We easily infiltrated the factory.
‘They seemed well-prepared, but it’s just a bunch of amateurs here.’
They only filled the numbers; the hunters guarding the place didn’t show the slightest bit of tension.
‘So, they’ve been working uninterrupted. Tsk…’
It was understandable but still bitter to see how severely lacking we were in personnel to take down such criminals.
Not long after entering, we were convinced.
(Bingo. It’s definitely a factory.)
Nod—
Fortunately, the first place we visited was a factory producing evolved creatures.
In fact, it was more than twice the size of the underground factory where ‘Do’ used to operate.
Of course, the two groups had different methods for creating evolved creatures, but with a factory this size, I couldn’t help but worry about how widespread Hwang Tae-wook’s evolved creatures were in the hunter world.
– Kkiiiiiiing! Kyaaaaargh!!
With every scream of agony emanating from various places, Yeon-hee’s fists trembled even more violently.
“Ugh… seriously… what do they think human lives are worth…”
And it wasn’t just humans in here.
– Uwaahhh…
– Kyaaarrr…
‘Are they orcs this time…?’
There seemed to be hundreds of orcs trapped in the underground prison.
They lay on the floor, shackled by restraints controlling their magic power.
They say that in our country, gates not located in dungeons release more than a thousand monsters daily.
Among them, orcs certainly take up the largest share.
‘They’ve captured relatively young ones. Where the heck are they sourcing so many?’
Perhaps they had a gate capable of supplying orcs.
Sneaking living monsters out to the outskirts of the city isn’t exactly easy, so just that alone proved how cunning Hwang Tae-wook was.
‘Looks like they’re not just using humans as materials… After all, orcs are said to be the most structurally similar to humans among monsters.’
If they possess life value similar to that of a human, could they produce evolved creatures without issue?
But then.
‘Would evolved creatures made from orcs even work on humans…?’
I wasn’t an expert in that area, but considering the flow of melting and consuming living creatures, that question was unavoidable.
Suddenly, I recalled ‘Han Eul-min,’ who transformed into a horrific form due to the side effects of an evolved creature during the guild competition.
I thought he had overdosed, but it was clear that the evolved creatures made by these guys were not meant for humans to consume.
(Let’s wipe them all out. Without leaving any behind.)
Yeon-hee uttered a surprisingly radical phrase.
But I strongly agreed with her sentiment.
– Ugh, this is so annoying.
– I’ve been here for a year, and not even an army ant has come by. Can’t I at least use my phone?
– Right!
There were a whopping three-digit number of Awakened Ones guarding the underground factory, most of whom were low-rank hunters of E-rank or lower.
However, there were five at the mid-A rank level, so we couldn’t just recklessly charge in.
‘Not a single one can be let go. But if we take too long, reinforcements might arrive.’
We can’t let them know about our activities either.
Fortunately, the underground factory had only one entrance and one exit.
‘It seems that bad guys all have similar thought processes. The layout is almost identical to ‘Do’s underground factory.’
(Are you going to use [Dreadful Land of Chaos]?)
Nod—
There’s a good way to deal with them safely while weakening them.
The special skill [Dreadful Land of Chaos], obtained through the fusion of multiple abilities, inflicts various status ailments over a wide area.
This ability carried the characteristics of [Corrupted Breath], allowing it to spread poison-laden mist into the space instead of just functioning as a simple area effect.
(I’ll assist to ensure Il-wol’s ability spreads well. Master.)
(Alright, thanks, Ran.)
After activating [Dreadful Land of Chaos], about 10 minutes passed as Ran quickly shifted the underground air flow.
(It seems to be working. I’ll head to the entrance.)
Nod—
Yeon-hee took charge of the entrance, and I was responsible for the exit.
We hadn’t even devised a specific plan, but she moved as if reading my mind.
– Ugh… what’s wrong with my body?
– Khhh!? This, this is poison!! It’s poison!!
– Who the hell released the poison!?
– It’s a paralysis poison mixed with a slow effect! Let’s get outside!!
– Request reinforcements first!
– I don’t know, damn it. Just do whatever!
‘Not a single one of my predictions has gone awry.’
Based on the information from Helen, it seemed reinforcements wouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to arrive.
‘Hurry up, you mole-like bastards.’
The weakest hunters began to crawl out first, while the five strongest hunters started searching for intruders who might be inside the factory.
Judging by their wide dispersal, it seemed like they didn’t perceive the higher-ranked hunters as significantly threatening.
‘They probably didn’t consider that the effects would strengthen over time. Everything is perfect.’
Soon the first fugitive appeared.
“Whew—! I almost died—”
Sliiick—
As he stepped out, I beheaded him and immediately stored him in the space.
The whole process took less than a second.
And then a long-awaited message popped up.
– Obtained Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion. (8/100)
‘So, all those guys here had consumed the evolved creatures, huh?’
Even witnessing the production process, I couldn’t fathom what kind of courage it took to drink it.
Or perhaps they had ordered their underlings to take it by force.
“Whew— I finally feel like I might actually live—”
Sliiick—
– Obtained Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion. (9/100)
The second guy who came out met the same fate. He must have been a low-grade hunter, as he only dropped one fragment, but that didn’t really matter.
There were plenty of bugs crawling out as well.
– Obtained Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion. (10/100)
– Obtained Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion. (11/100)
– Obtained Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion. (13/100)
Gradually, the higher-ranked ones began to follow. It seemed like they had also helped the weaker ones escape first.
