The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 295

294

The battle had already heavily tilted in their favor.

Thanks to the anti-magic stones processed by Director Lee Ah-young and Chloe, the situation was quickly brought under control. The remaining enemy forces had lost their will to fight.

The WDSO forces had ceased their attacks and were slowly surrounding the sphere crackling with black energy.

The moment the spatial distortion dissipated, they planned to converge on Wesley.

However…

“S-Sir…?”

The appearance of two figures caused Kim Min-joo to completely forget her original plan.

Gggggg―.

Black energy poured out like boiling lava.

Eyes consumed by the dark currents.

A gaze fixed on empty air.

An expression devoid of emotion.

It was unmistakable.

He was in a berserk state.

“T-Team Leader’s condition is…”

“Director, why is Team Leader like this…?”

“He looks dangerous…”

Other WDSO employees also sensed the unusual atmosphere, their faces etched with bewilderment as they questioned her.

“…Get back.”

Kim Min-joo commanded.

“Yes?”

“Get back now! Don’t get close!”

Having witnessed Kim Jun-woo’s rampage once before, she knew all too well how perilous the situation was.

No, ‘perilous’ was an understatement.

A disaster.

A disaster beyond human control had unfolded.

“…”

Facing the berserk Kim Jun-woo head-on, her body trembled.

What should I do?

What should I do…

“All remaining forces, retreat.”

It was then that Secretary-General Wesley, who had been confronting Kim Jun-woo, suddenly issued a retreat order.

Without the slightest hesitation, the enemies turned and fled.

Kim Min-joo shifted her gaze to them, a bewildered expression on her face.

Suddenly retreating?

Were they running away because they knew it was too dangerous?

Or was it because the battle had already turned against them?

Abandoning such a thoroughly prepared attack would be the worst possible choice…

‘No, that’s not what’s important…’

It didn’t matter which it was.

[Unique Skill: Thousand-Hand Guanyin]

I can’t just let them run away after starting a war.

And then.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

[Unique Skill: High-Panic Berserker]

Han Yu-bin seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Taat―!

Just as the two warriors were about to give chase.

“…Are you really going to be okay with this?”

Secretary-General Wesley turned his head slightly and said.

“Leaving ‘that’ behind to chase us?”

“…!”

“…!”

The two women’s gazes snapped back to Kim Jun-woo.

He was still standing there blankly, staring at the ground with an empty gaze.

If they left him behind to chase Wesley, and he started moving…

Then the situation would truly spiral out of control.

The two women gritted their teeth, caught in a dilemma.

“See you next time.”

Secretary-General Wesley bid his farewell and turned his back.

The two women could only watch as the International Association forces retreated.

“How did it come to this…”

Han Yu-bin muttered, seemingly frustrated.

Of course, Kim Min-joo couldn’t answer.

There were only two ways to revert the berserk state.

One was to wait until his stamina was exhausted on its own.

And the second was…

To subdue his consciousness with force.

But neither method was certain at the moment.

In the first place, even Kim Jun-woo in his normal state was an opponent they couldn’t handle.

Let alone in a berserk state… there was no way they could overpower him.

“W-What’s going on?! What happened?! …Why is that guy like that again?!”

At that moment, Director Lee Ah-young rushed to the scene, demanding an explanation.

“It seems he went berserk during the battle with Wesley.”

“We have to stop him, but honestly, I’m a little scared…”

Kim Min-joo and Han Yu-bin replied, their faces stiff with apprehension.

Everyone present held their breath and looked at Kim Jun-woo.

But something was strange.

He was clearly in a berserk state, but for some reason, he had been standing still for a while now.

As if seeing a glimmer of hope in his stillness, Kim Min-joo cautiously broached the subject.

“Maybe he’ll find his reason on his own like last time, so should we wait a little longer?”

“It was okay back then because we were inside the dungeon, but…”

However, Han Yu-bin seemed to hold a different opinion.

She glanced around and continued.

“It’s too dangerous to gamble here.”

This was not an isolated dungeon but a road in the middle of the city.

