Chapter 31

31. Attack Squad

The Six Goblins appeared, and they were properly armed. They figured out the situation right away.

Pot!

The Giant Frog shot its mutilated tongue. Turka defended Ko Byeong-gap with his shield at the forefront, and the tongue attack was blocked without a pause.

“Keruk!”

Changsik and Taesik rushed like lightning and swung their claws. The flesh of the Giant Frog’s tongue came out in chunks.

As soon as the bewildered monster frog tried to pull out, a spear of lightning shot and pierced its mouth.

“Kralalalala!”

Right after, a series of dark spheres flooded in and caused explosions. It hit the monster’s left shoulder and left it completely tattered. Soon after, its heavy body collapsed helplessly.

It was a flawless, perfectly synergized combo. Ko Byeong-gap felt like he wanted to clap his hands, but soon after, he sensed a disturbance. A swarm of monsters flocked, so he decided to put aside his joy for a while.

‘More Giant Frogs… And now, Lizards?’

The appearance of a new face. It was a D-class Lizard. Although it was listed as a D-class due to its Karma, it was dangerous. Lizard-type monsters were excellent in combat.

“Changsik, Taesik, stay behind me. The rest of you, get in position.”

“Yes!”

“Be careful. They’re strong.”

“Gyaaah!”

“Let’s go!”

The attack squad consisting of 7 members and the 15 monsters clashed.

Ko Byeong-gap ran and swung his sword. He cut the flying spears and narrowed their distance in one try. When he pierced his sword straight away, the Lizard’s head in front of him was cut off.

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As soon as its body collapsed, there was a shadow over his head. The Giant Frog, which had leaped high, fell.

Pajik!

“Groan!”

However, its open mouth never touched Ko Byeong-gap. Kiriyan intercepted it at just the right time.

“Gyaaah!”

A Lizard approached while it stirred its spear. After he dodged, Ko Byeong-gap used his whole body to swing his sword wide. Along with the hilt of its spear, the Lizard’s torso was torn apart.

He glanced to the side. Changsik was riding on a Giant Frog while he stabbed at its brain. On the other side, Taesik had a battle with a Lizard. Taesik overwhelmed his enemy.

‘They’re more like wolves instead of Goblins.’

When the Beast Goblin entered the battle, their appearance changed. Their snout would protrude, and their brown hair would grow bushy. It looked like a wolf.

“Gyaaah!”

“Hmm.”

A Lizard’s spear extended to his temple. Ko Byeong-gap lightly avoided it by pulling his upper body back and pulled the spear handle with his free hand. The Lizard came at a standstill.

He put his sword up and drew it right away. The Lizard died with its body split diagonally.

Break!

Kwak!

It was chaotic everywhere. At that time, broken or scorched flesh splashed into the air. There were no monsters that could defend against Kiriyan and Dorma’s long-range attacks.

Ko Byeong-gap cut the hind legs of a Giant Frog cleanly. He caught the sight of a swarm of Lizards that rushed toward Kiriyan and Dorma. They probably thought to take down the long-range attackers first, but it didn’t happen. They had no chance.

“Wooooo!”

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Turka and Orca roared and blocked them. Two giant shields blocked them, and they had no room to dig in.

Turka even crushed a Lizard when he pushed out his shield. The Lizards, who lost their mind, swung their spears desperately, but none of their attacks worked.

Soon after, they were hit by a flying long-range attack and became a meatball.

‘There’s only one left.’

Currently, there was only one Giant Frog left. It rushed in like an agitated bull. Changsik and Taesik came to assist Ko Byeong-gap.

“We’re done! I’ll finish it!” Ko Byeong-gap said, then he grabbed his sword with both hands. His arms swelled up in a flash.

“Hyaaa!”

Ko Byeong-gap recalled the devastation that Yeom Jeong-hwa showed in the past. She gained momentum by igniting the Karma in her body. That was too much for Ko Byeong-gap since he had only a limited amount of Karma.

Instead, he contracted his muscles to the limit.

“Haaaaah!”

When the Giant Frog came into the right distance, he screamed and swung his sword. The muscles that had contracted to their limit relaxed at once and created a destructive force.

Skree!

“Kiek…!”

The Giant Frog’s body split into two. Its split body went in different directions. Blood poured down and dyed the river red.

“Whoa.”

Ko Byeong-gap shook his arm and smiled. His slash wasn’t too bad if he could cut through a large D-class monster with one blow. He looked down at the scattered monster corpses and asked the Goblins, “Is nobody hurt?”

“Yes! I’m fine.”

“We too. Problem. There is not!”

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“Are you okay, Lord?”

“Sure, I’m fine, too.”

“I’m glad to hear that.

There were no casualties.

‘Everyone can easily get past the C-class.’

The goblins who were trained with growth potions and textbooks were slightly above C-class. Of course, he couldn’t say they were close to B-class just because they were above C-class. There was a long wall between the two ranks.

Even so, no enemy within the crack could go against Ko Byeong-gap’s attack squad. He opened the door to Ashvilam, and soon, the Goblins came out. They diligently carried the monster corpses.

