Chapter 204. The Qualification of an Explorer (1)
Though I had somewhat expected it, with Revival’s accomplishments in the previous incident, my influence had reached an unimaginable realm. Just by saying that there was an important announcement, everything fell into place without having to borrow Hwaya’s power.
“Leon, it’s me.”
[Friend! What’s up? Did a new Event Dungeon appear?]
As we couldn’t leave Leon out of such an important announcement, we called him as well. We then explained what our plan was and what we wanted him to do after the announcement. In other words, he didn’t have to hide that he was an explorer anymore and he could make other people into explorers as long as they met our two conditions and signed the contract.
Unexpected, after thinking about it for a bit, Leon flew to Korea. The reason he gave was rather interesting.
“If I can make American ability users into explorers, that means they’ll become part of America’s strength. Since the government already knows I’m in contact with you, it’s only obvious that I join you in cutting the start line! I’m already a dungeon explorer, it wouldn’t be right to hide in the shadows!”
“Ha, you really are passionate, Leon. Thanks.”
“You know me well, Dude!”
The dungeon was a huge secret. Since we were hiding it all this time, people would undoubtedly criticize us for it. I, of course, had the confidence not to be bothered by it, but Leon seemed to think that it would have been cowardly to not include himself. Of course, we welcomed him with open arms. With Leon also being there, even more, people began to focus on this announcement.
Ren and Lebuik were enough to provide proof that other worlds existed, but to better explain the danger facing Earth, we decided to include one of the beastman children we saved. After a small deathmatch among the children, Elfa was chosen.
Wait, there’s something wrong with the way the Elfa was chosen. They didn’t need to be so passionate about this! Also, Elfa, I didn’t know you were so strong! You might be able to start climbing the dungeon now!
I only said one of them had to come with me, and Elfa folded her rabbit ears and quickly knocked everyone else down in just 2 seconds. Then, as she wiped the blood off of her legs, she asked with a cheerful smile.
“Do I go and sit on Oppa’s lap?”
“No!”
Ina, who was already in my arms, shouted.
“That’s my place!”
“Eeek, I hate you!”
“I hate you too!”
Ina and Elfa growled at each other with their heads almost touching. Elfa would undoubtedly freeze if Ina made a mistake, so I was rather surprised at Ina’s consideration. Mm, I was sure they would become great friends in the future. Yep. I just hoped Ina wouldn’t freeze Elfa in an argument.
The day after, everyone stood in front of the whole world together. Hundreds of reporters gathered at the large press conference I held, and the flurry of flashes was even starting to annoy me.
Although I was in the spotlight, as I wanted to divert the atten… or rather, as I wanted to emphasize the entire Revival and not just me, I had everyone present. Leon was also in one of the seats. As for Ina, Hwaya was holding onto her on her lap. Elfa, on the other hand, was being held by Lebuik under the reasoning that the guild master would lose his dignity with little girls by his side.
After seeing that everyone was present, I held the mic up to my mouth.
“Dozens of years before Two Moon, the dungeon was already there. No one knows who made the dungeon or how it is being maintained. One thing we know for sure is that it exists. My father and a few others worked as explorers. Though, we only started progressing after obtaining our abilities after Two Moon.”
“So you’re trying to say that you can enter this… dungeon that’s connected to other worlds? And that you can grow your abilities there?”
“We, of course, have ways to prove our claims. Three of the members here, Ren, Lebuik, and Elfa are residents of another world. Currently, their world has been taken over by a race called El Patiz, which are similar to the monsters that are invading Earth. I obtained the ability to travel to other worlds through the dungeon and saved Ren, Elfa, and other children who aren’t currently here.”
“What do you mean by taken over?”
As expected, they were interested in the Panan continent. When I was about to speak, Elfa shouted.
“They eat brains! Then they pretend to be that person! They ate Uruto too, and even the Hero!”
“… The same thing happened across their entire continent. Ordinary people were either killed or eaten by the El Patiz, and it was the same for monsters and animals that made up the ecosystem. Although dungeon explorers tried to stop them, it was too late. In the end, Ren and Lebuik here had to flee to our world.”
