Signal

Monster appearances are random.

Portals open anywhere and anytime across the world regardless of time and place, and the monsters that emerge from them could be a single one or thousands.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s completely random.

While time, place, and numbers are unpredictable, there was one pattern – the types of monsters showed some consistency.

Giants frequently appeared in Russia, Japan often faced large monster attacks, and America mainly encountered small monsters.

In Europe’s case, it was undead.

That’s why Europe suffered more damage than other countries.

Unlike monsters that could be somewhat countered with modern weapons, undead were difficult to damage effectively without supernatural abilities.

Though they managed to maintain balance thanks to Ark Knight Isaac, he was just one person and Europe was too vast.

The situation was so precarious that it could collapse from the smallest trigger.

And now a massive bomb had dropped on such a Europe.

-This is Europe’s current situation.

The map of Europe on the monitor was completely dyed red.

-France, England, Greece, Denmark, Italy, Hungary, Poland… nowhere is unaffected. How’s the situation there?

-Not good. You?

-Do you even need to ask?

Yuseong let out a long sigh.

He knew the situation wasn’t good, but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

The undead currently appearing across Europe surpassed previous undead in every imaginable aspect.

The numbers increased hundredfold, and Death Knights and Liches that were rarely seen before now appeared without fail wherever undead gathered.

‘This is like pouring water into a bottomless jar.’

Deep fatigue was evident in Yuseong’s voice.

Even with constitution stats approaching 1000 and nanomachine’s health recovery boost option, he couldn’t cover the accumulating fatigue.

Kill a hundred and a thousand appear, kill a thousand and ten thousand appear, kill ten thousand and a hundred thousand undead swarm in.

Initially he could fight casually like taking a walk, but now he had to give his all every moment.

A fierce battle that could make even a user feel tired.

Regular people had already reached their limits and even Contractors were wavering.

-These days there’s even talk of using nukes.

-Are they crazy? Don’t tell me you just stood by and listened?

-Of course I stopped them.

Using nukes might have been worth considering if the undead numbers were fixed, but they were endlessly pouring through portals from who knows where.

In other words, using nukes for extermination would only be a temporary measure.

‘We need to find a solution. Not just taking down the undead in front of us but a more fundamental solution…’

Ding.

-Come to the community.

Though it was an abrupt message, Yuseong quietly took out his goggles from subspace instead of asking why.

He knew that information that shouldn’t be revealed to reality was generally shared using the goggles’ community function.

Though the messenger they were currently using was a special app Sophia made just for users, it never hurt to be careful since there was always the possibility of what-ifs.

[Welcome RoomDweller to the Community!]

-BalanceLover: I’m reaching my limit now.

-Blue Blood: Are you saying you’ll abandon Europe?

-BalanceLover: I’m saying I’ll protect my homeland. Do you know how much the giants have multiplied while I’ve been here?

-Blue Blood: Russia is vast. Even if giants multiply, the damage won’t be much. Wouldn’t staying here be more efficient than that?

-BalanceLover: What? You’re calling that words?

-SuperAnt: Well, I hate to say this but I agree with Isaac. Russia still has leeway but Europe doesn’t. Just hold on a bit longer.

-WeaponMaster: Um, isn’t that a bit wrong? Stopping someone from going to protect their own country is… How about asking Carlos or Nirvana for help instead?

-SuperAnt: How can we ask help from those who’ve gone into hiding?

The community was in chaos with the users who had entered first.

Opinions were largely split into two.

One side argued they must protect Europe no matter what, while the other said it was time to return home.

It was difficult to side with either.

Following the former seemed impossible with endlessly pouring undead, but following the latter meant unmanageable human and economic damage from Europe’s collapse.

The seemingly endless argument ended with Kasim’s appearance.

-GreatMage: I found a way.

Though it was just a brief message of “I found a way” without elaboration, the users connected to the community understood its meaning.

-WeaponMaster: Really? Just yesterday you said there was no way except enduring.

Even Bruce and Kasim among the Three Strong had surrendered before the endless undead.

No matter how many undead Bruce slew with controlling swords with energy, they multiplied faster than they decreased, and even if Kasim destroyed several portals, dozens of new ones appeared across Europe.

Of course they were surprised when someone who had said from the beginning that they could only endure until undead stopped appearing suddenly claimed to have found a way.

-GreatMage: I changed perspective. Until now I only thought about how to stop the undead, but suddenly wondered why so many undead were appearing.

