The Man Who Saved the World (1)
Parking lot behind the hospital.
“Huff… huff…!”
A man in a crisp black suit was sprinting, lungs burning.
“Damn it. How the hell do you beat a monster like that?”
He was fleeing from Grozya. He had bolted the moment he realized the fight was unwinnable.
“What kind of item did that porter bastard use? Something from Kang Hae-il?”
He was certain the porter had deployed a high-grade item Kang Hae-il gave him. Aside from the “given by Kang Hae-il” part, his guess was completely accurate.
“Haah… ha…”
After putting as much distance as possible between himself and the battle, he yanked out his phone and made a frantic call.
“Yes, boss. Urgent report. Jin-gu got taken out. Yeah… he tried to eat Kang Hae-il and it went sideways. I don’t know exactly what happened, but the porter next to him took Jin-gu hostage while Kang Hae-il was unconscious. Yes, it’s definitely the porter— Wait, no, I’m telling you it really is that F-rank guy! I swear!”
He gave the report with everything he had, but communication wasn’t exactly smooth. The moment he claimed an F-rank porter had taken Kim Jin-gu—the fifth-highest executive in the organization—hostage, all credibility evaporated.
“Ugh… What?! You think I betrayed you?! Boss! Just turn on the news! This is definitely going to make the headlines! The whole hospital building is collapsing as we speak!”
The instant the words left his mouth, Grozya’s breath attack screamed past him and pulverized the nearby flowerbed.
KWAAAAAANG!
“Uwaaaah?! I-I’ll get out of here first and explain the rest later!”
Click.
The call ended. A muscular man tilted his head in confusion.
He was Oh Sang-chul, Master of the Incheon Union guild.
“This guy… no matter how I look at it, isn’t he the one who stabbed Jin-gu and is just acting?”
He turned to the aide who had been listening in on the call. The man had a clean, intelligent face—Oh Sang-chul’s most trusted strategist.
“Mm. He’s babbling way too much. A porter… that would be the F-rank Awakened, right? There’s no way he could kill Kim Jin-gu. Taking him hostage is even more impossible.”
“That son of a… Did he suck up all of Jin-gu’s levels?”
Oh Sang-chul slapped his own forehead.
“That can’t be it. If he had, he wouldn’t have reported it.”
“Then what?”
“I think Kim Jin-gu tried to snatch Kang Hae-il for himself midway.”
“What?”
Kang Hae-il was supposed to be served up to Oh Sang-chul first. That was the rule—premium prey went to the top rank.
“He said it ‘went sideways while trying to eat Kang Hae-il.’ The tone didn’t sound like he was transporting him here on purpose.”
“……”
Oh Sang-chul’s expression darkened for a moment. So there really wasn’t a single trustworthy bastard in the world.
“Fucking disloyal pieces of shit.”
His blood was boiling.
“Round up the men and head for the hospital. Secure every core facility.”
“Yes, sir.”
For the Incheon Union, the hospital facilities were vital. They had to be protected at all costs.
The moment he saw the vivid red Gate, Junil dragged Choi Kkang-pae downstairs as if possessed.
The Gate was trapped inside reinforced glass like a laboratory specimen.
“What… what the hell is that? Explain.”
Junil pressed the dagger closer to Choi Kkang-pae’s throat. The researcher answered in a panic.
“Ah… we had an E-rank Awakened who could create portals. He made a mistake and opened a Gate instead… After that, we began researching stable Gate generation and eventually succeeded in producing even a red Gate like this one.”
“B-but most of the variables are still heavily luck-dependent. It’s an unfinished project,” the researcher added hastily, though the words barely registered with Junil.
They can make portals…? And Gates?
Whether it was unfinished or luck-based didn’t matter to him in the slightest.
This means I might be able to go meet Meyrin myself.
It was a possibility he had written off as absolutely impossible. The important thing was that he had found a spark of hope.
“Where is he?”
“Pardon?”
“That portal technician.”
