Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Master (3)
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The master returned before long.
Along with a strange glass box.
There was something inside the glass box.
“Stage 3 fungal creature.”
Fuck!
Yoon dragged over a glass box on wheels. The box came up to his lower ribs, wide enough to easily fit six car tires.
Inside that cube-shaped glass was something.
A mushroom.
It looked like a massive ink cap mushroom, one melting into black goo. But tentacles writhed at the mushroom’s edges. They sprawled in every direction, completely covering the bottom of the glass box. Just looking at the constantly squirming tentacles made my brow furrow automatically.
“What’s stage 3?”
It was my first utterance.
Yoon explained in a flat tone.
“The higher the number, the more dangerous. Stage 1 is survivable for any civilian with a weapon. Stage 2 can be taken down with special training, even without an enhanced body. From stage 3 on, you need an enhanced body to handle it. This one’s a stage 3 creature you’ll run into pretty often outside the core.”
“How high do the stages go?”
“10. The kind that requires every skilled badger on deck.”
“Something like that exists?”
“It did. Hasn’t been sighted since the first war, though. For reference, the closer they are to human form, the higher the danger level usually. That angel-type creature you faced before would be classified as stage 6 or 7. Something one or more skilled badgers can handle.”
Why’s the stage so high? I really brushed death that time.
The image of that creature plunging its blade under the blue sky made my insides chill. What Ska blocked so easily looked far more human than this ink cap mushroom creature. It was holding a weapon, after all—what more is there to say?
I blankly recalled the moment my life hung in the balance.
“I didn’t realize it was that dangerous since you blocked it so easily.”
“Who took it down?”
His question back made me blink.
“Ska Aide and Ro Senior. The spider-like one stuck to the window was probably Ami and Riccardo.”
“All war heroes. They’re among the top ten badgers in skill, so a stage 6 creature’s no big deal for them.”
They were top ten material?
Considering the organization’s purpose, there couldn’t be just a few badgers. The size of this building and grounds made it clear it was massive.
Which meant they were elite of the elite.
How did I end up with people like that....
“The other two rookies you saw drop out of the portal had no war experience.”
He must have meant the pair Riccardo sent home midway.
The man had blue eyes but a mask covering up to his nose, so I didn’t see his face. The woman was short with a two-tone bob of yellow and pink.
“Caldo has some seniority, at least. But the two-tone kid’s still green. Hasn’t even been a year since she shed the rookie label.”
So they were my immediate seniors.
That explained why they’d kept quiet that day. With three much higher-generation seniors around, they couldn’t just speak up.
As vague memories from a few weeks ago surfaced, a chainsaw suddenly roared to life.
“Argh, shit, you scared me!”
“Explanation’s over. Time to start.”
Yoon said in a sinister tone.
Damn.
I forced a grin while holding the rattling chainsaw.
Nothing but bad vibes. That ink cap creature didn’t look like it’d stay put like a real mushroom. And I sure as hell didn’t know how to handle a chainsaw. Even without memories, I knew it felt alien.
But I couldn’t voice any protest.
Yoon placed his hand on the glass box.
“You can figure out what to do just by looking, right?”
“I get what to do, but not how.”
“Just swing the chainsaw.”
My esteemed senior offered some truly helpful advice.
“You won’t die, at least.”
No mention of me not getting hurt.
At this point, I burst out laughing. Haha, I chuckled, then asked,
“Probably useless to ask, but what’s its attack pattern?”
“Experience it yourself.”
That’s why I asked—to know before experiencing!
My inner thoughts stayed silent again, and Yoon pressed somewhere on the glass box without warning me to prepare.
The moment I backpedaled, the box sprang open on all sides.
Tentacles squirmed outward in every direction.
Do or die.
I raised the chainsaw, mindset set on stir-frying this mushroom.
A grotesque scene unfolded before me. The moment the glass panels flew open, tentacles shot out. They slowly expanded their radius, writhing. Each one wasn’t that thick. Just tangled complexly like tree roots.
It wasn’t attacking right away.
Yoon stood watching the ink cap with hands in his pockets. Closer to the creature than me, he didn’t twitch.
