Chapter 80

[Roarrrr, Shriekkk]

“Damn it, it never ends.”

Yugeon muttered irritably to himself as he watched the cyclops in front of him fall with a bizarre death cry.

The ground shook and dust rose as the cyclops, easily over 5 meters tall, collapsed.

He had taken down not only numerous minor monsters but also several high-level monsters that were quite challenging to deal with.

Yugeon had no time to waste.

He hated dragging out missions and often preferred to take down enemies alone, rushing through to complete the task even if it meant taking risks.

But now, he was in an even greater hurry.

Thinking of leaving Haon alone outside the gate drove him nearly insane with worry. He had to destroy the monster gate as quickly as possible.

But the monsters, unaware of Yugeon’s urgency, kept crawling out, blocking his path. Even though he defeated each one that appeared, their sheer numbers slowed him down.

“When the hell will this end, damn it!”

Yugeon spat out a curse as he shot a pillar of fire at a unicorn charging towards him.

The unicorn, with its fierce horn aimed at him, was engulfed in flames, writhing in pain.

Yugeon glanced at it without emotion and continued moving forward.

Even on a regular day, there were this many monsters appearing inside the gate.

Today, it felt particularly overwhelming, likely because Haon was left alone outside.

Most Espers would feel anxious if separated from their guide, but Yugeon’s anxiety was beyond normal.

He didn’t realize how anxious he was, but his increasing irritability showed his state of mind.

As he set everything in his path ablaze, he finally spotted the gate’s rift core in the distance.

Yugeon sighed in relief and quickened his pace.

But just then, a massive dragon appeared, spewing fire to prevent Yugeon from reaching the core.

[Roar, growl]

“I have no time to play.”

Yugeon coldly muttered to the dragon snorting hot breath, then used his telekinesis to twist its neck instantly.

Twisting a neck as thick as a log wasn’t easy, but Yugeon was driven by the burning desire to destroy the monster gate and reunite with Haon.

This determination seemed to give him newfound strength.

Thud.

The dragon finally fell.

Yugeon walked past it towards the rift core. Using his telekinesis, he formed an invisible spear. The sharp tip of the spear targeted the rift core and struck it right at the middle.

The effect was instantaneous.

The surroundings shimmered, and the interior of the gate disappeared, revealing the view of the lake park.

“Park Haon!”

Yugeon urgently called out for Haon. But Haon was nowhere to be seen. This wasn’t surprising. The lake park was vast, and there were many monsters to deal with.

If Haon had chased after them, finding him wouldn’t be easy.

[Screech]

Already distressed by Haon’s absence, the monster’s wailing grated on his nerves. Yugeon narrowed his eyes in annoyance and continued to take down the monsters in his path.

As he killed the approaching monsters, he noticed the bodies of monsters he hadn’t slain.

‘These must be Haon’s traces.’

Though he hadn’t found Haon yet, just seeing signs of him calmed Yugeon’s anxiety somewhat.

With a slightly better mood, Yugeon followed the trail of monster corpses, taking out any monsters in his way.

“What is this…?”

While searching for Haon and fighting monsters, Yugeon noticed something odd. The bodies of giant spiders were grotesquely mutilated, far more than the other corpses he had seen.

They were almost dismembered.

The giant spiders were too large for Haon to have dealt with alone. Haon didn’t have the power or the time to fight such monsters. The dismembered bodies seemed more problematic than gruesome.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

The ground was severely dug up in places. It looked as if someone had intentionally attacked the ground.

While the areas weren’t vast, the surface was deeply pitted and uneven.

It didn’t seem like a monster’s doing.

“Park Haon!”

Once he noticed the oddities, Yugeon couldn’t stop examining the surroundings.

He called out for Haon while thoroughly searching the area. Then, he found something that quickened his steps.

Between the cracked asphalt, there was a black gun. He quickly picked it up and checked it.

The bullets were all spent.

Though he couldn’t be sure of the circumstances, it was the Center standard-issued gun, likely belonging to Haon.

Haon must be nearby.

“Park Haon!”

Yugeon’s urgency grew. He looked around frantically while quickening his pace. He kept calling for Haon, but there was no response.

He began to worry that Haon might be too injured to respond.

He tried radioing Haon several times, but there was no answer.

It could be that Haon was too busy fighting to respond or that his radio was damaged, but Yugeon’s thoughts kept turning to the worst-case scenarios.

“I destroyed the monster gate in Ilsan Lake Park, but I can’t find Park Haon. Can you locate him?”

Yugeon radioed the center.

Initially, he assumed Haon would be somewhere in the park, so he didn’t ask the center for Haon’s location.

But things seemed strange. Yugeon anxiously waited for the center’s response.

-…Yes, Mr. Cha Yugeon. We’ve confirmed the destruction of the monster gate at the lake park. We are currently locating Mr. Park Haon as per your request. Please wait a moment.

With monster gates opening nationwide, the center was busy communicating with Espers dispatched across the country. Though it felt like an eternity, the response came back after what seemed like a long wait.

“I understand the situation is chaotic, but please hurry and check. What’s taking so long?”

-Sorry, there’s a high volume of inquiries… Mr. Park Haon is currently… Wait a moment.

The center staff’s flustered voice made Yugeon frown. His already frayed nerves were reaching their limit.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

-We can’t detect Mr. Park Haon’s guide power from the lake park.

“What does that mean?”

-It means… if one’s unique energy isn’t detected, it usually means the user is deceased or…

“That’s nonsense!”

Yugeon snapped, furious at the stammering staff member’s words.

Deceased?

The thought was unimaginable. He was furious that the center staff even mentioned such a thing.

He took a deep breath to calm his boiling anger and spoke again.

“Get Director Han.”

-Director Han is currently communicating with teams dispatched to other areas…

“I said get Director Han!”

-J-Just a moment.

Director Han had the most experience and quick judgment at the Center.

Though the staff initially hesitated, they couldn’t argue with Yugeon.

Intimidated by his commanding voice, the staff member complied.

-Mr. Cha Yugeon, what’s the matter?

Fortunately, Director Han’s voice came through the radio shortly after.

Yugeon took a deep breath, trying to remain as rational as possible despite his anxiety.

He knew that getting emotional wouldn’t help the situation.

Hearing Director Han’s calm voice helped him regain some composure.

“Please confirm Park Haon’s location.”

-Please hold on. Mr. Park Haon is currently… Did you deploy with Mr. Park Haon?

“Yes. He was dealing with the monsters outside while I destroyed the monster gate.”

Yugeon felt annoyed by Director Han’s seemingly obvious questions but suppressed his irritation.

He figured the director needed to confirm the situation before helping locate Haon.

With the situation clarified, he hoped he would find Haon soon.

But the response he got shattered his hope.