"…Are they insane?"

Charging behind the fleeing people was a swarm of dozens of Lizardmen.

Their night-time buffs had worn off, slightly weakening their combat prowess, but the sheer number of them, all baring red, glowing eyes in pursuit, was more than enough to instill terror.

And the direction the survivors of Sector 3 were running toward was—without a doubt—the perimeter wall.

"Don't tell me… they brought monsters just because we didn't open the gate?"

And this wasn't happening in just one place. From all directions, groups of people were sprinting, staying barely out of the Lizardmen's reach.

Their speed was inhuman—no ordinary civilian could run like that. They had to be Players.

"This way!!"

SKEEEEEEEEEECH!!!

Drawn by the aggro, the Lizardmen let out furious howls and chased after the fleeing people. It wasn't long before the crowd reached the perimeter—right up to the line the soldiers had marked as the limit.

The soldiers, tense and bracing for impact, raised their weapons and aimed.

But before they could act, Storm quickly grabbed Sergeant Colar's radio and spoke.

"This is Storm. Do not open fire."

"…Sir?"

"Whatever you do, do not engage."

The group—suspected to be Players—crossed the boundary line and began to gradually slow down. They caught their breath and fixed their gazes on the approaching Lizardmen.

Strangely, the Lizardmen, even upon seeing the Sector 3 survivors standing right before them, made no move to attack.

Their eyes flicked around in confusion.

And that made perfect sense.

It was the effect of the spell array installed at the Sector 2 perimeter wall—an "Obscuring Curtain" that worked only on monsters.

The Lizardmen wouldn't be able to clearly perceive the entrance to Sector 2.

But it was far too early to breathe a sigh of relief.

Colar noticed that the survivors who had crossed the line were waving their arms wildly.

…What the hell?

They were shouting something.

"Look over there!"

"What?"

KUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHH!!!

The booming tremors that had been rumbling for a while grew closer. And then, a massive monster emerged, smashing through buildings as it advanced.

Its single eye was the size of a car.

The creature let out a roar of rage, seemingly searching for something. Storm bit his lip and muttered without thinking.

"…Giant Horned Lizard."

Seeing the beast in the flesh, the sheer pressure it radiated was overwhelming as it began to rear up.

And in the direction it was glaring—someone was unleashing a fierce barrage of gunfire.

TAAANG!

"…Millie?"

Just as Storm spotted her—

KYYYYAAAAAAAAAH!!!

The Giant Horned Lizard launched into a reckless charge straight toward the Sector 2 boundary.

Meanwhile, from a nearby building where he had been monitoring everything, Jhin turned to address the many survivors behind him.

"The gate will open soon. Don't miss the moment—run with everything you've got."

"…Yes."

Leaving the determined faces behind, Jhin turned his gaze back to the battlefield. The Giant Horned Lizard was preparing for a full-out charge.

"…It's about time."

That's when the skies erupted.

A barrage of explosives rained down in front of the rampaging beast.

Just as expected, soldiers surged out from Sector 2, surrounding the Giant Horned Lizard and drawing its aggro from all sides.

Of course, they wouldn't just wait around for a creature that size to slam into their defenses.

Jhin called out.

"Now!"

Survivors hiding in buildings on the opposite side dashed into motion, sprinting away from the road at his signal. A horde of Lizardmen was nearby, but thankfully, their attention was focused entirely on the newly arrived soldiers from Sector 2.

"Time for us to move too."

Jhin pulled the Goblin King's Crown low over his head and activated The Peculiar.

With a ripple of change, the Lykan expanded in size, transforming into a massive three-horned goblin. He crushed the skull of a Lizardman that had been lying in wait to attack the survivors.

"Help the Lykan protect the survivors."

At Jhin's command, blue souls burst forth from the ground and took on monstrous forms.

The souls of the Lizardmen that had just fallen.

They immediately pounced on their former brethren who had been about to strike the fleeing humans.

There were only ten of them.

"This is still my limit, huh… A shame, but it'll have to do."

Ten summoned monsters would be more than enough to buy time until the survivors crossed the perimeter.

