Volume 9 / Chapter 255
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Hungry Panda
Cha Jun Sung is frustrated.
It"s right in front of him, but he can"t do anything. He can"t even force his way in because his entry itself is blocked.
He can go into level B, but there"s no point. He has more than enough points. This is the same as taking away his qualifications as a Lifer. The only comfort he has is that he can go into the store.
"I can"t even help the World Federation."
He had promised to buy them level S parts after increasing Albatrus" distribution ratio and gathering points, but he can no longer keep that promise.
Cha Jun Sung told the World Federation and Park Jin Hyuk"s group about his situation.
He didn"t go into details. He said that he had gotten into a conflict of opinions with the supervisors, who are higher than the helpers, and his entry into missions had been blocked in the aftermath.
They all had expressions of disbelief, but he really had been blocked. Albatrus remained at level A state with Cha Jun Sung"s declaration, and World Federation discussed two plans for future moves.
Are they going to take Albatrus to explore the sea and go through a slow level A mission? Or are they going to neatly give it up and go into a normal level A mission?
This is what World Federation is currently debating. Park Jin Hyuk"s group will follow in whichever direction they decide on. This is something that Cha Jun Sung is sorry about. Maybe because he has a secret that he has kept from them ever since he became a mutant, but the number of missions he entered with his friends had decreased sharply.
He thought that he might be able to relax a little since he had gotten all of the annoying things out of the way, but now he can"t go into missions with them even if he wants to.
Park Jin Hyuk"s group said that it was okay, but it was obvious that they thought it a pity. Cha Jun Sung isn"t at ease either. This isn"t just a pause.
It"s a permanent stop. He needs to be like this until Life Mission is over.
"This really feels like s.h.i.t."
What is all of this?
Where is he supposed to use all of this uncontrollable energy?
Does he have to live hundreds or thousands of years masked as a human?
He"ll easily live hundreds of years with a level 9 body.
He"ll remain alive after everyone he knows dies?
Just the thought of it is horrible.
He doesn"t want to live that long. Though Lifers have been created on modern Earth through Life Mission, the Earth itself is a peaceful place. It isn"t a place where he can run around as a mutant.
"d.a.m.n."
Cha Jun Sung calms his rage. He doesn"t see a solution.
Does he just have to pa.s.s time like this?
He wished someone would tell him what to do.
"Then we"ll try that and if it doesn"t work, we can try plan B."
Hundreds are gathered in a large conference hall that was built circular so that everyone could face each other. They are all World Federation Lifers.
Rankers, Park Jin Hyuk"s group, and masters of large guilds are also in attendance. They are deciding on the second level A mission they will go into.
After a careful debate, two paths formed. There were conflicting opinions, so they used majority rule to decide on plan A and plan B.
This is because it is a difficulty in which the entire 10,000-person group could be annihilated.
Strategist didn"t pay attention to big or small voices. He took into account every single person"s opinion.
"How boring."
"Sh."
Park Jin Hyuk yawns and Koharo chides him.
She knows it is boring too, but it isn"t good to be distracted from the mood.
"So first is PDA entry."
Park Jin Hyuk said that it is boring, but he had listened to the entire meeting. Plan A is a normal level A mission. Plan B is exploring with Albatrus. Finding a level 8 in the ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack. They never ran into one while completing Deep Sea Teeth.
Though they did see a level 9.
The majority of Rankers voted for a normal level A mission over searching the sea. Park Jin Hyuk"s group"s 5 votes were also among those.
There are more than 20 level A Lifers who can fight with level 7s. Their main thought is that they can take on a weak level 8.
Level B and C Lifers will take on all of the mutants below level 8. This is a win with numbers. They will go into the mission with the lowest points, a 1.2 billion point mission.
"Basil, you did good."
"Hm."
Basil gives a sheepish look.
There had only been about 50 level A missions.
But now, there are a few more at 56. Of those, there are 22 that are below 1.5 billion, and they picked the 1.2 billion point one.
Of the lower point missions, there was one mutant that was comparatively easy to catch.
[Level A Mission: Catching Seven]
- Goal: Attainment
- Description: The seven colored armed beetle is living somewhere in the tough Amazon, the largest forest on earth, so big that it can"t even be expressed as wide. The Seven Color Beetle King is always hiding if not under special circ.u.mstances. Find him and kill him.
- Reward: 1,200,000,000 points. Lucky box.
Several candidates had been discussed.
Rankers have caught level 8s in the virtual version. But Basil is the only one who has gotten Seven Color Beetle King.
Seven Color Beetle King"s combat ability is weaker than that of other level 8s, but its ability to hide is impressive. It basically hides 364 out of 365 days.
Once they find it, it is easy to catch it with the World Federation"s abilities. Its defense is as great as its ability to hide, but that is it.
