Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 41



Only Krnovel

31. The Man Who Became Light (1)

I’m sorry.

He is currently in his mid-30s, his real name is Gu Sang-hyo, and he is a D-class hunter according to Old School standards.

He is not from the same school as me.

He is a so-called training center hunter who received training at a professional training institution and obtained hunter qualifications.

Nowadays, whether you are from a school or an educational institute, unless you are an Awaken, you are all considered old-fashioned.

What happened to that discussion?

Some people say he is dead, others say he is alive.

One thing is certain, John Nae-non used the fame he gained from the bulletin boards to sell his lectures, and like those people, he became even more famous for being famous and made money like a rake.

When he was criticized on the bulletin board for copying without permission, he was able to shout “Neu-geum-ma” as a result. Of course, he was disappointed with the bulletin board, but a large portion of it was probably due to his enormous wealth.

By the time I returned to the forum, John Nae-non was no longer giving lectures or anything like that.

Rumor has it that our esteemed teacher is serving up customized doomsday packages to the rich and powerful.

That rich man has completely disappeared since the war.

Some have speculated that the interest seeker may have bought a new account and was operating as a sub-account, but no one has been able to figure out who the sub-account is.

It has been two years and five months since the war began.

As the long, terrible cold spell passed and a colder-than-usual spring began to arrive, my role model, whom I thought I would never see again, magically appeared out of nowhere.

SKELTON: Who are you? It’s my first time seeing you. And you haven’t written anything.

SKELTON: (Skeleton) Are you Mr. Jonnaenon?

Message from 183cm88kg18cm: This account is a sub-account of Jonnaenon. But I am not Jonnaenon. I am his subordinate.

SKELTON: (Skeleton surprised) A subordinate?

Message from 183cm88kg18cm: (John Nae-non subordinate): John Nae-non wants to see you.

By the way, what is this guy’s nickname?

If it’s John Nae-non, then it’s John Nae-non-like sense, but is that person really that tall?

Considering that you wrote it off as bragging, it doesn’t seem like a light weight. Even if you built up muscle, would you be able to maintain it in this day and age?

First of all, what the heck is 18cm? What the heck…?

Could people go crazy even before war?

In any case, the author who wrote the sub-account of Jonnae-non gave us a lot to think about.

First of all, it seems that Jonnaenon is in Seoul.

If you want the exact location, I’ll tell you.

But why now, and why did someone who was not even me but my subordinate send me a message?

I asked this 18cm guy about the situation, but he avoided answering, saying that he was the one sending the message on behalf of John Nae-non.

It seemed like what John Nae-non wanted was a meeting with me.

But in this day and age, when pioneers are spreading out in all directions, why move?

It’s not easy.

In these times of chaos, when the government no longer controls the roads like it used to, moving around can mean death.

SKELTON: I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t think I can go. The situation is too dangerous right now.

I sent a message to another user, politely sending a rejection message.

The opponent is Fox Game.

I’m a game developer who once created a Christmas tree decorating game.

SKELTON: I have a favor to ask.

In the past, I wouldn’t have even tried.

He is a named user and I am the lowest user along with Unicorn18.

However, the initial incident raised my standing considerably and gave me some confidence.

Message from Foxgames: Want to know who put a message on the tree last year?

As expected, Fox Games readily accepted my request.

My request is nothing special.

I want you to find out the identity of the user who put up the decorations on my Christmas tree.

I didn’t run last year, but the year before that someone put a Johnnaenon decoration on my tree.

I was curious, but I didn’t really care.

It was an anonymous decoration and I had some kind of relationship with John Nae-non and I thought I might have imitated John Nae-non and posted that message.

However, since a human who claims to be a subordinate of the disappeared Jonnae-non has appeared, it is necessary to confirm it.

After a while, Fox Games informed me of the identity of the user who had sent me the message.

Message from Foxgames: 183cm something or other. Who is he? 18cm? What does he do?

Exactly. It’s the 18cm I’m messaging with right now.

After a long time, I felt the warmth of the bulletin board and expressed my gratitude to him.

SKELTON: (Thanks Skeleton) Thank you.

Message from Foxgames: Hey Skeleton. I have a question for you too.

SKELTON: ?

Is there anything you want to ask me?

What do you want to ask?

With half worry and half anticipation, Fox Games sent me a message.

Message from Foxgames: I’ve been feeling this way for a while now, but doesn’t it seem like the community is slowing down? It’s like it’s been cut in half compared to the beginning.

