Chapter 245: An Expert on Everything (1)

Perched atop the wall that divided Hell's territory from the Hunters', a man drove his sword into the heart of a distracted Hell monster, using his skill for a swift kill. Hidden behind the monster's fallen body, he caught his breath and sipped a mana potion from his subspace pocket.

Now safe behind a pile of corpses, the Hunter muttered to himself, "How long did it take to handle the monsters from the North again?"

Headquarters had deliberately lured the monsters in, aiming to minimize casualties among the Four Dukes subjugation squad and to complete the operation quickly and safely.

"Ah, was it three days?"

He recalled the relentless three-day, three-night assault from the Hell monsters. When he closed his eyes, he could still see the endless amount of Animaloid Hell Monsters scrambling over the bodies of their dead to leap higher onto the wall.

"

Hup!

"

Retrieving his sword, the Hunter took a step back. Timing his move just right, he lifted his right foot and kicked the corpse of a monkey-like Hell monster. The body crashed backward, slamming into a climbing Hell monster and knocking it from the wall with a heavy thud.

The base camp at the Gate entrance resembled a massive fortress, and its walls were constructed to curb monster attacks. Even with these defenses, holding the line was a challenge.

"Damn it."

It was the second day of the Four Dukes subjugation operation. Monsters had swarmed by the thousands since day one, and the onslaught hadn't let up.

Unlike with the Northern Poison Duke Aspera, this time the Dukes of both the East and West were being targeted at once, splitting their forces in half.

Though Hunters rotated shifts on the wall, everyone was pressed into service as needed, leaving little time for rest. Transfers to the rear created further gaps, doubling the pressure on those still defending. With the expanded perimeter, the number of monsters they had to repel grew accordingly.

With limited time to rest and endless waves of monsters approaching, the injuries piled up. There was no backup to replace the wounded, so the burden only increased, sapping stamina and focus, leading to more accidents. A vicious cycle had set in.

Yet, on the second day, they found it more manageable than the first.

A sudden shout drew their attention just in time to see another Hunter standing beside a fresh monster corpse, a dagger still lodged in its neck. Blue mana shimmered around him.

"That one put up a fight," the Hunter said, smiling with satisfaction.

He retrieved his dagger and spun it around, then flicked it through the air. The blade struck the forehead of a Humanoid Hell Monster climbing the wall, dropping it instantly. The mana-charged dagger killed the monster on impact.

Without missing a beat, the Hunter reached into his subspace pocket and drew out a large bow. He didn't bother with an arrow, just pulled the string.

"Seriously..."

A sudden mana arrow launched from the bow, tearing through the wings of a swooping Flying Hell Monster. Having grounded his target, the Hunter returned the bow to his pocket, drew out a tonfa[1], and took the place of another Hunter who had fallen.

The Humanoid Hell Monster shifted attention to the new challenger and swung its massive fist. However, Kim Ki-Rok wielded the tonfa with practiced ease and met the punch head-on. Its already-battered arm couldn't withstand the energy and was instantly obliterated, blood and viscera spraying through the air. Stunned, the monster stared at the stump where its left arm had just been, unable to comprehend how a single strike had severed it.

Not giving it a chance to retaliate, Kim Ki-Rok dropped low and darted forward, closing the distance to launch another attack. Within ten seconds, he shifted seamlessly between stances, keeping the monster guessing and off-balance.

"What weapon can't he use?" a nearby Hunter murmured in awe.

Kim Ki-Rok, the lowest-class Hunter in the Gate, had just taken down the monster using a dagger, longbow, and tonfa. He switched between those weapons with effortless skill, as if their difference in levels meant nothing.

Noticing an opening, Kim Ki-Rok holstered the tonfa, drew his longbow, and struck a pose.

"

Haap!

Yoo Seung-Ryong Kimotchi!" he shouted.[2]

A Hunter who recognized the joke turned to remark, "That's his brother's line[3]."

A middle-aged man, hair turned white with age, turned at the familiar catchphrase. "Huh? That game ended service before he was born, didn't it?"

Maybe he lied about his age,

the old man thought.

Kim Ki-Rok put away his bow, reached into his subspace pocket, pulled out a pair of gloves, and yelled, "A dune tore his ass!"[4]

Mana blades sprang from the backs of his hands.

"That's another character's line, isn't it?" someone mumbled nearby.

"Earl Rear!"

"And that's supposed to be 'Alright,' right?"[5]

The retired Hunter slashed an approaching Hell monster cleanly in two. Other retirees glanced over at Kim Ki-Rok as he produced a bead from his leather pouch and lobbed it at a monster. The bead exploded on impact with a resounding boom.

"I've heard plenty about him, but..."

Though officially retired, these Hunters kept up with news from the field. The stories about Kim Ki-Rok had reached even them.

"

Hahaha!

What an entertaining junior!"

The muscular old man roared with laughter, while another retiree just shook his head, muttering, "He's nuts... Completely bonkers."

