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Chapter 11 – Seed of Rebellion II
Chapter 11 – Seed of Rebellion II
Chapter 11 – Seed of Rebellion II
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 11 – Seed of Rebellion II
3
Thanks to the Saintess, I succeeded in pinpointing the location of the KoreanVillage villain.
It would be nice to describe it as if I immediately moved and struck down the KoreanVillage villain… but in reality, it took a bit more time.
You see, the schedule of a regressor is as tight as a superstar who’s just started to be praised by the public.
No matter how despicable the KoreanVillage villain may be, I had far more urgent matters to attend to.
I needed to upload the “Oler Performance Video (Advanced Version)” on SGNet with a secondary account, reorganize the Korean Awakened Federation organization, go on a food tour in Busan, prepare for the meteor shower, and so on and so forth…
No joke, if you calculate based on my calendar starting from the time travel debut, it was packed all the way up to the 7th year.
Finally, it wasn’t until nearly two weeks had passed that I found some time to meet “TodayJoined” in person. And even that was a barely squeezed-in arrangement.
I asked the Saintess (more accurately, through the character she portrays, the “Saintess of Salvation”) to set a time and place for our meeting.
And as I arrived at the agreed location, who else but a muscular young man with broad shoulders was waiting?
“TodayJoined, right?”
“Ah… ZeroSugar, is it?”
“Yes. Nice to meet you. Please feel free to call me Doctor Jang.”
“Nice to meet you too. My name is Lee Jooho.”
We shook hands.
Firm grip.
I could feel the calluses of someone who navigates through life’s rough seas with their own will.
As a side note, I personally believe that one’s character can be read more from their hands than their face.
“Are you perhaps a teacher by any chance?”
I asked, glancing over his shoulder.
“Ah.”
Lee Jooho chuckled subtly.
The place we met was the elementary school playground. More accurately, it should be described as the elementary/middle school, since it was split in half.
Peek-
Small children were peeking out from among a pile of junk that would have already been scrapped if a used car dealer had seen it. One of them quickly hid their head like a squirrel when our eyes met.
How cute.
Lee Jooho scratched his head.
“Well, um… for the time being, I’m teaching elementary school students.”
“It’s really impressive given the current situation. Can I call you Teacher?”
“Oh, it’s okay. Just call me whatever you’re comfortable with. I wasn’t originally a teacher anyway.”
Lee Jooho let out a wry smile.
“I was just a math tutor working at a private academy and earning a monthly salary… Somehow, I ended up being the only one left to stand in front of the class. After finishing guild work in the morning, I teach part-time in the afternoon. And one of our guild members also serves as a teacher for health education, an art teacher, and the director of the library.”
“Oh…”
Let me tell you in advance, my liking for Lee Jooho had already surpassed level 5 at this point.
What’s up with this young man? Is he an angel?
“Oh, right. ZeroSugar, you must have come from quite far away in this heat. If you’re thirsty, please take this…”
As Lee Jooho spoke, he handed me a Zero Coke beverage.
Since the Gate Incident, such commodities had always been treated with great care.
He probably deliberately prepared the Zero drink considering my username ‘ZERO_SUGAR’. He was someone who knew how to turn intangible feelings into tangible materials.
“Oh…”
Level 6 of liking surpassed.
“Well, I can’t refuse such a thing… but I’ll gladly accept it. Thank you.”
“Haha. I’m glad. I thought you might like it when I saw your ID.”
“Of course. It’s even more delightful to see you after a long time. And although it’s belated, please accept my condolences.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
We sat side by side on the half-ruined bench in the elementary school playground.
Let me introduce him once again. The young man’s name is Lee Jooho.
He operates in the Pocheon-Cheorwon area. The place we met was in Pocheon.
While the guild Lee Jooho belonged to couldn’t dare to compare itself to AAA-grade guilds like Samcheon World or Baekhwa, it had its own integrity.
But according to my memory, it was a small guild that vanished like a ghost at some point. Where could such a guild exist in this day and age?
“So, Mr. Jang…”
After some preliminary conversation, Lee Jooho turned to me.
“You mentioned that you have information about KoreanVillage.”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
Lee Jooho’s black pupils darkened. The anger of losing his beloved father must be burning like gunpowder in his heart.
Lee Jooho bit his lip.
“Will you help me kill that bastard?”
Hmm.
I set down the aluminum can.
“Whether to kill him or not is up to Mr. Lee Jooho to decide. My role is simply to escort Mr. Lee Jooho to his destination.”
“When you say ‘destination’…”
“Of course, it’s where the KoreanVillage villain resides.”
“…!”
Lee Jooho’s eyes widened.
“Wow! Do you know where that bastard lives?!”
“Yes.”
“How on earth… Oh. Perhaps…?”
The unspoken question Lee Jooho swallowed was whether I was somehow acquainted with the KoreanVillage villain.
I shook my head.
“Don’t worry. I’ve never even seen the guy, let alone being acquainted with him.”
“Ah.”
It would later be revealed that at this moment, I unintentionally lied.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to doubt you, ZeroSugar. But then, how did you manage to find out his location…?”
Of course, it was thanks to the Saintess’s ability called “Clairvoyance.” Anyone who listens to my story would gradually realize that the Saintess is truly a genius Awakened.
[Proofreader – Gun]
“I can’t disclose that. I’ll just give you a hint: it’s thanks to my awakening ability and the Constellation I personally worship.”
“Ah…”
“Will you follow me?”
As I stood up from the bench, Lee Jooho also rose awkwardly to his feet.
Instinctively, he glanced in the direction of the abandoned school, where the young students were hiding among the debris.
