Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Devoured by the Depths
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42
Having never seen the problematic submarine in my previous life, I had no idea if that was the one.
In that case, the only option was to drive out every submarine in the accident area. It might draw in even more warships or submarines, but at least they wouldn’t be able to conduct secret experiments.
I approached the submarine slowly.
To its detection systems, I would appear as a fish.
I clung to the underside of the submarine. Then, I tapped lightly on it with my fist, not too hard.
Thud. Thud.
I deliberately tapped in a regular pattern at first, then irregularly. Soon after, I heard bustling noises from inside.
The submarine emitted intense high-frequency sonar pulses that made my ears ring as it strengthened its search. But even so, it failed to detect me.
Unable to pinpoint the cause, the submarine began to slowly surface.
I swam in the same direction as its propulsion propellers to avoid getting caught, then slipped to the side.
I hoped this would scare them off and keep them from coming back.
* * *
I returned to the resort, but the sun hadn’t risen yet. I showered first and waited for Nayoung to wake up.
“Hyung, why are you up so early?”
Sanghun came out first. His face looked haggard, probably from not having slept off last night’s alcohol.
“I don’t sleep much. I ordered coffee, so wash up and come out.”
Sanghun reeked of booze even as he drank water. It wasn’t great having senses sensitive enough to pick up on this.
Perhaps woken by our conversation, Jaein emerged from her room looking just as rough as Sanghun.
Sanghun and Jaein drank some water and headed off to shower.
A little later, as the two finished showering and were drinking their coffee, Nayoung came out of her room. Unlike the zombie-like pair earlier, she was fully made up and looked refreshed.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes.”
Her face flushed red with embarrassment as she bowed her head.
“Let’s go eat.”
I stood up and took Nayoung’s hand, leading her along.
“Huh? You two? What’s this? While we were asleep, what the... Urk.”
“Let’s go quietly.”
I pressed lightly on Sanghun’s neck as he came over making a fuss.
The breakfast buffet was filled with fresh seafood and gourmet dishes.
“If Jiseok weren’t here, all this would’ve gone to waste.”
Nayoung’s mother watched me eat in admiration. She kept saying it was amazing no matter how many times she saw it.
There were only six of us, but the food could’ve fed dozens. Still, I polished it all off, so nothing went to waste.
During the day, we ate delicious food and played in the ocean. At night, I went out to sea to scout while enjoying the vacation. With my relationship with Nayoung growing closer, the vacation was even more enjoyable.
Nayoung’s and my mothers, having noticed our budding romance, were the happiest of all, watching us fondly. To let them relax comfortably, I bought them packages full of massages and nail care. They were thrilled like schoolgirls after getting manicures and pedicures for the first time in ages.
Days passed, and fortunately, no submarines appeared in the accident area after that day.
I had checked up to the vicinity of the accident zone, but the ocean was so vast that I couldn’t cover the entire East Sea coast.
I was starting to relax when the incident exploded on the last day of the vacation.
I headed out for a final casual scout with a light heart, only to sense a Japanese fleet gathered on the sea near the accident area.
Feeling an ominous premonition, I scanned the seafloor beneath the fleet.
Sure enough, at a depth of about 2,000 meters, a submarine lay sunk. A vessel normally operating at a few hundred meters couldn’t withstand the pressure at 2,000 meters—it was crushed and burst apart.
But seeing bubbles rising from the stern of the wrecked submarine made it clear the mana stone engine, the culprit behind the disaster, was still alive.
Chased away a few days ago, they must have stubbornly returned for experiments and sunk just like in my previous life. The sinking point seemed slightly different from before, but that didn’t guarantee no earthquake if it exploded here.
In this case, the only choice was to shut down the engine. Being a mana stone engine, I could absorb it.
I looked up, but the Japanese warships above could do nothing but float idly due to the submarine’s depth. Perfect—no interference.
The water grew hotter the closer I got to the submarine.
At the stern, seawater boiled furiously, spewing bubbles.
At 2,000 meters, the ocean pressure was 200 times that of the surface. For water to boil under such pressure required even higher temperatures. Given how madly it was boiling, the engine was undoubtedly runaway past hundreds of degrees—into the thousands.
The engine hadn’t exploded yet, perhaps because the frigid deep-sea water was cooling it.
Around it floated debris from the submarine and bodies. Most were East Asian, but there were quite a few foreigners. Clearly a joint project between Japan and other countries.
I entered the submarine. The heat blasting from the engine scorched my skin repeatedly, burning and regenerating.
After clearing away obstructive metal plates and bodies, I finally reached the engine. It was already in tatters. Most mechanical parts had fallen off, and intense light poured out in all directions.
There were plenty of complex-looking devices, but the engine core itself wasn’t large. Probably an experimental model, so they hadn’t gone big from the start.
Yet this tiny core had caused a massive explosion and earthquake.
As I approached within arm’s reach, my body went beyond burning to igniting repeatedly, regenerating. I covered my face with my arm to protect my eyes.
