The First Agent Lottery
Yoon So-i, who had been investigating Cartibes's temple, received the same message.
“Cheon Hunter went there himself.”
Unregistered must have intervened.
That unidentified power that overwhelmed Hae-dong. Was it the same this time?
I didn't care right now what kind of battle had taken place. What mattered was that one apostle had been taken down.
Shoooo...
“As expected.”
A statue was summoning on the pedestal of the First Apostle.
A creepy bat shape.
But it was severely damaged all over.
“So this is the one that rampaged through Seoul. It came back in pretty bad shape.”
According to reports, it had already caused significant civilian casualties. Normally, Yoon So-i would want to leave the temple and lend her power, but
I can't do that.
Monitoring the barrier here might be key to the survival of all of Seoul.
“The ‘Apostle of Blood’ has returned to its pedestal as a statue.”
Report to the Management Bureau.
- How's the barrier?
“We're checking.”
Following Team 1 Leader's question, she analyzed the barrier in detail, but there were no anomalies yet. The barrier showed no changes.
There should be some variation by now.
At that moment,
Shoooo...
“!”
Something started getting absorbed from the pedestal where the Apostle of Blood had been summoned. Sensing an ominous flow, Yoon So-i clasped her hands together.
Woooong...
She spun holy power at extreme speed inside a small sphere.
Holy
Orb of the Holy Spirit
Woooong... Woooonng...
The orb resisting the expansion of the spinning holy power.
Normally a destructive orb unleashing massive power, but she intermittently thinned its shell to release only portions of the holy power.
It was Yoon So-i's application for wide-area detection using holy power.
Shwaaa...
Shwaaa...
Holy radiance spread out in a spherical form from between her hands, maintained at just the right level.
“Team Leader, Cartibes's energy is detected from the pedestal. I'll analyze in detail without touching it.”
Then,
“!!!”
Yoon So-i frowned deeply, retracting the holy power into the orb.
Chilling.
In an instant, she unconsciously compressed the orb further, preparing for explosion. The reason was
Thump. Thump.
A heartbeat started coming from the Cartibes's Egg.
Did the First Apostle achieve its goal?
She couldn't know. But what stood out simultaneously was
“The barrier has noticeably weakened, Team Leader.”
If the change was this visible, then when all five pedestals filled, the barrier would likely be lifted or destructible.
Another noteworthy point was that the statue was severely damaged.
She couldn't be certain yet, but judging from the extremely unstable energy emanating from the statue,
the returned statue's condition seemed closely tied to the barrier's density.
What if it had returned intact? Would the barrier have weakened?
Imagining it was a bit chilling.
The barrier might show no change while only Cartibes's Egg progressed.
- Is the strategy still viable as is?
“There are some unsettling parts.”
She reported in detail, even the heartbeat from Cartibes's Egg.
It seemed the First Apostle Murcielago had achieved some portion of its goal,
but the key was the degree of achievement.
It wasn't something trivial like bringing back a single drop of blood.
There must be a certain absolute quantity required.
Had the First Apostle fulfilled that absolute amount?
She couldn't confirm. Therefore,
the comprehensive conclusion was surprisingly simple.
“Nothing changes.”
Destroy the apostles quickly and most reliably. That was it.
“We need to make the apostles return without fully achieving their goals. Find them fast and kill them fast. That's the only solution right now.”
Imperfect hatching attempt, complete barrier lift prevention.
That was the goal now that immediate destruction was harder.
Having analyzed that far, Yoon So-i began infusing holy power into various spots in the temple to prepare for any contingencies.
“Whew.”
She never lost her cool, but...
This time was tricky. Cold sweat beaded on her skin.
Even as undead, it was clearly a dragon.
The sheer burden of trying to decipher spells or magic at that level.
Thus, no matter how hard she tried, she could only glimpse fragments. However,
This concerned not just Seoul, but the future of all Korea.
No giving up.
Seoul
Management Bureau – Emergency Situation Room
No such thing as going home.
“Report Code 2 status in real-time!”
“Yes! Kim Chi-gon Hunter is currently...”
