Chapter 96: Titan (1)

The giant statue standing tall beside the temple began to move.

Kugugugugugu-

A massive height approaching five meters.

A body composed of perfect eight-head proportions and firm muscles.

It was like looking at a plaster statue from Greek mythology.

Soon, a system window popped up.

Ding-dong!

<Would you like to board the Colossal Soldier? …… (Y/N)>

It seemed the Titan had to be piloted directly.

In that case……

“What the hell, let’s give it a shot!”

I pressed the YES button without hesitation.

Then.

-Ding-dong!

<Titan Colossal Soldier boarding request approved! >

<Lord ‘Cha Hasang’ is boarding the Titan Colossal Soldier! >

A pure white light burst from the Colossal Soldier’s eyes.

White radiance shining down like a spotlight.

Soon, my body turned transparent, and my vision quickly darkened.

When I tried moving my limbs, it felt like being submerged in water.

Soon.

Pat-pat-pat-pat! Pat!

System messages updated rapidly in my blackened vision.

Ding-dong!

<Initiating synchronization between Lord ‘Cha Hasang’ and the Titan Colossal Soldier! >

<Titan synchronization rate 13%>

<Titan synchronization rate …… 23%>

<Titan synchronization rate …… 49%>

A guidance message appeared next to the synchronization rate display.

-You have boarded the Titan Colossal Soldier.

-The Titan Colossal Soldier can only be boarded by the Lord.

-The Titan Colossal Soldier moves in synchronization with the Lord.

-The Titan Colossal Soldier possesses HP, and if all HP is depleted, the Colossal Soldier will be destroyed.

-If the Titan Colossal Soldier is destroyed, the Lord’s body will also be destroyed.

“?”

The last message seemed ominous.

Was it like pleasure without responsibility, or death without pain?

“Well…… no choice anyway.”

No risk, no return.

Believe it or not, I’m confident in piloting machines.

At that moment.

Ding-dong!

<Titan synchronization rate 82%>

<Titan synchronization rate 99%>

<Synchronization between Lord ‘Cha Hasang’ and the Titan Colossal Soldier completed! >

<The ‘Climber’ faction’s Titan Colossal Soldier is activating! >

My pitch-black vision slowly brightened.

The first thing that came into view was…… the sky and clouds.

A landscape viewed from dozens of meters up.

The enemy faction’s temple visible beyond the wide-open view.

The A+ rank hunters and Maslow’s managers looking like miniatures.

The rocky area and snowy mountain area, the jungle and the cemetery.

Everything came into view at a glance.

The key was how to move this Colossal statue.

“There doesn’t seem to be any control levers. Since it’s synchronization, maybe it moves if I move?”

I thought about the act of walking and moved my muscles.

Then.

-Kung!

The Titan Colossal Soldier took a step forward.

It felt like every single toe was perfectly connected in sensation.

As I stepped forward, the Titan Colossal Soldier began walking slowly ahead.

Kung! Kung! Kung-!

The landscape seen from dozens of meters up.

It felt like being in a robot, or becoming a giant.

“This is kind of…… getting me pumped up?”

Dopamine and adrenaline surged like during intense sports.

Soon, the UI at the top of my vision caught my eye.

[HP: 100%]

[MP: 100%]

The values were only in percentages, so I couldn’t even gauge how much health there was.

‘……But how strong is it?’

The Titan Colossal Soldier, activated after meeting various conditions.

It would be troublesome if it was just mediocre performance.

……Seeing is believing.

Curiosity could be resolved through experimentation.

“So…… where should I head?”

Soon, a minimap appeared at the top of my vision.

Han Seoha on the top lane’s ore cave and the middle lane.

The two were still holding strong against Maslow’s managers.

On the other hand.

“As expected, the bottom lane is struggling the most.”

Currently, Yun Yeobaek and HardboiledPC were fighting together on the bottom lane.

The issue was that Yun Yeobaek was a white mage who healed and strengthened allies.

The true value of Yun Yeobaek, the A+ rank’s only supporter and the White Mage Tower Lord, shone in raid fronts with multiple participants.

Various buffs that transcended individual limits and wide-area heals that recovered dozens at once.

Yun Yeobaek’s presence or absence directly affected the hunters’ survival rate.

But the drawback was that she couldn’t exert much power in small-scale skirmishes like now.

Essentially, HardboiledPC was facing two managers alone.

“Then, shall we head to the bottom lane first.”

I planned to test the Titan Colossal Soldier’s specs while I was at it.

I crouched down in place.

“Get ready.”

I took position and…… leaped!

Kwabang!

The ground the Titan Colossal Soldier kicked cracked in multiple directions and collapsed.

At the same time.

Shweee-

The Titan Colossal Soldier leaped with ferocious momentum.

Acceleration reminiscent of a high-speed jet.

Huuuuuu-

The sound of air friction could be heard.

‘This is…… way more over-spec than expected?’

Before I knew it, the bottom lane’s landscape was visible below.

I adjusted my posture and descended straight down.

…Right onto Cherocheropari’s head!

-Kwajak!

It felt like stepping on a cherry tomato underfoot.

At the same time.

Ding-dong!

[Lord ‘Cha Hasang’ has defeated an enemy!]

[Lord ‘Cha Hasang’ Manager ‘Cherocheropari’]

I had crushed an A+ rank monster in one strike.

“This works?”

At that moment, HardboiledPC’s voice rang out.

[What, what’s this now? Is it like a boss monster or something!?]

