Chapter 171: The Accident (1)

Sounds of explosions echoed around Kim Ki-Rok.

Wouldn't it be okay for me to relax a bit? Wouldn't it be okay to take it slow like an old man in the back room while relying on our guild members to do everything?

he thought.

"

Harghhh!

" Kim Ki-Rok let out a strange shout as he hurled his shield.

The shield, flying at high speed, struck the snout of the wide-open mouth of the Flying Mechanical Monster with a clunk. The blow seemed to have little effect on the monster, but that didn't matter. He hadn't intended to cause damage anyway, only to block where the monster's attack would come from.

The monster's mouth slammed shut just before it could spit out a giant iron ball. Unable to release it, the iron ball ricocheted inside the Flying Mechanical Monster's mouth, causing a violent shock and making it crash.

What is it? What is it?

Kim Ki-Rok racked his brain.

His last Attempt had gone without a hitch, and he had successfully evacuated the residents of the Patera Dimension without alerting the monsters. Now, surveying the chaos around him, he stepped in front of a downed Hunter. With no time to hesitate, he stepped in front of a downed Hunter, immediately pulling out his mace and aiming straight for the mouth of the approaching Mechanical Monster. The creature had its sights on the injured Hunter, ready to fire an iron ball, but Kim Ki-Rok's strike threw its aim off. The projectile veered away, and the shock made the monster stagger.

He let out a sigh of relief, then kicked the stomach of the Hunter who was trying to get up.

"

Cough!

"

The Hunter stumbled back, not even having time to feel angry at the sudden attack. His rising frustration vanished instantly as dozens of iron balls rained down on the spot he had just vacated. If Kim Ki-Rok hadn't kicked him out of the way, he would have been riddled with holes.

Seeing the Hunter sigh in relief at being saved and jump back into battle, Kim Ki-Rok activated his walkie-talkie. "Direct confrontation is out of the question. We have civilians to protect. Don't overexert yourselves trying to take them down. Just retreat slowly."

Although he'd given the orders, he knew it wouldn't be easy. Retreating was more dangerous than launching an offensive operation to begin with. Moreover, a large number of Mechanical Monsters had flooded out of the city. If they weren't careful, they could be surrounded in an instant.

Kim Ki-Rok bent his knees slightly and ducked, narrowly dodging the front paw of a wolf-like Animaloid Mechanical Monster, then swung his mace.

"

Hup!

"

He was facing a Mechanical Monster made from metal that resisted mana. That meant techniques like Mana Swords or Aura—anything that involved channeling mana into his weapon—were useless. Instead, he focused entirely on boosting his physical strength.

The sound of ringing metal filled the air. With a full-force blow, the slightly lifted Mechanical Monster was sent flying sideways and rolled on the ground. But Kim Ki-Rok hadn't been able to finish it off. On top of that, there were still many enemies. There was no time to catch his breath or assess the situation. He pulled another shield from his subspace pocket and raised it. He'd taken down one Flying Mechanical Monster, but four still hovered from the original five that came from the city.

This time, his airborne enemy didn't fire a giant cannonball but sprayed bullets like a machine gun.

Kim Ki-Rok gritted his teeth, blocking the attack with his shield. "Fuck me."

His arm throbbed from the accumulated damage, but there was no time to complain. He wasn't so injured that he couldn't move—no broken bones or anything like that. The real problem was that his shield, made of Pastera from the namesake Patera Dimension, was now destroyed.

"Five left," he muttered to himself.

He had used one shield to block the Flying Mechanical Monster that fired the giant bullets. The shield that had collided with the flying monster was somewhere on the battlefield, but he wasn't in a position to retrieve it.

"There's a shield out there that collided with a flying monster. It's made of Past—" Kim Ki-Rok's words were cut short as he kicked off the ground and leaped forward. "Pastera, sturdy as a Mechanical Monster. Those nearby, please retrieve and use it immedia—"

A Mechanical Monster sliced through the air, plummeted to the ground, and hit with an explosive impact that kicked up a sandstorm. Kim Ki-Rok quickly recovered from his fall and surveyed the surroundings.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"We've got limited visibility! Our opponent is a Mechanical Monster. We'll use this chance to retreat."

Their opponents were Mechanical Monsters that couldn't sense their surroundings using mana or the five senses. Of course, they had their own mechanical methods of detection, but there were ways to counter that.

After confirming the Hunter rescue team's retreat, Kim Ki-Rok took out a stun grenade from his subspace pocket and threw it high.

"Flashbang!" he shouted unnecessarily.

The raging sandstorm had already blurred the Mechanical Monsters' vision. Then came the deafening blast after the flash, disorienting them further by disrupting vibration, sound, and infrared detection. The result was brutally effective.

Kim Ki-Rok and the Hunters seized the moment to escape. The bitter aftertaste lingered, but he shook it off. They probably couldn't rely on the same trick again. Even with dulled sensors, the Mechanical Monsters had likely recorded the grenade's effects and were already adapting. Still, it had done its job of ensuring their continued survival.

Kim Ki-Rok quickly checked on his companions. "Anyone left behind?!"

