Chapter 171 :

Episode 34 : ‘Atlantic’ World (1)

[Seong HwanGi…]

[It's time for you to..]

"Haa..!" Waking up from a strange dream he just had, HwanGi was found sweating and panting all over.

"What was that..?" HwanGi asked, calming down only a little.

Even if he were to ask himself that, he didn't know what kind of dream it was or why he had dreamt that.

All he knew that the familiarity from that strange voice he heard, was something he felt he himself had once listened to.

"..That.."

After taking a long look at his surroundings to calm himself down, HwanGi mumbled while rubbing his head. "Who was talking to me in my dream? And what did she say to me?"

"..I can't remember.." 

Without a clue to what his dream meant, HwanGi shut his eyes close as if he was trying to recall it, but it was no use.

..That dream was too faint to remember.

"I need some fresh air."

———

Shaa~

The sound of the morning ocean and the breeze of the dawn were in tranquility when I had opened my eyes from my rest.

What greeted me at dawn was the sunrise that was rising higher and higher in front of me, shining sunlight onto the ice ship with everyone asleep on it.

But that wasn't enough to make me ignore a certain thing I dreamt of, a dream that was telling me something I wouldn't believe, was what I witnessed.

Whether that's true..

I thought while half asleep. ‘..What a foreshadowing dream I heard. It would be shocking if 'he' was the apostle, wouldn't it?’

"I don't want that to happen." I mumbled.

With my ominous dream aside, I had taken a look at the deck to find everyone was still resting, meaning that I'm the only one who is conscious.

"Looks like I'm the only one awake." I said.

‘Master, I'm awake.’ Lucifer added.

"How peaceful it is to watch everyone sleeping."

‘Master, are you ignoring me?’

I smiled without a word.

‘Master..’

As if I would forget that humiliation of having HwanGi discover me in my playboy self, I remained embarrassed by that still.

[Player ‘137’ has activated her Hidden Skill, ‘Crystal Clear’ Lv. 3.]

"Hm?" I heard before shifting my eyes over to the one who used that skill.

Noelle Absolute, who has received a ‘Numbers’ from me and has become a full-fledged player, was activating her skill without knowing herself.

The Hidden Skill, ‘Crystal Clear’ allows Noelle to absolutely hear, smell and see things clearly. And for my daughter who is deaf, this hidden skill was a perfect fit for Noelle.

That's why she could hear me when I said I missed her and apologized for abandoning her in the previous chapter… 

..Don't mind me breaking the fourth wall.

Lucifer warned me. ‘Master, please refrain from doing that.’

As for me who has no problem with hearing, I could receive sounds that are farther than my area, quite possibly catching the sounds of people that are whispering among themselves.

However, in Noelle's case, since the level is too low that Noelle could only perceive sound just like a whisper, it needs some improvement.

"..Lucas, you dumb fool." I cursed myself.

Lucas Absolute, the one who raised Noel and Noelle, didn't have the time or brain to teach Noelle to use her hidden skill, ‘Crystal Clear’ more. 

Instead, he let Noelle use her familiar. 

If only she had relied on her Hidden Skill more than the normal familiar skill, then Noelle may have an easier time despite being deaf.

"If it were me, I would have taught you better." I spoke while caressing Noelle's head.

Whoosh~

Before long, it was quiet when I was pulling the blanket back on Noelle and Noel, patting their heads because I felt like it.

Until I was interrupted by my name being called by a certain someone, I didn't expect him to be awake already.

"JoonChul-ssi."

Without a word, I moved my glance toward the man who was standing right in front of me, looking into his questionable eyes.

Finally, I said his name. "HwanGi."

And right after I spoke, HwanGi instantly responded with a question. "May I have a word with you?" 

I narrowed my eyes as though I found it odd and fascinating to see what HwanGi was planning to discuss with me. 

‘What's there to talk about? I wonder..’ 

In other words, I was also curious and naturally, I stood up carefully so as not to interrupt my children's rest before following HwanGi toward the forecastle.

Fwoosh~

Whereas the small waves wavered, we walked until we reached the upper deck, stopping when I saw HwanGi halted his step.

‘Oh?’

Watching him continue on again by walking toward the front, he stared at the ocean before gazing back to give me a glance that meant I should join him.

And so I did.

I stood while HwanGi quietly stayed there without saying a single word to me. 

While I didn't understand why he asked me to discuss something, but then turned quiet, I didn't bother and gave him time to rearrange his mind for a moment.

‘The ocean is tranquil after all. I wouldn't want to miss out on the sound of the wavering ocean.’ I thought, viewing the wide ocean.

When all of the sudden..

"Do you remember our first encounter, JoonChul-ssi?" At last, HwanGi spoke.

