Chapter 5: IANT (Iron Giant Ants)

[Dimensional Devouring is beginning.]

Dimensional Devouring was the process of swallowing all the resources within a dimension and transforming the dimension itself into an environment habitable only by Apocalid.

Broadly speaking, you could call it turning this vast landmass into Apocalid territory.

The Walkers opened their shells and shuddered.

Spores fell away, clinging to trees, rocks, water—everywhere.

The Apocalid spores rapidly grew, devouring the nutrients around them.

When they met, they merged, forming long tubes that transported nutrients.

Though no Evolution Points could be gained from this, the amount of nutrients absorbed was enormous.

Soon, the entire dimension was covered in webs.

Five large tubes extended from the Soil Pit out to the edge of the dimension, and in between, smaller tubes were intertwined.

The size of the dimension shrank to just one-tenth of its original.

Apocalid spores scattered dust.

That dust was made of minuscule Apocalid, strengthening and enhancing the regenerative abilities of their kin.

If another race inhaled it, they would be devoured from the inside.

[Dimensional Devouring is complete.]

From the ground to the air, everything in this dimension was now fused with Apocalid.

The only way to remove it was for the Outer Mind to absorb it as nutrients, or to burn the entire dimension away.

Choi Kangjoong, who had watched Dimensional Devouring in awe until the end, entered the Chamber of Evolution.

[Available Evolution Points: 72,098]

“Seventy thousand? I thought I’d have about forty thousand left.”

He had expected to use 110,000 out of 120,000, with 10,000 left, and then gain another 30,000—but it turned out he had 30,000 more than that.

Choi Kangjoong stroked his chin.

“What’s the cause?”

He checked the messages and soon found out why.

The Evolution Points earned per Orc had increased from 5 to 10.

The Goblin Evolution Points had also risen to 2.

This was thanks to the Psionic Digestion bonus he’d gained from Psionic specialization.

“My Evolution Points doubled? Psionic specialization is broken!”

A simple calculation showed it was double.

Considering the rapid evolution and build-up, the efficiency was even greater.

Overjoyed, Choi Kangjoong used his remaining Evolution Points to evolve the Chitin Blade, Chitin Gauntlet, Combat Nerve, and Bioweapon by two stages each.

[Chitin Blade: Stage 3]
-Evolution Points required: 100,000

[Chitin Gauntlet: Stage 3]
-Evolution Points required: 100,000

[Combat Nerve: Stage 3]
-Evolution Points required: 100,000

[Psionic: Stage 3]
-Evolution Points required: 100,000

[Bioweapon: Stage 3]
-Evolution Points required: 100,000

The sickle-like claws became sharper, and the exoskeleton tougher.

Movements became more advanced, and the Cannon Giant’s Mana Cannon was enhanced.

[Available Evolution Points: 28,122]

[Orc Evolution Code Decipher Rate: 100%]

The Orc’s Evolution Code was Combat Muscle.

It made the body larger and increased strength in battle, but at the cost of heightened presence.

It wasn’t suitable for Walkers or Scouts, who would be in trouble if they attracted attention.

“I should give it to the Warrior and Giant.”

[Warrior Class is evolving.]

[Giant Class is evolving.]

The Warrior and Cannon Giant both became more robust overall.

The muscle beneath the Chitin Gauntlet became tougher and capable of greater strength.

Using nutrients, each class was produced.

There were now 100 Walkers, 50 Scouts, 10 Warriors, and 3 Cannon Giants.

Including one Brutal Lord.

A suitable number for invading a small dimension.

“Let’s go.”

Apocalid Walkers, Scouts, and Warriors climbed aboard the Apocalid Cannon Giants.

[Brutal Lord detects the nearest dimension.]

Lutal pinpointed the location of the next dimension to be devoured.

The Apocalid Cannon Giants leapt from the edge of the dimension into the Sea of Dimensions.

With a swish of their tails, they surged forward, gradually picking up speed.

Other classes went into hibernation, and the dimension transformed by Apocalid followed slowly.

Thus, the monster that was both one and many, and many yet one, advanced toward its next prey.

Choi Kangjoong left the room.

The living room, bright with sunlight streaming through the veranda window, was empty.

No sign of anyone in the other rooms, either.

