The Academy’s Time Stop Player
chapter-187

TL/Editor: looloo

Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri

Illustrations: Here

"I am certain. I have met him before."

The King of Giants, Gigantmakia, declared.

He had encountered that being, imbued with an unknown aura.

Not a sensation felt due to inheriting Horton's energy, but of having met his very essence.

[…….]

Silence briefly enveloped the room at his words.

The King of Elves looked up at the King of Giants, deep in thought.

[However.]

The King of Giants then continued.

"Me being alive means that, in the end, he was defeated."

No change in emotion could be detected in his voice.

He simply stated it as a matter of fact.

Kukukukung!!

At that moment, the King of Giants rose.

Just him slowly standing caused the ground around to tremble as if a disaster had struck.

The earth began to crack open, and he started to look down quietly at the King of Elves.

Soon, he opened his mouth in a calm, subdued voice towards the King of Elves.

"That is why I am intrigued."

He wondered what kind of skills the human who inherited Horton's power would use against him.

The giant who had once swallowed worlds and eventually embraced the world itself spoke with a fighting spirit.

"As promised, I will give you half of this world, King of Elves."

At that moment, magical power surged out of the giant's body, covering and obscuring the blue sky.

Suddenly, the sky was enveloped in an ominous red magic.

Under that sky, the giant continued to unleash his power and spoke.

"So, you just prepare for war."

That evening.

As the super-sized magic circles that appeared in the skies of countries around the world transformed into gates to dimensional dungeons, all broadcasts worldwide stopped their regular programming to cover the appearance of these dimensional dungeons in the sky.

Some news channels broadcasted live scenes from the ground, while others had reporters attempting to get close to the dimensional dungeons by plane.

Among them, some stations invited experts to discuss their opinions on the situation.

These were heroes now retired.

But they were superhumans over 70 years old who had been active during the era of Great Chaos.

"What do you think about this situation?"

The host asked, extending the microphone towards the retired hero from the past.

The elderly man, covered in scars and with a linear scar on his forehead, calmly turned to the microphone and spoke.

"I, having lived through the era of Great Chaos, have never seen a dimensional dungeon gate this massive."

"A gate like this wasn't seen even during the era of Great Chaos?"

"Yes, that's correct. Do you know about the last dimensional dungeon that the great heroes finally conquered?"

It was impossible not to know.

It would likely be a dungeon known to anyone in this era.

The worst dimensional dungeon in history, recorded in history.

The last dimensional dungeon that caused numerous casualties.

The elderly man was talking about the dungeon that, if not for the great heroes, would have led to humanity's extinction.

,

"Just once in my youth, I saw the last dimensional dungeon gate that the great heroes had conquered right before my eyes. Even though the dungeon wasn't broken, numerous monsters came through that gate. I was just lucky to survive. One of the great heroes, Sage Choi Jungwon, saved me."

With nostalgic eyes, the elderly man reminisced about the past.

"Such dungeons were conquered by those now called great heroes. I thought the era of Great Chaos had finally ended with the closing of the gate that caused thousands, tens of thousands of deaths…, but."

He continued, looking solemnly at the host.

"The gates to dimensional dungeons that have appeared over Seoul, no, over the skies of countries around the world now, are incomparably larger than that gate."

"……."

A moment of silence passed through the station.

A gate larger than the worst dimensional dungeon known to history had opened.

In light of this fact, the host took a moment to choose his words carefully and then spoke with a cautious expression.

"So, you think there's absolutely no way to stop it?"

At that, the elderly man shook his head.

As the host's eyes widened in surprise, the elderly man spoke with a serious face.

"The Irregular. There's no one who doesn't know this hero."

"So, you believe that Irregular can stop this crisis?"

"Considering all that he has accomplished so far, he must be our last hope. He's a hero who has solved all the tasks thought impossible alone."

The sudden emergence of Korea's hero, Irregular.

He was a hero who had ended all tasks thought impossible alone.

Not even the great heroes could achieve feats like Irregular.

"I still think that even for Irregular, this task might be too much. But, you know? Every time I thought so, he had already resolved the issue."

With a slight chuckle, the elderly man finished his last statement towards the host.

"I believe that if it's Irregular, he might have a way to resolve this situation too."

Meanwhile, Hajoon was walking through the streets of Seoul.

He glanced at his phone, watching a broadcast featuring an elderly man discussing him, then felt a certain energy and turned away, speaking to Philaten.

"It's him…"

-Do you feel it?

"Yes."

As he walked around the streets of Seoul, Hajoon felt a magical aura sweep over him.

The King of Giants, Gigantmakia.

The will contained in that magic brushed past Hajoon, conveying the emotions the giant was feeling right now.

The giant was ablaze with fighting spirit.

As if he was looking forward to a fight with Hajoon.

