Chapter 11 – New Weapon, Is This Right?
Chapter 11 – New Weapon, Is This Right?
Thump! Thump-thump-thump!
A heavy vibration echoed through the cellphone.
“You two. You mustn’t move around too much.”
It was simple advice.
As long as the mana in my Magitech Armor remained, the two of them would likely be safe. However, there was no need to make things unnecessarily difficult.
“Yes, y-yes!”
Sua seemed to barely manage to answer.
‘Come to think of it… is this the first time they’ve had their lives directly threatened by Monsters?’
Watching them, I thought to myself.
‘I should start training them soon.’
The more my people became accustomed to combat, the better.
Since the two of them had already passed the threshold, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start training with simulated combat.
Of course, that was a conversation for after I rescued them.
‘They should be arriving soon.’
I was thinking this as I watched the Magitech Armors approaching the two.
“Mr. Si-Siwoo! I think we should just run away!”
“What?”
“We can’t attack like this! Eventually, we’re going to get overwhelmed!”
‘Oho.’
Sua was quick to notice the weakness of the Magitech Armor.
I had never mentioned the development of New Weapons to them, nor had I told them that there were multiple units of Magitech Armor.
Information regarding my military strength was precious.
I replied to her with a smile.
“No. They’ll be there shortly.”
“What?! Don’t tell me they’re nearby? Don’t come!”
Sua shouted urgently.
Clank— Clang—
At that moment, the sound of metal friction echoed through the phone.
The Magitech Armor squad, armed with New Weapons, had arrived.
* * *
Looking through the Observation Probe, the father and daughter seemed flustered.
“Uh… huh? Siwoo? What is this…?”
“My goodness. What the— there were four more of them?”
“Kieeeeeek!”
The last voice belonged to a spider.
“Huh?”
In that instant, I tensed up.
‘Thorn Spiders are a species that doesn’t make sound.’
That was definitely a Special Entity.
Special Entity. That was the name for those with unique powers among Monsters that usually relied on sheer numbers.
Some were simply faster, stronger, or larger, but occasionally there were those with unknown abilities like this.
‘I need to figure out its ability.’
On the surface, it didn’t look much different from the others.
I hoped it was something simple, like the ‘ability to make strange noises,’ but as long as the opponent was a Special Entity, I couldn’t afford to underestimate it.
‘First, I must secure their safety.’
Thinking so, I shouted to Sua over the phone.
“Ms. Sua. Go inside the red gate on the right now!”
“Huh? Y-yes!”
At my words, the father and daughter immediately sprang into action.
Creek!
As they opened the slightly ajar gate and went inside, they seemed to hesitate for a moment. Watching them through the Observation Probe, I immediately gave the next order.
“Ignore the first floor; if you go around to the left side of the building, there are stairs. Don’t go to the third floor; make sure to enter the second floor. If the door is locked, break the window to the left!”
“Yes! We’re going right now!”
Sua followed my instructions without question.
However, her face was a mask of confusion. It was as if she was wondering how on earth I knew all of this.
‘I’ll tell you everything once this is over, so just bear with it for a bit.’
I told myself inwardly while assessing the situation.
‘Now, what exactly is your ability?’
Just as I thought that.
[Observation Probe (Unit 4): Anomaly detected. Confirmation required.]
[Observation Probe (Unit 1): Anomaly detected. Confirmation required.]
[Observation Probe (Unit 2): Anomaly detected. Confirmation required.]
[Observation Probe (Unit 6): Anomaly detected. Confirmation required.]
[Observation Probe (Unit 3): Anomaly detected. Confirmation required.]
[…]
Many of my Observation Probes sent alerts.
“Ah… so that was the ability?”
I had a bad feeling.
* * *
With a trembling heart, I checked the Observation Probes one by one. No matter where I looked, the situation was equally grim.
“As I thought, they’re all heading that way…”
The Monsters hiding in every corner of the Redevelopment Zone were all heading toward one location. That location was none other than where Sua and her father were, along with the four units of Magitech Armor.
The ability to summon nearby Monsters—it was a common ability, so common that Mutants were almost born with it.
Fortunately, I was far away, so the Observation Probes near the Shopping Mall didn’t react, but it was still a critical situation.
My own life wasn’t in direct danger, but perhaps for the first time in this life, a Monster was truly threatening my plans.
‘I can’t afford to lose a Water Ability User I worked so hard to save.’
Thinking this, I picked up my cellphone.
“Ms. Sua. Listen carefully. A very large number of Monsters are heading your way right now.”
“Wh-what?! Why? Then what do we do?”
“First, stay calm. Did you make it inside the second floor of the house?”
“Yes, my father picked the window latch.”
“Ahem.”
Deokchan let out a bashful cough.
But in a world like this, that was a useful talent. He was said to be a renowned Carpenter, and it seemed his dexterity was indeed superb.
“You did great. Now, barricade all the entrances, including the windows, using things like bookshelves or beds. Find a weapon if you can and wait. I’ll clean this up quickly.”
