I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 8

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Chapter 8 – A Broken Nose (1)

Life, they say, is a series of unexpected events.

Some people find this makes life interesting, while others find it a headache.

The director was the former, and I was closer to the latter.

Just look at me. Just a few hours ago, I was enjoying my vacation, and now, like a protagonist from a classic sci-fi movie, I’m time-traveling to change the past.

There’s no way this is fun.

“Grrrr.”

“Where the hell do these bastards keep coming from?”

I scratched my head and looked down.

The streets were crawling with monsters. There were more left than I thought, and their numbers were increasing.

“Well, those will be taken care of by the hunters here….”

If only I had traveled back to my childhood, it would have made more sense.

Time travel, huh.

So, does that mean there’s a ten-year-old Woo Hwijae here somewhere?

If there is a ten-year-old Woo Hwijae, that’s another headache. There was a time-travel movie where changing the past erased one’s own existence….

I shook my head after a brief consideration.

Who cares?

Changing past events became a moot point when I saved the Hunter Training Pilot High School kids. How many people were supposed to die there originally?

Seeing as I’m still fine, it seems that changing things a bit doesn’t make me disappear.

And that suspicious item that sent me here also said so. A world destined for destruction.

I can’t trust everything the item says, but… if the world is doomed anyway, it doesn’t matter what I do. Maybe, by a stroke of luck, it won’t end.

‘Live.’

Yoo Jieun’s last words echoed in my mind. It was only a few hours ago.

“…Wait a minute.”

Come to think of it, the item came from the giant centipede. If that centipede was the boss of the Bangi-dong dungeon….

When did the Bangi-dong dungeon appear again?

I tapped the mana watch. The battery is powered by the wearer’s mana anyway. Communication functions don’t work, but everything else is fine.

As a prototype with only the director and I as users, there was no need to restrict access to the data stored in the mana watch.

This small watch holds all the information on Korea’s hunters and dungeons.

Information is power.

Especially in Korea.

I quickly scanned the holographic display.

April 6, 2021, Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, dungeon occurrence.

“…Huh.”

A laugh escaped me.

So there was a reason for this specific date.

* * *

So, what should I do now?

I sat on the rooftop of the building, organizing my thoughts.

The top priority is, of course, the Bangi-dong dungeon.

But sneaking into a dungeon embedded in the center of Songpa-gu is impossible.

To enter a dungeon, you need a clear identity and the endorsement of a trusted hunter.

As I said earlier, that’s impossible for me now. Even if I saved the youngest grandchild, I doubt Dayeon would grant permission to an unidentified hunter….

Even if I try not to swear, I can’t help it. Damn it,

“Shit!!!!”

“…?”

I was startled, wondering if I had unconsciously cursed out loud.

It wasn’t my voice.

“Why the hell are these cow bastards acting up!!!”

A stream of vulgar curses followed.

I squinted and looked towards the source of the sound.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Ugh!”

A loud explosion and the cattle herd was swept away.

“What the… isn’t that the guy who called them? He did it earlier too!”

“What a pain in the ass, even for a cow head!”

I looked closely to see who was having such a leisurely conversation, and it was hunters coming down from the direction of Namsan.

About ten hunters were slashing at the monster horde and urgently dodging. Behind them, a minotaur was giving chase.

“Grrrr!”

“Shut up, you dog bastard!”

“It’s not a dog, it’s a cow.”

“…You cow bastard!”

For a conversation between Korea’s representative hunters, it lacked weight.

The situation wasn’t too relaxed. If it were, they wouldn’t have been pushed here by the minotaur.

But it wasn’t worrying either. I already know the outcome of this incident. The minotaur will be subdued, and the Myeongdong dungeon will be closed.

The casualties will be enormous, but recovery will somehow happen.

During that process, the guild responsible for the Myeongdong dungeon will be investigated, and eventually, the guild leader and key members will be arrested.

After this, the state takes over dungeon management from the guilds.

That has more to do with the director than with me. Now… the man wielding his spear energetically up ahead.

“Man, when will this end?”

“Hong, stop grumbling and swing your spear one more time.”

“Can’t you see I’m already swinging it like crazy?”

“There are more with their heads on than those without. You’re getting old, Hong.”

“I’m still in my prime!!”

Every time he swung his spear, a blue wind howled. The sharp blades of mana shredded through the monsters, finally striking the minotaur’s leg.

“Rooaaarrr!!!”

The minotaur’s calves were already a mess, having been hit multiple times. Blood dripped profusely, revealing white bones.

Targeting the legs was indeed the strategy for bipedal giant monsters.

Enraged, the minotaur swung its club, not caring that it was sweeping away its subordinates.

The wild monsters began to scatter in fear, crashing and trampling over each other in the narrow street.

This is a front-row seat to the action.

The hunters gathered here, though hastily assembled, were all highly renowned.

Even twenty years later, not many of them would still be alive, but they all played significant roles in the history of modern Korean hunters.

When else would I get to see these people in their prime up close? It would be great to have a camera. It would be perfect to show to rookie hunters during mandatory education….

“Alright! One more time!”

Vines sprouted from the ground. The blue leaves covering the half-destroyed street added a touch of romance.

Of course, those vines quickly climbed up the minotaur’s legs.

