Episode 8: Recruit Training / Chapter 136: Species Bloom and Wilt (2)
TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk
In a place where the Kundle Tribe didn"t know, their history and fate were being smashed into pieces.
Two forces fought. The victor took the loser"s karma and the loser would lose everything. This rule, which the earthlings had become familiar with since the Ring of Rebirth, applied to the planet and its destroyers as well.
Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions didn"t cease within their planet. Rather than calling it mining, it was a war against the planet.
The members of the Sur and Jangkok Troops held karma vitalizing devices in their hands as they fought intensely to advance even another step. The karma vitalizing devices emitted rainbows, nd these rainbows gave off the scent of gra.s.s and blood. Every time these rainbows, which emitted a scent of bitter, b.l.o.o.d.y iron and flowers, made contact with the planet, the planet"s hidden karma pulse clearly revealed itself. If one were to look at the karma pulse, the original scene would turn black and reveal a stream of stars flowing in the darkness. It was as dark as outer s.p.a.ce and as radiant as a galaxy. Each shining star was melded with a memory of the planet. Ancient lifeforms which were the first to go up to the surface of the planet and burn to death. The first lake formed underground and the colony of lifeforms which flourished in this lake. When one look at it closely, each of their figures were present like hallucinations.
The Sur and Jangkok Troops wanted to completely smash this stream apart, while the planet resisted vehemently with earthquakes, lava, tidal waves, and storms.
Boom!
Accompanied by a loud noise, the mine the Sur and Jangkok Troops had worked hard to create began to crumble. Even as they faced the thick cloud of dust approaching them, they didn"t back down.
"How dare this thing struggle…! Push onwards!"
The Sur Troop members, who possessed large shoulders and were thrice the size of earthlings, supported the collapsing ceiling with their hands. Their arm and shoulder joints creaked. The falling gravel and sand hit their thick goggles. However, they didn"t even bat an eye as they endured the weight of the earth with their powerful bodies and tough karma.
Within the planet, the stream of karma, which stretched out like oceans and lakes, emitted a brighter light as it writhed. Using the karma like muscles, it squeezed out lava and made the earth collapse. However, this didn"t work either.
When the Sur Troops blocked the planet"s counterattacks, the Jangkok Troops used this opportunity to rush towards the flow of karma. They each had a "planet karma pulverizing stake" in their hands and stabbed them into the "pulses" where the streams of karma overlapped.
Gong!
Kang! Gong! Creeak!
The shining karma desperately resisted the stake, but in the end, the stakes stabbed into the pulses where the streams gathered.
Kureung! Kureung! Kiyaaah!
The planet let out a scream of deathly agony. The lights, which made up the streams of karma, scattered and flowed into the Sur Troops" "karma storing device". Every time this happened, an earthquake erupted on the surface and a sinkhole was formed.
The planet, which had resisted by moving its insides, fell into an eternal silence.
"Suppression complete!"
When a Jangkok Troop member shouted, a Sur Troop member stretched his stiff shoulders as he shouted,
"Good! We advance!"
Bang! Bang!
Accompanied by these sounds, they destroyed rocks as they dug a hole that led deeper inside the planet.
"It looks like we"ll have to mine a bit faster."
Manta, the leader of the Sur Troops, said as he adjusted his goggles.
"I agree. You received an investment proposal, right?"
Manta nodded at Hashishi"s question.
"Of course, since planet mining is a safe tactic where we never take any losses."
"Yeah. Though the fools from Earth don"t know this. They don"t even know that the first goal of recruit training is to "not leave any resources for the monsters". If we took years dealing with such worthless species, how would we obtain the resources of this vast universe first?"
"Yeah. "It"s better to have three resources in reserve than train one warrior species." The basics of recruit training. But why are they acting like that…?"
"They just don"t know the ways of the world. Let"s just take the investments and quickly finish mining. Let"s not give them a chance to join in later at all. They"ll only learn once they hit the ground in regret."
Hashishi said this easily, and Manage tilted his head.
"They don"t know the ways of the world, huh? While that may be true…"
Manta crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
His relationship with Choi Hyuk had broken down somewhat. While Hashishi kept looking down on Choi Hyuk, Manta was concerned about the potential Choi Hyuk might possess. Even throughout the universe, it was rare to see a warrior at the no-star level rise and become a high-ranked warrior within a few years.
"Now that things have come to this, I need to look into them."
Manta, who was careful, decided to look into Choi Hyuk and the earthlings just in case something happened in the future.
