Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The news that Berserker had eliminated the Executioner traveled through the Awakened Security Office all the way to the Blue House.

I'd expected bringing a madman into the fold would draw some criticism, but the response was overwhelmingly positive.

"Berserker is an Awakened who will be a great asset to this nation. I'd like to express our gratitude for bringing him in."

I'd never seen Cheon Myeongguk look so bright. I suppose that's just how valuable Berserker's strength is. Valuable enough to borrow the hand of a madman?

Then again, in my past life too, he'd survived to the bitter end for fifteen years—showing the kind of cockroach-like tenacity that must have been quite the headache for the government.

"Simply removing a villain of Berserker's caliber as a variable provides an immense sense of stability. You never know when or where a madman might go on a rampage. It's just a shame we can't easily make this public."

Berserker's current position would best be described as a villain employed under the government's name. Compensation in money and equipment had been mentioned—I should ask what he needs.

The government explained that for a long time, they had been keeping close watch on villains who committed relatively fewer evil deeds but couldn't adapt to society.

They'd been pushing a plan to bring them into the fold, but the problem was there was no one who could rein in a villain's savagery, so it had been postponed indefinitely.

Then, when I formed a connection with Berserker, they said they'd finally taken a step forward.

And I'd spent my entire past life being chased by him.

That bastard Berserker should be thanking me. I even told him how to obtain Immunity to All Poisons. Immunity to All Poisons—now that's tempting. I should look into whether there's a way to get it without killing Berserker.

"Just assembling pursuit squads to chase villains places a heavy burden on us. Reducing that is encouraging."

And this same man engineered the Grand Compromise in my past life to try to kill me?

Thinking about what I went through back then still makes my blood boil.

So, I'm a little tempted to be petty about this.

"Transcendent, have I done something wrong?"

"Nothing."

"That's a relief. If I ever offend you, please tell me anytime. I'll correct it."

"That said, Berserker is a willful bastard, so you shouldn't expect a cooperative attitude."

"Yes. I'm aware. Even so, that alone is enough."

His calculation was simple. Among South Korea's greatest threats—Berserker, Puppeteer, Executioner, and Black Reaper—two were dead and one had become an ally, greatly weakening villain forces.

The League had pulled back, and monster hunting was proceeding smoothly.

More than half the country was still a monster den, but compared to other nations where 70 to 80 percent, or in severe cases over 90 percent, had been overrun, the situation was favorable.

"Black Reaper is a villain whose true nature is difficult to grasp, so among the standout villains, a dangerous one has been eliminated."

The last remaining assassin, Black Reaper, was a villain whose true form had never been revealed.

I'd never seen him in my past life either, but his infamy was tremendous.

Rumors said he came from a villain organization lurking in the shadows of cities, or that he wasn't a single person but an organization.

"And."

Cheon Myeongguk looked at me and changed the subject.

"Shouldn't we be forming a hunting team about now?"

"A hunting team? Why do I need one?"

"A transcendent forms a hunting team to maximize their power."

"Ah, is that so."

"...You didn't know?"

I must have glossed over it since I had no particular interest in hunting. I'd learned recently that it was extremely important for a transcendent's reputation.

But do I really need a hunting team?

I'd spent my entire past life hunting monsters alone.

I'd never once felt the need for one.

High-tier ones charged at me without knowing their place, so I never needed to draw aggro either.

Was it because of the dismantling after the hunt? But even for that, there's no one who can dismantle as perfectly as me, with Slash's gift.

"Rather than not knowing, I've just never thought about it."

"Hah."

Cheon Myeongguk's face shifted into an expression I'd seen often.

Does he really think I'm half-baked?

For now, I should add Cheon Myeongguk to my mental list of candidates. Of course, he can be removed anytime if he's innocent.

Really.

"The reason strange rumors are circulating is because you haven't formed a hunting team."

"So you're saying I need to form one to dispel those rumors."

I'd thought the rumors were about me not going out to hunt, but it seemed they'd been guessing based on the absence of a hunting team.

It might be hard to open my mouth, but it would be easy to open a hunting team member's mouth.

But I didn't feel the need to dispel any rumors. The people who want to badmouth me will badmouth me regardless—wouldn't it be mutually beneficial to draw them all out now?

They get to relieve stress by insulting me, and I get to know who's talking behind my back.

Is this what they call a win-win? What beautiful words.

"Transcendent, this isn't someone else's problem. There are many eyes watching right now to see when you'll form a hunting team."

"I'll think about it. I just don't see why a hunting team is strictly necessary."

"Hah! For a transcendent, a hunting team is very, very important."

"It's not important to me."

"Transcendent, please..."

Just as Cheon Myeongguk was practically clinging to me, a contact came through with a loud alert.

