From the entrance to the Hapjeong station, a young man with tattered clothes walked out with an exhausted look as the night sky was illuminated by the street lights.
"Damnit. I need to ask Uncle what the deal is with this pendant."
His mutterings went unheard as he tightly clenched the broken blade of the new item he had recently obtained after killing the dungeon boss, only to have it broken on the body of the monster in the Undead Asylum.
When Jinwoo arrived in the Undead Asylum, an instance dungeon that was created based on the memories of a certain someone that lingered on the pendant, he felt a threat to his life unlike any he had felt until now.
However, more than the threat to his life, he felt extremely unnerved as the monsters within the dungeon were not some beastly creatures.
They were humans. Rather, some variation of one.
The name 'Undead Asylum' should have given him an idea of what he was facing, but he only realized the meaning after fighting for his life for hours on end.
These beings, with sunken eyes and emancipated bodies, were undead. Dead humans brought back to life and left as feral monsters that attacked anything that moved or sat on the ground, crying and praying to some god.
While they were not that high-level since their names were only displayed in white color, the sheer skill with which they fought left Jinwoo on the ropes more times than he could count.
In terms of speed and strength, Jinwoo far surpassed these undead. However, in terms of the pure skill of wielding weapons and shields, he was nowhere near close to these beings who still remembered the skills they had as living humans.
In the end, he somehow managed to get past the monsters and arrive at the Boss of this dungeon.
The Asylum Demon.
The beast was as true to its name as every other resident in this cursed place.
Its hideous appearance could be nothing more than that of a demon, just like its strength that cracked the ground with its mere steps.
The gigantic and crude hammer it wielded promised pain and death as its roar shook the ancient building they were in.
Its blood-red name indicated that it was far beyond Jinwoo's capability to face.
However, even with the odds against him, Jinwoo still fought hard, with all of his new strength gained through leveling up and allocating points. He dodged and ducked under the slow but powerful blows of the monster.
And yet, it was for naught as the damage he dealt to the monster was negligible compared to the absurdly large vitality and tough skin.
In the end, the Rasaka's Fang, the blade that he obtained after defeating the Boss of the previous dungeon, broke on the skin of the demon, while it did not look any worse for wear.
With no suitable weapon available and no possibility of victory in sight, Jinwoo finally fled the battle and used one of the side doors to escape the monster.
Fortunately, the System used this exact opportunity to purge whatever problem it was facing and transported Jinwoo back to the normal dungeon as the Undead Asylum faded from existence.
As Jinwoo began walking out of the subway, a soldier nearby spotted the young man and quickly approached him.
"Who are you?? Why are you coming out of the station? Did you not hear the broadcast-"
The soldier stopped talking as he spotted the tattered clothes and broken blade, immediately identifying him as a hunter.
"Are you a hunter?"
"Yes, but-"
"I see. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Come with me, sir, I'll guide you."
"…Ok."
Jinwoo did not find the opportunity to interrupt as the soldier, probably someone in their mandatory draft based on his young age, started guiding Jinwoo out of the quarantined area.
As they continued walking, Jinwoo spotted the corpses of many monsters strewn about on the streets.
"Did a Dungeon break occur?"
"Yes. Most of the nearby monsters have been taken care of, but there is one big monster that is still not dead."
The soldier's expression tightened a bit at those words.
"Maybe because they were called on short notice, but the Hunters gathered there are mostly E-rankers with one D-ranker and one B-ranker in the mix."
Jinwoo felt his senses expand and cover a massive area, allowing him to feel the mana of the monster in question from the other side of the street.
'Hm, I'd say it is somewhere in the range of level 6 or 7 based on the mana.'
Jinwoo slowly approached the place as the soldier parted the crowd, allowing Jinwoo to move to the front and watch the fight. all the while, he heard the words and complaints of the civilians around him while the soldiers desperately tried to control the crowd.
"Please don't take photos!"
"Stand back! Quickly evacuate the area for your own safety!"
The civilians ignored the soldiers shouting as some of them used their phones to record the fight, while several men and women started to complain.
"What are the hunters doing?"
"How long are they going to fight? I have places to be, damn it!"
"I wish they'd beat it quickly and restore the traffic. I am late for my meeting."
"What a Mess."
"That's a lot of damage they are doing to the surroundings. What if the property values drop because of them? Who will compensate us?"
Jinwoo felt his blood boil as he heard those uncaring words of the civilians towards the very people risking their lives for their sake.
Suddenly, he started to understand why his uncle had such disdain for the opinion of the civilians toward the Hunters and why he had never watched the news shows that specialized in Hunter news.
As Jinwoo continued to watch the fight, he quickly realized that the team fighting the Boss monster was not well coordinated, probably because they were a quickly assembled team made of people who did not know each other.
The Tank, whose mana felt like he was level 5 or 6, so somewhere in the upper spectrum of D-rank, was taking the responsibility of blocking the boss monster while the two healers worked continuously to keep him stable.
The two damage dealers attacked the Boss as much as they could, but they could not do much since they were only E-rank.
All the while, the team members bickered and shouted at each other due to the threat to their lives that they felt from the sheer power of the Boss.
Much to Jinwoo's surprise, he recognized one of the two healers as none other than Lee Joohee, the girl he had once had a crush on before the incident.
Jinwoo watched as Joohee tried her best to heal the Tank but failed miserably as her body trembled like a leaf in the wind.
"Hey! Miss!! What are you doing?? Quickly use your healing!! Didn't you say you are a B-rank Healer??"
"…."
Joohee continued staring at the Boss with a panicked expression.
"Why the hell are you spacing out??"
The shout from the female damage dealer brought Joohee out of her panic, causing her to immediately activate her magic.
"R-Right!! Sorry!"
She struggled to activate her magic, which barely responded to her fractured mind, making Jinwoo realize the source of her issue.
