D.I.O

Chapter 208

‘It barely meets the qualifications to be considered a line of defense, but still….’

Since his internal energy capacity was severely limited, Yongno couldn’t withstand a high-caliber sniper rifle bullet if it hit a weak spot like his temple. Otherwise, his basic internal energy barrier could probably endure any lesser attack. Even in the worst case, his condition would still allow him to manifest.

‘The problem is how the manifestation occurs.’

If his real body directly received his in-game avatar’s power, he could recover from even the slightest injury. On the other hand, if the manifestation only made him look like his in-game avatar before returning Yongno to his original state after an hour, he wouldn’t heal from any injury.

‘I’ll have to try experimenting at some point and collect information.’

Yongno followed the NIS employee’s guidance and got into a black sedan. The car left immediately and moved to a safe house in Namsan, a southern region of Seoul.

“I’ll have to cover your eyes for a moment.”

“You’re really pushing your luck. You initially told me that I didn’t do anything wrong.”

As Yongno smiled while speaking, the NIS employee nervously laughed.

“The place you’re entering is confidential. These precautions aren’t meant to harm you or allude to any wrongdoing.”

It was obvious that the NIS employee was lying. They were heading to a remodeled underground bunker surrounded by numerous troops. The government, aware of the fact that the US was recruiting Korean Masters, hastily decided to gather all of the aforementioned players.

“This is your lodging accommodations. The Minister is currently busy elsewhere, so please wait here for a moment.”

“Oho. So, are you telling me you’re going to keep me here for a while?”

“The government is currently in a state of chaos due to the substantial loss of life from the recent alien attack. Please wait a moment.”

Yongno nodded politely as if he understood. Soon, the man slightly lowered his head and left the room.

‘If they’re going to keep me waiting because they’re busy, couldn’t they have brought me later? They sure are easy to read.’

Unsurprisingly, the NIS’s actions were to prevent the Masters from being coaxed over to the US’s side. Since the conditions, responsibilities, and overall plan of action regarding the Masters had yet to be finalized, the Korean government’s higher-ups were blindly rounding up the Masters, setting them aside, and buying some time.

“My cell phone… doesn’t have any signal. Of course. Based on how things are going, they probably won’t even let me access and play DIO.”

This was something Yongno couldn’t let happen. Though, if others knew what he was thinking, they might say something like, ‘Are you going to die if you can’t play a video game?’ Yet, the reality was that 12 hours in real life was six days in DIO, so even if Yongno missed just one day, the loss was substantial. Moreover, Yongno had a pile of research that he needed to get to in DIO.

“I’ll wait 12 hours. In the meantime, I need to get ready.”

Yongno went into his lodging area and retrieved the jewels he had put in his pocket. The jewels were filled with mana generated in Pathway to Hell.

‘I’ll make a spiritual pathway system!’

Though he was given the option to utilize manifestation, Yongno couldn’t maintain that state 24 hours a day, so there were bound to be swaths of time where he’d be open and vulnerable. Once he manifested as a Master in real life, he’d become a superhero that no modern weapon could defeat, but once he was returned to his ordinary body, a standard rifle could kill him. Yongno was determined to narrow that gap.

‘Come to think of it, if they can’t control me, they might mess with my family… well, let’s take care of my situation first. It’s not like my father will come and rescue me.’

Gulp.

Yongno swallowed the jewels he had brought and sat cross-legged on the bed. Soon, his body was full of mana, and his consciousness began to sink deep into his mind.

*** Personal & Group ***

The alien’s assault, which everyone thought had ended after one wave, reoccurred consistently. In South Korea, the Legion and Grotesque appeared and attacked about twice a week; globally, there were dozens of attacks every day. The loss of life had reached such a tremendous figure that it was meaningless to quantify it, and the world was busy coming up with theories and controversies over the existence of these alien attacks and their relations to DIO.

And in such a situation, the Korean government’s move was so novel and bewildering that even other countries felt befuddled.

“They’re asking Noblesse for reparations?”

Yongno had left his room to eat when he met Hanma, a Master who’d also been rounded up. While chatting, Yongno couldn’t help but frown. Yongno had assumed various scenarios playing out, but he had never even imagined the Korean government’s current choice of action.

“Right. The government, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Gender Equality, and other government departments are accusing the Noblesse of being partially responsible for the alien’s attack. In addition, the media outlets are shaping and misleading public opinion by showing images of people wounded from the alien attacks and users who have been judged insane after playing DIO. Well, anyway, the bottom line is that the government is demanding that the Noblesse pay reparations for damages.”

“What idiots… no, at this point, it’s probably more appropriate to say that they’ve gone insane. The situation has come to a dire point, yet they’re still acting like children.”

“Typically, politicians in this country wear blinders when money is involved.”

Hanma picked up a few meatballs spread across the table and ate them.

“Whether it makes sense or not, the important thing is the scale. They’re demanding one percent of the income Noblesse make.”

It was difficult for the public to know the exact amount because the government had requested a percentage rather than a specific currency value. At first glance, one might look at the vague percentage and think, ‘That isn’t asking for much, right?’

“That one percent is four trillion won.”

“Phew. That figure is large enough for anyone to throw away their pride and face. Also, I’m sure that percentage and corresponding value only refers to the money the Noblesse earn in Korea.”

The Noblesse provided its virtual reality service, DIO, at an unbelievably low price, but it still made an astronomical amount of revenue.

DIO, which boasted an unprecedented four billion subscribers worldwide, was essentially free to play; however, in-game, gold was required to buy buildings or use various services.

