Ubermensch – Chapter 82

Chapter 82

“I need to take down that bastard as quickly as possible…”

If Seo Yeonhee’s nemesis was the Laughing God, Mason’s nemesis was the Ghost Dragon. Every time Mason heard its name, he couldn’t help but grind his teeth.

“That’s true, but the right to choose the battlefield belongs to the Ghost Dragon.”

“Well, that’s true…”

For the attack teams that participated in the Winter Defense, March was a rest period. During this time, people healed their injuries, checked their equipment, developed their skills, and took a break.

It was mid-March when Yekaterina contacted him.

<Mason.>

“Kacha.”

Mason said with a smile.

“Congratulations.”

<Thank you.>

Yekaterina hesitated for a moment before speaking.

<Really… Thank you so much.>

“What are you thanking me for? It’s all thanks to everyone’s hard work.”

<We wouldn’t have even been able to start without you. So… I can’t help but be grateful.>

Giving the pseudo-humans a land of peace. That was her long-cherished wish, her atonement, and her duty.

And now, South Korea had accepted the sub-races.

It was half a success.

<Of course, there’s still a lot to do.>

Now, all that remained was to make this South Korea a land worth settling in.

By subjugating the monsters.

“Is the Northern Expedition talk going well?”

<Yes, we’re discussing the details with the Ministry of National Defense. I’m so busy that I don’t even have time to meet with you in person.>

“What, you’re busy? I thought you got a new boyfriend.”

<Even if I got a new boyfriend, I wouldn’t let go of you, Mason.>

Mason smiled. And he felt that Yekaterina on the other side of the phone would be smiling too.

“Let’s have dinner sometime.”

<Just dinner?>

“Of course not.”

<Okay.>

Yekaterina said with a laugh.

<As soon as possible.>

“Okay. As soon as possible.”

Mason smiled and hung up the phone.

‘Uncle, am I doing… well now?’

He hadn’t saved the world yet. He hadn’t eradicated the monsters yet.

But as a human being, he was making this era a little better.

Mason looked at the street with pride.

The street he had protected, and would continue to protect.

That was when it happened.

“Raid Leader Mason.”

It was Masika.

“Someone from the government is here.”

“Oh Junghee?”

“Yes.”

Mason tilted his head.

“What’s going on?”

Oh Junghee, as always, did not look like a soldier. Her neat appearance without any makeup gave the impression of a graduate student in the humanities.

She greeted Mason.

“Raid Leader Mason.”

“Yeah, hello.”

Mason asked.

“Is it a long story?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go to the meeting room.”

As they entered the meeting room, Oh Junghee spoke in a calm voice.

“Do you know anything about Mongolia?”

“Just that it’s the country with the Great Eater?”

That was all Mason, who wasn’t even a person from this era, knew.

In fact, even Koreans from this era would probably only know it as the country of Genghis Khan.

Because Mongolia was a distant country, both geographically and in terms of international relations.

“The UN is discussing the Great Eater.”

“What kind of discussion?”

“A raid.”

The giant tree, the Great Eater, that had taken root in the Mongolian steppe.

One of the five monsters, the Five Great Demon Gods, that modern civilization had no way of fighting against.

It wasn’t particularly active, but its mere existence was a danger in itself.

Its nickname, the Great Eater, came from its ability to absorb the surrounding energy.

Mongolia had dropped a nuclear bomb to try to kill the giant tree, accepting the risk of radioactive contamination. However, the Great Eater had absorbed not only the heat of the nuclear explosion, but even the radiation itself.

Even the greatest destructive power that modern civilization could muster could not surpass its growth ability.

There was only one thing that worked on the Great Eater.

“The only natural enemy of all monsters, the player.”

Core energy, that is, the attacks of players.

The problem was… the Great Eater was too big.

Mongolia had a player cavalry unit called ‘Keshig’ that was trained solely to deal with the Great Eater, but even they couldn’t properly slow down its growth rate.

More power was needed.

Mongolia had been asking the UN for support for a long time…

“The UN plans to officially attempt a raid on the Great Eater.”

“Officially? How?”

“By overwhelming it with numbers.”

Oh Junghee spoke in a calm voice.

“The basic plan is to gather all available troops from around the world and inflict damage that exceeds the Great Eater’s growth and regeneration rate.”

“And they want me to participate?”

“Yes, as Korea’s champion.”

“Okay, I’ll participate. So what do I have to do?”

Mason, in his typical fashion, agreed first and asked for details later.

Oh Junghee gave a faint smile.

The superhuman who came from the future was now considered the leader of the pseudo-humans. However, no change in position or political influence could change Mason. He was still the man who would readily take the lead in a fight for the people.

Some people didn’t change even if the world did…

That fact brought a happy smile to her face.

“You don’t need to do anything right now. The UN is still discussing it. The government’s request is simply that you don’t schedule any raids in April.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

Oh Junghee asked, as if something had just occurred to her.

