Bang-!
The car exploded.
Through the rising fire and smoke, a pair of monster’s red eyes flared.
“Oh no… Run away!”
“It’s a Werewolf!”
“Are there any players here above level 100?”
“Out of the way! It’ll kill you!”
From behind the red eyes, more monsters popped out.
One? Two?
No.
The gate opened, and all the monsters within it poured out.
Tens of thousands.
Slimes, goblins, werewolves, giant snakes… all kinds of monsters poured out and started attacking.
“Damn it… At least, let’s kill off the goblins!”
Courageous players pulled out their weapons.
“Kieek!”
“What? Are you so scared of level 10 monsters?”
“Don’t you know what our level is? 120. But there are hundreds of goblins…”
Quazzik-!
In an instant, the man’s upper body disappeared before he could even finish his sentence.
“Huh?”
The other guy looked up at the giant monster chewing up his friend’s upper body.
A Giant Snake with shining red eyes.
“Fuck… A Giant Snake…”
Quazzik-!
The monster slithered away after eating the man, its giant body slipping through buildings.
The city looked like a war zone.
Players were fighting in different places.
There were battles that were won, but in most places, there was only confusion and loss.
The situation was better in places close to guild headquarters.
“Tankers take some time from the front. Rear dealers do the right support.”
Runanculus Guild was dealing with the monsters systematically.
“East, people are coming. Clear the barricade. Support, fire on the werewolves.”
The same was true of the Royal Family.
Each guild’s top priority was securing its headquarters.
The Taewang Guild players also quickly cleaned up the area around their headquarters, while their leaders assessed the situation.
“It is believed that gates have been opened in Seoul and in places within the Korean Peninsula, as well as in most parts of East Asia such as Japan and China.”
“The same goes for Europe. Sudden haunts are causing great damage.”
Intelligence reports were coming in one after another from the Taewang Guild’s branches all over the world.
“Call the offices. Make a stronghold and make the most defensive movements. Also, open underground bunkers to accommodate as many citizens as possible.”
“Okay.”
“Also, run Operation E. All battles should be controlled by each station.”
Operation E.
An emergency operation is made in preparation for large scale monster appearance.
Even when it was not in effect, it required enormous funds just to maintain it.
So, there were many opinions that it had to be shut down.
However, because of Park Tae-sung’s strong will, it continued.
Now, in such a catastrophic situation, his judgment and foresight once again proved brilliant.
“What about Class A players?”
Class A players refer to those with level 300 or higher.
They were the main forces of the guilds.
Of course, they were under special instructions in crisis situations.
“Currently, 132 people are located in Seoul, of which 82 are gathered here in the headquarters. The other 50 people have been contacted.”
“Is the location of Kang Jin-woo confirmed?”
“Yes. I got in touch with him five minutes ago. He’s currently fighting monsters at Seokchon Lake in Jamsil.”
“Is it possible to watch him right now?”
“Yes. It is possible to request access through the police database for CCTV access. Shall we send a request?”
Park Tae-sung nodded.
Soon, the TV in the conference room was turned on, and the CCTV video was broadcast.
Seokchon Lake did not have its usual peaceful atmosphere.
The city was destroyed by monsters. There were fires in buildings everywhere.
The streets were also lined with corpses, reminiscent of a battlefield.
However, Jin-woo wasn’t on the screen.
After switching to several cameras around the area, they finally saw him.
He was leading the citizens to safety.
Park Tae-sung immediately gave instructions to his staff.
“Send a rescue team, and bring Kang Jin-woo to the headquarters.”
“Okay.”
“Divide into teams and deal with the monsters starting from areas close to the headquarters. The VIP team should start securing the President and other key government officials.”
“Yes!”
The Taewang Guild started moving quickly.
* * *
Kiik-!
The underground parking lot of the headquarters of the Taewang Guild.
Dozens of vehicles stopped, and people got off.
Among them was Jin-woo.
“Jin-woo!”
He turned his head to the familiar voice and saw Han Yu-ra running towards him.
“Yu-ra! Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I was in the headquarters when it started. Sun-woo, it’s been a while.”
“Hello.”
They talked while following her to the elevator.
“I saw the news on the internet, was that real? Gates all over the world have opened?”
“It’s true. Both of you received notifications, right?”
“Yes… that we have cleared the tutorial…”
“That notification appeared to people all over the world. Then, the gates all opened and monsters poured out.”
“All the gates?!”
Han Yu-ra nodded.
It was an insane situation.
The number of gates spreads all over the world has not been accurately determined because of their sheer number.
The total number of monsters that were unleashed must be astronomical.
“Currently, every government has declared martial law. The same goes for our country.”
Tanks and soldiers were on the street.
“The government is also requesting cooperation from guilds.”
Jin-woo nodded.
No matter how many soldiers the government has, they cannot deal with all monsters.
Soldiers have also been trained to hunt monsters, but training and real-life application were different.
The guilds and the players were the professionals in this situation.
“What are we supposed to do?” Jin-woo asked.
“Of course, we’re complying with the request. We also have a manual for this situation.”
“We’re ready for this?”
“Yes. The Master foresaw that the gates won’t remain stable forever. So, he wrote a manual and had our players trained for an emergency.”
“I didn’t get that training.”
“It was a specialized team.”
The elevator stopped, and Yu-ra led them to the control room.
“This way.”
She opened the door to a room filled with dozens of monitors. On them were CCTV footages of the entire Seoul area.
“Team 3, over fifty people in the subway station are waiting for rescue. Level 50, level 100, and level 150 monsters have been sighted, so please be careful.”
“There are about a hundred people trapped in the department store. There is a banshee in the department store lobby, so we need to clean up the monsters first.”
Information and instructions were quickly exchanged. The rescue was progressing smoothly.
“The system is well-organized.”
“They were trained for this.”
Then, Park Tae-sung walked in along with some guild officers.
“Jin-woo, thank you for coming.”
“What the hell is going on?” Jin-woo couldn’t hide his frustration at the current situation.
Park Tae-sung was his usual calm self.
“What has been revealed so far is that all the gates around the world have been opened, and quest notifications popped up for everyone.”
“The reminder that the tutorial has been cleared?”
“Yes. However, since no further information has been provided after that notification, we are currently focusing on rescue operations and collecting information.”
Information was important.
Especially in a world with many variables like now.
“Team 17! Reply! Team Leader Han Ji-joon!”
At that time, an urgent voice came.
“What happened?”
Han Yu-ra asked the staff with a firm expression.
“I lost contact with Team 17 that were put into operation to rescue Yeouido. Mr. Han Ji-joon is the team leader.”
“Father?”
Park Tae-sung gave the order.
“Display the screen of a nearby CCTV on the main monitor.”
“Yes.”
Soon, the image of Yeouido Hangang Park was broadcast on the main monitor.
Many monsters were also seen in Hangang Park.
Lizardmen were the largest number, and various underwater monsters, including Sea Gorillas, were all over the place.
“Dad… Where is he?”
Han Yu-ra stared at the screen with an anxious voice.
Jin-woo felt the same. His father has been killed by monsters. He also had a personal relationship with Han Ji-joon.
The screen changed to saw people gathering.
“What’s that place?”
“This is where the Mulbit Stage is.”
There were around fifty people gathered there.
And those who were protecting them were the players of the Taewang Guild.
Among them, there was Han Ji-joon, standing with an enormous shield.
“Let’s check the surrounding CCTV to see what’s going on.”
“Yes.”
The screen changed again.
Hundreds of Lizardmen and Sea Gorillas.
Lizardmen were monsters with levels between 110 and 150.
The level is low, but the intelligence is high, and above all, they attack in groups.
Sea Gorillas were level 250 on average.
Higher-level Sea Gorillas can reach up to level 300, and they have an acid attack that could melt through anything.
Most of all, they belong to the giant species. They were hard to stop.
“Ask a rescue team nearby to support them. We will send Class A players from the headquarters.”
“Okay!”
Jin-woo suddenly spoke. “I will go, too.”
Park Tae-sung looked at him and asked.
“You just arrived, are you okay?”
“Yes. We can start right away.”
“I will go, too.” Han Yu-ra said. “This is my father. Shouldn’t I go to help?”
Suddenly, she pulled out her magical staff.
“Please put me on the team.”
They turned their heads to the sound of someone’s running footsteps.
It was from Kim Dae-sung.
“Dae-sung! When did you come?”
“I just arrived. I heard the situation. Please let me go with you.”
The three gazes turned to Park Tae-sung.
Three people with an average level of over 300.
Above all, if there was someone powerful enough to rescue those people, it was Kang Jin-woo.
Park Tae-sung nodded.
“Okay. Then, I hope Jin-woo will take over as the team leader.”
“Yes.”