Players could obtain gold through hunting, but DIO constantly collected this currency through the Exchange Center. Due to this, users had little gold, and the market had a lack of cash flowing through it. In the end, players spent real-life cash to obtain in-game gold.

Furthermore, many people used their gold to buy buildings and advertise in DIO or to run an office or store. Even though most sales were microtransactions, there was an added fee when exchanging real-world money for in-game gold, so the Noblesse instantly transformed into the foremost multinational company.

“In other words, making too much money is the main problem.”

“Right, and on top of that, the Noblesse have no intention of bribing anyone. They look down on us, so clearly, they wouldn’t be willing to please humans, right?”

As a result of this exact scenario, the Korean government was pressuring Noblesse by swaying public opinion and generating a fervor over DIO’s harmfulness. However, the question was whether this approach would work on the Noblesse, as it had for many other companies.

“They’re trying to tame a company… unless people are brainless and blind, they can’t help but notice that the Noblesse are the ones who are taming humans.”

Yongno and Hanma weren’t the only people in the cafeteria; there were others muttering in disbelief at the current events. There were 12 Masters in Korea, but after Scorpion’s death, that number became 11. Unfortunately, one person died during the recent alien attack, ultimately leaving the number of Korean Masters at ten individuals.

“Why do I only see five?”

“Arthur has already signed a contract to cooperate, and I’ve heard that the other four have already gone abroad. The government has found it difficult to locate them.”

The four others that weren’t present had either accepted the terms given by the US, applied for asylum in other foreign countries, or, in Eunhye’s case, could not be identified. Eunhye, or Arc in DIO, was always covered in armor from head to toe, so no one recognized her. In any case, since these individuals didn’t commit any crime, the Korean government found it difficult to track or stop them.

“Well, that’s why they kidnapped us like this. Don’t the higher-ups know that their actions are illegal?”

When Hanma grumbled in annoyance, Ohje spoke in a thin, low voice while glancing at the NIS agents around them. He had been listening to Yongno and Hanma’s conversation intently, not eating.

“It’s not even funny. Scorpion’s funeral wasn’t properly concluded when they dragged me here. I thought I had murdered someone or committed some sort of capital crime.”

Hanma and Ohje, as well as the other gathered Masters, did not seem to have a good impression about being forcibly rounded up. However, Yongno realized that none of them resisted.

“You don’t have enough gem points to manifest?”

“I don’t. It’s not like I was told beforehand that I needed to carry around 10,000 gem points. I’ve always been lacking gold and experience points, so gathering gem points was the least of my concerns.”

Ohje groaned before leaning back in his chair. Ohje was 192 cm tall and had a solid body, but if he couldn’t manifest, he was just another regular human being. A single pistol shot could kill him. Thus, it was virtually impossible for him to break through the perimeter set up by the special NIS agents.

“Well, unless they have a death wish, it doesn’t seem like those agents will attack us anytime soon.”

As he muttered this under his breath, Yongno looked back at Dongsoo.

“Mr. Lancelot, do you have enough gem points?”

“Unfortunately, no. I haven’t been participating in many missions.”

Dongsoo was also taken here after being essentially dragged away from his home. Lea had the required gem points, and she wanted to step in and protect Dongsoo, but eventually, Dongsoo convinced her not to interfere or resort to violence. Although Dongsoo didn’t know what exactly was going on, he thought it was a bad choice to confront the government.

Ting!

While talking, Yongno smiled after feeling the energy inside his body. It was a sign his spiritual pathways were growing. Once he succeeded in laying the spiritual pathway system in his body, Yongno wouldn’t need to go through an arduous and complicated process to utilize magic power or perform martial arts. Although his mana capacity would still be lacking, he’d be able to use his abilities with no delay.

“The Minister has arrived. Masters, please stand.”

Then, as a NIS agent spoke, a door opened. It was a solemn atmosphere, and a newer Master who had recently reached Level 10 hesitated before standing. Yet, Yongno, Hanma, Dongsoo, and Ohje did not move from their seats.

“Please stand.”

One of the burly men in a suit approached and verbally pressed the four with a gruff voice. The atmosphere the burly man exuded would frighten anyone with a weak spirit, but the four Masters were beings who lived on the battlefield where blood splattered every day.

“I’m sorry… but why? Am I a soldier? Am I a civil servant? Who are you to force me?”

“The fact that kidnappers expect courtesy from their hostages means that you’ll eventually subdue us by force if necessary, right?”

Since Hanma and Yongno disapproved of how they were being treated, their attitude toward the agent was aggressive. Dongsoo didn’t say anything, but he still had an unhappy expression.

“Hahaha. You guys must be angry. I apologize for employing such a coercive method, but don’t you all understand that the current situation is urgent? It is wartime, after all.”josei

A middle-aged man with an entourage spoke as he entered the cafeteria. The man was fat and wore a business suit.

“Who are you?”

The fat man sat at the topmost seat of the table and answered Yongno’s question.

“I’m the Minister of Defense. I am here on behalf of His Excellency, the President.”

Defense Minister Oh Hyeon-Jo drank a cup of tea placed on the table by an attendant. He had a relaxed attitude despite the not-so-welcoming response from the four Masters.

“The country is currently in a state of emergency due to the attacks initiated by the extraterrestrial beings. Military units have been stationed near the capital city, and the police have been armed with rifles. However, we need your strength, as our efforts won’t be able to stop the alien forces and will only delay the inevitable.”