“Uh, I didn’t expect things to turn out like this, and I didn’t tidy up… I have guild work and school work. Um, I’m really sorry, but could you wait a little longer?”
“No. There’s no need for that.”
“Huh?”
I grinned.
“It’s very close by.”
The reason I intervened in this case, rearranging my busy time traveler schedule to make room, was because of how close the situation was.
“If it’s close, then how…?”
“Pocheon. Mr. Lee Jooho, the KoreanVillage villain, and I are actually from the same neighborhood.”
“…”
Lee Jooho’s mouth fell open in shock.
What could he possibly hide?
This incident was a shoddy quest that could be solved with just one punch without any burden.
4
[Please proceed to the alley on the right.]
[Then, take the next left alley.]
[Continue straight ahead.]
The performance of the limited edition navigation product ‘Saintess’, which only I could use worldwide, was impeccable. Thanks to it, I could find my way even with my eyes closed.
“…”
Meanwhile, behind me, Lee Jooho’s bewildered expression didn’t subside. He was following me.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, yes. I-I mean… It’s just, the information was so unexpected…”
Understandably, he was taken aback.
Connecting to SGNet meant that the KoreanVillage villain was also an Awakened. But since Pocheon wasn’t a major city, all Awakeneds here would know each other.
“Oh! Team Leader Juho!”
Sure enough, as we walked, some local militia members approached us, recognizing Lee Jooho.
These days, militia groups were a must-have in every village. According to the latest trends, militia members regarded unfamiliar outsiders, like me, with suspicion.
“Excuse me, but what brings you to this neighborhood?”
Lee Jooho stepped in for me.
“Oh, uh… My hometown friend came up for a walk together.”
“Your hometown friend? Ah, it’s rare to see such friendships in this day and age.”
The militia member opened the roadblock.
“Well, if it’s Team Leader’s acquaintance, it’s fine. You may pass.”
As we passed through security, the street became a bit tidier. Perhaps this was the affluent area performing the role of Gangnam’s Cheongdam-dong in Pocheon. The original Cheongdam-dong had turned into a wasteland.
“Hey, ZeroSugar. Are we really in the right place?”
As we entered the neighborhood, Lee Jooho’s already uneasy voice started to tremble.
“Why? Are you feeling uneasy?”
“To be honest… Yes. This is where most of our guild Awakeneds live. There’s not a single member from other guilds here.”
“Is that so? Then you should be prepared.”
“…”
Truth be told, whether Lee Jooho was prepared or not didn’t matter much to me. After all, I had come here mainly to see how impressive the KoreanVillage villain’s face was.
Unlike Lee Jooho, I didn’t really have any intention of killing KoreanVillage. Just give him a good scare, warn him to stop causing trouble on the internet, and that should do it.
“Here we are.”
Before long, we arrived in front of a house. Red bricks. A small front yard.
It wasn’t particularly fancy, but in this era, living in a standalone house rather than a communal residence already implied privilege.
Lee Jooho’s eyes flickered. It seemed to be the house of someone he knew after all.
“Oh my goodness.”
“This is the place my Constellation informed me about. You know, the Saintess of Salvation? She’s the most reliable among all the Constellations. Shall we take a look at the face?”
“Um, Mr. ZeroSugar. Wait a moment…!”
Lee Jooho tried to grab my shoulder, but I had already rushed into the mansion.
As befitting the hideout of an Awakened, the mansion was equipped with various security devices. However, I breezed in like a summer mosquito.
Why? Because I was the one who first conceptualized and implemented the design of these security devices… as a Regressor.
Passwords? Traps? Special-made spider webs? They all crumbled before me, the copyright holder, in less than a second.
“Oh, what the??.”
Behind me, I heard Lee Jooho’s astonished voice. But I ignored it. In infiltration operations like this, swift execution was crucial. Once you entered, it was best not to look back and finish quickly.
If this world were a game, my profile would probably show [Primary Job: Regressor], [Secondary Job: Assassin (Thief)].
In the blink of an eye, I reached the heart of KoreanVillage villain’s hideout.
“Heh… Here, blue, huhehe…”
The KoreanVillage villain was busy drawing on a canvas.
So engrossed was he in his painting that he didn’t notice my intrusion at all.
Approaching right behind him, he finally perked up as I got close.
“Hm? Who…?”
Critical hit to the nape of the neck. Bonus: instant knockout.
“Eugh.”
Flopping down, the man in a white doctor’s gown crumpled like a rag doll. My last act of kindness was adjusting his fall to avoid the paint palette.
Target secured, mission accomplished.
Earning my keep.
“Hm?”
The problem arose from this point onwards.
While knocking out the KoreanVillage villain was all well and good, upon belatedly confirming his face, I was taken aback.
What’s this?
“No way…?”
The KoreanVillage villain, lying on the floor with swirling eyes, turned out to be… one of the 399 survivors who were summoned to Busan Station, just like Seo Gyu or me.
“What a coincidence?”
Given that the number 399 wasn’t small, such coincidences were statistically possible. But surprisingly, not only was the KoreanVillage villain one of them, but also many of you, who are listening to my story, have a face.
Just like in the previous episode.
Do you remember when our passionate SG Guy, Seo Gyu, was getting his butt kicked by the tutorial fairy?
– Hieeeeeek!
At that time, there was someone who thoroughly enjoyed Seo Gyu’s misery.
“Someone, someone’s down…! Someone! Hieek! They’re down! Hiiiieeek! Someone’s down!”
As they ran away, scattering Seo Gyu’s organs and blood, the culprit who caused a spectacle at Busan Station, albeit with a slightly redder sea, was none other than Sim Aryeon.
“Why is this person here?”
The world really isn’t that big after all.
[Proofreader – Gun]