Chapter 147

The filming of Survival Island, originally planned for one week, ended after just three days. However, Na Taesuk’s editing team didn’t struggle with insufficient footage; rather, they had too much to edit.

“Despite this, why such a lengthy interview?”

“Oh come on. You’re the main protagonist of this broadcast, Jae-yeon. Considering how much you’ll earn from it, don’t make a fuss over a mere interview.” Na Taesuk, the alien disguised as a Siamese cat, chuckled nonchalantly. Various types of cats surrounded him, constantly observing me. At first glance, they resembled a mischievous feline gang roaming the wilderness, but upon closer inspection, they were producers and camera crews conducting the shoot.

“So, what’s happening with the broadcast?”

“I can’t immediately dismiss them. This incident is too big for a variety show…” As Taesuk spoke, he turned towards one wall. His eyes blinked, and the wooden-looking wall transformed into a display showing news footage.

“[News related to the monster situation. During the filming of the popular program ‘Survival Island’, a wave of level 27 monsters occurred. Surprisingly, there were also many transcendent-grade monsters present. To vividly convey this intense scene to our viewers, we will connect with our reporter on-site. Reporter Lim Yeonhee?]”

The screen changed, revealing a pretty reporter standing atop the massive crater created by Breath’s attack.

“This is Lim Yeonhee reporting from the central part of Bulcho Island. The scars on the earth and the still fluctuating magic power reveal the intensity of the incident.”

“[The wave of level 27 monsters… It can be considered the largest scale since the Apocalypse Project. What happened?]

“At 3:30 am on the 22nd, the fissure that had swallowed numerous celebrities and production crew members on Bulcho Island was released. Through eyewitness accounts and captured footage, information about an unimaginable monster wave emerged. This location, where the popular program Survival Island was being filmed…”

Beep!

The screen turned off. Taesuk wagged his tail as he spoke,

“Phew. I’m so busy these days. Busy! Editing news versions, making videos for reports, and even producing a documentary!”

“If you are that busy…”

“But the most important thing is Survival Island!”

”…”

I grumbled while looking at Taesuk.

‘He seems really excited.’

The corners of his mouth were soaring to the sky. How excited was he? Even sitting still, his hips were wiggling up and down.

“Ah, by the way, aren’t you receiving commendations?”

“Yes, they say I led people well or something like that. It’s just luck but it’s nice to be praised.”

The celebrities and film crew who participated in the shooting were collectively hospitalized.

With so many injuries and after fighting for over thirty hours straight, everyone was exhausted. The guild masters who fought on the front lines were assigned luxurious suites, rivaling those of high-end hotels.

“The broadcast mentioned it, but Jae-yeon is truly the protagonist this time. She ranked first overall as well.”

“What about F.D?”

“They don’t participate in such awards. They’re supposedly a lively duo despite being around 1,000 years old… Just look at their performance in this battle! Who can cast ultimate magic with just one sentence? If that were possible, dragons would have already conquered the universe. Despite appearing to be over 4,000 years old, Dragonia insists like parrots that F.D.’s claim is true…”

It seemed that nobody knew the identity of F-D. Indeed, who could’ve seen it when time was stopped?

‘Well, someone did see it. It was me.’

Honestly, this didn’t make sense. This had nothing to do with the mana affinity issue. Time stop wasn’t forcing a physical phenomenon on matter?

‘I think it might be due to Ardenia…’

As I became lost in thought, there was a knock at the door and a staff member peeked inside.

“Ms. Han Jae-yeon. There is one hour left before the awards ceremony. Please start getting ready. Ah! Taesuk-nim, you are here again? Go and prepare!”

“Yes yes. See you later, Jae-yeon.”

After Taesuk left, I took another shower and changed my clothes. As always, I wore the suit given to me by Bae Sarang. It gave off a dandy vibe, but it was made from luxury brand materials. There wouldn’t be any problem wearing this suit anywhere.

“Hoooh.”

I stood next to the window as I looked down at the city. I could see numerous people walking on the streets below.

‘He is the protagonist.’

