Alpha Female Kim Min-jung's Killer Performance [Mysterious Quest] [2]

Huh???? A Special Quest???

Geum Tae-yang had stepped outside first and was scanning the surroundings when his eyes went slightly wide.

I mean, a Special Quest… I figured one was about due, but that name is a little…?????

That widening of his eyes didn't seem to come solely from the fact that a Special Quest had been assigned to him.

Honestly, Geum Tae-yang had already completed no small number of Special Quests. And almost every one of them had been handed down without warning. So for him to be rattled at this point by the mere appearance of a Special Quest would have been unrealistic.

What had caught his attention was the title of the Special Quest itself.

Danger factors…

He whipped his head left, right, left again.

Geum Tae-yang immediately began scanning the area in fine detail, as if conducting a thorough recon.

Is there anything that could actually be a threat beyond the usual stuff???

Naturally, there wasn't much of anything that looked threatening.

Today was a day he had to take Kim Min-jung and Park A-young out on a mission. So from last night through this morning, Tae-yang had repeatedly come outside and run his pre-checks. The zombies that had drifted in had already been beaten down, and their corpses stacked somewhere appropriate. As he'd already mentioned during the living-room sofa meeting in the bunker, Do Min-chul's crew had gotten sluggish in their movements regarding Tae-yang's side thanks to the power struggles downtown — he'd already picked up on that too.

So in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠truth, nothing that could really be called an "unknown threat" was coming to mind. That earlier looking-around had been more a product of puzzlement than genuine concern.

In that case, the only thing left to consider is Awakened… Anyway, we've got three Awakened on our side. If a number of people big enough to threaten three Awakened were suddenly on the move, we'd have already noticed.

Still, since the Status Window had flagged a danger situation, Tae-yang ran through the possibilities. The ordinary variables would be zombies, or movement from Do Min-chul's side. But he'd already got a solid handle on both of those. What remained was the possibility of people suddenly flooding in the way the previous building tenants had, or another Awakened showing up.

Of those two, a rush of ordinary people was something he'd already experienced once, so he'd checked it alongside Do Min-chul's movements. He'd also been watching, through online channels, for any noteworthy movement of people. That left only Awakened-related variables as the remaining possibility.

Ahem… just how strong of an Awakened are we talking if it's enough to pop a Special Quest?

Feeling the options narrow down like that, Geum Tae-yang's expression turned distinctly serious. When a threat-related Special Quest appeared, it never got thrown up against opponents so pathetic that there was no real threat at all. Even with three Awakened present, it was still warning of danger — so yes, it was genuinely concerning.

"What's wrong, Tae-yang? Is something the matter?"

Kim Min-jung had been stuck right up against her daughter Park A-young. Then she looked over at Tae-yang scanning the surroundings and asked in a tone laced with worry. From her perspective, his whole atmosphere had shifted at high speed.

"A Special Quest just got added, Auntie. Something like 'Protect your family from the unknown threat.' I don't really know what threat it's talking about either."

"Still, the Status Window has never said anything baseless, so we should keep being careful."

Tae-yang answered Min-jung's question while still sweeping the area with his eyes.

"I see! Got it! Auntie will keep a closer watch on things!"

Her grip tightened hard.

Kim Min-jung's eyes went round as she clenched the weapon in her hands with force. A faint blue mana began to radiate from the weapon she held — the Supporter's unique weapon, the Supporter Staff.

Kim Min-jung had also ranked up to D-level this time. So just like Park A-young, two traits had been added from the previous stage, and critically, she had also gained stats that could protect her own body. Namely, the Supporter Suit and the Supporter Staff.

The distinctive feature of the items Min-jung held was that they were uniquely hers. Park A-young modified things through alchemy magic, and Geum Tae-yang reinforced items through energy projection. Min-jung's, on the other hand, were sacred tools bearing the Supporter name — and only she could use them.

"Haha! That's reassuring, Auntie. Unintentionally, it looks like you've become the tank."

"Tank means the one who blocks up front, right? Just leave it to Auntie. That's actually more comfortable for me. I can throw my body for you kids."

With her unique weapon and suit now in hand, Kim Min-jung was hungry for an active role in the party. So Tae-yang had even given her the title of tank — one that fit her preferences perfectly — trying to meet her needs. He'd meant it as a way of gently placating her, but the way things were going, it looked like that was exactly how it was going to play out for real.

"Tae-yang, you think the biggest possibility is a new Awakened?"

While Tae-yang and Min-jung were exchanging warm, easy words, Park A-young had already deduced what he was thinking. And she was on her phone. The moment she'd heard him speak, she'd checked whether anything big enough to become a variable was unfolding online.

"That's about all it could be right now. Just hoping it's some straightforward power-focused fighter who comes at us. If it's some weird skill user, that'll be a headache."

Tae-yang nodded slowly as he answered A-young's question.

