A high-level survivor, Johnny the Flash.
For normal people, that kind of embarrassing title was bound to be something that they did not want others to find out. But in Japan, having such a nickname was normal. The Japanese who fought on Dot Island before also had a strange nickname.
Seokhyun pointed to his chest.
âIf a mere level 31 like you are called Johnny the Flash, My nickname would be like Invincible One-Punch Man.â
âOne-Punch Man my ass⊠It will be something like Bald Monster.â
âYou read too much manga.â
âWhen you think of Japan, the first thing that pops out are manga and anime, isnât it? By the way, since you are called the Flash, you should be fast, right? Are you that confident?â
Johnny looked at the group with a puzzled expression. From the way he dressed and looked he should be Korean too. On top of that, since he could make fun of himself, he should also have a high levelâŠ
Johnny got a little excited because he couldnât find anyone stronger than him up until now.
âThere is no one in this world who is faster than me.â
Da-jeong then punched Seok-hyeonâs butt.
âI think Rapwi is faster, though.â
âI donât want to compete with someone who is merely level 31.â
âWhat level are you then?â
Johnny was stunned, but he tried to shoved all the emotions down to appear calm.
âThatâs that, but you⊠How did you know my level?â
âLetâs stop here.â Seongho erased the smile from his face.
They had took the ogre, so they didnât have any leeway to chat like this. The Japanese in front of him seemed to have a lot of questions, but he had no obligation to solve them.
âAlready? Didnât you say you want to kill the New Japan bunker bastards?â
âSeokhyun had turned it upside down. Thatâs enough. Theyâre not going to last long anyway.â
âWell, some of them are not even level 5, so their future is bleak.â
âStill, canât they level up even when they use guns?â
âIt will be worth watching when the bullets run out. They would die of frustration when they hunt with their unique skill.â
The Koreans talked among themselves, not caring about Johnny. Seeing them packing their luggage, they seemed to be withdrawing soon.
Johnny was aggravated by their carefree appearance.
âI canât be ignored like this!â
He admitted that they were stronger than him. But he didnât think his level was that low.
When he made up his mind, his body moved on its own.
Time began to flow slowly except for his time.
When Seongho and his party took just one step, Johnny was already ahead of them.
Johnny looked excitedly at the hulking figure.
A slap on the cheek was too much of a joke. Should I just touch his hair?
But as soon as he saw the eyes of the hulking man, he stopped breathing.
It was because it followed his movements.
On top of that, those eyes were also saying this:
If you do stupid things, you will die.
Johnny deactivated his clock up ability and caught his breath. All of his skills were good, but the duration was very short and it was difficult to use them continuously. After all, It consumed a lot of stamina.
âHeo-eok, hee-eokâŠâ
On the other hand, the other three were seized by a strange feeling.
âHuh? What did you just do?â
âThat ahjussi seems to have used a strange ability?â
âProbably the speedometer ability. Just now, he moved faster than us.â
âI didnât feel it.â
Seokhyun said so as he scratched his head.
He was the best in terms of stats among the four, but he did not have the super sense skills that Seongho have.
Seongho glared at Johnny, who was gasping for breath.
âIâll warn you, donât fool around. Else, youâll die.â
âHow on earth did you see me?â
âWhatâs the use even if you know.â
âIf you see him, why are you not hitting him?â
âHe has a new skill. Even if he hit that ahjussi lightly, it will be a fatal wound.â
âBy the way, since ogre is this easy, the brutra shouldnât be that difficult too, right?â
âThis much is nothing. But brutra⊠Once it appears, it will easily kill the ogres.â
âI hope the expansion patch comes out soon.â
As the group passed by while ignoring him, Johnny gritted his teeth.
Has he, who was the best in Tokyo, ever felt this inferior?
But at the same time, he felt refreshed. He felt a strange feeling as if a wide road was opening in front of him.
Up until now, he had lived in Tokyo pretending to be a high-level person. However, he turned out to be a frog in a well.
âIs it a river over thereâŠâ
Suddenly, backlight came from the four of them. Johnny finally made up his mind. It was to follow them. He thought that if he became friends with those who treated level 31 as nothing, he would be able to grow even more.
Johnny ran towards the four.
When Seongho asked bluntly, he said cautiously.
âI know Iâm rude at first, but⊠can I go with you guys? No, can I go to Korea too?â
Everyone tilted their heads at his request.
Japan is not necessarily a bad place, so why?
However, Seongho had guessed his feelings to some extent.
âYou are free to come, but I cannot help you.â
âThatâs fine. Iâll take care of myself. The high-level survivors will understand if they hear meâŠâ
âDo whatever you like.â
When Seongho turned around, Dajeong tapped him on the shoulder.
