Chapter 54: Raid (3)
TL: Hanguk
I immediately accepted Kang Yi-sol’s request for a response.
[Me]
-What is it?
[Holder No. 2]
-Thank you for the quick reply. In truth, I’m reaching out with the bold request of asking for support, even if it may be impolite.
We have discovered an Elder Monster hiding in the underground sewers in Seoul.
We are forming a raid team to subjugate it, and we sincerely hope that Seo **-nim can take a position in the subjugation team.
Upon hearing the news that an Elder Monster was discovered hiding in Seoul, I let out a groan.
I had already heard about it from my father.
To think that the speculation someone made turned out to be true.
Moreover, if they’re reaching out to someone like me, whose identity isn’t even fully known, then the situation must be more serious than I thought.
[Me]
-What’s the current situation?
At my question, Kang Yi-sol began to explain in detail.
Recently, among aquatic monsters, a particular individual appeared that destroyed a bridge over the Han River. Kang Yi-sol judged its behavior to be suspicious and reported to the higher-ups the possibility that an Elder Monster might be hiding in Seoul.
And to support Kang Yi-sol’s suspicion, the number of missing persons in Seoul rapidly increased. As a result of a direct investigation, they said they discovered the Elder Monster in the underground sewers.
I was surprised twice by his story.
‘He’s the one who inferred the possibility of an Elder Monster? He even went into the underground sewers and discovered it himself?’
It looks like I need to revise my evaluation of him.
I had thought of Kang Yi-sol as just someone who talks big, but judging from this Elder Monster incident alone, he appears to be someone fulfilling his role as a government official.
If he hadn’t raised the concern in advance, it might have taken a long time before the Elder Monster was discovered.
[Holder No. 2]
-The situation is more serious than expected. I’ve fought a Level 55 aquatic monster before, and while it was tough, at least a fight was possible. But this time, a fight itself didn’t even happen.
Many soldiers and elite hunters who participated in the investigation lost their lives in an instant.
To resolve this, we are gathering all major hunting teams from the capital area, and we’re also planning to deploy the main forces of the Capital Defense Command.
If the situation doesn’t improve, we’re even considering the use of ballistic missiles.
An Elder Monster hiding beneath Seoul... no wonder he’s gotten so serious.
[Holder No. 2]
-As you may already know, Seo **-nim, Elder Monsters are the type that grow stronger the longer they are left alone.
If we don’t take care of the one discovered in the sewers now, I believe it will someday threaten not just Seoul but the entire Korean Peninsula.
What level must that Elder Monster be to cause such a reaction?
[Holder No. 2]
-I understand what concerns you, Seo **-nim.
The government will do its utmost to ensure your personal safety.
Of course, there will be no acts of betrayal such as digging into your background, and we promise that the government will not interfere in any way with your future activities.
No, rather, if you ever need the power of the government, just let us know.
We will assist you with everything we have.
He’s practically begging at this point, so I had to stroke my chin and seriously consider it.
[Me]
-What if I’m not as strong as you all think?
[Holder No. 2]
-No, I say this with confidence, your level, Seo **-nim, is incomparable to others.
I only asked to test him, but his confident answer left me rather taken aback.
[Holder No. 2]
-It’s been three weeks since the Great Catastrophe, and regional hunting teams are steadily making progress through dungeons.
But you, Seo **-nim, cleared a dungeon for the first time in just four days.
In other words, you reached the level of those so-called elite hunting teams 17 days ahead of them.
Everyone is given the same amount of time, but that doesn’t mean the results will be the same.
What a foolish question I ended up asking.
I can’t believe the person I’m talking to now is the same one who was once eaten by a monster.
[Holder No. 2]
-The role of drawing the Elder Monster’s aggro from the front will be handled by our government team and the Seoul hunting team.
Seo **-nim can freely deal damage in a free-role capacity.
They were taking on the dangerous part themselves, promised not to dig into my personal identity, would ensure my protection, and even help me to the best of their ability if I needed anything.
‘To be honest, just from the proposal alone, there’s not much gain for me. After all, I’d be officially revealing myself through this incident. However…’
This isn’t a fight for personal gain.
It’s to prevent the innocent sacrifice of citizens.
And yet, even in this situation, I was weighing pros and cons.
‘If a monster is taken down in a group hunt, the person with the highest contribution will likely receive the best reward. Is there really anyone who could outdo me in contribution?’
Probably not.
No matter how many people participate, the chances of me monopolizing the rewards are high.
That’s why I couldn’t help but feel that Kang Yi-sol’s request wasn’t entirely bad.
[Me]
-What do you estimate the level of the Elder Monster to be?
[Holder No. 2]
-This is just a guess, but I believe it’s at least over level 70.
