Chapter 4: First Eruption (1)

[The rift erupts.]

[From the eruption of the rift, various calamities can be collected.]

[Defeat the calamities and dominate them. The dominated calamities will strengthen your base as loyal subordinates.]

[The eruption will end in 6 hours.]

The system message mercilessly declared the apocalypse.

The leaders of the nation, who had been confident that their well-trained military could stop the calamities, were dismayed to see monsters that moved as if bullets and shells meant nothing to them.

The soldiers on the ground felt the same.

“Why aren’t the bullets working?!”

“Ah, it seems our weapons are useless.”

“What the hell is that thing?!”

“That’s the player or whatever they called it.”

Only a few soldiers’ bullets managed to land effective hits on the monsters.

Watching this, a sergeant scratched his cheek.

He too had received the system message a few days ago.

A suspicious message asking if he wanted to become the ruler of this world. 

Most people choose to decline or simply ignore it, opting to remain bystanders.

And only the foolish ones chose to become players.

Unsurprisingly, these monsters could only be dealt with by those who didn’t value their lives.

Like that guy over there with the baseball bat.

Thud!

A monster that hadn’t flinched after being shot dozens of times collapsed with its head caved in from a single swing of a baseball bat.

The sergeant, watching this, smiled bitterly and said,

“The world is going to change a lot from now on.”

“…It already has.”

The officer also thought that the world’s structure would soon be reorganized around these awakened individuals.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have awakened or whatever.”

“…Yeah, me too.”

At the sergeant’s words, the officer grimaced and spat.

*

Crack!

The embedded baseball bat crushed the head of a goblin-like monster.

[You have defeated a 1★ Forest Goblins]

[Reward: 5 Exp/1★ Forest Goblins]

Ding.

[You cannot collect the calamity because there is no base.]

“Ha.”

I let out a hollow laugh at the sight of game mechanics being faithfully applied.

[Ruler ‘Actor,’ please set up a base.]

[Collecting calamities is essential for strengthening your base!]

The system message was shouting to create a base, but I lightly ignored it.

As the status window said, collecting basic calamities from the early rift eruptions is very important.

But………

“Why do I need a base when this is an infinite EXP farming opportunity?”

Having played this game for five years, I knew.

You need a base to collect characters. 

But you can’t collect an infinite number. 

There’s a limit to how many calamities you can collect at once, depending on the base’s upgrade status.

A newly created base can only hold a measly 10 characters.

In other words, you can only get enough EXP for ten monsters.

On the other hand, if you defeat monsters without setting up a base?

[You have defeated a 1★ Leaf Fairies.]

[Reward: 5 Exp/1★ Leaf Fairies.]

[You cannot collect the calamity because there is no base.]

[Please set up a base.]

You can defeat calamities without filling the base’s slots.

You won’t get the calamities, but you can freely collect EXP.

When I first started the game, I reset my game data as soon as I realized this.

But in reality, resetting is impossible.

If I don’t efficiently manage things from now on, I could fall at any moment.

Crack!

The Forest Goblins hit by my baseball bat let out a final scream and turned into silver particles before disappearing.

The heavy sensation in my hand was unmistakable, but the sight of it dispersing into EXP instead of leaving a corpse was more like a game effect.

“…What am I supposed to make of this?”

Is this a game, or is it reality?

The soreness in my shoulders suggests it’s reality.

“I don’t want to die.”

I don’t know how this world will change.

But I know well how terrifying the calamities in Disaster Order are.

Even these Forest Goblins and Leaf Fairies, which have combat power worse than a small dog, are monsters that hunt lost travelers and engage in cannibalism in the lore.

Even a group of 1-star calamities can kill people, so how terrifying must a 5-star calamity be? 

The 5-star characters I’ve collected are each the most heinous villains who have brought about the world’s destruction.

To survive against such terrifying monsters, I need to adapt to this system as soon as possible.

Smash!

