Chapter 24. If Only I Had a Little More Time and Budget
“Is this it?”
The map on my phone glimmers.
The app just informed me that the Future Science Life Research Society is here.
“There’s nothing here.”
Well, there really isn’t anything.
Listening to Baek Sihyeon, I glanced around, only to see the desolate North Korean plains in my field of vision.
On the flip side, it also means it’s a good spot for weird creatures to settle in since there’s nothing around.
“If there’s no GPS distortion, this should be the right place.”
Thanks to running faster than a motorcycle, we arrived a few hours earlier than expected.
There was the issue of Abin getting exhausted, but that was resolved through some encounter.
“Senior! Sihyeon wait for meee!”
A voice, distorted by the Doppler effect, grew closer. Han Abin, riding on the back of a wild boar, was shouting at the top of her lungs.
But that voice quickly faded away again, as if the boar had suddenly sped up.
Maybe it’s hard for a boar to stop on a dime. I’m sure it’ll come back if left alone.
“Master, that’s not a wild boar, is it?”
Well, calling that grotesque creature, which is bigger than a motorcycle and has horns sprouting from its back, a wild boar seems a bit off.
But what can I do? It’s a wild boar, though. I know because I’ve eaten one before.
“It’s a wild boar. It’s just been slightly monsterized from being tainted by the Otherworld’s Power.”
Since it’s closer to being an animal, it will listen if you give it a good beating—at least that’s what I think.
If you ask me, letting Han Abin ride it seems like a good decision.
“So, that means monsters can understand human speech. How fascinating.”
“Monsters, along with things like weird beings and creatures, can understand humans too. However, the personality and intelligence levels vary greatly.”
There are weird beings that have reproduced with their adversaries, and there’s also a monster that blocked the Otherworld’s forces to protect a girl, its master.
“You mentioned before that there are weird beings that adapt and live in society, right? There are a few in the Association as well.”
While controlling their violent tendencies can be tough, adapting isn’t too difficult.
“I’ve never heard that there are weird beings working in the Association!”
You know, they might be the ones who taught you basic education…
Wait, is this classified information?
It seemed so natural to exchange such info that I thought it wasn’t a secret.
…Please don’t tell anyone I said that. The Association is supposed to have only humans, right?
They wouldn’t, would they? I have to believe they won’t. I can’t just smack my student’s head with magical memory wipe.
…Should I try?
“Master?”
Did Baek Sihyeon find it bothersome that I was staring at her?
She regarded me with a slight smile mixed with curiosity.
Let’s drop that line of thought.
“For now, let me add that those kids have devices hidden somewhere on them to suppress the Otherworld’s Power, so separating them should be easy.”
These days, it’s usually in their necks, right? Compared to the early designs that had to be embedded into the heart or something, it’s evolved significantly.
While chatting with Sihyeon, I spotted the wild boar returning from afar.
But with the way it was charging, it looked like it wouldn’t stop, so I raised my hammer to intercept it.
“Stop.”
Kwaaaang!
Maybe it saw its own reflection in the hammer that suddenly appeared in front of it; the wild boar managed to halt its charge, digging its hooves into the ground.
“KYAAAAAAAH!”
Thanks to the abrupt stop, Han Abin screamed as she flew into the air, but I didn’t worry too much.
As long as she’s a hero whose name is carved in stone, she should know how to land safely.
“Thanks, now go back.”
I pulled the wild boar’s legs out of the ground and gave its enormous backside a pat.
“Kurrrik.”
The wild boar lowered its head to me, then dashed off towards its jungle home, distancing itself from us.
I was thinking about whether I should euthanize it if it had broken a leg, but thankfully, it seems that a monster wouldn’t break that easily.
That’s good. Very good.
“It’s gone… I thought we’d become friends or something.”
Suddenly appearing behind me, Han Abin bent over, one hand patting her rear, and waved goodbye to the wild boar.
Did she just fail her landing?…
That thought flickered through my mind.
“Become friends? Did you give it some food?”
For the sake of Abin’s honor, I swallowed that doubt and asked another question.
“Oh, it just said thank you after I healed it and rubbed its horns.”
“If I’d left it, that injury would’ve festered for months. Even animals know how to show gratitude.”
Actually, if we left it alone, it probably would’ve ended up dying from the wounds, but that detail isn’t really important. Nobody’s going to mourn the death of a single monster.
What matters is that Abin healed the injury from my hammer after only a few hours.
“Did the healing magic get more efficient?”
“Yeah. It took about an hour to heal the bruising.”
…Just an hour for such an injury?
“How long did it take before?”
“Three hours.”
The world has become so terrible that I looked up at the bright sky to cleanse my mind. The sky was clear, and the sun was warm.
