Massacre
"Breaking news! J-just as of 30 minutes ago, we have gotten words that m-more than 20 hunters and 10 doctors were killed at Hospital Daegu! Only 4 of the bodies were in good condition enough to be identified with the rest being killed in a gruesome manner, with their head severed. The suspect is still unknown. Survivors at the scene could only describe it as a blur, implying that it has great speed and strength..." suddenly the woman on the TV was interrupted as she was receiving more news from her headphone.
"We just got more news. Apparently one witness described it as 'a Frankenstein monster' with no human features. But as the witness has Alzheimer's disease, this is still unconfirmed. We advise those in the city of Daegu to be aware of the surrounding! Government officials still have not released any information regarding the monster as of now. For more information, please stay tuned for any future updates."
Suddenly, the TV that was playing the news exploded, releasing heavy black smoke and flying debris.
This terrified the living soul out of all the customers within the net cafe.
"Owner! What the f**k!"
"Holy shit!"
"I want a refund!"
Sounds of angry customers began to rang out. They were already scared by the news earlier, and suddenly the TV exploded. That kind of thing wasn't healthy for normal citizens who just wanted to chill. They nearly thought that they were under attack by the same monster in the TV, since how the hell could such a creepy coincidence occurred right after the news was finished.
Well, they weren't too far off from the truth.
At the same time, a short person wearing a hoodie could be seen walking out from that very same net cafe. Only his face could be seen.
He was actually the very same monster on the TV.
His looks didn't arouse any suspicion from anyone, as it was quite normal for people his age to try to act cool like that. But the boy didn't want to act cool, he truly wanted to hide his identity. The physical features of his face aren't too special, just like any 13 years old kid running around, maybe a little handsome, but that was it.
His body though... was something different. It was constantly adapting to meet the demand that his body needs in order to contain all his power.
If anyone could see him without any clothes on, they would see that every inch of his body was different from the next. One spot might look like human skin, but the next one might be that of a bug. And it was constantly changing.
But if one could take a step further and analyze his bone structures, his brain, his cells, they would see that, this boy was the very definition of a monster. He was eliminating every single flaw... every single one of them. Every second, he was becoming the perfect monster.
"Tsk, what's a Frankenstein monster. I'm not some kind of inferior beings like them." The boy scoffed at the news he saw earlier. Hearing such a derogatory term being applied to himself was so insulting that he accidentally released his mana into the TV and nearly destroyed it into oblivion.
What is surprising though, was that the boy was able to speak Korean perfectly, even better than the natives themselves.
Just 40 minutes ago, he had started another rampage at the hospital that he was sent to while he was disguising as an injured hunter. At first, he didn't want to start one so fast as there were still many uses for the body he inhabited.
But despite his refusal for further treatment, the doctors and the Hunters forced him to take an MRI scan, which, there was no way he would agree to since that would reveal the 'real' him inside the hunter's body.
So he started a rampage, killing both the hunters and the doctors while avoiding surveillance of course. However to be stronger, he only needed to eat the Hunters to gain their power, but doctors were a great source of knowledge so he targeted them too. After he had eaten half of the doctors within the hospital, he had gained so much knowledge in the medical field that it wouldn't even be an understatement to called him THE best within the field. This knowledge... even includes the one that they had forgotten, so one could only imagine how much he had gained.
It felt good being stronger.
'Hmm? Is that the library? Good.'
In front of the boy was a huge, and modern-looking library. In truth, the building was only built recently, as an attempt to raise the public's literacy rate since there has been a shortage of white-collar workers lately.
Inside the building, the boy couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the humongous size of the library. Books were placed on large shelves, stack up neatly. People were walking around quietly or they were reading books silently on a separate area. What the boy liked the most, though, was that there were even plants and trees inside the building, giving the impression of a peaceful world.
The boy's heart almost went still in this tranquil environment. He felt beauty in order, contrary to the excitement of chaos. It was not a bad feeling at all.
Arriving at the counter, he spoke, interrupting an old lady who was using a computer. "Excuse me... I want to sign up."
Seeing the short height of the foreigner looking boy, the old lady asked with concern, "Oh, dear! Little boy, where are your parents? Are you lost?"
