“SAVE ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!”
“GET AWAY, D-DON'T COME NEAR ME-ARGHH!”
“PLEASE, SOMEONE SAVE MY SON!”
“I WANT MY MOMMY!”
“WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE THINGS! KYYAAAAH!”
The only thing that could be heard in the midst of all the chaos that was taking place were the screams of fear and desperation of the people. The only thing that could be seen from outside the area where the screams were coming from, was a maelstrom of flames that seemed to have no end. What was inside the flames was even worse.
Debris of destroyed buildings, charred corpses of men, women and children; and monsters playing with their prey without even giving them a hope of escape. A scene that looked like something out of a horror movie. At this point, whoever witnessed this scene, would have only one doubt in his mind...
How did this happen?
A few minutes ago, a crack appeared in the commercial district of Ansan. At the moment it happened, the people who were in the shopping district at the time panicked and tried to escape en masse. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that the monsters revealed their presence.
They had a humanoid appearance, with a height of approximately two meters. Rocky skin made of molten volcanic rock, the only exception was their claws made of blue fire. Their bodies had an aerodynamic appearance despite being made of rocks, they seemed to be made to allow better mobility. Eyes without retinas and fangs that seemed made to tear the throats of their victims. What stood out the most were the cracks that seemed to emerge from the chest and spread throughout the body. Inside these cracks, a core was visible that seemed about to explode; and that seemed to be the source of the fire that generated and completely enveloped their figures.
At that moment, another monster emerged from the crack. Its appearance was similar to the monsters surrounding it with some slight differences, the fire enveloping its body was red and the cracks in its chest were more pronounced, completely exposing its core. What stood out most about this monster were its eyes.
They glowed crimson red.
Everything pointed to this monster being the leader.
The whole area was silent, the civilians were stunned at the kind of monsters that had been unleashed by the rift.
The leading monster took a few steps forward and looked at the civilians curiously. The monster slowly raised its right hand and looked at the civilians mischievously before snapping its fingers.
CRASH!
It couldn't have been less than a second, but at that moment one of the monsters moved at a speed almost impossible to see and smashed the head of one of the civilians into a building.
And as if it were a broken spell, the sound returned and the first thing heard were the screams and quick steps of the frightened civilians. The lead monster smirked as he watched the frightened crowd run, his gaze fixed on the possible new targets and he was preparing for his next move until....
“Ignigromms...?”
I hear someone mumble name of their species.
The lead monster, no. Alpha Ignigromm scanned the area for the source of the whisper and soon his gaze focused on someone in the crowd of civilians who did not appear to be fleeing, but was standing still and looking at them with bewilderment and some degree of shock.
The civilian appeared to be a man in his mid-twenties, about 5'6” tall. He had green eyes and black hair that reached to the top of his neck and covered his right eye. He was wearing a black T-shirt, white pants and black shoes.
“That's not possible...”
The man kept muttering words that the Alpha Ignigromm could not decipher and, were it not for the Alpha Ignigromm's heightened senses compared to his minions, he would not have been able to hear him. The Alpha Ignigromm didn't understand how this human knew the name of his kind, but that didn't matter. After all...
All of these humans were going to die.
Alpha Ignigromm waved his hand and soon his minions began to attack the civilians in a rampage. The Alpha Ignigromm had no intention of letting them escape and again he raised his hand; and a fireball began to form. The fireball was almost the size of a ball and was red in color, but quickly changed to blue. The fireball continued to burn with such intensity that for a few moments its flame turned pure white.
And then the fireball, fell to the ground....
FLASH!
And everything turned white...
Back to the present
From the rubble of the collapsed buildings emerged a figure. It was revealed to be the man who had caught the attention of Alpha Ignigromm. The man appeared to have been severely injured, with blood dripping from the right side of his face. The left sleeve of his shirt was shredded, revealing the sorry state of his arm and blood pouring from his shoulder. His white pants were partially destroyed and stained red with blood from his wounds.
“Am I going to die here...?”
Those were the man's thoughts, as he recalled the events that led him to this situation.
“I'm going to die...”
“Die...”
“ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?!”
“IS THIS HOW MY LIFE ENDS?!”
“JUST BECAUSE I WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE, AT THE WRONG TIME?!”
“I'M GOING TO DIE JUST BECAUSE I WENT TO BUY... A FUCKING PIZZA?!”
