Chapter 12
The main reason Han chose to clear portals? Simple.
Evolution Points. Creation Points. And a mountain of beast cores that could fund Serenya's needs.
So when Tom confidently suggested, "Let's take the right path," Han already knew it was a waste of time. That path had fewer readings, and his instincts didn't lie. Still, arguing was pointless. Since they wouldn't listen, he tagged along—if only to humor them.
Barely five minutes in, he watched them charge at a trio of rat beasts with all the grace of a drunken brawl. He sighed, shook his head, and ghosted away mid-skirmish, slipping quietly into the left path.
"Alright," Han muttered, cracking his knuckles as he glanced down the path swarming with rat beasts. He had watched the others struggle with just a few of them earlier, so he figured it might take him some time to deal with the horde ahead. But that thought vanished the moment his fist met the first rat.
Pah!
The impact was brutal, and the result was even more shocking—the rat's head exploded on contact. Han blinked, stunned. "I didn't even use full strength..." he murmured. "Are they really that weak?"
50 Evolution Points gained, the system chimed.
Weak or not, there were plenty of rats here, and each one meant more EP and possibly valuable cores. With that thought, he surged forward. His fists became blurs of motion. Each punch met flesh, and each strike left a headless corpse in its wake.
After clearing the first wave, he crouched down and extracted the beast cores. He considered converting them to Creation Points—but changed his mind. These cores would fetch a decent price. He could use the money to get Serenya more resources.
With that settled, Han pressed deeper into the tunnel, the path littered with rodent remains. Every punch shattered skulls, and before long, he stood before a massive wooden door. Two towering rat beasts stood guard.
"I hope you don't die in one hit," Han muttered, stepping forward.
The first guardian rat lunged, claws aimed for his face. But Han didn't flinch. He slipped under the attack with practiced ease and slammed his fist into its chest. A brief resistance—then splat. The rat collapsed, headless and twitching.
The second, enraged by its comrade's death, charged at him in fury. Han sidestepped it and delivered a brutal kick. The beast flew back and slammed into the wall—only to slide down, leaving a blood trail as its headless corpse crumpled.
"Why are they all so weak?" Han muttered in irritation. Then his gaze shifted to the wooden door. "But I'm sure whatever's behind this... will be better."
With a push, the door creaked open, revealing the true threat: a monstrous rat beast. Unlike the others, this one was six times larger. Its claws gleamed like blades, and its fangs dripped venom. Its presence radiated danger.
"You must be the Portal King," Han said with a grin.
The creature let out a furious screech.
"I'll take that as a yes. Guess you figured out I killed your minions. They were just too weak."
The beast charged, claws descending like guillotines toward Han's head.
Han's smiled. Finally, a real fight, he thought.
With a sudden movement, he caught the beast's arm mid-swing. His legs rooted to the ground, muscles tensing.
"First Jungle Art: Wolf Clutch!"
He twisted and slammed the massive rat into the floor with a thunderous crack.
Han leapt back, already positioning himself.
His body crouched low, ready to spring. His hands curved like claws, his stance sharp.
The rat king rose again, bloodied but burning with rage.
So was Han.
"Fourth Jungle Art: Cheetah Stride."
He vanished.
In an instant, he was in front of the rat king, leaping upward. His fists clenched together above his head.
"Fifth Jungle Art: Gorilla Smash!"
The rat king raised its arms to block.
Boom!
A deafening shockwave shook the chamber.
When the dust settled, Han sat atop the beast. The rat king's head—and the arm it used to guard—were both gone.
He reached down, tore out the boss core, and sat calmly atop the corpse.
You have defeated a Portal Boss. 600 EP gained.
Convert core to CP? the system asked.
Han hesitated. The value of a boss core was on a different level. It might be worth keeping—for now.
Just then, the heavy door creaked open behind him. A hooded figure stepped inside.
The analyzer in Han's eye flickered.
