The Beginning of the Cataclysm
A debuff of the plague has hit me... *eck*... all stats reduced by 80 percent... This is insane....
But why am I fine?
『The Ancient Plague of Doom』 has resisted.
『Skeleton Star』 holds high expectations for you.
『Skeleton Star』 promises additional rewards if successful.
How can that be? Skeleton Star is already counting on me to deliver an extra reward.
If the infected person... dies...
Then Doosik, Chairman Jang Jae-wook, and Guild Leader Choi Kang will all die.
A sudden countdown to death.
But I'm exempt.
Why?
The time limit... is less than two days away.
Cough... in the end... Oryukdo Gate too....
In the end?
Chairman Jang Jae-wook had been giving off the vibe that he knew something.
Chairman, do you know anything?
The problem is that the quest description is extremely unhelpful. Figure out the cause of the plague and remove it. It's telling us to handle it ourselves.
Chairman Jang Jae-wook answered.
There's talk that like the Malaysia Penang Gate and the Russia Moscow Gate, if you don't clear the gate properly for a long time, it triggers a quest that's impossible to handle. Clear.
Not long ago, the Malaysia Penang Gate hidden quest failed, and a massive volcano explosion accompanied by a huge gate break shook the internet.
Malaysia has over thirty percent of its territory turned into ruins, and an enormous number of people have died. It's still ongoing, and the damage is still growing.
The old Moscow Gate case was similar.
Then... Oryukdo Gate too... this quest right now....
It seems so....
A disaster, huh. Cough. How are we supposed to solve this? Even we hunters caught the plague. All stats are down eighty percent... *eck*.
Beep—beep—beep—
At that moment, every single one of our phones rang with an emergency warning sound.
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『National Disaster Response Headquarters』
『National Spread of the Doomsday Plague』
▶ Infected Targets: Hunters and infected who visited Oryukdo Gate within the past week, and anyone who contacted them.
▶ Infection Route: Airborne, Contact.
▶ Action Guidelines
- Infected, avoid contact with others and self-isolate immediately.
- Everyone, immediately seek shelter indoors, prepare emergency food and supplies.
- Avoid leaving the house, wear masks and protective gear to prevent infection.
......
It looks like it's not just Oryukdo Gate.
The damage was spreading nationwide.
Hansik! Turn on the TV!
When I turned on the TV, every channel was broadcasting news about the current situation. The entire country was in chaos.
Breaking news. An unknown plague has broken out nationwide, causing accidents everywhere....
New information just came in. The unknown plague is the result of the Oryukdo Gate hidden quest.
Hunters are all receiving the hidden quest at once... *cough* *cough*!
The Oryukdo Gate boss monster, Kalid, has been confirmed as the first host, and *cough* *cough*... if the cause of the plague is not identified and removed, everyone infected will die in two days... *cough*.
The anchor who was live-reporting the breaking news collapsed, and the cameraman seemed to have fallen too, so the video being broadcast on TV suddenly cut to black.
The screen froze.
The contagion is... that bad?
The internet was buzzing with the sudden plague disaster.
At this very moment, the only people who could be shouting on the internet were those who hadn't caught the plague.
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Yeah, the real one appeared now that COVID is over.
What happens to the quest if hunters catch the plague?
Everyone hiding in the corner and winning by accident.
What do we do... my dad isn't taking my calls.
Mom's been coughing nonstop T_T
Kalid survived peacefully for twenty years and suddenly pressed the human extinction button?
People are collapsing all over the place. This is real fear. People are lying all over the parking lot.
Wow, South Korea is the host of a doomsday-level pandemic.
No way, only hunters should catch it, why are regular people too?
We're going to starve to death because delivery can't be ordered?
Mom's coughing so I came out of my hikikomori life and opened the door... I think I caught it too. But mom smiled and said she's happy I'm here.
At that moment, Guild Leader Choi Kang and Chairman Jang Jae-wook collapsed onto the floor with a thud, having been enjoying the heat from the furnace.
Guild Leader! Chairman!
Their symptoms were worsening rapidly.
They could barely stand and could only manage to gasp.
Skeleton... are you alright...? Then... you have to solve this... it's a big problem....
He handed me the Mythic-grade [Doom Dimension Gauntlet] and said.
