Dudududu…
The helicopter rose again.
I was sitting in the helicopter’s transport compartment with Lancelot.
The 220th Brigade had been neatly dealt with.
The only ones left were the people who had been captured to be used as sacrifices.
Since I had to head straight to my brother’s newlywed house, I requested the government forces to handle the cleanup via radio.
I also left behind the brigade commander’s confidential documents.
They were encrypted with all sorts of communication codes, so I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff promised to share the decoded information with me later.
But there was one thing I made sure to bring along.
[Dimensional Being Registration Application Form (8th Order)]
“Dimensional Being registration, huh…”
An A4 sheet, a size I was familiar with.
The contents of the document were simple.
———————-
▣ Dimensional Being Registration Application Form (8th Order)
We welcome your application for dimensional being registration.
Before applying, please make sure to check the items below.
Required for Dimensional Being Registration: A dimensional account in applicant’s name
Being Registration Fee: 1,000 Mana Stones.
Applicant: (Handwritten signature)
▣ Multidimensional Chamber of Commerce
———————-
“What is this, some kind of district office…”
Dimensional Being registration.
It was a phrase that immediately reminded me of resident registration.
The fact that a dimensional account was required as part of the process was also ironic.
Resident registration and a bank account in one’s name.
Those were essential prerequisites for living as a legitimate individual in modern society.
At that moment, Lancelot tilted his head, puzzled.
“This is strange. This shouldn’t be circulating yet…”
He seemed to know something about it.
Come to think of it, Lancelot was also well-versed in information regarding rank orders and repulsion.
I asked him.
“How do you know about things like that?”
“Pioneer operations don’t just happen on Earth. While some places have just begun their pioneering, others…”
Lancelot added bitterly,
“…there are dimensions that go bankrupt, unable to withstand the pioneering.”
That’s how it was.
He too was a resident of a once ordinary dimension.
Then one day, a ‘pioneering’ led by the Chamber of Commerce began… and his dimension had everything taken from it.
Becoming the wraiths of the unique item ‘Camelot’ was merely an extension of that.
So there was nothing particularly surprising about it.
He had become accustomed to destruction itself.
He spoke again.
“My lord, you should do the being registration. It will certainly be helpful.”
After defeating the Knight King, I had obtained a dimensional account.
And after killing the commander of the 220th Brigade and securing this application form, I now met all the conditions to become a ‘dimensional being’.
But…
To be honest, it felt bad.
These guys are the ones spearheading the invasion in the first place.
Who the hell are these Multidimensional Chamber of Commerce or whatever they’re called, demanding resident registration across the entire universe?
Grading and treating lower beings like insects, no less.
“Is it really right to submit to them like this? And even hand over a thousand Mana Stones?”
“It’s worth it. Once you become a Dimensional being…”
He added,
“You’ll be able to obtain Repulsion.”
“…What?”
Repulsion force.
A mysterious force that blocks external attacks.
Lancelot was saying that I could also acquire this Repulsion.
“Is that possible?”
“Of course. That’s what the Registration Form is for.”
It piqued my interest.
While the Subspace Portal was invincible, that wasn’t always the case.
If I were outside the portal, a single bullet could take my life.
This was a power I absolutely wanted.
However, there was one thing I needed to confirm.
“I won’t end up like a goblin or something, will I?”
I recalled the appearance of the 220th Brigade commander.
He had completely transformed into a goblin.
Even before that, his body was already a grotesque mix of goblin skin.
Seeing my concern, Lancelot shook his head.
“They used a Registration Form from a different dimension, not from Earth. It was probably from a goblin dimension. I bet they used forms from a lower dimension with ridiculously cheap registration fees.”
I finally understood.
That explained why they had slowly turned into goblins.
In exchange for obtaining power from another dimension, they had lost their very selves.
Lancelot firmly drove the point home.
“Check what language the document is written in. If it’s the language of Earth that you’ve been using, then there’s no need to worry.”
Following his advice, I examined the document.
No matter how I looked at it, the writing on the document was Hangul, the Korean script created by King Sejong.
This meant that the Registration Form I had was from Earth’s dimension.
After a moment of thought, I made my decision.
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
“Once you sign at the bottom of the document, the application will be completed immediately.”
I shipped out a pen through PAX.
And then…
[Jeong-gyeom]
I carefully wrote my name in neat, proper letters in the signature box.
The change occurred immediately.
[You currently possess 3,422 Mana Stones…]
.
.
.
[…You now possess 2,422 Mana Stones.]
A thousand Mana Stones were deducted from my account as the fee.
The application form in my hand also dissolved into snowflake-like particles and vanished.
Saaaaa…
For a brief moment, a soft glow enveloped my body.
It passed so quickly that I was left feeling dazed.
“…Is it done?”
“Yes.”
Just as filing a new resident registration doesn’t change the person themselves.
Similarly, I didn’t feel any different, but I had now become an 8th Order Dimensional Being.
“I’m curious, but…”
I couldn’t very well test out my new Repulsion force by shooting myself, now could I?
I decided to trust Lancelot’s explanation and concluded that I had indeed reached the 8th Order.
By this point, a new goal arose in my mind.
“Sooner or later, I should register my whole family too.”
It was to obtain the repulsion force.
At the very least, it would make us impervious to bullets and ordinary monsters.
For now, it was a distant goal.
I had to obtain more registration forms and, of course, a significant number of Mana Stones were required.
Dudududu!
As I organized my thoughts, the sound of the helicopter’s propeller spinning vigorously became noticeable again.
Though the city was crumbling and broken, I realized we were approaching a familiar landscape.
