The Road to Daegu (1)
A man was enjoying something deliciously.
I wasn't cooking at all; I was just wildly devouring the Minotaur with my fork. And secretly, I was savoring this taste right now.
'This is completely raw meat, isn't it.'
The flavor spreading in my mouth was that of yukhoe made from thinly sliced fresh beef.
The rich, savory taste.
Since it hadn't stiffened yet, the slight twitching in my mouth made it even more delicious in a subtle way.
'I don't need to cook for it to taste good.'
It seemed that cooking wasn't the only way to be skilled. Secretly, it felt good to taste the monster's original flavor as well.
Wind Pressure
'The ability the bastard used.'
The power that let the Minotaur kill my monsters in one blow. Now I finally had long-range attack in my hands too.
[Summonable monsters added.]
※ Minotaur ★
Okay.
The Minotaur was added to the summon list.
I looked at the item the guy had dropped.
◈ Powerful electric current emanates from the horn.
'How do I even use this?'
Whether to wear the horn or throw it was confusing, but it wasn't bad anyway. I put the item in my inventory and stood up from my seat.
At the same time, a message window popped up.
Scenario Quest Completed. Moving to the Scenario Room.
Whoosh!
With that, white light suddenly wrapped around me and my figure vanished in an instant.
"Huh? Where did he go?"
Medusa stared blankly around, wondering what she should do now that I had suddenly disappeared.
***
"What? What happened all of a sudden?"
It seemed the scenario quest had been completed.
"Nothing here?"
I searched the surroundings, but it was just empty space.
Why had they sent me here?
While I was wandering around like that,
a large screen suddenly appeared in front of me.
"What is this?"
A countdown started on the screen, like when a movie begins.
5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
The numbers decreased.
When the 1 disappeared, a video began playing on the screen like a movie.
It was a screen illuminating a gloomy building's interior.
As the viewpoint changed inside the building, two men were seen.
"Su-beom-ah, can't you make something stronger than the Minotaur?"
"Among the monsters in the summoning scrolls I can make right now, the Minotaur is the strongest."
"I'm not asking that. Can't you make something stronger?"
"I can make it."
One of the two men speaking.
"Eh? Who is that person?"
It was the person Medusa had turned to stone earlier.
It seemed his name was Su-beom.
The two continued their conversation.
"How do I make it?"
"I need awakened ones to use for the experiment."
"Awakened ones, huh."
The man looked slightly troubled by the words.
Then he took out a summoning scroll and handed it to Su-beom.
"Here. This is a scroll that can take you to Ulsan."
"To Ulsan?"
"Yes."
"What's there?"
"There's a kid with a pretty good ability there."
"A kid?"
"Yeah. With that kid's ability, it would be easy to suppress the awakened ones."
With that, the screen quickly changed to another one.
It was a space showing a certain house.
There, a child was seen trembling in fear.
"Ji-ah?"
It was definitely Ji-ah.
And several ghouls were circling around her.
Upon closer look, it was the face of that guy who had transformed back then.
Ji-ah's father had become a ghoul and was roaming around.
This meant the other people there were likely Ji-ah's family.
'Ji-ah must have been shocked.' Whether this video was real or not was unclear.
'Here?'
It was clearly Ulsan Station.
The scene of Ulsan Station where people were trapped appeared on the screen.
"Su-beom-ah, someone broke in."
"Who exactly?"
"It looks like a ranker? It seems hard to stop with just ghouls."
But the scene seemed to be before our arrival.
Was this actually what happened?
"Don't worry. I have to test this guy once."
"The Minotaur?"
"Yeah. Even if it's a ranker, it won't be able to handle this guy."
At the same time, the Minotaur was summoned.
Seeing that, the memory of the ranker being killed came to mind.
"So, he died to this Minotaur." Indeed, without Medusa, it would have been hard to face even the ranker, let alone the Minotaur's overwhelming power.
Even as a ranker, in front of that overwhelming Minotaur, it would be no match for a mere human.
Then the scene transitioned to our arrival at Ulsan Station.
It was showing our exact actions and behaviors as if teaching that this video was real.
From entering Ulsan Station to rescuing people.
All scenes were shown on the screen.
'But why are they showing this?'
At least, it seemed related to the scenario quest, and the screen didn't seem to end.
Then the screen reached the current point.
