Ch.2626. Reconstruction (3)

# The Difference Between Ordinary People and the Awakened!

Bahamut had been warned multiple times by officials that division would arise from conflicts between ordinary people and the Awakened.

Right now, everyone was satisfied with the reconstruction projects, with neither ordinary people nor the Awakened lacking anything. But people always pursue their selfish desires. Once the reconstruction ended and peaceful daily life returned, they would exercise selfishness to pursue better lives, and that selfishness would soon spread into conflict.

‘It’s fine now. But later, it could explode into a serious discrimination issue.’

Would it be discrimination against the Awakened or against ordinary people?

In the worst case, they could end up hating each other extremely and fighting.

Bahamut had a feeling that if this issue wasn’t properly resolved and was just ignored, there would be major regrets later.

“What do you think, Yu-na?”

So Bahamut summoned Choi Yu-na, the most trustworthy person, to the temple to ask for her opinion.

Like it or not, Choi Yu-na was the person Bahamut trusted most, and as the leader of the Balhut Cult, she also had to resolve this ticking time bomb.

“We must resolve this. Yes, we absolutely must. Even if you say it’s fine, I cannot accept that.”

“I see.”

Yu-na insisted with a stern expression that this matter must be firmly resolved.

Although Yu-na usually followed Bahamut’s words, this time she took an absolutely unyielding position.

“Can you tell me your reasons?”

“Of course.”

Yu-na gave Bahamut a detailed account of what happened during the survivor camp days.

The conflict between ordinary people and the Awakened.

The appearance of mutant zombies greatly ignited that conflict and caused the collapse of the survivor camp where Yu-na stayed.

The survivors living there formed their own groups and scattered to find their own way to survive. Yu-na’s story concluded with how she fled to Namsan Mountain in desperation.

‘This isn’t much different from our current problem. If this issue intensifies, couldn’t the same thing happen to us?’

Although Yu-na had exaggerated somewhat to convince Bahamut, Bahamut knew well that such conflicts would come back severely if not resolved in time.

Right now, everyone was unconsciously ignoring it because of the excitement from the reconstruction project in Gyeongju, but once the reconstruction’s momentum ended and peace returned, the embers remaining now could burst into flames.

Hadn’t discrimination between the Awakened and ordinary people already occurred beneath the surface with the currency issue?

“That’s why I want to resolve this issue before the conflict arises.”

“After hearing your words, I also think we need to resolve this.”

Although Yu-na’s persuasion was intense, her argument to quickly resolve this issue was valid.

After listening to Yu-na and his advisors, Bahamut understood that resolving the conflict was necessary.

‘But I don’t have that ability. How to solve this problem… it’s troubling.’

However, Bahamut lacked the wisdom to solve this problem.

He wasn’t omnipotent like dragons depicted in novels, nor did he possess near-omniscient wisdom.

Essentially, Bahamut was just a basement warrior who liked games, and the reason he hadn’t made any major mistakes so far was because he knew his limitations very well. He focused on listening to many opinions from numerous experts and coordinating them.

But this situation was one that even experts found difficult to resolve.

Bahamut couldn’t help but worry deeply.

“Clearly, the method of Awakening is to directly hunt zombies, right?”

“Yes.”

The method of Awakening is simple.

If an ordinary person hunts and defeats a zombie, they Awaken.

Both Choi Yu-na and the other Awakened in the cult had successfully Awakened by bravely fighting zombies.

Of course, they couldn’t guarantee there were no other methods of Awakening.

However, since this was the only Awakening method they knew, they had to consider solutions using this method.

“But now it’s difficult to find even one zombie within the city. Should we order the expedition teams to capture zombies to increase the number of Awakened…”

“That would be difficult. The expedition teams are already focused on securing supplies for the cult and liberating villages near the city. Capturing zombies would be a significant burden for them in such circumstances.”

“That is troublesome.”

However, this method of Awakening was difficult for the Balhut Cult to implement now.

Ironically, this problem arose because Bahamut had completely wiped out all zombies inside the city and around Gyeongju.

That action certainly brought peace to the city, but conversely, it hindered the growth and increase of the Awakened.

Of course, zombies occasionally came through the roads leading to Gyeongju, so expedition teams operating near the city fought zombies regularly.

However, for expedition teams focused on liberating villages and gathering supplies for the city, capturing zombies while liberating villages would be a significant burden.

“Moreover, that method is very difficult for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. That’s why the Awakened in our cult are mostly young adults and middle-aged people.”

“I see.”

And the method of catching zombies was difficult for children, the weak elderly, and people with disabilities.

Bahamut nodded heavily with closed eyes at the reality Yu-na described.

“Then we need to find a new Awakening method, not the conventional one. A new method that doesn’t rely on zombies.”

“Can we find a new Awakening method, Lord?”

“We must do everything we can. Fortunately, we have the resources, don’t we?”

So they needed to find a new Awakening method.

Choi Yu-na looked at Bahamut with a worried expression, and her god assured her that the cult still had resources left.

The collapse of the survivor camp where Yu-na had stayed was ultimately due to the severe lack of time to resolve the conflict.

But now it’s different.

