'Looks like I've searched pretty much everywhere.'
Even the baby Oh-Racle stayed silent, so he must be right. It should be fine if he stopped looking for other stray folks to rescue now, he thought.
Choi Kahng-Sik peered through the broken wall to see what was going on with the monster subjugation efforts down in the lobby.
"Coo-ink?!"
"Coo-ehhhk!"
"Coo-inkk!"
The flock of Pig-Jons was being whittled down one by one.
This wasn't due to the amazing skills and the wonderful cooperative efforts of the Hunters hiding inside the Association building. No, actually, the 'real' Hunters usually active at the perimeters of Seoul had finally shown up here, that was why.
Now, these people were the true protectors of the nation!
You could definitely call them the real Hunters of those monsters.
"First line, engaging! Second line, standby!"
"First line, secured! Second line, standby!"
"First line, collapsing! Second line, engage!"
"Second line, collapsing! Third line, engage!"
They were quite different from the Monster Streamers who placed priority on broadcasting the hunt. These Hunters placed importance on achieving results and the operational efficiency over things like looking good in other people's eyes.
Countless Hunters stood and cooperated like the cutting teeth of a spinning saw wheel, and efficiently blocked and killed the monsters.
Even the equipment they carried was different.
For instance, every single one of them wore helmets. Quite different from those Monster Streamers and newbies who were trying desperately to get their faces well known, in other words.
This wasn't merely the issue of the difference in skillsets.
'No. It's the difference in mindset.'
Even then, Choi Kahng-Sik's expression remained unmoved, unimpressed. None of these guys could help him out against the Bul-Raid, after all.
Indeed, what he needed the most right now was...
"Oops! Look at the time already. I was supposed to mail the prize and find a permanent place to stay today, but what a crazy day it has been so far. Oh well. I can do those tomorrow, I guess. I should be grateful for the fact that I was able to rescue people today."
….Was the favourable reception of the majority, not from the minority of the few elite.
┖ Nope. That ain't gonna happen. ^^
┖ Wonder what kinda incidents will happen tomorrow?
┖ See you later in the dry sauna. ㅋㅋㅋ
┖ You still haven't acquired your horn yet, too.
He ended up exchanging a few unnecessarily prescient jokey banter with the viewers. But, how come one of those jokes didn't sound like a joke to him just now?
'What if something really does happen to me tomorrow?!'
Choi Kahng-Sik quickly hardened his relaxing mind. Well, when he thought about it, ever since these gods started 'tuning' into his life, accidents and incidents kept happening without giving him a moment to rest.
When he recounted each incident one at the time, nine times out of ten, they were involved somehow.
Hang on a minute - could he have been inflicted by a terrifying divine curse or something?
[A certain god is protesting his innocence.]
[A certain impatient god is whistling innocently.]
[Another god is fake coughing to the side.]
'….How suspicious.'
After figuring out that the public sentiment towards him had reached its peak, Choi Kahng-Sik handed the rescued people over to someone from the Monster Association. That would make his subsequent actions easier to carry out.
However, things weren't as easy as he thought, initially at least.
"Mister Choi Kahng-Sik! Thank you for rescuing my daughter! Thank you!"
A sobbing thirty-something man desperately held onto his hand.
It wasn't actually a good experience, though.
"I only did what needed to be...."
"I'd like to entrust my daughter's future to the hands of her benefactor!! Please, would you be willing to wait ten years?"
"....Hahaha. Your sense of humour is really good, sir...."
Choi Kahng-Sik swiftly ran away.
'Uh-whew~. He just tried to assassinate his so-called benefactor!'
Choi Kahng-Sik had this one dream he had to achieve no matter what. Which meant that he needed to garner the support of the absolute majority.
But, that guy wanted him to wear an electronic ankle locator?! (TL: the kind sex offenders wear, BTW.)
Wasn't that like forcing him to go down the wrong path with no way back?!
[A certain relaxed god is rueful for the missed chance.]
[A different god is hoping that you'd respect the tastes of others.]
'If I respected it any further, we won't ever get to go on that adventure of yours, though?!'
Well, he'd be thrown in jail, that's why!
[A certain relaxed god admires your firm determination.]
[A certain god is giving you two thumbs-up.]
….They were so easy to read.
Choi Kahng-Sik managed to easily pacify the desires and complaints of the gods, before sneaking in deeper into the half-destroyed Association building.
His destination? The underground of the Monster Association, the second floor.
All thanks to that Pig-Jon descending from the heavens above like a falling meteor, he didn't have to worry about searching for the emergency escape staircase or the elevators.
He didn't even bother with the CCTC cameras or security systems as well.
'Who cares if they film me or not?'
The fault lied with those in charge who had abandoned this place, to begin with.
┖ And now, where is this MS heading off to?
┖ Too dark, and can't see! >0<
┖ Hey, Mister MS? Think about us, the viewers, dude!
"....Dear viewers? I wonder, have you heard about the rumour of a city of monsters that controls the rest of humanity existing below the Association building? This MS Cameraman will use this great opportunity to unravel that mystery once and for all!"
Of course, the rumour of the monster city was total bullsh*t.
But, he had to say something here, because he completely forgot to turn off the camera.
'No matter how poorly run the country's Association is, they aren't that stupid to let monsters live beneath their a*ses. People and their grand delusions. Seriously.'
[A certain god's ears perked up.]
[A certain impatient god is getting all hyped up.]
[Another god is telling you to hurry up.]
….But, there really was nothing like that down below, though?!
"Well, then. Should I....?"
Choi Kahng-Sik unhesitantly began walking in the darkened underground corridor. He decisively ignored the comments of the viewers, complaining that they couldn't see a thing.
His eyes remained sharp and focused like a nighttime predator.