In front of the camera, I defeated Hyperion and Dark Messiah. This wasn’t insignificant. The police force of district 34 had become so efficient that they were able to apprehend Transcendents with ease. However, this didn’t mean Transcendents weren’t powerful beings anymore.

‘The public power wielded by District 34 is close to being terrifying.’

When one became a Transcendent, it didn’t take long for them to amass wealth in District 34.

Of course, I wasn’t a Transcendent… However, others saw me as a young man in his early twenties.

‘A lot will change now.’

Many people would pay attention to me now. Many choices would be presented to me. The fame gained from this incident was on another level compared to the fame gained through my success in the movie industry. It had been a mainstream hit, but it still hadn’t reached everyone’s consciousness. Now, I would be perceived not just as a celebrity. People would see me as a future Transcendent.

“Ms Han Jae-yeon. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

We passed through the teleportation circle located within the hospital.

Quite a few people gathered for the award ceremony. The monster problem was a universal issue, so even though no damage occurred at district 34, they couldn’t ignore it.

“Did you hear about it? There has been a drastic decrease in monsters appearing around neighboring civilizations.”

“Well, considering they poured everything onto that one spot…”

“I thought it was infinite, but apparently not. Moreover, there were even Transcendents involved.”

“Oh, but will we be okay? Even Earth 34 might struggle if Transcendent monsters conduct suicide bombings.”

“Transcendents are revered as Gods in most civilizations, yet here we are worrying about their potential for terrorism…”

Passing by murmuring people, I arrived at my designated seat. Sungjae, who had already reached earlier, waved his hand.

“Hey~, Junshin has arrived.”

“What nonsense is this?”

“If you defeated a Transcendent without being one yourself, doesn’t that make you a ‘Quasi-Transcendent’? Anyway, thanks to you, I’ve achieved the 7th class now. My Dominion Spell also seems to have improved.”

“Cheese! The vibrations I can accept have greatly increased! And my chest size has gone up by half a cup…”

Olia’s words made Sungjae choke.

“Oh please! Don’t talk about such things! Ah, don’t grab your chest with your hands! There are several cameras here!”

“Wah. Sungjae-ssi. You look young but you’re quite old-fashioned.”

“I-I’m old…? Ah, it hurts my head. Really…” Sungjae replied.

I sat down as they continued to bicker. Lia, the mage amplifier who was in our group earlier, greeted me politely.

“Hello. Are you feeling okay?”

“Of course. How about you, Lia-ssi?”

“I just did amplification. Still, thank you. Although my class didn’t rise like Sungjae-ssi, my amplification coefficient has greatly increased.”

Then Hye-young also greeted me:

“I was also able to open the dark attribute humanities thanks to you, Jae-yeon.”

“It is just due to our efforts…,” she replied modestly.

She downplayed her role as merely giving them a push.

At that moment, the host announced, “The President has arrived.”

Everyone rose from their seats. A middle-aged man appeared and ascended the podium.

“I am quite thrilled. This is my first time personally presenting the Presidential Medal since taking office.” With a warm smile, he addressed the crowd - this was Cheon Jongmyung, the president of South Korea, the strongest nation in District 34.

‘This is my first time seeing him in person.’

He became the first immigrant-originated president after the establishment of the God of Justice and God of Truth’s positions. Notably, he wasn’t even a cleric by profession.

• What is considered the most righteous occupation on Earth?

If one asked this question on Earth-34, nine out of ten people would give the same answer: A prosecutor.

Obviously, they meant a prosecutor as in a legal profession, not a sword wielder.

The prosecution was considered the most righteous organization globally, with more priests serving under the God of Justice than at the Temple of Justice itself. Consequently, most politicians had backgrounds as prosecutors. Even if not, they were typically lawyers or police officers. As a first-generation immigrant and former athlete without any psychic abilities, President Han’s rise to the presidency made him truly exceptional.

He is indeed remarkable.

Around a hundred years ago, it seemed like everyone on Earth wanted to enter politics. Religious figures, celebrities, tycoons, and even criminals tried their hand at it. However, doing it right required immense effort and dedication.

Few things were more challenging than politics.

Just look at Bram.

