From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 156: The Second Skull Pt. 2

This was the first and last thing that <The Sky of the Apocalypse> had given him.

A single Familiar: A Skull that Contains Souls.

From that, a reliable subordinate, Hyeon-Mu, had been born, and now, a second subordinate was appearing as well.

This time, a skull that had devoured the soul of Anubis.

When Hyeon-Mu had been born, he had consumed both Choi Yeong-Seong and Choi Yong-Su, who had been incomplete Heroes. This time, things were different.

This time it was the soul of a Hunter who was powerful even among the Nile.

The skull had become bloated after consuming Set’s second-in-command, Anubis. That was why it had taken so long. In the same vein, that was why Lee Jun-Kyeong was looking forward to it.

[A Skull That Contains Souls has finished processing.]

Now, it had finally activated.

All he had to do at this point was name it and wake it up.

Squeak.

The huge door that was blocking the way began to open itself. It opened with the sound of iron screeching against each other, and a violent mana was seeping out through the crack of the open door.

"Cough."

This was a ruler, a creature of great power.

Lee Jun-Kyeong felt like his whole body had been restricted to the point where he couldn’t even open his mouth.

Fluent Korean passed through the open door.

“Welcome,” it said. “Warrior of the second world.”

Although the huge door was still opening, through the gap, Lee Jun-Kyeong could see an indescribable being looking back at him.

He looked similar to a human, but also seemed completely different.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had a hunch regarding his identity.

“The ruler of Incheon.”

He could see the being through the ever-widening gap; it was welcoming him with open arms, as if he had been waiting for him.

‘A warrior of the second world.’

Lee Jun-Kyeon reflected on what the being said.

Step.

Then, he stepped toward the open door.

The mana weighed heavily on his body, but it didn’t stop Lee Jun-Kyeong from walking up.

It was just a test that the ruler had given him.

Lee Jun-Kyeong overcame it and entered. Afterward, like nothing had happened, he scattered all of the violent mana the being had unleashed and headed inside.

Step.

He could see it from afar. The ruler’s pupils had trembled for a moment. But soon, a long smile spread around the ruler’s mouth.

“Hehehe…”

A mysterious, grotesque smile.

Lee Jun-Kyeong entered through the gap in the doorway and scanned the area with Muspel’s Spear in his arm.

“...”

Whether it was Incheon City Hall, no, Korea, there was so much space beyond the doorway that it was impossible to even determine if he was still on Earth.

What lay beyond the door was like a completely different planet.

They were in a place full of greenery and large trees, and, moving beyond the size of the space, it felt like he was connected to a completely different world.

However.

“Ugh…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong groaned for a moment at the terrible stench that stung the tip of his nose.

The large green forest had a terrible odor instead of a fragrant smell of grass. Lee Jun-Kyeong was familiar with this smell.

“Corpses…”

It was the smell of bodies rotting.

Soon, they entered his view.

Clench.

Lee Jun-Kyeong unknowingly clenched his jaw. That was how disastrous the sight he was looking at was.

There were the bodies of people scattered around like the half-eaten abandoned snacks of children, withered and rotting, the stench overwhelming the forest.

‘Tha…that bastard…eats...humans…’

Lee Jun-Kyeong could finally clearly understand the meaning behind what that ordinary person he had saved had meant.

Then, he looked at the being.

“...”

The being was also observing him as well. The eyes that looked at him from afar were the gaze of someone who had tried to lure him in.

It was interested in him.

But.

“…”

Unlike before, it was no longer smiling.

The being was just looking at Lee Jun-Kyeong with a stiff face, like the corpses that he had eaten and not disposed of.

The trembling gaze of the bastard in front of him was easy to read.

It wanted to ask him something.

"Who are you....”

***

At the same time as Lee Jun-Kyeong was meeting with the ruler of Incheon at the Incheon City Hall, a short distance away, changes were also taking place in Seoul.

The cataclysm had begun, but the changes in Seoul weren’t yet significant. The general public had begun evacuations and the Hunters were always preparing for a battle. Compared to Incheon, it was so slight that it wasn’t enough for them to say that there had been any damage.

The Hunters had blocked the monsters pouring out of the gate break, and they had made preparations to retake the land that had been isolated by the cataclysm.

Korea was a small and narrow land, and they had thought that as long as they came forward, all of the problems would be solved well.

Especially because.

“Asgard will actively intervene in this situation.”

Asgard, the organization behind South Korea, had gotten involved.

“Now that Odin and Heimdall are away…”

The current meeting was not hosted in Asgard as they normally did.

The situation was good, but Seoul was isolated.

Thus, the Asgardian Hunters gathered at the conference hall of the Korean Association.

"Thus, I'll take command."

Oh Hyung-Seok was the one who spoke confidently.

The Hero with the title of Baldur.

Although Asgard had portrayed the image of an unshakable and dependable organization, it too was facing a cataclysm, just like the cataclysm in the unstable outside world.

‘Odin is missing.’

Odin, who was the core of Asgard and presided over everything, had disappeared.

That was why Baldur had come back from Egypt first.

Moreover, though Odin was missing, even the other high-ranking member who could preside over a meeting, Heimdall, was also gone.

Heimdall was someone who didn’t get along with everyone in Asgard. Still, his ability was recognized, so in Odin’s absence, he was the one who would preside over the meetings.

But in the absence of both…

This situation had never happened, nor had it been planned.

“Is there anyone who has a complaint?”

That was why Baldur had stepped up.

Most of Asgard’s members were just powerful Hunters, with no leadership skills or political power to lead anyone.

Thus, most of them were able to answer quite easily.

“Do whatever you want."

