Chapter 57: Chapter 57

[translator - night][proofreader - gun]

chapter 57: going to the un (2)

inside daehyun group's private jet.

the clean interior reminiscent of a luxury business hotel.

as i sat on a beige sofa, kang shia appeared holding a document file.

"thank you for choosing daehyun group."

"i honor my commitments."

kang shia, dressed in a red office dress, smiled at me as she began to speak.

"what would you like to drink?"

"is iced coffee okay?"

"of course."

sipping the iced coffee personally served by the chaebol heiress, i also enjoyed the dessert she brought.

ah, so peaceful.

after dealing with so many backstabbing incidents in kevrian, i was exhausted.

even though the elves claimed kevrian was an opportunity this time, i couldn’t help but feel suspicious about their motives.

as i looked around the plane, i noticed a cross mounted on the wall.

does no one else know about this?

i pointed at the cross with my finger as i looked at kang shia.

"there's even a cross on the plane?"

"that’s zeus’ symbol. my father is a devout follower of zeus, so it’s displayed here."

"i see."

hmm.

she truly doesn’t know.

not only does she not know, but her faith is directed toward zeus.

could it be that having more believers increases zeus’ sp or something like that?

even as my mind churned with these thoughts, pollux and aurelia didn’t say a word.

is aurelia shielding my thoughts from pollux, and is the dragon heart shielding them from the others too?

this is all so complicated.

i need to reach b-rank quickly, stabilize my form, and reclaim my mental freedom.

"once this matter at the un is settled, kevrian expedition forces will be organized globally."

"right. but isn’t there a chance it might not get approved?"

"kevrian is the only broken world that has shown this much progress. i think the likelihood of approval is high. jiho, your role will become even more critical."

i scratched my head.

how did i go from a new hunter to humanity's hope in such a short time?

"looks like kang shia’s workload will explode soon."

"yes... for now, i’ll focus on resolving the battle with the dragon."

she stood before me, opening the file.

"among those killed by the black dragon arkardian, many who succumbed to its poison are experiencing severe aftereffects."

"was dying from poison that painful?"

"yes. i’ve died twice, and the poison was excruciating. when i died fighting the dragon, i felt so powerless that i didn’t want to try again, but with the poison... feeling my body melt away... it scared me to go in for a third time."

recalling the experience, kang shia shuddered.

entering a third time took real courage.

"are there many who died three times or were permanently expelled from kevrian?"

"yes, around 500 people. despite dying repeatedly, they kept trying."

"they’re remarkable people."

"meanwhile, some in the apostle command unit refused to return to battle after dying once. i think replacing such people with those like the ones mentioned earlier would be better. rewards and penalties must be clear."

"that sounds reasonable."

we can’t keep people in the apostle command unit if they won’t return to the battlefield after dying once.

"alternatively, we could populate the apostle command exclusively with skilled individuals."

"skilled individuals?"

"yes. earth’s true elites are in eshtar. for example, david from the u.s. has reached c-rank."

oh.

c-rank.

i wonder how strong a typical c-rank professional is.

"is david strong?" searᴄh the nôvel_fire.ηet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"yes. since reaching c-rank, he can handle ten d-rankers at once. there’s only a one or two-level difference, but it’s significant."

c-rankers are undoubtedly powerful.

hmm.

i’ve changed my mind.

i’m grateful to those who’ve died three times and continued, but the image of d-rank hunters being wiped out is hard to shake.

for now, raising ranks should be the priority.

we need at least 50 high-level hunters.

"hmm... if the un approves global participation, i’ll assign high-level d-rankers to the apostle command unit. once they reach c-rank, they’ll pass the mantle to others. increasing the number of c-rankers is key."

"so your focus is on raising ranks?"

"yes. if even one chaos lord reaches dragon level, we’re doomed. you saw what happened last time."

the supreme commander was hades.

hades would be an sss-tier deity like zeus.

even with his power restricted to 5%, he’d still be ridiculously strong.

"the difference between ranks becomes more pronounced at higher levels. we must aim for c-rank to have any hope."

hearing this, kang shia’s expression darkened, perhaps recalling the black dragon.

honestly, against a dragon, it wouldn’t matter if there were ten thousand d-rankers—they’d all be annihilated.

"i agree, but i’m concerned about how the permanent members of the security council will respond."

"huh? why would they be an issue?"

"until now, most recruits for our unit have been recommended by powerful nations—essentially government-affiliated hunters. but if we follow your plan, independent hunters who oppose government control will flood in..."

hmm.

surely not.

we’re facing the threat of global destruction in a year.

would national leaders really act that way?

especially the permanent members of the security council.

the united nations security council.

the un’s key decision-making body, composed of five permanent members and ten non-permanent members.

if a permanent member opposes an agenda, it cannot pass, which has contributed to the un’s ineffectiveness.

since the opening of dungeons and the arrival of elves, even elf aides have joined the council.

‘but apart from dungeon issues, they never intervene.’

guided by a female elf, i entered the un building.

"is this a portal gate?"

"yes. to ensure perfect security, the meeting is temporarily held in a dimensional space."

following her, i stepped through the portal and entered a meeting room.

surrounding a round table with a medieval vibe were the leaders of various nations.

with their entourages present, over a hundred people were seated at the massive round table.

seeing politicians i’d only ever seen on tv felt surreal.

