Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Other Side World (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Was I being too dramatic?
I'd expected rock fragments to fly everywhere when the golem exploded.
But the leader beast was no different from the monsters outside the boss room—it turned to ash and vanished the instant the explosion hit.
There hadn't even been any need to put up a mana barrier.
Still, being cautious never hurts.
'That said, I felt it when the flashbang went off, but...'
Even with a blast this loud, my ears were just ringing a bit.
The golem's explosion had produced a roar that would've caused permanent hearing loss in any normal person.
Yet it stopped at a little ringing for me.
And it even recovered after just a short time.
Sure, my stats were at the bottom of the barrel, but a superhuman was still a superhuman.
"...Y-Yeah, t-top rank. A-Amazing."
"The world... that huge golem in one shot..."
Unlike Park Ga-ram, who was purely impressed, Im Da-hee stared at me with eyes like she'd spotted a monster—then hurriedly bowed her head when our gazes met.
'Ugh... that kind of reaction hurts my feelings too.'
I had blown up the rock golem in one go.
But that was only because it wasn't hostile yet, and I had Transfer and a ton of explosives.
'Of course... I get why Im Da-hee would react like that.'
The moment we entered the boss room, I'd circled around the rock golem, hopping up and down over its head.
To Park Ga-ram and Im Da-hee, I must've looked like a lunatic.
Then suddenly I distanced myself as far as possible from the golem.
I ordered Park Ga-ram to put up a mana barrier.
I made a huge fuss, then fired the grenade launcher with a thunk.
And just like that, a flash and massive shockwave later, the leader beast was gone.
To them, I must've looked like some incredible powerhouse, not just the top ranker.
Of course, in pure combat strength, I couldn't beat Park Ga-ram.
But I wasn't fighting with raw power anyway, and there was no need to advertise that.
Besides, I had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding Park Ga-ram and Im Da-hee had about me.
Anyway, with the leader beast taken care of...
Time to wrap up the training exercise.
"Let's check the rift."
"Y-Yeah."
"...Okay."
I led the two of them toward the rift the golem had been blocking.
Then my smart watch chimed with a ding.
The dormant rift began to activate.
Gurgle.
It started swirling like a fan, rippling like waves on water.
Whoosh!
"...Wh-what?"
"Wh-what's..."
In an instant, the rift's color shifted from blue to red.
Rumble rumble rumble─!
It began expanding rapidly.
And we, who were so close to it...
"H-heek!"
"Kyaaah!"
...were swallowed up without a chance to react.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"......"
Lee Seo-yeon sensed something was wrong the moment she entered the rift.
Her teammates were nowhere in sight.
The training objective—"Confirm the rift if the instructor enters"—was glitched out completely.
And demonic energy was emanating from the monster corpses scattered around.
With that, Lee Seo-yeon realized she wasn't in the mock Other Side anymore.
This was the real Other Side.
- Kieeek!
- Kiyaak!
- Kik, ki-kik.
Monster cries echoed from all directions.
They were drawing closer—probably drawn by the scent of blood.
Slash!
Lee Seo-yeon shook the blood off her blade onto the ground and swapped in a fresh magazine for her pistol.
Just as she prepared for the fight ahead...
Piiiuuuwung...
A flare shot up in the distance.
Lee Seo-yeon instantly knew who'd fired it.
"...Lee Yoo-jin."
Among the students who'd entered the rift, only he would have a flare.
"I need to get to him."
He'd fired the flare, so monsters would swarm him soon.
His skills seemed solid enough, but... she had to hurry.
He was looking for her—for all of them.
But first...
- Kieeek!
The monsters were closing in.
She'd sweep away these pests first.
Lee Seo-yeon's eyes turned ice cold.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The moment I was swallowed by the rift and the surroundings changed, I went on full alert, checking all four directions.
I called out for Park Ga-ram and Im Da-hee, but got no response—we must've been scattered.
After thirty seconds of vigilance and confirming it was safe, I eased off the tension and dropped my firing stance.
"Hoo..."
I let out a short sigh and looked up to check the sky's color.
"Of course it would be."
What I saw wasn't blue sky, but red.
The telltale hue of the Other Side.
Now, the question was: what kind of Other Side was this?
Sky was visible, so not a cave.
No grass or trees nearby, so not a forest either.
"...Good, no bugs or carnivorous plants."
The Other Side's monsters vary by theme.
Caves have shadow-types like the shadow monkeys I'd fought.
