Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: 85. King (2)
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The Paju Rift was the most important rift in South Korea.
An enemy nation lay right next door, the capital was nearby, and above all, its intensity surpassed any other rift in the country.
Massive defense facilities had been built to hold it back, and right in front of the rift that would become the battlefield, a monster kill zone called the Dead Zone had been established.
Anyone seeing the Paju Rift for the first time marveled first at the rift itself—a bizarre gateway to another dimension—and then again at the sheer scale of the defenses arrayed before it.
Over two thousand fixed gun emplacements were aimed directly at the rift, while in the rear, hundreds of field guns and multiple rocket launchers stood ready to fire at a moment's notice.
There were air forces deployed as well, but since I didn't know the details, I won't get into that.
More than a hundred tanks were positioned there too—special models dubbed "dumb tanks" because their main guns had been downgraded to ensure they could penetrate even reflection fields without blowing themselves up.
Despite the unflattering nickname, they were reliable comrades who rushed out to form a second line if the front collapsed.
For smaller types, two tank rounds were enough to overload their reflection fields, and even medium types would have their fields neutralized after taking around five direct hits.
On this vast battlefield, eight thousand troops were stationed around the clock, but as monsters began deploying their electronic warfare capabilities to neutralize equipment, reinforcements steadily poured in until, by the time I left, the number had swelled to twelve thousand.
As a core defense zone, the soldiers here weren't regular conscripts but contract soldiers who fought for pay under direct agreements with the state.
Awakened forces were present too.
Eight Awakened of level 5 or higher rotated shifts, and there was at least one of level 10 or above—whose very existence was top secret, and even I didn't know much about them.
Old School Hunters like us were there too, but we didn't have much to do.
Artillery handled most of the actual fighting, and when waves grew too intense for them alone, Awakened Hunters stepped in to strip away reflection fields, allowing the fixed guns to do their work.
The soldiers gossiped behind our backs, calling us relics, but there wasn't much for Old School Hunters to do on a battlefield this massive.
Our official duties under the contract were guiding and leading the contract soldiers, plus preparing for any emergencies.
During my time in Paju, monsters breached the regular soldier zones exactly twice.
The first time, we handled it alongside dispatched Hunters, but the second was so urgent that I pulled back the armed troops and took the monster down with nothing but my two axes.
Hundreds of soldiers witnessed the first incident, but only about ten saw the second, as far as I recall.
Not long after, I left Paju and set off down the doomsayer path, but it seems a fair number of those soldiers survived.
Even now, three years into the war, some are still kicking and reminiscing about the old days.
"I saw you take down a monster."
It was probably the first one.
Well, contract soldiers in a rift zone would have far superior combat skills and survival instincts compared to civilians, and with hundreds there, it wasn't so surprising that one or two ended up as gang underlings.
"So that's why King summoned you?"
"..."
I neither confirmed nor denied it.
No point in saying anything; it wouldn't benefit me. Besides, I was King's guest.
The ex-soldier, a faint smile on his lips, led me to King's quarters.
King lived in a massive nuclear bunker built before the war.
"They call it Bunker No. 1," the ex-soldier said, glancing around.
"You can tell at a glance—it was designed for the president and top government brass. Should've evacuated the moment war broke out, but you know how lazy that president was. Kept putting off going underground, just watching and waiting. So the Chinese figured he'd hole up here and turned the whole area to rubble."
The ramp leading into the bunker stretched on long.
Potholed roads littered with debris were wide enough for two armored vehicles side by side.
At the end of the incline, a vast open hall greeted us.
A hole blasted open by Chinese bunker busters let in the night sky and starlight from above.
Seeing the bunker's scale, I could understand why a thug like him adopted the English word for "king" as his moniker.
These were the king's chambers.
The man meant to be here had died, his guards scattered to the winds, and thugs and looters had filled the void.
The deeper we went, the more people we saw.
Mostly thugs, but plenty of dolled-up women, and ragged laborers resting in the shadows weren't hard to spot either.
"This way."
The soldier stopped before a massive iron door that resembled a vault gate.
It stood slightly ajar, just wide enough for one person.
"Go in alone from here."
I nodded and stepped through.
Beyond the door, two women in thin, form-fitting clothes waited for me.
Their figures were stunning, but their faces were hidden under something.
Doll masks, those things again.
One wore a rabbit mask, the other a fox.
"Please leave your weapons here."
The rabbit mask spoke.
I handed over everything as instructed.
I hesitated a bit with the axes, but there was no helping it.
I'd chosen to come here.
After surrendering the axes, I eyed the corridor ahead.
Not luxurious, just tacky—cheap carpeting stretched deep inside.
Dim, murky lighting, and a strange incense scent hung in the air.
The two masked women led me to a room at the corridor's end.
I didn't need anyone to tell me.
King was in there.
The gang boss who'd carved out his own kingdom in this crumbling world.
Meeting someone like him wasn't in my original plans, but now that it was happening, it didn't seem all bad.
My heart was racing for the first time in ages, after all.
A single man waited inside.
About 178 cm tall, balanced build, perfect posture.
He stood with his back to me, hands clasped behind in gloved fists. Even if he'd been facing me, I doubt I'd have seen his face.
He wore a doll mask too.
"Skeleton?"
King turned to me.
A lion mask.
Unlike the women's, its eye holes were large enough to make out the shape of his eyes and sockets.
Rumors checked out.
An Awakened.
Proof: eyes faintly glowing in this murky gloom.
Black makeup around them, probably.
Likely for dramatic effect.
The only other thing that caught my attention was the smell.
