Sunhee sighed as she hung up the phone. It had been a call from her mother.
Her mother, worried about her, had tried to persuade her to return home.
And she had refused.
As their voices started to rise again, Sunhee apologized and ended the call.
It had been a month since she left home. She seemed to have gotten used to living alone.
For the past 25 years, she had lived under her parents’ instructions and interference. Her friends, college, even studying abroad-her parents had interfered in everything.
But having experienced a bit of freedom while abroad, she had decided to become independent.
Her mother had blocked her way, holding photos of the man she was trying to be independent for.
She couldn’t take it anymore either, and a huge fight broke out in the family.
And then she was subjected to what was practically confinement.
And then the world changed.
Her father wandered around in a daze, her mother looked lost in shock, and so did her siblings.
While everyone was gripped by fear, an opportunity came to Sunhee.
She became a superpowered person.
Sunhee immediately ran away from home. Even without support from her family, she could now make a living, and no one could stop her as a superpowered person. What she had dreamed of became possible thanks to a global disaster.
Since then, she had formed a team with others and gone hunting, and came to understand the reality of society.
She realized that she had been a frog in a well, and that the world was harsh-learning it bit by bit through all kinds of hardship from other Awakened.
Those were days when she cried her eyes out every day in a small room. And then, one day, when she was enduring it all with pure grit…
A man dressed entirely in black came to her. He looked a bit tired, but like a storm, he changed the team.
The hunt changed.
A tough but fulfilling month passed.
And then,
She looked down at her wrist.
Level: E
Dimensional Power: 2 / 50
Now she was a person who could stand on her own.
“I’m not going back home anymore.”
Sunhee shoved her phone into her pants pocket.
Today was the day they would attempt an E-Rank hunt for the first time.
The sky was clear.
Yonghoon had arrived early at the meeting spot and was waiting for the others. Team leader Han had messaged that he might be late because he was leasing a new car.
It was the second hunt after the team had all reached E-Rank.
The first hunt had been against F-Rank monsters, to build teamwork among the E-Rank Awakened and to train Sunhee’s assassin-type abilities.
Everyone was satisfied with their improved abilities, and although Sunhee was still awkward in some ways, she had succeeded in contaminating the monster’s Dimensional Core with her power.
And today, the group was going to hunt an E-Rank monster.
Currently, only teams affiliated with the Link System Company were hunting E-Rank monsters. Two regular Awakened teams had reached E-Rank, but both were still sticking to F-Rank hunts.
One team was backed by a major corporation and seemed to be aiming for safe growth, while the other team was poorly structured. That team didn’t have an assassin-type member.
In the end, this would be the first attempt at hunting an E-Rank monster by a regular Awakened team.
E-Rank monsters were completely different from F-Rank ones. The previous monsters had resembled oversized animals, but E-Rank monsters took on forms like insects or reptiles, completely deviating from familiar shapes.
And the monster the group was heading to face was no different.
“Hello.”
The members began arriving one by one. Jimin was the first to arrive and greeted Yonghoon. She bowed politely to him.
Although she had been scolded by Yonghoon many times during hunts, perhaps because they had succeeded in many hunts thanks to him, she seemed to look at him like a dependable older brother.
Kangwoo arrived next. Even though his eyesight should have improved with his abilities, he still showed up wearing glasses. He greeted those who had arrived with a relaxed expression.
Shortly after, a sleek black foreign van pulled up in front of them. It was the vehicle that team leader Han had brought.
“Cool, right? It’s a top-tier leased car. Let’s travel in comfort from now on!”
He had been carefully managing the team’s budget, and it seemed he finally decided to lease a vehicle. Everyone had complained about the car being uncomfortable, but it looked like the driver himself had suffered the most.
Yonghoon gave a bitter smile.
They wouldn’t be able to enjoy this for many years anyway. Might as well enjoy it while they could.
“Looks like I’m the last one!”