SKELTON: It’s definitely slowed down. I can’t upload videos in high definition anymore. But I guess that can’t be helped, right?

Message from Foxgames: I’ve been experiencing a sudden surge in traffic lately. There’s no reason for traffic to occur on our side, but could it be an external intrusion? I’ve heard that this is satellite-based, but it’s not a closed network, and that it’s connected to the outside Internet.

It’s true that the community has slowed down.

But even if it slows down a bit, wouldn’t it be okay if I can just upload text and pictures?

It’s heartbreaking that I can’t upload Skeleton’s beatbox series, but I think it’s a bit shameless to hope that the bulletin board will remain intact when everything else is in decline.

But there was another reason why Fox Games was sensitive to speed.

A message from Foxgames: I’m working on a secret game. It’s a low-level MMORPG, but I have no idea how Starlink servers work. So I thought I’d talk to you.

It’s an MMORPG.

Is it something like an online game that multiple people play?

I don’t really like games, so I don’t know much about them, but if Fox Games, which used to provide satisfaction with small games, is said to be a secret game, then it will probably be quite popular.

It will also be a great help to our users who are getting tired day by day.

Anyway, I found out who decorated the most important tree.

John, he was here.

*

The survival of John Nae-non is truly amazing.

But it didn’t really hit me and I didn’t think it was something to be excited about.

What should I say, it’s a bit indifferent.

Reality was too harsh to yearn for role models from the past.

Although Jo Seong-yong never visited my territory, drones appeared in the sky from time to time and ominous gunfire erupted from the north.

Although the gunfire was rare, the pattern of shots coming from different directions and spaced out apart probably suggested a standoff between two hostile groups.

The sniper side also seemed anxious, as they sent messages every day asking about the situation here.

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: Skeleton! It’s me, Suu! What’s going on with the noise up north?

It’s my daughter who sends the message.

Since her mother is not good at typing in Korean, her smart daughter asks how she is doing on her behalf.

This is what I requested.

Since Rebecca doesn’t have a personal identification number, she has no choice but to communicate on a public frequency, and with a powerful opponent like Jo Seong-yong, there is a risk of radio transmissions being eavesdropped on.

But they won’t be able to eavesdrop on encrypted satellite signals.

SKELTON: I’m not sure, but it looks like people are fighting each other. Do you have enough food?

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: Yeah, but it’s starting to run out.

SKELTON: What about the bullet?

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: Plenty of bullets.

SKELTON: How about the Javelin? It won’t discharge again or anything?

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: No problem! Mom is waiting to get one.

SKELTON: Is there anything you want to eat?

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: Juicy- one.

SKELTON: Are you talking about the juicy stuff?

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: Yeah!

It is said that conversation through text has its limitations.

It is true that it is convenient, but it is a half-assed conversation because it cannot convey the emotions and warmth contained in the voice.

But if you’re not used to the warmth of the other person, wouldn’t it be better to have a conversation while putting up a bit of a wall?

Even the sacrament of confession has a similar structure.

I think it was a good idea to bring the scholar’s laptop and satellite equipment.

Even though we are neighbors, I feel like I am narrowing the gap with the sniper family.

But that’s not all the scholar’s gift is.

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: The southeast is bathed in a strange light.

Being connected to the Internet means being able to transmit pictures that cannot be conveyed with just a warm voice.

Suu sent me a photo.

“······.”

For a moment I doubted my eyes.

In the abandoned forest, gray-white lights illuminated the darkness eerily.

It’s a monster.

Monsters have advanced right up to my chin and are encroaching upon the area surrounding my territory.

Where did it come from?

It can come from anywhere.

A total of four cracks have appeared in South Korea.

It appeared in Paju, Yangsan, Gochang, and Jeju.

The situation in Yangsan and Gochang is better than in Paju.

Not only was the intensity of the cracks low, but local forces chose to hold their own front lines without being drawn into civil wars and become regional warlords.

That monster definitely came from the north.

No, maybe it came straight from North Korea.

SKELTON: Since when did this happen?

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: From two days ago.

Two days.

It wasn’t long ago.

Monsters observed in the sniper’s area will be small species – sedentary.

Only sedentary species can build nests and survive against the will of the Earth.

The scariest aspect of a monster is not its fighting power.

Their danger comes from their very existence.

There’s a good example that we were taught in school.

Humans built factories in certain places.

The factory emitted smoke and wastewater, and animals and plants living around it died and disappeared.

