Ubermensch – Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.”

Deroa gave a wry smile at Mason’s readily retreating figure.

“…Never mind. I think we’ll be seeing each other a lot, so it’s better to tell you now.”

“Huh?”

“Seo Yeonhee and I were once in the same raid team. A raid team that’s now disbanded. We were… with my brother.”

Deroa hesitated for a long time before speaking.

“Our raid team fell apart. Almost everyone died, and the five survivors don’t even look at each other’s faces anymore.”

“Why?”

“Someone stole the spoils. The ‘Titan Core’, the core of an A-Rank raid boss.”

Deroa wore a bitter expression.

“We all suspected each other. Especially since we were failures with nothing left.”

“…Greed, huh.”

If the raid team had been intact, they would have found a way to reconcile. They could have just earned more.

But now the raid team was disbanded.

Money. They needed money.

Whether to form a new raid team or retire and live in peace.

That’s how the old comrades were torn apart.

“Everyone except me suspects Seo Yeonhee. Seo Yeonhee… suspects Yekaterina-nim.”

“Yekaterina-nim? Are you talking about the Heavenly King?”

“She was our Healer Leader.”

Deroa leaned her head back against the steel tower. The night sky was bright with moonlight, and stars were scattered across it. The affairs of the heavens were so clear, yet why were the affairs of the world so messy?

“I don’t know how it came to this. I don’t know… everyone keeps asking me what happened. So… I don’t want to mingle with anyone else.”

“…”

Mason silently nodded.

“Want me to bring you some hot coffee?”

“Sure.”

Deroa said in a mischievous voice.

“Coffee boy.”

Mason chuckled and turned around.

As he came down from the transmission tower, a familiar face greeted him.

“Seo Yeonhee.”

She glanced at Deroa.

“Boring story, wasn’t it?”

“Well… kind of.”

As Mason mumbled, Seo Yeonhee smiled bitterly.

“How was the reconnaissance?”

“The road is fine. No need for repairs anytime soon.”

“What about the surrounding monster clusters?”

“That’s a bit strange.”

Goblins were the weakest monsters known so far. Even their settlements were near the defensive line, having been pushed to this rough terrain.

“There are at least five or six settlements around here that are definitely stronger than the goblins. But they’re not attacking the goblins.”

“Maybe they’re friendly species?”

“No, the opposite. ‘Steel Snakes’ and ‘Horned Rats’ are natural predators that prey on goblins. Especially Steel Snakes, goblins are their staple food. But they’re not moving either.”

“There must be another reason…”

And that ‘other reason’ was unlikely to be a good one for the people…

‘What is it? What’s the problem?’

Mason was lost in thought.

Forget that they were monsters for a moment, think of them as animals.

How could mice live near snakes and cats?

Why would snakes and cats leave mice trapped in a jar?

“There’s another monster they fear…!”

There were only goblins above ground.

Then where would that monster be?

Mason and Seo Yeonhee’s eyes met at the same point.

“The subway…!”

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

The subway.

Once a source of pride for Seoul, offering both comfort and speed, it was now a means of transportation.

But now, having lost half of Seoul to monsters, it had become a headache.

While the monsters on the surface could at least be monitored or guarded against, the subway had literally become a labyrinth.

A labyrinth that organically connected Seoul and even Gyeonggi Province.

Whether in games or reality, the most advantageous thing in battle was the first strike. If you could fight with the opponent unprepared, you could overcome even a slight difference in power.

But dungeons were literally enemy lairs.

It was like walking into the monsters’ home.

It was also a place where different, heterogeneous monsters, even stronger and more dangerous than the surface monsters, had settled.

Especially…

“We can’t use high-powered weapons inside the dungeon.”

The dungeon was the subway. If the subway collapsed, the surrounding ground would collapse as well.

The roads, the lifelines of players, could collapse.

“Has anyone gone in?”

“Well, it’s common sense to avoid dungeons…”

Of course, everyone knew that. It was common sense not to venture into dangerous places.

However, who else mistook courage for recklessness as much as newbies?

“Did any of them enter the dungeon?”

Seo Yeonhee searched the list.

Five. Exactly five were missing.

Precisely, one party.

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

Monsters usually had at least one advantage.

For huge and powerful monsters, their size was their advantage, and for weak but numerous monsters, their numbers were their advantage.

And goblins.

Goblins were the weakest of monsters, but also the most troublesome.

They multiplied so quickly that it was more like proliferation than reproduction, and they were stronger than civilians anyway.

So they had a survival method that only they could employ.

“Offering tribute.”

They coexisted with other monsters by providing them with enough food.

To some terrifying monster underground… by sacrificing members of their tribe.

A primitive trade, exchanging sacrifices and violence.

“It must be a monster that at least Steel Snakes and Horned Rats fear…”

“Yes.”

“The dungeon our newbies entered…”

Even if they were newbies, they must have heard countless times not to enter dungeons recklessly. High-level players would nag them endlessly about not entering dungeons without caution.

