Expedited Search

After finishing my conversation with the Otherworlder I'd met by chance, I once again spurred myself on in the search for the rift.

Originally, I'd wanted to wander around leisurely and sightsee a bit... but since there was a Time Limit, I had no choice but to rush.

Even if I crossed the rift later, it would all be for naught if the place I wanted to go was destroyed. I wanted to see a perfectly intact Modern Civilization.

Thanks to this, Livia and I had no choice but to become even busier. Originally, we would find a Monster Lair once every few days and either wait or exterminate.

But now, we were finding and exterminating Monster Lairs at least once a day, sometimes even twice... Even for me, this felt a bit tough.

Exterminating Monsters was one thing, but moving around and finding Monster Habitats was also a chore.

Usually, there would be an Extermination Bounty posted at the Adventurer Guild, but when there wasn't, we had to ask locals to find it.

Naturally, my personal free time dwindled.

“Sorry, it seems like we've been pushing too hard lately. Tell me if it's too much. I'll let you go back first.”

“No, it's fine. I just like wandering around with you like this.”

Still, it wasn't all downsides. For one, I could be more comfortable with Livia. Of course, I was comfortable before, but now we are even closer, I suppose.

After all, we'd been fighting and sticking together for weeks; it was inevitable we'd grow closer.

To the point where she could express such small affections without a second thought.

Old memories resurfaced, and Livia especially liked that.

There were other advantages too.

Ah, thank you so much! The Kobold Pack had been howling loudly every night, and everyone was so fed up, but thanks to you, we can all sleep peacefully now! My goodness, you really defeated the Gnoll Pack? That one was so large it had been left alone for over a year... That's amazing.

The more monsters we caught, the more people and the Guild appreciated it. Thanks to this, Livia's temporarily created Adventurer Card was also rapidly rising in rank.

She was a former criminal, but not many common people knew that. And, to begin with, the Guild had a strong tendency to operate in an *ad hoc* manner.

*Ah.*

Speaking of the Guild, if you had gone into any Guild recently, you would have seen a strange sight.

“Please, just help us once. We beg you.”

“Ha! Why on earth would we?”

Otherworlders were pleading everywhere. Usually, they were asking Adventurer Acquaintances or Knights they knew.

It was already known that Gaians could also cross the rifts. Since a Demon had appeared in their World, its inhabitants wanted to borrow the power of the Gaians.

It seemed this Demon was quite powerful, but Gaians had experience hunting many Demons before. If they could secure support, it would be like gaining a strong Ally.

“Don't be like that, please, just once...”

“No can do.”

But in response, the Common People's reactions were only cold.

“Isn't it your World's business to solve your own problems? Frankly, you Otherworlders haven't treated us so well. Why should we risk our lives and suffer by going to another World?”

“We can offer ample compensation. Our civilization has many good things.”

“Enough, enough. It's not like I can just go to another World whenever I want anyway.”

There were two main reasons for their refusal.

First, the conflict between Otherworlders and Gaians still remained. While everyone was somewhat accepting as time passed, many people still remembered the initial misdeeds of the Otherworlders.

The Otherworlders, who treated them as mere 'NPCs' and casually committed acts like looting, rape, and murder, probably thought, “It's just a game, so what?”

Of course, as time passed, all those guys were permanently banned... but the generalized perception that had formed then was bound to persist. Perhaps there were even Gaians who thought it served Earth right for a Demon to appear there.

The second reason was that the environment itself was simply different. The unknown is always something that inspires fear.

Unlike me, who knew the other World, others were naturally reluctant to cross over to a different World. Of course, there were occasionally people who tried to cross through the rifts, influenced by the Otherworlders' praise of Modern Civilization...

Unfortunately, the Knight Order wasn't of that sort. They wouldn't send troops rashly into an unfamiliar place. And they were enjoying a long-awaited vacation after three months of continuous peace. In such a situation, would they bother helping another world? No way.

As a result, the Otherworlders only managed to recruit a few romantics; most of their efforts were in vain.

Um, Lord Yor, perhaps...

Of course, they came to me too and asked if I could help. Their hesitant attitude seemed very unsure. Indeed, Otherworlders had once even targeted my head for a bounty. From their perspective, they must have felt burdened, having been rejected so many times.

Of course, I intended to help. The Otherworlders hadn't only caused trouble, had they? They had actively participated in Demon Extermination, and they had actually fought as my Allies many times. And besides, it was a chance to go to Modern Civilization; there was no way I'd miss it.

But it wouldn't be fun to tell them beforehand, so I usually just replied like this:

“If it happens.”

“Ah, yes...”

With just that, the Otherworlders retreated, looking dejected.

Anyway, after that, I continued my search steadily. About a month later, I even rented out an entire inn nearby and rested for a full day.

Fortunately, it was Berserk State A; I wondered what would happen if B had triggered... but thankfully, it passed without incident. And the next day, and the day after, we continued our Monster search steadily.

Honestly, by this point, I couldn't help but feel a bit impatient.

