Terrestrial Savior Archetype - T.S.A Chapter 19 (part 1): The Price of Power (3)

Approximately 4 minutes.

It took Park Jeong-woo about 4 minutes to take down the remaining nine members of the Neighborhood Watch.

Most of that time was spent in pursuit.

“Phew, Hyeok…”

Running without a moment’s rest, Jeong-woo finally reached a flat area near the road as the downhill trail ended.

There, he caught his breath.

At his feet lay the last member of the Neighborhood Watch, who had fallen at the end of the chase.

A hole, twice the size of a car’s gas cap, was punched through his chest.

“Huff…”

Trying to calm himself down, Jeong-woo carefully regulated his labored breathing.

The reason his heart and lungs were pounding was not due to the intensity of the battle with the Neighborhood Watch.

It was solely because he had pushed himself to the limits just to chase after them.

It was simply a matter of physical exhaustion.

‘Before mastering the Essence, I should have trained my body first.’

It might sound funny, but Jeong-woo was dead serious.

Now, with a simple swing of his arm, he could reduce an area of about twenty meters in front of him to ashes, thanks to possessing thousands of units of essence.

But what if he had to repeat that motion dozens or hundreds of times?

Then, at the stage of physical stamina and lung capacity, he would be hindered long before his essence reserves ran out.

‘It hurts my pride, but I have to admit it.’

Jeong-woo finally accepted this fact.

Earth had distributed Essence not only to humans but to other creatures as well. He knew that there were many beings with better physical abilities than humans.

But he hadn’t realized that those physical abilities would also influence the use of Essence.

For example, imagine a situation where a tiger and a human are both chasing after an escapee with the same amount of Essence.

Who do you think would eliminate the target faster?

Undoubtedly, the tiger.

Even if, for some reason, they couldn’t use Essence, the tiger’s combat power would still be overwhelming.

So, what is the advantage of humans in this situation?

“Hmm…”

Jeong-woo looked down at the bodies of the Neighborhood Watch members with a bitter expression, and as he did, the cellphone he had put in his pocket started vibrating.

And he could also hear a similar vibrating sound from behind.

When he turned around, Sun-woong was approaching with a gloomy expression.

“…”

Though he wasn’t unaware of his partner’s low mood, Jeong-woo was more curious about the recent vibrations.

“What is it? Both of us are getting calls.”

The current time was 2:30 PM.

Jeong-woo lifted his head and took out his cellphone.

It was receiving urgent messages.

An order to mobilize the reserve forces, guidance from the disaster headquarters, and a statement from the government.

It had been a response within 6 hours and 30 minutes.

Since this morning, when the “Declaration of Earth” had appeared.

The government’s statement itself didn’t contain much information.

They had finished assessing the current situation and were planning to take action to address it properly, and that was the main point of the message.

The wording was so predictable and formal.

Nevertheless, the message from the disaster headquarters was interesting. It provided information on the emergency contact number and the method for receiving aid supplies from the special response division.

They were planning to distribute essentials to the residents in each region, anticipating that various city facilities might collapse.

It seemed like they also wanted to prevent acts of robbery for survival.

But that wasn’t the most important part.

Or rather, there was another phrase that caught Jeong-woo’s attention.

At the end of the guidance message from the disaster headquarters.

“We are searching for chosen saviors. Please contact the number below or visit your nearest government office. 812-9010.”

This response was on a completely different level from the previous efforts to gather awakened individuals through the self-defense forces.

It meant that the government had understood and accepted everything, including this morning’s appearance of the “Declaration of Earth.”

Since they were saying to find “saviors” to completely resolve this situation… it meant that Earth itself had told them that.

‘If it’s as I expected, the entire government, from the president to the lower-ranking officials, must have seen that message earlier. They must be keeping their options open, despite the shock. Still, it’s quite surprising.’

Jeong-woo was already copying the contact number for reporting saviors onto a memo.

He did it in case his phone stopped working at some point.

‘I should keep a pen and paper or something similar handy. It’s not strange that the internet or phone connections might suddenly be cut off.’

Especially with phones. Once nearby base stations were destroyed, they would become unusable.

The fact that electricity and communication were still working might be because the entry points had just been created.

“What do you think about the recruitment of ‘saviors,’ Jeong-woo?”

Sun-woong, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.

“Well…”

Jeong-woo shifted his gaze towards the chat room he belonged to.

The chat room where the top 50 Korean saviors gathered.

Since they had all received the government’s message, they were currently discussing it.

[44] Mokdong: Did everyone get the message? Has anyone contacted them?

[27] Light: What can we do even if we contact them?

[47] Black: Maybe they can provide some assistance. Perhaps the government has prepared countermeasures…

[27] Light: Assistance from the government to saviors? Do you know where the Essence comes from?

The sharp remark from the 27th-ranked savior, ‘Light,’ caught everyone’s attention.

As he pointed out, a normal government couldn’t possibly support the saviors.

The value of a savior was determined by the amount of Essence they possessed, and there weren’t many ways to obtain it.

To put it bluntly, all the top-ranking saviors were practically killers.

In other words, even if the government tried to recruit a mid-tier savior and send them into the top five, they couldn’t avoid being involved in assisting murderers.

Did the government really have all this in mind when recruiting saviors?

Maybe, they simply asked for help from the saviors because Earth told them to, without considering the implications of it.

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