[You have defeated a 1★ Leaf Fairies.]

[Reward: 5 Exp/1★ Leaf Fairies.]

And so, I defeated every calamity in sight.

I was confident in my stamina, so it wasn’t too difficult.

It wasn’t difficult, but it was exhausting.

Even if they’re monsters, they’re still living beings. 

Every time I killed a Goblin, it felt like I was smashing a child’s skull. It was unsettling.

[The rift eruption will end in 4 hours.]

I’ve been swinging the bat for two hours already.

In that time, I’ve defeated a total of fifteen 1-star calamities.

That’s 75 Exp in total.

Not a lot, but every bit counts.

“I should set up a base soon.”

I caught my breath and tapped the bent baseball bat on the ground.

The nearby 1-star calamities have been mostly cleared.

It’s the right decision to go home, set up a base, rest, and then come back out to collect calamities.

Having decided, I started walking.

Tap.

“…Hey, stop! It’s a person!”

As I turned the corner, I ran into four or five burly men.

The man at the front was holding a large sledgehammer, and if I had been a step faster, my head would have been smashed.

“Shit, I thought you were a monster.”

The man shook his head and lowered the sledgehammer.

Only then could I see the appearance of the men behind him.

They were armed, much like me.

“Uh…”

Meanwhile, the man at the front flinched when he saw the flesh hanging from the bat I was holding.

He swallowed hard and asked,

“Are you… an awakened one too?”

“If by ‘too’… are you all awakened ones too?”

At my question, the men nodded.

I didn’t expect there to be so many fools who pressed the accept button on that suspicious system message.

Then again, with the community buzzing about awakened ones every day, it’s no surprise there are some near my home.

Perhaps relieved to find someone in the same situation, the man chuckled and extended his hand.

“Wanna team up? We need to collect ten before the rift closes, and we’re about halfway there.”

They seemed to be hunting calamities in a group, and the leader was a rough-looking man with a short haircut.

He even had dragon tattoos on his arms and shoulders.

“Young man, you seem to have farmed quite a bit. How about joining us?”

Having eaten humble pie for years, I could tell.

This man was definitely a thug.

There was nothing good about getting involved with him.

“Uh, I think I’m too tired… I should head back now.”

The thug didn’t react much to my words.

Maybe it was because of my less-than-imposing physique.

The thug jerked his chin, and I bowed slightly as I passed him.

‘I need to be careful.’

Unlike Disaster Order, which was a single-player game, there are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of players in this world.

They say the most terrifying thing isn’t monsters, but people.

I need to be wary of other players even more than monsters.

As I was thinking this, I passed through the group of men.

“Hey, boss! There’s a big one over there!”

At the words of the scout, everyone’s gaze turned to the end of the alley.

There was a beast with crimson fur there.

It looked like a large dog. 

At a glance, it seemed harmless with its gentle face.

“What’s that? Looks tougher than the ones we’ve been killing.”

“That’s probably a 2-star, right? It’d be good to take it down.”

“A 2-star? Is that good?”

“Ah, boss, you haven’t played many games like this, have you? Getting a strong mob early makes the game easier. It’s common sense.”

The men exchanged glances and talked among themselves.

But I couldn’t take my eyes off the wolf.

“…That’s a Hellfire Guard Dog.”

It was a familiar sight.

A trash character that often appeared in high-grade calamity synthesis.

But even if it’s trash, it’s still a high-grade calamity.

[4★ Hellfire Guard Dog roars.]

“…Why is a 4-star here?”

A 4-star calamity, the Hellfire Guard Dog, was right in front of me.

There was only one choice.

Run.

“Ah, I see. So if we kill that, things will get easier, right?”

Meanwhile, the men had already made up their minds. 

The man with the sledgehammer tapped it against his palm.

“I’ll draw its attention first, and you nail its head, boss.”

“Got it.”

Perhaps because they had already killed several 1-star calamities, the men had become overly arrogant.

