Instant Kill, Time-Stop Spellcaster

A tense atmosphere settled over the Japanese Prime Minister’s residence.

“Foreign Minister.”

“…Yes, Prime Minister.”

“What exactly are the Americans demanding?”

The Foreign Minister swallowed hard.

“…They have no specific demands.”

“You call that a conclusion?”

“I have no excuse.”

The U.S. had suddenly adopted an aggressive stance.

Such a change couldn’t possibly be without a purpose.

Not revealing that purpose was a form of pressure diplomacy.

That’s how international relations worked.

“Damn it! What about the other ministers? Did anyone hear anything?”

Silence.

No one wanted to speak out of turn. This was no ordinary issue.

They had tried to direct the disaster’s fury toward Korea, but that path was now blocked.

“What’s the state of public opinion?”

“…There’s intense criticism of the cabinet.”

That was putting it lightly.

Public resentment had turned into outright ridicule.

└ When’s Korea apologizing?

└ Didn’t you see the U.S. announcement? Our cabinet got it all wrong.

└ Other countries are rooting out traitors, but Japan’s quiet as ever.

└ Even Korea decapitated an S-class.

└ Neighbor: Rapid dungeon-response tech! Us: Endless meetings in boardrooms!

└ Watching Korea’s crisis response makes our cabinet’s ‘we’ll consider it’ disease look embarrassing.

The Prime Minister rubbed his forehead.

“Damn. We tried to blame Korea, and now we’ve been smacked by our own ally…”

“….”

Anger seeped through the Prime Minister’s voice.

The ministers remained silent.

Both the ministers and the public shared the same confusion.

└ Why is the U.S. siding with Korea? We’re the allies here.

└ I’m telling you, our cabinet was barking up the wrong tree.

└ What are you talking about? The dungeon anomaly is obviously Korea’s doing.

└ The U.S. defending a terror state? Unbelievable.

└ Was Japan’s diplomacy always this bad? The Foreign Minister should resign!

└ 4,000 of our citizens died, and we’re blaming a neighboring country? The dungeon disaster is entirely Japan’s fault.

└ Die, anti-Japan leftists. Stop distorting history.

It wasn’t just any countries involved—it was Korea and the U.S.

Japan’s most trusted ally had sided with its most disliked neighbor.

The shock for the Japanese public was enormous.

Worse, they had tried to shift the blame, only to have the harsh truth shoved down the world’s throat.

It was an international humiliation.

“We tried to calm public opinion, but we only added fuel to the fire.”

“Nobody here is unaware of that. Are you mocking me?”

“S-sorry.”

“I’m telling you to come up with a solution!”

Like any allied nation, Japan depended on the U.S.

For trade, for defense—everything.

They couldn’t openly question America.

Nor could they vent their frustration on Korea.

What if the U.S. retaliated again?

There was only one option left.

They had to solve the root problem.

“This collapse… that weird dungeon anomaly? Solve it now!”

Japan’s Awakening Management Bureau.

The Supernatural Affairs Agency was under fire.

“It’s all because the Supernatural Affairs Agency is incompetent and couldn’t find a real solution!”

“We’re sorry….”

Japan was in no better shape than the rest of the advanced nations. They were all floundering.

“We can’t let public unrest grow. If we do, we’ll all be out of office!”

“What if we formally compensate Korea and request their professor’s help—”

“Are you insane?! Bowing to Korea now would spark riots!”

The public had already been fully riled up.

Most citizens firmly believed Korea was responsible for the dungeon anomalies.

The Prime Minister slammed the table in frustration.

“Don’t bring me any more nonsense. Come back with real solutions! Unless you want me to replace this whole cabinet!”

“Understood!”

The damage was already done.

They couldn’t just tell the public, Oops, our mistake!

“We cannot bow to Korea. Never!”

“Understood!”

###

Kang Hyun clicked his tongue.

“Life’s miserable, so chaos is erupting everywhere. It’s all because of the dungeon anomaly.”

“It feels like everything’s falling apart.”

“Tsk. We’re completely dancing to Abyss’s tune.”

The Legion Commander of the Abyss thrived on cunning schemes.

That was Kyle’s assessment. The flow of the strange occurrences followed the same logic.

Why target one country first?

Likely to test the waters and sow international discord.

