The Party Participants
Druk – drururuk – Park Seona’s leopard beastmen dragged several cannons they had stripped from the pirate ships. We had changed the plan to use a bit of explosives. Since the clams had locked the gates tight and showed no intention of coming out, we would force them out instead.
“Hmm… Fire three shots at intervals.”
Park Seona tilted her head. “Wouldn’t that be a little insufficient? You can use more. Thanks to you, Nanggun-nim, we restocked plenty of gunpowder.”
“It’s fine.”
There was no problem. My original plan had never been to bring down the fortress with gunpowder. To the clams, cannons were an unknown weapon. I intended to use their fear to draw them out. If aliens suddenly appeared and fired lasers no one had ever seen before, what would people think? At first they would trust in humanity’s strength. But once the air defenses collapsed and the citizens beside them started dying, their thoughts would inevitably change. If we stay here, we die. Once that idea took root, they would move, and that opening would be my way in.
‘I should conserve gunpowder as much as possible.’
“Fire.”
Chiiik – At my command, the fuses lit and a series of booms followed. Over a dozen shells hammered the enemy fortress.
Kwakwakwakwang – The walls crumbled, and we could see the clams inside panicking. Of course, a few cracked shells would hardly threaten the Clam King. But he was not the only one in there.
“One more time.”
Kwakwakwakwang – Soldiers inside the walls were blown apart. Without the barrier, casualties began to mount. A few clams, sensing mortal danger, burst out of the fortress in terror.
“Good, one more… huh?”
Just as we prepared the third volley, the ground began to tremble. The Clam King’s temper was shorter than I had expected.
Kurung – kururung – The firmly shut gates opened and soldiers poured out in a swarm. It felt like an all-out offensive. Park Seona clapped her hands in delight at the sight.
“It worked! He switched to attacking!”
“No, he didn’t.”
The numbers looked large, but the high-ranking clams were nowhere to be seen. I knew this kind of strategy well. Cutting off the tail. They were throwing the soldiers out as bait while the Clam King and the nobles planned to flee into the sea. I moved at once.
“Park Seona, you handle them. I’m going in.”
[Swallow’s Wing] excelled at gliding but had weak upward thrust. That was where the witch came in. If we started gliding from a high enough altitude, the wings’ shortcomings disappeared. Once I mounted the witch, she immediately cast an enhanced levitation spell and soared upward. Her movements were at least twice as fast as before. In an instant we reached a hundred meters in the sky. I spread my wings and shouted.
“You go down and support the leopards.”
“Yes… Master…”
Whoong – I flew over the battlefield where leopards and clams clashed and headed straight for the clam fortress. When I arrived, the truth became clear. The Clam King was rearranging the walls into something resembling legs.
‘Whoa… He really chose to run after just two shots?’
I could not decide whether to call it quick judgment or rashness. Either way, in this case it was definitely rash.
“Works for me.”
I landed inside the fortress. The moment my feet touched down, the surrounding tiles and walls flew toward me.
Kwang – kung – Behind them I could clearly see clam flesh. The fortress itself had recognized my presence and was attacking. I dodged the assaults lightly and grinned.
“Don’t bother struggling. The moment I got in, it was already over.”
I was a Zombie Summoner. The clam fortress had not allowed the intrusion of just one person. An army began to materialize at my feet. Nareun-i, Bangsil-i, Boots, and the rest. Every force except the minimum left behind to support Park Seona had crossed the walls with me.
“Everyone, smash everything!”
The rampage began. While the heavy hitters destroyed everything in sight, I sprinted deeper inside.
‘Now, where are you?’
In the end, the Clam King was still a living creature. Somewhere in this structure there had to be vital organs—intestines, a heart, and the like. If I found them, the game was over. If he separated from the fortress and escaped before that, I would lose.
Baengnae came running alongside me as I dashed down the corridor. She sniffed the air and said,
“Hi-hi. Smells.”
“Smells?”
“Madda!”
The small zombie weaved through the overturned floor and walls with quick, sharp movements, as if she had found something. I followed her. At every fork she chose a path without hesitation. We climbed or descended stairs, and even when a path seemed to end she somehow found another route. Finally she raised both arms in triumph before a massive door.
“Found it! Nyam-nyam!”
I kicked the door, broke the lock, and tore it open.
Kwang! Ududuk –
“Oho… As expected.”
Beyond the door lay a room filled with what looked like living organs. Massive lumps of flesh. Heart, stomach—everything that should be there was present. They swelled and shrank as if breathing, proving they were alive. Without hesitation I shouted,
“Baengnae, eat everything!”
“Hi-hi. Nyam-nyam time!”
Blood gushed from Baengnae’s hands and soaked the floor. Twenty Blue Inside zombies formed and charged forward.
“Waaah, nyam-nyam!”