Its entire body is made of tentacles, and it's a special type that squeezes people to drain their blood.
Then that means the first subjugation reward would also be included.
The subjugation reward for an Elder Monster over level 70, plus the first subjugation reward for a special entity.
Surprisingly, it seems I could walk away with a hefty haul.
[Me]
-The subjugation rewards will be kept by the individuals, correct?
[Holder No. 2]
-Of course.
And if the rewards aren’t satisfactory to you, I will personally procure and offer you additional compensation.
[Me]
-What if I get good items and abuse that promise?
[Holder No. 2]
-Then there’s nothing I can do.
That’s how desperate we are on this side.
Honestly, looking at Kang Yi-sol’s attitude, it seems like I could squeeze even more out of him if I wanted to.
But I shouldn’t do that.
He’s practically bowing flat to save Seoul’s citizens, how could I turn my back on that just to look out for myself?
Besides, the level of compensation he can offer is obvious, and it can’t even compare to what I’ll get from taking down an Elder Monster.
From the start, I can take care of my share just fine on my own.
*
The raid meeting is said to take place today at 8 PM, in the Seoul Dongjak-gu National Cemetery Survivor Zone.
He said he would really appreciate it if I could attend, but closed the conversation by saying he’d respect whatever decision I make.
Anyway, 8 PM gives us quite a bit of time, which feels relaxed for such an urgent matter.
It seems they needed some buffer time to gather major hunting teams from the entire metropolitan area, not just from Seoul, but also Incheon and Suwon.
[Your level has increased.]
Willia and I continued our push through the second stage of the Underground Labyrinth.
We reached level 49 and kept steadily increasing our experience points.
I can confidently say this place is the perfect hunting ground for leveling up.
And so, we were just short of hitting level 50.
"It's the second named room."
We now faced the Named Monster that would mark our grand arrival at level 50.
[Named Mummy Warmage Viaux / Level: 55]
Unlike the previous swordsman-type Named, this one was a magic-type mummy monster.
The Named enemies in the Underground Labyrinth were all no joke.
Among them, the combat style of Mummy Warmage Viaux was particularly infuriating.
“Goddamn it!”
-Bang! Bang!
The reason was that its attacks had homing capabilities.
Whether it fired Fire Shot or Wind Shot at the ceiling or to the side, the shots inevitably homed in on us, and sometimes they came at us with a time delay.
[Hehehe! I’m a mage, did you think you could win just by closing the distance?]
To make things worse, it had the Blink skill, allowing it to teleport away and launch ranged attacks from all directions.
Its attacks were so unpredictable, it felt more like I was sharpening my instincts, like when I reflexively drew my sword to deflect bullets.
-Fwoosh!
"Kugh!"
Thanks to that, I had to experience the pain of losing an arm twice in a single day.
“Kyaaah!”
“Willia-nim!”
Willia also experienced, for the first time, having her ankle torn off.
[You have defeated the Named Mummy Warmage Viaux and gained 68,000 experience.]
[You have gained 25,000 experience for being the first to defeat the Mummy Warmage.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Due to level increase, all 'injuries' and 'status abnormalities' are recovered.]
Using potions and Heal to recover from injuries, we steadily pushed through the monster, and in the end, we claimed victory, achieving Level 50.
And the rewards were fantastic.
Previously, when we defeated a Named, we only got a sword-related skill book and weapon. This time, two magic-type skill books dropped.
[Target Point / Advanced Skill / Active]
-When Target Point is set, all ranged skills used for 30 seconds will track and strike the target.
-Mana Cost: 3
[Explosion / Premium Skill / Active]
-Fires compressed flame at the enemy, causing massive explosive damage.
-Mana Cost: 5
Top-tier skill books, no explanation needed.
‘Target Point’ was clearly good, turning attack skills into homing missiles, but I was especially shocked by the skill ‘Explosion’.
A powerful one-shot skill that consumes as much as 5 mana.
Unlike the Frenzy skill I obtained earlier, which was more of a buff, this one was undoubtedly going to be our party’s strongest damage skill.
“These two, Willia-nim, you should take them.”
“Huh?”
Honestly, it’d be a lie to say I didn’t want them.
But my mana is limited, and since my main role is swordsmanship, I figured it would be better to clearly separate our roles.
‘I’m front line, Willia is rear guard.’
So it only made sense for Willia to take these rewards.
What’s more, Willia has a mana recovery skill, making her the perfect fit.
Clutching the two skill books, she lit up like a child receiving a gift and suddenly hugged me from behind, almost like a shoulder charge.
“Thank you. I’ll use them well.”
I smirked and gave a small nod.
It seemed she was quite invested in her own growth too.
That must be why she was so happy.
“We’ve powered up properly just before the raid.”
