Distorted World 1
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Translator: Moliere
Editor: SootyOwl
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It did not take long for Junhyuk to understand what Agenchra had meant by accelerating the schedule. He had already signed the contract, and there were a lot of breaking news stories with the start of that weekend.
âI must be going crazy.â
Junhyuk was watching TV and pulled out the communication crystal. The news was full of stories about strange beings attacking tourist ships on the Han River. People said the beings had horns on their heads and would drag the victims under the river.
âThere are aglantas here?!â
He focused on the crystal and heard Artlanâs voice. Artlan sounded drunk, and he could feel that Artlan was in fact buzzed.
âWhazz the matter?â
âThe contractor told me my dimension had potential to produce more champions, and that things would speed up. Now, there are aglantas from the Dimensional Battlefield here!â
âHm⦠Really? My dimension already has heroes, so your dimension may experience those disturbances.â
âMy dimension may experience it?!â
âYou have activated your powers due to your efforts to stay alive. Your dimension lacks motivation. To make them more motivated, they are creating an environment like that of the Dimensional Battlefield.â
âThen, management is trying to activate more powers here?â
âCorrect.â
Junhyuk was extremely shocked. Ordinary people couldnât deal with aglantas. He had fought them before, and it would take at least a small army to fight one.
âWill there be other monsters?â
âDonât worry too much. They will be easy in the beginning.â
âWhat if they send a dragon?â
âDonât worry. If they send a dragon, that will happen much later.â
âYou mean they will sent one?!â
âAlso, donât treat the monsters the same way you treat monsters on the Dimensional Battlefield.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âThe Dimensional Battlefield has many limitations. They put limitations on the heroes and they do the same with monsters. You donât actually think a real dragon is that weak, do you?â
âWhat about the aglantas?â
âSure!â
Junhyuk felt like he had been cheated. His powers were the same in South Korea.
âPeople will activate their powers.â
âThatâs difficult.â
âDonât forget one thing.â
âWhat?â
âYou got your abilities by fighting constantly, but people who activate their abilities suddenly are drunk with power. People like that are demons.â
Junhyuk couldnât breathe. What Artlan had told him was a serious issue.
âThe demons will be after you.â
âRight.â
âDonât get yourself killed in some stupid way.â
Junhyukâs mind was sharp now. He had made up his mind and he wouldnât die easily. He wouldnât hesitate to save his own life.
âDonât die meaninglessly. If you die, I will go to your dimension and kill everyone.â
Artlan wasnât joking. He had also said that his powers were limited in the Dimensional Battlefield, but they wouldnât be limited in Junhyukâs dimension. He couldnât guess at what Artlan would do.
âIâll stay alive.â
âRight. Iâll go back to drinking.â
âHave fun.â
Junhyuk finished talking and watched TV.
The arrival of the aglantas was only the beginning. The dimensional battlefield had many types of monsters in large numbers.
âIs South Korea the only country with aglantas?â
There were many monsters, but Earth was bigger. On TV, the coast guard hard arrived at the Han River and started rescuing ships. They launched nets on the top and the bottom of the river to make sure the aglantas wouldnât escape.
Junhyuk decided he would go there in person. It was a weekend, and he had time. The aglantas were there to force more people to activate their abilities, but he couldnât let innocent people die, so he got in his car and headed their way.
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Doyeol was watching the news and asked, âJeffrey, do you know what they are?â
Jeffrey was also surprised.
âThose are aglantas. Why are they here?â
âIâve seen them at the Dimensional Battlefield. So, I was right.â
âYes.â
Jeffrey looked at Doyeol. He was focused on the TV and didnât notice Jeffreyâs stare. Doyeolâs phone rang, and he looked at Jeffrey.
âI need to be alone. I want to think.â
âIâll leave.â
Jeffrey went outside, and Doyeol pressed a button. His desk opened up, and a screen rose in the center. There were five faces on the screen, and they were all frowning. The old man spoke first.
âDo you recognize it?â
âThey are called aglantas, a type of monster.â
âThen, they are from the Dimensional Battlefield?â
âYes.â
âThatâs a tough situation. We have wolves showing up, so the army was sent to kill them. The wolves couldnât be killed by rifle bullets, so they had to use heavier firepower.â
Doyeol looked at Elise, who was also present.
âCan iron soldiers fight against them?â
Elise checked something in her notes and answered, âI have to check first, but if the armyâs firepower can deal with them, the iron soldiers will certainly be able to do it. However, there are too many wolves.â
âThey killed some bats that showed up, and the bats left something behind. We analyzed it, and it is just like the mana stones. What do you think?â Charles asked.
