The Cow King (1)
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Cheon Yooshin." Park Haesu said to Cheon Yooshin, who was sitting in the backseat, through the rearview mirror.
"Hard work? What are you talking about? I just went there to rest."
It was true. All he did was go there and rest.
"Then, are you ready to head out immediately?"
"I suppose I have to." Cheon Yooshin nodded.
"As expected of a..."
"I really want to see my mom and sister. It’s been a few days, hasn't it?"
They were probably worried sick. Their perfectly fine son and brother had been dragged off to a detention center. And while the detention center was comfortable enough, there was nothing like home. 'I can finally play the games I've been putting off. Hehehe.'
That was when it happened.
Screech!
Park Haesu slammed on the brakes and turned around, looking back.
"Excuse me? Didn't you say you were going to the Sudden Gate?"
What kind of nonsense was this?
"...? Why would I go to a Sudden Gate? I’m going home."
"But you said you were resting."
"I did rest. So what?"
What on earth did him resting have to do with going to a gate?
"Well, now that you've rested, you should go to work."
Yooshin suddenly wore a sullen expression. 'Why, why is he like that?' Park Haesu felt a wave of anxiety. At that moment, Yooshin opened his mouth.
"What am I supposed to do there?"
"Obviously, you need to catch the monsters..."
Cheon Yooshin chuckled.
"Do you not know why I was in the detention center?"
"That’s because..."
Because he assaulted a National Assemblyman. But he couldn't say that out loud. Suddenly, Cheon Yooshin’s eyes began to flash wildly.
"You threw me in there because I caught monsters from a Sudden Gate, didn't you? And now you want me to go back to a Sudden Gate? To catch more monsters? Am I crazy? To go back in there again?"
Ah, no, why did it turn out like that? The whole nation knew why Cheon Yooshin was locked up. It wasn't because he caught monsters. It was because he beat someone up. But Park Haesu was just a powerless, salaried civil servant.
"Mr. Cheon Yooshin, the only reason you were released is on the condition that you stop the Sudden Gate. If you don't stop it..."
"Then I'll go back. The detention center was actually pretty nice, you know? It had air conditioning, a TV, and the food was good. Maybe I should use the time inside to prepare for a body profile shoot."
Cheon Yooshin remained as relaxed as ever. Cold sweat began to trickle down Park Haesu’s back. This was going to be a disaster.
"I'm not joking, Mr. Cheon Yooshin. The situation right now is very dire."
At his words, Cheon Yooshin, who had been smiling, turned serious.
"I'm not joking either."
A brief silence fell between the two. In the end, it was Park Haesu who gave in.
"Understood. Then let's head home."
Cheon Yooshin nodded slowly. The car began to move again.
"That’s the place. Where the defensive line was built to block the Sudden Gate."
Park Haesu pointed to a certain spot. There, amidst the skyscrapers, threatening-looking tanks were lined up, and soldiers were busy running around installing barricades. Police officers were blowing whistles, controlling the approach of ordinary citizens. The sound of gunfire echoing from afar and the sight of soldiers in camouflage holding rifles signaled the severity of the situation. However, Cheon Yooshin nodded as if it were someone else's business.
"Ah. Yes. I see. My, those soldiers must be having a hard time."
And then.
"We're here."
Screech!
Park Haesu slammed on the brakes.
"...?"
Cheon Yooshin’s gaze looked at Park Haesu as if asking what he was doing now. I told you clearly. I said I wouldn't go to any Sudden Gate. Did I look too easy to push around? Is this where we decide to have a go at it? Huh?!
That was when it happened. Park Haesu gestured with a sullen expression.
"Isn't this Mr. Cheon Yooshin's house?"
Huh?
Cheon Yooshin checked the surroundings outside the window once more. The environment looked somewhat familiar. And.
Huh?!
I-it really is?
Not far from the defensive line, the villa where his family lived stood tall.
'What the hell?'
[This is Reporter Kim, reporting from the scene. We are near the Sudden Gate. It is, quite literally, a living hell. However, just 30 minutes after Hunter Cheon Yooshin arrived, the situation has changed dramatically. Minotaurs are falling like autumn leaves due to his abilities.]
The camera shook as it captured a man. Black mist swirled endlessly around him, and countless black spears appeared in the air.
"It is truly a sight hard to believe. With the power of just one person, the Minotaurs are falling like leaves."
The identity of the man on the screen was none other than Cheon Yooshin. Cheon Yooshin didn't move a single step. With just a wave of his hand, dozens of spears were created, piercing the monsters.
"T-this is closer to a one-sided massacre than a battle. I never imagined Hunter Cheon Yooshin’s power would be this overwhelming."
The camera briefly showed Cheon Yooshin’s face. However, his face was filled with annoyance and irritation.
