Four months after James’s escape, news of survivors enduring the dungeon trial began circulating. Those who accepted the invitation were mostly outcasts in society—criminals in prison, those with huge debts, those who joined terrorist groups, and those who lived in war zones. They had received power.

  They were more ruthless than James. Unlike James, they didn’t care about people’s lives. Instead, they relished tormenting others. Thankfully, not many actually survived the dungeon trials. No matter what kind of training they had before, it couldn’t prepare them for what was to come. Moreover, unlike James, normal bullets and weaponry could still injure them.

  Thankfully, not all survivors who escaped the hell known as dungeon trials were like that. Dungeon trials were easier if you cooperated with others, and not all survivors were evil. Similar to Kouki, there were those among the outcasts who wished to become heroes or help others.

  Since their power could no longer be ignored, governments began promoting them instead. The trial of the world was too sudden—dungeons began popping up around the world. They took the land and transported the residents to the remaining areas. Many facilities, such as power plants, water supplies, and even hospitals, became inaccessible.

  Thankfully, even when those facilities were disabled, the pipes were still pumping water, and the electricity was still being produced. The system remained silent to those who didn’t take the trials. However, it explained everything quite extensively to survivors like Kouki.

  So, the UN formed a Survivor Organization. Andrew, the leader of the survivors who managed to pass the dungeon trial without casualties, created The Guild.

  “So, you are saying that he is a survivor? And he is a good man?” Andrew asked Kaina and Kouki.

  Kouki, who had become the Guild Representative of Japan, saw the news about how a monster had breached the dungeon and was terrorizing the populace of California. Seeing the picture sent Kouki into shock.

  “Yes. He helped us clear the dungeon trial,” Kaina said.

  Kouki, Kaina, Andrew, Zwen, and John had gathered inside the Guild office in America. Zwen wasn’t a survivor—he was the representative from the UN assigned to monitor the survivors’ activities.

  “Well… not exactly. More like he cleared the trial on his own…” John answered.

  “That doesn’t prove that he is a nice guy,” Zwen scoffed.

  “But the fact that he cleared a dungeon trial on his own proves that he is something. If possible, we should recruit him into our ranks,” Andrew said.

  “He killed a man!” Zwen objected.

  “Many of us in The Guild have killed a person in the dungeon,” Andrew answered. He almost rolled his eyes at Zwen’s idealistic view. Millions, if not hundreds of millions, had killed each other during the trial of the world. And it was not just survivors—normal people brought out their guns, swords, or knives to loot the remaining food and water from malls and shopping districts.

  “Killing in the dungeon is one thing, but he killed a helpless man inside his house. This is going to be bad for the press. The news has already aired,” Zwen frowned. He no longer criticized James’ deed but rather the public perception. James was famous due to his monstrous appearance.

  “Kouki, as the one who met James directly, what is his power? Why does he have that form?” Andrew asked.

  “Um… I am not sure.”

  “I think he can plunder something from monsters. He was angry when I pressed the golden ball before he did something to the monsters.”

  “So, can I assume this is not his final form? In that case, this will be simple.” Andrew grinned.

  Zwen sighed and nodded. He agreed with Andrew’s assessment. However, a few moments later, his eyes widened as if he had realized something.

  “Well, that can be arranged. This is a monster, and James is one of us. However, is he truly a good guy? Well, he didn’t kill any of the cops, that’s for sure. But why did he kill a man?”

  “Kouki? Can you explain how you met this guy?” Andrew glanced at Kouki.

  “Yes, we met in the dungeon, on the fourth floor. Thinking he was a monster, I attacked him.”

  “You attacked him? Did he take Kaina hostage?” Andrew thought hard.

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  The Guild was new; however, there was a ranking system for it. All rankings were based on levels, so it was not absolute. Kouki was in the top ten among one hundred guild members.

  That didn’t mean Kouki was one of the top ten strongest in the world. Not all survivors joined The Guild. Some preferred to form their own guilds, while others went rogue. Private guilds still cooperated with The Guild, but they kept their power and levels a secret. Meanwhile, rogue guilds were akin to terrorist groups and warlords.

  Nevertheless, Andrew knew Kouki was strong. Hence, he questioned him.

  “Yes. I attacked him and was beaten. I thought he was about to kill Kaina. But I was wrong,” Kouki recalled the fight.

  “How did he fight? I don’t think anyone could beat you in close combat,” Andrew frowned.

  After the guild had formed, he had planned to ask Kouki to join his party to raid the next dungeon.

  “Using weapon skills. He used an axe and a longsword.”

  “Ah, but he had a crossbow too. So, I don’t think he was lacking in the range department,” Kaina added.

  “We must add him to our group. There are fewer than ten people who have killed a floor boss on their own without any cooperation. Prepare to welcome him and do not antagonize him. His strength will be our greatest asset in reclaiming our Earth.”

  “Was he that strong?” Zwen asked.

