Chapter 43: Kids these days grow up quickly.

“Damn it! Where are those bastards going!”

Lee Sunghan moved through the forest, startled. Behind him, beside him, monsters were rushing at him from all directions, trying to kill him.

“Get back!”

He twisted his body backward.

The machine gun mounted on his shoulder fired continuously. He could see the outlines of the enemies. He lightly pulled the trigger.

[‘Auto Battle’ quickly identifies the enemy.]

[‘Ultra Reconnaissance’ marks the enemy’s position.]

Zing-

Bang!

Zing-

Bang!

Zing-

Bang!

The equipment deployed for suppression activated and emitted flames. The pursuing monsters instantly turned into black ashes and disappeared.

Kaboom!

A red dot rose vertically from the forest and an explosion occurred.

Magic-infused bullets.

In other words, magic bullets had taken effect.

And also powerful explosive magic.

It was so expensive that it made him click his tongue, but it was worth the price. Indeed, there’s a reason why expensive things are expensive.

“HQ. Respond! HQ?!”

Even while running, he tried to connect to the communication.

Of course, the earpiece didn’t work.

At least not inside here.

Lee Sunghan looked around.

Is it a jamming signal?

“It’s not a jamming signal?! Damn it.”

Well, he should think about that after he survives.

Lee Sunghan removed the high-explosive ammunition belt from the machine gun and prepared armor-piercing rounds.

The bullets, as thick as his forearm, were lined up. They were so large that it took time to reload.

[‘Auto Battle’ says it’s ready.]

I know.

Lee Sunghan replied as if whispering.

Armor-piercing rounds.

If you get hit by these bullets?

They’re large-caliber rounds that pierce through limbs.

It’s a famous 12.7mm. And it’s a machine gun that fires 800 rounds per minute, so you can imagine.

He turned his body around, stood up, and took a shooting stance. He only has one chance.

“Here I go.”

The traits responded, and his physical stats increased exponentially.

[‘Auto Battle’ adjusts for recoil.]

[‘Regeneration’ relieves accumulated fatigue.]

[‘Ultra Reconnaissance’ marks the enemy.]

[‘Completely Capable Hunter’ applies stat buffs.]

Lee Sunghan fired in bursts, controlling the recoil.

“Ook! Ook!”

“What is it, where is it.”

[‘Ultra Reconnaissance’ shouts that it’s above.]

“Above?!”

He aims the gun upward.

He had roughly dealt with the ones chasing him on the ground.

Now it’s the upper level’s turn.

The branches rustled.

Leaves on the twigs fluttered.

He held up the tactical light in the direction of the sound.

Flicker!

A figure faster than most cars was approaching him!

Bang!

Whoosh.

Thud-

“Got one.”

The monster he barely hit fell to the ground. It was a monkey with a carapace.

Ook! Ook!

Kyaaa!

There was no time to delay.

The group kept pushing.

Red imp monkey.

A hybrid created by crossbreeding a demon-type imp and an ordinary monkey.

They found Lee Sunghan and giggled as if they were delighted.

[‘Auto Battle’ takes a perfect firing angle.]

Click.

Lee Sunghan pulled the charging handle and quickly aimed at the target with the sight.

Starting with the largest group.

He began firing, sweeping left and right.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Accurately, one shot at a time.

He waits as long as possible when it’s uncertain.

It’s 800 rounds per minute, but if you can’t hit, it’s all for nothing.

When he thought they were gathered in one place.

He pulled the pin from his pocket and threw it.

It was a grenade.

“Ooh, ooook!”

Kaboom!

The fragmentation grenades exploded one after another, and the surroundings became hazy.

Lee Sunghan quickly lay down on the ground. The explosion was so powerful that a crater was formed at the epicenter.

“…….”

The largest one fell.

Its lower body was gone due to the explosion.

It was the one closest to the epicenter.

A leader different from the ordinary ones.

