Episode 9
“Kwaaak!!”
With a roar, the half-ogre swung its arms.
With that immense power, ‘something’ invisible to Lee Jae-jun’s eyes flew away.
‘Oh, no. ‘Unless it is a rare grade weapon, it cannot inflict fatal wounds.’
Watching the ogre pull out a dagger whose name I don’t know who it belongs to.
Jaejun Lee trembled.
They took advantage of the surprise attack and forced it in, but it didn’t seem to cause as much damage as expected.
Even the slightest amount of damage is quickly regenerated by the half ogre.
“Krrr.”
“There…there! Are you okay?!!”
Lee Jae-jun, who came to his senses late, distanced himself from the half-ogre and shouted.
Stealth is a B-grade skill.
But B-grade skills can’t handle that monster.
“Avoid! Normal attacks don’t work on him… Ugh!!”
Is it because the prey that was once missed goes on a rampage?
The half-ogre threw the dagger he was holding at Jaejun Lee.
Phew.
I hurriedly set up the barrier.
This skill has already been canceled several times and its power has been weakened.
The dagger that pierced the barrier was lodged in the shoulder.
The moment Jaejun Lee groans and raises his head.
The ogre that had already approached raised its hand up.
Suddenly.
Someone pulled his backside.
Kwaang!!
‘I lived….’
Without even having time to feel the joy of survival.
The half-ogre, who only hit the ground, let out a roar and attacked Jaejun Lee.
Crack!
Pain follows, as if bones are broken and internal organs are twisted.
“Cough… Cough….”
Lee Jae-jun, who was thrown out, coughed up blood.
‘Fuck… bee…’
I swore in my fading consciousness.
I didn’t let down my guard.
It’s just that the half-ogre’s physical abilities were on a different level from his own, a class B magic type.
‘Am I going to die like this…’
The blood flowing down from my torn head wet my eyes.
My body doesn’t move and my vision is blurry.
It was really over now.
at that time.
“excuse.”
With those words, someone started searching through his arms.
“Cough… run… run….”
Lee Jae-jun said, squeezing out the last of his strength with his invisible eyes.
But it seems like what he says doesn’t matter.
The hands searching the body became faster and faster.
After a while.
Ssssss.
A man appeared next to Jaejun Lee.
It was Taehyun, whose stealth skill had been lifted.
“Oh, it’s here.”
Taehyun finally found what he wanted and breathed a sigh of relief.
Lee Jae-jun, who had already fainted, did not see it.
* * *
“Krrr… Human… Killing….”
The half-ogre who found Taehyun approached him in stride.
The guy, conscious of the attack from earlier, kept his distance and showed a cautious attitude.
This is evidence that Taehyun was recognized as a dangerous target.
In fact, Taehyun was in the process of emptying the second bottle of potion in his hand, as if the half-ogre’s attitude was not important.
“Phew… okay. After all, it’s a potion for recovering from fatigue.”
After confirming that his fatigue and magical power had recovered, Taehyun used the skill again.
‘Stone Skin’ and ‘Stealth’.
As much as two skills were used overlapping.
Magic power began to be consumed at a rapid rate.
‘It’s dangerous if you don’t do this much.’
Even though I was using Stone Skin a little while ago, I felt like my guard arm was broken.
B-grade players weren’t thrown out in one blow for no reason.
Normally, this would be a situation where you could just run away.
High risk high return.
Taehyun wasn’t going to miss the prey in front of him.
‘What reward will I get if I catch you?’
That feeling led me to activate the third skill.
[Unique skill Predation was used.]
“Humans… kill!!”
The half-ogre exuded murderous energy as it saw the magical power created beneath its feet.
However.
There was no way Taehyun, who used stealth, would be revealed.
“Eat it all up.”
Quad deuk. Quad deud deuk.
An unprecedented, eerie sound echoed around the area.
* * *
[Rookie of the Association. Lightsword Ahn Hyun-soo. I alone blocked the A-class monster Giant Ogre.]
