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94. Start of a Catastrophe (2)
When I arrived, Wolmi-do was desolated.
The place would normally be filled to the brim with tourists and salesmen.
However, due to the news of the portal explosion, it seemed that they abandoned this place with great haste, akin to that of an receding tide.
If the GPS information was correct, the two portals that exploded should be within 10m of each other.
The two points on the map were pretty much on the same place.
The portals had exploded under the sea.
I didn’t know the which portal had what level, but from the tremors reaching the surface, I could tell that it wouldn’t be long until the portals would explode.
It wasn’t the most ideal situation.
Due to the portals exploding down in the depths, it would be difficult to approach them.
But that meant I could only wait for the monsters to come pouring out.
The only positive was that since the monsters would be coming through the beachfront, I could indiscriminately cast magic without concern for collateral damage.
This would only apply if the monsters were affected by magic.
The location of the dungeon being in the depths wasn’t the only reason why it would be difficult to approach a dungeon located down below.
The monsters’ appearance and power wasn’t that different, but the interior of the dungeon wouldn’t be the same.
Almost as if adapting to where it appeared from, the dungeon’s interior would be equivalent to that of the environment.
Since the human body required oxygen to breathe, it would be impossible to clear a portal formed in the depths.
The only thing I could do was watch the portals explode and then wipe out whatever came out of them.
“An artificial explosion. Does that mean the monsters are 1.5 times the normal size like before?”
When the level 29 portal exploded on Jebu Island before, the monsters were 1.5 times bigger and stronger due to the portal explosion being artificial.
This fact was covered up by the association and was not reported to the public.
However, I had obtained this information from the commander.
During the 4 portal explosions in Yangpyeong, I could not tell if they were bigger due to not having been inside the dungeons beforehand.
As usual, I hid my form with Mass Stealth Jutsu.
No matter how much I searched with the Eye of Insight, I could not find any drones.
Normally, the association would be scouting out areas around the portal explosion via drones before the Awakened association members would arrive.
Was it due to the explosions occurring all over the nation?
It also could be that the commander who had received contact from Ho Jin had something to do with this.
Whatever the case may be, it saved me the effort of clearing the drones out.
“Damn, it’s shaking so much! When are they coming out!”
Due to the portals exploding in 11 different locations, there was no time to waste.
If you count out the ones that Jong Ho and I were covering, that would leave 8.
Still, even that 8 would be nearly impossible to stop.
That was why I didn’t use Warp to get here, but just ran instead.
The roads were clogged like the toilets in public restrooms.
Rather than using a vehicle, it was a lot faster to run using my strength stat.
I planned on using Warp to get to another area where the portal exploded after clearing these portals and rendezvousing with the commander.
It was then.
I felt a tremor that was unlike anything I’ve felt so far.
Was that the monsters trying to break through the portal?
I concentrated as I scanned the beachfront.
However, the waves were calm and not a single monster was in sight.
I could not tell when the portal was going to explode.
“It’s not like I could evaporate the entire ocean….. So frustrating!”
My moment of complaint didn’t last long.
“Wait…. This feels different?”
The vibrations were coming from land, not the seas.
As the realization came to me, the earth shook intensely and the sounds of metal grinding rang out.
It seemed as though a massive combative force was arriving here.
‘Were they deployed from the association? I was sure that Mr. Ho Jin contacted the commander…..’
I could see a massive group arriving in force.
They were definitely not your average person.
The power of their feet striking the ground and speed at which they moved proved without a doubt that they were Awakened.
I looked towards the group.
Their forms came into focus, almost similar to a camera adjusting itself after zooming.
Hundreds of personnel came into view, each of them armed perfectly.
In the front was a female holding a giant shield and a shortsword.
Were they part of the radical faction?
However, when I fought against Ghost’s underlings before, they hid their identities perfectly with black hoods and cloaks.
This group was different.
Their appearance was similar to what one would find at any hunting grounds.
I could not confirm who they were at this moment.
Keeping my stealth on, I used Silent on top of it.
It was to completely hide myself.
Not a single sound would escape.
While I moved closer to them to inspect, it happened all of a sudden.
“KWEHHHHHH!”
“KURU. KURURU!”
Almost as if planned, monsters began to pour out onto the beachfront.
However, the moment this group confirmed the monsters appearing, they stealthed instead of confronting them.
Due to the AoE stealth being low level, I could still see them with my Eyes of Insight though.
‘Those who have gathered to take down the monsters are hiding the moment they see the monsters?’
If they were from hired by the association, they wouldn’t act this way.
