Chapter 43: The Omen of Disaster (2)

The Omen of Disaster (2)

Even if they were second-class hunters, they fell silent at the monster's appearance. Anyone was bound to be tense at the sight of an Imoogi.

Just by seeing it, their hamstrings began to tighten, and their bodies stiffened. The flow of mana is disrupted momentarily, and they might feel a little dizzy.

"Request for support... I have to..."

Someone stuttered.

What was the support for? We could all die before backup arrives.

"Everyone, wake up!"

I shouted through the silence. There were times I survived worse situations. There was no reason to be scared here.

Imoogi? I have faced a group of real dragons.

This team is enough for this one.

My judgment is never wrong.

That intense faith makes me go forward.

"Forward, lift up the shield!" I yelled.

A newcomer is giving commands, but we're not in a situation to care about that. The hunter in front, stunned in fear, was surprised by the sound and raised his shield upward unconsciously.

Kwaaang-!

An explosive sound of a collision. The shield blocked the Imoogi's tail swing. The tanker, who blocked it, spit out swear words.

"Fuck... what power..."

Kree-!

As the Imoogi moved, it a spinetingling sound. It boomed and echoed within the crowd. It was a sound that threatens everything below, a sound peculiar to top predators.

There is no good at staying still.

"Magic!" I shouted.

"Uh, what..."

"The water under the Imoogi, freeze it! As soon as the Imoogi gets distracted, attack it at once, swordsman!"

Without knowing, I began spitting out orders. It was a habit ingrained in my body.

Jjjeok-!

The wizard's hand moved according to my words. The water under the Imoogi froze in no time, hindering its movement.

Naturally, its gaze turns downward. With that, I flicked my finger, sending a signal to our center.

Han Soo-in rushes in with his blade glowing blue.

The reinforced sword was as beautiful as a work of art.

Kree-!

When the Imoogi raised his eyes, Han Soo-in was already upon him.

It appeared to struggle violently against the ice, trying to swing its tail once more.

Of course, I have no intention of giving him that opportunity.

Our tanker blocked its blow; our wizard disabled him, and the central position is about to strike him.

It's my turn.

A longbow appeared in my hand. The appearance of the Imoogi comes in more clearly.

[Excellent Insight has been activated]

My eyes took in the shape of its blue scales. Small and tough things tightly attached to its body.

However, there were gaps between the scales. Very fine gaps.

Shuwoong-!

An arrow flew from my hand. It flew an exquisite trajectory, squeezing in between the Imoogi's scales.

Kree-!

The lesser dragon's body trembled. It was an arrow that I have prepared in advance, knowing that we'll meet an Imoogi inside the crack.

A poisoned arrow. It was not strong enough to penetrate scales, but would eat the Imoogi from within if it made its way between the scales.

Kree kree kreee-!

With its intense roars, the earth felt as if it was shaking. However, I did not stop and continued firing arrows at the Imoogi's body.

Even in that environment, all of my arrows hit their mark. The poison gnawed at it from the inside.

Then, as the Imoogi raged in panic, Han Soo-in's sword-gi vibrated like a chainsaw and cut its head off.

Kuung-!

We stood for a few moments in silence after the Imoogi fell. Han Soo-in and the other hunters were staring at me.

Why?

Are they going to say harsh words because I ordered them around?

No. There was no resentment in their gazes.

"If it weren't for Si-woo, one of us could have died..."

"A rookie saving three second-class hunters... Haha!"

Rather, their gazes had deeper respect than before.

Han Soo-in's eyes stayed on me for a long time.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth.

"Can you take over command?"

It was a request I had no reason to refuse.

* * *

The attack went on smoothly after I took over.

Whenever a monster appeared, I strategized and gave orders to my teammates until we reached the crack nucleus.

"Right. The monster is here. Wizard, get ready... 3... 2... now!"

"Han Soo-in, put your sword in for a while, and on my signal, take it out. Oh, there. Finish it!"

"Don't just keep your shield up and block it head-on. Try to hold it at an angle. If you keep doing that, your shield will soon break, and we can't go on hunting without a shield, right?"

"Ah, why do you use magic like that? Try to be calmer. If your aim is shaken, the power would be insufficient. Slowly..."

The raiders followed my orders without questions. I found myself constantly pouring out words, feeling like I had returned to the past.

"This is the first time I felt like this in an attack..."

"I feel like I'm just playing a game, but also using cheats."

"Wow, he suits the central position. The kid is no joke. What is this?"

Everyone praised me. I nodded at them indifferently and kept working.

Soon, we fully destroyed the nucleus.

Except for the sudden appearance of an Imoogi, there had been no other difficult situations.

"Wow, that was easy. It's the first time since I started with Sabangshin that a crack attack when that smoothly," Han Soo-in laughed with relief. As he said, the attack was over.

The blue core of the Busan Crack has been destroyed.

Soon, the squads will come in to collect by-products and items; the crack will disappear; I would have a line on my resume that says I participated in a second-class crack attack.

"You did a great job. I would think that you are a veteran second-class hunter."

"I would even believe it if someone told me you are the guild leader! Haha!"

It was a warm atmosphere.

I stayed in place for a while, laughing and watching my teammates head out.

"Huh? Aren't you going out, Si-woo?"

"Ah, I know someone in the squad. I have something to tell him, so I thought I'd wait."

"Oh, you already have acquaintances within the Sabangshin squad? Wow... Then, we'll go out first. Contact us when you get out. We're going to have dinner together."