He relied on the subtle green-coloured emergency lights to read the plaques placed on the doors found to the sides of the corridor.
'The projection room, boiler room, power generators, loot storage....'
*SFX for an object making a sudden noise*
Choi Kahng-Sik immediately swung his shovel in the direction of the sound.
His once-dislocated arm screamed out in pain, but he didn't mind that. After all, if he died here, he wouldn't be able to scream out for real.
"What the hell....?"
There was no monster there.
Instead, it was a piece of a bone-like object the length of an adult man's forearm and twice as thick rolling around on the floor. It even emitted a gentle orange glow, too.
Now, then. Where had he seen something like this before?
'Ahh! That's a Buff-Palrog's horn, isn't it? Not only that, it's a high-quality item, too. But, why is it here?'
He couldn't figure this out.
The thing was, the remains of a monster were quite valuable. Depending on the body part and the quality, the remains would be sold and shipped off to butcheries, laboratories, as well as companies manufacturing monster defence equipment.
Meat, bones, internal organs, the hearts, and of course, the Cores...
Heck, even the monsters' genitals were sold off as an aphrodisiac, even though there was no scientific evidence to back that up, so what could he even say here? Seriously now, the demand was high but the supply couldn't even keep up.
So, then. What about the horns of the Buff-Palrogs?
They were used a lot during the crafting of the weapons designed for newbie Hunters. And, if it had the remnant of a buff, just like this one on the floor, then it would be shaved down to craft various accessories.
'The orange-coloured buff, eh....'
It subtly raised the owner's endurance.
Along with the blue-coloured horn, which subtly increased the owner's intelligence, this colour fetched the highest price in the market. So, it wasn't some low-rent junk that could be found on someone else's floor like this.
Choi Kahng-Sik took a glance around his surroundings.
Aaaand, there was no one around him.
"....Looks like someone dropped the horn here after getting surprised by the monsters' surprise attack. Well, since the Association was going to give me a horn anyway, why don't I take this one and call it a day? Excuse me, the intended owner. If you're watching this broadcast, you can stop searching for it now."
He sneakily picked the horn up and tied it to the camera's strap.
Would a real-life RPG feel this way, he wondered inwardly.
- The 'Warrior' found an impressive treasure chest! -
┖ What a score! Is this MS for real?! ㅋㅋㅋ
┖ ㅇ Finders Keepers.
┖ Hey, man. Don't you feel sorry for the intended owner?
┖ I'm really envious. ㅠㅠ (A tight-a*s↑)
Choi Kahng-Sik continued on with his mission even while being showered by the viewers' envy and their boos.
And finally, he found the plaque he'd been searching for.
'The archives. Bingo!'
*SFX for the door lock breaking*
The door was locked pretty tightly, but a simple caress from his shovel later, the obstruction was resolved very quickly.
The room was filled with countless cabinets packed to the brim with various documents and reports.
And every single one of them was in paper format.
Even though this was far more cumbersome, none of them were stored in a digital database, since there was the danger of it being hacked. In other words, there were some serious secrets being kept down here.
For both the humans...and the monsters.
The corners of Choi Kahng-Sik's lips curled up.
'Looks like I'm in the right place.'
The records were neatly stored in the order of the year.
Without hesitation, he searched for the date etched clearly in his mind.
"Let's see... Year XX, June 16th...."
This date happened to be his birthday, but it also carried another significant meaning.
It was the day he lost everything.
'The second attack of the Bul-Raid on the city.'
The record grabbing his attention proudly declared this as its title.
For some reason, both the government and the Monster Association blocked the flow of information and made sure no survivors from that day's event could let the rest of the world know what happened.
So, if he missed this opportunity, who knew when he'd get another one?
*SFX for pages turning*
Choi Kahng-Sik took a deep breath and began browsing through the contents quite quickly.
The events that happened on that day were written in surprisingly minute detail.
The amount of manpower involved, the battle strategy, the loss and the subsequent damage, and the aftermath...
He didn't stop to think too deeply about the contents and simply focused on memorising them.
But, it was then.
"Caw!"
The baby Oh-Racle sitting quietly on his shoulder suddenly issued a cry. Not only that, it was from the left head!
'D*mn it, one should be careful of what he says!'
Choi Kahng-Sik spun around while picking up his shovel out of pure bodily reflex. It wouldn't be too late to confirm what kind of monster it was after he'd smashed its skull in.
Swish!!
And, he shovelled.
'Wait, did I really shovel just now?!'
He asked because his attack had missed the mark.
The silhouette that evaded his shovel slowly revealed its true identity.
[A certain god is stunned by the revelation.]
[Another god is getting very excited.]
….Its true identity was not the monster from the silly rumours.
"....Mister Choi Kahng-Sik. This is a restricted area. And also, aren't you too hasty in making a move? You only heard the crow caw once, after all. If it was someone else other than me, that person might have died, you know."
A shockingly charming voice of a sensuous woman entered his ears.
After confirming the identity of the owner of that sexy voice, Choi Kahng-Sik slowly lowered his shovel.
'Ahh. That's why I couldn't hear her approach.'
There was a reason why he couldn't tell she was getting closer to his position. Why? Because her black boots were floating in the air, that was why. Obviously, she wouldn't make sound with her footsteps.
Choi Kahng-Sik didn't lower his vigilance and asked her.
"But, isn't it a war-time emergency situation? Monster Streamer Kim Soh-Yun. Ma'am."
He had run into this beauty within these darkened archives.
This was their second encounter...
[A certain god's heart is beating faster and faster in anticipation.]
[A certain relaxed god smiles in a 'very' meaningful way.]
[Another god agrees that the current atmosphere is very good.]
'Uh-huh! I'm telling you, this ain't anything like that!'
< Chapter 22: The Air Raid/Sneak Attack (4) > Fin.