Chapter 51: Contribution Ranking
1.
We dug next to the house and buried Kwon Junyongs body.
I was still not sure if he was evil or not.
The rifts Kwon Junyong installed around Yangju would certainly have inflicted irreparable harm on many people.
But what if it was something he had to do under the control of Ashimone, and it wasnt his will?
Still, I was not sure.
One thing was certain: if I encountered people like Kwon Junyong in the future, I should kill them without hesitation.
Ashimone and her minions were enemies of living humans.
Regardless of the will of each minion, if they followed Ashimones orders, they must be killed.
I didnt know the purpose of that goddess of hell, but I knew she wanted to turn all humans into zombies.
Lets go.
Yes, Master.
Serena and Ciel followed behind me.
I entered the house and stood in front of the rift.
Ciel. You mentioned earlier that you felt an ominous aura from this rift.
Yes.
So, can you sense it from afar? Even where the rift is out of sight?
Hmm
Ciel closed her eyes briefly in thought, then responded.
Before we came in, I wasnt sure what this sensation was, but now I think I can recognize it even from a faint aura.
Okay.
According to Kwon Junyong, Ashimones minions were not just one or two.
They must be scattered across various regions, each installing rifts and moving around.
As time passed, most survivors would die or become zombies due to the mutated zombies pouring out from there.
Just as Ashimone planned.
To prevent this, the rifts must be sealed, and more fundamentally, the minions who were installing the rifts must be killed.
Finding and sealing the rifts around our D-Mart seemed like it wouldnt be too difficult.
I had the rift radar, the angel Ciel, by my side.
If she felt even a little ominous aura, all I had to do was search that place.
But thinking nationally, it was impossible with my strength alone.
In other words, to prevent massive casualties, ability users all over the country must rise and eliminate the rifts.
Im really lucky the internet hasnt been cut off yet
Click-
I took out my smartphone and took a picture of the rift.
I was planning to expose all of Ashimones schemes by posting this to the community.
But then
Would it be more persuasive if an angel is next to it?
Huh?
Ciel tilted her head at my muttering.
Ciel. Stand next to me without covering the rift. Serena, too.
Yes.
Yes!
I set them both side by side, as taking a picture of only Ciel might make Serena feel left out.
Smile. Make a V with your hands.
Hehe, V~
V.
Click-
Got it.
A picture of Serena and Ciel standing side by side, making a V sign and smiling, with a crimson rift that looks like a tear in the air in the background.
Ciels wings obscured the rift slightly, but this much should be okay.
Cant Master be in the picture too? I want a picture with Master!
Me too.
Serena pestered to be in the picture with me, but now was not the time to be leisurely doing that.
Well take pictures together once we get to D-Mart.
Stroking- Stroking-
I patted Serena and Ciels heads.
Hehehehe
You promised, Master.
I nodded to Ciel, who was quietly insisting on confirmation.
And then I looked at the rift.
It was good to post pictures on the community and to tell the ability users that the rifts must be sealed.
But if I was going to say that, wouldnt it be better to have some strategies left by a vanguard who sealed the rift?
Okay.
I decided to try sealing the rift.
Right now.
2.
As I reached out to touch the rift, the system message appeared again.
Ding-!
[You have discovered a D-grade Ashimone's rift.]
[If the rift is not sealed within a certain period, Ashimone's minions within will escape.]Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only
[Time remaining until rift activation: 27d 11h 41m]
[Do you wish to enter the rift?]
[Accept / Decline]
D-grade, huh.
Although I didnt know how the grading system works, Serena and Ciel had both reached A-grade and B-grade, respectively, in their overall ability evaluation.
It didnt seem like we would struggle with just D-grade.
In the first place, those inside escaping to the outside would be mutant zombies, so there should be no enemy too powerful to handle.
Serena, Ciel. On the count of three, we will press accept simultaneously.
Yes!
