Cleaning took quite a long time. It wasn't an easy task either. But for Youngtaek and Hyunseok, who had been coming here as volunteers for nearly a year now, it was something they were used to.
After finishing their cleaning duties, they headed outside to play ball with the kids as promised. The moment they stepped out—
"Uh, uh? Wh–what is that?"
Jang Youngtaek flinched in shock.
The space itself seemed to twist, and then something began to appear within it. At the same time, Hyunseok shouted:
"Get back!"
His voice was sharp, urgent, but his words were vague. The children in the playground, a few of the teachers, and Kang Pyeonghwa, one of the volunteers, all froze and just stared at him instead of moving.
"I said get back, now!"
Only then did the teachers and Kang Pyeonghwa notice the thing emerging. Their faces instantly drained of color.
The monsters that had recently changed the world. Everyone knew of their existence.
But in truth, ordinary civilians rarely saw them. Not pests like mosquitoes or mayflies, but the real threats, the ones dangerous enough to kill. Nationwide, the number of people injured by monsters each year was barely higher than the number of people struck by lightning.
And finding someone who's been struck by lightning around you is extremely rare. That was how unlikely such encounters were. To civilians, dangerous monsters were like natural disasters, something you only met if you were terribly unlucky.
So while they recognized it was a monster, nobody knew how to react. Not the teachers, not even the volunteers.
Woof! Woof!
It was a canine-type monster. Its shape resembled a Jindo dog, but it was much larger, its eyes burning red.
The monster bared its fangs, saliva dripping as it charged toward the children.
At that moment, a notification sound, one only Hyunseok could hear, rang in his head:
[Would you like to unfold the Combat Field? Y/N]
There was no time to hesitate. Just moments ago, Minsoo had been happily clinging to his leg and laughing. Now the boy was wailing in terror. Even the teachers' legs were frozen. If adults couldn't move, how could the kids?
"Damn it!"
Hyunseok wasn't the kind of man to play saint. Usually, he avoided situations that might harm him. He was the type who acted based on whether something benefited him or not.
But now, when danger struck, he ran headlong without thinking. Of course, he also opened the Combat Field.
Combat Fields weren't visible to outsiders. Like the notifications only the Slayer himself could hear, only the one who activated it, and other Slayers inside it, could perceive it.
Hyunseok sprinted forward, his movements ridiculous, leaping too far from misjudged strength, then landing awkwardly. Even when he tried to hold back, each step carried him more than three meters. His jumps cleared over two meters.
And then, he sensed it: another Combat Field being opened.
The monster seemed to be targeting just one person.
Kang Pyeonghwa?
Kang Pyeonghwa, the girl who had arrived late earlier. She was a Slayer too, apparently. But like Hyunseok, she seemed like a complete beginner. Though she had managed to open her Combat Field, she was trembling, utterly clueless about what to do. Her fear was plain as day.
Most likely she had awakened as a Slayer but never once used her powers.
Fortunately, the monster was focused only on her, for now, the children were safe. Hyunseok bellowed:
"What are you doing?! Evacuate the kids already!"
His voice thundered like dozens of amplifiers blasting in unison. The teachers flinched, then snapped out of it and scrambled to usher the children back inside.
The monster reacted too. Having been fixated on Pyeonghwa, it suddenly stopped, turned, and snarled at Hyunseok instead.
Hyunseok's entire body tightened in fear. Sure, all his stats were maxed at 100. By Ha Jongwon's words, he was basically a monster himself. But this was his first real combat experience. He had never intended to live as a Slayer.
The beast bared its dripping fangs, looking ready to pounce.
'Why isn't it charging?'
Behind him, Kang Pyeonghwa collapsed to the ground, sobbing in relief once the monster shifted focus away from her. Even that alone was commendable, her Combat Field had successfully drawn aggro away, protecting the kids.
Hyunseok, however, couldn't spare her a glance. His eyes stayed locked on the monster, both of them in a tense standoff.
He was terrified. Not just a little, but completely. Even rabid dogs were terrifying, this wasn't a dog, it was a monster. A beast cloaked in a shimmering shield. Its bloodlust made his legs shake.
Thirty seconds passed. Then he realized something.
'…It's afraid of me?'
He remembered hearing that truly dangerous dogs don't bark, that it's the frightened ones that make noise. Whether true or not, the longer the standoff dragged, the more it looked like the monster's spirit was being crushed beneath his own presence.
'Should I… attack?'
Countless thoughts raced through his mind. But he couldn't move recklessly. His control was unstable. He lacked experience. Just running here had been difficult enough. What if he struck and only provoked it further?
Just then, three sleek black coupés sped into the playground.
Doors opened.
"Hey! You reckless bastard!"
Relief washed over Hyunseok. It was Ha Jongwon, along with members of the I'UET Guild, operated by the major Hanjin Foundation.
Later he'd learn they had been nearby and rushed over after receiving a report. Either way, I'UET was one of the top five guilds in Korea. For them, this monster would be nothing.
Sure enough, six Slayers got into position, calmly and methodically surrounding the monster. Fully geared, they launched a steady assault.
