Chapter 38
Chapter 38
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Grotesque Calamity (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"We'll talk later," Kim Hyunwoo had said with a grave expression.
Elena bowed her head to him and stepped out.
Woooong-!
She gritted her teeth at the resonating hum from the Territory Stone inside the lord's castle.
And for good reason—Elena knew exactly what that resonance meant.
'Why is the calamity phenomenon happening now...!'
The calamity phenomenon.
This disaster, triggered when gates to another world—tied to the labyrinths—opened at random, was a true calamity in every sense of the word.
The colossal monster that emerged would resonate with every Territory Stone nearby, then charge straight for the closest territory, obliterating everything in its path.
And Elena, who had lived as a mercenary for a very long time, had witnessed such a calamity firsthand.
"..."
Her hands trembled faintly.
Memories from that time flashed through her mind.
A thriving neutral commercial territory, larger than life, falling to a monster whose body dwarfed even the territory's walls.
Soldiers' spears and swords couldn't leave a single scratch on its flesh.
Heroes' attacks merely wounded it but failed to halt its advance.
...In fact, the heroes were swept away in a single motion, all meeting their ends. With one strike, the monster shattered the walls, then annihilated everything in the territory in an instant.
Buildings crumbled and vanished beneath its bulk.
Fires erupted everywhere.
Soldiers' and residents' screams filled the air like a panorama.
And the final image: a child weeping before the monster, its mother crushed under its flesh—
"..."
Elena cut off the memory there.
Nausea surged up.
But the clear resonance from the Territory Stone in the lord's castle dragged her back in, and soon she recalled the vanished territory as her last vision.
The commercial city, reduced to just the Territory Stone wrapped in the lord's castle remains—a mere trace that it had ever existed—completely evaporated.
A scene that could only be seen as an unstoppable natural disaster for humanity.
Elena turned her gaze to the territory residents from atop the lord's castle.
Their faces all looked grim, as if every one of them understood the resonance's meaning.
Some wore expressions of utter despair.
Others were filled with resignation.
Seeing their faces, Elena frowned too.
The residents knew it, and so did she all too well.
Lartania territory had no chance of stopping this disaster.
...She had learned that brutal fact the hard way: even she couldn't stop a calamity.
'I have to get the lord to safety.'
Elena resolved to evacuate him.
To her, the lord was now an existence that absolutely could not be lost.
And just as Elena made that decision.
Creeeak-!
The door opened, and Kim Hyunwoo emerged.
The moment Elena turned and opened her mouth.
"Elena, gather the people in the square."
Kim Hyunwoo spoke first.
Hans, a man who had moved from Harancia territory to settle in Lartania with his wife and young daughter Roz, wore a look of utter despair.
"Honey, what are we going to do now?"
"...Haa."
His wife spoke in a worried tone, but he had no words to offer.
In truth, from the moment the resonance echoed from the Territory Stone, the residents' fates were all but sealed.
Death.
That unfamiliar yet terrifying word scrambled Hans's mind.
Of course, some might not understand the root of his despair.
Residents could simply flee the territory to save their lives, after all.
But that was the thinking of fools who knew one side and ignored the other.
A calamity didn't vanish after destroying one territory.
After devouring one, it moved to the nearest next, smashing it, then another, and another—until its dying breath, obliterating all in its path.
So even if they survived fleeing Lartania, unless the calamity was stopped, any territory they settled in would surely be wiped out.
There were no vital kingdom outposts or exceptional heroes near Lartania anyway.
Just considering that, Hans realized he'd have to wander for an incredibly long time to find another territory.
And with his young daughter in tow.
...Even if his family endured that grueling journey and reached another territory, it wouldn't end there.
He had invested all his earnings from Harancia and here into a market stall to truly start living.
He had no money left.
In other words, even if they escaped with their lives, he and his family had no foundation to survive elsewhere.
Other territories didn't levy low taxes like Lartania, and most charged tolls just to enter.
"Damn it..."
In short, the moment Lartania vanished, the chain of hardships for Hans and his family would inevitably lead to death. He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Daddy, are we in big trouble?"
His innocent daughter, unnerved by the wails around her, asked that question. Hans gritted his teeth—
"The lord will give a speech in the square! Everyone, gather at the square!"
—at the soldiers' shouts from outside. Hans recalled Lartania's lord.
The man the residents called the "King of Logs" or "God's Messenger."
'If it's the lord, maybe—?'
He entertained a flicker of hope but soon let out a deep sigh.
Most residents knew the lord was extraordinary.
The miracles he'd shown were more than enough to earn the title "God's Messenger."
But no matter how miraculous his talents, stopping a calamity seemed impossible.
Calamities weren't something mere talents could halt.
"Wait here. I'll be right back."
Despite knowing that full well, Hans stood and headed to the square.
He was curious what the lord would say, first and foremost.
By the time Hans arrived after walking some distance, the square was packed with residents.
All wearing faces brimming with gloom and defeat, just like him.
At the front, the lord stood on a hastily built platform.
"Alright, then. Let me say this clearly first."
The lord's words continued.
"With your help, we can definitely stop the calamity."
The residents' gazes...
"Before it even reaches this territory."
...locked onto the lord all at once.
Right after Kim Hyunwoo's brief speech ended.
"...Lord, are you serious?"
"About what?"
"About handling the calamity."
Elena followed him straight to the office and posed the question.
She had no idea what he was aiming for or why he'd task the residents with this.
But one thing she knew for sure.
No matter who he was, he couldn't stop a calamity.
That's why she'd chased after him, intent on persuading him.
"Of course."
But Kim Hyunwoo answered her so straightforwardly and thought to himself.
'It might even be a boon.'
In truth, the special event "Calamity" defied easy explanation.
The name "Calamity" was the most fitting description.
These colossal monsters emerging from otherworld gates—linked to the labyrinths in Arteil's lore—charged the nearest territory with a Territory Stone the moment they appeared, smashing everything in sight.
Moreover, as they approached, they resonated with the Territory Stone, crippling territory functions in an instant, spiking residents' anxiety, and driving them to flee.
From the lord's perspective, it was a downright nasty event.
'Of course, that's where the guild comes in.'
Naturally, in the game, this wasn't a one-sided beatdown for players. At its core, it was an 8-player recommended raid event.
In other words, with a guild to run an 8-man raid, you could slay the monster and snag hefty rewards.
Even without an 8-man group, a dedicated Arteil player could solo it.
But the huge problem here was that current Kim Hyunwoo had neither fellow players for a raid nor strong heroes to take down the beast.
Basically, he had nothing.
Yet he'd cursed at the initial calamity alert and still answered Elena confidently, even viewing it as a boon, for two reasons.
One: Checking the details, this calamity was "Magdaora," a "Ghost"-grade monster he'd slain thousands of times.
And the other.
'200 fully armed soldiers, 300 magic stones, and—Elena. That should be plenty.'
Kim Hyunwoo's mind held a way to crush Magdaora with just these resources and Elena.
After all, no matter what anyone said, Kim Hyunwoo was an Arteil veteran with over 10,000 hours.
In those 10,000 hours, he'd tackled every insane feat for baffling achievements—whether they were made out of boredom or spite.
A total burnout addict.
That's why.
"Alright, no need to lure it. Let's go crush it right now."
Kim Hyunwoo flashed a grin.