Chapter 115
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: The Sport of Perfect Equality
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That no one asks about equality.
Make them look up at the wingsuit.
The creator dies, the developers die, world record holders die, veterans die, newbies die—a sport of perfect equality that knows no discrimination whatsoever.
It had nearly gained one more line.
A newbie who died simultaneously with an unofficial Guinness registration.
*
Grayish smoke billowed faintly into the air.
The ground bore a deep furrow resembling a runway.
At the entrance to that wretched scar hung a parachute draped limply over tree branches, alongside a backpack with its straps torn and scattered haphazardly.
Further in, the sight was of shattered remnants—once called "statues." Piled together, they formed a heap of rubble.
Dust like fine particles swirled acridly in the air.
A mound of stones stacked high.
From its center protruded a single bloodied arm, jutting out awkwardly.
The hand dangled limply. The thumb on the left side marked it as a right arm.
But its condition was far from good.
Bloodied fingers—2nd, 4th, and 5th—were broken at the joints: index, ring, and pinky, all mangled.
The relatively intact middle finger stood rigidly upright, as if cursing the wretched world.
If the visible damage was this bad, the unseen parts inside were better left unsaid. Describing them would earn a 19+ rating and even be called gore without argument.
So, in a way, it was fortunate(?) they remained hidden.
How much time passed under this self-imposed censorship?
The dust, bustling to greet an intruder after decades, finally settled like millennia-old loess.
Do you see it, folks? This here is a grave.
It wouldn't be odd to introduce the rubble pile that way. Thin gray smoke began rising from its cracks.
Tsssss!
Like a rice cooker finishing its steam, the momentum was downright menacing. Heat that could scald on touch. Small stone fragments trembled rattlingly before cascading down in a shower.
At some point.
A fingertip twitched.
The gesture often used in media as a signal of revival.
And it was exactly that.
Another twitch.
This time, with a wider arc.
Consciousness returned from the fingertips.
Wrist and arm followed in sequence.
A palm groping the surrounding rubble slowly clenched into a fist.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Powerful punches demolished the stone tomb.
To an onlooker, it might seem like a zombie rising, prompting screams and flight.
Kaboom!
Finally, the grave collapsed in a rumble.
Accompanied by the gasp of breath welcoming the open world.
"Puhahhh!!"
But only for a moment.
"Whehk! Ptui! Snuuugh—kyaak! Ptui! Ptoooh! Gyaak!"
Chaos. Utter mayhem.
It was Jin, spitting out the mouthful of grit.
Some powder had invaded his airways too, so the coughing fit dragged on endlessly.
This went on for a while.
Finally, the true Korean man Jin—eyes and nose running—regained his breath.
"Fuuuuck."
With a hearty curse, he raised his head.
Ignoring his unusually moist eyes and glossy philtrum for now, his face was still puffing pale smoke like meat sizzling on a grill.
Reconstruction.
The Irregular ability that reliably switched on in crises.
"...I really thought I was done for."
Jin shuddered, staring at the furrow gouged ankle-deep.
Recalling the desperate moments before blacking out.
The parachute had deployed.
There had been that sudden jolt of deceleration.
Too late, though—that was the problem.
"Ugh, that. That thing."
Jin sighed deeply at the parachute tangled in distant branches, dangling like a corpse.
Presumably.
If he hadn't shielded his body with mana at the absolute brink—right as the chute opened and he slammed into the ground—instant death, no recovery possible.
Smashed like a squished tomato.
Ugh.
Jin mimed retching at the appetite-ruining image.
Not the reaction you'd expect from someone who'd slid over 20m, smashed statues, and been buried alive in rubble—but hey, he was alive, right?
Let's check.
Probing unseen areas like his nape and wing roots with fingertips, Jin winced at a sudden sharp pain.
What the hell.
Only then did he notice his broken fingers.
His body had been in such critical shape overall that it prioritized and skipped recovering some parts.
Biting his lower lip, Jin reset each joint one by one.
Pain be damned.
Aligning the angles sped up recovery.
Anyway. Where was this?
Surveying late, Jin's gray eyes took in surroundings thick with trees.
And that was highly unusual.
Trees growing at this altitude?
Jin tilted his head.
A reasonable doubt.
Indeed, the tree line limit existed where excessive dryness or cold prevented tree growth.
Equivalent to about 3,000m above sea level.
Considering Apophis cruised at 4,500m, this scenery was downright impossible.
...Hold on. Not that cold?
Surprised by the gentle breeze on his skin, Jin blinked.
It should be around -20°C, yet it felt perfect for a nap.
"This is nuts. Dwarven turf?"
Muttering to himself, Jin started along the forest path.
Tapping the mangled goggle side.
"Solo King here. Chandler. You hear me? Q? Elina? Colonel? Siri?"
No response, naturally.
Even cutting-edge gear was scrap with a crushed circuit board—like a human with a smashed skull. Basically a corpse.
Tsk.
Smacking his lips in regret, Jin removed the goggles.
Tossing them over his shoulder, he hurried on.
Soon, his steps faltered unsteadily.
Eh?
Intense vertigo hit; he clutched a nearby tree.
His legs had given out unnoticed, slumping to the ground.
Not surprising.
Reconstruction's energy drain was immense.