But irritated at the old lady's words, the boy showed a slight frown on his face before asking the same question again. "... I'm here to sign up."
He gave the woman a solid stare, while subconsciously releasing his dominating aura.
But even though she was slightly in fear, she remained professional. Stuttering a little bit, she spoke, "D-do you have a parent or guardian with you? I cannot assign library card for underage minors."
"Age is just a number. Stop refusing me, you cannot bear the consequences."
Mistaking his words that he was a rich kid or son of some famous Hunters, she shivered slightly in fear. If her assumptions were true, then things might just go south for her if she doesn't complied.
"A-alright. There are always some exception. No problem. I can make a temporary ID card for you just for today but you would need your parents next time. Is that fine?"
Seeing his words finally getting through the old woman, the boy's mouth curved up slightly. He had won against someone, with just words alone.
"I need your name. Is that fine?"
Already expecting that question, the boy answered without any hesitation, "Solus."
But he didn't said a last name. He had learned that last name, or in another word, surname, is a luxury only available for those who have a family. He didn't have one, nor would he bother to lie about the existence of one.
"... Solus?"
"Just Solus."
Now the old lady's suspicion was close to being confirmed. The boy should be the son of some really rich family or Hunters, or else why would he want to hide his last name.
"Alright Solus. Here's a temporary member card... but remember you can only stay for today before renewing at the next visit."
Snatching away the card, he began to make his way up to the science section, where all the books regarding physics and chemistry lie. He had enough knowledge about biology already, now, he just need to seek more of other knowledge to become even more perfect.
{The Principles of Quantum Mechanics}
{Wonders of Chemistry}
{Advanced Calculus and Applications}
'These are fantastic books. They should help me tremendously with being stronger. Quantum Mechanics should help me understand myself on an atomic level, and probably help with mana control. Chemistry will eliminate the flaw in my poisons. And math... with it, predicting my opponents' movements would be infinitely easier.'
And so for the next 8 hours, the boy had gotten everything he needed in the library. Reading a 500 pages book only took him 30 seconds to memorize them all, and he did it with 237 books total. The rest of the time he just meditated to organize his thoughts.
Now, he was too smart for a one-day-old baby. That was the advantage of having an eidetic mind and a godly intelligence.
But throughout his entire time there, no one dared to bother him, as every time they got near, they would feel a terrible pressure placed under them. It was as if he was a Hunter, and no civilian would be stupid enough to mess with a Hunter.
100 civilians lives aren't even worth 1 C-ranked Hunter after all. That was the society that they lived in. The strong ruled the weak.
And just as the boy was about to finish, he suddenly felt a fluctuation within the air.
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'So this is Gate leading into a Dungeon...'
Hidden away from the public's view, the boy was witnessing the birth of a Gate.
It was a wonderful and unknown phenomenon. But strangely, he could understand what was going on.
'Quantum Entanglement...'
Right. After reading nearly everything the library had gotten to offer, the boy could understand things way beyond human knowledge.
With a smirk on his face, he began to calmly analyze the whole situation.
From what he could see and sense, mana was vibrating in a specific wavelength, as if it was attempting to connect with the 'other world' through the fabric of space and time.
Then after both spaces became entangled, the Gate would coalesce mana together to match the same amount of as the 'other world'. After everything was finished, a wormhole would be created, thus allowing one to travel to a different space.
'Human's knowledge is truly fascinating. But this doesn't seem like a normal Gate. Red Gate?'
Even then, he felt like he could still 'eat' the Gate if he wanted to, but decided against it, as that would be a stupid idea to gain strength without a proper foundation. If he were to do that, he would become something similar to a dragon... an animal full of flaws.
'Let's wait for them to arrive'
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"Leader Wookang... we haven't seen any monster for a while now... is this normal?"
In the middle of a tropical forest, a group of Hunters was making their way through dense plantations by cutting them with sharp knives. They were losing a lot of stamina by doing this repeatedly, and the hot and humid climate wasn't helping either.
At this rate, they might just lose even before fighting.
"Don't slack off. The monsters are either luring us into a trap or this is the type of dungeons that placed everything it got into its nest. Either one are equally dangerous. Be alert." The A-ranked Fighter, whose name was Wookang, coldly said to the healer he was protecting.
