Automata (3)
Automata (3)
The Guild Staff was firm. He absolutely blocked Han-young from entering the dungeon. At that frustratingly resolute attitude, Han-young finally exploded in anger.
"Fuck no! Get lost!"
Han-young wasn't the type to just turn back because someone was blocking his path. If anything, he was the one who blocked others.
Who dares block his way? He'd always repaid them with his fists. Even back on Earth with no notable background or abilities, and now in this otherworld where he'd gotten his hands on the cheat ability Super Strength, it was even more so—no less, that's for sure.
"Not getting out? What, am I on some blacklist or some shit...... Fuck, move! I'm Level 2! A high-rank adventurer!"
Naturally, he forced his way through the Guild Staff blocking him with sheer power.
Among adventurers of the same level, he never lost in terms of strength, so no one could stop him.
The Guild Staff glanced at the guards he'd called for backup in preparation for such a situation, but the guards just quietly shook their heads.
They were people too, and they had no desire to risk their lives over something pointless. A mere Level 2—if they wanted to kill him, they could, but what did the guild gain from killing an adventurer who just wanted to enter the dungeon?
"You fucking rice-brained bastards, don't get cocky."
Han-young sneered at the staff who'd tried to block him and headed into the dungeon. Then he took the Elevator straight to the 11th Floor.
On the 11th Floor, finally out of anyone else's sight, Han-young vented his irritation by glaring at the Slave.
"Aaaargh! Fuck! This pisses me off! Hey! Hand it over, quick!"
"H-Here......."
Taking his weapon from the Slave, Han-young effortlessly lifted the hammer weighing dozens of kilos with one hand and started swinging it wildly at the dungeon walls.
Kwaang! Kwaaang! Every time he smashed the dungeon walls, the interior shook violently like there was an earthquake.
Frightened by the flying debris, the Slave huddled up to dodge the shrapnel—and about ten minutes later, once Han-young had finally calmed down, he panted heavily to catch his breath.
"Uwaaaah! Seriously, wait till I get out there. You fucking bastard."
He knew he'd lose in a straight fight, but he couldn't hold back from saying it anyway. Han-young lifted his hammer, kicked the still-trembling Slave to her feet, and began the hunt.
"......What?"
"We're sorry, but Han-young-nim's accounts are all frozen...... And we can't buy those Magic Stones either."
After finishing his hunt and bringing the Magic Stones to the guild, Han-young heard thunderbolt-like news from the Guild Staff.
All his accounts seized, and even the Magic Stones from today's hunt confiscated.
"What kinda bullshit is that—!"
"Han-young-nim's adventurer qualifications have been suspended, so hunting is illegal too......."
"Fuuuuck—! So what the hell does that mean!"
The Guild Staff looked troubled, as if he didn't know the details either, and gazed at Han-young.
Seeing that expression, Han-young took a deep breath and loomed over the staff as he asked.
"Who— who ordered that?"
"It's the Guild Master's command......."
"......Then, what do I gotta do to get my qualifications back?"
"W-Well, we don't really......."
It was Dojin. Han-young realized this was all Dojin's doing.
But how? He was just a fellow lowlife adventurer like him.
How could some no-name adventurer move the guild? How the hell was that possible?
'Fuck— what the hell happened.......'
Pissed as hell, Han-young still needed money to eat and spend today. So he glared at the Guild Staff and said.
"—Whatever, then just give me the Magic Stones I hunted today."
"A-As we said, Magic Stones from illegal hunting are all confiscated......."
"You fucking bastard!"
Crack, in his excitement, Han-young immediately grabbed the Guild Staff by the collar. With his Super Strength, the staff couldn't resist at all and was dragged right up.
Dangling in the air by his collar, the Guild Staff flailed desperately for help.
"S-Save me!"
"Shut up and give me my Magic Stones— no, my money."
"W-Well, that's......."
"Hey, that's far enough."
Clack, sensing sharp killing intent directed at him, Han-young whipped his head around to look. A dozen or so high-rank adventurers who'd been on the second floor for settlements were glaring at him.
Eyes looking at him like he was a bug. Fuck— ridiculous. Who the hell were these extras looking at like that?
With rage boiling over, Han-young hurled the staff toward the back and approached them.
"What're you gonna do if I don't stop?"
"This."
The adventurer said that and drew his weapon. Ha, so now they're openly picking a fight.
'Pathetic shits.'
His Super Strength was the ultimate ability. At least among those at his level.
Super Strength that easily surpassed human limits, enough to go toe-to-toe with large monsters!
Believing in his Super Strength, Han-young charged at the adventurers.
"Idiot."
But that was underestimating the adventurers way too much. Adventurers were masters of the hunt who'd taken down monsters stronger than themselves using mere human bodies and lacking physical prowess.
Han-young, who relied only on his strength and rampaged, was no different from a monster—and hunting monsters was their specialty.
