Chapter 67

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An hour had passed since Lee Hyun-wook entered the first portal.

- Identification and encirclement of 20 ‘Event Map’ locations across Seoul completed, awaiting orders—

Immediately after hearing this transmission, Woo Sung-moon lifted his mana messenger.

“…From now on, we will commence the extermination operation.”

The secret organization known as Villain valued ‘secrecy’ above all else.

Their goal was to ensure that the world did not realize they were gnawing away at it and laying their eggs, so they could wait for the moment when their power would cover the world.

However, there were times when they had to take proactive action to seize something.

For such moments, they had prepared a ‘cuttable tail’ that could be put forward—

A commonly known ‘Outlier’ among the anti-social terrorist organizations was one of these.

“…F*ck, why did the branch manager give us such a task?”

“Holland, shut up and just do it. It’s almost over anyway.”

“But still, we’re not miners, and we’ve been here for four days, in a place without sunlight….”

The players involved in this ‘demon summoning’ mining operation were also members of the Outlier organization.

They were originally active in South America, dealing in drug trafficking and human trafficking.

However, three days ago, after receiving orders from higher-ups, they were suddenly sent here through the ‘Shadow Link’ and have been mining non-stop for three days. It truly felt like they were slaves.

“Damn… So, where exactly are we? Not at the bottom of the Pacific, right?”

“Holland, you really… Do you think Billy would just not tell us for no reason? There must be a reason.”

They were being thoroughly used, and they didn’t even know about the existence of Villain.

However, Billy Smith, the leader of this site and an officer of Outlier, was different.

He was Villain himself.

Therefore, he knew very well what this operation ultimately meant.

‘The Holy Maiden, that bitch needs to be stripped naked and hung in the streets…’

He had hated the Holy Maiden since a certain incident.

Four years ago, he was caught smuggling drugs into Chad.

Fortunately, he managed to burn all the evidence with a fire spell—

The problem was that some of his comrades were ‘black mages.’

‘F*ck, who decided that black magic is evil…’

While mages could obtain black magic skills through certain ‘triggers,’

many countries legally restricted the use or possession of black magic, considering it evil.

Especially in Chad, which was part of the World Tree’s land, the anti-black magic sentiment was quite strong.

Moreover, the Holy Maiden had a policy of torturing and punishing players who learned black magic, which was a strange policy. Billy’s comrades were also ‘executed’ by her.

Fortunately, Billy had not yet learned black magic at the time, so he managed to save his life.

‘That bitch, the way she gouged out Olinic’s eyes and laughed like a demon… I’ll never forget it.’

The memory made him shudder.

“Huh— Billy! The operation is complete!”

The last fragment of the Catastrophe had been mined.

“Good, contact and wait for ‘Shadow Baron’ to arrive.”

But then—

Ding—

A bell rang from somewhere, from a brass bell installed in a corner of the event map.

The members, who were about to take a break, stopped and tensed up.

“…”

The Watcher’s Bell, an item that warned of new players entering the event map, was something that should never ring.

Billy drew his wand from his waist and nodded.

“Hey, what are you doing? Block the entrance immediately and check what’s happening!”

In addition to the Watcher’s Bell, cameras were also installed at the entrance.

But then, something caught the eyes of the tanks guarding the entrance.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Whirr—

A small metallic sphere was slowly flying down the long corridor toward them. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the unknown object. It looked like a meticulously crafted metallic sphere.

It soon approached the tanks, and they had no choice but to step back.

“But this doesn’t seem very dangerous. It’s just… a small sphere.”

One of the tanks said this and tapped it with his shield.

Beep—beep—beep—beep—

“…And it makes a cute sound when you touch it, like a chick.”

“No! That’s not a chick sound, it’s a countdown—”

At that moment, a blinding blue light burst forth, and the five tanks were caught in the explosion.

Zzz—ang—!

No one expected such destructive power from that small object.

“Ugh—!”

Three of them were instantly killed, and the other two were severely injured, staggering.

“Gah, damn— it’s an ambush!”

“Get a grip and pick up your weapons!”

Amid the smoky aftermath of the explosion, Billy turned his head to look at someone.

“Damn, Holden! Quickly contact the upper echelons and spread the word!”

“Yes!”

“And inform the other locations about the ambush so they can prepare for any possible attacks!”

The man called Holden nodded and lifted his mana messenger, but—

“Gah!”

With a terminal scream, Holden’s pupils dilated and his body collapsed.

A black thorn was embedded in his neck.

Then, a strange voice came from somewhere.

“…But even if you contact them, it won’t make a difference.”

And from the ceiling, a blurry something slowly descended.

As the stealth spell wore off, the figure slowly revealed itself—

A man in black combat gear, Lee Hyun-wook.

He extended his hand toward Billy. Then, Billy’s thick gold necklace pulled him forward like a dog’s collar, and Lee Hyun-wook approached and grabbed Billy by the neck.

“Gah—!”

“Because you are the last….”

“Gah, the last? What do you mean….”

Even as his carotid artery was compressed, Billy tried to swing his wand in his left hand.

