The IANT Queen’s mind crumbled as the number of IANTs dwindled.
Like a human thrown into panic, she released distress pheromones that could only be described as desperate screams.
“Maybe it’s because she made eye contact with Lutal, but she can’t seem to pull herself together.”
“Krrrk! Krrrk!”
Lutal agreed, slicing through the soldier ants.
“I’m going to take a nap, so keep things under control. If you’ve got time, feel free to kill some Elves and start Dimensional Devouring too. Oh, and! Extract some of the Mana Stones and give them to me.”
“Krrng!”
Lutal assured him to leave it all to her.
Choi Kangjoong lay down on his bed.
He pulled the blanket over himself and closed his eyes, when he heard the front door open.
His parents had returned from work.
‘It’s evening already!’
Having spent so much time holed up in his room, he’d lost track of time and completely forgotten that this was when his parents usually came home.
‘Should I pretend to be asleep?’
In the past, he wouldn’t have even considered this kind of dilemma.
But today was different.
A strange surge of confidence bubbled up inside him.
It was all thanks to Apocalid, who had torn through the IANTs.
‘Apocalid is evolving, so I can’t just stay idle by myself.’
He didn’t want to just lie there doing nothing.
He felt like he needed to do something.
‘Since I’ve Awakened, I should register as a Hunter too…’
If you didn’t register as a Hunter within a month of Awakening, you’d be fined.
He didn’t plan to hide it for his whole life, so it was better to get it over with quickly.
‘They say even a thousand-mile journey begins with a single step. Let’s start by just stepping out.’
Choi Kangjoong got up and left his room.
“Welcome back….”
His parents, Choi Jooyoung and Yoo Haein, widened their eyes in surprise.
It had been months since their son had come out first to greet them.
“Oh, hey. Did you sleep well?”
Choi Jooyoung tried to keep his voice calm so his son wouldn’t feel hurt for no reason.
But he couldn’t quite hide the tremble of joy in his voice.
“Yes. Was everything all right at work?”
“Would anything go wrong? I’m the company president, after all. Did you have fun again today?”
“I did some other things today.”
“What kind of things?”
“I cleaned my room and did the dishes.”
“I thought so! The kitchen looked sparkling.”
“Thank you….”
“Did you eat the galbi stew Mom made?”
“I ate all of it as soon as I woke up. I’m sorry….”
“That was for you, so why apologize? Good job.”
Choi Jooyoung patted Choi Kangjoong on the back.
“Are you short on allowance?”
“I don’t really have anything to spend it on.”
“If you need more, just say the word. I’ll give you more.”
“Actually, I wanted to register as a Hunter.”
“A Hunter? Don’t tell me—you Awakened?”
“Yes… a few days ago.”
“Well done! Really, well done!”
“It just happened by chance….”
“It’s all about luck. Should I come with you to register?”
“Aren’t you busy, Dad? I’m planning to go alone.”
The words his son had finally spoken—the words he’d waited so long to hear.
Years of waiting were finally bearing fruit.
Yoo Haein, unable to contain her emotion, covered her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. Choi Jooyoung, overwhelmed, couldn’t speak for a moment.
“I’m hungry…!”
Choi Kangjoong awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“Shall we go out to eat together tonight?”
“No, I want to eat at home.”
The thought of going out made Choi Kangjoong’s legs tremble.
He’d resolved to go out, but his heart wasn’t ready yet.
“Homemade food is the best, right? Sit tight. Mom will whip something up quickly.”
Yoo Haein wiped her tears and headed to the kitchen.
Choi Kangjoong hadn’t expected his parents to be this happy, and though he was flustered, it felt good.
‘I should’ve done this sooner. Why did I lock myself away and even avoid seeing their faces?’
Choi Kangjoong had dinner and then ate some fruit in the living room.
It had been ages since he’d not only eaten with his family, but also sat and chatted with them on the sofa.
- A few days ago, Captain Han Seokmun, who had been kidnapped by pirates three months ago while heading to Marsala on the Gadaha, returned to his homeland.
A man appeared on the TV screen.
It was that Korean who had been trapped in the Orc Dimension.