Sunhee appeared with a bright smile. She seemed to have fully regained her confidence.
The sense of victimhood she had carried seemed to have completely vanished thanks to developing her assassin-type ability.
The group held a meeting inside the newly acquired minibus. The comfortable luxury vehicle lifted everyone’s spirits.
“As we discussed before, the monster we’ll be hunting is an E-Rank monster occupying Hanam Sports Complex. It’s a giant ladybug.”
“Pfft!”
At team leader Han’s words, Jimin burst out laughing.
“Sorry. I just imagined a cute ladybug all of a sudden.”
Team leader Han gave a bitter smile and pulled up a photo of the monster on the monitor installed in the car. It was a photo posted on the Awakened forum.
“Eek!”
Jimin recoiled at the photo. It wasn’t what she had imagined.
From a distance, the ladybug looked similar to a regular one. Its shiny red shell and multiple black spots weren’t much different.
But its massive size gave it a completely different feel.
The ladybug’s legs, covered in coarse hair, were larger than a human’s. Its black face and antennae looked terrifying.
It was like looking at an armored vehicle painted red.
“Hmm, looks like it’s about 4 meters long.”
Seeing the photo, team leader Han also looked a bit worried. He hadn’t gotten a sense of it from just reading about it, but now that he saw the picture, he was concerned whether he could handle it.
People glanced at Yonghoon.
It looked bigger and tougher than expected. Those who had heard that Yonghoon had fought an E-Rank monster seemed to want reassurance from him.
‘Defense-type E-Rank monster.’
Yonghoon nodded as he looked at the ladybug monster on the screen. It wasn’t different from what he had expected. As far as training targets went, this monster wasn’t bad. He figured they could try a variety of training methods.
Seeing Yonghoon nod, the others felt somewhat reassured, even if it didn’t match Yonghoon’s actual thoughts.
The minibus arrived in Hanam after two hours.
The group parked the vehicle and walked toward the training field. They looked different than before. Now that they were E-Rank, they had used the money they’d earned to equip themselves.
Team leader Han was carrying a large tower shield. It was made entirely of metal and looked very heavy.
Kangwoo and Jimin were holding steel spears like Yonghoon. And lastly, a small dagger swayed at Sunhee’s side.
All of it had been sourced by Yonghoon.
There were still very few E-Rank Awakened in the world. As a result, there were no companies providing weapons for E-Rank users. The Link System Company only made weapons for its own affiliated Awakened.
All of their weapons had been custom-made by Yonghoon.
There were extra pieces of equipment in the car. Equipment was a consumable.
Especially since it had to withstand clashes of Dimensional Power, it was quickly used up no matter how much they prepared.
Yonghoon was carrying a spear like the others and had several more strapped to his back as he walked.
He had prepared them specifically for this hunt.
A skewer-like sword dangled at his waist. It was gear from the other world that he had equipped again.
For now, Yonghoon decided this would suffice. In the future, weapons made from monster bones or shells would surely appear.
And Relics.
Yonghoon put aside thoughts of Relics. It wasn’t time yet. But soon, they would appear and stir up the world.
He hadn’t been able to participate before due to his lack of ability, but now he could.
The company would try to monopolize them, but they couldn’t have them all.
This time, he would make sure to snatch up as many as he needed.
As the group approached the training field, soldiers who had been hiding appeared in front of them. They were there to keep civilians away.
Since the training field was a government facility, soldiers were stationed to guard it.
However, since they couldn’t harm the monster, they stayed out of its line of sight.
When the group showed their IDs, the soldiers looked at them with eyes full of admiration. Since it had been cleared in advance, the group passed through without issue.
Inside the field, they saw the ladybug monster positioned in the center of the soccer stadium.
The soccer stadium was already too damaged to be called a stadium.
Craters were scattered across the field as if it had been bombed. It was clearly the monster’s doing.
People looked at the monster sitting squarely in the center with slightly horrified expressions. It radiated an even greater sense of pressure than in the photos.