“HOW THE FUCK IS THAT FAIR?!”
“Huh?”
“Is it my idea or is it too quiet...?”
The area was once again plunged into stony silence. The Ignigromms suddenly stopped moving and turned their heads mechanically toward the human who had the audacity to interrupt their fun. Even the Alpha Ignigromm seemed to pierce him with his gaze, waiting to see what his next action would be.
“Did I just say that out loud...?”
Having realized his mistake, the man looked at the Ignigromms with a look of annoyance on his face.
“Shit”
The man's expression of annoyance soon turned into a look of resignation.
“Well, it looks like my fate is sealed”
“Forgive me Tetsuo, it seems I won't be able to keep my promise after all”
“In the end, I was just a coward who kept making excuses to escape his responsibilities”
“In the end, Larcenist was right about me”
“I'm just an idiot who doesn't know anything about the real world”
The man closed his eyes to his imminent end...
“[Congratulations, Sun Chan-Wook]”
Only to open them again as he heard a robotic voice calling his name.
“[You have been chosen to be a Hunter]”
“What?”
In front of Sun Chan-Wook a blue colored status window had just appeared, Chan-Wook couldn't believe what was happening. In his eyes this was probably a hallucination brought on by blood loss and being almost on the verge of death. But if this was real...
Then there was a chance of survival.
“[Please choose a sponsor]”
“[The constellations are looking at you]”
“[The 'Dragon of the Abyss' looks at your situation with amusement]”
“[The 'Gambler of Fate' looks at your situation with interest]”
“[The 'Hunter of the Celestial Heavens' looks at your situation with concern]”
“[The 'Jester of the Nine Realms' looks with excitement at your situation]”
Status windows began to appear one after another, with words whose meaning Chan-Wook knew vaguely. Constellations, divine beings who were responsible for empowering and increasing the strength of the hunters. At that moment, Chan-Wook had to choose wisely which constellation he would choose as a sponsor.
If he chose correctly, he could turn the situation around.
Soon Chan-Wook's eyes were filled with determination.
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And what he said next would once again change how the world worked...
“ACCESS LINK!”
“[ERROR]”
Or maybe not.
“[Unknown command]”
“Well, it looks like my guess was wrong...”
“[????E???R????R?????O???R???]????”
“[Constellations look at you with surprise]”
“Huh?”
Once again, the status window message was heard. But that was not what puzzled Chan-Wook and the constellations, but what was happening at that moment.
“[??????E??????????R????????????R????O??????????????R?????????????]????????”
Not just one.
“[?????????????????E????????R???R???????????????O?????????????R????????]??????????????”
Not two.
“[???????????????????E??????????????????R???????????????????R?????????????????????????????O???????????????????????????????R??????????????????]?????????????”
But hundreds of status windows repeating the same message.
“[????????????????????????????????E???????????????????????????????????????????????????R???????????????????????????????????R?????????????????O???????????????????????????????????????????????R????????????????????]??????????????????????????????????”
The appearance of status windows seemed endless, even clouding Chan-Wook's vision.
And then suddenly...
“[?????!???]????”
All status windows disappeared except for one.
The text and appearance of the status window changed again and displayed the following message:
“[Welcome back, Phantom Trial]”
Chan-Wook smiled faintly.
“It worked...”
Chan-Wook soon focused his gaze again on the Ignigromms, appearing to be assessing their potential threat and what actions to take next.
“Now I just have to...”
“[The constellations are shocked by this new development]”
“Ah, right”
The status window reminded Chan-Wook, that he now had an audience witnessing his actions.
“This is going to be problematic”
“[Multiple external connections have been detected]”
“Or maybe not”
“[Removing external connections]”
One by one, the status windows containing constellation information began to disappear.
“[The 'Dragon of the Abyss' demands to know why his authority does not work in the Syst-]”
“[The 'Gambler of Destiny' expresses confusion over the actions of the Syst-]”
“[The 'Hunter of the Celestial Heavens' is still shocked by what is happeni-]”
“[The 'Jester of the Nine Realms' is excited by this new developme-]”
“[External connections successfully removed]”
Chan-Wook nodded at the new information.
“Good, one problem down, now I can concentrate on-”
Chan-Wook's eyes widened in surprise.
“SHIT!”
CRASH!
