An Age of Chaos
Jack Kalt’s combat strength had already been measured during the previous clash with the killer group.
He beat Stalker, the rank 8 player, all by himself. That puts him at around game rank 7.
When Sung-jun had sparred with him for the first time, he had been genuinely surprised. He’d had to use half of his own power just to match him.
Sung-jun understood better than anyone how Analysis could be used in battle. He had trained his talent all the way to master level in Another Earth 1.0, after all.
And yet, even with his confidence in that understanding, there were still some things Jack Kalt did that made it hard to gauge his intentions.
The meaning behind that wasn’t far away.
He must’ve figured out how to apply his talent.
Otherwise, a man with a still-immature talent like his couldn’t have produced combat this effective.
What possible applications did Analysis have?
When Sung-jun asked about a few of the things he had guessed, Jack Kalt answered without hesitation.
After their sparring match, Sung-jun pressed him with a few theories, and Jack Kalt, somewhat unexpectedly, answered readily.
“I’m currently handling two applications. Precision Analysis and Insight. Two of them.”
Precision Analysis was exactly what it sounded like: breaking down the results obtained through analysis and analyzing them once more in finer detail.
According to Jack Kalt, it let him identify an opponent’s strengths, and on rare lucky occasions, even their weaknesses.
Every talent had its strengths and drawbacks.
Just as Sung-jun’s eyes grew sore if he used One Point Focus for too long, Precision Analysis would eventually bring on pain not only in the eyes but in the head as well.
That means Jack Kalt is at a disadvantage in a drawn-out fight, just like me.
Insight was an application that required a bit of warm-up.
It was a technique that used information accumulated through analysis to pinpoint a target’s weakness in an instant.
For that reason, Sung-jun always ended their sparring within a short window of time.
He used every ability he had, but made sure not to let Jack Kalt figure out his own weakness.
“Ghk—huff, huhh...”
Spread-eagled on the floor, Jack Kalt let out a ragged breath.
Deep footprints had been left in his Omega Suit.
The suit’s functions had repaired both his body and the armor at high speed, but the pain in his organs was still there, throbbing like a struck bell.
Jack Kalt barely managed to lift his head, frowning.
He hadn’t even been able to attempt a proper analysis.
All he had learned were a handful of facts.
=An attack beyond his current level had come flying in, carried on heavy breathing.
=The main attack methods were the left hand, right hand, greatsword, left leg, right leg, right shoulder...
Analysis neatly organized all information about Meteor in his mind.
But that was all it did.
Normally, Jack Kalt would use what he learned to steadily open a gap between them.
Then he’d drive a killing blow into that opening and claim victory.
But that style of fighting didn’t work on Meteor.
Most Infector or User fighters have habits built into them through instinct...
Meteor wasn’t without habits of his own.
The problem was that his habit was full-body utilization.
He used every possible means of combat properly, perfectly, and there was never any opening to exploit.
Yes, this was a wall. A wall that simply pushed forward with brute force.
No matter how many chains you swung or how many kicks you hurled at a wall, all you got back were scratches.
So the one being driven back had to be himself.
“That’s a little much, isn’t it? I’ve always heard it said that people who know each other are the worst, but I didn’t think you’d deny me even the slightest chance to analyze you.”
Watching Meteor wait for him to get back on his feet, Jack Kalt wore a tearful expression.
Just as heated metal cools, the prismatic glow of Meteor’s Omega Suit was quickly fading.
Even in this brief lull, he wasn’t allowing a single opening for analysis.
Meteor stood there in his natural state, silent, and tilted his head just once.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you getting up? You don’t think the Middle Chief is going to wait for you while you’re lying there, do you?”
“No, I don’t suppose he will. But I do feel a little cheated. It’s like you stripped me bare.”
“We only need to know each other’s abilities. You want more than that?”
“I know you wouldn’t show me even if I asked.”
“Then stop talking and get ready. We go again in ten seconds.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jack Kalt shrugged and got to his feet.
Clack. The chain of nano-particles rippled with a faint metallic ring.
The chain coiled around his forearms looked rough and heavy, but in truth it was a nanotech weapon built from pure technical sophistication.
