Chapter 256

Chapter 256. Age of Turmoil (6)

The man the reporter and cameraman met was Lee Seho.

He was a third-wave player who had been promoted to Gold rank three weeks ago.

Among players of the same wave, his speed was relatively fast, and as a result, he had gained some fame.

His unique fame was also influenced by his status as an attribute-less player.

Lee Seho had an exceptional talent, reaching over 50% mastery in Mana Control in just a few months.

From the beginning, he had the Trait ‘Mana Affinity’ marked in his status window upon being selected.

However, even for someone as talented as him, the battle that lasted for three consecutive days was overwhelming.

Rest was a luxury, and due to this, he couldn’t properly manage his chaos levels.

‘There are about 4,000 players gathered here.’

According to a post on the community board, similar incidents were occurring in the provinces as well.

However, the number of players gathered was less than in Seoul.

Eventually, the association sent those in Seoul to the provinces.

‘Thanks to that, it’s gotten busier here.’

It wasn’t easy to oversee dozens and hundreds of Holes with the reduced manpower.

There was hardly any time to purify corrupted mana.

Because of that, Lee Seho’s chaos levels were about twice as high as usual.

In such circumstances, he detected mana from civilians still remaining behind the barricades.

‘Those ungrateful bastards even when saved.’

There were many civilians who, instead of being grateful, hurled stones, labeling them as monsters.

They were completely submerged in fear, making rational judgment impossible.

But does understanding their reasons mean we have to accept them?

‘Why should I?’

It was their problem, wasn’t it?

People usually say courteous words beget courteous responses.

Having been treated like a monster repeatedly, he didn’t feel like understanding their situation.

Had the association not ordered the protection of survivors, he would have ignored whether they lived or died.

In such a situation, he encountered broadcasting people who seemed to have voluntarily crawled here.

“Some citizens claim that this incident happened because of players and are demanding an investigation. Do you have anything to say about that?”

As if things weren’t bad enough, he had to hear such words.

Even they were at a loss due to the suddenly opened Holes.

They were busier than civilians who simply ran away to survive.

Here they were, frantically running day and night killing monsters coming out of the Holes.

Lee Seho had dashed to this place as soon as the incident broke out on the first day.

Not out of a particular sense of justice or duty.

As soon as the mission popped up, and he saw it on the news, he dashed over almost instinctively.

It was nearly a reflexive response.

But hearing such a provocation like that?

‘This situation happened because of players, so take responsibility?’

In an instant, Lee Seho’s mind snapped.

“What the hell did you just say?”

His chaos level, much higher than usual, fueled his underlying violence.

He had neither the reason nor the composure to suppress it.

In a flash, the greatsword he raised high began to fall downwards.

Heading towards the head of the reporter who, unwittingly, held out a microphone.

If nothing unusual happened, it would have cleaved the reporter’s body in two.

The cameraman accompanying him would have been killed too, and their camera picked up, eradicating evidence.

But the situation didn’t unfold as Lee Seho wished.

“Uh… ah?”

To the sound of proof, the reporter, who should have been cleaved in two, sat down, making a dazed sound.

It meant he was alive, not dead.

The greatsword that was supposed to strike him halted halfway.

Tangled in red threads from somewhere unknown.

And Lee Seho, who held the greatsword, froze.

Taken aback by a large mana presence that appeared from outside his detection range.

By the sheer speed of its approach, it was hard to react.

The mana wrapping around his neck was the third shock.

The message that appeared before his eyes was the fourth.

「You are entering the Domain of Alpha.」

「Corrupted mana is being purified.」

Perhaps startled by the consecutive surprises, Lee Seho felt like his heart skipped a beat in a fleeting illusion.

Yet even that was momentary.

“Surely, the association advised…”

Lee Seho’s heart soon began to thump vigorously.

“If you find civilians, the directive was to rescue them, wasn’t it?”

It wasn’t about killing them.

Understanding what remained unsaid by the other was not difficult.

“Didn’t you know?”

The voice which initially seemed to come from above was now positioned behind him.

Gulp.

As soon as Lee Seho swallowed hard, the mana that had restrained him vanished.

As he hesitantly turned back, there stood as expected.

A Caucasian staring at him with eyes cold as ice.

‘K’.

Having undergone purification from pathogens twice already, he couldn’t not recognize his face.

Even without prior acquaintance, after seeing the Alpha message, guessing his identity wasn’t difficult.

With K’s appearance, the previously boiling impulse subsided coolly.

Had it been any other player in the same situation, he might not have been as rattled.

But of all people, running into K?

Lee Seho’s throat felt suddenly dry.

‘They really prioritize civilian rescue as expected.’

He couldn’t afford not to be cautious.

Because it wasn’t merely a matter of status.

A being necessary for his survival, a superior higher species.

Even now, the continuously purified corrupted mana testified to that fact.

Becoming able to distinctly define the opponent’s existence prompted a submissive instinct from the deepest recesses of his unconscious.

“Uh, well, that is…”

Right after unlocking his frozen lips.

Lee Seho chose the wisest course.

“I’m sorry! I’ll ensure this doesn’t happen again!”

The long breath descending from above naturally heightened his tension.

Fortuitously, though.

“…… Go back and correctly convey this to the other players.”

Causing incidents in player capacity meant.

“That they should be prepared to be totally at odds with me on that day.”

“I’ll keep it in mind!”

Lee Seho answered robustly, swallowing hard.

“Get going.”

Lee Seho left without looking back.

* * *

After the player with the greatsword left.

I wiped the black blood off my face and turned to the side.

And the reporter and cameraman still sprawled on the ground.

I took in their faces fully before speaking.

“Are you unaware of what a military operation area means? Or should I assume you came in here with a death wish?”

My voice was cold.