He showed them a very small, blue gem. It was much smaller than regular mana stones, but they didnât have to go to the Dimensional Battlefield to get it. The world had changed.
âWe canât allow other people to kill the monsters first.â
Charles nodded in agreement.
âOnly a few know the value of the mana stones. Before they find out about them, we have to hold a monopoly. Elise, speed up the production of the iron soldiers.â
The old man caressed his beard and said, âWhen production of the iron soldiers increases, we need a new company to advertise them. How about Robotics?â
Charles shook his head.
âDoyeol will be a better choice. The collaboration with Robotics allows him to have a good image worldwide. He should step up. We will have detachments all over the world to respond quickly to the incidents and build a monopoly on mana stones.â
Everyone looked at Doyeol, and he smiled.
âOK. I will step up and be responsible.â
The others didnât like the spotlight, and Doyeol knew it too. Thatâs why they gave him the position. If something went wrong, they would all blame him like they did before, and so, they would continue to control the world.
They thought they had the right to order him around, but they would regret giving Doyeol that chance. He looked at Elise.
âInstead of the prototype, we need iron soldiers right away. We have to impress the public, so we need them right now.â
Elise checked her notes and said, âThey will be ready right away. It takes three hours to have them fly to South Korea.â
âSure. Iâll be waiting.â
Doyeol knew he had to move quickly, and the old man looked at him calmly.
âIâll send some people over. They will help you.â
âThank you.â
Doyeol had to act subservient when necessary, but he would get stronger. That was his way to top.
He lifted his head and asked, âWhat happened to Anna?â
The old man and Charles frowned deeply, and he continued, âShe canât hypnotize the iron soldiers. Theyâll deal with her. Elise, can we send each of them one iron soldier first?â
âItâs possible. Donât worry.â
Doyeol looked at the others.
âWe should make a special team to deal with her.â
Charles looked at him and nodded.
âThen, we will put you in charge.â
âTrust me.â
The others hung up, and only one remained on the screen. It was Elise.
âIs everything going well?â
âDonât worry. When you get the new company, invite me to your new lab. I want to be close to you.â
âIâll give you the best installations.â
âIâll be expecting that.â
The screen turned off, and Doyeol was left alone. He pressed a button on his phone and asked, âDid we send a team already?â
âYes. I will send you the video.â
âDo it.â
Doyeol called for Jeffrey, who was waiting outside. Jeffrey walked in and saw that Doyeol wasnât watching TV, but a brand new video instead.
He looked at the screen and said, âItâs not just one aglanta.â
âThe Han River has three. The police arrived at the scene quickly and sealed off the area.â
Jeffrey shook his head.
âSealing it off wonât work.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âYou canât kill them with pistols.â
Aglantas were famous at the Dimensional Battlefield. Pistols wouldnât work against such monsters. Rifles wouldnât work either, so they would need heavy artillery to deal with them.
âYou mean they will come out of the sealed area?â
âYes. At least, I think the army should step in.â
Doyeol looked at the screen.
âLetâs watch. If the police canât do it, then the army will go in!â
Jeffrey watched the aglantas swimming in the Han River and worried about people getting killed before the army arrived.
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They were stopping the cars, and Junhyuk parked far away. He walked over, but there were too many people, so he couldnât get close and looked around instead. He had his glasses with him and he could see very far away because of them, so he went to the top of a building to scope out the situation.
The police had launched nets around them. The three aglantas were swimming around, with the police surrounding them. They were SWAT and all of them were holding K1A compact assault rifles used by the armed forces. Ordinary police officers would be killed by the bushels, but the special team was different.
They were just standing there, and Junhyuk checked his smartphone and murmured, âAre aglantas only in South Korea?â
Abroad, they had wolves and bats.
âOnly the lowest ranking monsters crossed dimensions?â
The monsters just dropped from the sky. At least, it felt that way to him. People were responding slowly, and many were dying.
Junhyuk turned his head to look, and the aglantas started moving. The police werenât crossing the sealed area, so the aglantas started swimming in a circle and attacked the officers.
The SWAT members fired. The shots felt more like warning shots because they were shooting at monsters. Their rifles could only scratch the aglantas. One of them bit a SWAT member and dragged him below the surface.
Junhyuk could no longer stand there. He understood why management had sent those monsters, but he didnât agree with them.
âDonât blame me.â
He jumped down from the building wearing the black armor.