There"s nothing else for it to show.
Basil caught the Seven Color Beetle King after wandering around in 9 combination stealth function for several months. When the Seven Color Beetle King feels an oncoming threat, it hides even deeper.
The annoying thing is that it is small, contrary to its name as king.
It is similar to a mid sized car. It would be easy to spot if it were big, but it can be completely hidden if it is behind a couple large trees.
Basil knows a lot about the Seven Color Beetle King. That is why he mentioned it as one that is easy to catch when each of the Lifers were laying out their opinions.
That is how Catching Seven became World Federation"s second level A mission.
Basil clearly said.
Finding it is the problem. Seven Color Beetle King prefers quiet places and when something gets near, it watches the situation and then moves. They need to find it first.
"It would be nice if Jun Sung could go with us."
It is absurd.
Losing entry qualification. What on earth did he do while going around alone that he got such sanctions? They can"t understand it.
"It"ll be released soon."
"Right?"
Park Jin Hyuk agrees with Kyoko.
He doesn"t think that Cha Jun Sung will be blocked forever either. The restriction will be released after a couple months.
"We are entering in two months. I will send out a notice, so stay prepared."
Strategist ended the meeting. Lifers group with the people they are close with.
Park Jin Hyuk"s group watched and then scattered to spend time on their own. In two months, they will be starting a real level A mission.
Two months was short. Park Jin Hyuk"s group and World Federation entered Catching Seven without Cha Jun Sung.
Then at some point, 5 years pa.s.sed.
Where there is a start, there is an end. An end that isn"t clear, but foggy? Then that is the end.
This year will mark 10 years since Life Mission was applied to reality. The virtual was used for 10 years as well, so that means 20 years has pa.s.sed combined.
20 years - a long period of time in which newborn babies become young adults, young adults become middle-aged, and the middle-aged surpa.s.s old age and pa.s.s away. Common people naturally aged following time. But Lifers chosen by Life Mission were different.
Aging stopped for young people as an effect of body modifications. Time reversed 20 to 30 years for the old, and they rediscovered their youth.
5 years ago or even before that, there were several changes to the mission system. The biggest were unrestricted entry and weakening of upgrade conditions.
The majority of Lifers who survived the last 10 years are level B. There are a few above and below. Even the worst of them had gone through the 4th stage of body modifications, and level Bs were in the 5th and 6th stages.
The estimated life expectancy of 4th stage level C Lifers is over 100 years. They can spend about half of that life span as youths. Level B Lifers can live longer than those at lower levels, and they maintain their youth for a longer period of time. And there"s no need to mention levels S and A.
Lifers don"t get sick with small or serious diseases.
Not long ago, there was a news report that a level B Lifer ignored a traffic light and crossed the street without a battlesuit.
It would be expected for a human to be squashed flat after colliding with a car that weighs tons. But that Lifer only sustained a few bruises. They can"t really be called humans anymore. They are superhuman.
They had 3 to 4 times the abilities of ordinary people even if they didn"t go through body modification. These were called rookies.
Life Mission changed the world.
The changes that occurred over 20 years are more extreme than changes that should be made over hundreds or thousands of years.
Lifer selection and recruitment stopped after 10 rounds.
1st to 3rd rounds were tens of millions, but the number decreased from the 4th round.
Supervisors halted recruitment because they didn"t need more lower level Lifers, and they focused on the Lifers they had now.
/ /
Volume 9 / Chapter 256
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Hungry Panda
10 years have pa.s.sed since it had been brought into realization.
The numbers going into missions decreased a lot. Of course the numbers go down when Lifers are being killed every day.
There is still no difficulty in levels D and E, that are configured with lower level mutants by nature, but levels B and C are slowly reaching their end. This is because Lifers prefer levels B and C missions most.
Life Mission artificially manipulates genes to create that rating, but they halted creation because there is no more information to get.
Even level A missions that had reached 50 to 60, now didn"t have many left. This was caused by the majority configuration of level A Lifers.
Level 8s are rare. They could create missions with the information they gathered over 5 years, but they didn"t get involved because there were more losses than gains. Standard level A Lifers took the missions below 3 billion points, and the World Federation and b.l.o.o.d.y Kingdom swept through them. All that is left are the higher levels.
Because of that, the new inflow of level A Lifers got stuck at a wall they couldn"t get over from the start. The two powers took these in. The two powers could increase their influence, and the rookies could follow along with the leaders.
The level of skill was distinguished by body modification and battlesuit combination numbers.
No Lifer has a 10 combination battlesuit yet, other than Cha Jun Sung who stopped activity as a Lifer 5 years ago.
Not even the five level S Lifers.
Level A advancement has the contribution system, so Lifers cannot advance just with completion. Only 5 Lifers succeeded in reaching level S over the past 5 years.
