Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Tears
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I reread the mages' discussion and reached a conclusion.
First, as the Refrigerator suggested, I divided my abilities into three categories.
Attack, defense, and utility.
I selected the most optimized minerals for each field and decided to consume them intensively.
Tungsten and diamond for attack.
Orichalcum for defense.
And finally, mithril for magic-related utility.
Orichalcum and mithril were top-tier fantasy metals that made my heart race just hearing their names.
However, even on higher floors, they were extremely rare, so gathering enough might be difficult.
With the goals set, it was time to keep digging into the earth.
I showed the super digger samples of the three minerals and ordered him to focus on mining only those.
The super digger adjusted his hard hat and nodded solemnly.
After that, the same process repeated several more times.
The kobolds and clones would mine the minerals, and I would sit still, eating and digesting them over and over.
My body gradually changed each time it accepted new minerals.
Without overdoing it, one type at a time, slowly.
New properties naturally seeping into the sand that made up my body.
Finally, after my last meal on the 23rd floor, I realized a permanent, fundamental change had occurred in my body.
A different kind of power and potential seemed to overflow throughout my entire form.
Now it was time to test the new abilities.
***
I headed down to the underground training ground.
The newly purchased sands gently tickling underfoot.
Among the minerals I'd consumed over the past few days, the ones perfectly digested and settled into my body were tungsten and diamond.
That was the only pair where the quantity had been sufficient.
Instinctively, I knew eating more of those two would only disrupt my body's balance without meaning.
In contrast, orichalcum and mithril still lacked enough quantity to fully integrate.
Mithril especially was so rare that I'd barely seen it a few times.
Orichalcum at about 80%, mithril at around 10%.
Still, I wasn't too worried.
If I mined more on the 24th floor or higher, I could perfect them.
"First, let's test the attack moves."
The test subject was my one and only defense: the sand barrier.
I erected a thick, sturdy sand barrier in front of me.
Next, I floated a familiar sand bullet above my palm.
A bullet made of pure sand, without any impurities.
This was my baseline.
I lightly fired the bullet at the barrier.
Kang-!
With a dull sound, the sand bullet collided with the barrier and shattered futilely.
Not a single scratch on the barrier.
The expected level of defense.
"Good. Then this time..."
I created another sand bullet above my palm.
But this time, I drew up the absorbed tungsten.
Honestly, I'd thought diamond bullets would be far stronger than tungsten.
After all, it was the hardest material in the world, right? Wouldn't that make it the strongest?
By the same logic, I figured diamond would make for tougher defense too.
But according to the brainiac from the mage gallery, the Refrigerator, it wasn't that simple.
He went on about penetration depending not just on hardness but also mass and density, diamonds having relatively low density making them inefficient for transferring kinetic energy, their strength being weak so they shatter easily, and something about toughness and ductility that I couldn't even follow.
As a liberal arts guy, I had no desire to read that explanation.
"Eh, who cares about the details as long as I know the results."
I cleanly gave up on understanding and just memorized the conclusion.
Anyway, the gist was: diamond for slicing blades, tungsten for blunt impact bullets?
The sand above my hand shifted to the heavy texture of metal.
I fired the bullet at the sand barrier once more.
Kaaang-!
A sharp metallic ring completely unlike before.
The tungsten-infused sand bullet pierced through the wall like tofu.
A clean hole, followed by the sound of the bullet slamming into the training ground wall beyond.
"Nice."
I checked the wall through the hole and nodded in satisfaction.
A clear gouge marred the reinforced wall, specially designed to withstand A-rank hunter training.
"Guess I should test it on those drill bastards sometime."
I was now confident I could pierce their armor.
Next up: defense test.
I dismantled the sand barrier that had just been pierced.
This time, I erected a new barrier layered with orichalcum components.
It'd be great if I could fill it entirely with orichalcum, but for now, this would have to do.
"Orichalcum's too damn expensive to buy and eat. Wonder if the tower rewards give any?"
Soon, the color of the sand barrier changed.
A beautiful sheen when it caught the light.
"Plain bullets would probably just bounce off anyway..."
I prepared my strongest attack technique.
The one that finished the 15th floor boss and bisected the corrupted world tree on the 20th in one shot. My sure-kill move.
I thrust my arm straight forward.
The surrounding sand began to whirl and gather at my will.
Soon, a massive spike formed, compressed to unimaginable density.
And that wasn't the end.
I poured tungsten into the spike without restraint.
This was my maximum output right now.
I took a deep breath.
"God's Rod, incoming!"
With my shout, the tungsten spike launched.
Kwaaaaaang-!
A deafening roar like the world collapsing.
The whole house shook as if hit by an earthquake.
Training weapons hanging on the walls clattered noisily to the floor.
Thumping sounds came from upstairs too.
Probably the few pieces of furniture toppling over.
'The computer's gotta be fine, right...?'
The super digger, who had been watching from a corner, lost his balance and tumbled across the sand floor.
He barely got back up, but his hard hat was crooked, blocking his view.
I straightened his hat for him.
A moment later, the thick sand dust settled.
There stood the half-collapsed barrier.
It only had a small amount of orichalcum mixed in. And yet this level of defense?
No physical attack could hope to harm me now.
I smiled in satisfaction.
***
"Ah, gotta buy a new monitor..."
I was roughly cleaning up the house, messed from the shockwave's aftermath.
Bang bang bang!
Someone pounded on the front door.
