CH 4

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

“Kyaaak!”

As if angered by the death of their leader, the remaining giant spiders let out screams and rushed towards the ability users, jolting them back to their senses.

“Darn it!”

“Open fire!”

Setting aside their pursuit of the vanished Barbarian, they had to refocus on the battlefield once again.

Although the human-faced spider had died, the area around them was covered with webs that emitted poisonous gas and corrosive effects, as well as webs with even stronger adhesion due to the traces it had left behind.

As a result, even though the number of giant spiders had decreased, dealing with them was actually more difficult than before.

Some of them were even more tired due to the effort they had exerted earlier, and had to retreat to the rear for rest.

Fortunately, after the death of the human-faced spider, the rift had started to close, which meant that no more monsters would come out. Considering the number of remaining giant spiders, this was a manageable situation.

Zzzzzzzzzz…

As if to announce the end, the sound of the rift closing filled the space.

Paaaang!

Soon after, a shockwave exploded from the end of the rift and it closed. At that moment, they were also wrapping up the giant spider extermination.

But their job was not done there.

“Quickly, find him!”

“Send a message to headquarters and deploy agents in the area.”

“Move!”

Trembling with anxiety, they began to search for the Barbarian Man.

“Aren’t we going to search?”

Jang geon, who had been scouting other guilds, asked their team leader, Choi ll-kwon.

“What would we do if we found him?”

“First, confirm his identity…”

“How? Are we supposed to arrest him? He’s the one who took down the human-faced spider in one shot.”

“Um… can’t we request cooperation?”

“If he were going to allow that, why would he have run away in the first place? Besides, he disappeared like the wind. Even if we chase after him now, it’s too late. So don’t waste your energy and sit down to rest.”

Choi ll-kwon said so and gestured to the members of Team 3, instructing them to take a break.

The sudden appearance of an anomaly had already drained the energy of the team members, leaving them exhausted. They all collapsed on the ground and started to lie down like rain in a drought.

Jang geon also chimed in, crossing his legs and resting his buttocks. “Who do you think it is?” he asked.

“What a stupid question. Don’t you see these idiots making a fuss because they don’t know?” replied the other person.

Feeling embarrassed, Jang geon scratched the back of his head and asked again, “What would be his rating?”

This time, there was no ridicule.

Although they couldn’t be sure, they could make an educated guess based on the power they had witnessed when he attacked the human-faced spider. After much contemplation, Choi ll-kwon spoke up hesitantly, “he could be an S-rank.”

“As expected!” Jang geon agreed, nodding his head along with the other team members, who looked similarly convinced.

“Even though the human-faced spider is classified as a level 4, due to its potent venom, tough outer shell, and the ghastly spider web with two unique characteristics, it is known to be a difficult opponent, almost equivalent to a level 5,” said Choi ll-kwon.

The discussion turned to adjusting the rating.

“In truth, if we have a B-rank, we could somehow manage to fight human-faced spider alone. However, as we saw earlier, it’s not easy to take care of it in one go. Even if it were an A-rank, it would be challenging,” Choi ll-kwon continued.

He stopped short of saying more.

Despite being a seasoned veteran with years of experience as an early Awakener, Jang geon was only at the C-rank level, having spent a long time there. Could someone like him evaluate those two ranks above him?

“That’s a topic that goes beyond the scope,” Jang geon thought.

Moreover, if it were an S-rank, it would be one of the world’s few top-notch experts. Especially in Korea, where there is no one at the S-rank level, talking about them casually was not something to be done.

“Wow…I don’t know who he was, but it would be amazing if we could find him.”

“Does this mean Korea finally got a superhuman?”

“If that happens, we can even give the Japanese a hard time.”

“It’s not just the Japanese. We could also take on the Chinese.”

The team members started chatting excitedly with each other.

“Other guild members might be moving because of this too.”

The veteran members of other guilds wouldn’t overlook this point that Choi ll-kwon thought of. Nevertheless, they were still following behind Barbarian Man.

Even though they knew it was impossible to catch up, Choi ll-kwon believed that his team members had the same thoughts pushing them forward.

“Just finding out who he is would be worth a huge reward.”

Considering the current situation in Korea, if he was truly a superhuman-level expert, even a small piece of information about him would be valuable.

With that in mind, Choi ll-kwon knew he should also take action. However, he wasn’t feeling motivated lately because of various conflicts with the guild leader.

“Because the likelihood is low,” he dismissed the idea early on and joined in on his team members’ conversation. At that moment, he sensed a familiar presence approaching from afar – it was the reinforcements from the North Wind Guild, who came due to the appearance of the human-faced spider.

“What’s up? You guys came so quickly, it’s only been a little while since we called for backup!”