Blinded by this reality that seemed like a game.

But that thing is not something that can be dealt with by human strength.

And I’m not cold-hearted enough to turn my back on fools rushing to their deaths.

“No! You can’t! We need to run!”

I shouted, and at my words, the men turned their heads.

“…What?”

“That, that wolf is on a completely different level from what we’ve faced so far! You can’t compare it to Forest Goblins!”

“Of course it’s different. But there are six of us.” Right.

As he said that, the thug smiled at me.

“Now it’s seven.” No.

“Huh?”

“You’re joining. We’ll share the EXP. You don’t mind, do you? A 2-star or whatever, it’s tempting, right?”

Damn.

The thug naturally included me in the party.

My mouth felt dry.

If this continues, I’ll be forced to join a suicide charge.

What should I do?

I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“I’ve played this game before!”

“And you’re out here hunting like a madman?”

“Ah.”

It didn’t work.

Instead, the thug smiled devilishly and took a step closer to me.

“Listen to me. That’s a 4-star. A 4-star calamity, we can’t beat it.”

“A 4-star?”

The thug tilted his head and asked his companion.

“Hey, is a 4-star good?”

“Of course, boss. In other games, you’d kill for one.” Hehe.

The gullible thug grinned.

The next moment, the awakened ones who thought they were comrades turned into competitors.

The thug with the nail gun pointed it at me.

“Take the lead.”

“…Huh?”

“…Damn, do you think anyone will care if you die here? Stop squawking and take the lead. You have a bat, don’t you?”

Getting involved was a mistake.

I felt terrible dizziness.

Should I run? 

Even if he’s a thug, would he shoot a fleeing person in the back?

I don’t know. 

I don’t want to bet my life on probabilities.

“Damn it! Listen to me…”

As I was about to yell, it happened.

“Uh, boss. That thing saw us.”

“Huh?”

The noise we made must have reached the Hellfire Guard Dog, as it was staring right at us.

And it seemed hungry.

It charged straight at us.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground shook with each step, and the Hellfire Guard Dog’s mane flared up like a sun.

Despite its gentle appearance, the Hellfire Guard Dog, wreathed in flames, began destroying everything in its path as it charged.

“…Uh, uh? Boss! That thing… it’s too…”

Those were the man’s last words.

The Guard Dog, now right in front of him, bit into his neck.

Blood gushed, and the heat of the flames hit my face.

“…Ahhh!”

A person died right in front of me.

Who wouldn’t be shaken?

The party instantly fell apart. The thug also turned and ran. 

But showing your back to the Hellfire Guard Dog only makes you a better target.

The Guard Dog’s teeth sank into the thug’s back, and blood soaked the surroundings.

One by one, they became corpses in the chaos, and I stepped back.

“Damn it, damn it…”

My teeth chattered.

I shouldn’t have meddled. 

I should have run the moment I saw the wolf.

Am I going to die like this?

In the first eruption, the first stage?

“Grrr?”

[4★ Hellfire Guard Dog is watching you.]

Finally, the Hellfire Guard Dog, which had turned six humans into minced meat, glared at me.

It charged at me and raised its flaming paw.

I closed my eyes tightly.

But contrary to my expectations, there was no impact.

“Enough.”

A hoarse voice rang out.

Just one word, but it carried power.

The Hellfire Guard Dog, which had just been tearing humans apart, whimpered and cowered like a pet dog facing a tiger.

Soon, a figure emerged from the distance.

Though engulfed in flames, I could clearly see the figure’s appearance.

Torn nun’s habit, ashen hair, and glowing red eyes.

A face I had seen countless times while playing Disaster Order.

Ding.

[5★ Scorched Saint Selene is watching you.]

“Selene.”

The Scorched Saint, Selene, looked like she was about to burst into tears when her name was called.

“My lord.”

The calamity recognized me.

Warm flames enveloped the surroundings.