'Even after a week, she hasn't overcome the incident. I guess it is understandable. I too-'
'No. I will overcome it. No matter what. I must become stronger. To protect my family and to make them proud.'
With determination once again strengthened, Jinwoo took a few steps back before assuming a posture with his arm extended back while taking out the shattered blade that he used when he first entered the Instance Dungeon at the subway, while putting away the remains of the Rasaka's Fang.
He concentrated all of his power onto the broken sword, focusing his full might of level 28 on the blade and letting it loose like an artillery shell out of a canon.
With a thunderous noise, the blade broke the sound barrier and impacted the face of the massive Golem.
Under the shocked looks of the gathered hunters, civilians, and soldiers, the head of the Golem monster directly disappeared upon impact and caused shockwaves to ripple through the area.
Using this opportunity, Jinwoo walked away, now assured that these Hunters would not die because of the monster. He was also now aware of his true strength compared to real monsters in the real world, giving him an estimate of his current rank.
With his long day now behind him, Jinwoo headed back home, knowing that he would get an earful from his sister and uncle for ignoring their words and diving back into danger right after being discharged.
However, despite the nagging he had to endure, he wouldn't trade his family for anything.
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I looked up from the paperwork I was going through, looking out of the window Eastwards as I felt an abnormal spike in mana.
"James? What's wrong?"
"…Nothing. I just felt a spike of mana towards the East."
"It must be the Hunters gathered there to deal with the Dungeon Break."
"Hmm, could be. How are things going there anyway?"
Gunhee gave a sigh as he shuffled through the paperwork with me.
"While the casualties are pretty low, with only two civilian deaths and five military deaths due to the swift action of the nearby hunters, the Guilds have once again deployed their hunters too late to be of any meaning. In fact, I've received news that their hunters have only now arrived on the scene."
"I see. And what are you going to do about it?"
"…I don't know. I can't really punish them harshly since they might use that as an excuse to leave Korea and go to America, as most of the higher-ranking hunters do. But I can't really let this go either since their flippant response cannot be tolerated any longer."
"In that case, I have a suggestion."
I pushed forward my laptop, showing the plan I had prepared for such a scenario.
As he read through the details, Gunhee's expression became strange as he looked up at me.
"…Are you sure about this? If we carry out this plan, the chances are very high that the majority of the high-ranking Hunters will leave the country."
"Then, let them leave."
I stood up from my seat and headed towards the window.
"If they are only concerned about profits, they do not belong under your management. Don't get me wrong, I am not condemning them for their actions since they are very much understandable."
I looked down at the sprawling city and felt a sneer work its way onto my face.
"The civilians down there look at Hunters as if they are some kind of entertainment. As if their lives and deaths have nothing to do with them. Worse yet, they condemn these hardworking people who are the very reason why these bastards can even live such lives of excess and luxury. In my opinion, the Guilds have done nothing wrong with prioritizing their own gains over the safety of the civilians."
Then, I turned back to Gunhee, watching as his face twisted into a carefully held neutral look.
I knew that this old man felt pained at my words.
Go Gunhee was originally the head of a multi-national conglomerate, getting ready to retire and spend the last years of his life with his wife, before the Gates opened and made him an Awakened.
Even after this happened, he could have chosen to retire quietly and spent what's left of his life with his wife in his private vacation house somewhere, and no one would have faulted him.
However, he did none of that. After the Gates appeared and Hunters became a thing, he scrapped all his retirement plans and jumped into action with other Hunters, fighting tooth and nail to protect the common people, despite his own medical condition deteriorating the longer he fought.
It is this very nature that won him my respect and exasperation in equal amounts.
A man like him, who gave his all for the common people, could never accept my reasoning, I knew that.
That is why I smiled as I continued speaking.
"I know that you will not agree with my words. That is why I have come up with a solution that works for you and should solve the problem of the Guilds."
"And that solution is to put the Guilds under the jurisdiction of the Association?"
"Correct."
"James. The biggest reason why Hunters and guilds are given autonomy is because of how inefficient the government, and to a lesser extent, my Association, are when it comes to emergencies. Aren't you undermining this advantage by using such a tactic?"
I stared at Gunhee seriously.
"Autonomy, when used in excess, becomes a liability, just like it has become now. If you want the Guilds to start getting back on track and protect the civilians like you want them to, this is the only solution that I can think of right now."
Go Gunhee leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, contemplating my words before sighing.
"Let's put that plan on the back burner for now. We will go with it if the situation calls for it. But for now, let us discuss the more urgent task."
"Very well. Then, here is the list I've compiled so far."
Once again, I pushed my laptop towards Gunhee as he browsed through the names of the Hunters I wanted for the program he had in mind.
"James, the guilds will rebel if you poach so many of their best hunters for this project."
I grinned viciously as my mana flared, causing the room to shake.
"Let them try. Since you asked for my help in securing the future of this country and the world, I will not accept anything below the best. And these Hunters are the only ones I consider to have the potential for the task we have ahead of us."
"And if the guilds they belong to have a problem, you can directly show them that I was the one requesting it and show them my rank."
Gunhee gave me a surprised look at those words.
"But didn't you want to keep your true strength hidden?"
"I did. But I have decided that I have been passive for too long. It is time I truly start trying again."
"…Very well. Then, I guess project 'Covenant' is a go."
I nodded at his words as we sat down again and started to work on the details.
What I said to Gunhee is the truth.
If I want to keep my family safe. If I want to make sure that Jinwoo never experiences what he just did ever again. If I want to make sure that the children can grow without any fear or worry. I need to start giving my all.
It is time for the Chosen Undead to start a new journey. This time, not for the sake of some stupid prophecy or some ancient god and primordial serpents, but to protect what I care for the most.
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1