June 6, 2015
「The Demon King's Tower」
It appeared one day out of nowhere.
A mysterious otherworldly tower – an enormous, endless labyrinth.
America, China, Japan, and Korea.
It suddenly materialized simultaneously across the world, forcing trials upon every nation.
「Conquer the tower within the time limit!」
And,
if they failed to conquer the tower in time, the region would have to pay a harsh price.
That price was a great disaster known as 「Tower Collapse」.
***
Ddilik!
"That'll be 3,400 won."
…
Kang Ha-min, an ordinary convenience store part-timer.
"Thank you. Please come again."
Today should have been just another uneventful day… but in reality, it was a little different.
[The government has begun imposing full travel restrictions around Bangbang Intersection and the surrounding area starting this afternoon.]
[Following the National Disaster Headquarters' mobilization order, Breakers are on standby near the site… and the Capital Defense Command has also deployed military forces, maintaining a state of high alert.]
The screen was flooded with nonstop news coverage.
For the past few days, the world's attention had been fixed on just one thing.
It was called—
「Magic Rift」
An irregular mana field anomaly occurring around the Tower that manifests in the form of a gate, from which monsters pour out.
[The National Disaster Headquarters reports that this time, the monsters are expected to possess at least mid-sized, upper-grade mana, and are preparing accordingly…]
With 「Magic Rift」, it was possible to predict the strength of the monsters to some degree based on the size of the mana field that appeared beforehand, and the government had been maintaining constant readiness to match.
‘Whatever. They'll handle it themselves.’
After all, it wasn't something that concerned him much.
In the end, the 「Breakers」 would take care of everything.
Just like they always did…
Still, just in case, Ha-min kept an ear out for the breaking news.
‘But Bangbang Intersection…’
That was about three blocks away from here. Pretty close. But no evacuation order had been issued yet.
‘It'll be fine.’
On TV, the 「Breakers」 were shown in action. The ones clearing the 「Demon King's Tower」 — they had already become the center of this era.
‘Lucky them.’
…
Anyway,
‘Not many customers today?’
Was it because of the 「Magic Rift」?
It wasn't an evacuation zone, but since it was geographically close, the number of passersby had naturally dropped drastically.
The streets were the same.
‘At this rate, should I take tomorrow off too?’
It seemed like he'd have to bring it up with the store manager.
'Just in case…'
Just then—
Ding!
[You have awakened as a 「Breaker」.]
"!!!!!!"
It was a system window that suddenly appeared before his eyes.
!!!!
What did it just say?
'It definitely said 「Breaker」…'
He heard it clearly.
Thump
His heart raced wildly. The 「Breaker」 awakening he had longed for so much had come to him out of nowhere—and in the middle of his part-time job, no less….
Ding!
▶ Breaker
― Name: Kang Ha-min
― Level: Lv.1
― Mana: 11
― Class: Demon / Demonic
― Unique Trait: Absolute Command (Lv.1)
!!!!!
Ha-min's Status Window.
"Whoa—I really did awaken!"
This wasn't a dream. Ha-min, so excited he even yelled out loud—he had finally become a Breaker himself.
Huh?
But—
'This affiliation…?'
Demonic affiliation? It was an affiliation he'd never seen before in his life.
'What in the…'
Even the sound of it felt somewhat ominous.
Human greed knows no bounds. Deep down, he'd secretly hoped it might be a magic affiliation or a recovery affiliation. Especially recovery—it's considered such a massive jackpot that it's compared to winning the lottery.
But demonic affiliation?
'This is something I've never even heard of…'
Just moments ago, he'd been thrilled just from awakening, and now he was already disappointed that it wasn't recovery.
But still—you never know.
'First, let's check the trait…'
Ding!
▶ Unique Trait
― Name: Absolute Command
― Level: Lv.1
― Command Options: 1 (Expand)
― Uses Remaining: 1/1
You can issue an absolute command to your target.
"!!!???"
….
????
‘Wait, an absolute command?’
He wondered if it was just a metaphorical expression—but just looking at the skill description… this really meant issuing an actual command.
Ha-min was taken aback for a moment. He'd never even heard of a 「Unique Trait」 like this before.
‘Just what kind of commands are possible?’
