Chapter 58

“Snap out of it, Tempest!”

“Yessir!”

“I didn’t pick you as a hero so you could space out!”

The loud shout that mercilessly assaulted his eardrums made Tempest look up in surprise at Shield, his senior and the second-ranked hero.

A middle-aged man with an air of strictness.

A man wearing a rare suit of armor among the suits generally designed with the user’s abilities in mind.

He had recently taken on the role of instructor, guiding and teaching the new heroes filling the many vacant hero positions.

“Even if you excelled in hero training school, that’s just the first step! Don’t get complacent! Just because your abilities are great doesn’t mean everything will magically work out!”

“Yes!”

The youth, filled with a sense of justice, shouted energetically, and Shield gave a faint smile, placing a scarred hand on his shoulder.

“New heroes aren’t given difficult missions, so don’t stress too much. Unless something big happens, you’ll just be doing boring patrols.”

“Understood!”

“And if you notice anything unusual during patrol, don’t act recklessly! Your hasty actions could make things worse!”

“Yes!”

“I like your enthusiasm! Pyro! You guide him on his first patrol!”

“Me? Ugh, what a hassle—”

A muscular man with dark skin and a shaved head frowned at the request.

He had just come to check out the newbie and ended up with this mess.

He didn’t even bother hiding his annoyance, sighing deeply.

It was a bit cheeky to act like this in front of a veteran hero like Shield, but neither Shield nor Pyro cared much.

These little power struggles were common, and Pyro at least listened to him. In this industry, that alone made him a decent talent.

Heroes were the type to shout “YESYESYES!” when others said “NO,” but they were also stubborn and rarely listened to anyone.

The only ones who could control them were Power, the top hero and leader, and Shield, the second-in-command who managed the heroes.

Of course, even they couldn’t control them perfectly… but they were better off than the others.

“Anyway, today’s schedule is just patrol. Might as well take the newbie and do some training.”

“It’s been a while since I trained a rookie—”

“Was Speed the last one you handled?”

“That guy’s ridiculously fast. He’s got great abilities, but it’s so hard to get him to listen. Though he did improve after that swamp area mission.”

‘The swamp area.’

Shield thought of the small city right next to Seoul.

The swamp area, practically attached to Seoul’s underworld, was like a thorn in the city’s side.

Leaving it alone didn’t benefit Seoul, but taking it over was too tricky.

So, Seoul and the swamp area maintained an uneasy coexistence.

For now, the swamp area bowed its head to Seoul.

“Anyway, you’ll have to put in the effort.”

“Fine, fine. Hey, rookie. Snap out of it and follow me.”

“Ah, yes.”

Tempest bowed to Shield and followed Pyro out of the meeting room.

Left alone, Shield sighed and fiddled with his now-cold coffee cup, muttering to himself.

“I hope this one lasts longer.”

He didn’t want to lose any more heroes.

—

“It’s about time, huh.”

I muttered to myself, staring at the freshly cleaned front yard.

Spring was just around the corner.

The days of lazing around the office waiting for winter to end were finally over.

I intervene in the original story.

I’ve already intervened so much that my knowledge of the original might be useless, but I intervene anyway.

What’s important now is stopping Quaker, who will cause fatal damage to the swamp area if left unchecked.

Of course, the protagonist would eventually stop him anyway.

But this story isn’t finished, and the protagonist, even in the latest chapters, wasn’t strong enough to face Quaker.

With the original story twisted, it’s unclear if the protagonist will become strong enough to defeat Quaker, and I need to go to Seoul to uncover the secrets of my body.

So, intervening in the original story is inevitable.

The problem is, I don’t know how the government views the research institute escape.

How are they treating the escapees?

As fugitives?

Or… as if nothing happened?

That part couldn’t be uncovered even by Ina’s network in Seoul’s underworld, so I’ll have to investigate myself.

“I’ll need to make a separate card for Seoul, what a hassle.”

“It’s easy if you do it at a bank in the underworld.”

“I heard the process is ridiculously complicated.”

“Money-hungry people will do anything to make a profit.”

True.

Companies pulling tricks to make money is common.

Criminals trading under the table for profit isn’t strange either.

This world isn’t exactly peaceful.

“Nothing beats coffee for quenching thirst.”

“You don’t even talk while drinking now.”

“I provide enough information to deserve this, don’t I?”

“Fine, whatever.”

“You don’t seem pleased.”

Ina leaned in close to me. If she leaned any closer, our lips might touch.

Perhaps because of that, Mina, who was sitting next to me reading a book, shot Ina a sharp glare.

“What are you doing?”

“Hmm, seduction?”

“The boss doesn’t like people like you. Right, boss?”

“Well, adults are drawn to adults, you know?”

Why are you two fighting over me?

So annoying.

I used repulsion to push Ina back.

Forced to create distance, Ina plopped down on the sofa and glared at me with a dissatisfied expression.

What do you want me to do?

“Stop with the weird antics and do your job. The coffee you forgot alone costs as much as a week’s worth of meals for an average family.”

“Such a tightwad. They say generosity comes from the storeroom—”

“There’s a limit to that.”

How much do you plan to eat?

“If you’re done, go home. My office isn’t your lounging spot.”

Once she comes, she stays for hours, so I can’t help but be annoyed by Ina.

“See you later.”

I turned my attention away from Ina, who disappeared through the wall as usual, and got up.

It was about time to head to Seoul.

“Boss, are you really okay with this…?”

“Well, the only certainty is that it’s more dangerous than here.”

Seoul.

A massive city worthy of its nickname, the Seoul Republic.

With South Korea effectively destroyed except for Seoul and Busan, if you want to live like a human, you have to settle in Seoul.

Honestly, half the people in the swamp area probably want to live comfortably in Seoul.

Smartphones, game consoles, the internet. The holy trinity still exists in this era.

For someone like me who enjoyed the luxuries of a pre-civilization world, giving up Seoul, where I could buy such things, was unthinkable.

“Mina, Seolhwa, don’t lose these IDs, okay?”

If you lose them, the damage won’t be small.

“Yes.”

“Okay!”

“And now that we’re going to Seoul, wash up and get ready.”

A light plan to check if the new IDs work at the Seoul checkpoint and maybe visit the underworld.

I don’t plan to move seriously yet, so this should be enough.

“Boss, what about the office…?”

“Closed, of course.”

I’m not strapped for cash anymore, and it’s winter, so there aren’t many requests anyway.

So, this is the perfect time to visit Seoul.

It would be hard to go back and forth during busy times.

“Oppa! When we go to Seoul—”

“Okay, okay.”

The original story is irrelevant now.

“Hooray!”

I smiled warmly at Seolhwa’s excitement.

“Let’s go, to Seoul.”

To where the original story begins.