Upon how unexpected of a question it was, I cared less about that and reminisced about the past, recalling those memories of the original Wang JoonChul.

"Yes, I remembered how you were the odd ones out, running toward me at a speed that wasn't the same as the others."

"Eh?"

"You looked horrifying by the way." That's a lie.

If it were me, then I would look indifferent. 

Despite this, the original Wang JoonChul didn't think like I would think, so he was obviously frightened by HwanGi in the past.

‘Scare over a man charging at him? I have seen worse than that.’ I scoffed inwardly.

Not realizing I had lied to him, HwanGi replied. "I didn't mean to scare you, JoonChul-ssi."

"No, you weren't as frightful as the wolf pack."

"Haha, that's true." 

As HwanGi chuckled by himself, he finally paused and looked down to the ocean, asking me yet again.

"How is your hand? I wanted to thank you for saving me back there. If you haven't, maybe I would have died by a single arrow."

"If you die, then who will carry me? I had no stamina at that point, so either I help you or I die. I had no other choice."

‘Should I be glad that the original JoonChul was smart? I should.’ I nodded to myself.

As I was thinking to myself, HwanGi spoke to me. "You always think far ahead, don't you, JoonChul-ssi?"

"It's better than not. I have my comrades who are with me all the time. If I fail as their leader, then there is no point for me to guide them through the stages."

"I admire you, JoonChul-ssi. You're such a true leader that I'm jealous sometimes."

"Stop it with the lies. I know you have a hatred for me." 

"..?! No, I truly admire you. Even if you're rough sometimes, I do trust your decisions."

"..." I furrowed. "HwanGi, why must you be kind-hearted and heroic?"

"Huh? Isn't it obvious to befriend everyone instead of crushing each other? There is no good in killing and building up a grudge."

"Ho, I'll give you points for that. Killing does bring people to hate someone more."

"Thank you, I guess? I just mostly do what's right. If only we all worked together, then most of us would be able to fight alongside each other to get back to our planet."

"That will never happen." I firmly stated.

"You know a lot about all of this, so I figured you would say that."

‘HwanGi seemed strange today, or is it just me?’ I thought with one of my eyebrows raised.

At the moment, I didn't understand why HwanGi had started this conversation, yet I wanted to use this chance to teach HwanGi a lesson about being wishful isn't all that great as one had hoped.

So I explained. "Uniting to fight by another's side is unwanted for those who watch over us."

"Could it be that ‘Helpers’ don't want that?"

"It wouldn't be entertaining."

..HwanGi was speechless. 

"Scratch that. It's the ‘Creators’."

…He's utterly speechless.

Eventually, I let out a sigh. "You need to stop being kind, that's what I'm trying to say."

"No matter what you say, I'll always help those in need."

‘Well, would you look at that? He was speechless for a moment, but then immediately responded the second I brought up that topic.’ I scowled inwardly.

Regardless, I sighed again. "I would prefer the version of you looking frightening at the beginning than now."

Sooner or later, I made my way toward the deck where everyone was, prompting HwanGi to ask.

"Where are you going, JoonChul-ssi?"

I stopped and said. "Wouldn't everybody be hungry in the morning?"

"Ah–" 

By then, HwanGi seemed as though he was going to ask me something, yet he paused midway because his stomach unexpectedly growled.

..Another sigh left my mouth again.

Eventually, I requested HwanGi's help in cooking meals for everyone. "Give me a hand, HwanGi."

"Yes, gladly." HwanGi responded with relief and content, hiding his embarrassment behind that expression.

"Pfft." Silently letting out a laugh, I realized how ridiculous HwanGi was by trying to hide his expression.

Of course, I could see his expression clearly. It was just hilarious watching him try his utmost. 

‘It's just too funny. Pfft.’

———

At the headquarters of the ‘Helpers’, two angels who were under a punishment for days or so, were at long last freed from summoning mobs for the players to grind.

Those two angels were Ruby and Sapphire.

..Creak~

The ones who opened the door to let these two out, were none other than Citrine and Tanzanite. 

"Take this. I bought hot and cold lemon water for you two." Citrine smiled after looking at how exhausted Sapphire and Ruby were.

While Citrine was handing the hot lemon water to Sapphire and cold lemon water to Ruby, Tanzanite was staring at Citrine with awe. 

Tanzanite stated. "Isn't lemon your favorite, Citrine?" 

"Yes?"

"You're giving it to them even though you looked so thirsty for it!" 

"What? Can't I fantasize about drinking lemon water and eating lemon cheesecake?"

"Gosh, you're even drooling!"

After that, Tanzanite giggled blissfully while Ruby and Sapphire were silently drinking the lemon water, enjoying every sip.

"Isn't this surprising? Ruby isn't talking or bawling." Citrine mentioned.

