Chapter 31: Politician

“This is just too much, isn’t it?”

Yohan let out a dry laugh as they hurriedly moved back to the shelter, almost fleeing in panic.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“No, I mean, now that we’re starting to look down on orcs and trying to take down monsters like ogres, suddenly they send down a monster with such a huge power gap.”

“That’s true. But it must be because people have gotten stronger, so they raised the difficulty. If you think about it, those bastards just can’t stand it when things get easy.”

Yohan silently nodded.

His mind was cluttered.

With the new game mode called Force War demanding attention, on top of that, an overwhelmingly powerful monster had appeared.

To be honest, for the fourth game, if there was no particular hostile faction, he planned to just take down some orcs, help the kids gain battle experience, and gather some mana stones.

Then, he thought to find and defeat a monster like an ogre or a Giant Hunter to earn some titles and make them stronger.

But with the new system and the appearance of such a strong monster, he had to either revise his plan or proceed with caution.

“Hmph.”

Feeling frustrated, Yohan lit a cigarette, smoking it down to the end, and before he knew it, they had arrived at the shelter.

Hastily stepping out of the car, Yohan immediately looked for Junga.

“Junga! The ceiling! Let’s build the ceiling first! The ceiling!”

“What are you talking about so early in the morning…? I was already feeling uneasy because of the alert.”

“No, that uneasy feeling isn’t the point! Like Dad said, build the ceiling! Hurry!”

Jeonghu joined in, speaking urgently, and Junga tilted her head.

“Why? Is something happening outside?”

“A dragon or something destroyed Litsia. With its breath. Ice came out of the breath.”

“Whoa…”

Before Junga could even raise her hands, plank-like blocks began falling from the sky.

“Don’t we have some transparent planks among those? Use transparent ones in some places so sunlight can get through. Yeah, since we’re at it, stack it three or five layers thick!”

“Got it! But is it true? A dragon?”

“You heard it, right? Strong monsters are respawning!”

“Respawn? What’s that?”

“Ugh… It’s from online games… monsters… you know…”

“If you don’t know, don’t pretend to know by throwing out technical terms.”

“Ugh…”

The siblings bickered, but the ceiling was built in no time.

“Is this enough to be safe…?”

“Who knows. If I had known, I should’ve tested the block’s strength first.”

After washing his face quickly, Yohan held an emergency family meeting, excluding the dreamy Sejeong.

“Geez, it’s always a family meeting when you’re bored.”

Looking at Yohan, who called his kids over and chuckled to himself, Seoyoung asked,

“How are we handling this game this time?”

“For now, we’ll divide it into three cycles per day, and the three of us, excluding Sejeong, will take turns going out with me to hunt monsters.”

“What about the dragons? There must be more besides that one, right?”

“We’ll be careful.”

Though worried inside, he couldn’t just stand by.

Those who fight here either die or grow stronger, but those who hide either die or grow weaker and eventually die.

If they didn’t want to be left behind, they had to risk their lives and fight.

Maybe that was what the spaceship wanted as well.

‘Alright, then. If I’m going to die for being weak, I’ll risk my life to grow stronger and stronger. And someday…’

Yohan clenched his fist, looking up at the ceiling.

***

Kim Taehyun took the microphone in the management office with a heavy expression.

“Everyone, a giant flying monster presumed to be a dragon is currently destroying Litsia and continuously flying around the area. Our Seonga Village is within the enemy’s flight zone, so there is a risk of attack. Residents from Buildings 1 to 3, please evacuate to Seonga Elementary School, and those from Buildings 4 to 6, please move to Seonga Middle School.”

After finishing the announcement, Kim Taehyun checked the tablet PC with a heavy face.

The total population was 450, but only 212 were capable of fighting.

The problem was that among those, minors were strongly opposed by the Women’s Association and were not allowed to fight, so the actual number who could fight was barely 130.

“Hmph.”

Though he had made a bold decision to rally the villagers and unite Seonga Village, Taehyun deeply regretted this choice.

He thought that if many people gathered, they could overcome any difficulty.

At first, when they successfully repelled villains targeting the village, he believed it was the right decision…

“No, Captain!”

“Ah, yes, Chairwoman…”

“How can you make decisions so arbitrarily? You must hold meetings with the Women’s Association and announce only after consensus!”

…It was a wrong choice.

He had risked his life on the front lines, and somehow he had become the captain of the Seonga Village Self-Defense Force.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Association, the Seonga Volunteer Society, and Seonga Church had taken it upon themselves to lead the village as its executives.

“There’s no time for that. Chairwoman, haven’t you seen it outside? Litsia, which is stronger than our apartments, is already half destroyed. It’s frozen solid.”

“But still! You’re trying to do whatever you want just because you’re strong now?”

At first, Taehyun let it slide.

He wasn’t the type with leadership to be a boss, so it wasn’t bad that others took on village management.

But later, he realized that was a grave mistake.

“Oh, no.”

“That’s dictatorship! Our Seonga Village doesn’t need a dictator.”

