Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: ABR-025 Activates
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Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
-Kraaaack!-
-Kieeeek!-
The beasts shrieked loudly under the hail of bullets welcoming them.
But they weren't about to stop just because they'd taken a few bullets.
If they were that type, Yuseong wouldn't have struggled so much against them.
Sure enough, the beasts kept moving even as they bled.
Moreover, quite a few of them deflected the bullets with their tough hides.
But if the beasts were formidable monsters, then Yuseong was a monster in another sense—the one who had survived in their midst all this time.
Tatang!
-Kwaaack!-
-Grrooo!-
Yuseong's bullets were precisely aimed at the beasts' eyes.
His skill was astonishing, no matter how many times you saw it—drilling bullets into those tiny eyes even as their heads thrashed wildly.
The beasts writhed in agony, deprived of their sight.
But the time that bought to hold them off was really, truly just a fleeting moment.
'Strategy Guide!'
[Yes.]
'How much longer for the OS installation?'
If it took too long, he'd have no choice but to abort it.
Surrounded by that many beasts without full freedom of movement, even Yuseong would be in danger.
Fortunately, a welcome response came.
[Copying will finish within 15 seconds. After that, no need to maintain the connection. The OS will install itself on the robot.]
'Good!'
He could hold out that long.
Yuseong decided to focus on stalling rather than taking them out.
Tatata-tang!
-Kiaaaack!-
Unlike before, Yuseong's bullets now concentrated on the ones at the front.
The beasts still hadn't emerged from the rooftop entrance.
Because of that, Yuseong targeted the ones closest to the entrance.
No matter how tough they were against a few bullets, it was a different story when they took a dozen or so at once.
Plus, they'd already lost their eyes to his sharp shots.
As that one hesitated right at the entrance, the beasts behind it couldn't push forward.
But he could only block them like that for a moment.
These beasts had no camaraderie—they weren't about to let one of their own hold them back.
Kwaduk!
Kwajik!
-Kieeeek!-
The beast screamed in pain as it was attacked by one of its own kind from behind.
But the beasts didn't stop at just attacking their kin.
Kwaaaang!
The walls and ceiling covering the stairs exploded.
The beasts had smashed through the obstructing structures.
Now, there was nothing left to hold the beasts back.
Yuseong watched the scene calmly.
It had only been meant to buy a brief moment, after all.
The beasts roared ferociously and charged at Yuseong.
He kept firing, trying to bind their feet even a little.
[Copy complete.]
At that moment, the Strategy Guide's voice rang out.
He immediately severed the connection with the robot.
Then he picked up the railgun he'd set aside nearby.
Executing combat OS installation.
A low mechanical tone emanated from the robot.
But he had no time to pay attention to it now.
Wooong!
The railgun vibrated lightly.
Massive power began flowing from the reinforced exoskeleton's battery into the railgun.
Something impossible with the battered old exoskeleton he'd used until recently.
Its battery had degraded completely—efficiency was abysmal, and capacity had shrunk.
But the one he wore now was brand new and in perfect shape.
Its fresh battery could store plenty of power for the railgun and supply it efficiently.
Kwaang!
With an explosive boom, a projectile shot from the railgun's muzzle.
It crushed and tore through everything in its path.
Even the beasts' hides and muscles that had bounced NK-4 rounds weren't spared.
Crimson flowers bloomed in the sky.
Made of the beasts' blood and flesh, they floated briefly before raining down.
Like a downpour of meat and blood.
"...Incredible."
Yuseong muttered.
He knew the railgun's power was immense.
But seeing it firsthand was on another level from mere knowledge.
Beasts that required NK-4 shots to their weak points—minimum a few to kill—were shredded to pieces in a single blast.
Several of them, at that.
Yuseong glanced at his radar.
'Four dead instantly.'
And five rolling on the ground.
Three of those had suffered such massive tissue loss that even with their beastly vitality, death was inevitable soon.
'So one shot took out seven.'
A chill ran through him.
Since starting his life-or-death struggles with these damned beasts, he'd never hunted them so easily or in such numbers.
Of course, their clustering together had helped a lot.
But without sufficient power, he couldn't have achieved such devastating results.
'I like it!'
He really, really liked it.
But he couldn't just revel in the joy.
-Kiaaaack!-
Surviving beasts remained.
And vibrations still rose from below—more were coming.
'Time to move.'
The robot was still slumped beside him.
If it got caught in the fight and damaged before even activating, he'd lose sleep over the injustice for a while.
