Chapter 323

“Aaaah! A thief! Someone, stop that person!” a woman cried out in distress as a motorcycle zoomed down the street, making its escape.

As the woman stomped her feet in frustration, watching the thief get farther and farther away, a loud

thwack!

sounded. A book had flown out of nowhere and struck the thief, knocking him off balance. He lost control of the motorcycle and tumbled to the ground with a groan.

***

“Thank you so much! I don’t even know how to repay you...” The woman repeatedly bowed her head in gratitude toward Kiriel.

The one who had taken down the thief was none other than Kiriel. He waved a hand dismissively, as if something like this was no big deal.

“Eh. Don’t worry about it,” he muttered as he walked out of the station after handing the criminal over to the police.

***

A few days later, Hakase noticed an unfamiliar plaque on the food stall’s shelf.

Certificate of Merit:

In recognition of your outstanding dedication to public service and crime prevention, and for making significant contributions to local security, we present this certificate on behalf of all our officers.

Seoul Seocho Police Chief, Kim Moon-Deok.

“Kiriel, what is this?” Hakase asked.

“The police gave it to me as a token of appreciation.”

“For what?”

“I caught a petty thief.”

That probably wasn’t the only reason he got the award. Kiriel often helped those in need as he wandered through the city, although he whined as he did so. He also regularly volunteered at the local community center. It was no surprise that the police recognized his efforts.

Kiriel grumbled, “These criminals, I swear. It’s like they think they’ll die if they go a day without causing trouble. Don’t you think so, lizard?”

Crime happened everywhere. However, according to Do-Jun, incidents had risen ever since people gained the ability to see their Status Windows and Awaken. Many who had acquired some semblance of power turned to crime as an easy way to make money.

“Yeah, it’s gotten worse lately,” Hakase agreed.

“The world is full of bad people. That’s the real problem.”

Hakase nodded in agreement. Suddenly, his eyes landed on the comic book Kiriel was reading. Something about it seemed familiar.

W-wait.

He realized why it seemed familiar.

The comic was none other than

Dark of Darkness.

If Kiriel had simply been reading an ordinary copy of Dark of Darkness, Hakase wouldn’t have reacted so strongly. But the copy in Kiriel’s hands was a full-color edition. Until now, Dark of Darkness had never been released in full color. If such a version had existed, Hakase would have been the first to buy it.

“K-Kiriel!”

“What?”

“Where did you get that?!”

“The King of Earth gave it to me.”

“T-the king did?” Hakase stammered.

“Yeah. He said I could take it.”

Without hesitation, Hakase dashed off toward Do-Jun’s house. Left alone, Kiriel merely shrugged and resumed reading volume three of Dark of Darkness.

This is actually pretty good.

The beginning had been slow, but as the story progressed, it became increasingly engaging. Especially when Dark of Darkness fought for justice to maintain peace on the streets—those moments made Kiriel’s heart race.

Oh, right.

Kiriel scratched his head.

Some students from the Hangul class had applied for an Earth Tour and asked if he could get permission from the King of Earth.

***

A few days earlier, Do-Jun had received a shipment from the publisher—an entire box of Dark of Darkness full-color editions.

“Mr. Lee! Your webtoon is getting amazing responses!”

“Our readers are begging for a printed color edition...”

That was how it all started.

As a dedicated fan of Dark of Darkness, Hakase had practically lost his mind with joy when he received the full-color edition. He even bragged about owning an author-signed copy before finally returning to his food stall.

When asked how he managed to obtain a color edition before its official release, Do-Jun dodged the question with vague answers. After thinking for a moment, Do-Jun stashed the comics deep inside his wardrobe. Something about leaving them out in the open made him uneasy. Feeling at ease again, he returned to the living room and picked up the morning newspaper he had yet to finish.

Then, the doorbell rang. Do-Jun opened the door to find Kiriel standing there. After hearing the reason for his visit, Do-Jun gave a small nod.

“Would it really be alright, my King?”

“Yeah, as long as they don’t cause any trouble.”

As long as they didn’t go breaking buildings or threatening civilians, there was no reason to deny the tour. However, even though there had never been an incident of these “tourists” causing trouble on Earth before, there was always a first time for everything.

“Just don’t bring too many at once. Only enough to manage. Understood?” Do-Jun instructed.

Kiriel nodded in agreement.

***

The news that Do-Jun had approved a tour to Earth quickly spread among the students in Kiriel’s Korean class. As Kiriel watched the students gathered in the front yard of Wei Zhongqi’s thatched house, he stroked his chin. Demons, Dark Elves, Usurpers, and various other species had assembled in one place.

“You’ve heard, haven’t you? The King of Earth has granted us permission for a tour.” Kiriel informed his students.

“LESGOOOO!” A collective cheer erupted from the crowd.

“But we can’t take everyone at once. We’ll go in groups of twenty, understood?” Kiriel explained.

Everyone instantly fell silent, and the residents exchanged furtive glances. Coincidentally, each species happened to have almost exactly twenty members. As if forming factions, the groups subtly split up.

Kiriel narrowed his eyes. “You all know that I am famous in the Deep Realm for being absolutely fair, don’t you?”