"Transcendent, it's a transcendent call."

A transcendent call is a request made from outside when a transcendent's power is needed. The Awakened Security Office and the transcendent decide together whether to deploy based on the situation.

Most cases get filtered at the Awakened Security Office level, so the fact that it reached me meant it was a matter requiring consultation.

"A Grade 7 Corrupted Monster, the Black Wyvern, has left its territory and a hunting team is in danger."

"They're all going to die."

"If you don't deploy, the hunting team will be wiped out."

The problem was that the hunting team wasn't far from the city, so there was a chance the city could be attacked as well.

Cheon Myeongguk's gaze turned to me. It was a mix of difficulty and desperation, but even he didn't seem certain.

"Let's go."

"I'll have a helicopter prepared."

Cheon Myeongguk and I headed to the Blue House helipad. Along the way, he gave me brief information on the Black Wyvern and response protocols.

It can identify prey from 10km away, and even if something isn't its prey, it kills every living thing it sees.

That seems thinner than what I already know.

On top of that, the Black Wyvern has poor judgment of its own limits.

In other words, it doesn't know when it's outmatched and picks a fight until it gets crushed.

"What matters is the survival of the hunting team. They will assist you."

Since I hadn't formed a hunting team, he was telling me to use the on-site team as one.

I could feel his hope that I would hunt properly, and his wish that the government-affiliated hunting team would survive.

The Black Wyvern was currently at the border between Anseong and Jincheon County.

Before boarding the helicopter, I asked Cheon Myeongguk.

"My orders take top priority on-site, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct, but..."

"Understood. Let's go."

Watching Cheon Myeongguk make a somewhat uneasy expression, I told him internally that this was the right answer.

* * *

—Support has departed. Estimated arrival within 40 minutes.

"40 minutes."

Lee Changsu, leader of the government-affiliated Hellhound hunting team, repeated the word "40 minutes" to himself. Normally he would have thought it wasn't that long a time, but right now he felt it would be an excruciatingly agonizing wait.

"I responded to the transcendent call. From now on, we retreat with everything we've got. 40 minutes. In 40 minutes, the transcendent will deal with the Black Wyvern."

"If the transcendent comes, we'll survive, Team Leader?"

Lee Changsu turned his head at the voice full of discontent. There stood Han Jungseok, a third-year member of the Hellhound team, wearing an expression full of dissatisfaction.

"We'll survive."

"I'm skeptical."

"What do you want to say?"

"Choi Junho has never been verified through hunting."

Han Jungseok, a young Hunter of twenty-eight, was a talent Lee Changsu treasured. He had sharp situational judgment and enough love for the team that he'd risk bold action to protect his comrades.

He worked in various ways to support Lee Changsu and raise the Hellhound's hunting capabilities. Han Jungseok's goal was for the Hellhound hunting team to surpass the major guilds and become the best.

But he held a negative perception of Choi Junho.

"Choi Junho's arrival could actually take away your command authority and cause confusion. Honestly, our survival chances would be higher if he didn't come."

"So you're saying we should ignore the transcendent who's coming to save us?"

"That's not it, but..."

"Right now, at this very moment, other hunting teams including ours are being targeted."

The nearest hunting team had already fallen to the Black Wyvern. Even now, multiple hunting teams were being attacked, one by one going out of contact.

They were retreating under the fear of not knowing when or where they'd be targeted.

Han Jungseok let out a sigh and spoke his mind.

"Honestly, I can't trust Choi Junho, who has no hunting experience."

A transcendent who appeared half a year ago and only caught villains. His most notable achievement was catching the Puppeteer, and that was all.

Catching hundreds of villains was all well and good. But there was no record of him hunting monsters anywhere. His strength was undeniable, but considering the various side effects Awakened experience in the early days of monster hunting, it wasn't strange to have concerns.

Among Awakened, there were cases of getting trauma from hunting monsters and never being able to hunt again for life, and cases of freezing up from a monster's killing intent and dying pointlessly were all too common.

It wasn't for nothing that the most casualties occurred during a Hunter's first monster hunt, and that major guilds assigned veteran Hunters to new recruits to get them accustomed to hunting.

Compared to his skill, far too little was known about Choi Junho.

"That reasoning is valid. But I don't think the government made a sloppy judgment. Becoming a transcendent at that age means he has genius-level talent. Geniuses are different. They lightly surpass all the trials and errors we've been through."

The media covers countless geniuses, but among them, no one had reached Level 8 in their twenties.

The person who took that spot was Choi Junho, whose name had been completely unknown.

Lee Changsu didn't know Choi Junho. But he believed in the genius Choi Junho possessed.

"If we hold out until Choi Junho arrives, I believe we can all survive. Trust me. That's the only way we have."

"Understood."

