Chapter 18: Blink into Chaos

“Going out at night makes me feel like I’m being watched.”

Even though there was a legitimate reason, his heart felt that way.

It was because he had observed his parents’ regimented lifestyle for so long.

“Maybe I should move out. At my age, it’s about time I lived alone.”

Living with family was nice, but it came with many things to worry about.

Going out, for one, and with his sharp hearing, if he focused, he could know exactly what his parents in the master bedroom were doing.

It felt like living in a space without walls.

“I have the money, so maybe I should buy a house. One where Lutal can stay, with a basement to store mana stones. It’d be great if there was a training ground that no one could see.”

As he imagined the house he would own for the first time, he quickly reached the Gate.

Near the Gate, there was a large red sign that read, “Explosion, Flash Magic Absolutely Forbidden!”

“Harpy Slayer.”

“Here to hunt Jumping Mantis?”

Thanks to his distinctive chitin armor, many recognized Choi Kangjoong.

‘Who am I? The Harpy Slayer.’

Choi Kangjoong praised himself inwardly as he crossed through the Gate.

Today, he planned to hunt alone without support from other Apocalids.

He wanted to verify the results of his training.

The dimension was filled with wide, muddy swamps, and trees grew thickly.

The Jumping Mantises darted between the trees, snatching their prey like lightning whenever spotted.

Even with dense bushes and thick fog, Kangjoong had no problem.

Overlaying infrared and mana vision with Apocalid eyes allowed him to see as clearly as broad daylight.

“There it is.”

One Jumping Mantis hid between the leaves.

Kangjoong Blinked and appeared behind the Jumping Mantis.

Swish.

His Chitin Blade with the Aura Blade activated sliced the Jumping Mantis in two.

The corpse was sent to the digestion pit through the Gate.

[Evolution Point acquired.]

[Current Evolution Points: 1,122,321]

[Jumping Mantis Evolution Code Decoding Rate: 1%]

Kangjoong spun his body like lightning.

Clang!

The Jumping Mantis’s front leg, having fallen from a height, was blocked.

His combat muscles activated, filling his entire body with power.

He pushed the Jumping Mantis away and cut off its front leg.

He was testing whether Apocalid swordsmanship was working well.

If he had fully relied on his combat nerves, the Jumping Mantis would already be dead.

“Looks good. No need to use combat nerves except in dangerous situations.”

Kangjoong cut off the other front leg and then beheaded it.

[Evolution Point acquired.]

[Current Evolution Points: 1,122,331]

[Jumping Mantis Evolution Code Decoding Rate: 2%]

Now hooked, Kangjoong started cutting down every Jumping Mantis he saw.

Thanks to the overpowered combination of the Aura Blade and Blink, he could kill one every few seconds.

[Jumping Mantis Evolution Code Decoding Rate: 99%]

Only one remained before the Evolution Code was fully decoded.

“Where’s the last one?”

He flew up, searching for the last Jumping Mantis in an area nearly stripped of them.

Something strange appeared at the dimension boundary.

“Why is a Dimension Ship here?”

The Hydra Sea was infested with Orcs, so no Dimension Ships traveled nearby.

Their mindsets were completely different; negotiations and talks never worked, and meeting them meant only death.

Even if captured, one only lived a little longer as a slave or livestock before dying.

“This is very suspicious.”

The ship was painted pitch black with no insignia or flags, so its affiliation was unknown.

Most likely, it was a villain or demon’s Dimension Ship.

“Let’s find out what’s going on.”

Kangjoong flew toward the Dimension Ship and landed nearby.

Those unloading cargo stopped and looked at him.

“Wh-Who are you?”

A demon with a cow’s head and a human body stammered in fear upon facing this emotionless, unknown presence.

To the demon, Kangjoong felt like a high-ranking demon from an unimaginable height.

“What are you doing here?”

“I-I should be the one asking that…!”

The bull-headed demon barely mustered courage.

Silence fell.