‘Dictator.’

He couldn’t believe who was being called a dictator right now. The real dictator wasn’t him, it was that woman.

Chairwoman of the Women’s Association, president of the Volunteer Society, elder of the church.

Kim Sunja.

The leader or key official of the three organizations managing, or rather ruling, Seonga Village was none other than her, Kim Sunja.

The ones fetching food and supplies were the Self-Defense Force, and the captain was himself.

Yet, the three groups doing nothing no, Kim Sunja began monopolizing the food and supplies that should have been distributed and managed collectively by Seonga Village, wielding power over others.

Why did he stand by and watch?

She was a politician on par with a member of parliament and a master of agitation.

People who didn’t want to be isolated or ignored in her political games had no choice but to keep quiet, even if they were dissatisfied.

Of course, behind that, there were those who quietly stayed silent because they didn’t want to confront Kim Sunja, be ostracized, or risk their lives.

“Phew… I understand. It was urgent, so please forgive me.”

In the end, he bowed his head.

“Don’t do that next time.”

“…Yes.”

Taehyun quietly clenched his teeth as he watched her haughtily hold her head high.

If Taehyun had been alone, he wouldn’t have bowed to her like that, and might have left Seonga Village altogether.

He needed the village as a nest to protect his wife, who had no special abilities, and to protect her from being isolated among the women in the village, he had to endure.

“While the villagers evacuate to the schools, Self-Defense Force members, please secure the defenses firmly. After the move, split into two groups for protection. Understood?”

“…Yes.”

As she quickly disappeared to take care of herself, Taehyun clenched his fists tightly and hurried outside.

While Taehyun was making the announcement, the Self-Defense Force members were at the barricade blocking the village entrance, fending off monsters that smelled human presence and tried to enter.

But it wasn’t easy; the main gate barricade was already pushed back considerably.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Seeing this, Taehyun dashed forward shouting, and the Self-Defense Force members immediately started retreating.

“Come out.”

With a blue glow, a silver staff appeared in Taehyun’s hand. He slammed the staff hard on the ground and shouted,

“Chain Lightning!”

Crackling!

The staff released lightning in a net-like shape toward the monsters pushing the front gate.

KRA-KA-BOOM!

The lightning struck the monsters, and under the powerful electric force, they turned to ashes in an instant.

After showcasing powerful magic, Taehyun didn’t stop but rushed toward another entrance.

“Fire Wave!”

This time, a wave of fire engulfed the monsters, burning them up in an instant.

“Now the west gate is left, right?”

“I heard an ogre appeared there!”

“Ogre…!”

They were tough enemies for the Self-Defense Force to hold off.

Taehyun jumped on a scooter ridden by a member and hurried there.

The barricade was already gone, pushed aside, and right in front was an ogre attacking a Self-Defense Force member.

There were two of them.

“S-Save me…! Kyaaaah!”

Seeing one Self-Defense Force member being mauled and dismembered by an ogre, Taehyun’s expression hardened. He hurriedly raised his staff and swung it at the blood-soaked ogre.

“Explosion!”

Vuuum!

Mana resonated, and a red light shot up where the ogre stood.

BOOM!

With a huge explosion, the charred ogre staggered from the shock.

‘…Ogres can withstand magic up to 4th Circle.’

Still, the impact was no joke. Watching the staggering creature, Taehyun shouted urgently,

“Now! Attack!”

At Taehyun’s shout, the Self-Defense Force members who had been pushed back attacked the ogre hit by Explosion, while Taehyun raised his staff again toward the remaining ogre.

“Ice Cannon!”

Cold energy gathered at the staff and shot out like a beam.

Sensing danger instinctively, the ogre tried to dodge, but the Ice Cannon struck it at lightning speed.

Crackle, crackle.

Kroooaar!

Grasping its pierced shoulder in pain, the ogre’s body rapidly froze, turning completely solid ice.

“Huff…”

Taehyun sat down exhausted.

His item, the Great Mage’s Staff, could register and use magic from 1st to 7th Circle.

However, magic from 1st to 3rd Circle could be used unlimited times as long as mana allowed, regardless of type, but the higher circles were different.

There were ten 4th Circle spells registered, each with a 1-hour cooldown after use.

Three 5th Circle spells had a 6-hour cooldown.

Two 6th Circle spells could not be used for a whole day after casting.

And the single 7th Circle spell, the ultimate limit of a Great Mage, had a cooldown of 15 days after use.

In truth, his mana level only allowed up to 5th Circle magic, and after casting several spells as just now, his mana was drained.

“Ugh…”

Sitting atop the half-ruined Litsia like a nest, the dragon-shaped monster surveying the world below with amusement was enough to weigh down Taehyun’s heart.

“What are you waiting for? The kids need to be educated properly, so hurry up and clear the corpses and guard the school!”

…And the appearance of Mrs. Kim Sunja, rushing in to urge the Self-Defense Force immediately after the monster was dealt with, made Taehyun’s heart even heavier.