It’s slow. Too slow.
Even though my mana has increased that much, an hour for healing?
From my perspective, I should be at the level of a rank awakening, and yet the speed is only like that?
“Try casting the healing spell right now.”
“Huh? Yes!”
Upon hearing my words, pink mana erupted from Han Abin’s hands, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong just by looking.
You gotta know something about healing, right?
“Keep that momentum up…”
Reluctantly, I threw some compliments before ending the conversation.
I wish Lisa would tell me this, but there’s no guarantee she’d show up in my dreams again.
While looking for a healer, should I find someone? Who was there…?
Oxymoron? No, that wouldn’t work. Who needs more of the insane in the Association?
But aside from that, I can’t think of anyone.
Ugh, my head hurts…
“Master, where are the monsters? You won’t start looking now, right?”
In my headache and worries, Baek Sihyeon, who was hitting stones with the hammer, spoke up.
“They might be underground.”
“Underground?”
“Strangely enough, those beings from the Otherworld tend to habitually make their bases either in the skies or deep underground. When I asked once, they said it was only natural to do so.”
Out of about ten, nine would behave this way.
Since it’s based on the observations of the parties involved, it should be accurate.
Seeing such habits develop in human-made organizations suggests that the Otherworld’s Power is indeed screwing with brains.
In any case, it’s all the Otherworld’s fault.
“Then should I just dig into the ground?”
Upon hearing my words, Baek Sihyeon summoned a shining silver military shovel, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Is she planning to dig with that?
“There are simpler ways.”
If they’re stuck underground, we just have to make sure they come out.
Normally, you’d use large-scale bombardment, biological and chemical weapons, or deploy small units, but…
“Baek Sihyeon, take Abin and get away. Don’t get caught up in it.”
“Can we at least watch?”
“You’d probably end up only injured, but Abin would die.”
Sihyeon might also faint from rock fragments. The head is always a danger no matter when it gets hit.
“Let’s go, Sihyeon!”
Frightened by my words, Han Abin screamed and clung to Sihyeon, who began to move away with her comrade on her back.
She turned back, looking regretful.
“It’s not like you won’t be able to see from far away, so why do you want to look so badly?”
It’s been a while since I’ve shown my power like this. It feels like it’s been years.
I summoned my hammer, shouldered it, and made the handle longer so I could grip it with both hands.
What a spectacle, what a spectacle.
The hammer, infused with mana, grew in size, changing the head part wider and flatter according to my will.
Thanks to the hammer becoming so massive, I staggered back for a moment.
That was almost embarrassing. What a sight that would have been.
Balancing myself, I lowered the enormous hammer down onto the ground behind me.
Now, should we draw out some ants?
Taking a deep breath, I infused the hammer with mana. It is the only way I can communicate—that is, to my perfect weapon.
Kuwoong. Kuwoong.
The hammer resting on the ground rapidly increased its weight, and I heard the earth screaming under the burden.
The weight on my shoulders gradually increased, yet I didn’t feel it’s burdensome. My body had also disabled the limiter to wield the hammer.
The hammer’s mass sank into the earth.
I felt the tremors from the collapsing core inside.
Alright. Time to make them pop out.
A facility that produces B and C-rank monsters shouldn’t crumble this easily.
Since I’ve carefully controlled my power, I hope they don’t say it collapsed because of me.
You wouldn’t want to be buried alive down there.
As if in response to that thought…
What a spectacle. Clang. What a spectacle.
Eeeeeeeng…
With warning sirens blaring, countless structures revealed themselves.
While some had cracks and were collapsing here and there, most maintained their original forms.
They aren’t so foolish as to let the main battlefield pop out; mostly, they are elevators or cargo containers, but at least we have a means to get inside.
“Now we can come in!”
I raised my voice loudly enough for my students to hear.
This should be audible to the enemy too, but who cares?
They have a 0-Rank monster, after all, and they have backup.
Even if a 0-Rank monster shows up, as long as it isn’t ridiculously strong, I can just blow it up.
As the dust that had soared up so high settled and the surroundings grew slightly dimmer, my ears began to clear from the ringing.
“Senior!”
“Master! Are you okay?!”
“What’s the matter?”
My students rushed toward me with wild excitement.
“Didn’t something just explode? Like a nuke or some secret weapon of the enemy…”
“A nuke has heat and light, making it a bit easier to kill people than this.”
That said, it’s not weaker than a nuke.
There are pros and cons, you know? Things like quantity and range. I have my own restrictions after all.
“A bit? So you just endured something similar to a nuke?”
“It’s my hammer strike; I can deal with it.”
If I swung my hammer with enough force, everything around here would have been blown away.
Do you think the Department of Nuclear Physics went under for no reason?
