[A Rift is erupting.]
[You can collect various calamities from the Rift’s eruption.]
[Defeat the calamities and subjugate them. Subjugated calamities will reinforce your stronghold as loyal minions.]
[The eruption will end in 6 hours.]
The system message mercilessly declared the apocalypse.
And the heads of state who had confidently believed that their well-trained armies could stop the calamities were devastated as they watched monsters moving as if unaffected by bullets and shells.
The soldiers on the scene felt the same way.
“Why aren’t the guns working!”
“Seems like our weapons are useless.”
“What the hell is that thing!”
“Did you not do the playen or whatever it was?”
Only a few soldiers’ bullets seemed to hit the monsters effectively.
The sergeant, observing this, scratched his cheek.
He too had received the system message a few days ago.
This strange message asking if he wanted to dominate the world. Most people either rejected it or left it pending, choosing to remain bystanders.
And only those thoughtless fools chose to become players.
Indeed, as expected, these monsters could only be dealt with by those fools who didn’t value their lives, like the man swinging a bat over there.
Crack!
A monster resembling a goblin had its head caved in by a precisely swung baseball bat.
The sight made the sergeant let out a bitter laugh.
“Things are about to change a lot in this world.”
“…It’s already changed.”
The officer also thought the world’s structure would soon be reorganized around those awakened ones.
“I should have become one of those awakened ones if I had known.”
“…You’re right.”
With those words from the sergeant, the officer scowled and spat.
*
Crack!
The precisely aimed baseball bat caved in the head of a goblin-like monster.
[1★ Forest Small-Ears has been defeated.]
[Reward: 5Exp / Obtainable 1★ Forest Small-Ears]
Ding.
[Unable to collect calamity because no stronghold exists.]
“Huh.”
Seeing this, I let out a hollow laugh as the game’s tricks were applied just as they should be.
[Controller ‘Actor’ please establish a stronghold.]
[Collecting calamities is an essential element in reinforcing your stronghold!]
Although the system message was urging me to create a stronghold, I ignored it lightly.
While collecting basic calamities during the early Rift eruption is indeed crucial as the status window said,
However…
“Why do I need a stronghold when there’s a chance to farm infinite experience?”
Having played this game for five years, I know that while you need a stronghold to collect characters, you can’t collect them infinitely. The number of calamities you can collect at once depends on the upgrade status of your stronghold. A newly created stronghold can only obtain a meager ten characters.
In other words, it also means that you can only consume the experience of ten creatures for stronghold upgrades.
On the other hand, if you defeat mobs without setting up a stronghold?
[1★ Leaf Sprite has been defeated.]
[Reward: 5Exp / Obtainable 1★ Leaf Sprite]
[Unable to collect calamity because no stronghold exists.]
[Please set up a stronghold.]
This way, you can defeat calamities without filling the stronghold slots.
While you won’t obtain the calamities, you can freely consume the experience points.
When I first started the game and realized this, I reset the game data right away.
But in reality, resetting is impossible. If I don’t diligently take care of my efficiency from now on, I could collapse at any time.
Crack!
The Forest Small-Ears, hit by my baseball bat, disappeared into silver particles after letting out its final scream.
The solid sensation in my hand was unmistakable, yet the way it vanished, turning into experience points instead of leaving a corpse, felt more like a game’s special effect.
“…What kind of rhythm am I supposed to keep?”
Is this a game or reality?
The tingling in my shoulder suggests it’s reality.
“I don’t want to die.”
I don’t know how this world will change.
However, I well know how terrifying the calamities that appear in the Disaster Order are.
Even these Forest Small-Ears or Leaf Sprites, which have combat power worse than a small dog, are monsters that in lore hunt lost travelers in packs and engage in cannibalism.
If a group of 1-star calamities can kill people, how dreadful must a 5-star calamity be? The 5-star characters I’ve collected so far are all the worst villains who have caused world destruction individually.
To survive those horrifying monsters, I need to adapt to this system as soon as possible.
Pak!
[1★ Leaf Sprite has been defeated.]
[Reward: 5Exp / Obtainable 1★ Leaf Sprite]
That way, I defeated every calamity I could see.
