Past Life Returner

Chapter 257

[You will enter the Stage of Advent (Act Two).]

Seong-Il and I were in the middle of a forest full of green weeds when we got that notification message.

“Isn’t this place the ox-heads’ mainland?”

He was asking this because he thought that maybe Lee Soo-Ah and Shin Kyung-Ah could be here. He became slightly excited when he heard the sound of water gushing. I pointed far ahead instead of answering. Although the source of the light was hidden by trees and was far away from where we were, it gave off a clear and huge ray of light. It stretched out vertically from the sky to the earth, piercing through the clouds. I was certain that it was something I wouldn’t see on the Baclan mainland.

[System (Army) has been opened.]

[System (Guild) has been opened.]

[* Revolucion(12) was created arbitrarily.]

[* Lee Tae-Han has been randomly selected as the guild leader of Revolucion (12).]

[* The System has placed you in Revolucion(12). You can drop out if you wish.]

Messages popped up one after another, and it was proof that Act Two had begun. Guilds and corps were not only formed after a verbal agreement among the Awakened, but they were often also forced by the System. The reason why the System activated the guild structure despite the risk of dispersing power was probably because of the size of the Stage in Act Two.

[Guild name: Revolucion(12)

Guild leader: Lee Tae-Han

Deputy guild leader: Undetermined

Guild members: 72,121

Corps: Undetermined]

[The quest ‘Ruler’ has been activated.]

[Ruler (Quest)

Strong and extensive privileges will be given to the guild leader.

Mission: Eliminate the guild leader

Reward: XP and the status of guild leader]

The leader of a large organization wasn’t determined solely by killing each other, but such a quest was bound to appear and induce conflict. Since it was a cancelable quest, I immediately opted it out.

[A category has been added to your status window.]

[Subject: Guild, Corps, Attack Team]

[Name: Na Seon-Hu

Level: 483 (Challenger) *Round Two*

Guild: Revolucion (12)

Corps: N/A

Attack squad: N/A]

[Guild: The guild leader Lee Tae-Han has designated ‘Angela’ and ‘Gunnarson’ as deputy guild leaders.]

That was the last notification message I got after I entered Act Two.

“Ugh, it’s never-ending.”

However, the Spirit was now announcing the real news that heralded the start of Act Two.

[Can you see the big and beautiful light pillar?]

Seong-Il flippantly said, “I have something big and beautiful too. Hehe.”

He was too relaxed even though he fell into an unfamiliar place. However, the smile in his eyes slowly faded away as if he recalled that the Spirit could turn evil at any critical moment.

[But don’t be fooled. It is not there for you. It makes you weak while it makes your enemies strong. Did you figure it out? The mission of Act Two, Stage One is to destroy that light pillar as quickly as possible.]

The Spirit continued.

[The light pillar is located in Baclan’s territory. You don’t know yet, but the Baclans are powerful. But don’t worry! My colleagues who failed to get a promotion (｡>﹏<｡) will help you out. If you follow our guidance well, you will be able to achieve excellent results in this stage. My colleagues will explain the details, so hang in there!]

“That’s it? Anything else?” Seong-Il asked.

I shook my head. “We will figure it out soon. Let’s go.”

As Seong-Il had pointed out, the Spirit didn’t provide any important information. People would soon find out that the pillar of light weakened attack power in the first stage, emasculated items in the second, emasculated skills and traits in the third, and made all the abilities of the Awakened obsolete in the long-awaited fourth stage. The Spirit also didn’t mention the dangerous risks on the way, night raids, or even how this stage was structured. It was truly unkind.

This stage was largely divided into three sections. The innermost area was the red zone where the light pillar and dangerous elements were located, and the outermost region was the black zone, which was where the night attacks would originate. Also, the area between the red and black zones was the blue zone.

Seong-Il and I were in the blue zone, and there were eight cities here where we could secure food and water for survival.

***

[Guild: The guild leader Lee Tae-Han occupied the city (3).]

[Guild: The guild leader Lee Tae-Han named the city (3) ‘Temporary Headquarters.’

* The guild leader Lee Tae-Han has been designated as the mayor of the city (Temporary Headquarters).]

…

[Guild: Your guild member Peng Tianwei occupied the city (8).]

[Guild: Your guild member Peng Tianwei named the city (8) ‘Beijing.’

* Your guild member Peng Tianwei has been designated as the mayor of the city (Beijing).]

[Guild: Your guild member Lee Joo-Shin has been designated as the mayor of the city (Beijing).]

[Guild: Your guild member Lee Joo-Shin changed the name of the city (Beijing) to ‘Revolucion Lee Joo-Shin.’]

While my notification window became cluttered with messages, the newly created cities were large and clean. People were walking inside the city while looking around as if they were entering an amusement park. None of the cities had walls to delineate their borders yet, so the only remarkable spot was where a huge monument with the city’s name sat. That became designated as the starting points of the cities.

[You have entered the city (Revolucion Lee Joo-Shin).]

