Sweet as Honey Amidst Chaos
In the middle of all this chaos, things were sweet as honey.
At the entrance to Oryukdo Gate, people afflicted with the plague lay scattered like fallen leaves, their bodies too weak to even stand.
This was the situation across all of South Korea right now.
And it was spreading rapidly everywhere in the world.
Just then, someone descended from the sky. A man whose eyes flashed snow-white.
Sungjin Ahn, known as the Hunter of White Eyes.
He addressed the healing spirit. “Seraphia. Purify the patients.”
– Oh my glory, but even that would only last five seconds! They’ll get re-infected again.
“Do it however I said.”
– Oh my glory~ Imperial Cure.
Like Tinkerbell, the spirit darted around, tending to the plague-ridden patients. Those touched by the golden dust the spirit scattered briefly regained their breath.
But it was only a temporary fix. It could never be a real solution.
“I have to find a way to end this situation.”
Just as Ahn was about to enter the gate,
Vroom!
A Cybertruck roared in from afar.
Its identity was obvious without even looking. The guild emblem on the rear side. Wooju Association.
“Hwang Tae-san…”
Chairman of the Wooju Association, Hwang Tae-san.
Creak. The moment the truck stopped, a man like a tiger, old and fierce, stepped out of the back seat. From the driver’s seat, a long-haired handsome man emerged, also radiating the aura of a wild beast.
“Khh khh khh, who is this! Sungjin Ahn! How long has it been!”
Was it really a time to laugh? But Hwang Tae-san looked completely unconcerned.
“Long time no see.”
“Yo, you’ve been eating national rice and you look so much healthier. How’s Hyung Jeongdu?”
“I’m in a critical state because I caught the plague.”
“Tsk tsk, the guy who was chasing extreme damage even if he died soon ended up just like that. Rest in peace.”
“He’s still alive.”
“Khh khh khh.”
They shook hands. The two first-generation hunters, Ahn Sungjin and Hwang Tae-san, had been “comrades.”
In the chaotic era when the world was overrun by Gate breaks, they had weathered the apocalypse together, on the same side, facing a common enemy.
“By the way, look at these Babylon bastards. Tsk, they probably can’t make money, so they’re not even showing their faces. Money worms, those Noh Jang-cheon. Tsk tsk tsk.”
“We’re in a hurry. Let’s go in already.”
“Whoa, why the rush? Just wait a bit and we’ll form a party. When else are we gonna feel like this? Right? Khh khh khh.”
They might have to take down Oryukdo’s boss monster, Kalid. Even Hwang Tae-san would need a party to take him down.
“Here he comes.”
“Where?”
From far away, a motorcycle sped up with a VROOM! The man on it removed his helmet.
“Heh heh, just how far can your White Eyes see? I’m really envious.”
The rider’s flowing emerald hair fluttered in the rough wind of Oryukdo.
“Tsk…”
The moment he saw him, Ahn Sungjin couldn’t hide his displeasure.
Park Sang-yoon, the King of Poison. A hunter who worked at Dogda, but his fame was even higher because of it. He was currently ranked as the strongest assassin hunter in South Korea.
“Mm, a thick plague stench. Pretty rich, huh?”
He stepped off the motorcycle and approached Ahn Sungjin and Hwang Tae-san with a bold pose, delivering a polite greeting.
“Seniors, this junior is late. I’m sorry.”
“Yo, who is this? The Poison King who just kicked in the door to Wooju Association?”
“I’m the king, how could I go under someone? Still, thank you for the suggestion. By the way, what are you doing, seniors? Not coming in?”
Ahn Sungjin lowered his sunglasses and scanned Park Sang-yoon from head to toe.
When he had once evaluated this man’s awakening rank, he remembered a conversation with Baek Jongdu.
“This guy feels off.”
“He’s never lied.”
“Hmm…”
That was the conversation he had with Park Sang-yoon back when he was a newbie asking for his awakening rank. Something slithery and unpleasant, like a snake, had been in Ahn Sungjin’s eyes. Was it the tongue of a snake? Power?
The judgment was S-rank.
He had been born strong.
“He’s gotten even stronger.”
“All right, we’ve covered our bases with extreme damage and normal damage. Ready to go in?”
Hwang Tae-san put an arm around the Poison King and Ahn Sungjin and was about to enter the gate.
“Here comes another one.”
Ahn Sungjin’s White Eyes flashed.
From the rooftop of a distant apartment, a small dot appeared, growing larger and larger, until
Boom!
It landed precisely in the empty space of the Oryukdo Gate parking lot.
“Namu Amitabul…”
He clasped his hands and politely greeted everyone, then took the alms bowl from his back and smiled benevolently.