After my regeneration reached B-Rank, my life force absorption per second had multiplied several times. Plus, I could absorb from a distance, but efficiency dropped, so I reached out directly for the core.
My hand, charring faster than it regenerated until bones showed, grasped the core. Then I began absorbing.
Destruction and regeneration of my hand happened in rapid cycles.
Even with Resilient Mind, the pain threatened to make me black out. It was agony unlike anything from my previous or current life. No one on Earth had likely endured this—exposure alone would kill instantly.
My mind went blank from the extreme pain, unable to think. I just gripped the core and endured.
[Stamina has increased by 1.]
[Resilient Mind level has risen from B to A.]
[Sturdy Body Skill level has risen from B to A.]
[Stamina has increased by 1.]
[Stamina has increased by 1.]
Unprecedented bodily damage and pain caused skill levels and stats to rise steadily.
For a while, the core’s runaway energy battled evenly with my regeneration, but soon the scales tipped my way. Deprived of energy, the mana stone engine’s glow weakened, temperature dropped, and thanks to the absorbed life force and skill-ups, my hand fully regenerated.
I lost track of time. The extreme pain made it feel like hours had passed.
The pain had subsided considerably now.
But the mana stone engine core still radiated heat as I endlessly absorbed life force.
I had already reached my life force storage limit.
Excess life force made veins bulge across my body, my form swelling like a balloon about to burst, but I held on. Giving up now might reactivate the engine and cause an explosion.
To consume the overflowing life force, my body evolved once more. Heat radiated from my entire body, burning off the influx.
The heat vented from my back. Not quite boiling, but hot enough—hundreds of degrees—to create currents in the seawater.
A few more minutes passed, and finally, I absorbed all the mana stone’s life force. The core’s light and heat vanished completely, leaving only a cold lump of metal.
Mana stones held either abundant life force or mana; fortunately, this core was the former. If it had been the latter, I’d have absorbed what I could and chucked the rest away, but no need now.
Curious about how it was made, I pocketed it for now.
I hadn’t prevented the sinking as planned, but I stopped the explosion. Time to head back.
I’d been down too long. I surfaced for air.
As I ascended quickly, I detected a school of fish heading my way.
I thought nothing of it at first, but then it hit me—this depth, swimming this fast? What fish moves like that?
To confirm, I turned my head toward the dark ocean, flicked my fingers repeatedly to send out sound waves.
My senses were spot on. Dozens of fish—no, monsters—were approaching me. Faster than the submarine.
Definitely not ordinary fish.
At this rate, they’d collide before I reached the surface. I halted my ascent, stared into the dark depths, and prepared for battle.
Then, within sight appeared a fish larger than me—no, a monster. It looked like a shark mixed with a manta ray.
Its large yet sleek body moved nimbly as it closed in rapidly.
I’d thought myself the fastest swimmer in the sea, but I never imagined such a monster existed.
Escape was impossible anyway. I stuffed the reactor core into my suit’s pocket and swung my fist at the head of the charging beast.
The impact pushed us apart. As a deep-sea dweller, its body was tough; it didn’t seem greatly hurt. And without footing, I couldn’t put full power into my strike.
Meanwhile, the other monsters bared their jaws and lunged.
This time, I infused aura into my fist and struck its nose.
Boom!
Even underwater, a loud bang echoed, shockwaves rippling out. The hit monster’s head exploded.
One down, but the rest grew even more ferocious, charging at me.
As they passed, they slashed with wing-like fins or bit with shark-like teeth. Of course, neither cut nor bit held. They were tough, but I was far tougher.
Their numbers were just a huge hassle, though.
Normally, I’d take them out slowly, but I needed air now.
Pondering my options, I poured aura into both fists. Thanks to the over-limit absorption from the mana engine, life force overflowed.
When they drew close, I slammed my fists together with all my might.
The resulting shockwave dwarfed the previous one.
It even jerked my own head back. Something I’d never tried before—its destructive power was beyond expectation. My eardrums ruptured from the shock but regenerated quickly.
The massive blast flipped the monsters belly-up, halting their movements. Unconscious or dead, I didn’t care—breathing came first.
I resumed surfacing when another monster was detected.
One that hadn’t fainted? Focusing my senses, I realized it was different—much larger. The previous ones were my size; this one was at least 20 meters long, ten times bigger, with a bulkier body.
The parent of the ones I downed? Or did they all grow this huge?
No time for questions. I stopped ascending and turned toward its approach. I channeled aura into my fist to smash its head as it neared, but its emerging form was insanely massive. Its gaping maw was two or three times my height, lined with fangs thicker and longer than my arm.
I’d used too much life force on that shockwave. The power I’d gathered wouldn’t one-shot this behemoth. I dispersed the aura and swam back rapidly.
But it pursued with speed unfit for its bulk. I entered its gaping mouth, and its jaws clamped shut like a guillotine, swallowing me whole.