Chapter 178 Grape Jam (1)
After a frog, it was a bird. After a bird, it was a wildcat, and after the wildcat, he became a wolf. He then became an unknown flower and even a tree. Then, his recollection stopped.
‘That’s it?’
It was ridiculous. The effect that used 18.75 million points to acquire only lasted a few minutes. He couldn’t believe it ended with a few glimpses of his past life of being animals and plants. As he was wondering if this was happening, a new memory was uncovered in his mind.
—Gek!
Yoon-seok finally escaped from being plants and animals. It started again with a Goblin, then an Orc, and only after that did his human lives begin. However, it wasn’t Rick Gerssey’s life yet. He was in a primitive era where the language wasn’t established. Yoon-seok defended the people as a tribal warrior and went hunting outside. Then, he was killed by a beast.
‘Is this what it meant by recovering slowly?’
As memories of his previous life unfolded, Yoon-seok realized, slowly, that it didn’t remind him of all his past lives all at once. Unlike the creatures whose memories ended within a minute at most or as early as 10 seconds, a grace period was given after he became human.
Also…
‘The higher the intelligence, the longer the playtime?’
Yoon-seok sighed. Of course, the longer the grace time, the more memories were reproduced, but this was why reaching Rick Gerssey was a problem. Every one of them was too incomplete. Until now, thirty minutes was the longest record, it was when he became a soldier standing guard on a wall.
It was nothing much, however. All he did was stand next to his colleague and chat about this and that.
‘Still, should I be relieved that the time to recall memories isn’t real?’
He experienced the memory as if it was his body, but in reality, about 1 second had passed. Should he say that memory’s information was simply engraved on his brain? He couldn’t say for sure, but Yoon-seok decided to name this phenomenon Wave for now.
He didn’t know how many waves were left, but he wanted to use his time more efficiently. He needed at least an hour grace period after one reenactment, so it was a waste not to do anything during that time.
‘12.8 million MP…’
Yoon-seok checked his remaining MP balance. He couldn’t upgrade another Unique Skill to Rank S. However; this was too many to keep. Should he upgrade his stats? Or should he acquire new general skills and turn them into powers?
Yoon-seok decided to put the decision on hold until the next duel. There were still 13 days left, but before that, he thought there might be times he might need to use the points or he might find a better way to use them.
‘Let’s save this too.’
Yoon-seok also decided to keep the Dragonian Heart he obtained from his last mission in his subspace bag. Although it was a miracle elixir that raised his magic stats below Rank SS permanently by +1, it would be more efficient to use it during emergencies as it had an additional effect that restored all magic. Plus, after checking, it could be used as a production material instead of as medicine.
‘Then should I get going?’
Finally, by checking the ranking board one more time, he confirmed he was done in the waiting room. Yoon-seok returned to Earth without regret. No matter what he did in the future, he planned to meet Ashton for interim inspections.
“You’re here.”
As soon as he opened his eyes, a Management Department member welcomed Yoon-seok. Their location was the same hotel room just before he left. After ten days on the mission, nothing appeared to have happened to Incheon, seeing how the building remained.
“Where’s Ashton?”
As if he was an official greeting the president, the stiff agent shouted.
“Since I contacted him, the General Director will be here soon.”
“Director?”
He asked for Ashton, but why was he talking about a General Director? When Yoon-seok tilted his head, the agent quickly continued to explain.
“Challenger Choi Yoon-seok may not know. He took the director’s position a few days ago.”
“Are you sure you’re talking about Ashton?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
This agent wasn’t good at explaining, but that was a good thing. What happened during the mission? How in the world did he, who was managing the upper ranks, become the General Director?
—I-I’m the vice-captain…?
—If Lynn remains here, it will be of tremendous help as to what we can do in the future.
Yoon-seok felt strange as he remembered his last conversation with Ashton.
“I’m just asking to confirm. What happened to the previous director?”
Since the slaughter in Hanguk Hospital, Yoon-seok had negotiated with the head of the U.S. Challenger Management Department. Maybe Ashton killed him and took his place. But…
“Previous director?”
