Task Force Secret Weapon (1)

It was the first week of vacation, the Monday after the election week.

-You drank the Alchemist’s special cocktail potion, ‘Cinderella.’ For the next two hours, movement speed will increase by 50% and attack speed by 20%.

-You drank the Alchemist’s special cocktail potion ‘Golden Medalist.’ For the next two hours, first resistance will increase by 40%, and you have a 10% chance to add a D-rank ice attribute to your attacks.

“The taste is delicious…and the effect is great.”

“It is definitely a potion. They’re not expensive for nothing.” After finishing up for the night, Kang Shin-hyuk was rewarded with two non-alcoholic cocktails Claire had made. She was in the midst of training her own alchemy that converted cocktails into potions, and as a result of working with a large number of customers, she was able to increase her abilities so that they lasted for two hours.

“I’ll make a few more cups, so put them in your inventory.”

“No, it won’t be that dangerous… that will be enough. Thank you, sister.” Kang Shin-hyuk was currently disguised as Shin Eun-hyuk, a member of the Superman Association’s Special Task Force, who had played an active part in the recent incident. Claire had a sparkle in her eyes as she examined his gloves and mask.

“Perfect… the best!”

“You’re so excited you’re trembling…”

“Can’t you let me have this?”

“I can’t help it.” It was the reaction he had been expecting. He wondered if she might like it when he was making the lightning spider web. He went ahead and crossed his hands to fire off ten threads into the air, tangling the threads together in the air to form a concrete shape. Soon, the threads molded into something that looked like a huge spear. It was evidence of his growing proficiency with his new weapons.

“Ooooh!”

“Thanks to the growth of Wind Mastery, I can now barely do delicate molding like this… though, it’s not very practical in combat given how difficult it is.” It would’ve been better to take out a real spear and throw it instead.

“But it’s cool!”

“Yeah, it is.”

“It’s the best…! Oh, can I take a video?”

“No.” He let go of the skill and brought the threads back into the gloves. At that moment, the door rattled.

“Are you ready?” it was Shin Eunah, dressed up in the same uniform Kang Shin-hyuk was in. They had agreed to head into the dungeon right away now that summer vacation had started. Shin-hyuk nodded firmly at Shin Eunah, who was clearly motivated.

“Yeah.”

“From now on, we’ll be alone, so it’s okay to talk plainly.”

“Eunah, you.” Claire narrowed her eyes at her obvious intentions.

“Don’t do anything weird.”

“I won’t.”

“I won’t either!” Kang Shin-hyuk was perfectly prepared for the two to have a friendly chat, but all of a sudden, it felt rather weird.

“Then, let’s start now.”

“Oh, yes.”

“I’ll be back, sister Claire.”

“Yes… be safe.” Shin Eunah grabbed his hand and summoned a gate of fog-like energy in front of them. No, rather, they had been moved to the gate instead, in the blink of an eye. Kang Shin-hyuk looked around, noticing that his surroundings had suddenly changed.

“Wow…” He admired her ability to travel such long distances instantly, and she gleamed at him with pride.

“It’s a basic spatio-temporal magic that retraces the coordinates of places you’ve been to. I can teach it to you.”

“No, that’s okay.” Magic was out of his reach, after all. There was no point in trying, especially not with space-time magic. Besides, space-time magic required tremendous power and skill to even consider using. If you messed up with it, the results wouldn’t be something you could laugh about. Only Shin Eunah had two traits and overwhelming talent, who could use it so casually.

“It’s the task force.”

“A solo mission for the Thunder Empress… no, look…”

“That’s Shin Eun-hyuk.” People began to shout when they noticed the two who had suddenly appeared in front of the gate. It may have been midnight, but still, crowds of people were hanging out near the gate. There were even food trucks set up for people entering it.

“It’s a popular place.”

“A lot of people will gather at large scale places like this. With this many people around, it becomes relatively safe. It’s not a bad idea to gather people around it, assuming the gate will hold up.”

