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A few hours before, at the office of the Director General of the Hunter's Management Bureau located in Yongsan.

"Mr. Director, they say a Gate will likely appear near the 15th Division of the New Recruits' Training Battalion."

"What?"

Director Koh Tae-wook's brow wriggled after he received Yoo So-eun's report.

"Did you receive a message from Byeong-gi?"

"Yes, sir."

"What's the exact location?"

"He told me he would let us know later."

"Near the New Recruits' Training Battalion... How many Awakened troops are stationed there?"

"There are about 50 people, but the reorganization effort isn’t over yet."

"First, contact the battalion, evacuate the trainees, and put the Awakened on stand-by. Lieutenant Yoo, move with your squad immediately, and if you find anything special, report it."

"Mr. Byeong-gi also told us to evacuate the trainees."

"As expected... Lieutenant Yoo, go ahead."

"Yes, sir."

Yoo So-eun saluted and left the office.

Director Koh Tae-wook fell into deep thought as the door closed.

"What kind of person is Lee Byeong-gi?"

He hadn’t believed it when he received the initial report from Yoo So-eun about Lee Byeong-gi. However, he had saved Yoo So-eun's party in Hyehwa-dong.

He also had the experience of joining a party and hunting at a Gate after finishing the Tutorial Dungeon, but he thought Yoo So-eun exaggerated Lee Byeong-gi's fighting power.

However, looking at his track record, he couldn't help but believe that report now.

Lee Byeong-gi supposedly had the skill to find monsters and Gates, and he said he used those skills to find the Gate at Gangnam Station before it grew out of control.

He then destroyed that Gate alone, and he could even craft potions. Not just regular brews but advanced potions.

Although he doubted it at first, when Lee Byeong-gi brought him a sample, he had no choice but to believe.

According to NIS, there was no information about advanced potions in any other country yet.

They could produce advanced potions and be one step ahead of the rest of the world.

As long as their supply was secured at home, exporting the excess was worth considering, given that, currently, the sales revenue of advanced potions was controlled by the Management Bureau.

As a result, Director Koh Tae-wook began to trust Lee Byeong-gi and his assurance that he would not oppose the Bureau. If he intended to betray them, he wouldn’t have been constantly sending them potions free of charge.

Potions aside, Director Koh Tae-wook acknowledged his strength through his performance at the Olympic Park when Lee Byeong-gi had saved the lives of his squad.

That was reported by his trusted subordinate, Sergeant Seol Myeonggeun, and the rest of the crew agreed that Lee Byeong-gi was reliable.

However, the man in question didn't seem to care.

He had just received the report from Yoo So-eun that Lee Byeong-gi had founded a guild.

Yet, he entrusted the position of guild leader to other people.

‘I'm sure he is hiding something... Level 21, no, he's level 22 now. Anyway, his strength easily exceeds that, so we'll have to wait and see. At present, he is the person that we most need. It would be perfect if he could join the Management Bureau.'

Ring, ring-

The ringing of his phone awoke him from those thoughts.

It was Yoo So-eun calling.

"What's the matter?"

-Mr. Byeong-gi has sent us the location. But the battalion commander has already placed the trainees on guard duty.

"What? Tell him to evacuate them immediately!"

-The... our communication was cut off at the end of his report.

Koh Tae-wook's heart fluttered.

"Have the monsters come out of the Gate?"

-It hasn't been confirmed.

"How long until you get there?"

-Our estimated time of arrival is 30 minutes.

"Call me as soon as you arrive!"

-If the communication network is broken there, it may be difficult to contact you.

"!!!"

-Director?

"I'll send in the recovery force and additional equipment immediately."

Director Koh Tae-wook started to grow nervous.

***

"What is this?"

Not long after the Stone Golem hunt began, a system notification I had never seen before my return appeared.

<SYSTEM: The Boss monster ‘Giant Golem' has been summoned due to ???.>

It wasn’t ‘being summoned,’ but it ‘had already been summoned?’ And what did ‘???’ mean?

This was different from anything I had known in my previous life.

The condition for summoning the boss should be, as always, when enough had been defeated that they stopped respawning.

So why was it happening during a battle?

"Kwooooh!"

Booom-

A massive blast of energy burst nearby, and a Giant Golem as tall as a three-story building appeared.

[Giant Golem Lv. 50]

[Category: Humanoid monster, attack first]

[Status: Unknown]

[Skill: Lv. Max Enhancement, Lv. Max Smash, Lv. Max. Stone Wind]

-Enhancement: Increases the body's durability by 30%

-Smash: Deals a decisive blow to the target. A successful attack has a 20% chance to decrease the target's defense rate by 10% for 1 minute.

-Stone Wind: Attacks by disassembling the body. The stones rotate violently around the 'core.' The chance of a critical hit is increased by 30%.

I checked the Monster's skills with Insight.

I already knew its method of attack. If it used that Stone Wind skill, I could attack the exposed core while its body whirled around.

[Three Golems have gone out of the Gate.]

"Psh!"

The smaller Stone Golems seemed to use that brief distraction from the continuous system notifications and the summoning of Giant Golem to escape the Gate.

"I have to take care of it quickly."

If I went after the monsters who went out of the Gate, the guys here would also follow.