Just as he was about to expand the detailed command options—
Kururururung!!!
Shooooooosh!!
A massive vibration sounded from outside! Something had just sped past outside.
!!!!
The entire convenience store shook from the tremor.
"W-what? What was that?"
Startled, Ha-min stepped outside.
At that moment, in the sky above—
Shoooooooosh!!!
Several fighter jets streaked past at high speed.
‘KF-22?’
Fighter jets in the middle of the city?
Under normal circumstances, that would've been absolutely impossible.
And then, at that very moment!
Wheeeeeee——
A shrill, piercing siren blared in his ears.
At the same time,
[Breaking News. At 14:32, a 「Magic Rift」 has been generated near Gangnam Station.]
The news anchor's urgent voice.
"R-right now?"
It was supposed to be tomorrow...
[We'll go straight to the scene. Reporter Kim Sang-ho?]
[Yes! This is the Gangnam site. The 「Magic Rift」 that was predicted to occur tomorrow morning has suddenly appeared. The National Disaster Headquarters is currently assessing the situation and has issued an emergency evacuation order to nearby citizens.]
The footage from the news helicopter showed the area around Gangnam Station....
It was complete chaos. And it wasn't far from where Ha-min was standing.
Kugugugugu
CRASH!
Buildings collapsed, and flames erupted all around.
KRAAAAAAAAAH!!!!
'Wh-what is that?'
An unidentifiable roar echoed. The entire area around Gangnam Station in the distance was filled with massive clouds of smoke.
And then—
Twitch
Something was moving inside the smoke.
'I-it's huge...'
He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but it was definitely massive.
'They said it was mid-sized...'
There was no way a mid-tier magic beast could be that big. Anyone could see that was a giant—no, a colossal magic beast.
[Ah! As we speak, the magic beast has finally revealed itself.]
KUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
The roaring magic beast....
KIIIIING—
The shockwave swept over Ha-min.
"Whoa!!"
BOOOM
His body was flung backward.
CRASH!
KURURURURURU!!!!
The ground shook violently as the creature began to move.
The magic beast emerged from the smoke. Two massive horns, sharp fangs, black scales covering its entire body.
And on its back—grotesque, bat-like wings that jutted out.... This creature was a colossal magic beast.
└ Is this for real?
└ Huh? Isn't that Avalon?
└ Holy shit!! A general class giant magic beast is appearing here?!
└ Didn't the news say it was a mid-class magic beast?
└ Crazy... We're all dead now.
└ This is cheating. That thing is a level 40 boss—one that only shows up in raid content!
This was by no means a normal occurrence.
DING!
[The Chaos Magic Beast 「Avalon」 has descended.]
A colossal magic beast had appeared.
And right in the middle of Seoul!
....
[Commence attack!]
[Box 1, fire!!]
[Box 2, fire!!]
[Box 3...]
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
The urgently deployed Air Force fighter squadrons fired their air-to-surface missiles (ASMs) all at once.
BOOM!
KABOOM! KABOOM!
KRUUUUSSSHHHHHHH!!!!
KROOOOOOOOOOAR!!!!
「Avalon」 roared.
And then—
[All missiles, FIRE!!!!]
BOOM!!
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!!!
KRUUUUSSSSHHHH—!
On the ground, the Anti-Magic Beast Defense Command's "K2K Black Dragon Tanks" that had been waiting in position opened fire. It was an incredible concentration of firepower worthy of a battlefield.
But—
KROOOOOOOOOOAR!!!
「Avalon」 took absolutely no damage.
Magic beasts generally had strong resistance to thermal weapons... Especially at the Calamity-Class level, that resistance was practically immunity.
"C-Commander! We're dealing no damage!"
"Damn it! I know! Any word from the National Disaster Headquarters' 「Breaker」 STA Team yet?"
"They say all four teams on standby have been deployed."
"Are they out of their minds?! That thing is Calamity-Class! Four teams won't be nearly enough!"
"Th-then?"
"Contact them again!! Tell them to mobilize every 「Breaker」 in Seoul!!!"
At that moment—
BOOOOOOM!!!
「Avalon」 swept its tail across the surrounding area.
KUGWAGWAGWAGWANG!!!!
"Aaaagh!"
"R-run!!"
