Ubermensch – Chapter 14

Chapter 14

He had to find a way to resolve this situation. To protect both the civilians and the Holy Knights, he had to catch the Elder Worm here, no matter what.

Unlike in the game, there was no HP bar displayed.

He could only roughly estimate its health based on the strength and density of the core barrier.

And according to Sung Kijun’s calculations…

“At this rate, we’ll have to use the nuclear backpack!”

Everyone began to desperately increase their damage output.

However, even if they poured out every ounce of their strength, there was no noticeable change.

It was because they were already doing their best.

“Damn it!”

Mason gritted his teeth.

“Give me all the grenades you have!”

“What are you going to do?”

“Just give them to me!”

Mason strapped the grenades to his forearm.

And he connected the safety pins to a string.

“Are you planning to blow yourself up?”

“I can afford to lose one arm!”

It was then.

“That’s a good idea.”

A weak voice reached them.

“But your method is wrong.”

Seo Yeonhee had opened her eyes.

Her face pale, she drank a healing potion as soon as she woke up.

Seo Yeonhee staggered but stood up.

“Leave it to me. I’ll use Stealth.”

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but you won’t even get close to the Elder Worm in your condition.”

Mason tried to dissuade her.

The worms were growing larger by the minute. It was impossible to even approach them on foot.

Seo Yeonhee replied,

“That’s right. So… throw me.”

“What?”

“Throw me over the Elder Worm’s head. I’ll throw the grenade bundle into its mouth while in stealth and jump off.”

Mason looked at Seo Yeonhee.

“Can you do it? Do you have to do it?”

“I can do it.”

“Alright.”

When Mason extended his hand, Seo Yeonhee entered stealth mode. Her foot rested on Mason’s hand, and he held her firmly with one hand.

“Three… Two… One!”

Thump, thump, thump, thump…

Mason roared and swung his right arm.

“Waaaaaargh!”

He couldn’t see her. But he could feel it.

Seo Yeonhee was flying…

Thud!

And she had landed.

Seo Yeonhee threw the grenade bundle into the Elder Worm’s gaping maw and slid down, her dagger still embedded in its flesh.

A shallow but long wound was etched along the Elder Worm’s elongated body.

“Whew…”

The moment Seo Yeonhee’s form slowly began to reappear near the Elder Worm’s tail…

Bang!

Flesh and bodily fluids splattered.

A hole the size of a human had been blown through the Elder Worm’s side.

“Yes!”

It was a large hole, but compared to the Elder Worm’s massive body, it was merely a scratch.

However, the important thing was not the size of the wound.

It was a foothold. A foothold had been created, allowing them to inflict physical damage inside its body.

“I’m going in!”

Seo Yeonhee continued to swing her dagger from within the Elder Worm’s body.

From that point on, the tide of battle began to turn noticeably in their favor.

“Let’s go!”

They had been hammering away at it for a while.

Thud!

All three tankers, and even Seo Yeonhee, felt it.

‘The feeling’s different.’

The barrier was almost depleted.

It meant their attacks were doing more damage.

However, it also meant… the Elder Worm realized its life was in danger.

“Phase 2! Phase 2 is coming!”

The Elder Worm went berserk, searching for an escape route.

The reason people had chosen this location for the battle was because the ground was more solid here compared to other areas.

Unless it used its Sonic Breath to pulverize the ground, the Elder Worm couldn’t burrow through.

And they wouldn’t allow it to use its Sonic Breath.

Not with the players, especially the three tankers, standing in its way!

Grooooowl…

The Elder Worm, realizing this, let out a hurried and desperate cry.

There were two enemies.

The three tankers blocking its path, and the secondary line of healers and ranged dealers supporting them.

If this formation held, the Elder Worm’s life would soon be forfeit.

Which meant it had to change the situation somehow.

By decisively taking down one of the two.

‘Who will it be?’

Sung Kijun swallowed nervously.

‘Will it kill us and go after them? Or will it kill them and come after us?’

He was fulfilling his duty as a tanker.

He had a firm grip on the aggro.

However, cornered monsters, monsters driven into a frenzy, often did unpredictable things.

‘Hit me.’

Sung Kijun prayed desperately.

‘Smash me to pieces!’

Grooooowl…

An ominous sound began to well up from within its belly.

‘Is it Sonic Breath?’

The signature move of subterranean monsters, Sonic Breath.

A devastating skill that pulverized rock into sand and sand into dust.

The Sonic Breath unleashed by the colossal Elder Worm would be more than enough to turn even Sung Kijun into dust.

‘Unless I activate my defensive skills.’

Sung Kijun positioned his shield in front of him and activated his skills.

“Stance: Golden Bulwark!”

“Stance: Indomitable!”

“Stance: Divine Protection!”

Sung Kijun gritted his teeth.

“Let’s do this! You monster!”

It was at that moment.

Gulp!

What spewed from the Elder Worm’s mouth was a dark red blob of blood.

“…Ugh!”

Although the bodily fluid was laced with poison, it wasn’t an attack in itself. It was like spitting phlegm for a human.

‘I’ve been tricked…!’

Crushing the bewildered Sung Kijun with its body, the Elder Worm coiled itself up as tightly as it could.

Grooooowl…

The Elder Worm was aiming for the secondary line. Instead of the sturdy Sung Kijun, it was targeting the relatively softer healers and ranged dealers.

And now…

The Elder Worm’s tail was swinging.

Whooooosh…

Uncoiling with as much force as it had coiled, adding mass and acceleration to its extended length… an overwhelming wave of violence engulfed the horizon.

