Here's an Opportunity-Chapter 178: Weakness (2)

What is the most important thing to consider when sharing information?

To Kim Ki-Rok, the key was ensuring the information was reliable. That's why, even though he already knew the future, he had used one of his Gate rewards to acquire the Discernment Skill, just to prove the intel he shared could be trusted.

Even now, he was doing everything he could to guarantee that reliability. He already knew the weaknesses of the mechanical monsters, but without a convincing way to verify that knowledge, he had chosen not to share it with the other Hunters. That was why he had to fight the mechanical monsters himself. To establish the credibility of his findings, he needed it to appear as if he had uncovered their weaknesses through firsthand combat.

After swinging his mace to break open the body of one of the mechanical monsters, Kim Ki-Rok stabbed the wreckage with a dagger made of Pastera, putting on a show of examining the monster's weak points. Once he was done, he jumped back into the fray.

"I haven't had the chance to inspect the Flying Mechanical Monsters yet. It should take me about ten more minutes," Kim Ki-Rok reported to the command center.

He was some distance from his next target, so he used his ability to form mana platforms, leaping across the battlefield until he was floating over three Hunters who had trapped one of those monsters fon the ground.

Spinning his mace in his hand, Kim Ki-Rok called out, "I'll need to collect some information from this monster. Please block its escape routes to prevent it from running away."

Nodding, the Hunters drew back, forming a loose circle around the Flying Mechanical Monster. He was relying on these three to fend off any approaching enemies while also avoiding getting between him and the machine.

While their job was easier because they only needed to distract, not defeat, any incoming enemies until another Hunter could handle them, it was still a dangerous yet necessary task. Even if this was the last Gate that would ever connect to the Patera Dimension, the difficulty of clearing it made the information worth the risk.

The monster hesitated, seemingly puzzled by the sudden halt in attacks, or perhaps by the unexpected sight of Kim Ki-Rok now floating above it in place of the trio it had been fighting. It scanned its surroundings cautiously before turning its attention back to him. With its focus locked on the lone figure hovering in front of it, the monster opened its mouth, preparing to strike.

"What type is it?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

"Shotgun, sir!" one of the Hunters barked.

To enable this quick exchange, Kim Ki-Rok had positioned himself right between the Korean Hunter who answered and the Flying Mechanical Monster. As soon as he received the response, Kim Ki-Rok erased the mana platform beneath his feet. He dropped instantly out of the monster's line of fire, its shotgun-like blast ripping through the air above as he landed. Instead of pursuing him, the machine turned its attention to the other Hunters circling nearby.

Seeing this, Kim Ki-Rok seized the moment to conjure a new mana platform and returned to his previous position in the air, drawing the monster's focus back to him. He didn't understand why it behaved this way, but he knew the Hunters could exploit its easily distracted nature.

As it spread its wings and opened its beak to launch another attack, Kim Ki-Rok remembered the countermeasures that had worked before and quickly moved to neutralize it, now certain that the information from his previous Attempts still held true.

***

With the information provided by Kim Ki-Rok, the other Hunters quickly identified the weaknesses of the Humanoid and Animaloid Mechanical Monsters. One by one, they began taking them down, and the tide of battle started to shift in their favor.

"Bring up the battle footage of Hunter Kim Ki-Rok," Lieutenant General Akabe ordered from the command center.

The Japanese Self Defense Force was a trained military entrusted with national security. Its primary role was to protect the nation and its people from external threats, but after the appearance of the Gates and the monsters within, the military's responsibilities had expanded to meet the new dangers.

After all, Hunters weren't the only ones capable of fighting monsters. Depending on the monster's class and the battlefield, it was possible to defend against a monster using modern firepower alone. In fact, Japan had once dealt with a coastal Gate that went out of control using artillery and aerial bombing. And during the Christmas Gate Break Incident, South Korea had also stationed artillery forces across the country in case any nearby Gate went out of control.

It wasn't unusual for soldiers to take part in large-scale anti-monster operations, even if only to gather data from battles between Hunters and monsters. Using Hunters to handle monsters, however, remained the simplest and most efficient option.

Lieutenant General Akabe looked up at the latest video footage from the battlefield, displayed on the top rightmost of the nine screens in front of him.

