Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Encountering a Monster
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The target for this expedition was also a factory quite a distance away. In the old days, it would have been a distance he couldn't even dream of attempting, but now he was traveling there with a sense of stability, which filled him with fresh emotions.
However, he still hadn't set his sights on anywhere so far that he'd absolutely need to sleep along the way. Even with the robot providing a minimum level of safety, the risks of sleeping outside were still too great.
‘If I go anywhere, I should first scour every place I can reach without needing to sleep.’
His attention level had skyrocketed even further due to this incident. It hadn't been long since it surpassed 1,000,000 with the emergence of new items, yet it was already heading toward 10,000,000.
At this rate, it seemed like it would break past 10,000,000 in just a few days.
‘And new products will appear.’
Once that happened, his expeditions would become even more stable. Perhaps he could even launch a full-scale city conquest, rather than sneaking around like a rat risking his life as he used to.
‘It would be great if I could buy a robot.’
But items didn't appear in the purchase window just because he wanted them. The only way was to steadily raise his attention level.
It wasn't long before Yuseong arrived at his destination.
It was an old car factory.
‘I wonder what’s here.’
As usual, he swept away all the beasts inside the factory and began exploring the interior.
Unfortunately, he didn't find any remarkable technology here.
‘Still, this should fetch a decent price, right?’
He pried off various parts from the scattered, wrecked cars to make do.
That was when it happened.
Caution. Hostile entity detected.
At the robot's voice, Yuseong moved to the robot's side, which was standing guard outside the building.
‘Is that it?’
In the distance, something was shambling toward them.
It was enormous. Its shoulder height alone seemed to be about 2.5 meters.
‘That's too big.’
None of the beasts Yuseong had faced so far were that large. But according to what his parents had told him, such beasts had been common during the war that destroyed humanity.
‘The packs that swarmed my home before... It feels like dangerous beasts are increasing.’
The beasts roaming the world now were far weaker and fewer in number than those from the war era. If the war-era beasts had retained their full strength, Yuseong wouldn't have survived this long.
‘I hope it's just coincidence.’
If the beasts were regaining their war-era power, Yuseong's life would become extremely precarious again. The stability he'd gained since discovering the Ark could shatter in an instant.
‘I need to raise my attention level even harder...’
In that moment, Yuseong spotted something. Goosebumps erupted across his lower back in an instant. His hand, gripping the gun, began to tremble. His mind, which had always found a way out calmly through every crisis so far, went completely blank.
Warning.
The robot's voice came from beside him.
Blue eyes confirmed on hostile entity. Hostile entity recognized as monster.
It shattered Yuseong's faint hope that he might have been mistaken.
Hostile entity monster—no weapons effective. Hide or flee immediately.
But the robot's advice soon changed. The monster's eyes had locked straight onto the building they were in.
Warning! Monster has spotted us! Flee immediately!
As the robot warned, the monster began charging toward the building where Yuseong was.
‘Fast!’
Its speed made a mockery of every beast Yuseong had seen before. He instinctively raised his gun, then stopped.
‘Useless.’
Humanity's defeat was partly due to the overwhelming numbers of beasts, but the biggest factor was the monsters' special trait.
Human weapons had no effect on them.
Humans could hold out against the beasts' numbers. By forming lines and unleashing lasers, railguns, particle cannons, and all sorts of heavy firepower to obliterate entire areas, even hordes of beasts couldn't withstand it.
But those lines wouldn't last long before coming under monster attack.
No matter how much energy was poured out, no matter how heavy the projectiles launched, no matter how much explosives detonated, the monsters ignored every attack and pressed forward.
Then they shattered the formations and massacred the people.
Humanity tried every means to take down the monsters, but they couldn't even scratch them. And that continued until humanity's fall.
3 billion : 0
That was the exchange ratio between humans and monsters in every battle recorded.
There was no way Yuseong could handle such a monster.
There was only one way to survive.
Yuseong opened the purchase window and placed his hand on the Other World 3 Hours option, which still retained its color.
‘What about this guy?’
He glanced at the robot and hesitated briefly. But the situation demanded a quick decision.
"Switch to standby mode until I return!"
Warning. It is judged most effective for this unit to remain active and buy time now.
"Do it!"
Command input complete. Switching to standby mode.
The robot froze in place.
‘This is the best option.’
Whether monster or beast, they attacked anything that came at them—even inanimate objects. To prevent the robot from being destroyed pointlessly by attacking the monster, standby mode was safest.
