The Age of Adaptation
His vision warped.
The space ahead became a wall, and left and right abruptly turned into sheer cliffs.
This so-called gaze manipulation was no different from an illusion.
It didn’t block what he saw; it changed the act of seeing itself.
Yoo Sung-jun didn’t like situations like this.
But he wasn’t rattled, either.
He’d died, and died again, and died so much that by now, the way to deal with it was as clear as day.
First, I need to find it.
He shut his eyes a little and focused on his other senses.
Clink, scrape. He sheathed the greatsword behind his back and brought his gun forward.
There were two things he needed to feel: the position of that thing, Jangsanbeom, and the position of its “breathing vents.”
Twenty rounds in the magazine.
How many could he break with one clip?
He’d just dragged the thing out by talking, and the number of vents he’d spotted was eight.
There could be more.
So for now, he’d dodge and see.
Bang!
Breath brushed past his side.
Jangsanbeom’s swinging claw shattered the ground.
He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it.
He had to time this carefully.
With one vent burst, the creature had already taken a fair amount of damage.
It wouldn’t be able to keep its ability up for long.
Just like now.
“I told you. You’ll regret keeping the blindfold on.”
“...!”
When he opened his eyes, the creature was right in front of him.
His gaze met those blood-red eyes.
It was trying to pull its arm free after burying it in the ground, so he squeezed the trigger.
Of course, the thing he was aiming at wasn’t the creature itself.
Instead, there was the vortex churned up by the belated gaze manipulation, and above it the swelling mound of dirt.
Bang!
Even with a suppressor, in a sealed space like this, the shot sounded like that.
The deafening gunfire made Jangsanbeom stagger and sink to its knees.
“You... you bastard... how...?”
“Try me before all your vents are blown apart.”
The creature’s trembling form was hidden by the wall. The world twisted again.
Yoo Sung-jun closed his eyes once more.
He counted the time it took for the ability to drop out.
Ten, eleven.
The stale, rank smell of Jangsanbeom’s fur brushed against his nose.
He twisted his head. In the gale, his bangs whipped up and fluttered.
He handled the creature’s repeated attacks with a combination of breathing and the Omega Suit’s support.
Fifteen.
That was the time he’d estimated before. He opened his eyes.
The cave had regained its shape.
He didn’t hesitate.
He lined up the vent he’d already identified and fired.
“Kuaaaak!”
At the end of the gunfire, Jangsanbeom collapsed again.
Yoo Sung-jun didn’t miss the opening.
His sight warped once more, but that didn’t matter.
When he shut his eyes, he could still perceive the world as it really was.
So he sprinted, and brought the Agantic Sword crashing down at Jangsanbeom.
Crack!
“Grrrgh!”
“Tch.”
It felt weak.
He wanted the clean, satisfying sensation of release in his palm.
Instead, it felt like the blade had only dug into an arm or some other part and stopped there.
So it really did evolve as a species.
He stepped back and closed his eyes again.
The read was done. Fifteen seconds.
Hit-and-run. That was all he needed to do well.
Jangsanbeom’s combat ability was still lower than his.
“Why! Why won’t you die!?”
The thing roared.
He heard the sound, smelled the stench, felt the eerie wind. He dodged.
He ran low across the floor, rolled, righted himself, and opened his eyes. Fifteen seconds had passed.
Bang!
“Aaaagh!”
That made four now.
Jangsanbeom would be desperate.
If it didn’t kill him, it would die itself.
Driven by that thought, it would come barreling in without restraint.
Just as I thought.
The ground shuddered.
The thing had abandoned reason.
It had surrendered everything completely to Jangsanbeom’s instincts.
Feeling the reckless charge, Yoo Sung-jun threw himself aside.
An infector without reason?
“Easy.”
He gripped the sword with both hands.
At the same time, the Omega Suit pulsed.
Thud. Thud-thud-thud. The nanoparticle veins bulged like blood vessels, lending him monstrous force.
Power output eighty percent. He fed that converted strength through his entire body. He understood the creature.