Cough. Take this. If you solve the quest....
!!!
His cough now brought up blood.
Guild Leader Choi Kang? One of the strongest hunters in Korea, and this is what happens?
This is unbelievable....
Hunter Lee Doosik... this is... a doomsday-level hidden quest... Penang and Moscow are... natural disaster level... *cough*.
Chairman!
Chairman Jang Jae-wook had lost consciousness.
What, what am I supposed to do?
Even I can't get my bearings straight, but...
Hyung... the butterfly... the butterfly... I have to follow the butterfly....
Thud.
This time Doosik collapsed too.
Doosik!
Hodu kept licking his body without stopping.
I lifted his upper body. His core was burning up, but his hands and feet were freezing. The spark was gone from his eyes.
Doosik!!!
Hyung... the butterfly....
Up!
I carried Doosik and
Summon.
50 skeleton soldiers who had been sent to harvest from Kalid's stomach finished their mission and appeared at once.
Skeletons. There will be more infected at Oryukdo Gate. Gather them immediately, isolate them, and take care of them!
Clack!
All the skeletons waiting in the backyard took the same submissive posture, and Hansik assigned them their tasks.
Guild Leader Choi Kang had already lost consciousness.
Eh? But....
What's going on? Now I realize Changsik is missing.
I definitely sent him with 50 skeletons to Kalid's stomach....
No way!
Infection level 50 stacks.
Right now Changsik is still alive and inside Kalid's belly.
* * *
[California, USA]
The goose father, Kim Cheolgeun, finally arrived in California after a 15-hour flight. It took another 5 hours from the airport to the house where his family lived.
He seemed to have caught a cold from pushing himself too hard.
Cough. Dad's coming.
Kim Cheolgeun, shoulders loaded with heavy shopping bags he swept the duty-free shop with, pressed the doorbell with cheerful energy as if he was about to give his family the best surprise gift in the world.
Ding-dong~
But at that moment....
[The Doomsday-level hidden quest has begun at Oryukdo Gate.]
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The Doomsday Plague
▶ Location: Oryukdo Gate, Korea
▶ Rank: Doomsday Hidden Quest
▶ Reward: The Great Sword of the Ancient Plague and Kalid's Trust
▶ Additional Reward: Full HP recovery for Kalid grants extra reward.
▶ Failure: Death of the infected target. Gate break.
Eh? What's this?
Kim Cheolgeun's expression hardened as he carefully read the quest content.
If failed... death? Me? Cough.
A wave of fever hit his chest. His phone began vibrating violently. Messages were pouring in one after another.
English messages from the Korean embassy and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....
Cough.
English was hard to understand.
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[Korean Embassy Emergency Notice]
Citizens currently residing in the United States: A highly contagious powerful plague that began at the Oryukdo Gate in the Republic of Korea is spreading. High fever, cough (abridged)
...... If you suspect infection, avoid contact with others and stay at home or in a designated isolation facility.
.......
...Cough. Did I catch it....
Who's there?
At that moment, the voice he had dreamed of as a child rang out from the house he had just rung the doorbell to.
My daughter. My precious daughter who I would never let anyone hurt.
She had been living in America since she was five and now couldn't even speak Korean properly....
Hello?
The voice of his impossibly beautiful daughter came through the door. The curtain by the gate window had opened, and she was looking around.
Kim Cheolgeun coughed and stepped away from the door.
Nobody. Sorry...
In an instant his fever soared, and the world spun.
It was dizzy.
Still, he had to keep moving.
As far away from his family as possible.
I... shouldn't have come....
With every step the strength in his hand holding the shopping bag weakened. The items he bought from the duty-free shop fell like Hansel and Gretel's cookies.
All kinds of Korean cosmetics that his adult daughter would like, and the old teddy bear she loved when she was four. The latest Korean smartphones for the family. Gifts for his wife, clothes for the kids... everything was the best.
But he couldn't pick them up.
Just... go farther.
Farther... keep going.
Eventually he collapsed with a thud.
Through the open curtain he could see his family's faces as they looked out at the situation.
His wife was there, his son too, his daughter too.
They turned their heads away so they wouldn't recognize him.
His vision was blurring.
Don't come out... don't come.
Soon the sirens blared from every direction.
