Super Regeneration and the Black Sticky Delight
html, body { margin:0; padding:0; } Sergeant: Baek Jaesung 29
Super Regeneration Ability
One of the trickiest abilities when facing monsters. And the poster child for it has to be the troll.
Trolls, which frequently appear in forest-type dungeons, are famous for their massive frames over 5 meters tall and their strength to casually lift several tons of rock. But what they're really known for is their transcendent regenerative power.
Regrowing severed limbs like a lizard's tail is just the basics. Some named trolls are said to recover even from having their heads chopped off. To completely take down one of those, you apparently have to burn them until not a single cell remains.
Monsters regenerate in all sorts of ways, and the drone golem's method was absorbing scrap golems as parts. With that approach, you couldn't wipe out all the scrap golems before dealing with the drone golem itself.
Beeeep—!
A repulsive noise like a goat's bleat amplified hundreds of times echoed from the drone golem. Unlike before, its entire body was now flashing red. An ominous vibe radiated from it—like a boss about to unleash its final pattern.
Vreeee—!
The drone golem shot up toward the ceiling. No way? Han Seungjin muttered, thrusting his hand toward it.
A massive dark arrow, condensed like pure malice, formed at his outstretched hand. It launched almost instantly toward the drone golem racing for the ceiling. But Han Seungjin was just a beat too slow.
BOOOOM!
The red-flashing drone golem exploded with a deafening roar. Red flames and black smoke filled the cavern. The shockwave of destruction shoved our bodies back, the eardrum-shattering noise left us deafened, and the momentary blast of intense heat scorched our skin.
"Urgh!"
Rina groaned, blown backward by the blast. I reached out and grabbed her leg.
Self-Destruct Attack
A tiresome tactic final bosses often pull when they lose to the protagonist. Seeing it in real life, though, made me realize it was no mere desperate flail—it was genuinely dangerous.
BOOOOM!
But the drone golem's true goal wasn't killing us with the explosion itself. It was burying us alive in this massive cavern.
The intense self-destruct shook the ceiling's earth loose, raining it down on us. Getting smothered under that insane volume of dirt and rock would make this our grave for real. No way in hell was I getting buried in some foreign hellhole.
'Time Acceleration.'
I maxed out my acceleration ability to push my reflexes to the limit. The falling dirt and stones spreading through the air like ink in water slowed to a crawl.
It was an artistic, beautiful sight. Too bad I had to wreck it.
"Holy Missiles."
I scraped every drop of mana boiling in my heart. To blow away dozens of tons of earth, I couldn't hold back. A massive surge fled my heart in an instant, stabbing my chest like a hole had been punched through it. Dizziness like my brain was being clawed nearly made me stumble.
To counter the downpour of earth from the ceiling—like divine retribution from the heavens—I unleashed a whopping 100 light orbs. I created 100 Holy Missiles all at once.
Without tracking functions, just straight-line flight, that's how I could make so many. Even so, 100 was my limit.
"Darkness Cannon!"
As I fired my Holy Missiles skyward, Han Seungjin aimed his Darkness Cannon too. Charge time under a second, but the dark sphere above his hand was soccer-ball sized. He'd pushed himself to his limit, just like me.
Light projectiles and the dark sphere shot toward the ceiling together. The clashing forces flew in unison, shoving aside the falling earth.
"Tch! Everyone, over here!"
The company commander shoved us into a cavern corner. At the same instant, the light orbs and dark sphere overlapped.
KABOOOOOM!!!!
The explosion dwarfed the drone golem's self-destruct, engulfing the cavern.
"Kyaaak!"
Rina clutched her ears in agony. The blast's power matched its roar. The massive cascade of earth from above was blasted backward, carving an enormous hole. Like drilling the ceiling with a several-meter-wide bit.
The violent noise shredded our sanity. Everyone clamped hands over ears, waiting it out.
It lasted just two breaths—short as hell—but felt like an eternity, like running a marathon. Pain always drags on.
This insane blast wasn't from my Holy Missiles or his Darkness Cannon alone. It was the unintended result of our powers colliding.
