After a refreshing shower, Ah-rin changed into fluffy clothes.

“Woo. Thanks for preparing fresh new clothes!”

Ah-rin spoke as she came out and noticed Jung Si-woo putting on his motorcycle helmet from his inventory. She tilted her head in confusion.

“When did you buy that helmet?”

“I prepared it when I bought a bike in case I was going to be in public. Look, we need to go now.”

Si-woo’s tone was coated with a thin layer of impatience.

“Why the hurry? Wait, the media? Is there a problem?”

Ah-rin initially planned on asking him to take a shower after her. But the slight tension in Jung Si-woo’s whole body was palpable, so she gestured to him to spill the beans. Sighing, Jung Si-woo took off his helmet, and after checking the radar for the last time, threw it into his inventory.

“Monsters came out into the world.”

“What!?”

There was no time to explain everything. Si-woo went straight out and mounted his bike, Ah-rin following right behind him. Their destination was Sanha-dong. It was quite a distance, but Si-woo was sure they could make it if he drove fast.

“Ahhhhhh! The stoplight! The light hasn’t changed yet!”

Ah-rin screamed, her body flying backward as the motorcycle picked up speed.

“Hold on tight!” Si-woo ignored the girl’s cry and continued to drive.

He zig-zagged through traffic, evading as many cars and road stops as he could. It was clear that he was very skilled at high-stakes pursuit. A man walked on the sidewalk, unaware of Si-woo’s motorcycle until it zoomed right past him. The pedestrian, frightened at the accident that could’ve been, quickly jumped back. Si-woo drove so fast that had he crashed into someone, they would be completely crushed, and their bodies would probably be unidentifiable.

“We’re going to crash! They’ll suspend your license!”

Ah-rin tried to talk sense to Si-woo despite the panic in her voice.

“It’s okay,” Si-woo said, his voice slightly muffled by the air current.

“I removed the license plate!”

Ah-rin couldn’t believe what she just heard.

“You’re acting like a criminal! A responsible adult wouldn’t do this kind of thing!”

But Si-woo was unstoppable; he had absolutely nothing to fear. His absurd reflexes and superior vision allowed him to dominate the road as he drove like lightning. Only dark traces of wheels remained behind them.

“I think I’m going to be sick… Ugh…”

Nausea finally caught up with Ah-rin.

“Don’t vomit.”

His driving skill was so superb that motorcycle race teams would’ve paid a thousand dollars to recruit him. But even the thought of that wasn’t enough to satisfy Jung Si-woo as he increased his speed. Fortunately for Ah-rin, who was barely holding on, they were getting close to Sanha-dong.

“We should evacuate the nearby areas within a 5 km radius around the dungeon.”

“Are there really monsters?” Ah-rin asked, her voice thick with concern.

“Sky castle monsters can never come out of the dungeon!”

None of this made any sense to her. And, yet, it was happening, and this made her nausea even worse.

“It may be a monster from the Ant Caves.”

Si-woo speculated. Ah-rin’s heart froze at Jung Si-woo’s unexpected words. There had never been a single monster sighting in the world since the Sky Castle was created ten years ago. Why would they appear now?

“Is it because the Ant Caves were created?”

“I’d laugh, but I have a similar thought.”

If only it were just the appearance of a single monster, Jung Si-woo wouldn’t have needed to get involved. But the confirmation that a dungeon had appeared in Sanha-dong was no mere coincidence. Something was up, and Si-woo didn’t like the unpleasant taste left in his mouth.

“I don’t want to be right about this, but I think it’s clear that Ant Cave and the monsters spawning are somehow related to one another.”

Ah-rin’s voice was trembling.

“No.”

Even Jung Si-woo couldn’t judge that quickly. This was why he was driving as fast as he could; he needed to prove their worst suspicions wrong. Fortunately for them and the rest of humanity, the dungeon at Sanha-dong wasn’t much trouble for someone at Jung Si-woo’s level. The monsters there shouldn’t be any stronger than the ones they’ve faced before. At least, that’s what Si-woo and Ah-rin hoped.

“What about the players? Without having to rush like this, the players-”

Si-woo cut her off.

“Auction day. Today is the day of the auction hosted by Haneulseong. Almost all players will be in the sky. There’s also no way to contact them because electronic devices are jammed in the Sky Castle and the dungeon. There’s no way to inform them of what’s happening here on the ground.”

“I see.”

Ah-rin conceded, her worst fears suddenly taking root in her heart. This had to be the work of someone else. There’s no way that monsters spawning on the day everyone was absent was a mere coincidence. This was a calculated plan. Worse, the same thing could be happening in other places outside of Sanha-dong.