It crashed because those lunatics could withstand a nuclear shower.
That said, I wouldn’t let a nuke stop my 0-Rank creatures.
The students looked at my now smaller hammer in disbelief, and I ignored their gazes while pointing casually at one elevator.
“Go check it out. There should be monsters.”
“Is… is it really safe?”
Both Han Abin and Baek Sihyeon, shocked, kept staring at the hammer, ignoring my gesture toward the elevator.
Guess I’ll just have to force them.
“Shut up. Just go.”
I grabbed the dazed students and threw them toward the elevator.
If they don’t want to die, they’ll snap out of it.
Wiiing. Clang.
“Master?!” “Senior?!”
The elevator doors closed, and the steel box launched down to the depths.
Oh, did I forget to mention anything?
I walked over to the elevator, which was already disappearing, and shouted after it.
“If it’s dangerous, scream! I’ll come to rescue you!”
“KYAAAAHHHH!”
I heard something tearing from the dark hole, but I ignored it and headed for another elevator.
That’s not screaming; it’s just a scream, so it doesn’t matter.
I’ve got my own things to handle. So which elevator leads to the lab?
As I wandered the sunken wasteland, I looked for any writing on the elevators.
1, 2, 3, 4, a, b, c, 7.
These are the markings on each elevator. Clearly, they were meant for the users alone, showing no consideration for the guests.
“None of these seem right.”
As I continued to check each one, I noticed an elevator that stood out.
It had no letters, only a locking mechanism. Given its appearance, it looked like it led to an important facility, perhaps even #7.
Is this it?
I pressed the button to open the elevator, but only got warning beeps and electrical shocks flickering up my finger.
What a terrible welcoming. I have skills learned for this scenario.
I struck the elevator door with my hammer.
If there’s no way through, I just go ahead and create one.
Boom.
“It held up?”
Contrary to my expectations, the elevator door just caved in slightly, while my hammer glided smoothly over the surface.
That’s some pretty solid metal.
Swinging my hammer lightly, I struck the door several times.
If it were a spell to unlock, it’d be “Open Sesame!” Or maybe “X Magina Showtime?”
Honestly, I felt a surge of heroism doing something like this.
Exercise is best when it turns enemy screams into the material for breaking barriers.
I remembered a silly comrade who used to shout Magical Door Unlocking while setting explosives.
Thinking about that was embarrassing.
After roughly five more strikes, the door, unable to withstand my hammering, ripped apart, revealing the interior of the elevator.
“Nothing in here.”
The opened elevator shaft showed nothing but darkness, possibly due to either security measures against intruders or some malfunction.
Crash. Crash. Crash.
The ripped door panels clanged against each other as they fell, and I could hear nothing but the sound of my descent into the abyss.
What does it matter? I can just jump down.
Calling this a safety measure is outrageous. The Infinite Architect would probably tear up the blueprints and question, “Who designed this?”
Things like laser maces, plasma generators, or even a device for transporting to the Otherworld should’ve been installed as safety measures.
Without hesitation, I jumped downwards.
I figured there would be no danger, but…
“No way. Dammit!”
As gravity pulled me down, the wind rushed inside, puffing up my clothes and annoyingly messing with my mood.
So bothersome.
I channeled mana into my clothes, causing them to tighten and calm down.
Back in the day, this kind of action was a given, but I had gotten so used to wearing my current black outfit that I forgot to do something so simple.
Thinking about it, it’s been a while since I wore this outfit and jumped around like this.
While mulling over those thoughts, the sight around me became filled with pipes and sealed doors.
It’d been about twenty seconds since I fell, but there were still no signs of stopping the fall.
This is taking quite a while.
For an infiltration mission, I should just grab any door and rush in, but what I’m looking for is the monster seed in the lab.
That important facility is probably located at the deepest place.
Who knew they’d dig this deep?
Finally, as I reached the elevator car, I kicked it.
BAM!
The ceiling of the elevator car ripped apart, splitting the car in half and sending it flying into the air.
A solid landing pad appeared beneath.
It seems the elevator had stopped at the lowest floor.
That must mean that door is the entrance to the lowest level.
Light streamed through the narrow gap in the elevator door, signaling that there’s someone on the other side.
With a leap off the solid platform, I shoved my fingers into the shining gap between the doors.
Crack. Crack.
The sound of the elevator’s safety devices straining in a desperate attempt to prevent an intruder echoed.
But against overwhelming strength, such measures would do no good.
As I reached for the spot I needed to be, I ripped apart the iron door and stepped inside.
“Intruder?!”
“What happened to the monsters?! How is a hero here?!”
A bright white lab with clean light.
Scientists rushed around.
A strong scent of blood and chemicals invaded my nose.
Found it.
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