Light and darkness attributes clashing cause violent explosions, huh.
Learned something new. Useful info.
Han Seungjin stared at me in shock, hands over his ears. This outcome hadn't crossed his mind either. Did he not know light and darkness fusing triggers explosions?
Makes sense. Both Light Control and Darkness Control are rare abilities. Darkness Control especially carries heavy negative connotations, even if perceptions have improved lately.
Light and Darkness users teaming up? Hard to even imagine. Come to think of it, me and Han Seungjin? Super rare combo.
Combining light and darkness for massive blasts. Worth researching later. It didn't feel like just overlapping powers.
From my experience fighting dark monsters with Light Control, light usually devours darkness.
There had to be some mana-level factor bridging the attributes in this explosion. Figure that out, and I'd gain even greater power. Just this discovery made the dungeon raid profitable for me.
Our combined blast punched a huge hole in the ceiling. Through the gaping maw, the sky was visible. A massive tunnel straight to the surface.
Shhh...!
It was a temporary fix, blasting the falling earth away, but the unstable cavern showed signs of secondary collapse. Linger here, and we'd be buried alive for real.
"Move! Ditch your gear and climb to the ceiling hole—escape!"
We ditched our packs and scaled the cave walls barehanded, emerging through the hole onto the road surface.
The midnight road, devoid of streetlights, was shrouded in darkness, with a black curtain of stars and moon overhead.
"Don't drop your guard—head into a building where we can rest."
The full conquest of Urban Warfare accelerated after our 3rd Company discovered the underground presence. Just as Hwang Cheolmin predicted, Ben Aivies had a massive monster lair beneath it.
They'd been expanding the dungeon via hand-dug tunnels and sewers. But with their base exposed, they stood no chance.
Landing Battalion and peacekeeping forces immediately assaulted their secret lair. In just a week from raid start, we nearly eradicated all monsters.
With their numbers depleted, the open dungeon 'Urban Warfare' naturally vanished. Mana density normalized, and the rusty blight dotting the village faded.
But battle scars didn't vanish. Many homes were lost, streetlights, water pipes, gas lines destroyed.
The underground tunnels remained too. While expanding passages, monsters wrecked pipes and wires, ruining village infrastructure.
Word was it'd take 3-4 years to fully restore. Open dungeons in residential areas cause headaches like this.
Cleanup's for the locals. We returned to Port Elizabeth.
The battalion got a single day of combat rest after the mission. One day after all that? Feels like the army.
I was at the Port Elizabeth restaurant where I'd dined with Swanel before. Only familiar spot, so my feet led here naturally. Came alone, no tagalongs.
Diving into a random joint like opening a loot box could be fun, but after an exhausting op, I chose safe for my day off. Plus, someone to meet.
Ding-a-ling~!
The shop door's tiny bell chimed cutely. I glanced back reflexively to check if my meet-up had arrived.
"Did I arrive too late?"
Shara Swanel approached with a charming smile, sliding into the seat across from me. I hadn't ordered yet.
"Nah. I just got here too."
No lie. Like five minutes ago.
"You conquered Ben Aivies' dungeon spectacularly. A week? We figured it'd take at least a month."
"Bad luck, and it might've dragged over a year."
Without spotting their underground base, the raid would've eaten way more time and resources.
"Mission done—heading out of South Africa now?"
"Gotta. We're a globe-trotting unit. Oh, what're you eating?"
"I'm good. Grabbed a sandwich on the way."
Swanel smiled with her eyes. Awkward ordering food in front of a non-eater. Guess I'll just get coffee.
"Interview okay?"
Without waiting for an answer, she rummaged her crossbody bag for a tablet PC.
"Drink something first. Since you're not eating, neither am I."
"Hehe. Being considerate? Thanks."
I didn't call her for some interview today. She knew that too.
"There's a nice hotel nearby. Tourist spot and all."
"Mm... let's just do the interview now. Sip coffee and bounce when it arrives."
"Smart idea."
Swanel grinned slyly. I gave half-assed answers to her questions. Too curious about the taste of black pussy to focus.
Black pussy was... like chewy glutinous rice cake.