Chapter 167: 167
"...Mo, Monster Wave, here in Haeundae?"
Shin Se-hee asked, confused.
"Yeah, that's what I think."
I replied casually.
"Then, suddenly, what… Ah, but that's not the point! We don't have time to be hanging around here!"
Shin Se-hee stood up abruptly, her face ashen.
"Huh? What do you mean, what do we do?"
"If we knew about the Monster Wave in advance, we would have to quickly request cooperation from the Hunter Management Bureau, issue a civilian evacuation order, and also request support from the Academy…"
Suddenly, Shin Se-hee turned her head and exclaimed.
"Jin Yu-ha, are you saying that cooperation is difficult right now?"
I nodded.
As expected of Shin Se-hee, she had accurately deduced the current situation without any detailed explanation.
"Yeah, civilian evacuation is something we can do right away, but it's hard to get support. The Hunter Management Bureau and the Academy are busy dealing with the Japan incident, so they don't have the capacity."
"Hmm, I see…"
Shin Se-hee quickly regained her composure and fell into deep thought.
"Mongrel. Why couldn't you tell us about this in advance? It's honestly surprising to hear that something like this is happening suddenly without any preparation."
Kang Do-hee blurted out.
'Hmm, it's not 'honey' but 'mongrel'? Well, it's not the time to quibble over titles, so I'll let it slide for now.'
I thought and gave the excuse I had prepared in advance.
In the actual game, the Monster Wave was also noticed like this, so there was no real problem.
"Kang Do-hee, can't you feel it?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Close your eyes and concentrate. Can't you feel the powerful mana waves spreading right now?"
At my words, Kang Do-hee closed her eyes. Her eyes widened.
An enormous amount of mana was floating in the air.
And the other party members also realized this, their faces filled with surprise.
"How long has this been going on!"
"Just now."
At that, Kang Do-hee's mouth dropped open.
"...So, you only noticed it a little while ago too. I'm sorry for pressing you."
Kang Do-hee scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Yeah, it's fine."
'Well, to be honest, I knew in advance.'
If I had wanted to be honest, I could have prepared for this incident in advance.
I could have shared the incident with the party members and asked for help here and there.
It would have been suspicious for them to wonder how I could detect a Monster Wave without any forewarning, but whatever.
It was too late to worry about that now.
Anyway, the Utopia Party members would trust and follow me.
And if I had asked Master or Lina, the chairman, for help with a plausible excuse, we could have taken measures in advance.
But there was a reason why I kept this event a secret from the party members and everyone else.
I couldn't help but be cautious after experiencing the butterfly effect firsthand.
The appearance of demons a while ago.
It was a shocking incident where demons from the mid to late chapters of the game appeared in the early to mid-chapters.
Fortunately, the demon who appeared then was Yeon Woo-jin, and thanks to Lim Ga-eul's black magic stone support, we were able to get through it, but
I still think we were lucky.
If it hadn't been Yeon Woo-jin but another demon, and if it hadn't been for Lim Ga-eul's black magic awakening…
I still shudder to think about what could have happened.
Of course, the results of the butterfly effect from that incident were significant, but I didn't want to take such uncertain risks every time.
'Especially since this incident in the original game wasn't that damaging, it was just an event-like incident.'
It was a light incident where users could avoid any damage if they played well.
In the future, when a major incident with significant damage occurs in the main story, I didn't want to cause a butterfly effect even in event-like incidents like this.
Shin Se-hee, deep in thought, asked seriously.
"Then, where is the source of the Monster Wave? It would be good if we could go there in advance and take measures."
"No, I know where it is now, but there's nothing we can do about it."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's in the sea over there."
As I pointed to the sea.
"In, in the sea!?"
"Yeah, the gate opened inside the sea. So we can't use strategies like raiding the dungeon or blocking the entrance."
"...That's what it is."
At that, the party members' faces turned grim, sensing a bad future.
"Yeah, all we can do is kill the monsters that came out of the gate until they're all dead."
"...Somehow, every time I come out to play with you, we always end up getting caught up in something."
Lee Yoo-ri sighed helplessly and pulled out a shield from her subspace tattoo.
"Hmm, a battle where we keep killing monsters until they drop. It'll be more fun than playing in the water."
Kang Do-hee, on the other hand, pulled up the corners of her mouth, expecting something exciting.
Then, Lim Ga-eul suddenly remembered something and took a sharp breath.
"Oh, Junior! What do we do? The weapons we usually carry are in subspace, and we left our clothes in the changing room! Do we have to go right now? If we do, we'll have to fight in our swimsuits! If we get a weird nickname like perverted black magic or something…"
Lim Ga-eul frowned, worried about the consequences.
'That's a good thing.'
It's the charm of the Swimsuit Festival to see beautiful girls in swimsuits instead of their usual clothes, fighting monsters!
"...I barely managed to bring my bow."
With Sophia's whining as the last, I clapped to focus everyone's attention.
"Now, we have to move right away, so I'll give a simple briefing on the operation."
At that, the grumbling party members nodded confidently.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at the Haeundae Beach Festival preparation site.
Loud voices echoed back and forth, and the staff members preparing the site bustled about.
"Hey! Lighting! You got the direction wrong! Shine it on the center! No! You bent it too much!!!"
"I, I'm sorry!!!!"
"Have you checked the lineup schedule for today!?"
"Yes! Um, one of them might be a little late…"
"Hey, what are you talking about now! What are we supposed to do! Who is it?"
"Woo Jae-hyuk."
"Woo Jae-hyuk? Isn't he that ice boy or something?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Hmm, that thick-faced bastard. A hunter-singer with celebrity syndrome and a chip on his shoulder."
"Well, what should we do...?"
"What do you mean, what should we do! Keep calling him and nagging him! And if he's still late, ask the person before him to hold the fort for a bit. Damn it."
Among them, Seo Ah-yoon, who was in charge of this festival, took off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyelids.
Then, she turned to her subordinate and spoke in a nervous voice.
"Hmm, is the VIP seating set up?"
"...Yes. We've set it up as elaborately as possible, just as you instructed."
"Good."
"But, do you think that person will come here?"
The subordinate asked her, wondering if it was worth all this effort.
No matter how she thought about it, it didn't seem likely that he would come to such a place.
But it was hard to understand why they had squeezed out the already insufficient budget to prepare this much.
Seo Ah-yoon chuckled.
"She will not come. That Emperor-nim. She's a busy woman with a lot on her plate, so she probably won't come to a place like this."
"...Then why?"
"Well, basically, there's the noise marketing effect of sending an invitation to Emperor-nim. And if our festival goes wrong, Emperor-nim might pay a little more attention since we sent him an invitation, right?"
"...Ah."
At her words, the subordinate looked at her with newfound admiration.
It seemed that she had considered various circumstances, befitting a figure who had become a giant in both the broadcasting and stage industries at just 30 years old.
"And in case Emperor-nim transfers the ticket to someone else."
"Ah! If Emperor-nim transfers the ticket, then the person who receives it will definitely be someone extraordinary...!"
"Yeah, that's right."
'Actually, it's more of a personal gratitude.'
As she briefly recalled the past, she snickered, then quickly straightened her expression.
"Forget the nonsense, and check the hologram projector, motorized speakers, water cannon drones, and safety hunters one more time each!"
"...Yes, yes, yes! I'll get right on it!"
As the subordinate hurried off to check,
"Hey, can we talk for a moment?"
"...Who, Cheonhwa, you, you?"
Seo Ah-yoon's eyes widened at the unexpected appearance of an unexpected person
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