207 - Murim Login

Chapter 207 *Whoosh* An unidentified black sphere descends with a terrifying sound of air being torn. Within the shadow cast over the vehicle, taxi driver Mr. Park intuits his imminent death. 'So this is it.' The faces of his high-school-aged daughter and beloved wife flashed before his eyes. They had planned to eat ox-bone soup together after work, a foresight he didn't recognize then. 'Today hasn't been a good day for luck.' He doesn’t question what that thing is. Realizing it wouldn’t change the fact that his death was approaching, he was merely frustrated to watch death come ever closer with nothing but cold helplessness. *Swoosh* The time has come for him to depart to the afterlife. Engulfed by the shadow of the sphere over his driver's seat, Mr. Park finally screams with his eyes shut tight. “Aaaaahhh!” *Thud! Crackle!* Metal buckles like paper, and shattered glass fragments scatter in all directions. And then, in the next moment... “Whoa, that's deafening. Quite the strong voice you’ve got.” “Huh...what?” A voice slices through the chaos, piercing his ears. Mr. Park, having stopped his scream, blinks in confusion. “Huh? What...?” Not sure if it was a dream or reality. Mere seconds—no, less than half a second ago—he was sitting in the driver’s seat, but now he finds himself sitting on the side of the road about five meters away. “W-what on earth...” Looking dazedly at his squashed taxi, Mr. Park lifts his head. There stood the savior who had rescued him from the jaws of death. “C-customer?” The young man with a solid build, Jin Taekyung, didn’t answer. His brow furrowed, he looked intently into the distance before speaking. “Excuse me, sir.” Mr. Park’s heart raced. Instinctively, he understood. Something tremendous was happening, and his survival depended on following the words of this Hunter customer. “Run back the way you came. Don’t look back, just keep going.” “Yes, yes!” “And don’t forget to warn others.” “W-what should I warn them about?” Jin Taekyung’s finger pointed ahead. Contrary to the bright morning sunlight in the sky, where his finger pointed, darkness was gathering. To Mr. Park’s agape face, the young man’s calm warning followed. “A Gate has opened.” Simultaneously, from the distant road’s end, echoed a bone-chilling roar. - Graaaarrrrr! The monster’s roar was more effective than a megaphone. Realizing the situation, people, shocked and terrified, began abandoning their cars and fleeing. “A Gate! A Gate has appeared!” “Run away!” “Seokjun! Honey!” The previously stagnant road erupted into chaos. Screams and urgent voices echoed everywhere. People sprinted for their lives while I navigated across car rooftops, my systems alert chiming in. *Ding.* - An emergent quest, [Gate Suppression], has been generated. - You cannot refuse this quest. - The quest has been forcibly accepted! 'Now they don’t even bother to ask for consent.’ I clicked my tongue inwardly while opening the quest window. A translucent holographic screen popped up in mid-air. 【Gate Suppression】 An unexpected Gate has manifested! Monsters set foot on Earth, starving for blood and surrounded by tasty prey. Minimize human casualties and eliminate monsters to suppress the Gate. Level: Supreme Restrictions: None Mission: Eliminate monsters (Incomplete) Reward: ??? Failure: ??? Damn it. Of all places, a Gate appears on a congested road during rush hour. A bigger issue lay in the fact that the monster wasn’t just a random goblin or orc. - Graaaaarrrrr! *Boom! Crash!* Towering larger than a freight truck, with teeth sharper and bigger than industrial saw blades. Every swing of its dark, massive club shattered concrete and vehicles alike. Both monstrous in power and appearance. Who knew I’d face creatures from monster encyclopedias during a morning commute. I muttered softly. “Ogre...” While categorized as B-rank monsters, their strength and destructive instincts far exceed that. For instance, in the early days of the Chaos Era, ogres led monster troops destroying countless cities. 'They're probably among the top of the B-rank monsters.' Such creatures have now appeared right here. The Gate hadn’t fully opened yet, with only six or so, but they were a massive threat nonetheless. 'It must be stopped before any more lives are lost.' I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Eight hundred meters ahead, around twenty figures surged toward the rampaging ogres, brandishing weapons in every direction. “Stop them—!” *Slash!* Armored in gleaming armor and shields, armed to the teeth with various weapons, they were Hunters. B-rank Hunter Hwang Cheolsu was drenched in cold sweat. 'A Gate emergence?' What were the odds of a Gate appearing? He wasn’t sure, but it was said to be less likely than a natural disaster. After the death of the Demon King Asmodeus wrapping up the Chaos Era, Gates that once spawned dozens daily worldwide began to dwindle, prompting scholars to publish papers about the situation. [Humanity’s Victory, The End of Gates.] [The Connection Between Demon King Asmodeus and Gates.] [Complete Peace to Come Within 10 Years.] But they were wrong. Gates that now formed once or twice a year already had appeared four times this year domestically. The bigger issue was the fourth Gate occurring at the toll gate managed by Hwang Cheolsu. 