Massacre
It was a massacre. A true slaughterhouse.
Who was it that said the gods were fair? That every flaw came with a strength, every misfortune with fortune.
But at least here and now, no such platitudes held true.
It was one-sided aggression and overwhelming firepower. The monsters had neither the wits to flee nor the sturdy bodies to withstand the onslaught. Even if they'd had some means to fight back, they were denied that too.
This was a clash between one who had everything and those who had nothing. The contrast couldn't have been starker.
Gulp. Gulp.
Taejeong, who had been unleashing energy rounds nonstop for dozens of minutes already, paused for a break and chugged the bottled water he'd brought along.
"Water tastes sweetest mid-hunt, huh? Hey, you lot want a sip?"
It was meant as a considerate offer, but the monsters on the ground below just stared up at him dumbly.
"Ungrateful bastards, won't even answer. Anyway, there really are a shit-ton of 'em. Still this many left?"
He'd already leveled up 14 times, but the monsters still numbered beyond counting. Any other hunter would have freaked out and bolted at the sight, but to Taejeong, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
What did it matter if they couldn't reach him?
Truth be told, Mechanic wasn't the only class that could fly. Mages, the most common users of flight skills, came to mind.
But they couldn't pull off this kind of brute-force farming. Their firepower might match, but they lacked the sustained follow-up.
It was the difference between having DPS or not. Between sustained fire or not.
That was what made this bizarre hunting style possible.
"Alright, break's over. Back to it."
He tossed the empty water bottle with flair and resumed firing.
Tat-tat-tang! Tatang! Tang-tang-tang!
To the jaunty rhythm, the beasts fell like autumn leaves in a gale. Blood flowed in rivers, corpses piled into mountains.
How much time passed like that?
Soon, a welcome chime rang out alongside another level up.
Biochemical Grenade
"Hm? Biochemical Grenade? What's this?"
Taejeong halted his shooting and checked the skill right away.
Biochemical Grenade
[Extremely Potent v1]
Warhead: Biochemical compressed dispersal round
Range: 100m from center
Lethality: -8,500 HP
Traits: Ignores defense
Mana Cost: 4,000 per shot (max 3 per minute)
"100m range, 8,500 HP lethality? What does that mean? Gerard."
HP refers to the monster's life force.
"So it strips away 8,500 life force?"
Correct. The Extremely Potent v1 dispersal round ignores physical defense and directly deducts 8,500 from the monster's life force. However, it halves against those with resistance, and shields may block it entirely.
"I see. But is it safe for humans?"
Extremely Potent v1 amplifies and destroys specific DNA unique to monsters, so damage to humans is negligible. That said, its potent anesthetic can temporarily paralyze or induce sleep depending on constitution.
"Negligible? Sounds pretty lethal to me. If I use it on the ground, won't it hit me too?"
Gerard brushed it off, but this was a bigger issue than it seemed. In a dungeon where every moment decided life or death, paralysis was as good as offering your neck to the blade.
But as if reading his mind, Gerard added more.
In Master's case, you have 100% immunity, so no need to worry.
"Oh. Doesn't affect me, huh... Alright, let's summon one and see."
With that, he activated the skill. As always, a small hologram formed, depositing a fist-sized grenade into his hand. Clenching his fist materialized it fully, its hefty weight settling in.
"Whoa, so this is it. How do I use it?"
Remove the external safety clip and safety pin...
"This the pin? And this the clip?"
After double-checking Gerard's instructions several times, Taejeong's eyes gleamed as he peered below. Might as well test it out now that he'd summoned one.
Spotting a dense cluster, he yanked the pin and clip, then hurled the grenade earthward.
Thud! It bounced off a monster's head with a pop, detonating in a small blast. Acrid smoke billowed out, swiftly blanketing the area in green haze.
"Now we wait, I guess."
As Taejeong crossed his arms to watch leisurely, the monsters in the smoke began dropping en masse. Experience chimes exploded in his ears.
[Experience gained...]
[Experience gained...]
[Experience gained...]
The endless barrage of notifications matched the monsters' collective demise. But it didn't end there.
So densely packed, reinforcements filled the gaps only to succumb to the poison, collapsing randomly. Hundreds already.
Moths to a flame, maybe?
Grinning ear to ear at the spectacle from a single dispersal round, Taejeong watched in delight.
"This cost-performance is insane."
He wasn't lifting a finger, yet they were dying off on their own. 4,000 mana for this efficiency? Top-tier among his arsenal, hands down.
Sure, capped at 8,500 damage, but here, that limit was irrelevant.
As the moths kept leaping in and dropping, level-ups piled up fast.
One grenade, five levels. Smoke still lingered.
Amused by the flow, he summoned another and lobbed it 100m away. Then another, extending the green hell to 300m.
Satisfied, Taejeong crossed his arms and muttered.
"Good. Hurry up and die off. Gotta loop back once more."
It didn't take long to clear the ground. Having landed after deactivating his Blaster, Taejeong shook his head at the persisting green haze amid the corpses.
Effectiveness was top-notch, and the duration? Perfect.
As Gerard said, he was immune—something about inheriting Sirius's power making his body beyond specs.
Eyes on the mounting corpse-mountains, he dashed off, triggering new traps.
The monster-wrangling and desperate sprinting resumed. No need to take to the air this time; the 300m poison cloud would handle any lured in.
He'd felled countless more when another chime sounded.
S1 Navigator Craft
Underwater Long-Range Bio Radar
"Oh, skills."
After mopping up pursuers, he checked the two new ones in the quiet.
[S1]
1st-Gen Full Submersible Craft
Basic Armament: Active-Homing Small Torpedo
Radar: Sonar Detection
Torpedo Damage: 18,000
Mana Cost: 10,000 per shot / Varies by output for craft
Max Speed: 30 knots (55 km/h)
[Underwater]
Mountable on submersible/semi-submersible craft
Radar: Advanced Bio Detection. Accuracy: 99%
Range: ~3km
Mana Cost: 8,000 per hour
Taejeong tilted his head at Gerard.
"What's this? Submersible means for underwater, right?"
Affirmative.
"Can I use this to reach Jeju Island?"
Possible.
"Holy shit, it drops here?"
He'd been agonizing over how to reach Jeju. He'd come out to make money, but renting a submersible was exorbitantly pricey—hundreds of billions round-trip—and awkward with others aboard.
He'd considered the guild ship at Incheon, but the storms wrecked 95 out of 100 vessels. No sense gambling on the 5%.
And now, a submersible craft. Perfect timing, like someone had read his mind and tossed it his way.
"Problem solved just like that. Submersible craft... Can I use it now?"
No wheels or bipedal design means it'd be pointless here.
"Fair. The long-range radar's a set piece, huh?"
Yes. Far superior accuracy to sonar. Per my data, this radar was among the world's top ten innovations back then—one of the first post-outbreak techs. Detects only mana-infused targets.
"Whoa, that advanced? Don't get it all, but sounds impressive if you say so. Underwater ops, huh. Means no sweat for places like that sub-dungeon with Seol-ah noona. Expands my range."
With Navigator, land, sky, and sea were now his domain. More options meant more paths.
Not that no one else could manage it—Han Seol-ah handled all three effortlessly. Others existed too.
The key was level. No one at 430+ pulled it off like this.
Rarer abilities unlocked later, often sacrificing other skills. Standard growth paths hit this in the endgame.
Taejeong, skill-tree free, had a massive edge. No choices needed—just take and use everything.
"Perfect. One worry down. Time to wrap up and hunt the boss."