The Hunters in Asgard were not yet aware of the seriousness of the situation.

The world, Korea, was changing. But to them, the cataclysm was just something that, although it was a hassle, it was still possible for them to deal with.

Moreover.

“Good.”

“I agree.”

Some even welcomed Baldur's command.

Asgard was a group of individuals, but some of them were still bound to shine.

Baldur was one such man.

He was close to all of Asgard and was recognized as a star.

"Odin has prepared a few things for this situation."

Baldur proceeded with the meeting naturally.

"Also, the situation is more serious than we thought. Thus, you have to hurry up and move…”

“Just tell us if it’s okay for us to go here or there. You know. All we know is how to fight.”

“Sigh…”

Baldur rubbed his temples at the twisted meeting.

Asgard was a group of individuals. Moreover, beyond a few, it was a group of powerful Hunters.

‘How did Odin control…’

He wondered if Odin had just sent them off somewhere in order to use them at the right times.

Baldur felt an unbearable impatience.

And.

"Does anyone know where Chiwoo is?"[1]

Baldur changed the subject.

A Hunter who didn’t belong to Asgard and was also the most powerful weapon in Korea wasn’t in Seoul at the moment.

He had left Seoul under Odin’s orders and hadn’t been able to return before the cataclysm had began. Moreover, as he was always on a secret mission, there was no record of where he had gone, either.

“That brat…”

When the topic turned to Chiwoo, everyone’s expressions hardened as it was the title of the most annoying person.

However, in the end, no one knew where he was.

As the meeting continued diligently, the door of the conference room suddenly opened.

Squeak.

"Who the hell dares...!”

The Hunters from Asgard that were in Seoul were all gathered here. But then, the door had opened when there was no one left to intrude.

“...”

“Baldur…?

The faces of those who looked at the door hardened. Baldur, who had been hosting the meeting, had seen beyond the door the fastest as his hands shook and his expression hardened.

A voice was heard from beyond the open door.

"You were doing great."

It was a familiar voice.

"My son."

It was Odin.

Baldur's face hardened even more.

Odin, who had disappeared, seemed to suddenly come to find him, and even called him his son.

“What the…”

That was a secret that no one should know.

***

"Who are you?" said the ruler of Incheon, an enemy that had welcomed him in.

However, that welcome seemed like it only lasted for an instant.

The ruler’s voice turned cold.

“…”

"I am Elfame, the King of Alfheim, which is the great forest empire."

Incheon’s ruler introduced himself to Lee Jun-Kyeong, who refused to respond.

“I will ask you once again. Who are you?”

Now, there was only a fierce hostility left from Elfame.

“There was no information about an existence like you, a warrior of the second world, from the knowledge I absorbed from my prey,” Elfame continued, hoping to hear Lee Jun-Kyeong’s answer.

"You are like them."

"What does that mean?"

In the end, Lee Jun-Kyeong opened his mouth.

“I don’t understand anything that you’re trying to say to me.”

He aimed Muspel’s Spear at the one suddenly asking him something out of the blue, trying to act all mysterious.

"My empire was trampled down by those bastards and made to disappear. You are…”

The ruler’s explosive mana overwhelmed the space around them.

Crack.

As if responding to the mana emanating from Elfame, the space fluctuated around them and the trees began to grow.

‘Mr. Jeong.’

By this point, Jeong In-Chang had probably lost his strength. Still, seeing how Lee Jun-Kyeong could still feel his aura, the Hunter was most likely safe.

The ruler of Incheon, who had introduced himself as Elfame, was gathering all of his strength.

“Are you one of those bastards?”

“By bastards, you mean…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong continued to give ambiguous answers.

However, Elfame, with an even more indignant look, screamed in anger, "I'm asking if you're in league with the ones in black!"

Swoosh!

Before he knew it, something that seemed like an arrow flew past Lee Jun-Kyeong's cheek.

It was an attack that he hadn’t been able to see, nor even feel.

Lee Jun-Kyeong also had a stiff expression.

"You're not," Elfame said, seemingly certain of something. "You are not one of them."

The fact that Lee Jun-Kyeong hadn’t been able to avoid his attack just now.

With that, Elfame seemed certain.

"Then, why do you have the same aura as them?"

If he was talking about the bastards,

“Are you by chance talking about the Sponsors?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked Elfame.

Although he had tried to draw out more answers using ambiguous responses, Lee Jun-Kyeong had just decided to ask straightforwardly since he had failed.

“Sponsors…?”

"Yes."

"Are you calling these bastards your Sponsors?" Elfame said in a sneering voice.

Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly went through his memory.

'The rulers.'

The rulers of districts that had emerged during the cataclysm.

They were said to have a terrifying power completely different from anything that humanity had ever faced before, and that they had broken and trampled on everything.

Also, they would never die.

The allied Hunters had been able to drive them out after many sacrifices, but the rulers had only been banished, not killed.

The only exception was the Demon King

He was able to kill the rulers.

They continued to vanish. At some point, no new rulers appeared. That was how Lee Jun-Kyeong had heard that the cataclysm had been resolved.

Therefore, he had dozens of questions.

‘Just how.’

How.

‘Why could only the Demon King…’

Why was he the only one who could kill the rulers?

Lee Jun-Kyeong would have to see if he could determine the answer to that question on his own.

“Let me ask you a question too,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to Elfame.

“Are you…”

The words slowly left his mouth. If he could hear the answer to this question, then Lee Jun-Kyeong could understand many things.

“Are you a Sponsor?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked the ruler of Incheon, Elfame, the King of Alfheimr.

1. The Korean version of the Mythical Chiyou of China/Hmong. ????