By Zephyria What kind of reaction would people usually have if they heard that someone who died eight years ago was actually alive? People were still divided on J’s life or death.
Subject: [Anonymous] If J is alive
Shouldn’t we send a rescue team
to the West Sea Rift?
Even if he’s alive, he might not be able to move.
Like, his legs could be cut off…
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―Are there really no other survivors?
└Yeah, I compared the names on the memorial and the ranking, and only J’s name was newly added. It seems only J survived.
―Do you know what the inside of the Rift is like? Do you know how many Hunters died there?
└So, are you just going to leave a person in the Rift like that?
└Ha… so we went in to save crazy brats like theseㅋㅋ Humanity is falling, for real.
└Don’t you guys remember when the West Sea Rift was expanding like crazy? Opening that could ruin the country, for real.
└Is it the same as back then? How much of a difference is there in power levelsㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s not like the days when the whole nation risked their lives for one J.
└Does it make sense to put all that power in just to save one J??
―Yeah~ You can’t even open a closed Rift in the first place lol Of course, at first, people didn’t believe it. Even among the Hunters, the majority opinion was that it was just a temporary error and would be fixed soon. However, Channel 1, which had directly confirmed J’s existence, waited in hushed silence for the official announcement from the Awakened Management Bureau.
―Yeah, it’s a lie~
―Sigh, why are they making up lies like this
―Even if there’s an error, why this kind of error lol ―Even the System malfunctions sometimes
:
:
―Why aren’t they fixing the error?
―Could it be?
It didn’t take long for a question mark of doubt to be attached to the ‘could it be’ that people were talking about. Days passed, but the ranking didn’t change, and people were flustered.
Soon, all sorts of media outlets spread baseless rumors, and as they became accepted as fact, the Awakened Management Bureau hurriedly set out to contain the chaos. The press conference was at 3 PM, so Eui-jae was able to put up a ‘Break Time’ sign and watch the press conference quietly alone.
As the time came, the woman who appeared on the screen had a neat short haircut, a neatly dressed suit, and a cane. Except for the fact that her complexion wasn’t good, she looked similar to how Eui-jae remembered her. It was Ham Seok-jeong, the Director of the Awakened Management Bureau, who had been refraining from external activities due to health reasons.
After a brief greeting, she said firmly.
“This ranking is not a System error.”
She paused to catch her breath and continued.
“It is not a duplicate Hunter name. It is not that someone else has taken J’s name. …It’s hard to believe, but internal investigations have revealed that J is currently alive.”
The murmuring and the sound of flashes grew louder. Reporters raised their hands.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Are there no other survivors besides J?”
“Eight years ago, the Awakened Management Bureau confirmed the deaths of the Hunters who entered the West Sea Rift. Why has the story suddenly changed?”
“If J is alive, where is he now?”
Despite the barrage of questions, Ham Seok-jeong showed no change in expression, briefly raised her palm to focus attention, and answered in a calm voice.
“We plan to form an investigation team to get a clearer understanding of the situation. We would appreciate it if you could wait a little longer.”
Ham Seok-jeong and the Awakened Management Bureau Hunters bowed.
Eui-jae looked at Ham Seok-jeong’s face and realized anew that eight years had passed. In J’s memory, she was young and passionate, and she didn’t walk with a cane or limp. When did she hurt her leg?
And she…
‘How can she be so sure?’
Today’s press conference by the Awakened Management Bureau overturned what they had announced in the past. With everyone’s attention focused on it, they couldn’t have made such an announcement based only on the fact that J had entered Channel 1.
Ham Seok-jeong is that kind of person. A cautious, mountain-like person who only moves when there is irrefutable evidence and a clear justification. Eui-jae stared at Ham Seok-jeong, who was still bowing, for a long time before turning off the TV.
After the Awakened Management Bureau’s press conference, the story of J was everywhere in Korea. The special broadcast of 「110 Minute Debate」 was nothing compared to this.
The breaking news and news that came out every day were all about the West Sea Rift and J, and there was sharp opposition, divided into two sides, about whether he should be rescued.
‘Seriously, they fight over everything.’