‘A robot in standby won't register as a target, even to a monster.’
Of course, he could have sent the robot back to the hideout alone, like before. But the fact that the opponent was a monster held him back.
‘It might follow the robot.’
Of course, the odds were low. Monsters, like beasts, showed no particular interest in lifeless things.
But he had no direct confirmation of that.
And monsters weren't worth risking even the slightest probability.
‘I can come back for it later.’
He doubted the monster would bother retrieving it amid such danger, but that was his plan. Besides, since he'd acquired it once before, if he met the attention requirement later, he could just repurchase it from the purchase window.
Still, losing the robot he'd longed for—even temporarily—was a huge shame.
But right now, survival came first.
Yuseong purchased Other World 3 Hours.
His figure vanished from this world.
Boom!
Soon after, the building's wall exploded inward as the monster lunged at where Yuseong had been. But Yuseong was already gone, transferred to another world. With Yuseong nowhere in sight, the monster began smashing everything around wildly in search of him.
But Yuseong's form never reflected in the monster's signature blue eyes.
-Roaaarrr!
The monster's furious roar exploded outward.
* * *
When Yuseong opened his eyes, he was standing in the usual room, just like always.
He quickly checked his surroundings. Only after looking out the window did he finally relax.
No sign of the monster.
He trudged downstairs to the living room and flopped onto the sofa.
[Welcome back.]
He waved off the greeting that appeared on the TV from the strategy guide.
[Is something the matter?]
"Something the matter? Yeah, you could say that."
[You don't seem well.]
"Would you be, after running into a monster?"
Yuseong turned his head to glance at the TV.
"You're not a monster, are you?"
[No information available.]
"Yeah, figured as much."
Yuseong sprawled out on the sofa again.
Normally, he'd try to make every minute and second in this world count. But right now, calming his racing heart came first.
"Whew!"
After a while, he let out a long sigh.
‘Alright, let's sort out the situation.’
He checked his gear first.
‘The robot's gone, and so's the powered exoskeleton.’
Limited to carrying just 100kg now, he couldn't bring those two. The exoskeleton exceeded 100kg easily, and the robot weighed hundreds of kilos.
All he had managed to bring were his guns.
A massive loss. The exoskeleton's price was one thing, but the robot couldn't even be purchased right now.
Plus, all the parts he'd gathered to sell in reality were left behind.
But those losses weren't the priority now.
‘I finally ran into one.’
The being he'd dreaded most: a monster.
‘Just a wanderer, right? No way it's made that area its territory.’
He couldn't guess. What did he know about monster or beast habits anyway?
"Damn it!"
Frustration led to cursing, but it didn't solve anything.
‘If that's really its territory, I might have to relocate the hideout.’
It was a two-day trek even with the exoskeleton, but with a monster living there, it didn't feel far at all.
‘Even if it's a wanderer, now that it's seen me, it won't leave the area easily.’
Monsters and beasts shared one trait: an insane obsession with targeting humans. Especially monsters—they were said to be as tenacious as they were strong.
‘I’ll have to hole up in the hideout for a while.’
But that wasn't a permanent solution. What was the point of him roaming outside if he could just survive on the Ark?
‘Damn this shitty system. I need to know how long the grace period lasts.’
"Strategy guide."
[Yes.]
"How long do I have to bring back the next tech before the Ark cuts out?"
[No information available.]
"You fucking bastard!"
Even though he had suspicions, the strategy guide had helped his survival, so Yuseong had never treated it harshly before.
But now, the expletives came naturally.
‘Guess I can only rely on the new products in the next stage.’
That meant he had to raise his attention level diligently.
‘Fortunately, 10,000,000 isn't far off. It'll happen in a few days.’
He forced aside the worry that even reaching that level might not unlock new purchases.
And so, Yuseong used the Other World trip he'd anticipated so much to plan his next moves.
* * *
Back at his base, Yuseong focused on the Ark streams. It looked like it'd hit 10,000,000 soon, but to speed it up even a little, he streamed intensively.
He moved to the next city, cleared the optional bosses, and picked up quests.
Days passed like that.
Finally, his attention level broke past the long-awaited 10,000,000. It was impressive—barely past 1,000,000 before, now ten times that—but Yuseong focused only on the new products.
‘Nice!’
Fortunately, the nightmare of reaching 10,000,000 without new items didn't happen.
Yuseong examined the new products closely.
A few standout items caught his eye.
‘If I get these...’
For the first time since encountering the monster, he saw a glimmer of hope.