Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Mushroom Factory (3)
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1.
Sunming showing up there was pure coincidence.
I'd heard from Akit and Arong that the mushroom factory was disgustingly huge, and the hotel elevator had an extremely low chance of dropping us right where people were.
“Welcome!!!!”
Me shooting at him was inevitable.
I said it earlier, right?
When fixers from the Rift cross paths in the Rift, it's a death match and nothing else.
Especially since our hands were overflowing with spoils of war.
There'd even been trouble outside.
Every condition was screaming for me to pull the trigger.
“Gurk!”
So then...
“Fuck, that hurts, you little shit.”
How the hell do I explain a measly 7th-rank Sunming—who I'd pegged as total cannon fodder—taking a bullet and still moving like it was nothing?
Coincidence again? Did the bullet just graze him?
“Aigoo, big bro. Sorry about that.”
“Big bro my ass... you fucking prick.”
“It just... happens sometimes...!”
-Bang!
“Dud bullet!”
“Gurk!”
I pulled the trigger without hesitation, landing another hit.
“Look at this tough little bastard?”
But Sunming just twisted into a demonic grimace, otherwise perfectly fine.
Like he'd been punched instead of shot.
“You fucking asshole! You two are Mushroom Fairy Bro's underlings!”
“Sunming bro! W-We were being threatened!”
“We've got nothing to do with this guy!”
These disloyal bastards!
Flames ignited from the hammer Sunming held.
Not just any hammer.
A rocket hammer that sprayed propellant from the opposite side to amp up the power on swings.
“Quit your bullshit!!! ”
Sunming converted that thrust into a dash, his body blurring like a mirage before smashing Arong with the hammer in a flash.
“Gaaah!!!”
Arong, struck by the rocket hammer, flew off like some cartoon character.
Even Laplace's Eye said the speed made no damn sense.
“B-Bro, hear me out...!”
“Fuck off!”
Sunming kicked him in the gut without even needing the hammer.
Akit rocketed off in the same direction Arong had flown.
Sunming retired two 8th-ranks in under three seconds.
“You fucking pricks, you know how much I sank into 'Augmentation'? You think I'd let trash like you get the best of me?
Cracking his neck, Sunming shot me a murderous glare.
“Hey, you thought you could act tough just relying on that peashooter?”
The pressure rolling off him—no hint of an extra—made my flesh crawl.
No way a 7th-rank was this strong?
Sandevistan as a basic implant starting from 7th-rank?
Then what the hell were Akit and Arong, 8th-ranks shaking like leaves just to enter the mushroom factory!
I'd gotten it all wrong.
Just one rank difference.
But levels apart.
A 7th-rank fixer wasn't some hero you could drop with a few shots.
“Just us two left now?”
His massive frame blurred again—who the hell knew how he moved like that.
I ramped up my focus.
My brain heated up, vision shifting.
Laplace's Eye began parsing the laws of physics.
Sunming zigzagged toward me.
I reflexively timed my shot and pulled the trigger.
-Cling!
But it sparked off in a corner of the factory, ricocheting away.
Even if Laplace's Eye could roughly track him, reacting was too slow.
The crisis hit like a starving grizzly charging.
Two bullets left.
-Bang! Bang!
I calmly squeezed off two more shots.
“Mommy.”
Both missed.
Sunming was right in my face now, white steam-like breath billowing from his bared teeth.
-Smack!
“Passé!”
“Guhk!”
My head snapped like I'd been hit by a rock.
What hit me? Fist? Hammer?
Neck bones crunching in agony, tongue root numb and tingling, the pain rattled my entire skull.
“What? You're actually a total retard? What balls did you have to come at me?”
Coming to, I was airborne, collared and dangling.
Strength like I was gripped in heavy machinery.
Same as the hotel lobby earlier.
Difference was, Sunming was throttling me by the collar, hoisting me up.
And no hotel staff here to intervene.
“Go on, punk. Try acting tough like before. Huh?”
Sunming's free hand plunged into my hanging gut.
-Crack
“Keeek!”
