"Dodge!" Sunghyung shouted.
But the system alert came too late, dodging was nearly impossible now.
If they could fight while evading, they would've done that from the start.
But there's a reason they divided roles between attack-type Slayers and defense-type Slayers.
The defensive ones lacked enough attack power to kill the Cyclops, and the offensive ones had paper-thin defenses. They had no choice but to split responsibilities this way.
Ideally, they could both dodge and attack, but mastering both was nearly impossible.
Not everyone was an All Stat Slayer like Hyunseok.
The vanguard had to hold the line; the rearguard had to focus on offense.
That was the iron rule of slaying.
And these Slayers weren't even extraordinary ones, yet the monster wasn't a normal-mode monster either.
Hyunseok clenched his teeth.
Damn it!
He realized it would've been easier if he fought alone.
The reason defensive Slayers went to the front lines was to protect the offensive Slayers and the healers behind them.
But if there was no one to protect, no ally who required guarding, then the logic fell apart.
And if one possessed both the means and power to kill the monster alone…
The story changed entirely.
If he had fought solo from the beginning, this would've been far easier.
The die was cast.
He could dodge, yes, but if he did, the five members of Vanguard Teams 1 and 2 would die instantly.
Aggro would scatter, and more casualties would follow.
How many would die, he didn't know, but without him, anyone grazed by the Cyclops's strike would be nothing but a corpse.
If he blocked the attack, that wouldn't happen.
But his current H/P was dangerously low.
One mistake could kill him.
In those few short seconds, he hesitated dozens of times.
The Cyclops's H/P was nearly at zero.
Its massive club swung through the air.
Whooong!
A thunderous sonic boom split the air—
"Ratio Heal!"
Almost at the same instant the club crashed into the vanguard's shields, and Hyunseok's H/P plummeted, a desperate voice rang out.
Hyunseok felt his health surge upward in an instant.
No other healer's spell had ever worked on him before.
Even advanced heals couldn't touch his massive health pool.
And as far as Hyunseok knew, only one person had mastered the inefficient upper-tier spell called Ratio Heal, Pyeonghwa.
Before the damage could fully register, the Cyclops's body began to tilt.
Success.
Barely, but still, success.
[You have slain the Cyclops.]
[This monster exceeds the parameters of Normal Mode. Achievement recognized.]
[Recognized as an Impossible Achievement.]
[Bonus Stats +30 awarded.]
[Due to exceeding normal stat parameters, 50% of the reward has been deducted.]
System alerts echoed through the air.
The eighty or so Slayers who had risked their lives in the battle all burst into cheers at once.
They had slain a monster that even missiles couldn't stop, with human strength alone.
The system recognized it as an Impossible Achievement, awarding a +30 stat bonus.
For someone like Jongwon, this was a chance to push his Strength stat past 100.
Relief, triumph, survival, and the thrill of an unbelievable reward, flooded the group all at once.
Everyone was ecstatic.
Hyunseok collapsed flat onto the ground.
Someone had healed him just before his H/P hit rock bottom, it must have been Ratio Heal again.
And as far as he knew, there was only one healer capable of using that spell: Pyeonghwa.
Unlike the usual Advanced Heal, which most healers preferred, Ratio Heal was a rare, specialized ability that restored a percentage of the target's maximum health.
Because it required massive mana and training, most recovery Slayers avoided it, unless they had to heal someone with a monstrous H/P pool like Hyunseok.
"Oppa!"
Kang Pyeonghwa ran up, fell to her knees by Hyunseok's head, and began sobbing uncontrollably.
She cried so hard that, to anyone watching, it would've looked like she'd just lost a family member.
People glanced at Hyunseok's H/P bar, worried he might've actually died—
But thankfully, it wasn't zero.
Close, but not quite.
It seemed his health had dropped even as Ratio Heal restored it.
"What are you crying so hard for? You worked so hard on your makeup, it's all gone now."
"Oppa!"
"I told you, don't cry. I'm not dead. How'd you even get here?"
Unable to answer, Pyeonghwa just wailed louder, gasping for breath between hiccups.
"Oppa… Oppa…" was all she managed to say through tears.
Hyunseok couldn't help but laugh.
Someone crying that hard for him, it didn't feel bad at all.
Seeing her swollen, tear-streaked face, he even thought she looked… cute.
"Your face is already ugly enough. Don't make it worse. Look, see that camera zooming in? Might as well look pretty while you're at it."
Startled, Pyeonghwa quickly lowered her head.
Of course, there weren't any cameras left, broadcast crews had long since retreated.
Realizing that, her face turned bright red, tears still streaming down.
Between her sobs, Hyunseok barely caught something like, 'You're mean, Oppa...'—
But it came out so warped he could hardly make sense of it.
He chuckled again.
Having someone cry for him, really cry, wasn't so bad.
He could feel her sincerity, and… maybe even a flutter of something he hadn't felt in a long time.
All was fine—
Until Minseo showed up.
❋ ❋ ❋
Hyunseok shook his head.