“C-rank units partially formed, arriving at Gwanghwamun erosion zone in 3 minutes!”
“A-rank support incoming?!”
“Uh, arriving in 5 minutes!”
“Don't dawdle in responses!”
“Yes!!!”
“Casualties: 37. More to be tallied!”
“At least we avoided the worst! So! When can we distinguish injured from dead?!”
“That'll take 20-30 minutes...!”
“Get the full roster confirmed. No revisions, don't forget!”
“Yes!”
The situation room's clamor was no different from the screams on-site.
And at its center.
“Whew.”
Team 1 Leader Kim Chun-gyu received Yoon So-i's report, which was at least somewhat fortunate.
Focus on eliminating the apostles like this.
The apostles' appearances confirmed from the situation room weren't in Seoul this time.
Are the apostles spreading to the provinces?
Perhaps intending to disperse forces effective against the Cartibes's Egg.
But the baton has passed to us now.
Of course, Murcielago had been trickier than expected, causing massive damage. Regrettable,
but the unregistered hunter's sudden support secured Cheon Seung-hyuk faster than planned.
His presence alone greatly bolstered their forces.
Crunch.
Kim Chun-gyu clenched his fist unconsciously. Stale sweat dripped.
The egg's location found at terrifying speed.
The barrier maximally analyzed via holy power.
Cheon Seung-hyuk, who bought them more time than planned,
and the unregistered hunter seemingly on their side.
Above all, the prowess of Korea's world-class hunters.
We can do this.
We must.
At that moment,
Bureau Director Baek Moon-seong, the white-haired elder, attended the global Hunter Management Bureau video conference.
No cigar in his hand as usual.
Instead, Baek Moon-seong maintained a perfect poker face as director.
They can't not know.
Interest was naturally focused on the Cartibes incident already.
As expected, he was nonchalant about the attention. However,
the suspicion forming in Baek Moon-seong's mind was different.
One of them is an accomplice.
Necrophilia had been eradicated long ago, vanished into history.
Cockroaches as they were, some remnants surely lingered,
but setting up a temple in central Seoul, no, the top floor of World Tower.
That scale. That precision.
Not something a single remnant villain group could pull off.
“...”
The meeting was, as expected, about Cartibes.
This qualified as a Catastrophe under international standards—a major national disaster—with few precedents, making clear classification difficult.
Thus, discussions flew among the world directors.
“We're handling it internally in Korea as much as possible. We'll request support if it worsens.”
Couldn't give them an excuse to barge in under pretense of aid and stir chaos.
A few countries are suspicious, a few I can rule out for sure.
A matter to catch with time.
I finally did it.
First came the skill.
[Evasion Series] [Stealth]
Colorless, Odorless, Formless
Become a state undetectable by anyone for 1 minute.
(Cooldown: 10 minutes)
※ Details (View More)
Definitely a solid skill.
One hit and I'm dead, so creating situations where I don't get hit is most crucial for me.
Details said it works even against high-level identification skills (magic).
It even applies to artifact detection effects.
Plus, minor movement is allowed during stealth, albeit very slow.
Above all, as hunter level rises, duration and effects improve—super appealing.
At high levels, cooldown won't feel restrictive, and movement speed might quicken.
Feels like a core skill for growing as a strong sniper.
Nice. Confirmed.
Trying Stealth,
Applied (00:59...)
A small reference message like Penetration popped up, and I felt a slight whoosh of air from my body.
Looking in the mirror, I was gone.
Completely invisible.
Feels like I turned into an air bullet.
Of course, movement speed was noticeably slower.
Need to get used to it. Need more levels too.
Planning to test properly in the training ground for real combat application.
Review ends here.
Something more important for my survival.
The long-awaited agent hiring moment.
[Agent Dormitory] must be established.
Checked gold balance immediately.
Bracing for the rip-off since it's the system, a seasoned HP 1 sniper mindset.
?
Not as bad as thought. 30 million gold.
Brain pickled from billions, so 30 mil feels cheap.
My balance far exceeds it.