Although clearing the giant spiders took quite some time, it was undeniably fast when considering the distance between them and the main base.

The reinforcement team shrugged their shoulders and replied, “We had some business in the area.”

“Hmm…so 5th team leader came alone for that?”

“Yeah.”

The man who was now approaching them was a middle-aged man, who looked about the same age as Choi ll-kwon, the 5th team leader of the North Wind Guild. He looked around and furrowed his eyebrows.

“I heard that human-faced spider showed up. Is it already taken care of?”

“Well, we had some things to deal with.”

“If it’s resolved, you should’ve sent a radio message. We ran all the way here for nothing.”

“This my friend, we just finished it. We were about to send a radio message after catching our breath. Look at these guys, they can barely stand because they’re so tired.”

To be honest, due to the shocking sight they witnessed, they were all out of sorts and couldn’t think about sending a radio message. Perhaps other teams would have had a similar experience.

Naturally, the 5th team leader was unaware of this fact, and he could only step back with a disappointed face.

Choi ll-kwon, who was sweating cold sweat, quickly instructed Jang geon to send a situation report by radio. “By the way, if you have any business nearby, is it related to that?” Team leader 5 smiled as he nodded his head. At his sight, Choi ll-kwon showed a momentary expression of disappointment, but turned his head to hide his emotions in case it was noticed. “Ugh…why are you still looking for things that belonged to the son who died over 20 years ago?”

Team leader 5 originally lived in the area, but at the time of the Level 6 incident, he happened to be on a family trip overseas and couldn’t properly pack his valuable belongings. He managed to get some items through his nearby acquaintances, but there were still a lot of missing things, including many of his son’s belongings who had gone missing 20 years ago.

He returned home before the incident fully occurred, but at that time, the area was already under control and he could only wait until the situation was resolved.

“I lost the album too.”

Although he had saved some of the pictures on his phone, losing the original album had a greater emotional impact than anyone had anticipated. It was an event that reopened the pain he thought time had healed.

“Ugh, I only have a few pictures saved on my phone…”

That’s why even when it wasn’t related to his team’s deployment, Team Leader 5 had submitted a personal application and visited this place, knowing that once the rifts were all fixed and the government intervened, it would be impossible to find anything more. It was even more regrettable since they were colleagues and friends who shared a common bond as early retirees.

As if trying to dispel the gloomy atmosphere, he attempted to change the subject for some fresh air.

“We’re already late due to this damn rift. Instead of going to bed early, let’s have some late-night snacks and chill.”

“Oh, are you treating us, Team Leader?”

“Awesome, Team Leader!”

“We love you, Team Leader!”

Amidst the lively cheers of his team members, Choi ll-kwon looked at Team Leader 5 and asked, “Are you still in business?”

At that moment, Team Leader 5 shifted his posture and rubbed his hands together.

“Thank you for using our Bareun Chicken today.”

To this, Choi ll-kwon smiled and snapped his fingers, “Oh yeah! One whole chicken and lots of radish. Got it?”

“I will take note of your request.”

Was it because of the light-hearted banter between the two friends? In the significantly changed atmosphere and air, the The North Wind Guild had to hurry to tidy up and prepare for the welcoming of the Chicken God.

ΔΔΔ

The hope and expectation of being able to reunite with his parents had been shattered. However, this did not lead to despair. He had already accepted that he would never be able to meet his family again over 200 years ago, in the other world. While there may have been emotional turmoil, there was no collapse. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help feeling gloomy.

“Hu…it’s depressing.”

Even though he had tried to keep his spirits up, the fact that Barbarian coat, who had become his companion, was now a lifeless corpse in tattered made him even more desolate. Fortunately, he discovered a ray of hope in the form of a clothing donation box.

[Old clothes collection box!]

“Ah, a donation box! That’s a positive thing.”

“Come to think of it, there was something like this.”

This was the only positive situation he had encountered so far. He wished he had thought of it sooner, but perhaps it was due to his memories from the past, which were over 300 years old. Only after he saw it did he remember it.

After rummaging through the clothing donation box to find something to wear, he was able to step out into the bright light. “Hmm, what should I do now?” Baron thought, recalling his original plan. “I had planned to live comfortably with the jewels I brought from the other world… sigh!” Unfortunately, the goddess appeared and confiscated all of the things.

“Should I do something?”

He wondered if he should find a job, but he wasn’t too keen on jumping into the competitive society after spending almost the last fifty years leisurely. “Hmm…” After a brief moment of contemplation, he came to a conclusion. “For now, let’s take a look around.”

He pushed himself to make a plan, even though it was haphazard, and walked out onto the streets. He celebrated his first New Year’s and spent a chilly winter, passing through a season filled with warmth, until he found himself facing the hot summer season. And around that time, he had become a perfect vagrant.