Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Before the welcome party began, they introduced themselves.

Do-jae called out the names of the Class 3 members one by one.

“Kim Mun-hwan, Yook Hyeon-jae, Jang Pil-ho, Lee Ji-woong, Son Jeong-gyu, Park Jin-ho, Song Ji-yoon, Kang Eun-taek, Lee Seung-han, Kim Jun-seo.”

Clap clap clap clap-!

Applause echoed throughout the barracks.

And in the center of the barracks, Dojae stood awkwardly, looking embarrassed.

“I memorized them all.”

“Impressive, Captain!”

“Lee Yeol, memorizing it all after just one listen? Looks like our squad leader’s been studying, huh?”

“Captain, what’s my name?”

A man with striking long hair raised his hand.

Do-jae glanced at him briefly.

“Kang Eun-taek.”

“You got it right! You really did memorize it all?”

“Huh… Yeah.”

Dojae let out a sigh of relief.

What if the golem hadn’t had eyes?

If this information window floating before his eyes hadn’t been there.

[Character Information]

Name: Kang Eun-taek

Classification: Human

Details: 26 years old, male, 177cm, 77kg, assigned to Squad 3, Chilgok Unit, 3rd Expeditionary Force. Experiencing hair loss (wears a wig after discontinuing hair loss medication).

Status: Anticipation / Suspicion / Pleasure

Dojai had actually forgotten most names immediately after the introductions ended, save for a few.

How disappointing it would be to forget someone’s name immediately after being so hopeful and pleased to meet them, just as the info window stated.

More than that, Dojae was struggling to suppress a sigh that nearly escaped him.

After all, he’d learned secrets about Kang Eun-taek he’d rather not have known.

“Is there something on my face? Aren’t you staring a bit too intently?”

“Sorry.”

“Huh? You don’t need to apologize…”

Do-jae averted his gaze from Kang Eun-taek.

Did his colleagues know that flowing hair was a wig?

He felt so sorry for him at such a young age.

“Team Leader! Tell us what you were doing!”

Song Ji-yoon, the lone female member of the Chilgok Unit, demanded in an agitated voice.

Despite being the only woman in this vast campaign zone, Song Ji-yoon was a bold woman who never backed down to the men.

Her stamina and strength rivaled most soldiers, she was quick-witted, and her easygoing nature made her very popular.

Additionally, though this was something I learned later, personal curtains were installed because of her.

“Since everyone else introduced themselves, I guess I should too. I’m saying this first to avoid misunderstandings—I was an F-rank Hunter until recently.”

Dojae’s statement caused the entire team to stir.

An F-rank Hunter? How could an F-rank even be a Hunter?

There weren’t even any F-rank hunters within the extermination force.

F-rank hunters were beings incapable of playing any role in the face of monsters.

“I spent nearly ten years at the bottom. If you ask how I could do that, I’ll say it was for my family. I have a sick younger sibling.”

“Ah…”

“Kuh…”

Sighs flowed from here and there.

Among those who joined the extermination force, who didn’t have their own story?

Because everyone had their own story, there was an atmosphere of mutual understanding and empathy.

“But that’s not why I joined the expeditionary force. As you can see, I’m a squad leader here. I could easily make a decent living as a hunter outside too.”

Only those ranked C-class or higher can take the officer exam for the Extermination Corps.

Therefore, Dojae was also C-rank or higher.

The members, who had never seen an awakened one rise from F-rank to C-rank, held their breath, wondering if he was one of those rumored re-awakened ones, and waited for him to continue.

“I was lucky enough to gain a new ability. I, who had no skills, now possess one. I didn’t want to waste this chance. Until now, I couldn’t do anything, but now I can land a hit on monsters too. And the best place for that was right here, the Extermination Corps.”

“Revenge after reawakening… Nice story.”

“You… you’re a true hero!”

Dojae skillfully held back his words as he explained why he joined the Extermination Corps.

He needed a somewhat plausible reason to build rapport with the members, and his story, combined with the earlier mention of his younger brother, took on an emotional tone.

There was no need to explain his original plan to go to the Extermination Corps headquarters in front of people he’d just met, so he skillfully sidestepped it.

“You’ve all heard about what happened with Son Jeong-gyu over there earlier today, right? You needn’t doubt my abilities. If you still have doubts, ask Shim Yeong-jin, the squad leader from the neighboring squad. I hunted Cerberus with him before.”

Several members nodded.

Some felt they had a decent grasp of Dojae, while others still regarded him as a stranger.

But it was still early evening, the sun not yet set.

There was still plenty of time left before bed.

“Alright, then how about we continue the rest of the story with this?”

Kang Eun-taek shook the liquor bottle.

Behind him, boxes of liquor were stacked as high as his own height.

***

“Starting today, our sector is Zone 7.”

Do-jae unfolds a map and addresses the team members.

It was the operational map he’d received from the deputy commander.

Battalion Commander Kim Hwan-soo was often away from the unit, burdened with numerous tasks assigned by higher-ups beyond unit duties.

Therefore, the deputy commander effectively ran the unit day-to-day. Today was no different.

“Given the nature of the zone, this won’t be wrapped up in a day or two.”

Zone 7 is the third largest zone among all zones.

Extermination isn’t simply about killing monsters that roam around.

Areas where a dungeon break has occurred have spots where monsters continuously spawn. Only by completely eliminating those spots can the spawning be stopped.

During this process, the monsters also establish their own strongholds or bases.

Furthermore, as time passes in a Dungeon Break area, the concentration of mana thickens, causing new and diverse monsters to appear. This even led to battles between monsters of different species.