At this moment the American news was still full of plague issues. The family saw Kim Cheolgeun collapsed on the street and slammed the curtain shut sharply.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness I came without warning.
At that moment his roaming phone rang.
The caller was his son.
Kim Cheolgeun forced back the painful cough and answered.
Eh, son, what's wrong?
- Dad! The news is in chaos right now. Dad's store is at Oryukdo Gate, right?
Never! Don't go outside! Cough.
- Is Dad okay?
Kim Cheolgeun hurriedly covered the mouthpiece and coughed up the phlegm he had been holding back.
Once he calmed down he cleared his throat and said.
Of course I'm okay! Dad is Superman. Just a sec, son, customer's here. Don't worry about Dad. Cough.
Kim Cheolgeun hung up on his son's call so the cough wouldn't be heard.
Cough, cough... never come out....
In that way the Superman lost consciousness.
* * *
When I left Breath of Steel, people were lying all over the street and skeletons were cleaning them up in perfect order.
H-heik... I'm... the grim reaper....
The street where people had fallen like fallen leaves was terrifying.
This situation is too terrifying.
Doosik... Doosik... you can't die.
Tears were flowing.
In the disaster text it said hunters who visited Oryukdo Gate within a week were infected, and everyone who contacted them too.
Tess-hyung, Doosik's family, and....
Dad.
Dad had a high chance of catching it too.
No... Doosik! Wake up! Where's the butterfly!
Doosik's fingers twitched as he tried to point again.
Kalid.
Kwa-kung—
Kalid was here, pounding his chest on the ground. I ran. With all my strength.
Keluk...
Even Kalid's cough had no power left.
He was suffering the same plague right now, and it had worsened sharply since the hidden quest started.
Now when he coughed a pink aerosol was sprayed. Blood.
Kalid was dying too.
Doosik. I'm here. In front of Kalid. Where's the butterfly?
Kwa-kung—
Kalid pounded his chest on the ground again.
The vibration shook the ground.
The butterfly....
Eh. Doosik, are you listening? Tell me.
Doosik forced his eyes wide open and stared at Kalid. I pressed my ear right to his mouth.
The butterfly... Kalid's... nostril....
What?
Kalid's nostril?
After Tess-hyung, Doosik was now talking about Kalid's nostril.
Kalid... nostril....
Breathing was rough.
The voice was full of something stuck in his lungs and throat.
I listened carefully.
The butterfly... entered....
Doosik!
With those words Doosik lost consciousness too.
No matter how much I shook him, his eyes wouldn't open.
Like a dead person....
His heart was still beating.
Stay calm. Stay calm.
Right now the only healthy person is me.
In the end I have to solve this situation.
Otherwise....
Everyone will die.
Thinking about the future where this doomsday quest fails stabbed my heart like a needle.
Everyone will die. All of them.
What meaning would such a world have?
Stay calm....
The butterfly had entered Kalid's nostril.
If Doosik is right, the butterfly always guides the right way.
Then....
Summon Oculus's Eye.
Oculus's Eye entered Kalid's nostril. Thanks to Doosik's help, it was the first time I had put Hansik inside Kalid's stomach.
With both eyes closed I could only see the field of view of Oculus's Eye. It felt like using an endoscope.
A completely dark place with no light, but Oculus's Eye had the 'Detect' property. Even at dusk it was visible.
When I arrived at the nasal cavity, there was a thick yellowish mucus. With every rough breath the holes opened and closed. Every time they did, the mucus clung.
Are even the infected people in this state?
Is that the trachea over there.... below is the esophagus.
If you pass through the esophagus it's the stomach.
I was sure Changsik hadn't returned, so he should be there.
First I had to find Changsik, so I headed for the esophagus. Passing through the long tube I arrived at the stomach where powerful stomach acid was gushing out.
Changsik! I wanted to call out.
But Oculus's Eye had no mouth.
The stomach was still full of items.
An enormous amount. At this rate it would take at least another 100 bags.
But in this situation inventory wasn't important.
Where the hell did Changsik go?
I searched the esophagus and stomach thoroughly, but couldn't find him. When I sensed something wrong I reversed back through the esophagus to the nasal cavity again, and
This time... I'll do a lung bronchoscopy.
Oculus's Eye entered the bronchus.