—
– The third Game is starting.
– This Game is a Loot War.
– You can steal and use your opponent’s abilities or items.
– Monsters will be deployed.
—
“Why did it have to be…….
Dad said he was just going to bring back a generator, but he hasn’t come back even though it’s morning, so I’m worried.
When the notification sound announcing the start of the third Game rang out, Jeonghu let out a deep sigh.
“What do we do with Dad not here?”
“Yeah. Shouldn’t we go look for him?”
At his younger siblings’ questions, Jeonghu thought for a moment, then shook his head heavily.
“Why!”
“Don’t you care about Dad at all, oppa!”
Jeonghu looked at his anxious second and third siblings and spoke.
“If we go outside… do you really think we’d be any help to Dad?”
“Why? What’s wrong with us?”
“I’m saying, with our abilities, won’t we just get hurt before we even find Dad?”
“We can fight just fine too.”
Seoyoung stubbornly raised her hand, showing her palm.
Even as he watched the ball of fire blazing in her hand, Jeonghu shook his head firmly.
“Hey. Didn’t you see the Monsters that came out in the second round? This is the third Game, so there’ll be even stronger ones, right? Do you really think we can handle those monsters with just fire and Blocks? You think my bullets will work?”
“That’s….”
“And besides, do you think Dad would be happy if we all went out looking for him?”
Jeonghu pointed at the maknae, who was sound asleep, oblivious to the world.
“And what about the maknae? Are you going to take the maknae with you? Or just leave them behind? You don’t actually think this place is completely safe, do you?”
“I…”
At Jeonghu’s words, the two were rendered speechless.
There wasn’t a single thing wrong in what their brother said. After a moment of silence, Seoyoung asked,
“Then what do we do?”
*For now… we have to wait. And I haven’t mentioned the most important thing. Didn’t you see Monsters dropping down earlier?*
Whenever the Game starts, a red light falls from the sky like a meteor.
Jeonghu pointed straight ahead as he spoke.
“I saw a bunch of them drop near the apartment complex down below. Looked like a few fell on the mountain too.
If we’re unlucky, the Monsters might gather and come here.”
Saying that, Jeonghu stood up and grabbed his gun.
“I’ll stand watch at the Observation Tower, so you guys should get some sleep. You need to recover your stamina if we’re going to protect this place.”
“What about you, oppa?”
“If nothing happens, we’ll take turns standing guard.”
*Please, let nothing happen.*
With a worried heart, Jeonghu climbed up to the Observation Tower.
Since it was made of Blocks, the floor inside was bumpy and uncomfortable to stand or sit on, so
the first thing he did was lay down a box, then put a blanket and a cushion on top.
Sitting there, Yohan gazed endlessly toward the alley.
Hoping his father would come back.
Before long, the sun began to peek over the horizon, and soon the whole world was bright.
Jeonghu pulled one of the blankets over himself.
It was his own way of camouflage to avoid being seen by Monsters.
‘If I knew it would be like this, I would’ve chased after the supply drop and at least gotten a Ghillie Suit during the last Game.’
‘Who would’ve thought I’d regret playing the Game.’
Feeling a bit ridiculous, Jeonghu let out a small laugh, but then suddenly froze, his expression stiffening.
Down at the entrance of the apartment complex, he saw a group of unknown figures.
“They definitely don’t look human….”
Jeonghu attached the Four-times Scope from his Level 3 Bag and looked through it.
It was only the third Game, but he was already sick of these guys—the Orcs had come into view.
And it wasn’t just one or two.
Even a rough count gave him thirty? No, they just kept coming.
“Why are there so many?”
Jeonghu stared in disbelief, mouth agape.
They usually moved in groups, but he’d never seen dozens of them at once like this.
On top of that, even if it was laughable compared to the Republic of Korea Army’s formations, they were keeping some sort of order, moving in perfect unison.
And that wasn’t all.
Their weapons—even their armor—were nearly identical.
The ones at the front carried Spears, those behind had Axes and Swords, and at the very back, crude as they were, some held Bows.
“My god! It’s an army?”
Anyone could see that was an army.
Even if it was only thirty—no, maybe forty—this scene looked like something straight out of The Lord of the Rings.
Jeonghu instinctively lowered his body even further, wary of them.
‘If they spot me, I’m in trouble.’
Meanwhile, the Orc Army that had fully revealed itself in the apartment complex…
‘Krr! Krrraaagh! Kraaaagh!’