That was the sound of a large projectile crashing into one of the buildings in the area that hadn't completely collapsed, said projectile was a car that Chan-Wook could barely dodge. The car had been thrown by the Alpha Ignigromm, as he had grown tired of being ignored by the human.
“If I start hesitating now, I will die”
Chan-Wook stood up again and raised his right arm forward.
“Equip Soul Weapons”
The moment Chan-Wook uttered those words, in less than a second an Ignigromm was in front of him. The Ignigromm raised its claws aiming for Chan-Wook's head and just as it was inches away from impacting....
CLANG!
The sound of the clash against metal echoed throughout the area.
The Ignigromm was stunned by what he was witnessing. The human he had attacked moments before had survived, not only that... But he managed to deflect his attack with the weapon he had summoned.
The weapon Chan-Wook held appeared to be a medieval double-edged sword. A white sword with a sapphire embedded in the hilt and a blade that glowed with power. Most notable were the runes engraved in the center of the sword's blade.
As the Ignigromm seemed distracted admiring the sword, it began to glow more brightly. Chan-Wook took advantage of this moment of distraction and...
SLASH!
“GRRROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
It cut off the Ignigromm's left arm...
The Ignigromm roared in pain as uncontrollable flames erupted from its wound. Chan-Wook ignored the Ignigromm's screams of pain and raised his sword again; only this time he aimed it at the Ignigromm's neck. The edge of the blade sank into the Ignigromm's body with ease and it looked like it would be a clean cut, but before the cut could begin, the Ignigromm jumped back, preventing Chan-Wook from finishing his attack.
“Damn, I wasn't fast enough”
As Chan-Wook internally reproached himself, the Ignigromm in front of him focused his gaze on the spot where his arm once was. The Ignigromm began to growl as the flames in his body intensified, he glared at Chan-Wook in fury and just as it looked like he was about to attack... he stopped.
Or, rather, someone stopped him.
Alpha Ignigromm had stopped his subordinate with just a wave of his hand. Throughout the course of the fight, the Alpha Ignigromm watched with interest as the human managed to damage one of his own with that weapon. With another quick movement, the surrounding Ignigromms prepared themselves and waited for their leader's orders.
The Alpha Ignigromm looked at Chan-Wook before smiling mischievously and raising his hand.
Once he snapped his fingers, chaos broke out again.
Flames erupted uncontrollably from the Ignigromm's body in front of Chan-Wook, and in less than a second he was in front of Chan-Wook and delivered a powerful blow. Chan-Wook blocked the attack with his sword as he went flying backwards from the force of the impact. While in the air, Chan-Wook threw his sword towards the ground in the area.
The sword was firmly embedded in the pavement and Chan-Wook turned his body as he landed on the hilt of the sword. Although the sword was firmly anchored to the pavement, due to the force of Chan-Wook's landing, it shattered much of the ground as he attempted to break his fall.
The sword seemed to be losing speed, but before coming to a complete stop, Chan-Wook jumped backwards, dodging the Ignigromm's blow. The blow completely shattered the ground in the area, creating a large crater and sending chunks of gravel and cement flying through the air; as well as Chan-Wook's sword.
As Chan-Wook returned to the air, three Ignigromms suddenly appeared around him. The three Ignigromms had their claws outstretched, aiming for Chan-Wook's vital points, as they were not going to let the human survive this. Chan-Wook's chances of survival diminished again, and Chan-Wook looked at the Alpha Ignigromm with an angry grimace as he gritted his teeth.
On the other hand, the Alpha Ignigromm smiled maliciously again, waiting to see the human die horribly in front of his subordinates. Soon the smile on his face faded as he watched the human's actions. Chan-Wook's angry grimace turned into a defiant smile, he extended his left arm forward and a black glow began to emerge from the palm of his hand.
Just as the Ignigromm was inches away from tearing Chan-Wook apart with its claws. The object that Chan-Wook summoned ended up materializing beside him in less than a second, the Ignigromms were falling to the ground with multiple cuts on their bodies. When Chan-Wook landed, the object he had summoned was a sword.
This sword was a black Japanese katana with inlays in the hilt area. The blade of the sword seemed to glow with energy and ready to claim its next victim.
As for the Ignigromm whose arm was cut off, seeing the way his companions ended up, he unleashed a mighty torrent of flames towards Chan-Wook. Upon seeing the Ignigromm's attack, the only action he took was to raise his right hand. Soon the first sword Chan-Wook summoned began to glow and soon disappeared in a flash. Only to reappear again in Chan-Wook's hands.