Yonghoon was the first to grip his spear and step forward. The rest of the group had no choice but to follow.
Having reached 20 meters from the monster, the group began to form a formation. It was one they had practiced dozens of times. But something was different this time.
Yonghoon was participating inside the formation.
Team leader Han stood at the front for defense, with the other Strike-type Awakened taking positions behind him.
And they slowly began to approach the monster.
“But can that shell even be pierced?”
Kangwoo looked at the monster’s gleaming shell with a nervous expression.
“It can. If you stab it enough.”
At Yonghoon’s words, the others turned to look at him. What he meant was that if you didn’t stab it a lot, it wouldn’t pierce.
“The Ant-type monster we fought before eventually got pierced after repeated stabs.”
At Yonghoon’s words, the others grumbled inwardly. His comment wasn’t particularly helpful.
When the group got within 10 meters, the monster’s body trembled.
It had sensed them. The monster moved its massive body.
Boom!
With a bursting sound of air, the monster’s body, which had been facing the other direction, suddenly spun around.
“It’s fast!”
Kangwoo shouted in surprise.
“Shield!”
At the same time, Yonghoon shouted to team leader Han.
Team leader Han reflexively raised his shield at Yonghoon’s command.
Crash!
The moment team leader Han raised his shield, a loud explosion erupted in front of the group. Team leader Han was flung through the group.
“Now! Everyone, attack!”
Yonghoon shouted to the group as he rushed forward. The ladybug monster appeared where team leader Han had just been.
No one knew how, but the monster that had been 10 meters away had suddenly appeared right in front of them.
The group reflexively began to attack the monster at Yonghoon’s shout.
Fortunately, after charging at the group, the monster was unable to move.
Jimin and Kangwoo, both Strike-type Awakened, pounded on the ladybug monster’s shell.
But the shell only got scratched or dented. Even when struck with their shining spears, it didn’t produce a hole.
Sunhee wanted to attack too, but Yonghoon had told her to wait for his signal, so she could only stomp her feet in frustration.
Meanwhile, Yonghoon was running alongside the monster, slashing at its legs with his spear.
The monster’s legs weren’t cut off, but they were wounded and began to bleed.
“Gwaaaargh!”
The ladybug monster let out a terrible scream. It was clearly in pain.
‘That takes care of its charge attack.’
Yonghoon thought as he slashed the third leg.
The ladybug monster’s small legs were a major problem when it came to moving its heavy body.
If it were a D-rank or C-rank, it could have compensated with enhanced physical abilities, but an E-rank didn’t have that level of physical power.
However, this ladybug monster had solved that problem with its own unique ability.
All over its body were gas exhaust organs. The ladybug monster used propulsion from these gas exhaust organs to move.
The rapid spin just now and the charge toward the group had both used that mechanism.
It was essentially a rocket-propelled monster.
But gas propulsion required gas. Once used, it took time to recharge.
Just earlier, it had run out of gas and couldn’t move.
And now, the gas was fully recharged.
Boom!
With a tremendous sound, dust exploded from where the monster had been, and the group was blasted in all directions. It was like being swept up in a massive storm.
Sunhee, who was the farthest away and got up first, was startled by what she saw.
“The monster’s gone!”
The others were also shocked by her words and looked ahead. The monster that had been right in front of them was nowhere to be seen.
“It’s above us.”
Team leader Han, who had been flung far away, was pointing to the sky.
Everyone looked up at the sky.
The ladybug was flying in the air. No, it had jumped into the air. The ladybug had launched its massive body dozens of meters up and spread its wings wide.
Its antennae were twitching wildly.
With its legs injured, the ladybug had switched to jumping as its mode of movement.
And the ladybug plummeted downward like a missile. Its target was Yonghoon, who had wounded its legs.
Now they understood why the entire training field was full of craters.
“Dodge!”
Sunhee screamed.
But Yonghoon smiled as he looked at the monster falling toward him.