They all started screaming in unison.
It wasn’t the usual insane howling—they all sounded exactly the same, as if it was their own language.
‘Kra! Krrraak! Kraaaagh!’
How many times did they shout like that?
‘Kwooooooooh!’
A deep, heavy roar rang out.
The Orc Army all turned to look at one place.
For a moment, Jeonghu flinched.
He thought they were looking at him.
Thankfully, their gaze was aimed at the mountain.
Jeonghu turned to look at the mountain.
The mountain where the Gray Orc and the Laser Dog had fought.
From that mountain came a ‘thud, thud, thud’—the sound of someone running.
“Heh…….”
‘Out of the frying pan and into the fire,’ he thought, as a wolf the size of a tiger, wearing a muzzle, came down the mountain.
On its back rode a massive Orc, at least 1.5 times bigger than a regular Orc, clad in heavy armor and wielding a huge, ornate Halberd and Axe-Spear.
“That’s the captain….”
Anyone could tell that was the leader of the unit.
*What should I call him? Orc Captain? Orc General?*
Anyway, he looked absolutely terrifying.
But then…
Thud, thud, thud.
The one riding the wolf…
“Did he… see me?”
‘Somehow, he locked eyes with me, even though I was camouflaged under the blanket on top of the Observation Tower.’
Meeting the savage eyes of the Orc Captain, Jeonghu felt a chill run down his spine.
‘No way, right?’
He tried to convince himself it was just a coincidence, that they hadn’t really made eye contact.
‘Thud.’
The Orc Captain yanked on the wolf’s reins, stopping right there.
‘Kruoooorrrk!’
Raising his Halberd high, he pointed straight at the shelter, and at that moment, the Orc Army began to charge with savage cries, just like their captain.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me, you son of a—!”
Jeonghu sprang to his feet and fired his gun at the Orc Captain.
‘Tudududududu! Kagagaaang!’
No way—what kind of trick was that?
The Orc Captain blocked the bullets by raising his Halberd to cover the only exposed part of his body—his face.
His body?
Unlike a typical Orc, he wore thick armor that covered him head to toe, bouncing off even bullets.
“Damn, sometimes being a good shot is a problem.”
As most of his shots aimed at the head failed, Jeonghu gritted his teeth in frustration.
Swoosh! Tiiing!
An arrow whizzed past, grazing Jeonghu’s nose and bouncing off a Block.
“Whoa, that was close.”
It was a chilling moment.
If he’d stuck his head out just a little more, or if the Orc archer had aimed just a bit to the side, Jeonghu might’ve been dead.
“Oppa, what’s going on?”
Hearing the commotion outside, Junga and Seoyoung came rushing out of the house, and Jeonghu shouted.
“Hey, get up here, quick!”
Seeing the Orcs’ savage cries and arrows flying over the wall, the siblings’ faces tensed with fear.
*Of all times for Monsters to attack, it’s when Dad isn’t here.*
“Junga, make obstacles in front with Blocks! Seoyoung, attack the ones trying to climb over the wall!”
“Got it!”
“Okay!”
As Seoyoung and Junga hurried up to the Observation Tower to join him, the Orc Army began their assault.
As if they’d done this countless times before, the Orc at the very front pressed up against the wall, the next Orc climbed onto his shoulders, and a third used the two as a ladder to start climbing up.
Whoosh.
Boom!
Seeing this, Seoyoung panicked and hurriedly threw a ball of fire—a Fireball.
Kwooooorrrk!
“Hey, duck!”
The moment Seoyoung fired the Fireball, Jeonghu quickly pushed her head down.
A split second later, an arrow whizzed over her head, and Jeonghu bit his lip.
The arrows, curving through the air, were slow enough to see, but if they hit, it would be fatal.
To cast Fireball, you had to fully expose a 30cm-wide magic circle toward the target, which meant you had to stand up in the Observation Tower to attack.
Jeonghu took a shooting stance and aimed at the Orc archers.
There were only about a dozen archers—he aimed his gun at them.
Kruaaargh!
At the Orc Captain’s roar, the archers who had been aiming their bows lowered them and pulled out Shields from their backs to block the front.
“Wait, aren’t Orcs supposed to be dumb?”
‘Are these guys specifically targeting our shelter? No, with shelters popping up all over the country, did that damn spaceship up there send the Orc Army down here on purpose?’
‘Kruoooor!’