The torrent of flames headed straight for Chan-Wook. Faced with the impending attack, Chan-Wook raised his white sword again and it glowed brightly. He threw the sword so that it began to spin on its own axis as if it were a throwing weapon. The sword was consumed by the flames, or so it seemed at first glance, for within the whirlwind of flames the sword glowed brightly.
The glow of the sword continued to increase as the structure of the sword changed completely, once the transformation of the weapon was complete; the flames around the sword were dispersed by an inexplicable force that emerged from the weapon itself and headed straight for its target. The ignigromm barely had time to react to the impending attack, either out of surprise at the ease with which his attack was nullified or out of bewilderment at how this human was matching his power.
Whatever the response, it was already too late.... The sword hit its target.
The ignigromm looked at the sword thrust into his chest with a mixture of anger and terror in equal measure. That attack was a few centimeters away from hitting its core, if not for the fact that the attack missed by only a few centimeters... it would have been a fatal blow. Before the monster could do anything, Chan-Wook appeared in front of him and took the weapon stuck in his chest.
And with one swift movement, the core of the Igngromm was shattered. The monster let out a silent scream, as the life left its body. The monster's last thoughts, it was easy to tell from the expression of hatred it was directing towards Chan-Wook. An expression that said, 'It was a mistake to underestimate this human'.
Seeing the Ignigromm's body fall to the ground, Chan-Wook staggered forward and leaned on his swords. He was breathing heavily and seemed to be making an extra effort to try not to lose his balance. Despite the blood and charred skin covering him, he struggled to his feet. Soon a smile graced Chan-Wook's lips, as well as a momentary wince.
“I haven't lost my touch yet”
Chan-Wook was satisfied with the outcome of this battle and soon his gaze shifted to his swords.
“It's been a while, hasn't it”
The look on Chan-Wook's face turned nostalgic as he looked at the katana in his left hand.
“Noctis Ruinae”
[Soul Weapon: Noctis Ruinae]
[Rarity: Unique]
[Element: Darkness]
[Type: One-Handed Sword]
[A sword born from the abyss, condemning those who cross its blade to eternal darkness]
[Abilities]
[When not in combat, the user's stealth is increased by +75% and lethal damage to unsuspecting enemies is increased by +100%]
[When in combat, the user's speed and agility are doubled]
[One with The Shadows: Every time the user perfectly dodges an attack, he becomes invulnerable for 0.25 seconds. When the user's health reaches a critical state, the limit increases by 1.25 seconds. In his invulnerable state, the user receives a +125% speed increase]
His eyes rested on the sword he held in his right hand and for a second his expression seemed to take on a tinge of sadness.
[Soul Weapon: Celestria]
[Rarity: Unique]
[Element: Light]
[Type: Two-Handed Sword (One-Handed Sword)]
[A sword born from the hope of the people who sought out a hero to save them in their darkest times, whoever wields this sword will have a long way to go to live up to this sword's original purpose]
[Abilities]
[In One-Handed Sword form, the user's Defense and Stamina are doubled]
[In Two-Handed Sword form, Attack and MP are doubled]
[Hero's Oath: Grants the user a +20% increase in MP regeneration and a +5% increase in the chance to land a fatal blow. When fighting two or more enemies, the user's Defense is increased by +48% for each nearby enemy, with a maximum cap of +200%. When facing a single enemy, Critical Chance is increased by +25% and Attack is increased by +20% for each successful attack made towards the enemy, with a maximum cap of +150% damage increase]
“Celestria”
A smile graced Chan-Wook’s face again.
“Thank you for answering my call”
Chan-Wook’s gaze fell on the remaining Ignigromms, who for some strange reason had not yet attacked him despite looking ready to tear him apart. The Ignigromm was the one standing out, surrounded by his subordinates roaring for his blood, while the leader just silently watched his next victim.
Without saying a single word, the Alpha Ignigromm raised his arm again and pointed at Chan-Wook.
“GRRROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR!”
The Ignigromm burst into flames as they lunged at Chan-Wook.
“Why can my problems never be easy?” Chan-Wook raised his swords again as a small smile graced his face. “Still… it’s good to be back”.
And at that moment, the real battle had begun.
