Editor: Tide
“Are you really not going to go?”
“I’m not going!”
I ended up getting irritated. I’d asked one or two times, expecting a good answer, but hearing him whine about not wanting to go the entire day just made me even more annoyed.
Hochi’s lips formed a pout. That’s it. I had enough. He was not a kid.
“Why are you so anxious to go without me? Do you need a guardian, huh?”
Hochi frowned and asked as if my words had been offensive, “Why? Why aren’t you going?”
I explained this for the last time. Was he asking again because he forgot about it? Or was he just acting up?
“I need to protect the house.”
“There’s a barrier already.”
I guessed he was asking why my house was safe only when I was there. I should have explained it to him earlier.
“The house’s security will only stay intact if I’m here. The barrier will collapse if I don’t come back in three days. That’s why I have to stay here.”
It would have been okay for me to leave Hochi, who was my clone, alone in the tournament, but he was on the verge of crying and throwing a tantrum. In the end, I decided to send Hochi to the tournament and protect the house. I explained once more to Hochi, who kept interrupting me. Frankly, I wondered if he had heard even half of what I said, but Hochi seemed to be convinced that I had to stay on the 60th floor anyway.
“Yong-yong is running around excitedly. What’s wrong with you? Just go and have fun without me,” I sighed.
Yong-yong, who was younger than Hochi, prepared all day, excited about the fact that he was going out. It was clear that he was probably making a costume for the tournament. Perhaps because of the dragon’s character, Hochi still showed a dependent side, compared to Yong-yong, who was young but independent and had grasped the concept of privacy.
Hochi’s personality was totally out of line with my character, who was his base. Even if we considered his growth and character-building process, he was still far from developing the same mindset as me. Nevertheless, his over-dependence on me had raised questions. It was highly likely that it was a dependence that arose because of someone else. If it was not born from my character, then there were chances that it originated from the remnant nature of others.
I thought I’d try to find out, but soon I gave up. Hochi was no longer a subject of my experiments. It wasn’t good to think of studying him whenever I habitually questioned him.
To hide my thoughts, I turned to the newspaper on the table as if nothing had happened. Hochi seemed to be in a sour mood while I had been talking to him, but I ignored it.
There was a lot of interesting news in today’s paper. Recently, a man working for the government’s Ministry of Awakened came to the first floor. The Order of Vigilance immediately paid him for information and handed it over to the newspaper. Thanks to that, newspapers, which used to be full of rumours about levels, had become packed with full-fledged articles. There were even corrections made to previous reports.
Of course, the information provided by government personnel was unreliable, so this newspaper article was also entirely inaccurate. The Tutorial’s newspaper company obtained information about the outside world and presented analyzing, opinionated papers rather than facts. Later, when conflicting information came in, there would be a correction article as if it were completely natural.
Nevertheless, newspapers had built up considerable credibility within the Tutorial, and challengers, who were always thirsty for outside information, read the paper carefully. I did so, too.
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[Taking over another awakened group. Did doing so propel the Awakening Clan’s Business even higher?]
Kim Min-hyuk, who is well-known as the former vice president of the Order of Vigilance, is making a drastic move.
Kim Min-hyuk gathered the awakened members of the Order of Vigilance to create the Awakening Clan.
Earlier this month, the clan acquired another awakened group, merging three of South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates this year.
…
╚═══════════════╝
It was an interesting article. I had thought Kim Min-hyuk would enter politics. However, he used his personal connections to bring together awakened Korean people scattered around the world.
Naturally, while everyone was thinking of establishing a new Awakened Clan, they set up an investment company with the gathered awakened.
It was not surprising that Kim Min-hyuk’s ‘Clan’ was devouring the business industry. Most of the awakened people working with Kim Min-hyuk had enough financial power to be called walking companies. They had broad connections and influence not only in domestic politics and business but also in oversea affairs.
Years had already passed since the Tutorial began, during which the awakened people began to use the money and influence they had earned to raise their social status. The Earth spoiled the awakened with favourable economic policies, valuable strategic resources, or power from state or private organizations.
If we ostracized or questioned the awakened, we would not be protected from the monsters that may appear at any time and place, nor would we have any way to fight with the awakened.
I wondered how Kim Min-hyuk would proceed with his plan. I was a bit anxious, but I was also looking forward to unexpected results. Well, Kim Min-hyuk would do well on his own. The next article caught my eye.
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[Lee Joon Suk Awakened, Completely Abandoned G-Class Monster Fighting Operation?]
╚═══════════════╝
It was another interesting article. The Earth’s G-class monsters had always been a specimen that interested me. Due to the different nature of each individual’s source, I couldn’t estimate just how powerful the G-class monsters on Earth were.
In the article, Lee Joon Suk had said in an interview, “It is not dangerous if all G-class monsters stay in their territories, so there is no need to risk it.”