âHeâs fast, right? Donât you think he will be useful?â
âWell, itâs vague.â
In terms of versatility, Mikyung was better. She could carry one person other than herself and even some baggage while blinking. Johnny might be a little ahead of her in terms of combat power, but it doesnât mean much. Right now, Mikyung was level 38, and her fighting power had jumped up by getting Spigerâs web.
âYou really donât mind if I go, right? You promised!â
As he screamed, Seongho waved his hand.
âI donât care, so do whatever you want.â
Four people who had even higher levels than the high level people in Japan disappeared.
Johnny then quickly ran to his hideout.
When he opened the auction house, it was full of comments asking for a live report.
âTheyâre frogs in the well.â
In fact, he was one of the frogs as well. Their level was a bit high, but compared to the real ones, they were nothing. He had now seen the wider world and had no time to play with them.
Johnny entered a new comment in the comment section.
-There is no live report. And to the high level people reading this, please respond. Enter incognito mode.
Incognito mode was a grandiose name, but it was just a conversation using a password.
The high-level net, with whom he communicated frequently, flocked to his auction items.
-Hey, Johnny. Didnât you say you are going into the bunker?
-I canceled that plan. Iâve seen a wider world. Now I can no longer return to the old way.
-Ha? What nonsense are you talking about?
-I met the real one. Four monsters that treat ogres like toys.
-Donât joke. Are there any monsters like that?
Johnny explained to the high-level survivors about what he had seen. Everyone seemed shocked and cautiously continued their comments.
-No way⊠But I also donât think Johnny saw it wrong.
-There was also news that the Monster Alliance was destroyed by just one person in the past. Maybe heâs back.
-So you are going to Korea? Leave us behind?
-If possible, I would like to go with you guys, but if circumstances donât work out, I canât help it.
-Hey, what are you talking about? We were meant to always be together.
-I wonder what kind of monster they are since Johnny said so.
-Iâll have to go check it out.
Of course, Johnny had no intention of returning. Japan was too narrow for him, who had already seen the wide world.
He packed up and exchanged comments with his colleagues. Thinking that the next time they meet, he will tell them his nerdy real name, Kotetsu.
We returned to Korea. We decided to postpone looting the New Japan Bunker until next time. I was tired from fighting many battles in a short period of time, but I thought I would be more tired to find the location.
At this point, there was also a need to reorganize and collect information. Especially for the actions of Giudecca and the Order. They seemed to be quiet right now, but anything could happen when this side was distracted.
I returned to the shelter and took out the ogre from the dimensional warehouse. Everyoneâs mouths dropped open as I pulled the incredibly heavy guy out.
âOh my god⊠thatâs a real ogreâŠâ
âSo that ogre is Da-jeongâs pet?â
âTo call it a pet is a bitâŠâ
âThe amount of food it needs should be crazyâŠâ
âThereâs going to be a lot of poop.â
âYou donât have to worry about that. He can hunt alone. Come here bone!â
I canât even guess how the ogre got its name.
Anyway, the ogre carried Da-jeong on its shoulder and strode out of the shelter.
As I was looking around, Hyung-jun hyung handed me a piece of paper.
âSungho. Iâve heard stories from people who have been captured by the cult. I did a little summary.â
âOh, this is unexpected.â
âIn a situation like this, we have to move quickly.â
I thanked him and flipped through the paper.
As expected, the church was planning to launch an all-out offensive sooner or later. The two otherworlders were right when they said that the troops we dealt with were just an advance party. It would be nice to know when and where the gate would open, but thereâs no way for us to know thatâŠ
The gate that was opened by the Archbishop was opened in Ilsan. That mean that the gate that would be opened by the Lotus side would also open near Ilsan in the future. If so, there was a need to scout the surroundings.
When I tried to call Yoohyeon, Hyung-jun hyung opened his mouth.
âWe have to scout around Ilsan, right? I already told Yeowool about that. In my eyes, you looked like you want to rest a little.â
âI have a lot of work left to do.â
âItâs not something that had to be done now, right? Just rest because Iâm going around. Donât worry, weâre also making progress in building our shelters.â
With hyung helping me, it wouldnât be bad to recharge for a while.
Then Iâll have to deal with the little things.
I stopped by our dorm. I saw the scarabs and the stag beetles worked together to make weapons. There were quite a lot of cold weapons that was necessary to defend the shelter, but they also made quite a lot of bullets.
Their support accounted for a huge portion of the Korean Shelterâs ability to block monster attacks without suffering much damage. Originally, the stag beetles were reluctant to make weapons, but it seemed that they decided to compromise by only making those made of wood.
I summoned the two captains and showed them the curse removing scroll. A light shone in both of their eyes.
âAs you can see, itâs a scroll to remove curses. I donât know if it will actually work, but the possibility is there. Since there is only one scroll, you will have to decide who will use it.â
Captain Scarab and the Chief Stag Beetle looked at each other. I put the curse removing scroll in the middle and put my hand away. It was to emphasize that the choice was theirs to make.
