Ch-254. **The Great Upheaval**
—
*What in the world is happening right now?*
Department Head Kim’s face turned deathly pale.
The monster invasion itself had been shocking enough, and even when Park Hyunmyung smashed a monster in a single blow, it was astonishing—but none of that compared to this moment.
Lee Arin.
Who was she, really?
—The youngest vice-leader of the Hero Alliance!
—A heroine who became the Alliance’s second face in the shortest time ever!
—Overwhelming charisma that eclipses even Park Taewoo!
—An eye for potential, Korea’s hope who has cultivated countless powerhouses!
And so on.
There were countless epithets used to describe her.
A blazing comet that had appeared out of nowhere and burned itself into everyone’s minds.
Yet, strangely enough, no one had ever actually seen her fight.
She didn’t fight—she cultivated.
She identified those with potential and raised them into formidable warriors in an instant. Within the Hero Alliance, Vice-Leader Lee Arin was already called the “Grand Master.”
And yet, here she was, clearly telling Park Hyunmyung:
He seemed to have talent—so join the Hero Alliance.
*I’ve never heard of her personally scouting anyone…!*
Department Head Kim’s entire body began to tremble.
The Korean Hero Alliance.
In name and reality, it was Korea’s greatest corporation, and its second-in-command was effectively the second most powerful figure in the country.
And if Park Hyunmyung was a *Dimension Warrior*—a talent even Lee Arin coveted—then…
He was practically a *celestial dragon among men*.
Out of billions worldwide, only a few hundred thousand were Dimension Warriors.
Irreplaceable beings, already treated as nobility.
Even the bodyguards corporations hired were merely low-tier Dimension Warriors.
Looking at the current global hierarchy, the moment Lee Arin extended a scouting offer, Park Hyunmyung’s value and status soared beyond imagination.
Even the lowest-ranked Hero Alliance member possessed a status incomparable to his.
Someone like himself—a mere muggle—had no right even to look at Park Hyunmyung.
*W-what… what have I done…*
Department Head Kim’s complexion shifted from pale to outright blue.
A mere corporate department head—one word from the Hero Alliance and his career would be severed like a string.
Trusting only that fragile thread, he had humiliated Park Hyunmyung. No matter how loyal he was, the company would never protect him.
Being fired would be the best possible outcome.
They might fabricate crimes, drag him into court, or exile him to some remote frontier and toss him to the monsters.
Those who crossed the Hero Alliance all met similar fates.
From a corporate standpoint, the Alliance’s support was always indispensable.
“Contact me. I’ll be waiting.”
*Thud.*
Watching Lee Arin hand Park Hyunmyung her business card, Department Head Kim collapsed to the ground.
*Snip. Snip.*
He could almost hear the sound of strings being cut beside his ears.
*T-this has to be a dream. It has to be. Park Hyunmyung getting a scouting offer from Lee Arin…*
The Park Hyunmyung he remembered was utterly ordinary.
A plain office worker who had abruptly quit one day.
No outstanding abilities, no powerful backing—just an average, forgettable man.
The very Park Hyunmyung he had scolded, who had bowed his head and been dismissed time and again…
—Contact me. I’ll be waiting.
His strength drained away completely.
Lee Arin left behind those words and departed.
Park Hyunmyung tucked the business card into his pocket.
Anyone would have been ecstatic at being scouted by the vice-leader of the Hero Alliance, yet Park Hyunmyung’s expression didn’t change at all.
That kind of person was even more frightening.
Someone who didn’t get carried away even by good fortune.
Department Head Kim snapped back to his senses.
“I-I’m sorry! I… I misjudged you…”
“…?”
He barely managed to steady himself, then slammed his forehead to the ground as if bowing in worship.
“P-please forgive me! I committed a mortal sin against such a promising warrior! Please—please don’t tell the company…!”
The world now ran on the logic of power.
Above ordinary people stood Dimension Warriors; above them, ordinary people who had built corporations; above them, stronger Dimension Warriors; and above even those, still stronger Dimension Warriors.
Department Head Kim stood at the very bottom—someone who could only die if stepped on by the strong.
Then Park Hyunmyung looked down at him.
He placed the ten-thousand-won bill he’d been given earlier in front of Kim and said,
“If we meet again sometime, I’ll buy you a meal.”
“…I-is it okay if I come looking for you at the Alliance…?”
He threw away his pride.
Instinctively, he knew this was no time to cling to such things.
“Who knows.”
Tap. Tap.
After patting his shoulder twice, Park Hyunmyung slowly walked away.
Was that forgiveness, or was it not?
“Ah… ahh…”
The lack of a clear answer drove him even more insane.
—
—
“…Was he truly that exceptional?”
On the way back to headquarters, a man asked Lee Arin.
But he wasn’t the only one curious.
Everyone around her was.
They were people who had applied to join the Alliance, who had stood out even among candidates and received Lee Arin’s guidance.
They were elites, future stars who had rapidly reached level 10.
Some had even obtained stars and ascended beyond.
And yet—
Lee Arin had never once personally scouted anyone before.
This was the first time she had shown such interest in a person.
Naturally, they felt a twinge of jealousy.
Lee Arin, wearing her sunglasses, raised two fingers.
“Second.”
“Second… what do you mean?”