It literally formed a new ecosystem.

“The monsters occupying Sector 7 are Red Oakes. They’re notoriously difficult to handle, so originally, you operated in four teams of three, right?”

“Yes, just the squad leader and Junggyu, two people, and the rest moved in four teams of three each.”

“I want them split into three teams of four. Since these monsters are tough to handle, adding one more person per team would be better.”

“Huh? But then one team would only have two members?”

“No, it’s four.”

Dojae summoned a golem.

The members were startled.

Two golems suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The members immediately raised their weapons.

You could tell this was a well-trained unit.

Click-clack.

The two golems came up behind Dojae and stood there.

Then, seeing no further action, the members slowly lowered their weapons one by one.

“What is it? Why are the golems behind the squad leader…?”

Yook Hyeon-jae asked.

He was the youngest and most curious among the members.

He was also the most talkative.

True to form, he was the first to ask a question this time too.

“It’s my skill.”

“Whoa, seriously?”

“Captain! What about the golems’ performance? Even if they’re only C-rank, no, D-rank awakened ones…”

“You guys should be able to handle them.”

“Wow… That’s insane power, right?”

“Could it be, like Lucifer….”

Commonly known as Lucifer.

An alias for Lucifer Ferguson, the Lord of the Dead.

One of the strongest S-Class Hunters capable of handling the dead, the number of undead he commands is said to be in the tens of thousands.

He is a hunter truly worthy of being called a lord.

“No, unfortunately, two is the maximum right now.”

Dojae shook his head as he spoke.

Dojae currently has two golems.

But what about the magic stones stored in the sub-space?

Starting with the lowest-grade magic stones he’d gathered so far, all the way up to the high-grade ones he’d gotten by sheer luck.

He could set up enough golems to cover about two and a half times the number he currently had.

Compared to Lucifer, it was a pitifully small number, but being able to handle the workload of twenty people alone was an incredible ability.

But Dojae had no intention of doing that.

He didn’t know how Lucifer handled the undead, but Dojae had been splitting the experience points with his golems.

Considering his current title, ‘Selfish Gain,’ increasing the number of golems was inefficient, merely consuming magic stones.

“So, I was thinking about splitting into groups…”

“Captain, me! Let me do it with you!”

Song Ji-yoon raised her hand.

The other members sighed.

They too wanted to be in a team with Dojae to see his skills with their own eyes, but Song Ji-yoon beat them to it.

Plus, she was notorious for being stubborn and having a fiery temper.

“You’ll have a tough time if you’re on my team. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“Of course! What do you take me for?”

She clenched her fist tightly.

Her smooth, well-defined muscles proved she was anything but weak.

Plus, she was actually the second-in-command in Class 3.

“Do whatever you want.”

“Okay! Then I’ll team up with the class president. Honestly, these guys are kinda cute too.”

That’s right.

Song Ji-yoon was more interested in Do-jae’s golem than anything else.

Hearing that, the other members swallowed their anger.

If they voiced it openly, they might get punched afterward.

“Eun-taek and Jun-seo will lead each squad. Each squad will wait and then charge in from both sides.”

Kang Eun-taek and Kim Jun-seo nodded.

“Alright, let’s go.”

***

‘Let’s finish this quickly.’

Do-jae’s goal was to achieve remarkable results in this Gaeseong campaign.

The expeditionary force was a group that rewarded achievements and results generously.

Demonstrating meaningful results could lead to rapid promotion.

It was best to swiftly subdue the assigned areas and depart quickly.

‘I can’t afford to get attached to the members.’

Entrance to Sector 7.

The ones holding this area are the Red Oaks.

The other members are standing by nearby; only Dojae and Song Ji-yoon are here.

“There they are.”

The orcs have set up fortifications and surrounded their territory with wooden palisades.

Though primitive, their defensive tactics made things difficult for the extermination force.

“Chomp chomp.”

“Squeak squeak.”

Two Red Orcs patrol around the fortifications, surveying the surroundings.

They are a highly intelligent race, constantly patrolling and preparing for battle.

“I’ll take care of this quickly and be back.”

Swish-.

Song Ji-yoon flinched as the sword shot out.

It was a natural reaction for her, unaware of the existence of a-space.

Swoosh-.

Swish-.

Dojae instantly closes the distance and decapitates two Red Oaks.

The heads that fell to the ground stared wide-eyed, seemingly unaware of how they had been taken.

“But why are you moving so quietly?”

His actions resembled those of an assassin.

He didn’t even wear his golem armor, handling it silently.

Golem armor is great, but its characteristic clanging sound could give away your position.

“Because I’m a Red Oak.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Red Oaks have priests. Don’t you know why they’re called Red Oaks?”

“Isn’t it just because their skin is red?”

“Their skin is red, but it’s also because when the priest casts magic on them, their pupils turn red.”

The Red Oak priest casts berserker magic that stirs the orcs’ savagery.

They’re already violent orcs, but what if they’re hit with a berserker spell too?

They become berserkers charging forward, oblivious to pain even as arms are torn off and legs are severed.

“I didn’t know. This is my first time hunting Red Orcs.”

Doja massaged his temples.

First time hunting Red Orcs?

Scanning the other members one by one with the golem’s eyes, he saw they weren’t the type to fall to mere Red Orcs.

But without this information, it was bound to be a tough fight.

‘Guess we’ll have to pass around a Monster Encyclopedia or something.’

Recalling the books at his brother’s hospital, Dojae cautiously headed toward the structure where the priest was likely to be found.