Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Soaking one’s body in warm water to relieve fatigue.
In the ruined world, that was the ultimate luxury—something even the upper ranks of shelters rarely enjoyed.
Even if groundwater was dug up, most of it was contaminated with radiation.
The reason was simple.
Ten years ago, immediately after the Day of Descent.
When the national system collapsed, the power grid went down.
Nuclear power plants across the country shut down according to emergency procedures.
The technical term was SCRAM, if he remembered correctly.
But shutting them down wasn’t the end.
There was no external power left to cool the overheated nuclear fuel rods, and the emergency generators were all destroyed during mutant attacks.
In the end, the nuclear plants failed to cool down. They didn’t explode, but the cores melted internally—meltdowns.
The nuclear fuel that burned through the containment vessel floor had been contaminating the soil and groundwater for ten years.
With the land ruined, there was no way the sky would remain normal.
Radioactive vapor rose into the atmosphere, and rain was no longer ordinary.
Acid rain was common, and on unlucky days colored rain would fall.
Red rain.
Or black rain.
It wasn’t rain at all—it was poison falling from the sky.
Touch it and your skin burned.
Drink it and your organs dissolved instantly.
The memory of the Carrier days resurfaced.
After colored rain fell, we Carriers had to clean the rain collection tanks the next day—without protective suits.
We scrubbed them desperately with purification supplies, trembling in fear that some toxin might remain.
If the tanks weren’t cleaned properly, the entire shelter could be wiped out.
Even the rainwater collected afterward wasn’t truly safe.
Shelters had healer-type Awakened capable of purifying water, but their mana was limited.
Naturally, priority went to Awakened.
Awakened had strong bodily resistance and could drink roughly purified water without problems.
Non-Awakened were different.
Water purified just enough not to kill them.
That was what they drank.
Non-Awakened who survived on such water suffered constant headaches, chronic indigestion, and unexplained skin rashes.
Not bathing wasn’t laziness.
Washing with contaminated water stripped the skin.
Being dirty was safer.
“Right… there was that.”
[Everflowing Springwater]
A trophy obtained after eliminating the military mercenaries last time.
A strange leather canteen that filled itself with clear water whenever the lid was closed.
“If I use this…”
It wasn’t merely a canteen that produced water.
If its principle could be analyzed, perhaps it could be applied to large-scale facilities.
I reached to take the canteen.
Then my eyes landed on the massive hammer lying in the adjacent storage slot.
“Huh?”
The sledgehammer Hammer used.
When I had checked it before, the information only displayed [???], so it couldn’t be analyzed.
But after the workshop upgraded to Lv.2, my abilities must have improved.
Now detailed information appeared.
[Ground Breaker]
Rank: β-D
The mana amplification core embedded in the hammerhead converts the user’s mana, generating ultra-vibration at 20,000 cycles per second.
So it was D-rank.
Previously I could only analyze F- and E-rank artifacts, but with the workshop level increased I could now interpret higher-ranked items.
“Twenty thousand vibrations per second…”
This wasn’t a weapon.
It was a tool.
With that level of vibration, rock or concrete could be crushed like tofu.
But something puzzled me.
“Why didn’t Hammer ever use this function?”
During our fight he had simply swung it like a heavy iron club.
Not once had the vibration function activated.
The one who answered my question was Picker, hanging from the ceiling.
—Boss! I just analyzed the circuit pattern! This thing is absolutely ridiculous!
“What do you mean?”
Picker projected a holographic circuit diagram.
Complicated mana circuits intertwined across the display.
—Normally physical-enhancement Awakened circulate mana inside their bodies to strengthen muscles. But this weapon is designed so the core only activates when high-pressure energy is fired into it from outside!
“Ah…”
Now I understood.
Only mage-type Awakened—those who could emit lightning or fire externally—could unlock this weapon’s true potential.
“That’s a strange design.”
Think about it.
Would a mage-type Awakened really swing a heavy hammer at someone’s head?