“Om mani padme hum…”
“What? Is this guy asking for money right now?”
“Amitabul.”
In response to Hwang Tae-san’s question, the monk Shin Gang-su who had been following him answered.
“I am the Nazarene Yoon In-pyo. They call me the Chan Master.”
“Kk, the Chan Master? Ttangjung, you are? Looking at you, you must be a tank?”
“Namu Amitabul…”
“They say you don’t talk unless you’re giving alms.”
“These new types these days…”
“Here comes one more.”
Ahn Sungjin’s White Eyes flashed again.
A small dot in the sky hesitated as if unsure whether to come or not.
Hwang Tae-san snapped his fingers, and the frightened monk slowly approached.
It was a little witch riding a flying staff.
Upon confirming his identity, the monk Shin Gang-su spoke. “S-class newcomer Maria from the Mir Guild. A fire mage with tremendous output; she’s risen as a promising young talent.”
“Oh? The timid type, huh? Don’t be scared, little one.”
Maria had no choice but to approach them.
“Too many… hee hee, should I just go home? Hee hee…”
“Totally a baby.”
“I’m not a baby… I’m twenty years old.”
“Khh khh khh, that’s a baby. Then with this six-person party, it’s perfect, huh?”
Nazarene Yoon In-pyo.
Golden Bulwark Hwang Tae-san.
Monk Shin Gang-su.
Poison King Park Sang-yoon.
Fire Mage Maria.
Spirit Summoner Ahn Sungjin.
One tank, two warriors, one extreme damage dealer, one normal damage dealer, one support.
A stable combination, it could be said.
“Mm? Wait a second, one’s missing… where’d he go? Die? Poison King…”
Park Sang-yoon had vanished without anyone noticing.
“Tsk, these new types these days…”
He had deceived the eyes of legendary hunters.
“Leave the stragglers, everyone, let’s go in. Go for Kalid’s head.”
Ahn Sungjin was taken aback by Hwang Tae-san’s words.
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
Yoon In-pyo and Maria looked just as confused.
“Namu Amitabul?”
“K, Kalid is cute though…”
Hwang Tae-san answered.
“Isn’t this too easy a quest? The plague host is Oryukdo’s boss Kalid, after all.”
“It might not be that simple. This is a terminal-level quest.”
“You’ve always had this tendency to overcomplicate things. Just kill everything and it’s done. Same back then, same now.”
“Your words are wise, Chairman.”
“All right, let’s go. Raid time.”
“Wait, no! If we clear it that way, it won’t work!”
“We’ll think about that when we get there.”
Hwang Tae-san and Shin Gang-su led the way in,
“Ha…”
Ahn Sungjin had no choice but to enter the gate. Once everyone was gone, the Poison King Park Sang-yoon, who had deceived even Ahn Sungjin’s White Eyes, reappeared with a swish.
He muttered to himself. “A narcissistic leader party? That’s one you’d better scout out. This is gonna be fun to watch…”
Finally, Park Sang-yoon entered, and a moment later, a car with loud red-blue sirens entered from behind. The moment it stopped, a man rolled out of the passenger seat and
“Uwek uwek. Pagaya, drive like that!”
* * *
Whether the word “honey” was appropriate in this situation before the end of the world was debatable…
[Skill level has increased!]
The rat swarm that had surged like a wave was nothing more than excellent experience.
Currently, skeleton soldier summon level 13.
The rat swarm raised the skill level by 2.
“Whoa, 233 skeleton soldiers…”
Thanks to that, the skeletons swarmed.
Of course, they couldn’t compare to the rat swarm, but
The named skeleton soldiers with stacked names mowed down the rats without mercy.
Changsik, who had stacked them insanely, was of course unsurprising, and Hodu’s savage biting and tearing of the rat pups was also outstanding.
Moreover, Geunsik, Minsik, and Cheolsik demonstrated tremendous combat prowess.
The bat swarm that dared to target him was a bit annoying, but since Hansik stood firmly beside him, nothing could touch even his hair tip.
Furthermore, Hansik had already activated the [(Legendary) Minotaur’s Ballista] that he had stored in his inventory after pushing his stats over 1,000 with 20-stack transcendence.
Pooquaaaang!
Pooquaaaang!
Each shot was truly fraudulent.
Penetration damage was the base, and attribute damage was added on top.
One shot from Hansik’s ballista created a roughly one-meter hole.
Pukwaaak!
“It’s all over.”
Stepping on the corpses of the completely exterminated rats, the skeleton soldiers proudly returned.
– This is impossible…
Along with the trembling voice of the plague lord Morvas,
[(Sub quest) Prove your worth] had been cleared.
