Even When Monsters Appear, Commuting Continues

Ian carefully observed the cityscape unfolding before his eyes.

The capital of South Korea, Seoul—it was indeed very different from Mount Jiri.

'It's so incredibly lively here. The buildings are tall, and everything glitters.'

Since he had Ahn Bin's memories, Ian thought he already knew what Seoul was like.

But having come here in person, the impression was much more striking.

He felt almost dizzy, his eyes spinning at the sights.

The tension saturating the city felt like electric current crackling in the air.

'It tingles. The energy is incredibly chaotic. There's definitely some foreign aura mixed in as well...'

He had been following the news on his cellphone, keeping up with Seoul's situation, but only now did he truly witness its reality.

Indeed, to really understand something, you have to feel its energy with your own body.

Ian sharpened all his senses.

It wasn't his Praerian body, so it wasn't entirely satisfying, but he stretched out his aura like an antenna, remaining vigilant in every direction.

'So many people are crammed into such a massive city, living side by side. Is this really safe?'

Unconsciously, he posed that question to himself and ended up smirking ruefully.

The chaos he mentioned was typical for this city even on normal days, but right now, the situation was dangerous by anyone's standards.

There was no way it could be safe—after all, Seoul was now a disaster area.

A Tower had suddenly appeared, slimes poured forth, and since no one knew how to subdue them, pollution had spread everywhere.

It would be stranger if this weren't considered a disaster.

Yet, unexpectedly, there were more people on the streets than he thought.

He expected a much more subdued atmosphere, but that wasn't entirely the case.

There was tight tension in the air, but at a glance, daily life seemed to go on as usual.

Countless cars flowed like waves toward unknown destinations, and delivery motorcycles zipped between them, ferrying food.

From delivery trucks, packages were unloaded, and people entering and leaving convenience stores didn't seem to be in any particular rush.

Most shop doors were open, and in all those buildings, it looked like people were working inside.

Not far off, a monster appeared—a distant scream faintly echoed.

Even in the midst of this disaster, people were living on as if nothing happened.

"Hey, that's a scream, right?"

"Sounds like it. Must be coming from the terminal area."

"Wow, Seoulites don't even flinch at those screams anymore—they just go on about their business?"

Haeyeon widened her eyes, voicing the same thought.

"What can you do? Even when monsters show up, you still have to go to work, still need to earn and eat."

Jeongnam replied with a sigh.

He was utterly focused on driving, all his nerves on edge.

The surroundings didn't look much different from usual, but the thought that a monster might jump out at any moment made him tense.

Ian joined the conversation.

"It looks totally normal around here, doesn't it?"

The talk of going to work even while monsters appeared triggered a pang in Ahn Bin's memories.

Ian tried to soothe that feeling with a calm remark.

"Yeah, seems more normal than I expected. By the way, you're heading straight for the express bus terminal, right?"

Jeongnam looked at Ian through the rearview mirror and asked.

"Of course. Judging by the screams, the situation there isn't resolved yet, so let's check out the site first."

Ian didn't necessarily intend to go monster hunting himself, but he wanted to see firsthand if the military had figured out how to contain the pollution.

If not, he'd have to purify it immediately, and if there were injured people nearby, he could treat them and spread the word about the herbs' effectiveness.

He had everything he needed.

He'd packed plenty of herbs and mushrooms in his bag and had brought Hao to take care of any pollution.

Hao was on high alert, staring intently out the front.

"We'll soon hit the polluted zone—I wonder if they'll let cars through."

Jeongnam muttered.

"If not, we'll just walk."

Ian replied, unconcerned.

"Right. I should start looking for a place to park soon."

The sense of business as usual only lasted up to the Yangjae area.

Once they got onto Gangnam Avenue, military vehicles became visible here and there, traffic thinned, and hardly any people could be seen walking.

"So, this is the polluted zone? Ugh, the sky looks all ominous and dark."

"It just looks that way. The sky's still blue—pollution isn't something you see, it's nearly invisible."

Jeongnam countered Haeyeon's remark.

"Oh, really?"

"Let's just find a place to park."

The pollution from the slimes was not visible, but Ian definitely sensed the murky aura.

Plus, there was a sharp, piercing stench.

"Ugh! The smell!"

"Right, that's the smell. Even if it's colorless, you can smell it. Whew! It's nasty."

Haeyeon and Jeongnam complained in unison.

Of course, Hao caught the scent too.

Hao started to growl in a low tone, itching to bark.

He must be eager to purify the place.

"Hao, wait just a little."

Ian calmed Hao down.

"Hey! Look! There's some kind of sign over there."

While scanning the roadsides for parking, Haeyeon pointed to a sign.

[This area is polluted due to ongoing monster hunts. Entry is not restricted, but any harm from pollution is the individual's responsibility. Please avoid entering the polluted zone if possible.

- Disaster Countermeasure Committee, ministry of the Interior and Safety]

It was an official government warning sign.

"Wow, what's with that? They're just telling people to enter at their own risk..."

Haeyeon grumbled, snapping a photo with her phone.

"Is that even allowed? It just seems so irresponsible."

Ian agreed.

