Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Scientist (2)
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The spaceships summoned by Scientists were divided into four stages, growing ever more enormous with each advancement. Stage 1 was little more than a simple scout craft, but a Stage 4 battleship was incomparably massive by comparison.
And there was only one way to achieve such a Stage 4 spaceship: reaching the maximum level for Scientists—max level.
Just like in any other game, hitting max level in Season Off Fantasy was no easy feat. So if a Scientist could summon a Stage 4 mothership, it meant they were a true veteran player, someone who'd poured in vast amounts of time and effort.
"...Is this just par for the course for Ace's vice guild master?"
I muttered to myself, eyes fixed on the Stage 4 spaceship hovering above Kim Arin's mansion—and the shy man in the white coat standing awkwardly on its deck.
He was avoiding my gaze with effort, and though his face wasn't familiar, he wasn't a complete stranger either. I'd never spoken to him, but I knew exactly who he was.
Lee Min-jun.
He was the former vice guild master of Ace, one of Korea's top four guilds.
As a high-ranking officer in a major guild, he was already somewhat well-known, and I vaguely recalled seeing him during the clash at Yeouido—standing awkwardly on the Dessert Club side.
Kim Arin had also mentioned him in passing when we discussed potential guild recruits last time, so I was certain.
"H-Hello..."
"......"
Lee Min-jun scratched his head awkwardly, unsure where to direct his gaze or if he should even meet my eyes, bowing his head low. I watched impassively as he descended to the ground.
"I-I'm Lee Min-jun..."
His skill must have been deactivated, as the spaceship he'd arrived on crumbled into a handful of dust and dissipated into the air. He forced a smile as he introduced himself.
"I-I'm not some weirdo or anything. Kim Arin called me, so I was on my way... uh..."
Was it because Selverion stood manifested right before him? Sweat beaded on Lee Min-jun's clasped hands.
"It's an honor to meet you. You probably don't remember, but we actually crossed paths briefly at Yeouido last time..."
"Yeah, I know."
I nodded curtly at his mention that it wasn't exactly our first meeting. My voice made his body jolt.
"I saw you there too."
I leaned against the nearby wall and spoke indifferently toward him.
"Ah... you saw me..."
As if hearing Selverion's voice for the first time—or stunned at communicating directly with a stage boss—I could see Lee Min-jun's eyes widen in shock.
"Thank you for remembering."
He bowed his head in gratitude. I wasn't sure it warranted thanks, but I said nothing and just stared blankly up at the sky.
"Yeah."
To be precise, it wasn't that I remembered him—it was that he'd left an impression. It was rare for a major guild's vice master to point weapons at his own guildmates, after all.
But that rare situation had essentially saved his life. If he'd been among Ace's ranks, he would've been frozen solid like the rest.
"Lee Min-jun...?"
"Yeah?"
A cheerful voice called from behind.
Had she heard his spaceship landing? Kim Arin emerged from the mansion's grand gates, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Whoa, you're earlier than I expected."
Still groggy from sleep, she yawned widely as she spoke. Skipping formalities and using casual speech suggested she and Lee Min-jun were on pretty friendly terms.
As Ace's vice guild master, he'd always ranked in the top tiers, so it would've been stranger if he didn't know a prominent top player like Kim Arin.
"Ah! Lady Selverion! You're up early!"
"Yeah."
Spotting me against the wall, Kim Arin beamed brightly. Truth be told, I hadn't slept a wink—Selverion didn't need sleep anyway—but I nodded casually.
"Bet that startled you out of nowhere. Sorry! This guy's the Lee Min-jun I mentioned last time—the one I recommended for our new guild!"
"Yeah, I know."
Lee Min-jun. A skilled Scientist and Kim Arin's first recommendation for our guild-to-be.
"...So, shall we head inside and talk details?"
Kim Arin suggested we continue comfortably indoors. We nodded briefly and turned toward the mansion's massive gates.
"...Hot."
I squinted against the blazing sunlight, intense even this early in the morning.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 02.
"This is ridiculous."
Busan, Seomyeon. A voice thick with exasperation echoed through the air. It belonged to a middle-aged man with a booming, resonant tone, but the heavy sound was quickly drowned out by grotesque noises.
—Kieeeek!!
—Kyaaaah!!
"......"
Kim Deok-su, guild master of Diamond—one of Korea's top four guilds—stared at the B-rank monster horde of sandworms that had completely engulfed a building over 30 stories tall, at a loss for words.
"What the hell do we do with that...?"
Countless—no, billions—of sandworms blanketed the building's exterior so thoroughly that its walls were invisible. And as if that weren't enough, the massive leech-like beasts were spreading outward like ripples on water.
Busan, Korea's second capital, was in far worse shape from the sandworm infestation than any other city in the eastern region.
"Sandworms..."
Like most insect-type monsters, sandworms reproduced at an unmatched pace in Season Off Fantasy. They could multiply even mid-battle, which was why the standard strategy was to avoid fighting them altogether.
For all their annoyance, sandworms in the game were confined to desert terrains and didn't expand their territory, so encounters were rare.
But this wasn't the game world—this was 21st-century Korea. The restriction of monsters to specific stages was long gone. In theory, a monster appearing in Korea could migrate all the way to Europe.
...And if that sandworm horde kept ballooning, it wouldn't stop at Busan—it'd swallow the entire country before long.
No amount of players—finite in number—could handle trillions pouring down like a tsunami.
We need to do something fast...
Kim Deok-su gritted his teeth, frowning deeply.
One misstep, and sandworms—not even dragons—could bring the nation to ruin.
"That must be their main nest..."
Diamond's guild master muttered, eyeing the building swarmed by sandworms.
With them guarding it so tightly, that high-rise was likely home to the horde's leader—the so-called "queen" controlling them.
Kill the queen, and their command structure would collapse, crippling their combat ability and temporarily curbing reproduction. Eliminating her was essential to wiping them out efficiently.
"Hmm..."
One problem, though:
"How the hell do we even get in there...?"
No path to the building's interior came to mind.
Diamond was a guild of players specialized purely in PvP. They weren't used to PvE, so strategizing against monsters was already a weak point—but even then, breaching that insane number of B-rank sandworms seemed impossible.
They could deploy military missiles, Scientists' mothership aurora cannons, or fire mages' bombardment spells to blast a way through. But that risked massive civilian casualties among those still hiding nearby, unable to evacuate.
Worse, fail to one-shot the queen, and it'd be like kicking a hornet's nest—the sandworms would rampage even fiercer, eyes ablaze, overrunning all of Busan. The situation would spiral.
"We can't hold out much longer..."
For now, containing their expansion beyond Seomyeon was all they could do. Once their numbers swelled further, even Diamond alone couldn't manage.
"Hey, Hak-seung."
"Yes, Guild Master."
"Call Han Yeon-hwa right now and send an SOS."
"A request for reinforcements...?"
"Yeah."
Kim Deok-su nodded curtly at his guildmate's question.
They desperately needed aid—or at least some brilliant idea from someone.
Someone who could suggest a way to minimize civilian harm, neutralize that horde at once, and take out the queen in one go.