A second later, Tanzanite joked around in front of Ruby. "Shh! Don't say anything unless you want Ruby to turn into a raging beast." 

"I can hear you loud and clear." Ruby ominously spoke up.

"Eep–! Ruby is mad! Citrine, please shield me from her!" Uneased, Tanzanite ran behind Citrine instantly.

"I'm trying to be calm, but you're making it freaking hard for me to do!" Ruby grumbled.

"Sorry, sorry! Also, don't use that f word! It isn't allowed here, Ruby!" 

"I can say whatever I want! You can't freaking make me!"

"Eep! Okay!!"

As Ruby and Tanzanite were sort of talking, Citrine took a glimpse at Sapphire who was sipping the lemon water in peace until Citrine suddenly witnessed a peek of Sapphire's chilling expression.

..It was only for a split-second, but Citrine saw it so transparently.

‘Seems as though she's still enraged by what ‘The Rebels’ Guild did.’ Citrine mused. 

Amidst Citrine's thoughts, Tanzanite's voice resounded to inform Ruby and Sapphire.

"You two must get going now because the stage is beginning soon. A lot of things happened while you two were away, so let's quickly get them over with!" 

"Tanzanite, it's bad manners to rush things." Someone joined in.

It was Tanzanite's sister, Zircon.

Shocked to see Zircon out and about, Citrine asked. "Oh, you finished your assignment? That was quick." 

"I had plenty of help from my sister, Turquoise. Thus, I managed to complete my task early today." 

"You both fixed the glitches caused by ‘The Rebels’ Guild, correct?"

"Only half of it. The rest are handed to the ‘June’ sisters."

"I se—"

Crunch!

Without warning, Citrine was rudely interrupted by Ruby who was groaning and crunching down on the ice cubes from the lemon water.

"Can we just get on with this already? I want to get some sunlight after being stuck in that freakish summoning room for days with Sapphire no less."

"Unpleasant." Sapphire uttered a word.

Swoosh~!

With only one word, the atmosphere swiftly decreased to a cold temperature, bringing chill down everyone's spines in this hallway. 

But..

"Sapphire.. This is freaking annoying, isn't it? Take a chill pill and stop being so grumpy. I'm the only one allowed to be the grumpy one, so back off!"

Whoosh!

Ruby, who was in this situation, noticed the chills and quickly increased the heat with her power, allowing the others to not suffocate from the chilly ambience.

Shortly after, Ruby narrowed her gaze at Sapphire, scowling at her. ‘You may have scared me in the past with your aura and such, but after being stuck with you, I see no traits of intimidation from you now, Sapphire.’

"I ain't scared of you, Sapphire." Ruby tauntingly gazed at Sapphire.

"That is enough." Zircon grinned without a care before glancing at Sapphire with an intrigued yet elegant gaze. 

Zircon warned with a soft speech. "You're both under probation. So I pray you won't cause problems for the rest of us." 

"Affirmative." Sapphire answered after settling down.

"Grr.. Fine." Ruby grumbled.

"A-Anyways, I shall not be lazy, and guide Ruby and Sapphire to get further intel for their duties as the overseers of stage 21 and 22." Tanzanite nervously voiced after experiencing the sheer cold heat at the same time.

From there, Tanzanite led Ruby and Sapphire elsewhere while leaving behind Citrine and Zircon alone by themselves.

Clattering..

In no time, Citrine randomly muttered. "I miss lemon cheesecake."

"Erm? You seem to love them quite a lot."

"You do understand that I require sugar to charge myself back to full capacity, Zircon."

"Yes, I do. It's rather interesting that I haven't found my favorite snack to eat yet."

"Is that so?! Why haven't you told me? I would have baked you cakes and sweets to taste."

"Sad to say, but my time is too little to enjoy such luxury. Thus, I must head back to monitor my sister, Tanzanite. I can't have her lazing around yet again, can I?"

"Indeed, it's disheartening to not have a taste of sweet."

With a smile, Zircon chuckled a little because Citrine was thinking mostly about sweets instead of following Zircon's conversation.

"Then I shall see you next time." Zircon bid her farewell to the daydreaming Citrine.

"Ah, bye. Oh, and.." Citrine snapped out of her sweet fantasy before requesting Zircon.

"Tell me who the troublemaker that is causing most of the problems in the system, Zircon. I'm utterly curious."

"Indeed, I shall." 

Slowly but surely, when Zircon had left the scene, Citrine pulled out a sour lemon lollipop as she murmured. "I like sour too."

Enjoying her lemon lollipop, Citrine turned solemn and uttered her concerns. "I do hope we can punish whoever sent those troubles to us. The system can't withstand any further malfunctions like this." 

"Everything must be fine and dandy."