At the voice filled with unwavering conviction, Han Jungseok nodded. There really was no other option now.

* * *

The helicopter we boarded at the Blue House passed over Seoul in an instant and exited to the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.

During the flight, communications were active, and we received real-time reports on how many casualties had occurred and where the Black Wyvern was located.

With a helicopter, I don't envy most spatial-type gifts.

"Approaching the boundary line soon."

I nodded at the pilot's words. The helicopter arrived near the Black Wyvern at high speed.

"Shall I land nearby?"

"Keep going like this."

"Sir? But if we continue, the Black Wyvern is there."

"It doesn't matter."

"...!"

The pilot turned his head with startled eyes and looked at me.

We're heading toward a monster—why is he so surprised?

"We need to get close to the Black Wyvern to catch it, don't we?"

"..."

The Black Wyvern can identify prey from 10km away.

That's assuming there's prey on the ground. In an open sky with no obstacles, its field of vision would clearly be even wider. Once we entered its sight, it would come to us anyway.

"Let's go."

"...Understood."

Even without invoking on-site command authority, a transcendent's authority carried weight. The conflicted pilot nodded and steered toward the Black Wyvern's location.

"The Black Wyvern is there. Within 10km."

We must have already entered the Black Wyvern's field of vision. The pilot began to tremble. So it wasn't the helicopter shaking.

I spoke to the trembling pilot.

"Keep going."

"Y-yes, yes!"

The helicopter rapidly closed in on the Black Wyvern. The closer we got, the more the pilot trembled.

"Distance to Black Wyvern: 5km!"

The Black Wyvern came into view. Its lizard-like body stretched twenty meters long, and its wings resembled a bat's. Its wings weren't that large—it was fascinating every time I saw how it managed to fly.

For the record, Black Wyvern meat doesn't taste very good.

"Distance to Black Wyvern: 3km!"

"Keep going."

"Distance to Black Wyvern: 2km! It's looking this way! It's starting to fly toward us!"

It was a report mixed with screaming. I was watching too.

The Black Wyvern's flight speed is fast. With both sides closing in, the distance shrank in an instant.

"Distance to Black Wyvern: 1km! Transcendent! What should we do?"

"I'm going to catch it."

"What?"

"When I go out, just perform evasive maneuvers."

I opened the helicopter door.

An incredibly fierce wind blasted in. I looked at the Black Wyvern flying toward us. Charging in thinking we're its prey without realizing it's the prey itself—that's lizard-level intelligence for you.

Come to think of it, the higher the corruption grade of a monster, the more they tend to rampage without understanding their own limits. Lower-grade monsters, on the other hand, were specialized in survival instinct and avoided danger on their own.

This is why I don't need a hunting team. I just need to catch them as they charge right into their own deaths—why would I assemble a hunting team? The more people you have, the more annoying things pile up.

I kicked off the floor and threw myself into the air.

Whoosh!

Force surged out and a Force platform formed beneath my feet. I stepped on the platform and charged at the Black Wyvern.

Without a flight gift, I maintained my body by expending an absurd amount of Force. But it's like scooping from the sea with a basin.

The Black Wyvern saw me approaching and opened its mouth wide. It was about to fire its breath.

It was treating me like the level of prey it had caught before. That's why it's a birdbrain.

Kyaaaaaaah!

A fire breath shot out. I kicked hard off the Force platform and jumped high to dodge the breath. The surrounding air heated up, carrying a scorching wave of heat. If this thing starts a forest fire, that'll be a pain.

When I dodged upward, the Black Wyvern's eyes tracked me as I moved up.

The reason flying monsters are troublesome is that they can freely fly through the sky, forcing you to yield the initiative, and when they attack from the air like that breath just now, you have no proper means to counter.

But once I could also move freely in midair, all of its advantages disappeared. On the contrary, it stopped moving when firing its breath, making it nothing more than a large target.

"That's the most common mistake birdbrains make."

Thwack!

The Black Wyvern's head caved in. The blow hadn't pierced its tough hide, but the brain inside was churned to mush by the Arc Mine.

No matter how tenacious a creature's life force, nothing survives its brain being destroyed.

Kyaaaah!

The Black Wyvern let out a death scream, its eyes rolling back, and just like that, it died.

Back when I was the Blood Lord, this was how I hunted countless birdbrains. They think they're the predator, so when they close in like this, you plant an Arc Mine in their brain and it's a guaranteed one-shot.

Nuri, the Harmful-class Level 8 monster, is a flying monster too—no telling if this'll work on it. I'll get a chance to try soon enough.

"Quit your damn squawking."

I halted in midair, looked down at the falling Black Wyvern, then headed back toward the returning helicopter.

That hunt was harder on me than riding the helicopter up here.