[Gate break after 10 years. Is the Earth okay like this?]
[Player killed in the line of duty. A joint funeral was held. Afterwards, to the National Cemetery.]
[Gwangjin-gu was devastated. An inhumane massacre by demons amidst the chaos. Named Mine eyewitness testimonies follow.]
[Student testimony from nearby Konkuk High School. The teacher was kidnapped by Mine.]
[Survivor interview. There were not one, but two A-class monsters. Another monster they witnessed.]
[Jaejun Lee, the association’s rising hope. His skill is ‘barrier.’]
[Lee Jae-jun’s shocking confession. He is a survivor, not a hero. There is someone who was saved with a healing potion.]
[Public anxiety rises rapidly due to the government’s delayed response. The president’s approval rating is at an all-time low.]
[The class A monster in question is a half-ogre. Where is the body?]
[New Korea Players Association. Through this incident, he announced his intention to focus on securing talent. The certification exam will be brought forward.]
[Age limit for the player certification exam. Will it be lowered to high school? Human rights groups protest one after another.]
Articles from numerous media outlets.
Taehyun, who was looking through them all, quit the internet.
Real-time search terms as well as news and newspapers.
Everyone was talking about the same thing.
This is because the first gate break in over 10 years created numerous casualties and heroes at the same time.
Of course, Taehyun’s name was not among them.
“Well, did it work out well?”
Taehyun got up from the chair and lay down on the bed.
Grade A gate break.
In my past life, the only thing that happened was Choi Na-young’s death and wounds.
This time was different.
In addition to preventing her death, the harvest was greater than expected.
Taehyun opened the status window.
Name: Kim Tae-
hyun Age: 19
Grade: D
Strength: 15 Stamina: 20 Speed: 15 Magic power: 40
Fatigue: 5%
Remaining magic power: 40/40
[Skill]
Predation (50%) – Can prey on the desired target. Magic Power: 10
Stone Skin (D) – Can strengthen the body. Magic Power: 3
Stealth (D) – You can hide your body. Magic Power: 5
Was it worthwhile to engage in hand-to-hand combat using the Stone Skin?
After getting enough rest, my strength and stamina stats increased.
More than anything.
‘The increase in magical power is significant.’
It was much more relaxed than before, but with the number of skills increased to three, it still seemed like magic power was lacking.
Taehyun already has three skills that are difficult for others to use.
‘Potion or magic recovery skill. ‘One of the two is required.’
Taehyun, remembering the battle with the half-ogre, shook his head.
Association players and large guild members always carried potions with them when performing missions.
A fatigue recovery potion that reduces skill use delay, a magic recovery potion, and a healing potion.
This is because these three types of potions are essential for exploring the Abyss.
If it weren’t for the help of the potion at that time.
Even Taehyun wouldn’t have been able to catch the half ogre.
‘Well, I took everything into consideration and jumped at it. ‘The skills are too arbitrary than that.’
Only corpses are eaten by monsters, and only skills are eaten by humans?
There were many questionable aspects to think like that.
Obviously, the user is Taehyun himself. Every time I used it, I felt like I had a will to use the skill.
‘Could it be that the skill is still alive?’
When you’re thinking such ridiculous thoughts.
Knock knock.
“brother. it’s me.”
Jaeyoung’s voice was heard outside the door.
“come in.”
Taehyun turned off the status window and saw Jaeyoung standing there awkwardly.
“what’s the matter?”
“Uh… I was just… wondering what to do…”
Jaeyoung trailed off as if shy and avoided Taehyun’s gaze.
‘guy. cute.’
What Jaeyoung looks like now is that of a normal teenage kid.
In his previous life, the atmosphere in the house was a mess because he was crooked, but recently the atmosphere has returned to being as harmonious as before.
“so?”
“No… I’m not going to school either… so I thought there was nothing else I could do to help.”