'And it's a B-rank Gate.' That's already terrifying, and to make matters worse, ogres—considered the top tier among B-rank monsters—emerged from the Gate. *Smash! Crash!* “Ughhh!” “Healer!” “Archers keep firing! Tanks hold the line!” *Crash* The toll gate team, consisting of two B-rank Hunters and twelve C-rank Hunters, was overpowered. Ogre clubs hammered down, shattering tower shields, sending tanks flying. 'What am I seeing?' Hwang Cheolsu was only thirty years old. Without any notable combat sense or leadership skills, he was merely a civil servant Hunter promised a cushy job and a high pension thanks to his high ranking. 'What do I... how do I handle this...?' Hwang Cheolsu stood frozen like a statue when the deputy team leader shouted at him. “Captain! Get a grip! We have to hold out by any means until reinforcements arrive!” “Y-yes. Right. Just hold on for five more minutes.” “If the Special Forces and neighboring Hunters arrive, we can take them down. So we must—!” *Thud! Crash!* Hwang Cheolsu blankly stared at the deputy, who had been slammed into a refrigeration truck. A massive concrete fragment from somewhere had struck him. "Healers!" As he shouted, Hwang Cheolsu realized. There were only two healers on the team, and the deputy was the last remaining one. Of the seventeen team members, including himself, fewer than half could still stand. “What... what in the world?” Only a minute into the battle, yet the outcome was practically decided. There was a vast gap between top-tier B-rank monsters and the Hunters who had grown complacent playing phone games at the tollgate. But the ordeal wasn't over yet. “Captain!” “The Gate, the Gate is opening!” *Craaaaak* With the shouts of his team members, the crack in mid-air began to widen. From within the abyssal darkness, magical energy churned like waves, spewing forth massive figures. - Grrrrrrr! - Roarrr! *Thud thud thud* Listening to the fierce cries as the ogres landed, sighs arose from various spots. “Damn…” “Oh no.” Their forces had already struggled severely despite outnumbering them threefold. With the number of ogres swelled to ten, despair set in heavily among the Hunters. “C-Captain, what now?” Hwang Cheolsu swallowed dryly. With an overwhelming power gap, defeat was inevitable. One thought filled his mind. 'Will I survive this?' It wasn’t just him; everyone there shared the same question, waiting for the commander to provide the answer they desperately wanted. “Captain!” “I, I…” Before the words left his mouth, Hwang Cheolsu's feet were already retreating. Once vowing to be humanity’s shield against monster threats, he now refused such a futile death. 'Even with reinforcements, they can't kill those.' There was only one remaining option. “Und-under the commander's decision, we will conduct a strategic retreat…” Just as Hwang Cheolsu stuttered, trying to voice his retreat plan. *Swoosh! Boom!* A streak of light shot forward. It passed overhead of the retreating Hunters, hitting its target squarely and detonating instantly. *Splaash* What fell from the air wasn't rain; it was blood. Decayed-smelling flesh hailed down like a storm of hailstones. "...What?" *Thud* Along with someone’s dumbfounded voice, an ogre’s massive form crumbled like a rotted tree. - Groh? “What is this…” Both humans and monsters stared dumbfounded at the surreal situation. “Wow, those fireworks are something.” A carefree voice, ill-fitting for the scene, rang out. Turning swiftly to look for the voice’s owner, Hwang Cheolsu shivered. "Wha..." He hadn’t sensed any presence at all. And even now, with eyes upon him, it felt as if seeing a ghost or monster. However, the figure standing atop the roof of a tour bus wasn’t either. Between his messy dark-brown hair, his eyes curved like crescent moons as he spoke. “Yes, yes?” “Shall I get straight to the point?” That was exactly what they desired. The ogres, coming to their senses, were already advancing with their massive clubs dragging. The Hunters nodded frantically. Jin Taekyung, watching them, smiled broadly. “If you’re not going to fight, kindly huddle in a corner.” "...!" “Oh, and note that if you get caught stealing experience points, there’ll be consequences.” Experience? Stealing? Before they could grasp the meaning of his words, the spear in Jin Taekyung's hand became a beam of light, shooting forward. *Whisssh!* *Thunk!* The spear pierced through a thick ogre jaw, tearing through leather, flesh, tongue, and palate before jutting out the crown of its head. Not missing a beat, clubs swung in from both sides. *Swoosh!* A terrifying sound of air being cleaved. But I wasn’t there anymore. I had already slipped between a monster’s grasp, stabbing precisely at the perineum with a dagger drawn from my inventory. *Stab!* - Groooaaaar! “Congratulations on opening up your meridian.” There is a vast difference between reopening and opening fresh. With a soul-filled howl, the beast kneeled. Before it could register any more pain, a dagger sliced through its throat. *Slash* Monster blood and screams. Within that chaos, a sweet sound continued to tantalize my ears. *Ding. Ding. Ding.* - [Lv84. You have slain an Ogre! - Gained substantial experience points! - [Lv83. You have slain an Ogre! - Gained substantial experience points! 'Oh... I’m so full.'