"Let"s try to accelerate our mining and employ earthlings from Dragonic at the same time."
"Why earthlings? Won"t they all be as dumb as Choi Hyuk?"
"We"ll have to see about that. There might be a reason to use them. We need a cheap labor force anyways. Isn"t it obvious for there to be sacrifices if we want to quickly mine this planet?"
"Well, do what you want. This is your business and we"re only taking part of the credit for it."
This was how the Sur Troops, true independent troops of the alliance, attempted to contact Dragonic.
To the clan leaders of Earth, who desired to enter a larger world, this looked like a terrific opportunity.
The world of the monsters didn"t have stars or a dark outer s.p.a.ce. It was an enormous anthill split into different dimensions. Mountains and oceans taken from various universes, and even planets themselves, were stacked up like piles of garbage, creating pathways towards 13 different dimensions. This place, which looked like an ant hill, was the garbage landfill of universes.
"Princess, you have to rest…"
A highest-ranked warrior from the Flame Wing Tribe worried about Flame-Rain, who was wounded.
It had already been a month since they crossed over to the monsters" world. Battles continued endlessly and there were countless casualties. There weren"t any able-bodied warriors remaining. However, amongst them, Flame-Rain"s appearance was the most terrible. Her brilliant flame wings had dwindled to the point where it was difficult maintaining them, and the stab and slash wounds to her abdomen and chest didn"t heal easily.
While the other warriors had time to treat their wounds, she didn"t.
This was because she was the only warrior at the transcendence level amongst the reconnaissance troops.
She showed a faint, tired smile.
"You know… that we need to access the Net of Fate."
The reason why the reconnaissance troops could move about within their enemy"s territory was because she was connected to the Net of Fate and hid their whereabouts.
Because of this, she couldn"t rest at all.
This was because there was a more intense struggle for the Net of Fate following the intense battles. The reconnaissance troops were smaller than a grain of sand relative to the vast world of the monsters. If they could get 0.1% share of the Net of Fate, it would be enough to hide them.
However, this was simply too difficult. Because it was, there were times when they had to sacrifice others by using them as bait for the monsters. Flame-Rain was tormented every time they had to do this.
She gritted her teeth.
"The monsters are much stronger than we expected…"
Initially, the Exalted Wings believed that Flame-Rain would be enough to take care of the reconnaissance troops. However, the monsters" strength went way beyond their expectations. Every fight was so intense they were on the border of life-and-death, and to obtain 0.1% share of the Net of Fate, Flame-Rain had to endure a pain so severe she felt like she would faint.
"The alliance"s strategy was way off. What we need are more powerful warriors. Simply trying to occupy resources before the monsters… Mining new species… We won"t be able to escape ruin like that. Even for one warrior, we need to develop planets. I must put this in the first report I send the alliance."
With this burning resolve, Flame-Rain closed her eyes and said with a slightly dispirited expression,
"… Of course, that is if we can survive until then."
She accessed the Net of Fate with closed eyes. Not long after, her face distorted and blood began to flow out from her eyes, nose, and ears. This always happened.
"Princess…"
The highest-ranked warrior of the Flame Wing Tribe held back his furious tears.
{We give the "Berserkers" approval to reveal some information to the Kundle Tribe. The information that can be revealed are "personal details about the Berserkers" and "information about the monsters". Revealing any information besides this is strictly prohibited.}
{There are 43 days before the first contribution evaluation. Currently, the Berserkers have made 0 contributions. If the contributions are below the threshold, you may receive disciplinary action.}
"Ah… My stomach hurts…"
Baek Seoin let out a sigh.
"Everyone"s expecting us to fail… On the other hand, investments are pouring in for the Sur and Jangkok Troops, so it seems the mining will proceed faster…"
Baek Seoin sighed as he examined the movements of the tactic market he had learned from Camilla and Jessie.
"Ah, how can the troop leader say such weak words? It was you who insisted we find another method besides mining… Ah, d.a.m.n it. I had hopes that I could get a karma-weapon after this mission… Won"t we flop?"
Handke, the artillery captain, scolded Baek Seoin. He had been restlessly standing up and then back down for a while now.
"Although when I think about how Earth suffered, I want to find a different method than that cruel one… I"m nervous now that we"re actually about to do it. I also think that there"s a reason so many people use that method… When I read the data Jinhee brought, cases where they trained species who were as bad at fighting as them were rare even in the history of the alliance…"
Unfitting of his nickname "Knight Captain", Ryu Hyunsung, who was quite weak-hearted, revealed his nervousness.