“They must have gone out. I guess Yunseo’s vacation is over too.”

He hadn’t talked to her, so he knew nothing about Choi Yunseo’s plans.

“Man, I’m hungry.”

Rubbing his stomach, Choi Kangjoong went to the fridge.

A post-it note was stuck to the fridge door.

[Son~ You finished all the galbijjim. I made more, so eat plenty. If you want to game hard, you need to eat a lot.]

“I wasn’t playing a game, though……”

Choi Kangjoong, making a pointless excuse, took out the pot from the fridge.

The five-liter pot was filled to the brim with galbijjim.

Mouth watering, Choi Kangjoong placed the pot on the gas stove.

He figured he could eat it all, so he decided to heat it all up.

After a while, he moved the steaming galbijjim to the table.

He didn’t bother taking out rice or kimchi.

Just meat.

He only wanted dense, nutrient-rich protein.

“Maybe this is the influence of becoming Outer Mind.”

Choi Kangjoong picked up a rib.

Normally, he would have used chopsticks or put on plastic gloves, but today, he wanted to use his bare hands.

He grabbed the hot bone, and mana automatically wrapped around his fingers, protecting them.

“So the Psionic specialization applies to me, too. Then, can I digest Mana Stones or mental bodies as well?”

Anything.

Mana Stones were the place where a creature’s mana was concentrated—essentially another heart.

Lutal also had a Mana Stone nearby.

Mana Stones, which held mana, were so versatile that there was nowhere in modern society they weren’t used.

Even the phone Choi Kangjoong used had a Mana Stone Battery.

The main job of a Hunter was also to kill monsters and acquire Mana Stones.

“Should I try it?”

Choi Kangjoong took a Mana Stone Battery from the drawer in his room.

He dismantled it with a knife and pliers, extracting the Mana Stone inside.

A processed cube, 0.5cm in size.

There used to be a rumor that eating this would increase your mana.

But after countless people tried it, it just passed through quietly and was expelled.

“Well, nothing to lose.”

Choi Kangjoong gulped down the Mana Stone.

It slid down his esophagus.

What kind of change would occur?

Choi Kangjoong closed his eyes and focused.

Flash.

He felt mana in his stomach.

The mana tried to rush outward but hit the barrier of his skin and returned inside.

It spun around, then turned toward his heart, where it was absorbed into the Mana Stone there.

“My mana increased……!”

The common belief was that mana condensed by another creature had a different wavelength and couldn’t be absorbed.

Mana you could make your own was simply that which had dispersed in the air and naturally changed its wavelength.

You could forcibly change the wavelength, but it was tedious and inefficient.

Forcing absorption had severe side effects.

But Choi Kangjoong absorbed it without any drawbacks.

Just in case it was a one-off, he tried eating another Mana Stone. The result was the same.

“Psionic specialization really is broken. I made the right choice.”

Choi Kangjoong praised his past self.

His self-esteem, dormant for so long, finally rose.

He searched the house for every Mana Stone and swallowed them all.

The pitiful bit of mana he’d had since awakening increased more than tenfold.

That sense of fulfillment was even greater than being full after a delicious meal.

At some point, he couldn’t absorb any more Mana Stones.

It seemed to be a daily limit.

“If I could absorb endlessly, that’d be way too broken.”

Feeling pleased, Choi Kangjoong felt a pang of hunger.

A physical hunger.

“I guess people really can’t live on mana alone.”

Choi Kangjoong reheated and ate the galbijjim again.

The tender, sweet meat went down like water.

If only his teeth were stronger, he’d have wanted to eat the bones, too.

“Maybe I can wrap my teeth in mana?”

The idea occurred to him, so he tried it immediately.

Crunch, crunch!

With mana-covered teeth, the bones crumbled like crackers.

Eating the bones was much easier, as he didn’t have to fuss with picking them out.

Choi Kangjoong emptied the pot right there.

Despite eating a massive amount, he didn’t feel bloated.

A pleasant sense of fullness made his body relax.

“Maybe I’ll nap. There’s still some time before we arrive at the next dimension.”

Choi Kangjoong downed a two-liter bottle of water in one go, went to his room, and lay down on the bed.

Snooore.

