Chapter 40

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 40

Chapter Title: CDT (1)

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After taking a rest on Sunday, I prepared for CDT.

CDT was the grand finale at the end of the first semester for freshmen.

It wasn't something you could just breeze through.

Unlike the Rio City training, the morning of CDT felt a bit more relaxed.

The cadets participating in the training gathered in the briefing room after equipping their protective gear and simulators.

Behind the briefing room, a massive set came into view.

This was a simulation set modeled after Seoul.

The set built for CDT was enormous, about a quarter the size of real Seoul.

I looked up at the sky shining down with light.

Cawww— Cawww—.

An unusually large number of crows were swarming through the sky above the set.

Then Ha Dong-hwan entered the briefing room.

"Attention, all!"

He checked our safety devices.

This time, unlike subjugation missions, we wouldn't maintain formation. We'd be acting independently.

It emphasized realism.

In a sudden monster invasion, forming ranks by class to fight back wasn't realistic.

In CDT, just like last time, death in the simulation meant warping to the elimination waiting room.

In my previous life, I'd ended up in that waiting room like it was lunchtime during training, so I had no desire to go there again.

After confirming the checklist, Ha Dong-hwan looked around at us and said,

"The main goal of this training is to defend the city. So no one knows when or what monsters will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attack. Keep that in mind. It's not about killing the most monsters—it's about saving the most people. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ha Dong-hwan smiled, satisfied with our spirited response.

I gazed at the Seoul cityscape reflected in the windows.

Simulated citizens were bustling through the streets.

"Nervous?"

Lee Jae-yeol, standing beside me, asked.

"Nervous? Nah."

I wasn't nervous.

But an inexplicable unease washed over me.

It felt extremely unpleasant.

Just like the vibe from that black-masked figure I'd encountered in Siberia.

"If all safety devices are ready, head to the waiting rooms. Do your best. Class C... Oh, and with all the recent hunter murders, all instructors will be on high alert this time. No instructors inside the training grounds. So watch out for accidents."

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ha Dong-hwan's expression was grim.

Instructors and other combat personnel were fully armed.

This was different from previous trainings.

But they were upper B-Rank hunters and multiple A-Rank hunters.

...Yeah. With several A-Rank hunters here, nothing's going wrong.

They wouldn't go down easily.

I just needed to ace the test in front of me.

The armed cadets headed to the waiting rooms one by one.

Every time they moved, the metallic clank of their weapons echoed loudly.

My assignment was patrol duty.

We walked through the city center, checking for barrier collapses or responding quickly to monster invasions. A defensive squad.

Assigned to my group was Yoon Ah-young.

Mitsuda and Olivia were on response defense, while Irina Delebayne and Lee Jae-yeol handled interception defense.

Yoon Ah-young and I were in charge of Sinchon.

In my right hand, I carried the 'black signal flare' that announced monster appearances.

"Phew... I'm nervous. Right?"

"Yeah. Me too."

I glanced sideways.

She was still wearing the 'Yoon Family Necklace' around her neck.

Since that incident, nothing had happened between Yoon Ah-young and Yoon Seo-hyun.

Seo-hyun was off doing his mission in Class V's zone, and Ah-young was with me on ours.

I didn't ask her about it anymore.

Ah-young and I strolled down Sinchon University Street.

Crowds of people passed through Sinchon University Road.

Laughter never ceased.

College students out for lunch.

Street vendors and young people's revelry.

South Korea, rated A-grade among the world's safe zones, was peaceful even in simulation.

But next door in China, it was C-grade.

And Africa, West Asia, South America, Australia, Siberia, and Alaska—already overrun by monsters—were D-grade.

Battle zones.

Each nation's peace came from hunters' annual sacrifices.

Streetlights featured portraits of popular hunters, bookstores displayed comics and novels about them.

TVs blared breaking news on hunters daily, and city elders debated their favorites.

"Hello, Mr. Hunter."

A little kid passing by bowed deeply in greeting.

The simulation recreated real combat 100%, so even the AIs were self-aware.

"Hey there."

I waved back.

The kid didn't stop at me, bowing to Ah-young too.

"Hello, Mrs. Hunter."

"Uh... uh... hi?"

