Chapter 758

“At the same time… we also requested assistance from Michael Silbert.”

The name that Team Leader Choi suddenly blurted out.

Michael Silbert.

I paused, but I wasn’t particularly surprised. A drowning person would reach for any hand they could find.

The German government had sensed the disaster closing in and called for the two people most likely to save them.

Me and Michael Silbert.

“That gloomy, unpleasant human bastard?”

The Skeleton King looked uneasy.

“I’d rather not run into him.”

“No one here wants to.”

He clicked his tongue. “True, but something about him felt wrong from the moment I first saw him… Never mind. We need to get there before his lot.”

This wasn’t a sport where we competed to save the most lives, but I agreed with him on that.

If this keeps up, no one will be able to stop him.

The greatest beneficiary of these meticulously engineered disasters was Michael Silbert. Since the first terrorist attack, Odin Guild had suppressed more than ten Monster Waves around the world. Michael had killed S-rank monsters in most of those battles, earning acclaim for his extraordinary feats.

For a while, he had even made people forget Cheon Taemin’s name.

I have to stop him now, while there’s still time. Somehow.

I didn’t know what Michael Silbert ultimately wanted. But if a monster like him gained unchecked fame and power—if he became as untouchable as Cheon Taemin—I was certain a disaster worse than anything we’d seen would follow.

“Team Leader Choi.”

He understood what I meant and nodded. “The pilots are already waiting.”

Team Leader Choi, the Skeleton King, and I hurried toward the aircraft that had already been prepared, exchanging words as we went.

“What’s happening in Germany?”

“A Class 2 disaster warning has been issued, centered around Munich. According to the information provided by the German government, a Monster Wave will occur within five hours at the latest.”

“If five hours is the government’s upper limit…”

Team Leader Choi nodded. “It could happen at any moment.”

Running on wishful thinking in the face of disaster was a universal human trait. Or at least governments responsible for evacuating people had no choice but to do so.

The moment the German government officially admitted, “We’re fucked,” a major city like Munich would descend into chaos in an instant.

“Damn it.”

“Fortunately, their response so far has been excellent. Every country in the world has been on high alert since the terrorist attack on the Paris branch, and more than three thousand Hunters have gathered in Munich since the Class 2 disaster warning was issued. Our Ares Guild is one of them.”

“That’s something, at least. What about Odin? No—that man?” the Skeleton King asked.

“Of course, Hunters from the Odin Guild branch in Munich are standing by as well, but… the core forces led by Michael Silbert are currently in Africa.”

“Africa?”

“Yes. From what we’ve learned, they’re suppressing a Monster Wave in South Africa. They’ll head straight to Munich once they’re finished.”

“How nice for him. Starts trouble all over the place, then cleans it up one at a time?”

The Skeleton King sneered, but I shook my head.

“That’s not it.”

“Hm?”

“If it had been part of his calculations from the beginning, he would have left for Munich by now. So at least the incident in Munich wasn’t a terrorist attack he had a hand in.”

“Exactly,” Team Leader Choi said. “That makes it even more dangerous.”

“Why? If he didn’t intend for it to happen, wouldn’t that mean—”

The Skeleton King fell silent. His puzzled expression hardened.

“Ah.”

He’d realized it too. What this meant, and how much danger lay behind it.

Monster Waves can happen on their own now. No terrorist attack required.

They had still occurred after peace returned, of course. The problem was their frequency. A disaster that had once happened very rarely was becoming something that happened sometimes, perhaps even often.

Often enough to remind humanity of the days when corpses piled up like mountains and rivers ran with blood.

The Great Cataclysm.

Humanity had given that horrific past a name. But what would people call the new age of disaster that was about to begin—or perhaps already had?

And what was the System, which had brought me both happiness and pain, trying to tell me?

Open Quest Window.

Ding.

System

Quest

Cataclysm

A new era has drawn close, and the final word of this long, fierce story has yet to be written.

Hope. Or despair.

At this moment, you alone hold the pen.

May fortune favor you in battle.

Grade: Main Quest
Restriction: Jin Taekyung
Mission: ???
Reward: ???
Failure: ???

The quest description offered no clear answer, and its mission was nothing but question marks.

More than anything, though, one short line under Grade weighed on my chest. Those five characters burned into my eyes.

Main Quest.

I’d received more quests than I could count, from easy Third Rate quests to Supreme Peak ones that put my life on the line. Their grades varied with the difficulty, and there were different types, too, like sudden quests.

But a Main Quest was a first.