After that, since it was still not happened, the next content didn't appear.
"The scenario video has ended."
"Complete Predation of the Minotaur has been completed."
"You have taken one step closer to the 'Predator' class."
"As a reward for completing the first scenario quest, a special item for the 'Predator' will be granted."
◈ Physical and magical defense +50%
◈ Physical and magical evasion rate +50%
◈ Skill: Food preparation (food effect +50%)
'Wow!'
The effect that made me want to shout the moment I saw it.
It was a 5-star item with a job-exclusive ability, so the power was outstanding.
'That skill is amazing.'
Just eating food had an effect that was hard to describe, and with a 50% increase, it was beyond imagination.
While I was admiring the item,
-Next scenario search begins.
-Currently 'Completed predation of Minotaur'.
-Scenario writing in progress...
-Scenario setting completed.
-Serious scenario quest is given.
-Find the 'Hidden Temple'.
-Consume the monsters there.
-When the scenario quest is completed, reward will be given.
Find the Hidden Temple
📍 Location: Unknown
🎁 Reward: Special reward upon completion
'Hidden Temple?'
It wasn't just about simple predation.
It was a quest specifying a certain location.
It was clearly much harder than the Minotaur.
Whoosh!
All content ended, and my body returned to the original place.
***
"Haaam~"
When I returned to the original place, Medusa, who had been bored alone, looked at me and let out a big yawn.
"Huh? You're back?"
"Yeah. Where did that guy go?" "The one I turned to stone?"
Nod.
Upon my words, Medusa pointed to one of the snakes on her head with one hand.
There was a person turned to stone.
As in the video, the guy who summoned the Minotaur with the scroll.
"Su-beom-ah. Can you unfreeze that guy again?" "Just the head? Or the whole body?"
"Ah. You can unfreeze just the head?"
"Of course. What do you think I am?"
Thinking that if I unfroze the whole body, it would be troublesome if he used the scroll to summon weird guys again, it was best to unfreeze just the head.
Whoosh!
Medusa made a light gesture towards Su-beom.
At the same time, only Su-beom's head that had turned to stone returned to a movable state.
With only the head movable, Su-beom looked around in confusion.
"What the hell?! What did you do to me?!" "Hmm. That's none of your business. Why did you bring the Minotaur here?" "You think I'd tell you... Aaaak!"
Since I knew he would answer that way anyway, I brought a knife right in front of his eyes.
"Just say it easily. You came here again targeting Ji-ah, right?" "No, that's..."
"I already know everything, so don't beat around the bush." The reason why the guy was here was already in the video from the scenario quest.
It was just a confirmation question.
But I didn't feel like treating him gentlemanly since he didn't answer properly.
Swish!
I lightly scratched his cheek, and bright red blood flowed down Su-beom's cheek.
Perhaps thinking that I could kill him anytime.
Su-beom started to tense up.
"I know the reason for targeting Ji-ah and why you came here, so let's get to the main point." "Main point?"
"Yeah. Who is the guy who gave you the scroll?" "How do you know that?!"
"Why? Is there a reason I shouldn't know?" Su-beom was surprised that I knew his boss gave him the scroll.
After all, it was an unprecedented scene, so it wasn't strange that I knew it.
"I absolutely can't tell you that."
"You'll die if you don't."
Swish!
I sliced the guy's neck with the knife.
Bright red blood flowed from the neck, but Su-beom didn't even flinch.
"Just kill me."
"Aren't you going to regret saying that?"
At the guy's words, I strongly brought the knife down towards his neck.
No, I just made a slashing motion.
Perhaps thinking that if he felt the threat to his life, he would change his mind.
But the guy just closed his eyes and accepted death.
'This won't be easy.'
It seemed difficult to get information from this guy.
I didn't know who the boss was, but I could tell that he was either very loyal or that scary a boss.
"Su-beom-ah. Turn him to stone again."
"Eee~ It was fun."
Medusa, who had been watching from behind, turned Su-beom to stone again with my command.
Su-beom became a statue.
As long as Medusa didn't unfreeze him again, this guy would stay like this.
For now, after going to Daegu, I would come back later and thoroughly investigate the behind the scenes.
The scenario quest was important, and finding out about these guys was important, but for now, Daegu.
I was going to go to Daegu, where my family was.
'Mom, Dad, Mi-seong-ah. Wait for me.'