Chapter 367

Chapter 367. Birth of a Hero (4)

The viewer, startled by a newfound realization, momentarily gazed blankly at the screen.

During this brief pause, K’s calm voice continued.

「The observation shows that if there are many injured areas, the regeneration time extends to about 3 minutes. It seems certain that the regeneration capability is not infinite.」

「What will you do, K?」

「As previously announced, each team will handle two heads. I will take charge of the remaining heads.」

「Yul has a question! What if we can handle more than two at a time?」

「If you can afford it, it’s good to deal with as many areas as possible with destructive thunder… But handling more than two will be taxing. Move cautiously.」

It was as if someone casually remarked, “The weather is nice today,” and somehow the tension began to dissipate.

“Everyone, keep in mind that this battle will be prolonged. You must relentlessly continue the fight until it cannot regenerate anymore, so pace yourselves appropriately.”

「Yes.」

「Understood.」

「Don’t worry, earth types have the greatest stamina.」

「Ethan’s right, trust in that.」

「I’ll keep Gilenios in check, so don’t worry.」

Facing massive monsters and engaging in life-or-death struggles wasn’t enough.

Yet everyone present maintained calm without succumbing to fear.

Maybe because of that? The viewer’s previously racing heart also began to calm down.

Simultaneously, the best player, seasoned from countless battles, declared,

「Let’s officially start the hunt now.」

In the video capturing the distant monster, a dot glowing in Gold appeared abruptly.

It was K, approaching the monster with a spear.

Compared to the monster’s overall size, K seemed incredibly small.

However, as K swung the spear, the monster’s head was cut off as effortlessly as plucking a bean sprout.

Blood spurting, the scene transitioned.

The previous footage was from quite a distance, capturing the entire monster.

This time, a closer shot, only capturing one side of the monster, was taken.

In this footage, a person smaller than a fingertip was visible.

「It’s Kim Yul!」

Bounding through the air with familiarity, it was definitely Kim Yul.

「While leading it away is good, don’t go too far. My long-range magic can’t support you from a distance.」

The voice that followed was undoubtedly that of Yang Taeho.

The viewer paused the video to locate him, finding Yang Taeho with a shield and hammer standing on the left edge of the screen.

It seemed like the two were moving together.

Once the viewer confirmed Kim Yul and Yang Taeho’s positions, they resumed the video.

「Oh, right. Uh… Hey! Not that way, this way! It’s been a while since I hunted with you, so I forgot.」

Even though it must have been filmed from quite a distance…

“So, fast…!”

Kim Yul, slicing through the air, crossed the frame rapidly, pursued by the monster’s head.

“Wh-what speed is that?”

The speed seemed two to three times faster than vehicles captured on highway CCTV.

Realizing the astonishing physical abilities of players anew, the viewer’s mouth gaped open.

Meanwhile, Kim Yul, leading the snakehead, approached the ground.

As if waiting for this moment, Yang Taeho leaped, hammer crashing down.

Boom!

The impact of the monster’s head smashing into the ground was so intense that it shattered the cemented floor, sending pieces flying skyward.

Shortly after, a golden lightning erupted from Yang Taeho’s hammer, which had struck the monster’s head.

– Skeeek!

A chilling, ear-piercing scream resounded.

Thud, thud, thud!

Yang Taeho relentlessly hammered away multiple times.

He continued without pause until the monster’s head was utterly pulverized.

「What a tough damn thing!」

Just as Yang Taeho, having neutralized a single head, was catching his breath and raising his hammer…

A massive shadow burst out from behind Kim Yul, who had led away the monster.

A different head was racing towards Kim Yul at astonishing speed.

“Gasp!”

The viewer, unable to properly register the monster’s movement, gasped in shock, inhaling sharply.

In that crucial, life-threatening moment when Kim Yul was nearly devoured by the monster…

Sharp rocks erupted from the ground, shielding Kim Yul’s back.

The fantastic timing of Kim Yul’s cover was clearly a result of Yang Taeho’s magic.

「Nice, Yang Taeho ajussi!」

The viewer silently cheered, clenching their fists.

Meanwhile, the monster that had tried to swallow Kim Yul crashed into the pile of rocks.

Crash! Bang!

With every collision, the rocks shattered and crumbled.

Leaving the debris behind, Kim Yul spoke as he withdrew.

「It’s faster and tougher than expected. The fact that it withstands that man’s hammer… Two is really the limit.」

「Indeed, Hyunwoo wouldn’t have mentioned two for no reason.」

Another crash momentarily cast a shadow over the monster’s head, hurtling towards the two.

Kim Yul swiftly turned back, aiming for the nape.

As Kim Yul fiercely swung the dagger, a screech like nails on a chalkboard resounded.

Blood gushed from a stab wound on the monster’s nape, drenching Kim Yul.

Then the screen shifted once more, revealing…

“Rashar?”

It was Rashar, well-known among Koreans.

A knight from Bihar and an apostle of the Order of Palao.