Name: Clara Mason
Too easy, Han muttered under his breath, dusting off his hands like he'd just taken out the trash instead of a portal boss. A flicker of disappointment danced across his face.
Before, he thought C-rank Heroes were powerhouses—people to be wary of. Now? They felt like toddlers with fancy toys. Even blue-colored portals weren't cutting it anymore. "Guess I'll have to try green next," he mused. "Or yellow."
"Are you really an E-ranker?" Clara's voice cut through his thoughts like a needle through a soap bubble.
Han turned, stared at her with the same expression one would give a malfunctioning toaster, then lazily raised his badge. The unmistakable letter "E" was still stamped on it, almost like it was mocking her.
Clara narrowed her eyes. "No way in hell, that is right." she muttered, folding her arms.
Han didn't bother arguing. He casually slipped the shimmering crystal of the portal king into his backpack like he was stuffing groceries, then started heading out. The portal would collapse in a few hours now that the boss was dead.
Clara huffed like a kettle about to whistle, clearly annoyed, but with no proof and no leverage, all she could do was follow—quietly plotting to uncover whatever mysterious cheat code Han was hiding.
They reached the path split, and there they were—Tom and the rest of the group. A living disaster. If Han had to describe them, "zombie cosplay gone wrong" came to mind. Everyone looked like they had been through a blender. Bloodied, bruised,Tom… oh Tom looked like he just lost a boxing match to a truck.
"Y-Y-You bastard!" the green mohawk guy stammered, his eyes bloodshot and veins popping. He pointed at Han, trembling more from rage than injuries. "You HID, didn't you?! While we were getting eaten alive, you ran off like a cowardly mutt!"
Han didn't even flinch. He just kept walking.
"The portal's closing," he said calmly, not even glancing back. "If you don't get out now, you're staying here. Forever."
That made them all freeze. The Portal is closing? That could only mean—
"The portal boss was defeated," said the guy with the battle axe, eyes wide.
"But he's an E-ranker!?" someone gasped.
"Nah man, think about it," Mohawk snarled. "It was the hooded chick. She must've soloed the boss. This dude just chilled in a rat hole while she did all the work."
Everyone nodded. It made way more sense than the silent weirdo casually curb-stomping a boss monster. They stepped out of the portal, and just as they did, the sky shimmered. The portal blinked—once, twice—and then collapsed in a faint blue mist.
Han, already halfway to the gate, dropped a small bag of beast cores at their feet—cores he'd "helped" them gather. In truth, he'd given them some of his own after seeing how pitiful they looked. Charity, not teamwork.
As he turned to leave, Mohawk's screechy voice returned, now louder and more unhinged.
"What do you think we are, STUPID?! What about those?!" He jabbed a finger at Han's second backpack—bulging and clinking with the weight of far more cores than theirs.
Han paused, turned, and looked at him like he was a bug under a magnifying glass.
"These," he said, tapping the bag, "are mine."
"Tch! You think we're brain-dead?! You—an E-ranker—got more beast kills than us?! HA!"
Han blinked once. Then turned around and kept walking again, not even dignifying it with a reply.
"Don't you dare ignore me!" Mohawk snapped, extending his arm. A puff of flames formed in his palm—barely a fireball—and shot toward Han.
Before it could even reach Han's shadow, a brilliant white beam of energy zapped the fireball out of existence with a sharp ZZZRRRRAP!
Clara stood still, her hand extended. A sleek, futuristic white gun floated beside her, humming softly. With a click, it broke apart into a hovering sphere that calmly circled her like a pet drone.
"What are you doing?!" Mohawk barked, suddenly nervous. He may have been arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. Clara was strong—dangerously so. If the others weren't half-dead, maybe he'd risk it. But now?
"This young man," Clara said, her voice cold and firm, "is with me." jabbing a thumb dramatically toward the space beside her.
There was just one problem.
That "young man" had not only ignored her declaration but was already halfway across the street, sipping on bubble tea and looking like he'd never seen her before in his life.