Weapon Master and Chamma Sword from World Federation, and Blood King and Dark Side from b.l.o.o.d.y Kingdom. Lastly, Empress of Light from Cha Jun Sung"s party.
They don"t know how the two from b.l.o.o.d.y Kingdom advanced, but the two from World Federation and Empress of Light went through a fierce advancement mission.
It was last year.
10,000 entering personnel; the majority level A Lifers. It was configured with the rookies who are weak in body and battlesuit modifications but stronger than level B Lifers, and Rankers - the strongest force.
Mission t.i.tle, Three Evil Bones
It was carried out in the Amazon, where they caught the Seven Color Beetle King Amazon in mission Catching Seven 4 years ago.
They took on 3 level 8 mutants, the three brothers born from Evil Queen and Bon Load. 8,295 out of the 10,000 Lifers died.
Of those who died, there were 5 Rankers. Puppet, Black Leopard, Boom Buster, Dual Blade, Longines.
There were many who didn"t die, but were brought to the brink of death. There were 6 Rankers who fought until the end.
Of them were Weapon Master who would rather die than retreat, Chamma Sword who enjoys battling stronger opponents, and Empress of Light who was blind with madness.
They met contribution requirements and completed level A advancement. After they became level S Lifers, all level A missions became smooth. World Federation tried their best to advance a few more, but it was no use. The ferocity was gone. They did not advance.
They completed all of the advancement missions in that process. Nothing is left.
All that is left are level S missions because there is no opportunity to advance.
5 level S: Asia"s Black Lord, Europe"s White Queen, South America"s Bon Load, Africa"s Parasite King, the ocean"s Sea G.o.d.
There were six Disasters, but two are out. North America"s Evil Queen and Africa"s Cruel King. And an unfamiliar addition. It is possible to understand why it was added from reading the description.
It is surprising that Disasters were taken out and added in, but they have also experienced Life Mission for 10 years. They know well that the missions are not perfect.
It isn"t important anyway, so they just let it be.
The key is whether they have the ability to complete the missions or not. Strategist thought that they were lacking.
They invested a tremendous amount of points in completing the Albatrus, so he is deciding between whether they should go into the Sea G.o.d mission or a different mission.
But it didn"t take long to make that decision.
In an absence of advancement missions and with stagnant growth, the only decision left to make is whether to stay at a halt or to move forward.
There is only one spear but because of the ability of the person wielding it, it is split into dozens that go forward like meteors.
They penetrate the atmosphere at the speed of sound. The air is pushed by the spear and it whistles like sharp arrows shot from a bow, but the opponent is also tough. He pulls a sword from a scabbard and flings away the jabs. Then the sword is swung around to block the hundreds of spears.
Violet"s booster emits energy and closes the distance between herself and her opponent.
She holds the spear in the middle, turns it like a windmill, and creates a tornado. Her body dances brilliantly. She is on offense and defense simultaneously.
Cha Jun Sung didn"t avoid that attack. Violet likes close encounters. She is confident in them. That goes for Cha Jun Sung as well.
Woong.
Inside the battlesuit.
Cha Jun Sung"s face momentarily becomes demonic.
Partial awakening.
One pair of eyes become 9, and there is a sudden increase in vision. This vision exerts synergy with battlesuit capabilities, and plays back Violet"s windmill in slow motion.
He sees a weak spot.
Cha Jun Sung boldly stuck his hand in. Before the blade of the spear reached him, his fist hit Violet"s stomach.
Boom!
Kyak!
Violet screams with the sound of leather bursting. She is pushed back on impact. The powerful whirlwind is forcefully wound down.
Papat!
The flow is reversed. Cha Jun Sung went at her as if seeking to end it. His Overbooster explodes and slides like rollerblades. The Overbooster switches direction freely and Hades roars with energy from bisection.
Violet was dizzy.
Hades comes down on the blade between her hand holding the spear and her hand without stopping. She feels it in every joint in her body each time she blocks a blow.
Violet clenches her teeth and pushes her spear with all of her strength.
Cha Jun Sung is surprised for a moment, and creates distance between them.
He can"t get close to her when she is using that technique.
"Crazy Spear Dance!"
The booster on Violet"s elbow accelerates her outstretched arm.
He has seen a lot of jabs, but this is completely different.
The booster on her elbow has superior output to Cha Jun Sung"s Overbooster. The shame is that it is only on her elbow.
Violet"s 9 combination battlesuit. Crazy Spear Dance is purely offense.
It"s also called Infinite Stabbing. If left like this, she keeps stabbing until the battlesuit"s energy is gone. It boasts power that sees an end.
Violet followed as much as Cha Jun Sung quickly retreated.
Is the reversed flow being reversed again?
Of course not.
Cha Jun Sung has never lost to Violet in a spar.
Bang!
