Chapter 34
The masked F-rank Hunter who killed the Monarch Ogre in a single strike—the man who introduced himself as Kim Hyun-Woo was standing before him.
It was possible that Dong-Hyun was mistaken, but one thing was certain.
“That voice...” He could never forget it.
How could he?
Dong-Hyun waited for Do-Jun’s response. He waited to hear Do-Jun say, “Yes, that’s right. I am Kim Hyun-Woo,” but what came back was completely unexpected.
“I’m sorry, but I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
After saying this, Do-Jun turned to walk away. However, Dong-Hyun quickly blocked his path.
Seeing the desperate look on Dong-Hyun’s face, Do-Jun sighed. “My name is Lee Do-Jun, not Kim Hyun-Woo.”
He then took out his ID card and showed it to Dong-Hyun.
After checking the name Lee Do-Jun on the ID card, Dong-Hyun froze on the spot.
Yoon-Hee had been watching this from the side. She recalled the Hunter ID card she found in Do-Jun’s desk drawer a few weeks ago, with the name Kim Hyun-Woo written on it.
I wonder what happened...?
Dong-Hyun looked at Do-Jun’s resolute expression and his ID card. He couldn’t do anything but bite down on his lips. He had a hunch but no solid proof.
What could he do if the person himself denied it?
“I... I apologize. I must have been mistaken,” Dong-Hyun said.
“No worries. It happens. Well, we’ll be going now.” With that, Do-Jun left.
Yoon-Hee looked back and forth between her father and the slumped Dong-Hyun and ran after Do-Jun.
The people waiting for autographs whispered, “What’s going on?”
Yoo Mi-Ra, who had been sitting, ran up to Dong-Hyun and asked, “Is that guy really Kim Hyun-Woo?”
“He said he wasn’t, but...”
“What made you think so?”
“His voice...”
“Huh?”
Dong-Hyun clenched his fists, staring at the departing Do-Jun.
***
Craaaaaack!
The Fissure in the sky stretched endlessly.
It was only about ten stories high in the morning but was now over twenty stories in height. As the Fissure grew, the faces of the eleven operational teams watching it hardened.
Beep, beep.
Min-Ji checked the readings on the detection device on her wrist.
After seeing the numbers, she felt a cold sweat on her back. The average reading for an S-rank Great Fissure was 1,000, but the device’s reading had exceeded 2,000.
Please...! Masalis was 2,200! she pleaded desperately.
But the numbers didn’t stop rising. The reading on her wrist was still consistently climbing, bit by bit.
How high was it going to get?
Out of the hundred Hunters gathered, seven were S-ranks, including Min-Ji, and the rest were A or B-rank.
“Why is this happening when Behemoth isn’t here...” the leader of Team 3 muttered, looking at the Fissure.
Min-Ji could see that the morale of the Hunters gathered here was already at rock bottom before the operation had even started.
It was understandable. Hunters usually tackled Fissures that were one or two levels below their rank. Given that, it was only natural that the A and B-rank Hunters felt immense pressure.
Moreover, the absence of the Behemoth Guild in this operation didn’t help either.
For many, the Behemoth Guild, which housed the three First Hunters, including Kang-Hyun, was like their spiritual pillar.
Min-Hyuk pulled out his smartphone to check he was getting a call from Young-Chul. He answered it immediately.
“Yes, Chief.”
—We are about to start the controlled evacuation of the civilians.
“Understood. I will keep that in mind.”
This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.
—The Behemoth Guild is currently in a Dive. As you know, with Kang-Hyun absent, you’re the only one who can act as the commander-in-chief inside the Fissure. Do you think you can handle it?
A siren blared in the middle of the city lights beyond the ridge of Umyeonsan Mountain, followed by a public announcement.
[Attention citizens, this is the Fissure Control Situation Room of the Hunter Management Bureau. Due to the confirmed observation of an S-rank Fissure in the Umyeonsan Mountain area, a Fissure alert is now being issued. If you hear this alert, please cease your current activities immediately and proceed to the nearest underground shelter, following the instructions of Bureau staff, civil servants, military, and police personnel. We repeat...]
“I will try my best,” Min-Hyuk said to Young-Chul.
—No trying, doing. You have to do it.
Min-Hyuk glanced at the eleven operational teams gathered at the entrance of the Fissure. Their morale was already on the ground.
Except for the S-rank Hunters assigned as team leaders, everyone looked as if they were about to walk into their deaths.
Of course, the leaders were trying to boost their team members’ spirits, but to the other Hunters facing the reality of an S-rank Fissure, their little pep talks were of little use.
This was the first time an S-rank Fissure with a reading over 2,000 had opened since Masalis appeared three years ago, recording a reading of 2,200 with its presence alone.
Either way, it was just as dangerous.
—According to what we know so far, we are 70% certain that we have two hours left until the Breakout. We will evacuate as many citizens as possible in that time, and then I will send the signal to enter, so stand by until then.
“Yes, understood...” MiHyuk said, hanging up.
Min-Ji watched the trembling Min-Hyuk and bit her lip. Then, she pulled out her smartphone, scrolled through her contacts, and placed a call to Do-Jun.
***
It was 5 PM, and Do-Jun was back home relaxing on the sofa after a shower. He heard a text alert and checked his smartphone.
[Amber Alert]
[Emergency Assembly Notice due to the detection of an S-rank Fissure in the Umyeonsan Mountain area of Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. All civil servants must assemble at Seoul City Hall immediately upon reading this message and follow the instructions of their department head.]