The chronic insomnia that had plagued him for years was nothing—the moment his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.

Upon waking, instead of turning on the computer, Choi Kangjoong checked on the Apocalid.

The Apocalid was moving well through the Sea of Dimensions, but the surroundings looked strange.

“There are so many Mana Storms.”

The Sea of Dimensions was normally calm, and Mana Storms were rare.

It was like how it’s hard to encounter a typhoon or waterspout even when you go out to sea on Earth.

But around the Apocalid, everywhere he looked, there were Mana Storms, large and small.

“If it wasn’t for Apocalid, traveling here would be tough.”

Mana Storms wrecked the Mana Engine of a Dimension Ship.

Most often, this meant drifting aimlessly until everyone perished.

But Apocalid’s Dimension Ship was a living, biological vessel, so Mana Storms didn’t faze it.

Even lightning would just flow down the Chitin Gauntlet.

“Could this be the Kraken Sea?”

The Kraken Sea was notorious—a place where Mana Storms raged 365 days a year, easy to enter but almost impossible to escape.

That’s why no major force dominated it, and small-to-midsize dimensions were always vying for control.

It was perfect for hiding, and even had a Black Market said to sell everything.

It was also the best place for Apocalid to grow.

Large-scale armies couldn’t get in, so it was unlikely he’d run into any overwhelming enemies early on.

Plus, selfish movement and hit-and-run attacks using Dimension Ships were possible.

In a place like this, there was no race that could beat Apocalid.

In Dimension War, whenever such a spot was discovered, people would gleefully send Apocalid in to devour the dimension.

“I should get established here before moving on.”

The Apocalid soon arrived at the nearest dimension.

It was a bit bigger than the one where he fought the Orcs.

Unlike that mostly-forested place, this one was half forest, half wasteland.

There was a port at the dimensional border on the forest side.

The buildings were Elven style, and the moored ships were small and sleek.

“Are those Elf Pirates? Set up at a spot ninety degrees away from the port, near the border between wasteland and forest.”

The Apocalid discreetly approached the border, slipping into the forest.

The Walkers built a Soil Pit, and the Scouts fanned out to scout the area.

The port did belong to Elf Pirates.

And not just any pirates, but the Blacktree Pirates.

Even a homebody like Choi Kangjoong had heard of that infamous criminal organization.

“The Pirate Boss knows the safe route through the Kraken Sea, huh? So the people I helped escape must’ve been captured by pirates.”

They committed every crime imaginable—drugs, slavery, contract killings—and since the Kraken Sea was their base, it was nearly impossible to hunt them down.

Choi Kangjoong had found one of the Blacktree Pirates’ anchoring sites.

There were Dimension Ships with Mana Engines, and some rowed boats, but due to the fierce Mana Storms, nothing was coming or going.

“This is the perfect time to devour without alerting other dimensions.”

The wasteland was home to Iron Giant Ants.

Called IANT for short, they were colony monsters about a meter long.

They hauled everything on the surface underground, turning the ground above their nests yellow.

What was odd was that the IANT Queen was in the Elf Pirate base.

The queen, who should have been deep and safe inside the nest, was there for some reason.

Moreover, IANT workers were bringing food and water to the Elves.

“Did the Elves kidnap the queen?”

Choi Kangjoong’s guess was correct.

The Elves had disguised themselves as IANT by covering themselves in the ants’ bodily fluids and entered the queen’s chamber, taking her hostage.

“If I catch the queen, maybe I can draw the ants from their nest into the Soil Pit too.”

Thanks to the Elves, Choi Kangjoong learned something useful and ordered preparations for battle.

Inside his body, combat responses activated.

Muscles that had stiffened during hibernation loosened up, and nutrients were supplied throughout his body, storing up energy.

“The first target is the port. Destroy all the ships so no one can escape.”

“Krrrk!”

Lutal nodded.

It was a gesture learned from Choi Kangjoong’s knowledge.

“Next is the IANT Queen. Killing her is fine, but try to capture her alive if you can.”

“Krurrk!”

Lutal replied, promising to capture the IANT Queen alive.

“Gather the slaves in one place.”

“Krrrk!”

All the Apocalid except for ten Walkers quietly followed Lutal, approaching the Elf Pirate base.