They seemed fragile compared to the minotaur’s massive body, but the creature couldn’t move an inch once entangled in those delicate vines.

“Oh.”

It was the unique mana of the great mage Kim Chaemin.

Who would have thought I’d see it with my own eyes?

After Kim Chaemin’s death, this spell was lost forever.

How did Kim Chaemin die? Saving such a prominent figure like Kim Chaemin, in addition to the Hunter Training Pilot High School kids, would surely be beneficial in the future.

Let’s think.

For twenty years, the Bangi-dong dungeon’s danger level hadn’t changed. With such a stable dungeon, an S-class hunter or two wouldn’t be enough to handle that kind of monster.

And it wasn’t just the centipede in Seoul, was it?

So, if I save those who are supposed to die like the Hunter Training Pilot High School kids, things might change.

First, close the Bangi-dong dungeon, then find the dungeon where the guy who set fire to Seoul is hiding….

This could work.

No, it’s not just a good idea; it’s the only way. While saving lives, I could rack up debts that would ensure a comfortable future….

“It’s done! It’s in!”

I snapped out of my thoughts at the director’s voice.

Finally, the minotaur’s leg was severed.

Thanks to Kim Chaemin’s vines, it didn’t fall immediately, but the minotaur had no way to replace its lost leg.

To support its massive upper body, it needed both legs. Once it lost its balance and fell, it would be relatively easy to deal with.

“Eliminate it!”

A sharp voice called from the rear.

Without any flashy effects, the vines vanished instantly. The minotaur flailed its arms, trying to regain its balance.

Utility poles toppled, and several buildings were damaged. Hopefully, no one was inside.

“Rooaaarrr!!!!”

The boss is still a boss; the minotaur didn’t go down easily. Clinging to a building, it swung its arms at the hunters who launched another attack.

…I’m getting too close. Maybe I should head to City Hall now.

“Hong, cut off the other leg too!”

“Got it!”

The director deftly dodged the minotaur’s arm and closed in on it. It seemed he intended to blow it up in one go rather than slowly chipping away from a distance. Other hunters were covering him.

Kim Chaemin summoned the vines again. This time, they aimed to unbalance the minotaur, grabbing its swinging arm.

One hunter grabbed hold of the vines.

With his feet planted firmly on the ground, he flexed his muscles. He didn’t aim for anything grand; just making the minotaur stagger a bit would be enough.

The director delivered a blow to the remaining leg. Though he couldn’t cut it off completely, he inflicted a deep wound.

The minotaur screamed in pain, and the hunter holding the vines pulled hard.

The minotaur lost its grip on the building. Its massive body began to topple forward, and instinctively, it reached out its hand.

So…

“…Damn it!”

Right towards the rooftop where I was standing.

* * *

“This is supposed to be a B-class dungeon?”

Hong Seokyoung ground his teeth as he faced the minotaur emerging from the dungeon.

This is why the self-reporting system doesn’t work. How can they leave dungeon rating to the guilds?

He had called for a supervisory system, but while they were dragging their feet due to guild opposition, this disaster happened.

The reason for the opposition was obvious. The reason for manipulating the dungeon rating was also clear.

They only realize the severity after the damage is done.

“Shall we go?!”

Kim Chaemin shouted from behind.

A hunter who earned the title of great mage before thirty, he was displaying his talents without reservation.

Thin vines tightly bound the massive monster. Truly a hunter to be desired.

And there were two kids with mana talents at the school, weren’t there? Unlike other fields, mana is hard to teach on one’s own. If a hunter like him could give a few lessons….

The faces of the children flashed in his mind. They must have evacuated safely by now.

“Rrrrr!!!”

“Hong, cut the remaining leg too!”

“Got it!”

This isn’t the time for distractions.

Hong Seokyoung snapped back to attention, gripping his spear tightly. Now, he needed to focus on taking down this beast.

Mana gathered at the tip of his spear. He had already severed one leg. Once they could topple the minotaur, the rest would be easier.

Though cutting through the remaining leg was impossible, the goal was to strike it hard enough to knock the creature down.

That would be sufficient. Without any lengthy preparations, Hong Seokyoung swung his spear.

The massive body swayed. Despite its desperate flailing, the minotaur couldn’t regain its balance. Its arms wildly swept across nearby buildings before it finally toppled forward.

“…Huh?”

Hong Seokyoung hesitated just as he was about to launch another attack. He saw a figure on the rooftop that the minotaur had reached for—a man in a dusty, crumpled suit.

How had he not sensed someone this close?

Hong Seokyoung squinted. The man was definitely holding a sword. It had been a brief moment, but he couldn’t miss it.

And the man on the rooftop wasn’t just seen by Hong Seokyoung.

“A person?”

“A civilian?”

“No, he was holding something!”

At that moment, a blue flame trailed down the minotaur’s back, cutting through the monsters filling the street. The creatures touched by the fire were engulfed in flames.

“Uh… Good job, everyone….”

A lazy voice, sounding both awkward and unenthusiastic, came from atop the minotaur.

“You seem busy, so don’t mind me. Just keep doing what you were doing.”

“…Who are you?”

Hong Seokyoung couldn’t help but ask.

“Me?”

The man in the crumpled suit scratched his head as he pulled the sword out of the minotaur’s back. Blue sparks of flame flickered around the blade.

“Just a passerby.”

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