Meanwhile physical-enhancement types couldn’t release mana externally, so they couldn’t use the feature.
A perfectly useless artifact.
Hammer had been carrying a valuable artifact around while using it like a normal club.
—Total trash item! But Boss, look at the Research tab!
Picker pointed toward the screen.
A newly unlocked menu, [Technology Laboratory], displayed a blinking [Technology Development] tab.
[Artifacts analyzable from Workshop Lv.2 onward can be used as special materials to develop new technologies.]
Artifacts could be used as special materials?
A smile spread across my face.
“Let’s go.”
I picked up the two artifacts and headed to the laboratory.
The screen displayed complex formulas along with [Technology Development] slots.
[Blueprint + Special Material + Power = New Blueprint]
The explanation was complicated, but the principle was simple.
First, I should solve the urgent water problem.
I placed the [Large-Capacity Water Tank] blueprint in the base slot.
Then I inserted [Everflowing Springwater] as the special material.
Perhaps because it was an artifact, the system requested two [F-Rank Cores] due to insufficient power.
I hesitated briefly.
But F-Rank Cores were now easily obtainable.
I could buy them on Union Market with UP or hunt named mutants using Porter.
Once I inserted two [F-Rank Cores], the system began simulation.
Soon two options appeared.
[Blueprint: Eternal Spring]
Rank: α-F
Permanently generates 2 liters of Grade-1 water per hour.
[Blueprint: Mana Purification Tank]
Rank: α-F
Purifies contaminated water in real time.
The moment Picker saw the options, he jumped excitedly.
—Boss! Obviously [Eternal Spring]! Free water! Endless drinking water for life! Two liters per hour is more than enough for you!
It was certainly appealing.
Clean water generated automatically.
If I were only concerned with myself, there would be nothing to debate.
But—
“No. We’re choosing [Mana Purification Tank].”
I firmly selected option B.
Picker’s lens blinked in shock.
—What?! Boss, why choose the hard path? Then we still have to find water!
“Picker. We’re not playing a survival game. We’re running a business.”
—B-business?
“In a contaminated world, clean water is power more valuable than bullets. Two liters per hour isn’t small, but the Mana Purification Tank has unlimited output.”
River water from the Han River.
Rainwater.
Even sewage.
As long as energy and raw water existed, the system could produce unlimited clean water.
That meant holding humanity’s lifeline.
“If we think long-term, unlimited production is necessary.”
Picker stared blankly for a moment.
Then his drone body spun enthusiastically.
—Amazing! Boss! So you’re planning to build a massive water empire and rule the world! This Picker failed to grasp your grand ambition! I pledge my loyalty!
“Rule the world? I just want to run a large business.”
Still, I had lived in the pre-collapse world.
Before dying, I wanted to experience that comfort again.
To recreate civilization, humanity had to prosper.
With the abilities I possessed, I would inevitably move in that direction.
I removed [Everflowing Springwater] from the slot.
Now it was time to examine [Ground Breaker].
For the base blueprint, I selected a construction-grade [Hydraulic Crusher].
Perhaps because the artifact rank was higher, the system requested one [E-Rank Core].
Well, I might as well check the result.
[Blueprint: Ultra-Vibration Oscillator Module]
Rank: β-D
Uses ultra-high-speed vibration to forcibly disrupt molecular bonds of objects in contact.
“Molecular bond disruption…”
It didn’t just break things.
It pulverized them.
Silently.
With this, digging underground unnoticed by mutants or Awakened would be easy.
And I needed to dig for groundwater anyway.
Later, when recruiting subordinates, it could become a powerful weapon.
“Good. We’ll develop both.”
The cores were worth spending.
But there was a problem.
The required time displayed at the bottom of the screen.
[Mana Purification Tank: 72 hours]
[Ultra-Vibration Oscillator Module: 120 hours]
“Three days and five days? That’s too long.”
For someone impatient, nothing was more painful than waiting for progress bars.