– Proved… my worth…
“Not much to it.”
And, reward!
[Quest clear reward 150,000 EXP]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Highest-grade magic stone * 1]
A highest-grade magic stone worth around 3 billion won!
But more importantly,
“Huh… five levels?”
In an instant, level 10 achieved.
It felt brand new.
Breaking out of the single-digit level rut.
But that wasn’t all. The real thing was…
[The Skeleton Star is distributing the level 10 reward.]
“Eh…?”
An unexpected reward.
+
[(Active) Summon Skeleton Horse LV. 1]
– Consume 5 or more soldiers to summon a skeleton horse. (Movement speed +50% per consumed skeleton soldier)
– The skeleton horse inherits 50% of the combined stats of the consumed soldiers.
– Skeletons riding the horse will be promoted to knights.
– All stats of knights are doubled.
– Horses cannot be consumed as transcendence materials.
– Knights cannot be consumed as transcendence materials.
+
“Wow… a skill.”
The skill the Constellation had tossed at him as a level 10 reward. Uniquely, it consumed skeleton soldiers instead of MP.
And promoting skeleton soldiers into knights, ballooning all stats by 2x…
“This is good.”
With 233 summonable skeleton soldiers at skill level up,
“Five horses, one soldier… one knight, six skeletons…”
That meant up to 38 knights could be created,
“But horses and knights cannot be consumed as transcendence materials?”
If a transcendence-stacked knight died, the stack would vanish entirely.
Of course, the double stats option was multiplicative, so even one stack would give the effect of two, but…
“Good or bad?”
If only knights were made, transcendence would be impossible.
Transcendence was the core of the skeleton soldier combat meta, after all.
They needed to find the optimal value for knights and soldiers.
But for now, the immediate matter at hand.
– You who have proved your worth… receive my power.
Along with the voice of the plague lord Morvas, the space shifted again.
The ruins of Kalid were back.
I was still gripping the greatsword hilt.
[(Quest) Ancient Plague Greatsword]
“It’s over.”
Feeling like King Arthur who pulled the Excalibur,
Swoosh.
Unlike before, it was pulled out too easily.
The greatsword was drawn.
“End.”
+
[(Quest) Ancient Plague Greatsword]
The greatsword used by the plague lord Morvas…
*(More)*
※ Quest completion unlocks lock
Only those with qualification can use it.
You have proven qualification.
Unbreakable.
+
But…
“End!”
Feeling like I was holding a toy sword.
“What?”
No effect was felt, and
Whish whish…
Even swinging it felt like playing with a toy.
For just this one thing I pulled out…
“What is this! Why isn’t it ending? Emotion!”
※ Quest completion unlocks lock
It was still locked.
Anger surged.
The quest still hadn’t been cleared.
“Hey, Morvas! Stop messing around and finish the quest already! You rat bastard!!”
No response.
I thought it was over.
Frustration bubbled inside me.
“Uwaaa!! What kind of messed-up quest is this! What! Why won’t it end!!”
I grabbed my hair.
What more could I do here?
I had already done everything asked.
I had figured out the cause of the plague!
I had proven my qualification and pulled it out!
I had removed the cause!
But why was the quest still like this?!
▶ Time limit
38 hours 18 minutes 42 seconds
When that time passed, my father, Hyondoo, Taesuhyung, Kim Cheolgeun boss… everyone who had passed through Oryukdo, and everyone who had contacted them… most people in the world might die.
In a word, it was the end of the world.
I didn’t have the resolve to live in such a world alone.
“Stay calm. Stay calm. What did I miss?”
I read the quest window again.
Figure out the cause of the plague and remove it…
“The cause of the plague is…”
Yeah.
This greatsword was the cause of the plague.
“Then I have to remove this sword itself?”
Morvas, who had been silent as if he didn’t exist, spoke.
– No…
“I see.”
– Not no…
“Shut up.”
There, I gained certainty. But the problem was the Unbreakable option attached to the plague greatsword.
“You’re kidding…”
How was I supposed to remove something with an unbreakable option?
“Remove… remove…”
Even putting it in the inventory,
Nothing changed.
“Um, can I… annihilate this greatsword itself?”
– No…
No matter how hard I thought, no solution came to mind. With an unbreakable option, how…
Destroy the item.
Destroy it…
Would it disappear?
“Ah.”
That was it.
Synthesis material.
– Ah, no… don’t do it…
Correct answer.
“Shut up, you plague rat bastard. You’re finished now.”
Boom!
But suddenly, a tremendous shock shook Kalid with an accompanying roar.
“This again… what is it…”
Kuuu…
Kalid, who had lost consciousness, woke up.