He avoided all attacks with a paper thin margin. The spear leaves afterimage as it stabs Cha Jun Sung, and his body also leaves an afterimage as he disappears.
"I would have to have been prepared to die if it hadn"t been for my level 9 amplified vision."
Violet is strong. She was one of the top five Rankers in the virtual version, and this isn"t very different in reality.
She is a level S Lifer.
If Cha Jun Sung had been a normal human, the only difference between Violet and himself is 1 battlesuit combination. The boundaries between male and female bodies are meaningless due to body modifications.
There are definite boundaries until stages 5 and 6.
But after that, bodies of both men and women become strengthened to the highest level.
Cha Jun Sung is level 9.
He can hide the truth inside his battlesuit and human sh.e.l.l, but this doesn"t hide his physical ability.
"Eek! How! It"s just 1 battlesuit combination!"
Violet yells as she sees Cha Jun Sung avoid her attacks.
Weapon Master and Chamma Sword sparred with him as well.
They were all similar.
They couldn"t use their strength against Cha Jun Sung.
Weapon Master and Chamma Sword looked similar to Violet when they fought him.
They tried going at him two-to-one and three-to-one out of obstinacy. It hurt their pride, but they wanted to see the extent of Cha Jun Sung"s abilities.
The results were surprising. Two-to-one was similar, and they needed to be three against one to win. Cha Jun Sung is doing two or three level S Lifers" worth.
The three of them don"t know that he is a mutant.
The only difference is 1 battlesuit combination. Though their combinations fall short, this is too much.
They can"t understand it, but they accept the results.
Strategist was outraged. If Cha Jun Sung hadn"t been disqualified from entering missions, they would have completed level S missions with him in the lead.
Cha Jun Sung hadn"t expected his disqualification to go for 5 years either.
He is fighting with Violet not in a training room, but in a level C mission. He can enter until level B, so they sparred as practice.
As long as it isn"t instant death, they can live even if their arms and legs get cut off.
That is why they are bolder.
"Jab and retreat, jab and retreat. Now."
Cha Jun Sung took one step forward when Violet pulled her spear back, and grabbed the spear with one hand.
His body follows the pulling strength. He followed without resisting.
Cha Jun Sung suddenly ended up in Violet"s embrace and hit her chest hard with his shoulder.
Bang!
Violet goes flying and rolls on the ground.
Cha Jun Sung is holding her spear.
Not only is there a difference in ability, she also had her weapon taken away.
"I - I lost."
"Hah!"
Cha Jun Sung lets out a bright laugh at Violet"s declaration of defeat. Violet in a rage looks cute to him.
Cha Jun Sung puts Hades away. He tossed the spear to Violet, who was getting up.
They are both perfectly fine other than slight damages to their battlesuits and energy consumption.
It was a spar.
It is better to end it at an appropriate line.
"To think that you can only watch when you have abilities like this…"
"Haha. I was really mad at first, but I"ve just accepted it."
Jigneon called Cha Jun Sung not long after his fight with Gabenu. It was to formally notify him of Life Mission"s decision.
It was different from his encounter with Gabenu.
It wasn"t in the middle of a mission, and it had been discussed with the supervisors. They could have a conversation because they had plenty of time.
Jigneon explained in detail why they needed to block his entry. He had been angry even after hearing that explanation.
It was as if he had suffered all kinds of troubles to climb a mountain, but was being told to go back with the peak right in front of him.
But what could he do?
The decision to disqualify him had been unanimous.
Though Cha Jun Sung is special, he is just one Lifer.
He can"t fight over Life Mission with the supervisors who created it.
"I"m sure they have something in mind."
If they don"t want him near missions, they could have just completely taken away his qualifications as a Lifer.
But they hadn"t done that.
Cha Jun Sung thought that he had been left as insurance in Life Mission for anything that might happen.
They are scientists before they are supervisors. Scientists can"t discard possibility, though they might pretend to.
"Living like this isn"t so bad. It"s more comfortable too."
He hid his true feelings and gave a formal answer.
Liberated from missions by force.
He just lazed around in a peaceful life.
The most he did was to warm up in lower level missions.
But Cha Jun Sung wasn"t satisfied with this life. He is a being that humans would call a devil or a monster in both appearance and ability. But this unique being is living among ordinary humans in a human sh.e.l.l. It feels as though he is wearing a mask.
It is like a tiger pretending to be a dog among dogs.
"You topped all the records on your own. Why now when all you had left was level S!"
Violet didn"t finish her thought.
Cha Jun Sung didn"t ask either. He knows what she is trying to say. What can"t be done can"t be helped. He needs to give in.
"But didn"t you say that you have something to tell me?"
"Oh! Right."
Violet didn"t come to him to spar.
She had urgent business. Very important business.
She had just forgotten because they ended up in a spar.
"Help us explore a mission area."
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