Nectar — Part 3
In front of the Dagger Gang hideout.
It looked like an ordinary villa building.
On the first floor, there was a small café and even a restaurant selling rice soup.
But it would be a mistake to judge it by appearances alone.
I glanced at the buildings connected to the villa, their walls almost rging into one another.
‘This was a dungeon too.’
Though calling it a “dungeon” felt ridiculous—it was more like a partitioned gym at best.
I slowly recalled the mories.
I’d been through the Dagger Gang dungeon more tis than I cared to rember. It was required for Kim Chulkwon’s personal quest, the second character you joined with during Arcane Seoul’s tutorial.
The developers had milked it dry, reusing it to the point where you’d run into the sa—or eerily similar—dungeons elsewhere.
‘There are two entrances.’
The front door is just a trick.
The real one was in the building to the right.
In fact, the Dagger Gang’s base was a complex dungeon made by connecting six villa buildings. On the surface, it pretended to be a regular residential area, complete with tenants. But in reality, they operated an illegal gambling den in its hidden chambers.
And it wasn’t just a gambling den. They also ran a brothel, drug operation, and underground fight club. That’s why they chose this place as their base.
If all this beca public, the Dagger Gang would be in serious trouble.
‘Now then…’
I climbed to the rooftop of a nearby studio apartnt building and pulled out a rifle.
It was the sa model as the one Roe Deer had broken in two.
I attached an underbarrel grenade launcher.
As I slid a grenade into place, it made a satisfying click, the tallic sound echoing.
I leaned against the railing and aid at the front entrance of the villa.
Since it was nightti, there wasn’t much foot traffic. All I could hear were sounds of soone drunkenly belting out songs and a couple loudly fighting, shouting at each other.
The inside was likely a different story.
In their soundproofed secret chambers, the flas of debauchery, indulgence, and sin were surely burning brightly.
To enter that space—the real Dagger Gang base—you had to go through an entrance other than the front.
But I deliberately chose the decoy entrance and pulled the trigger.
Thunk!
A dull noise accompanied the launch of the grenade.
Boom!
But the explosion was anything but dull.
With a thunderous blast, shards of tal shredded everything in their path.
There was no way the old, rusty villa door could withstand the force of the grenade explosion.
It was instantly obliterated, and smoke billowed up.
Along with it ca the shrill sound of an alarm.
WEEEEEEEEEEE!
“Huh?”
“Ahhh!”
“Terrorist attack! It’s a terrorist attack!”
“Sobody help!”
The once-quiet alley erupted in screams.
Lights flickered on in every house.
The building that had taken the hit reacted imdiately.
Residents ca flooding out in a panic, like hornets from a disturbed nest.
Not just from that building, but from the connected ones too.
So were nearly naked, others so high on drugs they could barely stand.
“Hmph.”
I didn’t just stand there watching.
Instead of reloading another grenade, I cradled the rifle and leaped.
I hopped from rooftop to rooftop, moving between the nearby buildings like I was performing parkour.
It was possible because the whole area was packed with studio apartnts, villas, and boarding houses.
The buildings were all similar in height, and they were cramd so close together.
Thud, thud, thud!
I climbed down an exterior ergency staircase to the ground.
Right behind the Dagger Gang’s base.
I heard the sound of hurried footsteps.
“Damn it! Where is it? Where did the shot co from?”
“We need to beat the shit out of the guy who was supposed to be on watch! That idiot must’ve been asleep, right? It wasn’t a rocket, it was probably a grenade. It’s impossible not to notice a grenade flying toward you!”
“You idiot. If soone fires from hundreds of ters away, how the hell are you supposed to see it in the middle of the night? If you can do that, you’d be a superhuman, dumbass.”
“Those filthy Iron Fist Gang bastards! How dare they stab us in the back like this!”
“Just wait until we catch you. We’ll turn you into minced at!”
I hid in the shadows between two alleyways, watching them.
They were all heavily ard.
Not as much as I was, but at least they were wearing bulletproof vests and carrying rifles. They also had goggles. They were probably using infrared and laser detection equipnt.
I lowered my hood and equipped a folding helt.
It was an integrated helt with a goggle system and a gas mask.
At first, the world looked pitch black, but soon the lights ca on, turning my vision to full color. The gas mask latched onto my nose and mouth, supplying air with a hiss.
“Sir! There’s no one around here!”
“How can that be? Search every inch! Don’t go too far, though! The Iron Fist Gang bastards might be targeting the boss!”
“Yes, sir!”
Tat-tat-tat!
A few gang mbers ran into the alley where I was hiding.
No problem.
I leaned against the wall, activated Feign Death, and stayed still.
