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The first country that took action was the USA, followed by China, and then Korea. Each country focused on collecting the Rift Seeds to the point that they offered expensive rewards for them.

It was inevitable because without providing proper incentives to the Players, the country could be destroyed if the Demon Cult were left to act freely. Even if they didn\'t want to offer rewards, the people protested that the governments should.

That\'s why even countries that weren\'t in the best financial situation were forced to offer rewards. After all, money moved people. Since monetary rewards were being offered, even normal players moved in search of Rift Seeds.

Commenter (Nature will rise against you!): damn they really gonna suck the Demon Cult dry this time LMAO

ㄴ Players are finally doing their jobs!

Commenter (The light shall burn you!): But why are these guys planting thingies that look like wards[1] inside Gates?

ㄴ Prob to get more vision[2]

ㄴ Bat Editor: are they trying to summon something else?

ㄴ Butterfly Valley: Ah, I hope I could tell you what I know ;;;

ㄴ JerryM: I got to Level 100 on LoL today!!

Commenter (Astounding!): But I\'m so glad we aren\'t just letting them do as they want

ㄴ I heard they already found a hundred of those ward thingies all over the world?? LMAO serves those Demon Cult SOBs right!

There were huge reactions on the internet. People were celebrating that the Demon Cult\'s plan was being ruined. That showed how much people feared the Demon Cult.

"Very nice."

Oh Kang-Woo smiled while he was reading the internet news.

It had been ten days since the world had started collecting Rift Seeds. Players who were blind for money searched day and night for them.

"Money sure comes in handy."

There was nothing like money to make people move.

Due to the massive number of players participating and how fast Guardians dealt with the situation, they had already collected many Rift Seeds.

\'Although I\'m sure it\'s not 100%.\'

Even if they were blind for money, Players didn\'t go to areas completely taken over by monsters like the Middle East or South America. There was a chance that the Rift Seeds planted in those areas hadn\'t been found.

\'This is good enough.\'

Kang-Woo wasn\'t sure what the Demon Cult was planning. However, he would welcome it if the Demon Cult were still able to partially succeed in whatever they were planning even after the whole world had interfered with their plan. He would like it even more if they could summon a massive number of demons like before.

"I should get going."

Kang-Woo walked out of the apartment and went up to the rooftop. He placed the crystal orb that he\'d received from Guardians on the floor.

A little bit later, a small gate appeared. It led to the Hall of Protection.

\'Its real location is somewhere in the USA, apparently.\'

It was a device, which was beyond the reach of science, that allowed one to cross the Pacific Ocean in an instant. The power of magic allowed such miracles to become reality.

Kang-Woo took a step forward. His field of vision became distorted, and a weird sensation shook his body.

Nevertheless, it only lasted for a short while. The white passageway he was now familiar with appeared in front of him.

"Oh, good to see you, hyung-nim!"

As Kang-Woo entered the passageway, he was greeted by Kim Si-Hun.

Si-Hun was in charge of collecting the Rift Seeds in the Middle East, an area that the average player couldn\'t even think of stepping foot into.

"Sorry for calling you during your training."

"Not at all. I can\'t keep training during a crisis like this. Also, the mission area was quite helpful in terms of training."

"How is the Middle East?"

"...Quite serious. It makes Shanghai seem like paradise," Si-Hun said with a hardened expression.

Kang-Woo nodded.

Areas like Shanghai and Sapporo were being somewhat maintained because China and Japan hadn\'t collapsed. However, regions like the Middle East and South America had fallen into ruin on the Day of Calamity and completely become monster habitats. It was obvious that the situation would be much worse in those areas.

"Good work," Kang-Woo said.

"It was nothing. Oh, I heard it was you who realized this situation first and came up with the necessary countermeasures."

Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo with eyes full of admiration.

Kang-Woo smirked and replied, "I just did what I had to do. After all, I\'m also a member of Guardians now."

"Haha. I\'m sure you would\'ve done the same thing even if you weren\'t part of Guardians, hyung-nim."

"Flattery won\'t get you anything, man. Let\'s go."

"Yes, hyung-nim."

Si-Hun laughed and followed behind Kang-Woo.

As they opened the door and entered, they were greeted by Gaia and Grace McCubbin.

"Hello, Kang-Woo," Gaia greeted.

"Hello. How is the situation?"

Gaia smiled softly. She moved her thin arms toward the table.

"It\'s as you can see," she said.

The translucent globe that they had seen before appeared. The barrier of light surrounding the Earth had gotten noticeably weaker than before.