The footage showed Kim Ki-Rok fighting a Humanoid, mace in one hand and dagger in the other. He acted as if he was conducting experiments, stabbing the monsters with his dagger and hammering their bodies with his mace. Then, once he found a weakness, he would finish off the monster and move on to a new type to investigate.

The screen showed Kim Ki-Rok methodically uncovering the weaknesses of one of the Animaloids. He took longer to defeat them than any of the other Hunters, but it was for good reason. He was carefully analyzing their vulnerabilities, as expected of someone known for his reliable intel.

As the cameras lost track of his location, Lieutenant General Akabe asked, "Where is Hunter Kim Ki-Rok now?"

"He's currently battling one of the flying monsters," a subordinate reported.

"Is he investigating its weaknesses as well?"

"With the help of five other Hunters, he's facing the Flying Mechanical Monster in single combat. Based on his radio report before moving to that location, he is likely approaching the target to collect information from it."

Kim Ki-Rok had already identified the weaknesses of the two grounded mechanical monsters. Now, all that remained was to discover the flying ones' weaknesses. Each time he "found" new information, he always made sure to share it generously with everyone involved.

"We need to redistribute the cameras observing the battlefield. Twenty percent will shift to monitoring the city. Another twenty percent will remain on overwatch. The remaining sixty percent will be divided between the east, west, and south," Lieutenant General Akabe ordered.

With most of the mechanical monsters' weaknesses uncovered, the risk of defeat for the high-class Hunters dropped significantly, allowing the military to shift its focus elsewhere. Although the Flying Mechanical Monsters hadn't been fully analyzed yet, their relative fragility meant S-Class Hunters had little trouble dealing with them, especially using floating mana platforms to close the distance. Given how quickly Kim Ki-Rok had identified the others' weaknesses, it was only a matter of time before he did the same for the flying ones.

"Compared to the hordes of mechanical monsters, our forces can be considered a small number of elite units," Lieutenant General Akabe reminded his subordinates. "If there are any casualties, they are to be moved to the rear immediately, and one of the reserve Hunters waiting at the forward base will take their place."

***

Unless their skills granted increased slashing power or mana penetration like Yoo Seh-Eun's, Hunters who specialized in long-range combat weren't much help against the mechanical monsters.

Lee Ji-Yeon, the DG Guild's top Fire Elementalist, was also a skilled long-range specialist. As an Elementalist, she could summon a spirit that harnessed the power of nature. Despite the mechanical monsters' artificial nature, she remained highly effective against them. It was no surprise, given her status as the Guild's most senior Fire Elementalist.

At Kim Ki-Rok's suggestion, she had chosen to wield a sword instead of a staff. This meant that in addition to attacking from afar with her elemental powers, Lee Ji-Yeon could also fight up close, using fire as a supportive force in combat.

With a wave of her hand, Lee Ji-Yeon splashed fire over the upper portion of a Humanoid's face, where a human's eyes would normally be, sealing its vision. To fool the temperature sensors that all mechanical monsters were suspected to have, she set off several fires nearby and covered herself in flames. This allowed her to weave through the monsters, blinding them one by one.

Once the monsters were blinded, Nam Dong-Wook delivered the finishing blow. Perched above the battlefield, the archer had a clear view of everything below. From this vantage point, he fired arrows to support Lee Ji-Yeon the moment she cracked open a gap in the mechanical monster's defenses.

"Not only do they have temperature detection, they also possess the ability to find their enemies through a vibration sensor," Lee Ji-Yeon reported to the command center, allowing them to spread the word to all Hunters on the battlefield.

She took a moment to examine the longsword in her hand.

"Hmph..." Lee Ji-Yeon grunted in annoyance.

Like Kim Ki-Rok, she had purposefully avoided targeting the mechanical monsters' known weaknesses in order to collect more information. But as she stabbed and sliced at their metal bodies searching for new weak points, the edge of her longsword quickly became ruined.

"And I don't have that many spares..." she muttered to herself.

Maybe switching to a mace really was the better choice?

After thinking it over for a moment, Lee Ji-Yeon put away her longsword and pulled out a spare mace. She couldn't afford to insist on using a sword just because she thought wielding a mace looked uncool or barbaric. This was an S-Class Gate, and her opponents were all on par with promising A-Class Hunters.

