Racing toward the source of the cacophony, I spotted a purple fissure splitting open across the four-lane road up ahead.
And the monsters — already on a rampage.
— *Twitch.*
— *Twitch, twitch.*
"———Move it! Drive them to the center!"
"Civilian evacuation! What's the status!"
"Ugh, ogre at the front! Everyone below B-rank, fall back behind Kim Baek-min!"
Whether it was thanks to my Assimilation with Fenrion, I could hear the Hunters' voices from far away with perfect clarity.
But that wasn't all.
The footsteps of people fleeing to shelters.
The growling of more monsters pouring in from inside the Gate.
The crackling sparks of a severed power line.
Every sound there was to hear, I heard.
"Phew……"
Whether the evacuation had gone smoothly or not, thankfully there were no visible casualties or serious injuries.
The Hunters had formed a proper line and were holding their own against the monsters.
Still, the situation was far from optimistic.
The Hunters currently fighting looked like they were struggling just to maintain the front line.
Meanwhile, the cracked purple Gate kept spewing out monsters without end.
That's why Gate Shocks are such a headache.
The monsters just keep coming, with no end in sight.
— *Flash*———————!
"Hah, hah…. …Unni."
While I was observing the battle from a distance, Kim A-rin's voice came from right beside me — she'd sprinted after me.
I had a feeling she was about to tell me she'd handle it herself and that I should stay somewhere safe, so I got ahead of her and asked first.
Fighting together would end the Gate Shock faster, after all.
"Kim A-rin. What do we need to do to close that thing?"
"The dungeon stone…. …No, you don't have to get involved. Our guild members will be here soon——"
"If any of them are stronger than me, I'll do what you say. We both know they're not, so talk fast."
"…You have to go inside the Gate and retrieve the dungeon stone. That's how you close it."
So the Gate opening in the first place, and the Gate going berserk and flooding monsters outside — it all came down to the dungeon stone.
I had questions about why the dungeon hadn't been cleared before it reached this point, but that could wait.
What we needed to do right now was close this runaway Gate as fast as humanly possible.
Every second of delay meant the side dishes the store manager sent me were going a little more stale.
I couldn't let those go to waste without even eating them.
"This is a B-rank Gate, right?"
"…Yeah."
"Two S-ranks standing around here doing nothing. Let's go."
"……You're still unranked, Unni."
Like that even matters right now.
I let out a sigh at Kim A-rin drawing that line — as if being the only S-rank here made her special — and took off running again.
I'd been talking with Kim A-rin just now, so the duration on my S-rank invincibility skill should have refreshed too.
— *Ding.*
❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: Disaster Unhinged❯
【Current Duration: 10 minutes】
"…Avatar Manifestation!"
【Current Duration: 9 minutes 59 seconds】
— *Thump!*
"Ugh."
The moment I activated Avatar Manifestation, my heart lurched into a rapid beat — just like last time.
I stumbled to a halt mid-sprint, and a flood of notification windows bloomed before my eyes.
【Current Assimilation Target: Fenrion (39%)】
【Current Assimilation Target: Fenrion (51%)】
【Current Assimilation Target: Fenrion (68%)】
Maybe it was because I'd started from a 37% Assimilation rate this time.
The speed at which my Assimilation with Fenrion climbed was dramatically faster than before.
My field of vision expanded in an instant.
A sense of omnipotence surged through me at a breakneck pace.
My nerves sharpened by the second.
An exhilarating urge to throw myself into the battle right now.
— *Ding.*
[ Assimilation with Entity: Fenrion has reached a sufficient level. ]
[ A portion of Entity: Fenrion's stats are being granted to Entity: Lee Ji-woo. ]
[ A portion of Entity: Fenrion's skills are now available for use. ]
"…Phew…."
These were sensations I'd already experienced once before, yet somehow they felt different this time.
Last time, the monsters had seemed like pitiful little ants. Now, I didn't even have that thought.
I didn't even register the monsters over there as the same kind of living thing as me.
It was like staring at a pile of empty water bottles waiting to be sorted for recycling.
Yeah. Nothing but annoyance.
— *Crack.*
"…My braised beef."
"Do you have any idea how expensive beef is these days———!"
— *Dash*——!
Consumed by an indescribable irritation, I kicked off the ground and charged forward.
At some point I was running on all fours, but it was faster that way, so I didn't particularly care.
What mattered right now was sending these uninvited guests who'd ruined my move back through the Gate where they came from.