Then Guardian Bae Jinman, who had been silently sitting, calmly said,
"We"ll know soon enough. Don"t worry. Haven"t we, the Berserkers, always tread the path others don"t? We will come out victorious this time as well."
Although they weren"t much, his words possessed a strange strength. The executives, who had been nervous before the start of their plan, were finally able to calm down.
"Hey, the man"s right. Well, have we ever acted while calculating this and that? We just shut up and fought when the leader told us to. Whether it"s the alliance or the tactic market, you"ll only get a headache thinking about them. Didn"t we get Clan Leader Camilla and Jessie to do those annoying things for us anyways?"
Handke grinned while agreeing with Bae Jinman"s words and sitting back down. Only then did his att.i.tude seem calm.
Looking at him, the other executives relaxed their stiffened shoulders. Unlike the past, where they simply had to fight, there was a moral and political element this time, and when profits were added into the mix, their minds unconsciously became more complicated. However, their job right now was basically the same as before. They simply had to advance with all their might until they reached their goal. Whether they were dealing with monsters or getting results for the recruit training, nothing changed.
However, the tension that had relaxed slightly tightened up with Baek Seoin"s next words.
"We"re starting!"
Gulp.
They heard someone swallow his saliva.
Ggoong!
s.p.a.ce distorted on the Kundle Planet and a gate opened. It was a long-distance gate they had rented with the Mission Points the Camilla Clan and Jessie Clan had invested.
The Berserkers, led by Lee Jinhee, jumped out from inside. Then monsters poured out right behind them. Endlessly.
"… Aren"t there too many?"
Ryu Hyunsung said with a gulp.
"The leader did say to gather enough that it would be difficult for us… But that"s going to be really tough…?"
The Berserker troop Lee Jinhee was leading was a b.l.o.o.d.y mess. Monsters poured out endlessly from the gate. Each and every one of them wasn"t easy to deal with.
The Berserkers shook off the monsters" endless pursuit and ran towards the Kundle Tribe"s cities. Saliva dripping from their mouths, the monsters chased after them.
As soon as a Kundle Tribe"s city entered their sights, the Berserkers fiercely shook off the monsters chasing them and teleported to Naro"s s.p.a.ceship.
Lights from teleportation flickered throughout the planet.
All that was left were the cities in danger and the monsters.
h.e.l.l arrived on the Kundle Planet.
{Hey, you crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d! What are you doing bringing the monsters here?!! If you"re going to bring them, you should have brought in a moderate amount! Just how many Kahur Kabkuns did you drag over here?! You pieces of monster s.h.i.t! We"re doing recruit training to take control of resources, yet are you going to just offer up these resources to the monsters?! What are you doing?! Are you s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g things up because you can"t win?!}
It seemed he was very angry as Hashishi"s message came down on Naro"s s.p.a.ceship like thunder. His message was so loud it seemed like he ignored the communication channels and turned the speakers on.
{The New Recruit Evaluation Agency expresses their concern for the Berserkers" actions. Losses to resources may be immense due to the monsters" slaughter. We hope that you will wrap this situation up as soon as possible. Once again, this is a warning.}
They even received tons of messages from an alliance agency.
The situation on the Kundle Planet was that severe.
The Kundle Tribe was faced with extinction within half a day. This place was h.e.l.l.
If it was like before, they would have all gone into hibernation, but the Kundle Tribe weren"t certain of what to do because of the other members who had lost their karma.
"Le-let"s sleep."
A Kundle Tribe member said.
"Then what about Kunkun! Shut up and run!"
They carried those who had lost their karma and ran down the streets.
"Stop them! We won"t die so let"s block them with our bodies!"
Many Kundle Tribe members blocked the monsters for their tribe members who had lost their karma.
"Gack! Pointy! Hot! What is this?! Aaah!":
"What? What?! Lunlun!! Lunlun! Why aren"t you moving?? Hey! Hey!!!"
The others fell into a greater state of panic.
If they had all went into hibernation together, they would have died in peace without knowing they had died, but as they didn"t hibernate to protect those without karma, they watched as their tribe members were ripped apart and killed by the monsters, their regenerative abilities being powerless. Even if they somehow survived, they couldn"t keep their heads straight under the pain they had never experienced before. Their wounds ached and felt as though they were burning.
The Kundle Tribe"s karma was completely overwhelmed by the monsters" power and their wounds didn"t close.
"Hehe, I"m fine. I"m fine. I"ll be fine when I wake up from a nap…"
"Pointy, hot fire … It"s not something we can beat… It"ll be fine if we fall asleep."
