Chapter 53: Isn't It? (2)

Isn't It? (2)

I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

"Mister, this is the 5th. We need to catch five more, right?"

It went better than I had anticipated.

I had predicted it would take us three days, but we had killed half of the monsters in less than a day.

I stopped dead in my tracks. We had hit a dead end.

To be precise, there was a large rock in front of the cave entrance.

"Hyun-woo. What do you see inside?"

"Hold on..."

The five remaining monsters were in this cave. They all would have strange mutations.

"I can see something very strange. What's this...all their arms, legs, and faces have mouths..."

"Right. Let's go in."

When he said it, I remembered their mutations. I stepped forward, right in front of the rock blocking the entrance.

And...

"Ji-Yeon."

"Yes!"

At my signal, Yoo Ji-Yeon, who was making up the rear, started moving her arms. Clear mana started emanating from her.

Kugugugu...

The ground beneath the rock became soft like a swamp and started swallowing the rock. I had certainly become more creative in my magic utility. I would have been a little disappointed if I had smashed the rock on accident.

"Go."

We entered the large cave.

As many as six passages were leading further into the cave. Luckily, I knew where to go.

Tap. Tap.

As we walked along, I looked up. Red bugs were all over the walls and ceiling.

They looked dangerous, but they were harmless.

"Uh...."

Nevertheless, it looked disgusting. Yoo Ji-Yeon pulled a grimace, and Zhang Wei looked pretty disgusted as well.

"How much further do we have to go?"

"It's another 30 minutes."

The only ones who didn't mind the bugs were Sung Hyun-woo and me.

Hyun-woo stepped on a bug crawling on the floor with a nasty cracking sound.

"How long will it take us to kill the next five monsters?"

He looked tired. Seeing his childlike face made me chuckle.

"Don't worry. These will be a lot faster."

* * *

We had gotten close to the end of the cave. The ambient temperature had risen dramatically, even with Zhang Wei's blessing, we were sweating profusely.

"Wow..."

No one cared about the heat.

The horror in front of us was too distracting.

"Really..."

It looked like a giant ogre, with one big distinction. Its face and body were covered in 'mouths'. It's cheeks, backs of hands, wrists, and even knees had mouths that kept opening and closing, showing sharp teeth and tongues.

'That's one of the mutants that are trickier to fight.'

This phenomenon was a common occurrence in cracks. Monsters that could not withstand the high mana density had evolved to adapt to the new circumstances. Some of them had special abilities; other's bodies changed. In this case, it was both.

['Information view' activated.]

.

.

.

[Name: Red Ogre "Food"]

[These giants are born with thick skin that can even withstand the heat of a fire.]

[During its evolution, its skin turned from green to red, and the muscles and bones strengthened dramatically.]

[It is not very intelligent, but its strength is almost unmatched, ranking it very high in the food chain.]

[*It's a creature that has evolved to adapt to a higher mana density.]

[*By eating other monsters, it can absorb their power and evolve even further.]

This wasn't an easy opponent to begin with, but to make matters even worse, there were five of them.

If it consumed one of us...I didn't even want to think about that.

'The monster with the most efficient healing ability, the most proficient magic skills, and the best Esper ability...and of course, it also had impeccable analytical skills.'

No matter who, if it absorbed any of us, it would be over. There would be no way to stop it.

'In the past, I simply destroyed the cave...'

That's how I had killed these creatures the last time. I wasn't able to deal with the beasts after they had devoured numerous of our best hunters. I had to destroy the cave by placing explosives.

At the time, it was the only choice. However, after sifting through the rubble, we somewhat regretted that decision.

'An immensely powerful Artifact of Grade S had been destroyed in the explosion.'

It was damaged beyond repair. We didn't know exactly what it had been, but its mana signature was unlike anything we had ever seen.

'At least that meant I couldn't miss it when searching for it.'

As long as they haven't absorbed any powers yet, they are only a bit tougher Ogres. I was confident we could deal with these monsters easily,

Tap. Tap.

I walked forward.

"Si-woo, can you fight those things? At first glance, they look incredibly dangerous, but maybe we stand a chance..."

Yoo Ji-Yeon was so frightened. She kept muttering silently to herself. It might look very intimidating, but that didn't stop me.

"It might be worth a try, but I doubt I'll ever forget these creatures," Zhang Wei said, surprisingly calmly.

'How weak do they think I am? It didn't matter. Maybe it was better when they underestimated me.'

"Woo."

I activated my ability, which had returned to the back of my hand. The colorful lights suddenly appearing around me got the Ogres' attention. Being attracted to shiny things, like most dumb creatures, they would surely focus on me.

"Let's get this over with as fast as possible. Give it all you have."

"UUUUUUGHHH!"