Even if someone asked Eui-jae what he thought about J’s revival and rescue, he would respond with a commoner’s meta—which now seemed to be a passive skill—like, ‘Haha, I don’t really know.’
But all his attempts to desperately escape this topic ultimately failed, and the reason was….
「The world is amazed by J’s amazing ability, Japan is angry, and Americans are clamoring to see J!」
J had even taken over YouTube’s trending videos.
The topic of conversation among the regulars at the Hanover Soup Restaurant changed every time, but the hottest topic these past few days was, of course, ‘J’.
The Hunters ignored the tables and ate their Hangover Soup, discussing everything from J’s survival to the state of the Rift. As all the participants in the discussion were active Hunters, various opinions were expressed.
“Isn’t it a System error? That seems like the most likely possibility.”
“The Bureau of Rift Management said it wasn’t at the press conference. That J is alive.”
“Yeah, but how are they so sure about that? Have they even talked to the System directly?”
“I don’t know. But seeing Ham Seok-jeong do the press conference herself, it seems like it’s certain.”
“Anyway, there’s something fishy about that place.”
“What are you saying… right in front of Jung-bin’s autograph.”
“Damn, when did this autograph get put up?”
The most common and least credible theory was the System error theory.
Ranking updates are once a year, but dead Hunters are usually immediately removed from the list as soon as they die.
If contact is lost inside the Rift, their life or death is confirmed by whether their name is on the ranking, so its accuracy is guaranteed. So, people would suspect the System but soon abandon the idea.
At that time, a new Hunter, who was skillfully slicing chili peppers, offered an opinion.
“Or maybe he died and was recently resurrected?”
“Is there an item that resurrects dead people?”
“The world is like this, there might be one.”
“Maybe some healer saved him…….”
“Nam Woo-jin can’t revive dead people either.”
“Or maybe J had the only resurrection item in the world, and the resurrection waiting time was eight years.”
“That’s kind of plausible.”
‘What’s plausible?’
The resurrection-after-death theory that Eui-jae hated every time he heard it.
Logically, they were all nonsense that should be rejected, but J’s return was that confusing. Of course, various hypotheses appeared not only at the Hanover Soup Restaurant but also on the Hunter Net anonymous bulletin board….
―I’d rather believe the theory that a necromancer resurrected him lololol └Is there any famous necromancer? Find them quickly └Necromancers are forbidden from resurrecting humans, so they’ll never do it ㅠㅠ
The theory of a necromancer illegally reviving J, ―Actually, he was fighting in another dimension for 8 years and then returned ㅇㅇ Returnee Warrior J
└You’ve been reading too many fantasy novels…
└Dude; don’t you know that after the Day of the Rift, fantasy novels = essays?
There were plenty of absurd stories like the returnee theory, but of course, no one got the answer right. The premise itself was wrong from the start. J never died.
And those who were discussing ‘how’ realized that there was no answer unless J opened his mouth himself, and they moved on to another stage.
J is alive. Then where is he?
The last place J was seen was the West Sea Rift. Clearly, he couldn’t get out of there, and people thought J had closed the Rift and died inside. But the fact that they had believed for eight years might not be true.
Early morning when everyone was asleep.
Eui-jae suddenly opened his eyes. In the silence where even breathing could not be heard, he held his breath without moving. The small room where Eui-jae was lying was quiet without any sound, but he could instinctively tell.
‘There’s an intruder outside this room.’
There was no way a customer would come at this late hour. No matter how much they wanted to eat Hangover Soup, they wouldn’t break into the store after it was locked.
Anything that could be used as a weapon was in the kitchen, and all he had was a strong body. Eui-jae raised his upper body as slowly and quietly as possible, clenching and unclenching his hands a couple of times. Fortunately, he was good at fighting with his bare hands.
‘I don’t know what crazy brat it is….’
He wanted to tear off their limbs, but it would be a hassle to clean up. Just breaking them appropriately would be enough to extract information and then report them.
Eui-jae erased his presence, opened the door to the small room, and stepped barefoot onto the floor. As he came out of the wall made of boxes, he saw the familiar hall. In the dim store, where the streetlights dimly shone through the glass, a Gas mask was sitting.