Currently, all sections of Line 5 of the subway have stopped operating, and the station shutters have been lowered. Everything was shut down.
Transfer stations to other lines were also closed, so trains on other lines passed through those stations without stopping.
On the internet and in the news, they only said it was due to monster appearances, but according to Eunseo’s call, a large number of rat-type monsters had shown up.
A swarm of rat monsters was perfect for observing a hunt. Yonghoon planned to follow Instructor Seo tomorrow and observe how the Link System Company hunted.
A day passed.
Yonghoon began preparing to leave early in the morning. He first checked his gear.
First, he put on the anti-stab clothing he had bought with the money he recently earned. Defense-type Awakened often wore plate armor, but since Strike-type Awakened couldn’t infuse gear with Dimensional Power, anti-stab clothing was the best he could do.
Then he packed the iron spear, which was divided into four parts, into his bag. When disassembled like this, it just looked like iron rods, making it easier to carry around.
He decided to leave the knife behind since it was hard to conceal. In any case, the kitchen knife’s attack range was too short to be effective.
Yonghoon checked his appearance one more time and left the house. He glanced back at his home. It was shabby compared to his income, but it wasn’t time to spend money on such things yet.
Moreover, buying a house was dangerous until a dimensional movement-blocking device was developed. No one knew when a monster might appear.
The meeting place for today was Cheonho Station.
Although Line 5 extended beyond Cheonho Station, it seemed the monsters had been stopped from moving south at that point.
Yonghoon took the bus and arrived in Cheonho-dong on time.
After getting off at Cheonho Station, Yonghoon couldn’t help but be amazed at the number of people.
Already, the number of civilian casualties had exceeded 50. Globally, it was in the thousands. Yet South Korea was still maintaining its daily life.
Whether it was trust in the government or a lack of safety awareness, it was unclear, but compared to other countries where martial law had already been declared and economies were collapsing, Korea seemed quite stable.
Yonghoon entered the subway station at the Cheonho-dong intersection. This place was also closed off, but one shutter was open for entry. Yonghoon showed his Awakened registration card to the police and went inside.
In the circular lobby of the station concourse, people were gathered. There were Awakened and people who looked like mercenaries.
Among them, he saw Eunseo.
Yonghoon tilted his head.
There were fewer Awakened than he expected. And Instructor Seo was nowhere to be seen.
“Over here.”
Eunseo waved at Yonghoon. As expected, her beauty was stunning. When Yonghoon shook his head and approached her, the men around her who had been mesmerized by her glared at him.
As he approached her, Yonghoon asked about the others.
“I don’t see Instructor Seo or the other Awakened.”
At Yonghoon’s words, Eunseo apologized.
“Sorry. I forgot to mention it. This subway monster subjugation is being carried out in two locations.”
Yonghoon’s expression turned sour.
“One team is starting here in Cheonho-dong, and the other is starting in Banghwa. The plan is for the two teams to meet in the middle. If we only push from one side, the monsters might lose control and escape the station, so this method was chosen.”
“Then Instructor Seo and the others are at Banghwa Station?”
Eunseo nodded in response to Yonghoon’s question.
Yonghoon frowned. The plan had gone completely off track.
He had intended to follow Instructor Seo and observe him in combat, but now it seemed he would only meet him after the battle.
Still, he couldn’t get angry at Eunseo, who didn’t know his intentions.
Yonghoon shook his head. He would have to wait for the next opportunity.
With his thoughts sorted, Yonghoon looked at the item Eunseo was holding. It was a large shield.
Eunseo looked proud when she saw Yonghoon looking at her shield.
“I leveled up to E-Rank during the last hunt. It happened on my second hunt. Same time as Instructor Seo. We’re the first in Korea to level up.”
Yonghoon couldn’t help but shake his head at the incredible growth rate of an A-Rank Awakened. Despite all his hard training and hunting, his growth was only comparable to that of an A-Rank.
Moreover, his limit rank was C-Rank.
Of course, it seemed he had discovered a way to break through his limit rank before coming here, but that method wasn’t easy either.
If he were a native of this world, he might have been grateful to grow at a pace similar to an A-Rank Awakened. But he had been fighting monsters for nine years.
Yonghoon resolved to work even harder.
With Yonghoon’s arrival, everyone had gathered. Including Eunseo, there were three Awakened from the Link System Company, and four regular Awakened like Yonghoon.
The others were mercenaries recruited by the Link System Company. They were reportedly from private military companies based in Korea and had special permission to carry weapons for monster hunting support.
Yonghoon nodded at the sight of them carrying grenade launchers. The company clearly had a wealth of experience.
They couldn’t kill monsters, but grenade launchers were effective at preventing lightweight F-Rank monsters from approaching.
Just then, one of the Awakened asked a mercenary a question.
“We’re going into the subway, right? Won’t the place collapse if we use explosives there?”
In response, the mercenary said not to worry.
“These grenade launchers use rubber rounds. They won’t damage the tunnel.”
The mercenary continued speaking.
“We can’t kill the monsters anyway, so we’ll use them just to restrict movement. The explosive force is adjusted, so they’re still quite strong.”
Everyone nodded at his words. It seemed he had thought things through.
As he finished speaking, another mercenary who had been standing in the back stepped forward.
“Please give me your attention for a moment.”
At his words, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
“I’m Kim Junghyeon, and I’ll be leading the team alongside Eunseo Lee. From now on, we’ll begin searching the subway tunnels starting from Cheonho Station.”
It seemed the company had paired the mercenary team leader and Eunseo as co-leaders. Pairing an experienced mercenary with a strong Awakened was likely a strategy to minimize problems.