"Lykan, I'm counting on you."

"My king! With honor!"

Turning full control of the spirits over to the Lykan, Jhin raised his eyes to face the real threat.

The Giant Horned Lizard, poised to dash toward the boundary, flared its nostrils in rage at the army of Players surrounding it.

"Spread out!"

"GAAAHHH!!"

The soldiers broke into formation and fought fiercely. Clearly, they were trying to distract the beast and draw it in another direction.

A solid tactic.

Just then, someone landed lightly beside Jhin.

"So it's you. You're the madman who orchestrated all this."

"…Who are you?"

"I'm Storm. Chief strategist of Ark."

Jhin stared at the man's face.

And upon seeing it, he frowned slightly.

"You deliberately led that thing to the perimeter? You wouldn't do something like this without a plan, would you? What's your strategy?"

"…"

"What is it? Aren't you going to answer?"

Storm wasn't responding—because he was smiling.

A wide, amused smile that stretched almost to his ears.

"Once I saw Millie, I knew. He's back. If you're really the one I know… you've got a way, don't you?"

"…"

"Don't you? What are you waiting for? At this rate, we'll all die."

Jhin cast a quiet glance at Storm, then turned his head to glare at the Giant Horned Lizard.

The man's behavior was suspicious, yes—but there was no hint of hostility.

And right now, there was nothing more important than stopping that monster.

"Come on! Show me what you've got!"

Ignoring him, Jhin pushed off the ground and sprinted straight at the Giant Horned Lizard.

His eyes gleamed gold.

The plan was simple.

"If they won't open the gate… we'll just make them open it."

Jhin had already sensed the strange current flowing around the perimeter of Sector 2. He might not have known the full mechanics, but it was clear—it was a magic formation.

"Probably something that erases presence."

In fact, the Lykan had said the Sector 2 boundary felt extremely faint. Most likely, it was designed so that anything non-human would fail to perceive it properly.

That would explain why the Lizardmen invading Sector 3 were circling around the area instead of heading directly toward Sector 2.

"…Let's see how long they sit still while it all crumbles."

Jhin had asked Millie and Adonis's unit to lure the Giant Horned Lizard toward them.

It didn't matter if the wall couldn't be seen—physical force would still affect it.

Just one blind swing of that massive tail, and the perimeter wall would collapse easily, and along with it, the spell's effectiveness.

The soldiers wouldn't even have the luxury of aiming their weapons at Sector 3 survivors anymore.

Besides, they couldn't be that stupid.

If a Giant Horned Lizard showed up, there was no way they'd wait for it to reach the wall—they'd open the gates and move out to intercept.

That would be a much safer choice than letting it into Sector 2.

"Not that I actually plan on letting the wall collapse."

Just the threat would be enough.

And even if it did fall, it wasn't a problem. The Players in Sector 2 were strong enough to hold off the Lizardmen.

Their fear and the lockdown likely stemmed from a misunderstanding—they probably thought a "C-rank dungeon" had triggered a full dungeon break.

"Seeing it up close confirms it."

Jhin watched as the massive Giant Horned Lizard wrestled with Sector 2 soldiers, its heavy body shaking the earth.

And yes, just as he thought, this thing wasn't the real deal.

It was massive, sure—but the mana swirling inside its body was erratic, out of control. Unstable.

"A mid-boss from a C-rank dungeon that can't even control its mana? Give me a break."

He'd seen something like this before.

The Lykan.

Back during the "Ghost Train" event, the Lykan, modified by Company, had rampaged out of control—gorging on souls and mutating into a mindless C-rank goblin.

But it had no intellect to wield its strength, and couldn't handle the power flooding its body.

The Giant Horned Lizard showed the same symptoms.

"This one's belly…"

There—right at its abdomen—an ominous surge of energy boiled and twisted. That had to be its weak point… or perhaps the reason it had mutated into such a monstrous form.

It was even possible that company had already started mass-producing items to forcibly raise a monster's rank.

"More proof that Company's meddling with the Lizardman dungeon, too."

Shaking off his thoughts, Jhin dashed in, aiming for the Giant Horned Lizard's leg.