His body hadn't skipped those injuries lightly—it lacked surplus to fix everything.
But!
Jin wasn't the old Jin.
This scenario?
Fully anticipated.
33,000 EXP banked. Predicting a body-wrecking crash? Monkey business if he hadn't.
Thus, the monkey rummaged his pockets.
With trembling hands, he pulled out calorie capsules—purchased via Kalifa before departure.
A few seemed missing.
Whatever.
Jin dumped them all into his mouth.
"......"
No dramatic eye-flash, obviously.
Not a stimulant—just pure calories.
But a huge help to his depleted body.
Groaning, Jin hauled himself up and trudged on.
"Hellooo? Anyone there?"
Shouting sporadically as he walked.
At some point, his head tilted slowly.
There, far off.
A gray fortress spanning a mountain valley, carved seamlessly into the rugged terrain.
Even from afar, its natural impregnability shone.
But damn. Why so huge?
Doubt filled Jin's eyes.
Apophis was a massive flying body kilometers wide—he'd confirmed visually.
Yet inside, it felt vastly larger than from outside.
Jin's eyes narrowed gradually.
Not depth perception failure—the fortress was at least 3km away.
That alone exceeded external diameter observations.
The weather too.
The sudden vastness.
A chain of inexplicables.
Of course, Jin's take was straightforward.
Cool, huh?
And done.
These folks levitated whole landmasses—what couldn't they do? Weather? We eat grapes and watermelon in winter thanks to greenhouses. Hmm. Now craving watermelon. Split it open, scoop with a spoon, add Milkiss and ice when ripe. Ah, fruit cocktail. Can't skip that.
Energy depletion messing with him?
Shaking off the food thoughts flooding his mind, Jin refocused.
Ugh.
Get it together.
Damn good he brought those capsules.
Starving here would've sucked.
Thinking that, as he stepped onto the grassy path—
His superhuman ears caught a faint twang! vibration, then a whistling zweeep! slicing air, milliseconds apart.
"......!"
Reflexively whipping his head aside, the projectile grazed his right cheek and embedded in a nearby tree trunk.
Leaves rustled down.
An arrow?
Startled briefly by the quivering fletching.
Spotting a shadow darting through the woods, Jin drew Gravis from his waist.
Click, racking the slide—another whistle promptly followed.
Jin was microscopically faster again.
Twisting aside to dodge, he naturally aimed toward the source and squeezed the trigger.
The forward barrel spat fire.
Bang—!!
Ever-thunderous report.
The instantly accelerated slug burrowed through dense underbrush. A heavy rupture echoed after.
Instinct said: hit a tree.
"Tch."
Jin clicked his tongue, scanning around.
Disorienting classic archery aside, the foe was highly agile. Barely any presence. Smelled like assassin.
Jin grinned fiercely.
He'd tangled with one before.
Next, optical extreme spun, blue sparks crackling.
Not cloaking his body.
Spread wide like a net.
Blue Static Field.
Detection tech capturing biosignals in range.
Mana burn from overuse limited scope versus the hotel incident, but ample to find an arrow-slinging relic...
Not enough?
Where is it?
As Jin blinked—
Arrows rained as if queued.
Not one this time.
Twang! Twang! Twang! Rapid fire.
Dodged one, blocked another with Gravis's barrel—but the last scored a long graze along his cheek.
Blood trickled from torn flesh.
Jin kicked off the ground.
Toward the arrows' origin.
Closing distance fast—yep, there: a golden glint flashed nimbly between trees.
What the—android?
The golden assassin glanced back, arm extending. Twang! Arrowhead loomed in vision; Jin snatched it inches from his forehead.
Ideally, crush it with grip for flair... but solid steel. No point; he tossed it and planted his foot.
"Halt, you!"
As if it'd obey.
Arrows flew indifferently.
Jin wasn't taking it lying down.
Running steady, barrel fixed ahead.
NEW Gravis's sleek black body sparked crackle!
Invisible rifling inside the barrel swirled purple.
Next instant.
Boom──!!!
Roaring self-propelled round streaked a long afterimage through the air.
"......?"
Assassin twisted desperately, but secondary acceleration outpaced its agility.
Back pierced instantly.
Sparks erupted violently from the breach.
Kaboom!!
It tumbled rolling; Jin pursued belatedly. Recoil had flung him back mid-stride, but he recovered without falling, accelerating again.
Arriving at the corpse.
Jin's face turned peculiar upon inspection.
"What the hell is this?"
No human lay with a gaping back hole. A gleaming golden metal machine, innards whirring creak, creak— with intricate clockwork.
Not an android.
Unlike those skin-sheathed indistinguishables.
This merely mimicked human shape.
But why such long ears?
Tilting his head, Jin knelt to fiddle with the sharp-eared woman's face.
"Stoooop!!"
Snapping his head up at the rare live voice—
"You tall freak! Hands off my girlfriend!"
Brow furrowed at the nonsense.
What? Girlfriend?
Regardless, he raised Gravis toward the sound.
A few seconds passed.
"Hek! Hek!"
Panting heavily, a figure burst through the brush.
"My girl, friend, hek. Don't touch. Hek. You tall freak."
Jin's face went blank beholding the speaker.
He was a dwarf, hands on knees, gasping—with notably short legs.