Anyway, the number of fragments obtained skyrocketed with every swing of my sword.
‘People who slip out toward the entrance are rare. These guys are truly simple-minded.’
In just a few minutes, I had struck down dozens of hunters.
Since I killed them and stored them away as they came out, they surely wouldn’t have felt pain.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I was being too generous to these filthy scumbags.
– Obtained ‘Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion’. (100/100)
‘Oh, I’ve already filled it up to a hundred.’
– If you [Purify] 100 ‘Fragments of Corrupted Life Potion’, you can obtain ‘Fragment of Life Potion’.
Just as I thought this, a message popped up at the perfect timing.
While I was already aware of it, it felt refreshing to have that looming fact reiterated after a long time.
Vvvviiiiiiing—
Just around the time I had beheaded about 70 people, sirens began to blare inside the factory. Something seemed off with the order, but my senses sharpened as I noted the reactions of the powerful individuals approaching from the exit.
– Uh…? Huh?! Wh-what’s happening…? Why is no one up top?
‘Whew, they’ve caught on. Shouldn’t I have left a few alive?’
– No way?! Did we get ambushed by someone waiting outside?
– Damn it!! Did all those hunters just disappear? Someone definitely intends to wipe us out systematically!
– It’s dangerous to go outside! Did you contact the boss?
– It’s been ages since I did! Still, we have to hold out for at least ten more minutes!!
– Ah, shit. We’re in deep trouble. I should have just done regular dungeon work. I thought this was a sweet gig.
One of them looked like an unlucky hunter who hadn’t been at this job long.
But I couldn’t afford to consider such circumstances while dealing with them.
‘They’ll be arriving soon. I need to hurry.’
[Ground Breaker]
I realized the mole game was over and dug down into the ground a little distance away from the exit.
Once underground, I spotted the top-level elite five wearing Ent Masks and gulping down some liquids.
– Is this really without side effects?
– How could it be?! If you want to die, just don’t drink it!
– Ugh, screw it! I don’t care anymore. Give it to me!
‘They’re consuming that much evolved creature extract… Must be feeling the pressure.’
Recently, evolved creatures had begun to emerge as a societal problem, with media pouring out warnings left and right.
It said consuming large amounts of evolved extract could transform someone into a monster, and once that happened, they would never revert back to being human and should never drink it.
‘This is how someone ends up like that ‘mutant’ I saw in my first life.’
A monster, their form a confusing blend of monster and human.
They were now ready to risk those side effects to escape the threat of intruders.
“Ugh…!”
“Control your dosage! Don’t drink too much!”
“I’ve already skyrocketed my ability near the limit, so drinking less won’t show any effect!”
“It should be fine since I’ve developed resistance. Come at me, will ya! I’ll bombard you with magic missiles!”
‘A magic missile bombardment… I’m shaking in my boots.’
I casually moved right behind them.
Having learned from the experience of passing through Crystalride, I had no worries about being detected.
“How many are there? What’s their class?”
“Ugh, damn it, how am I supposed to know all that?”
“I thought you got a higher salary because you were detection-based! Can’t you at least figure that out? Are you an idiot?”
“You didn’t even pay me!! What the hell, you’re so annoying!”
“Calm down, everyone. If we can just hold out until the boss arrives, we’ll see it through.”
“Please tell me they aren’t hunter agents from the administration?”
“The boss already said we’ve fully recruited the employees from the administration. Don’t worry, just focus on managing the gathered magic power. They’ll definitely try to infiltrate.”
Listening quietly to their conversation offered quite a bit of useful insight.
‘So they’ve already struck a deal with the higher-ups of the administration. Just how much money did they have to shove around to get them to tolerate evolved creatures?’
I wanted to eavesdrop a little longer, but if Hwang Tae-wook and the Grim Reaper showed up, it would complicate things. If it were just me, I might manage to escape something like that, but considering Yeon-hee, who was blocking the entrance, I figured it was time to wrap things up.
[Root Chain]
[Skeleton Bomb]
Using bone roots to trap the hunters, I detonated 100 skeleton bombs and simultaneously rained down [Thunderhorn], the fastest casting skill.
Kra—boom—!
Boom—crash—!
With a tremendous explosion, hunters were grilled multiple times by lightning bolts.
Even though they were mid-A rank power levels, they stood no chance against such a powerful attack when they were completely vulnerable just behind me.
Among them, two lesser-ranked ones burst apart on the spot, and I had to finish off the remaining three myself.
[Frost Enamel]
I decided to test my newly acquired skill on my great sword.
Immediately, chilling air enveloped the sword, and I could feel a chill running through the edge.
‘Hmm… I wonder if I can also apply Flame Cut in this state?’
[Flame Cut]
Swoosh—
‘Huh…? This feels even smoother to slice! Why’s that?’
It was quite surprising to see such a result even while combining the properties of two extremes.
‘Oh, I should definitely use this more often.’
It seemed surprisingly useful while supporting Noh Ha-yoon.
– Obtained ‘Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion’. (78/100)
– Obtained ‘Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion’. (85/100)
Surprisingly, the last foes dropped more than seven fragments each.
‘Definitely higher-ranked guys; they offered proper rewards.’
On top of that, they dropped the Rune of Magic (advanced), Rune of Swiftness (rare), and Rune of Vitality (rare), further adding to my haul.
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