Thud—

Until his wristwatch exploded, taking his entire wrist with it.

“Aaaa—!”

Then, Lee Hyun-wook’s hand twisted, and Billy’s cervical vertebrae snapped.

Billy thus closed his eyes in vain, unable to achieve his goal of avenging the Holy Maiden.

Meanwhile, eight shadows poured down from the ceiling.

They clung to the heads of the scattered organization members like evil spirits.

In the next moment, fountains of blood spurted from the necks of 11 organization members.

Swish—

These shadows were actually eight assassin-type players.

“—Clear!”

In just a few seconds, all the intruders in the chamber were subdued.

Lee Hyun-wook, who had witnessed the scene in the blink of an eye, nodded.

‘As expected of the Byehyangrang team. Clean work.’

The AMT Secret Intelligence Department’s special forces were formidable, composed of players of B-rank and above. This infiltration team was likely made up of the direct disciples of the assassination master, Cheon Myung-ho.

‘And the existence of this Byehyangrang organization is still unknown to the Villains.’

It was a highly secretive organization, even unknown to the president, formed under Woo Sung-moon’s leadership.

Woo Sung-moon predicted that in the future, individual players, not governments or corporations, would shape the world, and he secretly cultivated this assassination team to counter such powerful players.

To ensure the organization’s security, he put a lot of effort into selecting trustworthy agents, and according to what Lee Hyun-wook had overheard, some brainwashing using ‘rituals’ was also involved.

‘Woo Sung-moon is the kind of person who would do unethical things for the sake of the country.’

At that moment, one of the special forces approached Lee Hyun-wook and handed him a mana messenger.

“This is a mana communication from Director Woo Sung-moon.”

– This is Director Woo Sung-moon. At this time, all targets have been successfully neutralized.

This included successful raids at 18 other locations.

“But the quest is still ongoing. We probably need to destroy the fragments of the Catastrophe.”

Just as destroying the World Stone to close the gate, the goal of this quest was to destroy the ‘fragments of the Catastrophe.’

And as Lee Hyun-wook suggested, when they took the fragments out of the event map and crushed them—

Rumble—

The event map began to close with a vibration.

This operation occurred simultaneously at 20 locations, and soon—

– Congratulations! You have successfully completed the event quest!

‘It’s really over.’

It had been only 1 hour and 40 minutes since Lee Hyun-wook entered the first portal.

A total of 19 event maps were simultaneously and perfectly raided.

A swift and perfect anti-terror operation that once again secured Seoul.

Then, rewards began to appear before his eyes.

– You have obtained Special Awakening (Special).

* This item is immediately attributed upon acquisition.

‘I’m glad I didn’t use the one I got during the last Wave and kept it.’

The Special Awakening item could be fused with another to upgrade to ‘Level 2,’

and using it would increase the level of one skill by 2.

– You have obtained an Ancient Coin of the Underground Kingdom.

– You have obtained an Ancient Coin of the Underground Kingdom.

– You have obtained an Ancient Coin of the Underground Kingdom.

‘Why three… Ah, it’s time to start distributing them, I guess?’

This was a hint that the Dwarf race would soon appear.

At this time, players who obtained these would only think of them as junk items.

And that was not all.

– Congratulations! You have achieved a special achievement.

A new achievement was added.

3) Savior of Seoul

– Condition: Prevent the destruction of Seoul twice.

– Effect: All abilities in the Seoul area are significantly increased (+100%).

…All abilities are doubled.

Although limited to Seoul, this was an unbelievable statistic.

‘I didn’t expect to be the first to obtain the title of Savior of Seoul…’

Inferno is commonly known as the ‘Savior of Busan.’

This is not only because Inferno actually saved Busan but also because he has the title ‘Savior of Busan.’

‘Inferno’s abilities are doubled in Busan, so no one can target Busan.’

Thus, until the Necromancer’s invasion, Busan was an impregnable fortress.

‘Attacks on Seoul will frequently occur, both now and in the future. This is very advantageous.’

– Current controllable metal weight: 302kg

* Transcendent Sense (+30%) is applied.

* Strong Bones (+10%) is applied.

* World Boss Monster Slayer (+5%) is applied.

* Savior of Seoul (+100%) is applied: Stacks with other effects.

This even stacked, doubling all the previous increases.

‘Good, this makes things a bit easier.’

Lee Hyun-wook suddenly looked up at the sky.

‘This isn’t the end for you…’

He predicted that the demon summoning and this battle would not end here.

***

Kee Baek-joon had only lost his temper once this year, when the 4th Wave failed, leaving a large hole in the office wall.

And now—

Crash—!

Another wall beside it collapsed.

The secretaries on the other side of the wall jumped up in shock.

“…Hey, f*ck, what the—?”

Kee Baek-joon shouted, taking off his watch.

Black ripples began to swirl around his hands.

One of the employees who had just reported to him trembled and backed away.

“What happened? Tell me again….”

“Yes, yes, in 19 locations across Seoul, communication was simultaneously cut off.”

This meant that the demon summoning had failed.

“So what’s the reason