Nest of the Fallen
Today was a business-trip kind of day.
“Isn’t this just the usual work you always do?”
“If it’s Pyeongtaek, that counts as a trip.”
“Just this once, cut me some slack.”
Back in the days when Mir Guild had been throwing every possible wrench into their plans, President Baek had poked around every opportunity, desperate to snag even one more gate contract.
One of those was the gate that had opened near Pyeongtaek International Market—the Nest of the Fallen.
By public transit it was over two hours away.
“That’s why I prepared a van, isn’t it?”
“You bought this too?”
“All thanks to Hunter Park.”
Probably because most of the five-billion-won deposit he’d offered had been returned. He’d gone and purchased both a coffee truck and a van.
“I’ll have to put out a job posting for a driver.”
“Yeah. Having the president himself behind the wheel feels a little off.”
“I have to drive the coffee truck.”
So he’d leave the shuttle van to a hired driver and come himself in the coffee truck, waiting until the raid was finished.
This president.
The man was truly, deeply serious about coffee.
“Hyung-nim. I’ll brief you on the way.”
“Got it.”
“The Fallen are said to be faded demons or demonkin.”
Humanoid monsters skilled in close combat.
High magic resistance made them a real pain to deal with.
Supposedly they ranked among the upper tier even for C-class monsters.
“Hoho. Mind if I put them to the test?”
“Keep it reasonable.”
Spells reshaped through Solar Eclipse were several times stronger than their original forms.
It depended on how the structure was twisted, of course.
Just the other day she’d obliterated a C-class boss monster in a single shot.
“With Noona’s firepower, it shouldn’t matter.”
Excuse me.
Seongsu-ssi.
Since when did Ingrid become “Noona”?
“If she’s stronger than me, she’s Noona.”
Hmm.
He had a point!
“Unnie! Looking forward to today again!”
“Watch carefully and learn.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Mijeong-ssi and Ingrid.
They got along better than I’d expected.
At the first training session Mijeong had been on the verge of tears from the difficulty.
Remarkable progress.
We passed through the market built over the old railway tracks and climbed the hill until the blue fissure came into view.
“We’ll be back.”
“I wish you good fortune again today.”
Leaving President Baek’s farewell behind, we entered the gate.
Inside, contrary to the name “Nest,” it looked like a medieval village that had been transplanted wholesale.
White hair and bright-red skin rose above a half-collapsed wall.
My eyes met the monster’s yellow pupils.
Death Space
Sir Isra burst from the shadows and immediately kicked off the ground.
Closing the distance with Mana Release, she cleaved the Fallen in a single stroke.
A white-haired head arced through the air.
Through the spray of blood, a pack of Fallen smacking their lips entered my vision.
【Leave this place to me.】
Armed Zombie Warriors upgraded with reagents and mana-infused fittings.
They butchered the Fallen with the axes in their hands.
“H-hyung-nim. Those undead seem stronger than before—am I imagining it?”
“I reinforced them a bit yesterday.”
“Whoa. So they can get even stronger than this.”
Right?
I hadn’t expected them to jump this much either.
Despite their numerical advantage, the Fallen died without leaving so much as a scratch on the armor.
The zombies already outclassed them in stats, and under Sir Isra’s command not a single gap showed.
“Looks like the trip down to Pyeongtaek is going to take longer than the actual raid.”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t contradict Seongsu-ssi.
I still hadn’t even called out Ingrid or Draco.
These were supposed to be upper-tier C-class?
Looking at the miserable state they were in, Seongsu’s briefing just wasn’t landing.
Gate clear.
This one would be smooth sailing again.
What could possibly go wrong?
Baek Seonghyeon unfolded a portable desk and chair.
Today I won’t be able to spare Hunter Park any fatigue.
Tch.
I really need to hire a driver soon.
He’d said it half in jest, but the truth was that Minho needed someone who could serve as his feet for the daily commute.
Actually, this is perfect.
He’d already been thinking of assigning a dedicated driver.
He’d simply held his tongue because he worried Minho might feel burdened.
Using the coffee truck as an excuse, he could naturally attach a driver.
A crisis is always an opportunity.
A faint smile touched his lips as he pulled out his laptop.
There was far more to do than just brew coffee.
Gate bids.
Reviewing advertising proposals from various companies.
Collaboration talks with the Rift Bureau.
Even listing only the major items made three already, and once agency work like processing byproducts after a clear was added, explaining it all would leave his mouth sore.
How long has it been since I worked this hard?
Claiming it wasn’t tiring would be a lie.
The intensity recalled the early days right after he’d joined Chilseong Guild.
Ding-dong—
The moment he powered on the laptop, a mail-arrival alert popped up.
Hundreds of unread messages alone.
All accumulated in a single day.
He deftly tapped the keys, filtering out unnecessary proposals, when one subject line caught his eye.
Baek Seonghyeon’s eyes moved slowly.
The Saint of Los Angeles is coming in person?
GGG—the largest guild on the American West Coast.
Two figures had made GGG’s growth possible.
Guild Master Yujeong Kim, a Korean-American.
And Sophia, the Saint of Los Angeles.
I know Executive Director Sophia handles most of GGG’s practical affairs.
They had already rejected the agency investment, yet here was another meeting proposal.
GGG’s weight class easily exceeded Korea’s top five.
The American West wasn’t exactly small.
A guild that had established itself as the largest across a domain ten times the size of Korea.
And the real power of a guild with that kind of foundation was offering to come herself.
They understand precisely how high Hunter Park’s growth potential is.
GGG, huh.
As a business partner they weren’t bad.
