Assassination is a comprehensive art. It requires considering every possible variable.
That’s why, the moment he was summoned, Kozak’s first instinct was always to assess the environment and the situation. It was a habit, an action performed even while he was bowing to his Master Summoner.
It took Kozak a mere three seconds to take in the event hall. A single glance was all he needed to understand what was happening.
First, the safety of Master Summoner Bong. That was, above all, the highest priority.
He appears to be safe for now. He’s already activated his energy shield, so he should be able to block a few bullets without any trouble.
But he was shielding someone, holding them protectively. The one man who should be prioritizing his own safety above all else.
Aaaah. Master Summoner Bong is too nice for his own good. So considerate.
The man he was protecting appeared to be Deputy Chief Jeon Kwang-il.
That foolish bastard. The shameless son of a bitch. In a situation where he should be the one protecting Master Bong, he’s the one being protected? Even worse, he’s the reason the Master Summoner is in this mess to begin with?
There was a reason they said daily life outside the Tower was more dangerous for a Player than climbing it.
In any case, there were two trouble spots.
On the stage, a woman was being held hostage. A face he’d seen often in the news.
Player Nam Ga-eun. An acquaintance of the Master Summoner, as it turned out. Her death or injury would undoubtedly upset him greatly.
And on the opposite side of the room, five armed assailants were threatening the crowd with their guns. They wore helmets and were clad in bulletproof vests.
What’s the play?
Even for someone like Kozak, resolving two separate problems simultaneously was a tall order. If he went for the gunmen first, Nam Ga-eun would be in danger. If he tried to rescue her first, the gunmen might open fire and endanger the crowd.
Honestly, he couldn’t care less if the others died.
So what? It’s their fate.
His only fear was that it would wound the tender heart of his Master Summoner.
That was why he’d suggested summoning Gobang. He would be called forth any second now.
So, where should he focus his efforts?
The conclusion was obvious.
I’ll leave the armed goons to Gobang, clean up the situation on stage, and then join him.
Fwip!
In an instant, Kozak’s form vanished.
***
- Arson on Gwanak Mountain.
- Hijacking a firefighting helicopter from the Aerial Fire Brigade.
- Forcing the pilot to land on the helipad of the HG Hotel.
- Blasting through the venue’s outer glass wall with a bomb-laden drone.
One man was left behind in the helicopter to watch the pilot.
The rest of the five-man team, including himself, infiltrated the event hall.
To facilitate this, they had planted a Player inside the venue beforehand. After the drone strike, they needed to take a hostage to control the chaos and ensure their safe entry. They had bribed a long-time hotel employee, offering him an amount of money he couldn’t refuse. By now, that employee was probably on a plane to China.
The primary hostage target had been CEO Go Yeon-ha. But the target changed right before the operation.
Nam Ga-eun.
Korea’s top Player, a model at the showcase?
Forget Go Yeon-ha. With the top Player as a hostage, no one would dare make a move.
The plan had been flawless. So perfect it was almost frightening.
There was one more critical detail they had to confirm, given that the primary targets of the terror attack were Players: the Tower-climbing status of the elite Players. Had they already completed their one-and-only daily entry, or not?
They had already checked.
The main business of China’s special intelligence division was kidnapping Players. They had conducted countless operations; it was unthinkable that they would miss something so basic.
Korea’s elite Players were state-affiliated. They were obligated to clear the Tower once a day, whether it was a high-floor push or a repeat clear. They even had to record their progress on a body cam and send it to the Management Office.
Most of them cleared the Tower in the morning. That way, they could fulfill their duty and have the afternoon off to relax.
Nam Ga-eun was no different. Her waiting area for Tower entry was at the Management Office building itself. Her routine was to work out at the Management Office’s gym in the morning and then enter the Tower.
Of course, not everyone followed that pattern. Even now, he could see about three Players fleeing into the Tower.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Whatever. Let the small fry run.
In any case, they had successfully secured Player Nam Ga-eun.
This success was making him greedy. Did they really need to kill her? Her value as a hostage was greater than that of the South Korean president. With her, they would be safe.
If we could just keep her as a hostage and take her with us…To a third country, of course, not back to China. North Korea, for instance? If they could just make it safely into North Korean territory, the game would be over. No one would be able to follow them.
Hmph! What a bunch of morons.
He sneered at the Korean police and NIS agents, who were frozen in place, their eyes darting around uselessly. Pathetic. Deng Guanlin’s team was taken out by these clowns? Unbelievable.
Using hand signals, Xiao Jun² conveyed his intentions to the team member holding Nam Ga-eun hostage. Keep her alive. Just threaten her until they had killed every last person here.
The team member nodded.
Alright, let’s get this party star—It was at that exact moment.
Fwip!
Someone suddenly appeared on the stage.
