Chapter 30: A New Era (1)

TL: Hanguk

Editor/Proofreader: Daikusa

In a hotel on the coast of Manripo, Chungnam Province.

A middle-aged man occupying the suite's office received a report from a man who had just barely shed his youthful appearance.

"Today's revenue is 7,330 coins."

"Seems less than yesterday, doesn’t it?"

"Well, one of the orc hunting teams was completely wiped out, creating a hole in our earnings."

"What? Hey,aren't the orc hunting teams supposed to be promising? You let them die?"

"I, I'm sorry."

"Didn’t the gunmen follow? I told you to shoot the monsters with guns if the hunting team seemed in danger."

"It got too complicated... Of the five members in the hunting team, two were accidentally killed by friendly fire."

"What a mess."

The force currently occupying the Manripo safe zone was considered quite lucky.

The Manripo safe zone had shops selling a perfect combination of 'food, weapons, armor', a casino that offered a chance to boost combat power in one go, and an alchemy workshop capable of producing medicine.

In other words, as long as they could secure coins steadily, it meant they had the conditions to build a powerful force centered around this zone.

"Anyway, distribute the coins according to the ratio. How much is allocated to me?"

"1,422 coins."

"Tch, not even 1,500 coins? Well, can't be helped."

"Then I will distribute the remaining 5,908 coins among the officers and members."

"Do that."

The group currently occupying Manripo was a force formed by a faction that split from the Taean Police Station and the Taean Coast Guard.

Their leader was the former captain of the Taean Coast Guard criminal mobile unit.

Although he only had four subordinates in the mobile unit, there was no one else who could replace him, both in rank and responsibilities.

He organized citizens into monster hunting teams to collect coins, which he then split with his police colleagues and the leading citizens.

"By the way, keep the useful ones among the families of the dead hunting team, and expel the useless ones."

"Most of them are pregnant women and children though."

"So what? Just do as we've always done."

"But... Over 30 members of the hunting teams have died so far, and nearly 100 people have been expelled. If we continue this way, no one will want to do the dangerous hunting jobs."

"That's nonsense, if you point a gun at their families, anyone would do it."

"......"

Naturally, their method of motivating the citizens was through a system of fear.

They exploited those who were useful and discarded those who weren't, while brandishing guns to control the area.

In Manripo, they were nobles and kings, and anyone who defied them met with a bullet.

"I don’t enjoy doing this either. Don’t forget we are fighting for survival. The moment we become weak or obsolete, we'll be devoured by the world. You know that, right?"

"I understand. I will proceed as you've instructed."

The captain rationalized his actions and chastised his subordinate for showing weakness.

After the subordinate left, he took a cool drink from the refrigerator running on solar power.

Then, as if it were an annual event, he checked the coins that had come into his possession.

[Coins Owned: 10,203]

In just a few days, a substantial amount of over 10,000 coins had accumulated.

As time passed, this amount of coins would reach the hundreds of thousands, even millions.

In other words, a coin tycoon was being born in this destroyed world.

Although many would bleed for his sake, he couldn’t care less.

In his mind, caring for others in this world was an act reserved for fools.

Even if the country falls, those who are meant to live well, will live well.

Rather, the captain thought that ruling like a king and having everyone obey him seemed like a better world to live in.

"Captain!"

"Hm?"

How long had he been lost in his own world?

The former captain furrowed his brows at the shout that abruptly pulled him back to reality.

-Bang!

The subordinate who had just left burst urgently through his room's door, exclaiming.

"We, we're under attack!"

"What? What kind of nonsense is that?"

The former captain, failing to grasp the situation instantly, retorted with a look of incredulity.

However.

-Whack!

"Kuk!"

The reporting subordinate was struck down by something, falling to the floor, and a man wielding a sword stepped boldly into the captain's room.

"Uh? Uh uh?"

And while he was foolishly repeating "Uh uh?", the man's sword flashed, and the captain's head flew through the air.

-Splat!

The captain, watching the world spin around him, died with a confused expression, unable to adapt to the sudden turn of events.

***

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

I waved back at the Manripo residents, who were continuously thanking me with tears in their eyes.

I initially had no intention of getting involved in Manripo's affairs.

My goals were to clear a path to Gyeryong base where my parents were while saving waypoints on the shortest route.

But the problem was that the force occupying Manripo had also taken over the safe zone.

"I'll just mark the waypoint and leave. This is just a small token..."

I really didn't want to waste time unnecessarily this time.

So, I attempted to sneak into the safe zone by giving some coins to the gatekeepers...

But these bastards immediately threatened to kill me if I didn't hand over all my coins and equipment.

It was a moment when I realized anew that negotiating with such people was futile.

In the end, I had to force my way through them to enter the safe zone.

And after marking the waypoint and coming out...

Sure enough, an even larger group had formed to capture me.

"I have no intention of fighting. Just let me go."

Still, I tried to negotiate one more time, with patience.

"Fire!"

-Ratatat!

But they hated an uncontrolled individual.

The response was an indiscriminate order to shoot.

Naturally, my patience snapped at that moment, and my blade and I danced  amidst the bullets, just as the murderous foes wished.

This time, unlike Padori, the battle was difficult because there was an effective commander moving the troops.

Although I ultimately won, I truly experienced the terror of firearms as a weapon.

And as the citizens witnessed me wiping out that group, I quickly cleaned out the pus of Manripo to avoid leaving any aftermath.

"Since these are items I obtained, I can't just give away the firearms for free. I'll sell them to you instead."

