This is a Boss?! # 5
This is a Boss?! # 5
"Nothing to be done about it, then. Do go and have a good time today."
"Aigo, I feel so bad about this. What do I do, Leona?"
"If you feel bad, have some jjamppong with me."
"Wh-what? What?! Spare me, please!"
Somebody save me!
"Hohoho, it was a joke. Why so shocked? You spice wimp, Geun-cheol."
"Who's a spice wimp!"
Honestly, that jjamppong was just over the line. I've never once in my life heard that I can't handle spicy food.
"Anyway, don't worry about the volunteer work. We can do it another time. Take care getting there."
"Hehehe. Yeah. You have a good weekend too, Leona."
I finished the call with Leona and slipped my phone into my pocket.
"Phew."
I have to be at the destination by noon. Then I'll be fighting the enemy. Kitty said she'd help, but I honestly can't shake this uneasy feeling.
Should I just pretend I don't know anything and ask Si-hoo for help?
"No."
I'm not that thick-skinned.
How could I ask a friend to do something so dangerous? Kitty is providing support anyway, so let's try to pull this off alone today.
You never know.
Maybe facing a special enemy this time will give me an effective stat boost. My ranking has already climbed to just under Ryu.
If I break through my limits here... I might actually break into that upper-tier line. Then even if bastards like Mun Min, Brian, and Ken all gang up on me at once, they won't stand a chance.
And Mun Min, that son of a bitch, I'll just own him for eternity.
Just thinking about it made motivation surge up inside me.
Void Princess.
I don't know what your aim is, but I'll resolve this.
— Whirrr.
And so I boarded the armored train.
This is one of those trains made heavy with armor plating. Most trains feel like this these days. Just looking at it, it seems sturdier than a steam locomotive.
"There will be a brief ID check."
As soon as I took my seat, armed agents came by to check IDs. Protective gear and helmets reminiscent of medieval knights. Professional agents armed with swords and submachine guns.
Just like at the department store the other time, this world has a ton of these civilian armed agents who are practically a paramilitary force.
Anywhere with a lot of people seems to have armed agents deployed.
"Please present your ID."
"Here."
"Ah, you're a cadet. Have a pleasant journey."
The armed agent smiled and greeted me once he recognized I was a cadet. I smiled back and returned the greeting.
"Yeah. Have a good day."
"Ah, Cadet. May I report something briefly?"
"Hm? There's something to report?"
"When Awakened individuals board the train, we check them separately and report their positions. It's for coordination in case of an emergency. Should any emergency arise, whatever it may be, just follow the orders of the hunter team leader responsible for this train's safety."
"Ah, a hunter, huh?"
"Yes."
A hunter, not a hero.
Hunters don't have specific heroic duties, but they also get no privileges. So they either work freelance or get hired at places like this. Ah, but they still have to carry out those duties as Awakened.
Just like I'd have to fight for the passengers in an emergency. The Awakened are literally upper-class, almost like nobles. They have a duty to protect the ordinary people beneath them.
"Hm."
Well then, maybe I'll take a nap until we arrive.
* * *
I was one car back, keeping watch on Kim Geun-cheol.
'I knew something was off.'
My suspicions deepened.
He's going way too far just to meet a friend. And taking an armored train on top of that... Right now, Kim Geun-cheol was asleep with his head leaned against the window.
He has looked tired lately.
I kept watching him with that thought, and about an hour passed. I followed Kim Geun-cheol when he got off without a hint of suspicion, hiding myself among the crowd.
— Step, step.
Like that, I tailed Kim Geun-cheol as he walked while looking at his phone. Who does he plan to meet? Kim Geun-cheol, who had been walking, entered a convenience store and bought an energy drink. I quickly checked the product. Just an ordinary drink.
— Slip.
Lee Si-hoo moved a little more covertly.
At times, I hid in the alleys between nearby buildings, or I climbed right up to the rooftops and crossed between buildings while tailing Kim Geun-cheol.
'Wait. If something really does go down... and I end up going to save him, what excuse do I give?'
The thought crossed my mind, but honestly, if an emergency breaks out, something like that won't even be an issue. I could talk my way out of it somehow.
Hoping that nothing would happen, Lee Si-hoo continued the tail.
* * *
I arrived.
"Ugh, I'm so damn sleepy."
After getting off at the station, I checked the map on my phone and headed toward the destination. I left a little early, so I have some time to spare.
"Phew."
I'm drowsy after just waking up. To boost my condition, I stretched out lightly and went into a convenience store to buy a can of energy drink. I can actually feel my stamina rising.
After arriving at the destination, I stood with my back against a suitable spot and watched my surroundings, contacting Kitty via message.