Not only were the local task force and soldiers gathered, but all of WDSO’s forces were present, and Berlin was only 30km away.

If he were to run wild, it would be a truly terrible situation.

“Then what are we going to do…?”

Kim Min-joo asked, but Han Yu-bin remained silent.

She couldn’t possibly have a good solution either.

As they hesitated.

“What are you 고민하고 있어요! [Korean: worrying about!]”

Lee Ah-young shouted.

“Standby troops! Reload all the remaining anti-magic stones!”

That’s right.

They had anti-magic stones.

The troops moved with practiced efficiency.

“Fire all at once on my signal!”

“W-What if he dies?”

“He’s not the kind of person who would die from that, so worry about yourselves! Absolutely do not approach him! Unless you want to die.”

“…Understood.”

“Yes, yes.”

Lee Ah-young turned her head and looked at the two women.

“If there’s any reaction, Min-joo and Yu-bin, step up and try to stop his movements as much as possible.”

Kim Min-joo and Han Yu-bin nodded in unison.

The moment they were ready, everyone pointed their guns at Kim Jun-woo.

“Commence firing!”

Dududududu―!

Thousands of bullets flew towards him all at once.

However.

[Already receiving the effects of one or more Bank Items.]

[Nullified.]

Tung―!

Tungtungtungtungtung―!!

They were all deflected without penetrating the black energy.

“I-It’s not working!”

Damn it!

If even anti-magic stones don’t work, then what are we supposed to do?

In the end, is the only option to stop him with force?

Kim Min-joo gripped her sword tightly.

Han Yu-bin, who was next to her, also clenched her fists.

And then.

쿵―! [Sound effect: Thump!]

Someone dropped down in front of them.

They were momentarily taken aback.

“Y-You…?”

“How did you know about this place…?”

Kim Min-joo and Han Yu-bin opened their mouths with dumbfounded expressions as they identified the figure.

“I couldn’t get in touch with you, so I looked around just in case…”

The man who appeared before them was none other than…

“I never imagined you’d be waging a war.”

Noah Westernwood, the world’s number one ranked player.

“You could have come a little earlier.”

“Do you think I’m just playing around? I was busy in my own way. Above all, I had to take care of the work Kim Jun-woo asked me to do.”

When Han Yu-bin complained, Noah replied indifferently.

“I contacted you because I had something urgent to report… I never expected him to be in this state.”

“Report?”

At Kim Min-joo’s question, Noah’s expression became quite serious.

The words that came out of his mouth were…

“Eden has been found.”

“Y-Yes?”

“W-What did you say?!”

It was truly shocking news.

“An ability wave exceeding the standard was detected near the Ural Mountains in Russia. I urgently dispatched my guild members to confirm. I think it’s certain.”

“Wait. Russia?”

The first to react to his words was Chloe, who had been silent all along.

But Noah seemed more surprised that she was here than anything else.

“Why are you here?”

“I changed jobs. You don’t need to know the details. So, is it true that it was found in Russia? Even if there are errors in the reappearance, I’ve never heard of it appearing on the opposite side of the earth?”

“How would I know? I just got the information.”

“Are you sure it’s really Eden? An ability wave exceeding the standard can also occur in some red dungeons?”

“It was an ability wave 3,000 times the standard.”

“…!”

Chloe’s eyebrows twitched.

“If that’s a dungeon, then the earth is doomed.”

“…”

“The problem is more than that…”

Noah said.

“This information has also reached the ears of the International Association.”

“…!”

“…!”

This time, Kim Min-joo and Han Yu-bin’s eyes widened.

“Could it be that the reason Secretary-General Wesley retreated was…?”

As Kim Min-joo muttered, Noah nodded.

“We’ll probably run into them. Of course, there are some pretty good guys, but it’s hard with just my guild. I have to go find it right away, but…”

Noah looked straight ahead and continued.

“I can’t just leave this behind.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What am I going to do?”

Noah smiled.

“I have to bring him back to his senses.”