More precisely, this was the first since I’d opened my eyes in the unfamiliar world of Murim. Since the day it had all begun.

What the hell does this mean?

I didn’t know what the mission was or what this approaching era would bring.

No. Deep down, I had an idea. I was trying hard to convince myself I was wrong.

Because I was afraid.

Just as the System had said, I was the only one holding the pen now.

The days when I could laugh over web novels full of satisfying victories were long gone. Now I had to write the story myself.

With a pen. With a spear.

With blood and death that might belong to anyone.

“…man. Human?”

A voice that had seemed far away pulled me out of my thoughts.

I blinked and looked around. Unfamiliar faces. Noise. A propeller spinning with a roar, and beyond the fighter jet’s windows, the tense faces of the pilots.

Two people were watching me with concern.

No. One person and one monster.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung, are you all right?”

“Wicked human. Look closely. How many fingers am I holding up?”

The Skeleton King was slowly waving a hand in front of my face.

“I don’t see any.”

“Wrong. One. Your condition is worse than I thought—”

“I deliberately didn’t count the finger you’re waving because I’m going to pull it out soon.”

“……”

“You’re still waving it. Fold that finger while I’m asking nicely.”

As the Skeleton King quietly folded the middle finger he had been enthusiastically waving, Team Leader Choi spoke in a subdued voice.

“If something’s wrong, we can wait until you’ve rested. We don’t know what kind of S-rank monster will appear, but there are forces on-site capable of responding to it, so…”

“No. I’m fine.”

I cut him off. Mental exhaustion and the Broken Body debuff had left me far from my best, but every moment we delayed would mean more damage. That much was obvious.

My mission now is to stop the disaster. The disaster in Munich—and, beyond that, the disaster that would swallow this world.

“Let’s go. Before we lose any more time.”

I climbed aboard the fighter jet, thinking of the man at the center of it all. The enemy I would soon face again.

Michael Silbert.

Come to Munich.

The words lingered on my tongue, then faded without ever reaching him.

South Africa.

Commonly known in Korea by the abbreviation Nam-agong, this country was Africa’s most highly developed industrial nation. Because it had few Gates, it was also one of the countries that had suffered the least damage from monsters, from the Great Cataclysm until now.

At least until half a day ago.

Rumble!

Smoke and flames blotted out the clear sky.

Cape Town, the capital of South Africa, welcomed wealthy visitors and countless tourists from around the world. Now it was filled with screams, death, and the roars of monsters.

Crunch! Crash!

“Graaaah!”

“Ghk!”

A pack of Trolls took over the road, swinging their clubs at anything in reach. Their steel clubs struck with the immense strength of large monsters, cutting down people fleeing in every direction. Each fell with a final cry.

Crack!

“Kwoooaar!”

The leader stomped a fallen corpse’s head apart and let out a savage roar. Its followers, tasting human blood for the first time in ages, gave in to instinct.

Craaaack!

They seized a moving car and slammed it into the ground. Dozens rushed at buildings large and small, smashing them until they collapsed. Explosions erupted everywhere, but the Trolls’ tough skin and tremendous Regeneration kept them standing.

Boom!

Flames surged from another explosion. The leader smiled in satisfaction as its damaged hide healed in an instant, as though it would tolerate no wound at all.

At its broad, heavy feet lay the bodies of Hunters, their limbs twisted or their torsos split in two.

“Grrrk.”

Easy. Far too easy.

If this had happened not long ago, it would not have been able to deal with the humans who crossed through the Gate and invaded its territory so effortlessly.

“Ha. Ha. Ha!”

The world was changing. The monsters’ bodies held purer, stronger magical power than ever before, and humans could not stop them.

Everything was returning to its rightful place.

Over the past several decades, humans had gone from prey to hunters.

Now they were prey again.

“I. WILL. KILL. EVERY. LAST. ONE!!”

Years of oppression. Years of humans invading their territory and hunting them. The leader’s fury erupted in a roar.

Whoosh! Boom!

Its vision went black.

No—its head was gone.

The leader wasn’t alarmed. A Troll could survive losing its head. Unless its body was pulverized, its tremendous Regeneration would keep it alive—

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh! Boom-boom-boom!

Along with the sound of air splitting, the leader’s consciousness snapped off.

For all its Regeneration and steel-hard flesh, the leader was helpless. Its body dropped to its knees before it could even wonder what had happened.

Silence followed its death.

“Kwo?”

The other Trolls looked around in confusion. A calm voice reached them.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

Step.

With the footstep moving forward, a colossal force bore down on everything around them.

“My friend is waiting for me.”