Since it was possible that they were biding their time to strike at the perfect chance, I decided to wait longer.
At the command of the lady in the front, exactly 30 Awakened jumped into the sea.
They began to swim towards where the monsters were, probably to check out where the exact location of the portals were.
‘What’s the point of confirming the location of the portal after the portal has exploded? No matter how I look at it, they seem to be…’
My thoughts were cut short as the monsters began to charge inland.
Monsters the size of hot air balloons were rolling forward above the water, appearing as though they would explode at any moment due to how bloated they were.
Eye of Insight revealed to me their weaknesses and information.
Their names were simply called Rag.
Monsters that appeared in the level 38 portals.
Parts of its flesh were rotten and its appearance was gruesome.
The Eye of Insight let me know that its entire body was its weakness.
I’ve never faced them before.
While they weren’t much of a danger to me right now, it was better to be safe than sorry.
On top of that, roughly 100 monsters were flapping their wings as they approached.
Flying Hydra was the name they carried.
Just like its name, a single body had 9 snake heads with wings the size of a house.
The distorted body had a unknown limb protruding from it.
A green glowing orb was hanging from it as well.
Their great speed caused the thick orb to cut across the surface of the water.
Despite two portals exploding, thankfully it seemed that not many monsters were present.
I wasn’t able to continue find out its weakness, as a different group of Awakened were running towards here.
Were they part of the same bunch?
The chance of that seemed low.
They were probably sent by the guild in Incheon.
The Awakened have finally arrived.
Almost as if eager to prove they weren’t on the same tea, a small portion of the hundreds gathered began to move.
Commanded by the lady in the front, they were stealthed as they approach the guild members with weapons in hand.
Without any hesitation, they began to assail them with deadly attacks.
-CLANG!
I stopped their attack with one swing.
I had merely blocked their swords by swinging mine.
However, their swords were cut and flew away like paper before the massive amount of strength I carried.
With my attack, the stealth came undone and my form was revealed.
Looking at the pieces of their weapons on the floor, they spoke.
“W……Who are you!”
“The weapon, in one hit…..”
The radical faction members and I had appeared out of nowhere to them.
On top of that, we were trading blows with our weapons.
The 10 guild members were backing up as they tried to assess the situation.
I blocked the way of the radical faction, then turned around and spoke to the guild members.
“It looks like lots of monsters with the guise of humans are here. Why don’t you go elsewhere?”
“….”
“….”
Understanding what I meant between the lines and feeling the killing intent of the radical faction members, they began to flee.
They must’ve realized that if they stayed here, forget defending against monsters, they would be pathetically cut apart instead.
As they disappeared from view, I looked towards the underlings that were still in shock of their weapons being destroyed before absolute power.
I raised my Butcher’s Sword.
“Doesn’t look like you came to suppress the portal. Who are you guys?”
“…..”
“…..”
“Oi. Old lady. I can see everything, so let’s talk.”
My sword pointed towards the leader of the group.
Smiling as if looking down on me, she stopped hiding her form.
“Were you the one who blew up the portal?”
“Huh?”
She was blabbering complete nonsense that I couldn’t comprehend.
I had a sudden doubt that the ones that ran away were the radical faction and they were the ones sent to defend against the portal.
However, with the words that followed from her, I became sure.
“I’m not sure what your objective is, but in front of master Zekill…..”
“What are you saying? Stop talking nonsense. Who? Zekill?”
“……”
“I was planning to watch until I was sure of things, but it happened this way. Are you perhaps Dark Lady?”
“Wha… What? Who are you!”
“I heard that your base was in Incheon, but are you here to sightsee with your underlings in Wolmi-do or something?”
“Are you perhaps… You’re…”
“Also, did you ask me if I blew up the portal?”
“……”
“This is making my head hurt, you know? You’re saying that these portals weren’t blow up by you guys?”
“Shut up!”
“It could have blown up naturally. Also could’ve been done by another faction too. This is becoming complicated.”
“Are you the one that Joker spoke of…..”
“You don’t have to be curious. You will be following Joker and Ghost soon enough.”
“S…. Shut up!”
“It’s a nice weather to go hunting.”
Dark Lady probably knew already that my combat capabilities were far exceeding that of her’s.
After all, I had gotten rid of two of the three radical faction leaders without a trace.
Unconsciously, she was raising her giant shield to protect herself.
I was standing between the sea and Dark Lady.
Far behind me in the shallows were the monsters.
On land by the wave breakers were 500 monsters with the mask of humans.
“Whew…. How many stat points are these…. Oraaaaa!”
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