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Chapter 05 …
“Deal with the injured first. I’ll handle them.”
Choi Yura spoke briefly and swung her iron chain.
Chwaaarararararara!
Chwaaa!
The chain’s power was brutal.
“Keck!”
“Kyaaak!”
The monsters melted like ketchup.
With a single swing, she wrapped up three monsters at once and shredded them. It was the kind of overwhelming, satisfying destruction that felt almost refreshing to watch.
‘That’s a real dealer.’
My gaze lingered on Choi Yura.
That explosive attack power—this was exactly what I had desperately wanted in my previous life.
Back then, I had awakened into a non-combat class, so I never once got to wipe enemies out like that.
Non-combat hunters’ offensive skills barely worked on 3-star monsters or higher, so mass slaughter like this had been nothing more than a dream.
All I ever did was quietly watch dealers like Choi Yura wipe enemies out while doing my own job.
“Cough! Cough cough!”
The guard’s coughing pierced my ears.
I snapped back to reality and moved toward him.
“Don’t lose consciousness. Keep your eyes open. Got it?”
He nodded weakly.
“From now on, I’ll stop the bleeding and give you a potion. You’re not going to die, so don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here no matter what, so just grit your teeth and hold on. Understand?”
While keeping him conscious with constant talking, I took out medical supplies from the kit.
I put on latex medical gloves and poured hydrogen peroxide onto his wound to disinfect it.
After that, I poured a healing potion made by refining monster blood mixed with ingredients from plants that grow inside dungeon gates, stimulating rapid recovery.
Finally, I sutured the wound and lifted him up.
“Huh?”
His eyes slowly closed.
I slapped his cheek lightly—tap, tap.
“Don’t pass out. Stay awake. We’re almost there.”
“Ugh…”
“Hey! You want to die here? What’s your name?”
“Ugh…”
“What’s your name?”
“Kim… Doo… hyun…”
“Doo what?”
“Doo-hyun…”
“Right, Doo-hyun. Open your mouth. Say ah.”
“But…”
“…?”
“How old are you…? You’ve been speaking informally…”
What a weird bastard.
Now of all times, does age matter?
“I’m thirty-four.”
Wait, wasn’t I twenty-four at this point?
Whatever.
“Then speak informally…”
“……”
I glared at him for a moment, then grabbed his mouth and forced it open.
“Ah. Say ah.”
“Ah.”
“Swallow. It’s antibiotics.”
I shoved a pill deep into his throat and poured in another healing potion.
The antibiotics were for possible infection risks.
Fortunately, there were no virus-like pathogens among monsters, but they were basically walking masses of bacteria.
Even if wounds could be treated, people often died from bacterial infections or sepsis, so antibiotics weren’t optional—they were essential.
“Ugh!”
He swallowed the antibiotics and potion with difficulty, as if clinging to survival.
“Pfft.”
A faint laugh escaped me.
Kim Doo-hyun, was it?
I could see strong survival instincts in him—just like his willpower.
“Feeling better?”
“Yes… a bit better.”
After the healing potion, his face had noticeably improved.
Just moments ago, he had been fading out of consciousness.
“Get up if you’re conscious. Here.”
“Thank you.”
He grabbed my hand and stood up.
He looked dizzy from blood loss, but a transfusion wasn’t possible here, so he just had to endure it.
“You’re pretty skilled at both fighting and emergency treatment. Were you military?”
Choi Yura, who had already wiped out all the monsters, approached me.
“No. Civilian.”
I smiled as I answered.
It was rare to meet a lifesaver twice.
Besides, she had saved me—not once, but twice.
“Aren’t you a bit rude to someone you just saved? And you look younger than me too.”
Choi Yura said coldly.
You started speaking informally first.
“I’m thirty-four. You?”
“……”
Choi Yura fell silent.
It had been a little tense, but everything was progressing according to plan.
We had saved a married couple living in the same apartment who had never even exchanged greetings before. Doo-hyun was also alive, though that wasn’t really important.
The important part was meeting Choi Yura.
Why would I come here knowing a transition was going to happen?
