Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Fleeting Joy of Survival from the Monster
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The joy of surviving the monster was short-lived.
“Cough!”
Yuseong vomited up a mouthful of blood.
‘I’ll really die if this keeps up!’
He could clearly feel that the Nano Machine had reached its limit. He had somehow survived—there was no way he could die like this.
Yuseong tossed aside the beginner’s gun from Arc that he’d been holding and pulled up the Purchase Window to find potions. With trembling hands, he barely managed to twist off the cap and shove one into his mouth.
Gulp! Gulp!
His hands shook so badly that more than half spilled out of his mouth. But even that much made him feel a little better. Yuseong kept buying potions. Money wasn’t an issue anyway, thanks to the massive amount he’d received from the Western Flower Garden.
He drank some and poured the rest over his wounds. It was a miraculous sight. A body that looked like it had no path left but death was slowly recovering.
Protruding organs retreated back inside, and fresh flesh sprouted where it had been torn away.
His arm, which had been bent at impossible angles with extra joints seemingly added, regained its original straightness. His leg, flattened with flesh, blood, and bone fragments mashed together, thickened enough to stand on the ground again.
Of course, it took an enormous amount of potions to get there. They were the highest-grade potions given to him by Cooking Day, so they weren’t cheap.
But compared to regaining his original healthy form, it was a trivial investment.
Yuseong sat up. He could see the surrounding landscape.
Smashed robots and weapons came into view. The sturdy armaments that had protected him were all destroyed, which tugged a bit at his heart.
But the new hope was too great to despair over that.
Yuseong picked up the Arc beginner’s gun he had thrown away.
The first weapon to ever damage a monster since those creatures appeared in history.
How was it possible?
‘Do Arc guns get stronger in this world?’
He bought a single bullet from the Purchase Window and fired at a nearby rock.
Thud!
The bullet bounced off without leaving a single scratch.
‘As expected, no.’
Railguns aside, even the NK-4 could penetrate a rock like that. There had to be something unique about the Arc beginner’s gun beyond its power.
‘It’s not because I bought it from the Purchase Window either. The NK-4, railguns, and robots were all obtained that way.’
And none of them had landed an effective hit on the monster.
‘Then it must be because it’s an Arc weapon.’
He hadn’t used Arc weapons in reality. They were far more expensive inside Arc, and it was obvious they’d be weaker outside—what would be the point?
But who would have thought they’d even work on monsters.
‘That said, the beginner’s gun alone doesn’t solve everything.’
He recalled the wound on the monster’s body. It was too pathetic to attribute to the bullet. On a human, it would be like a tiny thorn drawing a bit of blood.
It had probably panicked from its first-ever injury and fled, but if the monster charged in like a beast, ignoring the wound, a mere popgun like the Arc beginner’s wouldn’t take it down.
‘I wonder if other Arc guns work on monsters too.’
It wasn’t certain. In the worst case, maybe only this one Arc beginner’s gun worked on them. He hated to think it, but in this damned world, how many times had “maybe” bitten him in the ass?
He’d have to test it.
‘Against a monster?’
A sigh escaped him naturally. But the changes he was sensing in the monsters and beasts lately were far from ordinary. Plus, there was no guarantee the escaped monster wouldn’t come back.
‘It found my hideout. No matter where I run, it’ll probably track me down.’
If so, he had to kill it. By any means necessary.
‘But only if the Virtual Reality Device is safe.’
Yuseong looked at his hideout. Through the hole he’d made, he could see the interior was a total wreck.
‘I can’t use that anymore.’
The entrance and walls were smashed. It no longer hid him from the outside.
Yuseong went inside. The once-tidily organized interior looked like it had been bombed. He cleared some debris and approached the Virtual Reality Device. From the outside, it looked intact. Just a bit buried under rubble.
He brushed off the debris and turned it on.
Whirr!
It made a startup sound. Yuseong sighed in relief. He’d have to run the game to check if it was truly fine, but at least it powered on.
Yuseong checked the other stuff in the hideout. No way he could sort it out now.
Seeing food scattered amid the fragments of the broken fridge hurt his heart, but in a situation where a monster had invaded, this was minor damage.
‘As long as I survived, that’s what matters.’
He cleared some rubble roughly and plopped down.
‘I need to find a new hideout.’
He pulled up a map on his portable computer.
* * *
Yuseong’s hideout was trashed and exposed to the outside. Naturally, he was fully exposed to the threats lurking around.
But Yuseong wasn’t the same as before.
-Kieeeek! Kyaaack!
A beast charged excitedly at the sight of him. But now it was writhing with all four limbs severed.
Six robots were pinning it down, making even that struggling difficult.
With the Purchase Window and the massive gold from the Western Flower Garden, rebuilding his forces wasn’t hard.
