D.I.O

Chapter 205

Tan was telling the truth to the point of overdoing it, but Yongno knew that Tan didn’t [just] randomly choose this approach. When it came down to it, Tan looked down on humans and prioritized suppression and deception rather than truly respecting human free will. In this scenario, he only chose this method out of worry that his interference may hinder the humans from transcending; his decision did not come from a place of consideration toward humankind.

‘Right. The new mental defenses and restrictions on mental interference weren’t created to limit my actions! It’s a system made and implemented to stop the Noblesse!’

In truth, much of what the Noblesses did on Earth broke Union Law. If other species did the same thing, the Union would have already punished them. However, on Earth, as well as in the wider universe, the law always favored the powerful. For instance, in corrupt countries, influential people may cleverly twist laws and use them for their own gain or even go beyond that and commit illegal acts and suppress dissidence through political power. The Noblesse, as a force with great sway in the Union, cleverly maneuvered between the gray areas of interpreting legality.

However, the Noblesse still faced limitations. While the Union was the greatest force that ruled over the material world, it did not completely dominate the entire universe, as there were other forces that the Noblesse couldn’t ignore. Yongno did not know the exact circumstances, but the Reaper Organization, which belonged to the Nether World, had continuously hindered and restricted the Noblesse’s movements. The Reaper Organization even went as far as to alert the Enforcers, the leaders of the Union’s law enforcement officers, about the Noblesse’s actions on Ayan.

Due to this, it became impossible for transcendent beings, including Tan, to deceive humans or interfere with their minds. This was likely why Tan changed his approach and revealed his existence to humans so publicly.

/[However, we don’t intend to discontinue DIO services. Instead, I will give you humans the strength to defend yourselves.]

[I will explain further.]/

As he stood behind Tan, Melton continued where Tan had left off. Though Melton looked like a young boy, no one would be fooled into believing he was indeed a child.

/[The first announcement. As of now, all Masters can manifest their in-game characters in reality. The manifestation ability is activated by concentrating one’s mind and uttering the in-game player ID, and once used, the Master can bring the abilities and gear they possess within DIO into reality.]/

“… So cunning.”

Instantly, Yongno realized their intentions. A Master user’s combat ability was truly extraordinary. Most, if not all, people took the power for granted because it was something that was restricted to [in-game play], but to manifest that immense power into reality meant that Masters would control and wield enormous influence over Earth.

‘Even if I were alone… I could likely beat an entire aircraft carrier and its supporting forces without a scratch.’

In other words, manifestation meant that the existing national defense powers would lose all meaning. Of course, the major powers would probably try everything possible to put the Masters under their command, and once the new system took hold, no one would want DIO to go away. To be precise, DIO was already deeply involved and ingrained in society, so if it were to disappear, a plethora of problems would likely emerge.

/[The second announcement. Manifestation costs 10,000 Gem Points. In addition, the retention time is limited to one hour.]/

“Yongno, this is….”

“Right. It’s a means to force Masters to continually carry out missions. The enemies are interested in Earth because of the missions the Masters are conducting, so they’re implementing this system as bait to force Masters to continue participating. This is the primary motivation behind this change.”

Players could not easily collect ten thousand gem points, and Masters weren’t any exceptions. Even in the more lucrative missions, users received only 50 to 200 points. Of course, Merlin could also take part in missions that could yield 10,000 or more gem points depending on the circumstances, but only a handful of people had access to such missions.

/[The third announcement. We want to avoid a situation where the Masters disrupt society, so we’ll sell location trackers, which can locate Master-level users, to countries aligned with us. For countries that show us more favor, we are even willing to provide a wide-area shield to prevent space penetration as well as gear to track the possible location of future enemy attacks.]/

“They’re really roping everyone along.”

Although Masters were unbelievably powerful, when they were in reality, Masters were just ordinary humans unless they manifested. So, it would be impossible for a Master-level user to act recklessly if the Noblesse put location tracking in place. The situation would be different if a Master could operate from the shadows without concern of being located, but with real-time tracking, this was not applicable.

In addition, the ambiguous and subjective criterion of being seen as an ‘aligned’ or ‘favorable’ country made it impossible for any nation to act without the Noblesse’s assistance. Masters could instantly cross space, so they could deal immense destruction to other countries.

/[The fourth announcement. We will no longer idly stand by if the Noblesse is directly or indirectly attacked. At first, we’ll deploy Masters to take care of any situation, but keep in mind we have the power to restrict access or limit service to DIO. That’s the final announcement~!]/

After Melton’s cheerful voice stated the last line, the television screen returned to its original programming. A pre-recorded broadcast was proceeding normally as if saying nothing world-changing had been broadcast mere moments ago.

“Hey, Yongno, how many gem points do you have right now?”

“I have quite a lot, but….”

At the moment, Yongno had accumulated 150,000 gem points, but considering he needed one million gem points to save Miho, he didn’t have the amount he wanted. Of course, Miho’s revival did not need to occur immediately, but Yongno wished to see her as soon as possible… even if he didn’t know the exact outcome of her revival.

“Will there be a response soon?”

“Probably.”

While gathering his thoughts, Yongno closed his eyes.

***

Indeed, the response came quickly.

“Long time no see.”

The one who came to see Yongno was a tall Slavic beauty with blue eyes, pale skin, and blonde hair.

“… Uh… Ilyia?”

“May I come in?”

