Volume 5 / Chapter 143
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Isleidir
All they see are mutant corpses and skins. The only things that are alive and moving must be hiding in corners, because they cannot distinguish them.
On top of that, they cannot measure the ceiling thickness. It is thicker than a line of apartments. Because of the angle, they need to ride it down if they want to see deep inside.
"What should we do?"
Strategist thinks. He had come up with a plan on their way here. It is a good location to attack Public Underground, but it is in the middle of the city. He needs to consider the appearance of mutants including Adumoques.
Four parties built a wall to take on the enemies outside and six parties will target the ceiling. They will first throw a biochemical gas gun in, then a shock grenade to spread the range. Even if this does not work against Blood Suckers, it will against the Blood Devils and Blood Parasites to the coc.o.o.ns.
They can get rid of some of the underlings like this. The blood clan will be furious and they"ll either come out through the ceiling or around through the blocked entrance.
Whatever situation, it is advantageous for the force. If they come out through the ceiling, the force can kill them with machine guns, artillery, laser pulverizers, and mines that have been prepared in advance. The force will become the residing while the blood clan brings on the siege.
It is alright if they come around through the entrance as well. Mutants on ground are hostile and if enemies invade, mutants and humans are both considered enemies. They may not have to do anything to get the job done.
"It"s all just a.s.sumptions."
These present situations when everything goes as they want without any variables.
"Someone needs to go down and take a look at the dynamics. We can"t just attack wildly."
"How many people are going down?"
"One person."
The force members gulp. He wants one person to go down, not a party unit or even a few people? If that person is attacked, he or she could die.
"Someone familiar with using the booster will need to go down."
It is basically climbing down a collapsed wall, but to prevent falling and prepare against enemy attack, the person needs to be used to the booster"s functions.
The force members look to one place.
"What? Why?"
Cha Jun Sung is taken aback. He is confident in using the booster. His battlesuit fighting uses the booster as a foundation. But he is also human. He does not want to go in.
"Jun Sung, it looks like you"ve been chosen."
"Ah."
Park Jin Hyuk pats Cha Jun Sung"s shoulder. He has been chosen by the others.
"Can we leave it to you?"
"I guess it can"t be helped."
Cha Jun Sung allows it. He decides to think about contribution. They need to have enough contribution to advance. He will gain as much as other people are averse to it.
It is deep and dark. Cha Jun Sung takes a deep breath and prepares to go down.
That is when they heard a strange sound. Inside Public Underground? No. It is outside, on the ground where the force is.
"Oh no. Why now….."
Strategist"s voice trembles. He backs away from the hole and the force members follow suit.
Chamma Sword, Weapon Master, and the rankers take out their vibration weapons and watch the front. Cha Jun Sung was the only person who was a step behind with a late reaction because he had been looking down into the hole.
"Huh?"
He raised his head. He sees something. If Cha Jun Sung is at the 6:00 position, it is at 12:00, directly on the other side. It is small. It will not even be half of Cha Jun Sung"s height. It is a slimy black liquid, the highest level monster appearing in fantasy novels.
Kik?
"O - Oriax….."
It is the basic form that has not yet found a host. Its battle style is changing its body into any form it wants from that state. It can split into particles like amoebas and can create sharp weapons. It is so fast is it difficult to distinguish because it jumps around like a spring.
There is a reason why it has been ranked in level 6 even though it looks like that.
"Jun - Jun Sung."
"Sh."
Cha Jun Sung puts a finger to his lips when Park Jin Hyuk calls out to him. The force members who already saw the Oriax created distance, but Cha Jun Sung had not been able to do so because his attention had been elsewhere, and he still could not move after seeing it.
"Stay calm."
It has a meek nature. As long as it does not feel threatened, hungry, or the need to look for a host, it will just pa.s.s them by.
The force will not attack, and the Oriax would not have decided on a human as a host. In the virtual game, the Oriax used level 6 and 7s as hosts. Its criteria for choosing is a fresh life with potential, and it does not even look at humans that do not live up to standards. He just needs to pray that it is not hungry.
"It"s too close. Will we be able to react?"
Woong!
Cha Jun Sung puts his battlesuit on full activation. 30m is the distance that the Oriax can go in 0.1 seconds.
"Go. Please just go."
If it attacks, Cha Jun Sung is first. He is prey that is alone and closest. There is no reason for it to go where 99 people are gathered together.
Something black forms in the Oriax"s body. The color and shape are different, but it looks like an eye. No, it is an eye. That eye looks at Cha Jun Sung. Everyone holds their breaths as they watch. They did not even open their mouths.