“The enemy is the Black World Tree, but here they are, tearing each other apart.”

Earth was no different from old Thea.

Not that it’s worth mentioning anymore, but…

Thea also fractured during the invasion of the World Tree.

Kyle was the one who united it through overwhelming support from both the masses and the strong—and his unmatched power.

“I need to unify Earth under one alliance too.”

They were too weak now.

The only way was to grow stronger.

“Let’s hit the dungeon.”

“Whoa! D Zone entry! Open, sesame!”

As he was about to activate a spatial warp—

Beep-beep-beep!

“Yes, Chief Choi?”

Choi, calling at the other end, had something interesting to share.

“An effect from the E-rank Blessing?”

“Yes. We’re about to find out, but we’ll need more data.”

Now it was finally being revealed.

“So if you’re heading into the dungeon, could you try going to an area beyond the current blessing range?”

“Sure thing. Where do you want it?”

“Thank you. Anywhere close but outside the range is fine.”

They casually headed toward Seongnam.

“Aww, I was looking forward to D Zone…”

“We’ll clear D Zone tomorrow.”

They swept through the dungeon quickly.

E Zone dungeons were a breeze now.

[Perfect Clear! (Solo)]

[Incredible Achievement! Cleared an E+ dungeon!]

[Cleared the dungeon with a ‘Perfect Clear! (Solo)’—special rewards granted.]

[Awarded ‘Bronze Box (+2)’]

They stashed the rewards for now.

They still had much more mana than expected.

“Wow, at this rate, we could clear four more dungeons today.”

“Whoa! Are you serious?”

That’s D-level mana for you.

And the power of a Dragon’s Heart.

Now they could finally introduce themselves as a Word Mage.

“Since it’s an experiment, more data is better. Let’s clear four dungeons total.”

“But won’t the Perfect Clear announcements trigger too much attention?”

“What’s the big deal?”

“Four Perfect Clears in one day is bound to draw tons of aggro.”

They had achieved three consecutive clears before.

By constantly replenishing their mana with potions.

But that was at F-rank.

This time, they were going to break that record again.

“Whatever. Any aggro we could’ve drawn from Perfect Clears has already been drawn.”

“True enough.”

They were strong enough now.

Even if a powerful assassin showed up, they wouldn’t die—they could escape.

“Let’s lift the nation’s spirits a bit. The country’s atmosphere is already terrible.”

“Wow, you’re such an inspiring mentor!”

But Kang Hyun had no idea what kind of waves this decision would create.

[A certain warrior cleared an E+ dungeon with a Perfect Clear (Solo), perfectly halting the World Tree’s invasion!]

[A blessing will be bestowed upon the area in honor of their achievement. Let’s all celebrate!]

[A certain warrior cleared an E+ dungeon…]

[A certain warrior cleared an E+ dungeon…]

They only expected four consecutive loot boxes.

###

President Kwon Dong-chul of South Korea

As always, today felt like death.

There was a public apology and press conference today.

“I prayed I wouldn’t wake up in bed this morning…”

“What are you saying, sir? You’re the nation’s hope.”

“It seems the public doesn’t think so.”

His administration had suffered a drastic approval rating drop.

Because of the dungeon anomalies and the crackdown on spirits.

Dungeon anomalies were disasters—governments are always blamed for disasters.

But the spirit crackdown was purely man-made.

The fallout had been severe.

“I couldn’t weed out those traitorous lawmakers.”

“No, the opposition was just too strong.”

Park Chul-woong, one of only two S-rank Awakeners in the country.

He was also the leader of the fifth-ranked guild.

Essentially a warlord.

“I never thought they’d be so deeply entrenched in government.”

“They weren’t all traitors. Most were just blinded by the money they got from Palan.”

“And where do you think that money came from? The demons gave it to them. They’re all traitors in the end.”

“…”

The secretary held his tongue.

President Kwon Dong-chul often had extreme thoughts.

‘If only a spirit could wipe out every corrupt lawmaker…’

Eliminate all the filth from both sides of the aisle.

Running the country would be so much easier.

“At least we got concessions from the U.S.”

“That’s why the opposition has quieted down a bit.”

The sudden change in the U.S.

Recently, they had made a slew of diplomatic concessions.

‘But why?’

They had subtly hinted at what they wanted.