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
It was a heavy wind.
Wind that cut like a blade through skin, even through the Omega Suit.
Whether to yield to it or resist, he didn’t need long to decide.
Crash-crack-crack!
Yoo Sung-jun didn’t bluff with bravado he didn’t need.
He drove the slanted Agantic Sword into the ground. Bracing his strengthened body against the blade’s surface, he blocked.
The beast tried to force its way over the greatsword angled diagonally, lifting its forearm.
But the Agantic Sword expanded, making all its efforts meaningless.
It must feel as if it had run headfirst into an impossible wall.
Now then. My turn again.
Yoo Sung-jun opened his eyes.
Holding the BK-108 one-handed, he went full auto.
With a quick glance, he found every vent.
Ratatatatatata-bang!
Every single vent burst.
Colorless, scentless remnants of those translucent things scattered like dust.
At the center of it all, Jangsanbeom slipped and fell.
Its back rested against the blade face of the Agantic Sword.
Its face warped with empty disbelief.
The noise that had filled the cave dwindled away in an instant.
In the silence that followed, with its reason finally returned, the creature muttered in a dark, hollow voice.
“I wanted... to become a human... beyond human.”
“Then you should’ve eaten an infector stronger than you, not a person.”
Yoo Sung-jun answered from the opposite side, his back resting against the blade face as well.
The breath was fading. It would die within seconds.
In that brief span, one last line slipped out.
“There... was... such a way...?”
Its breathing cut off.
All its life-supporting vents had been blown apart, so there was no other outcome.
Yoo Sung-jun let out a faint sigh.
It wasn’t as if the creature had chosen to become an infector. It had been inevitable.
Somewhere along the way, a virus spread, it turned into an infector, into Jangsanbeom, and it must have struggled to reclaim its humanity.
Then it had yielded to the instincts unique to infectors and crossed the point of no return.
“What a waste.”
Human beings are merely powerless before absolute phenomena.
“Yeah. That’s why it’s a waste. No matter how much you strengthen your body, no matter how much high-tech gear you pile on...”
Kallakwa. Asura. Rupal. Haleone. Overous.
He thought of the Five Evils, the strongest infectors in Another Earth, beings so absolute they could be compared to phenomena themselves.
“Can I really live out my whole life in a world where monsters like them exist?”
Mr. Meteor, you have already proved it is possible. By defeating Kallakwa, you’ve proven that possibility. You can live. You’ll be able to reclaim your ordinary life again.
“That sounded more like a supporter for once.”
When was I ever not? ◠‿◠
Thanks to Loki, he felt a little better.
Right. He just needed to keep doing what he always did.
It was far too early for him to despair like that Jangsanbeom had.
How many times have I scraped my way through this? How many times have I supported my little brother?
He’d had enough of resting. Rising to his feet, he gathered up the greatsword.
At that, Jangsanbeom’s corpse slid away with a soft scrape.
Without a hint of hesitation, Yoo Sung-jun turned around.
Mission clear. You will now be transported to the Enter Room.
He vanished from the cave without leaving a trace behind.
***
When he arrived in the Enter Room, his younger brother and Jeyca weren’t there.
When he asked, Loki said they’d returned safely.
“Hm. Good.”
He’d been worried they’d been torn apart by the evolved Jangsanbeom’s abilities.
But if they made it back alive, that was enough.
They’d probably be recovering and collecting themselves in their own Enter Rooms.
Only then did Yoo Sung-jun check the mission that had changed into an unexpected variable.
The Dreamer of the Underground Cave
Type: Extermination
Difficulty: D+
Description: The being that wished to become more than human has begun devouring users. Eliminate it before it grows any stronger.
Reward: 100,000 points
It had jumped two full ranks.
And he’d beaten it alone.
Maybe the system had judged that it could be cleared solo. There was no cooperative tag attached.
Settlement complete.
