Chapter 154
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Mana Devourer (2)
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“Quooook?”
It was the undead mastodon charging forward, shaking the very earth.
Its merciless advance came to an abrupt halt.
As if struck by lightning.
Or doused in ice water.
Its entire body shuddered violently as it desperately skidded to a stop.
“……Quooooook?”
Undead were not supposed to feel fear.
No matter how formidable the foe, they pressed their savage assault without a shred of dread or hesitation.
That was the undead’s greatest strength.
But in this moment.
The undead mastodon was gripped by unmistakable, crystal-clear terror.
It started the instant its gaze locked with the human right in front of it.
Just Lloyd, sitting calmly on the ground.
The moment their eyes met his serenely upturned stare.
Ding-dong.
[Mana Heart skill option ④: Undead Domination has been activated.]
A new message floated before Lloyd’s eyes.
Like a surprise gift package suddenly thrust into his arms.
Or a badge of glory bestowed upon one who overcame trials.
A bold wave of text claimed a portion of his vision.
[Your Mana Heart, in a trance-like state, absorbed a massive quantity of profoundly corrupt energy and successfully digested it. This extraordinary experience grants the skill a new exclusive option.]
[Skill exclusive option ④: Undead Domination - Dominates and controls undead entities with less mana capacity than your own for a limited time. Domination duration depends on the mana capacities of you and the dominated undead. During domination, the target undead will faithfully execute all your commands. However, the undead only obeys while maintaining eye contact with you; once that condition is broken, it will immediately turn on you with vicious aggression. No limit on number of dominated entities. Limited to once per day.]
‘Just as the message described.’
Lloyd recalled what had just happened.
Right after using rapid charge.
He’d suddenly sensed the chaos around him.
He opened his eyes.
There was the undead mastodon barreling toward him.
At first, he’d scrambled to stand and flee.
But then he spotted the new message.
Undead Domination activated.
The very instant his eyes met the lead undead mastodon’s.
That’s when it began.
The undead quaking in terror the moment their gazes locked.
It was like spotting that friend who’d borrowed ten bucks promising to pay you back tomorrow, ghosted you for a week, and now you’d bumped into him at the student cafeteria.
In a word, spooked.
‘So, to sum it up: thanks to absorbing a ton of the undead’s mana via rapid charge, I’ve gained a skill that lets me dominate undead for a limited time?’
That seemed to be it.
The horde of undead mastodons halted before him was proof.
‘Ha. I didn’t even factor in getting an option this sweet.’
He’d only thought rapid charge was the best play.
Judged it the most efficient way to block their charge in this narrow ravine.
But to reap an option this delicious?
‘On top of that, I’ve hit intermediate expert level.’
The sensation was on another plane entirely.
The vitality coursing through his body was no joke.
Compared to early expert days, it felt like evolving from a total gym newbie anchovy to a deadlift beast squatting 500kg sets overnight.
‘Like finding that forgotten 50,000-won bill from last year in your coat pocket on a crisp winter day.’
But this wasn’t the time to bask in it.
Lloyd’s gaze dropped to the bottom of the message window.
There, the remaining time for the activated Undead Domination skill was displayed.
[Currently dominated undead entities: 108]
[Time until domination ends: 4m 58s…… 4m 57s…….]
108 undead mastodons left in this ravine.
And just under four minutes fifty seconds ticking down in real time.
‘Not much time left. If the option lasted longer, I could maybe use zombies or skeletons as free laborers.’
There might actually be a way to make that happen someday.
But not now.
And definitely not the time to grin like an idiot.
Lloyd sprang to his feet at once.
Careful to maintain eye contact with the undead mastodon horde, he backed away.
He approached Ppoddong and the five baby mastodon siblings.
“You all okay?”
“Ppoddong!”
“Ppuuuuwing!”
“Good, good, glad you’re safe. Scary, huh?”
“Ppoddong! Ppoddong!”
“Not scared? You were hugging the little ones tight to protect them?”
