Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Pterosaur-Type Monster
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"A monster right in the middle of downtown...?"
Ten years had already passed since I was transmigrated into this world.
Even now, whenever this moment came, I couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Everyone, please evacuate to the department store basement!"
True to this world where monsters appeared, the department store staff sprang into action the moment the siren blared, calmly directing people to safety.
If there was a shelter nearby, that would be one thing.
But for buildings far from shelters, this kind of evacuation was usually the best option.
"Excuse me."
People were lining up one by one to descend the stairs to the basement.
I, on the other hand, broke into a run in the opposite direction, slipping out the department store entrance just before it locked, by the skin of my teeth.
"C-Customer?! It's dangerous outside!"
"I'll be fine, so please get everyone else to safety first!"
Ten years ago.
After safely resolving the [Laughing Monster Incident] in Busan, I underwent Monsterization and was officially classified as a National Disaster Monster.
When the news broadcast "Korea's First National Disaster Monster Appears!" with footage of me on an aircraft carrier deck, my heart nearly stopped.
Fortunately, it was just some devilish editing that made it look like I'd attacked the carrier.
My identity hadn't been exposed, so I breathed a sigh of relief soon after.
'But because of that, I haven't been able to use Monsterization since...'
A National Disaster Monster was something that triggered martial law the moment it appeared.
In Korea, where monsters were usually around C-Rank threat level on average, if I Monsterized just to take down a few...
"U-Uwaaah! It's the Jamsil Monster!"
"A National Disaster Monster!"
"Tell the President to declare martial law right now!"
...it would undoubtedly kick off massive chaos.
Monsterizing me was like spraying a fire extinguisher to put out a single candle flame, so I hadn't done it once in the past ten years.
But that didn't mean I'd just sat on my hands, evacuating with everyone else.
I had the original story's knowledge accumulated up to the endgame.
"Kieeeek!"
Myeongdong Street, bustling with locals and tourists alike on the weekend, was now deserted.
It felt utterly eerie for a place that was always so lively.
That's when I snapped my head up at the screech echoing from the sky.
A monster with a colossal body far beyond any bird.
It resembled a pterosaur from ancient times more than any bird, and I could guess its identity.
'D-Rank monster Birdnight! They always appear in packs, so at least five to ten must have shown up together.'
Individually named Birdnight.
A flying-type monster about 3 meters in length, each one posed an E-Rank threat.
But their danger rating climbed to D-Rank because of their numbers.
They emerged from gates in swarms like pack animals and seemed to have some organ that let them signal each other.
If one got in danger, the pack halted their hunt and swarmed in for a group beating—what you'd call a dogpile.
'Even E-Rank, the lowest threat, means D-Rank hunters can handle them leisurely. Someone like me doesn't stand a chance.'
No matter how weak the monster, they were all dangerous to me right now.
To even the weakest Birdnight, I'd be premium prey they wouldn't even need to call friends for.
Yet here I was at the scene instead of evacuating, despite not being able to Monsterize. Simple reason.
'Found it!'
This was the perfect time for me to rack up the most growth points.
"Kid, you okay?"
"Waaah. M-Mommy... got separated...!"
"Got it. Stop crying now. Big bro's gonna find your mom for you."
"...Really?"
Monster outbreaks mostly happened in crowded urban areas.
So in the original story, whenever you arrived at the scene, there were always stragglers like this boy whose hand I was holding now—people who hadn't evacuated in time and needed rescuing.
And safely evacuating these stragglers gave you hefty bonus EXP.
Well, since the game had become reality, I couldn't see a stat screen, so it wasn't clear if it'd help me like in the original.
'Gotta do whatever it takes to get stronger. And if I know how to save them, ignoring it would be pointless.'
I knew the strategies for nearly every monster that appeared in Korea.
Knowing strategies meant I also knew exactly how to avoid them.
"B-Big bro... I'm so scared, I feel like screaming..."
"If you wanna scream, go ahead and yell your lungs out."
"Huh?"
"Those pterosaurs flying up there? They don't have 'ears,' surprisingly. Their senses are super sharp instead, but unless you're underground, they won't hear you no matter how loud you scream right now."
"R-Really?!"
The boy's eyes sparkled at my words.
All the shops had locked their doors, so I had no choice but to head toward the large shelter where evacuees gathered, as usual.