The press conference hall became silent. It was probably hard to imagine monsters that ate people’s brains. However, there was someone who broke the silence and asked a question.
“But where’s the proof? No, there’s another problem before that. These people with animals ears, aren’t they monsters?”
“They’re residents of another world who just look different than us. They had intelligence equaling humans, and more importantly, they fight against monsters just like us. Do you plan to treat everyone who looks different as enemies?”
“Shuna and I are also residents of another world. Shin save us from this world’s enemy, the Demon Lord.”
Ludia spoke out. Although she wasn’t from Earth, because she looked like a Caucasian, there wasn’t a way to prove that she was from another world. That was why we had brought Ren, Lebuik, and Elfa, who clearly had non-human features.
“The people from my world fought against the Demon Lord and his Demon Army for a long time. We were defeated only recently. Shin obtained a skill called Dimensional Travel and came to save me. I regret that you can’t see the state of my world. If you could, I wonder if you’ll be able to see Mana Stones as a mere source of energy.”
“Demon Lord? Demons?”
“There isn’t just one world’s enemy. Both the Demon Lord and the El Patiz are among them. In other words, several worlds are being invaded at the same time by different or possibly the same forces. As for Earth, it hasn’t been that long since the invasion began. But we can’t relax because of that. After the Demon Lord conquered the Luka continent, he immediately began to invade another world, and our world was unlucky enough to be chosen. Our world is currently being attacked by two forces. Their joint invasion loosens and widens the path leading to our world, accelerating the invasion process. That’s why we have only 2 years left.”
“What you just talked about, is that related to you? Could you have caused this disastrous result of being invaded by two forces by going to help that girl?”
As I had wondered about this too, I couldn’t blame the reporter for asking. Even after I got an answer from Loretta, I still had doubts. However, if my doubts were true, that would mean one of two things. I had either made a fatal mistake by becoming a Dimensional Mercenary as a Hero or the dungeon, which had helped me grow stronger all this time, was actually the mastermind behind everything. As either were absurd and annoying to think about, I could only believe that it was a mere coincidence that the Demon Lord’s next target was us.
“If that is the question, you have to first question whether the dungeon is our ally or foe. Though even I cannot be sure, if that were true, then there really wouldn’t be anything trustworthy. Of course, it’s your choice whether to believe this or not. Regardless, there is bound to be someone who is in need of the dungeon’s help. If you can believe us, hear us out.”
I then told them the conditions of becoming a dungeon explorer.
“If you can fulfill the three conditions I just mentioned, the rest of Revival and I are more than ready to accept you as a new explorer. I will make this clear. We have no intention of controlling you. You only have to fight against monsters where you are comfortable. As for the world’s enemies, I will defeat them.”
“Why haven’t you told anyone about such an important matter until now? If you told us about explorers earlier, it would have easier to develop them!”
“Was it so that you could monopolize power? If it’s as you say, being a dungeon explorer is a privilege! Isn’t obeying you the only way to become one!? This is an absolute supremacy in modern society!”
I wasn’t fazed by such strikes. When the hall began to get noisy, Ina became annoyed and attempted to emit freezing energy. Of course, Hwaya immediately stopped and dissuaded her. Right, we couldn’t resort to violence.
However, if their voices got louder, and they started talking about taking the right to appoint dungeon explorers, things would become extremely annoying. There wouldn’t have been a meaning to releasing this information.
I breathed in lightly. I closed my eyes, then opened them back up. Immediately, the atmosphere slightly changed. Soon, it changed a lot.
What I did was simple. I released Succubus’ Pupils, Spirit of the Tamer, and other skills that increased charm, which I had been suppressing until now. At the same time, I increased Overwhelm’s power to its peak. Finally, I put just enough strength in my Evil Eyes so that they wouldn’t petrify ordinary people.
Charm was related to how one’s appearance influenced others. When I released my charm and used Overwhelm together, the result was even better. While emanating both charm and fear, I slowly looked around.
“Uk.”
“My god.”
“Is that… a human being?”
“His eyes are glowing gold.”
I slowly spoke.
“Developing dungeon explorers? Sure, that sounds good. Increasing the number of explorers and the power of humanity. That’s excellent, it’s exactly what I want.