[Unique Skill: Apocalypse]

The moment he used his skill.

“If there are any guys who can still fight, lend me some strength.”

Everyone there stiffened their faces and readjusted their stances.

The battle line was reorganized once again.

“…”

“…”

Everyone’s faces were filled with tension.

Gugugugu―.

At that moment, Kim Jun-woo began to move.

There was only one opponent.

But an oppressive feeling more intense than ever lingered.

Kwajik―. [Sound effect: Crunch!]

Kim Jun-woo stepped on a monster corpse lying on the floor.

“…?”

“…?”

For some reason, he stopped moving and stood still, looking at his toes.

***

How long had I lost consciousness?

[Hidden Skill: Karma]

I suddenly came to my senses at the sound echoing in my head.

When I opened my eyes, it was a completely dark space where nothing could be seen.

No, it wasn’t that I opened my eyes, but it felt like somewhere deep within my consciousness.

[Skill Release Condition: Achieve the position of Secretary-General of the International Hunter Association]

[Current Position: Affiliated with the Korea Planning Headquarters of the official International Suppression Organization WDSO, Team Leader of Cleaning Team 3]

[Current Skill Unlocking Rate: 100.0%]

[Current Class: Absolute Monarch]

[Current Unofficial Rank: SSS]

[Current Unofficial Ranking: 1st in Korea, 1st in the World]

[Time Limit: 2 years, 9 months, 13 days, 9 hours, 34 seconds]

The voice continued to be heard.

It slowly conveyed the progress as if giving an interim report.

[Current Time-Based, Probability of Achieving Goal]

[0.0%]

‘…?’

A very embarrassing piece of news.

‘W-Why…?’

I couldn’t understand and blinked blankly.

Of course, even though I’m a team leader now, it’s only because I deliberately lowered my rank.

Frankly, if I wanted to, it wouldn’t be difficult to become the Secretary-General right now.

But why is the probability…

[Currently Confirmed to be in a Complete Berserk State.]

[Since it has exceeded the value that can be overcome on its own, there is no way to find a way to release the berserk state.]

‘……’

I see.

There’s no way unless I get out of the berserk state.

‘Tsk……’

I clicked my tongue at the unexpected situation.

I took a deep breath.

Honestly, even if I knew it would turn out like this, I would have made the same choice.

That’s because that was the only way at the time.

‘Then what happens to me now?’

If I can’t go back to before the regression and I can’t regain consciousness.

Do I have to wander here forever?

[The current state is a result that is not registered in the system.]

[Searching for a way to solve the problem.]

[……]

[Search Completed]

[(1) solution has been identified.]

[Checking the caster’s history to activate the system.]

‘……?’

The moment I heard a voice that I couldn’t understand even a single sentence.

Jiiiiing―.

‘W-What…?’

Suddenly, the events after the regression began to play like a panorama before my eyes.

The appearance of being embarrassed after the regression.

First day of work.

The time when I carried Moon So-yeon on my back and ran to the support team.

Business trip to Vietnam.

Resignation from the association.

Establishment of Karma Corporation.

Conflict with the International Association.

Establishment of WDSO.

And just now, the battle with Secretary-General Wesley.

All the events of the past three years quickly flashed before my eyes.

Of course, I wasn’t the type to be lost in reverie.

I was just watching calmly.

[History Check Complete]

[The conditions for executing 1 solution have been met.]

The voice was heard again.

I still couldn’t understand what it was saying, but judging from the nuance, it seemed like there was hope.

I waited for the results with great anticipation for a while.

[Acquired Passive: Mysophobia]

‘What is this……’

Immediately after the regression, the useless skill that was thrown at me as if mocking my situation came to my mind.

I wondered what I was supposed to do.

[Achievement Condition Achieved]

[Acquired ‘Responsibility of the Strong’ qualification]

[Awakened Passive: Wise Cleaner]

[Unlocked.]

The dark space disappeared, and bright light began to pour in.

Soon, the blurred vision slowly returned.

“……”

For some reason, I could see my feet stepping on the monster’s corpse.