Chapter 46 – Easy Pickings (Part One)

A holographic world map spread out above the table.

The countless figures displayed on it were skyrocketing simultaneously.

At the same time, the map’s colors flared crimson across Asia, Europe, and Africa, with no region spared.

It wasn’t just high-rank Gates; Gates of all types and ranks were increasing dramatically.

“This is a bit…”

The man looking down at the hologram, Lee Seok-jin, let out a low groan.

With the danger cycle upon them, this was, to some extent, expected.

Everyone had experienced periods where the number of Gates more than doubled compared to stable times, with their ranks increasing as well. This had happened for years.

But this cycle was something else entirely.

‘The rate of surprise Gates has increased, and the overall time it takes for them to activate has shortened. The number of unique entities with special abilities has also risen, and above all, the sheer number of Gates…’

“This is insane. And I was just getting ready to retire.”

Lee Seok-jin sighed, running a hand through his hair.

He was the leader of the R-Team, formed just two days ago to respond to the danger cycle, and had been planning his retirement soon.

The life of an Awakened was a strenuous, life-threatening job, so their careers tended to be short.

Of course, some enjoyed the fame and lifestyle that came with being a high-ranking Awakened and tried to stay active as long as possible, but most preferred to work for a while and then retire comfortably to enjoy the rest of their lives.

After all, a few years of work brought them more money than they could spend in a lifetime, unless they were incredibly extravagant.

“How about you put that off and give us another five years?”

“Uh… in five years, I’ll be your age, Daepyo.”

At the words of Ryu Jin-tae, the Daepyo of Aegis standing before him, Lee Seok-jin let out a dry laugh.

Even Ryu Jin-tae, who had never been one to hold onto people, smiled sheepishly and said.

“My apologies. But what can we do, given the situation?”

“Still, five years seems a bit much. The number of Gates always skyrockets at the start of a danger cycle, but it usually settles down within a week, right? Though that first week is always the problem.”

While this time was beyond anything normal, the pattern of Gate generation peaking for one to two weeks during the cycle change had always held true.

“Who knows. Will it really die down?”

Ryu Jin-tae responded coolly.

In the last twenty years, they had experienced four cycles, only two of which were danger cycles.

Until much more data was gathered and they experienced it firsthand, his words were nothing more than a hypothesis.

“I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe… I’ll have to return to the field myself.”

* * *

The independence of his summons.

Thanks to this unexpected event, born from absorbing a core, his summons remained active even when he wasn’t directly channeling power into them.

He had assumed that because they now moved using the core’s power, the connection between him and his summons had weakened.

But the reality was the opposite.

The connection hadn’t been severed; it had grown stronger, allowing their minds to link with even greater flexibility and freedom.

“A little lower.”

Il-hyeon muttered.

While he seemed to be staring blankly at a ruined road, a completely different scene was being projected in a corner of his vision.

The city, as seen from the eyes of the phoenix soaring high above.

That very perspective was shared directly with Il-hyeon.

Incredibly clear and distinct.

“I see them.”

The flame-type monsters, their bodies ablaze, were easy to spot even from high in the sky.

And the hulking giants among them were impossible to miss.

The locations of all three ace monsters were now pinpointed by Il-hyeon.

As they were the most dangerous, they required the most attention.

‘Thankfully, they aren’t in a critical position yet.’

Il-hyeon thought, having confirmed the locations of the ones relatively close to the city center.

A wide river snaked around this part of the city, spanned by several bridges.

With GPS and communications down, Il-hyeon had designated that river and its bridges as his makeshift defensive line.

Even if these monsters defied common sense, he figured the flame-types would have trouble crossing the river without issue.

The ideal strategy was to block them at each bridge, preventing them from advancing further.

If the monsters scattered beyond that point, containing the situation would become incredibly difficult.

Some of the isolated Awakened inside the city seemed to have had the same idea, as they were gathering at the bridges.

The local Awakened who had been dispatched beforehand were already annihilated.

Their Ether Swords and Defensive Coats had been neutralized by the monsters’ unexpected abilities, leaving them helpless.

Now, it was undeniably impossible for Il-hyeon and the surviving Awakened alone to hold the line in front of the Gate.

The only silver lining was that he had arrived shortly after the incident began, so no monsters had yet tried to cross the bridges.

They were too busy destroying everything in sight and attacking people, most likely.

In any case, Il-hyeon was currently clearing out the monsters trying to spread outward from the western part of the city, where there was no river.

“Where is that blue one…”

Il-hyeon muttered, switching his point of view.

The hawk’s-eye view in his mind receded, replaced by what a mouse was seeing.

A small park, a place where people would normally be relaxing, came into view from a low perspective, almost level with the ground.

There, he saw a giant devouring all the trees.

At a glance, it looked almost identical to the ace monster from before, but there was a distinct difference.

Blue flames wreathed its entire body.

Everything its body touched instantly froze and shattered.

Il-hyeon had never seen anything like it, but he knew at once that it was far beyond his level.

He had assigned a separate tail to this creature, which radiated an aura of pure danger.

‘They said I’d probably never encounter one… and here it is already.’

A mutant monster, an extremely rare sight.

They were far stronger than their original counterparts and couldn’t even be detected by analyzers, making them a nightmare for Awakened in the field.

That was why the analysis for this Gate had been completely off. If this creature had been included, the Gate would have been rated at least A5.

‘Its location is a bit to the north, but it’s fine for now. Still, this whole situation is a mess.’

Il-hyeon shook his head.

Three A-rank Gates had opened simultaneously in Europe alone.

He had no way of knowing for sure, with communications cut off from the outside world, but other regions were likely facing the same situation.

That meant reinforcements for his location could be significantly delayed.

‘All I can do is hope they get here as fast as possible.’

Il-hyeon gripped his sword again.

For now, the only thing he could do was hold the line and prevent the damage from worsening.

Just then, as Il-hyeon was checking another area, a pack of flame hounds closed in from the side and lunged at him fiercely.

The cunning creatures had approached him quietly and swiftly while he stood there blankly, but looking elsewhere didn’t mean his immediate vision was blocked.

*Swish!*

Il-hyeon spun to the side and effortlessly sliced a hound in two.

Moreover, he had anticipated their path, knowing that the monsters heading west would eventually come this way. He was waiting for them.

A half-baked ambush like that had no chance of working.

*Bark! Bark! Bark!*

Over twenty hounds barked ferociously and charged with even greater intensity.

But Il-hyeon, without even using his special power, dispatched them one by one with ease, the pile of monster corpses growing steadily.

*Thud!*

A hound’s severed head and body tumbled past Il-hyeon, and its flames flickered out coldly.

In an instant, only three monsters remained.

The remaining creatures began to back away, looking to flee, but Il-hyeon hadn’t moved a single step from his spot.

*CRASH!*

A wall exploded outward, and a wolf burst from the opening.

The massive wolf crushed the heads of two hounds under its paws and devoured the last one.

The hound couldn’t even struggle as the wolf crunched down, swallowing not just its body but the core within it as well.

Black blood dripped to the ground as a savage growl rumbled low in its chest.

*Grrrrr!*

The magnificent creature, with its flowing gray fur, looked down at Il-hyeon, as if showing off its prowess.

But Il-hyeon was unimpressed. He bit his lip and placed a hand on his hip.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you not to eat the cores? Are you going to listen to me or not?”

“*Whine…*”