Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The End of the Workshop
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-Boom!
Every time a massive clump of earth crashed to the ground, Jang Chaeyeon reached out with her hand, and dirt rained down like a downpour.
"We'll have to shower the second we get out of here!"
"Agreed."
I nodded in agreement to Yoo Daon's cheerful shout and fired off a few meaningless shots.
Occasionally flying tree branches were blocked by Song Arin's mud dolls, or sometimes Yoo Daon body-slammed them away, but there was a critical problem.
"No hits are landing."
"You're demanding a lot just shooting from the back!"
Song Arin grumbled as she reached out, and another mud doll appeared in her place, pierced by a tree branch and vanishing.
An infant's eyes rolled as a low voice spoke once more.
"From the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
"The dolls have limits too! What are you gonna do!"
Song Arin's urgent voice made me anxious as well.
Should I shoot now?
No, I couldn't.
One thing I'd realized from using Critical a few times was that I instinctively felt the right timing to use it.
And right now, my instincts told me it would be pointless.
"We just need to create one opportunity somehow, right?"
Mud-covered Yoo Daon looked at me.
"For now, yes. Got any good ideas?"
"I have one."
Seeing Yoo Daon's calm face only made me more uneasy.
"Chaeyeon is drawing its attention right now, so if I take that over, that'll do it. Right?"
"...It makes sense, but can you pull it off?"
I looked at her not in dismissal, but genuinely questioning if it was possible.
After all, I couldn't expect Yoo Daon to have destructive power like Jang Chaeyeon.
In response, she lifted the axe that had been lodged in her neck earlier.
"If I get close and swing this axe, won't it smash me to bits?"
"..."
She wasn't wrong.
"But it'll hurt."
"It will, won't it?"
She said it like it was nothing.
"But that's all, isn't it?"
"..."
Was this how an immortal thought?
She smiled and gripped the axe with both hands.
"If you're worried, have a drink with me after this is over."
"Not a hard request."
Song Arin sighed and cut into our conversation.
"Saying stuff like that is what always jinxes it. No helping it. Guess I'll have to help so it doesn't fail."
"Were you not planning to help?"
"Just trying to act cool. ...Whatever."
She mumbled embarrassedly and looked ahead.
"Chaeyeon, you heard that? Help us out a bit."
"No worries."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded without even turning around.
"I'll protect you no matter what."
"Look after the others too."
"I'll go easy."
"In him who gives me strength, I can do all things."
A low voice rang out.
At some point, it had started only saying its own thing.
It had been communicative just moments ago.
My bewilderment lasted only a moment before more dirt and rocks poured down.
"Let's go!"
At my words, Yoo Daon yanked out the axe and charged ahead, while Song Arin and I ran mixed in with the mud dolls.
The dirt and rocks falling from above still scattered to other places or were blocked by the mud dolls.
The ground shook.
With every step toward the mountain spirit, awe—nay, fear—filled my heart, but I gritted my teeth, ran forward, and pushed the staggering Yoo Daon and Song Arin from behind with both hands against the overwhelming pressure.
It was close now.
The mud dolls gathered like a barrier in front, then a single root swept through, taking out half in one go.
But that was enough.
Yoo Daon quickly kicked off the collapsing dirt pile and leaped.
In midair, she raised the axe, and a massive root pierced her neck, killing her in an instant.
I followed right behind, running across the dirt piles.
Slipping each time, I stepped on the mud dolls' bodies to leap up and aimed my gun in the air.
[Critical: 1->0]
The world slowed.
A red dot appeared on the mountain spirit's forehead, and as if entranced, I pulled the trigger.
-Bang!
The bullet sank into the red dot like it was being sucked in, and the mountain spirit opened its mouth in a silent scream.
Its abdomen swelled, and soon voices poured from its mouth.
-Please make this year's harvest a good one.
-Make me rich.
-Make it so I don't get sick.
-Let me harvest better crops than old man Kim next door.
-The village head is so damn noisy, please just kill him.
They were wishes.
Countless wishes made to the mountain spirit.
Its gaze turned to Yoo Daon.
"Guh, kuh...!"
"Daon!"
I quickly pulled out the root lodged in Yoo Daon's neck as she writhed in agony.
Next—
"Hey! Dodge!"
By the time I heard Song Arin's sharp voice and looked to the side, it was too late.
A searing pain ripped through my side, and my vision lurched sideways.