My heartbeat slowed, my body temperature dropped, and all the blood drained from my face.
I didn’t just use Feign Death. I was also in Stealth mode.
The gang mbers with goggles rushed past without even noticing .
Only after so ti had passed did I release Feign Death and stand up.
There was no one in front of
in the alley.
Still, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
I cautiously approached the hideout building, keeping a close eye on my surroundings.
‘Ah, CCTV.’
Several brick-shaped CCTVs were mounted on the walls of the building.
They had even planted trees and grown vines to obscure the view of the caras.
It was almost impossible to spot them unless you knew they were there.
The CCTVs were focused on a secret entrance disguised as a trash bin.
If I just casually walked in, I’d be imdiately spotted.
I clicked my tongue.
‘Maybe I should’ve unlocked the [Hacking] trait?’
Nah, hacking was out of the question.
Hacking was the domain of Reinforced soldiers and Mages.
A warrior should act like a warrior.
I attached a suppressor to my rifle.
Even with a suppressor, gunfire isn’t completely silent. But the entire area was already in chaos, a frenzy of fear and panic spreading from that single grenade.
With all this going on, a few suppressed shots would easily go unnoticed.
Tat! Tat! Tat!
Three consecutive shots.
I destroyed all the brick-shaped CCTVs.
Then, I moved imdiately.
I quickly lifted the trash bin lid, squeezed inside, and opened the sliding door to enter.
“What the hell?”
“Shit, an intruder!”
“Do you know where you are?!”
“Hit the alarm!”
Behind the sliding door was a long, narrow hallway.
CCTVs lined the ceiling, and security rooms were positioned on both sides of the corridor.
In an ergency, they could close the steel doors and fire at will.
But I had entered too quickly, and, thanks to Arcane Seoul, I knew exactly how this layout worked.
Tat! Tat! Tat! Tat!
Four shots, fired with perfect precision thanks to the Shooting trait.
Even I had to admit my form was flawless.
I shot a gang mber in the head as he tried to rise from behind an open steel door.
Another gang mber, who had been reaching for the ergency button, was hit squarely between the eyes or in the throat.
Both were equally dead.
My goggles displayed the words [Deceased].
“Hoo…”
Sothing felt odd.
I had just killed four people, but there was no emotion. Nothing.
Instead, my mind beca sharper, colder, like a bucket of ice water had been poured over it.
‘I’ve beco… numb.’
They say if you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you.
If you fight monsters long enough, you eventually beco one.
It seed I had finally adapted to this hellish world.
What else could I do?
Survival was the only option. I had to keep living.
Squish, squish.
I walked down the corridor, my boots stepping through pools of blood.
Behind , a long, vivid trail of bloody footprints stretched out.
WEEEEEEEEEEE!
At that mont, an alarm blared throughout the entire building.
[Ergency! Ergency!]
[We are under attack! The enemy is attacking!]
[All brothers are to arm themselves and assemble at the designated rally points!]
[Warning! Warning!]
[Anyone not part of the Dagger Gang must imdiately disarm, raise their hands, and lie face down! Failure to comply will result in imdiate execution!]
Annoying.
Tat! Tat!
I shot out the remaining CCTVs and speakers.
Standing before a sturdy steel door at the end of the hallway, I paused for a mont to catch my breath.
I already had the layout of the area behind this door clear in my mind.
A hallway bent at a right angle, and ahead, there would be a large space like a hotel lobby. Normally, it served as a waiting area, but in ergencies like this, it beca a fortified defensive line.
If I charged in recklessly, I’d be turned into Swiss cheese imdiately.
But for a superhuman, there’s a different way to fight. And as Warrior Kim, I had my own battle thods.
I shot the door lock with my rifle, quickly opened it, and peeked around the corner of the hallway.
Just as I expected.
Layer upon layer of barricades, with gang mbers sticking their rifles out, aiming right in my direction.
Their nacing killing intent sent a cold shiver up my spine, grazing my carotid artery.
“Take him down!”
Tatatata!
Dozens of rifles fired in unison, spitting fire.
But I was faster.
Thunk!
The muffled sound of a grenade launcher going off for the second ti.
Without even watching the grenade’s trajectory, I imdiately pulled back behind the steel door.
Boom!
“Aaargh!”
“Kuhk!”
“Gah!”
The explosion was followed by the sound of agonized screams.
See? Grenades are the best.
Still, one wasn’t enough to completely wipe them out. I grabbed a few more grenades from my golf bag and tossed them over the barricades.
After several more loud blasts, even the faint groans I had heard ceased completely.
The skirmish was over.
But I couldn’t let my guard down. A single shot could kill
just as easily as it could anyone else. My magic barrier and protective gear could handle rifle rounds, but not heavy-caliber sniper bullets or machine gun fire.