Three, two
I looked into the eyes of Serena and Ciel standing beside me and nodded.
One!
I touched the accept button.
Whooooooooosh
The dark red swirl inside the rift escaped and engulfed us.
Ugh!
Master!
Heavens Blessing!
The blood vessels that filled the living room ceiling extended to the entrance.
Using them as landmarks, we went outside, and the forest scenery we had passed by appeared.
The problem was that the forest was still red, as if it had been overlaid with red cellophane.
The sky was red, and the sun was black.
It was a world that felt like it would make you go mad if you kept looking at it.
Looking around, I alternately looked at Serena, Ciel, and my hand.
The two were still shining, maintaining their original color due to the effect of [Celestial Blessing], but my hand was red as if it had blended into this world.
However, I still didnt know what other effects there were.
Even though about 10 minutes had passed since we entered the crack, I couldnt feel any difference.
My mind seems a little unstable, too
As we kept walking and came outside, the entire landscape of the house came into view.
And then, there was
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump
On the roof of the house, there was something like a giant heart stuck to it, beating roughly.
Large and small blood vessels spread out from the heart like a spider web throughout the house.
The blood vessels in the living room ceiling were the ones that extended to the entrance.
Master Thats the culprit.
Huh?
At that moment, Ciel pointed at the heart with a serious expression.
That is the heart of this crack. Theres no doubt about it. If we break it, this crack will be sealed.
Really?
I had expected that, but
Considering how tense I was, it was not as impressive as I thought.
Was that all? Inside the crack, we had only met ten mutant zombies?
No, perhaps the assault in the living room could have been a tremendous threat.
We defeated them with the overwhelming power of White Knight Serena, but ordinary ability users would likely have struggled against the enemies attacking from all sides.
Lets go there.
I climbed the fence of the house and jumped up onto the roof.
I thought of myself as an ordinary ability user, so I deliberately didnt ask for Ciels help.
As I got closer, the heart started beating more violently.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
Swoosh
I took out a light sword and thrust it deep.
Poof!
Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!
A chilling scream burst out from inside the heart.
I furrowed my brows and put strength into cutting the heart.
Kieeek, Kiek
The heart was torn, spewing a thick, sticky, red liquid.
And then
Hoooom
Master!
Again, a dark red wind began to whirl.
Serena and Ciel approached and embraced me.
After a few seconds, we were back where we originally were.
In the shabby living room of the house.
The red world that tired the eyes was no more.
The crack of Ashimone that floated in mid-air had disappeared as well.
Was the sealing successful?
I muttered to myself and at that moment
Ding-!
[You have sealed the D-class Ashimone's rift.]
[Measuring contributions...]
['Serena' and 'Ciel' are confirmed to be dependent on 'Kim Doha.' The contribution will be combined with 'Kim Doha.']
[Measurement result, 'Kim Doha,' 100%.]
What?
Contributions? Was this some kind of game dungeon?
While looking at the system message, another alert rang out.
Ding-!
[South Korea's first rift sealer has been born.]
[As of the current time, rankings will be assigned according to the contribution in defeating Ashimone's minions.]
[Rankings will be reflected in real-time and can be checked anytime through the system.]
[Please set the name to be registered in the ranking.]
[Name:]
Name?
I entered my name for now. Kim Doha.
Whats this sudden ranking about
I muttered in disbelief as a system window appeared before my eyes.
Contribution Ranking
Defeating Ashimone's minions is the will of Goddess Hestia. The more you contribute, the more blessings you can receive from Hestia.
1st place. Kim Doha
2nd place. None
3rd place. None
.
.
.
100th place. None
[See more]
It was a ranking window.
While reading the phrase written there, my cell phone suddenly started to shake violently.
Jiiing
Jiiing
Jiiing
Could it be?
When I checked, I found messages from Baek Seona, Lee Jinah, Jin Serim, and many others asking what was going on.
It was a global notification!
It seemed that my name had spread all over South Korea.