Ding!
[5★ Charred Saint Selene has defeated 1★ Rock Cleaner.]
[Reward: 5 Exp/1★ Rock Cleaner]
Ding!
[5★ Charred Saint Selene has defeated 1★ Small Wooden Stump.]
[Reward: 5 Exp/1★ Small Wooden Stump]
“Huh.”
I shook my head at the bizarre scene unfolding before my eyes.
A god of death had descended.
Selene was literally reaping lives.
Every time she swung her stake-like sword, flames erupted.
In the face of her fiery storm, the 1-star calamities were nothing but fallen leaves in the wind.
[5★ Charred Saint Selene has defeated 1★ Rock Cleaner.]
[Base storage is full. Cannot collect more calamities.]
She had already filled all ten slots.
It had only been two hours since we left Seoul, and Selene was single-handedly obliterating every calamity in sight.
The nest was completely wiped out. I clapped my hands to get Selene’s attention.
“Selene, it looks like we’ve cleared this area. Let’s move on.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Selene sheathed her sword.
I opened my phone to check the information.
“There’s a nest near Cheonan where calamities have gathered. It’s supposed to be much larger than this one. Let’s head there.”
“As you command.”
One of the benefits of the widespread Awakener certification system was the ability to quickly check dungeon information through online communities.
I started the car, and Selene took the passenger seat.
Despite her appearance, she had adapted surprisingly well to modern technology.
“Do you plan to exterminate all the calamities in this land?”
“No, I’ll head back once I’ve collected enough. Besides, there are checkpoints everywhere, making it hard to move around freely.”
Since the calamities began appearing on Earth, roads were no longer exclusive to humans.
The government had set up checkpoints everywhere, manned by soldiers and police.
To avoid being stopped, we had to take quieter national roads.
While driving, I fiddled with the status window.
<Base of the Ruler ‘Actor’>
[Calamities Held: 10/10]
[Experience Points: 3,435 Exp]
[Equipment Held: 3/20]
I opened the base upgrade window.
The base of the Disaster Order could be upgraded using experience points.
For now, the barracks were the top priority.
I repeatedly tapped the hammer button.
[Base Upgrade: Barracks]
[⬀⬀⬀⬀⬀⬀⬀⬀⬀⬀]
[Increases calamity storage limit by 10.]
[Required Exp: 100 Exp]
The required experience doubled with each upgrade, starting at 100.
Normally, one upgrade would be the limit, but I had an unimaginable amount of experience to spare.
Without hesitation, I kept pressing the button.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
[Base Upgrade: Barracks]
[■■■■⏹⏹⏹⏹⏹⏹]
[Required Exp: 800 Exp]
After investing a total of 1,500 Exp, I upgraded the barracks four times.
[Calamities Held: 10/50]
Now I could collect 40 more calamities.
“Selene, can you handle 40 more?”
“I have undertaken countless expeditions under your command, my lord. Among them, this will be the easiest.”
“True.”
Sending a 5-star calamity like Selene to a nest filled with low-level calamities was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
In a game, this would be unthinkable.
Perhaps because of such trivial thoughts, I failed to notice the checkpoint at the end of the road.
“We’ll need to conduct a brief inspection.”
“Damn it.”
I had no choice but to stop at the checkpoint.
A police officer approached from a distance.
Selene, sitting in the passenger seat, was at risk of being discovered, but fortunately, she was quick-witted.
[5★ Charred Saint Selene has used the skill ‘Veil of Darkness’.]
Whoosh.
By the time the officer reached us, Selene had already melted into the shadows.
It was a stroke of luck that I had taught her the stealth skill back when we were playing the game.
“Are you alone?”
Thankfully, the officer didn’t notice Selene’s stealth skill.
He stared at me with a blank expression before his face lit up.
“Ah, you’re an Awakener too.”
The officer, likely an Awakener himself, grinned.
“You’ve registered as an Awakener, right?”
“No, not yet.”
“You should do it soon. Well, the voluntary reporting period still has a few days left, so no rush. Anyway, judging by your direction, you’re heading to the Cheonan nest to hunt calamities. Planning to find companions there?”
“…Ah, yes. Something like that.”
The officer nodded at my response.
It seemed like a common occurrence.