“He’s the second most outstanding among those I’ve seen.”
“…Then who was the first?”
“Who knows.”
Lee Arin—
The Seventh Demon Lord of the Demon Realm, Basara—had judged the man she’d just given her card to as possessing the second greatest potential.
The first, of course, was Wilhelm.
If Wilhelm was dazzling light, then that man was something else entirely—something closer to a gloomy, lightless darkness.
Wilhelm shone brilliantly.
But that man was like the Abyss itself—bottomless, unfathomable.
The Star of Heavenly Slaughter.
To think someone with the disposition of an evil god existed on Earth.
*Like oil and water.*
His nature was utterly different from Wilhelm’s.
They could never mix.
Which meant that the possibility of that man being Wilhelm’s true body was zero.
“Vice-Leader, if he’s the second most outstanding, why did you only give him a card?”
“He’ll come on his own.”
She shrugged.
Those born under the Star of Heavenly Slaughter inevitably craved power.
On Earth, there was no strong being capable of cultivating such talent.
Only players.
Fools who merely borrowed Pangaenia’s power.
Half-wits who were no different from ordinary humans if they couldn’t transform.
In the end, that man would naturally come looking for her.
*I wonder what kind of gem he’ll become.*
Her eyes gleamed.
Of course, what she looked forward to most was still the *true entity that controlled Wilhelm*.
A radiant being beyond comparison, beyond equal!
Just how nobly would he be shining on Earth?
And if she could meet him, there was one thing she absolutely wanted to ask.
*…How did you discover my weakness?*
Issera.
Even he, a mutant Dragon God, had a weakness.
But unlike Issera, not even the Demon King had uncovered hers.
Not the Demon King alone.
No one had.
Not even she herself knew.
Yet he was different.
The true entity that controlled Wilhelm had found and exploited a weakness no one else had ever discovered—not even Basara herself.
That was why she wanted to ask.
How did you find my weakness?
How did you exploit it?
That weakness was none other than—
*…making me feel love.*
A feeling she had never once experienced in her entire life.
—
—
“You’re not real heroes!”
“Step down, you fake heroes built on lies!”
In front of the buildings of the World Alliance, the Hero Council, surprise protests erupted one after another.
They were no longer the glorious heroes of the past.
False heroes.
Hypocrites who rose on nothing but lies!
Protests against them continued daily across the world.
*Kim Hana…!*
Inside the building, listening to the protesters’ shouts, Lucifer ground his teeth.
It hadn’t been this hostile at first.
But once Kim Hana began exposing classified information and secrets related to the Hero Council, the situation spiraled out of control.
*Darkstar, you son of a bitch—you handed over everything.*
Now it was clear why his nickname was “Runstar.”
The moment Main Quest 11 was completed and the Hall of Fame rankings shifted, Darkstar had headed straight to Korea.
There, he must have met Kim Hana and handed over the confidential documents.
Thanks to that, the Hero Council was collapsing—
Both in Pangaenia and on Earth.
Still, the situation on Earth was better than in Pangaenia.
“You can’t turn your backs on us. On me. You can’t replace us.”
Players were a limited resource.
They were the heroes who protected Earth.
No matter how much people cursed and pointed fingers, replacement was impossible.
The timing was bad now, so they were taking the blame—but once the invading monsters were dealt with, people would turn around as if nothing had happened.
*The Hero Council will not fall.*
It was his pride.
It would never collapse like this.
His resolve to stand at the pinnacle of this world was still alive.
What should he do?
How could he turn this situation around?
*A way to accelerate the invasion…*
Once the invasion began, the masses would once again look to his power.
They would cry and beg for help.
Players were an irreplaceable, limited resource.
They would cling to his legs, begging for forgiveness.
That was when—
《‘The Island of the Gods’ is rising.》
《The ‘Tutorial’ has begun.》
Lucifer raised his head and looked out the window at the sky.
Above, a colossal island floated in the air.
And—
‘Tutorial?’
…Something was wrong.
Things that had long been stagnant were finally beginning to move.
*Randolph… you bastard, could it be…*
Lucifer realized it instantly.
At the center of that change was Randolph.
But what mattered even more was—
“You’re… there, aren’t you?”
The Angel of Blessing—
She was there.
He could feel it.
He knew it.
She was there.
Lucifer reached out toward the Island of the Gods.
Then—
《‘Completed Ones (Players)’ cannot enter.》
—
—
The hybrid that had burst through the ground.
Investigating underground to find out why an Abyssal monster had invaded proved fruitful.
*It’s connected to the Abyss.*
In the sewers, I discovered a warp connected to the Abyss.
But it was inactive.
*Ziiing!*
The moment I touched it, activation began.
At the same time—
《‘Administrator (Randolph)’ confirmed.》
《Do you permit synchronization?》
It had recognized me.
It seemed I was the catalyst.
A mediator connecting the two worlds.
And it meant synchronization was impossible without my permission.
There was only one choice.
To resolve all my questions, I had to allow it.
《Permission granted.》
《Synchronization with the ‘Island of the Gods’ has begun.》
《Synchronization complete!》
《The ‘Tutorial’ has begun.》
《‘Incomplete One (Park Hyunmyung)’ is entering the ‘Island of the Gods’.》
*Shiiing!*