The agent was dumbfounded.
“Ashton Jackson became the director of the Global Challenger Federation…?”
Global Challenger Federation. As he remembered, it was an organization that didn’t exist in the world the last time he was here.
Whoosh!
As he was spacing out, a magic square was drawn in the hotel room, and light flashed. Yoon-seok could tell as soon as he saw the flow of magic… was their name Taro Kitamura? It was the Japanese challenger he’d met several times.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. We finished in a hurry after hearing the news, but we were in a meeting….”
After the light faded, Taro Kitamura and Ashton appeared in the room together. Ashton was wearing a luxurious suit, and Kitamura was assisting him like a secretary. Ashton’s influence was strong among challengers from all over the world, but he wasn’t like that until ten days ago. He could feel the changes at a glance.
Yoon-seok first sent out the people around him, and when it was only the two of them, he asked Ashton accusingly.
“…Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
He could roughly guess its purpose through the name. It was an organization to prepare for the invaders assailing the world. However, without any prior discussion, he went about it arbitrarily. Of course, it may have happened somehow without his intent. Therefore, he decided to make a judgment after hearing him out. But…
“We’re finally able to do it, too.”
Ashton smiled. It was far from what he’d expected. He thought he would apologize or try to make excuses somehow, but how could he have such a bright face? He was like a puppy waiting for praise after doing something commendable.
“You did it? Can you say it properly so that I can understand it?”
When Yoon-seok asked back, Ashton quickly explained.
“Tattooing, imprinting, enchanting, and granting additional power.”
This was the proposal that Fahrini made while scouting Yoon-seok. Why was he bringing this up now?
“Now we’re able to do it for you too.”
Looking at his delightful gaze, Yoon-seok realized.
‘What the heck…’
The Global Challenger Federation was the first challenger-related international organization, established with the support of 89 governments and receiving huge donations from several private organizations. But in truth, this organization was sort of like a fan club for Yoon-seok.
“…”
The colorful gold buttons of Ashton’s suit were flashing with colorful radiance as Yoon-seok pondered what to do. Should he be happy about this? What should he do? He didn’t know. But it seemed they had a lot to discuss.
This was what happened when Fahrini visited them that day. Ashton was angry after seeing the fan club next door. Why were they so bold and weak when this other group was offering serious support? That was the start.
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Ashton decided to replace the whole U.S. Challenger Management Department first. But he changed his plan after being entrusted with the spacecraft Lynn before Yoon-seok left. Now he had a bigger dream.
“I was lucky. Just in time, there was a big crack in Russia. So I was able to show Yoon-seok’s power to the world.”
In Russia, there was a rift several times larger than the size of Seoul’s last gate. Ashton immediately led the spacecraft to wipe out the invaders. As a result, the projected astronomical damages had been reduced to less than a hundredth. Following that, Ashton attributed all the credit to Yoon-seok. Naturally, Guwon-gyo believers around the world began to go crazy when they heard the news.
Ashton set off another bomb before the public opinion cooled down. That bomb was none other than Fahrini.
—Most people think different dimensions are primitive and barbaric places, but they are not. They are stronger and wiser than we are.
Earth was the most likely to fall among the four dimensions. Using that fact, they steal the Earth’s challengers away in the dark. Ashton even revealed to the public that Fahrini recently visited Yoon-seok and promised enormous support. After that, it was quick.
—Democracy, socialism, economy, morality, values, ideology. We need to put all of this down for a while. We are living in an era of survival now. Our respective leaders of each country, please make the right decision.
Human’s natural desire for survival. Hostility. The masses were filled with such primitive emotions. Although there was still a long way to go, an organization was founded in about ten days.
“Do you want to see it for yourself?”
Following that, Yoon-seok quickly crossed to the United States with Taro Kitamura’s teleportation. The Global Challenger Federation’s building was as huge as several soccer fields, and it was clear it was brand new. No matter how the organization was established, there was no way a building like this could have been built in 10 days.
….
“Ah, this building was being built by API to relocate its headquarters.”
“It must’ve been hard to persuade such a large company.”
