NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43
“Damn it! Where are those bastards?!”
Lee Seong-han was terrified as he crossed the forest. From behind, from the sides—monsters were charging at him from every direction, trying to kill him.
“Fall back!”
He twisted his body backward. The machine gun mounted on his shoulder fired in rapid succession. The outlines of the enemies became visible. He lightly pulled the trigger.
[‘Automatic Combat’ quickly identifies the enemies.]
[‘Super-Recon’ marks the enemy positions.]
Zing—
Bang!
Zing—
Bang!
Zing—
Bang!
The equipment he had set up for suppression activated, releasing flames. The monsters chasing him turned into black ash and vanished in an instant.
Kwaaak-boom!
A red dot shot vertically from the forest, followed by an explosion.
A magic-infused bullet.
A magic bullet had done its job.
And it was a powerful explosive magic at that.
It was so expensive it made him want to click his tongue, but it was worth every penny. Expensive things always have their reasons.
“HQ, respond! HQ?!”
Even as he ran, he tried to establish communication.
Of course, the earpiece wasn’t working.
At least not inside this area.
Lee Seong-han looked around.
Was it jamming?
“It’s not jamming?! Damn it.”
He’d have to think about that after surviving.
Lee Seong-han pulled out the high-explosive ammo belt from the machine gun and prepared armor-piercing rounds.
The bullets were as thick as his forearm. They were so large that reloading took time.
[‘Automatic Combat’ reports it’s ready.]
I know.
Lee Seong-han muttered in response.
Armor-piercing rounds.
If you get hit by these?
They’re large-caliber bullets that can pierce limbs.
The famous 12.7mm. Fired at 800 rounds per minute. Imagine that.
He turned around and took a shooting stance. He only had one chance.
“Here goes.”
His traits responded, and his physical specs skyrocketed exponentially.
[‘Automatic Combat’ controls recoil.]
[‘Regeneration’ alleviates accumulated fatigue.]
[‘Super-Recon’ marks enemies.]
[‘Fully Capable Hunter’ applies stat corrections.]
Lee Seong-han fired in controlled bursts, managing the recoil.
“Ukkikiki!”
“What’s that, where is it?”
[‘Super-Recon’ shouts it’s above.]
“Above?!”
He raised the barrel. He had mostly dealt with the ones chasing him on the ground. Now it was time for the ones above.
The tree branches swayed.
The leaves and grass on the small branches rustled.
He turned the tactical light toward the direction of the sound.
Tsupat!
Something as fast as a car was approaching him!
Bang!
Shoo—
Thud.
“Got one.”
The monster he barely managed to hit fell to the ground. It was a monkey with armor.
Ukkikikikik!!
Kkarurruk!
There was no time to hesitate.
The horde kept pushing forward.
Red Imp Monkey.
A hybrid born from a demonic imp and a regular monkey.
It spotted Lee Seong-han and cackled gleefully.
[‘Automatic Combat’ sets up the perfect shooting angle.]
Click.
Lee Seong-han pulled the charging handle and quickly aimed at the target through the scope.
Starting with the largest group.
He swept left and right, opening fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Precise single shots, one after another.
When unsure, he waited as much as possible.
Even at 800 rounds per minute, if you can’t hit, it’s useless.
Thinking they had gathered in one spot, he pulled the pin and threw it.
It was a grenade.
“U, Ukkiik!”
Kwaaak-boom!
The fragmentation grenade exploded, and the area was covered in a white haze.
Lee Seong-han quickly lay flat on the ground. The explosion was so powerful that a crater formed at the epicenter.
“Ukkii…”
The largest individual fell.
Its lower half was gone due to the explosion.
It was the one closest to the epicenter.
The leader, different from the regular ones.
It had two horns neatly placed on its forehead. The Red Imp Monkeys were absolutely loyal to their leader. With the leader dead, it was natural for them to panic.
“Ugh, it’s dead.”
Lee Seong-han tapped it with his foot.
Confirming the kill was important.
It was definitely dead.
Bang—
Still, he fired one more shot to blow its head off.
“U, Ukkikikik!”
“Kyaaaah!”
The imp horde screamed and fled without looking back.
It took a few minutes for the area to quiet down.
Lee Seong-han quickly reloaded, preparing for the next engagement.
“I used too much ammo.”
Lee Seong-han leaned against a nearby tree—one that was still intact—and sat down.
Something was seriously wrong.
He was sure of it.
He could feel it intuitively.
It was like when Kang Jin-young found the bite marks.
“…….”
“Why, why are you doing this?”
“Do you want to die? Who told you to do this?”
“Huh?”
As he said that, he rubbed the deeply embedded bite marks—Kang Mi-young’s face turned red as she ran away—with his hand.
His shoulder was bleeding from how hard he rubbed.
It stung so much he couldn’t stand it.
｢Is she a she-devil? Just good at biting…｣
As soon as he thought that, Kang Jin-young clicked her tongue.
“Lee Seong-han. Answer.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Let’s be logical. Don’t do anything weird. Absolutely.”
That was the scariest moment for Lee Seong-han.
Her eyes were as blank as a fish’s, but they turned as red as her sister’s, making her look like Kang Mi-young Mk.2. A purplish hue, perhaps.
While lost in thought.
“Sa, save meee—!”
He stiffened. What now? An enemy?!
A scream echoed from afar.
Judging by the voice, it was a man.
And among the test-takers, there was only one man.
The Blue Dragon Porter. The one who was with Golden Sun Knight. Poor guy.
He perked his ears to listen closely.
“It’s close.”
First, it’s at 1 o’clock.