If he handed the book he had obtained from Sar to the portal technician, they might actually be able to open a Gate to Archidia.
But—
“That’s not possible.”
An organization member who had followed them downstairs cut in.
“What?”
“That technician is top secret. We cannot disclose him to outsiders.”
Junil pressed the blade tighter against Choi Kkang-pae’s neck and asked again.
“You still don’t understand the situation?”
“……”
He turned back to the researcher. “Hey. Researcher. Bring that technician here.”
“That’s…”
The researcher hesitated, unsure what to do.
“I said bring him. Or at least tell me where he is.”
“Well…”
“Shut up!”
The organization members exchanged glances, nodded, and surrounded Junil, weapons drawn.
Srrrng!
Swords, spears, guns—the variety was impressive. A man who looked like a mage stepped forward.
“Say one more word and I’ll burn your mouth shut.”
Fwoosh.
He was clearly a fire mage. At the sight of the flames, the researcher immediately shrank back.
“The situation has changed. You’re not leaving this place, Porter.”
It seemed he had received new orders through the earpiece.
“Uup?! Uup!!”
Choi Kkang-pae thrashed wildly.
Huh?
In that instant, the rough outline of the organization’s hierarchy clicked into place in Junil’s head.
I thought the guy who gets to eat Kang Hae-il would be rank one. Guess not? So they tried to steal him?
This wasn’t the main headquarters. Their organization was larger, and orders had just come down from above.
“Porter. Put the boss down and surrender while I’m still asking nicely. The charade ends here.”
Junil remained motionless, blade still at Choi Kkang-pae’s throat.
“Surrender. This is your only warning.”
Fwoooooosh!
The flames coiling around the mage’s staff grew fiercely hot. Of course, compared to Kang Hae-il’s fire it was nothing.
“Just so you know, we’re the elite of the organization. Every one of us is level 38 or higher. You’re no match.”
Sorry, but I already cleared more than twenty of those so-called elites on my way here… was what he wanted to say.
But back then I was Sagosul. Right now I’m the Porter…
What should a mere porter do in this situation?
Junil casually asked the researcher behind him, “Hey, Researcher Park. Why do you guys even work here? Do they pay well? Or are you being threatened?”
“…Pardon? Me? My last name is actually Kim…”
“Shut it. You’re nowhere near qualified to be a Kim.”
“…?”
“Answer the question. Money or threats?”
Silver or lead. An abrupt question.
“W-well…”
The researcher—Park? Kim?—couldn’t answer.
“If you’re being threatened, just say ‘save me.’ Then I’ll spare you.”
“What are you…”
You’re F-rank, aren’t you? How are you going to save anyone? The expression on the researcher’s face made his thoughts crystal clear.
“If you say ‘save me,’ I’ll wipe all these guys out, then take you into my guild and pay you properly—”
The fire mage shouted, “No need to drag this out! Kill them and secure the boss!”
“Yes!”
Fwoooooosh!
A massive fireball hurtled toward them. The boss might survive it, but the researcher and porter would be reduced to ash and bone. They had held back earlier out of fear of killing the boss, but now permission had come from above.
“S-save me! Please save me! I was threatened—”
Together with Researcher Park’s scream, the fireball detonated.
KWAAAAAANG!
There was no need to check. They would have been burned across their entire bodies and collapsed.
“Now then, let’s collect the—huh?”
When the smoke cleared, no one was there. Not even corpses.
And then—
A grand, ominous orchestral theme thundered through the hidden speakers.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
“Guhk!”
Slash!
One of the nearby organization members collapsed. In his place stood the porter, twirling his dagger with casual ease.
Another member charged in immediately.
Clang!
The attacker was repelled in a single exchange, then his throat was slit.
Shiiiing—!
Blood sprayed like a fountain. The man staggered and fell.
Two down already?!
Five elite fighters, and two had vanished in an instant. All while the porter still held the boss hostage in his other hand.