"Guh—!?"
A quarrel lodged into Han-young's shoulder as he charged. Unlike merciful Korea even to criminals, mercy was hard to find in this otherworld where most injuries could be healed without issue.
The moment Han-young recoiled from the pain of the arrow in his shoulder, one adventurer threw iron chains to bind him.
"With this kinda—!"
Thwack!
And the instant his arms were bound, an object thrown by an adventurer hit him square in the forehead.
Han-young had always fought by unilaterally attacking and ending it in one blow.
He had no mental fortitude to endure a direct hit to the forehead.
"Kuaaaak!!"
Screaming in pain, the other adventurers took the opening to wrap him in iron chains.
The iron net enveloped him, and they slowly herded him like a beast on the hunt.
"You bastard fuckers—!"
But whenever Han-young tried to exert his strength— an adventurer who'd been watching would dash in quick and smash his head.
Kaaang!
As Han-young's brain rattled wildly and pain overwhelmed him, the adventurers swiftly closed in and subdued him.
"Get out—! Get off me, you fu— mmph!"
Mouth gagged, limbs twisted, fully subdued. No matter his Super Strength, Han-young had no way to resist.
"Don't do that next time. Got it?"
"......Fuck."
Freed from the Guard Force's jail, Han-young spat curses as he stretched his body.
Not some beast, but tied up all day in thick iron chains—his whole body was sore.
'Fucking dogs.......'
He'd overestimated his cheat ability too much. He should've remembered that high-rank adventurers were powerhouses who'd reached the same level without any cheats.
'Fuuuuck...... Gotta go to that psycho bastard?'
But Han-young had no intention of doing that. Even if they numbed it and restored it perfectly without issue—who'd willingly let someone chop off their arm?
People from this otherworld might accept the offer readily, but at least Han-young from Earth couldn't.
In the end— Han-young headed back to the dungeon to make money.
'The guards are lax at this hour.......'
Going alone was dangerous...... But with his qualifications revoked, weapon confiscated, Magic Stones seized— the floors he could reach weren't that high anyway.
Hunt around the 10th Floor, then sell the Magic Stones directly without going through the guild.
Han-young, who usually indulged in booze and pleasures, knew just the shop that handled such backroom deals.
It was practically smuggling, so the price would be lower than selling to the guild...... But better than getting nothing at all, right?
'Just get through today.......'
Thinking that, Han-young lined up to enter the dungeon, pulling his hood low like a Level 1 adventurer and cautiously entered.
He swiftly skipped past the crowded floors still packed with people, arrived at the 11th Floor, clenched his fist, and began hunting Orcs.
'That's more like it—!'
His pride, chipped away from being looked down on by Dojin, the Guild Staff, and then subdued by other adventurers, started recovering at a frightening speed.
Just as he was getting all high and mighty from his restored pride, a thumping sound came from far away.
"......What."
Turning toward the sound, Han-young remembered this was the dungeon.
A special place where not even light traveled far, let alone sound. Hearing a sound wasn't normal.
Kung kung kung kung!
A giant several meters tall reached out toward him.
Startled, Han-young reflexively swung his fist, but for some reason, it was easily blocked.
"Kuaaaak! Fuck—!"
The monster that suddenly appeared grabbed Han-young with one hand, looked down at him, and shouted.
─Pay—! Pay your debts—!
"What bullshit— aaaak!"
Han-young's face ground against the dungeon wall, and as the monster vanished after those words, he collapsed to the floor.
His legs gave out; he couldn't stand. It took several minutes before he could barely get up.
"......Fuck."
Pay your debts. That monster was probably one Dojin had created too.
Only then did he realize Dojin was the Dungeon Ruler.
The master of the dungeon, able to twist even its structure and basic laws.
In the end, he couldn't escape from him.
Dojin handed the magically processed arm to Noah.
Receiving the arm, Noah tilted her head like what the hell is this.
"What's this?"
"An arm."
"Well, I can see that......."
There was no reason to suddenly hand her an arm, a human one at that. Noah took it with doubts.
Dojin easily resolved those doubts.
"Watch."
When Dojin infused mana into the arm Noah held, the muscles responded to the mana and began strengthening like mad.
Han-young's cheat ability, Super Strength, wasn't just simple muscle enhancement. That kind of use had limits.
Just growing muscles like that for such strength— they'd burst just from breathing.
The answer lay in mana.
"This is......."
"Yeah— I don't know the details either."
The arm, granted mana, began weaving that mana crudely into the muscles.
Seeing that, Noah's eyes sparkled.
"This is...... Artificial Muscle. Made with mana."
"Yeah."
"......Where'd you get this."
"Does it matter?"
"Fair enough. Thank you."
Holding the arm, Noah beamed a bright smile at Dojin in thanks. Seeing that smile, Dojin felt it was worth the effort to obtain the arm.