Chapter 12

Ch.12 The Regression Of Calamity-Level Monster Tamer

Followers.

Guys like cockroaches that crawl out no matter how much you exterminate them.

They’re persistent bastards to the point even my past self gave up.

‘But this life, I absolutely can’t give up.’

Because this time, my only family is still alive.

As long as those bastards run rampant, Earth’s destruction is a foregone conclusion.

So I vow here and now.

I’ll kill every last one of them.

Hesitation about murder?

‘Of course there’s none of that.’

I’m merely exterminating vermin.

“You guys.”

“…?”

“……”

At my words, their attention focused on me.

“You’re tails anyway, right?”

I don’t see the ‘tattoo’ on any of them.

Then they’re small fry.

“You impudent brat! Do you know who this person—”

“Stop.”

When one flared up, the Follower standing in the center stopped him.

“But ‘Believer’-nim…”

“That one too will naturally have a change of heart once he witnesses ‘Their’ greatness.”

“Bullshit, if you’re Believer rank, you’re a tail, what.”

“Hehe…”

The one I scratched with my words tried to act fine while covering it with laughter.

“You’re right. I’m merely a Believer. But you see…”

Continuing his words, he pulled out something shining gold from inside his hood.

Something sticky and moving alive.

It was some being’s heart.

‘Even seeing it after so long, it’s disgusting…’

Thump— thump—

Centered on the beating heart, circular ripples spread out regularly.

Simultaneously, a System message appeared.

[Geri and Freki fall into ‘Status Abnormality — Frenzy’.]

[Geri and Freki’s Loyalty is 100. Frenzy is downgraded and they fall into Confusion.]

[Geri and Freki fall into ‘Status Abnormality — Fanaticism’.]

[Geri and Freki’s Loyalty is 100. They barely resist.]

[User returns Geri and Freki to ‘Nest Lv.1(F)’.]

Geri and Freki, trembling stiffly, turned to smoke and were absorbed into my body.

‘You both worked hard. Leave it to me now and rest.’

It’s fine.

Everything is going according to plan.

I looked at him with a calm face.

But he seemed to think I was flustered.

He continued speaking with a sinister laugh.

“The position of Believer that you look down on can do things like this. How about it? Isn’t it amazing?”

“Right, amazing.”

“Oh! As expected, I knew you’d recognize it. I heard you achieved tremendous results in this Player test too. Your name was… ‘Kang Si-woo’, was it? Truly deserving to be called outstanding talent.”

“…Not that much.”

‘Those Player Management Department bastards… How exactly are they managing personal information?’

How do those bastards already know my name and test scores?

I’ll need to clean things up when I get back.

It could mean there’s a spy inside.

“So, are you interested in joining our Order?”

“……”

“If it’s you, you could sit in a much higher position than me. Naturally, you’d wield stronger power too.”

“……”

“I don’t offer membership to just anyone. If you give a definite answer here, I’ll take responsibility and recommend you. How about it?”

Perhaps thinking I was hesitating, he began coaxing with sweeter words. I pretended to ponder before opening my mouth.

“Alright, fine.”

“Oh?! Are you serious? You made a good decision!”

Whether naive or stupid.

Probably both.

Watching such a guy, I spat out the words I’d wanted to say since first meeting him.

“But you know… If I join that group, do I have to talk in that way too?”

“……”

“Or are you the only weird one when everyone else is fine?”

“Such insulting words—”

Actually, I wanted to continue conversing with him to extract information.

But if I continued the conversation, I felt like I’d die from frustration, so I had to spit out the words like sneezing.

At my provocation, they reached their hands into their pockets.

Trying to pull out weapons.

But I moved first.

Immediately, my slightly bent knees sprang.

[Investing all 27 spare Stats in Agility.]

[Agility value becomes ’61’.]

Daeng-gyeong—

Instantly, the hood and a human head separated and floated in the air.

Belatedly, a fountain of blood spurted from the headless torso.

[Killing Thief, Kim Hoon (Lv.35).]

[Acquiring ownership of spoils.]

[Achievement, ‘PvP First Victory’ acquired.]

“…Wh-what?”

“Such cowardice!”

“Repaying kindness with enmity, to see such an ill-mannered bastard…”

Guys spouting lines you’d only see in plays.

I shook off the blood on my karambit and turned around.

‘The effect of dumping all Stats is excellent.’

While pretending to aim for the big boss among them, I cunningly cut down the minion next to him.

So he’d feel danger and misunderstand that I was targeting him.

So he’d have no choice but to pull out his trump card.

“You bastard! Once you witness our true power, you’ll regret the choice you just made!”

The big boss called Believer retreated while holding the golden heart carefully in both hands.

I kicked off the ground to pretend to chase.

Kakang!

Then the remaining three Followers blocked me.

Perhaps because they got hit once, they blocked my attack smoothly.