The fire mage’s eyes trembled.
“…What the hell are you?”
Even at a glance, something was clearly off.
“What do you mean? I’m the porter.”
Junil shrugged.
“H-how can a porter…”
“You know what they say.”
“?”
“Food tastes better and is cheaper in Seoul than at the supposed origin.”
“??”
What is this guy talking about?
“Real estate prices are always higher in Seoul than Incheon, too.”
The fire mage, unable to let the real-estate comment slide, exploded.
“You crazy— What the hell are you trying to say?!”
“So no matter how much you guys strut around Incheon, you still can’t beat a porter from Seoul! In-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Junil put on an exaggerated, mocking expression and laughed in their faces.
The organization members looked like they had taken a new kind of psychic damage they had never experienced before.
“No way…”
“Damn it… Fucking Seoul republic…”
“Ugh…”
“I’m from Songdo, though…”
The fire mage still refused to back down and tried one more jab.
“I-if you’re really that strong, then why take a hostage?! D-didn’t you just temporarily use an item?!”
It was a reasonable deduction and a decent provocation.
“If you’re really from Seoul and that powerful, release the hostage.”
He wanted to free the boss he served, regardless of the orders from above.
But it backfired spectacularly.
“Ah, my introduction was late. This isn’t a hostage. It’s a lunchbox.”
Shunk!
Syrvelis’s Sacrificial Sword sank deep into Choi Kkang-pae’s neck.
“You… you crazy bastard…!!”
After stabbing the man to death right in front of them, Junil tossed the body aside like a bag of trash.
Thud!
“Nice, level up~”
Every single organization member froze with identical dumbfounded expressions.
“This… this crazy bastard.”
“H-he killed the boss…”
“Son of a bitch. I mean, our boss was trash, but throwing him away like actual trash…”
The sheer naturalness of the act left the entire group in shock. The man’s eyes had not wavered for even a second; not a single hair on his hand had trembled.
The fire mage swallowed dryly.
This guy… is a professional.
He was clearly experienced. This wasn’t his first rodeo.
Junil took advantage of their stunned silence to keep building the narrative.
“Oh, and I’ve carried so much luggage over the years that I’ve gotten ridiculously strong? One punch and it’s just… you know…”
He started rambling again.
We have to kill him now.
Flames ignited in the fire mage’s eyes.
“Kill him! What are you waiting for?! If we all attack together he’s nothing! We don’t even have a hostage anymore!!!”
Fwooooosh!
Streams of fire shot forward as the organization members charged from every direction.
“…One punch and they just explode, you know?!”
Junil’s fist, packed full of mana, punched the empty air.
Mana Punch – Shock Wave
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
The sound of air ripping apart echoed as the shockwave exploded outward. It was a vibration no ordinary mana level could withstand.
“Guh… huk?!”
Everyone coughed up blood as the vibration resonated from inside their organs.
Clatter…!
Even their dazzling weapons fell to the floor.
“Next?”
Thud.
All the organization members collapsed to the ground almost simultaneously.
The researchers who had been watching all of this slowly raised their hands.
It was a sign of surrender.
Junil gave a small chuckle and spoke to the researcher who had been guiding him.
“See? I saved you, Researcher Park.”
“Y-yes…! Th-thank you! Mister Porter, sir!”
Researcher Park bowed so deeply his forehead nearly touched the floor. His whole body was shaking.
He took down all of them. A porter did that.
He knew the ranks of the organization members who had been stationed here. They were definitely elites—at least mid-to-late level 30. For them to fall so easily…
Incheon really was small.
Just how terrifying is Seoul…?
If a porter from Seoul was this strong, how powerful were the real Awakened there?
No matter which road you took, it led to Seoul, they said.
It was truly frightening.
“Guide me to the portal technician.”
“Yes!”
The researcher bowed deeply and took the lead.
No matter which road you take, head for Seoul! Even research should head for Seoul!
He had already sworn loyalty to his new boss.