Episode 285 [ Tower of Chaos (1) ]
A huge monster wave called the Cataclysm destroyed numerous countries.
The Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and Eastern Europe.
Many governments disappeared, and Europe, Russia, and China, which survived, lost a significant portion of their land to monsters.
The only countries that completely protected their homeland from monsters were the United States, the world’s most powerful country, and Korea, a divided country in the Far East.
For Korea, it was like a miracle.
However, the destruction of numerous countries and the loss of trade with those countries was no different from saying that the economy had suffered fatal damage.
Unlike the United States, which can sustain its economy solely on domestic demand, Korea was hit by a Great Depression that was worse than the IMF.
Many large companies collapsed and unemployed people poured into the streets.
If it weren’t for the development of mana stones and agricultural products whose growth multiplied thanks to mana, the economy itself might have collapsed.
However, neither the unemployed nor the people had a place to complain about their suffering. Fortunately, they survived.
While large corporations were collapsing, there were industries that were growing.
These were industries related to monsters and awakened people.
Today, producer Ahn Hyeong-min was also talking to Kyung-hoon about the industry situation.
That’s why item makers are setting up factories near the Cheonggyecheon shopping district. “It is difficult to mass-produce items, so we will probably go back to the small-scale workshops of the past.”
At Hyungmin’s words, Kyunghoon put down the glass he had raised.
It reminded me of a scene I saw at a shopping center in Cheonggyecheon a long time ago, or even a long time later.
Broken workshops and items taken into the hands of monsters.
But it hadn’t happened yet, and I couldn’t ask them to move to another place because it hadn’t happened yet.
It was as if warnings about doppelgängers were useless.
The Korean and U.S. governments, which received help from the cataclysm, also did not believe that there were monsters that infiltrated humans and imitated them.
I had seen strong monsters, but no one had seen a monster that was smarter than a human or a monster that could change like a human.
Perhaps they wanted to believe until the end that humans are the lord of all creation.
Kyunghoon took another sip from his glass of wine.
I didn’t feel drunk and the alcohol was detoxified immediately after entering my body, but I couldn’t help but drink it.
Kyung-hoon drank and looked around.
The bar was empty.
It was an ordinary bar near Guro Industrial Complex.
After the cataclysm, the bustling streets and bars had become deserted, and now, other than Kyung-hoon and his group, there were no customers in this bar.
The people drinking with Kyung-hoon were Ahn Hyeong-min, an item producer, and representatives of companies in which Kyung-hoon had invested.
The meeting where we gathered together to talk about the pattern manajin issue turned into a regular drinking party.
Although Ahn Hyeong-min and the companies that Kyung-hoon invested in have all become incredibly famous and grown, drinking parties have not changed much.
The conversation continued even while Kyung-hoon was drinking.
“But are you still working for the government? “You will probably be contacted by large corporations, not small workplaces like that.”
The CEO of Eden AI, who was already half drunk, asked producer Ahn Hyeong-min.
When they first met through Kyung-hoon’s introduction, Eden AI’s CEO Joo-man Choi immediately called Hyeong-min Ahn “brother.” Moreover, the CEOs of other companies have all become his older brothers.
I didn’t know that it was because of that friendliness that he surpassed his colleagues and became the CEO of ‘Eden AI’.
Hyeongmin chuckled at Jooman’s question.
“Originally, I belonged to the government… and since I received help from Kyung-hoon, I should give it back to others.”
“oh! cool guy!”
At his words, Juman shouted loudly.
Hyungmin Ahn has been serving as a channel to spread Kyunghoon’s knowledge to other producers.
Meanwhile, he also created many items and supplied them to the government and military almost free of charge.
“I heard you made an item gun this time. “You must have become a really rich person when you come out into society…”
“I’m still making a good living. And what is the importance of living better in today’s world? “If the defense line in the north collapses, everything will be meaningless.”
“But you blocked it well. “Aren’t we still pushing forward little by little?”
“Well, we are somehow maintaining the status quo.”
Hyungmin glanced at Kyunghoon, who was drinking alone.
Unlike others, he had some knowledge of the situation at the front.
Kyung-hoon was currently in charge of much of the battle against monsters.
The reason that the front line was maintained and that we were able to push north little by little was thanks to Gyeong-hoon entering North Korean territory and eliminating high-level monsters in advance.
Without Gyeong-hoon, it would not have been easy to maintain the status quo, let alone push northward.
The reason he stayed in the government and developed items was because he wanted to help Kyung-hoon in some small way.
“Once the weapons we are making and the robots that CEO Jeon is making are completed, we will be able to worry a lot less.”
The CEO of ‘Robomatrix’ nodded at the words of the CEO of ‘Manarey’.
“At this rate, I don’t think it will take long to have a prototype.”
Juman sighed at CEO Jeon’s words.
“I like both. I heard you received a lot of investment from other sources this time. We also have a joint venture with the U.S….”
Unlike the two companies that were growing rapidly with investment from various sources, ‘Eden AI’ was still relying on Kyung-hoon’s personal investment.
The development of ‘Eden AI’ was progressing well, but there was no way that anyone would invest in AI at a time like this.
“Well, there are a lot of restrictions. “There are more demands than we receive.”
As an early investor, Kyung-hoon could have stopped him, but he did not stop him.
Thanks to this, research on robot technology and mana weapons was progressing rapidly in the United States as well.
“Oh right. “Didn’t you say you received a call from a telecommunications company this time?”