His hand goes to his Time Limit automatically. If it attacks, avoiding it is not enough. He will crush it as he veers away from it. No matter how strong it is, it is immature without a host and the force can take it.
The eye comes out. It is still looking at Cha Jun Sung. It should have looked at the force at least once, but it does not. What is it looking at? Is there something unusual about Cha Jun Sung to a mutant"s eye?
The Oriax changes. A clear shape is forming from the liquid. Glare Gun shouts. It changed into Cha Jun Sung"s image.
"That - that!"
"Get away, Overload!"
"f.u.c.k….."
Cha Jun Sung swears. When the Oriax chooses a host, it changes to mirror the form. They do not know why. It was just known as a habit in the virtual version.
"Kill it!"
Papat!
The rankers got Cha Jun Sung out and ran at the Oriax. The rest of the force form a large circle so that it cannot escape.
The Oriax"s body becomes thin like a thread and digs in among the rankers. It moved faster than the speed of sound and only took 0.1 seconds for it to reach Cha Jun Sung as he had expected.
He brandished his Time Limit and cut a bit of the Oriax, but a small piece touched his battlesuit. Then, that piece seeped through the battlesuit as liquid into Cha Jun Sung"s skin.
The Oriax covers Cha Jun Sung. It swallowed everything from the mind to the body like a blot of black ink of clean white paper.
[Lifer Cha Jun Sung! Stay alert!]
Odin called his name again and again, but it was of no use. Injecting the virus antibiotics and medicine built into the battlesuit did not slow the process down.
"We need to kill him!"
"Shut up!"
Bang!
Boom Buster aims his hand cannon at Cha Jun Sung, being encroached upon. Park Jin Hyuk hit his face with his gun. Who is he trying to kill? Koharu, Kyoko, and Violet were also appalled with the awful situation.
"Boom Buster"s right. We need to kill him now."
"Um."
The rankers approach Cha Jun Sung. If the Oriax chose him as its host, there will be a reason for it. If it somehow becomes a level 7 mutant, the force will be annihilated.
Ahhh!
The battlesuit cracks. It is evidence that it is unable to withstand the changes inside.
Papat!
The rankers flood to Cha Jun Sung at Strategist"s signal. A few force members go to Park Jin Hyuk, who is making a fuss, and block him so he cannot get involved.
When the vibrating weapons were about to penetrate his body, Cha Jun Sung used his own will to fling his body into the hole. The attacks slashed through the air.
"….. Complete… the mission. I"ll… set it up."
Park Jin Hyuk"s group saw this and stare blankly. What happened is too tremendous to understand, and it happened over too short a period of time.
"We"re getting out of here."
"Where do you think you"re going! We have to go in immediately to save Jun Sung!"
Strategist ignores Park Jin Hyuk. He does not know what Cha Jun Sung will do inside. He could be killed by the blood clan, or he could kill the clan.
Kyak!
High-pitched screaming, the roars of the blood clan. The clan discovered Cha Jun Sung.
"I"ll go in myself then!"
"Stop him!"
Chamma Sword blocked Park Jin Hyuk"s view. He had heard from Cha Jun Sung that Chamma Sword is a strong ranker, but did not pay mind and tried to attack him.
But right before he could attack, the force heard sudden roaring and froze.
Kooo!
This is the first time they are hearing a roar like this in all of the time that they have played Life Mission. The shriek of a level 7 with the potential to make someone pa.s.s out. That is how the devil inside Cha Jun Sung woke up.
Volume 5 / Chapter 144
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Isleidir
The hole that the Blood Lord made is 150m thick, the height from the floor to ceiling is 100m. Combined, it is 250m. There will be a margin of error, but that is the estimated total.
The height is like falling off of a cliff. A normal being would be smashed to bits upon impact with the ground.
Cha Jun Sung was falling that distance while in transition.
The battlesuit is unable to endure the swelling from inside, and breaks. It does not crumble because of the solid armor.
He looked like a larva that had come out of its skin and was about to become an imago.
The blood clan had been enjoying silence when they looked at the ceiling in concert. This is not a sound they know. They felt intrusion from outside. Cha Jun Sung had gotten through the ceiling and was headed for the ground without their knowing.
The battlesuit booster activated right before a crash and slowed him down. Cha Jun Sung landed on the ground with a small impact.
Odin used its authority to activate the battlesuit. Cha Jun Sung is not dead yet, but that does not mean he is okay. The changes occurring inside of him are so complicated that they cannot be explained with words.