The ogre monsters roaring and shoving the Hunters back were the most aggravating.
They were also the biggest of the bunch that had spilled out of the Gate, making them the easiest to spot.
Roughly seven meters tall, each one.
Which meant every time the ogres moved, I got an eyeful of things I really didn't want to see.
Between their legs……I'll spare the details.
Anyway. It was horrifying.
"You absolute………"
— *Tick.*
【Current Assimilation Target: Fenrion (98%)】
[ Entity: Lee Ji-woo's aura is affecting surrounding entities. ]
"Exhibitionist baldies———!"
— *Crack*——!
I launched myself straight at the one-eyed ogre at the front and smacked its smooth, bare forehead hard.
The ogre convulsed, foaming at the mouth almost instantly.
That massive body, which had been flashing its grotesque self at the Hunters just moments ago, slowly toppled backward.
But I didn't stop.
— *Leap*——!
I jumped at the next ogre standing right beside it and drove an uppercut straight into its jaw.
That enormous head snapped back from the direct hit.
The world flipped upside down, and the asphalt that had seemed so far below rushed up to meet me in an instant.
A freefall in everything but name.
— *Crash!*
"Oof, cough. Cough…."
The ogre went down in a single blow, kicking up a massive cloud of dust in every direction.
They keep saying fine dust levels have been terrible lately — it had to be these things' fault.
Anyway, there were still plenty of monsters left.
I turned my head to find more ogres closing in from all sides.
— *Thud, thud, thud, thud!*
— *ROOOOAAAAR*————!
The ogres were charging at me with expressions of sheer terror, but I couldn't have cared less.
I'd already felt it through Fenrion's senses.
The static electricity that had already saturated the air in every direction.
— *Flash!*
I tilted my head up to look at the sky and saw storm clouds massing overhead.
At the same moment, my vision went white.
— *KRAKABOOOOOOM*————!!
Blue lightning rained down from the sky all at once, sweeping through the entire area around me — everything except me.
The ogres that had been charging at me moments ago were roasted to a golden crisp.
The smell of freshly fried rotisserie chicken wafted through the air.
— *Gulp….*
"That smells delic——. …What am I even saying."
I wiped the drool that had apparently been running down my chin and turned my attention to Kim A-rin, who was slowly approaching.
Her eyes held a faint trace of bewilderment.
She'd clearly been surprised by my strength — taking down even the massive ogre monsters in a single hit.
But when I looked around, something seemed off.
"Hey, Kim A-rin. Where did all the other Hunters go? I don't see a single one."
"…I told them all to fall back. They could've gotten caught in my attack."
Right, okay.
That part made sense.
"What about the monsters? Where'd they all go?"
Setting aside the massive ogres Kim A-rin and I had just taken down, there wasn't a single monster in sight.
There had definitely been others earlier — moles with an extra eye in the middle of their foreheads, two-headed purple snakes.
Orangutan-like monsters that walked on their arms had been pouring out too.
Had Kim A-rin wiped them all out?
W-was this what S-rank looked like?
"…No."
"What?"
"That wasn't me."
Kim A-rin was looking down at me with eyes like she'd just seen something she wasn't supposed to see.
……Did you catch a glimpse of the ogre situation too?
***
She had known.
The Ji-woo in front of her — Unni — had already cleared an S-rank Dungeon on the very day of her awakening.
So Kim A-rin hadn't been particularly worried.
This Gate Shock was a B-rank, after all.
For someone who'd already cleared an S-rank Dungeon, a B-rank Gate Shock should be manageable.
— *Flash!*
"This is Kim A-rin of Haetae. Everyone, fall back."
The moment she arrived at the battlefield, she wrapped herself in crackling blue lightning and ordered the surrounding Hunters to retreat.
That was simply what an S-rank Hunter was.
Someone whose sheer presence alone could sweep up anyone nearby.
Anyone who wasn't also S-rank was just in the way.
But the moment she'd cleared all the Hunters out —
— *Chill.*
"……!"
Kim A-rin felt it.
A dread that couldn't even be compared to the monsters pouring out of the B-rank Gate.
[ Entity: Lee Ji-woo's aura is affecting surrounding entities. ]
— *■*———————!!———!!!!
Ji-woo's mouth opened wide.
A roar that rivaled a thunderclap followed, and Kim A-rin's own eyes wavered.
Almost simultaneously, every window in the surrounding area shattered outward.