‘But that’s all there is to it.’

They’re small fry anyway.

Tuk.

I collapsed the center of the tank in front with an inner leg sweep.

And the karambit rotating along my index finger.

“Keueuk!“

Not missing the opening, I slashed the carotid artery.

If you strike vital points accurately, high Stamina Stats are useless.

“This bastard—!”

“Die beautifully!”

Meanwhile, the enemy’s Fireball was right before my eyes, and a sacrificial dagger was digging toward my ribs.

I decided to dodge the Fireball and block the sacrificial dagger.

Puk—

The wave-patterned blade pierced through my palm.

Still, because I sacrificed my hand, I prevented my internal organs from being injured.

[‘Curse Blade’ causes you to fall into ‘Status Abnormality — Slowness’.]

[‘Curse Blade’ causes you to fall into ‘Status Abnormality — Bleeding’.]

Then a System message appeared.

The one who stabbed the dagger also seemed to know this state, letting out a sinister laugh.

“Hehe, did you think blocking it would be sweet? Soon all kinds of curses—”

“Yeah, doesn’t hurt.”

[‘Malsajiche (S)’ reduces all debuff effects by 90%.] 

I severed the guy’s neck with the karambit in my opposite hand, pulled out the dagger stuck in my palm, and threw it forward.

Hwirireuk— puk!

It lodged directly between the eyes of the Follower who was chanting magic.

[Killing Wizard, Jeong Gyeong-gu (Lv.33).]

[Warri……]

[…….]

[Acquiring ownership of spoils.]

“Too late already.”

When I finished dealing with everyone and looked forward, the guy called Believer was standing in front of the Gate Boss’s corpse.

But I didn’t bother stopping him.

No, rather I hoped he’d hurry up.

Because he was a guy I sent away for that purpose.

“Hey, if you’re gonna do it, do it fast without stalling.”

“…Don’t regret it.”

At my words, the guy ground his teeth and spoke, then implanted the heart he was holding into the Gate Boss’s chest.

Puk—

Then he stabbed his own belly with a dagger and collapsed tuk on top of the Gate Boss.

Then.

‘It begins.’

Thump— thump—

The circular ripples that had been occurring from earlier became stronger, beginning to encompass the entire Gate.

[Gate Boss mutates.]

[Gate becomes contaminated.]

As soon as the System notification appeared, contaminated earth of limited breadth began devouring the blue meadow.

Its speed was beyond imagination.

So in the time it took to roll my wrist once, the entire Gate environment changed completely.

Instead of a meadow full of blue grass.

Sticky, dreary dark green earth and withered vegetation.

Gray sky and dry air.

But what changed wasn’t just the environment.

First, my insides churned.

Next, my head throbbed.

And my limbs went numb.

[‘Status Abnormality — Poison’ afflicts you.]

[‘Status Abnormality — Confusion’ afflicts you.]

[‘Status Abnormality — Slowness’ af……]

[‘Status’……]

The debuffs that were initially limited to Geri and Freki began applying to Players as well.

But for me alone, it was largely meaningless.

[‘Malsajiche (S)’ reduces all debuff effects by 90%.]

“Keueoeoeo—“

Simultaneously, the Gate Boss staggered and raised its body.

Its appearance was like a ‘zombie sheep.’

Originally a Lv.55 Gate Boss called [Steel Aries].

Now contaminated, it’s probably around Lv.60.

But if it’s a Magic Beast, it’s in my palm anyway.

“Now that I’ve seen everything, time to finish.”

It chewed and ate the already dead ‘Believer’ while looking at me with empty eyes.

As if searching for the next prey.

Kung. Kung.

It began moving its bloated body, lifting its legs one at a time.

Simultaneously, its throat convulsed, then soon spewed green vomit in a straight line toward me.

Kwaaaaaa—

The ground melted the moment the vomit touched it.

But I dodged all attacks with movements made lighter. This is why I dumped all Stats into Agility.

‘Let’s finish quickly before Stamina drops.’

As long as my Stamina allows, that giant sheep will never catch me.

‘If not for the debuff from Gate contamination.’

Fortunately, this curse doesn’t have much effect on me.

But it was gnawing at my condition enough to work, so I didn’t dawdle anyway.

Pat— pat—

Dodging its vomit while closing distance, I soon approached it.

I climbed up the creature’s leg and instantly arrived at approximately where its heart was.

And immediately manifesting Sword Aura, I began butchering.

Sticky pus and already dead flesh splattered everywhere.

But I didn’t stop.

‘…There it is.’

Finally, I found the gold that made me frown.

The beating golden heart.

Chwareuk—!

I pulled out that heart whole.

Then the Gate Boss crumbled like a puppet with cut strings.

[Acquiring Relic, ‘Heart of Evil’.]

[Defeated Lv.61 Contaminated Aries.]

