ReLife Player

Chapter 100

[King of the Lizards ]

Blue House Yeomin-gwan Small Meeting Room.

No one sitting at the table spoke a word.

The tension in the room was so thick it felt suffocating.

Seated on the empty central side were bureaucrats from various administrative departments, including the Mana Management Organization.

On the opposite side were players from different renowned clans.

They were all looking at each other with disdain and disrespect.

It couldnt be helped.

Humanity, upon discovering mana, became intoxicated with the phenomenon that disturbed the worlds order. Unfortunately, the excessive use of mana led humanity to create unprecedented disasters that would be recorded in history.

The End of the Century Destruction.

Simultaneous occurrences of disasters worldwide, and within them, monsters appeared, causing the existing order to crumble hopelessly.

Politicians lost the support of the people, entrepreneurs lost their capital.

And finally, the citizens lost their hope.

All the power humanity had achieved was powerless against the monsters.

Ironically, the power to destroy the monsters born within the disasters was mana, which had become the root cause of everything.

In a world where the existing order had collapsed, mana equated to power.

The governments that clung to the old order couldnt gain control over the players, and the players intoxicated by manas power reveled in a lawless world.

There were reasons why bureaucrats and players disregarded and disdained each other.

Even if the Fairy Government gained control, their relationship did not improve.

- Stand up.

Amidst the exchanging of gazes and silence, the one who broke the silence was an elderly man sitting in the corner.

The elderly man was like a towering mountain, an unyielding wall in and of himself.

Leaning on the backrest, closing his eyes, and folding his arms, the old man stood up, as if a massive wall was rising.

Moon Joon, the Minister of the Korea Mana Management Organization and the leader of the Twelve Seats.

Known as the <Cheolong (Unbreakable Shield)> that survived in a country once destroyed.

If <Shinchang (Divine Spear)> was an unbreakable spear,

<Cheolong> was an unshatterable shield.

No one could deny that fact.

Everyone revered the name of <Cheolong-Unbreakable Shield> with awe.

And now, he was the one who opened his mouth.

As the people who were previously silent stood up straight, their gazes turned towards a woman entering the small meeting room.

It was Lady Im Ga-eul, the invited fairy.

She wore a bright red dress, resembling an actress attending an awards ceremony, and after looking around the room, she spoke to the standing individuals.

Everyone, please take your seats.

Im Ga-eul took a seat in the empty spot in the center, where officials and bureaucrats from the Mana Management Agency and their respective departments were sitting.

Two bodyguards stood behind her.

Let the meeting begin.

With those words, the director of the Information Bureau of the Korean Mana Management Organization began the briefing.

On the monitor installed on the wall, a map of Gwacheon City in Gyeonggi Province was displayed. As the briefing progressed, red circles appeared in various locations on the map, accompanied by information on incidents that had occurred in those areas.

Im Ga-eul placed her hand on the cover of the documents on the table.

Gwacheon City Residents Disappearance and Unidentified Dismemberment Case

It was an extraordinary and eerie series of incidents that had been causing fear among the public recently.

The first incident took place in the middle of last year when a man in his 40s living in Gwacheon City went missing. A week later, a woman in her 20s also disappeared. The National Police Agency treated these two incidents simply as missing persons cases.

However, the disappearances in Gwacheon City did not end with just two cases. Residents started going missing in intervals ranging from a minimum of three days to a maximum of two weeks, without any apparent reason.

Nevertheless, the National Police Agency did not take the residents disappearances seriously, as there were no consistent patterns among the missing persons.

Even before the worlds destruction, disappearances occurred multiple times a day nationwide.

It was only natural that the number of disappearance cases increased after the worlds destruction.

The police did not have the resources to investigate so many disappearance cases; they were understaffed. Therefore, when disappearance cases occurred, they usually conducted a simple investigation in the surrounding areas and often ended up ignoring or quickly concluding the cases.

The third discovered remains were confirmed through DNA analysis to belong to the woman who went missing in June last year. And the fourth.

Although they had been neglected, the disappearance cases were brought to light again at the beginning of the current year.

In the area near Daegongwon Station, pieces of what appeared to be a human body were found. As the National Police Agency investigated the area, they found that the dismembered body parts were not limited to one location but could be easily found throughout the park.

The fact that they had not found them until now was strange.

Understandably so.

Since the previous year, the Fairy Government had begun the stabilization project in Gangnam.

They had dispatched a considerable number of players to subdue the monsters roaming the city and establish new habitats.

They had also reconstructed the National Assembly building, which had been demolished, and reclaimed Yeouido Park, which had transformed into a monsters habitat.

Similarly, the area around Daegongwon Station was no different.

