CH 1

The world turned upside down in an instant.

Or maybe I had gone insane.

There was no other way to explain this situation.

Otherwise, there was no way I could be here, when I was supposed to be on a stakeout with my partner, Detective Kim, trying to catch the drug kingpin Kim Deok-Pal.

“Mom, I love you…”

“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have argued this morning…”

“Everyone, don’t lose hope! The healers are on their way, and the rescuers are heading to the shelter!”

Strange words were being uttered around me.

‘Healers? Shelter? What do those words even mean?’

What were healers and what did they mean by a shelter?

“Oh Lord, this suffering is also given by you… Why did this have to happen to me… Damn you, God!”

Some people were praying with their hands tightly clasped, while others were weeping and raging as if the apocalypse had arrived.

‘What on earth is happening?’

Feeling bewildered, I looked around. Through the crowd, I could see a large TV. The screen showed a grotesque scene I had never seen before in my life—a monster with long tentacles tearing people apart as they tried to escape. However, the words ‘Breaking News’ seemed all too real to assume it was just a movie. That’s when a red subtitle appeared beneath the terrifyingly surreal yet realistic scene.

[Seohyeon-dong, Buyeon City: Monster Wave Occurrence / Noeul Guild Dispatched]

‘Monster Wave? Guild?’

They were words that should not be heard in reality. However, they were not entirely unfamiliar.

‘No way… No, it can’t be.’

For a moment, an unthinkable imagination crossed my mind.

“Ha, this is ridiculous. It must be a dream. It has to be a dream.”

I tried to open my eyes wider, denying reality. I slapped my cheek and pinched the back of my hand. The illusion I had thought to be a dream persisted.

‘Could this really be <Cradle of Apocalypse>?’

I put my hand in my pocket. It was hard to accept the truth, but I intended to call my stakeout partner, Detective Kim, to confirm. However, instead of my old, battered phone that I had used for 7 years, I found a brand-new smartphone I had never seen before.

I furrowed my brow. “Whose phone is this? Why is it in my pocket?”

I searched my pocket again for my phone, but all that came out were unfamiliar smart car keys, a wallet, and what appeared to be house keys. The wallet was not my cheap one with threads sticking out everywhere, but one with a large, luxury brand logo.

“Excuse me, sir. May I borrow your phone for just one call?”

Even if I could unlock the phone, I failed to unlock the pattern. In the end, I asked a passerby who was watching the TV to borrow their phone. I then dialed Detective Kim’s number with ease.

But.

—The number you have dialed does not exist, please check again…—

“What do you mean it doesn’t exist?”

I checked the number I had dialed. The number I had been in contact with just before dozing off was entered correctly without any mistakes. But it said the number did not exist.

‘Argh, seriously.’

Suppressing my flustered emotions, I began to randomly dial numbers that I could remember. However, none of the numbers for my senior, the head of the Violent Crime Unit 3, or even the office were available.

‘Maybe I didn’t slap myself hard enough to wake up from this.’

In that moment, thinking that I needed to wake up from this dream, I slapped my cheek with a much stronger force.

“…Damn, that hurts.”

But all I felt was the burning pain on my cheek and the numbness in my palm, and my surroundings remained the same. An unfamiliar landscape and an unknown monster, and a situation where all the numbers I knew were missing.

“No, Kim Hae-Ah, get a grip. You can feel pain in dreams too. That’s right, let’s sleep here. When I wake up, it’ll be over.”

I didn’t want to admit it. No, I couldn’t admit it at all.

It was at that moment when I tried so hard to deny reality.

Unknowingly, I gripped my phone tightly and the touch must have worked, as the camera turned on. And the face reflected in the camera was…

“Are you kidding me?”

It wasn’t my face amidst all of this.

Neat facial features with brown hair, a mole under the right eye, and odd eyes in orange and purple. I recalled the day I scoffed at the description, wondering where on earth someone would have such eye colors.

“Shit. Could it be… No way?”

Yes, all of these characteristics belonged to the character ‘Seo Go-woon’ from the fantasy novel I had read during my vacation a few days ago.

The rascal who broke the nose of a security officer at the desk without any problem. The one who had single-handedly spent the entire annual budget of a guild in a department store, and it was a daily routine for him to pick fights with strangers he saw for the first time and beat them up, despite not having problems with him. The only reason he could still breathe despite living such a pathetic, trashy life was because of his younger brother.

‘Noeul Guild’s Deputy Guild Master, Seo Taeju.’

Seo Taeju, an SS-rank Hunter and deputy guild master of the Noeul Guild, which was always among the top 5 guilds in the country, was his brother. Although they were not related by blood, Seo Taeju, who was adopted by Seo Go-woon’s parents, did his best to be a good child. No matter how much Seo Go-woon hit him, tormented him, or caused trouble, Taeju endured it all simply because they were the children of the same parents.

