Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Sudden Transcendent Outbreak
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In South Korea.
No, across the entire world.
No, perhaps even throughout the universe... monsters were flooding in.
"Like this... so suddenly?"
Monster outbreaks had happened before, but an invasion of this insane scale without any warning was incomprehensible.
And above all. Above all else...
'What perfectly timed bullshit.'
Rumble!
Boom!
Outside the window, about twenty Giggas that had already mobilized were unleashing a barrage at a dozens-of-meters-tall giant covered in dark blue scales.
'They won't be enough on their own.'
It had only been 30 seconds since the incident began. Considering this was the peaceful 34th Earth, their response time was worthy of praise, but it still fell short.
The enemy was a Transcendent.
At level 22, no less—a monster on par with the Phantom Dragon Replie.
In the 34th Earth, where even Transcendents got arrested without fail for crimes, it would eventually be captured. But that didn't mean it would be easy to subdue. With a beast like this appearing in the middle of the city, how much damage would it cause?
[Kee! Keda! Urata!]
With an incomprehensible shout, the deep sea chaos, Shimgon, swung its fist at the apartment next to it.
Thud—!
But it held! The high-rise apartment, home to countless people, was reinforced with hundreds or thousands of spells layered on top.
[Get—?]
As Shimgon faltered in confusion, the Giggas continued their bombardment.
Even on the front lines of space wars, the plasma shells proved effective, causing Shimgon's scales to shed like falling leaves.
[Zata!]
Boom!
Shimgon struck the apartment again, and this time it couldn't hold—the structure began to crumble. No matter how sturdy 34th Earth buildings were, they couldn't withstand two full-force blows from a Transcendent.
'...No time to stand around.'
I opened my inventory and pulled out Hyperion.
Then, quietly formed hand seals.
"Ardania. Wise Gate. Open."
I called them out calmly, in order.
"Summon."
What I summoned was gear. All legendary-grade +9 items: the Lucky Golden Crown, Lucky Angel Wing Suit, Lucky Radiant Light Shoes, Lucky Radiant Light Gloves.
"Hmm, summoning this stuff in a situation like this. The state of humanity..."
But there was no choice. While receiving backup from the 34th Earth to farm a mythic-grade monster, how could I not equip my farming gear?
Back in Cheonwon, in the [Temple of Death], I hadn't even gotten a glimpse of the Phantom Dragon Replie.
It was because I'd avoided getting surrounded by its countless minions in a setup where I couldn't confidently win one-on-one against Replie.
And now.
In the 34th Earth, that setup was playing out in reverse.
"And now this... Ardania. Wise Gate. Open. Summon."
[Shadow Magpie Shasha (Rare) has been summoned!]
[Shasha uses Stealth Blessing!]
[Agility stat increases by 80 points!]
[Buff duration 4:59]
"And this... Cheda. Cast an illusion spell on me."
"Searching spells in the Magic Store. 9th-circle illusion, 68,000 won. 8th-circle illusion, 115,000 won. 7th-circle illusion, 350,000..."
"8th-circle."
"Guiding by category. Optical..."
"Just make sure cameras can't catch me."
Soon, mana light gleamed from Cheda's eyes, and I felt mana envelop my body. I grabbed Hyperion and flung the window wide open.
Crack!
"Uwaaak! Save me!"
"It's collapsing!"
As the buildings Shimgon had hit began to tilt, hundreds of people were jumping or smashing through windows to escape outside.
If they were ordinary folk, they'd have plummeted to their deaths, but over 99% of 34th Earth residents were Awakened! They used descent spells or simply landed safely on the ground.
Boom!
But in this chaotic mess, not everyone could manage it.
"Uwaak! Get away!"
"My arm! My arm!"
Blood and flesh sprayed from those who couldn't dodge in time. People struck by Shimgon's attacks mid-air died helplessly.
I crouched like a tightly coiled spring, gripping Hyperion in my right hand as I stared at the dark blue giant rampaging through the city.
Crunch. Crack.
Screeech...!
A harsh, construction-site-like grinding echoed from my body, but amid the chaos, no one noticed.
[Iron Heart...!]
"No. Where's all this water coming from!?]
"Block the approach!"
Flutter!
One Giggas interfering with Shimgon's movements crumpled from a single punch.
The blood spraying from between its outer armor panels painted a grim picture of what happened to the pilot.
"No! Chang-sik!"
"Hana, dodge... Th-this!"
Water rose from the ground. Shimgon's massive body accelerated even faster.
The Giggas' bombardment was fierce, ripping chunks of scales from Shimgon—but that was all the damage it inflicted.
And just as Shimgon's fist swung toward the next Giggas.
Great Vessel Late Bloom.
Sub-Light.
At a speed near lightspeed that even I, the caster, could barely perceive, Shimgon surprisingly reacted.
'Some kind of auto-counter? Way too agile for its size.'
I [saw] dark blue scales sprout from Shimgon's shoulder to block Hyperion, while seawater surging in defiance of causality pierced my body with inexplicable force.
Crack!
Yeah. That's probably what would have happened.
If I didn't have Combat Foresight.
Clang!
In that split second, I twisted my body to evade the dark blue scales. For a swordsman, channeling the full weight of one's body into a single sword was no great feat.
The problem was hurling hundreds of kilograms of body weight at near-lightspeed, concentrating all that momentum into one blade.
Not to mention the sword's physical coefficient of 12.4.