Now wielding the mace, Lee Ji-Yeon sprang back into action, charging at a nearby mechanical monster. After confirming that she had re-engaged, Nam Dong-Wook, still floating in the sky with his Flying Skill, turned his attention to supporting another Hunter. He knew that if Lee Ji-Yeon needed help, she would signal him, just as she had earlier with her flames.

While Yoo Seh-Eun could traverse the battlefield alone, taking down mechanical monsters without any support, the other DG Guild members had to team up to fight effectively.

However, Kim Ki-Rok and Yoo Seh-Eun weren't the only DG Guild members capable of solo performances. There was also Jeong Man-Kook, who, thanks to his Calorie Buff Skill, had some of the highest physical stats not only in the DG Guild but in all of South Korea. Instead of leading a team, he was also plowing through the mechanical monsters on his own.

"Humph!" Jeong Man-Kook gave a heavy grunt as he swung his iron club, flattening a mechanical monster into a metal pancake. Glancing at the distant city, he muttered, "The faster we get out of here, the better..."

He wasn't usually picky about food, but eating the same thing every day was wearing on him. If Kim Ki-Rok had been in charge of meals, things might have been different, but their Guildmaster had more pressing matters to handle. In fact, it wasn't just Kim Ki-Rok. Every Hunter who had signed up for this raid was being run ragged by the mechanical monsters, who attacked day and night.

"I need to get out of this Gate. As soon as we leave, I'm getting sushi," Jeong Man-Kook promised himself as he hammered another monster.

Since they were in Japan, shouldn't he at least get the chance to try their sushi?

"And takoyaki!" Jeong Man-Kook roared, swinging his huge club again.

Since they were in Japan, shouldn't he be able to try their takoyaki, too?

Winding up like a batter, Jeong Man-Kook swung for the fences while growling, "Okonomi...yaki!!"

Shouldn't he get the chance to gorge himself on okonomiyaki, too?!

As he continued to shout the names of popular Japanese dishes, Jeong Man-Kook smashed his way through the horde of mechanical monsters. The Hunters close enough to witness this fearsome sight couldn't help but step back, putting some distance between themselves and the rampaging giant.

***

Having discovered the Flying Mechanical Monsters' final weaknesses, Kim Ki-Rok promptly reported the information to the command center so it could be shared with the other Hunters. With that done, he descended to the ground, leaving the task of finishing off the flying monster to the S-Class Hunter who had been battling it before his arrival. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

In terms of level and stats, he was still just an A-Class Hunter. Even if he could identify their weaknesses, it would take him a long time to defeat a Flying Mechanical Monster that could move freely through the air, so it was more efficient to let the S-Class Hunter finish it off. And although Kim Ki-Rok had finished "discovering" all their weaknesses, there were still hundreds of mechanical monsters left to fight.

It would be good if things kept going like this, but... Kim Ki-Rok rolled the thought around in his mind as he landed and approached another mechanical monster. I still feel uneasy.

Just as a problem had occurred during the rescue operation, he had a feeling something might go wrong with this part as well. While the Humanoid Mechanical Monsters had attacked on the same date and time as in his previous Attempts, Kim Ki-Rok couldn't shake the sense that something was off. He suspected that some unexpected variables had come into play.

Even as one mechanical monster fell after another, Kim Ki-Rok paid close attention to the reports coming in from the command center. Soon, his face twisted into a frown as he heard unwelcome news.

—Additional forces have been sighted leaving the city.

These additional forces hadn't shown up in any of Kim Ki-Rok's previous Attempts. Was it because he launched the raid earlier than before, following the disruption during the rescue operation? Or was it because, unlike last time, he had chosen to rely solely on catapults to wear down the monsters in a long siege rather than launching an assault?

After turning to check what kind of mechanical monsters were now emerging from the city, Kim Ki-Rok let out a deep sigh. "No, seriously...! Why are those...? No, just, really...! Haaaaaah!"

—There are Animaloid... No, Humanoid... No, what can only be described as monstrous mechanical monsters emerging from the city.

Monstrous mechanical monsters certainly sounded strange. However, there was nothing wrong with the report from the command center. After all, the new monsters emerging from the city were neither human nor animal-like.

The first was a strange hybrid, with the lower half of a beast and the upper half of a human. It was followed by a monster that began transforming as soon as it exited the city gates, growing larger and larger until it was taller than the city walls. The final type was even more aberrant, and could only be described as truly monstrous in appearance.