He’s fine like that? Does it not attack first?
I observed Yoon and the mushroom beside him closely.
Then I stepped forward to approach.
One step.
Thwack!
A dull pain slashed across my face.
My face stung, then my back and tailbone. Vision shook. Ringing in my ears and a loud crash.
I grimaced and pushed myself up.
Did that tentacle whip me?
Asbestos flakes rained from above.
I peeled my back off the wall with a small grunt.
Nearly dropped the chainsaw. I stabbed the stalled blade into the floor while struggling to open my eyes.
Using it like a cane, I stood.
Yoon hadn’t budged.
He’s fine.
“Why only m—”
Thwack!
Hit again. Mercifully, the mushroom slapped the other cheek this time. Must’ve smashed my shoulder blade into the wall. My right shoulder screamed sharply.
My whole body hummed with pain.
Why only me?
As the shock and pain ebbed, I forced my squeezed-shut eyes open.
Tentacles wriggling in midair. They’d split wide, forming round fists.
If I stand, I’ll get hit again? Can’t approach without getting smacked.
Then cut before getting pummeled. That’s why he gave me the chainsaw—because it can be severed.
I scraped together what stamina I had for a quick rise. After some deep breaths, strength returned. I braced to swing the moment I stood.
I slowly thumbed the power on.
Vrrrreeee!
The saw whirred noisily.
I shot up and swung simultaneously.
Crunch!
“Got it!”
“Hey.”
Huh? As I turned to reply, a fierce gust blasted my face.
I whipped my head, but not fast enough.
Splat!
I didn’t fall back.
Stumbled but caught my balance. Blood filled my mouth from somewhere torn. I swung the chainsaw while fighting to refocus. Crunch. A satisfying slice, and the tentacle collapsed. The severed bit smacked my instep.
I barely pried my eyes open to assess.
The instant I looked at the creature, my vision filled with an enormous tentacle.
Thud!
Direct hit.
This time I tumbled. Dropped the chainsaw. My skull rang from the impact, a small yelp escaping.
Intense.
Lying on the floor, I rubbed my battered forehead. Stage 3, huh. Not 5 or 6. Miles from the top stage 10, and I can’t even get close.
Its pattern wasn’t complicated. The pillar itself was rooted in place.
There had to be a way.
I lay there thinking until the pain faded and my mind cleared. Then a strange memory fragment popped up.
I gripped a controller. Stared at a huge screen. Grotesque graphics. Cute, bouncy ones. Flashy effects and repeating patterns....
Repeating patterns.
I slowly raised my upper body.
“Why only I get hit?”
Yoon’s eyes shifted at my gloomy question.
“It attacks anything moving past a certain height.”
“Ah. That’s why you didn’t move at all.”
Yoon just arched one brow, otherwise eerily still.
The more I watched.... What a unique guy. Hard to find someone with so little movement or expression.
Looking at the man frozen in the pose I had before getting hit, I said,
“Crawling up and sawing it off work?”
“Nothing says it won’t. Couldn’t do it in real combat, though.”
“There a standard real-combat method? How do you usually take it down?”
“Walk up and punch it.”
Simple. Utterly unhelpful.
I eyed the writhing creature with weary eyes.
At this point, I’d kill it out of spite.
Frowning, I pondered solutions. Crawling to kill it was possible, but no good for combat.
If I’m killing it, might as well do it properly.
A few more beatings and the pattern would show. It hit me—I was the type to see games through to the end. Rhythm games, RPGs, whatever, I played till completion without quitting.
I swallowed the blood pooled in my mouth.
“Yoon.”
“Yeah.”
“Mind if it takes a while?”
“Do what you want.”
No emotion in his voice.
“Stop anytime if you can’t take it. Or keep going till dawn if you want.”
“Ah. You’re not planning to do this till dawn, right?”
“Hope not.”
“I’ll wrap it up before standing still like that gets tough on you.”
Even if it meant more beatings.
I reached for the dropped chainsaw.
The body-shaking pain was gone now. Standing would bring it back, but fearing pain got you nowhere.