Unfortunately, such a thing wasn’t so easy to accomplish. If everyone knew right from wrong, would there be wars? Murders? Crimes? Historically, humans had always rushed to their demise.
“That would have been true if governments, groups, and individuals’ greed wasn’t involved. If Revival wasn’t so strong, would you have listened to us so calmly? No, you would have tried to control us to your bidding. The world’s crisis? I doubt you would have even listened. Monster remains, gates, Mana Stones! The benefits wouldn’t have been limited to just these!”
The hall became completely silent.
“That’s why we needed power. To make everyone listen to us, we had to grow our strengths. Now, we’re ready to talk and you’re ready to listen. Can you ignore what we’re saying now? If we didn’t have the strength to back up our claims, would you have paid attention to us?”
“… How can you prove that you aren’t like that?”
The man sitting in the front asked with clear articulation. It was France’s SS ranker, Laz Michel. Though it was rather unexpected, it was understandable at the same time. He had certainly said so. That he’d wait for the day I tell him everything. Now that the time had come, he had flown to Korea to personally find out.
“Everything you said is right. There’s no need to even speak of all the wrongs committed by humans. However, what you’re saying only holds weight if your group is different than the other powerful groups. I want to ask. Are you confident in not placing your personal benefits over others’ benefits? Will you be able to grant the qualification to become a dungeon explorer fairly? Will you not control them for your goals?”
They were all good questions. But if there was anyone that could answer his questions honorably, it would be me.
“I already have everything I want. Political authority? I’m not interested. Plus, if I really wanted political authority, I could easily achieve it without having to deal with this dungeon explorer qualification. After all, I’m already the strongest in the world, and I even have enough money to fill the entire ocean with gold. I have many great friends and loving parents, and the world’s most beautiful sister and daughter.”
“D-Daughter?”
While the audience stirred, Ina, puffed out her chest proudly, while Yua hid her face slightly embarrassed. Mm, they really were cute.
“Michel, there’s no one on Earth that can provide me with something I can’t achieve myself. So why would I prioritize someone over another? People who idolize me? I don’t need them. I hate people like that the most. This is something you should all remember. If you want to become a dungeon explorer, show your real self. If you think we don’t have methods of telling, I can only call you foolish.”
My Evil Eyes shined with greater brilliance and dyed the entire hall in light. Seeing as how Daisy’s eyes were sparkling, she seemed to have understood that I was talking about her. Or perhaps, she was just thinking about what we were going to eat for dinner.
“As I said, we only have three conditions. Having the ability to climb the dungeon steadily, not using the authority to appoint other dungeon explorers without approval, and not harming others by using your power recklessly. Although we have ways of ensuring that these conditions are met, it is strictly a precautionary method. We do not mean to control you in any way. We will, of course, tell you about these technical details before you can become a dungeon explorer. Simply put, you will be under a special contract.”
“So anyone can become a dungeon explorer?”
“Anyone who doesn’t violate our conditions has the qualification to become a dungeon explorer. We are only trying to limit the appointment of new explorers because we cannot allow unvetted, weak, or evil-minded people. As I said before, we do not mean to control or manage you in any way. You can fight for your country, your family, or yourself in your own place, in your own method.”
“Mmm…”
“This contract will bind both of our souls. If you still have doubts, I can even add a clause preventing me from interfering in cases where the three conditions are still met. Anyone who violates this contract will have their soul taken.”
Michel stared at me fixedly on his seat. It seemed he had said what he wanted to say and planned to watch me for now. Of course, other than Michel, no one could challenge the effect of my Overwhelm.
“I’ll say it again. We only have 2 years left. We must put aside humanity’s advancement for now and raise our spears and swords against the monsters. Otherwise, rather than advancing, humanity will end up deteriorating, even becoming extinct.”
“Extinct, you say…”
“Revival and all ability users exist precisely to prevent such a thing from happening. If you want to fight against the monsters on the front lines, contact us. We will help you.”
The press conference ended. The entire world saw and heard me. The truth behind monsters and the existence of the dungeon were revealed to the world. We were now ready to sprint forward without hesitation.