Instant Kill, Time-Stop Spellcaster

One Day Left.

Fear stirred silently.

Most nations had successfully suppressed the unrest.

But while they managed to prevent outright panic, they couldn’t eliminate the fear itself.

After all, this was a World Quest.

The system itself had kindly warned of an impending massive crisis.

Everyone knew that disaster was coming.

The blessings were being installed.

But the dungeon abnormalities didn’t stop.

Over the past six days, numerous abnormal dungeon collapses had occurred.

Globally, there had been more than 30 collapses, each claiming over 1,000 lives.

Dungeon collapse.

A fear that modern people could grasp in the most direct way.

Even for the Awakened, it was no different.

“Ah, damn! Failed to book again!”

“This is driving me crazy. How are there no dungeons left to enter?”

“I need to pay next month’s rent….”

“Should we just try an out-of-sanctuary dungeon this once?”

“Are you insane? In times like these?”

“I’ll just do some temp labor for now. I heard Awakeners get triple the hourly wage.”

The ones closest to dungeon abnormalities were the Awakeners.

Globally, a significant number of Awakeners had died.

This instilled fear and caused a rush toward sanctuary dungeons.

In other words, dungeons outside sanctuaries were being abandoned.

And abandoned dungeons naturally collapsed.

“Honey, the dungeon near the elementary school across the street… hasn’t it been there for too long?”

“Hmm….”

“Can’t we stay in a motel for just a month?”

“You know we’re barely making ends meet. In this economy?”

“But we have kids….”

“Come on, like it’s actually going to collapse? The government manages all of them.”

Small collapses continued endlessly, and people migrated toward sanctuary zones.

These movements became an international phenomenon.

Especially toward the Korean Peninsula, where 80% of the land was a sanctuary.

Visa applications and immigration requests poured in.

Compared to other nations, the South Korean government had breathing room.

They acted swiftly.

“You called for me, Director?”

“Chief Choi. We need you to step up.”

“Tell me what needs to be done.”

“Contact all C-rank and higher Awakeners around the world. Scout those with no criminal records.”

In just six days, Korea absorbed a massive number of Awakeners.

Other nations belatedly declared national emergencies and restricted Awakeners from leaving.

The justification? Preparing for the upcoming World Quest.

But by then, countless planes bound for Korea had already crossed the skies.

The looming crisis was starkly reflected in economic indicators.

[Global real estate market turbulence after a long stagnation!]

[Sanctuary land prices hit record highs in just seven days!]

[Seoul—The next New York of real estate?]

Though 80% of Korea was covered in sanctuaries, Seoul was special.

Because it had an F-rank Sanctuary.

—Scrape—

“Clear complete! Good work, everyone!”

“Damn, I’m in top form today! Wanna clear another dungeon?”

“Haha! Look at you, first time in Seoul and already hyped!”

“Huh? What’s so special about Seoul?”

F-rank Sanctuary Effect.

All stats increase by 5%.

Stronger Awakeners meant safer citizens from dungeon collapses.

That perception fueled speculative investments.

Additionally, the only D-rank Sanctuary in the country was in Seoul.

People were hopeful—maybe it would have massive effects like an E-rank Sanctuary.

And, of course, the biggest source of that hope was EX.

It was now an open secret that EX lived in Seoul.

Dungeons were always cleared in Seoul first.

This meant high-grade sanctuaries would likely emerge in Seoul first.

And Seoul’s real estate prices skyrocketed with no end in sight.

Crisis changed lives in many ways.

Some lived in fear.

Some died.

And others made money.

No matter how individual lives turned out, the countdown continued.

“Our house value went up that much? You must be feeling good these days.”

“If I’d known, I would’ve borrowed money from our son and bought more land!”

“Just be satisfied with what we have.”

Kang Hyun had been busy lately.

But talking to his parents still brought him peace.

Many were dying, but Kang Hyun’s parents were safe.

Because he made sure they were.

“Good thing, too. That damn S-rank Gate kept real estate prices stagnant for so long.”

The S-rank Gate in the heart of Seoul.

But Kang Hyun thought of something else.

“Oh.”

Right—Providence.

That was also an S-rank Gate.

But it hadn’t been made public yet.

He recalled his conversation with Yoo Chae-Young.

“There’s no way to know when an S-rank Dungeon will collapse. The energy is too strong for measurement tools to work.”

“Then what do we do?”

“From experience, we just know they last way longer than other dungeons.”

Basically, a giant ticking time bomb.

No one knew when it would go off.

“Can you tell just by looking from the outside?”

“If a Gate has a long time left, it releases stable energy.”

“Ahhh.”

Now that he thought about it, the energy from that dungeon was strangely pure.

Normally, you’d sense something when approaching a natural dungeon anomaly.

But it had been so stable that he didn’t even notice.

“North Korea’s downfall was caused by an S-rank Gate, right? They tried to clear it and failed?”

“They must’ve thought they could handle it. They sent nearly all their A and B-rank Awakeners in… and they all died.”

Now, North Korea is a demon-infested wasteland.

Gate collapses were essentially invasions by the World Tree’s dimension.

North Korea failed to stop the invasion.