After all, among the calamity nests near the capital, Cheonan was the most famous.
“So, what’s your nickname? Even though you’re unregistered, we still need to record your name.”
The officer smiled wryly, waving a clipboard in one hand.
If I said “Actor” here, I’d be handcuffed on the spot.
After a moment of hesitation, I replied.
“Call me Jooyeon.”
“Jooyeon, huh. Like the male protagonist? Haha. That’s quite the actor’s name.”
I forced a smile at the officer’s joke.
It was actually the reason I had chosen “Actor” as my game nickname.
Fortunately, the officer didn’t make the connection between my name and the two-letter nickname.
He chuckled, tipped his hat, and nodded.
“Well, good luck with your hunt.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I stepped on the gas.
As soon as we passed the checkpoint, I let out a deep sigh.
At the same time, Selene emerged from the shadows.
“…My lord, what is Jooyeon?”
“My real name. To be precise, it’s Nam Jooyeon.”
“…”
Selene gasped.
She then clasped her hands together and pouted slightly.
“…What’s wrong?”
“May I ask what it means?”
“It’s nothing special. Just… a name given to me to become the protagonist of the world.”
Well, in a way, I did become the protagonist.
Who would’ve thought the world would turn into a game?
As I forced a bitter smile, Selene covered her mouth.
“Could it be… the day has come for me to hear my lord’s true name.”
“True name?”
“A true name is akin to an origin. Knowing my lord’s origin is truly an honor. The meaning is also profoundly beautiful and grand. I, Selene, am deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me.”
“…”
As long as she’s happy.
She can think whatever she wants.
I shrugged and headed toward Cheonan.
[5★ Charred Saint Selene has successfully completed the expedition to 「Cheonan Crystal Nest」!]
[Reward: 150 Exp/2★ Stardust Golem]
Ding.
[Calamities Held: 50/50]
[Notification: Base storage is full. Cannot collect more calamities.]
We had devoured the nest.
*
The news that the nest in Cheonan had vanished reached the Awakener Management Bureau early that morning.
The bureau immediately dispatched personnel, and they were met with a shocking revelation.
“So… it just disappeared without any warning? The nest?”
“…”
“Where are the calamities that were inside?”
“We don’t know. When we checked, there was nothing there.”
The nest had vanished in the middle of the night.
Of course, the disappearance of the calamities was a good thing.
But for something like this to happen overnight was unprecedented.
“This is insane.”
Jeon Dongwook, an Awakener from the bureau, rubbed his temples in frustration.
The Cheonan nest had been a location the bureau had been closely monitoring.
Calamities tended to gather in groups, so controlling the area could turn it into a kind of bait during the next outbreak.
It also had potential value as a training ground for domestic Awakeners.
“There were over a hundred calamities gathered here, a veritable hellscape. And now it’s just gone overnight? Does that even make sense?”
There were two possibilities.
Either the calamities, including the dungeon, had naturally dissipated, or someone had exterminate them all.
Jeon Dongwook thought the former was far more likely, but as the dispatched investigator, he had to consider all possibilities.
“Get me the list of all Awakeners who passed through the area that evening.”
“Understood.”
Jeon Dongwook received the traffic log and began reviewing it.
The last Awakener to visit was…
“Jooyeon.”
An unregistered Awakener.
Highly suspicious.
Jeon Dongwook mulled over the name and asked the manager,
“Hey, what time exactly did the nest disappear?”
“Around 9:15 PM.”
“Hmm.”
Awakener Joo-yeon had passed through the checkpoint at 8:39 PM.
Even at top speed, it would take at least 20 minutes to reach the nest from the checkpoint.
Clearing a dungeon filled with hundreds of calamities in just five minutes was physically impossible.
Therefore, it was highly likely that this Awakener knew nothing.
Jeon Dongwook continued reviewing the log, but only a handful of Awakeners had passed through the Cheonan checkpoint late that night.
All of them had significant time gaps.
“…It must have been a natural dissipation after all…”
The bureau was faced with a new problem.
One that had arisen just five days after its establishment.
*
[Cheonan Nest Naturally Dissipates.]
[Awakener Management Bureau Observes Dungeon Dissipation. New Hope Sprouts for Humanity!]
“…What kind of nonsense is this?”
The next day, reading the headline, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.