Clearing his throat, Kiriel reached into his pocket and pulled out a book, holding it up for everyone to see. It was a full-color edition of Dark of Darkness.

A Dark Elf raised a hand and asked, “Kiriel, what’s that?”

“This is a comic book titled

Dark of Darkness.

After many years of living on Earth, I’ve discovered that nothing beats comics when it comes to learning Hangul.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Kiriel continued, “Anyway, I’ll give all of you my copies of Dark of Darkness. You must read them here and take a test tomorrow morning. Only the top twenty scorers will be allowed to go to Earth. Understood?”

With that, he handed out copies of the full-color edition of Dark of Darkness—duplicates of the one Do-Jun had given him.

The residents, now determined, turned their eyes to the books and began reading earnestly. Strangely, however, the demons seemed to be reading Dark of Darkness with remarkable ease.

What’s going on?

Kiriel wondered.

One of them was even shedding tears. No, it wasn’t just the one. Several demons were gasping in shock as they turned each page, covering their mouths with their hands.

Time passed, and morning arrived.

By the time all the students finished reading the comic, Kiriel decided it was time to give the test. Pulling out the prepared exam papers, he announced, “I’ll hand out the test now. Read the questions carefully and turn in your answers to me.”

The residents received their test papers.

Question 1: Write down the line that the protagonist, Dark of Darkness, says upon awakening and confronting his first villain.

Question 2: Dark of Darkness is a warrior of justice who cannot tolerate injustice. He wears his signature Black ______ as he patrols the city daily to maintain peace. Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Question 3: .........

.

.

.

“If anyone cheats, they’ll be disqualified immediately,” Kiriel declared with an air of authority.

***

The test results were extremely one-sided. When ranked by score, every single spot from first to twentieth place was occupied by demons. While other species got at least three answers wrong, the demons only missed, at most, two.

“That’s surprising,” Kiriel muttered, then announced the results.

“WOOOOOOO!” A deafening cheer erupted from the demons.

Overjoyed at the prospect of traveling to Earth, they chattered excitedly among themselves. Meanwhile, the other species looked down at their disappointing test results and resigned themselves to waiting for the next opportunity.

***

After exploring the fourteenth floor of the Core, Do-Jun returned to Earth and stopped by a large supermarket in the city to pick up ingredients for dinner. He bought five pre-cleaned cutlassfish, which were in peak season. As Yoon-Hee prepared to begin her third year of school, she entered a particularly busy period. On days when she had supplementary training, it often fell to Do-Jun to prepare dinner.

As he passed by the local police station, a familiar officer greeted him. “Ah, Supervisor Lee! Good evening!”

Do-Jun turned and smiled at Sergeant Lee Soo-Baek. “Hello. You seem as busy as always.”

“

Haha

, actually, today and yesterday have been surprisingly peaceful! I haven’t received a single dispatch order.”

“Oh? That’s good. I suppose there haven’t been any crimes?”

“No, no. There have been more instances than usual, actually. Pickpocketing, harassment, dine-and-dash...”

Do-Jun frowned slightly, thinking it was odd that the police hadn’t been called if that was really the case.

Sensing Do-Jun’s confusion, Sergeant Lee added, “We’ve had an increase in volunteer crime prevention patrols lately.”

“Ah, that’s great. They sound like good people.”

“Yes, they really do. Those people alone have already brought in over five criminals from the scene,

haha

.”

The fact that criminals were being dealt with was good news.

***

Modern technology had made cooking incredibly convenient. Even for dishes he had never attempted before, Do-Jun could simply follow an online recipe and achieve at least a decent result.

He pressed the power button on the remote and turned on the TV. The 6 PM news was about to start. Though he was busy cooking and couldn’t watch, he could at least listen.

⌜And now for our next story. Crime is a constant concern in modern society, causing citizens to feel uneasy. However, in one local district, a group of crime prevention volunteers is working to keep the community safe. Let’s take a look at this CCTV footage.⌟

The footage appeared on the screen.

⌜In downtown Seocho-gu, an elderly man exits a bank when suddenly a speeding motorcycle approaches. But then, out of nowhere, twenty individuals in black cloaks simultaneously pounce on the motorcycle! These are the volunteer patrol members. The motorcycle loses balance and crashes. The driver tries to flee, but the patrol members immediately apprehend him.⌟

Is this the group Sergeant Lee was talking about?

Do-Jun chopped an onion while listening.

The broadcast continued.

⌜Now, another crime scene. This time, a molester is caught in the act. Once again, twenty patrol members rush in and subdue the suspect. In just two days, they have apprehended six criminals. But what makes them so unusual?⌟

⌜Whenever they catch a criminal, they dramatically swirl their black cloaks and shout in unison, ‘With the power of darkness, we shall punish you!’⌟

Do-Jun’s knife froze mid-chop, and he whipped his head toward the TV.

The screen now showed citizen interviews.

⌜Well, I’m grateful, but... how should I put it? They seemed a bit... strange?⌟

⌜Yeah, they were copying Dark of Darkness. I knew it was getting popular these days, but I didn’t expect this level of fan devotion.⌟

The demons from the Deep Realm had come to Earth, dressed as Dark of Darkness, reciting its lines as they captured criminals.

For a moment, Do-Jun wondered if he should count this as “causing trouble.”