Just thinking about that day made him shiver.
The Cyclops fight was bad enough. but handling two crying women afterward was worse.
He thought Pyeonghwa had finally calmed down,
But then Minseo came running up, bawling as well.
And as if her tears were contagious, Pyeonghwa started crying again.
Hyunseok was drenched in sweat trying to calm them both down.
Even someone as experienced with women as him had no clue how to stop two sobbing girls at once.
― The Cyclops was classified as an "Impossible Achievement" entity, exceeding Normal Mode specifications, essentially a bug-tier monster…
― Experts are studying the Redstone obtained from the kill to determine its true value, but no accurate measurement has been confirmed…
― Theoretical data suggests a single Redstone could power Seoul for an entire day, but compared to prior Greenstones, the margin of error is still uncertain…
When they defeated the Cyclops, it dropped only one item: a Redstone.
That was both fortunate and problematic.
Fortunately, because it didn't drop equipment, they avoided a chaotic dispute over loot distribution.
Unfortunately, no one knew its true worth.
The Korean Union took custody of the Redstone under government supervision.
It was clear, however, that it possessed tremendous value.
Park Sunghyung later rewarded the auxiliary and healing Slayers, about ten volunteers who had assisted the 80-man strike force, with ₩10 million each, funded by the Union.
It was both recognition of their courage and a strategic move to encourage other Slayers to volunteer in future high-risk hunts.
Then Sunghyung gathered the eighty participants and spoke plainly:
"We're currently negotiating the Redstone's price with the government.
If we rush, we'll get a cheaper deal.
If we take our time, we might secure a far higher value.
Which would you prefer?"
The Cyclops incident had dramatically raised the Slayers' prestige.
Humans had accomplished what even missiles couldn't—
They'd slain a genuine monster, not just another dungeon creature.
From now on, if such threats appeared again, the government would have no choice but to rely on Slayers.
Their worth would skyrocket.
Currently, Slayers paid taxes and licensing fees just to operate—
But soon, it might be the government paying them instead.
Sunghyung continued,
"Is there anyone here who urgently needs money right now?"
Three people raised their hands.
"The government's current offer is around ten billion won after taxes.
I intend to negotiate for far more.
But if any of you want immediate compensation, I'll personally pay you—
in exchange for your share of the Redstone's value later."
The three agreed.
Sunghyung immediately paid ₩150 million each from his own pocket and acquired their shares in the Redstone, only after making sure all other participants approved.
They decided not to apply contribution-based distribution this time,
since it was impossible to measure who'd done how much in such a chaotic fight.
The usual practice was to split evenly (1/N), though many suggested giving extra to the vanguard teams, who'd faced the highest risk.
They couldn't finalize it then and agreed to discuss it further later.
❋ ❋ ❋
From that day on, the Korean Union entered intense negotiations with the government.
Top-tier Slayers were now irreplaceable.
And many of them were fed up, with taxes, with mandatory licenses, with the government undervaluing Greenstones and taxing them twice over.
But now the tables had turned.
The Slayers finally had leverage.
Some of the elite, particularly the six vanguard team leaders, had noticed something about Hyunseok's abilities.
Three of them even reached out personally, bringing drinks and small gifts, not bribes, but gestures to get acquainted.
Among them, one stood out.
'That guy, Yeonsu… he was interesting.'
He was Hyunseok's age, a massive man with a rough face but a strangely pure, honest personality.
He admitted sheepishly that his wife had forced him to come, his face reddening as he spoke.
It was oddly endearing.
If a Cyclops appears somewhere else… what should I do?
Hyunseok knew now.
Without him, no one could kill one.
And soon enough, another Cyclops appeared, this time, on the California plains.
Fortunately, it was open ground.
The U.S. military unleashed all its firepower and eventually brought it down.
Reports claimed success.
Rumor had it the hunt cost over ₂ trillion won in ammunition and weaponry.
And, of course, monsters killed by brute force didn't drop items.
Then came the backlash online, accusations that the Korean fight had been exaggerated.
Some claimed the Cyclops was weaker than advertised.
Especially Japanese netizens, mocking Korea relentlessly.
― "LOL, typical Koreans, exaggerating everything."
― "Eighty-man death squad? LOL, so dramatic."
― "No wonder their military's still a joke."
A few more reasonable voices said,
"It could happen to us too, let's be prepared."
"Korea's Slayers are actually quite strong."
But overall, mockery dominated.
Meanwhile, Yamamoto, head of Japan's Ichigo Union, was growing anxious.
I hate to admit it, but Korea's slaying capabilities far surpass ours.
Especially that man… he's someone we must never provoke.
One day, he might be our greatest ally.
And if the same monster appears here…
Can we really stop it?
His fears soon proved justified.
< Reckless Slaying Continues — 140 Japanese Slayers Dead! >
< Near Fukushima Nuclear Plant — Bombardment Impossible! >
< Japanese Government on High Alert — How Will They Overcome This Crisis? >
(End of Chapter 29)
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