READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 9: Home (1)
[In the early hours of today, an unbelievable event occurred at Bosingak Pavilion in Jongno-gu where a bell-ringing ceremony was taking place. Over ten thousand people collectively lost consciousness. Let’s watch the video first to see what happened.]
…
The video contained an astonishing scene. A winged woman appeared in the sky with a bright light.
[People were stunned by the appearance of a woman who looked like an angel. She moved her lips as if saying something, but nothing could be heard. Shortly after, a young man asked the angel a question, and his head exploded like a firework.]
A scene of a human being killed was fully broadcasted, even though it was pixelated, its brutality was vividly felt.
[The tens of thousands of people at the scene panicked. The angel murmured something as if explaining, and then people began to lose consciousness. Roughly ten thousand people fell asleep.]
The people shown in the video fell unconscious like cut-off dolls.
Eventually, the police are seen investigating the remaining people.
[According to witnesses, the angel claimed to have taken people aged 15 to 29 to another dimension. Although it was a bizarre claim, there were many witnesses, and the appearance of the angel was captured in the video, making it hard not to believe.]
[This phenomenon happened nationwide, especially among those aged 15 to 29. There were reports of angel sightings everywhere, and many people fell into a trance-like state. In total, more than 128 countries have confirmed cases of the trance-like state, including Japan, China, Russia, and the United States.]1.8 billion people have been kidnapped to another world.
Not their physical bodies, but their souls.
Shocking news articles were published one after another on the news portal sites.
Netizens had two different reactions to the news:
└What’s going on? Are the journalists drunk?
└Why are only these absurd and unbelievable news articles being posted?
└Today isn’t even April Fools’ Day.
└1.8 billion souls were kidnapped? This is fake news on an enormous scale.
└Haha, the journalists are really conspiring.
└Even the video seems like it’s manipulated.
Many people couldn’t believe the obituaries which seemed a bit ridiculous, but there were also many who believed them without a doubt.
“Are the reporters all children?” one person scoffed. “Do they have nothing better to do than publish fake news from the New Year?”
“You can see this story is being shared on other websites too, you know,” another chimed in.
“I will never believe these NEWS guys, even if they above told us to run because a war had broken out, I wouldn’t believe them,” someone else added, laughing nervously.
Despite the skepticism, a surprising number of people found the news believable, especially as it was being reported across all types of media, from broadcast TV to radio and the internet. It was hard to deny that this was a real, serious situation unfolding before their eyes.
“I thought it was just a hoax, but it’s actually real,” one person commented.
“What the hell is going on?” another asked.
“I read a detailed article about it on another website. Apparently, it’s a survival game that lasts for 20 rounds,” someone else added.
“So does that mean I’m going to be captured by an angel too?” a frightened voice piped up.
“Don’t worry if you’re between 15 and 29 years old,” another replied.
“But I’m still worried. There are 1.8 billion people who aren’t waking up from sleep…” a concerned voice trailed off.
“My friend’s older brother was really captured. He’s still breathing but he won’t wake up,” someone said.
“I’m a 49 years old father, and my only middle school-aged son won’t wake up no matter what I do. Please, someone, tell me what to do,” another pleaded.
“My little brother is sleeping and won’t wake up. What should I do?” yet another asked.
“What are we going to do? Is the world ending or something?” someone else quipped cynically.
As Ryu Min read through the comments on his phone, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
“It’s finally started,” he thought to himself.
The internet was buzzing with talk of the survival game, and Ryu Min was reminded once again that he was back on Earth.
“But this is just the beginning,” he reminded himself, scrolling through another article:
“At around 5:20 AM, approximately half of those who had fallen into comas woke up… The other half stopped breathing and died, resulting in an estimated 900,000 deaths in Seoul alone, and 4.5 million across the country… A historic disaster in which 11% of the population died… The worldwide death toll from the coma shock is estimated to be around 9 billion people, causing chaos across the globe.”
Although the obituaries had been dealt with, there was still a bigger problem at hand.
[A survivor said that they created a character as if entering a game and completed quests…]
[They fought against goblin monsters on the plains, armed only with their own bodies…]
[Breaking news! Survivors calling themselves players are able to summon weapons and armor out of thin air…]
“The real problem is that the players’ abilities have been brought into reality,” Ryu Min thought to himself.
Even though he killed the angel and the players in his area didn’t hear any explanations; it didn’t take them long to figure it out.
“Since the system itself is based on abilities rooted in the soul, they can still be used even if the body changes.”
Of course, this information was learned from torturing the angel in the previous regressions.
“At present, their stats are not high, so it won’t have much impact… but later, as they level up and become stronger, players will truly become transcendent beings.”
“When that happens, some players who lack self-awareness will begin to exercise their power like lawless outlaws.”
It would lead to the creation of weaponry that even the military and the latest weapons couldn’t control.
“At that point, they won’t be able to focus solely on quests like they can now. There will be a variety of problems to deal with even after they return to this world.”
That realm and this reality; both would be filled with chaos in just a few months.
He couldn’t sit idly by in such a world. If he does, Earth would be destroyed before they even reached round 20.
“There is only one solution. We must control the players with overwhelming force. Beasts will only bow down before superior strength.”
Ryu Min would have to control the players through sheer force, just as he had done before.
That way, he could quell the chaos and even make it to the final boss.
Of course, this time around, he would need a different strategy.
He had to take four others with him to the final round, not including himself.
“It would be best to bring a priest and buffer. If the boss room requires at least five people, it must be that strong.”
He had some candidates in mind and a plan for how to persuade them, but…
“It’s not time to act yet. There are more important matters to attend to.”
After the end of round one, Ryu Min immediately left the location of the ringing bell ceremony.
The place he was heading to was none other than his home.
It was a multi-family home located in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.
Ring-ring-ring – beep-beep!
The first thing Ryu Min noticed as he entered the house was the cup ramen container sitting on the kitchen sink.
“Looks like we’re having cup ramen for dinner again.”
It was a familiar scene that he had seen before, every time he came home in his previous regressions