This continued even after Taeju had awakened as an SS-rank hunter and after their parents had passed away. Despite hating his trashy older brother, Taeju didn’t abandon him. Although it was because of their parents’ last request, Taeju fulfilled his duties. Thanks to that, Seo Go-woon continued his reckless behavior.

The reason I ended up reading a novel with such a frustrating protagonist was very simple.

At the time, I was awarded a special promotion and a reward vacation for capturing the notorious robber that had been causing a stir across the country. Instead of giving me money as a reward, they granted me a vacation, which I grumbled about. Detective Kim lent me a book that he had borrowed but hadn’t yet read, telling me to read the whole thing through to the end.

That book was “Cradle of Apocalypse,” a novel featuring the infamous Seo Go-woon and his younger brother, Seo Taeju.

“I reluctantly read it because he asked me to at least give a summary of the plot, even if the content was terrible,” I thought.

‘But now, here I am, living the life of an insignificant character, a mere extra who’s neither the protagonist nor important, and who’s destined to die soon.’

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “There’s no way this can be real. It must be a dream,” I said, trying to escape from reality by laughing.

But the middle-aged woman who had lent me her phone slapped my arm. “Young man! Get a grip! What will you do if you go crazy here?” she scolded.

“What?”

“Goodness, you’ve lost your mind. Now, look at this.” She pinched my cheek hard. I felt a sharp pain in my cheek.

‘Why does it hurt if this is a dream?’

As if reading my mind, the woman replied, “Is this your first time experiencing a wave in reality? You keep saying it’s a dream, but look. It hurts, doesn’t it? This is not a dream; it’s reality.”

“That’s impossible.”

“What’s impossible? Monster waves have been around for more than a day or two, but don’t worry too much, Noeul Guild is coming. That hunter Seo Taeju has saved me several times already. Young people like you shouldn’t be so scared,” she clucked.

I couldn’t find the words to argue with her. Was this really not a dream? Then what was going on? Had I truly become Seo Go-woon, that useless character?

I pulled at my hair in frustration, thinking about the absurd situation, and the woman hurriedly stopped me. “No, young man, don’t be so afraid, what will you do if you hurt yourself?”

“Does transmigration even make sense? Where in the world does that kind of thing happen?!”

“Huh? Transmigration? What are you talking about? Young man, you shouldn’t lose your mind like that. It’s dangerous.”

“Ah, no, that’s not it. I need to use the restroom for a moment…”

“Alright, go wash your face or something. It’s a shame for a young person to be so faint-hearted.”

Clucking her tongue, the middle-aged woman walked away as I slumped down in a hidden corner.

“Hey, novels are all about things that can happen in reality, you know. So, if I transmigrated, I’m never coming back. How cool would it be to live in a fantasy world?”

“It’s not cool. I like my life as it is now.”

“Ha, that’s why you’re a failure. What kind of young person doesn’t have dreams and hopes?”

The image of Detective Kim, who had been berating me, and our conversation sprang to my mind as if it had just happened. But I had never even considered that I had transmigrated.

To be honest, who would think they could transmigrate into a novel?

Moreover, the biggest problem right now wasn’t me being transmigrated.

“Why did it have to be this guy and this situation, of all things?”

Seo Go-woon.

He was the adopted brother of the novel’s protagonist, Seo Taeju, and a nuisance character who only caused trouble for Seo Taeju.

It was a given that he would scream at Seo Taeju to give him money, get drunk and assault ordinary people, and show off using the name of the Noeul Guild and Seo Taeju. If he saw an employee he didn’t like, he would threaten to fire them using Seo Taeju’s name without any remorse. Depending on the situation, he would not hesitate to use violence with his abilities. Seo Gowoon was a despicable human being.

And now, if my memory served me right, this situation was one of the famous scenes from the novel “Cradle of the Apocalypse.”

It was the part where Seo Gowoon, the nuisance character and the official screw-up guy, got caught in a monster wave and ‘died’ due to the collapse of a shelter.

“Damn it.”

I was happy when Seo Go-woon died, thinking that the nuisance character had finally met his end.

“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have been so happy. Sigh.”

A deep sigh welled up from the pit of my stomach.

I wanted to complain about how I got transmigrated, why it had to be me, and who was responsible, but the most pressing issue was the death of Seo Go-woon, the character I had become.

If I could die and return to reality, I would gladly do so. However, as was the case with many characters who found themselves inside novels, dying here could mean facing real death instead of returning to reality.

“…Die? Me, here?”

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

How had I lived my life? I had persevered with the single-minded determination to achieve my goals, and now I was going to die like this?

‘Yongdungpo’s crazy dog, me, Kim Hae Ah?’

“Damn it, I can’t die. No, I won’t die.”

If it was my fate to die, then I would twist that fate, survive, and escape this novel.

I quickly reviewed the novel I had read with determination.

” Seo Go-woon was definitely killed in the shelter.”

Although I had never revealed it to anyone, I possessed a perfect memory, recalling situations, locations, and even the text itself. I had thoroughly read <Cradle of Apocalypse>, whether willingly or not. If I wanted to, I could remember every sentence and even every word.