Watching the enemies climbing the Block Fortress, Jeonghu pulled something out of his Level 3 Bag.
“I never thought I’d have to use this.”
It might seem like nothing to someone who never served in the military, but anyone who experienced its power at the Nonsan Training Center would know how truly dangerous it is.
That’s why he kept it safe, trembling with fear.
“It’s a front-line Grenade, you bastards!”
Jeonghu hurled it with all his might.
‘Clack! Roll, roll, roll’
The Grenade hit the ground and rolled once.
‘KABOOOOOM!’
With a thunderous explosion that shook the ground, thick smoke billowed up.
Jeonghu ducked to avoid the flying shrapnel and shouted.
“Seoyoung! Fireball at the Orc archers!”
“What? What did you say, oppa?”
Still dazed from her first Grenade explosion, Seoyoung frowned and looked at Jeonghu.
Jeonghu pointed urgently ahead.
“Bow! Archers! Bow, bow! Shoot!”
“Oh, okay!”
Seoyoung poked her head out and fired a Fireball at the Orc archers, who were panicking from the explosion.
As more than ten Fireballs flew, three Orc archers were engulfed in flames and rolled on the ground. Just as Seoyoung was celebrating, Jeonghu urgently pulled her down.
‘Kwooorrrk!’
The Orc Captain pulled a small Axe from his waist and threw it.
The force was so great that the Axe, which whizzed past both their heads, left a huge dent in the pillar of the Observation Tower.
Since even the Blocks hadn’t budged under most attacks, the three of them felt a chill run down their spines.
“That bastard….”
Peeking outside the Observation Tower, Jeonghu saw that after the Grenade took down nearly ten Orcs, the Orc Captain was swaggering closer on his wolf.
Suddenly, a dark aura began to billow around him, and a clear black aura formed on his Halberd.
The murderous energy was so intense that the siblings’ faces went pale.
Jeonghu shouted desperately.
“Junga! Make the Block Fortress higher!”
“Y-yeah!”
In the face of such killing intent, Junga hurried to stack the walls higher.
With Dad gone, the siblings were facing a crisis because of just one being.
***
“Ha! Seriously.”
Yohan looked ahead with an annoyed expression.
Striding down the narrow alley, the Josenjok Boss wore a look of overflowing confidence.
No wonder—the Axe radiating a crimson haze was an extraordinary item at a glance.
“Hey, don’t get cocky just because of your item.”
“If it were just any ordinary item, you wouldn’t be talking like that. I’m telling you, it’d be better for you to just hand over your ability.”
“Go to hell, bastard.”
He really didn’t want to kill anyone.
He’d held back and conserved his strength all this time for that reason.
Because Yohan was kind?
Not exactly.
He wasn’t thrilled about it out of conscience, but he wasn’t such a saint that he’d refuse to kill when his own life was on the line.
He was afraid that, by killing, he might be consumed by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
But now wasn’t the time to hesitate.
The third Game had begun, and with who knew what kind of Monsters attacking people, his precious children were waiting for him at the shelter.
From a parent’s perspective, there was no way he couldn’t be worried about his kids.
Yohan began to draw all the internal energy from his dantian.
And in that moment, as he recalled the Heavenly Demon Divine Art,
the internal energy that had been circulating slowly now started to move rapidly in a bizarre way, following the core principles of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Gooooooooh.
He began to absorb all the energy around him in sync with the world, causing the very air to tremble.
It didn’t matter whether the energy was pure or wicked—it was all sucked in mercilessly.
As he reached the second stage of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the true Heavenly Demon Divine Art—evolved through the Absorbing Star Great Method—was unleashed.
Yohan’s eyes, once red, now turned black.
With eyes like a demon, Yohan stared at the Josenjok Boss.
At the overwhelming killing intent, the Josenjok Boss unconsciously hesitated.
Yohan bared his teeth in a grin.
“W-what are you?”
Staring at the trembling Josenjok Boss, Yohan leapt up the wall in a flash,
and then, descending toward the ground, unleashed the ultimate form of the Asura Blood God Palm Vol. 1.
Asura Blood God Palm – Fifth Form: Asura’s Raging Wave.
A dark crimson energy burst from Yohan’s hand, crashing down between the walls of the residential area.
The enemy swung his Axe to resist the massive force,
KABOOOOOM!
But the overwhelming energy could not be stopped.
With a colossal explosion, even the tightly packed buildings around them collapsed.