…Huh?
He materialized behind the team member who held the knife to Nam Ga-eun’s throat, so stealthily that no one saw him coming.
And then,
Slice!
Thud.
A hand fell to the floor.
“…”
Xiao Jun’s eyes widened. What was that?
Meanwhile, the team member who had been holding the knife didn’t even realize his own hand had been severed. He heard something drop and glanced down.
…A hand. Is it human?
It looked incredibly familiar. The knife clutched in the severed hand was familiar, too. There was no blood, making it look like a mannequin’s fake hand. A strange feeling washed over him as he looked at his own hand.
“Huk!”
His wrist, cleanly severed.
Why… why is my hand…?
He looked at the hand on the floor, then at his own bleeding stump.
“What the…”
At the same instant, slice!
A hot sensation flared across his neck.
Thump!
His head, separated from his neck, fell to the stage and bounced.
Thump! Thump-thump!
Like a ball.
Thump-thump-thump! Thud-thud-thud…His headless body stood for a moment before toppling backward.
Thud!
The onlookers fell silent. Even Nam Ga-eun, the former hostage, just stood there, completely stunned.
So was Xiao Jun. He felt as if he had just watched a play. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing with his own two eyes.
“…K-Kill them.”
“Sir?”
“Kill them. All. Of. Them!”The team members finally snapped out of their daze. They aimed their assault rifles at the crowd, their fingers tightening on the triggers.
WHOOSH!
Something enormous grew right in front of them. They tilted their heads back to look up.
“Ah!”
“Wha-what is that?”“Uwaaah…”
A person… no, a giant. He was so colossally large that his head nearly touched the ceiling. Was this a movie set? A fashion show?
Suddenly!
“ROOOOAR!!!”
A roar so deafening it felt like their eardrums would burst echoed through the hall. Xiao Jun and his special intelligence team froze solid. The cry stirred a primal human fear within them, and their knees buckled involuntarily. The hands holding their rifles trembled.
Triggers were pulled unconsciously.
Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
No one knew who fired first. It wasn’t an act of aggression. It was pure, instinctual terror.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
Gobang took the bullets head-on. If he had activated his Diamond Skin, the bullets would have ricocheted, but he couldn’t risk a single stray shot flying toward his summoner. Besides, the bullets couldn’t even pierce his skin. It was barely a sting.
Thump, thump, thump!
Three steps were all it took for Gobang to close the distance to the assailants. First, he grabbed one man’s helmet with his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Crack! Crunch!
The helmet shattered, and the man’s skull imploded along with it. Shards of the helmet embedded in his head made the sight even more gruesome.
Another one.
Crack! Crunch!
These bastards dared to threaten his summoner. The summoner who gave him a name, who treated him to delicious beef. If it were up to him, he would break every bone in their bodies and let them die a slow, agonizing death. But his summoner could be in danger, so he had to end this as quickly as possible.
He grabbed the leg of a man fumbling to reload his magazine.
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
And slammed him down onto another assailant.
SWISH! CRACK!
Like swinging a weapon.
SWISH! CRACK! SWISH! CRACK!
After three swings, both the man used as a weapon and the man who was attacked were a shared, bloody pulp.
Xiao Jun stared blankly at the scene, paralyzed by terror.
“…Heh, heh.”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips. Was he fighting a monster inside the Tower? But he wasn’t even a Player. This couldn’t be the Tower.
Xiao Jun reached for the grenade hanging from his chest. It was the only option he had left.
The next moment, slice!
The hand holding the grenade was cleanly severed.
“This is how you’re supposed to cut an SSR,³ you see. Cleanly. Blood splatters are just messy.”SSR?
“Don’t worry. I made the mistake of killing everyone last time without thinking, and I regretted it. I should have left one alive. I’ll let you live. The civil servants of this country need something to do, don’t they?”He finally understood. This was the one. The being who had annihilated Deng Guanlin’s team.
If I had known from the start, I never would have attempted such a plan…POW!
A fist slammed into his face.
Clatter. His teeth scattered across the floor.
Xiao Jun lost consciousness.
With this area cleared, Kozak glanced at the rope dangling outside the window.
Hmm.
It seemed to have come from the rooftop.
Time to finish this, and quickly.
Leap!
He jumped, grabbing the rope and pulling himself upward. A helicopter came into view, along with a man holding a gun to the pilot’s head.
Good thing I came to check.
Crown Prince Bin Salman was still in a daze.
Nam Ga-eun, Korea’s top Player, had been taken hostage. A drone attack followed. The event hall’s glass windows shattered, and assailants in helmets and body armor stormed in.
Bin Salman remembered. The incident in the UAE where state-affiliated Players were massacred in a terrorist attack. It was a trauma he still hadn’t overcome. And now, a terror attack in Korea, a country he had thought was safe. His bodyguards surrounded him in a tight cordon, but what could they do against them with mere pistols?