Sung Kijun shouted like a man possessed.

“Brace for impact!”

However, he knew. Even he, Sung Kijun, wouldn’t be able to withstand that blow.

Which meant… none of them could.

But he didn’t know.

That the secondary line had someone who transcended his common sense, no, humanity’s common sense.

“Phew…”

Mason realized.

Now, this was the moment.

This was where he had to risk his life.

“Deroa.”

“What!”

“Wish me luck.”

Mason started running, gripping his two-handed sword.

Thump, thump, thump, thump…

The Elder Worm’s tail was a tsunami of flesh and malice.

Its size numbed his sense of distance. The tidal wave of violence, about to engulf them, surged forward.

But Mason didn’t back down.

He wasn’t born to lose.

He wasn’t here to run away.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Against malice.

Against violence.

He was here to overcome.

Mason’s two-handed sword clashed against the Elder Worm’s tail.

Whack!

At that moment…

Mason’s body was flung back ten times faster than he had charged, impaling itself against the cliff face.

His body… his limbs were nowhere to be seen, and his intestines spilled out from between his crushed ribs. He resembled a corpse subjected to some ancient and gruesome execution method.

“Ugh…”

Mason groaned.

Kaboom!

Immediately after Mason crashed, something hundreds of times heavier than him slammed into the cliff.

The Elder Worm’s tail had been severed in two.

The fallen tail thrashed about, shaking the earth with a heavy thud. Its venomous fluids splashed over the ranged dealers, inflicting agonizing pain.

But one thing was clear.

“We blocked it!”

The ranged dealers cheered.

“We’re alive!”

Seo Yeonhee, too, looked back and forth between the severed tail and the ranged dealers with a stunned expression.

‘Is this… even possible…?’

It was a mythical sight, unbelievable even after witnessing it firsthand.

Theoretically, it was possible.

Mason’s strength had been concentrated on a single point, and the immense physical force behind the Elder Worm’s tail swing might have actually aided in its own severance.

Yes, theoretically…

Eun Yuri, finally regaining her senses, frantically searched for Mason.

“Mason!”

She limped towards him.

More of Mason’s body had been blown away than remained, and what remained wasn’t in good shape either.

Mason, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, said,

“Everyone… are they…?”

“They’re safe! Thanks to you, Mason!”

“Show me… show me everyone…”

Eun Yuri wiped the blood from around Mason’s eyes and lifted his head.

“Now’s our chance! Let’s finish this!”

The Elder Worm’s ultimate move had become its own undoing.

The players attacked with renewed vigor.

And finally…

Ooooooh…

With a sorrowful wail resembling that of a whale, the colossal Elder Worm’s body collapsed in on itself.

“We won, Mason. We won.”

“Yes. That’s how it should be.”

Coughing up a clot of blood, Mason looked at Eun Yuri.

“Eun Yuri.”

“Yes?”

“Smile. Smile.”

Mason smiled.

“If we won, we should smile.”

“Yes!”

Eun Yuri smiled.

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

That night.

Dismantling work was underway throughout the abandoned mine.

From the Elder Worm to the smaller worms and beetles.

Each and every one of them was money and resources.

Sung Kijun, as always, stood guard, looking up at the night sky of Gangwon Province.

“Whew…”

The world had changed. It had changed too much.

He had first set foot on this land when he was young. Back when humanity was unaware of any enemy other than itself.

It was during his peaceful military service.

Although it was debatable whether the world’s only divided nation could be called peaceful.

And now, he was a superhuman, standing in the same spot.

Looking north. Standing guard, prepared for unknown dangers that might arise.

But some things remained unchanged.

Cigarettes… were still harmful to his health, then and now.

“Haa…”

Before the smoke from his cigarette could even dissipate, someone slowly approached him.

It was Eun Yuri.

“How is Mason?”

“The healer has done everything she can. Now… we can only rely on his regenerative abilities.”

“Right, that’s how it is. His level is probably around 10 at best.”

The level system.

The meaning of those numbers was how many level-ups they had achieved.

It was a distorted representation of the true essence, borrowed from gaming terminology.

Sung Kijun, the Level 55 tanker. To describe his level more accurately and clearly, it should be phrased like this:

Sung Kijun, the enhanced infantryman, with 55% of his body replaced with monster parts.

Healing, wounds recovering solely by replenishing core energy, meant repairing those monsterized parts.

In Mason’s case, since the Barbarian System controlled most of his body, the healer could only provide limited assistance.

Sung Kijun inhaled a drag of his cigarette.

“Have you prepared the answer to my question?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you fight?”

Eun Yuri looked at Sung Kijun.

“To avenge my parents.”

“The same answer.”

“It’s a different answer.”

“Why is it different?”

Eun Yuri looked over at the dismantling work.

“Because now… I don’t hesitate.”

What Eun Yuri had seen in Sung Kijun and Mason wasn’t just their strength and bravery.

They didn’t hesitate.

If necessary, they wouldn’t take a single step back from a monster, and if necessary, they would face a devastating wave of destruction head-on.

It was the same for everyone else.

All those who protected and fought, they didn’t hesitate.

“Is that the right answer?”

Eun Yuri asked, and Sung Kijun shook his head.

“How can there be a right answer to a person’s life? Everyone should choose their own reasons for risking their lives.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“To give you time to ask yourself.”

Sung Kijun smiled bitterly and extinguished his cigarette.

“People often… make mistakes.”

He looked through the window towards the hospital room.

“About what they do.”

And at the sight of Mason lying there.

“…And even the reason for doing it.”