Ah-young stammered, flustered.

The child grinned and ran off.

Ah-young waved until the kid was out of sight.

Hunters were the world's most respected profession, humanity's great shield.

Even patrol squads got cell phone cameras shoved in their faces by citizens.

"Haha... Mrs...? At 18...?"

"...Snap out of it. Things could pop off anytime."

"R-right. Yeah."

Ah-young straightened up and scanned the surroundings at my words.

...Things could pop off anytime.

Across the street, two cadets sat on chairs, sipping coffee on break.

They thought it was just training, acting careless.

The boring, tedious two-hour patrol dragged on.

"Sigh... The sun's gonna set like this. We've walked two hours already..."

Ah-young fanned herself, exhausted.

Even with lightweight gear, the auxiliary weapons weighed over 15kg.

No wonder she was beat.

But incidents always strike at the most peaceful moments.

Suddenly, Ah-young snapped her head up, looking around.

"Monster aura...!"

"Yeah. I felt it too."

Bzzz— Bzzz— Bzzz— Bzzz—.

At that instant, portals of every color bloomed across the sunset sky.

From red to green.

Monsters of various levels.

I pulled out the signal flare ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the moment the portals appeared.

Whoosh——!

Black smoke from the flare sliced through the sky.

And black smoke rose here and there.

The battle had begun.

I immediately drew my sword.

Sunset light gleamed yellow off the blade.

"Help evacuate the civilians. I'll cover you."

"Got it!"

Ah-young dashed toward the civilians.

I stared at the gates hovering in the sky.

Red gates.

Level 1 monsters.

Goblins began plummeting from the air.

"Kikikiiik!!!"

"Hunt!!! Kiik!"

Splat! Crunch!

Goblins that fell from the sky splattered dead on impact.

But once dozens piled up, survivors used the corpses as cushions to land.

The surviving goblins growled.

"Humans! Humans!!"

"Die... slow... ly...!!"

Goblins were omnivorous monsters, famously fond of human flesh—especially female.

Three goblins charged at Ah-young, who was evacuating civilians.

"Not on my watch!"

Slash—!

I blocked in front of Ah-young and cleaved the goblins.

All three died in an instant.

Slicing goblins now felt like cutting tofu.

"Kiik...! Human!! Wanna die!!"

"Male! Get lost!"

"Kill! Kill!!!"

I wiped goblin blood from my lips with the back of my hand.

Then glared at them and said,

"Try it. You bugs."

I raised my blade.

Response Defense Squad.

The moment gates appeared, blaring sirens echoed.

Mitsuda, dozing off on his bed, bolted upright.

"Wh-what? It started???"

"Y-yes!"

Olivia, already geared up, drew her mana gun.

Mitsuda zipped up his combat vest.

"Olivia. Keep up. Got it?"

"Yes! Got it."

Mitsuda dashed into the hallway.

Olivia followed close behind.

Response defense airfield.

Fierce city winds battered Olivia.

She barely held down her whipping hair.

"..."

Training or not, the city skyline was awe-inspiring.

Just looking made your jaw drop.

Sunset over Seoul.

Gates and falling monsters. Flying gargoyles, building-sized ogres.

Hunter mech units' assault robots and anti-air missiles countering.

Deafening roars as response teams boarded transports to the scene.

Defense barrages had already begun.

Anti-kaiju missiles detonated in the sky.

"What're you waiting for? Board the transport!"

"Y-yes...!"

Olivia climbed aboard.

Whump-whump-whump—.

The transport took off the moment she was in.

Boom! Kaboom! Boom!

Seoul Interception Defense Line.

Gates appeared, and cannons roared.

Anti-kaiju shells couldn't kill gargoyles for real but could hold them off.

The deployed defense squad's main job: protect the cannons.

"Class Prez! Gargoyle on the left."

"Yeah. Saw it."

Lee Jae-yeol aimed his gun.

Aerial targets were harder than ground ones.

But Jae-yeol calmly pulled the trigger.

Bang!

His bullet pierced the gargoyle's forehead precisely.

It plummeted lifelessly.

But many gargoyles still targeted the anti-air guns.

Then a gargoyle dove from Jae-yeol's right.