Even though the stabilization project in Gangnam had been completed last year, the development of Gangnam was inevitably slow.

Before the Fairy Government took over, most of the collapsed or ruined cities had been abandoned for about 30 years since the <End of the Century Destruction>.

With the current workforce, managing the still-standing cities alone was overwhelming.

Furthermore, city development was needed not only in Gangnam but also in the northern regions. There were also tasks left, such as stabilizing other areas and reclaiming cities.

In the end, the area around Daegongwon Station, where stabilization was completed, was still a deserted ruin that no one set foot in.

The fact that the bodies were discovered late was significant enough.

After investigating the database, it has been confirmed that the monster in question belongs to the Lizardman family, a 6th-degree Sharptail.

The first discovered remains had clean-cut edges as if they had been sliced by something. Until then, people had assumed it was a human act.

However, the discovery of the torn-up remains, as if they had been gnawed on by something, revealed that it was the work of a monster, not a human.

Within moments, rumors spread that a monster lurking somewhere in Gwacheon City was kidnapping and devouring residents.

People were terrified.

The fear that swelled up only continued to grow, and their voices raised against the Fairy Government.

To alleviate the escalating fear, the Fairy Government had to put all their effort into the investigation.

As a result, they were able to discover the habitat of the 6th-degree monster, Sharptail.

The habitat of Sharptail was in Gwacheon Reservoir.

Director Jung Buk-guk pointed to Gwacheon Reservoir with his hand.

It was an area close to the scene where the bodies were discovered and not far from residential areas.

But that was not the problem.

Where did the monster emerge from?

Im Ga-eul interrupted the briefing and addressed the audience.

It wasnt a question but a reprimand.

No one was unaware of it, and no one spoke up.

She didnt expect them to answer either.

She continued her statement.

Was the Gangnam stabilization project not properly completed, or was the Cocoon not functioning properly? What do you think?

The cocoon was not perfect.

Its function was to block monsters approach from the outside to a certain extent.

It reduced the frequency of mana fluctuations inside Cocoon and weakened the monsters, but it was only a subsidiary function.

Monsters born from the omnipresence of mana would not attempt to approach the cocoon unless they had to, as the moment they touched it, the mana in their bodies would be dispersed and weakened.

Just like the pack of hounds that lived in Uijeongbu last year that fled to Bukhansan due to the appearance of a higher entity.

Of course, any monster that crosses the cocoon is subject to the detection magic installed in the cocoon.

However, there was not just one Sharptail on the monitor, but several.

There is no way that the detection spell could have been triggered when a group of Sharptails crossed the cocoon.

So it was extremely unlikely that the sharptails were coming in from the outside.

It was more likely that they had been there before the cocoon was functional.

And that meant that the stabilization of Gangnam wasnt perfect.

Of course, its not impossible that Sharptail was born out of the ubiquity that occurred after the stabilization was complete.

However, Sharptail was in the sixth order, and in a group.

There was no way that an omnipresence reaching the sixth level could not have been observed.

Unlike Uijeongbu, Gwacheon was a functioning city.

There was no way an observer could pretend to be unaware of ubiquity that would have been frequent enough to form a swarm without being intentional.

In other words, the monsters had been living inside the cocoon from the beginning.

And yet, you still thought of taking control of Gangnams territory.

Im gaeul rebuked the players sitting across from her.

No one raised their heads in response.

The bureaucrats from the Fairy Queens government loved the spectacle. Their beards twitched as they tried to hide their emotions.

Yet, they couldnt be free from her reproach.

What were you all doing until things got to this point?

Its quite amusing, isnt it?

Some officials showed clearly displeased expressions.

Those who had been involved in political activities even before the <End of the Century Destruction> felt like they had been insulted.

To them, she was nothing more than a mere 20-year-old girl, just a gift holder of White Silver, before being the Fairy.

They, who had spent much more time in service, wished they could curse at her and scold her.

However, the reason why they couldnt offer any rebuttal wasnt just because she held the position of the Fairy.

It wasnt only because she was a Fairy that protected her from hostility.

It was her loyal bodyguards who were giving off a sinister aura.

Not just the bodyguards.

Moon Joon, <Unbreakable Shield>.

Sitting at the far end, he was a steadfast fortress protecting her.

No one dared to be hostile toward him.

Thats enough for the briefing. Since everyone was already aware of the facts, lets discuss countermeasures urgently.

How many Sharptails are currently confirmed in the Gwacheon Reservoir area?

Based on the current findings, there are 16 individuals. The Mana Management Organization assumes that there may be as many as this number of high-ranked monsters in the pack.

Im Gaeul nodded.

She recalled the document she had read a little while ago, speculating the existence of a fifth-ranked monster.