I felt a little embarrassed.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but we have plans to eat together after their squad is done."

"Ah, that's unfortunate. Then, call us the next time you're free! I'm buying."

"Yes, thank you. Thank you all for today."

"No, you did the most work!"

Luckily, they didn't stay much longer and headed out of the crack.

I bowed my head and watched them leave.

Only after they had completely disappeared did I stand up.

It's hard to lie. I'm not good at lying.

I didn't know anyone in the squad. I have something to do here, so I was forced to make excuses.

[What? You were lying?]

The Traveler teased me.

I ignored him. I have to move quickly before the squad comes.

* * *

The Busan Crack was not in itself a dangerous rift.

It had the 'thing' that started the second disaster, but without it, the crack itself wasn't that much of an issue.

"Ah, this is going to be hard, really," I muttered and sighed.

Then, I kept working.

I was shoveling.

The excellent Nightmare was transformed into a humble shovel. I also Linked with a being who was a master of shoveling.

I was digging the mud at the same speed as an excavator, but the fact that I'm using my abilities for this work was ridiculously annoying.

After so much shoveling, my shovel hit something hard.

Gang-!

Finally.

Nightmare returned to the back of my hand. Then, I started clearing the mud using my hands.

Soon, the hidden object was revealed.

A bead made of a blue gemstone. It was shining brilliantly. It looked exactly like how the witness described it.

A terrible thing happened when one of the Sabangshin squad members touched it the wrong way.

I picked it up carefully.

[Name: Blue Bead]

[A marble that holds the power of the sea. Legend has it that if you have it, you can sail even in stormy days.]

[*An artifact that has been lost by a foolish emperor a long time ago.]

[*Please be careful. Ominous energy chases the owner of the item.]

[*It is an item that contains a god's anger.]

[*Something bad can happen.]

As soon as I saw the explanation, I immediately placed the object into a subspace pocket.

Damn, I was lucky I didn't touch it wrong.

From inside the subspace pocket, I could feel it vibrating.

The first wave.

I recalled the second plague.

A wave of countless monsters.

Three waves in total.

Each one was enough to cause massive destruction and loss of life.

[*A god's anger is chasing you.]

[Akashik Records found a hidden story.]

[Read the story hidden in the marble.]

An unexpected notification window popped up.

"Huh?"

A very strange male voice began to ring in my ears.

『Grab, twist.』

『The arrogant thing. In the end, you drove the empire into destruction with your own hands.』

A middle-aged man walking on the water with a trident.

『That arrogance will be recorded in history, and you will be remembered as the stupid emperor who pushed the most brilliant country to the end. 』

Countless monsters were drooling around the man, with their mouths wide open.

The bodies of countless people were floating on the sea, their bodies torn to pieces.

The red blood and seawater mixed to create a strange color.

A man wearing a crown was on his knees, shedding tears in front of the man with the trident.

『No matter how much you pray, it's useless. 』

The man with the trident swung it at the kneeling man's head. It was as if a watermelon burst; blood and flesh flew all over. A blue bead on the man's crown rolled off into the water.

『Your blood and flesh, and those who want to succeed you. Anyone who tries to relate to you at least a little, or who touches on anything related to this empire, will be cursed. 』

The blue bead sank slowly.

When it reached the bottom of the sea, all the empire's traces had completely disappeared.

『Everyone will have the same end as Atlantis. 』

"... What is this?"

The scene suddenly reproduced in my head was unfamiliar. Atlantis? Empire? These were words I had never heard of in connection with the second plague.

It seemed to be related to the first wave.

Numerous questions arose.

But then, I heard a voice.

"Hey, who else is there?"

"...!"

I quickly hid.

I'll think about this later. Now was the time to move.

* * *

-The appearance of the red marble that is becoming an issue this time. It was found in Shanghai, China, and thanks to its beautiful appearance and overflowing mana, it attracts numerous hunters and guilds. Although its performance has not been properly revealed yet, I expect it to be an artifact related to 'fire' or 'mana boost'. However, 'Zhang Wei', the first hunter who discovered 'Red Orb', is still missing...

-Similar to the 'red marble', it is a 'black marble' that is another issue. It was found in England, and unlike the 'Red Orb', it has a mysterious function of absorbing mana around it. However, the performance of the black marble is also unknown. Still, there are quite a few who say they want to buy...

As confirmed with an internet search after returning to the Academy, all three marbles were found today. Many guilds revealed their intentions to purchase the items.

It was funny. If only they knew that what they wanted to purchase are ticking bombs...

I took the blue bead out of the subspace pocket and laid it gently upon a towel.

Sooner or later, a Monster Wave will unfold at the location of this blue marble.

The marbles were the objects that summons the Great Rifts.

-Uh, hello?

Han Yeon-soo's voice came through the phone.

"I have something to ask you," I told her.

Three great rifts occurring all over the world.

"The black and red beads that are the hot issues right now..."

A disaster where nearly a million monsters will pour out. I have a simple plan to stop it.

"Can you get those beads for me?"

Collect the beads and dispose of them all at once.

It was a very simple and sure plan.

However, there was an unexpected problem.

A very real problem.

-Uh... The marbles?

Only

- You wanted that, too? Are you interested in them?

-It's too expensive! Because of the media coverage, their prices jumped.

-So... Ha, I don't have enough money to participate in the bidding process...

I had no money to get them.