Chapter 35

 

Commander-in-chief.

 

The weight in those three words was too heavy for a single person to bear.

 

11 operational teams gathered to subdue the S-class Great Rift.

 

Elite groups composed of the best Hunters in Korea.

 

The immense pressure in leading them slowly started to dawn on Kang Min-hyuk.

‘How was the Sword Emperor able to stay calm all this time?’

The Hunters looked at the Rift anxiously.

 

He started thinking about giving out orders since he became the commander-in-chief.

 

He wondered if they would follow him.

 

All sorts of negative thoughts came to his mind.

‘Why did such a Rift break out at a time like this…’

Kang Min-hyuk confirmed that Han Min-ji was talking on the phone from a distance.

 

Who could she be calling?

 

Anyhow, he had to inform the Hunters of their assignment now.

 

But he couldn’t open his mouth easily.

“Senior Kang Min-hyuk.”

After finishing her phone call, Han Min-ji approached him.

“You were given the position of Commander-in-Chief, right?”

 

“…I guess you heard about it.”

 

“With your permission, there’s someone else I’d like to entrust as the commander-in-chief, apart from the director’s instructions.”

 

“What?”

At Han Min-ji’s words, Kang Min-hyuk examined the operation team leaders.

 

Aside from them, the team leaders from teams 3 to 7 were S-class Hunters.

‘Who does she want to entrust this to?’ He wondered.

 

‘If anyone else were to do it… then would it be Kwak Young-ho?’

Operation Team 5 Leader, Kwak Young-ho.

 

An S-class Tanker, and a man highly-trusted among the Hunters here.

 

Kang Min-hyuk thought that if Kwak Young-ho took over as commander-in-chief on his behalf, he could lead them well, and so he thought about accepting Han Min-ji’s proposal.

“Officer Lee Do-jun.”

 

“…Wait a minute. Lee Do-jun?”

A civil servant from the Rift Management Department of Seoul City Hall.

 

Why the hell did his name come up here?

 

Kang Min-hyuk looked at Han Min-ji with a perplexed expression.

“Are you messing with me right now?”

 

“I’m serious.”

 

“Do you think those people would understand?”

 

“No, they won’t. So you’ll have to back him up. Tell them that it was Director Jung Yeong-cheol’s instructions.”

 

“…Why would you even want to appoint Lee Do-jun as the commander-in-chief? And do you think he’s actually going to do it? Does that even make sense?”

Kang Min-hyuk growled.

 

His reaction was only natural.

 

However, Han Min-ji did not back down.

“He’ll be here soon.”

 

“No, really, what the hell is wrong with you today? My head’s already messed up and now…”

Kang Min-hyuk couldn’t finish his sentence.

 

Because he already saw Do-jun walking towards them from afar.

 

After a while, Do-jun walked slowly among the Hunters and stopped in front of Han Min-ji.

 

Kang Min-hyuk, who looked through Do-jun’s outfit, frowned.

 

Wearing a suit just like any other civil servant dressed for work.

 

With a civil servant’s ID around his neck and formal shoes.

 

And a briefcase held in one hand.

 

Kang Min-hyuk laughed out loud.

 

However, Han Min-ji did not mind him, approached Do-jun smiling, and asked for a handshake.

“Thank you for taking the time, officer.”

 

“No problem.”

Do-jun spoke briefly.

 

Kang Min-hyuk looked at him disapprovingly and reluctantly asked for a handshake.

“It’s been a while, Hunter Kang Min-hyuk.”

 

“…I just have one question.”

 

“Yes. What is it?”

 

“Are you really here to assume the post as Commander-in-Chief?”

His eyes were still fearless despite the situation.

 

If it were a normal person, it would be enough to make them drop and pee in their pants.

 

Do-jun smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“If you guys don’t want to, then I’ll just return to City Hall.”

 

“Senior Kang!”

Han Min-ji grabbed Kang Min-hyuk’s arm.

 

If Do-jun really returned to the City Hall like this.

 

The Umyeon Mountain S-class Great Rift Subjugation Operation would definitely fail for sure.

 

She had such a strong feeling.