I exhaled deeply and prepared to rise.
My master, unmoving like a statue.
I’d finish before that guy said he needed the bathroom. Clutching that grand goal, I gripped the chainsaw and stood.
***
Got hit over 30 times.
Nailed the pattern on the 32nd. Sliced every incoming tentacle on the 33rd. Now the 34th try. On this 34th, I’d severed the tentacles and closed in on the mushroom.
My master was close after hours. The mushroom creature loomed larger. The ink cap mold with nothing left to writhe.
One final dash, and the black cap came into view.
I hoisted the slime-smeared chainsaw.
With all my strength, I slammed the whirring blade down.
Pssshhh!
The cap split in two, ink cap goo splattering me.
Stings!
“What the hell!”
“Told you it’s poisonous.”
After hours, Yoon finally moved.
Some ink got him too. He brushed it off his dry face.
“Didn’t want ink all over? Should’ve finished with a punch. Anyway, it’s definitely dead. Good work.”
“It still stings.”
The giant mushroom sagged in halves.
Killed it on the 34th try, but no satisfaction.
Every ink-splashed spot burned bitterly as I stood there. As I stilled, my breathing settled, senses sharpening.
The creature split like a knife-sliced mushroom, oozing ink. Severed tentacles scattered across the training hall. Stilled chainsaw. Scratched walls. Fallen asbestos.
A slimy, indescribable stench hung in the air.
I blankly took in the battle’s aftermath, then dropped the chainsaw.
“Does enhanced body neutralize poison too?”
Yoon, scanning around, met my eyes as I turned to ask.
The man had stood motionless for nearly three hours, yet showed no fatigue. His pitch-black, inscrutable eyes stared straight at me.
Freaky guy.
“Some poisons it neutralizes, some not. Definitely tougher than a normal human, though.”
“This mushroom’s poison gets neutralized?”
“Nope.”
What?
“If you got dosed in real combat, you’d need an antidote. But this one’s neutralized already, so no issue. You know how poisons work?”
Like I’d know poison mechanics when I don’t even know my own face.
My expression must’ve answered, as Yoon snorted softly.
“Basically, for poison to kill a human, it absorbs into the body and reaches the heart. Usually via veins to the heart. Arteries require hacking off half a limb, which is tough. Once it hits the heart, the pump sends it through the lungs and out the arteries. So act before that.”
“No antidote then?”
“Like I said, punch it and no ink sprays. If doused without antidote, wash it off fast with soapy water to neutralize.”
And if no soap?
Figured that’d annoy him, so I held back. Too exhausted to chatter anyway. Realizing the ink was safe melted my tension, flooding me with fatigue.
Wanna sit. Did way too much intense exercise out of nowhere. Arms hurt, hit spots ache, legs burn.
If not for the ink soaking the floor, I’d have collapsed right there.
I closed my eyes and heaved a massive sigh.
“...Anyway, killed it. Took stupidly long, though.”
“You....”
I opened my eyes at Yoon’s words.
Responded in an exhausted voice.
“Yes?”
“Must’ve worked out before.”
I blinked.
“Me? You think so?”
“Yeah.”
Curious why he thought that.
Also curious about his take after watching this fiasco impassively. Saying I must’ve exercised meant I wasn’t totally clumsy, right? Did okay-ish?
But Yoon turned without elaborating.
“Anyway, got the gist. Let’s go. Need to shower.”
“What about this mess?”
“Robots’ll clean up. Don’t worry.”
Yoon swept his gaze over the training hall.
“Shower’s out the right door and—”
“Kyaaah! Oppa!”
Startled.
I whipped around to see Ami with eyes wide as saucers. She stood in the training hall doorway. Behind her, two men: Riccardo and a stranger.
Riccardo leaned against the wall, arms crossed, grinning slyly. Like he’d expected this.
The unfamiliar man gawked at the hall in disbelief.
Ami charged in, frozen no more.
“What did you do to Hilde!”
She raced to Yoon and pummeled him with fists.
“What’d you do to a rookie not even a day into official assignment!”
Guess that bastard really is insane after all.