But I had a cheat code.
The greatest resource in this world—
[Cores].
“Time can be bought with money.”
Reducing time cost one [F-Rank Core] per day.
Without hesitation I took out eight F-Rank Cores.
Ding!
Ding!
With cheerful notification sounds, the blueprints were registered in the workshop.
[Blueprint: Mana Purification Tank]
[Blueprint: Ultra-Vibration Oscillator Module]
As I read the blueprint descriptions, my eyes narrowed.
“Using this just for digging… would be a waste.”
Attaching it to an excavator tooth to break rocks?
Certainly useful.
But my instincts as a workshop owner suggested another possibility.
“Porter, come here.”
The laboratory door opened immediately.
—You called, Master.
I stared at Porter’s front frame.
More precisely, the battering ram made from boar tusks.
“The size is perfect.”
A smile spread across my face.
At that moment Picker flew down in panic and blocked my path.
—Boss! Wait! Wait a second! You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?!
“Why?”
—That look in your eyes! You’re planning to attach that dangerous thing to the bear!
Picker shoved his lens toward me in protest.
—Absolutely not! That’s construction equipment! Porter’s frame is just cargo-grade steel! Twenty thousand vibrations per second? If that activates, his skeleton will disintegrate first! You might as well install a self-destruct button!
Picker’s argument had merit.
Vibration was a double-edged sword.
It could destroy the user before the enemy.
But I thought differently.
“Remember the slime fight last time?”
I spoke calmly.
“When Porter rammed that red slime with physical immunity, what happened?”
—…It got knocked back.
“Don’t pretend you forgot. Even a D-rank boar horn could deliver impact. If the horn vibrates twenty thousand times per second?”
I punched the air.
“It won’t just be physical impact. The moment it touches, it’ll break the enemy’s cellular bonds. Even a physical-immunity slime will take damage.”
Right now Porter was a sturdy shield and cargo carrier.
Add ultra-vibration—
“It becomes an attacking shield.”
Porter’s lens flashed.
—A heavy responsibility… how thrilling.
—You insane scrap heap! Hey! You’ll really get dismantled!
Picker circled Porter while shouting.
He looked worried.
But his true thoughts were obvious.
If Porter became a combat unit too—
Where would that leave him?
“Don’t worry. Durability can be reinforced. And Porter can regulate the output.”
—Understood, Master.
Ignoring Picker’s jealousy, I approached the console.
I activated the virtual simulator connected to the Technology Laboratory.
A 3D model of Porter appeared.
I attached the Ultra-Vibration Oscillator Module to the front ram.
—Boss! Please reconsider! Maintenance costs! Battery consumption! That thing will destroy fuel efficiency!
Picker made one last argument.
He wasn’t wrong.
Energy consumption would be high.
But the value was greater.
“Test target: D-rank hardened boar hide. Thickness 50 cm.”
A thick leather wall appeared in the simulation.
It could deflect rifle rounds and resist most explosions.
Porter’s engine roared.
VROOOOM—
The tracks tore across the ground as he charged.
Just before impact—
VIIIIIII—
The module glowed red and emitted a high-frequency sound.
Twenty thousand vibrations per second.
Invisible but ferocious.
CRRRAAASH—
The impact sound wasn’t dull.
It sounded like meat thrown into an industrial blender.
—Uh…?
Picker stared blankly.
The hide wasn’t torn.
It disintegrated into dust the instant the ram touched it.
Not penetration.
Erasure.
Without slowing down, Porter passed straight through the 50-centimeter wall.
The hole’s edges looked smoothly melted.
“Good. Performance confirmed.”
I clenched my fist.
Now no creature with hardened armor would stand before Porter.
—Impossible…
Picker dropped weakly to the floor.
Meanwhile Porter spoke with calm mechanical pride.
—Beautiful. I can feel the weight of the Boss’s trust in me.
“Good. Let’s build it immediately.”
I had set out to dig a well.
Instead, I had gained a new weapon.