Ah, hold up.
Something weird snapped in my spine just now.
Fucking hurts.
Totally different pain from getting sliced open.
Breath forcibly cut off.
Just a gut punch, but horrific pain like my whole body was pulverized raced to my fingertips and toes.
“You're such a weak punk acting all big? Hilarious. Come on, act tough like before?”
Sunming dangled and shook my limp body with one hand, sneering.
I'd laugh too if I were him.
What kind of moron shit was I pulling?
Spouting weak-eat-strong crap, then strutting with just a gun.
Samurai Beach half-killed me twice, and I learned jack shit.
“Uhheuh... uhheheh...”
“What's so funny?”
“...Hit me.”
“Huh?”
“O-One more. Su-Super ticklish.... Can't even tell if you're hitting...”
Slurred speech.
Empty gaps where teeth were, just metallic bone shards floating in my mouth.
Hit side of my face ballooned instantly, blocking one eye.
“This fucking asshole...”
Provoked, Sunming hoisted and gut-punched me again.
-Kwachak!
If my fuckup was meta-cognition deficiency.
Sunming's was falling for my taunt hook, line, sinker.
Definite rib shatter, definite vomit urge.
“Uweeek!!!!!”
This time, I hurled everything right in Sunming's face, no holding back.
“Uwaaaah!!!!!”
Splattered with puke, he flung me away in panic.
“Y-You, psycho fucking lunatic!!! ”
“F-Feels good, huh? Shoulda... known you were soft...”
“Was gonna kill you clean, but nah.”
Sunming, covered in vomit, raised his hammer murderously.
Forehead veins bulging—he was pissed.
“I'll smash you finger by toe, nice and slow.”
He probably had the strength.
I admit it.
A man worthy of the title Sovereign.
Before the Sovereign who dominated an era with his hammer, I smirked.
“Smash? How scary... wha-wha-what... m-my speech...”
His face twisted by the second.
Stammering, he collapsed like his legs gave out.
“Taste... delish, right?”
Had to be.
That puke wasn't normal.
Two hours chewing every damn poisonous mushroom in this factory into Poison Mushroom Pancake batter.
“Guhk! Guhk! Kehhehehk!”
Sunming clutched his throat, face turning melon-purple.
Gasping like in labor, he flopped amid moss and mushrooms.
“Fuck... fuuuuck! Kehek! Kehehek! Y-You little... shit... what'd you...!”
“Uhaha! Uhahahaha!!! R-Retard bitch.... *Cough! Cough!*”
Sunming crawled toward me with venomous eyes to kill.
I scrambled back, flailing ass and arms.
The breathless chase didn't last.
“Kek! Grurrrgl...”
Sunming died puking blood like a choking dog.
:::Challenge (New!):::
- Kill a 7th-rank Fixer +3pt
“Ah, fuck... hurts so damn much...”
I watched, then tried to stand.
No, tried to.
“Gaaaaah!!!”
No intact bones left in my body.
Spine shattered like it could go straight into a Chuseok gift set...
Couldn't walk, much less stand.
Karma from leeching off the Montraven count's family hits like this.
“Haa... fuck... shittiest city ever.”
This loop's fucked.
Doubt I can crawl to the exit like this...
Points banked decently—spin the gacha?
Nah, dumb idea.
Just day one of Necropolis.
If this were a roguelite, I'd be condition wrecked on stage one.
Reset's right.
Bad luck.
Truck-kun straight up.
Who'd guess Sunming would drop in?
Still.
Not all bad.
Challenge points stacked, Screen Blocker Charm still has juice.
I spotted Hero, flung far when Sunming hit me.
Better than getting eaten by shrooms or turning into one...
Let's end happy.
“Uh... heuh... ugh... fuck...”
Crawling toward Hero like that—
“Guts bro...?”
A brothers, supporting each other from a factory corner.
You punks! Alive!
Arong looks rough, but better off than me.
Might not need a full reset...
Limping Akit and Arong spotted dead Sunming.
Then half-dead me.
“......”