Comments continued to flood in, and the entire Republic of Korea was going wild over Cheon Yooshin’s performance. Meanwhile, Cheon Yooshin was...
'Of all places, it had to spawn near my house.'
He frowned, staring at the gate that was still endlessly spewing out Minotaurs. He really hadn't intended to step up this time. He wanted to stay out of sight. But if he didn't deal with the Sudden Gate, his house would collapse. In the end...
'To think I'd be fighting the moment I got out.'
A sigh escaped him automatically. Even so, Yooshin continued to summon Dark Spears, piercing the heads of the Minotaurs. Amidst it all, level-up notifications were ringing out steadily. Furthermore, there were even messages that some skills had been unlocked. That was at least some comfort to Yooshin.
Besides.
'They said corpses are money, right?'
Before he started fighting, Yooshin had strictly instructed Park Haesu. He told him that the monsters' hides were clearly valuable. Since he could make items out of the hides, he begged him to aim only for the heads. Thanks to that, he couldn't even use Dark Rain. The moment he used Dark Rain, he could deal with all the monsters here in one go. But he wouldn't be able to get the hides. Still.
'It’s annoying as hell. Seriously.'
That was when it happened. The vibrations from the Sudden Gate began to grow stronger. The cameras seemed to have noticed it too, as they began to focus on the gate. The stronger the vibrations, the larger it grew.
"Wait, something’s strange!"
Reporter Kim’s voice grew urgent. At that moment, the surface of the Sudden Gate rippled like water. The cameramen who were filming Cheon Yooshin’s performance, the YouTubers, and even the soldiers—everyone’s gaze turned toward the gate. The size of the rippling gate began to grow rapidly.
Watching Cheon Yooshin’s performance on the large screen, the atmosphere at the Blue House heated up.
"The Minotaurs are almost wiped out. The President’s choice was correct!"
Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Doohyeong said to President Cha Insoo with a joyful look. President Cha Insoo was also watching the screen with a happy expression.
"And here I thought you were against it."
Minister of the Hunter Management Department Choi Jeongwon, who was next to him, added a slight jab.
"Hahaha, oh my. Don't you know I said that out of concern for the President?"
President Cha Insoo soothed them.
"That’s enough. Didn't you all say that out of concern for the country? It worked out well, so isn't that enough?"
Even as he said that, his gaze didn't leave the screen. 'Truly impressive.' The hunter named Cheon Yooshin on the screen was truly remarkable. He was a non-awakened person, but he knew well enough that Minotaurs weren't monsters that could be caught so easily. Yet, that hunter was dealing with multiple monsters at once with just a flick of his hand.
Choi Jeongwon added an expert explanation from the side.
"That is incredibly impressive. Look. He’s aiming precisely for the heads, isn't he? That means he can process the monster corpses intact."
"Is that so?" President Cha Insoo asked, showing interest.
"Yes, it’s huge. Equipment made from monster hides is imbued with special abilities. It could be stats like strength or agility, and even more surprisingly, it could have special skills embedded in them."
"That is indeed impressive."
It was just when they were optimistic about Cheon Yooshin’s victory. Suddenly, the gate on the screen began to heave and grow at a rapid pace. And what appeared from within was...
"C-Cow King?"
Choi Jeongwon said in a startled voice. The heat that had been building up began to cool in an instant.
A massive hoof broke through the gate. Then, another foot appeared. Just the size of the two feet that appeared seemed several times larger than a normal Minotaur.
"T-that is!"
Reporter Kim’s voice trembled. As the gate grew larger and larger, the owner of the two feet finally revealed itself.
"It’s the Cow King! The Cow King has appeared!"
Fear clouded Reporter Kim’s eyes. The Cow King. This wasn't the first time. In the early days when gates were created and awakeners appeared, the Cow King had appeared once before. How could one forget that monster that turned Cairo, Egypt, into a wasteland? At the time, the appearance of the Cow King was a disaster in itself. It crumbled the pyramids like sandcastles and dyed the Nile River with the blood of the people; all of Egypt’s attempts were powerless before it. Tanks, fighter jets, missiles, and even hunters. None of those attacks could pierce the hide of the Cow King before them. Cairo turned to ashes, and the casualties increased exponentially as time went by. In the end, they requested emergency support from countries around the world, but it was not accepted. Because to catch that thing, an attack party including at least an A-class hunter and multiple B-class hunters had to be deployed. And no one refused to go to Egypt to catch the Cow King. So, two strategic bombers took off to catch the beast. And that day, two umbrella-shaped clouds soared into the sky over Cairo. Everything evaporated, and the beast disappeared along with a part of Cairo. They won the war against the beast, but the price was too high. Rain mixed with radiation fell over the ashes of Cairo, and Cairo has remained a restricted area to this day. And now, that monster had revealed itself once again. In the country of South Korea, and in the middle of Seoul, at that.