-I thought I’d never see my family again after being sold to the Orcs. Then one day, there was a huge commotion—shouting, screaming—I thought a war had broken out. Not long after it calmed down, another monster showed up and I thought we were done for. But suddenly, a gate opened and they let us go. That’s when I realized, even if we don’t speak the same language, we have things in common.
The interview ended, and the scene shifted to a tearful family reunion.
Yoo Haein sniffled.
Choi Kangjoong’s nose tingled red as well.
It felt different seeing the person he had saved embracing his wife and daughter in tears.
“Captain Han is back. I was so worried three months ago.”
“You know him?”
“Our company used to ship goods on that vessel.”
“So that was him. That’s great. He and his family must have suffered a lot.”
When the news was over, Choi Kangjoong stood up.
Choi Jooyoung took some money out of his wallet.
“Go buy some clothes or something tasty.”
“Thank you.”
Back in his room, Choi Kangjoong checked the amount.
Ten crisp 50,000 won bills.
That was his monthly allowance.
“Should I spend this on a game?”
Until now, whenever he had money, he’d splurged on Dimension War skins or wasted it on gacha pulls.
But right now, he didn’t feel like doing that at all.
“Maybe I should buy some meat instead.”
His mouth watered at the thought of fresh meat.
“I’ll buy some beef and have a barbecue with my parents.”
For the first time in a while, Choi Kangjoong made a decision that didn’t involve hiding away, and checked on the battle with the IANTs.
The wasteland was littered with IANT corpses.
Walkers bustled about, moving them to the digestive pit.
Scouts brought larvae and eggs from the tunnels.
He picked up a few Mana Stones that Lutal had piled near the digestive pit.
“Krrng.”
“Did you do well? You did great.”
No matter how huge, fierce, and capable of tearing through S-rank Hunters, the creature looked nothing but adorable to Choi Kangjoong.
“Rest up and have something to eat.”
“Krurrrk!”
“What about Kai?”
He sensed Kai on the opposite side of the digestive pit.
It seemed the Elves had fled as far from the pit as possible.
“Kiiik.”
Kai delivered the information he’d gathered while Choi Kangjoong ate.
The Elves, once gathered in one place, had long since split into factions.
Those hiding or trying to escape had scattered in all directions.
Those preparing to fight had just finished arming themselves and were moving through the forest.
“Kai, wipe them out.”
“Kiiik!”
Kai led the Runner Scouts out to lie in ambush.
By hiding among the undergrowth, they masked their presence so well that even the Elves didn’t notice them.
The Elves didn’t expect anything with such low intelligence to lie in wait as a group.
The Elves walked straight into the ambush zone.
Kai gave the attack order.
The Runner Scouts pounced all at once.
Squelch! Squelch! Slash! Squelch!
Some Elves fell, but not many.
“Spread out!”
“As long as they don’t close in, we’re fine!”
“They’re nothing special!”
The Elves scrambled up the trees or darted between trunks.
They thought they could counter from a distance using bows or spirits as before.
But Runner Scouts were different from ordinary Scouts.
“What are these things?!”
“Why are they so fast?!”
“They’re nothing like the ones we killed earlier!”
An Elf shrieked as scythe-like claws pierced its back.
Another Elf crashed to the ground as its legs, still clinging to a branch, were severed.
The once-confident Elves’ numbers dwindled rapidly.
“You wretched insects!”
An Elf, one of the stronger ones present, incinerated three Runner Scouts with a fire spirit.
Even if the Scout Class was fast, it couldn’t overcome the difference in strength.
“Kik. Kiik.”
Kai took care of Elves like that.
Using active camouflage armor, he crept up and marked their position.
Then the Cannon Giant would fire a Mana Cannon, and shells would rain down on the Elf’s head.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Elf, along with the Runner Scouts, was turned into chunks of meat.
A Walker rushed over and dumped them into the digestive pit, turning them into nutrients.
“Good job, Kai.”
“Kikkiik!”
Though Kai’s appearance was about as far from a puppy as you could get, Choi Kangjoong wanted to pet him like one.
Kai was pleased, as if he’d been petted in spirit.
“Now to take care of those still hiding.”
Choi Kangjoong sent the intel Kai had gathered to Lutal.
A map of this dimension and all the Elves’ hiding spots appeared in Lutal’s mind.
“Krrng.”
Lutal, who had been filling her stomach, stood up.
