Heavy military machinery was dispatched to the downtown area where the dungeon break had occurred.
"Oh god…"
Battalion Chief Park Gyeol saw that the office building nearby had a huge hole in it, meaning the beast had already killed many people. Some tried to run, while others were caught and crushed by the golem's hand.
"Sir, there's many of them!"
"What rank was the gate?!"
"D-rank, sir!"
Park Gyeol gritted his teeth. It was only a low-ranked gate, yet it caused this catastrophe.
Pale-faced soldiers looked up at the towering magic beast a stone golem about the height of a three-story building as it marched toward them.
"Fire now! Lure the magic beast away from the civilians!"
At his command, the soldiers began forming perimeters, evacuating people, and attacking the monsters.
In that process, he saw his men being crushed.
"It's useless, sir!"
"Use everything we have!"
"Where are the hunters?!"
No matter what kind of weapons they used, ordinary human-made arms were useless against magic beasts. The only ones capable of killing them were hunters.
The dense cluster of office buildings had already been destroyed. Bodies lay scattered on the road, many torn in half. The soldiers felt hopeless in the face of reality. From the start, their mission was to evacuate civilians and lure the beast toward them, a meat shield armed only with courage.
Park Gyeol then spotted a group trying to sneak between the monsters, but the creatures noticed and surrounded them. With half of his men already dead, he grabbed a flare and ran to save them.
"Over here!"
He fired a blinding flare, catching the monsters' attention. That was enough to lure them away; golems had low intelligence. As the monsters turned toward him, the soldiers opened fire on the five golems chasing their chief.
Suddenly, a stone golem leapt toward him, casting a massive shadow over him and his men. Park Gyeol remembered reading that, despite their slow movements, golems could jump with all their strength once, catching their targets off guard.
"Haha… fuck."
Watching the golem fall toward him and soon, probably his men, he shut his eyes, accepting his fate.
Bang!
He felt the ground tremble. But why was he still conscious?
Slowly opening his eyes, he was shocked to see his surroundings covered by a dome-shaped magic barrier. The barrier dispersed, the stone golem's corpse lay shattered, destroyed by its own strength upon hitting the barrier.
"What just-"
"Step back, soldier."
A deep voice came from above. Park Gyeol looked up and saw a figure floating in midair.
The figure, cloaked and masked, pointed a staff-like stick with his right hand. A magic circle appeared at its tip, and suddenly, something wide and rectangular materialized above a stone golem before slamming down, crushing it into a pile of rubble.
"What are you waiting for? Go!"
Park Gyeol could feel a powerful aura radiating from the masked man stronger even than the beast's. He instantly knew this man was a high-ranking hunter.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
As the soldiers retreated, Ken focused fully on the battle.
[You've leveled up]
He ignored the system message. Hovering in the air, he studied the remaining magic beasts carefully.
"Stone golems, huh? Fifteen in total. Well, no matter. I'm the worst opponent you could face."
He raised his wand. Within five seconds, a rectangular barrier appeared. With a swift motion, he cast an acceleration spell, sending the barrier crashing down onto a golem. The creature shattered instantly into scattered rocks.
"That's one."
He waved his wand again, repeating the strike sequence. One by one, the golems were crushed beneath the falling barriers.
From behind, the soldiers watched in awe. The hunter was facing all the monsters alone and those strange, powerful barriers weren't like any magic they'd seen before.
When the last barrier dispersed, it left behind a massive rectangular crater on the road. Ken had wiped out every golem.
[You've leveled up]
[You've leveled up]
[Ding!]
[Phalanx: Basic Defense has leveled up]
[Ding!]
[Acceleration has leveled up]
[Ding!]
[Phalanx: Projectile has leveled up]
"Only three times?"
He frowned. Killing fifteen golems had only raised his level three times. That was far too low.
"I need a higher-ranking monster…" he muttered.
[Player Status]
Name: Takakura Ken
Level: 12
Class: Mage
Title: The Prodigy (+20 Mind, +20 Luck)
MP: 404/1032 (+168)
HP: 1596/1596
Fatigue: 31
[Stats]
Strength: 19
Agility: 20
Vitality: 32 (+1)
Sense: 26
Mind: 41 (+16.4) (+20)
Intelligence: 89 (+17.8)
Faith: 261
Luck: 21 (+20) (+1)
[Stat Points: 12]
[Achievement Points: 200]
[Equipped Items]
Cloak of Levitation + Slime (20% Intelligence, 40% Mind, fly)
Harry Potter's Wand (+20 Mind)
Guardian Mask (+1 Vitality, +1 Luck)
He leveled up from 9 to 12, and 12 stat points so far. His progress was good, but he still had trouble sensing mana, which was crucial for his reaction and counterattacks.
'Alright…'
He allocated all his stat points to Sense.