Yonghoon nodded. With their experience, they would surely handle things well.
“When the monsters appeared, the subway staff immediately sealed all the platform safety doors. Thanks to that, except for Mapo Station where the doors were destroyed, all other stations appear to be safe. But if we don’t act quickly, the other stations will also be in danger.”
Eunseo continued speaking.
“I’ll take the lead. But we’re just the decoy. Our job is to block the monsters from escaping when the other team attacks from the opposite side. Let’s move out.”
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone began descending.
Upon reaching the platform, the group forced open the safety doors and stepped down onto the tracks. Fortunately, the emergency lights in the tunnel were bright enough that it wasn’t too dark.
The group moved with Eunseo in the lead and the others following behind. There was only one defense-type Awakened who could use a shield, but the mercenaries’ weapons would cover the gaps.
Eunseo called Yonghoon, who was moving with the other Awakened in the back, to the front.
Yonghoon frowned as he moved forward. It seemed he had gotten caught by a persistent woman. He had thought she would give up over time, but her stubbornness far exceeded his expectations.
“Since you’re strong in real combat, Yonghoon, I’d like you to give me some advice while staying by my side.”
“Huh? I’m still a novice Awakened, though?”
“But you’ve killed monsters more than twice. Alone!”
Yonghoon became visibly irritated.
“How do you know that?”
Eunseo, walking ahead, didn’t see Yonghoon’s expression.
“The Corpse Disposal Team staff have been gossiping everywhere. Thanks to that, you’re kind of famous in the company now. When I recommended you this time, they approved it right away.”
Yonghoon pressed his forehead with his hand. It seemed he had been betrayed by the disposal team staff.
He had liked that they were loose-lipped and easy to get information from, but it looked like they had blabbed everything about him to the company.
Luckily, only two incidents had been revealed. If all his hunts had been exposed, all eyes would have been on him.
“Well, even though a lot of people at the company are betting on when you’ll die since you work alone, everyone still acknowledges that you’ve taken down monsters solo.”
Yonghoon turned his head and looked at Eunseo. This woman really knew how to get under someone’s skin.
It seemed he had chosen the wrong informant. After this operation, he seriously considered changing his phone number.
With a hardened expression, Yonghoon walked through the tunnel. Eunseo also fell silent and walked on, perhaps realizing she had made a mistake.
It seemed monsters hadn’t advanced this far yet. The people walking through the empty tunnel were starting to get bored.
Yonghoon felt quite annoyed as Eunseo kept glancing at him. He decided to ask her a question.
“How many rat monsters were seen here?”
Eunseo answered as if she had been waiting for the question.
“The train operator who first spotted them saw two. Three appeared on the Mapo Station platform. And since other operators made several more reports, we’re thinking it’s under ten.”
Yonghoon nodded.
That number matched what he had estimated. Given that, having this many people pushing from both sides was a textbook strategy for a stable hunt.
Even if the monsters were all in one place, this side was just the decoy, so the chances of actual combat were low.
Feeling that it might be a relatively easy hunt, Yonghoon relaxed a bit.
They encountered the first rat monster after passing Gunja Station. A rat the size of a large dog saw the group from afar and turned to flee. Seeing the green glow around it confirmed it was a Dimensional Beast.
The group tensed up again. But they didn’t change their pace. Their goal was to prevent the monsters from escaping.
There was no need to chase and annihilate them.
The mercenary team leader was frequently on the phone, seemingly in contact with the other side.
Yonghoon overheard him say that Instructor Seo’s team had already fought twice and had killed two rat monsters.
On top of that, they were moving quickly and had already passed Magok Station. Yonghoon felt sympathy for the mercenaries following them. They clearly wouldn’t get any rest.
And one hour later, the first battle with a rat monster took place at Wangsimni.
As expected, for an E-Rank Defense-type Awakened, an F-Rank monster was nothing more than a punching bag.
This time, the rat monster didn’t run away but charged at the people. However, its attack was blocked by Eunseo’s shield.
And when Eunseo’s shield began to glow, the rat monster let out a scream and was flung backward. The monster, thrown far away, twitched slightly as if paralyzed. Then, two men rushed out from Eunseo’s side.
They were Awakened from Eunseo’s team. They approached the dazed monster and stabbed it repeatedly with their hands. Under their assault, the rat monster was soon covered in blood and died.
Yonghoon let out a sigh at their brutish method.
But he couldn’t say anything to them. Yonghoon had been no different from them at first.
It seemed that the monster had been easily dealt with because it was stunned by Eunseo’s Dimensional Power.
People were amazed by Eunseo’s ability, their eyes wide with surprise.
And perhaps feeling reassured, they began to relax a little.
Yonghoon frowned at their behavior, but he didn’t give any particular warning.
After all, it wasn’t his team, and judging by the situation, it didn’t seem especially dangerous.
Time passed, and by evening, the group had reached Aeogae Station. There had been one more battle in the meantime, but thanks to Eunseo’s defense, the hunt ended quickly.
Just when people were starting to think things might wrap up easily, a loud phone ringtone echoed in their ears.
It seemed to be Instructor Seo’s call. The mercenary answered and his expression hardened. Then, after ending the call, he urgently relayed Instructor Seo’s words to Eunseo.
“The rat monsters turned and fled during the battle. We’re chasing after them in a hurry, but we haven’t seen any signs of them so far. Instructor Seo thinks all the rats might be heading toward our team.”
Eunseo’s expression also stiffened.
“Everyone, prepare for battle. The rat monsters are heading this way. We can’t let them slip past us, so stay sharp!”
Everyone tensed up at Eunseo’s words.
From a distance, the sound of four-legged beasts approaching began to echo.