Infector extermination: 56,720 points
Finish it off: 900 points
Slaughterer: 1,500 points
Lonely Pioneer: 1,800 points
Perfect Exploration: 4,500 points
Extermination Reward: 100,000 points
Exploration Reward: 13,000 points
Total: 178,420 points
Maybe because he’d explored the last cave by himself, he’d earned the achievement Lonely Pioneer.
On top of that, an advanced achievement had also been unlocked.
Perfect Exploration...
By now, achievements no longer felt as significant as infector kills or mission rewards.
But Yoo Sung-jun never thought their importance lay only in points.
And that assumption proved exactly right.
User Yoo Sung-jun. Will you accept the invitation of the Higher Being?
As expected.
At first, he’d thought user rank rose purely with accumulated points.
That wasn’t it. Unlocking and completing achievements also affected rank progression.
Yoo Sung-jun held off on answering the invitation for now.
Remaining points: 602,240
Now was the time to use them.
It was time to be rewarded for half a month of effort.
Omega Suit enhancement.
It was time to advance it to Level 2.
That would mean higher output, and the addition of a new suit-exclusive ability.
He placed the Omega Suit, now returned to his smartwatch, onto the station.
Then he pressed enhance.
Remaining points: 102,240
The Omega Suit stored information about its user.
Depending on how it was worn and handled, the possible additional abilities varied wildly.
I’d like something that feels like an all-rounder.
He’d run a lot. Taken a lot of hits from infectors. Swung guns and a greatsword alike.
There was a huge amount of varied data inside the suit.
The station analyzed that data and derived the optimal additional abilities.
Buzz.
Yoo Sung-jun studied the options that appeared before him.
Permanent Power Output Enhancement
: Overloads power output. Increases power consumption rate. Raises bodily performance amplified by consumed power by 15%.
Added Medical Bots
: Converts 20% of nanoparticles into medical bots. Accelerates wound recovery.
Adrenaline
: Hormonal stimulation. For five minutes, pain dulling, focus enhancement, and a drastic reduction in negative thoughts. Physical ability increases by 30%.
Permanent Power Output Enhancement.
That one was no good for the current party.
If he had a dedicated guard or attacker also using the Omega Suit, maybe it would’ve been different.
But Yoo Sung-jun was alone.
He had to cover every role by himself.
He already needed to manage his power efficiently, so choosing the first option?
Worst-case scenario, the suit’s power could run dry far faster than expected and I’d lose the fit entirely.
So he ruled out the one that increased power consumption.
Added Medical Bots seemed unnecessary too.
He’d seen his brother’s surgical skill.
If only he had enough time, it was the sort of talent that could soar even higher. His brother’s ability, that was.
In the end, he didn’t want to waste nanoparticle reserves—the very source of physical enhancement—just to get that.
It’s a choice that only eats away at my own strength.
Besides, he was already used to coping with infectors, anticipating their attacks, and exploiting their weaknesses. Was there really a chance he’d get seriously injured?
Yoo Sung-jun shook his head and shifted his gaze. When he looked at the final ability, he smiled with satisfaction.
“This one’s worth taking.”
Adrenaline. An ability for decisive battles.
His inborn Breathing already reduced negative thoughts alongside adrenaline. It brought happiness and a heightened sense of vitality.
If adrenaline was added on top of that, the synergy would be impossible to ignore.
And a 30% boost to all abilities for five minutes?
Yoo Sung-jun was certain of it.
With a Level 2 Omega Suit and a Level 2 enhanced body, I should be able to handle infectors at the threshold of Level 6 by myself.
A power that surpassed his current state for five minutes.
The hesitation was over. Yoo Sung-jun chose Adrenaline.
Whirr, thunk. Sizzle!
The Omega Suit locked into the station, and the enhancement began.
Nanoparticles drifted through the station’s interior, glittering with multicolored light.
Watching that spectacle, he stared into space.
“Loki. Send me now.”
Should I send you home?
“No. I mean I’ll accept the Higher Being’s invitation.”
He had something to ask.
Understood.
That familiar sensation wrapped around his body.
Yoo Sung-jun opened his eyes in outer space.
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