Kangjoong simply didn’t know what to say in moments like this.

However, the bull-headed demon mistook his hesitation for extreme displeasure.

“I-I’m sorry! We’re with Disorder. You know Disorder, right?”

Disorder was a criminal organization connected to demons of chaos.

They were ruthless enough to commit indiscriminate terror for the sake of chaos.

Claiming to belong to such a group was a way to say, “Don’t mess with us.”

Rattle, rattle.

The boxes taken from the Dimension Ship rattled.

Orcs inside shouted loudly.

“Calling the Orcs?”

“Y-Yes. You don’t intend to stop us, do you…?”

“What if I do?”

“Do you want money? I’ll give you everything I have!”

“No need.”

“Huh?”

Swish.

Kangjoong drew his Chitin Blade.

“Damn! If the Orcs swarm in, you won’t survive either! The prep work is done; all that’s left is to press this!”

The bull-headed Orc held up a switch connected to a bomb.

“Isn’t it better for everyone if this goes smoothly?”

“Call them.”

“Huh?”

“Call them.”

“Damn it!”

The bull-headed demon pressed the button.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Pillars of earth shot up from the center of the dimension.

The Orcs who emerged from the boxes shouted battle cries.

“You asked for this! If you don’t want to get trampled to death by hordes of Orcs, run now!”

Instead of replying, Kangjoong Blinked behind the bull-headed demon.

Swish.

“You’re finished! Look over there! Those are Orc Great Bosses!”

The bull-headed demon’s severed head shouted.

True to chaotic demons, it didn’t die from decapitation.

Orc Great Bosses were B-rank monsters that commanded tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of Orcs.

Only the Great Boss was B-rank; including the surrounding Orcs, the danger level exceeded A-rank monsters.

And there was not just one, but several.

—Warning. Gate activation. All Hunters are requested to return immediately.

A broadcast echoed throughout the dimension as Hunters rushed to the Gate.

Snap.

Kangjoong grabbed the bull-headed demon and skewered it on his left Chitin Blade.

“Kraaah!”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Since you’re going to die anyway, I’ll tell you. This is under Dawn Guild’s jurisdiction. When the Orcs swarm, they’ll pull personnel from the 6th Dimension Fortress to block them.”

“So, they plan to attack the 6th Dimension Fortress then?”

“Exactly! If this succeeds, I can join the Chaos Legion too!”

“Thanks for spilling it all so smoothly.”

Originally, he planned to feed on the Orcs, but now there was one more reason to stop them.

“Do you know who I am?”

“No matter who you are, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ll die by the Orcs.”

Boom.

Lutal appeared.

Walkers, Scouts, Warriors, and Giants were summoned as well.

Their emotionless black eyes fixed on the Orcs.

Inside the Apocalid, a combat response triggered at the sight of prey.

“Could these be…?”

Through Olextercy, the Apocalid’s appearance was known.

How did the monsters that annihilated the pirate crew end up here? The Kraken Sea was weeks away from here via Black Tree.

“Y-You are…?”

“I am the Liberator of the Kraken Sea. And the Dimensional Devouring Outer Mind. Watch closely. Let’s see what happens to the Orcs.”

Twelve Mana Cannons fired.

The Orc Great Boss was torn to shreds.

“There’s a strong one over there!”

“Fight!”

“Kill them all!”

The Orcs charged.

The mass of green hulks surged like a green tidal wave.

“Mana Storm.”

Rumble!

Mana swirled above the Orcs’ heads.

Lightning struck everywhere, shattering the Orcs.

“Mana cannon fire incoming!”

“This is exciting!”

Orcs, who loved noise, cheered even louder.

“Ku-eong.”

Kangjoong recalled Ku-eong, summoned at the dimension boundary.

Forty Mana Cannons on one side fired in unison.

Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, boom!

The Mana Cannons displayed devastating power against the clustered Orcs.

Over 1,000 Orcs died instantly.

The injured numbered several times more.