-The monsters that appeared until now weren’t specifically targeting Earth. They just happened to reach Earth while wandering the vast sea of dimensional gaps. But these undead are different. They’re clearly targeting Earth.

-How is this possible? The answer is simple. Something is sending a signal telling them Earth is here. It’s like a lighthouse shining in a pitch black sea where you can’t see an inch ahead.

Though it was a long message, the point was simple.

That somewhere on Earth was something sending signals to the undead.

-Blue Blood: Then if we destroy what’s sending the signal…

-GreatMage: Of course the undead landings would stop too.

-Blue Blood: Where is it?

-GreatMage: Three locations are suspicious. First is the Isle of Man in England, second is the mountains in northern Denmark, and last is the border region between France and Netherlands.

-Blue Blood: Is one of the three locations sending the signal, or are all three sending signals?

-GreatMage: Sorry but even I don’t know that. I just detected locations where strong signals are flowing out, I can’t tell which is the real signal. Could be all three places, could be one of the three, maybe none of the three.

It was an irresponsible statement but this wasn’t a situation to nitpick.

Even if the possibility was only 1%, it was far better than continuing an endless war of attrition.

-Blue Blood: Then it’s decided. Let’s gather right now and attack in order…

-RoomDweller: Wait. I think we should decide more carefully.

-Blue Blood: Careful? Is there any choice besides attacking here? What nonsense are you spouting!

Yuseong’s eyes twisted.

He had felt it from their first meeting, but he really couldn’t get along with Isaac.

-RoomDweller: Of course we should attack. I mean the order of attack. If what’s sending the signal is an item or something, the order doesn’t matter. But what if what’s sending the signal is a high-level undead with intelligence?

-Blue Blood: Don’t tell me you’re scared of mere undead?

-RoomDweller: That’s not what I mean. Earlier Kasim said he detected signals and identified locations, but whatever’s in those three places might also be detecting each other’s signals. If they have intelligence, the moment they notice one place being attacked they’ll immediately cut off signals and hide.

-Blue Blood: ……

With Isaac at a loss for words, Bruce picked up Yuseong’s point.

-MartialGod: Then we need to strike all three simultaneously.

-RoomDweller: That’s right.

-MartialGod: We have eight users. Excluding Sophia who isn’t combat personnel, we can split into two, two, and three.

-BalanceLover: I don’t care how we split up as long as Isaac and I are on different teams.

-SuperAnt: You know my skills, right? Consider that please.

After much discussion, the parties were decided.

Isle of Man in England: Isaac and Ryuhei.

Northern Denmark: Bruce and Kang Changseok.

Finally the border region: Kasim, Olga, and Yuseong.

It was perfect team composition with no room for objection in terms of both combat power and interpersonal relationships.

-Blue Blood: Everyone remember. Failure is…

Yuseong left the community without reading Isaac’s message.

They could arrange schedules through messenger anyway.

Though it was just messages, he didn’t want to hear anything more from Isaac.

“I really don’t like that guy.”

Clicking his tongue briefly, Yuseong fell into thought with his hand on his chin.

Kasim and Olga.

He had seen Kasim at Dragonia, and Olga was also Three Intermediates like Isaac so there was no doubt about their abilities.

“The problem is me.”

He could handle elite monsters even in hordes, but if something like Lucifer from the Salvation Religion appeared, there would be no way to deal with it.

The only reason he managed well in that fight was because Lucifer was excited and careless.

If Lucifer hadn’t come down to the ground and just breathed fire from above, he would have been reduced to ashes without being able to properly resist.

‘Always assume the worst situation. If a strong enemy at Lucifer’s level appears, no, if an even stronger opponent appears, what do I do?’

Escaping through quests was only possible if there was time.

While he could easily outrun lizardmen with Meteor Step and even have leisure to choose the most suitable quest, against a Lucifer-level opponent he would likely lose his life before he could even take out his goggles, let alone put them on.

‘I need powerful strength. Strong enough to damage Lucifer-level beings.’

There wasn’t enough time for quests.

He had to find the answer within what he currently had.

“…Wait.”

An idea suddenly flashed through Yuseong’s mind.

A terrible and frightening idea, but one that could produce equally powerful destructive force.

Yuseong opened the messenger app and sent a message to Sophia.

-…You know it’s night in Korea right? Is this urgent enough to wake me up?

-Yes.

After sending an immediate reply, Yuseong began typing a long message.

That night, Yuseong was able to obtain power that could potentially destroy the world.