The kind of knock that sounded like it might break it down.
I frowned and checked the intercom screen.
On it was Jeong Man-ho, face flushed red, huffing and puffing.
Behind him, as always, sat his shiny black sedan.
"Why does this guy always drive over from next door?"
It'd take less than ten seconds to walk.
As I dawdled with such pointless thoughts instead of opening the door, Jeong Man-ho grabbed the handle and started shaking it.
"Is anyone home?!"
I let out a deep sigh and headed to the door.
The moment I opened it, Jeong Man-ho bellowed.
"What the hell was that shockwave just now?"
He didn't seem interested in my answer, just unloading his own words.
"The ultra-high-end speaker in my room got smashed! Do you know how expensive that was?"
I put on my most innocent face and asked back.
He seemed to be getting more dramatic by the second.
"Huh? I have no idea... Wasn't that just an earthquake?"
"Don't give me that crap! It came from your house! Get your parents out here!"
Damn it...
My face twisted into a scowl despite myself.
This guy didn't know how to have a conversation.
He bulldozed forward, stepping inside without permission.
"My parents aren't home."
"Outta the way! I'll check myself!"
Just as Jeong Man-ho roughly shoved my shoulder—
Right before his hand touched me, sand dust rose.
The sand barrier activated automatically.
'Huh?'
Even I hadn't expected it.
Realizing my mistake, I immediately deactivated the auto-shield.
"...?"
Jeong Man-ho looked bewildered.
He glanced back and forth between his hand and the empty air that had blocked it.
Nothing was there anymore.
"What... was that just now?"
Still confused, Jeong Man-ho shoved me again.
This time, the barrier didn't activate.
His hand met my small shoulder directly.
I screamed and toppled to the floor.
"Ow..."
But it was a bit awkward.
The timing of his push and my fall was off by a beat.
'No way this guy's this weak?'
His push was far weaker than expected.
Unbelievably light for an adult man's strength.
Embarrassing for an A-rank hunter.
Because of that, I slightly missed the timing to fall.
"...?"
Jeong Man-ho stared holes through his own hand.
His eyes held even more confusion than before.
'Ah, screwed up...'
Flat on the floor, I desperately racked my brain.
In the end, I resorted to the last measure.
I really didn't want to use it for the sake of my dignity, but no choice.
In an instant, I manipulated sand to hastily craft a bracelet that looked like I'd been wearing it all along.
A bracelet with a broken center piece.
I moved to the next phase of the plan.
Operation name: Fresh Tears Guaranteed Victory!
Huge teardrops quickly welled up in my eyes.
"Sniff... Sob..."
"W-What?"
"Waaah!"
I unleashed the most pitiful, heart-wrenching cry a child could muster.
Startled by my wail, Jeong Man-ho flinched and looked at me.
Snot and tears streaming down my face, I pointed at the shattered fake bracelet scattered on the floor and howled.
"This... Sniff... You broke it, mister...!"
"H-Huh? What's that? A bracelet?"
"This is the magic bracelet Mommy bought me! Bad mister pushed me and broke it all! Waaah!"
"Hey! Stop crying! Damn it..."
"Eeeeng!"
I wailed with enough force to scatter his wits.
My own sanity felt like it was flying away too.
...This is so embarrassing I'm gonna die.
I want to die.
But it worked.
Jeong Man-ho's face grew even more flustered.
He looked back and forth between the wrecked fake magic bracelet and my tear-streaked face, at a total loss.
I delivered the finishing blow.
"I'm telling Mommy everything! That the next-door mister broke my magic bracelet!"
With that, I sprang up, slammed the door shut before he could react—
And bolted inside, stomping loudly.
'Am I insane? What was I thinking...'
My face burned hot.
***
"...What the hell?"
Jeong Man-ho stood dazed in front of the firmly shut door for a while.
His mind was a jumbled mess.
Pushing the kid without thinking had been a close call.
Failing to control his strength and injuring him would've been disastrous.
Something that absolutely could not happen.
Yet the kid hadn't fallen.
Instead, something with a strange texture had blocked his hand.
The kid had suddenly burst into tears, leaving him disoriented before he could probe further, and that was that.
He was an A-rank hunter who'd seen it all.
Soon, he reached a plausible conclusion.
"A magic bracelet, huh?"
Yeah, the bracelet.
The very thing the kid had cried so desperately about.
"Maybe a one-use defense item?"
That explained everything.
Of course, no parent would leave a kid completely alone without precautions.
They'd have some basic measures in place.
"Then it all makes sense."
Jeong Man-ho slapped his knee. Perfect logic.
But the worry wasn't over.
"Having an item like that means the kid's family has serious money..."
If the kid really told his parents, it'd be a headache.
No, even if he didn't snitch, the parents would find out for sure.
No one would miss something that expensive vanishing.
"...Maybe I should grab a similar item before they come complaining?"
Suppressing his unease, Jeong Man-ho got into his car.
***
"He's finally gone."
I muttered as I watched Jeong Man-ho's sedan drive off.
"This can't go on."
I'd somehow gotten through today.
At the cost of selling every shred of my dignity.
But there'd definitely be more crises like this ahead.
I let out a deep sigh.
I really didn't want to do this, but that guy kept harassing me over every little thing.
"Time to go claim it, Conquest Tower."
Then I'd put up a big sign at our front gate.
Caution: Residence of the Master of Conquest. Please mind your manners. Something like that.
No more clashes with that neighbor.