The Fifth ranked was a monster that threatened to paralyze city administration.

If it formed a cluster, the level of danger would rise even further.

Even after the Gangnam stabilization operation was completed, the fact that such a cluster existed inside the Cocoon was enough to raise alarm.

Once the cluster of monsters left their habitat and attacked the city, the fear would be immeasurable.

That was why she had urgently summoned everyone.

Assume that there will be high-level monsters.

Use all available resources, both for the Gwacheon City stabilization and during the recovery process.

If it was a matter of slaying monsters, only the bureaucrats of the Mana Management Organization and the backbone of the powerful clans needed to be gathered.

However, the Sharp-Tails existed as a cluster and inhabited a fully functioning city.

Evacuation and compensation for civilians and the reevaluation of the Gangnam stabilization operation were tasks that various bureaucrats needed to address.

Participating in the Twelve Seats Operation seems like a good idea. Minister of the Mana Management Organization, what do you think?

After briefly instructing the bureaucrats, Im Gaeul sought out Moon Joon in the far corner.

Although she could discuss pre-evacuation and post-evacuation measures, she took a step back when it came to destroying the monster cluster.

When it came to monsters, there was no one more qualified than him.

He was the living witness of the End of the Century Destruction, a legend, and the head of the Mana Management Organization.

Most of all, she trusted him.

Theyve been hiding until now, so they must be formidable.

Moon Joon replied.

He glanced at the players across from him.

Thus, we should allocate 30% of the deployed personnel for cluster search and extermination, 40% for habitat reduction, and 30% for cleaning up the remnants.

And which clans do you think qualify?

His gaze swept across the room, stopping on Myeonghwan <Railgun> The Lord Clans of Dwanjun.

He hadnt shown any sign of emotion in the midst of the bureaucrats and players nerve-wracking battle.

While the other players were busy avoiding his gaze, <Railgun> was calmly accepting it.

The player in charge of leading the three groups will be Player Myeongwang Clans Dwanjun. And the clans participating in the operation are Dwajun Clan and Twelve Seats Bang yeon-ji Player.

<Florist> Bang yeon-ji.

She was a supporter holding one of the Twelve Seats and also affiliated with Dwajun Clan.

Yes, understood. I will take responsibility for leading the clan and carrying out the groups extermination.

Dwanjun accepted Moon Joons instructions.

Moon Joon shifted his gaze to the side.

The name Regulus Clans Guyeonsu was written on the placard.

Next is Regulus Clan. And Twelve Seats Park Hye-rim player.

Understood.

Guyeonsu, covering his left eye with a blindfold, nodded with a sad expression.

Lastly.

The players all held their breath.

Most of them hoped not to participate in the monster extermination.

It was a Rank 5 monster.

Facing such a monster meant accepting significant losses in their power.

But they saw no merit in sending players to Gwacheon City at the expense of losses.

They all avoided Moon Joons gaze with the same thought in mind.

Lastly.

Moon Joon showed no interest in those who avoided his gaze.

He looked toward a player sitting near the door.

The player was dozing off, leaning against the backrest with arms folded, and nodding off.

Some officials noticed him and furrowed their brows disapprovingly.

However, Moon Joon didnt mind his drowsiness.

Instead, he called out his name.

Blaze Clan and Twelve Seats player Kang Hyun-chul.

Eh?

The man who had been called jumped to his feet. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

The man with dyed red hair was the Blaze Clan Lord.

It was Kang Hyun-chul of the Twelve.

[The Fairy government has announced that it will devote all its efforts to eradicating the monster colonies that have been identified as inhabiting the Gwacheon Reservoir.

Minister of the Korean Mana Management Organization and Twelve-strong player Moon Joon said that he would use Twelve-strong players Bang Yeon-ji, Park Hye-rim, and Kang Hyun-chul in the swarm eradication operation.

Clan Dwajun, Clan Regulus, and Clan Blaze expressed their intention to actively cooperate in the swarm eradication operation, while the Fairy Government-].

Hearing the news while eating dinner, Eunha turned to the TV.

The screen was showing a report on the disappearance and unidentified dismemberment of residents of Gwacheon City, which had been in the news since the beginning of the year.

It was around this time.

What?

Nothing.

Euna, who had returned home after a long absence, tilted her head and asked.

She had been coming out every other weekend since she moved into the dormitory, and was enjoying the dinner his mother had prepared.

Eunha kept an eye on the news.

He didnt feel like touching his dinner.

Operation Gwacheon Monster Swarm.

He knew this operation very well.

How it would end and what it would mean for the future.

Whatever.

The cluster subjugation operation was a half-success, half-failure mission.