Yuseong leaped to the side while reloading the railgun.
'Hm, can't use it often.'
The exoskeleton's battery was significantly drained.
The railgun's power consumption was enormous, and countering its massive recoil spiked the exoskeleton's power usage too.
'Only for emergencies or sweeping multiple enemies at once.'
Yuseong slung the railgun on his back and picked up the NK-4 again.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
He fired at the beasts.
Having tasted the railgun's power moments ago, the NK-4 felt underwhelming.
But with the railgun reserved for special use, NK-4 was his only option left.
Still, compared to the railgun—which demanded massive power with every shot and required careful handling—the NK-4 was far more convenient for general use.
That was precisely why, even after civilization's weapons advanced to insane levels before its fall, gunpowder-based firearms never went obsolete.
-Kieeeek!-
He killed the ones that had survived the railgun and stubbornly charged.
By concentrating on their wounded areas.
Against the others, he stuck to the combat style he'd honed so far.
Gunpowder blasts intertwined with the beasts' howls.
Claws raked scars into walls; bullets burrowed into beasts' innards.
Against overwhelming numbers on the confined rooftop, Yuseong displayed truly fantastical movement.
But inevitably, the sheer volume of enemies and limited space constrained him.
Yet Yuseong remained undaunted, navigating the battle calmly.
Whoosh!
Dodging another claw swipe, Yuseong hurled himself toward a rooftop corner.
The beasts pursued him madly.
He watched them while swapping magazines, about to aim again.
Thud!
Suddenly, a heavy thud came from the side.
Followed by a chilling whoosh of air.
"Hmph!"
But Yuseong scoffed and swiftly drew his railgun, aiming toward the sound.
'As if I wouldn't be watching for you!'
This whole mess had started with that damned invisible beast.
No matter how frenzied the onslaught from the others, forgetting the biggest threat meant he didn't deserve to survive this world.
Kwaaaang!
The railgun fired its second shot.
-Kieeeek!-
A pained beastly shriek echoed.
Yuseong reloaded without a hint of joy, checking his battery.
Splatter!
Its blood sprayed.
Like the others, its blood was red.
Chunks of its red flesh scattered everywhere.
But its main body remained invisible to the end.
'It survived.'
To live through a railgun hit.
Must be the benefit of its transparency making it hard to aim properly.
It vanished from the radar again.
Even the blood that had seemed to appear from thin air.
It must have some ability to seal wounds.
'But it didn't regenerate.'
He inferred from the unnatural footsteps as it fled.
Still, failing to finish off that invisible one was definitely regrettable.
Yuseong resumed his brawl with the beasts.
Clank!
A sharp metallic clang pierced his ears.
Yuseong looked toward the sound.
'Perfect!'
The robot he'd slaved over since yesterday was rising.
OS installation complete. The OS installed on this unit is Combat OS. If this is not the robot you desired, please install a new OS or contact Iron Robotics.
The robot continued its inorganic voice.
Please state the commander's name.
"Yuseong! Lee Yuseong!"
Yuseong shouted loudly.
He worried briefly if the distance would prevent proper input, but thankfully, this cutting-edge robot's microphone was excellent.
It turned its head toward Yuseong.
Commander, Lee Yuseong. Correct?
"Yes!"
Input complete. Appearance registered. Voiceprint registered. Iris registered.
'At least the camera's top-notch.'
Registering irises from this distance.
His expectations for the robot rose further.
ABR-025, startup complete. Pleased to meet you, Master.
Introducing itself as ABR-025, the robot gave Yuseong a light greeting.
Then it moved.
Pow!
A beast baring its teeth at Yuseong spewed blood and flew back.
ABR-025 had punched it with unbelievable speed for something that had casually run startup procedures mid-battle.
'Fast and strong!'
Yuseong marveled.
It didn't seem inferior to the beasts before him.
Hostile action toward Master confirmed. Target identified as hostile entity: Beast. Eliminating target.
Boom!
Another beast soared away from ABR-025's fist.
Now the beasts seemed to recognize ABR-025 not as an uninteresting hunk of metal, but as an enemy or obstacle.
They lunged at ABR-025 with teeth and claws.
But ABR-025 dodged with nimble movements.
Considering its metal body must weigh a ton, that agility starkly demonstrated its capabilities.
"Ha, haha!"
Even mid-battle, Yuseong couldn't help laughing.
How could he not, when he was thrilled to death?