Choi Yura was the most important piece in recreating a situation similar to when I first awakened as a hunter.
Of course, I could try awakening in another place in another way, but that would be too dangerous.
Whether variables could be predicted or not—that difference was heaven and earth.
I had come back to the past; dying without even awakening would be unacceptable.
What if I died immediately after awakening? I wouldn’t even be able to close my eyes properly from frustration.
“Bombing will start soon. Move quickly.”
“Confirmed.”
Supporting Doo-hyun, I followed behind Choi Yura.
“Honey, is that girl the one?”
“I think so.”
“She’s so young and pretty… how is she so strong?”
“Well… she’s a hunter.”
The couple whispered.
Choi Yura was classified as a 4th-generation hunter—she wasn’t a top-ranked one, but she was still well-known.
Not only was she strong, but her decadent aura, full-body tattoos, and her famous call sign [Bloody Mary] also contributed to her reputation.
“We’re almost out. Everyone, hang in there a bit longer.”
Chwaaarararararara!
Choi Yura tore through the path with chains wrapped around both hands.
About 50 meters remained to escape the transition zone.
Too fast.
“Wait.”
I stopped her.
“Let’s take a short break.”
“Why? Tired?”
“A little?”
I had intentionally been moving slowly, but her pace was too fast.
“Bear with it.”
Choi Yura said sharply.
“I told you. Bombing is about to start.”
“I know, but—”
Chwaaar!
Her chain whipped out and tore the ground right in front of me.
“If you don’t want to die, move.”
“……”
“Move.”
What a temper.
‘Moving too fast will actually increase the risk… damn it.’
The problem was that I had no way to stop her momentum.
That was true even in my previous life.
She was a dealer, and I was a support-type with no offensive skills.
‘Should I point a gun at her?’
Slowly, I raised my firearm and aimed at her—
Swoosh!
The chain shot out.
What—?
“……!”
Chwaaarararara!
It passed right by my head before I could react.
I was so shocked I couldn’t even speak.
Was she really this strong?
I had only tried to aim to slow her down, but she sensed killing intent?
“Speak nicely while you still can. Before I rip you apart.”
“…?”
“Not you.”
She tilted her chin toward the bushes.
I stepped back instinctively—and the bushes rustled.
Figures wearing frog masks crawled out one by one.
The masks were Pepe the Frog—well-known internet meme masks.
Joker Pepe, Crying Pepe, Angry Pepe, Laughing Pepe…
Different frog-faced figures crawled out of the grass and surrounded us.
“What, not satisfied just robbing empty houses? You disgusting ‘wrecker’ bastards.”
Choi Yura smiled coldly.
“Wrecker.”
Around eight to nine years ago, a new type of criminal had begun appearing.
They mostly operated in cities.
When idle, they would intercept military/police radio signals, hack CCTV, or use drones to monitor transition events.
Then when a transition occurred?
They would immediately ride motorcycles to the area and commit crimes like burglary, murder, rape, and arson.
They were modern-day bandits shaped by the era—hyenas of the urban jungle.
“C-cute talk for a 4-star, huh?”
A Joker Pepe laughed.
“You think we’re scared of some random woman?”
The frogs were confident.
And they had reason to be.
They weren’t just non-awakened criminals.
Out of nearly ten of them, seven or eight were awakened.
Even Choi Yura, a 4-star hunter, would struggle against them.
And I knew that from experience.
In my previous life, Choi Yura had been gravely injured by them.
If I hadn’t carried her out, she would’ve died in the bombing alongside their corpses.
Choi Yura smiled faintly.
“Interesting.”
She stepped forward.
“Fine. If you want it that way—”
“Oh? You’ll do it? What?”
“I’ll cut that off and shove it down your throat—”
BANG!
“Ack!”
A gunshot rang out and one frog collapsed.
“Which bastard—!”
Me.
“What the—!”
“You insane bastard!”
RATATATATATATATATATA!
My answer was full-auto fire from a carbine.
“Get low and run!”
I shouted and dragged Doo-hyun behind a nearby rock for cover.