“Over there! People!”

Ah-rin yelled. As they got closer to Sanha-dong, they started seeing barrier lines hastily built by the police. The few police officers stationed to hold the line were trying their best to mask their obvious tension. Those new to the task were easy to note by their obvious fear.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Shit!”

Jung Si-woo and Ah-rin heard screams as they entered the neighborhood. He stopped his motorcycle to investigate the source of the screams.

“Stop! There are monsters up in here! Too many of them!”

One of the officer’s cried out. The police officers who saw Jung Si-woo approach the barrier shouted in fear. But he ignored them, gears clutched. The police officers couldn’t do anything except remain planted where they were, hoping for a miracle or salvation.

In an instant, the bike jolted up from the ground and sailed above the barrier line. The police officers could only watch in awe at the sight of Si-woo suspended in the air. It was like the slow-motion scenes they often saw in movies whenever the hero would make a dramatic entrance before saving the day. Meanwhile, Jung Si-woo paid no attention to their starstruck gaze.

“The bike’s flying!”

Jung Si-woo landed on the ground without difficulty. Then, he stored the bike in his inventory. All the while, the policemen aimed their pistols at him, their admiration turning to fear.

“Are you a player!?”

One of the police officers asked with a voice that almost trembled with fear. But Si-woo didn’t answer. Instead, he turned away, ignoring them as if the guns ready to fire at him were of no consequence compared to the threat he was about to face. Being this close, he could already sense everything: the presence of monsters that had no business being here, people hiding, desperate not to be caught, and the battle cries of humans trying to fend off the monsters somehow. On the other side, the monsters laughed heartily, bellowing with joy at all the food they could eat.

“Over there! There really are monsters up here!”

Ah-rin shouted, and Jung Si-woo turned his head to the direction she was looking. A bipedal monster, a bit smaller than a human, stood there. It had brown skin and wore crappy leather clothes. A blade was nestled carefully in the palm of its hand.

“Goblin! That’s one of the worst enemies for ordinary humans!”

“I wonder why we haven’t seen more of them so far.”

The sound of their approach was loud enough to catch the goblin’s attention. It made a “kshaak” sound as it turned its attention at them. Quickly, Si-woo picked up a stone off the ground and threw it with tremendous force towards the goblin’s head. His aim was perfect, as usual, as the stone hit its target, causing the goblin’s head to burst.

“Wow! You know how to play baseball too?”

Ah-rin’s voice was almost teasing.

“I used to throw stones at wild boars when I was younger.”

Si-woo casually replied. One of Si-woo’s fond memories was that of a wild boar whose skull he had broken with the stone he lightly threw. Jung Si-woo gathered some stones around him as he recalled that memory. When he had gathered enough, he raised his head and let out a loud scream.

“Ai-hhhhh!!!”

Mana infused his shout, making it unnaturally loud. Nearby monsters turned their head towards him, stimulated by the battle cry of a challenger that wanted to face them.

[You have acquired Active Skill War Cry.]

[Warcry Lv1]

[Lets out a shout to provoke the enemy by consuming mana. It evokes hostile feelings toward the caster, and the greater the difference in intelligence and magic, the greater the effect.]

“Come out, monsters!!”

“Ahhhhhh! What is this? They really popped out!”

Ah-rin trembled as the heads of dozens of monsters suddenly popped up from everywhere, and Si-woo began disposing of them. He had some experience in creating violent uproars. He pulled them all one by one and eliminated them quickly. Using his [Warcry] skill, he made all the goblins nearby charge at him with frenzy before they met their end at his hands.

“Kiigi! Gahkuek!”

They came to aid their fellow goblins that had just fallen, but they too met an untimely demise soon after, joining their friends in the afterlife. Not soon after, a metallic shaft flew from the opposite direction the goblin came from and struck Jung Si-woo. From the look of it, it seemed that it was shot using something similar to a sling, and the blue liquid at its tip suggested that it was poisoned.

“Hmm.”

“What are you doing?”

Ah-rin was clearly worried for Si-woo. Jung Si-woo picked up the shaft and stabbed himself with it as far as he could. The goblin who shot him laughed with satisfaction.

[You were hit by a minor paralysis poison. Poison Resistance Lv5 has disabled it.]

“Okay, it doesn’t work that much.”

Si-woo spoke nonchalantly

“Such an ignorant experiment.”