He was leading a team of more than 20 people, with 3 others as A-ranked Hunters. At first, he thought it was just going to be a breeze with the strength of his team... but who knows that it was actually a Red Gate I disguise!
All he is hoping for is that this is only a B-ranked Red Gate, or else he and his team will die regardless of how strong they're.
But for some reason... he still hasn't seen a monster yet... What's going on?
"Leader... I can hear something just ahead..."
Suddenly Wookang was interrupted by one of the Rangers behind him. Trusting his team's judgment, he ordered the rest of the team to be in a combat formation.
"We're using Formation Turtle. But if it's too hard on the Tankers, the Fighters and I will also help. Mages, conserve your mana and only use it when I give the order. Rangers, find the enemy's weaknesses and report it. Attack at your discretion. Alright, let's head out."
Slowly, they cautiously approached their destination, which they assumed was the monster nest.
They were right. It was a monster nest, with Praying Mantis-like monsters infesting it. But what they didn't expect, was that half of the monsters were already dead, with the rest of the monster in a state of confusion. It was as if all these monsters were bugs sprayed with pesticides.
"Let's go! Healer! Buffs!"
"Oh!"
And for the next 6 minutes, the team had nearly massacred everything. Even the 5+ meters tall boss couldn't even put up a proper fight. It was as if everything was a joke.
"Hahahahah! These monsters are so strong yet they're so slow! Even kids can fight them!" One of the Fighters in the team exclaimed.
Wookang, with a smile on his face, also agreed. He was currently fighting the Praying Mantis boss with 5 others, but it was so easy, he didn't even have to try that much. The only thing that he had to watch out for was its strength, but it was too slow he didn't even bother caring.
He had thought that there was something special about this dungeon, but he was totally mistaken. It was even easier than a C-ranked Dungeon.
But suddenly, he felt something weird. His eyes went blurry, and his limbs went jelly.
He couldn't move!
*Thud*
The tanker in front of him was sliced into half by the boss, causing the upper body to fly 10 meters away and hitting a tree.
It wasn't just him, 3 more Hunters soon followed the tanker to the afterlife. The remainder of the mobs were slaughtering his team like cattle!
Slowly, Wookang's mind began to lose consciousness. It was at that time that he realized he wasn't even breathing, thus he slowly blacked out. Everyone that survived also soon passed away peacefully without knowing why.
Even the Healer's desperate attempt at healing herself was in vain. It had only bought her some more times to live... times that she wished she should never get to experience.
In front of her, a boy clad in silver carapace armor was happily chewing the remnants of her dead teammates. Every time a monster comes near him, an arrow made of light would penetrate their head and killed them in one shot.
She was amazed and terrified at the same time. But both feelings soon turned into pure despair.
Turning his body back, the boy looked at her while holding the head of her best friend, his mouth dripping with blood.
Both of them locked eyes together. She was scared. Her heart was thumping loudly in an attempt to deliver more oxygen to her brain as her lung was no longer working, adding tension to the moment.
With a slightly happy expression, he said to her, "... You're alive. As expected of a healer. What do you think of my mist poison? It was quite good huh? I made them myself. But it seemed like there are still some flaws in my poison. Good... you're going to be my test subject."
After he said that, she could breathe again, but she couldn't move. She was still in a vegetative state. Suddenly, his body then turned into a blur, and soon, corpses of praying mantis began to pile up neatly.
All except the boss, who was extremely close to death's door. He couldn't kill the boss yet, or else the dungeon would collapse.
Tears were flowing from the healer's eyes. She wished she was dead earlier, but it was too late. Sooner or later, she will die... but in a worse manner.
"UHMMMMMMM!!!!! HMMMMM!" She tried screamed to scream with her vocal cord, but could only make muffled sounds. If she could speak, she would have yelled, 'Kill me! Kill me!'.
She can't though, but even if she can... the boy wouldn't kill her yet. She was a fine specimen, and it was time to put his knowledge to the test.
The boy, seeing her pained state, tried to comfort her.
"Shh... shhh... Now then, let's enjoy this shall we? Don't worry... I will make it painless... just for you."
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That day, Korea mourned for the loss of the many Hunter lives that died within the Dungeon...unaware that it was them who responsible for their deaths.