He couldn't understand the government's irresponsibility.

Control isn't always the answer, but if you designate an area as a polluted zone, shouldn't there be consistent rules for protection and a system to take responsibility for damage?

As someone who always lived with excessive responsibility as both a master of a great farm and a lord, Ian found such carelessness unimaginable.

"Oh, apparently the government can't completely block off the zone. Important state institutions like the courthouse and the prosecutors' office are within the zone, so it can't be entirely shut down..."

Jeongnam, a public official, offered a defense of the government's view.

"So, is that warning meant for the officials? Have all civilians evacuated?"

"Not really. There are lots of businesses and homes in here, so there was a lot of protest against a full lockdown."

Haeyeon tilted her head in confusion.

"But it's a polluted zone. How do people go in and out? Are they just risking disease?"

"I heard people get their own gas masks and go about their business. If you're in a car, it's apparently okay. Since we can drive through, let's keep going."

Their car entered the polluted zone. The only difference was how deserted the street felt.

"We don't have gas masks, what do we do?"

Haeyeon asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. I've got this."

Ian quickly pulled out herbs and mushrooms from his backpack.

"Put these in your mouths and chew. And inhale the scent through your nose like this. It'll keep the pollutants out of your lungs."

Ian rubbed the herbs in his palm, releasing their fragrance.

"Oh! Are these not just medicine but also preventive?"

Haeyeon accepted the herbs eagerly.

"Yes, they do both."

"Wow, glad I came with Ahn Bin."

Jeongnam looked very satisfied.

Haeyeon quickly took her herbs and mushrooms and rubbed them to fill the car with their aroma.

Ian stroked Hao's back.

"Easy, easy."

Hao let out a very low, soft bark. That was enough.

While the herbs and mushrooms had some purifying effect on pollution, Hao's bark was far more effective.

Of course, the herbs were also excellent for wounds and mushrooms for energy, so just helping with pollution justified their use.

Still, Ian kept that fact a secret from the others, offering only the herbs and mushrooms.

Woof-woof. Woof-woof.

The low-frequency vibrations filled the air, resonating inside the car.

A comforting, auspicious energy filled the space.

To purify a larger area, Hao would have to bark much louder, but for three people, this was enough.

"Oh, Hao, are you scared? Don't worry. This unni will protect you."

Haeyeon reached back and patted Hao.

Was Hao actually scared?

Haeyeon had no idea what was going on, but her affection for Hao was genuine, and Hao accepted it willingly.

When Hao licked her hand, Haeyeon winced and frowned.

He'd tried to lick softly, but his tongue was strong—the back of her hand turned red.

"Oh dear, use the herbs right away."

"Will do."

Haeyeon nodded and quickly applied the herbs to her hand.

"You're a cute one, but you sure are strong."

Hao just wagged his tail, happy to be petted.

"Even if we can't get all the way to the terminal, we can probably get pretty close by car."

Jeongnam said, driving down a now-empty road, passing Gangnam Station intersection.

"Good. Let's drive as far as we can."

Ian replied, looking out the window again.

With nothing in particular on his mind, he glanced into the sky on his left—and there it was: the portal.

'Ah! There it is.'

It must have been hidden behind the wall of buildings before.

Now, he could finally see the portal clearly with his own eyes.

The sky was torn in a long gash. Through the open hole, the Tower could be seen.

He could see why people called it a Tower.

Shards of space twisted in a spiral, stacking like floors—almost as if someone had deliberately built it that way.

Its scale was incomparable to the portal that opened behind his house at Mount Jiri—this one was much larger.

The area around the portal was unstable and wavering dangerously. An immense energy was pouring forth.

Even to Ian, the situation seemed quite grave.

'Hmm... Was this really because of me?'

It seemed that the malfunction of the dimensional travel portal had serious consequences.

True to his workaholic nature as a lord used to taking on too much responsibility, Ian instantly felt a weighty sense of duty.

But solving this wasn't just for the sake of Earthlings.

If Ian ever wanted to return to his home dimension, this problem had to be solved.

A workaholic can't forget about work, even during a vacation.

First, he needed to figure out what was going on—then find a solution.

'I want to get in that portal and investigate every corner.'

A rush of curiosity and impatience swelled inside him.

But haste wasn't the answer.

He couldn't take Jeongnam and Haeyeon inside recklessly. To explore freely, he'd have to go alone.

First, he'd check out the express terminal, then look for an opportunity to slip away.

Hunt some slimes.

Test purifying pollution.

Suddenly, the car jolted, as if running over something.

"Ah! Sorry—are you both okay?"

Jeongnam checked on Ian and Haeyeon via the rearview mirror.

Ian glanced outside to see what happened.

Their car had just driven over a chunk of concrete fallen onto the road—debris from destroyed buildings was scattered everywhere.

They weren't just in a polluted zone but now in an area directly damaged by monsters.

As if to remind them, they heard another scream, not far away.

Hao responded with loud, furious barking.

Woof-woof! Woof-woof!

The sound was intense, but not one of them tried to stop Hao.

Given the terrifying atmosphere, it would have been stranger for a dog not to bark.

Hao's resonance spread far beyond the car windows.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.