Chapter 717
Chapter 717
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 717
Chapter Title: Academy's Savior
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“If we take that thing down, we can get out of the dungeon, right? Not bad.”
Sung Ha-ri stomped her foot down hard. Krunch! She held her lower body steady on the shaking floor, assuming the pose for hurling her spear. A fierce blue current of electricity coursed through her body. Sung Ha-ri stared down the Machine King, quietly regulating her breathing.
The power Sung Ha-ri revealed left me and the other heroes overwhelmed in an instant. Just from the atmosphere alone, it was clear she existed on another level entirely.
A massive shockwave erupted as the lightning spear shot forward. It tore through the air purely on speed alone, reaching the Machine King's body in the blink of an eye.
Kaboooom!
Part of the Machine King's enormous body that had been lumbering toward us shattered, causing it to stagger. It didn't fall, but the section hit by the spear crumbled away. The impact was like firing a giant missile.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! That ajumma is insanely strong!”
Makina made a huge fuss. It was certainly a sight worth the hype. But one strike wasn't enough. The Machine King was just so massive that, damage-wise, it was only about 5% destroyed.
'On the flip side, that means 19 more of the same attacks would do it...'
Sung Ha-ri was acting fine, but up close, you could tell her breathing had grown ragged.
'Her stats are reduced due to the Spirit King's Binding (SS), and she's worn out from the fighting so far. She probably can't pull off five more attacks like that...'
I wasn't the only one who'd come to that conclusion. Rayburn approached Sung Ha-ri and said,
“Stop with the brute force attacks. If you end up out of commission, we're done for.”
“You say that like you have some clever plan. Spill it.”
Sung Ha-ri raised her hand. The spear she'd thrown rematerialized. It wasn't her skill—it was a function of the spear itself. The weapon was completely intact, without a single scratch.
“Makina already said it. The AI is the weak point. The Machine King is basically a giant moving building. Taking it head-on from the outside is stupid. It's way better to sneak inside, find the AI core, and smash it.”
“Makes sense. But how do we get inside that thing?”
“No sharp ideas there. We'll have to make do somehow. But I have pinpointed the AI core's location.”
Rayburn showed Sung Ha-ri his laptop screen. It displayed a cross-section diagram of the Machine King. He'd apparently been hammering away at the laptop earlier to generate blueprints.
“Whoa. Impressively precise. I thought it was the original design blueprint. You're not half bad.”
“If it's the Machine King's soul, I'd know the structure. No mistakes, right?”
“Yeah. The layout's about right. But I don't know the exact spot of the AI core either.”
“If the structure's accurate, predicting it isn't hard. It'll be in this room, or here, here, or here.”
Red dots appeared on the diagram. Sung Ha-ri stared at it intently and nodded.
“Got it memorized. Let's go. Oh, and Yu-jin, So-hee, Sara—you three head to the back. That's an order.”
She said it with a fierce intensity that brooked no argument.
“O-okay, sis. We'll do as you say.”
“Even if it costs my life, I'll protect Yu-jin-nim!”
“Yes, ma'am!”
Makina even snapped to attention in response.
Sung Ha-ri led the raid team charging toward the Machine King.
I monitored the situation through Moka's eyes as it flew overhead. Naturally, Sung Ha-ri was at the center of the raid team. Blessed by Flora, her physical abilities were enhanced, making it clear why S-ranks were called the ultimate weapons. She utterly dominated the other A-rank heroes.
The Machine King didn't sit idle either. It launched guided missiles or unleashed mechanical monsters to harass them. The guy named Ethan shot down missiles with mana arrows, while the rest of the raid team blocked the mechanical monsters. It was all a ploy to conserve Sung Ha-ri's strength as much as possible.
Suddenly, someone tugged at my hair. I turned my head to see Makina there. I narrowed my eyes.
“What are you doing? Why'd you materialize?”
Makina was linked to me. Materializing required my mana. Higher spirits could do it with their own power, but it was inefficient and costly, so they avoided it if possible.
“Huh? It just worked?”
“......Not tiring?”
“Feels a bit draining, but no problem!”
“......”
Materializing effortlessly on her own. That was a trait of a demon spirit.
'...Is it because she's using the demon spirit core?'
It was unexpected, but not a huge worry. Makina and I were bound by contract. She couldn't betray me due to the absolute obedience clause.
Makina must have read my expression, because she dematerialized, sidled up next to me, and whispered in my ear.
“What’s the plan? You just gonna sit back and watch? With your power, you could take down Deus easy. Hack it to self-destruct or delete the AI.”
“......”
Hacking was a cheat skill against machines. But it wasn't flawless. The cooldown was a whopping three hours, so only once per battle, requiring careful use. And there was a range limit. My current hacking level was 20, with a 4km range. Beyond that, it wouldn't work.
More importantly, the more complex and advanced the machine, the shorter the hacking duration. Even maintaining Makina had a 15-second limit. Given the Machine King's size, it'd likely be even shorter.
