“They’re saying they want to find people from our world, the awakened ones, to side with the filial addicts? But those guys want to destroy the world. Yet some crazy people might actually join their side…”

There are plenty of people who think, as long as I live well, that’s enough. ‘Want to help destroy your world? I’ll help, and you’ll survive to get stronger and live longer.’ There would be plenty of people willing to take that deal. Even if not that, many would be blinded by immediate gains.

And maybe some just want to, because they want to.

“Transcendent beings want us to be their pawns and fight each other? They’ve always been a pain, but soon humanity might vanish too.”

“…A pain?”

The rookie sulked, ears drooping.

“I’ll make exceptions for you and the elder. Considering what I’ve been through, it’s irritating. The hardships won’t end anytime soon.”

The rookie smiled brightly at being called an exception. Yeah, he still seems innocent. Though he’s called rookie, he’s probably lived for ages—just odd.

“So, what, should Chatterbox’s hunters and ours hold a ranking match? The winner gets what they want? That wouldn’t be bad.”

I’d actually welcome that. Seong Hyunjae has the strength of a ranking match’s number one. With experience crossing worlds, unless you’re a transcendent, beating him would be impossible.

Excluding the special case of Seong Hyunjae, the actual top hunter in our world was Yuhyun. She was growing faster now than before regression. And Yerim, in a place with enough water, would be a tough opponent even for Yuhyun and Seong Hyunjae.

Director Song is also involved in saving the world! She’d willingly help, and Hyunah would definitely chip in. Liet, an innate S-Rank, probably wouldn’t side with the filial addicts either. Their relationship was already strained because of Diarma.

If it came to team battles, Noah would be a great support. And Myungwoo would back them up.

No matter how you look at it, we’d have a big advantage.

“Nothing’s set in stone yet! The filial addicts need time to prepare. Chatterbox did influence the Honey world after the Curse Poison Dragon Lord and the King of Harmlessness, though.”

“Could the China side be connected to Chatterbox too?”

“I don’t know. The Demon King is definitely a subordinate of the King of Harmlessness!”

The elder sister of Park Ha-yul also seemed suspicious.

“You said there are five innate S-Ranks in our world. Then they’d try to take the other two too.”

“Probably. Honey, want some coffee?”

“Yeah. I think I’ll have an iced one; my stomach feels upset.”

Sitting at the table, I looked outside. The view was the ocean—vast and blue, without a coastline in sight. I wondered if I was on a cliff, so I leaned closer to the window.

…Am I floating above the sea?

“Iced Americano’s here~”

The rookie extended his tentacle to set the glass on the table. Why was there a mini umbrella in the iced Americano? And I drank it.

“Honestly, I don’t know why people drink Americano. It looks cool, though.”

“It’s said to be the most popular drink in Honey’s world.”

“Still can’t say who the remaining innate S-Ranks are?”

The rookie nodded while making a strawberry latte.

“No info, and there are restrictions now. For a while, no one except the Honeys can interfere. Minimum interference only! Mainly system automation.”

“Too bad. I should’ve checked sooner. Or maybe I should check now. Maybe they can be persuaded.”

“No.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because the Honeys… I mean, here.”

A globe appeared in the center of the table. The rookie spun it with his tentacle and pointed at Korea.

“Around here. Like this.”

The tentacle traced a circle centered on Korea, including parts of Russia, China, Mongolia, Japan, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines.

“You can’t leave this area.”

“What? We’re trapped?”

“Until the filial addicts finish preparing. Especially since Chain has extended its reach overseas too. They can’t stop what’s done but no more from now.”

“Even dungeons?”

“Yes. Don’t tackle new dungeons outside here for now.”

What the hell? Of course, I plan to stay in Korea, but still.

“What about simple trades? People overseas will ask to raise Gi Seung-su. And Myungwoo’s equipment too.”

“As long as the Honeys don’t leave or ask you to come first, it’s fine.”