Due to my confidence in my stamina, it wasn’t very difficult.
It wasn’t easy though. Even if they’re monsters, they’re living beings. Every time I killed a Small-Ear, it felt like I was smashing a child’s skull. It was unpleasant, to say the least.
[The Rift eruption will end in 4 hours.]
It’s already been two hours of swinging my bat.
During that time, I dealt with a total of fifteen 1-star calamities.
That’s 75Exp in numerical value.
Not much, but these are valuable experience points.
“Perhaps it’s time to set up a stronghold.”
Breathing heavily, I tapped my bent baseball bat against the ground.
Most nearby 1-star calamities have been cleared.
It would be the right judgment to go home, set up a stronghold, take a deep breath, and return to collect calamities afterward.
With that decision, I took a step forward.
“…Hey, halt! It’s a human!”
Just as I turned the corner, I met four or five burly men.
The man at the front was holding a large hammer high, and if I had taken one more step, my head would have been pierced by it.
“S-Shit. I thought it was a monster.”
The man shook his head and lowered the hammer. Only then could I see the appearance of the other men behind him. They held various weapons, much like me.
“Erm…”
Meanwhile, the leading man, seeing the bloody club in my hand, flinched.
He swallowed hard and asked,
“A-Are you also an Awakened One?”
“You too, meaning… Are you all Awakened Ones as well?”
In response to my question, the men nodded.
There are so many fools who pressed the accept button on that suspicious system message.
Nowadays, in the community, stories of Awakened Ones come up almost every day, so it’s no surprise to find them near my house.
Seeming to relax with the knowledge that we’re in the same situation, the man smiled and extended his hand.
“Since we’re in this together, how about we cooperate? It seems we need to collect ten before the Rift closes, and we’ve gathered about half.”
They seemed to be hunting calamities in a group, and the leader appeared to be a man with a short haircut and a fierce look.
Furthermore, he had dragon tattoos on both arms and shoulders.
“Young man, you seem to have farmed quite a bit already. How about you join us?”
From years of experience reading others, I could tell.
That man was undoubtedly a gangster.
Joining him would be of no benefit.
“I-I’m rather tired… I think I should head back.”
Upon my words, the gangster showed no particular response.
Perhaps due to my clearly unimpressive physique.
The gangster motioned with his chin to the side, and I bowed slightly while passing by him.
‘I need to be careful.’
Unlike the single-player game Disaster Order, there must be tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of players in this world.
They say the most terrifying thing isn’t the monsters but the people.
I need to be wary of fellow players even more than the monsters.
And just as I was thinking that while passing through the group of men,
“Huh? Boss, there’s a somewhat large one over there.”
At the scout’s words, everyone turned their eyes to the end of the alley.
There was a beast with a cherry-red mane.
Its form was similar to a large dog. Its face was soft, giving the impression of being harmless at a glance.
“What? This one seems tougher than those we’ve caught so far.”
“This one looks like a 2-star. Catching it would be good, wouldn’t it?”
“2-star? Is it a good one?”
“Oh, Boss, you haven’t played many of these kinds of games, have you? Collecting tougher mobs early makes the game easier. It’s common sense, common sense.”
The men exchanged glances and discussed among themselves.
However, I couldn’t take my eyes off the wolf.
“…That’s a Hellfire Guardian.”
A familiar sight.
A guaranteed character that occasionally pops up in high-level calamity combinations.
Nevertheless, even if it’s a guaranteed rare, it’s undoubtedly a high-ranked calamity.
[4★ Hellfire Guardian is roaring.]
“…Why is a 4-star here…?”
A 4-star calamity, the Hellfire Guardian, stood before me.
There was only one course of action.
I had to run.
“Ho ho. So, catching this one will make it easier going forward, right?”
On the other hand, the men seemed to have already made up their minds. The hammer-wielding man tapped a mallet in his other hand.
“Then I’ll draw its attention first, and Boss, you hit the thing’s head with the nail. Sound good?”
“Alright.”
Because they had already killed 1-star calamities multiple times, the men were overly arrogant.
They might have been dazzled by this reality that resembled a game.