  “Yes, defeating the last floor boss is an enormous feat. Moreover, doing it alone is another level entirely. Zwen… what should we do? Should we continue with the Reconquest Project, or should we go for this James?” Andrew asked.

  If what Kouki said was true, he would like to ask James to join his party to clear the dungeon.

  Andrew wasn’t much of a gamer. But even with his rudimentary knowledge, he knew that a medium-level dungeon would be a challenge. Dungeon trials had limited monsters. Kouki’s level was not that far from Andrew’s—only three or four levels apart.

  Even though Andrew had killed all the floor bosses, he had shared all the EXP with his teammates. Kouki, who hadn’t even cleared all the floors, managed to close the gap because he monopolized the EXP from monsters. James, who had killed five floor bosses on his own, would most likely eclipse Andrew in levels.

  “The Reconquest Project must take priority. Some nuclear reactors were taken by the dungeon. If no one pressed the SCRAM button, we would be screwed if it went into meltdown! We couldn’t even build a sarcophagus like Chernobyl if it exploded!” Zwen slammed the table.

  The gravity of the situation was made clear. Nobody knew the state of those reactors. However, since electricity kept being produced, it was safe to assume that the reactors were still active.

  There were hundreds of such reactors in the world. Thanks to the quick-witted operators who pressed the SCRAM button before being teleported, over a hundred reactors were safely turned off before the world trial. But four reactors failed to be shut down.

  Kouki winced. He wanted to help James, but he too had been recruited to reconquer one of those dungeons. Among the four reactors that had been taken, two were classified as novice, one as medium, and the other as hard.

  To be honest, Andrew didn’t think this problem was a big deal. Modern reactors had automatic safety designs to turn such things off on their own. But they were right to be worried. Nobody knew how the software would react if left alone like that.

  “I understand,” Andrew said. “I will go. But someone must remain outside of that dungeon. We must try to recruit James to our cause. Can I leave it to you, Kaina?”

  “Yes. I am just level one, after all.”

  “Well, we better get ready for this. My team will try to conquer this medium dungeon while Kouki will try to conquer this novice one.”

  “Shouldn’t we try them all?” Zwen asked.

  “There are barely 300 survivors here. The dungeon trial was supposed to be at Novice level. I don’t think we should be too greedy, Zwen.”

  “But….”

  “If I clear the Medium dungeon, we will try the Hard one. But if you find any volunteers, I shall not hold you back. Just don’t take those twenty members—they are too valuable to lose.” Andrew sent a file from his tablet to Zwen.

  “I will ask around for anyone willing.”

  “Good. That concludes our meeting. Is there anything else?”

  “Yes. We have inquiries from all over the world about this reclamation project. The surveying survivor said that Team India in dungeon TZ103R has decreased by two. Should we send additional members?”

  “Hah…” Andrew sighed.

  Normal people couldn’t look at dungeon information—only survivors could. The number of members decreasing could only mean one thing: some of them had died.

  “That’s ten survivors dead in that dungeon alone. If we manage to clear this one, we have to increase the number of survivors.”

  “Eh? We can do that?” Kaina was surprised.

  “We don’t know yet. I plan on bringing high-leveled survivors and several normal people who have received training. If they manage to kill a monster there, they should receive the system,” Andrew said.

  “Oh yeah, Kouki, get ready for your first expedition next week. Here is your assignment,” Zwen said. “We shall arrange the flight and hotels. Of course, you will receive VVIP treatment.”

  “Of course! I am ready to serve.” Kouki was all smiles when he heard Zwen speak politely to him. His dream might have fallen short of being the best, but he was still recognized as Japan’s hero.

  “As for Kaina, we shall also send accommodations to California. Thanks to your survivor status, language should not be a problem. However, since you are just level one, I ask that you be wary. That place is currently a hot zone due to many people being displaced. A lot of refugees have to sleep on the streets.”

  “Yeah, be careful, Kaina. Similar to Tokyo, major cities and towns are hit the hardest. And since you are just level one, your physique is only slightly better than a normal person’s,” Kouki nodded.

  “I will. Etto… I wonder if I should just chase after him… Just sleeping and waiting there seems unproductive.”

  “Absolutely not. You have learned some spear techniques, but with only two months of training—”

  “If you wish to chase after them, bring local soldiers or other survivors.”

  “Huh?” Kouki turned to Andrew, who interrupted him.

  “If you wish to chase after James, please bring soldiers or other survivors. Don’t go alone,” Andrew said.

  “But…”

  “She will have to fight those monsters sooner or later,” Andrew answered.

  Kouki’s toxic chivalry reared its ugly head, but Andrew’s reasoning made sense. Moreover, Kouki was not Kaina’s mother. He then nodded.

  “Yes. You’re right. Don’t go there alone.”

  “Alright. I think that’s all for the meeting. Let us prepare for the real dungeon raid.”

  With that, the Reconquest Project officially began.