An oversight, focused on the scope.

'Crap...!'

Jae-yeol swung his barrel.

Two arrows flew at the gargoyle.

Whoosh-boom!

The arrows exploded, intercepting it.

"...Nice."

"Three more from the front. Focus. Vice Prez...!"

"V-Vice Prez?"

Irina Delebayne powerfully drew her bowstring.

Slash, slash! Slash!

Goblins fell one by one to my clones' attacks.

The clones' efficiency was surprisingly high.

The four clones around me handled escort, combat, and vigilance.

"Kyaak—! Die!!! Human!"

A goblin lunged, stabbing a clone's arm with a dagger.

Gloop...

"Kyaak???"

The goblin's dagger got sucked into the clone.

Damage to clones didn't affect me.

Slash!

The clone beheaded the careless goblin.

Points were steadily accumulating.

Looking up, response teams had arrived, rappelling from helicopters for counterattacks.

It resembled a battlefield.

Hunters everywhere used swords, bows, and guns to intercept falling monsters.

"Good."

No more monsters poured from gates in this area.

The vicinity entered a lull.

No civilian casualties, just goblin corpses piled like mountains.

I headed toward the alley where Ah-young was.

She was evacuating the last civilian deep inside.

"Ah-young. How's it over there?"

"Yeah. All visible civilians are evacuated."

"Good. Now it's cleanup."

We exited the alley the other way.

A shopping street.

Many hunters already fought goblins on the main road.

"Urk! Help over here!"

"I got no breathing room either, punk!"

Most cadets struggled even against single goblins.

Cadet fighting styles were similar.

Unless you were a monster like Yoon Ah-young or Yoon Seo-hyun, daily mana was limited.

"Fireball!"

"Kieeeek!!!"

"How's that! My fireball!"

The triumphant male cadet missed the goblin sneaking up behind.

Its dagger plunged into his back.

Puke...!

"Urgh...!"

"Kihehehehek!!"

The male cadet's body vanished.

Off to the elimination room.

"...We should help."

"Yeah."

I agreed with Ah-young immediately.

This wasn't a competition—it was cooperation to defend the city.

I charged at the hunter surrounded by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠goblins, on the brink of elimination.

"Thunder Spear!"

Kraka-zzt!!!

The lightning spear electrocuted the goblins.

Three charred black and collapsed at once.

I extended a hand to the fallen male cadet.

"...Thanks... You saved me... Huh?"

He startled as he went to grab it.

"You're... Kang Tae-hyun from Class C...?"

"So? Problem?"

"N-no... Thanks."

Rumors of me being a show-off must still circulate.

I wanted to see the face behind those idiotic rumors.

"Tae-hyun! Behind!"

At Ah-young's urgent shout, I looked back.

This time, a kobold pack.

"Ugh...! Too many! Run and regroup first!"

The male cadet panicked and yelled.

I ignored him and charged the kobolds.

"Ah-young. Support."

"On it!"

Ah-young extended her hand.

Boom-boom-boom!

Yoon Ah-young's flame barrage.

Countless fireballs soared, engulfing the kobold pack.

The flaming kobolds howled in agony.

When the enemy panics.

That's prime massacre time.

I rushed at them.

Simultaneous casting.

Four was my current max.

Fireball, Wind Surfer, Rock Attacker, Thunderbolt.

I cast all four skills at once.

Time to show the results of training with Yoon Ji-yeon.

"Uwaa!!"

Kaboom!!!

My four techniques flew at the kobold pack.

With massive explosions, dust billowed.

...Perfect! That was flawless.

Unlike my spar with Lee Jung-tae, I'd cast four simultaneously.

I'd finally reached that realm.

"...Wow..."

The male cadet plopped down, gasping in awe repeatedly.

"...Phew. Nice."

I clenched my fist.

Some mana spent, but a perfect combo attack.

I looked ahead.

The kobold corpses should've vanished without trace.

...But what I saw was a massive golden shield gleaming.

"...What."

The kobolds were dead, but not from my skills.

From the kobold corpse pile emerged a man wielding a golden sword.

He grinned at me.

"...You."

I couldn't hide my surprise at the unexpected figure.

(Continued in the next chapter)