Schools in the Gwangjin-gu area were temporarily closed due to the gate break gun.
This is because many of the victims were school students and faculty.
Unlike Taehyun, who was calm because it had happened in his past life, Gwangjingu was currently in a state of panic.
“I’m going to help…”
Taehyun trailed off and looked at Jaeyoung’s face.
Eyes as if full of anticipation. The satisfaction that comes from knowing that you have a use for something. The feeling you get when someone needs you.
It is a face that is a complex mixture of all of these things.
This is exactly what I was doing in my previous life.
I knew better than anyone what that felt like, so I didn’t want to leave Jaeyoung like this.
“Try to get some rest first. “Don’t hang out with strange guys for no reason.”
“Oh, I understand. “I’ll stay at home, so let me know whenever you need me.”
With those words, Taehyun sent Jaeyoung away.
‘As expected, I need to become independent quickly.’
Taehyun’s goal is to become a player and rise to the top.
There is no way there is no threat in the process.
So before you leave this place.
I wanted to create an environment where my aunt and her husband and Jaeyoung could live safely and comfortably.
The fastest way to do that is.
‘It must be a dungeon attack after all.’
However, a player license is required to explore dungeons and abyss.
Taehyun is just a high school student whose awakening, let alone his license, is not known to the outside world.
Nevertheless.
There was no problem with Taehyun, who still had memories of his past life.
* * *
New Korea Players Association located in Yeouido, Seoul.
Ji Jin-hee, the president of the association, puffed out cigarette smoke in her office.
The desk was full of documents waiting for approval.
Grade A gate break occurred in New Korea for the first time in over 10 years.
Fortunately, the dungeon was prevented, but the damage was significant.
“I’m tired.”
That’s when Ji Jin-hee takes another puff on her cigarette.
The intercom rang.
“President of the Association. “The Night Walker Guild Leader has arrived.”
“Please take me inside.”
After a while, a woman wearing a light blue dress and sunglasses entered the room.
“long time no see. President of the Association.”
“Miss Ayoung. I’m sorry for calling you like this when you’re busy. “Sit down.”
Ji Jin-hee stubbed out her cigarette and looked at the woman sitting across from her.
His face was so young that it was hard to believe he was in his early 30s.
However, Ji Jin-hee, who knew the woman’s identity, was not fooled by her appearance.
The ‘Four Major Guilds’ that support the new Korea along with the Association.
‘Magicians’ are made up of people who have awakened magic skills.
A ‘Night Walker’ whose main occupation is information gathering.
‘Onsaemiro’ is made up of combat-related skill awakeners.
‘Alchemist’ consists of potion makers and special skill awakeners.
The woman in front of me is Yoo Ah-young.
Among them, he was the leader of the Night Walkers.
“I can’t believe this happened when we were all away. “I’m sorry.”
Yoo Ah-young mentioned the gate break that occurred not long ago.
“Whew. It’s okay. It’s already happened anyway. “I called you for a different reason than that.”
“Malicious guild. “You mean the movement there is unusual?”
“As expected of an information guild, did they really understand my inner thoughts?”
“If I can’t do this much, I’ll have to close down the business.”
Yoo Ah-young answered confidently and handed over the documents he had brought.
It was top-of-the-line information that recorded not only the recent trends of malicious guilds but also the players they were targeting.
“What else would you like to ask?”
“I plan to expand the number of players this time.”
“The president of the association probably doesn’t like issuing licenses to people with no skills… I’m thinking of lowering the age of applicants as well.”
When Ji Jin-hee made an expression as if she had raised both hands and feet, Yoo Ah-young continued.
“Are you asking us to select children with potential so that human rights groups don’t make unnecessary comments?”
“That’s right. Are there any children you would like to recommend?”
Ji Jin-hee, who is well aware of Yoo Ah-young’s keen eye, secretly looked into it in the name of recommending talent.
‘It’s a recommendation.’
Two high school students came to mind in Yoo Ah-young’s mind.