Besides, the Dagger Gang’s boss and their chief enforcer were both Level 2 superhumans.
And on top of that, they were warrior-type assassins.
If I got careless and let them snipe
or strike from behind, I could still et a quick end.
Tat! Tat!
“Ugh!”
“Kah!”
I made sure to finish off the surviving gang mbers as I moved forward.
This dungeon was normally a business site, so there were no traps to worry about.
Everything was going shockingly smoothly.
The gang mbers ca out exactly where I expected, firing in predictable patterns.
In modern warfare, knowing the enemy’s location is half the battle.
First, I’d toss a grenade or flashbang before charging in. I didn’t hesitate to use up my remaining grenades. That’s how I bulldozed my way through to the third floor.
I’d taken a few hits myself, but my protective gear had absorbed the impact.
Then, just as I was catching my breath, a strange sensation made my hair stand on end.
Acquired trait: [Sensitivity].
I switched out my Bright Eyes trait for Sensitivity.
‘It’s about ti.’
In the ga, enemies didn’t move from their designated positions.
But this was reality.
If the Dagger Gang’s boss and their chief enforcer had any sense, they wouldn’t just sit around waiting for .
Tensing up, I cautiously ascended the stairs.
I swapped out my rifle for a shotgun. I’d already used up all my grenades, and the suppressor had long outlived its usefulness. At this point, increasing firepower was the only option.
“Huh?”
Sothing felt off.
The fourth floor was supposed to be the final line of defense.
The fifth floor only had the main office and a few eting rooms—nothing worth defending.
So naturally, the gang mbers should have been dug in at the fourth-floor VIP casino, ready for a fight.
But it was empty.
All I could see were the casino tables, scattered cards and chips, and, for so reason, bloodstains on the floor.
“What the hell?”
I heightened my senses to their peak.
Lowering my body, I took cover behind a casino table and slowly crept forward.
I kept an eye on all directions as I moved.
Then, suddenly—
Buzzzzzz!
A small drone dropped down from the ceiling vent and released a thin rod.
A flashbang.
I cursed instinctively.
“Shit!”
It was too late to do anything.
Flash!
A brilliant white light seared my retinas, and the deafening noise hit my ears like a hamr to the skull.
I staggered back, montarily disoriented.
Crackle.
My goggles responded to the flashbang, shutting the aperture tightly. Good thing, too, or I would’ve been blinded for several seconds.
Bzzz.
But the ringing in my ears remained. I could barely keep my balance.
I gripped my shotgun tighter and shouted at myself internally.
‘Get a grip! Warrior Kim! Get your head together!’
Fsshh! Fsshh!
More drones appeared, spewing tear gas into the casino.
Thick white smoke billowed up, and red warnings flashed inside my goggles.
[Activating gas mask.]
Poison gas!
These crazy bastards were releasing poison gas in their own base?!
But this wasn’t the end.
I had destroyed every CCTV I saw, but they’d probably managed to capture a photo of
wearing my helt with the built-in goggles and gas mask.
What would be their next move?
A full-on assault?
A sniper? An ambush?
I already knew the answer.
It was the chain attack that started as soon as you entered the Dagger Gang boss room in the ga.
That had to be it.
I imdiately switched my traits.
[Mana Shield], [Defense], [Sensitivity].
[Mana Core], [Endurance], [Toughness].
Then, I focused on the window.
I knew exactly where they would aim, and the path their attack would take.
If I concentrated my mana shield on my arm guard and activated Defense, even their chief enforcer’s sniper rifle wouldn’t be able to penetrate.
Worst case scenario, I’d lose an arm.
In this world, losing an arm wasn’t that big of a deal. I could always regenerate it or get a prosthetic. Either way, it would be a win for .
‘When will it happen?’
My vision zood in through the goggles.
The rooftop of the building where the enforcer was likely hiding ca into sharp focus.
I saw sothing slowly erge over the rooftop railing.
It wasn’t a sniper rifle.
What appeared over the railing wasn’t the sleek barrel of a sniper rifle but sothing much thicker and more nacing.
A dark green warhead.
Compared to a sniper rifle, it was much bulkier and heavier.
It looked exactly like the RPG-7 from the real world—the infamous “Magic Wand of Allah.”
And it was aid directly at .
“You’ve got to be kidding !”
There wasn’t even ti to be surprised.
The rocket was already ignited.
The rocket accelerated toward , not like in the ga with its slow, leisurely pace.
This was real. A rocket moving at hundreds of ters per second was flying at , like a brilliant flash of light!
Boom!
Then, an explosion.
The world was swallowed up in a blinding flash of white light.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support
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