the j.a.panese government could give.
After all, the ones giving the compet.i.tion were much larger than even the largest guilds.
This means that he would be able to get items that even the guilds wouldn’t be able to give him.
-For example, the autonomy to attack any dungeons you want in the country without the need to register.
Oh Se-chan’s words made Kim Woo-jin smile even brighter.
“You don’t have to say more.”
…
“To sum it up, Isaac Ivanov’s request to the j.a.panese government as compensation for this incident is full autonomy to attack dungeons in j.a.pan?”
“Yes.”
At that response, the Sword Saint slowly opened his eyes.
These eyes seemed to be as cold as a sinking abyss, and caused the breath of the subordinate who they locked onto, to stop.
“Those insignificant b.a.s.t.a.r.ds dare…”
That was the extent to which the Sword Saint was angry about the situation.
It was anger that burned fiercely.
After all, the Sword Saint had just lost a disciple that had taken a considerable amount of effort to raise in this incident.
And it wasn’t just a disciple, but a disciple that he had raised in the shadows.
A disciple who, without hesitation, turned away and sacrificed wealth and fame for the great revival of j.a.pan.
Moreover, wasn’t there a very high possibility that the legendary grade item, the Makya, one of his trump cards, had fallen into Isaac Ivanov’s hands?
Yet in such a situation, Isaac Ivanov still had the audacity to ask for the right to freely target dungeons in j.a.pan as compensation for the incident.
At that moment, the Sword Saint wanted nothing more than to slit the throats of Isaac Ivanov and his team, himself.
“Calm down.”
It was a woman who eventually calmed the Sword Saint’s anger.
When he noticed the appearance of this woman with a short, sports haircut, the Sword Saint took a deep breath.
After seeing this, the woman bowed toward the Sword Saint.
“Given the current situation, compensation is inevitable. If things get bigger than they already are and Ilyeong’s tail gets caught, this will become even more troublesome. So just give them what they want.”
“Are you telling me to give those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds the right to trample upon our n.o.ble land to their heart’s content?”
The Sword Saint’s voice became chilly as he asked this question.
“Yes.”
Nevertheless, the woman did not so much as twitch when reinforcing her decision before the Sword Saint.
This proved that this woman’s status was not normal
In fact, her status was extraordinary.
“Sakura…”
She was Miyazaki Sakura, the woman who had achieved the highest level among the Sword Saint’s current disciples as well as the one who took part in 6 Floor dungeons together with the Sword Saint and was preparing to target 7 Floor dungeons.
“Explain the reason properly.”
It was already amazing that he was willing to listen to her words.
And she was willing to make use of her position.
“From now on, Isaac Ivanov and his teammates will be challenging 4 Floor dungeons.”
She did not hesitate to express her opinion.
“As you know, 4 Floor dungeons aren’t places that can be cleared with a small number of people. They’re completely different from 3 Floors. That’s why we will encourage them.”
“Encourage them?”
“We’ll make them attack an unbeatable dungeon with just their team.”
The Sword Saint started at her words.
Then he made a gesture for her to continue.
“I don’t know what Isaac Ivanov’s ambitions are, or what he plans to do, but it’s clear that he has already reached a certain threshold. He has the expectations of the world on his shoulders, and he has to live up to those expectations. Just like Lee Se-jun.”
When her words reached that point, the coldness in the Sword Saint’s eyes began fading bit by bit.
In front of him, Miyazaki Sakura finished her speech.
“But Isaac Ivanov has no Messiah Guild. I’m sure master knows the difference even better than me.”
As he looked at Miyazaki Sakura, who had finished speaking, the Sword Saint’s gaze was no longer cold.
Instead, he turned to another subordinate with an energized gaze.
“Pa.s.s it on to the Prime Minister. We’ll accept Isaac Ivanov’s request.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And prepare properly. Make sure Isaac has no choice but to attack a dungeon he could never hope to clear.”
When he said these words, the Sword Saints eyes seemed to burn with a fierce light.
“If he wants to be a Savior then he’s going to have to pay the price.”
(Note:
1. Cheonggukjang is a fermented soybean paste used in Korean cuisine. It contains whole as well as ground soybeans
2. Hongeo is a type of fermented fish dish from Korea’s Jeolla province that’s made from skate and emits a very strong, ammonia-like odor that has been described as being “reminiscent of an outhouse”. After finis.h.i.+ng a piece of hongeo, one’s mouth usually stings due to the strong ammonia content of the fermented bottom-dwelling fish.
Koreans typically enjoy hongeo with steamed pork belly and over ripe kimchi, known as hongeo samhap, with “samhap” meaning “gathering of three”. The texture of pork and smell of kimchi hide the presence of the fermented fish, though not to complete success.)