“When will you guys enter the Rift?”

 

“We’ll move in as soon as the director gives me an entry order. We have to go inside the Rift before the Breakout happens, so I think we’ll be in within an hour and a half.”

Whilst listening to Han Min-ji’s explanation.

 

The Rift had already torn more than 60m into the sky.

＊ ＊ ＊

After a while,

 

All 11 operation team leaders gathered, including Kang Min-hyuk and Han Min-ji.

 

The operation team leaders looked at the civil servant ID around Do-jun’s neck,

 

And all of them wondered why a civil servant was involved.

 

But they did not question it for long.

“This is Lee Do-jun, member of the Rift Management Department of Seoul City Hall, and he will lead today’s operation.”

Han Min-ji introduced Do-jun to the operation team leaders.

 

Everyone’s faces had crumpled in anger and bewilderment.

 

The absence of the Sword Emperor, Lee Kang-hyun would be filled in by a civil servant?

 

In addition, the Rift in front of their eyes was an S-class with the highest wave count than the Masalys incident.

“Are you kidding with us right now?!”

Kwak Young-ho, the leader of Operation Team 5, shouted.

 

It was the expected reaction.

 

However, Han Min-ji retorted back.

“It’s Director Jung Yeong-cheol’s instructions.”

 

“…W-What? The director’s?”

Kang Min-hyuk couldn’t understand why Han Min-ji wanted Do-jun to play the role of commander to the point of lying to them. He’d been working with Han Min-ji for years, but it felt like his impression of her as someone who was always rational and calculating, was now crumbling.

‘It is what it is – now get going!’

Kang Min-hyuk said after swallowing his saliva.

“It’s true.”

Following Han Min-ji was Kang Min-hyuk’s testimony.

 

Kwak Young-ho shouted loudly.

“Why on earth would they do something crazy like this?”

 

“I want to know too. Why…”

Kang Min-hyuk turned his head to look at Han Min-ji.

“The director made such an order.”

＊ ＊ ＊

“Excuse me, Commander.”

Han Min-ji handed over the walkie-talkie she was holding to Do-jun.

 

Do-jun put it in his briefcase.

 

Once inside the Rift, communication outside is cut off.

 

The only thing one could do was send a video to the situation room of the Hunter Management Agency through the Emergency Cam.

 

Communication between operation teams within the Rift can only be made possible by means of a specially crafted walkie-talkie.

‘Let’s go check the inside first.’

Do-jun turned his head to face the Rift.

＊ ＊ ＊

An S-class Great Rift in Umyeon Mountain.

 

Inside was utterly desolate.

 

Without a single weed, the land spread endlessly.

‘So this is an S-class…’

Monsters were all over the place, starting from a kilometer away from the Rift’s exit.

 

However, even if it’s an S-class rift, it didn’t seem to only have S-class monsters.

 

Aside from B-class to A-class monsters like Trolls and Ogres, there were also other strange monsters that Do-jun had never seen before.

Thud!

Do-jun landed on the ground.

– Kereuk!

A goblin began walking towards Do-jun.

 

But unlike ordinary goblins which had green skin, they had dark skin.

 

Do-jun approached the goblin.

– Kereuk! KEREUREUK!

However, the goblin’s body started to swell up…

BOOOM!

And then, it exploded.

“Hmm.”

Around Do-jun, there were scorch marks on the ground.

 

If it was someone other than himself who went near this goblin, he would’ve instantly died on the spot from the explosion.

 

Fortunately, the radius of the explosion was not that wide, but only being nearby could have caused fatal injuries.

 

Do-jun pulls the Space Tab out of his briefcase.

 

And searched for the monster’s information.

 

But not a single piece of information was registered about the dark-skinned goblin.

 

It would also be likely that other Hunters know nothing about this monster.

‘We’ll have to attack it from a distance.’

– GUOOOO!

Next, an Orge was charging at him.

 

However, Do-jun didn’t avoid it.

 

The moment the Ogre’s fist was about to hit Do-jun.

BOOM!

– GWRAAAAAA!

The ogre was sent back several tens of meters.