Ah-rin shook her head. If more goblins started to appear, there was a high possibility that they would get hit in places not covered by armor. They needed a change of strategy. But if poison resistance were enough to prevent any real damage, then there wouldn’t be any need to worry.

“Ooh, the significance of my existence is increasing.”

Si-woo teased, clearly enjoying the moment.

“So try to be helpful. Put in a little more effort.”

Using his fingers, he threw the shaft at one of the goblins. Even with just his bare hands, he was able to throw it with enough speed and power to hit one, using their poison against them. With his power factored in, the shaft’s strength hitting the goblin was much stronger than when it was fired at him.

“Kiiaaak! Queek!”

The goblin screeched.

“There! A human with a lot of mana!”

One of them spoke, their twisted monster tongue trying to form words of a language not meant for them. In an instant, Jung Si-woo appeared, three goblins fell lifeless to the ground. The other goblins who watched from a distance shook in terror and called for support. Like a sniper armed with crude weapons, he threw stones at them one by one, their heads breaking open upon impact. The more he paraded himself around, the more frightened the monsters grew.

“Human!”

“Die!”

Stingers flew in from all directions, sticking to Si-woo’s body. He screamed again, but his scream wasn’t that of pain. No, it was a battle cry for the next wave of murder he was about to commit.

“Is this all you goblins could do? Since you guys secretly hide every time and can only deal with weak humans, aren’t you going to skip your turn in fantasy novels and let us go straight to orcs?”

“Kii-i-i!”

“We are strong! Beat the Orcs!”

The effect of the taunt was successful. They were smart enough to use tools, but they were still too stupid if they fell for such simple tricks. In a matter of seconds, they, too, were wiped out.

“Help!”

With the nearby goblins gone, humans who had been hiding began calling for help. Jung Si-woo approached a woman who was crying out. She couldn’t move because of the paralysis poison shot. Worse, he saw a bite wound on her arm.

“I-! was g-going to be e-eaten…”

The woman whimpered, her voice cracking at the trauma of the near-death experience she just went through. Si-woo didn’t answer. He was worried that the other goblins would notice him and the defenseless woman. Meanwhile, the woman continued to tremble, her thoughts nearly incomprehensible from shock.

“It t-tried to e-eat me… It tried to m-make me f-food. Food!”

Oddly, all Si-woo could think of at the moment were all those cliched cartoons he watched before. Si-woo imagined a scene where a goblin kidnapped a human woman, fell in love, and decided to defect to the other side. But of course, that wasn’t the case here. The goblins came to kill and satisfy their primordial hunger with human meat.

“This isn’t a safe place to stay in. Inside the building, you should be safe there. If something comes up, shout, and I’ll be there.”

Si-woo comforted the woman in an effort to lessen her trembling.

“Yes, yes.”

She was slowly regaining her senses. Even with the woman on his shoulders, Jung Si-woo still skillfully threw stones at the goblins, killing them on the spot. The woman knew then and there that nothing she did could ever be enough to repay him.

“There is a swarm of monsters at the crossroads and in the buildings across from it.”

The woman, finally shaking off some of her fear, warned Si-woo,

“There are also people hiding there too.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Jung Si-woo took the woman to a safe place before continuing the fight. News about him was spreading more and more all over Sanha-dong, and the number of goblins who found him and rushed to fight with him also increased. When Jung Si-woo ran out of stones to pick up, he punched the ground, turning the hard asphalt into debris he could pick up and use as ammo. The number of goblins increased with every successful taunt, but Jung Si-woo didn’t seem pleased anymore.

“I need a ranged attack. It’s not a dungeon, but it’s not wise to deal with guys popping out from all sides in such a wide area.”

“What about magic or skills?”

That was a good point. It would also be a chance to get used to his skills, Si-woo thought. As a test, he lifted his finger and fired a magic bullet. It hit a goblin in the head, causing it to stagger and collapse.

“It’s weaker than a stone?”

He looked at his finger, surprised.

“It’s not that it’s weak, but you’re ignorant.”

When they reached the crossroad, Jung Si-woo caught sight of a monster much larger than the other goblins. It jumped from the rooftop of the shopping mall where he had left the woman he saved.

“Quaahahahahah!”

The huge, muscular body two-meters high roared unlike that of any goblin. Its monstrous gaze was focused on Jung Si-woo, challenging him for a duel.

[Elite monster Goblin Warrior Centurion appeared!]

[If you don’t destroy him in time, the dungeon will completely collapse, and the boss monster will be released! Defeat him and clear the dungeon before it’s too late.]

“Ah…”

It was clear that the situation was turning into shit.