Fired Characters from an Idle Game

34. The usual WWE – (1)

Having concluded my discussion with Yoo Junseo, instead of heading to my usual hotel room, I made my way towards the Tower of Reversal.

Once a day, or every other day at most.

To keep my promise to Mirien.

“Ah, Actor!”

Mirien, who had been sitting cross-legged, focusing her powers on a tracking spell, beamed and rushed to greet me barefoot the moment I arrived on the highest floor.

“Going well?”

“Yes! At this rate, I think I can find him within three days!”

“Good.”

I nodded, and Mirien tilted her head inquisitively.

I pondered what gesture it was, before realizing it was the peculiar habit of a puppy, begging for a head scratch.

“Ummm….”

I stealthily rolled my eyes, assessing Mirien’s face.

A child’s elated expression, as if anticipating lavish praise.

Her small stature gave the impression of interacting with a niece, but I corrected my thoughts.

The petite woman before me was a grand mage, capable of summoning storms across the entire Korean peninsula with a single gesture.

While she was cooperating and amiable with me now, she could, as Selene warned, transform into a calamity at any moment.

Here, I had to cater to Mirien’s whims as much as possible.

“Y-yes, good job.”

Pat, pat.

As I stroked her two-toned hair, black and blue, Mirien grinned, her eyes crinkling into crescents.

What to say. It felt like handling a pet.

Who could imagine that this celestial maiden was the dreaded great calamity?

“Ahem, anyway.”

I cleared my throat, broaching the subject.

“There’s something I need you to do, Mirien. The Thunderstorm. Would it be difficult to use it simultaneously with the Tracking skill?”

Mirien’s unique skill, Thunderstorm, was classified as a concentration skill. Upon casting, she would enter a state of concentration, meaning she could only maintain one concentration skill at a time.

Conversely, the Tracking skill she possessed wasn’t concentration-based. If my knowledge from the game held true, Mirien should be able to use both spells simultaneously.

As expected, Mirien nodded.

“If I have enough mana, it’s possible.”

“How can you replenish mana?”

“By eating people… or…”

I unconsciously inhaled sharply at Mirien’s words.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice my fleeting agitation and continued.

“By absorbing calamities.”

“Calamities?”

“About five rank 1 calamities would sustain the storm for a day.”

Come to think of it, in the game, useless calamities were melted down and used as restorative potions for high-rank calamities. Was this a part of that?

In any case, five rank 1’s for a day was miraculously cost-effective.

However, I asked, just in case.

“Just asking for reference, how many humans do you need to eat to maintain a day’s worth of magic?”

“Hmm… About three hundred? If they’re Awakened, then maybe a hundred.”

“….”

This was, in another sense, a miracle of cost-effectiveness.

Once again, I was reminded that humans were nothing more than trivial things to a Calamity.

“Alright, Mirien. So, can you use tracking magic while also unleashing a thunder storm specifically over Seoul? I’ll send up some Calamity for mana recovery. And one more thing.”

I pointed downstairs.

“Can you knock that Jo Geon-uk guy unconscious for a while? Like an hour or two, completely unable to wake up.”

“…That shouldn’t be difficult, but what exactly are you planning?”

“It’s Dominator Actor’s grand debut.”

“Debut?”

Mirien tilted her head, as if the word was new to her.

“It’s a thing.”

I answered with a wry smile.

*

[S-Rank Awakened Nam Joo-yeon, Director of Management Bureau Yu Jun-seo, Awarded Presidential Citation]

=

– Seeing them in the news so often, they must work well together lol. Anyway, we live comfortably thanks to them.

– More taxes should go to people like them, they’re true heroes protecting the country.

– This is what a nation should be! An S-Rank Awakened and the Director of the Management Bureau joining forces to receive a Presidential Citation, it brings tears to my eyes ㅠㅠ Isn’t it thanks to people like them that we live safely! Heroes protecting the country deserve unwavering support! National prestige is rising, let’s go!

ㄴ How do you manage to emit the scent of red ginseng candy from every single character?

– But for an S-Rank and the strongest A-Rank, aren’t they too ordinary-looking?

ㄴ What, are you looking at celebrities? They’re closer to soldiers.

=

“Heh.”

Director of the Management Bureau Yu Jun-seo turned up the corners of his mouth as he looked at the comments on the news article.

A thrill coursed through him whenever he saw comments praising him.

Yu Jun-seo continued to scroll.

And his expression hardened.

=

– Seriously? An S-Rank Awakened getting a Presidential Citation just shows how messed up this country is, haha. They can’t even manage them properly, and when an accident happens, it’s the people who suffer, but they just hand out awards like candy?

– Why is the Director of the Management Bureau, someone paid with the people’s taxes, being treated like a hero? They’re just doing their jobs, haha.

– What did these guys even do to deserve an award? This country’s doomed.

ㄴ If it weren’t for those two, Seoul would have already become another Beijing.

– Tell those b*stards to go send some help to the provinces. Don’t they know things are a disaster down there? Just recently, there was a sudden downpour, and all the levees collapsed.

=

“So what?”

Yoo Jun-seo frowned, hitting the dislike buttons on the comments.

Honestly, some people have no talent but the longest tongues.

Think being the Director of the Management Bureau is something anyone can do?

Yoo Jun-seo grumbled, tossing his phone onto the desk.

“Those sons of b*tches.”

“Seeing nasty comments again, Director?”

Secretary Kang Se-na gave a deep sigh at the sight of Yoo Jun-seo, a light scold in her tone.

“If you have time to browse news comments so leisurely, maybe you could do some actual work?”

“I’m a public service worker. You know there’s nothing I can do.”

Yoo Jun-seo was talentless.

All he had was the name of Yama, his personal friendship with S-Rank Awakened Nam Joo-yeon, and the title of Director of the Management Bureau.