“Yes!”
After that, we searched all over for a treasure chest but unfortunately couldn’t find one, and the hunting continued.
“Where’s the boss room?”
“Since the dungeon’s laid out like a maze, we may have passed it without realizing.”
Unfortunately, we failed to reach the boss room before the time limit ran out, and we were forcefully expelled from the dungeon.
“This dungeon can’t be cleared in one go?”
"It can't be helped."
Then we used the Waypoint to escape the soldiers chasing us with guns from behind.
*
When I arrived at the National Cemetery Survivor Zone, one of the four major survivor zones in Seoul, what stood out the most was the surprisingly bright appearance of the area.
Thanks to solar panels, streetlights installed throughout the cemetery survivor zone were lit up.
Impromptu lamps made from glass bottles, cloth, and gasoline were also illuminating various areas.
Furthermore, traffic cones were set up around every sewer opening, and seeing that civilians didn’t go near them, it was clear that everyone was aware of the Elder Monster.
“What’s going on?”
“Everyone looks really tense.”
But I felt something strange in the people’s expressions.
At first, I thought the unrest in the survivor zone was due to the Elder Monster, but the atmosphere seemed to stem from more than just that.
[Han River...]
[Gangbuk... cut off...]
In the end, unable to resist my curiosity, I slipped into a group in conversation and asked what was going on.
Thankfully, they didn’t immediately demand any information fee.
“All the bridges that connected Seoul’s Gangnam and Gangbuk, including the Hangang Bridge, have collapsed. It happened so suddenly and simultaneously that the military and hunting teams couldn’t even respond.”
“What?”
Hearing this, I sucked in a breath of cold air and hurried to move.
This situation looked far more serious than I had expected.
“How did you get here?”
The place I arrived at was D Middle School, adjacent to the National Cemetery, currently occupied by a military unit of the Capital Defense Command.
As Willia and I approached the main gate, the soldiers guarding the entrance flinched and stopped us.
A natural reaction.
We looked highly suspicious at the moment.
With our coat hoods pulled over our heads, faces covered in sunglasses and masks, we probably looked like celebrities trying to avoid attention.
“We came because Division Chief Kang Yi-sol asked us to.”
Upon hearing that, the soldiers, seemingly informed of something, quickly opened the way and saluted us loudly.
“Apologies!”
Willia and I exchanged shrugs at the overly enthusiastic soldiers and headed toward D Middle School’s gymnasium.
We heard that the top hunting teams from across the capital region were gathering there to discuss the subjugation of the Elder Monster.
-Murmur. Murmur.
Even outside the gym, a noticeable number of capable-looking individuals were gathered.
[Yang Yi-tae / Level: 30]
[Han Bae-soo / Level: 29]
[Oh Min-soo / Level: 29]
Among them, three men particularly stood out, guarding the entrance to the gym with foul expressions, glaring at everyone passing by.
By now, Yoon Si-ah from Seoul and Kim Hyun-soo from Suwon must have leveled up further.
These guys didn’t quite compare to them, but still had noticeably high levels compared to others nearby.
“Hey, you guys- beat it.”
But something was off about their behavior.
They were clearly supposed to be part of the hunting teams summoned by the government, and yet they were turning some people away.
[Park Tae-bong / Level: 22]
[Lee Eul-seong / Level: 21]
[Bae Young-wook / Level: 21]
Watching for a while, I started to get a sense of what was happening.
They were filtering out people with relatively lower levels.
‘They’re likely those with exploration-related skills.’
Even so, turning people away like that felt off.
Especially considering how desperate Kang Yi-sol had seemed.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”
And just then.
Kang Yi-sol appeared, visibly angry.
“We’re just getting rid of the weak ones.”
“And under whose authority are you doing that?”
“Looks like everyone’s crawling in to get a piece of the pie, but even in games, you have to kick out the freeloaders to make hunting easier.”
“This isn’t a game! It’s a fight for survival!”
It became clear that their actions weren’t authorized by the government.
‘What the hell are these lunatics?’
I couldn’t understand them.
Even with Kang Yi-sol scolding them, they acted like thugs, picking at their ears and slouching around.
“Hm?”
Then, one of the men, who had been picking fights with others, suddenly locked eyes with Willia and me.
Surprise flickered across his face, and he began approaching us with a threatening expression.
“Why isn’t my skill working? Hey, you. What’s your name? Why are you hiding your face?”
Asking for someone’s name in casual speech on a first meeting.
Still, I adjusted my sunglasses and played along with his question.
“Seo-ah Aznable.”
I had no intention of giving my real name, so I just made one up. At that, Kang Yi-sol’s eyes widened, and he rushed over.
“Are you perhaps Seo**-nim?”