The reporter flinched at that, and seemed to regain composure.

Judging by how he was controlling his breath without quickly reacting, he seemed accustomed to such hostile responses.

‘Having the news mark on, it does look like a reporter at first glance.’

As soon as I measured the opponent, they began to speak.

“We, we’re here for the public’s right to know…”

“Using rights as a shield doesn’t justify the impoliteness you just demonstrated.”

However, I felt no need to entertain such absurd excuses.

“Impolite? We were merely…”

“Do you really think it’s acceptable to shove a mike and camera into someone’s face and ask if they are behind it, right after they risked their life fighting?”

Maybe the silence meant he found it hard to counter, as no rebuttal came.

I seized the moment to fill in the gap.

“When civilians were running away for their lives, they stood in front of monsters risking theirs. They immediately rushed here upon hearing the news, even if it wasn’t their own area.”

They weren’t the ones meant to hear resentful words implying this tragedy was because of them.

Due to overall elevated chaos levels, everyone was undoubtedly under severe stress.

Yet the number of defectors was remarkably low.

Despite being pushed to the limits, they were enduring, clenching their teeth.

Hence, I also routinely purified them whenever encountering a player.

In light of the situation, the reporter aiming to scoop up a story with such nonsense caught my irritation.

Nevertheless, in the end, he was a civilian.

His conduct should be dealt with within civilian confines.

“If you’ve understood, get up and backtrack the path you came from…”

But before I could finish chasing them away, swoosh.

The sound of something heavy cutting through the air was heard.

The moment the camera reflexively followed the noise and fixed on a direction.

Bang!

A deafening roar echoed.

A monster of approximately two meters fell onto a nearby abandoned vehicle.

The vehicle, partially destroyed, shot out a door.

Coincidentally, in the cameraman’s direction.

Even seeing the door flying towards him, the cameraman didn’t move.

It wasn’t a speed a human could react to in the first place.

Of course, that was irrelevant to me.

I reached out and grabbed the door flying through the air.

“Hah!”

Only after everything ended did the cameraman belatedly fall on his rear.

I sighed once more before speaking.

“Being here without dodging something as minor as this is an inconvenience.”

So please.

“Don’t hover around aimlessly, die, and inflating the casualty numbers. Let’s exit gracefully.”

Despite repeated commands to leave, the reporter only kept darting his eyes around, still not getting up.

‘They’re not the type to listen through words alone, huh.’

In truth, I wanted to just leave them be and let them meet their fate.

Someone like him, left unchecked, would undoubtedly repeat the same deed for his gain.

‘But it’s no good if civilian casualties rise further.’

Personally escorting them to the barricade was not feasible given the pressing support request.

I was on the way to Dongho Bridge.

‘I’ve already delayed saving these bastards.’

There was no advantage in further delaying my schedule.

Should I find a nearby player to handle them instead?

Just as I scratched my face in annoyance, I sensed a familiar presence nearing from above.

Recognizing it, I promptly sent a message through chat.

The owner of the mana adjusted their course subtly and approached.

“Hyung, what are you doing here?”

It was Kim Yul.

“They’re whimpering about getting to Dongho Bridge fast… are you hurt? Are you injured? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Ignoring his fuss, I spoke.

“Kim Yul.”

“Yeah?”

“Chase the civilians out.”

Two added words were sufficient.

“Yessir! Head over first; I’ll be right there.”

Kim Yul picked up both the reporter and cameraman, leaping lightly over the air.

‘In terms of mobility, he beats me.’

Perhaps, Kim Yul and I would arrive at Dongho Bridge at around the same time.

Despite stopping by the barricade, it would only make such a difference between us.

The Level 3 magic Wind Walk was that effective.

‘With a playback tool in hand, should I purchase Wind Walk as well?’

I hastened towards Dongho Bridge while entertaining thoughts of new magic combinations.

The place was in chaos, with five detachment groups fighting and 8-star general-rank evolved species.

“K is here!”

“Maintain distance!”

“AOE skills imminent! Clear space!”

Thanks to the numerous times we had coordinated, everyone moved swiftly.

The players had already herded the monsters into one area before I even arrived.

Thanks to that, it felt like long-lost herd hunting.

I immediately cast Fire Strike where players had retreated from.

While sipping a potion to restore mana, those with flame attribute mana unleashed magic towards the white flames.

Their actions were akin to stoking a fire I had started with more fuel.

The white flower I had ignited would absorb their magic and burn more substantially, lasting longer.

‘Though the dramatic effect is curbed due to disparities in mana purity.’

The presence versus absence of additional fuel indeed resulted in significant differences.

Employing those flames wisely, solving the issue at Dongho Bridge shouldn’t take long.

‘Still, compared to other countries, our progress is smooth.’

So far, earth had faced four nemesis-rank enemies.

The one appearing in Seoul was eliminated.

In the United States, after funneling mana into Lily, they made her Platinum rank before subduing it.

Although it took several hours to respond, leading to about 20% of the city being wiped out.

And the remaining two are still alive.

In India, they’re conducting large-scale evacuations almost abandoning cities.

In the UK, where Ethan is located, they are buying time by driving a flame attribute nemesis-rank enemy out into the ocean.

Compared to various news, korea was relatively lesser hurt.

What precludes calling it fortunate though were the massive assumed casualties.

And it would only increase in the future.

‘Up to now, civilians died en masse. From hereon, players will start perishing.’

My intuition was spot on.

「The SYSTEM is being restored.」

「The barrier is operating correctly.」

「HIDDEN MISSION – The urgent defense battle is cleared.」

「Compiling data for reward allocation.」

At the first week mark of the catastrophe, when the system reactivated the barrier.

The total number of players had dwindled by nearly 300,000 globally.

The civilian casualties recorded globally were several times greater than that.

Damned System