“......”
In the sticky silence, I saw it.
Their greed.
“Ha.”
Fuck.
World's like this.
Yeah, figures.
I know Akit's left-handed, fusses over his hemorrhoids when sitting.
Arong's his little bro, loves big-ass girls, follows bro tight.
Akit and Arong were week-long comrades to me.
But to them, I'm some mysterious dude they met yesterday.
One who muscled into their agency, dragged 'em to the Rift by force.
And now that guy's dying with tasty artifacts in hand.
I'd do the same.
They drew weapons from their waists.
Akit machete, Arong hammer.
“Hey, don't.”
For your sakes.
Don't.
“Don't what! Retard fuck! Die! Die!”
“Act like you own us, punk! Drop the artifact!”
Machete and hammer swung over my crawling body.
Again and again.
Hammer to the skull buried my face in moss and shrooms.
Bones cracking, flesh mashing—the sounds echoed back to me from the ground.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck...
No more nakji tang for me.
Feel too much kinship.
======
『 ED 2. Golden Goblin 』
You died clutching a shiny pebble.
Under your comrades' blades and hammer.
Trust is Necropolis's priciest luxury.
Your foolish ignorance brought this inevitable end.
[Loop Summary]
▶ Achievements Earned: None
▶ Titles Earned: 「Poison Mushroom Identifier」
▶ Challenges: +89 pt
※ Death Penalty Applied ※
[ Delayed Response ]
[ TS Beam ]
- Start in a cute girl's body.
- Permanent effect.
「Screen Blocker Charm」 blocks [ TS Beam ].
Uses remaining: 3.
From hubris and folly's end, may you reach transcendence.
======
2.
Floated in death space, passed Delayed Response, spawned clean in Necropolis studio.
In my book, I did nothing wrong.
No matter how I think, Delayed Response is the issue.
“This starting point's fucking hell!!! Stop screwing me!!!”
Not an excuse, swear!
If KakaoTalk came from America not Korea, it'd be Instagram!
“Ha, fine... at least not reborn a girl.”
Silver lining.
Huge relief.
My biggest strength, beast mode, stems from overwhelming testosterone.
Reborn a girl sans Screen Blocker Charm in this city?
No clue the horrors.
Anyway...
“Gotta do what I gotta.”
Start wasn't much different from last loop.
Bought coat with leftover points, restocked Hero and Hero bullets.
Wandered slums, turned robberies into reverse muggings for seed money.
“9th-rank fixer registration?”
“Yeah.”
“Name.”
“......”
“Name, I said?”
“Still, thinking. Ah, Guts works fine.”
“Five thousand Bios.”
“Here.”
Paid for 9th-rank fixer registration.
-Bam!
“I’M FUCKIN' BACK!!!!”
“What the fuck!”
Pictured-it door breaching into GetMoney Agency.
-Bang! Bang!
Two shots, Trump cards popped like fireworks.
Akit and Arong were 8th-rank, but nowhere near Sunming's badass level.
Akit sprawled on the table neck snapped back, Arong flew chair and all.
Red plum blossoms bloomed wild on the piss-yellow glass.
“Told ya. Don't do it.”
Door breach to GetMoney Agency takeover: one minute.
“Feeling peckish.”
Wrapped everything up, suddenly starving.
Last meal poison shrooms, aftertaste still lingers.
When peckish, chapaguri's king.
Shoved Akit and Arong in a corner, boiled chapaguri.
Peak chemical seasoning from Korea's top PhDs.
In a city serving tub-slop as food, that smell's lethal.
“Kuh...! This is it.”
Salty umami coating the tongue.
Top with green onion kimchi and slurp? Perfection.
Still, beats nothing.
Chapaguri sauce soaks bone-deep.
“Slurp, ah fuck tongue burned.”
Quiet GetMoney Agency echoed only with noodle slurps.
“Ah, miss reverse bunny Arbel...”
Goddamn life loop 4.
Solo start.
======
:::Challenge (New!):::
- Kill an 8th-rank Fixer. +2pt