Before long, the three of them started moving around in search of a suitable vehicle. Then, two zombies that seemed to have drifted in at some point blocked their path.

"Looks like ones that came in after I cleaned this morning, Auntie. I'll handle them."

It hadn't been a thorough scrubbing of every last corner, but it was a stretch Tae-yang had definitely swept through once. So he raised the question of where they'd come from and stepped forward to deal with them.

"No, Tae-yang. Auntie will take care of them."

Kim Min-jung asked him to yield the turn to her.

"Auntie's going to handle them???"

Tae-yang stopped mid-step and glanced back slightly as he answered.

"Even zombies that are off on their own like that — I need to handle them myself and build real combat experience."

"So you stay here and look after A-young."

The look in Kim Min-jung's eyes, and the hand clenched around her Supporter Staff, were resolute. Before, even when her heart had been racing ahead, she'd thought that from a practical standpoint it was right to rely entirely on Tae-yang. But now she had the strength to take an active role and lighten his load. And Mama Kim Min-jung wanted to hone and develop that strength starting right now.

"A-alright, Auntie. Be careful."

Geum Tae-yang knew it perfectly well. Once Kim Min-jung's maternal power started surging, there was no one who could stop her. So even though it felt like sending the woman he loved out onto the battlefield and he didn't much like it, he decided to take it with a cool head.

Well, if anything goes wrong, I can just take them out with Mana Bullets.

Tae-yang had his own safety measure. The Mana Bullets he'd been practicing hard — if Min-jung looked like she was in danger, he just had to fire them and protect her.

Kim Min-jung drew a long, deep breath. Having secured Tae-yang's permission, she set out to meet the two zombies walking toward the three of them from roughly twenty meters ahead. The deep breathing made her tension obvious. Unlike when she'd rushed in to protect Tae-yang in an emergency, it felt like she was climbing into a ring to fight a match.

Ah…! Something about the feeling is changing…!

Then, when she'd walked in to about fifteen meters, Kim Min-jung felt her psychological state shift.

Of course, Kim Min-jung had experienced the Combat Mental Master correction before — but the difference in felt quality between an unconscious experience and one in this fully open form was enormous.

I can take those things down!!

Confidence surging up from that, Kim Min-jung charged rapidly toward the two zombies.

I'm more tense than when I fight myself, damn it…

In contrast to Min-jung's transformed, confidence-filled mental state, Geum Tae-yang entered full tension mode. Normally he would have been going wild over the unintentional, killer rear view Min-jung was putting on display. But right now he was focused entirely on how the zombies would react — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and on whether the woman he loved might tangle her steps mid-charge.

At last the two zombies registered Kim Min-jung charging at them. Their mouths split wide open as they charged back with ferocious intensity, roaring.

Kim ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Min-jung caught their change of state as well. Her reaction was sharp. She gripped her Supporter Staff with both hands as if holding a short spear. Then, timing it to the advance of the faster of the two zombies, she thrust the tip of the staff up under its jaw like an uppercut stab.

"Oh!"

Watching that, Geum Tae-yang's eyes went wide with genuine surprise. The timing had been absolutely perfect. The opponent had been advancing too, so it was no ordinary move. But the performance of Kim Min-jung, fully transformed into a fighter, didn't stop there.

This wasn't an ordinary staff — it was Kim Min-jung's Supporter Staff, a special weapon charged with mana. It punched through the zombie's bone and flesh without resistance, pulling free with a clean, satisfying sound. Still in that position, Min-jung put force into the head of the staff and swung it in a short arc — at an angle almost like throwing an elbow strike.

The result was an extremely sharp, high-speed staff attack. The accuracy was just as killer, so the strike landed without fail and shattered the second zombie's skull. A thick stream of blood sprayed from the temple of the second zombie whose head had been crushed — and Kim Min-jung even dodged that blood spray, completing the final motion perfectly.

The first zombie and the second zombie collapsed to the ground almost in domino order. That was how fast Min-jung's consecutive attacks had been.

"Whoa!!!! You're amazing, Auntie! That was perfect!! I believed in you!!!!!"

Geum Tae-yang went wild. The dopamine that had been clenched tight in his chest had flipped over into pure catharsis, and he was pouring out every bit of that killer satisfaction. The incredible woman right in front of him was his female — Kim Min-jung.

"R-really? Was it okay, Tae-yang? A-young?"

Still holding the Supporter Staff slick with zombie blood, Kim Min-jung responded to that frenzy with a truly innocent expression and voice.

"I'm telling you??? You were a complete female warrior, Auntie!!!"

Tae-yang dashed over to Min-jung's side and thrust up a thumbs-up.

"Oh my, this kid is overdoing it… Auntie's getting embarrassed…"

Innocent Kim Min-jung felt shy under the shameless reaction from her doting Tae-yang. But it wasn't long before—

"Wow…!! Why is it so big?????"

—Kim Min-jung's eyes went wide as well.