It was necessary to sort things out quickly from here so I could leave.

As I readied my inner power, the Heavenly Demon's Origin Art unfolded.

Gwooooh-

[Aren't you overdoing it?]

"I have two fuel tanks, so don't worry. Demonic Dragon Flash!"

My sword spun violently, starting with the first form of the Demonic Dragon’s Eight-Blade style, followed by the Heavenly Demon Royal Stride and the Heavenly Demon Replication.

Pop-

Shhhhhhh-

Crack-

The monster's weakness was its core, but there was no need or time to find and attack it.

As the Blade Energy ran rampant, I flawlessly executed the five forms of the first half and seamlessly linked them with the three forms of the second half. A devastatingly destructive power was unleashed.

I had confirmed the results of precisely adjusting my inner power while producing advanced potions.

It was possible to exert this great force with relatively little inner power.

<SYSTEM: Critical Hit!>

<SYSTEM: You've killed a Stone Golem. You gained 505 experience points.>

<SYSTEM: With the effect of the title "Shining SOLO," you've received a 30% bonus experience. This message will only be displayed for the first time.>

<SYSTEM: Critical Hit!>

<SYSTEM: You've killed a Stone Golem. You gained 656 (+30%) experience points.>

"Demonic Dragon Grief!”

Bang! Bang!

The Stone Golem began to break out of shape.

I used the Heavenly Demon Royal Stride and the Heavenly Demon Replication to deal with the nearby monsters while evading the Giant Golem's Smash attack.

When the number of Stone Golems rapidly decreased, the Giant Golem let out a loud roar.

"Kwooohh!"

[The monster is starting to disassemble!]

"It's Stone Wind!"

The Giant Golem used the Stone Wind Skill.

I sprang up with the Heavenly Demon Air-Stride.

From my vantage point above, I could see the fragments of shattered stones arranged around the core. It was like a hurricane, as seen from a satellite image.

Soon, the stones began to rotate, generating an immense gale.

The nearby Stone Golems were swept away and pulverized in the wake of the wind.

“They won’t even find my bones if I'm swept away by that!"

[The monster cannot distinguish between friend and foe?]

"They aren’t naturally created monsters. It's an artifact created by someone."

[I know that, but where is the creator?]

"!!!"

I'd never thought about that.

But I would think about it later. At that moment, I had to do some fighting.

[Now!]

"Demonic Dragon Power!"

 Crack-

I fell onto the monster's core like a bolt of lightning.

***

When Yoo So-eun's helicopter arrived, a fierce battle ensued on one side of the New Recruits' Training Battalion.

Three giant monsters made of stone loomed over several fallen soldiers.

However, the bodies weren’t intact. They were like pieces of ground meat which had been thrown into a blender.

Yoo So-eun paled.

The building used by the trainees had already been destroyed. Perhaps the communication facilities nearby were in the same state.

Yoo So-eun shouted to Seol Myeonggeun.

"Sergeant Seol! Hurry up, please! Divide the people into groups, including the injured...!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Seol Myeonggeun quickly answered. He didn't look well, either.

The squad members were dispatched according to his instructions.

Yoo So-eun also wanted to participate in the battle, but she had to clean up the site first.

The person who appeared to be in charge ran up to her.

"Chungsong!"

“Pilsseung!"

Yoo So-eun saluted Major Kim Min-joon.

"I'm Yoo So-eun, head of the Special Forces Special Warfare Command division of the Hunter Management Bureau. What about the battalion commander...?"

Although Kim Min-joon had a higher rank, it didn't mean much since the right to command in monster-related situations belonged to the Management Bureau after the cataclysmic events.

However, that didn't alleviate the many difficulties Yoo So-eun felt in the Korean army's culture, even in these circumstances.

"I'll explain."

"Ah..."

Yoo So-eun could tell this place was a mess as well.

Kim Min-joon couldn’t be in charge of this place as the chief of operations, given the fact that he didn’t seem to know much.

Yoo So-eun's complexion paled further while listening to their explanation.

The Awakened troops here were holding up somehow but had sustained severe damage.

In addition, there were injuries to the training soldiers, which Director Koh Tae-wook was most concerned about.

"Didn't you hear the evacuation order?"

"Well... There seems to have been some glitch in the communication system. I tried to report to the battalion commander again but couldn’t connect."

He put the blame on the battalion commander.

If the battalion commander was absent, the field commander’s decision would come first. Even if there was a problem with the communications, he could have followed the Management Bureau's orders.

Instead, they were sticking to the old ways of taking orders from their superiors.

"I'll listen to your explanation again later."

Yoo So-eun ran to the field and left him behind.

Kim Min-joon looked annoyed as his eyes followed her.

"Fuck! So annoying! How dare such a young girl be rude to me! Is it just because she’s Awakened?"

Kim Min-joon spat on the ground and turned around.

"Why is that bastard going out on a day like this?? What the hell!"

Kim Min-joon headed to the operation control room while cursing and muttering to himself. Although he could do nothing about the destroyed communication facility, he didn't want to remain outside where the stench of blood was heavy.

However, he didn’t know about the physical abilities of an Awakened Hunter.

Yoo So-eun's face was stiff as she heard Kim Min-joon's swearing.