[Battlesuit….. Destroy rate….. 86%. Repair impossible….. PDA discharged.]
Odin made the judgement call to launch the PDA off of the battlesuit.
It is usually worn on the wrist, but cannot be done so when wearing a battlesuit. With this swelling, the PDA will be destroyed.
The released PDA falls to the ground. It flew fairly far, more than 50m. It is the medium that connects Life Mission and Lifers. It needs to maintain its functions in order to monitor the Lifer"s state in real-time.
Kyak!
Hundreds of Blood Devils swarm to Cha Jun Sung. They can tell that he is an enemy even without the Elder or leaders" orders.
Bang bang bang!
Squeezing, cracking, and throwing. The battlesuit"s outer armor finally shatters like gla.s.s. His impact tights were also reduced to rags.
His body doubled in size once the battlesuit preventing his mutation was gone. His form is similar to that of a human"s, but his body is black as though he has been stained with ink. He is subtly and strangely blending into the humid and dark atmosphere of Public Underground.
Cha Jun Sung opened his eyes. He has 1 on his forehead, 4 on each the left and right sides, looking around with a total of 9 eyes.
In a mix of red and black, the Black Devils get an ominous feeling when they see his eyes and retreat as though to run away.
"Enemy….. Foe….. Kill them."
The Oriax that absorbed Cha Jun Sung"s knowledge expresses its will in human language. It will avenge its dead mother.
Koooo!
A murderous roar rings through Public Underground.
The Black Devils shrink in fear against the mental decay phenomenon. Only the Blood Suckers are able to endure it. Even among them, the Elder and leaders were the ones to keep their composure.
The wounds that the Blood Devils left heal rapidly. Cha Jun Sung"s body ripples in waves and it looks like a black flame is blazing.
The Elder sweeps the ground with its tail. The offspring of a predator that the king killed has found a host that fits its body. It has been resurrected as a complete adult.
It is strong enough to leave a wound on the king"s body. They are not guaranteed to win even if the entire blood clan charges at him, but they have no choice but to fight.
Kyak!
Hundreds of the clan block the surrounding area and flood to Cha Jun Sung. He is hundreds of times stronger than the Blood Devils in all aspects.
He looks like he is going to ma.s.sacre them. Exploring is of no use. They know their opponent"s strength. They need to concentrate their power and face him from the start.
Papapat!
Cha Jun Sung steps around Public Underground and keeps moving.
Blood Suckers chase him as though playing a game of tag. When they cannot catch up to him with speed, they launch hundreds of thorns.
Boom boom boom!
The thorns go through everything, whether it is the walls or the ground. Their size and strength are basically missiles that do not explode.
The thorns showering down like rain do not hit Cha Jun Sung"s body. They do not even graze him. It is like he is taunting his opponents.
Boom boom bang!
The Blood Suckers that had been attacking Cha Jun Sung go back and forth and fall in a tangle. Their steps have gotten mixed up and they are a mess.
The Elder could not just watch anymore, and sent the leaders out. Monsters 35m in height crush their subordinate Blood Suckers and storm at Cha Jun Sung.
They are level 6s and react quickly. They figure out where Cha Jun Sung is moving and attack.
One of the leaders shrink down by contracting its neck muscles. Its head pa.s.ses a few horns flying in a sharp attack.
If the contraction had been a little later, a part of its head would have been sliced.
Cha Jun Sung shakes his left arm. It transforms into a giant sword that is 3m long. It is a weapon that the Oriax that absorbed him is familiar with as well.
The Elder watches the flow of the battle and controls its breathing. Then it flew out within moments. It was as though a spring had been contracted and let go.
Its thorns scratch the stone floor. It rotates its body as it goes, and it is so tremendous that it can be mistaken for a tornado.
The Blood Suckers quickly get out of the way. Their bodies will be destroyed if they are hit. The Elder"s size is 50m. Its range is large because it is so big.
Cha Jun Sung was fighting with the Blood Suckers when he saw the attack and flew into the air. He could feel the wind pressure from the spinning.
"Idiots…..!"
The way he speaks is awkward. He cannot speak human language properly now, but he will be proficient once he gets used to it.
Kyak!
The entire blood clan looks up at the ceiling. Cha Jun Sung changed his feet into what looks like a hawk"s claws and hung upside down as he looked down.
His thighs, as thick as a man"s waist, swells and sucks the air in.
Bang bang!
Stone fragments shower down from the ceiling under a pushing repulsive force. Cha Jun Sung falls and sets down precisely in the center of the Blood Devils.