[Kitty.]
[...]
But no answer.
Is she really coming to help?
"Anyway, lots of people."
It's a downtown area, so there are a lot of people. If a monster appeared in a place like this, it'd be a disaster. Well, I was killing time with those thoughts.
"It's almost time."
Five minutes until noon.
"..."
I started getting nervous.
Just... what kind of bastard is it that Void Princess passed it off to me? I'll see for myself with my own two eyes. If things go south, I'll just evacuate the civilians and wait for backup. In that process, I can slip away quietly.
If I give the excuse that my skills were too weak to catch it, Void Princess won't have anything to say... That's a bit of wishful thinking, though. What can I do? If I can't catch it, I'll just say I can't.
— Tick, tock.
It felt like a counter was ticking in my ear.
— Thud.
Noon hit.
Appointment time.
Nothing?
As I thought that, I looked up at the sky.
— Thump!
A strong, very intense throb.
— Thump, thump!
— Thump!
"Heuk...!"
My heart is racing...!
And at the same time, an unknown tension and anxiety wash over me. What is this? Did it feel like this when a gate appeared? There's a similar feeling, but this is too much.
Definitely too much.
"Huff...!"
A harsh breath bursts out.
I clutched my chest and thought. Maybe something far stronger than I imagined is about to come out.
I immediately scanned my surroundings.
This is a downtown area. Should I evacuate the civilians first? Since it's a downtown area, backup will come fast, but there won't be time to evacuate—
"Huh?"
I looked around again.
"Huh?!"
Time had stopped.
"What the... fuck! Scared the living shit out of me!"
— Fwoosh!!
The moment I recognized that time had stopped, a deafening roar erupted.
I looked right up at the sky.
"Whoa."
A gate.
It's not a gate appearing.
— Crack!
The air was cracking like a glass window.
"Th-that... fuck."
I drew my sword and observed the sky. Shrrrk. A crack etched into the void was growing larger and larger. It was fracturing to the point I thought the sky might actually 'shatter' at this rate.
This is no ordinary gate.
No.
I've never even heard of a phenomenon like that. Not a gate opening, but the dimension cracking?
The thought was brief.
— Shaaaaatter!
The real sky broke apart, and something unreal began to overlay the world.
I could do nothing but stare blankly at it.
— Whooooosh!
The moment the void shattered, blue energy spewed out in all directions. Everything it touched transformed into some blue thing that existed on the boundary between translucent and opaque.
"..."
No people.
The background was the same.
The surrounding buildings. The traffic lights. The street lamps. All of it remained. Except all of it was transformed into something blue and slightly wavering, as if a filter had been placed over it.
Space itself had transformed into that state.
The ground I stood on. The buildings. The sky. Everything was a subtle blue. Something murky, as if not fully rendered, existed there while only mimicking form.
"A barrier."
I realized it instinctively.
The creation of the barrier had separated this dimension. This space now had no relation to reality... it was basically a detached, separate otherworld. The surrounding background had been half-assedly copied and separated into this isolated otherworld.
"This is insane."
How did I even realize that? Where did this knowledge come from? A strange sense of déjà vu and anxiety started stabbing at my brain. Unknown knowledge flowed into my head.
"..."
To go back, I have to catch and kill the entity that caused this phenomenon.
Right.
That bastard coming out of there.
— Squirm.
A blue something slithered out from within the shattered fissure. It was a slick, snake-like thing, but it was absolutely no mere snake.
Something sinister, swimming through the cosmos.
The moment it pulled free—
— Shk-shk-shk-shunk!
Like a centipede. Dozens, hundreds of grotesque legs erupted from all along its sides. Having acquired its legs, the thing confirmed my presence.
"Guooooooong."
It howled with a sound like an ultrasonic wave.
— Shwaaaak!
It spread its legs.
— Fzzzt.
— Fzzt.
The face part was incredibly bizarre. Like a noisy signal, it kept fizzling and changing form. Staring at it made killing intent and rage boil up so hard I couldn't stand it...!
Its weak point was that thing on top of its head, something like a jewel that flickered in colors that shouldn't exist!
I had to smash that to pieces to destroy it!
— Krraaaaaaaaah!
A war cry erupted from me before I even knew it. Unable to resist the impulse, I kicked off the ground, sprinted straight up the wall of a fake building, and landed on the rooftop.
"You son of a bitch!!! Get your ass over here right now, you piece of shit!!!"
That thing was immensely powerful, but if I smashed its weak point, even I could win as I was then!
— Kwoong!
It flew toward me as if swimming.
As I took aim at it.
— Shwaaaaak!
I wrapped my sword in sword aura.
"I'll kill you!!!"