Forests: bugs and carnivorous plants.
Plains: chimera mixes of various animals.
You can tell the theme from the environment.
A closer look revealed we were inside a modern building—eroded and crumbling like it'd been abandoned for ages.
"...Ah, this type?"
I had a rough idea of the theme, but to confirm, I crept toward a nearby window.
I wiped the dust-caked glass with my hand and peered outside cautiously.
- Uuuaaaah...
- Kik, ki-kik...
- Kieeek...
Humanoid monsters shambled about outside.
Zombies and ghouls, they were called.
"Ah... modern theme for real..."
Modern theme.
Or, as it's also known... zombie apocalypse theme.
"Hmm... not that tough a place."
You might think a zombie apocalypse sounds deadly, but it's not for superhumans.
Regular folks? Yeah. But superhumans have strong resistance thanks to mana, so unless they straight-up die from a bite, they won't turn.
Zombie infection counts as a status ailment—healer's Cure or my antidote potion fixes it right up.
As long as you don't waste energy getting swarmed or face a superhuman ghoul, it's manageable.
It's not hard, but zombie hordes are annoying as hell, so wandering carelessly isn't smart.
"Hope Park Ga-ram and Im Da-hee are okay."
I worried about my scattered teammates.
Zombies and ghouls aren't strong individually and are weak to fire, but...
They're still demonic beasts with mana corruption.
Unless you're using mana-infused weapons, skills, or magic, piercing their corruption is tough.
Park Ga-ram, as the Gray Witch's disciple, was fine, but Im Da-hee worried me.
Her total mana was low, even if it recovered fast.
Zombies and ghouls never travel alone—they swarm in packs.
If Im Da-hee ran dry on mana and got surrounded... it could get ugly.
"...Can't risk it. Gotta find Im Da-hee."
Not just her—all the kids here.
Decision made, I opened my inventory and pulled out one item.
⚔ ITEM ⚔
【Modified Special Rifle (B)】
An automatic rifle used by one who hunted evils.
Engraved with magic to torment evils resistant to gunfire.
• Applies 'Impact (C)' on fire.
• Applies 'Knockback (C)' on fire.
Agility +4
⚡ SKILL: Impact (C) ⚡
Deals fixed damage to the struck 'enemy'.
⚡ SKILL: Knockback (C) ⚡
Pushes back the struck 'enemy'.
It was a rifle identical to the M416 assault rifle—a weapon I'd snagged from a B-rank item pick, just like the Holy Gun.
It was a lucky pull, but perfect for farming in this apocalypse theme—even with rubber bullets.
Why?
Because of its 'Impact (C)' effect.
'Deals fixed damage to the struck 'enemy'.'
Trash against mid-to-low superhumans with high regen, sure.
But zombies and ghouls have low HP and no regen—it's like smashing pots with a hammer.
Of course, with my Super Accuracy, I could pierce mana resistance on higher superhumans too...
Eh, why bother?
Waste of ammo on anything stronger than these weaklings.
Holy Gun, a fellow B-rank, has extra damage and holy damage.
As the description says, this Modified Special Rifle is just for toying with 'enemies'—not a top-tier weapon.
So why pick it with a precious B-rank ticket?
To win favor with the 9th Subjugation Unit later.
Not planned, mind you.
Stumbled on it while hunting Holy Gun. The effects screamed "9th Unit bait"—they hate the Fallen and love making them suffer. Gifting this? Instant goodwill. Used my last ticket on it.
And lucky me—the Other Side theme is apocalypse.
Chance to test it before gifting? No way I'd pass.
Smirking, I pulled a flare from my inventory.
Positioned at the door, I took a quick deep breath and kicked it open.
Bam!
The rickety door flew off its hinges.
Stepping out, I raised the flare hand high and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Trigger finger penalty drops accuracy by 70%, but it was just to signal the kids—no biggie.
Red sky or not, superhumans would spot it fine.
- Uuuaaaah?
All nearby zombies and ghouls turned toward me.
Duh—door exploding, flare firing? Noisy.
- ......
They froze like lagged NPCs, staring.
I didn't drop the flare—instead, pocketed it in inventory.
Shouldered the rifle.
Clack.
Chambered a round.
That instant...
- Kieeek─!!
- Kik, ki-kik!
- Kiyaak!
Zombies and ghouls screeched and charged.
I squeezed the trigger on the horde.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-bang─!!
And showered them with lead.