She was reported to have a personal connection with K from before.

Rashar joined the Palao Guild right after completing Earth adaptation training.

She appeared on Kim Yul’s live broadcast with K.

Subsequently, she closed various holes and began to gain fame among Koreans.

“I heard rumors they called her a genius in Bihar…”

Among South Koreans, those just seemed like tall tales.

It made sense, given the restricted access to scenes related to Holes, leaving no opportunity for the public to directly witness her skills.

Therefore, news of her as an apostle using the golden lightning, which was considered K’s power, sparked widespread debate among netizens.

They speculated that maybe K granted her privileges due to past ties.

Some even suggested she might secretly be K’s lover.

Others condemned K for making stupid decisions due to infatuation.

Most of these comments aimed to degrade both K and Rashar.

However, the viewer watching this video wasn’t as negative.

But they weren’t particularly elevating Rashar’s status either.

“She made it on the list of individuals who closed many Holes, but…”

That was just par for the course for any player.

Apart from her experience closing Holes, there were very few significant exploits worth noting for Rashar.

Unlike K, who generated headlines and accomplishments nationally and internationally, Rashar focused mainly within the boundaries.

Even knowing this, biases are hard to dismiss quickly.

People inherently struggle to believe what they haven’t witnessed, and the viewer was no different.

At that moment, golden lightning fiercely maneuvered on screen, accompanied by a woman’s voice.

「Gilenios, don’t overuse the authority. Use it precisely when necessary…」

A strange man’s voice suddenly interjected before the woman could even finish speaking.

“The female voice must be Rashar… However, there’s another figure, not visible, near the monster. But who is Gilenios?”

As the viewer wondered, Rashar’s voice rose.

「That’s why I told you to leave the attack to me and focus on inhibiting its regeneration from the rear!」

At that moment, two monster heads rapidly descended, targeting Rashar.

「Hup!」

In a blink, the monster’s heads loomed, jaws wide open.

Then, flashes of golden lightning shot out like long spears, left and right of Rashar.

Bang, and bang!

The ground upheaved and gouged as though something unseen slashed through.

Firmly severed from the monstrous necks, the neatly sliced heads and jaws thudded and rolled.

After a brief silence, the severed sections of the monster’s heads and jaws began to regenerate vigorously.

Finally, the viewer realized what Rashar had just done.

Not only did she decapitate one head, but she also sliced off the jaw of another.

In speeds unattainable by the viewer’s sight.

“A-amazing…”

Even rewinding the footage and reducing playback speed to 0.25 couldn’t reveal the clear movement.

Kim Yul and Yang Taeho hadn’t managed the instantaneous strike against the monster.

Yet Rashar had severed it cleanly with a single strike.

Just like K did!

「I’ll handle the partially severed one, while you inhibit its regeneration.」

Rashar, undistracted by the viewer’s shock, focused on the ongoing battle.

She pushed off the ground to tackle the partially severed monster head.

Once more, the screen changed.

In the silence, amidst the well-known figures of the association in battle—Ethan and Lily appeared.

They didn’t exchange words as the previous teams did.

Even without communication, their synchronicity was remarkable.

Their battle sharply contrasted with earlier ones and soon entered a lull.

With both heads regenerating, they faced no direct threat.

During this brief pause, Ethan murmured.

“It’s more manageable than expected…”

Hearing this, Lily turned back, casting a glance.

Seizing a momentary breather while the heads regenerated, Ethan waved his hands, hastily explaining.

“Oh, not to say it’s easy, or to imply a lack of caution. It’s not like there have been no dangerous moments… The news about the initial failed subjugation made me anxious, but it’s more manageable than anticipated.”

Perhaps fearing misunderstanding, Ethan seemed keen to clarify.

Lily, however, responded in a calm voice, seemingly understanding.

“We’re free from the new pathogens.”

“Pardon?”

“The monster’s ultimate weapon and greatest threat wasn’t the overwhelming regenerative ability but the new pathogens.”

K successfully neutralized that threat entirely.

“Oh.”

“That’s why, unlike the initial subjugation, we’re safe now. We aren’t attacking each other.”

During the initial subjugation attempt, without K, the scene was said to be pure chaos.

Lily, reminiscent of past events, smiled bitterly.

“Imagine continuing to deploy players without addressing the pathogen issue… By now, we’d be combating tens of thousands of players turned into monsters’ allies.”

Lily herself or even Ethan could have been desperate to kill each other.

“But thanks to K, that’s no longer a concern.”

Almost immediately after Lily’s words concluded, explosions, shattering, and ripping noises echoed.

Both Ethan and Lily simultaneously turned toward the source of the sounds.

There, the heads—no less than four—were wriggling powerlessly.

The person engaged in battle alone while others operated in pairs…

This was the work of the world’s strongest player, undeniably the world’s number one, K.

As the screen shifted, a distant overhead shot of K was broadcasted.

Those quick shots from a bird’s eye view…

The viewer soon realized one chilling fact.

“Are those… heads?”

Damned System