HACKED 71

I gathered the Incarnations and held something resembling a meeting.

The reason I called it “something resembling a meeting” rather than just a “meeting” was that it was effectively a space for shooting the breeze where people could goof off or chat. I’d personally refuse any gathering where everyone was staring at me with rigid military discipline.

Even back when I worked at a company, I loathed meetings. To me, meeting time was for rubbing away clumps of ballpoint pen ink on the corner of a notepad and meticulously coloring in every “o”, “p”, “b”, and “d” in the printed text.

The “completely-out-of-touch” CEO of my previous company was someone who truly valued communication and harmony among executives and employees. One day, he learned the term “brown bag meeting” from somewhere and committed the atrocity of holding a meeting during lunch hour.

The person who spread such a heinous term in Korea must surely be Satan. Thanks to him, all the employees had the precious experience of personally living out the idiom “not knowing whether the food is going into the mouth or the nose.”

“Boss. Are you daydreaming?”

Hwarang waved his hand back and forth in front of my eyes. He was sitting in a crooked posture with his chin propped on his hand. If I had attended company like that, life would have been so comfortable.

I looked around. The twins were busy playing amongst themselves as usual, and Ja-myeong-go and the Model Student were whispering with their heads together before bursting into laughter. Since when did those two get so close?

San Gun was lying stretched out over there. He was incredibly sharp when he needed to maintain a state of vigilance, but when he didn’t, he spent about 20 hours a day idling around. Even for me, who wouldn’t lose to anyone when it comes to being idle, I found myself thinking that was a bit much.

Well, then again… he’s a feline predator born lazy, and a Korean-origin Incarnation to boot. If he’s standing, he wants to sit; if he’s sitting, he wants to lie down. It’s very Korean.

“Kid, hold on.”

San Gun, who had been sprawled out so loosely you’d think he had no spine, suddenly snapped his head around. He frowned and pointed at one of the twins.

“Don’t climb onto the sofa with your shoes on. And don’t lie down right after eating. You’ll turn into a cow. Who spilled the snack crumbs? Huh?”

Beyond just being Korean-style, he was the personification of a K-Incarnation. The way he pointed his finger while remaining lying down was truly worthy of a Pantheon madman.

So, as a result. The only ones paying attention to me were Hwarang and Chirpy. Sitting with his legs crossed, Hwarang irritably tapped his toe in the air.

“You called a meeting after all this time, so what are you doing?”

“I was in deep agony over our present and future.”

“Is that so? Your eyes are so much like a rotting fish’s that I can’t tell what you’re thinking, Boss.”

I bristled at those words. Is that something coming from a guy whose eyes have no trace of a glint?

“Hey, you think you’re any different? Your eyes are just black Go stones.”

“Are they shiny, brand-new Go stones?”

“Do you happen to know the meaning of the phrase ‘self-objectification’? You’re really something.”

“Thanks.”

I meant it in the sense that he was utterly shameless, but an insincere thank you came back from Hwarang. Does this kid take a special lecture somewhere on how to get under my skin?

“In my view, Mr. Myeong and <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> are both similar… No, never mind. How dare I make another mistake. I have committed a mortal sin again…”

Chirpy had tried to chime in for no reason, only to be met with fierce glares from both of us. He shriveled up without gaining a thing.

Since I’ve gathered everyone, I should hold the meeting. A meeting… I don’t want to do it. I’m not really doing it now, either, but I want to not do it even more intensely.

“I’ll roughly reach a conclusion, so can’t you just relay it to them?”

“I don’t want to. You should handle the delivery yourself, Boss. Why should I mingle words with those things?”

Hwarang snorted. He wasn’t entirely wrong, but he had no manners.

“Why. What is it? What should I do for you?”

A lethargic, low voice drifted from behind. San Gun strolled over, brushed back his messy hair haphazardly, and plopped down next to me.

I guess I’ll just have to reach a conclusion with this many people.

“Among the Incarnations I’ve personally met, there are two whose locations are unaccounted for. <Nameless Star> and <The Bloodless Dokkaebi>. Excluding the Gumiho in the next room. We can’t leave the Gumiho like that forever, so we have to resolve it… but let’s leave her out for now.”

“And so.”

“Is there any way to recruit these Incarnations to our side? Right now, even if we all gather, we can’t even fill a single squad, so I’m uneasy like this. Since <Nameless Star> looks suspicious, even if we don’t accept him as an ally… we should at least eliminate the risk factor.”

“What’s their status?”

I turned on the terminal screen and showed the Incarnation list. Seeing is believing, after all.