The only difference was the two horns neatly arranged on its forehead. The red imp monkeys are absolutely loyal to the leader’s orders. With the leader dead, it was natural for them to panic.

“Ugh, it’s dead.”

Lee Sunghan tapped it with his foot.

Confirmation of the kill is an important element.

It was definitely dead.

Bang!

Still, he shot it once more, blowing its head off.

“Ooh, oook!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

The imp group screamed and fled without looking back.

It was a few minutes later that the surroundings became quiet.

Lee Sunghan quickly reloaded and prepared for the next engagement.

“I used up too much ammo.”

Lee Sunghan leaned against a nearby tree – one that was relatively intact – and sat down.

Something was seriously wrong.

He could be sure of that.

He could feel it instinctively.

Like Kang Jinyoung when she found a teeth mark.

“……”

“Wh-why are you doing that?”

“Do you want to die? Who did this?”

“Huh?”

And then she rubbed the deeply embedded teeth mark – Kang Miyoung blushed and ran away – with her hand.

So hard that her shoulder bled.

It stung so much that she couldn’t bear it.

‘That btch, is she a fcking hippo? Her bite force is all she has…’

As soon as he read such thoughts, Kang Jinyoung clicked her tongue.

“Lee Sunghan, answer.”

“Y-yes!”

“Be coherent. Don’t do anything weird. Absolutely.”

Lee Sunghan was most afraid of her at that moment.

Her eyes were dazed like a dead fish, but they turned red like her sister’s, making her look like Kang Miyoung mk.2. Or maybe a shade of purple.

While he was lost in thought.

“H-help meeee!”

He crouches down. What is it this time? Is it an enemy?!

A scream echoed from afar.

Judging by the thickness of the voice, it’s a man.

And among the practical examinees, there’s only one man.

The Blue Dragon baggage. In other words, the guy who was with the golden-tanned man. What a poor guy.

He perked up his ears to listen to the sound.

“It’s close.”

It’s in the 1 o’clock direction.

Lee Sunghan opened his backpack. He can’t take out that equipment yet, so he took out other equipment.

What came out of the bag was a map.

It was hard to see because it was full of handprints and memos.

He took out a military compass and checked it alternately.

It was in the direction of the ‘town’. It’s quite a distance.

Just in case, he tried the earpiece. He hoped the communication was connected again.

He adjusted the communication channels alternately, but nothing was picked up.

He could hear Kang’s sisters’ respective coded channels, too.

“This is Lee Sunghan, please respond. Over.”

Static.

Just unpleasant static. It’s going to make him dizzy if he listens any longer. He turned off the communication.

Lee Sunghan sat down and thought about the next plan.

Where should he go?

His head starts to ache.

He turned on the flashlight and moved the rough map.

This is what Kang Miyoung gave him.

She specially obtained it just before entering.

“You. The geography of this exam area is very complex. I don’t know if the geography from training will still work, but take it.”

Kang Jinyoung chimed in from the side.

“Take our optical equipment too! It’s very effective in night battles. Hehehe.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Well, whatever.”

He remembers the sisters’ battle of nerves.

Ugh, they were desperate to kill each other.

He doesn’t know how they can smile these days.

Rustle.

He turns off all the lights and sounds.

Did he hear wrong?

No.

He’s sure of it.

Something is approaching.

Lee Sunghan was on alert. Who is it, who is it?!

The bushes moved little by little.

Wind?

There’s no wind underground. It would be more realistic to say that a phantom is playing tricks on people.

It was obviously an enemy.

[‘Ultra Reconnaissance’ reports that it has detected movement in the 3 o’clock direction.]

[‘Auto Battle’ prepares to respond.]

Rustle.

“Uwaaa!”

Thud!

The one who fell helplessly in front of the bushes was a person.

And a very young child at that.

He fell and stayed like that for a few seconds before getting up shakily.

“……”

“Uh, uhhh?”

