The Security Corps’ Zone 3 hunts were carried out by several teams, each with a clear purpose.
Roles were sharply divided: combat squads that did the actual hunting, and transport squads that processed and hauled the monster byproducts.
Team 1, which included Alex, was working the outermost edge of Zone 3.
“…Chief! Chief!”
They spotted a man running toward them, injured, his face white as a sheet. He was from Team 3.
“Kevin! What happened?!”
As they listened to his breathless account, Alex and the others went stone-faced.
They moved out at once.
What they found at the scene was a horrific massacre.
The bodies of Team 3’s Security Corps mbers lay sprawled across the ground.
There were Black Star Society corpses too, but the only ones still standing, however few, were Black Star Society Climbers.
The instant Alex saw his n’s bodies, his vision went red and he Leapt.
The Black Star Society survivors’ eyes blew wide with shock.
Alex covered the gap in a single bound, landed in their midst, seized one of them by the throat, and hurled him aside.
KRAK!
Watching their comrade slam into a boulder, the other Black Star Society Climbers recoiled in horror.
“Wh, what the…”
The other Corps mbers who had hurried after him moved to restrain him.
“…Chief! Calm down!”
Alex’s murderous gaze swept over the remaining Black Star Society Climbers.
“You sons of bitches, how dare you…!”
That was when it happened.
THUD. THUD. THUD…
The ground shook with approaching footsteps, and figures appeared from the opposite direction.
When Alex made out the man leading the charge, his expression hardened.
…BOOOM!
A man landed at the scene with a thunderous Leap, just as Alex had.
Wang Kai.
The Black Star Society Climbers scrambled behind him as if their lives had just been spared.
Wang Kai surveyed the surrounding bodies without much reaction and let out a casual sigh.
“What a fucking ss. The hell happened here?”
His gaze shifted to Alex.
Alex spoke, his voice thick with rage.
“The Black Star Society Climbers invaded our hunting grounds. And they attacked first. It’s pretty clear who’s at fault here, isn’t it?”
“…Aaah?”
Wang Kai furrowed his brow.
He let out a derisive snort and turned to one of the Black Star Society Climbers.
“You hear that? You guys hit them first?”
“…N, no, sir. They struck first.”
“There you go.”
The injured Corps mber shouted furiously.
“Don’t… don’t give that bullshit! You bastards hit the Team Leader with a skill first!”
“That’s not true, Master Wang Kai. We, we tried to talk it out, and they ambushed us.”
Wang Kai waved a hand.
“Enough, enough. Obviously the Security Corps swung first. Pretty clear-cut.”
“…What did you say?”
“And since when is this your turf? You sign so contract on it? The hunting grounds belong to all of us.”
Wang Kai went on.
“So, how do you plan to take responsibility for this fuckin’ ss? Mister Security Corps Chief?”
Alex let out a sharp, hollow laugh. Ha!
“Did you just say responsibility?”
“That’s right. How many of my boys did you kill? One, two, three… what is this, a declaration of war?”
The Security Corps and Black Star Society Climbers gathered behind their respective leaders, glaring across the gap.
With everything balanced on a knife’s edge, Alex barely managed to swallow his rage and recover his composure.
For now, he had to put a stop to this here.
If they ca to blows, it would just an everyone dying together.
“Let’s call it here, Wang Kai. Plenty of mine died too.”
Having taken the first step back, Alex naturally expected the other side to step back as well.
But Wang Kai shook his head.
“Cut the bullshit, would you?”
“…”
“I asked how you’re going to take responsibility. For killing this many of my guys.”
Alex’s brow drew tight.
“You’re really pushing this?”
“You don’t get the ssage any other way.”
“…You want everyone here to die together, is that it?”
“Heh heh, looks to like your side’s the one going down. Not feeling confident?”
Wang Kai sneered.
Alex stifled a sharp breath.
‘This crazy son of a bitch…’
An all-out brawl wasn’t on Alex’s table.
Because if it ca to that, most everyone here would die for sure.
But Wang Kai showed no intention of backing down. The killing intent he was openly leaking made it plain he ant every word.
Glaring at him, Alex made an offer.
“Then how about this. You and . Settle it ourselves. Leader against leader.”
Wang Kai grinned.
“Yeah? And?”
“The loser admits fault for what happened here.”
“Deal. Let’s do it.”
Wang Kai accepted as if he’d been waiting for it.
Alex waved his n off.
“All of you, fall back. Far back.”
“Chief… but…”
“That lunatic’s serious. This is the best play, so step back. You don’t trust ?”
The Security Corps had no choice but to retreat to a distance. The Black Star Society did the sa.
On the vast lava plain, Alex and Wang Kai squared off.
Stretching playfully, Wang Kai spread his arms wide.
“I’ve got the higher Level, so I’ll spot you the first move. Co on.”
Without hesitation, Alex stomped off the ground and shot toward Wang Kai at terrific speed.
BOOOM!
Their fists collided. A massive shockwave tore outward.
Alex stomped down hard a second ti and pressed forward.