The Pacific Ocean lay between them, so heavy interference would be difficult.
Guild Master Yujeong Kim’s reputation was also solid—not merely the image projected outward.
In the early days of the Great Cataclysm she had thrown her own body into danger to save people.
He didn’t know what they would propose, but proceeding with a meeting wouldn’t hurt.
The mere fact of having sat down with GGG would raise Minho’s market value another notch.
Still.
I put it on hold for now.
Whether to accept this meeting was Minho’s decision to make.
They could talk about it after the gate clear; there was no rush.
He saved the GGG meeting proposal as a stored message, finished sorting the remaining mail at speed, and cut through the piled-up work with surgical precision.
Then, midway through, Baek Seonghyeon felt a wrongness and turned his gaze toward the gate.
The blue fissure was rippling.
That was the reaction that appeared when a hunter entered a gate.
Wait.
There was no one around—there was no reason for the blue fissure to respond—
“Damn it.”
He spat a curse and strode toward the gate.
“What’s going on?”
“Check the personnel currently inside the gate.”
“There’s no one besides the team that just entered.”
“Just entered or not—hurry!!”
Veins stood out on Baek Seonghyeon’s neck from the force of his shout.
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the Rift Bureau staffer pressed the gate-check device against the fissure.
Entry Limit — 15/15
“Th-that’s impossible!”
“Contact Rift Bureau headquarters immediately.”
“What on earth is happening?”
“There’s no time to explain. Unless you want to get fired for dereliction of duty, move.”
“Understood!”
Baek Seonghyeon ground his teeth.
Why had the number of hunters who entered suddenly ballooned by ten?
The answer was obvious.
Someone had slipped in afterward and filled the slots.
While concealing themselves with stealth-type items, of course.
It’s definitely the Superhuman Bureau.
Either subdue Minho and abduct him, or eliminate him.
In the former case measures could still be taken—if they simply sealed the entrance area they could recover a subdued Minho.
The problem was the second possibility.
If subduing Hunter Park drags on, they won’t hesitate to kill him.
With the entry quota already full, no reinforcements could be sent inside.
The Superhuman Bureau would have checked the personnel limit and inserted secret agents accordingly.
Please.
Hold out, Minho.
In front of the blue fissure, Baek Seonghyeon prayed and prayed again.
A gate that called to mind a medieval village.
The Fallen Medium waited at leisure inside the largest house.
【How insolent.】
“Shall I finish them, Master?”
【That one is mine.】
Sir Isra and the Armed Zombie Warriors advanced.
Even after cutting down dozens of Fallen, they showed almost no damage.
Scratches on the armor didn’t even count as real injury.
I hadn’t expected a situation where I’d need the Ring of Life to appear either.
Defense reinforced by mana fittings.
Stats elevated by reagents.
The combat power of the Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldiers had upgraded dramatically in a short span.
【I’ll teach them not to put on airs.】
“Don’t get cocky, you undead trash.”
Crimson light gathered on the staff.
Flame Spear
A spear of condensed fire mana hurtled forward.
Several times the volume of a Fireball!
A direct hit would leave nothing but ash and bone fragments.
【Slow.】
Boom!
Sir Isra shoved the air aside with Mana Release.
With an acrobatic twist she grazed past the spear and closed the distance.
“Stop her!”
The Fallen swung their weapons.
Clang!
The Serimis Magic Sword drew a diagonal line through empty air; the glaive’s trajectory twisted just enough to slam into one of its own allies.
A fluid sword style that shed the opponent’s force and turned it back on them.
The moment the Fallen’s weapons tangled,
“Guuuuuh!”
the Armed Zombie Warriors crashed in.
Crunch!
Clang!
Half the Fallen went down in a single charge.
“You worthless fools! Fight again!”
Medium Possession
A Fallen that had collapsed with its chest split open pushed itself upright.
Blood still gushed in thick pulses, yet its face showed no pain as it charged.
Almost like an undead.
【Take their heads.】
Crack!
There was no second chance.
Once the skull was split, no amount of sorcery would take hold.
“Y-youuu!”
【That is far enough.】
Just as the Fallen Medium began to weave its next spell, the Serimis Magic Sword brushed across its throat.
Blood welled and poured.
The Fallen Medium’s lips moved, but only the sound of escaping air came out.
Thud.
【How do you like that, spell-slinger!】
“Hmph. Master is the one who strengthened them.”
【Drawing out the full capability of the knight order is my ability.】
“So impressive. Really.”
Ingrid spoke in a sulky tone.
Honestly, it was impressive.
To set the board so that the newly reinforced Armed Zombie Warriors could display a hundred percent of their specs.
I hadn’t expected Sir Isra and the knight order alone to clean house without a single casualty.
You have cleared the Nest of the Fallen.
Grade — SSS
Even without Ingrid stepping in, we had stormed through the gate at an absurd speed.
Maybe it was worth aiming for an SSS-grade clear on a B-class gate too?
I should ask President Baek to find a B-class that didn’t hit the entry limit.
“Hyung-nim. Then I’ll start the cleanup.”
“Yeah, go ahea—”
A chill raced down my spine.
“Ingrid.”
“Yes!”
Shield
Crunch!
The barrier shattered into fragments.
Even so, it had done its job.
The dagger flying for Seongsu-ssi’s throat lost all momentum and clattered to the ground.
“Huk!”
Seongsu-ssi collapsed onto the floor.
This was nothing like a Fallen’s weapon.
Well, damn.
I never expected uninvited guests to be trailing us.
“Why don’t you come out instead of hiding?”