At the same moment, its tail swung down at him. That hulking thing smashed through buildings as it whipped across his path.

[Skill 'Soft skills(A)' activated.]

BOOOM!

The truck-sized tail slammed right over Jhin—but oddly enough, he didn't get flung away.

Instead, the tail that struck him ruptured violently.

"Sloppy."

If this thing were a real C-rank, it wouldn't be this weak. Just more proof it was a counterfeit—muscle on the outside, hollow inside.

Watching the Giant Horned Lizard's limb burst apart under his blade, Jhin felt more and more certain.

And the other Players around him began noticing too.

"It's weaker than I thought?"

"…Now! Take it down!"

A storm of skills flooded in from all directions, engulfing the creature. It was massive, yes—but that was it. It couldn't handle the sharp, focused barrage of attacks.

A tank's shove sent its hulking frame lurching. A mage's explosive blast ripped open its torso.

And Millie's magic bullets were unmatched.

One shot made it one-eyed. Another took its vision entirely.

The Giant Horned Lizard screamed in agony, overwhelmed by the relentless assault.

Jhin kept his distance, calculating. Its body flailed, but now its belly—its source of instability—was clearly exposed.

"Huff…"

[Skill ' Power Focus (F)' activated.]

This creature was nothing but raw power bundled into a mindless form. Even so, the force it could unleash would be dangerous for most average Players.

No reason to drag this out. He would end it in one clean strike.

His sword, cloaked in Blue Flame, glowed as he dove beneath the beast's underbelly. In one swift motion, he launched himself upward.

KUUUAAAAAHHH!!

He pierced through the origin of the energy, right in its stomach—and drove his blade up through its back, all in one fluid arc.

At the tip of his blade, a dungeon bloom pulsed—vibrating as if it were alive.

[Monster '???? ? ???' has been slain.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Acquired item: 'Crude Lizardman Armor.']

Floating momentarily in the air, Jhin looked down at the Giant Horned Lizard as it crumbled beneath him.

In his eyes—blue flames began to burn.

[Skill 'Spirit Sight (A)' activated.]

Inside that enormous corpse, there was only one soul.

A single, pitiful soul of a Lizardman soldier.

"Just as I thought…"

His guess had been right.

From there, the situation quickly resolved.

The death of what appeared to be the biggest threat—the so-called "Giant Horned Lizard." More precisely, the death of an artificially-boosted, fake C-rank mid-boss.

With that, Ark no longer had any reason to maintain the lockdown.

"It was a nonsense excuse to begin with."

Once Players inside Sector 2 realized the true nature of the invading Lizardman force, they surged outward—reaching all the way to Sector 3.

And the result?

They repelled the Lizardman horde and reclaimed the front lines.

It was inevitable.

The fact that the enemy had pushed this far was absurd to begin with. All of it—a consequence of their overreaction to the Giant Horned Lizard and their overly defensive strategy.

Jhin scoffed.

"A C-rank dungeon triggering a dungeon break already? Not likely."

—"Well… true enough."

"Anyway, this place is fine now. No need to worry."

—"Yeah, yeah. That's a relief."

Hearing the lukewarm voice on the phone, Jhin tilted his head. He had called just in case they were worried, but the reaction was… underwhelming.

And then it became clear why.

—"But more importantly,Jimmie. Did you talk to the Ark people yet? You did let them know what we did, right?"

"I did meet them. Haven't had a real conversation yet—it's still chaotic."

—"We took in all their refugees. They owe us compensation for that. And we helped save Sector 3 and raided a boss-level monster."

"…So?"

—"Let's squeeze them for everything we can. You know what happens if they think we're pushovers, right? I'm counting on you to handle it."

Jhin furrowed his brow.

"Pete. When you look at the people from Sector 3, what's the first thing that comes to mind?"

—"…Potential customers?"

"No."

—"…Money pits?"

Jhin's gaze fell upon the many survivors collapsed in exhaustion.

These people—survivors from Sector 3—had no powers, no strength, and nothing to their name. That's why they were never protected by Ark.