'Range is fine. It's heading this way, so the distance will close even if I stay put.'
The real issue was timing, and I lacked confidence in making it self-destruct in mere seconds. Better to find a surer method than hacking.
'Makina. Can't you possess objects?'
“...How'd you know?”
Makina's other ability was possession. She could possess objects and mechanize them. Possessing something like a computer let her control it. But only objects, nothing else.
'If you possess part of the Machine King, you could sabotage it from within.'
“It's a new ability, so I'm not fully sure. Possession's kinda like hacking, so I'd have to overpower Deus's AI... But its AI is top-tier, so that'd be tough. Plus, Deus is huge. Your mana couldn't handle it.”
I'd overlooked the mana issue. Makina was spot-on. She was my spirit, drawing power from my mana.
'No other way? Just watch until Sung Ha-ri beats the Machine King?'
Nothing was 100% in this world. The Machine King might have hidden abilities, Sung Ha-ri could slip up, or the raid team might hold her back. Staying put felt too risky with her welfare on the line.
'...That could work.'
I glanced at Han So-hee and Sara. They were too focused on the action to notice. I pulled an item from my inventory.
It was a sticker from a random gacha pull sometime ago. Different from the Absolute Hypnosis one.
'...The Machine King is a building. Can't treat it as one object or shrink the whole thing.'
But it was a machine. Machines were assemblies of precise parts.
'Makina. There's a crucial part in the Machine King's structure besides the AI.'
“Yeah, a few key components you can't do without. Like the central axle below. Without it, 30% of Deus's body goes offline.”
'What does that axle look like?'
“Like a massive gear wheel. That's its job—transmitting power.”
'Remove that, and we weaken the Machine King.'
“Impossible. It's too deep inside for external attacks, and if you're already inside, better to hunt for the AI core.”
'True... Wait, that lower section. The massive plate, right?'
At the Machine King's base, a steel plate with enormous legs attached. Not pieced together— one solid piece.
“To block dirt or creatures from underground. Sealed tight. But why?”
'If that plate vanishes, all the internal parts would spill out, yeah? Like the floor dropping away.'
“Sure, but that's one of the toughest parts of Deus's body. Normal attacks won't faze it. Maybe three spears at ajumma's earlier power could punch through?”
I summoned Moka. It appeared before me. I materialized Moka and stuck the 0.3 Scale Sticker on its talon.
I couldn't move without Sung Ha-ri spotting me, and I was too slow anyway. But Moka changed everything. Flying freely through the sky, it had more mobility than anyone here.
Makina stared at me and Moka in confusion. No intention of explaining step-by-step.
“Kwoook! Kook!”
Moka spread its wings and took to the sky, signaling leave it to me. Crackle-crackle. It burned through my mana without restraint, flying at full speed.
“Yu-jin! What did you just do?!”
Han So-hee gripped my arm tight to stop me fleeing and demanded.
“Told Moka to help. Makina said there's a good way.”
“Makina did?”
Han So-hee looked around. Unlike me or Sung Ha-ri, she couldn't see spirits in ethereal form.
'Mentioning Makina should gloss over the how.'
I shared vision with Moka.
First thing I saw was Sung Ha-ri. She'd conjured force field footholds in midair, pulling off insane maneuvers as she closed in on the Machine King. The raid team provided full support.
'Hasn't entered the Machine King yet. Perfect.'
Moka flew low as it neared the Machine King. Flying high would've made it a prime target. The Machine King fired missiles and bullets to harass Moka, but it dodged everything with aerial acrobatics.
'Moka. No need to go deep inside. Outer section... Yeah, slap the sticker there.'
The instant the sticker attached, the Machine King's base plate shrank to 0.3 scale. The fixtures holding it became meaningless. Even shrunken, the massive plate plummeted to the floor. A beat later, internal components rained down.
Key parts stayed securely fixed and intact, but it was like flaying the skin off a human to expose the muscle. The Machine King's legs stopped moving entirely. That neutralized over half its arsenal.
“My god! How the hell?!”
I ignored Makina's exclamation and resummoned Moka to me.
'About 3km distance. Perfect.'
The raid team, stunned by the sudden luck, pushed hard to capitalize. That's when it happened. The Machine King's upper section split open, revealing a colossal hand. It had thousands of tiny fingers, each armed with cannons, machine guns, blades, harpoons—every deadly weapon imaginable.
“Deus's hand! It's a trump card, and it's pulling it out already! Even Zeus is cornered!”
The raid team didn't panic. Makina had briefed them thoroughly on Deus. And finally, Sung Ha-ri breached the Machine King's interior.
The scene unfolding before her was overwhelming.
Sung Ha-ri swung her spear as she advanced. Using force fields as footholds, she danced through the air, slashing freely. Each swing boomed like thunder. Lightning trailed her spear's path. Wherever the flash of lightning struck, the Machine King's fingers shattered.
Thousands of weapons couldn't halt her advance one bit. Like an incarnation of destruction, Sung Ha-ri simply annihilated everything in her path.