YouTube (+ Hae-dong aggro) small donations piling up steadily,
can pay this without much bleed for a while.
[Agent Dormitory Established]
[30,000,000G Deducted]
No hesitation. This is my hope.
Overexpecting? It's killing me.
Man with kimchi soup in his veins. That's me.
Searching for suitable location for [Agent Dormitory] installation...
But this time it took a while.
No suitable spot?
Training ground and supply depot were like that too.
Applied to existing furniture like wardrobe or fridge.
But now my room has only a small table and toilet.
Try it if you dare...
No. Please do.
Almost picked a fight with the system at the wrong time. Hope time now. Mistake.
Then,
No suitable location found for search.
“Ah, come on. No way.”
Brain went dizzy suddenly.
No furniture fit for dorm, so no agent?
As despair loomed,
[Shelter ‘Function Upgrade’ required.]
Function upgrade needed. Analysis result?
No hesitation. If it says upgrade, I upgrade.
Into [Function Upgrade],
New functions every LV 5 as before.
So far: [Air Purification], [Humidity Control], [Pest Extermination], [Surround Sound].
This one's crucial.
HP 1 direct solve function?
Obviously hyped,
but even if not, something dorm-related. Please.
■ LV 25 = Cleaning
■ LV 30 = Furniture Placement
“...”
Always full welfare rage at shelter upgrades,
but this gave chills.
LV 30 a milestone?
Furniture Placement
Straight to dorm issue.
Cleaning later, furniture first.
A cruder menu than shop or depot popped up.
Simple concept,
■ Existing Furniture Rearrange (Free)
■ New Placement
- Bed = 1,000,000 G
- Table = 500,000 G
- Bookshelf = 500,000 G
······(View More)
Genuinely thrilled.
Shelter buys and places furniture itself. Rearrange free anytime,
no HP 1 lugging furniture to death—system handles it.
Clicked bed immediately.
Obvious for dorm.
Select detailed options?
Clicking brought bed options.
Base price average, varies by options—cheaper or pricier.
Lowest: military bed, bunk.
Highest: king-size princess bed.
For my agent, can't offer infuriating military bed just by looks,
too flashy/big weird,
so standard 1 mil gold bed.
Just like my bed.
[Standard Bed Purchased]
[1,000,000G Deducted]
And suddenly,
Shwaaak!
“Ooooh!”
My shelter blueprint appeared.
Like placing new facilities in a tycoon game. Problem:
Can't place furniture.
Room too small.
Bed model red, placement impossible—even I see it.
End like this?
[Shelter Upgrade – Area] [1 UP]
No way.
[Shelter Upgrade – Area] [1 UP]
Bed fit properly, space for my activity without constraint.
[Shelter Upgrade – Area] [1 UP]
Upgraded sufficiently.
Ah—now I get it.
Thought area enough already, but this enables furniture placement.
Realized area upgrades crucial too,
Done.
Bed model in blueprint turned green from red.
Location: right next to my bed.
Hit ‘Place’,
Shoooo...
“Ooooh!”
System pixel effect, not flashy, and bed appeared instantly.
Wow. This is no joke.
Sudden thought: shelter upgrades pretty tasty.
HP 1 unsolved yet, but pests gone, air pure.
Admit it this time.
No delay, establish [Agent Dormitory].
Searching for suitable location for [Agent Dormitory] installation...
Dazzling light settled on the bed as expected,
[Agent Dormitory Installation In Progress... (100%)]
[Installation Complete]
Quick completion.
A faint blue glow coated the bed.
Touching it,
Enter [Agent Dormitory]?
Like fridge → supply depot, warp concept.
“Check it later.”
With new agent.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heart pounding harder than ever.
Who? Who'll solve my HP 1!
[Shelter Upgrade] [Agent Hiring] [Function Upgrade] [New Establishment]
Agent hiring definitely possible now. Prompt appeared.
Touched [Agent Hiring] with grand heart.
That instant,
[Proceeding with 1st Agent Hiring.]
Shraaala!
Hundreds of ‘cards’ spread face-down before me.
[Draw 1 Agent Card.]
The important moment.