 

Do-jun released his clenched fist and moved forward.

‘Ogres are nothing.’

Zap!

Suddenly, lightning fell from the sky and struck Do-jun’s body directly.

 

He lifted his head to check the sky.

 

But there wasn’t a single cloud.

Whoosh.

When he looked down, he saw something.

 

The ground he had stepped on was dyed yellow.

Tak. Tak.

Do-jun stepped his foot out.

 

And stepped back on the yellow-painted ground.

Crackle! ZAAP!

Lightning struck Do-jun once more.

‘Ah. You can’t step on this… oh?’

He saw huge creatures from a distance.

 

They very much looked like human beings.

 

Giants with bulging bellies.

 

And they had wooden bats on their hands.

‘It’s a bit weaker than an Ogre Leader…’

The three giants were nearly 20 meters tall.

 

The problem was that they were all in one place.

 

Do-jun thought that it would be difficult to defeat all three at once, so he decided to separate them.

Tak!

He ran and jumped among the giants.

 

And.

Wham!

He did a round kick in the air.

 

The giant that was hit by Do-jun’s kick flew to the east at about 1.5 kilometers away.

– Human, kill.

 

– Dangerous being, human, irregular.

The two giants looked down at Do-jun.

Whoosh!

They lifted their club and then brought it down.

Shwick! Bang!

– D-doomed… 

The huge wooden bat split in half.

 

Do-jun then stabbed the giant who had lost its weapon.

 

With a roar, the giant flew west.

– ……

The remaining giant looked down at Do-jun with one eye.

 

Do-jun looked through the Monster Index embedded in the Space Tab, and also confirmed that there was no information regarding the giants.

Tak!

Do-jun looked at the remaining giant for a moment.

 

It then hit the ground and flew forward.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Director.”

Hunter Management Office Situation Room.

 

The analyst, who was reading the information transmitted through the meter, called Jung Yeong-cheol.

 

Jung Yeong-cheol got up from his seat and approached the analyst.

“Is there a problem?”

 

“No, there isn’t but… but the crisis rating… it’s going down little by little. As a result, the Breakout had been extended from the expected 19:00 to 19:15.”

In this case,

 

There were only two possibilities.

 

The first was that the Rift could be extinguishing itself.

 

And the second was that the number of monsters inside the Rift could be decreasing.

 

However, in the case of the former, most of the time, the crisis rating tended to drop sharply.

“Don’t tell me…?”

Jung Yeong-cheol immediately contacted Kang Min-hyuk.

– Yes, director.

 

“Seeing that you answered the phone, it means that you didn’t go inside the Rift.”

 

– What do you mean, sir? We’re just currently waiting for your go signal to enter sir.

 

“…It’s nothing. And nothing unexpected happens, begin the operation after 30 minutes. Upon entering the rift, tell the operation team leaders to turn all their Emergency Cams on.”

 

– …Director, the commander-in-chief right now is…

 

“What’s wrong?”

Silence passed for a moment.

– It’s nothing. Then, as you said, we will enter in 30 minutes.

＊ ＊ ＊

Beep.

Kang Min-hyuk hung up the phone call from the director.

 

And told Han Min-ji,

“We will start the operation in 30 minutes.”

 

“Understood, sir.”

 

“By the way, where the hell did Lee Do-jun go, can’t you contact him yet?”

He had been missing for over an hour.

 

Han Min-ji nodded her head cautiously.

 

Kang Min-hyuk clicked his tongue.

“Only now that reality has dawned on him, Lee Do-jun decides to run away.”

 

“…Officer Do-jun is not that kind of person. If that was the case, then he wouldn’t have come in the first place.”

 

“How are you so sure? We haven’t seen him in over an hour. We can’t get in touch with him as well.”

The operation starts in 30 minutes.

 

Kang Min-hyuk decided to convey the situation to the team leaders.

 

But then.

 

A familiar voice could be heard from behind.

“Thank you for your concern but I didn’t run away.”

Jolt!

Kang Min-hyuk quickly looked behind him.

 

There, Do-jun was smiling brightly.

‘His footsteps… ‘I couldn’t feel his presence?’