At the sa mont, Wang Kai stomped down and used Leap to spring back. Alex was on him in an instant.
A clash between the world’s two highest-Level Climbers.
Their bodies moved fast enough to leave afterimages.
The Security Corps and Black Star Society Climbers watching from a distance couldn’t even properly track the exchange of blows. Only the bursting shockwaves rang out, again and again.
Alex’s speed kept climbing.
[Skill: Exaltation (Rare)]
The more the body moves, the more it becos exalted, strengthening physical abilities. The effect gradually fades as movent stops.
Classification: Physical Type (Passive)
Willpower Cost: None
Cooldown: None
[Endless Combo (Rare )]
The more you attack the sa target, the more damage continues to stack.
Classification: Physical Type (Passive)
Willpower Cost: None
Cooldown: None
KRRRACK!
Wang Kai blocked Alex’s fist with his forearm and was knocked backward.
As the skill stacks built up, Alex’s blows hit harder.
He poured a relentless storm of combinations into Wang Kai, never letting him breathe.
‘The gap’s barely there…!’
For the mont, Alex appeared to be overwhelming him.
There was a four-Level difference between them, but Exaltation covered for that, and the Endless Combo stacks were piling up smoothly.
Of course, Wang Kai had yet to use Frenzy or any of his other reportedly main skills.
Just as Alex was pressing his attack while keeping that in mind…
“…!”
Wang Kai’s eyes flushed red.
In a single motion, he batted Alex’s fist aside and counterattacked.
Alex hastily crossed his arms to block the punch.
The impact was beyond anything he’d imagined. His body was hurled backward.
Wang Kai closed the distance in an instant with Leap and brought his leg crashing down. Alex desperately rolled across the ground to dodge.
“Right here!”
But another kick ca flying in right after.
Alex couldn’t dodge in ti and took the blow.
“Khh…!”
As if everything until now had been re play, Wang Kai went on a wild rampage.
Alex couldn’t make sense of it. Even with Frenzy active, the gap shouldn’t have widened this drastically.
He could no longer keep up with his opponent’s speed.
KRRRRACK!
At last, he took a clean blow square in the chest.
The impact shattered his sternum and sent him flying, bouncing and rolling across the ground.
“…Chief!”
Wang Kai dusted off his hands and walked toward the fallen Alex.
“What a joke. Did you really think you could go toe to toe with ?”
Alex coughed up blood, then trembling, lifted his head.
“You… you’re not Level 60!”
Wang Kai grinned.
“Caught on, did you? Cleared another floor not long ago. I’m Level 64 now.”
A complete and total defeat for Alex.
Despair washed over the Corps mbers’ faces. The Black Star Society Climbers, by contrast, erupted in cheers.
“Wang Kai! Wang Kai! Wang Kai!”
Wang Kai smiled, satisfied, and raised a hand. The chanting died.
Alex barely managed to push himself up. He clenched his teeth and spoke.
“I… lost. I’ll keep my word.”
He couldn’t bring himself to face his n. Beaten brutally, and on top of that, having to admit fault.
“Yeah, yeah. That’s that. But we still gotta finish this.”
With those words, Wang Kai lunged at Alex.
One of the Security Corps officers desperately threw himself between them.
WHAM!
The officer flew like a ragdoll, his shield crumpled around him.
The Corps mbers cried out in horror.
“Wh, what are you doing!”
Wang Kai had just been about to finish Alex off.
Wang Kai gave a slick, oily smile.
“What’s it look like? Ti for your chief’s life to settle the bill.”
“…!”
“Or… why don’t I just clean house while we’re at it? If all of you croak here, the Security Corps’ main force is wiped, isn’t it?”
Stunned by the outrageous claim, Alex shouted.
“What are you saying…! You think you can pull that off and walk away?”
Wang Kai snickered.
“Walk away~? Eh, the Party’ll handle it. What, the whole world’s gonna attack China over it? Either way, Floor 5 is going to be ours from here on out, completely.”
Realizing Wang Kai was dead serious, Alex felt nothing but disgust. The man was completely off his rocker.
“Let’s start by killing you and figure out the rest after.”
Just as Wang Kai lunged at Alex again.
CLAAANG!
A man burst out of thin air and intercepted him.
Wang Kai flinched and pulled back.
The man was also pushed back slightly, ending up planted in front of the fallen Alex.
When Alex saw his face, he couldn’t help but be stunned.
“…Hyeon?”
The young Korean man he’d t at Drake’s Restaurant.
It was him.
*
I’d been roaming through Zone 3 for a while, hunting.
“…?”
A faint boom carried in from sowhere far off.
I tilted my head.
This… sounds like people fighting each other?
And if the impacts were carrying all the way out to , those were serious heavyweights.
Not the kind of thing to walk past, so I headed toward the source to check it out.
By the ti the noise was dying down, I’d made it to the site.
What I saw was…
‘…What?’
What kind of situation is this?
With Concealnt up, I crept closer to the group gathered in the distance.
They looked like Security Corps and Black Star Society Climbers.