Even though it was incredibly dangerous, some Hunters might have fought anyway, too proud to run from monsters. Kim Ki-Rok had been careful to exclude anyone uncooperative when forming the rescue team, choosing only those who were cautious and followed orders. The operation had gone much like the last Attempt, but this time, the Mechanical Monsters spotted them during the escape.

"None left behind," reported a Hunter near the back.

"Full withdrawal confirmed!" Kim Ki-Rok shouted.

Fortunately, the entire rescue team had followed orders and escaped the sandstorm.

Then it's not a problem on our end...

he thought.

His team had followed orders well, moving more carefully than usual since they were evacuating people with little stamina. It stood to reason that the rescue team hadn't been discovered because of a mistake on their part. The Mechanical Monsters provided their captives with comfortable living spaces and avoided constant surveillance to minimize stress; they wouldn't monitor the human quarters without a reason.

Kim Ki-Rok checked the slowly subsiding sandstorm and changed the frequency on the radio attached to his waist. "Command Center."

As he communicated with them, a Mechanical Monster slowly came into view, and another could be seen behind it, stirring up a sandstorm as it prepared to take off.

—Yes. Reinforcements are expected to arrive in about ten minutes.

"Are there any Hunters who have left the forward base?"

There was a slight pause on the line before the Command Center responded.

—Say again?

"I said, are there any Hunters who have left the forward base?!"

Gates could not be observed by non-Hunters until the Break has occurred. Using this, they had established a forward base around the Gate.

—There... are.

"I thought so."

—Y-You don't think...?

"Yes. I believe we've been discovered because of a Hunter who strayed from the Gate's proximity," Kim Ki-Rok said.

—But, he went to scout toward the opposite side of the city...

"He must have made a big detour, then. Who is it?"

—They're from one of the A-Class guilds in Japan.

"Well, exclude them from this operation."

—That's impossible.

"Oh?"

Kim Ki-Rok wasn't entirely sure who was behind it, but he had a strong suspicion. Their refusal to remove the Hunter who had disrupted the operation pointed in a clear direction. In fact, he was certain since there had been a similar incident in a past Attempt.

"This is just my guess, but now that we know the dwarves can refine Pastera, that Hunter probably went after the Mechanical Monster in the city hoping to get some. If it were only the Japanese Hunters who had been harmed, we could have overlooked it despite our grievances, but one of the French Hunters has died because of this."

At this point, the Mechanical Monsters appeared to be observing, with some crouched on the ground and others watching from the sky.

"If word gets out, other EU countries might pull out too, not just France. So exclude them from the mission."

***

"What...?"

Imanaga Goro, Vice President of the Japan Hunters Association, had known about the effects of Pastera, but no craftsman had been able to refine the monster corpses made from it. Just as he was lamenting the situation, he learned that some craftsmen could now refine the metal. He wouldn't need to persuade anyone. After the Gate clear, he planned to manipulate the quantity delivered to the dwarves.

But before the plan could even begin, a problem surfaced. The vice president froze when he received a phone call at headquarters in Tokyo. His subordinate, stationed at the Command Center, spoke with a strange tension in his voice.

—It seems that hunting the Mechanical Monster triggered an attack on the rescue team. Korea's Hunter Kim Ki-Rok immediately identified the cause. Actually... judging by his tone, he seemed certain.

"So, what's the situation with the rescue team?!"

—A Japanese Hunter was injured and won't be able to participate in the clear.

"That, that..."

Imanaga opened his mouth without realizing it, then closed it before finishing his sentence. He had nearly made the mistake of saying it was fortunate that the injured Hunter wasn't a foreigner, but one of their own.

—And then...

"And then?!"

—A French Hunter who participated in the rescue team was killed in action.

The vice president winced. This was the final Gate to the Patera Dimension. Once it was cleared, their access to the dimension and its precious metal would be cut off.

So then, what would happen to the value of Pastera, which could only be sourced from this dimension? It would become a rare, high-grade metal known for its exceptional mana resistance. With that in mind, he had secretly reached out to a friendly guild to turn a profit.

"Those bastards!"

Imanaga had laid out his plan when he first approached the guild to propose the deal. He would permit Hunters who lacked the required level to participate in the clear to enter the Gate. Before the main battle began, these unregistered Hunters would hunt Mechanical Monsters outside the battlefield, collect their corpses, and manipulate the reported quantity before handing them over to the dwarves.

Their plan wasn't expected to interfere with the clear. Hunting outside the battlefield carried some risk, but as Kim Ki-Rok had pointed out, there would be no issue once enough weapons were secured. In fact, by thinning out the enemy forces before they reached the front lines, their actions could even be framed as support.

"Did they get greedy?"

The guild he had contacted was skilled, but notorious for their greed. He couldn't be certain, but he suspected they had tried to secure Pastera behind his back. Although they were at fault, it didn't change the fact that he had made a deal with them. Imanaga had intended to piggyback on the operation and earn some extra profit while cutting off enemy reinforcements. However, since he was involved from the start, he would still be held responsible.

Knock, knock, knock.

The vice president sighed, already expecting the knock at his office door.