***

It wasn't only Hunters who had returned to the fray after the Gate to Hell appeared. Former tacticians who were once retired from fieldwork and teaching in guilds or universities had come back too.

—Yoo Seung-Ryong Kimotchi!

"

Khhm!

Wrong weapon for the line, though," a tactician commented, excitement in his voice. "I should know since I made it to masters back in the day."

—A dune tore his ass!

"Still not the right weapon."

"When I faced off with the same race, I'd use that build to chain wins. Ah, those were the days," another said, nostalgia thick in his tone.

—Earl Rear!

"Oh, he got it right this time."

"Remember the old team-up strats?" one asked.

"The trick where you form an alliance, then trap the others?"

Reminiscing about the pre-Gates era, the old men grinned, quickly refocused to assess the battlefield and issue new commands, then returned to the screen tracking Kim Ki-Rok.

"What's he going to pull out next?"

"Let's see. He's used a lot of game lines, so maybe a comic reference?"

"The ninja, maybe the grim reaper?"

"Or the pirate?"[6]

While the old tacticians speculated about the next pop culture reference, Kim Ki-Rok reached into his subspace pocket again.

"Oh!"

The tacticians' eyes sparkled in anticipation.

Kim Ki-Rok produced a scroll.

"A scroll?"

"Just wait. This is Kim Ki-Rok we're talking about."

He tore the scroll.

"A mana amplification scroll?" one of them speculated, now whispering.

Indeed, the scroll would double his mana reserves and burst usage for the next five minutes.

Next, Kim Ki-Rok took out a bracelet. The moment he slipped it on and infused it with mana, the blue aura around him flickered gold and crackled with energy.

"That's a mana attribute conversion artifact! Lightning element!"

"He's about to go super sayia—"

"Seniors."

The junior's voice brought the sparkling-eyed tacticians back to themselves. They found they'd crept closer to the screen without noticing.

"

Ahem.

"

Embarrassed, the old men cleared their throats and quietly retreated to their seats.

—

Haaap!

"Is he going to use it

now?"

Eager anticipation filled the room as Kim Ki-Rok was shown springing into the air.

—Pikaaa...

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Huh?"

***

Elsewhere, a small family wrapped up their usual routines—work, training, school—and gathered in the living room by 7:30 p.m. Thirty minutes later, they were quietly seated before the television, watching the broadcast unfold.

"As soon as he shows up, this documentary turns into a variety show..."

"

Hehehe!

"

The grim reality of the show usually weighed on viewers, but Kim Ki-Rok's entrance transformed everything. Suddenly, it was entertainment.

—Pika! Pika!

Kim Ki-Rok's voice rang from the TV. Not yet content with giving just the monsters atop the wall whiplash, he leaped down to harass the ones on the ground.

If he'd only been clowning around quoting games and comics, people would have frowned, but Kim Ki-Rok contributed more than anyone. He risked his life during the Four Dukes operation, lured monsters away for the main squad, and battled countless Hell monsters.

Some claimed he just rode on the coattails of higher-level Hunters, but everyone on the mission insisted Kim Ki-Rok was the key contributor. Even the most notorious rumor-mongers couldn't drag him down after that.

"Dad," said his daughter, toggling between TV, smartphone, and chat with her friends.

"Yeah?" her father replied.

"Are you disappointed too?"

"Huh? About what?"

"My friend says her dad keeps grumbling about why he didn't go with Digital."

He shook his head. "Heh. It's Pockets over Digital, sweetheart. Remember that... Pockets over Digital." [7]

His daughter giggled, eyes on her phone. Meanwhile, her mom shot her husband a look, the same glare she used when he came home late after midnight after having more than a few drinks.

"Honey, are you on team Digital?" the father asked hesitantly.

"Yeah."

"H-honey. The Four Dukes subjugation squad's on. The Four Dukes," he said, trying to change the subject.

Mom turned back to the TV as the variety show shifted to an observational segment. Their daughter glanced at her parents, then tapped out a message on her phone.

—Wow, wow. Dad and Mom are fighting.

—Mine, too. Dad's team Digital, Mom's team Pockets...

1. A tonfa is an Okinawan side-handled baton used for blocking, striking, and leverage-based control, and it inspired the modern police baton. ☜

2. A Korean meme from the Overwatch era. Genji, a robotic ninja, had a Japanese ult voice line often misheard in Korea as "Yoo Seung-Ryong Kimotchi." ☜

3. Hanzo, Genji's brother, used the bow. Hanzo's ultimate unleashed two dragons. Kim Ki-Rok mixed up their lines. ☜

4. A Starcraft reference. This is a misheard Protos Dark Templar line: "Adun Toridas." ☜

5. Another nod to Starcraft. The Vulture unit says "Alright!" with a southern drawl. ☜

6. A nod to certain manga grouped as "the big three." ☜

7. A playful reference to the rivalry between Digimon and Pokémon. ☜