The conflict hadn’t yet occurred, and experts were only at the warning level, so discontent hadn’t surfaced.

This meant they had plenty of time to prevent it in advance.

“The conflict we’re concerned about hasn’t happened yet, and we have ample time.”

“This could be extremely difficult. Won’t it be troublesome for you, Lord?”

“If we try various methods, we should be able to find at least one good approach.”

The Balhut Cult wasn’t the only one exploring new Awakening methods.

Internet communities had already started initiatives like the “Find Awakening Methods Without Fighting Challenge.”

However, despite so many people trying, finding new Awakening methods had failed.

Knowing the facts from the community, Yu-na couldn’t help but worry about Bahamut, but she thought her dragon god must have some method as a transcendent being unlike herself.

“For now, Yu-na, please coordinate between the Awakened and ordinary people as much as possible. If you, as the leader, mediate, neither the Awakened nor ordinary people will easily express discontent.”

“Understood.”

Without any complaint, she bowed her head and seriously accepted Bahamut’s solemn command.

Watching Yu-na leave the temple, Bahamut’s serious expression relaxed, and he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

‘What am I really going to do?’

He had maintained a serious appearance in front of Yu-na, but frankly, it wasn’t much different from making groundless promises.

‘Anyone could do what I’ve done so far. Yes, if they started with the same conditions as me, anyone could do it.’

Bahamut thought that if anyone started with the same conditions as him, rebuilding Gyeongju would be something anyone could do.

For Bahamut with a dragon’s body, it was certainly possible to easily sweep away the zombie apocalypse in Gyeongju and save the city.

‘But creating new Awakened… If I had known this would happen, I should have left some zombies… No, that could also become a new threat. This is troublesome. Solve one problem, and another appears.’

However, creating a new concept was indeed too much.

He didn’t have omniscient knowledge like a dragon, nor were his magical abilities omnipotent.

Bahamut lamented inwardly that if he could just shout “Become Awakened!” and make it happen, he would have done so long ago.

‘This is difficult. I’m not a real dragon who’s lived as one. I’m just a basement warrior who ran the cult with strategy simulation game instincts.’

But ignoring reality wouldn’t change anything.

While deeply concerned about this matter, Bahamut didn’t neglect the tasks assigned to him.

“We’ve come again today, Lord Bahamut.”

“Ah, you’re here?”

Balhut Cult members who came this morning.

Dozens of workers came to bring clean water and charged batteries for the cult to use.

They entered the temple and greeted the worried Bahamut cheerfully, and Bahamut returned from his dejected state to a composed one to greet them.

“Then we’ll collect them today as well.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

The workers transported water containers and batteries prepared by Bahamut to the truck they had driven to the temple.

This was a routine morning for Bahamut, but today was different.

“Huh? Did I just Awaken?”

“What?”

A worker suddenly shouted that he had Awakened while carrying a water container.

There had been no warning signs.

He hadn’t hunted zombies, the widely known Awakening method; he had simply Awakened suddenly while carrying a water container.

“What did you just say?”

“I-I Awakened! I’ve Awakened as an Awakened, Lord Bahamut!”

Greatly surprised, Bahamut asked the worker what happened, and the worker replied with a voice full of joy that he had Awakened.

Bahamut could immediately sense the magical energy movement in the worker’s body that differed from ordinary people, confirming the worker’s claim was true.

“Do you know why you Awakened?”

“I-I don’t know either. From my perspective, I suddenly Awakened while carrying water containers inside the temple.”

“Carrying water containers inside the temple…”

If simply carrying water containers could cause Awakening, countless ordinary people would have already Awakened by carrying water containers.

But the absence of such news meant that carrying water containers wasn’t the cause of Awakening.

‘Then, is it the power of the temple I built?’

If so, it meant something else had influenced the new Awakened before him, and Bahamut thought about the temple he had built.

If the Awakening happened here and couldn’t be explained by actions, he judged that the only remaining factor was the location.

“This may be sudden, but how long have you been working at my temple?”

“Carrying work is quite extreme, so we rotate daily each week and then switch to other mountain work sites. Today is exactly my 7th day working here.”

“Then tomorrow, new people will come instead of you. And among them, there will be someone reaching their 7th day?”

“I suppose so?”

Then it was simple.

“I’ll just check in detail tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work. Ah, congratulations on Awakening.”

“Thank you, Lord Bahamut.”

He just needed to observe if those who came tomorrow would Awaken.

Bahamut congratulated the newly Awakened worker, who bowed gratefully and then boasted to his colleagues about his Awakening.

Of course, the Awakened received envious jealousy from his colleagues, but in this era, Awakening meant gaining power to protect oneself.

He could easily endure envious glances from colleagues.

“I-I’ve Awakened!”

“Me, an Awakened? Me, an Awakened! This can’t be… No, this is great!”

“L-Lord Bahamut! Is this a reward for my devotion to you?!”

And the next day.

The birth of new Awakened at Bahamut’s temple was another story.

‘This is all part of my big picture! Yes, let’s go with that!’

It felt like a meaningless grand blunder that luckily paid off by accident.

It would be unreasonable to expect conscience from this foolish dragon.

Bahamut narcissistically claimed that everything was part of his grand plan.