“Ppoddong!”
“Yeah, good job.”
Apparently, while he’d triggered rapid charge and fallen into a trance, Ppoddong had been clutching the five baby mastodons, shielding them.
Lloyd kept his eyes fixed on the stationary undead mastodon horde as he spoke.
“Alright, time to get out of here. Listen up to my instructions.”
“Ppoddong!”
“Ppuuwing!”
“We’re gonna leap across on their backs and sprint to the ravine exit. Time’s short, no questions.”
“……Ppoddong!”
“Ppuuwing!”
They seemed to grasp the dire situation fully.
No objections; they just nodded right away.
Lloyd issued rapid orders.
“Ppoddong, carry me. You five babies? Grab each other’s tails with your trunks. Like a train game. String of sausages. No idea? Like this. Good, perfect. Keep that grip tight all the way out. Got it?”
“Ppuuuuwing!”
The undead mastodon horde completely blocked the ravine.
Pushing them back to escape would take far more than five minutes.
So, to slip out before Undead Domination wore off, hopping across their backs was the only way.
“Alright, let’s go!”
“Ppoddong!”
“Ppuuuwing!”
Four minutes twenty-six seconds left.
Ppoddong and the five baby mastodons kicked off the ground.
At the same time, Lloyd commanded the undead mastodon horde.
“All of you, kneel!”
Zzzzzz!
His order became a potent telepathic wave.
The response was immediate.
“……Ku, quooook!”
The lead undead mastodon, which had hesitated briefly, lowered its front legs. Bent its hind legs. Hunched its massive body as low as possible.
Head bowed.
Thick trunk extended forward.
Prone like perfect stairs to climb.
“Now, as fast as possible!”
“Ppoddong!”
“Ppuuuuwing!”
They stepped on the first undead mastodon’s head and back. Climbed up. The view behind unfolded.
“……Quooook!”
Over a hundred undead mastodons lined up, packing the ravine tight.
“Let’s go!”
They charged in perfect unison.
Thud thud thud thud!
Stepping on the first one’s back.
Kicking off the second’s crown.
Using the third’s rump as a launchpad to leap.
That’s when it started.
“Quooook!”
Each time they bounded over one.
The stepped-on undead mastodon would spring upright.
As if it had never knelt obediently.
As if it had never been under his control.
Rising ferociously, charging at their backs.
Unleashing savage killing intent.
Simple reason.
‘Just like the option description: condition breaks, and it flips instantly.’
Because he’d mounted Ppoddong and vaulted over their backs.
Breaking the “facing each other” condition.
But he couldn’t turn around to check.
Do that, and the next one ahead, meekly prone, would rise.
So, the best—and only—move right now was one.
“Run! Faster!”
“Ppoddong!”
“Ppuuuuwing!”
Ppoddong, sensing the peril, poured on even more speed.
Its plump sides jiggling.
Its bouncy rear wobbling.
Tiny limbs blurring out of sight.
Squeezing every ounce of strength from nursing days, it bolted like the wind.
In that arrow-swift dash, the five baby mastodons trailed in the air like linked balloons.
“Ppuuuuwing!”
The eldest, gripping Ppoddong’s tail with its trunk, cried in panic.
Clenching its trunk even harder.
Wrapping Ppoddong’s tail tighter.
The second gripping the first’s tail, the third the second’s, fourth and youngest too.
They trusted their big siblings ahead.
Tensing trunks and rumps.
No one fell out of line.
“Good. Keep it up. Don’t stop, Ppoddong!”
“Ppoddong!”
Three minutes twenty-five seconds left.
Lloyd swiftly calculated remaining time against the prone undead mastodons ahead.
‘About fifty left. Past the midpoint. Took one minute one second from four twenty-six to here. We can make it. Maintain this pace, and we’re out with time to spare.’
Hope surged.
Safe escape in sight.
He urged Ppoddong on with conviction.
“Great! You’re doing awesome, Ppoddong! Just a bit more!”