Whatever the hell had gone down, there were a few corpses lying around too.
‘Alex…’
The badly injured man on the ground was a face I knew.
Alex, the Security Corps Chief I’d run into at Drake’s Restaurant a while back.
And the East Asian man on the other side was…
“What’s it look like? Ti for your chief’s life to settle the bill.”
The man was saying sothing like that.
I took a mont to read the situation, and the man’s identity was easy enough to guess.
‘Wang Kai, then.’
So the Security Corps and Black Star Society are fighting each other?
…To the point where people are dying? Why?
In any case, it was clear Alex had lost to Wang Kai. And…
“Or… why don’t I just clean house while we’re at it? If all of you croak here, the Security Corps’ main force is wiped, isn’t it?”
Wang Kai went on.
What is this lunatic on about.
He was going to kill everyone here?
“What are you saying…! You think you can pull that off and walk away?”
“Walk away~? Eh, the Party’ll handle it. What, the whole world’s gonna attack China over it? Either way, Floor 5 is going to be ours from here on out, completely.”
Killing intent radiating off him in waves, Wang Kai took a step toward Alex.
“Let’s start by killing you and figure out the rest after.”
He really ant to do it.
…There was no helping it.
I cut between Alex and Wang Kai and blocked the strike.
CLAAANG!
A heavy impact rang up through my arm.
I was pushed back a little.
Wang Kai, who’d also been pushed back, blinked at , looking startled.
“…The hell are you? Where’d you co from?”
Every pair of eyes was on .
Ah, fuck… what a situation.
For now, I spoke to Wang Kai.
“Stop. Are you really going to kill all these people?”
“…Huh?”
He cocked his head and stared at for a long mont.
Then suddenly, as if it had hit him, his face went wide with shock.
“You… it’s you? Don’t tell ?”
“…”
“Person123! It’s you, isn’t it?! Right?!”
Wang Kai’s voice rang out like he was advertising it to the whole neighborhood.
The Security Corps and Black Star Society Climbers stirred.
“What? Person123…?”
“Did he just say Person123?”
…So it’s co to this.
I let out an inward sigh and spoke to Wang Kai again.
“Please stop here. Whatever’s going on…”
That was when Wang Kai suddenly charged at .
“…!”
A fist grazed the bridge of my nose.
I dodged his attacks, retreating the whole way.
Fast, and strong. His physicals are above mine.
When I crossed my arms to block his fist, the impact rang heavier than the one before.
Only when I had pulled well back did Wang Kai finally stop.
“…Why are you attacking ?”
Even with Skin Hardening active, the impact’s punching through.
So skill or other had Wang Kai’s eyes flushed red.
“Hey.”
He laughed like a madman, then spoke.
“I’ve been really, really wanting to et you, you cute little bastard. Finally got my wish today. Wow.”
I had no clue what kind of bullshit he was on about.
Once again, I made it clear I had no intention of fighting.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but… how about you knock it off?”
“Knock what off?”
“Trying to kill Alex and the Security Corps people. I don’t know why you were fighting, but you’ve already won.”
Wang Kai gave a nasty little smirk.
“Yeah? You’d like to stop?”
“…”
“Then get on your knees and bow your head. Do that, and I’ll stop.”
I scowled.
“Hm? If the Savior of Mankind himself bows his head, then of course I’ll have to stop. Right?!”
Wang Kai cackled and turned to the Black Star Society Climbers.
The Climbers, who’d been standing dumbly, burst out laughing to humor him.
Less than amused, I addressed Wang Kai again.
“Stop joking around.”
“Not joking. Bow your head and ask politely.”
“…And if I won’t?”
“Then I’ll kill them all. Oh, and you, I’ll only beat to within an inch of your life, so don’t worry.”
A brief exchange was more than enough to figure out what kind of person stood in front of .
Reasoning with him clearly wasn’t going to happen.
And if reasoning was off the table, all that was left was a fight.
The man was a Level-60-tier powerhouse, and going at it half-heartedly would put in real danger.
I had no intention of taking that risk, so if it ca to a fight, I’d go all out.
And going all out ant…
“…I’m telling you for the last ti, Wang Kai.”
I let out a sigh and spoke.
“Stop here. This is your final warning.”
Wang Kai sneered.
“A warning? Oh, scary, so scary. And what happens if I don’t listen?”
“You’ll die.”
“…”
“I don’t have any confidence in being able to subdue you halfway. Let’s finish this here, with no one dying. It’s not a difficult thing to do.”
Wang Kai bared his killing intent and laughed.
“…Hear you out and the bullshit just keeps coming. Fine, don’t kneel. I’ll smash both your legs myself, then make you kneel.”
…Right.
Nothing for it, then.
Before Wang Kai could attack, I stopped ti.
Finished 300 seconds of ntal Concentration.
And the instant ti resud, I fired Destruction Ray.
A pitch-black beam shot out in an instant and engulfed the spot where Wang Kai had been standing.
Hissss…
Wang Kai was no longer there.
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