"hunter kim jiho is entering."

"oh... so that’s him..."

"the protagonist from the video?"

"how can someone be that strong?"

the murmurs of the attendees.

among them, i spotted familiar faces like trump and putin from tv.

"oh, welcome! humanity’s hero, the first c-rank hunter, kim jiho."

president trump stood up and greeted me with exaggerated applause.

everyone else at the table also stood and gave me a standing ovation.

this is overwhelming.

[translator - night]

[proofreader - gun]

feels like i should get a photo to commemorate this.

"the united states is always on your side, greatest awakened."

trump spoke korean naturally.

must be some kind of translation magic.

"russia will always be your steadfast friend."

"china also supports you."

leaders from other countries chimed in, eager to express their support.

the flood of offers for naturalization—it starts here, huh?

still, with everyone praising me and smiling, i bowed to express my gratitude.

"please, come this way."

following the elf's guidance, i take my seat.

the seat assigned to me is right next to liana.

"hello, hunter kim jiho."

liana greeted me politely.

i returned the gesture.

"yes, it's been a while. how's the process going?"

"yes. the first agenda... the total mobilization order to kevrian was unanimously passed just a moment ago."

so, they were already at it before i arrived?

"it's the most advanced area in the broken world, and we strongly recommended it. staying in eshtar at this rate would mean certain annihilation without any means of resistance. since the time of eshtar's destruction is approaching, we proposed mobilizing the hunters."

"won't some try to sneak out?"

"once the un security council gives its final approval, we won’t open any gates other than kevrian’s."

liana smiled as she spoke.

wow!

they’ll just lock the gates.

elves sure have significant authority.

"and the second agenda... frankly, we don’t understand it."

"what is it?"

"it concerns the kevrian expedition led by you, hunter kim jiho, and the issue of commanding apostles' posts."

"sorry?"

"honestly, we believe this is something for you to decide, but the permanent members of the security council—the us, uk, france, china, and russia—are all fighting for a share. even non-permanent members like japan, india, and australia are trying to get involved…."

"hm. so they're fighting over the thousand positions in my apostle command?"

did i leave it with them?

they're fighting over it on their own.

well, sure.

under normal circumstances, i’d probably just give the positions to the powerful countries in exchange for some benefits.

after all, the troops are mainly for gaining experience.

but isn’t this supposed to be a crisis of human extinction?

shouldn’t they be panicking by now?

"let’s take a pause here."

as i stand up abruptly, the round table falls silent.

all eyes turn to me.

"has anyone here not seen the video of the black dragon fighting the expedition?"

the room remains silent.

they’ve all seen it, haven’t they?

"d-ranks were utterly useless. if the black dragon hadn’t lost its rationality, we wouldn’t have stood a chance and would’ve been wiped out. does anyone here disagree?"

suddenly, one person at the round table raises their hand.

a man dressed like a knight of the round table, clad in armor and with a sword on his back.

his face looks annoyingly smug, like a dandy elf, with blond hair and blue eyes to match.

who the heck is this guy?

"isn’t that video doctored?"

"the video is doctored, you say?"

"yes. i’m a c-rank myself."

since he’s mocking, i mock him back.

"are you david?"

he nodded and stood up.

"as a c-rank myself, i can tell. that video doesn’t make sense. i believe we should verify its authenticity first."

"verify its authenticity... sure. how do you plan to do that?"

with that, david drew his sword at me.

ugh, what a show-off.

i lightly extend a finger.

"thunder god."

lightning shot from my finger and directly struck david.

as soon as i moved, thinking i’d make some sort of attack, he had started channeling a mana blade into his sword—but the blade shattered in an instant.

"ughhh!"

david collapsed, his entire body electrocuted by the blue lightning.

the people around him hurriedly moved out of the way.

controlling my strength to not kill him is harder than just ending it.

"please ensure that fool doesn’t die."

the female elf grimaced but nodded as she approached david.

"the video is genuine, everyone. liana, how many people would it take to subdue me?"

"subdue hunter jiho, who inherited zeus’s lightning? even ten thousand wouldn’t be enough."

"right. yet even i was helpless against a dragon."

the murmurs grow louder in the conference room as liana mentions zeus’s lightning.

ah, come to think of it, zeus replaced the cross here.

"do you think the lords of chaos are weaker than dragons? they’d be far stronger than a berserk dragon. against them, even a hundred thousand d-ranks would be meaningless."

"hmmm…."

"i, too, would like to cooperate with you all. it would be nice to be protected by powerful nations, receiving hundreds of billions in funding, and enjoying a luxurious retirement. but for that, the world must first survive."

i extend my hand, releasing more of the thunder god's power.

lightning spread throughout the room, encasing the massive round table in an electric barrier.

seeing this, the attendees trembled in fear.

"zeus’s lightning…."

"to think we disrespected the apostle of a god… what heretics we’ve become…."

well, it seems this new faith has its uses.

in christian-majority nations, zeus’s authority works well.

i looked down at them and spoke.

"your task is to send your high-ranking hunters to me immediately. right now."

[translator - night]

[proofreader - gun]