It was an interview that would make him seem like a coward if you overlooked the power Lee Joon Suk had. In my opinion, Lee Joon Suk was the best challenger the Tutorial had nurtured. If he declared that he would not be able to attack, there were two main possibilities.
The first possibility was of excessive collateral damage occurring in the process of killing G-class monsters. The losses from damaging Earth were too significant compared to the benefit of killing the monster. Lee Joon Suk’s ability was also limited to wide-ranged destruction, so it was all the more so. This was why it was dangerous to specialize in range attacks. It’s a constraint in a situation where there’s a lot to protect.
The other possibility was, as Lee Joon Suk had said, a G-class monster was an opponent that wasn’t always hostile. I planned to research this later.
When I put back the newspaper, I saw Hochi sitting with his arms folded and a sullen look on his face. He’d been like that for a while now.
“Hochi.”
“What?” he snapped.
What a nasty tone. I still had a lot to teach him.
“By the way, do you want something from me?”
Hochi replied, “Of course I don’t.”
I knew he’d say that. He’s such a stubborn child. I took out about fifty novels from my inventory that I’d prepared in advance.
“I spent the entire night writing these. Just for you.” In reality, it had taken less than an hour to write these 50 books, but I lied and said that I stayed up all night anyway.
“With this, will you agree?” I asked, hoping he’d agree.
“I won’t.”
Damn it.
“Hey, don’t you believe me? I stayed up the whole night, you know?”
“I don’t believe you.”
Damn it all. I never thought novels wouldn’t work as a bribe.
“Why do you want me to be an apostle when you, yourself, are disconnected from the gods?” He asked, eyebrows furrowed.
I couldn’t refute that. I shouldn’t force others to do what I didn’t want to do.
“Then take this.” I took a small yellow ring out of the inventory and threw it to Hochi. Hochi, who I had thought would accept the flying ring, let the ring hit his body, and fall to the floor.
“What are you doing?” I questioned.
“What are you doing? What is this?”
Look at this child.
Eventually, with a deep sigh, I explained to Hochi. “That’s the only way you can talk to me, and then I can help you. Just take it.”
“Really?” Hochi picked up the ring that had fallen on the floor.
“But why did you make such an important thing to take this shape?”
“It should be as inconspicuous as possible.” Hochi’s face became sulky again when he heard my words.
“The ring will be proof that I’m with you. Take this if you don’t want to be an apostle. You and Yong-yong won’t be in danger in the tournament, but take it just in case.”
I didn’t tell Hochi, but there was a high chance that danger would approach them. The gods wanted to test Hochi and Yong-Yong’s abilities. If he met a challenger who was becoming an apostle in the tournament, he could get forced into a fight or offered a confusing proposal.
“But if there’s such a ring, can’t you give it to someone else? Then, you would have cleared the 61st floor a long time ago.”
“This ring is only meant for you.”
“Oh, really?”
Tutorial stages on each floor should be considered as different dimensions. And that ring couldn’t make a link that traversed dimensions. It could only send out my strength and will. Hochi would be able to make such a link.
So I gave that ring to Hochi, and now he and Yong-yong both were ready to go to the tournament.
Hochi looked a little relieved that he could receive my help when he was in trouble.
“Hey, what about those books?”
“Take it,” I answered. They were books I wrote for Hochi anyway.
Hochi soon felt better and went back to his room with books in his arms.
* * * * * *
“Yes. I’ll do well!”
When I saw Yong-yong answering bravely, clenching my hand tightly, I felt more anxious. Not long ago, I teased Hochi about why he was so anxious, but when it was time to let them go, I became nervous as well. My anxiety persisted when I saw Yong-yong, who was determined to do everything well.
“Yong-yong, if there’s anyone bothering your uncle-“
“I’ll scold them!”
Well, this was quite tough. It wasn’t Yong-yong or Hochi, but the person who picked a fight with them, who was the most dangerous.
However, it would be useless to scold such a person because it could be hazardous. As it was the first tournament to take place on a dimensional scale, it was not known what kind of people would emerge within the competition. I didn’t want to make Yong-yong, who lacked experience, face a big risk while trying to control his strength, for no reason. It was a selfish thought, but it would be better for Yong-yong to get hurt by his opponents rather than face risks while controlling his strength.
“Yong-yong, will you listen to your uncle?” I questioned him.
“Yes, I’ll listen!”
At least he was obedient.
I crouched down to Yong-yong’s height. Why was my son so pretty? I was not saying this because he was my son, but Yong-yong was really good-looking.
“Yong-yong, if any strange uncle comes to you asking to be your secret friend-“
“I’ll scold him!”
“Yes, scold him.”
Hochi looked at Yong-Yong, who had been answering with his hands clasped, and murmured, “That would kill the poor uncle.”
“He’d be better off dead.” I gave a slight smile.
<Tutorial 60th Floor (16)> End
