CHAPTER 290: CELESTIAL VESSEL

[I CAN’T stay in this form while on the surface.]

Wonhee blinked while reading the message on the Status Window that appeared above the System.

Oh, right.

The System lived in dungeons all this time.

[Ong Yool is a Civilian, but his body is special. It’s suitable as a god’s vessel. This child could have been a shaman if this world wasn’t turned upside down.]

"A shaman?" Wonhee asked curiously, and then she turned to Ong Yool. "Do you have a shaman among your ancestors, Yool-ah?"

"I’m getting goosebumps," Yool said, and he genuinely looked frightened. "How did the System know that I came from a clan of shamans?"

"You are?"

Her best friend nodded. "My grandmother was a famous shaman when she was alive. But she sadly passed away before the Outbreak."

"You never mentioned that before, Yool-ah."

"Ah, it’s because I have trauma," Yool explained, shrugging. "Before my grandmother passed away, she acted like she had lost her mind. She kept saying that the end of the world was near. Apparently, thousands of "boxes" would fall from the sky and release flesh-eating monsters that would end humanity."

Wonhee let out a gasp. "Your grandmother described the Outbreak, Yool-ah."

"She did, but Grandma saw that vision a few years before the Outbreak. Of course, people didn’t believe her back then. As a result, she lost all her patrons because they thought she had lost her mind due to old age. Our family went bankrupt after that."

"I’m so sorry to hear that."

"No, it’s fine," Yool agreed while nodding. "That’s why I never brought it up before."

"You could have been a shaman had the world did not end the way it did."

"Maybe. Grandma used to tell me that even though I don’t have divine energy, my body is like a vessel to gods."

To be honest, Wonhee wasn’t really the religious type.

However, after the Outbreak, it wasn’t that difficult to believe things like gods and shamans.

We have a talking brain here, after all.

"Aigoo. Did my grandmother predict my future?" Yool asked in disbelief. "Did she see that I’m destined to be a vessel for a god?"

Wonhee nodded in agreement. "That seems to be the case."

[That’s why we should practice now, Ong Yool! Let me be inside you.]

"This rotting brain," Yool complained. "Did you have to say it in a suggestive way?"

[I gave it to you straight and clear because humans tend to be stupid most of the time. And miscommunication is a fatal disease of the modern society.]

Wonhee laughed softly while watching the two’s banter. "I think you should start hanging out together. You need to get along first before you try "merging.""

[To do that, I’ll need Ong Yool to come with me to my dungeon.]

"What?" Wonhee asked, surprised. "Why do you need to bring Yool with you?"

[As you said, we need to "get along" first before we merge. Although Ong Yool’s body is special, he is nothing but a mere Civilian. Hence, I need to train his body until it’s strong enough to house me. Otherwise, I might end up breaking Ong Yool’s body— literally and figuratively.]

Yool frowned. "I wouldn’t want that to happen, but I can’t give you an answer yet."

[I’m not asking you to give me an answer right away— I’ll give you time to think.]

***

"WILL you do it, Yool-ah?" Wonhee asked carefully. "You don’t have to force yourself if you don’t want to be the System’s vessel. After all, you’re a Civilian."

"Just because I’m a Civilian doesn’t mean I should run away from my responsibility," Yool said, smiling while patting Wonhee’s back. "Wony-ah, we need to do everything we can to survive."

"Have you talked to Graham-ssi and Kisoo-ssi about this?"

The fact that her friend flinched was enough answer.

"Yool-ah, you should tell them."

After all, Yool was in a polyamorous relationship with both Graham and Ahn Kisso.

It’s only been a year since the three of them started dating, but Graham-ssi and Kisoo-ssi have been together for a long time.

"I’ll tell them once everything is settled."

"Why are you hesitating, Yool-ah?"

"I’m not sure," Yool said, shrugging. "But don’t worry about me, Wony-ah."

Little did Wonhee know, she really wouldn’t have the time to worry about her best friend because of the "man-made disaster" that hit their small country.

***

IT HAPPENED a year after Ong Yool finally entered the dungeon with the System.

Wonhee and the remaining Big 4 members were faced by another catastrophe: World Rankers began attacking South Korea with the intention of invading their small country.

The World Rankers entered their country secretly.

And the first thing they did?

"Those damned World Rankers bombed another church group again," Soobin said through gritted teeth. "They wanted to bring down our morale first."

To be honest, that wasn’t hard to do.

Ever since they lost the chance to permanently close the door that allowed Cracks to appear in their world, the appearance of the Cracks had increased again.

And the worst of all?

South Korea is the country most hit by these new Cracks.

The situation of their country wasn’t good, and their people were in a state of panic.

"According to the intel that we gathered, it seems like Lee Seodam spread the news that our Hee-ya has the power to end the Cracks," Semi added, sighing. "I can’t believe there are many people like Lee Seodam who doesn’t want the world to return to normal. Worse, some of them are powerful Hunters."

"We shouldn’t be surprised about that, Noona," Song Moonho said. He was smiling, but his eyes were dead serious. "Most high-ranking Hunters are crazy. They get high from the adrenaline rush they get when they fight monsters. Of course, they’ll go insane if you tell them that the world they rule will return to normal. After all, Hunters and Guides will be useless in a peaceful world."

Everyone in the room agreed with Song Moonho.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Wonhee, too.

I feel naïve now that I’m faced with the reality that not everyone wanted this crazy world to return to normal.

"What should we do now?" Graham, a once cheerful Hunter, asked in a tired voice. The bags under his eyes suggested that he was sleep deprived these days. Worse, his eyes were almost red. Wasn’t Ahn Kisoo Guiding him properly? "We’re dealing with both Cracks and invaders now. Even if we’re the Big 4, we won’t last if the World Rankers who gather together officially declare war against us."

Wonhee clenched her hands.

For some reason, she felt like everything was her fault.

"I have a suggestion," Song Moonho said cheerfully, raising his hand. "Let’s find and awaken Hwang Frost— the strongest Hunter in the world."

Oh, right.

Soobin, Semi, and Graham looked shocked by Song Moonho’s suggestion.

Wonhee wasn’t.

After all, Moonho-ssi already mentioned that plan to me before.

"You won’t bring it up without a reason," Wonhee said, tapping her fingertips on the table. "Moonho-ssi, do you know where Hwang Frost-ssi is locked up?"

Song Moonho shrugged. "We can just always blow up APA, though?"

Oh, dear.

***

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