[Clearing contaminated Gate.]

[User not only discovered contaminated monsters and Gates for the first time but also prevented it from spreading.]

[From now on, people will be vigilant about this.]

[Recognizing user’s spirit of sacrifice!]

Ttiring!

[Acquiring Achievement Points, 5,000 coins.]

[User’s Level increases by 3.]

[Achievement, ‘Enemy of Followers’ acquired!]

[Enemy of Followers]

―Rank: Uncommon — Growth Type

―Description: Achievement given to one who became the archenemy of Followers. The Rank rises as Followers’ vigilance toward the user increases.

―‘Unknown Existence’ vaguely recognizes the user.

―Can identify Followers.

‘Not bad this time either.’

I completed the targeted Follower elimination and Gate clearing.

Not only that, Freki and Geri each absorbed Essence to gain new Skills, and I succeeded in my own plan.

‘Outside will be noisy.’

[Gate has been cleared.]

[In 10 seconds, user will be transferred.]

I organized my thoughts while watching my vision dye white.

***

Right now, Seo Gyeoul was barely holding onto her confused mind.

“Team 1 to Sector B-3, Team 2 to Sector C-1, Team 3 to Sector D-2. Time is of the essence. Deploy quickly.”

Not long after Kang Si-woo and Ma Geon-woo went to subdue Followers, an accident suddenly broke out.

With personnel already insufficient, things spiraled out of control when work erupted.

It was to the point where even those on leave had to return.

“Officer! Three Purple Gates and three Indigo Gates have occurred!”

“We don’t have enough personnel to send to all locations. Flexibly dispatch to urgent Gates first. And Shield Guild is closest to here, so quickly send a support request.”

Simultaneously occurring unpredicted Rifts.

In other words, a Gate Break rush.

‘Why did this suddenly happen…’

Seo Gyeoul had only learned it was theoretically possible, but this was her first time experiencing the phenomenon in reality.

That said, she couldn’t just suck her fingers.

To solve it, she had to identify the cause first.

‘First, calm the excitement.’

Her cold reason began thinking properly again.

‘First was the abnormal phenomenon of that Gate.’

The Blue Gate that Kang Si-woo entered to eliminate Followers.

Suddenly, the Magic Power readings flowing from there began soaring beyond surging and running wild.

‘Then immediately Gate Breaks occurred simultaneously.’

As if anyone could see a causal relationship between the two phenomena.

Of course, the cause of this phenomenon wasn’t clearly revealed. It was merely a theoretical phenomenon that started from various hypotheses to begin with.

Still, there’s such a thing as circumstantial evidence.

Seo Gyeoul had already concluded her thoughts as rational deduction rather than suspicion.

‘What on earth happened inside there…’

On the assumption her reasoning was correct, ultimately the key to this problem was held by Kang Si-woo.

She’d already done all the responses she could do anyway.

Being flustered here would only cloud judgment without any benefit.

“Officer Seo, a Bugbear appeared in Sector C-1!”

“The dispatch team suffered damage from Poison Goblins that appeared in Sector D-2…”

Even now, agents frantically switching screens and reporting the situation. One of them is so excited her whole body is tense.

Seo Gyeoul gently placed her hand on her shoulder.

And used the most basic ice magic, ‘Ice.’

Seueu—

“Uueok!“

The senior clerk looked at Seo Gyeoul in shock at the cold penetrating to her bones.

“…Officer Seo?”

“Are you more alert now?”

“Pardon?”

“Be calm. Nothing gets done if you’re excited.”

“Ah… yes, I apologize.”

Having calmed the monitoring agent, Seo Gyeoul pointed to one spot on the map displaying sectors.

“Display this Gate.”

“There’s nothing unusual here except Magic Power readings…”

“Display it.”

At Seo Gyeoul’s strong demand, the agent reluctantly displayed it on screen.

Blue Gate.

The place occupied by Followers and where Kang Si-woo entered.

“From now on, we’ll continue following the Magic Power readings coming from this Gate. First, how much difference is there from one hour ago to now?”

At Seo Gyeoul’s question, the monitoring agent’s eyes and hands moved busily.

One hour ago was right before the ‘Gate Break rush’ occurred.

“It dropped 4 levels… huh?”

“What is it?”

“The Magic Power readings are suddenly plummeting! At this rate, the Gate will be cleared in less than 30 seconds!”

Seo Gyeoul’s head rotated rapidly.

And having reached one conclusion, she quickly commanded the agent.

“The Gates that occurred a moment ago, quickly check their Magic Power readings.”

“Yes… huh, huh? The other Gates are the same! No, even faster! Rifts in two locations in Sector B-3 are already closing!”

Kung!

Seo Gyeoul rushed out of the command center before the agent’s words finished.

Where she was heading was the Blue Gate where Kang Si-woo was.