Yuseong aimed the Arc beginner’s gun at the beast and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
-Kyaak!
The beast let out a scream. But it was closer to a roar of rage and hatred than one of pain.
Yuseong examined the wound.
‘It’s not particularly more lethal than other weapons.’
Even hitting a weak point hadn’t made it deep. Just the middling power you’d expect from an Arc beginner’s gun.
‘As expected, it’s only useful for piercing that inexplicable monster resilience.’
Of course, that alone was miraculous, so he had no complaints.
Beasts could still be handled efficiently with real-world weapons like railguns or NK-4s going forward.
‘This should keep me safe for a while.’
He looked around at the six robots. Each was heavily armed, carrying one railgun and one NK-4, with full ammo loads. Plus, he’d bought Blue Fist and Feather Wind guns and distributed one to each.
For emergencies, he’d stashed spare guns and ample ammo in one corner of the hideout.
This setup should have no trouble defending the hole-riddled hideout.
‘Even if something happens, they’ll buy me at least some time.’
Yuseong planned to play Arc.
It might seem insane at first glance. But it was a conclusion he’d reached after serious thought.
‘Honestly, I’m anxious.’
No matter how great the robots were, he’d be completely defenseless while gaming. He wouldn’t even notice if a beast’s fang was right at his throat.
That’s why he’d considered finding a new hideout first.
But the monster was the problem.
‘Finding a new one is tough, and even if I do quickly, it could get wrecked by another monster.’
Plus, that monster wouldn’t flee from just a scratch next time. It would come prepared, with some countermeasure or resolve based on its previous injury.
‘I need to prepare to fight the monster.’
But using Blue Fist or Feather Wind guns against it felt unreliable. He needed stronger weapons.
‘I have no choice but to ask Mr. Cooking Day.’
He’d have to pay whatever price. If he asked to trade the reward from the Western Flower Garden for help, his chances would improve a bit.
Of course, even then, he couldn’t get Cooking Day’s weapons right away. It would take time to craft, and they were far apart geographically.
‘The monster just has to not attack in the meantime.’
Naturally, Yuseong didn’t plan to stay in this ruined hideout. He’d keep moving while Cooking Day prepared the weapons. To delay any clash with the monster as much as possible.
‘Best if the monster got scared and ran far away.’
He couldn’t slack on preparations banking on that vague hope.
Yuseong bought a black bread. A small gift to himself for the rough road ahead.
‘Let’s get started.’
After eating the black bread, Yuseong entered the Virtual Reality Device.
Fortunately, the Virtual Reality Device worked perfectly. He logged into Arc.
* * *
“Hmm?”
Cooking Day, who had been struggling to combine edible items into something tasty today as usual, received a message from Yuseong.
‘Make me the strongest gun you can right now.’
Considering Yuseong’s level, it was a slightly odd request. And for someone like him, counted among the top alchemists, it might even seem rude.
Countless Arc players coveted his weapons. Even the rankers from C.O.T.S, who had bad blood with his guild Heroes’ Assembly, lusted after Cooking Day’s guns.
It was too high-level for a mere level 40 lowbie to demand.
But Cooking Day accepted readily.
‘He must need it.’
They’d grown close after just one meeting. He could indulge this whim. Hadn’t Yuseong even sold a Necronomicon copy to Beauty Art at his request?
Plus, given Yuseong’s growth rate, becoming a ranker was a given—so better to rack up some debt early. A petty thought, sure.
Of course, considering their level gap, it was a huge concession from Cooking Day. Even if Yuseong knew, he’d only be grateful, not resentful.
And so, Cooking Day began crafting the strongest gun he could make.
* * *
Grateful as he was that Cooking Day accepted his request so readily, it would still take about a week—roughly an hour in Arc—for him to craft and deliver the gun. Yuseong had to avoid encountering the monster for that entire time.
Yuseong left the hideout he’d grown attached to over that time. The place that had protected him even before he knew about Arc, where he’d spent most of his life and shared all its ups and downs.
With one last look back before leaving, Yuseong turned his eyes away from the hideout.
He started walking aimlessly. He headed in the opposite direction from where the monster had fled. His only luggage was the Virtual Reality Device, generator, battery, and weapons carried by the robots.
Lurking beasts attacked him, but the robots repelled them all before he even needed to step in. Two at most was enough to sweep away any beasts—no need for all six.
When he found a somewhat intact building while walking, he cleared out the beasts inside and made it a temporary hideout. He posted robots as sentries and slept.
He often woke to the sounds of early-morning battles. But Yuseong tried his best to sleep anyway.
Not knowing when he’d face the monster, he needed to keep his body in top condition.
Considerable time passed. Just as he started thinking maybe the monster had given up on him.
“…As expected.”
At the sight of the blue eyes in the distance, Yuseong sighed and gripped his weapon tightly.