“Is the research on the ‘Scar Core’ and ‘Winter Lord Core’ progressing smoothly?”

“Well… so-so.”

The Centaur Warlord Scar had a special core with the ability to concentrate power, and the Goblin Warlord Winter Lord had the ability to transfer power.

Both special cores had infinite research potential.

Mason was leading the research team, combining his future science with Yekaterina’s knowledge of magic.

Of the two, the Winter Lord Core was particularly promising.

The Winter Lord’s ability was essentially no different from a healer’s healing. It simply overcharged the target with core energy, enhancing their physical abilities as well.

Thanks to the progress in that area… new options were emerging for wizards and healers.

A new type of magic, ‘buff’, that enhanced abilities.

“The Scar Core is theoretically useful, but it’s difficult to apply in practice.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Currently, there were many core scientists, but simple core science alone could not replace the magical knowledge of the sub-races. Yekaterina and Mason, despite their busy schedules, were reviewing research results and providing advice in their areas of expertise.

“If you’re going to look forward to something, look forward to the Winter Lord Core. We might be able to put that into practical use in the short term.”

“Are you talking about the buff ability?”

“That too…”

Mason, who had spoken without thinking, gave a wry smile.

It was because he felt as if someone was snapping at him.

<Do you even know how difficult it is to put theory into practice? Do you even know how many unforeseen practical limitations there are!>

The words Han Areum snapped at him were the very complaints that the research team wanted to pour out on the field.

Mason, with a wry smile, said.

“…We’ll share information when it’s successful, so just keep that in mind for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Oh Junghee saluted and turned around.

Mason watched her back.

She was a good person, and a good woman.

It was a shame that she lived as a soldier in this kind of world.

“Well then…”

Mason turned around.

He had a lot to do.

A lot of things, including those that weren’t very pleasant.

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

It was a week later when he finally saw Yekaterina face to face.

“Mason.”

“Kacha.”

A loose sweater and tight jeans. Yekaterina, dressed in casual clothes instead of her usual attire, felt as if the veil that had always hung over her face had disappeared.

She no longer had anything to hide, nor anything she was hiding.

Instead of the mysterious schemer with endless power and influence, she now showed the face of a minority leader who needed more help even after receiving all the help she could get.

I don’t know which of the former and the latter was more prosperous… but Yekaterina herself seemed to be happier now.

Because she was greeting Mason with a tired but sincere smile and genuine welcome.

And that made Mason very happy.

“Shall we have a drink?”

“Coffee? Or… alcohol? What would you like?”

“Alcohol if you don’t have anything scheduled after this, coffee if you do.”

“Then it’ll be coffee.”

Yekaterina offered coffee. It was cheap coffee with a strong acidity, a sour taste.

“Can’t we have something better?”

Mason, who had become picky about coffee after teleporting to the modern era a year ago, grumbled, and Yekaterina gave a wry smile.

“I haven’t had decent coffee since before and after the World War, so my coffee taste has gotten weird. Please understand, Mason.”

“…Isn’t it a bit unfair to bring up the past?”

Mason grumbled, but still took a sip of the coffee.

“What have you been up to these days?”

“I’m in policy discussions with the Ministry of Health and Welfare officials. It’s about the reproduction of the pseudo-humans… no, sub-races.”

“Specifically?”

“The issue of whether or not to specially manage races that reproduce through infection, like werewolves and vampires.”

“Hmm… that’s a problem.”

Mason asked.

“How do you think it’ll turn out?”

“I’ll back down on this one. We need to find a compromise on this issue so that we can use it as a benchmark for discussions on created beings.”

Yekaterina took a sip of her coffee.

“For races that reproduce through infection, we’ll accept the condition of requiring prior permission, but in return, we’ll try to reach an agreement to recognize created beings that can’t reproduce as human.”

“That’s tricky.”

“Well, they’ll know that I’m going to approach it this way. We’re both aware of it, so we’ll give what we need to give and take what we need to take.”

“Like chess or Go?”

“Chess or Go are just imitations of politics.”

Yekaterina smiled. It was a relaxed smile.

“I’m glad you’re doing well.”

“Yes, you too, Mason.”

If Yekaterina was the practical leader of the sub-races, Mason was the champion of the sub-races and the champion of Korea’s players. In addition to his work related to players and future science, he was often called to events such as ceremonies and speeches.

Mason said, as if something had just occurred to him.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Seo Yeonhee around lately. Do you know anything?”

“Seo Yeonhee is…”

Yekaterina’s face darkened.

“…She’s traveling for personal reasons.”

She added as an afterthought.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be back someday.”

“Without Seo Yeonhee, my schedule management is a mess.”

Mason grumbled.

“She was tough, but she was really good at scheduling.”

“She’s a capable person, Seo Yeonhee.”

Yekaterina smiled and changed the subject.

“Have you heard about the Great Eater raid?”

“Yeah, I heard the UN is discussing it.”

Mason asked.

“How do you think it’ll turn out?”