“When did you implement mana communication while developing AI?”
Juman sighed at the words of the two representatives.
“Did we make that? It’s thanks to the pattern our investor took. what.”
Among the photos taken by Kyung-hoon, there was a photo of Manazine controlling a pyramid golem from a distance.
Eden AI succeeded in implementing mana communication by researching the mana gene.
“Something has changed, but we may end up delivering our first AI to a telecommunications company.”
Hearing his words, the other representatives raised their glasses.
“congratulations!”
Everyone was happy, but Kyung-hoon had a bitter expression.
Something seemed off.
Seeing Kyung-hoon’s appearance, Hyeong-min started talking about something else.
“I heard that you will be commissioned as a general this time.”
“yes? “General?”
Everyone was surprised by Hyungmin’s words and looked at Kyunghoon.
“Can an awakened person become a general?”
“You weren’t a soldier before. So does that make us a government-invested company?”
Kyung-hoon shook his head at what people said.
“I kept refusing… but it’s an honorary position anyway.”
Kyung-Hoon’s performance in the current military was above that of a division.
They took the mana stones and gave them compensation, but it wasn’t enough.
In order to hold on to an awakened person who can move through space, some kind of string had to be made.
There had to be some central point to unite the awakened people in the military and government.
For these various reasons, Kyung-hoon was given an unconventional position.
Kyung-hoon shook his head, but Hyung-min continued speaking with an excited expression on his face.
“Still, you are the first commander of the Awakened unit that is being reorganized at the division level. Since you are being commissioned as a general, I will make you a Samjeonggeom. “It may not be as good as the sword you have now, but I will do my best.”
Kyung-hoon’s expression darkened at Ahn Hyeong-min’s words.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Kyunghoon shook his head. It wasn’t him who was wrong.
As Kyung-hoon’s expression grew darker, the meeting ended quickly.
Everyone left, promising the next meeting, and Kyung-hoon, who was left alone, jumped up and climbed to the roof of the building.
Street lights stretched along the Han River. But the lights were off in the buildings in Gangbuk.
Although there was a mana stone generator, the nights in Seoul were not as bright as before.
Gyeonghoon looked blankly at the night view of Seoul.
Collapsed buildings appeared overlapping the intact buildings. It seemed like a black monster could be seen above the quiet Han River.
Gyeonghoon saw the scene in front of him overlap with the destroyed Seoul he had seen with his own eyes.
“Is it all because of me?”
Kyung-hoon proceeded with his work without thinking about the future. I wasn’t afraid of the future changing and didn’t think about what the outcome would be.
But I couldn’t ignore the stories I heard while working.
Kyung-Hoon took out a sword from subspace. A sword with a star drawn on the blade caught my eye.
It was a sword made by Omar based on the Samjeonggeom.
And Ahn Hyeong-min just said that he would make Samjeonggeom based on this sword.
Many of the things he did were leading to the results he saw in the future.
It was because of him that the Samjeonggeom was created, and it could also be because of him that a proper item weapon appeared.
He was not changing the future, he was creating the future he knew.
“Can’t we change the future? Or rather, would it be a different world without me?”
I couldn’t help but worry every time something like this happened.
If the results of the future were created by someone who came to the past, where did they start?
Is the future he knows the right future?
Kyunghoon stroked his chest. But there was nothing in the inner pocket.
“It would have been nice to have Eve at a time like this…”
Such high-level worries were not Kyung-hoon’s cup of tea.
Those worries were Eve’s responsibility and Kyung-hoon could only move forward. Even
though Eve was not by his side now, it didn’t change anything.
What he did Things were already moving on without him. There was no guarantee that a different future would come if I stopped here.
I knew the future, but changing the future was something else entirely.
“It’s already too late to stop.”
The goal hasn’t changed.
To return home.
It’s already been over a year since I’ve been here, but my desire to return home hasn’t diminished at all. I just
keep moving toward that goal.
Kyung-Hoon spread his hands on the floor.
Huaaaaa.
Mana spurted out and a black hole was created.
Kyung-hoon jumped into the hole.
***
Suddenly.
The monster fell with the sword Kyung-hoon swung.
The last monster that fell was blocked by a wall.
Kyung-hoon looked up. The wall. continued upward.
A huge tower rose endlessly through the clouds.
We had finally arrived at the tower.
Behind Gyeonghoon, there was a long line of monster corpses.
“Kwaaaaang!”
The nest owner’s screams were heard from afar. Since the territory was turned into a swampy field, the owner of the nest was likely to be angry.
If it were any other time, it would have been time to head back.
However, instead of returning, Kyung-Hoon released the sealed mana.
The blocked mana was released in all directions.
The wind blew and Kyung-hoon’s hair shook.
Gyeonghoon’s mana spread in all directions.
The nest owner’s screams suddenly stopped.
As before, mana soared throughout the city, but no screaming was heard.
Everyone felt it.
The humans who suddenly appeared were not their prey.
“Now S-class.”
Kyunghoon clenched his fists.
And then I swung my fist at the wall in front of me.
Kwaaaaang!
Although it was a very solid wall, it could not block the fist of an S-class awakened person.
The wall exploded.
Kyung-hoon entered the collapsed wall.
Rumble.
Debris continued to fall after Kyung-hoon entered.
A sign hanging on the inner wall was also caught in the falling debris.
The sign had ancient hieroglyphs written on it.
[Welcome to the Tower of Babel.]