By the time Ko Byeong-gap burned out a cigarette, everything was sorted out. He threw away the butts and relaxed lightly.

“Well, let’s get on with it. Let’s go back and rest today.”

“Yes! Great!”

The attack force was relentless. In front of the ruthless violence they poured out, the monsters were helpless.

The C-rank crack certainly had a lot of monsters. There were at most a hundred and twenty in D-rank cracks, but the default here was 150.

In the past, he would’ve thought monsters were pouring endlessly. Maybe he would have gotten tired of dealing with monsters, but…

‘It’s easier than I thought.’

Ko Byeong-gap didn’t blink an eye. After he went to the dungeon not long ago, he realized it wasn’t that much of a number.

It was natural. Didn’t he survive in a dungeon where monsters poured in without a moment to catch his breath?

Compared to back then, this time was like a joke for children.

‘That’s the campsite from before.’

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As they progressed around the Back World, they reached the lower limits of the valley. Tents that vacationers would’ve set up were sparsely spread out. However, they were clearly tents from the past. In other words, they were there from three days ago when the crack was created.

It felt like he was looking at the stars. Weren’t the stars that people observed with their eyes a thing of the past?

Dorma spoke as he thought about such frivolous thoughts, “This seems to be a place where the vagrants live.”

“Huh? What are you talking about out of the blue?”

“Don’t humans originally live in brick buildings? Seeing a tent set up by the river made me think so. Isn’t it?”

“Ah, no. This is just a place to play in the water.”

“Play water…?”

“Yeah, it’s hot in the summer. That’s why you come to the river for a vacation. We grill meat and drink here.”

“Oh, I think I know.” Dorma nodded curiously.

‘Ashivlam is also a great vacation destination.’

Ashvilam wasn’t too hot, the water was clean, and the scenery was stunning. If he opened a campsite in Ashvilam, he could earn a fortune just by renting people spots.

‘Of course, it’s only possible in a dream.’

Who would want to visit a resort infested with Goblins?

“Oh, guys. Come to think of it, I have a question.”

“Ask anything.”

Ko Byeong-gap touched his chin for a moment and said, “When you were in the crack….”

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you go out there?” Ko Byeong-gap’s question was actually a question that had been in the minds of all mankind.

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Cracks had opened in various parts of the world since the Deep Impact took place 28 years ago. The cracks were filled with strange creatures that didn’t exist on Earth, but the monsters didn’t move out of the cracks. He had never heard of a monster that left the cracks in the 28 years since the first crack appeared.

Why the hell?

Scientists struggled to find the answer. Only by uncovering it could they be freed from the anxiety of ‘someday, a monster may come out of the cracks.’

After repeated research, several hypotheses emerged. Among them, the most influential was the ‘unsuitable environmental theory.’

If the unsuitable environment theory could be summed up in one sentence, it was, ‘the habitats of a mackerel and a deer could never overlap.’ Just as mackerels couldn’t live on land, and a deer couldn’t live in the water…

Ordinary humans couldn’t live inside cracks, and ordinary monsters couldn’t live outside cracks.

The unsuitable environment theory had almost turned into a fact. The evidence and experiments to support it were also solid. Still, Ko Byeong-gap wanted to hear the monster’s position.

“Um…”

The Goblins couldn’t answer easily and were troubled.

“I just felt this ominous feeling.” The first one to speak was Kiriyan.

“An ominous feeling?”

“Yes. I felt like I shouldn’t go over there. So I just stayed inside.”

“The same goes for me.” Dorma went on to say, and he looked around.

“The deeper place, like here, feels more comfortable than where the Lord first called us. So I didn’t even think about going outside of it.”

“You mean it’s not comfortable near the escape portal?”

“That’s right. I feel like I’m losing my strength in what the Lord calls an escape portal. Well… it’s not that serious, but indeed it’s a little uncomfortable.”

The other Goblins also looked sympathetic.

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Ko Byeong-gap nodded in satisfaction.

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Suddenly, there was a scream.

“Kuruk! Kreuk!”

“So you’ve come all the way here to find the most pleasant place?”

“Maybe so.”

Ko Byeong-gap smiled and looked ahead. There was a colony of monsters. Among them was a Volcano Frog. It was the boss of that crack.

Volcano Frog. It was smaller than the Giant Frog and had crater-like protrusions all over its body. From there, hot steam constantly spewed out.

It was a standard to deal with those monsters from a distance.

“Kiriyan, Dorma. You guys take care of that red frog.”

“Okay.”

“Leave it to me!”

“Turka and Orca stay right next to them. Changsik, Taesik, follow me.”

“Yep!”

Ko Byeong-gap, Changsik, and Taesik raced through the valley. The monsters’ attention was naturally drawn to them.

“Kur-kur-kur-kur-kur-kur!”

The moment the Volcano Frog turned its head to chase after Ko Byeong-gap, a lightning spear hit him.

The monsters jumped up in a rage. However, they fell after being hit by a dark sphere.

Dorma cast his spells one after another. In an instant, black chains rose from the floor and tightly bound the Volcano Frog.