Their instinctive fear of heat was overlaid on the monsters. The Kundle Tribe members began to call the monsters "pointy fires". Out of instinct, the Kundle Tribe members tried to go into hibernation to avoid this danger. Their long force of habit didn"t disappear.
Bae Jinman, who had been nervously watching this, got up from his seat.
"It"s time for me to act."
Like what he did in the underground before, Bae Jinman granted resolve to a few Kundle Tribe members. His steadfast karma swept the ground.
"No, no. We need to do something… Or we"ll all die…!"
Those affected by Bae Jinman"s karma raised their heads and shouted. However, there was a limit to Bae Jinman"s power so there wasn"t even a handful of those who pulled themselves together.
"There"s nothing we can do… It"ll be fine when we wake up. Hasn"t it always been the case?"
The majority of the Kundle Tribe members still chose to disconnect from their surroundings and hibernate.
{I"ll help as well.}
It was Naro who acted in this moment. Naro, who could perfectly transmit one"s emotions and thoughts through telepathy without the need for language, copied the emotions of those who were affected by Bae Jinman and transmitted them to all the Kundle Tribe members.
Although the Berserkers used up all the karma fuel they had bought with their Mission Points in the process, this mission was no different from risking everything. They couldn"t hold anything back. They focused on one result.
"Huh…?"
Those who received the emotions of the members who felt that they absolutely had to find a solution blankly stood in place.
"We can"t hibernate. We need to find another way. Or else we"ll all die!"
Those earnest hearts moved their own slightly. They asked themselves,
"Then what do we need to do? What can we do?"
There was nothing. No matter how much they thought about it, there was no solution.
As they thought this, the emotion of "fear", which had been in deep slumber until now, grew larger and larger.
"What is this feeling? I don"t know. I can"t bear it. Can"t I just sleep?"
"No, I hate the pointy fires…"
The faces of the Kundle Tribe members distorted. This was the first time they were making this expression.
However, this was as far as they changed.
It was impossible to change the att.i.tude of an entire species with only Bae Jinman and Naro"s power.
They only made them hesitate for a moment and made them more emotional.
The Kundle Tribe members were a bit more distressed, but they still were about to choose to hibernate.
However, it was at this moment when Baek Seoin felt shivers run down his spine.
The "slight distress" was all Baek Seoin had hoped for.
The crack that would make their always-calm hearts waver.
Baek Seoin clenched his fists and stood up.
"Good! Now start stage two!"
Following his shout, the Berserkers, who had been observing the situation from Naro"s s.p.a.ceship, got up simultaneously.
"Descent!"
All the Berserkers simultaneously prepared their bodies for teleportation. Their destination was the Kundle Planet"s sky.
Rumble!!
At the same time, dark clouds covered the planet.
"Haha! The alliance"s technology is the best! Anything is possible as long as we have Mission Points!"
Overseer Jessie shouted as he jumped up. The scene progressed naturally as though he had become a G.o.d. Rain covered the hot planet. This supernatural scene was under his direction.
Rain began to fall from the dark clouds, which covered the sky. It was the first time there was rain since the birth of the planet.
"Huh?"
The bodies of the Kundle Tribe members, who were able to sleep, trembled as they felt the rain fall on their cheeks and bodies.
"What"s this?"
It was their first time seeing rain, but their hearts surged.
Cool rain fell as it covered the sun.
The rain fell while soothing their hearts, which had been filled with fear of the "pointy fires". More and more rain began to fall. They couldn"t see in front of them. It wasn"t that the monsters had disappeared, but once their vision was covered, their hearts became calm for some reason.
"Ah, ah, ah…"
The Kundle Tribe members all began to cry. Even if they had teared up from laughing before, the Kundle Tribe members, who had never cried from sadness or from being moved, cried because of the falling rain.
The refreshing rain gave their hearts, which had been trembling from the fear of those "pointy fires", hope.
Also, the Berserkers fell from the sky.
Bang, bang, bang!!
The Berserkers split the heads of the monsters as they dropped down.
The Kundle Tribe members widened their eyes.
The monsters they had no way of fighting against were being pulverized like rotten tomatoes.
It was at this time when Choi Hyuk stepped onto the ground.
Thump!
The moment his foot touched the ground, the raindrops which had covered their vision was cut up with a splash. They clearly saw the monsters collapsing after being cut in two as their vision cleared up.
Then Choi Hyuk mumbled.
{Let"s fight together.}
His voice pierced the hearts of the Kundle Tribe members.
/ /