As she gazed in the direction where the Elves were hiding, the Warriors and Giants all turned their heads as well.
The Scouts dashed ahead first, while the Warriors and Giants followed Lutal.
Some Elves hid in caves or underground, but nothing escaped Kai’s eye.
He didn’t bother searching for just one or two hiding individuals.
It took too long, and they’d be devoured once the dimension was consumed anyway.
Slaves were sent through the Gate to Korea.
Cheers of celebration could be heard from outside the window.
[Dimensional Devouring is beginning.]
The Walkers scattered devouring spores.
The spores took root throughout the dimension, absorbing nutrients and resources and sending them to the digestive pit.
Any surviving life was converted into nutrients and Evolution Points upon death.
[Current Evolution Points: 236,544]
“This time, I’ll save them up instead of spending them right away.”
He had attacked the Blacktree Pirates’ anchorage, so it was certain he’d have to fight them.
Natasha, who led the Blacktree Pirates, was relentless, cruel, and vicious.
There were rumors that once she marked someone as an enemy, she would capture and subject them to such horrific torture that it was better to die than be taken alive.
Since he’d have to fight such an Elf, boosting the fleet’s power was more important than racial evolution.
“A proper dimensional warship means Titan Class—I should unlock that first.”
The Giant Class was big on land, but small compared to actual dimensional ships.
Only the Titan Class, hundreds of meters long, could be used as a flagship.
It would be nice to have a Supertitan Class above that, but unlocking it would require ten million Evolution Points.
“I need to gather Evolution Points quickly.”
Using the nutrients from this dimension, Choi Kangjoong doubled all his classes.
Two hundred Walkers, one hundred Scouts, and twenty Warriors.
He had to produce other types of Giants, so he postponed producing Cannon Giants.
In the Chamber of Evolution, he added the Elves’ evolution code—telescopic vision—to the Giant Class.
[A new Giant Class has been created.]
[Would you like to name it?]
“Skyeye.”
[Apocalid Skyeye Giant has been saved.]
Choi Kangjoong produced one Cannon Giant and two Skyeye Giants.
He needed two to send to different dimensions.
With two Central Units, he could now attack two dimensions simultaneously.
“If I get 200,000–250,000 Evolution Points per dimension, devouring three or four more should let me produce a Titan Class.”
[Dimensional Devouring complete.]
The entire dimension was now Apocalid.
Soon after, another Apocalid dimension arrived and merged smoothly with the freshly devoured one instead of shattering.
[You have merged two Apocalid dimensions for the first time.]
[You have gained Evolution Points.]
[Current Evolution Points: 736,544]
“Five hundred thousand Evolution Points!”
There was no such bonus in Dimension War.
Reality was definitely different from the game.
Choi Kangjoong cheered at the top of his lungs in every direction.
“Just a couple more dimensions and I can unlock Titan Class.”
Titan Class!
The main force of mid-game fleets in Dimension War, and still useful in the late game as a giant Apocalid.
The small ones were 100–200 meters long, while the largest approached a kilometer.
If raised right, they could even grow into Supertitan Class, several kilometers long.
With Mana Cannons and Bio Torpedoes, they were truly formidable.
As living warships, they could even ram enemy vessels if necessary.
Then the Scouts and Warriors would board and turn enemy ships into floating scrap.
Supertitan Class could swallow an entire dimensional ship whole.
“Let’s get away from here quickly and find the next dimension to devour.”
There was no way the Blacktree Pirates would just sit still after losing their anchorage.
They’d be searching the area, so it was best to get far away.
He wasn’t ready for a direct fight yet, so hiding was the best plan for now.
“We’ll have to travel for a few days. No, let’s move for a whole week.”
All the Apocalids traveled with the Apocalid dimension across the Kraken Sea.
A week passed.
They didn’t spot a single Blacktree Pirate ship.
Feeling it was safe, Choi Kangjoong called for Lutal and Kai.
“Krrng.”
“Kiiik.”
“You know what to do, right?”
[Brutal Lord has detected the nearest dimension.]
[Dark Eye has detected the second closest dimension.]
Each Apocalid set out for the dimension it had located.
Lutal took half the Walkers, a few Scouts, most of the Warriors, and one Giant.
Kai led the other half of the Walkers, most of the Scouts, a few Warriors, and the remaining Giants.