# Chapter 115
Dealing with not just regular monsters but three mutated ones simultaneously made cold sweat break out all over. If only he had proper weapons, but all Lee Hwan had was the monster tranquilizer gun typically carried by Supporters.
Though it would only buy a few minutes at most, for Supporters with virtually no attack capabilities, this was a much safer and more efficient method than firearms.
After all, most monsters don’t die from just a few bullets.
Pak!
The tranquilizer dart, potent enough to put an elephant to sleep, cut through the air and lodged in the nape of the large weasel’s neck. Lee Hwan had quickly adjusted its trajectory when the creature swung its front paws to block.
Kaak, kak!
The weasel, despite being shot, tensed its limbs to resist gravity, then suddenly staggered and collapsed flat.
‘Did it work?’
But just as he started to feel a bit relieved, its unblinking black eyes rolled and began staring at Lee Hwan.
‘…It’s still awake?’
The tranquilizer hadn’t worked properly. It would probably only stay down for a few seconds before getting up again. As if to prove his prediction right, the monster swung its front paw even while collapsed.
What would happen next was obvious. If it could glare with such alert eyes, the drug’s effect would wear off quickly, and it would pounce.
‘Still, with that time…’
He wouldn’t need to continue using his gravity skill so extensively.
Because the monsters kept thrashing and changing positions, it was difficult to apply gravity precisely above them. Feeling his strength draining in real-time, Lee Hwan quickly fired several more tranquilizer darts.
Pak! Pak!
Though a couple missed, the rest successfully embedded in the two other monsters. As the force resisting his skill gradually weakened, Lee Hwan hastily withdrew the wide-area gravity skill that had been draining his energy.
Kaaang, keo-!
‘The one that got hit first is starting to wake up. That means… it didn’t even last 10 seconds.’
At this rate, even if he collected all the tranquilizer guns from the Supporters here and used them, he wouldn’t buy more than 5 minutes. There wasn’t enough time to evacuate everyone.
Plus, there were two more people deeper inside the gate. Unless he planned to throw them to the monsters as bait, it would be better to alternate knocking down the monsters with tranquilizers while fighting.
Ten seconds was enough time to kill at least one. That was fortunate, at least, amid the misfortune.
‘Did someone really tamper with the gate? Or is it just coincidence?’
Though he’d been through countless gates, he’d never witnessed such deformation and mutation by chance. It could only be seen as someone’s deliberate act.
Lee Hwan swiftly moved his body, avoiding two rather sharp attacks from the fallen monster, then plunged the collection knife deep into its throat.
He jerked his hand forcefully, and the weasel thrashed wildly, swinging its front paws and snapping its jaws in the air.
But as the knife tip scraped its spine and his hand became stained with blood, he felt it trembling and sinking to the ground.
It was simpler than expected. If he could just deal with the other two in the same way, they could exit the gate without anyone getting hurt.
Just as he was making this judgment and feeling relieved, Lee Hwan suddenly experienced the chilling sensation of someone raking fingernails down his back.
‘Danger…!’
He quickly let go and instinctively pulled back his body, creating a space in front of him. Sensing this wasn’t enough, he also backpedaled with all his might.
As if proving his choice correct, the dying monster’s fur stood on end, and the spikes embedded between its hairs shot out in all directions like shotgun pellets.
Pababak!
It happened in an instant. Spikes flying everywhere. Lee Hwan twisted every trajectory he could see, feeling dizzy from the effort. Despite this, he couldn’t catch them all, and painful screams were heard from the distance.
Even though he wanted to check who was injured, he didn’t have time to turn his head. The two monsters that had been temporarily down were regaining their strength, growling and charging at him.
‘…No wonder it seemed too easy.’
A claw like a hook grazed Lee Hwan’s front. Though he thought he’d dodged, the arm he’d instinctively raised to block was torn open lengthwise. Blood began dripping from both his nosebleed and the wound on his arm.
“Ugh…”
His head swam, and the pain from the torn flesh gradually surged. The knife he’d been holding had already flown far away.
Lee Hwan wiped his nose with his uninjured arm, rolled on the floor several times to avoid front paw and fang attacks, then climbed up to the ceiling and struck down hard at the ghost-like pouncing monster.
“Kugh!”
The skull was so hard that despite his considerable physical durability, the pain made him cry out. When he clenched and unclenched his fist, nothing seemed broken, but his skin was raw and red where it had been abraded by the coarse fur.
It was fortunate he hadn’t hit the spiked body. If he’d kicked there, he would have suffered an even worse injury.
He needed to get close and kill it. But while picking up the knife, he would be subjected to attacks from both monsters. The pheromones meant the monsters wouldn’t go far, and if he tried to press them down with gravity again, he couldn’t hold them consistently as they thrashed about more excitedly than before.
Above all, these monsters shot out spikes like shotgun pellets before dying. The moment he killed even one, he would lose the initiative and endanger the entire team.