And now, I was in a shelter. The novel clearly stated that there was one shelter in each neighborhood, and since Seo Go-woon had died in a shelter, it was my fate to die here as well.

But I knew.

“If only we could destroy the Gateway, this situation would end.”

The monster wave wouldn’t stop until the Gateway was destroyed.

In the novel, Seo Taeju arrived late and managed to find and destroy the Gateway, but Seo Go-woon had already died by then.

So, my only way to live now was to escape this place, which would soon become a tomb, before dying.

But there was a problem.

‘Even if I survive by leaving here, what about the people here…?’

I wasn’t the only one in the shelter. There were easily hundreds of people here at a glance. Could I just abandon these people and save myself?

‘That’s impossible.’

I was a police officer whose priority was to ensure the safety of the people. I had to revise my plan.

‘Should I take everyone with me?’

I shook my head at the sudden thought.

That’s impossible.

These people had gathered in the shelter, believing it to be the safest place. If I were to tell them that this place would soon become a graveyard and that they had to go outside where monsters roamed.

‘I’d be lucky if I don’t get stoned to death here.’

So, there was only one option left.

‘The only way is for me to end the wave before the people in the shelter die… There’s no other choice.’

Not by escaping the shelter, but by destroying the Gateway.

The location of the Gateway wasn’t important. I knew that too. But the problem was…

“The issue is the monsters that will appear while I’m on my way.”

I rummaged through my pocket again.

“Ugh… What a piece of trash.”

I thought that being a hunter, he would at least have a weapon, but all I found were the car key, wallet, and some other keys I had found earlier.

“What’s this useless guy carrying around?” I ruffled my hair, frustrated by the sudden surge of irritation.

Unlike other hunter stories, the novel <Cradle of the Apocalypse> did not have an inventory function. So, hunters used an item called the Infinity Pouch to carry necessary items, but the self-proclaimed fashionista Seo Go-woon was an inconsiderate character who didn’t even carry the Infinity Pouch around, claiming it would ruin his fit.

‘With that money, I could have bought another luxury item.’

I bit my lip nervously.

There were weapons like axes and hammers inside the shelter.

Thanks to my military experience in the special forces, I was confident in hand-to-hand combat and weapon handling, but only hunters’ abilities or weapons made by awakened individuals could deal damage to monsters. Even if I were to carry one of those weapons, it would only serve to draw attention rather than kill the monster.

‘Why doesn’t this Seo Go-woon guy have a single weapon as a hunter…’

At that moment, an insight suddenly flashed through my mind. “Ah! Isn’t Seo Go-woon is a hunter too?”

That’s right. Seo Go-woon was also a hunter. He had a hidden skill that allowed him to defeat A-class monsters despite being a D-class, a skill that only one person in the world could awaken.

‘Alchemy.’

He did die pathetically here due to some novelistic devices, though.

“What if I can use Seo Go-woon’s abilities?”

Although his rank was low, Seo Go-woon was a hidden hunter. The current monster wave was C-class, so this guy’s abilities should be more than enough to handle it. As long as no more novelistic absurdity occurred.

“Right. Whether I die like this or like that, it’s better to try something and die.”

‘If I stay here blankly, I’ll end up crushed under the building debris. It’s better to take a chance on the unknown rather than a certain outcome.’

“Everyone, run away quickly! If you stay here, you’ll all die!” I shouted to the gathered civilians in the shelter and hurriedly left the underground refuge.

Meanwhile, the streets outside the shelter were eerily quiet, as if witnessing a scene from an apocalypse. However, not far in the sky, there was a hole, as if space had been torn apart, and monsters continuously poured out of it.

‘I never thought I’d see CGI-like scenes from movies in real life.’

I chuckled and began stretching my body.

—Crack.

Hearing a noise while stretching, I quickly hid my body against the building wall. A lizard with bipedal movement appeared when I peeked my head out.

A lizard with sharp spikes on its back and holding a spear in its hand.

‘If the description is correct, that guy is a Thorned Lizard.’

The Thorned Lizard was the most common monster in the monster wave, a monster with low intelligence but capable of throwing spears for long-range attacks. However, it was described that they have weak defenses, so if their heart is pierced with something sharp, they die immediately.

‘I can only see one, so should I give it a try as a test?’

Fortunately, the method of using alchemy, Seo Go-woon’s ability, was described in detail in the novel.

Although alchemy requires an equivalent exchange, it’s actually a product of imagination. As long as there were materials, alchemy could create anything you could imagine.

I placed my hand on the ground. And just like when Seo Go-woon used his ability in the novel, I imagined a sharp cone rising from the ground in my mind.

“[Create].”

In an instant, along with a churning feeling inside my body and the sensation of something being drained, a grayish cone sprouted from the ground, piercing the spiny lizard’s chest.

—Crunch!

With a short, sharp cry, green blood flowed down from the cone.

[You have acquired experience points.]

“…This is insane.”