And, coincidentally, South Korea was a country that somehow kept running as long as the parts were decent, even if the head was incompetent.

Even as the world crumbled in real-time.

“There are experts all over the place anyway, so me lending a hand would only get in the way, wouldn’t it? Have you ever seen a commander charge into battle with a gun in the army?”

Of course, Yoo Jun-seo was exempt from military service due to mental health issues, so he had never even held a gun.

“It’s both reassuring and concerning to hear you’re so self-aware.”

Kang Se-na sighed deeply, picking up the phone Yoo Jun-seo had thrown.

“Still, the overall reaction is positive. Though people in the provinces are a different story…”

“That’s outside our jurisdiction to begin with. I heard they formed their own Awakened community and are governing themselves well.”

“…Well, that’s something the government should handle, I suppose.”

The warlordization of Awakened in the provinces and the loss of control by local governments.

The central government was keeping an eye on it, but it was already struggling to deal with the situation in Seoul, where a major disaster occurred almost every day and refugees cried out in anguish.

If the capital area, which still maintained the national system, was like this, there was no way the situation in the provinces could be any better.

The Republic of Korea was steadily drifting into a state of anarchy.

Some nations had already weathered this process.

Soon, a society might emerge where Awakeners, wielding the brutal force of Calamities, became the ruling class, and the unawakened their mere appendages. What stance to take when that day arrived was the greatest dilemma facing Awakeners, both domestic and abroad.

Kang Sena sighed, placing her hands on her hips.

“Director, can you really be so relaxed when one of your investigators has vanished?”

“Jo Geon-wook? Don’t worry. Nam Ju-yeon said she’d find him.”

“…Aren’t you exploiting that S-Class Awakener a little too much?”

“You told me to utilize her to the fullest whenever possible, so why the sudden defense?”

He countered, furrowing his brow. Kang Sena avoided his gaze.

Yu Jun-seo, never one for subtlety, failed to discern any hidden meaning in her actions.

“Honestly, I’ve done everything I could for Nam Ju-yeon. I even offered her the Director’s seat, but she refused, you know?”

“…”

*Of course, because you’re the only one who wants that position.*

Kang Sena somehow managed to swallow the words that had risen to the tip of her tongue.

In any case, it was a relief that an S-Class Awakener was on the hunt. With that thought, she picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

[Breaking News: 5-Star Calamity Appears in Dongdaemun]

“…Huh?”

Kang Sena blinked several times.

But the crimson headline was no hallucination.

“Director?”

“…”

Yu Jun-seo’s eyes were already glued to his phone screen.

*

“Out of the way! Coming through!”

By the time Yu Jun-seo and the other Awakeners rushed to the scene, it was already swarming with people.

The narrow alleyway was a chaotic mess, Awakeners and civilians crammed together.

“Damn it! Everyone move! Value your lives, won’t you!”

Yu Jun-seo shouted as he saw some police officers looking flustered.

Only then did the citizens, recognizing his face, jump back in surprise.

This was why fame mattered. Yu Jun-seo exhaled a strained breath as he walked through the alleyway.

A calamity had descended upon the heart of the square.

“The Scorched Saintess…”

A 5-star calamity, the same I’d seen at the tower before. A henchman of Actor, Master of the Abyss. If there was a being feared most by the people of Seoul, no, of the entire Korean peninsula, it was undoubtedly that woman with the ash-grey hair.

The Scorched Saintess, Selene, had appeared in the very center of the city. Were it merely her presence, we might only tremble in fear, but in her grasp, she held a man, his limbs bound.

It was a familiar face.

“Jo Geon-wook…”

The Scorched Saintess Selene was holding the Awakened Jo Geon-wook hostage.

Jo Geon-wook appeared unconscious. Even had he been awake, he wouldn’t have been able to speak. A vicious, thorn-like gag was forced into his mouth.

“Today, I have come to deliver the words of my master to you, the unrefined.”

As Yoo Jun-seo and the other Awakened ones hesitated, the Scorched Saintess Selene spoke.

“My master, the Master of the Abyss, the true ruler of dimensions, Actor, believes this world to be designed with great narrow-mindedness.”

“…”

“Therefore, my master wishes to scatter the apocalypse upon this world. But what blasphemy is this, there are those who do not desire my master’s blessing, the Sacred Fire of the Abyss.”

Selene raised her hand, seizing Jo Geon-wook by the hair, and dragged him forward.

“This man, he did not recognize the wisdom of my master, and relentlessly pursued his actions. You all know him, do you not?”

“…What do you intend to do with Jo Geon-wook?”

“I will gladly execute him before the eyes of all. This is a warning of sorts. That those who resist Actor, the ruler of the Abyss, shall never survive…”

A scream escaped someone’s lips at the horrifying declaration.

Yet, no one fled.

The moment they turned their backs, who knew what that great calamity would do.

And so, Selene drew the wedge-shaped sword she carried at her hip. No one could stop her.

The last time we faced her, Selene had single-handedly harvested calamities numbering in the hundreds.

Who could stand against such a great disaster?

Whoosh.

There was someone.

Just one Awakened.

[4★ Storm Dragon Tempestraw casts skill 「Sky Rend」.]

“Kuh!”

The first crack appeared on the face of Selene, the Scorched Saintess.

She raised her blade, deflecting the shimmering light that poured from the heavens. The breath, struck by the flames, shattered into fragments, scattering skyward.

*Swishhh.*

Was that the trigger?

Suddenly, a downpour blurred the vision.

Someone descended through the deluge.

The man, stepping lightly from the Storm Dragon’s colossal form, was someone Yu Junseo knew well.

“Nam Juyeon…”

An S-Rank Awakened had arrived.