Instant Kill, Time-Stop Spellcaster

Kang Hyun was waiting for Chief Choi’s reply.

“Why is this taking so long?”

“Don’t be too harsh. There are always circumstances with the higher-ups.”

“Deciding where to go takes longer than clearing a dungeon.”

Aden sipped her coffee.

She curiously observed the people walking through the streets of Washington.

“Wow… The diversity here is amazing.”

“Not as diverse as you.”

Even passersby stole glances at Aden.

“But coffee prices here are insane.”

“Right? Why is a cup of coffee 9,100 won? The cost of living here is brutal.”

“If my master weren’t a billionaire, I wouldn’t have been able to buy it!”

“Still, with 8 billion won, you’re doing fine, aren’t you?”

“No way!”

Still, the trip was quite enjoyable.

In Harlem, Kang Hyun even felt a bit nostalgic for his old mercenary days.

“But the whole city smells sweet.”

“Drugs.”

“What?!”

Kang Hyun, being a former mercenary, was used to the scent of narcotics.

Aden, born into nobility, was not.

“Wh-what do you mean drugs in the streets?!”

“This is normal. Korea is the exception.”

Unlike Aden, Kang Hyun remained unfazed.

He took a sip of milk and continued waiting for a response. But there was still nothing.

“This is going to take a while. While we’re here, let’s set up three in the U.S.”

“Is it okay to favor them like that?”

He was satisfied with what he had received from Charles.

It felt reasonable to return the favor.

“From what I hear, if the U.S. stays strong, the rest of the world benefits too.”

The U.S. was the biggest governing nation in the GSA.

It wasn’t called the capital of awakened beings for nothing.

One of the GSA’s duties was to support underdeveloped countries.

And the U.S. was the largest exporter of awakened mercenaries.

Kang Hyun couldn’t cover the whole world himself.

But the U.S. could.

“For Earth’s defense, strengthening the U.S. is a good move.”

Plus, their diplomatic approach was quite decent.

He notified Chief Choi.

His phone rang immediately.

Kang Hyun had never been great at politics, even back when dealing with Kyle.

But this was interesting.

And if Korea got stronger in the process?

That was even better.

“Shall we go sightseeing?”

“Meat!”

“Meat again? Isn’t American beef kind of bad?”

“Isn’t American beef considered domestic here?”

“…Huh?”

Was that how it worked?

He wasn’t sure.

They’d figure it out after tasting it.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yay!”

“Wait—hold on. Currency exchange.”

They needed dollars to have fun.

Chief Choi’s subordinates immediately transferred a generous amount.

If they liked it, he’d bring his parents and Kang Subin next time.

“Let’s go!”

“Yay!”

And so, their teleportation-based trip around the U.S. began.

During a break in a conference.

The U.S. Vice President was in a frenzy.

“Check the border entry records! Map out all routes from every airport to Washington—investigate as much as possible! Spare no manpower!”

But there was no way they could track down Kang Hyun like that.

After a long meeting, they finalized the schedule for three days.

Since Kang Hyun had set a limit of five installations per day, the total was fifteen.

It was originally six, but 【Open】 consumed too much mana.

The locations were mainly the GSA’s governing nations.

The logic was that those countries had to survive first to help the rest.

Though that was just a convenient justification—ultimately, it was all about power.

Korea’s influence was also reflected in the decision.

The wealthier and more advanced a nation, the more benefits they could offer.

Chief Choi was very satisfied.

“This is national prosperity and military strength!”

Korea had managed to extract a lot of concessions this time.

Even the president was undoubtedly grinning.

This would all go down as a major political achievement.

Kwon Dong-chul had risen from being bombarded by journalists thanks to EX’s contributions.

‘If only I could get my hands on an elixir…’

But that was impossible.

Everyone was already concerned about EX’s excessive growth.

If he consumed an elixir and advanced further, it would accelerate his restriction from entering E-rank zones.

Demanding one now would backfire.

The meeting continued.

Japan kept complaining.

“Why isn’t Japan included in the schedule?!”

“Many other countries are in the same situation.”

“Japan suffered the most damage! We should be the top priority for aid!”

Chief Choi frowned.

‘They sure know how to play the political game.’

That was the nature of international politics.

It was frustrating, but he had to acknowledge their skill.

Then, Korea’s foreign minister spoke up.

“I hear anti-Korean sentiment is skyrocketing in Japan.”

“W-what?!”

A bold statement.

Even Japan’s prime minister looked flustered.

“If EX enters Japan, we cannot guarantee his safety. For security reasons, we cannot send him there.”

“This is an insult to the Japanese people!”

Korea presented evidence.

“Two days ago, a top Japanese awakened, Shimida, posted this on social media.”

A well-known anti-Korean figure.

His post had been widely shared.

“…”

“If high-ranking awakeners decided to attack him, EX, who is only D+ rank, wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Are you calling the Japanese people terrorists?!”

“How can you say that after reading this post?”

“Stop being childish over a joke!”

The debate dragged on.

But Korea now held the moral high ground.

Britain intervened.

“The UK wishes to speak. The Perfect Clear Awakener is a global treasure. If any harm comes to him, the consequences would be severe.”

Like South Korea’s S-rank Word mage, the UK possessed the successor of a hero.

In the field of awakening, their voice carried weight.

Their legitimacy was not something easily ignored.