“I see.” The gate they arrived at was [Belatos (A+)], famous for being the largest dungeon in Korea. It was located in the valley of Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. When it had first formed, it put out enough energy that superhumans from China and Japan had prepared to support Korea. People were relieved to find out it was a dungeon, given its high level. Belatos itself was renowned for having a complicated internal environment, to the extent that it was like an entirely different world. It was like a small planet unto itself, with a large variety of environments. As such, the level of monsters that appeared inside varied from F to A-rank.

“But it has so many people that it’s difficult to hunt in.” Kang Shin-hyuk thought for a moment, wondering if he was qualified to fight in such a place where high-rankers gathered.

“It’ll be fine to catch monsters to fight one-on-one though.”

“Huh. Then let’s go in.” Shin Eunah easily shook off the attention of those around them and grabbed Kang Shin-hyuk. He took a deep breath while being dragged along by Shin Eunah, feeling the excitement of the superhumans and merchants around them. It felt like he was barely a member of the true superhuman society.

‘I wasn’t this nervous when fighting against the terrorists… it’s almost funny.’ With a laugh, he followed Shin Eunah through the gate.

-You’ve entered the A+ gate, Belatos.

Just a moment ago, they were standing under the night sky, but beyond the gate was a daytime landscape. Even though it was something he had experienced before, it still felt odd.

“Ha.” The grasslands before him were crowded with monsters and superhumans. Even though there were too many to be in the same party, they were all at a distance to help each other. The reason as to why was immediately clear, as monsters continuously appeared. They weren’t especially dangerous, however, but rather the superhumans saw them more as a source of money and experience.

“It’s like field hunting in a game.”

“That’s why I hate it here.” Shin Eunah’s voice was filled with disgust as she led Shin-hyuk. Rather, the second he tried to follow her, the scenery around them changed once more as she used her space-time magic to move.

“I’ll start with B-rank. Will that be okay?”

“Sure.” They had come to Belatos so that Shin Eunah could evaluate his combat abilities. Her goal was to have him deal with various monsters in a short period of time to grasp his range and limits, then find a suitable gate for him.

“Oh, hey, over there.”

“Huh… the Empress?!”

“It’s the task force.”

“Rookie training? With the Empress?”

“You idiot, keep your voice down!” There were fewer superhumans around the B-rank area, but the attention on the two had only increased as a result.

“Your first target is the Jet Horn Bunny.”

“A rabbit with horns, It feels like a classic.” Shin Eunah ignored all of that as she led him, however. Kang Shin-hyuk tried to follow her example in ignoring the unnecessary things.

“Try it.”

“Okay.” Kang Shin-hyuk looked over to the green-horned rabbit the size of a hound. Five strands of a golden web stretched out in no time to wrap around it.

-Kyaah!

The moment it turned its head towards him, he clenched his fist. The threads flashed sharply as they cut through its flesh in an instant.

Only

“Well.” Shin Eunah seemed impressed as she watched him. The Jet Horn Bunny was famous for its fast reaction speed and its ability to shoot out its horns at threats. It was one of the more difficult opponents among the B-rank monsters, yet he had disposed of it before it had a chance to react. Even without considering his armament, it was a display of immense skill.

“Hmm, sorry, I think I was wrong.” Eunah grumbled a bit.

“Let’s skip B+ and go straight to rank A. Maybe A+… no, let’s start with A.”

“Alright.” Kang Shin-hyuk stretched out the thread to retrieve the dropped materials and then grabbed Shin Eunah’s hand. Her cheeks flushed a bit as she tried to maintain her composure. They vanished in an instant, leaving only the dismantled body of the Jet Horn Bunny and the other superhumans who were blankly staring.

“What is this…”

“Did he really kill it?”

“Where’d they find such a talent?” They started to chat with each other about what they had just seen. One of them was moved so excitedly he accidentally aggravated another nearby Jet Horn Bunny that had just spawned.