[Player Status]
Name: Takakura Ken
Level: 12
Class: Mage
Title: The Prodigy (+20 Mind, +20 Luck)
MP: 404/1032 (+168)
HP: 1596/1596
Fatigue: 31
[Stats]
Strength: 19
Agility: 20
Vitality: 32 (+1)
Sense: 38
Mind: 41 (+16.4) (+20)
Intelligence: 89 (+17.8)
Faith: 261
Luck: 21 (+20) (+1)
[Stat Points: 0]
[Achievement Points: 200]
[Equipped Items]
Cloak of Levitation + Slime (20% Intelligence, 40% Mind, fly)
Harry Potter's Wand (+20 Mind)
Guardian Mask (+1 Vitality, +1 Luck)
'Now the boss….'
The dungeon boss wasn't here yet. He could feel something under the road. After he heightened his senses, he could feel it even more clearly. Was this because he increased his Sense stat?
Just then, a group of hunters about ten people has arrived.
However, the battle seemed already over.
The party leader, Lee Hanso, noticed someone hovering in the sky and asked the soldier commander what had happened.
"Are you saying he killed all the magic beasts by himself?"
"Yes, hunter-nim. However, the boss still seems to be inside the gate."
"The battle must have been intense. From now on, we'll assist him."
Lee Hanso noticed Park Gyeong's long silence.
"What is it?"
"Erm… the battle didn't last that long. In fact, this hunter-nim killed all the magic beasts with a single strike."
"What?"
He killed that many stone golems with no effort? Even his party couldn't believe it.
Then, the hunter in question slowly descended to the ground.
The D-rank Tank, Lee Hanso, grew nervous at the sight of the unknown hunter. He could tell that the man's attire was of high quality. Just who was he? If he were a high-ranker, his name should have been known.
"Sir, we're from the Hunter Association. We were sent here as backup until they could dispatch a higher-ranking hunter. Are you perhaps that person?"
"No. Coincidentally, I wasn't far from here."
He was just a passerby!
"Then, we'd like to help you in-"
Growl!
A roar echoed in the distance. The road suddenly crumbled, forming a massive hole. A silhouette of a large figure began to emerge.
'It's the boss. The gate is inside the city's flood drain system a perfect place for an unsupervised gate.' Ken observed it.
Most Gates had to be discovered early, before the monsters inside could break through. That meant hunters had seven days to defeat the dungeon boss and close the gate, or the monsters would spill out. Still, some Gates appeared in hidden places and weren't found until it was too late.
"Sir, I'll take as much damage as possible while the rest hold it back so the healers can restore your magic."
At Lee Hanso's suggestion, Ken simply raised his hand.
"Don't worry."
He raised his wand toward the massive, more powerful stone golem.
'Even though this is should be my first try…'
He smirked.
He used about 100 mana to power the spell he was about to cast. A surge of mana erupted from his body as a huge magic circle formed. Suddenly, a blinding light illuminated the area. A cannon made of mana shot toward the beast, it was too fast for ordinary eyes to follow.
The hunters and soldiers behind him lowered their arms once the light faded. What remained was the boss's lower body its upper half completely gone.
One strike. It only took one strike for the mage to handle a D-rank boss without any help.
[You've leveled up]
[Ding!
You've mastered
[Zoltraak]
Type: Piercing
Mana Cost: 10 (minimum)
[You've leveled up]
Ken smiled inwardly.
"Pardon me..."
Lee Hanso approached the mysterious hunter again.
"S-sir, if there's anything I can assist with… perhaps I could ask the Association to arrange a service for you."
Why did he suddenly become so polite?
"I'm not done yet. Many people were hurt and suffered injuries. I want you and the soldiers to gather them in one place so the healers can treat them."
"Yes, hunter-nim!"
---
After what they had witnessed, they didn't question him and simply did what he told them to do. Ken then faced a scene that changed him a little. Ruined buildings, destroyed roads, wrecked cars, and citizens who had lost their lives.
One by one, the injured began to arrive at the emergency tent provided by the military. Even though it was just a D-rank gate, it had caused a disaster where many were injured and even killed.It was something he had never seen in the series.
On the other hand, the hunters and those familiar with awakeners were witnessing something unbelievable. The hunter, who was a Mage-class, was also a Healer. No one had ever heard of someone possessing two classes before.
'Is he not tired at all?'
Lee Jo-hee, a B-rank healer the highest-ranking member in her party even she, who was highly sought after by major guilds, couldn't keep up with this masked hunter.
"Sir! We have someone who lost his limbs!"
"Put him down slowly."
Ken rushed to the injured and prepared a spell.
[Heal]
A glowing light emerged from his hand and covered the man's body. His arm began to grow back instantly, bones forming and flesh regenerating in seconds.
'Regrowing lost limbs… He must be at least an A-rank healer. But he also killed that beast in one shot. His mana must be comparable to a Mage-type hunter.'
Lee Jo-hee knew that restoring lost body parts was possible, but only for A-rank and above healers.
Patients kept coming until she could no longer keep up. She had already treated over thirty people. With only four healers available, it was impossible to handle them all.
Then, she suddenly flinched as she feeling someone's gaze.
She turned, the masked hunter was staring at her through the dark openings of his mask's eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, my ma…na…"
The hunter raised his hand toward her. Suddenly, her body felt lighter, and her mana was restored.