“It’s me. Cha Hasang.”

HardboiledPC struck a cute pose and said.

[Omo-omo-omo- Could it be Hasang-kun!? What’s this, what’s up! You’re totally like a knight on a white horse~ Did you come to save me? Totally-touched-!]

“No.”

Soon, Yun Yeobaek’s voice also came through.

[Thank you, Mr. Cha Hasang. Boarding a Colossal statue, huh. It seems like a special gimmick of this dungeon. Hmm, that means the enemies also…… Ah! Mr. Cha Hasang! Watch your feet!]

I immediately looked down at my feet.

The Pierrot Devil was charging toward the Titan Colossal Soldier’s ankle.

The Pierrot Devil spinning at high speed with two daggers in hand.

Dozens, hundreds, thousands of slashes rained down on the Titan Colossal Soldier’s ankle bone.

Sparks flying everywhere.

An assault so fierce it even formed a small whirlwind.

But.

“?”

It didn’t faze me at all.

To be precise, it felt like brushing skin with a feather.

Just mildly ticklish.

As expected.

[HP: 99.9999%]

There was almost no change in the Titan Colossal Soldier’s HP.

Despite thousands of slashes, only decimal-point damage had come through.

‘Not even flinching from an A+ rank monster’s attack.’

Not just attack power, but defense was outstanding too.

Perhaps the Titan Colossal Soldier’s class was close to S-rank.

At that moment.

Ta-tat-!

The Pierrot Devil began fleeing quickly.

Judging it couldn’t overcome the size difference, it chose swift escape.

“Oh no, you attack whenever you want, but escaping isn’t up to you.”

I started chasing the Pierrot Devil.

Kung! Kung! Kung!

As the Titan Colossal Soldier ran, the ground began to shake.

I tried to stomp it to death like with Cherocheropari, but.

Hwik- Hwik- Hwik- Hwik-hwik

The Pierrot Devil fleeing with erratic movements.

Zigzagging, jumping, climbing cemetery fences, dodging this way and that.

It seemed like a monster specialized in speed.

“In that case…….”

I kicked off the ground and leaped.

Then.

-Kung!

I jumped down in front of the Pierrot Devil.

The Pierrot Devil leaped into the air to evade the attack.

But.

Kugugu-

A shadow loomed over the Pierrot Devil’s head.

The shadow’s identity was the Titan Colossal Soldier’s massive fist.

“Predictive shot! You punk!”

Kwabang-!

The Pierrot Devil slammed into the ground along with the Titan Colossal Soldier’s huge fist.

Kwakwakwakwabang!

The ground caved in like a meteor impact.

When I lifted my fist, the crushed remains of the Pierrot Devil fell out.

Ding-dong!

[Lord ‘Cha Hasang’ has defeated an enemy!]

[Lord ‘Cha Hasang’ Manager ‘Pierrot Devil’]

Following Cherocheropari, now the Pierrot Devil.

I had taken out monsters that veteran A+ rank hunters struggled with in just tens of seconds.

Soon, I kicked the bottom lane’s structure hard.

Kwabang!

Ding-dong!

[Lord ‘Cha Hasang’ has destroyed a structure!]

The structure shattered like a sugar cookie under the Titan Colossal Soldier’s kick.

‘……I could end it like this?’

Overwhelming attack power, defense, and mobility.

By using the Titan Colossal Soldier to destroy the enemy temple, I could pass this floor’s trial.

Just as I thought that.

-Kung!

A deafening roar echoing the ground came from afar.

Something massive was leaping into the sky from the enemy temple.

“That’s……!”

A Titan Colossal Soldier.

A Colossal Soldier of the same form as the one I boarded was flying toward me.

“What? This thing can fly?”

I tried to fly up, but it didn’t budge.

In the meantime, the enemy faction’s Titan Colossal Soldier landed in front of me.

-Kung!

The ground shook again.

Its appearance was identical to the white Titan I boarded.

But its entire body was painted black.

At that moment, Yun Yeobaek’s voice rang out.

[As expected……! The opposing team has the same boarding unit too!]

That meant the one boarding the black Titan was the manager of the belonging desire floor.

In such cases, there was a tactic that guaranteed a high win rate.

That was.

“……First strike wins!”

I slammed my fist into the black Titan’s face.

Shweee-

However, the black Titan didn’t dodge or block the attack.

Instead, it countered with its own fist.

Kwabang!

A powerful shockwave spread around the two contacting fists.

‘!……!’

It was distinctly different from the Pierrot Devil.

The tip of my fist buzzed, and my joints ached.

‘Specs are similar, huh. In that case……!’

I attacked the opponent’s side with my left fist.

This time, the black Titan raised its guard.

I was waiting for that reaction.

‘Pretending to attack the left…….’

I kicked the black Titan’s left knee hard.

Ppagak-!

The low kick landed precisely.

If it were a human body, that strike would have broken the leg.

As expected.

Kwa-bang! Jjeo-jeo-jeok-

A fierce explosion sounded, and cracks spread across the black Titan’s knee.

Finally.

-Kung!

The black Titan knelt and collapsed.

But only for a moment.

Deudeuk- Deu-deu-deu-deuk-

The black Titan’s knee vibrated.

At the same time, the opened cracks began healing instantly.

Like using powerful recovery magic.

“……Aha.”

Now I understood.

The reason it could fly. 

The reason it could recover.

“You can use skills in Titan state?”

In that case, things changed.

‘I’ve got skills too, you know.’

……Alright, round two begins.