"S-someone save me!"
The monster was tearing the city apart. And this scene was being broadcast live all over the world.
"Th-that's..."
Ha-min was also at a loss for words at this unbelievable sight.
A Calamity-Class magic beast...
'I-I have to run.'
It was only a matter of time before this place became a wasteland too.
Ha-min also knew — to take down a beast of that caliber, a joint raid of multiple 「Breakers」 was necessary. At least several dozen of them...
But right now, there wasn't a single 「Breaker」 at the scene.
'At this rate…'
He thought he might actually die.
WHAM!!
KRUMBLE—RRRRRRRUMBLE!!!!!
A massive building collapsed powerlessly under the creature's attack.
"Kyaaah!"
"Aaaah!"
"Somebody help!!!"
"Run! Get away!"
In the midst of the chaos, facing a being that enormous seemed utterly absurd.
*'Ha. But…'
Ha-min recalled the list of commands he had just checked.
That very one—
Ding!
▶ Annihilation
― Target: 1
Delivers eternal death to the designated target.
Gulp!
It was a truly ruthless command. A skill so dubious that he wondered if it would even work.
'Even if I'm going to run away…'
He wanted to test it out.
Because even in the middle of all this, there were people fighting that gigantic magic beast. With their own lives on the line….
'Let's do this! I'm a 「Breaker」 now too!'
Nothing to lose anyway!
Ha-min reached his hand toward the magic beast in the distance, and the massive creature's form came into clear view.
'But what's the activation word?'
Using it for the first time, it felt incredibly awkward.
Then—
Oh!
Magic power began to gather in Ha-min's left hand. This wasn't because of an activation word—it was responding directly to Ha-min's will.
"Okay. Got it!"
He could feel it.
Now, what's next?
Kurururung
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
"Waaah!"
"Kyaaaak~!"
Even in the midst of all this, people were... collapsing. He had to hurry.
Ding!
[Select your Absolute Command.]
1. Annihilation
A choice appeared before his eyes. But since there was only one option, why ask him to choose...? Was there more to the menu?
Just then—
KUWA-KWANG!!
"WOOOAAAHHH!!"
There was no time to think about anything else.
'Screw it! Activate! Annihilation!!'
GOOOOOOONG!!
Instantly, Ha-min's will moved. He had activated his skill.
ZIIING!
KUWOOOOONG!!
Red magic power writhed inside Ha-min's body.
And then—
[Annihilation has been activated!]
Gulp!
'Done!!'
Ha-min, staring intently at Avalon. The skill had successfully activated.
….
….
Huh?
….
But—
….
There was no reaction whatsoever. In the distance, Avalon was still rampaging.
KWA-BOOOOM!
The fighter jets' bombardment continued once again.
KWA-BOOOOM!!!
PEPE-POW!!
Multiple ultra-high-yield missiles flew in and struck the creature.
But—
KYAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
It only served to enrage Avalon further.
"Why? Why isn't it working?"
Was it an error? Was it too much after all? Was it because, even with Absolute Command, a deity-class magic beast was just too much? — Just as he was thinking that,
KUOOOOOOOOO
Suddenly, the creature began to writhe as if in pain.
!!!!!!
?????
KYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!
A scream?
This was definitely a scream of agony.
And then—
WOOOOOOONG!!!!!
….
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
An enormous explosion erupted from Avalon's chest area.
The massive hole blown through its chest was clearly visible even to Ha-min, standing far away.
'How is that possible!!!'
The beast's heart — its very magic core — had exploded.
GREEEOOOONG
And then—
…the bastard fell.
"F-fall back!"
"Behind! Get behind! It's going down!"
A truly sudden turn of events—
The scene where they had been fighting it was thrown into yet another panic.
SWOOOOSH
KUWOOOOONG!!!
KWA-BOOOOOOOM!!!!
'…Is this for real?…'
Avalon had fallen.
….
!!!!!
Ha-min was at a loss for words.
!!!!!
The scene, the news, the internet—everyone fell silent.
At the same time—
Ding!
[You have defeated the Chaos Magic Beast 「Avalon」.]
A system message appeared.
"Wha… what the?"
Kang Ha-min.
You had obtained an immense "power."
That power was—
The power of 「Absolute Command」!
....