“Therefore, EX’s safety must be prioritized above all else.”

“Then this matter is settled.”

No objections.

The GSA summit had implicitly acknowledged Japan’s rising anti-Korean sentiment.

This was a major diplomatic victory for Korea.

Chief Choi trembled with excitement.

‘Ah… This is the taste of national power!’

Korea’s voice was now stronger than ever.

This was a completely different atmosphere from previous meetings.

EX’s importance had skyrocketed.

Meanwhile, the Japanese prime minister trembled with humiliation.

“Don’t turn your back on the suffering of the Japanese people!”

Even Chief Choi felt slightly conflicted.

The Japanese citizens weren’t to blame.

It was their government that had fueled the anti-Korean sentiment.

‘But plenty of other countries are suffering too.’

Out of 193 UN member states, 173 had been excluded just like Japan.

Japan couldn’t offer Korea any benefits.

Their enraged citizens wouldn’t allow it.

With their government already hanging by a thread, they had no choice.

So Korea prioritized nations that could provide something in return.

Cold, hard diplomacy.

‘Japan will survive on its own.’

After all, they were a powerhouse of awakened beings.

A GSA governing nation.

They would figure something out.

Their current leadership, however, would have to face consequences.

“Japan will not forget this insult from the international community—!”

“Due to time constraints, we will now proceed to the next agenda.”

Japan’s microphone was cut off.

###

Yoo Chae-young asked in disbelief.

“…What’s with that outfit?”

“I had some mana left over. Stopped by Hawaii.”

“Huh?”

“It was nice.”

“Aloha!”

In just a day, his skin had tanned slightly.

Proof that he had thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Meanwhile, Aden remained as pale as ever, like white jade.

“Do you know any good restaurants in France? I’m planning to go tomorrow.”

“…Ask Mar.”

“You think she’d know?”

He handed over a box of chocolates as a gift.

Then, he got to the reason Yoo Chae-young had called him.

“The Phantom’s suit.”

“Oh, right, that was borrowed.”

“…I removed it from the inventory records. No one will even know such a suit ever existed in the warehouse.”

That was something only the support team leader could pull off.

“As expected of Team Leader Yoo. You’re thorough.”

“Ha… Never thought I’d see the day I embezzled Seonghwa’s assets…”

“So it’s mine now, right?”

“Yeah. Do whatever you want with it.”

“Nice.”

That combat suit was pretty good.

Thanks to it, even after getting hit by Park Cheolwoong, he could still move a little.

‘Not like I can use it outside of Phantom-related activities, though.’

Still, it worked out well.

“So, was that all you needed?”

“…Can I ask what you talked about?”

“Oh, Charles?”

Kang Hyun recalled his conversation with Charles.

“Mister Kang is certainly a valuable talent, but we’ve decided not to rush his naturalization.”

“What changed your mind?”

“To be honest, we don’t want to provoke the Phantom.”

Huh? The Phantom, all of a sudden?

“America has concluded that you and the Phantom are friends.”

“Oh?”

“You’re not denying it?”

“Go on.”

Here was their reasoning.

“We’ve been watching Korea’s rising stars closely.”

The Phantom.

An S-rank word mage.

A Perfect Awakener.

Major figures suddenly appearing one after another.

It was too abrupt.

“So we formed a hypothesis. What if there’s a connection between them? And then the higher-ups took interest in the information I reported.”

“What information?”

“You and the Phantom.”

“Me?”

The Phantom knew a lot.

About the anomalies, about the chaos.

Even managed to resolve half of the World Quests immediately.

No, the Phantom was the one who dragged these incidents to the surface in the first place.

“As soon as the Phantom exposed the situation, you immediately developed a detection system as if you already knew about it.”

“That’s quite the reach.”

“It’s not just that. Have you forgotten how we first met?”

Park Cheolwoong had come looking for him, threatening him.

Charles had seen it too.

And then, a few days later—

As if by fate, the Phantom killed Park Cheolwoong.

“It could be a coincidence. Maybe the Phantom always intended to kill Park Cheolwoong.”

“Maybe. But you know what? The current U.S. president likes bold bets.”

The U.S. had made its move.

They were betting that Kang Hyun and the Phantom had some sort of connection.

“Today, I didn’t come to see a researcher—I came to see the Phantom’s friend. We’ve decided not to hastily bring Mister Kang in, so as not to provoke the Phantom.”

“Wait… but the U.S. is worried about the Phantom? You guys have plenty of S-ranks.”

Charles smiled warmly.

“The Phantom is truly extraordinary.”

“Well, yeah. He’s S-rank.”

“No, I mean beyond what the public perceives.”

“What do you mean?”

The Phantom wielded overwhelming power, but also had bizarre abilities.

Control over divine energy.

An assassination technique so stealthy that even modern magic-tech investigations couldn’t trace it.

“And most of all—the power to kill Park Cheolwoong, the undefeated legend.”

Surprisingly, Park Cheolwoong was quite famous.

No American S-rank could have done what the Phantom did.

The world saw the Phantom as just another new S-rank.

But the U.S. assessed him as top-tier even among S-ranks.

Charles’ expression turned serious.

“The current U.S. president is a highly ambitious individual. Very bold. He’s extremely interested in the Phantom.”

To think things had reached this point.

People always talked about how capable America was—turns out, they were right.

“The President wants to have a conversation with the Phantom.”