*Damn it, when is this rift going to appear?*

We'd cleared almost all the Habitats nearby, but it still hadn't appeared. We were always either too late or too early. When we were a step too late, there was only a subtle flow of mana.

“How can the timing be so off...”

“It is a bit hard to get the timing right...”

At this rate, I doubted we could find the rift within a month. A sense of frustration welled up inside me. Perhaps sensing my furrowed brow, Livia chimed in.

If you think about it, it's like the rift is avoiding us.

And at her words, something flashed through my mind.

*Avoiding us...?*

I did have that feeling. No, it was definitely doing that.

If I thought about it, rifts didn't open naturally. They were a means used by someone with a specific purpose. Basin had chosen them as a tool to throw Earth into chaos more quickly.

So, the places they opened were mainly Monster Habitats, dangerous places. Was he aware of where the rifts were opening, although I didn't know where he was? Wouldn't it be natural that we hadn't found one until now?

*...Hmm.*

As I considered that hypothesis, a rather good method came to mind. I looked at Livia and spoke.

Let's go. We need to find the next Region.

Perhaps, we might find a rift soon.

Hoo...

White breath billowed from Chae-rin's sigh. Time flew by, and several months had passed. Winter was slowly approaching.

So much had changed during that time.

*Why on earth am I here...?*

She briefly thought of the recent past. More precisely, it was the various news she'd heard. First, the Demon Halphas was still moving south.

The Upper Region, North Korea, had tried to stop him somehow, but it didn't seem easy. True to his name as a Demon, he was not stopped by simple firearms.

Moreover, the Opponent wasn't stupid like other Monsters, meaning he knew how to simply avoid dangerous attacks.

Even if they laid a lot of landmines in his route, he quickly sensed them and changed direction, continuing south. And he was so good at urban warfare that he could easily overwhelm most special forces veterans.

He was quite skilled in tactics, whether they were related to his epithet, Armament.

As a result, North Korea swallowed its pride and requested support from various places...

Unfortunately, a month was a bit too short to mobilize an army. With everyone busy blocking gates in their own countries, they'd naturally be reluctant to send troops to face a demon whose capture was uncertain... They were just like the Gaians.

To begin with, his mobility was on a different level. Indeed, unlike an army that had to move on a large scale with weapons, food, and personnel, the Demon's pace was bound to be extremely fast.

He was truly a monstrous individual whom Humanity's current weaponry couldn't stop.

Of course. Of course, there was still a way to stop him. The Opponent was a monster who could even block tank shells, but there was a solution that both you and I knew.

That was to drop a nuclear bomb, humanity's most heinous weapon. No matter how powerful a Demon, it would literally be Purified if exposed to flames reaching thousands of degrees Celsius, unless it was Amon, the King of Fire.

But still... that couldn't be easily decided, because a nuclear bomb literally scorched the surrounding area. At least one city would disappear, and the indirect damage from radiation couldn't be ignored.

Let alone dropping it directly on one's own Country? Even if a beast entered one's house, one would inevitably hesitate to burn down the entire thatched house.

Thanks to this, the Demon moved south at a very fast pace, much faster than the 30-day grace period predicted by Operations Command. It was largely due to the demoralized North Korean Military essentially giving the Demon a highway.

Thanks to that damn blunder, Chae-rin was now in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, holding a K2 Rifle. Other Players, not just she, were there too.

Because if the Demon broke through, there was a high probability he would invade Gyeonggi Province. And Seoul was past Gyeonggi Province.

From the Nation's perspective, it wanted to somehow stop him before that. As a result, numerous Players, including Yu Chae-rin, were practically dragged here against their will.

*Hell Joseon*, seriously.

Well, they said they'd provide generous compensation, at least... It didn't look so good from the perspective of being practically dragged here. It didn't look so good, even if they were deployed to the Rearguard.

As they waited like that, a piece of news eventually came. It was news broadcast from a military speaker.

-We report. Entity Demon, Halphas, has breached the 38th Parallel as of 2:32 PM. We repeat──

Even as Chae-rin heard that sound, it didn't feel real, as if this were truly Reality. All sounds felt as if they were happening in a game.

In just a few months, the world had changed so much. She wanted to dismiss it all as an illusion, but... unfortunately, there was no time for that.

-DEFCON 2 is now declared. This is a real situation. All Troops are to take out all ammunition and load it into their rifles.

As such, a broadcast came from the speaker once again.

"Ha, damn it, he finally came!""...Should I desert?""What are you doing, you bastards, move it!"

The gloomy atmosphere instantly turned into a chaotic mess.

Chae-rin watched the people moving around from a step away, thinking this:

*I wonder what Mr. Yor is doing...*

She had, in fact, taken some time to visit the Cave a few days ago. However, all she found was a bitter sign that read 'Absent'. With no idea how this battle would end, seeing such a message didn't make her feel good. She had wanted to meet him at least once before facing the Demon.

So Chae-rin spent her time lost in various thoughts until the Demon arrived.

She encountered the Demon, Armament, just one day after that.