Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Breaking Territory - 1
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"Ah... damn it."
The demon's shit powder dumped down on the forest.
It was a blizzard incomparable to before.
If he could, he wanted to craft a long spear and jab it right up the demon's ass that was sprinkling the powder.
"Uwaaak!"
Startled birds flew off at his shout, and snow piled on the surrounding branches tumbled down.
Time to get to work.
He started snow removal on the shelter, beginning with the buildup on the warehouse roof.
With it spanning 200 pyeong, the sheer volume he had to clear was beyond imagination.
But he couldn't slack off—it was the ground he'd be walking on, after all.
If he slipped on ice-covered earth and fell, there'd be no one to complain to.
"Gotta clear it ahead of time..."
He stuck precisely to his routine: 30 minutes of shoveling, followed by 10 minutes inside the cave to warm up.
This let him focus entirely on the task.
Knowing he could rest again soon made it bearable.
"Hup!"
After hurling the last scoop onto the ice wall, the snow finally stopped.
Beyond the fence, the world was completely buried in white.
"Wonder when spring's coming..."
It was so cold he wished it'd hurry up.
Dingo seemed to find the temperature perfect, though.
He stowed the shovel in the warehouse and headed into the cave.
Noticing, the beetles tossed a couple more logs onto the fire.
"Oh, thanks."
The brazier's heat slowly thawed his frozen body.
Dozing in his chair, he spotted the beetles melting something odd.
A thick, transparent liquid in a bowl...
"What's that?"
Edible, apparently.
With their permission, he dipped a fingertip in and tasted it—slightly sweet sap.
So this was their staple food.
According to the big beetle's drawing, sap freezes in winter, making foraging tough.
That must be why they'd braved the risk to enter his cave.
"You guys have it rough too."
Who knew why they'd gained intelligence only to struggle so much.
At least with the home base he'd provided, life seemed enjoyable lately.
Warm bodies, no threatening monsters, plenty to eat.
In return, what he asked for was easy for them.
Lately, with spare time, they'd started gathering the gold dust he brought and crafting something.
Finger-sized gold ingots.
"Nicely done..."
He picked up the hefty bar relative to its size and could only admire it.
Properly processed, they could polish it to such a shine.
Useless in the apocalypse now, but who knew about later.
He warmed up enough, then coated a needle with paralyzing poison and jabbed it in.
Days of this had bumped his poison resistance to 2.
Now, even goblin paralyzing darts wouldn't fully immobilize him.
"If I can endure the poison, goblins are no big deal."
Kobolds from the teaser labyrinth weren't too bad either.
Their only edge was killer night vision.
A nightmare for nighttime farmers avoiding monsters, though.
After that, difficulty spiked.
Orcs and werewolves appeared.
Orcs active by day, werewolves by night.
Not exclusively—plenty of orcs hunted at night too.
From them on, frontal assaults were tough.
High vitality let them shrug off a few arrows.
"If I had flint stones, it'd be easier..."
He only had the two the beetles brought.
Capsaicin spray was tricky too...
Wait—bull peppers.
He picked a few from the garden bed.
Double-gloved and masked, he ground them fine.
The spicy fumes filled the cave, sending Dingo fleeing inside.
"Ugh... brutal."
Toss this at an orc or werewolf nose, and it'd neutralize them for 10 seconds easy.
Werewolves, with keen senses, might flip out completely.
Problem was containing it for throwing.
"Hmm..."
Eying the beetles' sap, inspiration struck.
Mix ground peppers with flour into balls, coat in sap?
Leave in the cold to freeze solid.
"Let's try."
Time was plentiful; if it flopped, try something else.
Mixed chili powder and flour, rolled in sap—got sticky lumps.
Left in the cold, they hardened like candy.
"Dunno if it'll work."
Almost tested it with his slingshot indoors but stopped himself.
That would've been disastrous.
Outside, shot at the ice wall: coating cracked, contents burst out.
"...This could work."
He didn't need instant kills.
A few seconds of disablement sufficed.
These pepper bombs fit perfectly.
Winter-only downside, but improvable later.
Up close to the wall, the brain-searing stench floored him.
"Gah!"
Breath caught, tears and snot streaming.
Worse than that old gas chamber stunt.
His mistake thinking the spice had faded.
"Th-this is prime..."
Monsters would suffer worse—cheered him up.
Back inside, donned iron gloves and inspected the Emeras blade.
"Throwing as darts would wreck."
So sharp, spear tip or dart made no difference.
If only he could add a small handle.
