Chapter 98: Titan (3)

A coin-sized black spot.

Black lines extended from the black spot.

One, two, three, four……

Countless black lines spread out centered on the black spot.

Where lines met, black spots formed, and from there, innumerable black lines burst forth.

Chwa-chwa-chwa-chwa-chwa-chok-

Dots became lines, and lines became dots again.

Division and fusion.

From the extended stems, buds formed again, and from the buds, stems extended.

Numerous buds connected by stems.

Deu-deu-deu-deu-deu-tseu-tseu-

They tangled and spread.

Extending, connecting, entangling.

Entangling again, connecting, extending.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa~!

Soon, all things were connected in darkness.

***

Consciousness returned.

‘……Did I even lose consciousness in the first place?’

I don’t know.

Whether it’s day or night now.

How much time has passed.

Whether my feet are on the ground or floating in the air.

Whether I’m standing upright or upside down.

I couldn’t clearly gauge any of it.

Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste.

Balance, spatial perception, time perception.

All the sensory sensors in my body had gone dead.

At that moment.

……Pat!

Light returned first.

A small, pure white light source in front of my eyes.

Radiance shone vividly like a white stain on black drawing paper.

It spread in all directions in the blink of an eye.

Soon.

Deu-deu-deu-deu-deu-

The darkness that had engulfed the surroundings began to lift gradually.

I looked at the landscape before me.

Lava bubbled through cracks in the ground, and stars shone red through fissures in the shattered sky.

The creation of heaven and earth.

“……This is 50% output?”

The Seven Demons First Strike Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art.

With just half of its full destructive power, part of the third floor had been annihilated.

Soon, the devastated terrain came into view.

Cemeteries vanished without a trace.

Black flames flickered on the remaining ashes, and black smoke rose from the upturned ground.

Soon.

Deu-deu-deu-deu-deu-

The dust cloud dispersed, revealing the black Titan.

From the waist up, the upper body had vanished without a trace.

Only two legs of uneven lengths stood tall.

Kkudeuk…… Kkudeuk…… Kkudeuk……

The black Titan’s body repeated attempts to regenerate and collapse.

The regeneration skill wasn’t activating.

Kwajik-Kwajik-Kwajik- Kwajik-

The remnants of Gluttony Slash were devouring the black Titan’s regenerating parts one by one.

Soon, the landscape behind the black Titan came into view.

Traces of sword aura spread in a fan shape.

All things that existed there had returned to nothingness.

The canyon’s structures, monsters, areas, managers, even the temple.

All of them turned to pitch-black powder and scattered.

The 50% output Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art activated through the Titan Colossal Soldier as a medium.

Power beyond imagination.

‘If I can fully control this skill…….’

At that moment.

Kugugugugugugu-

Intense vibrations transmitted through my entire body.

Ding-dong!

<WARNING!>

<WARNING!>

<WARNING!>

<WARNING!>

The Colossal Soldier was shaking violently.

Cracks began spreading across various parts of the Colossal Soldier’s body from head to toe.

Soon.

Kwabang!

Part of the Colossal Soldier’s upper body shattered, and the left arm fell off.

At the same time, a new message appeared.

Ding-dong!

<Severe damage detected!>

<The Titan Colossal Soldier’s HP has been fully depleted!>

The Seven Demons First Strike Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art was a skill that placed a heavy burden on the body.

Due to the recoil of Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art, the Titan Colossal Soldier had begun to collapse.

Soon.

-Ding-dong!

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

I quickly pressed the YES button.

A sensation like being sucked into a drain.

Ssuuk!

The Titan Colossal Soldier came into view before my eyes.

I had been ejected outside the Colossal Soldier.

-Ding-dong!

<Skill ‘Ink Stealth’ has been activated.>

I activated Ink Stealth and flew into the air.

At that moment.

Kwakwakwa-Bang!

The Colossal Soldier exploded into thousands upon thousands of fragments.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Kwabang!

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

The Colossal Soldier’s fragments began devastating Maslow’s canyon.

How many minutes passed like that.

Huduk- Hu-du-du-duk-

Finely crushed stone pieces pelted the ground.

As a result of the stone shower sweeping through, all the terrain features in the canyon had turned into flatland.

Soon.

“Hasang jiiiing-!”

A spine-chilling voice rang out.

As expected, HardboiledPC was charging with ferocious momentum.

“Are you okay? No injuries anywhere!?”

HardboiledPC lifted me up and inspected me this way and that.

“I’m fine, so could you put me down.”

“Yeah yeah! At least outwardly, no major injuries.”

Soon, Yun Yeobaek, Ma Seokdong, and Han Seoha joined as well.