Ding- Ding- Ding-

At that moment, Hajoon's phone chimed with a message notification.

Hajoon lifted his phone to check the messages.

[Anna: Hajoon, where are you now?]

[Yoo Seolah: Did you see the news, Hajoon?]

[Haruna: Where are you?]

[Liam: I'm planning to return to Korea for now. Are you at the academy by any chance?]

"Hah…"

After checking the messages from the kids, Hajoon let out a soft sigh.

Why are they sending so many messages...

He responded to each one, planning to visit the academy later anyway since they would meet soon.

After replying to the kids, Hajoon looked around.

"It's chaotic."

With the appearance of the gigantic dimensional dungeon gate in the sky, an evacuation order had been issued in Seoul.

Many people were evacuating Seoul through gates to other regions.

It seemed that the association's agents and heroes were staying behind to guide the people's evacuation.

Ddiriring-

Then, the sound of his phone rang again.

Hajoon checked his phone.

It was a call from Chairman Kim Jeongyong.

Hajoon immediately answered the call.

"It's me. What's up?"

-Hajoon student, the meeting just ended. Can we meet now?

"Yes, I'll come to the association… Ah, right."

Suddenly remembering something, Hajoon continued speaking to the chairman.

"Is Hero Joa Elliot nearby by any chance?"

-Yes? She was just about to leave, so she should still be here.

"I'm sorry, but I have something to discuss with Hero Elliot. Could you please pass on the message?"

-Oh, yes. I will inform Hero Joa Elliot.

After ending the call, Hajoon headed to the association headquarters with time stopped.

"It's been a while, Irregular. I heard you had something to discuss with me."

Upon arriving at the association, Hajoon could immediately see her in the reception room.

Hajoon approached her and sat on the sofa opposite her before speaking.

"You said you had seen my future before, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Then, did you know this situation was going to happen?"

At that, Joa shook her head calmly and said,

"The future I see is limited. I only see certain scenes related to your future. I couldn't see every situation. But one thing is certain, Irregular, your future is singular. It's almost as if it's a predetermined fate."

Hajoon was aware of this from what had been said in the past.

His future was different from others', as it was on a singular path.

At that, Hajoon nodded and stated his request.

"Can you see my future now?"

"……."

A moment of silence followed.

Joa looked at Hajoon with a calm face, lost in thought, and then carefully spoke.

"If you wish to see, I can look. However, I can only answer with the scenes I have seen in fragments."

"That's enough for me."

"Alright, then please look into my eyes for a moment."

With that, she widely opened her eyes that had been slightly ajar.

A pure white magic flowed from her body, but only for a moment.

She slowly closed her eyes again and spoke.

"I have seen your future, Irregular."

"……."

Hajoon waited in silence for her to continue.

Soon, a sorrowful voice came from her.

"You have already thought of a way to solve this."

"……."

Without responding, Hajoon simply nodded.

As she said, he had indeed thought of a way to stop this crisis.

Apparently, she too had seen what he was going to do in the future.

"It will be a difficult path."

"I know."

"The you in the future looked very troubled."

"I really hate putting myself through suffering."

Hajoon responded with a light laugh.

"But I'm willing to go through it just this once."

At his response, she too smiled softly and spoke.

"Irregular, I understand your thoughts. So we, or rather, all the heroes from around the world, will help you resolve this crisis."

"It seems like the future isn't too bad, then."

"Because in the future, you will be at the center of the heroes. But I'm sorry."

Her head then bowed down.

With a look of regret, she looked at Hajoon and continued.

"I couldn't see the future you desired."

"……."

The future Hajoon wanted to see through her.

He wanted to know exactly how this fight would end, but it seems she couldn't see that far into the future.

The outcome of the final battle with the King of Giants remained unknown.

"It's okay. You've said enough."

Knowing that it was flowing towards the future he envisioned was satisfying enough.

Hajoon slowly rose from his seat and spoke.

"Thank you for your time."

With a gentle smile, Joa nodded and replied.

"Irregular, I could live because of you. Probably many people were saved thanks to you."

Taken aback by the sudden praise, Hajoon looked at her awkwardly.

Looking at Hajoon's face, Joa continued.

"Do you know? The fact that your future is singular ultimately means that those connected to you are also with you."

"……What do you mean?"

Hajoon looked at Joa, puzzled.

She smiled softly and replied.

"Those who had bleak futures were saved because they became entwined with your destiny, which is set on a singular path."

A person can have countless futures.

After all, the future changes endlessly based on actions.

But Hajoon was different.

As if predestined, he was a person with only one future.

And many people connected to such a Hajoon were saved towards the future they desired.

It was a fact that Joa knew from her own experiences.

Opening her eyes gently again, she looked at Hajoon and said,

"Now, the future in which they were saved is one that you share."