Birdnights whooshed overhead during our trek, and each time, the kid yelled at them to scram.
And sure enough, they just flew by.
Seeing that, he turned back to me with sparkling eyes again.
"Big bro, you're amazing! Are you a hunter by any chance?"
"Me? Nah, not a hunter."
"Really? Even though you know so much about monsters?"
"Yeah. Turns out knowing stuff doesn't make you a hunter."
Birdnights also hated dark places.
So we stuck to shadowy alleys, encountering more stragglers who'd hidden there instead of evacuating properly.
The group following me gradually grew.
By the time we reached the end of the alley and saw the road ahead—with a monster shelter the size of a World Cup stadium—I was leading a column of about fifty stragglers.
"Look over there! It's the shelter!"
"We're saved!"
"Big bro! You're the best!"
According to the setting, over 90% of people who didn't evacuate in time got eaten by monsters.
Surviving by reaching a shelter late was extremely rare, so this group was cheering like they'd won the lottery.
But the real problem started now.
"Kid. Think we can all just run for it?"
"...No. The path's too open. Even sprinting non-stop, it'd take about three minutes... Everyone except maybe one or two would get snatched up."
"N-No way..."
"Damn. What do we do?"
These weren't ground hunters—they snatched prey from the sky.
Diving at sports-car speeds with jaws wide open? You'd be dead before you blinked.
"Or we could just stay hidden in the alleys? You said they hate the dark."
That was an option, sure.
But if we did...
"If hunters don't arrive in ten minutes, we'll all get eaten."
"W-Why?"
"They hate the dark, but that doesn't mean they can't enter."
Right now, they were busy scanning bright urban areas for prey.
That's why we'd been safe so far.
But once they'd scoured every lit spot, they'd start rummaging dark alleys like humans raiding an empty fridge.
I estimated we had about ten minutes left.
"If the Birdnights find us before the hunters, everyone here dies in seconds. Even if we run, they'll smash through alleys to chase us down."
"Damn..."
"So there's no way out?"
"Well..."
If only...
If I just had E-Rank hunter-level strength, evasion options would multiply exponentially.
This seemed to be my limit.
Large shelter three minutes' sprint away.
Fifty-ish people to escort.
Including slow ones like the boy I'd first saved and pregnant women.
'Didn't expect the numbers to balloon like this... Why'd stragglers suddenly swarm after just a few at first?'
With fewer, I had more tricks.
Evacuating this many was practically impossible. No—straight-up impossible.
And I couldn't just ditch some to save others.
"Urgh...!"
Last resort: Monsterization.
Was that really the only way?
"Big bro... Huh?"
That's when it happened.
I felt the boy's hand, which he'd been gripping since I found him, tugging upward.
"Kid?"
He hadn't suddenly grown taller.
I turned, and everyone around froze, holding their breath.
A bird-like monster peering into the alley, clutching the boy's collar in its beak and hoisting him up.
The Birdnight's hollow black eyes met mine.
Turning to the boy, his face was shrouded in shadow.
Terror had silenced even his cries.
"B-Big bro..."
His small hand trembled in mine.
"Save me..."
"Damn it!"
My shout shattered the frozen air, filling it with screams.
The Birdnight whipped its head up, snatching the boy from my grasp in one motion, then gaped its beak to swallow him mid-air in a parabolic drop.
I'd been too complacent.
After succeeding a few times in the game, I'd thought I was hot stuff.
I should've been prepared for this.
No choice now.
I had to.
"Rooooaaarrr-!"
I wasn't cold-hearted enough to watch a kid die from fear of backlash when I could save him.
I roared, on the verge of transforming—
Bang!
"...Huh?"
The Birdnight's head exploding into a red pulp mid-bite.
A white-haired woman in a suit landed amid our confusion, cradling the fainted boy.
Sharp eyes. Haughty demeanor. And blood-red glowing irises.
My jaw dropped as she handed the boy to me, staring intently.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-Yes..."
Of course.
The original story was just beginning.
"You're Yoo Cheol-ran the Fighter Hunter, right...?"
"Yes, that's me."
Her name was Yoo Cheol-ran.
A Fighter Hunter by profession. She was the protagonist's senior who guided him when he first joined the Hunter Association.
And in the prologue battle, she died right away—a classic fake heroine.