"Of course, that's how it should be. We wouldn't be so shameless as to ask for them for nothing. The problem is that we can't pay you right away..."

"Pay in installments. I'll come back to collect later."

"Really? Can we do that?"

The cleanup was the same as in Padori.

Truly a business of creating something out of nothing.

Honestly, I could just give them away...

But that feels like a loss, and I don't like it.

I'm not some saint of justice, and I value myself the most.

Anyway, since I saved them and provided benefits, I think it's only natural to collect a suitable reward.

[Coins Owned: 43,520]

I opened the status window to check my coin balance.

After sweeping away the thugs at Padori, I collected 6,000 coins, and this time, after dealing with the Manripo thugs, I gathered 25,000 coins.

More importantly, I got an item from the leader in Manripo.

[heading_tag][Magic Rope Bracelet / Premium Grade] [/heading_tag]

-Allows the user to tie a rope to a desired location to climb up or down.

-Can pull objects or specific targets towards the user.

It was quite a precious item that would allow for Spider Man-like antics, and if used well, it could reduce the mana consumed by Leap.

Naturally, such bountiful rewards led me to think.

"Cleaning out thugs is quite profitable, isn’t it?"

Of course, if the distinction of what constitutes a villain isn't clear, my actions would be nothing more than mass murder and theft.

However, if there are entities like those in Padori and Manripo, which anyone would regard as scum better off dead for the sake of peace, I've started to think it wouldn't be too bad to clean up after them on their behalf.

Should I consider myself a villain for villains?

-Chuckle.

I couldn't help but smirk and shrug my shoulders.

Despite getting continuously entangled in incidents and accidents, I must not forget my purpose.

'My next destination after Manripo is in the town of Taean, Taean County Office.'

It was about 15km from Manripo.

My goal is to reach Gyeryong base by tomorrow at the latest, so I need to hurry to the next area.

'Manripo is worth making use of for a long time. It's close to Gauido and has valuable shops in the safe zone.'

I took my gaze off Manripo and started sprinting towards my next destination, the Taean County Office.

-Tap tap tap!

With my superhuman physical abilities and the Leap skill, covering tens of kilometers surprisingly didn't take long.

***

'I wonder if he's doing well?'

Colonel Seo In-ho, Seo Baek-ho's father, couldn't hide his anxious expression throughout yesterday and today.

The reason was that he suddenly heard from his son about crossing the sea.

The sea, which was now a veritable treasure trove of monsters.

Moreover, with the existence of numerous flying monsters near the coast, the risk was doubled, making his son's endeavor seem even more reckless.

But Baek-ho was determined, and in the end, In-ho had to support his son and planned the route from the mainland to Gyeryong base after he landed.

'As long as he marks a waypoint on the mainland, he can travel to and from Wolgwang Island anytime, so there's no need to hurry to Gyeryong base.'

Currently, his son was out of contact, which could mean two things.

He's either exploring the mainland on his way to Gyeryong base, or something has gone wrong.

'Given the calamity and his extraordinary actions so far, he won't be easily defeated.'

He had to believe that his son was boldly exploring the mainland and pray for him.

But the body doesn't lie, and contrary to his hopes, he was trembling with anxiety.

Eventually, unable to concentrate on work, he asked for his subordinates' understanding and stepped out of the office to get some fresh air.

-Hahaha!

-Huuuuuh!

What greeted him was an unfamiliar scene of Gyeryong base, as noisy and busy as a marketplace.

Since Gyeryong base is located next to Daejeon, when setting up the survival area in Daejeon, it was decided to accommodate a certain number of civilians.

Gyeryong base is practically a fortress, with hospitals and various amenities densely packed inside. It was spacious too, making it an ideal place to set up a refugee camp.

Naturally, the grumpy three-star and four-star generals opposed allowing civilians inside for security reasons.

However, the government pressured them, arguing that in a situation where every nation had fallen equally, security had become pointless, resulting in the current scene.

-Kwak! Kuk!

Among the bustling crowd in the wide square, Colonel Seo In-ho's eyes caught sight of the fenced-off monster spawn area.

[No entry. Monster spawn area beyond the wall.]

Initially, when monsters appeared within the premises, they were continuously eliminated, but now a high fence and walls have been erected, clearly separating the monster spawn area from the general area.

Thanks to that, the location was currently being used as a leveling ground for soldiers belonging to the 'adaptive force' trained by the military.

But Colonel Seo In-ho knew that raising one's level by hunting monsters like a flower in a greenhouse would never match up to those special types of humans, like his son.

In the military, adaptive units were formed, and the government also created hunting teams by combining various athletes, including former kendo practitioners and former archers.

'However, it's widely known among the upper echelons that the level of civilian hunting teams detected in places like Seoul is higher than the elite government-organized parties.'

And then there was one with a level several steps higher than even those private hunting teams: his son, who was like a mutant.

He couldn't help but marvel at his own son, Seo Baek-ho.

"There's no way such a guy would have any trouble, right, Baek-ho?"

In the end, Colonel Seo In-ho was going around in circles, worrying about his son.

-Fa!

-Fa!

-ther!

How long had he been walking around the bustling square of Gyeryong base, trying to organize the complicated thoughts in his head?

"Father!"

"Ack!"

He was confronted with a scene he couldn't believe.

"Eh?"

He was so startled that he was at a loss for words.

The face he had just been thinking about was right in front of him.

"Ba, Baek-ho?"

"Yes, Father."