NOVEL WEB Chapter 4 - Unwanted Opportunity
Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: KYSOIWDI
================
[ Chapter 4: Unwanted Opportunity (3) ]
Yoo Ji-eun was dead.
If there was any affection, it was more like an unwilling attachment. However, I didn’t think we had a bad relationship. I certainly didn’t wish for her to die like this.
I never imagined that a hunter of Yoo Ji-eun’s caliber would die this way.
I staggered and stood up, leaving Yoo Ji-eun behind. I picked up her sword.
Were the police officers I parted with earlier still alive? Had they found other survivors? Or…?
What about other countries? Were they in a similar situation? Or had they somehow managed to survive?
Who cared?
I had my own problems to deal with. At the very least, South Korea was certainly doomed.
I recalled Yoo Ji-eun’s last words.
“Stay alive.”
“How am I supposed to survive here?”
Or was it a hopeful statement, thinking that if I stayed alive, things would somehow work out?
The Yoo Ji-eun I knew was far from someone who had such baseless hope.
Well, they say people do things they normally wouldn’t when they’re about to die. Considering Yoo Ji-eun said something she normally wouldn’t and died, she must have been human after all.
But unlike the dead Yoo Ji-eun, I had to face reality.
The city was burning black. People died from monsters, and others were burned to death.
“This is really messed up….”
I gripped Yoo Ji-eun’s sword tightly, muttered a curse, and started walking again. It didn’t seem like I had walked far, but I soon found myself at the Ability Management Bureau.
It used to be the site of the Ability Management Bureau. A once-standing building. Several hunters had worked together to fix up the rooftop park, making it quite a pleasant sight.
But now, there was nothing left. Above the collapsed building lay the massive corpse of a giant centipede, the source of the dark, poisonous air.
Around it were the corpses of hunters. Though the bodies were burned, I recognized the familiar weapons. They were the hunters of the bureau.
What about the director?
I could draw the director’s weapon with my eyes closed. Despite its rough appearance, how could I forget the spear with delicate blue waves engraved on its blade?
I looked at the ID tag I kept holding onto, afraid of losing it.
It was something the director always wore around his neck. Yoo Ji-eun had brought this instead of his body.
The director hadn’t even left a body behind when he died.
“…Even if being a hunter is a job where you often don’t leave behind a body,”
This was too much.
I walked through the corpses.
He kept walking.
‘Stay alive.’
If she was going to make such an irresponsible statement, she should have told me how to stay alive too.
Now what?
Keep looking for survivors?
If I found survivors, what then?
“……”
Were there even any survivors left?
Damn it.
“Damn it!!!”
Filled with rage, I almost threw the ID tag but stopped.
Thinking it was the last thing that person had left behind, I couldn’t bring myself to let go.
Instead, I swung Yoo Ji-eun’s sword. Maybe because its owner was dead, the once-finicky sword now responded to my mana.
Whoosh.
Flames extended from the sword. Unlike the fire consuming Seoul, the flames born of my mana were blue.
Since they weren’t fully charged with mana, the blue flames flickered weakly. The unsteady flames, looking like they might extinguish at any moment, crept along the ground and approached the corpse of the centipede-like monster.
Its legs were torn off, crushed, and cut. Its body still dripped toxic fluid. If I stayed here too long, I would be poisoned by it.
Ha.
Even in this state, I was thinking about survival. Was that why Yoo Ji-eun told me to stay alive, knowing this about me?
“…What?”
But those thoughts were fleeting. As soon as the weak blue flames touched the corpse, the centipede vanished without a trace.
It wasn’t uncommon for monsters that emerged from dungeons to act strangely….
I stared at the sight for a moment, then dashed toward the empty space. Maybe the director’s body would be there. If not the body, then at least the weapon. If not the weapon, something else. Anything. Anything else.
He was the strongest hunter in South Korea. It didn’t make sense that all I had to remember him by was an ID tag!
But there was nothing where the corpse had been. Only the corroded remains of the building stood there, eroded by the toxin.
“……?”
No, there was something.
A single item, wrapped in white light, was there.
“…Did that come from the monster?”
I had never heard of monsters leaving items behind, unless it was something like a core from inside a centipede….
But this wasn’t anything like that. If he had to compare it to something…
…A clock?
It was a clock. A tabletop digital clock. The screen, which should have been displaying the time, was pitch black.
I hesitated for a moment but felt I needed to check it out, despite how suspicious the item seemed. In any other situation, I would never have approached such a strange object.
[——- Confirmation. Authorization procedure initiated.]
“What?!”
At that moment, a monotone voice emanated from the clock.
The black screen flickered, then lit up.
[Pending]
[Emergency procedure activated]
[Input]
[Input]
[Input]
The screen changed. Random numbers appeared. Then, they stopped.
[ 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 – 0 0 ]
The voice asked me a question.
[—Would you like to proceed?]
[ 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 – 0 0 ]
[Would you like to set this?]
“…….”
The eight-digit number flickered.
Usually, such notation is used for dates.
[Would you like to set this?]
I should at least know what I was setting before deciding.
[Would you like to set this?]
The voice was the flat, emotionless tone typical of AI items.
I hesitated for a moment before asking. If this was artificial intelligence, it would answer.
“What are you setting up?”
[Date]
[Set]
The voice cut off abruptly.
The blinking numbers disappeared. Feeling confused as I stared at the item that had lost its light, the numbers reappeared on the screen.
[Rebooting]
…Do modern items have a self-booting function?
[Auto sequence initiated]
[ 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 – 0 0 ]
What the hell is this nonsense?