President Kim hated to admit it, but Bram was one in ten thousand—no, make that one in a hundred thousand. Despite the excellent infrastructure of District 34, how could an ordinary person reach rank eight? Yet even someone as exceptional as Bram had been cut off before reaching assistant minister level.

The God of Justice rejected him even before his evaluation.

A politician needed expertise across various fields along with strong social skills and creativity. The workload never ended, yet they couldn’t reap rewards commensurate with their efforts; doing so would be considered corruption.

Politicians needed as much moral integrity and sense of justice as their immense authority demanded. And at the pinnacle of these politicians stood the President of South Korea.

”…Therefore, this is not just the achievement of District 34 but also for all the universe suffering from the monster crisis…”

Cheon Jongmyung praised me along with thirty other people. It felt slightly like a principal’s lecture, but nobody complained. After all, we weren’t receiving useless certificates.

“Ms. Olia Grant will be given a certificate of commendation and permanent rental rights to Gigas Red Roaring Dragon.”

“Thank you!”

“Ms. Kim Hye-young will receive a certificate of commendation and permanent rental rights to Gigas Dark Panther.”

“To Lee Seong-jae-ssi, I will give you a commendation and permanent rental rights to the Gigas Golden Unicorn.”

“Yes!”

A commendation along with rewards were given.

‘Wow. All of them receive gigas.’

The value of the rewards for resolving this monster crisis was truly enormous, and there was a wide range of choices. However, monetary compensation or items that could be resold were prohibited. It was to prevent the meaning of the commendations from being diminished. Thus, instead of giving away full ownership, they provided permanent rental rights.

‘They can’t sell it but can pass it down as inheritance, and even get maintenance service. This makes it better than just receiving something outright.’

However, unlike them, I couldn’t choose to rent a gigas because I lacked compatibility with gigas. Nonetheless, I didn’t feel disappointed.

“I have seen the footage too. Han Jae-yeon. A second-generation immigrant approaching Transcendent… truly amazing.”

“It was just luck.”

“Haha. Am I talking too much? Han Jae-yeon-ssi. No, Miss Han Jae-yeon will receive a certificate of commendation and…”

Yes, it wasn’t regrettable. I chose something far more valuable than gigas.

“The right to undergo aptitude transformation surgery.”

It was time to break the chains that had bound me for my entire life—the cursed fire attribute mana.

“Ah.”

My hand trembled slightly as I received the card shining with gold. President Cheon Jongmyung watched with a smile on his face.

“I’m glad you seem happy. Well then, let’s finish here.”

“If we end here, won’t it be disappointing?”

“Disappointing if we en…” Suddenly, he paused, looking puzzled. “What?”

Next to President Cheon Jongmyung stood a man. He was tall but appeared somewhat slender. He didn’t possess remarkable grandeur or dazzling looks; he just seemed like an average handsome man.

“Huh?”

“Ah?”

“Eh…”

It was truly an unexpected appearance, yet nobody questioned what he was doing there. No one shouted for him to be removed immediately. The reason was simple—they recognized him.

“What? Ah. A…A! A?!?”

“No, no way.”

“This can’t be…”

Indeed, everyone knew who he was. In all of District 34, could anyone fail to recognize him?

He was the highest-ranked God, unmatched by any being in existence—a transcendent figure born with divine lineage. The Savior who had saved Earth from certain doom and whose name reverberated throughout the entire universe.

Great and magnificent… The Game Master.

“Han Jae-yeon.”

He called out to me.

“I appoint you as my apostle.”

Flash!

A light descended from high up in the sky, striking me. There was no pain at all. I just felt the pouring of light upon me.

“An apostle, now… Not a priest but an apostle?”

“There is only one apostle of the Game God right now, isn’t there?”

“That’s just a rumor! T-To think he would be appointed so publicly…”

Screams erupted from all around. It was natural given the sudden descent of a god. However, at some point…

Everything stopped.

”…?!”

It was a familiar sensation—time stop.

“Ah, it seems this must happen.”

The Game Master nodded within the frozen time. Despite being able to perceive the halted time, I couldn’t move, merely watching him helplessly.

“The appointment of an apostle…can’t go through?”

With a playful expression, the Game Master looked at me.