At times it became a superb shield, and at others it served as a ranged or melee weapon.
Because it reacted to the user’s brainwaves, it was an excellent weapon.
The Omega Suit’s abilities suit that well, too.
The same prismatic light that clung to Sung-jun also shimmered around Jack Kalt’s Omega Suit.
That meant he was an all-rounder as well.
Sung-jun had already identified the suit’s abilities.
Fine control and Medical Bot.
Jack Kalt’s Omega Suit was level 3.
From their sparring so far, it seemed his physical enhancement was level 3 as well.
The fact that he was still remaining at this level even though he had points left to further strengthen himself meant he probably hadn’t adapted to it yet.
Still, he looks like he’s already mastered using those abilities.
Through Fine Control, the Omega Suit’s functions—its power supply and output—were precisely adjusted from the extremities of the limbs all the way to parts of the body itself.
And in response, the Medical Bot’s localized recovery speed was outstanding.
It seemed like an ability meant to prepare for an unavoidable war of attrition.
But was this really a situation that called for a war of attrition?
No.
This ends here.
Sung-jun breathed.
It was a different kind of breathing from before.
All the countless breaths he had taken until now had merely been preparation—steps taken to obtain certainty.
And at the end of it, Sung-jun had gained enough certainty.
Now, it was time to verify it.
Here it comes.
The instant he recognized it, two black snakes came crashing in along unnatural trajectories.
The black chains occupying left and right, and Jack Kalt charging straight ahead, threw fists and then feet.
It was a varied attack, made possible by fine-controlling the nano-particles of the chains synchronized with the Omega Suit.
Thus, the attacks that blanketed every direction rained down.
Each one carried a fierce killing intent, but all Sung-jun had to do was crush them with a single iai strike.
“Kssshhhk!”
A different, heated breath burst out of him all at once.
Right now, Sung-jun was seized by the thought that this technique might actually be possible.
Compression breathing and hyperventilation merged into one.
Compression breathing drew in the volume of dozens of breaths at once.
Then, through hyperventilation, he swallowed them again and again beyond his limits.
In the slow-moving flow of time, Sung-jun assessed the changes in his body.
I’m aging faster than before.
If hyperventilation alone had been like a wick burning down, this was a full-blown explosion.
His hair turned white in clumps, and his skin shriveled in an instant.
Not only that, but the backlash from excessive vitality burst the capillaries in his eyes, then the veins throughout his body, one after another.
The recoil was severe enough to make it feel like he might die right here.
But he didn’t die.
He only felt a dizzying rush of exhilaration at the terrifying enhancement of his power.
So he swung his greatsword.
The gray nano-particles wrapped around the silver blade were dyed black in an instant.
At that split-second danger, Jack Kalt sensed it and immediately shifted into a head-on attack posture.
With both sides going all-in offensively against each other, Sung-jun used the extra nano-particles to manifest armor hardening and protect himself.
But Jack Kalt had no extra nano-particles left to shield himself.
The time to choose had arrived.
“Kuh!”
It was Jack Kalt who diverted his remaining nano-particles into defense.
It must have been a judgment made after his analysis told him that his own nano-particles weren’t enough to subdue Sung-jun.
He wrapped the chains around his entire body and thrust both arms forward.
Crack! With that horrifying sound ripped apart by air, Jack Kalt was blasted backward.
He slammed into the training hall wall so hard that the wall itself was badly damaged.
Still, he had blocked it. His right arm was broken, but his left arm was intact.
He could resume his attack.
That was an attack that cost a massive amount of stamina. Now the opening is mine.
Jack Kalt had no doubt that this time, he would be the one to win.
So, seizing the opportunity he had barely earned, he quickly lifted his head—
“...Ah.”
A black shadow swallowed him whole.
The terrifying edge of the greatsword swept toward him once more, filling his entire field of vision.
...When had it gotten here?
There was no time for deep thought.
Right now, his analysis was shouting only one answer.
You can’t win. So surrender.
“I-I surrender!”
Whoooosh!
The violent current formed by nano-particles, boosted by the atmospheric interference of Alpha Strike, slammed Jack Kalt hard in the face.
He looked at the greatsword stopping right in front of his nose and swallowed dryly.