Ma Seokdong said.

“What on earth happened? That magic just now……. Han Seoha, was that a skill?”

Han Seoha furrowed her brow.

“Of course it’s a skill, what else? Anyway, are you really an E-rank hunter? Hmm…….”

Han Seoha, Ma Seokdong, and HardboiledPC looked at me.

I scratched my cheek and said.

“Well. I’m not sure, but it seemed like the power of the Colossal Soldier.”

I made up something roughly.

If it was revealed that an E-rank hunter could use an S-rank skill, it would be troublesome in various ways.

Above all, more inconvenient restrictions than now would arise.

Fortunately, the A+ rank hunters didn’t seem intent on pursuing further.

Han Seoha opened her mouth with an arrogant expression.

“Let’s discuss what to do from now on. Ms. Yun Yeobaek, do you have any spare mana potions?”

“Yes, here. Mr. Ma Seokdong and Mr. HardboiledPC, are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

At that moment, six marble platforms appeared in the air.

Narrow platforms barely big enough for one person to stand on.

The A+ rank hunters stepped onto the platforms without a word.

Pat- Pat- Pat- Pat-

They vanished to the next floor in an instant.

Quite some time had passed since starting the conquest of Maslow’s Tower.

And now, three out of five floors had been cleared.

‘……If I pass the fourth floor now, it’s the boss room.’

I tried to step onto the platform.

At that moment.

“?”

I felt a stinging gaze from behind.

In front of the half-collapsed temple.

[………]

LDX-3021 was staring right at me.

Pajik…… Pa-jijik…… Pajik……

Sparks flying from LDX-3021’s body.

Despite completing self-repair, its condition was still horrific.

Especially the right head area and side were severely damaged.

“Hmm…….”

There was something I wanted to test anyway.

I opened Featherback’s journal and borrowed one of the demonic spear’s stored items.

-Ding-dong!

<Nano Gray>

-Storage Number: MRG-532

-Storage Grade: Safe

The 17th Gray Mage Tower Lord ‘Gaiver’s invented shape-restoring solution ‘Nano Gray’.

This opaque gray semi-solid substance restores damaged objects to their most perfect and intact form.

Nano Gray reacts only to inorganic materials and has no effect on organic matter like living beings.

“I saw it. A man of steel flying through the sky, annihilating enemies! In that dream, the steel armor the man wore returned to its original state instantly even when damaged. What a magnificent sight.” -17th Gray Mage Tower Lord Gaiver-

A gray semi-solid solution in a triangular flask.

It was one of the artifacts returned from Paracelsus’s laboratory.

I dropped a few drops of the Nano Gray solution onto LDX-3021.

Tuduk-

Then.

Kkumul-kkumul-kkumul-kkumul-kkumul!

The Nano Gray solution wriggled like a living being and seeped into LDX-3021’s damaged parts.

The crushed torso straightened, and the shattered and broken limbs regained their shape.

The biggest change occurred in LDX-3021’s head area.

Precisely, the face part.

The flat and smooth face slimmed down elegantly.

Soon, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears formed in sequence, and thin black threads like hair grew from the head.

Finally, LDX-3021’s entire body was covered in flesh-toned skin.

Soon, LDX-3021 opened its eyes.

[Basic…… database…… rebooting……. Minor errors…… self-diagnosing…….]

LDX-3021 muttered while staring into the void.

But only for a moment.

[Cha, Hasang nim…….]

LDX-3021 focused on me.

Black bob hair slightly covering the neck.

Slightly upturned eyes, a prominent nose bridge, plump lips.

The newly restored LDX-3021 looked like a woman in her 20s no matter how you saw it.

Soon, LDX-3021 opened its mouth.

[……I will adjust Hunter Cha Hasang’s data.]

“?”

Then, LDX-3021 stared right at me.

[Hunter Cha Hasang is my benefactor. I will set the priority protection to the next level after Creator Luddite nim.]

“Uh, what. Thanks? But what are you going to do now?”

LDX-3021 blinked and said.

[I have expended all remaining energy in battle. In the current state, I judge I cannot assist in the dungeon conquest this time, so I intend to standby on this floor.]

Humanity could be faintly felt in the voice and tone.

Soon, LDX-3021 smiled brightly.

[Thank you once again. Cha Hasang nim. Please succeed in the conquest safely.]

It was a charming eye smile.

‘Modern robots even smile naturally. Amazing.’

The corners of the mouth seemed to move slightly too.

……Well, whatever.

I stepped onto the platform.

Then, the platform soared into the sky.

-Ding-dong!

<Entering the 4th Floor, 「Esteem Desire Floor」!>