“What if there’s an auction? Would that count as calling them over?”

“Well, invitations can be specific, but don’t invite broadly!”

So, only specific invites allowed, not open calls.

“If an innate S-Rank comes to Korea on their own, then it’s fine to entice them?”

“Yes. It’s fine inside the zone. But going outside or calling specific people outside is forbidden.”

“What about trades? Like overseas auctions?”

“SS-Rank or above can’t trade. It’s said Honeys already have too much equipment and skills.”

“Honestly, they got all that because transcendent beings messed around. They worked their asses off for nothing.”

If those beings hadn’t touched our world, we wouldn’t have gotten any of that.

“Don’t know the exact timeline yet?”

“No. The difference is too big; it’s still being discussed. They can’t just hand everything out. Honeys had to pay fair prices.”

“Getting it without hardship would be cheating.”

I hope they suffer as much as we did. Wait, does that mean experience increases too? But it’d ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) be weird to get it without suffering. What if they worked hard and got nothing? Hope they’re wasting their efforts.

“Well, at least we won’t have to worry about transcendent beings for a while. Oh, can the elder still teach classes?”

“Yes. Chaos was kicked out mid-meeting as an outsider. Everyone was tired and agreed on that.”

“…Kicked out?”

“He overturned the meeting. But Chaos can’t use powers above a certain level in Honey’s world. He can’t use systems or other tech, so minor interference is tolerated.”

That elder… impressive as always. Now that the Korean dungeons are safer, we should focus on the kids’ training. Maybe practice team battles too. The teacher has skills, but I have to prepare for possibly not joining.

And…

“Should we form a party?”

“A party?”

“For high-level hunters.”

Maybe we’ll discover innate S-Ranks. If not, we’ll just apply keywords to all promising hunters. Just have to be careful not to get caught—damn. I have a son twice my size anyway.

Mom, dad, siblings, aunts, uncles—everyone’s invited.

“If we gather fifty S-Ranks, everything’s solved, right? Can we do that now?”

“…I don’t recommend it.”

The rookie’s eyes rolled, dodging the question. Huh?

“What? Why all of a sudden?”

“Honey wants to stay with the people around him.”

“That’s true, but what if I die?”

“Not that, but still. Chaos said the Crescent Moon won’t give up easily. He didn’t tell me details.”

True, saving our world won’t free Seong Hyunjae. Gathering fifty might only solve the root cause trying to swallow our neighborhood. That was the original goal. Now, the grudges of both Crescent Moon and Chatterbox remain.

“Can you tell me exactly what you planned to do with fifty? Might come in handy someday.”

“No. But Honey won’t be able to stay in this world anymore.”

Then where would he go? Could he take my younger sister? She wouldn’t want to stay without me.

“Any other news? What about Crescent Moon?”

“That’s it for now. Crescent Moon seems awakened but only sent messages, hasn’t moved. Sharing some authority with Chatterbox and the system. Of course, Honey info is top secret. And…”

The rookie frowned.

“Other transcendent beings are starting to take interest. This is the first time something this big has happened.”

“Is it because you’re a rookie?”

“Even transcendent beings older than me are worried. Chaos was baffled too.”

If the elder’s that worried, it must be serious. Hope we’re not just shrimp caught between whales. Please leave us alone.

“If they’re meeting, they should all sign contracts and settle this cleanly.”

“Yes, I’ll try!”

Then the rookie stuck out his head. I wondered why, then reached out to stroke his fluffy hair.

“Thanks for your hard work. Please keep it up.”

“Yes!”

His smiling face faded. Darkness briefly came, then red light spread. Raising my eyelids, sunlight streamed between the curtains near the bed. The sun had risen. Probably long ago.

“You’re awake?”

Yuhyun’s voice came. Sitting up in bed, I was offered a sandwich and vegetable juice. The deep green in the glass startled me, but it didn’t taste bad. At least it wasn’t medicine.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep