NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Seoul Station, Unlucky Event – 3
In front of Seoul Station, on the Han River Road.
At that moment, not a single car was on that 10-lane road back and forth.
It was because right after an incident occurred inside Seoul Station, it was fully controlled by AMT.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-
However, the sky was more bustling than usual.
News helicopters and drones were hovering abundantly, and the sound of their rotors echoed loudly, making the air near Seoul Station vibrate.
Then, military trucks started to line up and move along that empty road.
"…1st Battalion is entering!"
The AMT unit stationed at Namsan was the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Airborne Brigade.
"Move quickly! Run! Run!"
The trucks stopped along the road, and the troops that disembarked lined up in the station square.
A total of 186 troops, the entire strength of the 1st Battalion, had gathered in one place.
"Damn it! Tell them to move those helicopters! It's deafening!"
A man with a rugged face shouted as he walked towards Seoul Station.
It was Lieutenant Colonel Moon Tae-ho, the 'Metropolitan Magic Control Officer' of the 1st Battalion.
He scowled and looked up.
"Of all places, an unlucky event at Seoul Station? This is insane…"
A black dome, as if a giant lid, was covering part of Seoul Station.
And floating on its surface were some numbers…
[ 05:41:11 ]
A clock, no, it was a countdown.
"Salute! Control Officer, shall we gather the magicians to prepare for siege magic?"
Captain Kwak Yong-jun, the company commander, asked as he ran up.
Siege magic, in simple terms, meant large-scale magic that many magicians had to cast simultaneously, and in AMT, a specialist called the 'Metropolitan Magic Control Officer' controlled the entire process.
"No, we can't break that. It's a rule created by the system, not magic. Unless we overturn the system… we have no choice but to wait until the time runs out."
Today, the world is ruled by the rules of the 'game'.
But above that is the 'system' that controls the game.
How could humanity, who couldn't even control the game, challenge the realm of the system?
Lieutenant Colonel Moon Tae-ho clicked his tongue and shook his head.
A renewed sense of helplessness surged within him.
"So… do we only have the option to enter with personnel of the appropriate level?"
Captain Kwak Yong-jun asked with concern.
It was estimated that there were more than 800 civilians isolated inside.
However, unless they broke the dome, there were limited ways to enter.
No, there was only one way.
To follow the entrance level restriction.
'The entry rule is for level 15 and below…'
In simple terms, it meant they had to form a rescue team made up only of beginners.
"…That's not something I can decide."
Lieutenant Colonel Moon Tae-ho knew very well that such a rescue team might end up being a suicide squad.
That's when it happened.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-
A helicopter landed in the station square.
From within, a soldier wearing sunglasses, Battalion Commander Kim Kang-seok, disembarked.
"Salute!"
The battalion staff lined up in front of him.
Kim Kang-seok took off his sunglasses and nodded.
"Company Commander of the 1st Company, Company Commander of the 2nd Company, how many troops do we have that can enter the dome, that is, troops level 15 or below? Please tell me the maximum."
Kim Kang-seok was also considering the only method.
"Yes! The 1st Company has a total of 10!"
"The 2nd Company… 8!"
"…"
Hearing the two company commanders' reports, the battalion commander's expression darkened.
Combining the two combat companies, there were only a total of 18 troops. As the headquarters company mostly consisted of non-combatant players, it was practically without combat forces.
"How many are there from the Cheonghwa Guild?"
At Kim Kang-seok's words, a man in plain clothes standing nearby stepped forward.
He was Lee Jun-yeol, the executive officer of the
"We have our youngest member, which practically means none. Unless they're a promising player, there's no need for the guild to have many players below level 15… Honestly, isn't it too risky to ask our youngest to go in there alone?"
Given this, the proportion of players trained to tackle 'major monster events' that were below level 15 was bound to be quite low.
It's a game. Thus, as one gains real-world experience, their level naturally rises, and reaching around level 15 is something that can be achieved within the first year of AMT service.
"We've urgently requested support from various places with troops below level 15… but it seems like it will take some time."
A support officer of the rank of captain reported,
And Kim Kang-seok nodded, turning his gaze to the operations officer.
"Operations Officer, prepare all players under level 15 from each battalion."
"…Are we forcefully executing the rescue operation?"
"We must. How many lives are at stake inside? Does it make sense to prioritize our lives first?"
Kim Kang-seok said this, looking at Lee Jun-yeol, the executive officer of the Cheonghwa Guild.
"…"
Lee Jun-yeol turned his gaze away with a grimace.
The Cheonghwa Guild might have possessed more powerful forces than the AMT, but they couldn't exert their strength in such an unpredictable situation.
"Yes! We will immediately summon the respective troops!"
Shortly after, troops under level 15 gathered.
As expected, members of both the 1st and 2nd Companies were mostly from the 'Support Squad' who lacked combat experience.
Especially, the 5th platoon of the 1st Company, even the highest-ranking member An Min-tae was exactly level 15, essentially all had assembled.
However, there was one officer mixed in.
It was Lieutenant Lee Hee-min, the 2nd Platoon Leader of the 1st Company, who was also precisely level 15.
"2nd Platoon Leader, Lieutenant Lee Hee-min, will be appointed as the field commander of this operation."
Despite his low level, he was a C-grade player.
The reason was simple.
The player ability he possessed, 'Tracker', was highly valued.
In this way, the 'player grade' wasn't determined by the system.
"2nd Platoon Leader, Lieutenant Lee Hee-min."
Kim Kang-seok approached him, calling out his rank and name.
"Yes! 2nd Platoon Leader! I, I'm waiting for orders!"
Seeing Lee Hee-min, somewhat overly tense, Kim Kang-seok's left eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Stay calm. Over 800 lives are hanging on the end of the 2nd Platoon Leader's gun."
"…"
"Ah, and I heard two soldiers under your command are inside Seoul Station."
"Yes! That's right!"
They were Deputy Platoon Leader Choi Seon-ah and 5th Squad Leader Lee Hyunwook from the 2nd Platoon.
"If you can successfully join them, it will be a considerable help."
"Ah… Yes! I understand!"
Kim Kang-seok openly showed his high regard for Lee Hyunwook.
Lee Hee-min honestly felt a little overwhelmed, and that emotion fleetingly showed on his face.
When Kim Kang-seok signaled, two soldiers brought a duffel bag.
Inside were the weapons of Lee Hyunwook and Choi Seon-ah.
"And one more command."
"Yes!"
"Actively accept the opinions of Corporal Lee Hyunwook."
* * *
The 3rd-floor waiting room of Seoul Station for KTX/regular trains had a terrace shape overlooking the 2nd-floor waiting room.
There was a corridor connecting to the department store on the inside, but it was also blocked due to the 'dome'.
Survivors gathered as far inside as possible, that is, near the Seoul Station food court.
"We have to block the monsters from coming up to this 3rd floor since the gate opened on the 2nd floor," said the station security team leader.
It was a simple yet challenging command.
But it was the only way.
To his words, Lee Hyunwook added with a nod, "We need to block off the stairs and escalators. And soon, the second wave will start."
"Damn, the second wave will be several times larger than the first one…"
The station security personnel had struggled with just two venom-armored spiders.
The second and third waves would release at least three or four times that number.
Everyone was silent, the atmosphere as solemn as a funeral portrait studio.
Fortunately, among the citizens isolated here, there were a few 'players'.
However…
"I'm a C-grade 4-tier warrior, but I can't fight without my weapon."
"I'm an archer class, but without my weapon, I'm practically a civilian."
"I have a trait as an appraiser, so I'm not much for combat…"
A warrior and archer without weapons, and a non-combat appraiser…
It wasn't much of a force.
"Would you use this, by any chance?"
One of the security personnel drew a dagger from his waist and offered it to the warrior player.
"It's not just enchanted; it's made of magical metal."
"Tch, I usually use a greatsword, but a dagger… Well, it's better than nothing."
But facing a massive creature like the 'venom-armored spider' with that was nonsensical.
"When we fought earlier, physical attacks seemed to have almost no effect. Magic seemed to work, though…"
Their observations were accurate.
The venom-armored spider had extremely high 'physical damage resistance'.
"Right, so we should try to focus our magical attacks on one part of its shell, then destroy that shell and concentrate our physical attacks on that spot, hmm…"
"Then, looking at their corpses, it seemed the thinnest part of their shell was around the tail. Maybe focusing our attack there will give us the highest chance of success."
They began devising a strategy in this manner.
The reason tactics against large monsters were called "raids" was precisely for this reason.
Facing a powerful monster head-on would almost always result in defeat.
Understanding the characteristics of the opposing monster and finding its weaknesses, then establishing a 'method of capture' and practicing it repeatedly was the best strategy a player could employ.
"Ideally, it would be great if that wounded soldier over there could take care of everything, but that would be too much to ask."
But in the end, all of them were casting furtive glances at Lee Hyunwook.
The only one with a power like an affinity to break metal armor, his presence was their sole hope.
However, Hyunwook's attention was elsewhere.
He stood on the 3rd-floor terrace, looking at the gate opened on the 2nd floor.
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'From what I know, there wasn't just one gate opened here.'
The fact was, there were two gates opened within this space.
But no one knew this fact, and the damage was greater because of it.
This 'development' was something Lee Hyunwook, who had experienced this incident once, knew about.
'Right now, the only ones who know this are me, and…'
Lee Hyunwook closed his eyes.
Then he scanned the metals in the vicinity.
One piece of metal, or more precisely, a metal component someone carried, was leaving the 3rd-floor terrace and heading to the 2nd-floor.
It was a decidedly suspicious movement.
'…Villain.'
Lee Hyunwook had long since realized that there was a villain among them and had been keeping a close watch.
A little while ago, while the Seoul Station security force was responding to the gate, he identified the villain hidden among the civilians.
While everyone was in a panic and heading towards the entrance, spotting the man who was the only one turning his head and acting suspiciously wasn't difficult to deduce as the 'villain.'
And that very man is now heading somewhere on the second floor.
"Corporal Lee Hyunwook, is there something down there? You've been looking that way for a while now…"
Choi Seon-ah approached and asked.
"Yes, there is."
"…Huh? Is it someone separated from the group?"
Lee Hyunwook silently shook his head and then looked at the captain of the security force.
"Captain, could you come over here for a moment…"
"Ah, yes."
The two of them moved about ten meters away from the civilians.
"What's the matter?"
"It's not good news."
The captain swallowed dryly.
"It seems there's another gate inside this dome."
"…What? You're saying a double gate has opened?"
A double gate, as the name implies, meant that two gates opened simultaneously in one place.
"Yes, I've seen a completely different monster. It disappeared over there, but I think we should check it out."
While the double gate was a fact, saying he saw it with his own eyes was, of course, a lie.
It was merely an excuse to momentarily leave the scene.
"Ah… Can you handle it alone?"
"I'll just check. And if there's a problem here, I'll rush back to fight alongside you, so I trust you'll handle things here until then."
"Of course. Don't worry about that. After all, we're the station security force; it's our duty."
Lee Hyunwook nodded and then headed downstairs.
* * *
Yang Joo-seop was wandering around the completely empty 2nd-floor reception room and the shops of Seoul Station.
"Damn it! Where the hell is it?"
He had been informed in advance through a system message that a double gate would open here, but he didn't know its exact location.
And no matter how much of a villain he was, he was still human.
Walking alone in such a creepy atmosphere couldn't possibly be pleasant.
[ 'Unlucky Event' monsters within the area will not attack you ]
Still, this one line of message drove him to move forward.
'Sigh, if I complete this quest, I'll be promoted to a regular villain, so bear with it, just bear with it.'
A quest is an indispensable element that provides objectives in MMORPG games.
However, in the case of this game, accepting a 'quest' was only in very special circumstances.
And 'villain' was one of those cases.
[Hidden Quest]
[ Emerge as a small darkness lurking outside of sight…]
-Bide your time until the 'Venomous Armor Spider' from Gate 1 makes its 'nest' inside Seoul Station. (Failed!)
-By any means necessary, massacre more than 500 'civilians'. (In Progress)
-Deliver the item received from the elite monster 'Architect of Evil 11' from Gate 2 to the 'Villain Alliance'. (In Progress)
[Reward: Promotion (Official Villain) ]
A brutally challenging quest message hovered before Yang Joo-seop's eyes.
Although he already received a 'failure' verdict for the first task, what he deemed important was the third.
'Once I achieve the third task, I can finally encounter other villains!'
Up till now, he had been a lone wolf, tackling quests on his own, but the day he would meet the senior villains who had gone ahead was not far off.
The true rulers who are gradually expanding their power from the depths of this world's darkness…
Yang Joo-seop imagined their visage and chuckled quietly.
"Oh, it's this way!"
Inside a franchise hamburger store, a fleeting purple glimmer caught his eye.
The distinct glow emanating from the gate was unmistakable.
He took a deep breath and entered.
However…
"…Huh?"
Inside the store, under a table, a skeleton lay crumpled.
It was clearly a monster from the 2nd gate he was looking for.
"Huh? Why is it dead? There's no reason for it to be…"
He pulled out his dedicated weapon, a wand, from his waist.
Once more, he steadied his breathing and slowly stepped further in.
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Thud- thud-
In the spacious kitchen, a purple gate stood open.
Whoooosh-
Compared to the gate that opened on the 2nd-floor reception area, this one was noticeably smaller.
And it had to be. Originally, the dungeon's level was low, and it wasn't a gate opened to attack the human world but rather for a 'villain quest'.
However, there were numerous bone fragments scattered around it.
"Huh? What the hell is this…"
Yang Joo-seop realized that those weren't just ordinary bone fragments.
The elite monster from that gate, 'Architect of Evil 11'.
In the villain quest, it was clear that this was the skeleton-class elite monster designated to make contact with Yang Joo-seop.
Yet, this entity had been, quite literally, 'hunted' by someone.
"…Gasp!"
Feeling a gaze, Yang Joo-seop turned his head.
Someone was leaning against a wall.
"…"
A man in AMT combat gear…
It was Lee Hyunwook.
"You, you, you…"
Yang Joo-seop couldn't hide his astonishment.
'How the hell is this guy here?'
On the other hand, Lee Hyunwook was observing Yang Joo-seop with a cold expression, showing no signs of surprise.
He held up his right-hand chest-high, above which about 10 metal beads floated, rotating irregularly.
As if ready to be launched at any moment…
Whoom-whoom…
Yang Joo-seop surveyed the surroundings once again.
The dented stainless shelves, the sunken walls and floor, and the crumpled skeletons…
He could sense the potency of those metal beads without having to see their effects.
But something else caught his attention.
It was Lee Hyunwook's left hand.
In his left hand, a black key was gripped.
"That, that, that couldn't be… the 2nd key of the Akashic Weapon Vault?"
Raising the key-like object he held in his left hand, Lee Hyunwook tilted his head.
"How do you know the name of this item? I just obtained it after taking down that monster."
"What? Uh…"
Lee Hyunwook pushed off from the wall.
"You're suspicious. Acting oddly, as if you had an appointment with the monster."
"No, it's not that…"
Yang Joo-seop, taken aback, racked his brain for an excuse.
But then he realized there was no need to beat around the bush.
In any case, he needed to retrieve that item and meet with the Villain Alliance.
If not, it would inevitably…
[ Warning! Failing the 'Objective 3' will result in 'Game Over' ]
Game Over…
For a player, Game Over means death.
"…Sigh! Hey! You!"
"…"
"Do I look like a damn idiot to you?"
Shouting that, Yang Joo-seop raised his wand.
He was, in his own right, a tier-1 C-class player.
He had combat skills that wouldn't be easily outclassed anywhere.
A mere AMT soldier, although he didn't seem like an ordinary one, should be no match for him.
"And your power seems like you're controlling some tin cans and metal shards. It may seem somewhat useful, but unfortunately, it's a useless skill against me, punk!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Yang Joo-seop swung his wand to activate a skill.
Sshh-sshh-sshh-sshh-
At that moment, green tendrils, resembling plant vines, grew from his body, moving like tentacles, wrapping around him.
It seemed like a defense skill. It was as if dozens of boas were coiling up from his feet, entwining tightly around him.
Lee Hyunwook immediately stretched out his hand and fired the 10 metal beads.
Aiming for Yang Joo-seop's face.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-
However, vines sprouted from his back, blocking the metal beads.
The dense, moisture-rich vines could not be penetrated by mere metal beads.
At best, they only made a slight dent. Lee Hyunwook retracted his beads.
"Hahaha! See? Told you, you moron! Your attacks won't work on me, punk!"
Yang Joo-seop, feeling triumphant, shouted out loud.
His body was now completely covered with the vines, making it seem almost impossible for any regular physical attack to reach his core.
"Let's see how it feels to be on the receiving end for once! Hahaha!"
Sshh-sshh-sshh-sshh-
With that, Yang Joo-seop, now perfectly defended by the tendrils wrapping his body, extended a few for offense.
And through a small gap in the vines, he glared at Lee Hyunwook.
'Let's see the look of despair on your face!'
But oddly enough, Lee Hyunwook was smiling faintly.
And then…
From the corners of his smiling lips, and deep inside his throat…
Hiss-hiss-
Black smoke began to rise.