"Kuh-!"
I tumbled across the ground.
Only when my vision stopped spinning did my body finally halt, and touching my throbbing side revealed blood on my hand.
-Boom!
In my dizzy vision, something shook violently, then someone grabbed both my cheeks.
"You alive?"
"...For now."
It was Song Arin.
She slipped her hands under my armpits and dragged me backward with grunts.
I tried to say something with my sluggish tongue, but she shook her head.
"Stay still. I'll... no, we'll handle it."
She stroked my cheek with a trembling hand, then turned and ran off somewhere.
The already intense noises grew even louder and more relentless.
Song Arin, Yoo Daon, and Jang Chaeyeon's shouts buzzed in my head, mixed with occasional screams.
Where did I go wrong?
I thought hazily.
Nothing had gone wrong.
I'd just put too much blind faith in Critical.
From the start, our fight had never shifted from the challenger's—or prey's—perspective.
Intoxicated by our recent formula for victory, I'd assumed we'd win if we just landed a Critical. The pain in my side now was the result.
Think of another way.
A god lives off faith.
But killing all those believers wouldn't solve it?
Was it that simple?
I tilted my head skyward, staring at the falling rocks.
Remember, faith came before the god awakened.
With trembling hands, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the manual.
It flipped open, revealing a page.
[Office Manual]
[N - On Superior Objects]
1. Superior objects are far more dangerous than you think due to the influence of mass religions. Avoid direct confrontation.
2. If you must engage in direct confrontation anyway, end it quickly.
3. Among superior objects, those that feed on faith have the longest persistence time, but their physical power has firm limits.
4. Removing believers has no effect. This is a phenomenon caused by <Censored>, so block additional faith supply from believers and destroy the exposed source of faith.
5. Destruction methods include <Censored>, physical impact, <Censored>, and mental impact.
Exposed source of faith.
Now there was a path to victory.
Pressing my aching side, I forced myself to stand.
In my blurry vision, I saw the three of them scrambling desperately.
Jang Chaeyeon batting away rocks with nosebleeds, Song Arin pale-faced and sweating coldly while controlling the mud dolls, and Yoo Daon swinging her axe expressionlessly, bleeding all over.
"Everyone, listen up!"
Clutching my side, I shouted, and all three stopped and looked at me.
"Drop defense! Me and Chaeyeon on core! Daon up front! Arin on guard! Advance exactly 10 meters!"
They heard me. I kept it short, then staggered forward.
Thankfully, they got it—Jang Chaeyeon supported me as we ran, Yoo Daon led with axe swings or her body blocking dirt and rocks, and Song Arin protected us two with the few remaining mud dolls.
"Two attacks, that's it."
"Got it."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded.
The awe was more intense than before.
"A new god is being born!"
Song Arin cried out desperately.
But now it was fine.
[Coordinate Rip: 2 uses remaining]
Graph paper unfolded before my eyes again.
Something different appeared.
Inside its swollen belly were people.
Sometimes an old man, sometimes an infant, sometimes a sturdy young man.
All of them wept bloody tears from within, pounding on something beyond.
Without me saying a word, Jang Chaeyeon already reached out.
Once—the people in its belly began to crumple.
[Coordinate Rip: 1 use remaining]
Again—they began to rip apart.
-Please grant me eternal life!
-Give me the power to pull down everyone better than me!
-Wealth enough to live without working forever!
Their voices echoed like a refrain,
And everything stopped as if nothing had happened.
Panting, I looked ahead.
It was a statue molded from mud in the shape of an infant.
Exactly like the one I'd seen at the lodge.
A transparent window naturally appeared before my eyes.
[Name: Sad Reality]
[Age: Just created]
[Trait: -]
[Talent: -]
[Background: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.]
[Weakness: -]
It was over.
My strength gave out, and I collapsed.
Jang Chaeyeon caught me as I fell, smiling softly as she looked at me.
"...You did well."
"Yeah, it was tough."
"Treatment first."
"I'm all for it."
With that, the workshop-masked incident that had dragged on came to a close for now.
Surprisingly, Team Leader had pitched a tent, grilled some fish, and gotten rescued.
*
Ordered to rest absolutely, I got a few weeks off.
Now I could finally rest for real.
"..."
"I'll crash here."
"That's a problem."
Jang Chaeyeon shook her head stubbornly, blanket in hand.
"No."