Ilyia was wearing a sophisticated-looking black suit and exuded a different vibe than what she gave off in DIO, where she was always seen dressed in a practical yet comfortable outfit to promote her stealth capabilities. She didn’t resemble her in-game image of someone who was slightly overwhelmed. The charm of a mature beauty came out naturally, and her slender legs stretched out under her short miniskirt, seemingly shining brighter in contrast to her black suit. With its prominent contours, her chest was bountiful, to say the least.

“First, let me introduce myself. My name is Sasha Ivanov from the National Security Agency of the United States. My personal details are a secret, but my rank within the agency is quite high.”

After seeing her wink, Yongno asked.

“You’re American? I thought you were Russian.”

“America is a multiethnic country. Although my mother was originally from Russia… anyway, what does that matter?”

Then, Ilyia glanced toward Eunhye, who was sitting next to Yongno. Ilyia wanted to be alone with Yongno, but with Eunhye already beside him, Ilyia decided not to pursue one of her easier ‘options of swaying him’ to avoid any possible conflict. When Ilyia sighed after making this mental decision, Yongno spoke.

“Yes, what’s important is that you came here as a representative for the NSA.”

The NSA was known as one of the most secretive agencies in the United States and could intercept all modern communications. However, since the US government denied these statements, many people joked about the NSA acronym, such as calling the NSA ‘No Such Agency’ or ‘Never Say Anything.’ This was especially seen in mainstream movies and dramas. Yet, no one denied the NSA’s existence and the power it wielded from the shadows.

“Well, since you’re already familiar with us and our capabilities, our discussions can be conducted quickly. First off, I’ve come here with the approval of the US President. In other words, this is not just my opinion; it is the nation’s public and formal position.”

As she said this, she looked at Yongno’s face to catch his reaction. She stared at him with a haughty and intelligent gaze, but Yongno answered smoothly with no change in expression.josei

“I guess he probably wants me to go to the USA and become a naturalized citizen.”

“…”

For a moment, Sasha was left speechless. Instead of showing the expected expression of being anxious, shocked, or unsatisfied, Yongno remained calm.

“I’m not surprised because I find it obvious. However, I do have to commend the US president for being so quick on his feet. The foreign US government acted before my local Korean government… In this case, rather than highlighting Korea’s inability, the US’s competence has shown brightly. I’m fairly certain my government hasn’t even properly grasped the current situation.”

In fact, the Korean government could not adapt to this urgent situation. Since, to them, DIO was nothing more than [that game], and the current government departments, including the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Gender Equality, Blue House, various public media outlets, etc., were currently driving public opinion against DIO through popular media.

“So, will you become a naturalized US citizen?”

Yongno laughed after hearing Eunhye’s cool tone.

“Well, I’ll have to look over their offerings and conditions before thinking about it.”

“Phew. You sure know how to play the game. Anyway, speaking of the benefits naturalization brings, first, you’ll be exempted from paying any taxes for your entire lifetime. Additionally, you will receive a 100 million dollar salary annually. However, this is just a basic salary; it may increase based on your performance.”

“And what else?”

One hundred million dollars, that is, 100 billion won in Korean currency, was the base salary, but Yongno didn’t respond to such an astronomical figure. Sasha shrugged before continuing.

“Furthermore, from the moment you’re naturalized, you will have immunity from all criminal offenses except treason. No matter what you do, if there is a clear reason, the US government will protect you.”

“Well, that’s a bit appealing. From now on, I’m sure I will be bogged down with legal tricks and loopholes here and there.”

Yongno nodded in earnest. Money was money, but he needed the means to protect himself and those he loved. If a nation-state were to frame him and manipulate the media, there was nothing that Yongno could do but be swept away by those in power. Of course, he could simply smash everything with force, but manifestation had a time limit. He could only deploy an extremely limited number of skills and powers in his regular ‘human’ body.

“The last part is a bit enticing? You’re saying that the money isn’t appealing?”

“Yeah.”

“What?”

Sasha’s eyes widened after hearing Yongno’s decisive answer. One hundred billion won was an amount of money that even the top one percent would never see in their lifetime. In fact, it was an amount that was hard to even imagine for an ordinary person, but Yongno was saying that this amount of money wasn’t enticing. However, Yongno calmly explained.

“Let me help you understand, Ilyia. For example, a Nimitz class aircraft carrier costs roughly four billion US dollars. Think about it, Ilyia. Wouldn’t it be impossible for me, Merlin Emrys, to sink that vessel with all its aircraft on board in one hour, not to mention all the frigates supporting the aircraft carrier?”

“…”

Sasha was briefly lost in thought. However, since she was also a Master level user, she knew it was impossible to block a Master’s power with modern weapons.

At one extreme, if she wanted to assassinate the President of the United States of America, there was no way the US president could stay alive. How could anyone stop her if she could deploy her stealth skills and move within the shadows? Even if she didn’t utilize her stealth abilities and just plowed through the White House with brute force, she could effortlessly deal with the modern weapons used against her and quickly kill the sitting President.

‘Of course, the US probably reached that conclusion already.’

Just because it was impossible to stop a Master with modern weapons didn’t mean that the President’s life was at risk. This was because, with the recent increase in the number of Masters, the total amount exceeded 200. Of course, more than 100 of those 200 Masters were Level 10, but even so, having more Masters on one’s side was better than only having a few. Suppose a Master stayed near the US President or any other figure, for that matter, and detected another Master with the Noblesse’s location trackers. In that case, they could fend off the attack, whether it be from a single Master or a group.