“Umyeonsan Mountain?” Do-Jun said in surprise.
This mountain was so close that it almost felt like the neighborhood’s backyard.
Do-Jun picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
⌜Breaking news. At around 4:20 PM today, an S-rank Great Fissure was detected in the Umyeonsan Mountain area. The Fissure wave levels currently exceed 2,000, the highest since the Masalis incident, which recorded 2,200. The Hunter’s Bureau, military, and government have declared a state of emergency and are urgently evacuating residents within a ten-kilometer radius to nearby underground shelters...⌟
Do-Jun glanced toward the kitchen where Yoon-Hee was preparing dinner while humming a tune.
“Yong-Yong,” he called.
Yong-Yong was drooling clumsily in the kitchen but quickly ran over when Do-Jun called.
“Yes, Master?”
“I have to go in for some overtime work, so take care of Yoon-Hee while I’m gone.”
“Well, Master...”
“Yes?”
“Tonight’s dinner is braised chicken, though?”
Tonight’s menu was none other than braised chicken, and Izaas assumed that Do-Jun would naturally stay home for it.
“I have to go somewhere, and it’s urgent.”
“If that is your will, Master... I shall consume it all.”
“Do whatever you want. But if Yoon-Hee has even a single scratch on her when I come back....”
Do-Jun deliberately left his sentence unfinished because this was enough to leave Yong-Yong trembling in fear with his face pale.
Seeing this, Do-Jun chuckled softly, stood up, and walked toward the entrance.
Yoon-Hee turned her head while tasting the soup she was boiling. She asked, “Where are you going, Father? The food’s almost ready...”
“There’s an emergency assembly. You can start eating without me.”
At that moment, an evacuation alarm blared.
[Attention, citizens. This is the Fissure Control Situation Room of the Hunter’s Bureau. Currently, Umyeonsan...]
Startled by the sound, Yoon-Hee asked in shock, “An S-rank Fissure...? F-father, that’s not where you’re going, is it?”
“No, we’ve been told to gather at City Hall,” Do-Jun assured Yoon-Hee as he showed her the message.
Civil servants were required by policy to respond to assembly notices during national emergencies. Furthermore, with the occurrence of an S-rank Fissure, it was mandatory for Do-Jun to respond as part of the Fissure Management Division.
“Master, why don’t you just deal with that thing yourself? Or I could handle it instead if you’d like.”
At Yong-Yong’s suggestion, Yoon-Hee recalled the first time she met him. Yong-Yong had fired a Breath attack, which Do-Jun blocked easily. And with just one shot of a mana gun, he had blown away an entire mountain inside the Fissure.
“No, that’s something for the Bureau’s Hunters to handle,” Do-Jun said.
He was just a civil servant, not a Hunter.
They won’t fall so easily, he thought, recalling Kang-Hyun, who was called the Sword Emperor. He had exuded a strong enough internal energy to rank among the top ten masters in the Central Plains.
Just then, Do-Jun’s phone rang. It was Min-Ji.
“Yes, Hunter Min-Ji.”
—Could you do me a favor?
Hearing the word favor, Do-Jun hesitated momentarily, though not for long.
“Yes, go ahead.”
When he had asked Min-Ji for a favor on behalf of his senior, Hyuk-Soo, she had come running immediately.
—As you may know, an S-rank Great Fissure has opened in Umyeonsan Mountain. There are two hours left until the Break Out, meaning we have two hours until monsters start pouring out of the Fissure. We will be deployed inside before that happens.
What was she trying to say?
Do-Jun knew that Min-Ji was vaguely aware of his abilities.
She might not know the exact extent of his power, but she was clearly turning a blind eye to the fact that he was hiding it.
—Normally, the commander-in-chief of the operational team for S-rank Great Fissures is Senior Kang-Hyun. However, he is currently attacking the central zone and won’t be back for at least another three weeks. With Senior Kang-Hyun’s absence, Chief Jung has assigned Senior Min-Hyuk as the commander-in-chief for this Fissure.
Do-Jun could roughly guess what Min-Ji wanted to say.
—Supervisor Lee.
“Yes.”
—We have eleven operational teams. Of those, seven team leaders are S-rankers, and the other four are A-rankers. The team members under them are at least B-rank. As long as everyone stays focused, subduing an S-rank Great Fissure won’t be impossible.
After saying that, Min-Ji presented her conclusion, and Do-Jun ended the call.
Then, he immediately called Hyuk-Soo.
—Yes, Do-Jun?
“Senior, I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to respond to the assembly right now.”
—I understand. I’ll let the Chief know.
Do-Jun was a little taken aback, as normally, he would have been asked why he couldn’t attend the assembly.
But Hyuk-Soo didn’t ask any questions.
“I’ll come as soon as I’m done with my business.”
—Alright, see you later.
Beep.
Do-Jun changed out of his casual clothes into his work suit and checked the map Min-Ji had sent him.
“Father...” Yoon-Hee murmured as she looked at him with worried eyes.
Do-Jun recalled what Min-Ji had just said.
“Supervisor Lee, I’m not asking you to defeat the monsters. I’m sure you have your reasons for hiding your strength. What I’d like to ask is...”
Do-Jun hung his civil servant ID around his neck and gently patted Yoon-Hee’s head.
“Please guide us as our commander-in-chief for this operation.”