'I thought he was angry at me.'
He did the same for the other healers, then continued healing people without pause.
"Hunter-nim, you can rest while we take care of the rest," Lee Jo-hee said, unable to bear it anymore.
"Sorry, I can't do that."
Justice? Charity? Ken wasn't doing this for either reason. He simply couldn't sleep peacefully if he didn't. Even if this world was just a story, seeing people in such pain was unbearable. Aura farming or not, he would heal them all even if he gained no achievement points for it. And that much was fact.
After making sure everyone was healed, he stepped out of the tent for the first time.
"Over here hunter-nim!"
Then came the clicking sounds and flashes directed at him. He glanced slightly, thinking it was something else, but they were just journalists. A question was thrown at him, but he ignored them and walked toward Lee Hanso.
"Is this everyone?"
"Yes, hunter-nim. We've evacuated all the dead bodies."
He glanced at the human corpses lying in neat rows. People mourned, and soldiers saluted their fallen friends with tear-streaked faces. He knew that with his sharp memory, he would never be able to forget this.
'I get why Jin-woo reset the world.'
He could have continued the world as it was, but instead, he chose to reset it ten years back.
"But hunter-nim, why are you doing this?"
Lee Hanso felt it was unnecessary since the government would handle the cleanup.
"We'll see…"
Ken floated into the air. Now, he could focus on starting the spell.
First, most of the dead bodies weren't in good condition. Some had lost their heads, others half their bodies, and so on.
He decided to restore them first. However, Heal wouldn't work on them since that holy spell only affected the living. Fortunately, Aqua had other spells capable of restoring non-living things. It was unfortunate that she lacked the intelligence to handle them properly, or else she would have become an overwhelmingly powerful goddess.
[Recovery]
A massive magic circle, different from an ordinary spell, appeared beneath the bodies.Since they weren't fully covered, people nearby could see the missing body parts beginning to grow back instantly.
Once it was done, Ken began to cast the next spell.
'This will be the big one.'
Reviving sixty-one dead people sounded excessive but how much would it really cost him?
One mana per person.
He had thought it wouldn't cost any mana since she was a goddess, but one per person was still ridiculously cheap. In this cruel world, where lives seemed so cheap, he didn't care much about losing a little mana for them.
[Resurrection]
Another, larger magic circle appeared, glowing with warm gold light. At the same time, as he reached deep enough to resurrect their souls, flashes of their lives from birth to their final breaths flickered through his mind.
'I see now why it only cost one mana.'
The drawback could be excessive strain on his mental stamina.
"Haahh…"
One by one, those who should have been dead took a deep breath as they returned to life.
Whether they were single, a father, a brother, or a coworker, the people once mourned were now alive again. Amidst their loved ones who embraced them, instead of joy, there was fear among the once-dead.
Everyone began to question how reality even worked.
"Lee Jo-hee-ssi, could a strongest healer pull this off?" Lee Hanso asked the woman next to him.
"No. A person couldn't revive the dead... except a god."
A jaw dropping scene unfolded. Every eye was fixed on the masked hunter, his long cloak billowing as he hovered beneath the blazing gaze of the full moon until, in a single blink, he was gone.
---
"It's already been 45 minutes, Jin-ah. I think he ran away, right?"
Song-yi pointed it out, but Jin-ah didn't know how to respond.
"Well, what about the chicken? There are only two pieces left."
What Mira said was something she also feared. Both possibilities freaked her out.
"Anyway, Song-yi, why not put down your phone and join us for a bit?"
"Are you my mom, Jin-ah?"
"Yeah, I am. Now put that phone down."
"Wait, Mommy. This is interesting news."
"What news?"
Song-yi told them that a hunter had just revived sixty people from the dead.
"For real?"
Both Jin-ah and Mira were visibly shocked and rushed over to Song-yi.
"Let me see. Did they even stream it live?"
"Uh-huh… hopefully, he's not there."
The three of them exchanged glances before rushing to grab their coats and heading to the front door. When they opened it, the person they were worried about was just about to ring the bell.
"Ken-ssi?"
"Good thing he's okay."
"Why are you late? Oh my god, did you buy more chicken besides the soda?"
Mira, Song-yi, and Jin-ah spoke one after another.
"Why are you guys acting like I'm dead?"
"It's nothing. Come inside first."
Song-yi went back to her spot and started scrolling through her phone again. But this time, she kept stealing glances at Ken. Her hunter sense told her he was an awakener, and the timing felt too questionable.
'He left right after when the dungeon break happened and came back not long after. If the chicken is his excuse, then that's total nonsense.'
"What exactly took you so long, anyway?" Jin-ah asked, then looked at the chicken bucket. "This is…"
"Ahaha, actually, the line was too long, so…"
"Did you know this place is famous for expensive chicken wings?"
"Really?"
"Are you rich or something?"
'Aha… that brand never has a long line because it's too expensive.'
Song-yi grew even more suspicious, but she couldn't say anything.
Furthermore, Ken didn't seem that strong.
'Maybe I'm just overthinking it…'
In the end, Song-yi couldn't prove anything.