“Well done. Hold on to him.”

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Ko Byeong-gap sprinted to the monsters and swung his sword. He felt that the achievement rate of his swordsmanship and physical training had risen remarkably. Currently, he could kill the Lizards with only one or two slashes of his sword.

“Keruk!”

“Whoa!”

The Goblins had done their part too. Crushed bodies piled up at the feet of Turka and Orca. Changsik and Taesik swept away and scattered monsters, leaving holes in their necks and heads.

The pawns were all sorted out in less than a moment.

“Now kill him, too.”

“Yes, okay.”

Dorma ended the Volcano Frog under orders from Ko Byeong-gap. The boss of the crack became a meatball without even trying to resist.

The C-rack crack subjugation ended successfully.

***

“Oh my gosh, is that really you, Mr. Byeong-gap?”

“Yes, hello.”

“Are you here to see your mother?”

“That’s right.”

Nurse Lee Ji-yeon, who guarded the hospital’s desk, always asked, ‘Did you come to see your mother?’ whenever she saw Ko Byeong-gap, and he would smile awkwardly as he replied with a yes.

“Go up and see. Ho ho.”

“I’m rooting for you.”

Ko Byeong-gap nodded his head and went up to the hospital room.

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“Oh, my God, Ms. Lee! That’s him, right? The lady’s son in room 403!”

Kim Yu-bi made a fuss and asked. Lee Ji-yeon frowned slightly and nodded.

“Oh, yeah, you’ve seen him before.”

“Wow, was he always that big? I thought he was a bit slim when I saw him before.”

“Surely he was. Mr. Byeong-gap wasn’t that handsome in the first place.”

Seo Han-sook, a senior nurse, also agreed with Kim Yu-bi.

“Right, right? You think so, too, don’t you?”

“I guess he’s working out. What’s the fuss?”

When Lee Ji-yeon asked in a dreary voice, Kim Yu-bi tangled to her arm.

“Teacher Lee! Teacher Lee! Didn’t you say you knew him well? So, do you know what he’s doing?”

“I know, but why?”

“What does he do?”

“Why?”

Kim Yu-bi smiled meaningfully and twisted her body.

“Oh well… I just wanted to get close to him. That’s right, and I also like big people. His face isn’t that bad either. Whoo-hoo!”

“Sigh, tsk, tsk!” Lee Ji-yeon crumpled her face and clicked her tongue.

“You’re really out of it. Do you want to flirt with a patient’s guardian, out of all people?”

“Oh my God, Ms. Lee? What do you mean flirt? I’m just saying I want to be friends. And if he’s like that, he won’t kneel anywhere, right?” Kim Yu-bi said proudly.

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Lee Ji-yeon responded with excitement, while Seo Han-sook just laughed, “What do you think, Ms. Seo?”

“Well, I don’t even think about the possibility of someone spoiling me, but you are going too far.”

“Huh? I’m not overreacting!”

“Then talk to him later.”

“Oh, Ms. Seo! Why would you say that? What if he really does?”

“What do you think? It’d be nice if young Kim and Kim Byeong-gap went out. Young Kim could pay for Byeong-gap’s mother’s hospital bills.”

Kim Yu-bi flinched. She smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek.

“Ahahahaha… I don’t want such a deep relationship. I just want some fun…”

“What are you talking about? What?”

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The three nurses that sat at the desk chatted for a while. About an hour later, the elevator door opened and revealed Ko Byeong-gap.

“Oh! I’m going somewhere for a minute!”

“What? Where are you going all of a sudden?”

Kim Yu-bi ran out without any time for Lee Ji-yeon to stop her. She was shocked to see where Kim Yu-bi was headed. That crazy thing went for it!

“What do I do, Ms. Seo? She’s really crazy!”

“Why? It’s funny.”

Kim Yu-bi approached Ko Byeong-gap and said something. Lee Ji-yeon and Seo Han-sook hid at the desk and watched the scene.

Lee Ji-yeon felt nervous inside. Why was she so nervous? About three minutes later, Kim Yu-bi turned around and returned to the desk, but somehow, she didn’t have a good expression on her face.

Seo Han-sook asked and held back her laughter, “Huh? I can tell it didn’t work out. Why? Does he have a girlfriend?”

“Oh my gosh! I’m speechless!”

Kim Yu-bi fanned with her hands. Her face turned red.

Lee Ji-yeon asked urgently, “Why, what did you two talk about?”

“I don’t know. I asked him to go out and eat with me sometime, and you know what he said?”

“What did he say?”

“He’s busy!”

“…”

There was silence at the desk.

“That’s all?”

“Yes! How could he just say that, turn around, and leave? I’m speechless!”

Kim Yu-bi still seemed to be angry.

“How could he say no so flatly? And how busy is he?! Does it make sense that we don’t have time to eat?”

“Hahaha!”

“Oh, don’t laugh, Ms. Lee! My pride is seriously hurt right now!”

“Oh, sorry, sorry.”

Lee Ji-yeon barely recovered her laughter.

‘Oh, I’m glad to hear that.’

She was a little relieved inside.