Lee Seong-han opened his backpack. He couldn’t take out that equipment yet, so he took out something else.
What came out of the bag was a map.
It was covered in smudges and notes, making it hard to read.
He took out a military compass and checked alternately.
It was toward the ‘town’ direction. Quite a distance.
Just in case, he activated the earpiece. Hopefully, the communication would reconnect.
He tried switching channels, but nothing came through.
The encrypted channels he got from the Kang sisters were the same.
“This is Lee Seong-han, please respond. Over.”
-…….
Static.
Just a lot of unpleasant noise. If he kept listening, he might lose his mind. He cut off the communication.
Lee Seong-han sat down, pondering the next plan.
Where should I go?
My head hurts.
He moved the rough map using the flashlight as a light source.
Kang Mi-young had packed this.
She got it specially right before entering.
“Sir. The terrain of this test site is very complex. I’m not sure if the training maps will still be useful, but take it with you.”
Kang Jin-young chimed in from the side.
“Take our optical equipment too! It’ll show great results in night combat. Hehehe.”
“Do you want to die?”
“What, what can I do?”
The sisters’ rivalry came to mind.
Ugh, they were so desperate to kill each other.
Lately, I don’t know how they can walk around smiling.
Rustle.
“…….”
He silenced all light and sound.
Did I mishear?
No.
It’s certain.
Something is approaching.
Lee Seong-han went on high alert. Who is it, who?!
The bushes moved slightly.
Wind?
What wind in an underground place? It’s more realistic to think it’s a phantom messing with people.
It was clearly an enemy.
[‘Super-Recon’ reports movement at 3 o’clock.]
[‘Automatic Combat’ prepares to respond.]
Rustle—
“Waaah!”
Thud!
A person fell weakly in front of the bushes.
And it was a very young child.
After lying there for a few seconds, they got up clumsily.
“…….”
“Uh, uh?”
The kid looked up at him.
How this kid survived in this hellhole full of monsters was beyond him.
They looked like they had just entered middle school. Covered in dirt and various scratches. It seemed they had been running away from monsters.
“That lab coat.”
Lee Seong-han swallowed his words.
It was definitely Baek Min-ho’s. Resident Baek Min-ho. It was clearly written on the name tag. Baek Min-ho wasn’t the type to lend his things to anyone.
His daughter?
They looked somewhat alike.
In terms of vibe or something.
Focus on the task at hand.
“Kid, are you okay?”
“Yes.”
The child looked up. Covered in dirt, but there was something oddly familiar about their appearance.
‘Kang sisters?’
A chill ran down his spine.
***
“Name.”
Lee Seong-han asked as he added firewood to the campfire.
He had spent a lot of time gathering branches broken by the Red Imp Monkeys climbing on them.
He touched the child’s arm.
It was as cold as ice.
He quickly handed over a bunch of hand warmers, but even that was a temporary solution.
Whoosh—
He lit dry grass with a lighter.
After gathering the grass and bunching it up, the fire blazed fiercely.
[‘Regeneration’ suggests just regulating body temperature.]
[‘Super-Recon’ criticizes, calling him a ‘child abuser leaving a kid in the cold.’]
[‘Regeneration’ sweats nervously in panic.]
Shut up, man. There’s a time and place for this.
Still, it’s cold. He quietly raised his head. A chilly sound came from afar.
Was the heating system broken?
Or had time passed differently here, and it was already winter?
The forest was filled with a cold breeze, and it wasn’t something a non-awakened child could endure.
The child quietly answered.
“My name is Baek Ji-sun. I came with my father, but we got separated.”
The child, who introduced herself as Baek Ji-sun, had a very calm demeanor.
A cool beauty, perhaps?
She seemed to have inherited only her father Baek Min-ho’s DNA, looking both sharp and aloof.
She must have had many men chasing her.
Lee Seong-han brushed his chin.
She’s just a kid.
Am I overreacting?
“Is that so?”
Lee Seong-han dragged out his words.
He hadn’t lost his sense of smell enough to not notice the unpleasant stench.
‘A succubus?’
The possibility was high.
There are many types of succubi.
Especially since there are many demonic types, it’s a reasonable assumption.
Well, judging by the faint reactions of [Block] and [Super-Recon], the possibility is slim. The one who smells danger is the dog, after all.
Lee Seong-han lowered the gun barrel.
But he adjusted the firing mode to single-shot, ready to fire at any moment.
Even if Korea is trash, rescue forces will come.
Sitting awkwardly on the ground, he got covered in dirt.
Kang Jin-young would hate this. Ugh, just thinking about those sisters makes my stomach churn.
Lee Seong-han added more firewood. It was awkward to speak.
“When did you learn to use a handgun?”
“Since last year.”
“Last year?”
Baek Ji-sun was gripping an automatic handgun tightly. Clearly well-trained, she treated the firearm like a lover.
Firearms. Firearms…
Wait, is this America? No, it’s Korea. He rubbed his forehead.
How could they give a firearm to a middle schooler?! Am I being too paranoid?
Lee Seong-han hesitated, then sighed repeatedly.
“Do you have a firearms license?”
“My dad taught me. Well, more accurately, I learned from him.”
“Your dad?”
“Yes.”
Baek Ji-sun nodded her head.
“Where’s your dad?”
“He’s dead.”
“Hmm.”
Hmm?
Dead?
“Hunter Kang Mi-young?”
“Dead.”
“The supervisor?!”
“Dead.”
She just kept repeating that they were dead.
This is insane, they’re all dead? Even those people. No way.
“What happened?”
“…….”
Baek Ji-sun rolled her eyes.
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