Even plain physical force would've warped dimensions, and this was a skill-wrapped blade with sword aura to boot.
Rip!
Space tore with a crack, revealing dimensional fissures. The shockwave that should've demolished surrounding buildings converged to a single point.
Yet ridiculously, Shimgon's head withstood it. Vitality almost on my level!
[Garlak? Ieta...!?]
Its laterally crushed skullhead mumbled something. I couldn't understand the words, but I could feel the shock and rage in them.
Rumble...!
The seawater pooling on the ground got sucked back into Shimgon.
Rip!
And there, Shadow Twice activated!
[Araati!?]
With a roar full of bewilderment, Shimgon flailed its fists wildly. Even as it did, it sucked in seawater to regenerate its flesh—it was struggling to buy time.
Unfortunately, it couldn't dodge a skill already applied.
Rip!
Final Shadow Twice.
But its recovery was even faster.
'Unbelievable. And that wasn't even a plain slash—it was sword aura.'
I needed to follow up, but Sub-Light's aftershock hadn't faded yet. At this rate, it'd fully recover before I could do more.
But this was the 34th Earth.
Unlike it, I wasn't alone.
Whoosh!
An In-Grade Giggas, dwarfing the mass-produced ones in size and presence, multiplied into twelve units in an instant.
'Ability: Clone Technique!'
The unique ability of In-Grade Giggas pilot Kwak Jaewoo!
Rumble!
A massive magic circle enveloped Shimgon's rapidly regenerating body, and the seawater rushing into it began to freeze solid.
That wasn't all.
Rumble rumble!
Rat-a-tat-tat!
A torrent of bombardment hammered Shimgon's body.
Roads and buildings got destroyed in the process, but the Giggas paid it no mind. They knew slowing their attack rate even briefly could invite a counterstrike.
And in that moment.
Great Vessel Late Bloom.
Sub-Light.
Thud.
I landed opposite Shimgon. And inwardly marveled.
'As expected... this technique works even on Transcendent special bosses. Especially as a sneak attack.'
We weren't in space combat with plenty of distance; dodging a near-lightspeed strike in close quarters was never easy. Especially when Combat Foresight let me predict its success in that instant.
[Ieta! Ieta...!?]
This time, Shimgon clutched its vertically crushed head and staggered. It desperately tried to suck in surrounding seawater, but the Giggas' barrage of coolant shells and massive freeze spells kept it frozen in place.
And just like that.
Rip.
Shadow Twice.
Rip!
Sliced its head vertically in two.
Boom—!
Shimgon's colossal body toppled, shattered ice shards spreading like thick fog.
"It's down!"
"Is it dead? Check its status!"
"Damn it! What the hell is going on!? What just happened?"
"Rescue the wounded!"
Police swarmed in, saving people and using all sorts of spells to clean up the battlefield. Amid the extreme chaos, things were starting to calm somewhat.
'But it's not over. Other Transcendent monsters...'
That was when I thought that.
Flash!
I turned at the blinding light to see the Deep Eye floating in the sky pierced by a beam of light. Looking down, there stood a massive Giggas holding an even larger cannon.
"Warlord, Seat of War..."
Even in the famously affluent 34th Earth, there were only three Star-grade Giggas. Piloted by the renowned Lion Queen Kim Sohyang.
She wasn't a Transcendent herself, but as the 34th Earth's sole Gigant Master, she received treatment on par with one. What did it matter if she wasn't? Boarding a Giggas let her wield Transcendent-level power.
She was a hero who had felled countless Transcendents.
Boom boom!
Hundreds of Giggas following her unleashed hell on the Deep Eye. It blinked to regenerate its body and tried fleeing through dimensions, but dozens of layers of mana barriers erupting from all sides hindered it.
And again.
Flash!
The soaring beam tore the Deep Eye to shreds.
"Ah, the killing blow..."
Pathetic as it sounded, the lament slipped out. It couldn't be helped.
Because of the items in my inventory.
'Legendary items... eight of them!'
Not all were useful. The game's system differed, and items from [The Darkest Despair] generally had bizarre effects.
But a few had effects so unbelievable I doubted my eyes.
[Mask of the Forerunner (Relic)]
Activates at the moment of death. Increases Stress +50%, changes status from Dead -> Near-Death.
Applies in inventory.
Item destroys itself after activation.
A simple effect, but insanely powerful. It literally prevented death. No restrictions on the effect whatsoever, and it worked even in inventory? Overpowered didn't begin to cover it.
Especially since three dropped.
[Death Note of Grudge (Relic)]
When damaged by an enemy, you can enter their name in the Death Note. Reveals their location on the map; ranged attacks against them never miss.
"Never misses... Does this even apply?"
After glancing at items boasting supreme utility over raw stats like attack or defense, I checked my condition.
Two Sub-Lights had burned through my body weight and left me dizzy... but I'd just log in and recover.
'Alright. Time to hunt other Transcendents.'
But that was when I thought that.
[Level 22 Spirit Disaster has ended. Repeating: Level 22 Spirit Disaster has ended. All citizens...]
[Spirit Disaster has ended. All 11 Level 22 monsters have been eliminated. All citizens...]
"...What?"
I groaned in disbelief at the announcements blaring everywhere. Checked the time. Only three minutes had passed since those Transcendent monsters appeared.
"No way?"
Three minutes.
That was all the time it took to wipe out eleven Transcendent monsters.