But this was not an enemy that could be fought with mere human strength.
And I, despite knowing all this, couldn’t leave them to die and walk away.
“No! It’s dangerous! We must run!”
I shouted loudly, and upon hearing it, the men turned their heads.
“…What?”
“This wolf is a different dimension compared to what we’ve faced so far! You can’t compare it to something like a Forest Small-Ear!”
“Yeah. It will be different, but we’re six.”
Saying that, the gangster grinned at me.
“No, we’re seven now.”
“Huh?”
“You should join us. You’ll get a share of the experience, and it’s not bad for you, right? Don’t you desire it, a 2-star or whatever?”
Shit.
The gangster naturally included me in their party.
My mouth went dry.
Continuing this way, I’d surely end up joining the suicide strike team.
What should I do?
I shouted whatever came to mind.
“I’ve played this game before!”
“A guy who went mad and is out hunting again?”
“Oh.”
It didn’t work at all.
On the contrary, the gangster grinned like a devil and took a step closer to me.
“Listen to me, sir. That’s a 4-star calamity. No one can defeat a 4-star calamity.”
“4-star?”
The gangster tilted his head and asked his companion.
“Hey, is a 4-star a good one?”
“Huh? Of course, Boss. We wouldn’t be able to get it in other games.”
The gangster smirked.
In the next moment, what I thought were fellow awakeners turned into competitors.
The gangster with the nail gun turned the muzzle towards me.
“Go first.”
“Excuse me?”
“…Fucking hell, do you think anyone will remember if you die here? Stop squeaking and go first. You have the bat, don’t you?”
Indeed, was it a mistake to get involved?
A severe dizziness arose.
Should I run? Would the gangster, formidable as he may be, shoot me in the back while I’m running?
I don’t know. I didn’t want to gamble my life on the probability.
“Shit! Listen to me…”
Right when I was about to shout at him,
“Hey? Boss, the beast saw us.”
“Hmm?”
It seemed the noise we made reached the Hellfire Guardian. The Hellfire Guardian was staring at us intently.
And it was obviously hungry.
It ran toward us straight away.
Booom! Booom! Booom!
Soon, the vibration shook the ground, and the Hellfire Guardian’s red mane spread out in a sun-like form.
Contrary to its soft appearance, the Hellfire Guardian enveloped in massive flames destroyed everything in its path as it charged forward.
“…Eh, wh- Boss! That thing… too…”
That was the man’s dying words.
The Guardian, right before his eyes, bit off his neck.
Blood surged forth, and the heat of the flames reached our faces.
“AAAAHHH!”
I watched as a person died right in front of my eyes.
Who wouldn’t be shaken?
The group disintegrated instantly. Even the gangster, who I thought was tough, turned around and ran. But for a hell’s guardian, a fleeing enemy was even better prey.
The guardian’s fangs pierced the gangster’s back, and blood soaked the surrounding area.
Amidst the chaos where they were turning into corpses one by one, I took a step back.
“Shit, shiit…”
My teeth were chattering.
I shouldn’t have acted tough and run when I saw the wolf.
Am I going to die here?
At the first eruption, the first stage?
“Grrrrl?”
[4★ Hellfire Guardian is watching you.]
And finally, after turning six humans into meat, the Hell’s Guardian turned its gaze on me.
It ran towards me, lifting its fiery front paw.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
But contrary to expectation, there was no impact.
“Enough.”
A voice, hoarse and strained, rang out.
Just one word, but it carried force.
The Hell’s Guardian, which had just torn humans apart, whimpered like a pet dog facing a tiger, and cowered down.
Then, from beyond, a figure emerged gracefully.
Surrounded by flames, but still, I could clearly see the appearance.
Torn nun’s habit, ash-gray hair, glowing red eyes.
A face I had seen countless times while playing Disaster Order.
Ding.
[5★ The Blackened Saint Selene is watching you.]
“Selene.”
The Blackened Saint, Selene, upon hearing her name, showed a face ready to burst into tears.
“Lord.”
The calamity recognized me.
Warm flames enveloped the surroundings.
“I’ve played this game before!”
Huh, is this some kind of easter egg from a certain movie?🐙