“Haah!”
Jang Ho-won woke up with a start, his face stiff with tension as he tried to steady his breathing.
Cold sweat drenched his bedding, clinging to his body.
‘A dream…?’
It had felt far too real.
In his dream, the aged Unit 2 reactor at the Kori Nuclear Power Plant had exploded.
The resulting chain reaction caused an accident with the spent nuclear fuel stored on-site, leading to further explosions and an escalating disaster.
The powerful radiation released killed not only the humans but even the monsters within the plant in just a few days.
With no one left to control the remaining six reactors, their fates were sealed. One by one, they exploded, transforming the Busan-Gyeongnam region into a literal hellscape.
‘Was that… really just a dream?’
Jang Ho-won couldn’t dismiss the dream so easily, and with good reason.
As a mber of Lee Jun-hyuk’s party and soone bound to Kim Jae-hyun through a subordination contract, he had awakened to a unique ability: Precognitive Dreaming (予知夢).
The ability to foresee the future through dreams.
Jae-hyun had explicitly explained this to him, so he rembered it clearly.
However, until now, he had only experienced ordinary dreams, causing him to nearly forget about the ability.
But this dream felt different.
The texture, the detail, the vividness.
His instincts scread that this was no ordinary dream.
‘This isn’t just a dream.’
If that was the case, there was only one course of action.
‘I need to report this.’
anwhile, Kim Dabin was making the most of her week-long vacation.
She spent her days enthusiastically visiting various cafés, indulging in desserts.
The hunt for desserts allowed her to completely escape the pressures of work, if only for a while.
“It’s already today.”
Waking up early in the morning, she reflected on the past week with satisfaction.
‘They were all delicious.’
Having replaced her als with desserts, she felt she had finally made up for the months of deprivation.
In the process, she discovered a few hidden gems not listed in the community posts.
‘Today, I’ll take my team out.’
The thought of having dinner at a barbecue restaurant with her team before heading to a café brought a smile to her face.
‘I can’t sleep.’
Though her sleep duration had increased compared to before, it was still just around four hours a night.
It wasn’t insomnia.
After about four hours, she would wake up naturally, feeling completely refreshed.
‘It’s not normal, is it?’
She’d noticed this before. Ever since she was chosen by Kim Jae-hyun and awakened her abilities, her physical capabilities had surpassed normal human limits.
‘Jae-hyun’s power.’
Being chosen by him was a point of pride.
‘I need to work even harder.’
She began ntally organizing the tasks awaiting her at the office, but Jae-hyun’s words ca back to her.
(If you want to enjoy the scenery you’ve protected, stay healthy. I’m grateful for your hard work, but please take breaks and work for a long ti.)
The suggestion to rest while continuing to work resonated warmly with her.
‘Fine, fine. I’ll work while taking breaks and eating good food.’
With renewed energy, she got out of bed, tidied her blanket, changed into workout clothes, and headed outside for a light jog.
After all, staying healthy was essential for working long-term, just as Jae-hyun wanted.
‘The generator maintenance should be complete by now. The dungeons are under control thanks to Hye-rin. And I wonder if they’ve made contact with the Nakdong River survivors yet.’
After warming up her body with a morning jog, Dabin finished with a cold shower and opened the fridge.
Inside was a pink paper box containing a slice of cake.
Smiling happily, she took it out and began eating.
At that mont, her muscular, half-dressed brother wandered into the living room.
She frowned and scolded him.
“Can’t you co out dressed? It’s unpleasant to look at.”
Kim Min-ho glanced at himself, genuinely puzzled.
“…What’s so unpleasant about my body?”
Dabin sighed softly, shaking her head, and asked, “Are you heading out for a hunt?”
“Yeah.”
“Ulsan?”
“Yep.”
Having only received reports about Ulsan’s situation through administrative work, Dabin took the opportunity to ask her brother so questions.
“How’s it over there?”
“How’s what?”
“The monsters and all that. I heard the vampires have mostly been wiped out.”
“Wiped out? More like they’ve gone into hiding. Occasionally, they’re still spotted among the survivor groups in Ulsan.”
“Still?”
“Yeah.”
As he stretched, Min-ho answered her questions in a laid-back manner.
“They say the city’s overrun with goblins now. Are you going to clear those out?”
“No. Goblins are always everywhere. Today, we’re heading to the mountains.”
“Why?”
Letting out a sigh, Min-ho replied, “We’re hunting orcs. Why are you so curious today?”
Dabin grinned.
“Today’s my first day back at work. I wanted to gather as much information as I could for administrative purposes.”
“…Do you actually enjoy working?”
“It’s not that I enjoy it…”
Pausing to think, Dabin finished the last bite of her cake before continuing.
“It’s about responsibility. It feels rewarding when the work is done.”
Though her conversation with Jae-hyun had lightened her burdens, she hadn’t abandoned her sense of duty.
Previously, she worked to prevent deaths. Now, she worked to save as many lives as possible.
It was similar, yet different.