“Hey. What is this?”
[Unable to set]
“Unable to set what?”
[Rebooting]
The item ignored my words, repeatedly turning itself off and on at will.
[ _ _ _ _ – _ _ – _ _ ]
[Would you like to execute?]
The message had changed.
Earlier, it asked to set the date.
“You should tell me what you’re executing.”
[Would you like to execute?]
“……”
It seemed like the artificial intelligence wasn’t very good.
What’s the point of having AI if it can’t explain anything properly? After a brief hesitation, I picked up the item. Nothing changed. There was nothing I could manipulate.
The clock kept blinking.
AI-based items are dangerous. It’s not about their performance.
Some items are programmed to deceive the user. Though they are rare, if I encounter one, I am one hundred percent doomed.
No matter how bleak the situation, there’s no way I’m following the instructions of such a suspicious item…
Rumble.
In the distance, I heard the sound of a beast breathing.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ground shook.
Groan… Rumble. Thud.
The remaining buildings were collapsing. My senses sharpened.
Something appeared. Something was heading this way.
Something saw me.
A giant horn came into view first.
The horn was covered in bright red flames, and with every movement, the flames dripped from it. The falling sparks joined the fires already burning Seoul, making the flames even fiercer.
In addition, the alien magic felt from the surrounding flames intensified.
It’s that thing. That’s what burned Seoul. Not the centipede.
Rumble….
The towering head was covered in black scales. It was so large that I could see it clearly even from a considerable distance. Its bright yellow eyes were looking directly at me.
The clock in my hand was blinking rapidly.
[Warning]
[Warning]
[Danger detected]
[Survival Probability 0%]
I couldn’t hear what the item was saying. The beast had found me. It was getting closer.
Rumble….
I needed to think calmly.
There was no way to beat that thing.
“…….”
I looked at the item blinking and emitting light. It had estimated my survival chances before.
Rumble…. Thud!
The beast’s roar echoed. The vibrations grew stronger. My hair stood on end.
“Can I escape from that thing?”
[??? Danger? Death? ????Possibility]
“If I can escape, just do whatever it takes and execute.”
[Recognize?? ? ??? Confirmed]
[Emergency protocol activated]
[Execute]
[Qualification verification process initiated]
A whirlwind of magic blew around the item. The twisting magic made my stomach churn.
“Roar!!!!”
And then it came.
[Confirm ??? Exceeds?? Category????]
As if it couldn’t let me go. With flames. With the indelible smell of blood.
[??? Exceeds? Execution? Failure??? Noble?????? ? ????? The savior???]
“What now!!”
A piercing, ominous sound filled the air. The swirling magic inscribed bright red letters in the void.
[!!! ERROR !!!]
[!!! ERROR !!!]
[!!! ERROR !!!]
[Rebooting]
[Rebooting]
[Rebooting]
There was no time.
“Rumble….”
It was laughing. One of its claws was bigger than my entire body. Its overall size was similar to the dead centipede. The Director, Yoo Ji-eun, and other hunters had died killing that centipede.
They all died.
Now, it was just me.
[Rebooting]
The clock turned off and on again.
Should I run now? Could I? All my senses were on edge. With it having seen me, escaping seemed impossible.
[Qualification verification]
[Unqualified]
[Qualification verification]
[Unqualified]
[!!! ERROR !!!]
[Searching available functions]
[Forced sequence activated]
[Impossible]
[Impossible]
[Impossible]
[Final sequence activated]
[Approved]
[Procedure initiated]
[Qualification verification]
[Found]
[Confirmed]
[Activated]
[??? Potential for qualification confirmed]
[In a world destined for destruction]
[ The last survivor ]
[Confirmed]
[Transferring to an arbitrary time]
My vision was filled with ERROR messages. Dripping flames. Heat. Trembling vibrations. The massive monster approaching me.
That was my last memory.
* * *
Slap.
“…Damn it!”
“…Mister! Mister! Wake up!”
Slap. Slap.
The first thing that came back was the sensation of pain.
Someone was slapping my cheek. Who… Who the hell is it?
I wanted to remove the hand slapping my cheek, but I couldn’t tell where my arms were. I felt like I was floating in water. The slapping hand was annoying, and it seemed fine to just fall back asleep like this.
“Mister!!”
“Ugh!”
With a sharp pain, all my senses returned. My eyes and ears snapped open.
“Mister, are you okay?”
A worried-looking girl leaned her face close to mine. She was wearing the Hunter Academy uniform. The old uniform, before it was changed.
I quickly looked at the name tag on her chest. Yoo Hye-eun.
“I’ve tried to treat you, but you shouldn’t move too quickly.”
“…….”
“Uh, the situation is really bad right now, but you’re a hunter, right? You are a hunter, aren’t you?”
“…….”
“I saw you holding a sword….”
“…….”
“Mister? Are you okay?”
What… is this?
I slowly looked around.
A few kids, also wearing the old Hunter Academy uniforms, were whispering together. On the opposite wall, a group of people with pale faces were huddled together, trembling.
It was a chaotic office. There was an overturned monitor and an old computer tower on the desk. It was an incredibly outdated model. Do people still use such computers nowadays? This must be a poorly run company.
I blinked.
Seoul was burned down. South Korea had fallen. The whole world was probably doomed.
But then, what was with the bright sunlight streaming through the window, and why were these kids wearing the old Hunter Academy uniforms?
“This is strange, there weren’t any visible injuries…. Mister, can you hear me?”
“…Do I look like a mister to you?”
“What?”
Just where… am I?