Gaia continued, "The situation has worsened compared to before the seeds were planted, but if we hadn\'t done anything, the situation would be much worse."

"Is it still worsening?" Kang-Woo asked.

Gaia shook her head. "No. The damage to the system has been stable since three days ago."

"That\'s good to hear."

That was likely due to more than just the removal of the Rift Seeds. After all, it was unlikely all of the seeds that had been sown worldwide had been collected.

\'The Demon Cult must have more or less achieved what they had been aiming for.\'

The Demon Cult hadn\'t made any other moves, so there was a high chance they had managed to fulfill their plan.

Whatever the reason was, the situation with the Rift Seeds had been resolved.

"We can\'t let our guards down just yet… but we were able to minimize the damage thanks to your quick judgment. Thank you very much, Kang-Woo," Gaia expressed and bowed.

"Not at all. More importantly, where are the Rift Seeds being stored?"

That was Kang-Woo\'s primary reason for coming here. He wanted to check where the Rift Seeds were being stored.

"This way."

Grace pushed Gaia\'s wheelchair, and they moved to another gate. As they walked through the gate, they were greeted by intense sunlight.

Kang-Woo saw a vast land that had cracks running through it, as if God had used a mace to split it.

"This is…"

Kang-Woo\'s eyes shone.

He had never traveled here before, but he was familiar with it since he had seen photos.

"It\'s the Grand Canyon," Grace remarked.

"...It\'s enormous."

It seemed like it was also Si-Hun\'s first time seeing the Grand Canyon. He looked around with his mouth agape.

The might of nature that could be felt from the Grand Canyon was truly imposing.

"Guardians has a secret vault at the foot of the canyon. We have stored the Rift Seeds there."

"Isn\'t it too famous a place to call it a secret vault?"

The Grand Canyon was a very famous tourist destination. Even though tourism had plummeted after the Day of Calamity, it was a place that didn\'t go well with the word \'secret.\'

Gaia softly giggled and explained, "The Grand Canyon is extremely vast. The area tourists can visit is just a very tiny part. This is a place that tourists can\'t reach."

"Aha.”

Kang-Woo nodded and followed her.

They walked between the giant canyons until Gaia stopped in front of a solid rock wall.

"Protector Zhuge Xian. It\'s Gaia."

[You\'re back,] a voice rang out from behind the rock wall.

"What the…?" Si-Hun uttered.

He looked around confusedly for the source of the voice. Then something unbelievable happened.

Whoosh.

A gust of wind blew, and the giant rock wall disappeared. A silver door appeared in place of the rock wall.

\'This is…\'

Kang-Woo\'s eyes widened in shock, as even he hadn\'t been able to sense it.

Grace said, "This is Zhuge Xian\'s illusion. There\'s nobody as good as him when it comes to this."

"So, this is an illusion…"

"Impressive, right?"

Grace smirked and opened the door. Then a long-haired man in a suit walked out.

"So, you\'re the two new members, Mr. Oh Kang-Woo and Mr. Kim Si-Hun. Nice to meet you. I\'m Zhuge Xian."

Kang-Woo and Si-Hun shook hands with Zhuge Xian.

As they entered the vault, Zhuge Xian explained, "This vault is being protected with various illusions that I\'ve cast. You may be attacked if you wander around, so please be careful."

"Zhuge Xian is in charge of researching the Rift Seeds."

"Haha. I don\'t really have much to show for it, though," Zhuge Xian voiced, smiling bitterly.

He opened the door of a vault with \'04\' written on it.

"This is where we\'re storing the Rift Seeds that we\'ve collected."

"Wow," Kang-Woo uttered with bright eyes.

There were over a hundred stakes neatly gathered in the vault. He salivated uncontrollably at the sight. He wanted to use the Rift Seeds right then and there to weaken the seal of his Ten Thousand Demon Core.

\'I must resist.\'

Now wasn\'t the time.

Kang-Woo drooped his right arm down while casually looking around the vault. The black ring on his right middle finger liquefied and seeped into the floor of the vault. Kang-Woo\'s figure very briefly became blurred.

"Is there a chance that the Demon Cult could attack this place?" Si-Hun asked while looking around.

Zhuge Xian answered while laughing, "Of course, there is. They might be able to trace the Rift Seeds."

"Then wouldn\'t it be dangerous…?"

"It\'s okay," Zhuge Xian affirmed in a confident voice. "My sorcery isn\'t so weak. This place will be safe unless the Demon of Prophecy invades it. No, not even the Demon of Prophecy would be able to invade this place."