The city was quite small, without the towering high-rise buildings seen on Earth, but the sight was enough to evoke a nostalgic feeling. It was incomparable to the small villages in Act One, so it would be a good motivation for those who were slowly forgetting about the reality outside. Well, the System might have intended that from the beginning.

“This is dope.” Seong-Il was impressed.

He continued, “I wish I could own one of those buildings. I would put a convenience store on the first floor, an internet cafe on the second, a comic book store on the third, billiards on the fourth, and study rooms on the fifth. Isn’t that awesome? If we go outside, that building would cost…”

Seong-Il then suddenly pointed to one side with his chin instead of finishing his thought. He had spotted the Spirit. It was floating like a firefly, flapping its wings on one spot without flying around people.

[Spirit Who Failed To Get Promoted (Species)

The Spirit is depressed because it failed to get promoted to the next Act.

Class: ?]

From that I could tell that the beginning of Act Two was the same as it was in the past. The Spirits who didn’t get promoted gave quests. Anyway, those weren’t my priorities for now, so I sped up toward the city hall building in the center of the city. Those who were looking around the city at a slow pace were the ones whose growth was falling behind. Most of the guys who had been active at the frontline in Act One or were ambitious were concentrated in the city hall as they knew what was important.

However, it was very noisy as one group was blocking the stairs that led up to the square and the entrance of the building. Sharp voices could be heard everywhere.

“What makes you think you can stop us?”

“How many times do I have to tell you? I told you that you have to wait until the mayor gives us a new order! He will give us the instructions shortly, so shut the fuck up and stay quiet!”

“What’s in there? Being a mayor doesn’t mean he has absolute power!”

“Are you platinum? I told you to shut the fuck up if your level is below platinum!”

There was a guy standing in front of the stairs and dealing with the people who were shouting. Chinese and Danish were pouring out at the same time. Everyone knew they were swearing even though we didn’t fully understand the language.

He closed his mouth and exchanged glances with his fellows around him as if he couldn’t stand this. They pulled out their weapons at the same time and set up the shields more firmly.

“Yesterday was so peaceful, but here they go, fighting again as always. What should we do? Settle things down? We are going to occupy here first, then move on, right?” Seong-Il asked quickly.

When I nodded, he pushed people to the side and went in through the crowd.

“Excuse me. The fire truck is passing through,” he remarked sardonically.

I followed him toward the stairs, and some of the Korean Awakened recognized me. Their frightened eyes began to tremble, but no one actually called out my codename. I only heard someone calling Seong-Il’s name when he said that ‘his’ henchman had shown up.

Seong-Il kept moving forward, and the guy blocking the stairs started to become conscious of him. Seong-Il said as he arrived in front of him, “You’ve done a great job, man.”

“...”

He continued, “Now, I want you to step aside. What are you doing? Didn’t you hear me? Should I just smack you instead and go in like a bulldozer?”

“Who are you?” the guy finally asked.

He didn’t recognize our faces, but he didn’t act as carelessly as he did before since Seong-Il was charismatic and his breastplate looked powerful.

Seong-Il responded playfully, “You must have heard of me. I’m Krong’s daddy.”

The man snarled, “Don’t mess with me, and please state your affiliation first. Which attack squad are you in?”

“I don’t have such a thing. Have you heard of Kwon Seong-Il?”

“...”

Only then did the other guys look at me. In addition, some people behind me became quiet after hearing Seong-Il.

“Odin… and the human caliber… It’s a great honor to meet you, Mr. Kwon Seong-Il!”

From then on, the news spread quickly.

“It’s him.”

“He is the…?”

“Shhh.”

“He looks so different. Are you sure? I don’t think so.”

“That’s him? I can’t believe it.”

“Yes, he has come. He really did come. What are you doing? Follow me. We should run away.”

“Why did he show up?”

“He killed everyone.”

“Yeah, that’s him. I saw him killing people.”

Whispers spread rapidly. Even Chinese and Danish Awakened would have heard of my codename before. While they were focusing on the back of my head, the human barrier blocking the stairs opened, then closed again when we passed by.

A man who received the news ran out. He identified himself as Lee Joo-Shin, and fresh drops of blood were falling from the tip of his sword.

He stuttered, “The C…Chinese punk occupied the city, but I handled it.”

“Lee Joo-Shin,” I said quietly.

He responded quickly, “Yes. Yes, sir! Just give me orders.”

“Empty the entire city, and tell them that I ordered you to do so. Every single one of you should leave, including yourself.”

He paused for a second and then nodded. “...Yes, sir!”

I continued, “You will have to enter another city before dark. Hand over the mayor’s authority over this guy.”

“Yes, sir!”

After he left with his subordinates, Seong-Il asked while looking into the air, “There’s a lot of fun stuff here, but the city’s name is so lame. What should we change to?”

A message then appeared.

[Guild: Your guild member Kwon Seong-Il changed the name of the city (Revolucion Lee Joo-Shin) to ‘No Entry.’]

No Entry. That became the name of this city.