Chapter 88 - what then ?
Conard scanned his surroundings, face tense. Then, in a far-off corner, he spotted something slowly coming into focus.
It was a monster.
He shouted quickly.
"Combat formation!"
The trained Company agents each drew their weapons and swiftly moved into position. But the sudden flood of monsters that emerged around them released a chilling roar.
"...Where are all these monsters coming from?"
And that wasn’t the end of it.
A massive burst of light erupted from one side, and Conard and his team had to shut their eyes against it.
When they opened them again, the monsters were already right in front of them.
KRAAAH!
"...Engage!"
Conard slashed forward, initiating the battle. The first orc’s head flew off cleanly, and the surrounding monsters began to fall in rapid succession.
They were, after all, Company’s top field unit. The crisis management skills they’d gained from three brutal months of missions hadn’t gone anywhere.
Their experience was among the finest in New Capital.
But then—
"Huff...!"
Conard and his team froze as one.
A figure slowly emerged from one side.
It was instinctual.
The strange phenomena in Bey World.
The sudden appearance of hordes of monsters.
Nothing was more shocking than this.
Even Conard’s mind went blank.
No way...
They could only stand there, staring at the impossible.
At that moment—
A man was sprinting along a crumbling road.
His clothes were torn all over.
His hair, soaked with blood, clung to his skin as he ran, and before long, he realized red dots were aiming at his chest, head, and abdomen.
Laser sights.
"Huff... huff..."
He collapsed to his knees.
Then, a voice echoed from a speaker in the distance.
"Freeze. Identify yourself."
"..."
"Answer. Are you human?"
When no response came, soldiers slowly emerged from the darkness.
They approached cautiously in firing posture, eyes locked on the man kneeling on the ground.
"Who are you?"
"..."
"If you don’t identify yourself, we’ll have no choice but to shoot. Reveal your identity."
As the rifle barrel tapped his forehead, the man fell backward, drained of all strength. A soldier shone a flashlight on his face and flinched in surprise.
"Lower your weapons!"
"What?"
"That’s Player Lutz!"
One soldier rushed in, pulled an HP potion from his pouch, and poured it into Lutz’s mouth. Fortunately, he wasn’t in critical condition, and gradually, his face regained color.
Soon after,Lutz trembled and opened his eyes.
"Urgh..."
"Sir, are you awake?"
"...Where am I?"
"You’re at Ark. Are you alright?"
Lutz nodded faintly. Blinking slowly, he looked up at the soldier helping him—then suddenly sprang up, speaking quickly.
"What? This is Ark?"
"Yes."
He looked around. Sure enough, this was clearly the boundary of Sector 3 in Ark.
...I made it.
After catching his breath a few more times, he looked back up and said urgently:
"The radio... I need to contact command."
"Sir?"
"Hurry!"
Grabbing the radio,Adonis immediately opened a line to headquarters. After a short wait, a reply came.
[Player Lutz?]
"Yes. Who am I speaking to?"
[Captain Machael.]
Captain Machael. A classmate of his superior, Captain Adonis.
"Oh... Captain M. Thank God."
Na answered calmly.
[Right. But Adonis, I recall you were under Captain Kim’s command, correct?]
"Yes, that’s right."
[Good to hear you’re alive.]
Lutz took a deep breath, then spoke.
"I have a message from Captain Adonis."
He paused, glancing around. A sharp-eyed soldier handed him a water flask. After taking several gulps, he spoke again.
"Bey World, now designated as the Bermuda Zone, is suspected to be a massive trap. We’ve found dungeon traces inside, and the estimated rank is at least D-grade."
[A D-grade dungeon, you say...?]
"Yes. He even said it could be C-grade."
[...What?]
Lutz continued his report.
"I managed to escape thanks to my teleportation skill, but the others are still trapped inside."
[Are they safe?]
"They should be, for now."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"We need a support team. But it must consist of soldiers—not players. High-level players must not enter Bey World under any circumstances."
Machael asked in a shaken voice:
[...Why? Did he say why high-level players shouldn’t go in?]
"I don’t know the details. But Captain Adonis said the special condition affecting this zone is related to ’memory.’"
[Memory?]
Lutz recalled the horde of monsters roaming Bey World. It was absurd, but dozens of different species had been coexisting in one place.
"Captain Adonis specifically warned that high-ranking players should never enter."
Because their memories could become poison.
[Haah...]
A sigh came through the radio. Machael spoke again, voice grim.
[Damn it... this is bad.]
"Sir?"
[We’ve already sent a support team.]
The problem was, the team they sent reportedly included Rank 12 player ’Clark’... and possibly, former Rank 1—’Kyle’.
The three-horned goblin Lykan swung his club with all his might and frowned deeply.
"...This can’t be happening."
Every time he brought the club down, it landed squarely on that ogre goblin’s thick skull. With a crack like that, the brute’s head should’ve popped like a berry.
But instead?
Thunk!
A flat, disappointing sound echoed out, and the ogre goblin only scrunched his brow a little, like someone had flicked his forehead.
What in the name of spirits is going on? Lykan thought.
Even a child’s toy bat would’ve felt more satisfying than this.
He looked down at his weapon.
Yes, it had shrunk a bit, sure—but it was still his club. A goblin’s pride! This wasn’t some cheap twig a weakling ogre could shrug off.
This is nonsense, Lykan growled inside.
ROOAARR!
Right in front of him, the ogre goblin roared in defiance. Lykan, blinking in disbelief, watched as the brute raised a massive club of his own and swung it straight at him.
An ogre goblin, daring to attack him?
That should’ve been laughable. Child’s play. A joke.
It should have been.
Whooosh!
But as that club came closer, Lykan felt it—his body tensed, his breath caught.
Why am I shaking?
Why does this feel... deadly?
"Sir! What are you doing?!"