The Hero Returns - Chapter 337

Act 3

The number of reporters that had shown up in the Awakener Authority’s headquarters went past three digits. People from public networks, cable stations, and internet news media outlets were present.

However, it wasn’t as if there would be an important announcement scheduled for today.

It was just that the names involved in the incident were about to be discussed.

“Senior, was this matter that serious? Look how many showed up today.”

“Obviously, you dumbass! Not just the association and the reporters, but even Kim Su-hyeun is involved in this matter. He hasn’t directly returned to the tower yet. What do you think his reason is?”

“Are you saying it’s because of this incident?”

“Even Kim Su-hyeun must be paying attention right now. This incident? I’m telling you, the Authority is biding its time for this one.”

The reporters were murmuring to one another.

This was supposed to be a simple press conference meant to clarify the Authority’s position about the issue, yet so many reporters had shown up. They pulled out and prepared their recorders and note pads, and gave their undivided attention to the rostrum in front of them.

Step, step.

Shortly after, the Authority’s director stepped out to meet the eager crowd.

Click, click.

Cameras started clicking. Blinding flashes annoyed the director, but he didn’t let it get to him. He managed to maintain a stoic expression.

Soon enough, the director reached the center of the platform. He raised his head and began to speak, “As you all know, the dungeon that recently appeared in the city of Cheonan was successfully raided by the awakener Kim Su-hyeun. Before we begin, I would like to express my gratitude as a representative in charge of ensuring our nation’s safety.”

Whatever had transpired, it was Su-hyeun who took care of the incident, not the Authority.

If it had all gone according to plan, then it would have been the Authority stepping up to stop the dungeon outbreak and further solidifying their position before holding this press conference.

However…

‘Since it happened, I will acknowledge what must be acknowledged.’

The director’s manner as he delivered his speech was so earnest that the casual observers would have thought he was genuinely proud of Kim Su-hyeun, an awakener from his country.

However, as he continued praising Kim Su-hyeun, the director’s expression gradually hardened. And precisely at that moment, the reporters knew that he would get to the main topic of today’s conference.

“It is unfortunate, but this event has laid bare the deficiencies in the association’s system.”

“…”

The reporters held their breaths.

The things about to be brought up right now was what the director wanted to say all along.

“Thankfully, due to the presence of an excellent awakener named Kim Su-hyeun, as well as the Authority’s swift response, we were able to overcome this crisis without any losses, but still, that doesn’t mean there was no underlying problem.”

“In that case, is the Authority planning to take the Awakener Association to task?” a reporter eagerly asked.

The director simply smiled. It seemed that he had been waiting for this question all along.

“Of course not,” the director denied. “How can we dare to criticize the association that works so hard to protect our country?” He smiled amiably and waved his hand in denial. He sounded like a man worried about the future of his nation and thus decided to devote his whole life serving the public. “It’s just that,” he went on, “I would like to point out that even the association has some inadequate points. That is all. So for anyone to suggest that we wish to take them to task, that’s not true at all. What happened this time was purely a mistake, and, as such, we are not planning to publicly criticize them.”

“In that case, are you saying that this matter will be overlooked?”

Heads turned towards the reporter who asked the question.

While the reporter managed to keep a straight face while he asked the question, he was implying that the association had the tendency to look past some issues.

The thing was, some reporters shared this brave correspondent’s view. It was just that they didn’t dare provoke the director.

What if this incident was indeed caused by the association’s mistake, and if there was a possibility of something similar happening in the future…

…Hundreds of thousands of lives were at risk here, so this incident couldn’t just be labelled as an accident because the neglect might have been deliberate.

“We definitely cannot do that.” The director’s voice was firm. The manner of his speech and even his expression suddenly changed. He continued, looking grave, “How many lives are at risk from such an incident? Since there is a possibility that an event like this nature could happen again, we must come up with a way to prevent it.”

“And what is that way you’re talking about?”

Here was yet another question he had been waiting for. The director suppressed a smile and replied seriously, “The Awakener Authority has acknowledged that the association’s system is flawed, and, as such, we ask for cooperation.”

“Cooperation?”

“When he said cooperation…”

“Can it be…”

The crowd was stirred instantly.

The Awakener Authority requested the association for cooperation. Something like this had never happened before.

However, a word such as ‘cooperation’ didn’t suit the undercurrents happening beneath the surface.

“The Authority is filled with many excellent and talented individuals. Yes, our awakener manpower is, well, less compared to the association. However, the Authority is a department meant to manage the awakeners instead. Thus, we have been focusing on thoroughly analyzing and coming up with a suitable system to manage the dungeons.”

A system that calculated which order the dungeons should be raided, as well as how many awakeners and in what rank must be sent to a dungeon in order to maximize the safety and efficiency…

The Authority was publicly boasting about its system—on the back of the association’s mistake.

“Without a doubt, the association possesses a powerful combat force. Well, it does boast the likes of Paragon guild’s Kim Su-hyeun, Thomas, Choi Hak-joon, Jung Yoon-ho, and several S-ranks, as well as countless other awakeners, in their roster.”

The director sighed.

This was where the real show began.

“I believe that the Authority and the association can cover for each other’s inadequacies. I mean, the association’s flawed system and the Authority’s insufficient manpower.”

“What is the position of the association in this matter?”

“We have sent an official request and are currently waiting for their reply. We believe that in a few days, good news will—”

“There’s no need to wait for a few days.”

Someone cut off the director’s speech. In normal circumstances, no one would do such a rude thing, especially to the director, but one actually dared.

The director frowned and turned his head. The reporters did the same.

However, the venue was filled with murmurs as the people saw who the speaker was.

“It’s Kim Su-hyeun!”

“The new association chairman, Lee Ju-ho, is also here.”

“Hey! What are you doing? Take their pictures!”