Now, instead of guilt, she felt pride.
A few simple words of reassurance from Kim Jae-hyun had saved her.
‘I want to live up to his expectations.’
She felt a newfound determination to perform even better. At the sa ti, she resolved to take care of her health so as not to cause unnecessary worry.
"Anyway, take care of yourself out there," she told her brother.
Kim Min-ho smirked.
“Take care? Against orcs? Sis, you don’t seem to know yet—I’m not who I used to be.”
She knew to so extent.
He was one of the chosen, possessing a hardening ability that made his body nearly impervious. He was also a core mber of the team, soone who had stood out even during battles against vampires.
But from Dabin’s perspective, she couldn’t help but worry.
She knew all too well how many people lost their lives hunting monsters.
Even seasoned goblin hunters could disappear or die from a single mont of carelessness.
Given how often she encountered such cases, it was only natural for her to worry about her brother’s safety.
"Alright, alright. I’m heading to work now."
"Sure."
When she arrived at the office, she was greeted by familiar faces.
Thanks to her punctual arrival, most of her team was already there.
"Good morning, everyone."
Perhaps due to her week-long absence, they greeted her a bit awkwardly.
"Nothing happened while I was away, right?"
She noticed them exchanging glances and subtly gesturing toward the small eting room in the corner of the office.
Inside, Yoo Hye-rin and two visitors were engaged in a serious conversation.
Without hesitation, Dabin opened the door and introduced herself.
"This is Director Kim Dabin from the Administrative Managent Division. May I ask what brings you here?"
The two n stood and greeted her.
"My na is Lee Jun-hyuk. Pleased to et you."
"I’m Jang Ho-won."
Lee Jun-hyuk’s na carried significant weight—even more so than her brother Kim Min-ho’s.
His party, known for both their accomplishnts and individual strength, was second only to Ha Dong-geon’s party in rank.
‘And Lee Jun-hyuk is a monster who can clear a B-grade dungeon alone.’
Though it was difficult to categorize awakeners by rank, the appearance of dungeons within Kim Jae-hyun’s safe zone had provided a new tric.
Among the dungeons discovered so far, B-grade was the highest, and Lee Jun-hyuk was the only one capable of clearing it solo.
The fact that soone of his caliber had co with such a grave expression ant sothing serious was afoot.
"What’s the issue?"
"Well…"
Initially, she assud it was related to dungeons.
But the topic turned out to be sothing entirely different.
"Precognitive dreams?"
"Yes, that’s correct."
The contents of Jang Ho-won’s dream were horrifying.
What made it worse was how plausible it was.
‘A nuclear power plant…’
Facilities derived from humanity’s most destructive weapon, designed to produce energy.
While ticulously constructed and strictly managed, they were only safe under normal circumstances.
Unforeseen events like massive earthquakes or monster attacks weren’t factored into their design.
In a world where behemoth monsters like Cyclops road freely, a nuclear power plant accident wasn’t just plausible—it seed overdue.
In fact, it was surprising nothing had happened yet.
"At first, I went to report this to Representative Jae-hyun directly, but he wasn’t ho. That’s why we ca here instead."
"You did the right thing."
Grasping the severity of the situation, Dabin imdiately used telepathy.
[Representative Jae-hyun, we have an ergency.]
The vacation was officially over.
Hearing the grave report early in the morning left reeling.
‘A nuclear power plant accident…’
Beside , my father cautiously asked, "What’s wrong, son? Is there a problem?"
"Nothing, Dad. Do you like the gift?"
"Of course! Who wouldn’t? It’s amazing!"
My father, smiling brightly as he drove his newly restored Bentley, looked genuinely happy.
The car’s restoration and purchase had cost over 3 billion won, but seeing the joy on his face made it worth every penny.
"I’m glad you like it."
"Thanks, son."
"Dad, do you need any other cars? Maybe a Ferrari or a Rolls-Royce?"
"…What?"
While my father was lost in happy contemplation, I checked the system screen.
Jang Ho-won’s citizen information clearly listed "Precognitive Dreams" as his awakened ability.
‘I have to stop this.’
If his dream was accurate, the nuclear power plant would soon explode.
‘The transparent barrier might block radiation.’
But outside the domain, it would be a radioactive wasteland.
Busan, Ulsan, and all of Gyeongsang Province would be contaminated, making hunting impossible.
Even so, with the updated vampire dungeons, we could gain more experience and resources inside the domain than outside.
It would still be possible to grow stronger in isolation.
But that wasn’t the real issue.
‘An enormous number of people will die.’
And it wouldn’t just be the Kori plant.
Hundreds of nuclear power plants around the world.
Could they all be safely managed?
‘No way.’
The imdiate priority was to address the warning about the Kori plant.
To do that—
‘I’ll need to send our strongest forces.’
Who knew what kind of monster awaited us there?
"Dad, do you know where Kori is?"
"Kori? Of course. It’s just a bit past Gijang. Why?"
"I have a favor to ask."
Reviews
All reviews (0)