<The Bloodless Dokkaebi>

• Rarity: ★★★★☆
• Level: 99
• Contamination: 100/100
• Stamina: 59/100
• Traits: Humanoid, Ghost, Folklore, Magic, Trickster, Korean origin, View more… [Tab]
• Detailed Description: [Tab]

<Nameless Star>

• Rarity: ★★★★☆
• Level: 99
• Contamination: 36/100
• Stamina: 88/100
• Traits: Humanoid, Occupation, Modern, Real, Spy, Korean origin, View more… [Tab]

“… <Nameless Star> is in fairly good condition. No status ailments. The Dokkaebi is wrecked.”

That’s why I felt a subtle sense of betrayal when I encountered <Nameless Star> last time. He looked fine based on the information, but in reality, he was a total lunatic.

The Dokkaebi’s status ailment is also a problem.

Status Ailment: ‘I don’t listen to orders from anyone weaker than me’

• Constantly demands wrestling matches from the Compiler. Will not follow any instructions until the Compiler defeats him in a match. This status ailment completely disappears the moment he admits defeat himself.

The Dokkaebi has the largest physique among the Incarnations I own. His face looks gentle, but his body is incredibly buff. Tracing back my memory of seeing him briefly last time… forget a 500kg total in the big three lifts, it looked like he could hit 700kg.

And I have to wrestle a guy like that and win? How is this different from telling a trainer and a Pokemon to strip off their ranks and fight?

“It won’t be easy.”

San Gun also became serious after looking at the information window.

“Does ‘not easy’ mean there’s a way to win, even if it’s difficult?”

“Nope. If you get tripped once here, you’ll smash through the floor and get buried in the basement.”

“Then it’s just impossible…”

Hwarang chimed in from the opposite side.

“No. It’s not entirely impossible. It’s 0.000000001%, but it’s not zero. Like the probability of the Boss’s dark circles disappearing.”

“Will you shut up?”

How does that mouth of his not rest for a single moment?

“What do you all think would be best?”

“Myeong. Do you just want to have a showdown with that bastard? If you bulk up like crazy and train starting now, won’t it work out somehow? I’ll help you.”

“Why are you talking about a hamster beating a brown bear? The Boss is just a lost cause. Just look at that vacant face. He looks like he doesn’t know the first thing about wrestling.”

“It’s my fault for asking you guys. Please shut up now.”

The two of them spouted nonsense one after another. They weren’t helpful at all and just ruined my mood.

“Then I’ll put the Dokkaebi’s disposal on hold for now. Next agenda. What should we do about <Nameless Star>?”

“Ah… Just thinking about it makes me feel like shit.”

“That sycophant bastard? Why deliberate? Just say the word. I’ll go kill him right now.”

As soon as <Nameless Star> was mentioned, the expressions of those two turned grim as if they had planned it. I lowered my head and pressed my hand to my forehead. The meeting isn’t progressing at all.

“Master, may I say something?”

Ja-myeong-go was nearby, perhaps having finished her chat time with the Model Student. Finally, a sensible and rational member appeared. I snapped my head up in delight.

“Yes, of course.”

“If there are multiple hostile or untrustworthy forces, couldn’t we gain an advantage by making them fight each other?”

“Make them fight each other?”

“At the moment, that seems like the best course of action. As the saying ‘using barbarians to control barbarians’ goes.”

That’s a good idea. It’s a good idea, but…

‘It’s easier said than done. If I could immediately think of a genius strategy just by hearing that one phrase, I’d be Zhuge Myeong, not Yeo Myeong.’

I tried squeezing my brain after that, but no particular ideas came to mind. In the end, the meeting ended lukewarmly.

Nothing was specifically concluded, but I should let everyone know. The Model Student and the twins didn’t hear the contents, either.

But how should I announce this? This kind of thing will happen in the future too, and the number of people might increase; it’s inefficient to grab each person one by one and tell them. It would also be ridiculous to create and distribute meeting minutes.

To have to worry about this even in a game world. If this were a real game, I could have given instructions conveniently with a single touch.

“Should I blast a global announcement for you?”

San Gun asked. He looked extremely confident. I was suspicious, but I accepted for now.

“That would be great. How are you going to do it?”

He gave a smirk and jumped up from his seat. Then he thudded his fist against the wall. Everyone’s eyes in the room focused, and sure enough, a needlessly loud shout rang out vibrantly.

“Attention!”

Ah, a vocal announcement, ah.

˙✧˖°🎮 ⋆｡˚

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

‘Dimensional Clash’ has occurred. The ‘Dimensional Boundary’ has collapsed. ‘Dimensional Merging’ has begun.

Target of ‘Dimensional Merging’: <UserMyeong808>’s Pantheon, <DriedPollackKimchiStew>’s Pantheon (Total of 2 dimensions)

Please prepare for unexpected situations and overcome the crisis to survive the merging.

Just like last time, the second merging began at a sudden timing.