He knew Sung-jun had probably controlled the power, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he had nearly been split in half.
That was how far beyond the norm Meteor’s strike had just been.
Thinking he was on a similar level had been a misjudgment.
In the game and in reality alike, he was still a mountain that could not be climbed.
“Let’s stop here. You know the final check is tomorrow, right?”
“Huh? Yes... then tomorrow... I’ll see you.”
Jack Kalt tilted his head, watching Meteor leave after saying only what he had to say.
Did something urgent come up?
But contrary to Jack’s guess, Sung-jun felt like he was on the verge of death.
A deep exhaustion tightened its grip on his body.
A sense of vertigo and pain rolled over him hard enough that he felt he might black out at any moment.
Using adrenaline might have made it a little easier, but this wasn’t a real battle, so he hadn’t used it.
Good thing I cleared the mission in advance.
Sung-jun used the pending return to Enter Room and came back.
Yoo Sung-jun’s condition is currently critical.
As soon as he returned, Loki started fussing.
She had even changed the wall into transparent glass on her own, making his condition visible at a glance.
His muscles were bleeding, his entire body stained red.
As for his hair, it had long since turned completely white.
And his skin? It had lost all elasticity and was covered in wrinkles.
Reactive oxygen had transformed Yoo Sung-jun’s appearance into that of an old man.
That much vitality had instead driven his body to the edge of collapse.
Even so, he had glimpsed a possibility.
If I use adrenaline here, I should be able to maintain it a little longer. Add that, and if I apply my bone-and-flesh style...
Level 7. No—maybe even level 8, if he could create an overwhelmingly one-sided situation, he’d be able to deal with it.
Though it’d be hard for me to create a one-sided situation alone in the first place.
With a faint smile, he asked Loki to heal him.
Through the spar with Jack Kalt, he had gained a new technique.
He had successfully fused hyperventilation and compression breathing.
The recoil was so severe that, with his current body, he could barely keep it up for more than ten-odd seconds, but what mattered was that his repertoire had grown.
That alone meant he now had another lifeline for dealing with unexpected situations.
No matter what happens, this alone might be enough to save my life once.
As his consciousness drifted farther and farther away, Yoo Sung-jun thought of the Middle Chief he would soon have to hunt down, and then fell asleep.
***
I don’t know whether it was the work of Infector or the result of natural disasters that had accumulated over a long time.
Either way, the gorge had been transformed so grotesquely that it resembled a giant spiderweb.
With dawn breaking over the place, a group emerged onto the highest rocky mountain.
“This is it. The place where we’ll wage our holy war.”
“Auxiliary Bishop Karon. It’s hard to call this a holy war when no confirmed hostile force has been identified. Therefore, all we need to do is retrieve the Holy Grail.”
“Do you, Auxiliary Bishop Yukal, never consider the possibility of failure? Isn’t it possible that there are Satan’s followers or Infector creatures below, ones who haven’t received Evolve-nim’s blessing?”
“Kill them. We’ll kill them. Death!”
“Auxiliary Bishop Amia is already excited, I see.”
Auxiliary Bishop Karon muttered that to himself and glanced back over his shoulder.
The 83 believers who had followed them for this holy war all had red, feverish eyes.
“From this point on, we search for the Holy Grail. By the words of Evolve-nim, our one true god, there must surely be an entrance leading to it somewhere in this place.”
“So be it!”
“If any variable arises, report it immediately through your in-ear comms. Then move in accordance with your respective auxiliary bishop.”
They split into three teams of twenty-two each.
They scattered to search for the bunker and laboratory hidden somewhere in the gorge.
That same kind of movement was unfolding all across the vast ravine.
“It’s almost here. Soon, we’ll be in Father’s chamber...!”
Twelve large and small Infector creatures moved through thick clouds of dust.
At the center of them, the creature running on two legs had a massive wound across its back.
It made no effort to hide its fierce joy.
The other brainwashed Infected, caught in the same fervor, cried out in a medley of voices to announce their delight.
At the same time—
“This is the gorge where the Middle Chief will be hunted down.”
The 88 elite fighters of the clan alliance, led by Yoo Sung-jun, finished gathering in the gorge.