This was fucked. Lamenting the lack of a proper weapon, Lee Hwan put up a shield in front of him for now. During that moment of hesitation, an agile monster opened its jaws wide and charged.
That’s when it happened.
Pak!
Pak!
The pouncing monster suddenly lost control of its body, grazed Lee Hwan’s side, and fell, scraping the floor. The other one did the same.
When Lee Hwan turned his head in surprise, he saw people behind him, their jaws clenched in fear.
Unexpectedly, several team members had come forward and were shooting tranquilizer guns at the monsters.
Pak!
Another sleep dart lodged in the neck of the monster that was staggering and turning. The fallen monster twisted its body, its eyes glowing yellow as it revealed its sharp fangs.
“Now’s the time!”
As someone shouted desperately, Lee Hwan quickly threw himself forward to grab the knife. But he couldn’t bring himself to stab the monster that was getting up again.
“Back… get back!”
It was dangerous to be this close. The monster could suddenly overcome the tranquilizer effect and go berserk at any moment, and as they had seen, these creatures didn’t go down easily.
“These things shoot spikes when they die!”
“…I know. But it’s okay!”
Their determined expressions, as if they had already prepared for this, looked dangerous. Lee Hwan bit his lip hard.
The team members repeatedly shot the monsters with tranquilizer guns they had apparently collected from behind, but despite this, the monsters didn’t fall asleep and looked like they might rise and pounce at any moment.
Even though Lee Hwan gestured with his chin again for them to back away, the people, with ashen faces, showed no intention of retreating.
They probably thought that if they sacrificed themselves, everyone else would escape alive.
‘Damn it.’
Although he was using his abilities more easily with the power of amplification, he wasn’t confident he could save everyone safely. However, Lee Hwan had consumed two skill stones by now, and he was certain he could at least keep everyone alive.
‘A bit narrower, release control…’
The fresh fruit scent spread around once more. A space with reduced gravity and air resistance formed around Lee Hwan.
He couldn’t block all the spikes flying at terrifying speed with spatial control alone. But he could buff himself to make blocking them easier.
‘This is tough.’
With increasingly labored breathing, Lee Hwan silently expressed this brief sentiment as he forcefully kicked off the ground. The sensation of the knife slicing through the throat was vividly transmitted through his hand.
He finished stabbing the monster that was resisting with all its might, then immediately kicked off the adjacent wall as if flying. After backflipping once to distance himself as much as possible, Lee Hwan concentrated fully on the airflow and the scene before him.
The monster, gushing blood from its artery, puffed up its fur, and—
Pababababat!
In just a few seconds, the monster’s spikes flew in all directions.
‘I’ll block them all.’
If he gave up on defense, he could channel all his strength into speed. Rather than using his power to wrap himself in a meaningless shield, he decided to charge in with the determination to deflect all incoming spikes.
For a moment, he had the illusion that everything around him stopped. The sound of flying fragments seemed to echo in his ears.
Shwaaaak!
A rain of countless spikes that would have been impossible to block in a normal state of mind. Sharp fragments that tore through the air at intense speeds scattered in the void.
Lee Hwan raised his power and spread his arms. In response, strength surged from within like flames, and for the briefest moment, all the spikes’ trajectories twisted slightly.
A subtle change perceptible only to an Awakened person who had braced for danger, eyes gleaming brilliantly enough to pierce the mind, and energy waves felt through the skin.
Jijijiji.
The moment he clenched his fist, the world that had seemed frozen to his eyes began flowing again, and—
Ta-tatatatata!
The spikes shot like bullets into the walls. As if someone had forcefully deflected them, they all changed direction at a certain point, scattering away from the people.
Afterward, silence. A stillness as if everyone had gone deaf enveloped the gate.
Geeek… kak!
After the sound of the monster collapsing and dying, only Lee Hwan’s labored breathing echoed across the battered ground.
People’s gazes cautiously turned toward Lee Hwan. Standing exactly where he had been, with only his arms lowered, he wasn’t sweating a single drop despite his visibly strained breathing.
Instead, a drop or two of blood gathered at his chin and fell.
His dilated pupils suddenly turned toward his team members. It was a completely different look from the indifferent, disinterested face he usually showed at the office. Everyone wore unfamiliar expressions at his appearance, which seemed as sharp and solid as a well-honed blade.
Lee Hwan, who had been absorbed in the aftermath of battle until then, only came to his senses when his eyes met those of the people.
‘…They wouldn’t believe me if I said I just Awakened, would they?’
It had been too skillful a fight. No matter how one looked at it, he didn’t resemble someone who had just awakened their ability. Lee Hwan, gradually catching his breath, mentally discarded excuses that wouldn’t be believed even if his brain exploded. Rather than adding unnecessary details that would make him seem more suspicious, it was better to keep quiet.