Factories don’t kill animals and plants because they want to.

They all died naturally during the process of running the factory and producing goods.

It’s a similar principle.

Monsters try to color everything around them with their colors.

Mutation is the most common otherworldly color.

The reason Kyledos went mad was because his mind was soaked in the colors of the other world.

It is something I cannot stand by and let happen near my area.

This means that if left alone, the surrounding area could erode faster than Seoul.

I know that the Xinjiang rift is expanding thousands of times faster than the Beijing rift in China.

SKELTON: I’ll go now. Tell Mom not to shoot.

Message from COOKIEMONSTER18: Mom is on the computer all night and taking a nap

*

The monsters that our hunters of old mainly fought were small species.

Most of them were torn to pieces by the overwhelming firepower, usually accompanied by long-range artillery fire, without any time to do anything, but some would sneak into the position through teleportation or good luck.

If they invade our positions, we have little choice.

Because it blocks our means of attack with its unique reflective field.

When the soldiers are in trouble is when our hunters come into play.

Hunters are not soldiers.

To a seasoned soldier, cover is another way of survival, but to our hunters, cover is like closing their eyes to a flying knife.

A hunter’s hunt requires extremely organic teamwork, precise techniques without a single error, and above all, a lot of guts.

Like a Joseon hunter who fought a tiger as big as a house with a single old matchlock gun, we risk our luck and our lives every moment to kill the enemy of mankind without closing our eyes to imminent death.

There are few small breeds I can’t handle, once considered top-notch in the field.

Most of them can be killed alone, once the difficulty of access is solved.

Luckily, thanks to Viva! Apocalypse!, we were able to spot the monster early.

It usually takes a fortnight for a monster to build a base.

Once their base is established, it is not only difficult to break through, but access itself is blocked.

But if you have two days, or at the latest a week, it’s worth a try.

That’s why I ran out of the bunker when Jo Seong-yong’s drone was still flying around and there was no telling when the Pioneer would come.

“excuse me!”

Rebecca pointed with wide eyes to a mountainous area four kilometers away from her territory.

There appears to be nothing wrong with the outside.

That’s for sure.

I recently settled down.

Rebecca is an excellent sniper, but has no experience fighting monsters.

So she is of no help.

Maybe her sniping skills could get her killed.

This is my fight.

What I do best and what I wanted most.

He slowly approached the area armed only with two sharp axes.

Indeed, as you go deeper, you can see the tree branches curled into strange shapes.

It is the effect of erosion.

There will be enemies of humanity there.

I’m going to kill that bastard and get out, except for one exception.

“······.”

I am watching.

A statue that appears to be buried dead among the twisted winter trees.

A locust with what appears to be a large awl embedded in its forelegs, a sharp triangular lower body half-buried in the ground, and a long, gray-white head with no trace of eyes, nose, mouth, or any of the organs that allow us to feel emotions.

There was just one exception.

Dancer type.

He’s the only one I can’t kill in close combat.

No, maybe I can kill him.

But I don’t want to risk everything on a 5% chance.

*

“······.”

Personal identification number: REDMASK

Fifteen minutes had passed since I had just stared at the radio, entering my personal identification number.

Right now, the only person I can realistically reach out to is Woo Min-hee.

Only she can help me.

What I need is a large monster weapon called Hunter’s Equipment, but if she comes in person, she will be able to tear that monster apart on her own.

She is away.

He is also a high-level psychic with 12 levels of psychic abilities.

But I’m not so foolish as to not know what it means to reach out to her.

She is not Kim Da-ram.

Now, I am not the Kim Da-ram whose voice I can even vaguely remember······.

“······.”

I logged into the community to take a breather.

I intend to read something interesting to soothe my mind and gather my thoughts.

A message had arrived.

Message from 183cm88kg18cm: I’m very sorry, but Jonnaenone desperately wants to meet Skeleton.

“Fuck.”

Are you another human being who is called a subordinate of Jonnae-non?

If we had more time, we could have talked about anything.

But not now.

He is a man of the past.

It can’t solve the current problem.

I made an unreasonable request because I did not want to have any more contact with you.

SKELTON: I’ll think about it if you give me hunter equipment.

Message from 183cm88kg18cm: Hunter gear?

SKELTON: Mk-7 Harpoonizer

To be sure, I even entered the exact model I wanted.

If you talk nonsense, I plan on blocking you.

I’m very nervous right now.

Message from 183cm88kg18cm: I heard you have it?