“Waaah, nyam-nyam!”
“Waaah, nyam-nyam!”
Kwajak – kwajak – kwajak – kwajak – The Clam King pounded the walls outside as if screaming, but he could not attack the space we occupied. It was simple. Just as it was difficult for us to pull impurities out of our own bodies with our hands, the Clam King’s muscles could not reach this room. Because of the structural limitations of a living creature, he could not save his own organs from being devoured.
Kwang – kwang – kwang –
‘Whew, it’s getting chaotic out there.’
We had found his weakness, but the Clam King was still a deep-sea monster of considerable renown. If we left him alone, the zombies would suffer heavy losses. So I joined in destroying the organs myself.
‘It would have been easier if he had a brain.’
Clams had no brains. Not as an insult—clams truly lacked a central nervous system. In the end, the only way to stop him was to turn his insides into a complete mess so he could no longer function biologically.
Puk – puk – I punched the soft-looking organs. Eventually the tissue tore and something inside burst, splattering all over me. A green, filthy liquid.
‘Uweh… Huh? This… tastes good?’
How to describe it? It was simply delicious. It was so savory that I briefly thought how wonderful it would be if I could mix it with rice. Munch munch, gulp.
“Wait, what? It really is delicious.”
“Mashida! Mashida!”
There was a saying that seafood tasted better the bigger it was—an old wisdom passed down through generations.
‘As expected… the adults were never wrong!’
A clam party was scheduled for tonight. If I bought a Korean set meal from the Shop and ate it with this, it would be perfect. The Clam King was clearly a true delicacy.
***
Mingming drifted across the sea. In truth, she had no proper way to find Baek Suhan. There was one method, but using it made her feel awkward. Currently, Success Myth had incorporated the women into Baek Suhan’s stage by using the community. In other words, they were treated as members of a single party chat room. So if she simply asked where everyone was, she could roughly determine the direction.
‘I’ve been ignoring them until now, so how do I suddenly ask…’
Moreover, as an excellent engineer, Mingming had never met many people. She was not the type to speak first in a group chat that no one else was using.
‘Uwaaeng… Which way should I go?’
While drifting aimlessly across the sea, Mingming discovered something strange. A city made of gold.
‘Huh? El Dorado?’
She had visited El Dorado in the past and received the “Blessing of Gold” to taste the food. But she had quickly lost interest. There was no reason to waste time around it just to improve the effects of food. Then Mingming suddenly had a flash of inspiration and clapped her hands.
‘Perfect! I’ll take that as a gift!’
Honestly, the Phantom Elixir felt a little lacking as a first-impression gift. The user she was about to meet was, although still in Stage 5, an ultra-elite rookie officially recognized by a major corporation. Naturally, receiving a second Phantom Elixir would not be particularly exciting for him.
When Mingming’s golem approached El Dorado, two thirty-meter-tall fishmen rose from the sea. Enormous bodies. Each held a trident suited to their massive size.
Chwaaa –
“Whoa… They’re huge fishmen.”
Mingming, who had already detected them on radar, immediately pressed the red button and launched missiles. Her specially crafted bombs, the essence of magical engineering, soared through the air.
Kwakwakwang – kwakwakwang – The deep-sea fishmen struck by the missiles collapsed powerlessly and sank into the sea. No matter how large the body, losing half the head meant instant death for everyone.
[Y-you bastard! What the hell are you?!]
While the “Lord of Gold” was flustered, so was Mingming.
‘Eh? Who are you?’
When the “Lord of Gold” raged, countless fishmen swarmed toward El Dorado. Mingming’s radar detected at least ten more deep-sea monsters like the previous ones. And the number kept growing.
‘Eek…! Missiles are expensive. This is a bit…’
She would fight if necessary, but suffering such heavy losses just for a gift did not make sense. Then Mingming’s thoughts reached a breakthrough. El Dorado was the City of Gold. Therefore, the one who had just shouted from the city was clearly the being called the Lord of Gold. The messages had mentioned that the “Lord of Gold” was chasing thieves.
‘Ah! Those guys are heading for our honey!’
Once her thoughts reached that point, Mingming immediately ordered an increase in altitude. Her laboratory shot upward into the sky.
Shuuung –
The aircraft that had suddenly appeared and instantly killed two deep-sea monsters abruptly fled. It showed no hostility. Yet it also offered no conversation. The “Lord of Gold” was thrown into great confusion about how to interpret the situation.
[What the hell is that thing…? What exactly has been happening in this ocean while I was asleep…!]
The “Lord of Gold” was in a foul mood but decided to ignore it for now. What mattered was recovering the Fruits of Good and Evil. If the other kings stole them, he would not be able to rest even in death.
El Dorado began moving again, and Mingming quietly followed. From between the clouds, she smiled.
‘Nice! Found a free navigator.’