“Ppoddong! Hek hek!”
“Babies in back! Don’t let go of the big sibs’ tails!”
“Ppuuwing!”
Perfect.
Everything going smoothly.
Just keep fleeing like this.
“Let’s go!”
“Ppoddong!”
They leaped even harder.
The count of mastodons ahead dwindled: twenty, fifteen, eight, five, three, two.
Finally, vaulted the last one’s back.
Fwoosh!
“Done! Straight to the ravine exit!”
“Ppoddong!”
“Ppuuwing!”
Domination over all undead mastodons had already ended.
Even glancing back, he couldn’t control them again today.
‘Undead Domination’s once-a-day limit.’
Now, just sprint full tilt.
Exit the ravine first.
Then blast the towering cliff beside it.
Trigger a landslide to bury the undead mastodon horde.
Lloyd organized the plan in a flash.
That’s when it began.
Urging Ppoddong on.
Racing the narrow path.
Leaping streams, rounding corners.
Far ahead, the ravine exit came into view.
Hope sharpened.
Safe escape solidified.
Or so it seemed.
At least, until then.
“Kuwrook!”
Fwoooosh!
A guttural roar and the sound of air slicing.
Something flying from behind.
“Huh?”
Lloyd reflexively ducked in shock.
Right after.
Fwoong!
A chilling whoosh as an enormous black mass grazed overhead.
“A rock?”
A boulder at least three meters across.
Likely hurled by some mastodon using its trunk as a catapult.
‘Direct hit would’ve sent me straight to meet the ancestors in one shot.’
Lloyd wiped cold sweat, relieved.
But the next instant.
He realized his relief was premature.
The boulder that had whizzed past.
That massive hunk traced a straight-line arc toward the towering cliff beside the ravine.
‘……Huh?’
It flew. Unerringly. Smashed. Boom. Embedded.
And the entire cliff trembled.
Kwaaaaaang-!
Narrow ravine, sheer cliff.
The violently impacting rock unleashed deafening roar and echoes.
The whole cliff shuddered.
Sending chills.
‘No way?’
Dread flickered.
He looked up on instinct.
Activated Surveying.
There it was.
‘Cracks spiderwebbing across the entire cliff.’
Tiny fissures.
But visibly widening by the second.
Goosebumps rose.
Lloyd shouted without thinking.
“Ppoddong! Run faster! Full speed!”
That instant.
Kwachak, kwang-!
Twisting rupture.
Exploding crush.
Cliff sections began crumbling.
Landslide starting.
“What the hell!”
Kwang-! Kwaaang!
Boulders rained from all sides.
He dashed through the gaps.
Dodging every which way.
Desperate to survive even a little longer.
Leaping, rolling, retreating, charging again.
But outmatched.
‘No. No path out.’
Vision darkened.
Fingertips chilled.
The ravine exit ahead.
Every route to it collapsing.
No—all visible paths crumbling.
Tons upon tons of earth and rock pouring down everywhere.
Dodging pointless now.
Even blasting wouldn’t cut it.
‘Buried alive ending, huh.’
Absurd, even to him.
He let out a wry laugh, head tilting up.
Suddenly, regret hit.
Shouldn’t have stepped up.
Should’ve fled with the workers.
Shouldn’t have played lone hero to save them.
But too late for regrets.
Look up—no sky.
Glance around—nothing but dirt and rock overwhelming his view.
So, this really was the end.
“……Sorry, everyone.”
Lloyd murmured, sensing the finale.
But that instant.
Shwoop!
“……!”
Suddenly, something snow-white shot in.
Wrapped his arms, legs, whole body in sticky embrace.
Not just him.
“Ppoddong?”
“Ppuuwing?”
Ppoddong and the five babies too.
All ensnared in an instant by the white net-like thing, no time to react.
So this was……
“Spider silk?”
Lloyd’s eyes bulged.
The next moment.
A clear cry rang from the sky, answering his mutter.
“Kkoming-!”