The Calm Before the Storm (3)
Administrative Bureau Headquarters. Amid the pitch-black night sky pressing down, chaos erupted within.
The top floor, the bureau chief's office.
"Damn it!!" —Crash! Alex Bankcroft, the head of the Administrative Bureau, hurled a vase to the floor. He swept the stacks of documents off his desk into the air.
"Poison gas? No solution? You incompetent bastards calling this a report?!" His face flushed beet red, on the verge of explosion. Gone was the poised, gentlemanly middle-aged image he projected to the public.
Damn it! My future! If only I could develop that volcanic zone, everything would fall into place!
The reason he'd launched this unnecessarily expensive operation wasn't some noble resolve to protect citizens from demon beasts. He wasn't the type for that.
The Kargas volcanic zone. Beneath that land slumbered an enormous trove of ore and natural resources—enough to sustain the entire autonomous region for a hundred, no, a thousand years. Surveys showed their purity exceeded any existing mine.
If I get my hands on those, I could control not just Piros, but the entire continent's economy.
To do that, he first needed to make the area safe, so he'd pushed the operation through despite his idiot subordinates' objections.
Yet now, some unidentified gas was about to ruin everything.
The bureau chief snatched a glass and smashed it against the wall.
"...Sir, please calm down. You're too worked up right now." —Slap! Alex backhanded his secretary standing beside him. Glaring with greed-filled eyes, he snarled,
"Find a way, somehow. You have three days. If you don't bring me a plan to clear that gas by then, I'll shove you into the pit first. Get out!"
"......Understood." —Creeeak. As the secretary opened the door and left, heavy silence returned to the room.
Alex threw himself onto the sofa, breathing raggedly. He yanked off his tie and clutched his head.
"Damn it... I was so close... Just a little further, and that jackpot would've been mine...!" His mutter hung in the air.
—Shiiiick. A chilling shiver crawled up Alex's nape. He turned blankly, but no one was there. The office looked the same as always.
...Am I too on edge? Hallucinations now? Shit.
He opened the cabinet, grabbed a bottle, and sat. He needed booze to shake off this foul mood.
Once this is over, time for layoffs. Useless wage-drainers.
Alex gritted his teeth and uncorked the bottle. At that moment.
Beneath his feet. The shadow rippled. Like a living thing.
It stretched long, and something rose from it.
"Gah! W-Who are you?!" Alex screamed and tumbled off the sofa. Spilled liquor soaked his pant leg.
From the shadow emerged a man draped in pitch-black robes. His face was shrouded in inky darkness under the hood.
"Is this the vessel of the so-called Administrative Bureau Chief? Human greed is as ugly as ever." His voice scraped like metal on metal, laced with blatant mockery and contempt.
Terror-stricken, Alex reached for the emergency button under his desk, but his body was paralyzed—he couldn't move a finger.
"Y-You... Guards! Someone out there?!"
"Scream all you want. No sound escapes this room."
The black-robed man approached slowly. He extended a hand wreathed in purple mist right before Alex's eyes.
"Great leader of the autonomous region. You crave power. Do you want it?"
"W-What..."
"I'll grant it to you. In return, you'll become our puppet from now on."
"What nonsense— Gurk!"
Alex's eyes rolled back as he tried to speak. Purple mist from the man's hand invaded his ears, nose, and mouth.
Alex flailed silently in agony. Moments later, his convulsions stopped.
He rose from the floor with grotesque cracking sounds. His eyes stared blankly, unfocused.
"...I shall obey your commands." Alex bowed his head in a monotone voice.
The black-robed man smirked in satisfaction.
Near Kargas Volcano. Right before the gas barrier.
I stood with arms crossed, staring at the dark crimson curtain ahead. Viscous, sticky gas enshrouded the volcano.
I'd come here since morning to test the gas's potency. Yesterday, I'd stupidly only sniffed it without exposing my skin.
I thrust my arm into the gas.
—Sizzle.
Not as bad as I thought? I'd braced for melting skin or worse, but the gas itself wasn't a big issue. Just a mild sting?
This time, I inhaled deeply right in front of it.
...Hmm.
A vile stench of burnt plastic mixed with rotting meat. Lethal to normal humans—even one breath would melt their airways and scorch their lungs.
But...
Not unbearable. Totally doable.
Unpleasant, sure, but tolerable. The sticky residue coating my mouth felt worse than the smell. Like a mouthful of cotton candy? Taste aside, of course. After a few breaths, my throat tingled a bit. Could be trouble for others.
But I could handle it. Me.
Seemed I could enter just fine. Right now, even.
"......"
I turned and left the gas zone.
No need to rush in now.
The gas was okay for my body, but no point forcing it. Might build up over time. I'd wait for an official solution; if not, sneak in alone at night.
Just need the core anyway. Level up on the side.
I walked through the purified jungle at the volcano's entrance. Defense teams guarded the crosses here and there. They greeted me warmly—impressed by Z-Team's exploits lately.
I waved once and kept going.
Then.
Hm?
Far off, behind a massive boulder in a blind spot, someone crouched. Short, stout limbs, solid muscles, bushy beard. A dwarf.
Who's that?
C-Team's dwarf warrior I'd seen around. Name was... Barin, right? Beowulf mentioned in a drinking session he was half-human, half-dwarf. Said his uncle was on C-Team.
This was him.
What's the old man doing there?
Curiosity piqued; I approached stealthily. Barin was engrossed, muttering obliviously.
"There, you hungry? Eat this and perk up."
He held a hunk of raw meat. My eyes narrowed at what took it.
A wolf?
A massive wolf. But not like any I'd known. Twice the size of a normal one, short coarse fur, saber-like fangs protruding sharply. And its aura was no joke.
Monster.
One from the books? I leaned out from the rock.
"Hey, dwarf sir, what's this?"
"Wah!" Barin fell on his ass.
The wolf monster growled lowly, wary of me.
"Y-You're that Z-Team tentacle guy! Sneak up like that and scare me half to death!"
"Tentacle? Watch your mouth."
Barin clutched his chest, grumbling. I nodded at the wolf.
"Feeding monsters okay? Even if not a demon beast, it's still wild."
"This Ash Hound's one I've raised since it was a pup. Wary of people, but won't attack unless provoked." Barin petted its head; fangs bared one second, tail wagging like a pup the next.
I voiced my question.
"Raised since pup? You look over sixty—wolves live that long?"
"You sure don't hold back on age. Anyway, you're right. Normal wolves max twenty years. But this is a monster, yeah?"
Barin stroked its back and continued.
"Monsters hold mana, right? Healthy ones live decades easy, centuries even. Means this one's still a spry youth. Understands speech, thinks for itself."
"Oh, got it."
New knowledge logged.
Come to think, Juwon called monsters spirit beasts. Old ones become spirit creatures.
I'd seen monsters as just strong wildlife. Wrong. Plenty I didn't know, even after time here. Need to study lore more.
"Anyway, volcano vibes are off. Beasts are edgy too. See that earlier—"
—......
Barin's voice faded distantly. My whole body tensed. Hair standing on end, chill gripping my heart. Like ice water down my back.
Bad omen. This feeling always meant trouble.
I turned toward the resort.
"Uncle, tell the defense team. Full alert, now."
"What? What's—"
Without finishing, I kicked off the ground.
—Boom!
Rock underfoot pulverized. Racing to the resort. No reason. Just had to. Instinct never failed.
Running, I checked my phone—missed call notification. Tapped to call Alice back.
"The person you are calling is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone—"
No answer. Maybe sleeping... but my Super Senses screamed otherwise. Something was wrong at the resort.
I accelerated.