Even though Jongwon's arm was bitten several times, the thick protective gear kept him safe.
After thirty minutes, the monster's shield shattered, and the Slayers' combined strikes overwhelmed it. In the end, it vanished, leaving behind a Monster Stone and some dog meat.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Park Sunghyung, Vice Guild Leader of I'UET, addressed Hyunseok respectfully. His strong Busan accent carried both confidence and presence.
Even without knowing his identity, Hyunseok could tell this man wasn't ordinary.
"Uh… I'm fine. Thank you."
"You were lucky. That's a relief."
From Park Sunghyung's perspective, it was sheer luck.
Rookies often became intoxicated with the thrill of awakening, recklessly charging into monsters. Awakening didn't make you a superhuman overnight. At best, it gave you the strength to break shields and a slight boost in physical ability.
The fact that the monster hadn't attacked Hyunseok was pure fortune, or so Sunghyung thought.
'Strange… why didn't it attack?'
Monsters filled with hostility usually struck humans without hesitation.
'I'll have to look into this later.'
Then Jongwon spoke up.
"Vice Leader, I know this guy. He's my friend, let me talk to him a bit."
"Go ahead. He must be shaken."
Sunghyung nodded and stepped back.
Ha Jongwon barked furiously:
"You crazy bastard!"
Thwack! He smacked the back of Hyunseok's head.
"Ow, fuck…"
The one swearing wasn't Hyunseok, but Jongwon.
"What the hell? That defense of yours!"
The Combat Field was still active. He had hit hard, yet Hyunseok's HP hadn't dropped even 0.01%. If Park Sunghyung had seen, he would have been extremely suspicious, after all, Ha Jongwon was renowned as the strongest in Strength stats. Fortunately, no one else was around.
Hyunseok scratched the back of his head. He didn't look particularly hurt. In fact, it was Jongwon whose HP dipped slightly, as if recoil had bounced back on him.
Hyunseok asked seriously:
"So… do I need to apologize? Your HP went down, not mine."
"Don't ask me, dumbass! I hit you and my HP dropped. What are you, some kind of freak?!"
Hyunseok shrugged casually.
"Go get healed by your guild's Healer. Why are you cussing over nothing?"
"You bastard. Break your friend's fingers, then act smug?"
Of course, he was exaggerating, it wasn't broken, just HP damage.
Meanwhile, the other guild members collected the loot dropped by the Jindo-type monster.
Hyunseok's eyes caught something unusual.
"…Wait. What's that?"
The Monster Stone dropped at Sunshine Orphanage by the beast-like monster was appraised at 2 million won (after taxes). Not because Jongwon sold it, but because the government itself set the official price.
Currently, Monster Stones, more precisely White Stones, were managed directly by the state. They had to be sold to the government, which controlled supply and distribution. Almost every nation followed this system.
The fact that a fist-sized stone was worth 2 million won left Hyunseok amazed.
"Earning 2 million in thirty minutes…"
"That's only because we took it slow for safety. If we went all-out, ten minutes would've been enough."
Hyunseok chuckled. Even if not exaggerated, it was clear Jongwon was playing up the perks of Slayer life to lure him in.
"Still, you only get like 300,000 personally, right?"
"Sure, but that's on top of my base salary. Thirty minutes for 300,000 extra, plus I can work outside the guild, it's great freedom."
"No thanks. Not interested."
"Forget that, aren't you practicing control at all? What if a real crisis comes and you can't use that power?"
"I'm practicing. It's just… not easy."
He hadn't trained obsessively, but he had practiced. Still, mastering such overwhelming stats required more time.
"Alright. If I find an item that suits you, I'll bring it."
"An item for me?"
"You know, things like martial arts manuals or combat techniques."
"Don't bother. With this strength, even if I learned, I'd probably smash someone or something by accident."
"…Fair point."
Monster hunts sometimes dropped rare manuals, called Skill Books. They weren't legendary, but useful enough. Problem was, the drop rate was abysmal.
'With just his fists, Hyunseok could wreck most monsters…'
Jongwon desperately wanted to drag him into the Slayer world. With stats like his, Hyunseok would be a storm in the ranks. It was a pity he lacked the will.
And then, three more months passed.
Autumn gave way toward winter, and Hyunseok grew more comfortable with his power.
He hadn't gone hunting, but he practiced using his Combat Field in daily life, even at home.
His Combat Field level had reached 7.
After the Sunshine Orphanage incident, he trained hard. Like Jongwon said, wasting such power without mastering it would be regrettable.
Another side effect: he naturally distanced himself from women. Not out of romance, but from that lonely emptiness that drove him to seek company. Now, training filled that void.
His Vitality stat (sexual stamina) had risen steadily, reaching 50 points. The part of him that once struggled to even rise in the morning now stood firm every dawn.
'Nice. Even chopsticks feel natural now.'
He had gained such fine control that even delicate chopstick use was natural again. Smiling with satisfaction, he answered a ringing phone.
Then he roared into it:
"What kind of bullshit is this?!"
(End of Chapter 6)
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