It was understandable.

Even if there were many monsters around the camp, there were also many players. In this situation, they could only hunt down a couple of monsters per hour at most.

Naturally, they would have wanted a more efficient hunting ground.

A hunting ground they could access by ignoring just one warning.

“What should we do?”

“Seo Yeonhee, can you do some reconnaissance?”

Seo Yeonhee shook her head.

“My stealth is an application of optical camouflage. I can deceive sight, but I can’t hide my touch or smell.”

“Meaning you’ll be detected by underground monsters.”

If they had good eyesight, there would be no reason to go underground. Those with poor eyesight would have a keen sense of smell or hearing.

“There’s a high chance of that.”

“Then we have to go in.”

Deroa and Seo Yeonhee had joined as protectors of the camp. They couldn’t turn a blind eye to the problem.

Just as Mason would not abandon the weak.

Seo Yeonhee said to Deroa.

“Deroa, you stay and guard the camp.”

“…If things get dangerous, abandon the kids and come back up. You got it?”

Seo Yeonhee only smiled in response.

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

Inside the subway.

The subway station, without any functioning lights or ventilation, felt like the belly of a giant beast.

It was damp, sultry, and filled with a thick, foul odor.

“I’ll lead the way.”

Although Seo Yeonhee had relatively good night vision, Mason could practically see infrared.

And even if he had poor night vision, he would have taken the lead.

If danger lurked in the darkness, the forefront was Mason’s place.

“…”

Mason stopped in his tracks and raised his fist.

It was a stop signal.

As Seo Yeonhee stood still, Mason picked something up and handed it to her.

A mace and shield. Low-level player equipment.

For someone at the level of using this mace and shield, these were definitely their entire fortune. They wouldn’t abandon it even if it meant death.

When Seo Yeonhee returned the mace to Mason, he shook his head and pointed to the head of the mace.

Upon carefully feeling it, she discovered something stuck there. A thick, blue fluid.

‘A monster that has blue blood and prefers the underground…’

One monster came to mind.

‘Giant Spider.’

Although low-level, it was a raid boss class monster.

‘This is going to be a pain.’

It had a low-level core barrier, but its HP and stamina were high. It also had spiderwebs and venom, making it disadvantageous to fight in its lair.

It was better to lure it out and fight it.

When Seo Yeonhee signaled to stop, Mason firmly shook his head.

It wasn’t because he didn’t know it was a Giant Spider. It was the opposite.

‘There might still be players alive.’

Spiders had a habit of liquefying their prey before consuming it. They would trap their captured prey in a cocoon of spiderwebs and inject them with venom to melt them down.

The camp had been set up for half a day. If they were lucky, there might still be survivors.

Seo Yeonhee and Mason looked at each other.

‘If they were captured around noon, there’s a high chance they’re dead.’

‘If they were captured recently, they might still be alive.’

‘There’s no reason for us to risk it.’

‘I will take the risk.’

Their eyes spoke volumes.

‘Go back if you want. I’ll go in alone.’

Mason signaled and turned around.

Seo Yeonhee watched his retreating figure.

“…”

She knew. Even if she turned back now, Mason wouldn’t blame her at all. Considering the characteristics of the underground and spiderwebs, even if she went with him, she wouldn’t be of much help.

Nevertheless, Seo Yeonhee took a step forward.

Half was a rational judgment that she needed to win Mason’s favor to recruit him.

The other half was because, for some reason, his back brought back a faint memory.

Yes, that’s right.

Her former lover… was always walking ahead of her…

‘Let’s go.’

And so, the two descended to the lower level.

The spiderwebs were noticeably denser.

Empty spiderweb cocoons with only cores remaining were scattered around.

Perhaps, the goblins offered as sacrifices.

After being melted down by the venom, everything except the undigested cores had been sucked dry.

‘There will be people in cocoons too.’

Mason pointed to cocoons larger than usual.

There were about a dozen of them. It seemed they were mixed with those captured in the past.

But the problem was…

‘We can’t pass without stepping on the webs.’

The moment they stepped on the webs, it would be like sending a signal.

The two looked at each other.

Though from different times and battlefields, they were both veteran warriors.

They knew what they had to do.

Mason picked up the mace and shield he had found earlier.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Over here! You idiot!”

Mason shouted loudly.

“Come at me if you dare!”

Instead of stepping on the webs, Mason stood outside the webs and yelled.

The plan was for Seo Yeonhee, while cloaked in stealth, to rescue the survivors while he lured the monster out.

From the abyss-like depths, a low, rustling sound emerged.

The first thing that appeared was a shape reminiscent of a human skull.

It was the spider’s two eyes and mouth, and its horrifying outline gradually began to reveal itself.

Long, sharp legs like sickles, covered in soft, fine hair.

Mason tossed the mace and shield aside and gripped his two-handed hammer.

“Yes, come on…”

Taking a step back, Mason launched himself forward.

“Rooooaaar!”

“Sssshhhhrieeeek!”

The two monsters charged at each other.