— *Crash!*
— *Crack, crack.*
— *Bang*———!
Deep fractures carved themselves into the asphalt directly below, and the engine of a crumpled car on the side of the road exploded.
Even the cars that had still been in relatively one piece all blared their theft alarms at once.
But what truly shocked Kim A-rin wasn't just Ji-woo.
— *Bzzt, bzzt, bzzzt……!*
— *Urgh, ugh……!*
— *SHRIEEEEK*————!
The monsters that had been savagely charging at every Hunter in sight moments ago went pale — as if something had terrified them.
No, more than that — they turned tail and fled.
Back into the Gate they had just come out of.
"They're…running away? ……Why?"
It shouldn't have been possible.
Monsters that spilled out of a runaway Gate were already in a berserk state, driven by the overloaded dungeon stone.
In other words, they were creatures with murder as their sole purpose.
And yet they were fleeing — even the massive ogres that remained were trembling.
Staring at the small girl who, just seconds ago, had latched onto one of their heads and flicked it.
— *Flinch.*
"…Unni."
No Hunter in the world had ever driven already-berserk monsters back into a Gate.
No matter how powerful a Hunter appeared, the monsters would only charge more ferociously — they never cowered.
And yet they cowered.
— *Thud, thud, thud, thud!*
— *ROOOOAAAAR*————!
Not to kill — but because they wanted to survive. They gritted their teeth and charged.
At one small girl, smaller than their own fists.
Of course, Kim A-rin hadn't just stood there watching.
No matter how strangely the monsters behaved, what mattered most right now was Unni.
"…Disappear."
— *KRAKABOOOOOOM*————!!
She drove blue lightning into the ogres surging toward Ji-woo, and their massive knees buckled and gave way.
It was only natural.
There was no way monsters from a mere B-rank Gate could withstand S-rank lightning.
But then.
"What about the monsters? Where'd they all go?"
Ji-woo herself had driven all the monsters away and was standing there looking genuinely puzzled — that was decidedly less natural.
Part of her wanted to ask what on earth Ji-woo had done just now, but there was no time.
Either way, the most urgent priority was stopping the Gate Shock.
"Let's go, Kim A-rin. I've got 3 minutes left."
"…Stay here, Unni. I'll get the dungeon stone——"
— *Dash*——!
"Right now I can smell way better than you, dummy——!"
"W-Unni!"
Ji-woo had already plunged into the runaway Gate before she could finish, and Kim A-rin scrambled after her.
No matter how extraordinary Ji-woo's strength had proven to be, she couldn't let her go into a runaway Gate alone.
But what on earth was going on.
【 [ ! ] WARNING: Critical error detected. 】
【 [ ! ] WARNING: Unauthorized entry. 】
【 [ ! ] WARNING: Overlapping Hidden Boss appearance is not permitted. 】
【 [ ! ] WARNING: Only one Hidden Boss entity may exist. 】
【 [ ! ] Please exit immediately………. 】
"Huh? What's this?"
"…Wait, Unni. Something's wrong."
By the time Kim A-rin followed Ji-woo through the Gate, red warning windows had already surrounded Ji-woo on all sides.
As if to say she had no business being here.
As if the system had mistaken Ji-woo for a new Hidden Boss.
Sensing something ominous, Kim A-rin moved to wrap her arms around Ji-woo first.
She couldn't let Ji-woo suddenly vanish somewhere like she had in the Haeinsa Dungeon.
And almost simultaneously, another wave of red warning windows appeared.
【 [ ! ] WARNING: Hidden Boss Appearance 】
【 [ ! ] WARNING: Hidden Boss Appearance 】
【 [ ! ] The dungeon's true ruler is watching Hidden Boss: Lee Ji-woo………. 】
— *Step.*
— *Step.*
A prickling sensation crawled across her entire body.
Footsteps she hadn't even been able to *perceive* moments ago were now audible right in front of her.
[ Entity: Ancient Dragon Arkiel detected. ]
[ Hidden entity encountered. ]
Kim A-rin knew instinctively.
Finding this dungeon's dungeon stone was no longer what mattered.
She had to survive.
No matter what.
***
— *Ding.*
【For the safety of Entity: Lee Ji-woo, ❮(P) Let's Be Friends❯ is being forcibly activated.】
[ Effect of 'Passive: Let's Be Friends': Boss hostility adjusted to 0. ]
[ Effect of 'Passive: Let's Be Friends': Boss favorability adjusted to 50. ]
