Chapter 487: Age After Ending (1)

The game was over.

More precisely, the game as a play that was driving this world into destruction was over with the ‘best ending’. It was the achievement that the Necromancer made by killing the GMs and destroying the passage to the alien world.

However, its ‘game trait,’ or ‘system’ was maintained, which opened a completely new age.

“Well, it is the age of ‘post ending.”

Someone’s voice was coming out from the studio where the ON AIR light was flickering.

“This is an era when the system is intact but there is no manager. This is an era when the system has become a natural phenomenon, and we have become the voluntary players or those who work tirelessly to conquer and develop such a natural phenomenon.”

Reporter Ahn, or, who was now called ‘Director Ahn’, was broadcasting in a spacious studio, as usual.

Judging by the professional equipment and dozens of staff filling the well-organized studio, it seemed that his studio was functioning as a proper broadcasting station.

“And finally we’ve come to this point today.”

After he announced with such a prelude, he moved toward another place, and the camera was filming him from behind.

As he said, today was a bit of a special day. A title was engraved in the upper left corner of the broadcast screen.

– Special Broadcast on the 1st Anniversary of Ending: The era of the Necromancer and the World Tree, and our age. What about the next age?

“Okay, how have you been in your life until now?”

Director Ahn stopped in front of the big screen and spoke very seriously.

“On the 1st anniversary of the ending, we want to take a moment to look back on what happened to us in the past year. Now, let’s go back to the past with me.”

The screen has changed.

Director Ahn disappeared from the screen, and the towering world tree filled the screen. His voice echoed through the scene while he was narrating the scenes.

“It all started well because the Necromancer’s rule was successful, to be honest.”

Then some video started playing all of a sudden.

Woooooooooo-

The screen showed the scenes of the World Tree fleet passing through the ‘Hyperspace’ and entering the shadow of the World Tree. It was exactly showing them returning from the Bermuda Triangle a year ago.

Then the screen closed up the man in the dark green robe, namely the Necromancer, getting off from the Messenger.

Even though he went through a series of harsh battles involving the Absolute Races, the Demon King, and GMs, he had a calm and expressionless face as usual.

Everyone warmly welcomed him fervently.

“As Earth’s savior and the most powerful player on Earth, the Necromancer has restored order and peace on this world that seemed to have been lost forever. Who can refute my statement?”

Then the video played the scenes of a large-scale party held in the World Tree camp. Various foods were on display, and people laughed, chatted, and danced happily. There were also some people taking pictures with the skeletons carrying food. It looked like a documentary video that was reminiscent of the distant past.

Another screen appeared.

“After the war and the party are over, our new lives have begun. We have progressed incredibly quickly.”

It showed the scenes of people rebuilding the destroyed city.

Heavy machinery and trucks passed through the city center of Suwon. The warriors carried construction materials, and the wizards demolished those buildings that they could not restore. The priests gave them the blessings of fatigue reliefs.

“We have kept developing like that.”

At that moment a group attacked the site.

They were a bunch of ogres. There were still some monster remnants all over the city.

“Well, there were often obstacles like this, but they weren’t a big problem.”

The scene of their raid ended with the ogre bodies piling up in a slaughterhouse.

“We hunted monsters, collected items, and rebuilt the lost world quickly. Under the leadership of the Necromancer and World Tree camp, everything went smoothly and very quickly. It seemed like we could restore our former glory at any moment.”

Then, the video capturing the World Tree camp in a distant view was fast-forwarded, showing the city center around the world tree developing at a tremendous speed.

Director Ahn’s image appeared among them, then he strode out over the city center.

Then he spread his arms left and right.

“Our world has gotten taller and wider every day.”

Whenever he moved, the skyscrapers rose, and large magic engineering factories mushroomed. Dozens or hundreds of airships flew over his head, then disappeared repeatedly. Behind his back, the trunk of the world tree grew steeply, extending its shadow. Finally, a huge city was born.

“This is Asadal, the center of the new world…”

The name of the city was ‘Asadal’. It was named after the capital city of Gojoseon, the old Korea, protected by the sacred tree ‘Sindansu’.

“It seemed that we would live in peace for hundreds of years, and I also really thought so. But something unexpected happened one day.”

The moment he stopped speaking, the screen stopped.

Director Ahn’s face was closed up, and he shook his head with a grim expression on his face.

“We realized that there was no peace in our glory…”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosions erupted from his left and right, and the buildings collapsed. Then when he turned his head to the left, those with fierce expressions ran out with weapons.

One of them shouted, “Burn the world tree!”

Someone was attacking the World Tree camp, but this time it was players, not monsters.

“They have begun terrorism…”

Explosions, flames, magic, shouts, and bloodstains appeared on the screen for a while.

“Yeah, this is what happened. When peace came, the wrong ideas of the past, such as Sinocentrism, Islamic extremism, white supremacy, nationalism, and regionalism began to grow again with peace as their nutrients. They joined forces to break free from the control of the World Tree camp, and thus a new war began.”

A red font appeared on the screen.

– O R I G I N A L S

“They call themselves ‘Originals’. It means that they will seize the power of the earth as ‘original human beings’ who have not been manipulated by the system.”

Originals.

Interpreted as they were, they were like fundamentalists.

This meant that they denied control based on the power of the system, and pursued humanity’s natural values such as religion and science, but in reality, they were also fighting by using the system.

“We have once again entered an era of violence. The Originals launched all kinds of attacks to overthrow the Necromancer and the World Tree camp.”

At that moment someone ran into the screen.

“Director Ahn…”

He was a staff member of the broadcasting station. He whispered into Director Ahn urgently.

It was a scene close to a broadcasting accident, which meant that the situation was urgent enough right now.

“…”

Ahn’s expression hardened.

“…”

He took his breath and looked back at the camera, slowly opening his mouth.

“I am sorry, viewers. I think I have to end the special broadcast here. From now on, I’m going to give you some breaking news.”

The title at the top of the screen changed in an instant.

-Breaking News: Originals conducted the 13th terrorist attack on Asadal. Tree guards are checking the situation right now!

“The Originals resumed their terrorist attacks again while the Necromancer was away. This is already the third terrorist attack they launched in the past week. This time…”

He stared at the camera and continued in a more low voice.

“It seems the situation is a bit serious. The commander of the Tree Guard, also known as the Guard Captain, has been allegedly kidnapped.”

One of the heroes of the World Tree camp has been kidnapped.