The Ogres shouted a frightening battle cry in unison.

'...fast.'

I began to analyze their strength by the way they moved. I wanted to take it more slowly, but the notification window that had just popped up reminded me that I was running out of time.

[Information view]

[Name: The World of Ash]

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.

.

[A new entity has entered the rift.]

[*Much more powerful than any current inhabitant.]

[*Detailed information cannot be viewed.]

[*Name: Lee Seong-yeon]

Lee Seong-yeon was one of the first generation of hunters. A living legend, she had been the first hero to enter the "Hall of Fame".

BOOM!

A big explosion sounded from the outside.

BOOM!

Again. And again. It started repeating like a rhythm.

Flame Empress.

As I listened to the blasts, I realized the mistake I had made. I thought I would do myself a favor by notifying her the way I did, but I feared she wasn't very happy about me revealing the information about her husband.

"Oh, oh."

However, there was no time to dwell on that. The red giants were already very close. One of the lights floating around me came into my hand and formed a sword.

['Arrogant Swordsmanship' activated.]

Keying!

I swung my sword at the incoming monsters, but the Ogre caught my sword between the teeth of the mouth on the inside of its hand.

The remaining four Ogres had caught up to their friend.

I threw myself to the side and shouted,

"Now!"

Sung Hyun-woo pointed his fingers at the Ogres' heads.

Wow.

The Ogres, grabbing their heads, faces distorted with pain, sank to the ground. I could see blood seeping from their ears. Sung Hyun-woo was using his telekinetic powers to crush their skulls.

My other friends didn't sit around idly either.

A blue flash of light shot past me. Where it hit them, it burned holes in the Ogres' bodies.

As I looked behind me, I could see Yoo Ji-Yeon with a faint smile on her face.

However, they were still not dead. As they opened their mouths and stuck their tongues out, hundreds of bugs came crawling towards them from the walls and ceiling. Accompanied by loud crunching sounds, we witnessed their wounds closing in record time.

It was pretty disgusting to listen to.

BOOOM!

The explosions caused by the Flame Empress drew closer. There was little time left. I opened my mouth and shouted,

"Link!"

Mana started pulsing from my body in waves. At the same time, the lights floating around me transformed into long, pointed needles.

『You can kill ten people with just one needle.』

『This is the original shape.』

『It can be a knife, a gun, a stone, or anything.』

『The shape varies, depending on the person holding it.』

It was very cool to touch, even in this environment, and looked like it was made from steel. It was completely different from the weapons I usually transformed the lights into.

"It's uh...big..."

The Ogres still hadn't quite recovered from their injuries.

'Is that all you've got?'

"One doesn't need to wield weapons when they can kill with words."

Along with it, I had brought the most useful technology I could find among the numerous memories of other beings. It seemed best fit to deal with these monsters, and I could kill them all at once with it.

Wow.

My mana was concentrated in the tips of the needles. Filled to the brim with mana, they were trembling slightly. They looked like they were about to burst.

Orichalcum could not be destroyed, however. Ever. In other words, it was a foolproof material to work with.

"Hah!"

Filled with confidence, after healing their injuries so easily, one of the Ogres let out a laugh. In response, I flicked my fingers.

Tiing.

With a high-pitched tone, the needles shot towards the Ogres, as if fired from a bow. Steered by my will, they made sharp turns mid-air. They automatically sought out the ogres to kill them.

Zip.

The first needle pierced an Ogre's snout and shot out through the back of its head moments later. As if stitching a wound, it kept entering and leaving the Ogre's body. Blood splattered everywhere.

The same process was repeated by the other needles as well.

A needle entered through the Ogre's eyeball, came out of the back of its head, made a sharp turn, and entered slightly higher, before shooting out through the eyebrow. Systematically, they destroyed every vital organ. Their movements had become so fast, they were only visible as streaks of light.

『When killing something, what matters except your state of mind?』

[Technician]

[Rating: D]

[A certain expert who turned the Awakened Society on its head.]

[His story begins to rise in your mind.]

The memory of an acquaintance you made while serving a prison sentence a long time ago is coming back up.

I let out a cold laugh as I watched the Ogres die helplessly.

Within minutes, they were all dead.

And....

"Is that the artifact..."

Within another two minutes, we had found the Artifact.

I walked slowly towards something rolling over the floor.

Suddenly I knew what it was.

"Five..."

A smile crept onto my face.

Only

* * *

"What happened here..."

The older woman, Lee Seong-Yeon, burst out laughing at the sight of a dead Ogre body.

Her analysis had been completely wrong.

"This was the work of a great technician."

It looked like only vital parts were punctured. This wasn't something a beginner was capable of.

The woman raised an eyebrow towards me.