The green mohawk guy blinked. Was she pointing at a ghost?
He raised a brow, unimpressed. "You sure about that?"
"Wait—HEY! I SAID YOU'RE WITH ME!" the girl shouted, kicking up dust as she sprinted after Han like an exasperated sidekick.
Cay, the team leader, pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mada, just drop it," he sighed. "We already got more from that beast than we bargained for. Let's just call it a win and leave."
But Mada wasn't letting it go. As the group turned to leave, he cast one last venomous glare at Han's retreating back.
"I'll make sure you pay for stealing from us," he muttered, eyes burning with petty vengeance.
---
A few minutes later…
Han sat at a cozy outdoor café, sipping his coffee quietly.
Across from him sat the same girl—now without her hood, revealing long black hair and curious pink eyes. She leaned forward, a small glint of madness sparkling behind her smile.
"I want to collect high-tier beast cores," she said as if she were inviting him to a picnic. "It's for… an experiment, and I need your help."
Han took a slow sip. "No."
"Just one portal. I'll pay you 100,000 yen."
Han blinked once. That was a lot of money… for someone who hadn't just turned a literal monster rat into a pile of valuable crystals.
"Still no."
The girl pouted, tried to negotiate, offered incentives, threw in sweeteners—but Han remained unmoved, his face as stoic as a marble statue on a caffeine detox.
Finally, she sighed and said, "Okay, fine. Take this."
One of her floating orbs opened like a sci-fi vending machine, and out came a card. She placed it in front of him gently, almost ceremonially.
"When you decide what you want in return... contact me." She gave him a playful wink, spun on her heel, and vanished into the crowd.
Han stared at the card. This woman's trouble, he thought, but pocketed the card anyway because—well, it's probably waterproof.
---
Later that day…
Han stepped out of the café with a lazy stretch, then casually strolled toward the city's edge.
Blue portals are jokes, he thought. Maybe it's time to test something a bit stronger.
He took a turn into a quiet forest path that was barely lit. The branches above twisted like fingers reaching out.
Unbeknownst to him—or rather, very much known to him—Mada was stalking from behind hiding in bushes.
His eyes gleamed with greed. That idiot girl just handed over her beast cores to this loser? Perfect. He walks in. He never walks out.
Deeper and deeper they went into the forest until Han finally stopped in a clearing and sat down on a log, staring peacefully at the sky.
Mada stepped out, cracking his knuckles with all the flair of a man who thought he was about to deliver a finishing move.
"Hand over the cores!" he shouted, his hand glowing red like he was charging up a fireball.
Han didn't even look at him. "If I gave them to you, you'd kill me anyway."
Mada blinked. "...True."
He stepped closer, now fully glowing with confidence and ego. "You're just an E-ranker. Know your place. Give them up and maybe I'll let you die quick."
Han tilted his head, eyes still on the clouds. "You shouldn't be worried about me… or the beast cores."
He slowly turned his head just enough to glance at Mada from the corner of his eye.
"You should be worried about yourself."
Before Mada could reply with another dramatic insult, a thunderous thud shook the ground behind him.
A shadow loomed.
A massive, grotesque hybrid of a human and spider descended from the trees like a nightmare cosplaying for Halloween.
It had eight glowing red eyes, pincers clicking, and was easily double the size of the Rat King.
Mada slowly turned.
His scream caught in his throat as his jaw dropped. Sweat poured down his face like a waterfall. "W-W-What in the actual hell is that?!"
Han's voice echoed from behind him, now ominous and cool.
"A monster at the Iron-level threat."
Ranked threats go from Tin to Bronze, Silver, Iron, Gold, and then Platinum
Mada froze, heart pounding.
Han's tone turned casual again, like he was giving instructions for a group project.
"If you don't know what to do next, I'll give you a hint..."
Mada's knees buckled.
"It's simple." Han said.
"Survive."
To Be Continued.