Click, click.

Flash! Flash!

Camera flashes came from every direction.

The reporters were giddy and excited. One could read what’s going on their heads right now: scoop. Meanwhile, the director had a firm expression on his face at first, and then he turned pale as he watched the reporters going wild about the newcomers.

He hadn’t considered the possibility of Su-hyeun and Lee Ju-ho showing up to the conference, creating a commotion. It was a miscalculation on his part as he knew that they were informed of the said event.

‘Why are those bastards here…’ The director was annoyed.

Then again, there was no reason for Su-hyeun and Lee Ju-ho to show up and announce themselves like they did. After all, it was the association that needed time, not the Authority.

More than anything else…

‘Kim Su-hyeun.’

Grit.

The director clenched his fist but maintained his composure. Su-hyeun held the director’s gaze and waited for a while, letting the reporters take enough pictures of him.

Since he has decided to reveal himself, he didn’t stop the reporters from doing their jobs.

“Mister Kim Su-hyeun, how long have you been here?”

“Did you hear the position of the Authority just now?”

“The Authority has apparently sent you an official request. Is it a yes? We would like to hear the association’s response!”

The questions from the reporters flooded in.

Su-hyeun raised his hand. And as his lips slowly parted, the reporters quickly shut their mouths.

“We have seen the official request.” The first one to speak was Lee Ju-ho, though. “And our reply is…we refuse.”

“They refused!”

“So easily like that? Why?”

“Refusal… Hey! Write about it and hurry up!”

The crowd stirred once more.

Among them was a reporter talking to his junior colleague in a whisper, telling the latter to quickly compose an article and post it right away.

Meanwhile, Lee Ju-ho went on, “We’ve investigated this matter several times in order to figure out just where it went wrong. If our system has flaws, then we wanted to quickly address it.”

He slowly made his way to the platform as he spoke.

It was his turn to be under the spotlight.

The director stepped aside. Lee Ju-ho shot the old man a death stare, then resumed addressing the reporters. “During the process, we uncovered that one of the employees working for the association, in charged with managing our system, was at fault.”

“But, doesn’t that employee work for your association? In that case…” another reporter commented.

“Mind control,” Lee Ju-ho revealed.

Lee Ju-ho’s declaration surprised the director. Their eyes met, and the director cowered. He was quick to regain his composure, though.

Su-hyeun had been watching him all this time and observed how he changed expressions and demeanor.

“It’s an upper-tier skill found in the hallucination-type set of abilities. Not only can you control the mind of the target, but once your proficiency increases, you will also gain the ability to command the subject to perform a task or control their daily activities. Moreover, the subject will not realize that they are being controlled at all.”

“Are you saying that the employee in question was being mind controlled?”

“Yes. We have determined it yesterday. During the process of establishing the dungeon raid order and publishing the list, the employee deliberately omitted the dungeon found in the city of Cheonan. All because he was under the influence of mind control,” Lee Ju-ho explained.

The story had taken a dark turn.

If what Lee Ju-ho said was true, then someone out there had deliberately planned to cause an outbreak with Cheonan’s dungeon.

“We haven’t uncovered who the culprit is yet,” Lee Ju-ho admitted. “It’s already too late to find it out through magical energy sensor. Also, the employee himself hasn’t realized that he is being manipulated until now.”

“In that case, how will the association respond?”

“For the time being, we are going to refuse the Authority’s request for cooperation, just like what I said earlier,” Lee Ju-ho declared, shifting his gaze back to the director. “We suspect that the Authority is involved in this matter.” The reporters were shocked; they were in disbelief. Lee Ju-ho continued, “It is unfortunate, but we cannot accept their proposal at this stage. Well, not until we find out who the guilty party is first.”

“…”

The director wore a stoic expression. He was trying to suppress the urge to talk. He was contemplating how to best react in the current situation.

‘Do they already know everything?’

Cold sweat trickled from the director’s forehead. He was stressed and anxious. He might have managed to control his expression somehow, but he didn’t have the ability to control his sweat glands.

“That’s all I have to say this time.”

Lee Ju-ho finished his speech and stepped down.

Soon after that, the director tried to step up to the platform, but someone unexpected could be seen climbing there first.

Step, step.

His footsteps were soft, yet his presence was heavy…heavier than anyone present.

Su-hyeun stepped up on the platform. That prompted the reporters to crowd the stage.

“Kim Su-hyeun went up there…”

“But I thought he doesn’t like the limelight?”

“Maybe he has an announcement to make…”

Either way, this day was turning out to be a good one for these reporters. Their cameras were busy taking pictures, and their minds were filled with headlines.

Perhaps, from this day forward, every word that came out of Su-hyeun’s lips would be newsworthy. Su-hyeun was a very private person. At times, he was difficult to read. Showing up today in a very public event surely surprised everyone.

“Just like what chairman Lee Ju-ho has said, we are suspecting that this event was caused by someone’s underhanded scheme. Believe what you want to believe. We are not trying to convince anyone to be in our side. We are here to let you know that we know,” Su-hyeun announced.

A few of the reporters nodded slowly at what Su-hyeun said.

After all, something like this did happen fairly often.

Blaming others for another’s mistake was not new. It was never easy owning to one’s mistake, especially if it involved the safety of many people.

Lee Ju-ho and Su-hyeun didn’t show up in the conference to convince people to take the association’s side. They were there just to inform. Whether people believed them or not, it didn’t matter. They knew what really happened.

“And that’s why I’m going to show them all…” Su-hyeun stated with fervor. He then turned and looked straight at the director next to him. The old man lowered his head. He couldn’t return Su-hyeun’s gaze. “…show them that they provoked the wrong person this time.”

Drip.

The director couldn’t help but take out a hanky…to wipe the excessive sweat from his forehead.