The two looked at each other for a long time. Then the big stag beetle took a few steps back. Itâs probably not tears that form in its black eyes.
A deep regret emanated from the way the guy turned its head. It was the only scroll of its kind that had been dropped ever since the apocalypse started. It was unknown when it would come out again.
I pushed the scroll to the Captain Scarab.
âYou are sure, right? Just tore it.â
Finally, Captain Scarab grabbed the scroll and tore it apart. Then, a golden light enveloped him. After the light disappeared, a stocky dwarf stood in place of the small scarab.
Of course, Iâd never seen a Lotos dwarf before. However, this being in front of me had an appearance that anyone would think of as soon as they thought of a dwarf.
He looked up at me with his eyes wide open.
It seemed that he couldnât believe his own appearance.
âShould I call you Gorgos now? You have been through a lot.â
A faint tear formed around his wrinkled eyes. His beard shook and he hugged me tightly.
âThank you! thank you so much! I really thought I would spend the rest of my life as a scarab! You are my lifesaver!â
Although the appearance of scarabs was cute, they themselves had never intended to be turned into that thing.
âYou have to work harder from now on. The other dwarves must also return to their original form.â
âThatâs right⊠of course they should.â
Gorgos soon regained his solemn appearance. Maybe itâs because he felt the envy of others. Fortunately, there was a possibility of them returning to the original form.
Upon hearing the news, Margretha and Tibris hurriedly ran to their position. The two were surprised to see the dwarf.
âGorgos⊠Your appearance is the same as the drawing I saw in the rock nestâŠâ
âHaha, thanks to this friend. Do you know that I want to tell you guys a lot of things? Itâs really hard to communicate as a scarab.â
âIâm concerned about that because the curse removing scroll wonât come out that easily.â
To my concern, Tibris hurriedly took out the scroll book. It was given to me to research.
âThis isnât certainty, itâs just a possibility, a possibility.â
âSo what do you mean? Donât make the dwarves burst into tears and tell me quickly.â
Tibris opened the scrollbook.
Nothing was written on it, but the material was just like a scroll.
âThis is the right paper for making scrolls. However, I have no idea what is written here. But who am I?â
âYes! Wizard. Iâm a wizard, so I have a rough idea of who made this scrollbook. He is a witch doctor.â
âA witch doctor⊠Perhaps?â
Our eyes focused on Tibris, and he felt uneasy.
âIt is not certain yet. However, it is clear that the owner of this scrollbook is a wizard who is good at curses.â
âIf we bring him, is it possible to complete it? Can we break the curse?â
âUh⊠Iâll tell you itâs possible. Though, I donât know how skilled the witch doctor who made this is.â
But itâs strange. The place where I looted this was the Mage Tower where Tibrisâs laboratory was located. Even if theyâre not co-workers, they probably know each other, right?
When asked about it, he smiled shyly.
âWizards are humans who are originally distant from each other⊠Haha, in fact, I donât even know who the wizard lived next to me.â
âWizard is always like that. There were quite a lot of people who were immersed in research and didnât know what time it was. They are blind about etiquette, therefore, they tend to have trouble with the aristocrats.
Thatâs right. So, the conclusion has been decided. When they invade this place from Ezekium, they will find a witch doctor and bring them back.
If thatâs the case, even if they couldnât remove the curse right away, they would be able to give us a clue.
Then Mi-kyung appeared. She was startled to see Gorgos in the room.
âIf I said Captain Scarab, would you remember me?â
Mikyungâs face brightened at Gorgosâ gentle smile.
âAh⊠You are exactly the way I thought you would be!â
âHaha, thank you. Now that things have come to this, I should say goodbye. Let me go for a while.â
Seemed to notice that Mikyung had something to say, he quickly tried to make himself scarce. As expected, his wrinkles were not just for show.
After Mi-kyung looked around her, she said to me,
âOppa, when I was wandering around⊠I met that programmer, Ahn Geun-seok.â
âHe didnât even attack. Instead, he asked me to pass his message to you. He want to meet you.â
âWhat is he going to say again?â
Margretha stroked her chin.
âWhile you were in the Great Labyrinth, there was talk that Giudecca and its forces were separated. Perhaps he will offer something.â
If he wanted to offer me something in exchange for something elseâŠ
I have only one thing I can give him.
In Apocalypse, the only thing to give to a guy suffering from the disease of coexisting with monsters was a punch.
I canât believe that he is separate from Giudecca. But Itâs worth hearing what he had to say.
I apologized to the rest of the group and went outside with Mikyung. Ahn Geun Seok and Go Ho-kyung were standing on the roof of a half-collapsed building.
Looking at his expression, it was much worse than I thought.
It was clear that something had happened to Giudecca.