Mount Dobongsan, covered in dense trees.
Below it, an old, high-rise apartment building stood proudly.
It was a home that boasted a strong breeze blowing down from the mountain.
It was my brother’s newlywed house, one he had moved into just a few months ago.
There were monsters around the area as well.
They had bodies similar to goblins but with faces that were a mix of a dog and a pig. Lancelot called these creatures ‘Kobolds’.
They traveled in packs, which was a bit annoying, but their combat power was far inferior to that of orcs, making them mere small fry.
My eldest sister and Kim Sol joined me to form a party, and with Lancelot and Bedivere’s help, we quickly cleared them out.
Squeal!
Thud!
As we cleared the monsters, we eventually reached the entrance of the building.
Leaving behind the non-functioning elevator, we began climbing the gray, gravel-patterned stairs, step by step.
And so…
We finally arrived at the front door.
With my two sisters anxiously waiting behind me, I slowly brought my hand to the doorbell.
Click.
A loose, broken sound.
The doorbell wasn’t working.
With no other choice, I knocked on the door.
Bang! Bang!
“Brother! It’s me!”
But there was no response from beyond the tightly closed front door.
I immediately called for Bedivere.
“Open this door.”
Bedivere nodded, bowing his head, and gripped the door handle, beginning to apply his usual strength.
However…
Crack!
With a sound, the door handle broke off completely.
There was no other choice.
Crunch!
This time, he grabbed hold of the frame and tore the entire door off.
Thud!
The entrance was cleared, revealing the barren living room inside.
Since it was a newly remodeled home, everything looked fresh and clean.
It was as if no one had ever lived there.
A hollow feeling crept into my heart.
I wanted to believe, if only for a moment, that I had simply gotten the wrong address.
“…Was I too late?”
Just as I was lost in thought, trying to gather my emotions,
“There’s something here!”
My eldest sister, who had gone towards the kitchen, shouted as she discovered something.
.
.
.
What my eldest sister found was a letter.
An open letter with an uncertain recipient.
My brother had left a message, in case his younger siblings ever came looking for him.
The three of us, my two sisters and I, gathered around and slowly began to read the contents.
-Joo-yeon, Sol, Jeong-gyeom. I don’t know which one of you will end up reading this letter. The phones aren’t working, and there’s a chance you might come here, so I’m leaving this message.
It seemed my brother had anticipated that we might come looking for him.
Perhaps he wasn’t entirely sure of it.
But he hadn’t dismissed the possibility either.
In a way, this letter was a reflection of his hope.
A hope that, even in this way, we would somehow reunite.
The key part was in the following sentence:
-We’re planning to go to Dad’s house. Given the situation, I’m not confident that he’s safe. Plus, my in-laws live nearby. There are a lot of strange things happening, but… I don’t have time to explain them all right now.
At the end, he added:
-Whether it’s Joo-yeon, Sol, or Jeong-gyeom who reads this, please survive. We’ll be waiting at the house in Uijeongbu.
The three of us put the letter down with dazed expressions.
We hadn’t been able to meet our brother. But still…
“…It’s not the worst case.”
The date on the letter was the day after the apocalypse had begun.
Even if the monsters had appeared, it was before the 1st Corps had revealed their true nature.
So…
There was a good chance they had made it safely to our parents’ house in Uijeongbu.
We decided not to ignore that possibility.
We immediately decided to head to Uijeongbu where our parents’ house was located.
By helicopter, it wouldn’t take more than 20 minutes.
Whirr~
My sisters entered the subspace.
I asked them to prepare for departure while also delivering news to Lee Yong-su.
All that was left now was my role.
I had to return to the helicopter that had landed in an open field.
There would be monsters lurking along the way, so I was about to call out Lancelot and Bedivere again.
Just as I was about to leave the empty living room…
Dududududududu!
Crash!
Thick bullets tore through the air and shattered the glass into pieces, flying into the living room.
Bang! Ping! Pang! Tiiiing!
Bullets ricocheted off the walls, shooting wildly in all directions, and the newly furnished honeymoon furniture was shredded like paper.
The house, which had been as clean as a new suit, was completely torn apart.
Then,
Shwooo!
A missile came flying in from the helicopter.
Boom!
Compared to that, the bullets were nothing.
With a fierce explosion, the lights burst with a loud pop.
The walls, now decorated with bullet holes, were covered with a wave of soot.
Fwoosh…
Small flames began flickering over the torn wallpaper.
Meanwhile, I…
“I’m… perfectly fine…?”
It was an insane attack.
The bullets from the minigun had swept right through my torso.
But all I felt was a slight recoil.
The bullets slid off me as if they couldn’t make contact, and even the explosion from the missile felt like grains of sand scattering in front of my eyes.
Of course…
“Damn, this stings…”
I couldn’t help but scratch my skin at the strange sensation.
The Repulsion I gained through the .
It was truly impressive.
It made the UH-60 Black Hawk, armed with all sorts of weaponry, feel like a mere park pigeon.
The helicopter hovered just beyond the balcony, its blades still spinning as it stared me down.
Clearly, its goal was to blow me and the house to pieces.
My brother’s honeymoon home, now charred black.
I wasn’t feeling good about this.
But objects themselves aren’t at fault.
The people handling the objects are to blame.
With a magnanimous heart, I extended my hand toward the terrified black pigeon.
“Come here, Black Hawk.”
I activated .
It was a Black Hawk armed with a minigun and missiles.
I needed to put it in a cage for now.
As for the pilot…
Whether he lived or died, I couldn’t care less.
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