He does not have his vibrating weapons or battlesuit, but he has the power of a level 7 mutant in his current state. He has already transcended humans.
Blood Suckers are slaughtered mercilessly. Their steel-like thorns and tough skin are cut as their guts spill out. He cuts through them easily with a long sword.
His flesh absorbs the flesh that splatters on him. He is supplementing nutrients with his skin.
The Blood Devils are terrified and watch the battle in front of them. They cannot find a way to interfere.
While Cha Jun Sung was paying attention to one place, the Elder"s tail hit his chest. He went flying hundreds of meters under the incredible impact.
Boom boom boom boom!
The Elder launches thorns in succession. Cha Jun Sung avoided them as he went flying, but one went through his stomach and embedded itself there.
"It… stings."
He does not pull the thorn out. He took his body off of the thorn. A hole the size of a person"s head is left behind on his stomach.
Black liquid fills the hole. It was a wound that should have killed him. Does this mean he is immortal? It seems like he has received no damage.
It is not that he has not received any effect. There is a limit to regeneration. Other than the brain and heart, arms and legs can be regrown thousands of times back to normal as long as the necessary nutrients are there.
The Elder"s neck inflates rapidly. It is a different attack than what has been seen until now, a skill that only the chosen of the blood clan are able to use.
A disgusting green liquid fills the air as if coming out of a hose.
When a few drops fall, the concrete floor bubbles. It has melted the stone. It is acid breath.
The black liquid covering Cha Jun Sung"s entire body grows larger like a balloon and protects him. It is like looking at a shield.
The green liquid melted the shield, but it dripped down as though it had met gla.s.s. Cha Jun Sung has a satisfied expression. He was using the blood clan as test subjects. It is not difficult to annihilate them.
He has matured, but this is the first time he is fighting. All types of skills come out because the Oriax and Cha Jun Sung"s knowledge is combined.
They are filling each other"s shortcomings. Of course the princ.i.p.al agent is the Oriax. Cha Jun Sung is just the host that has been absorbed.
Cha Jun Sung takes a step forward, and the blood clan flinches in fear.
Though there are a lot of the enemy, he has the strength to take that power down. The mutant world is the law of the jungle. At this moment, Cha Jun Sung is the law.
"I"ll… kill you… and… kill the lord."
It is not guaranteed that he will win once they come face to face, but it does not seem impossible. This incredible brain will find the way for him.
Thousands of Blood Devils and dozens of Blood Suckers are cut up.
The leaders are also mixed in there, but they cannot be found. They have been cut up into such small pieces that they cannot be distinguished.
"Lord… north….."
Cha Jun Sung put his left hand back to the way it normally is. The Elder is pa.s.sed out under his foot as though it will die soon.
"I won"t kill you first. I"m killing your kids."
Cha Jun Sung ignores the Elder and looks at the tens of thousands of coc.o.o.ns stuck on the wall. Even if a human has been absorbed, the Oriax is a mutant.
Though they are of different tribes, he can hold basic communication with the Elder. The Elder speaks to kill it. That the king will get revenge.
"There are a lot."
There will be no end to it if he tries to kill them one by one. Cha Jun Sung thinks. Even if it had taken a mutant as its host, it would have acquired the abilities of level 7 but would not have retained a human"s knowledge. Its state right now is a mutation.
"Human… mission annihilation?"
Cha Jun Sung looks up at the ceiling. The brain of the human he has absorbed is telling him. He does not have to kill them. If he leaves them, they will come down to take care of the situation.
"We"re going home."
The swollen body deflates. A mutant forms with the same shape as Cha Jun Sung"s appearance. It is just that it retained the black color in its skin.
[Lifer Cha Jun Sung?]
Cha Jun Sung freezes on the spot. He figured out exactly where the sound is coming from.
[Lifer Cha Jun Sung?]
"I"m not a human. You"re… ack!"
Cha Jun Sung grabs his head. Is the host not completely corrupted?
[A virus level 7 standards, possibility of evolving into level 8 is over 80%.]
Odin reads the changes inside Cha Jun Sung. If he had been absorbed by the Oriax, he needs to be at the limit of level 7. How is there the possibility of him advancing to level 8? He needs to be taken to the briefing room or Mechanic City for proper testing in order to get an exact evaluation. It is something that cannot be done right now.
His headache ebbs. Though there was a bit of a reaction, it was a sinking ship. Unless the Oriax lets him go, Cha Jun Sung is a bird locked in a cage.