The kid looked up at him.

He couldn’t figure out how she survived in this hellhole filled with monsters.

She looked like she had just entered middle school. Her whole body was covered in dirt and various scratches. She seemed to have been running away from monsters.

“We, we’re a goner.”

Lee Sunghan swallowed his words.

It’s definitely Baek Minho’s. He’s sure of it. It says Resident Baek Minho, right there on the name tag. Baek Minho isn’t the type to hand over his belongings.

Is she Baek Minho’s daughter?

They do look a bit alike.

The atmosphere and all.

Let’s focus on the task at hand.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Y-yes.”

The child raised her head. Although she was covered in dirt, she had a strangely familiar appearance.

‘The Kang sisters?’

His spine felt cold.

“Name.”

Lee Sunghan asked as he added firewood to the bonfire.

He had spent a lot of time picking up twigs created by the red imp monkeys climbing on top of each other.

He touches the child’s arm.

It’s as cold as ice.

He quickly handed her a bunch of hot packs, but that was just a temporary measure.

Whoosh.

He lit a dry leaf with a lighter.

When he brought the leaves together and balled them up, the fire burned fiercely.

[‘Regeneration’ asks if he can’t just regulate her body temperature.]

[‘Ultra Reconnaissance’ calls him 『a child abuser who neglects a child in the cold』.]

[‘Regeneration’ is startled and sweats profusely.]

Be quiet, you. There are things you can and can’t say in front of a child.

By the way, it’s really cold. He quietly raises his head. He heard a chilling sound from afar.

Did the heating system break down?

Or did time flow differently while he was here, and it was already winter?

The forest was chilly, and it wasn’t something an unawakened child could withstand.

The child quietly replied.

“My name is Baek Jiseon. I came with my dad, but we got separated.”

The kid, who identified herself as Baek Jiseon, had a very calm appearance.

Should he call it cool beauty?

She seemed to have inherited her father Baek Minho’s DNA, as she had a cold and indifferent beauty.

She must have charmed a lot of men.

Lee Sunghan stroked his chin.

She’s just a kid, though.

Is he overreacting?

“Riiight?”

Lee Sunghan dragged out his words.

He wasn’t so anosmic that he couldn’t smell the unpleasant stench.

‘Is it a succubus?’

That’s a strong possibility.

There are many types of succubi.

Especially since it was said that there were many demon types, it was a common-sense judgment.

Well, the reactions of [Block] and [Ultra-Reconnaissance] are faint, so the possibility is slim. They were like bloodhounds when it came to sniffing out danger.

Lee Sunghan lowered his gun.

But he adjusted the firing mode to single shot so that he could fire at any time.

The Republic of Korea may be a mess, but they will send a rescue team.

He sat down awkwardly on the ground, getting it all dirty.

Kang Jinyoung would hate this. Ugh, just thinking about those sisters makes his stomach burn.

Lee Sunghan added more firewood. He was reluctant to part his lips.

“When did you learn how to use a pistol?”

“Since last year.”

“Last year?”

Baek Jiseon was holding the automatic pistol tightly. Indeed, since she was well-educated, she cherished her gun like a lover.

A gun. A gun…

Wait, is this America by any chance? No, it’s Korea. He touches his forehead.

How could they think of giving a gun to a kid who looks like a middle schooler?! Am I being too paranoid?

Lee Sunghan hesitated and swallowed several times.

“Do you have a license to use firearms?”

“My dad taught me.”

“Dad?”

“Yes.”

Baek Jiseon nodded.

“Where is your dad?”

“He’s dead.”

“Hmm.”

Hmm?

Dead?

“What about Hunter Kang Miyoung?”

“She’s dead.”

“The supervisor?!”

“He’s dead.”

They just keep saying they’re dead.

I’m going crazy, they’re all dead? Even those people. That’s absurd.

“What happened?”

“……”

Baek Jiseon rolled her eyes.