It was at that moment.
A man suddenly appeared on stage and rescued the hostage, Player Nam Ga-eun.
Bin Salman knew who he was the moment he saw him.
…Gobang?
It was definitely him. The Player who had saved the UAE.
Why is he here…?
Frankly, how he appeared didn’t matter. Knowing what he was capable of, a wave of relief finally washed over him. With a look of awe, Bin Salman watched Gobang on the stage. Their eyes met naturally.
But upon recognizing him, the giant’s face contorted into a deep scowl.
Shiver.
A chill ran down his spine.
What did I do wrong… Ah!
Could it be because he mentioned the name Gobang during the interview? That had to be it. They had agreed to keep it a secret.
W-Wait, is he going to do something to me, too?
Was coming to Korea a mistake?
Suddenly!
“ROOOOAR!”
A roar filled the entire venue. Everyone’s head snapped in the same direction.
“Uwah,”
“Wh-what is that?”
“A giant?”
“N-No way, holy…”
“Oh my god?”
‘Enormous’ was the only word to describe him. He was so massive that he completely blocked the armed assailants from view. Gunfire erupted, but the assailants were taken down in an instant.
Deputy Chief Jeon Kwang-il had heard and seen every moment of it clearly. Player Bong Juhyeok was still by his side. He remembered the words Juhyeok had muttered when he realized Nam Ga-eun had been taken hostage.
‘…Summon.’
That’s what it was. He hadn’t heard it clearly, but he was certain he’d said the word ‘summon.’ And then, a man appeared in a shimmer of light. After exchanging a few words with Player Bong, he was suddenly on stage.
And then, one more time.
‘Summon.’
The man who appeared this time was a giant of overwhelming size. The first man rescued Nam Ga-eun from the crisis, and the second, the giant, effortlessly subdued the enemies despite a hail of bullets.
So that’s what it was.
Summoning.
It felt like all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
Jeon Kwang-il turned his head toward Player Bong Juhyeok.
“Um, excuse me, by any chance….”“Ah, um, yes. You’re probably right about what you’re thinking.”Right. There was no need to ask for details. What more needed to be said? He had seen it all with his own eyes.
Ah! This is no time to be standing around.
First, he checked the camera installed for the NeoTube livestream. It was still pointed at the stage. Though the scene of Nam Ga-eun’s rescue might have been broadcast, the other scenes likely weren’t filmed.
He then approached Noh Yeong-geun, the First Deputy Chief of the NIS, who was still in a state of shock.
“First Deputy Chief Noh.”
“…Uh, oh, yes.”
“Confiscate everyone’s smartphones immediately. They might have taken pictures or videos.”
“Ah! Understood.”
“And that bastard over there doesn’t look dead yet, so arrest him.”
Only then did the NIS agents start to move.
He had a lot to say. The time when Yoo Cheol-min defected, the attempted kidnapping of elite Players, and now this… he didn’t know if he could continue to trust them. It might be a good idea to form a separate, independent team.
Hoo, I have to at least stop the videos from spreading.
But it was a fool’s errand. What good would confiscating smartphones do? Everything would already be saved to the cloud.
Jeon Kwang-il turned his gaze toward the stage. Nam Ga-eun was sitting on the floor, a look of utter devastation on her face. Fortunately, medics and Management Office staff were rushing to her side. He knew he should be over there, too.
“Player Bong, thank you for saving my life.”
“Oh, it was nothing, really…” Juhyeok waved his hands in frantic dismissal.
Please don’t look at me like that. It’s too much pressure. I just called a couple of guys I know. The only problem is that the guys I know are a little… different.
“Who do you think these people are… China, maybe?”
“We’ll have to investigate, but it certainly seems like it was China.”I knew it. Those ignorant bastards.
So, should he just let this go? In the past, as a pathetic, wimp loser, he would have just let it slide even if he was treated unfairly. But things are different now. He now had reliable older brothers and sisters who would jump into action the second he asked them to punish someone.
Even the top school bullies know not to mess with a loser who has older siblings to back him up.
I’ll tell them what happened when I get home.
That it was China.
Now that the situation seemed to be under control, he felt bad, but he had to send Gobang back first. Juhyeok gave Gobang a subtle wave. Gobang nodded in understanding.
‘Dismiss Summon.’
Fwip!
The giant’s body vanished without a trace. The sight caused another stir among the crowd, who gasped in amazement.
Man, I really caused a huge incident this time.
He was worried sick. How was he going to handle the aftermath of this? He wasn’t even sure if it could be handled.
But he didn’t regret it.
What if he had done nothing, just to hide his identity? Could there be any greater sin than that? He would have deserved to be struck by lightning.