It seemed like he was quite confident in his sorcery.

Grace continued the explanation, "It might sound pretentious, but you can believe him. Although Zhuge Xian\'s combat capabilities leave much to be desired, his sorcery is incredible."

"Haha. That\'s from your standards Grace. My sorcery isn\'t bad in combat either."

With some light chit-chat, they finished exploring the vault.

"Let\'s go back."

"Yes. I feel reassured after seeing that the Rift Seeds are being well kept."

Kang-Woo laughed lightly and returned to the Hall of Protection.

"Oh, right. How about we all have dinner together at my place?" he proposed.

"Pardon?"

"A-At your house, hyung-nim?"

Gaia and Si-Hun were surprised by the sudden proposition.

Kang-Woo smirked. "Ah. This isn\'t something for me to brag about, but the food at my house is to die for."

"But…"

"I understand your circumstances, Gaia. But aren\'t things like this good from time to time? It\'s just dinner, after all."

"…"

Gaia\'s expression exposed her hesitance. She was the leader of a secret organization, so she couldn\'t freely move. It was hard for her to participate in dinner.

"Haha. That sounds like a great proposal," Si-Hun voiced to support Kang-Woo.

He too wanted to stay with Gaia for a bit longer.

"Wh-What should we do, Grace?" Gaia asked in an anxious voice.

Grace laughed lightly and patted her shoulder.

"These kinds of things are fine from time to time, aren\'t they?"

"Ngh… but…"

"It\'s not like we\'re having dinner at a stranger\'s place. It\'s a fellow member of Guardians, so what does it matter? As the leader, isn\'t it important for you to know in what conditions the members live in?"

"That\'s unfair of you."

Gaia pouted. Grace\'s laugh became louder.

"Then it\'s decided," Kang-Woo said.

He smiled and turned around.

\'I believe Seol-Ah is in charge of dinner tonight.\'

Kang-Woo gulped eagerly and made his way home with Gaia, Grace, and Si-Hun following him.

* * *

"Urgh. I have no idea."

Zhuge Xian sighed.

The long-haired young man was a Player who specialized in sorcery and a Protector who had been chosen by the Gaia System.

He looked down at the black stake on the table in irritation.

"Just how in the world did they make something like this?"

Zhuge Xian was in awe of the Demon Cult\'s knowledge.

"I\'ll take a short break."

He grabbed a cup of tea and leaned back on his chair.

"Kim Si-Hun, huh?"

Zhuge Xian recalled the face of the Protector whom he had met earlier. They were both men, but he couldn\'t help but admire how handsome Si-Hun was.

"He was impressive."

He could sense Si-Hun\'s immense talent just by looking at him.

\'The one next to him was Oh Kang-Woo, I believe?\'

Kang-Woo had become a member of Guardians despite not having been chosen as a Protector.

"Hmm…"

Zhuge Xian frowned in dissatisfaction. He didn\'t like that someone who wasn\'t a Protector had joined Guardians.

"Having mad connections is a scary thing."

If Si-Hun wasn\'t sworn brothers with Kang-Woo, it was unlikely that Kang-Woo would have been able to enter Guardians.

"Let\'s get back to it."

Zhuge Xian put down the cup of tea.

He had tons of research samples, so he could conduct as many experiments as he liked.

"Well, seeing that he proposed something like this, he doesn\'t seem to be an idiot."

He\'d heard that Kang-Woo was the one who had suggested collecting the Rift Seeds instead of destroying them.

Zhuge Xian pulled up his chair and placed his hand on top of the black stake.

Right then…

Boom!!!

A huge impact shook the vault.

"Wh-What the—?!"

Zhuge Xian got up. He raised his hand, and a complex magic circle appeared on top of it. The outside came into view.

"Th-This is…"

He saw a person who was shrouded in darkness and wearing a red demon mask. The mask tilted, and the man\'s eyes stopped right where the spell was located.

Zhuge Xian\'s eyes met the man\'s gaze through the video. A shudder ran down his skin.

"D-Don\'t tell me…"

He trembled. Zhuge Xian remembered hearing it from Gaia—no, even if he hadn\'t heard of it from anyone… After feeling the immense energy from the man, there was only one being that Zhuge Xian could think of.

"S-Satan."

The one attacking the vault was the strongest and most evil demon king—the Demon of Prophecy, Satan.

1. Wards are totem-like items that have various functions depending on what game it is in (League of Legends, World of Warcraft, etc.). ☜

2. Wards in League of Legends give you vision in an area. ☜