Handed to the big beetle: it drilled the Emeras perfectly and fitted a handle.
Not just metalwork—they were skilled all around.
"Excellent."
Threw at a wood block; poor grip sent it ricocheting into toilet paper nearby.
"Super dangerous."
Miss, and it'd punch holes in him.
Needed serious practice.
He commissioned more Emeras darts, beetle-sized.
Land these true, and werewolves held no fear.
"Make a dart holster, coat in iron filings?"
Strap to thigh, draw and hurl as needed.
Beetles agreed readily.
Great guys.
.
.
.
September rolled around before he knew it.
Reality still sweltered, but nights brought cool breezes.
The forest humidity had eased too.
Sitting in the garden, he dug under the vinyl.
Felt fist-sized potatoes.
"When'd they get this big?"
Planted when goblins popped out?
Back home, sprouts were just emerging—unbelievable growth here.
Something special about this forest.
Cut stems, peeled vinyl, harvested potatoes.
Some to cut as seed potatoes by eye.
"Steamed potatoes for dinner."
Dingo pounced on the dug ones, going wild.
Carried the basket inside, searched videos.
What came after goblin nest...
"Speedrun event."
Reward for fastest to labyrinth core.
Teaser maze with dimension gates everywhere.
Could meet Seoul's earthworks guy or other veterans.
"Meeting now wouldn't be a huge issue."
But packed with prior monsters.
Point farming tempting, but unwise.
Zero visibility inside.
"Hardly any ways to see..."
Torches or glowstones just attracted mobs.
Blind navigation hell without skills.
Early game event, few bothered originally.
Bright side: monsters' tracking nerfed for event.
"Anyone know this?"
Auction house chat was buzzing on it.
Doomed to be "that guy" forever, huh.
Anonymous boards were always chaos.
Hate for him ran strong.
Even spilling videos would've earned the same flak.
People just wanted punching bags.
"Shade grapes would let me win..."
Maybe the beetles would fetch some.
Auction house sparse on listings.
Everyone scraping by, no extras to sell.
He didn't need points urgently either.
"Take it easy."
Schedule check: valley forest scout caught his eye.
Weather warming—worth a peek?
Owl Bear had scared him off before, but it'd been dealt with.
"Dingo, wanna head out? Out?"
Thrilled, Dingo bounced around the shelter.
Made sense—better than skulking in reality.
"Okay. Hang on."
Backpacked essentials, slotted the pistol.
Launched drone beyond valley: spotted a lake.
"Huge."
That size screamed monster lurking—creepy.
Drone safe; recon good enough.
He and Dingo ventured out for once.
.
.
.
The forest beyond the valley felt different.
Tall trees darkened it; thick fog amplified the gloom.
Dingo ignored the vibe, striding ahead boldly.
"You're my eyes."
This setup screamed werewolf ambush.
Dark, eerie woods.
Intimidated outsider.
Werewolf catnip.
Strolling with Dingo, he found shade grape bushes under a tree.
"Jackpot."
That's how they grew.
Pocket open, he picked and stuffed them in.
Night walks worry-free now.
Then arm hairs stood on end.
"..."
Dingo crouched, scanning.
Something in these woods.
No hesitation—into the dimension gate.
Instantly, something huffed past the gate.
Shaggy-furred werewolf.
"Bad timing to exit."
Unlike average monsters, it had insane persistence.
Tracked prey scent till gone.
Presence faded, but smell lingered.
Grrr...
It sniffed around the gate.
Neither strength nor agility matched for direct fight.
"No needless risks."
Wait it out till it quits.
Or shoot?
Regretted bringing high-capacity Tokarev.
Could damage, but not kill.
"Low on rifle rounds..."
It sniffed right up to the gate.
Strongest scent there?
Could snag a good skill.
Please drop wolf senses or combat instinct.
Tempted to draw Tokarev for the skill shot, barely resisted.
Current hideout: reality two-room.
Metal plague still active—gun?
Slot's subspace fine, but summoning crumbles it.
"Damn."
To use gun, had to exit somehow...
Instead, drew Emeras spear, aimed at prowling werewolf's belly.
Thrust hard—slid in resistance-free.
Shockingly, it grabbed the spear and yanked.
"Urk!"
Almost dragged out shaft and all.
Shaking hand, he glared at the werewolf.
Not lethal, as expected.
Insane regen stanched the blood quick.
Injured, it never stood gate-front again.
Sensed danger, whatever it was.
Flashing sharp eyes, growling—like marking territory.
"That's your turf, huh?"
Fine. He'd break it.
Breaking Territory - 1 End