EX’s identity.

But it was hard to believe they would offer so much just for that.

Tariffs, expanded military budgets.

Several long-delayed treaties were rushed through.

‘Did EX’s value skyrocket within the U.S. all of a sudden? What’s going on?’

But EX’s identity was top-secret, even to the president himself.

‘Part of me wishes we could just hand over their identity and be saved… No, that’s dangerous.’

Kwon Dong-chul shook off the temptation.

He was a leader who put his nation before his political survival.

Selling out the country’s future was out of the question.

“Just feign ignorance for all the reporters’ questions.”

“Is that really something to say to a president?”

“Apologies, sir.”

“It’s fine. It’s just the reality.”

A public apology.

This event was critical.

One wrong answer, and his political career could be over.

That’s how dire the national mood was.

The president arrived at the press conference.

The questions came flying, razor-sharp.

“Government corruption is a clear sign of leadership failure. Lawmakers who supported the spirit crackdown…”

“The Attorney General resigned over the spirit incident. Isn’t this just scapegoating?”

“The anomaly death toll has already surpassed 3,000. What is the government’s plan?”

“Why is the government unable to present any solutions to the anomaly crisis?”

Kwon Dong-chul cursed internally.

‘Damn. Just opposition-aligned reporters, huh?’

The questions were too aggressive to be directed at a president.

They were clearly launching an all-out offensive.

It was inevitable.

The approval ratings had hit rock bottom.

‘They’re just switching sides to the winning team. I feel like dying…’

One mistake here could lead to impeachment.

So he had to stick to denials.

“We are carefully reviewing the situation.”

“We will come up with a plan.”

“We will make a prudent decision and announce it at the right time.”

Kwon Dong-chul felt a deep sense of futility.

‘Am I a president or a parrot?’

But he couldn’t resign.

He couldn’t let the government collapse at such a critical time.

Even if he went down as the worst president in history, he had to resolve the anomaly crisis.

The nation was on the brink of collapse.

“Why is the government ignoring Japan’s plea for aid?”

“Are we refusing international aid? The current administration must take responsibility for Japan’s crisis!”

Kwon Dong-chul almost lost his composure.

Was the reporter suggesting Korea take responsibility?

‘These lunatics.’

The anomaly crisis wasn’t Korea’s fault.

Even the U.S. had confirmed Korea was just the first victim.

Several countries had already identified their own traitors.

It was clear these were all demon-instigated invasions.

So acknowledging Korea’s responsibility?

That was as good as selling out the nation.

‘But their real intent isn’t that.’

They were just using it as an attack.

If he countered, it would only fuel more attacks.

The humanitarian aid angle was a powerful argument.

‘Sigh…’

He had no choice but to answer like a puppet.

All he could do was pray for this ordeal to end quickly.

Then, suddenly, an aide approached the podium.

They whispered something in the president’s ear.

“Are you taking a script for your answers now?”

“The president is not a puppet of his officials!”

“This is inappropriate behavior for an honest discussion!”

The attacks intensified.

It was understandable.

The scene was too unusual.

Even the ruling party officials watching were flustered.

But Kwon Dong-chul didn’t dismiss the aide.

He ignored the noise and focused on the report.

“…I understand.”

Upon hearing the report, Kwon Dong-chul’s eyes lit up.

‘So this was the U.S.’s true intention!’

At least now he understood.

If they had failed to figure it out and handed over EX…

“But are we certain?”

“Yes. We’ve confirmed it after the final test.”

“Test?”

“An Awakened guard just completed four consecutive Perfect Clears.”

“F-four consecutive!”

“The Blessing’s effects have been verified.”

Four consecutive Perfect Clears.

EX had set another new record.

“However, according to the Awakening Bureau, they didn’t request a four-clear streak.”

“Hm? Then that means…”

Would they have purposefully pushed for such an extreme performance?

There was no reason to.

“It seems EX timed it with your press conference.”

Kwon Dong-chul was momentarily stunned.

“I see.”

He dismissed the aide.

After a long moment of thought, he leaned on the table with both hands.

His posture and hands exuded renewed energy.

“Don’t worry, citizens. South Korea is safe.”

His voice brimmed with confidence.

“The Perfect Clear Awakener will protect this nation.”

That day, the effects of the E-rank Blessing made front-page news.