Nice air freshener in the room, but my nose hadn't dulled enough to miss the rotting flesh stench lurking beneath the artificial scent.
My gaze drifted to a cylinder propped in the corner of King's lavish room.
Human-sized.
Something was inside.
"Sit down, Skeleton."
King gestured to a seat.
He personally fetched a bottle from the cabinet and poured me a glass.
Decent whiskey.
"I've invited plenty of board kids before, but you're the first to show up in person."
King stared through the lion mask's eye holes, piercing.
"You look surprisingly intact. Younger than I figured. Thought you'd be late forties, maybe fifties. Nah, screw it—with those old 'nagnat' memes and zero internet savvy, you wouldn't pass for that anyway."
"..."
"Relax, Skeleton. My rep's shit, but I don't screw over board friends. Take that water rocket punk who flexed by killing folks live. Defender, right? Didn't lay a finger on our board buddies. Did waste one thug on stream, but that was on him."
Whatever else, this King guy was definitely one of us board friends.
He even knew the old stories inside out.
"You contract Viva! Apocalypse! directly?"
I asked.
"Yeah, direct contract."
This guy's a 100% OG user.
Made him even more likable.
"True root user, huh."
I tossed out praise that didn't sound like me at all.
A chuckle leaked from behind the lion mask.
"Then why no posts back in the day?"
"Never been the posting type online. Did plenty as a kid, though."
King turned his head, lifted the mask just enough to sip his whiskey.
Not guarding his liquor, that much was clear.
Just didn't want his face seen, probably.
"Still, after settling in, I messaged a bunch. John_nenon, Dragonssi, Foxgame, and uh, Kyle_Dos—guys I vibe with. Even hit up IAmGJesus. No one showed. You're the first."
Suddenly, King let out a laugh that bordered on a snort.
"But why the hell'd it have to be you?"
He rubbed his neck, eyes conveying sheer exasperation.
"Not a single named user shows, and the one who does is some kid like you."
Thug boss or not, some things needed saying.
"I'm a named user too."
King tilted his head.
"What makes you named?"
"I am, though."
"Who the hell self-proclaims named status? This guy's not just clueless online, but IRL too..."
A clanking came from the cylinder then.
Someone was inside.
Whatever his twisted hobby, he'd locked a person in that iron tube barely big enough to stand in.
And sure enough, the scraping sounds echoed chillingly through the room.
King stood.
"Hold on a sec."
He approached the cylinder and pressed a red button on its side.
The scraping stopped.
King returned casually, like nothing happened.
"Oh, there's a guy inside. Told him to pipe down."
"A... person?"
"Predecessor."
"Predecessor?"
"Previous boss, something like that. Long story. Don't get the wrong idea—not doing it out of malice. He wanted it that way."
"..."
What nonsense.
No interest in decoding gang psychology.
What mattered was my real reason for coming.
I needed to meet Jeon Si-hoon.
But how, in this situation?
My original plan was to enter Sejong, bide my time, and find an opening to meet him. But judging by the city's vibe and this endlessly burrowing, sealed-off bunker, it wouldn't be easy.
"You're a Hunter, right?"
King asked abruptly.
What to do?
Better stick to the truth here.
Thugs lie through their teeth but explode if you lie to them.
"Did Old School Hunter work for a bit back in the day. Nothing famous."
"Knew it. Only a Hunter's got the balls to stroll into my turf solo."
King eyed me intently.
"One of my guys said..."
His gaze turned sticky.
Nothing good about this hunch, as King's words continued.
"He saw you take down a monster solo with an axe?"
No way he saw that too.
Only eleven witnessed that second Paju fight.
One of King's underlings, huh.
"Plus, you brought axes among your gear."
King stared straight at me.
"Hey, kill me just one monster."
This thug seemed like a massive egomaniac.
"I'll make it worth it. Pick any girl you want—one's celeb-tier. Handpicked her myself."
"Come on, where's the guy who asks a stranger to hunt monsters out of nowhere?"
"It's a favor between board bros. What's the harm?"
"What's the deal anyway?"
King flopped onto the sofa.
"You see that next-door hood?"
"The eroded city?"
"Yeah. One of our kids went in there."
"Which kid?"
"An Awakened."
"Awakened?"
"Yeah. Stupidly strong brat. Got pissed over nothing, stormed off, and holed up inside. High-rank Awakened are all psychos, huh."
I could guess who.
Jeon Si-hoon.
Half-built city, figures.
Made sense—per U Min-hee, he was a good, diligent kid. No way he'd stick around this animal-masked nutjob.
"Hm, kid rescue."
"Kid my ass—he's taller than me. Full-grown build."
"No need to hunt monsters. Just drag the kid out."
"Huh? For real?"
King shot up.
"You're seriously doing it? Skeleton?!"
His reaction said he hadn't expected me to actually agree.
I met the pitch-black eye holes of the lion mask calmly.
"Favor from a Viva! Apocalypse! Korean board bro? Gotta do it."
"This Skeleton prick..."
King seemed on the verge of a touched grin, then hacked up a storm.
"Kuhk! Hack!"
Violent coughs shook his whole body.
As worry crept in, he finally stopped, gasping ragged breaths and muttering.
"Ah, this shit again..."
He headed for the door.
"...Wanted to chat more, but body's acting up. Crash here tonight. I'll hook you up with a girl as promised. Tell her if you need anything."
The masked man staggered out.
I stared at the spot he'd vacated.
A stench had wafted from him just now.
Smell of the dead.
No—more like a zombie's rot.
For a split second, my old mentor Jang Gi-yeong's face flashed before my eyes.
"..."
No way.
Couldn't be.