The Apocalid charged forward.

The sheer number of Orcs filled the ground like a sea of green.

Though emotionless, their momentum rivaled the Orcs’.

Two waves of different species collided.

Orc limbs and heads flew through the air.

Broken chitin armor scattered around.

Orcs dissolved after being hit with acid.

A Walker was sent flying by an Orc swinging a hammer.

“Kill the big ones first!”

An Orc Great Boss charged at Lutal.

Lutal’s four sickle claws gleamed.

Chop, chop.

Pieces of what was once Orc meat were gathered by the Walker with a clatter.

“This can’t be…! Impossible…”

Kangjoong pulled the bull-headed demon from the Chitin Blade.

The head sank into the digestion pit, slowly melting.

“Save me! I don’t want to die! Kraaah!”

[Evolution Point acquired.]

[Current Evolution Points: 1,123,532]

[Chaos Demon Evolution Code Decoding Rate: 1%]

So each species has its own Evolution Code.

That means dark elves and elves have different codes, and demons do too.

Disorder had many dark elves, so there was enough material to decode their codes.

“I should close the Gate.”

Kangjoong flew to the Gate.

“Save me! Save me!”

A Hunter crawled while bleeding.

Orcs and Goblins were beating him with clubs.

When he screamed, they chuckled with delight.

Swish, swish, swish.

Kangjoong Blinked and sliced the Orcs and Goblins.

“Thank you! Thank you… hiiii!”

A Hunter, mistaking Kangjoong for a monster, gasped for air.

“Tell them the 6th Dimension Fortress will be attacked as soon as they come out. Also, that I can handle this alone.”

“You… agh!”

The Hunter was thrown through the Gate, screaming as he disappeared.

Kangjoong closed the Gate.

It was only a temporary measure.

If one side remained open, it could be easily reopened, and they couldn’t stop enemies coming from that side.

Still, it prevented the Orcs from going through for now.

“Shall I go?”

Kangjoong drew his Chitin Blade.

The Orc Great Boss was swatting away Walkers clinging to it.

Kangjoong disappeared and reappeared above its head.

Swish.

A helicopter filled with Dawn Guild members took off.

Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa sat side by side.

“What’s going on?”

“Orcs swarmed the dimension where the Jumping Mantis were.”

“It’s finally blown up. I told you to close it quickly.”

“It was too close to the Hydra Sea. The Carrier Guild opposed it strongly too.”

The Carrier Guild was one of the three great guilds and a rival to Dawn Guild.

Choi Yunseo looked out the window with a dissatisfied expression.

Soon, they arrived at the Gate.

As they disembarked and prepared for battle, Guildmaster Kang Sungpyo approached.

“New information has come in. The Orc invasion is a diversion to attack the 6th Dimension Gate.”

“So we’re going back?”

Han Junghwa asked.

“We have to. Another guild will support here.”

“Then who will stop the Orcs?”

“You know the Harpy Slayer?”

“Of course. The Hunter who cleared the Harpy dimension alone and even killed the Harpie Queen.”

“That’s right. He’s the one holding them back.”

“Alone, holding back tens of thousands of Orcs?”

Guildmaster Kang nodded.

“He was the one who warned us about the diversion.”

“Then we should help him more!”

“He said he would handle it alone. We’re returning.”

Han Junghwa climbed onto the helicopter with a displeased face.

Once all guild members boarded, the helicopter took off.

The Gate faded into the distance.

Guildmaster Kang Sungpyo looked down at the Gate with solemn eyes.

To Choi Kangjoong, it was just a good time to hunt, but to strangers, it looked like a sacrificial act.

Crash!

Han Junghwa slashed the window with a knife and jumped out.

Her desire to help the Hunters beyond the Gate overpowered the rules.

“Han Junghwa!”

Choi Yunseo also broke through the shattered window and flew toward the Gate.

“You bastards!”

Guildmaster Kang handed command to the vice guildmaster and followed after them.