As a result, half of the Korean Peninsula became a demonic land of death.

“Because of North Korea, South Korea has a deep trauma regarding S-rank Gates.”

“And now there’s another one in Seoul.”

“For now, we can’t let this get out. It would shake the entire country.”

The issue was too massive.

For now, it remained a secret.

Under government surveillance, Seonghwa was managing it.

“Mom. If I tell you to sell the house later, sell it immediately, okay?”

When Providence was revealed, Seoul’s real estate market would go wild again.

“Okay, okay. I’ll hang up now.”

After hanging up, Aden peeked over from the side.

“We’re really not going dungeon diving today?”

“No. Today’s the last day of the countdown. Gotta conserve mana.”

“Ugh….”

All Sanctuary operations were closed today.

They had to prepare for the invasion.

Honestly, Kang Hyun wanted to dive into a dungeon.

He had opened two new Word Command from yesterday’s Silver Box!

“Damn, Silver Boxes are amazing. How did I pull two Word Command?”

They weren’t particularly useful in combat.

But still, it was something.

“By the way, what are you doing on your phone?”

“Some guy keeps insulting Master!”

Looking over, Aden was deep in a keyboard battle on a Japanese community site.

Apparently, that Japanese S-rank from yesterday was still running his mouth.

“Are you actually talking to that guy?”

“Yeah!”

Apparently, that “Moonshadow Warrior (月影士)” was an SNS addict.

No wonder he was personally responding to every comment.

Plenty of others were probably pissed at him for insulting an S-rank Word  Mage.

“Tsk, the Sword Saint wasn’t like this.”

But his successor? A joke.

“Argh! Argh!”

“Stop wasting energy on this.”

“Arghhh!”

Aden kept arguing, translating every comment with a translator.

Her awkward phrasing got noticed, and she was eventually banned from the community.

“ARGHHHH!”

“What did he say?”

“He said Master is a disgrace to S-ranks, and that he’ll come here to put you in your place!”

“He’s never coming.”

Isn’t he addicted to social media?

He’s probably just all talk.

“And S-rank Word Mage is weak anyway. He’s not even a real S-rank, and it’s not like he’s shown anything impressive.”

“W-Well, still….”

At least the Phantom managed to defeat an S-rank.

The so-called S-rank Word Mage was nothing but an empty title.

Even in Korea, people were starting to acknowledge this.

The media, which used to make a fuss over S-rank Word Mage, had gone silent, buried under news of the Phantom and Perfect Clear Awakend.

“But it still makes me angry!”

“Calm down. Don’t waste your energy—save it.”

“Anyway, the community server just crashed again….”

“Again?”

Today, various online platforms were acting up.

It was probably because people were staying inside more.

The streets were completely deserted.

Only the supermarkets were crowded with people scrambling to buy emergency supplies at the last minute.

Even those were nearly empty.

Still, people flocked to the internet, hoping to share and ease their anxiety.

Clearly, everyone felt the crisis looming.

“But Master.”

“What?”

“Are you really sure about this?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?! How can you be so irresponsible!”

“What do you expect? I really don’t know.”

There’s no such thing as certainty in war.

No one knows who will survive.

Kyle had learned that lesson.

If he’d known he was going to die, he wouldn’t have gone to that final battle.

‘No, he would’ve gone anyway.’

After all, he was the one who sealed the World Tree.

If he hadn’t, the world would have already ended.

Someone had to do it.

‘Back in the day, something like this invasion would’ve been nothing….’

Just a single word.

Everything—gone. Poof.

Then, he’d cross over and—bam!

“Damn it, just one minute!”

If only he could use his prime power for just one minute.

That damn abyss or whatever—it’d be wiped out in an instant!

Even if he faced the World Tree again, he wouldn’t lose this time.

His body was fine, his mastery had grown.

“One minute is all I need!”

“…? Why are you suddenly spouting nonsense? You haven’t done that in a while.”

Aden looked at Kang Hyun like he was some senile old man, then shook her head.

“Anyway! I’ll just stay right by your side, Master!”

“Fine. Just don’t get yourself killed trying to act tough.”

And then, time passed.

At last.

[Time remaining: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 10 seconds.]

[Time remaining: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 2 seconds.]

[Time remaining: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 1 second.]

[Time remaining: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.]

The countdown ended.

Ding!

[World Quest]

[The Demonic Army is invading. Protect Earth.

The invasion will occur in three waves.

Rewards: Distributed across three quests.

Failure: 10% of the surface will fall. The Demonic Army will establish a forward base on Earth. The war will escalate.]

The war had begun.

Rumble…

Rumble…

At the deepest part of Thea’s ocean.

The darkest abyss stirred.

“Oh, Great Abyss….”

Deep within the sea cliffs, a massive eye snapped open.

Its subordinate, a deep-sea merman, trembled.

Even though the Abyss’s gaze wasn’t directed at it, even though its eyes were still half-lidded, it was unbearable.

[The time has come.]

From the darkness, suction-cupped tentacles, like those of an octopus, slithered up the cliffside.

[Engulf.]

[Devour.]

A tsunami surged toward Earth.

(Tl Note :- This novels ends in Chapter 67 )