“I didn’t have to convince them. It went bankrupt after the chairman died a while ago. I just had to buy it at a bargain price. No fool would buy land in times like this.”
Died and went bankrupt a few days ago… was it just his imagination, or did it sound more meaningful than it was?
“Please take off your mask and go in. You stand out too much.”
Yoon-seok complied and took off his mask. His appearance with the mask was more famous to the public.
“Ah, this is where the Enchanting Department will enter. We will gather challengers with production and magic skills and support not only you but also the many challengers with potential.”
Ashton guided him from place to place through the building. Some places had already been completed and started functioning properly, while others were still blank.
“This is the Exploration Department. If we collect rare items, we are planning to operate by purchasing them at high prices. We can’t bring it to Earth-like you, but we have a challenger who can hand over ownership in the plaza.”
It was divided into various departments to climb the Tower efficiently under the guidance of veteran challengers. No, the expression of ascending the Tower wasn’t appropriate. It was more like heading to the Tower to dig up war supplies. After thinking that way, this building reminded him of the military barracks he stayed in during the previous mission.
“Should we ask the Chinese challenger to join the team? We should stop testing the waters and send a final offer.”
Ashton gave various instructions to each person he met. He seemed busy like he was working with three bodies, but he felt right for the job. If it were Yoon-seok, he wouldn’t be able to do half of his work even if he had ten bodies. Although he was more confident than anyone else in fighting and breaking, he was hopeless at this.
“I’ll look around slowly at rest.”
“Oh, will you? I want to stay, but there’s an important meeting left… please call me whenever you need me. I’ll be back after finishing my work.”
“Yes. Let’s finish talking then.”
“Then I’ll put Kitamura on it.”
Yoon-seok went around the rest of the Federation with Kitamura. It was quite fascinating. When he ascended, everything was chaotic, but he couldn’t believe it became so systematic in little more than a week. At the same time, he felt a little bitter.
It was then.
Tuk.
While spacing out for a while, he bumped into someone. She was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-teens.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Yoon-seok habitually scanned her magic. Based on the amount he detected, in terms of the duel, was she about the fifth floor? He didn’t have anything else to say; he just thought of how there were such young challengers in the world.
Then, Yoon-seok startled.
‘I bumped into her?’
No matter how deep in thought he was, it was a little strange. Running into someone? Unsurprisingly, it was once a matter of course, but that was the common sense of the past. Yoon-seok hurriedly turned around.
The challenger who bumped into him was walking slowly away without any signs of abnormality. Yoon-seok immediately threw himself in her way.
“…W-what’s wrong with you?”
Her reaction as she shrunk away felt normal. Then was he just being sensitive?
“No, I thought I saw someone I knew. I’m sorry.”
Yoon-seok apologized and stepped down. As he looked over her face, his eyes began to blur.
‘Is it already time?’
Yoon-seok relaxed. The timing was coincidental, but this didn’t happen because someone else manipulated it. It was just time for that.
‘Seems like I’m a human again this time.’
His mind unveiled a new vision.
—I sympathize with your situation, but I hope you understand.
The first thing he saw was a woman in her early 20s. Yoon-seok in his previous life replied, looking at this strangely familiar woman.
—I don’t know if this is better. Even if you live, you’ll only be used by him for the rest of your life.
A strange feeling of mixed sorrow and joy. Unlike before, the mood was solemn. Yoon-seok thought that maybe this was the long-awaited memory of Rick Gerssey. But, it took a very short time to know his expectations were wrong.
Plorkk-!
A white dagger stuck in his heart. Yoon-seok vomited blood and asked for the last time.
—Your Nickname.
—…?
—I’ve been curious since before. Did you make up that nickname randomly?
—You’re funny. I can’t believe you’re asking me about that now.
—Because you’re a thorough woman in everything. I thought there must be a reason for the nickname.
—…You’re making me feel sorry for you.
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The woman smiled sadly.
—My mother liked grape jam. It’s just that.
Only then did Yoon-seok realize a new fact. Memories of a forgotten life-
—Goodbye, Yoon-seok.
-did not only mean his past lives.