“Um… Mr. Siwoo… uh…”
“Ms. Sua. Ask your questions later. You need to survive first, right? Once you’re ready, hide and try not to make any noise.”
“Y-yes.”
Deokchan, who had been a carpenter, was with her.
Barricading the area shouldn’t be a problem.
‘Now… the immediate fire is out.’
It was finally time to prepare for battle.
The primary goal: the survival of the father and daughter.
The secondary goal: testing the New Weapon.
‘I think I can handle this.’
I began issuing orders to my Magitech Legion.
* * *
Clank— clank— clank—
The Magitech Armors followed the father and daughter toward the same building. More accurately, they passed the second floor where the two were hiding and headed for the third.
The third floor was the rooftop, which had a small rooftop room—a temporary structure that looked like it would collapse under the slightest attack.
‘This will be useful.’
The Magitech Armors weren’t the only ones nearby.
There happened to be about ten Worker Bugs collecting various resources in the vicinity, and I summoned them all to the building.
Additionally, I sent all the Worker Bugs from my Main Base, leaving only six as reserve forces just in case. Worker Bugs working in other areas were also heading toward the site.
In total, there were well over 50 Worker Bugs.
‘It will take at least ten minutes for the Monsters to assemble.’
In other words, I had ten minutes of preparation time.
‘Ten minutes is more than enough.’
I immediately began giving orders to the Worker Bugs that arrived at the building first. The fortification work began.
‘Demolish the rooftop structure and secure the resources.’
Scurry-scurry—
As soon as my order was given, the Worker Bugs set to work.
Although they were still small, only about 20cm, they were Magitech machines reinforced with mana, so their strength was immense.
Crash! Crunch!
The rooftop room was dismantled in an instant.
The sound echoed through the Observation Probe.
‘As expected, there wasn’t much to it.’
However, the materials weren’t great. Consisting of styrofoam insulation and 2×4 wooden studs, the strength was pathetic.
‘Well… just slowing down the approach speed is enough.’
Based on my prior survey with the Observation Probes, the building itself was already like a fortress. That’s why I had guided the two here.
Meanwhile, I instructed the Worker Bugs to use the materials from the temporary structure to block the stairs and the door to the second floor.
The Rake Wolves and Thorn Spiders lacked intellectual capacity anyway. This alone should be enough to guarantee the safety of the father and daughter.
‘Now for the cover and concealment…’
Considering the destructive power of the Thorn Spider, creating a cover that could actually protect a body from such an attack in a short time was impossible.
However, I could certainly create a concealment to hide from the Thorn Spider’s eyes. Using the remaining rooftop materials, I began turning the third floor into a sort of outpost, as if pitching a tent.
Thump-thump— thump-thump—
Meanwhile, my Worker Bugs from the surrounding area began to gather, reaching a considerable number.
Thanks to that, some could focus on construction while others gathered materials from nearby houses, accelerating the work.
Simultaneously, some Worker Bugs brought Mana Stones and began refilling the mana of the armor that had been protecting Sua and her father.
That unit didn’t have the New Weapon, but as long as its mana was properly filled, it could still be a sufficient force.
By the time the third-floor outpost and second-floor barricades looked decent, I looked at the Monsters surrounding the area and thought.
‘It’s about to begin.’
I gave the order to the Magitech Armors.
‘To your positions.’
Clank— clank— clank—
The armors moved without a word.
The Magitech Armor without the New Weapon stood at the junction of the stairs between the second and third floors, blocking the entrance. The four newly arrived Magitech Armors each took one side of the third-floor rooftop.
‘Now, draw your weapons.’
Clank— clank— click—
At my instruction, the inner panels of the four Magitech Armors opened slightly.
What they pulled out were the New Weapons I had made by modifying steel pipes, and large sacks filled with something bumpy.
Rattle—
As they set the sacks on the floor, a heavy metallic sound echoed.
“Good.”
I grinned as I watched the Monsters begin to charge.
“Prepare for combat.”
Following my words, the Magitech Armors raised the steel pipe weapons.
Click— click—
And into the cone-shaped funnels at the top of the pipes, they poured a large amount of steel balls from the sacks.
Rattle-rattle-rattle—
The pipes had loading holes just large enough for one steel ball, and the balls were loaded into the pipes one by one.
Yes.
My New Weapon was none other than…
“Fire at will from the ready gunners.”
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Machine guns.
* * *
What is the most useful way to use an Explosion Ability? For example, should one create a massive explosion centered around their own body, like Seo Gwangjin?
Not at all.
The important thing was what you did with that explosion.
For instance, with gunpowder contained in a shell no larger than a pinky finger, one could fire a gun—the strongest infantry weapon in human history.
In other words, instead of using the Explosion Ability as it is, you use it to launch a projectile.
Phew—! Bang! Bam!
A refreshing barrage of machine gun fire. The Monsters surrounding the building began to be torn to shreds.
They were being melted away before they could even approach.
While firearms lose their effectiveness once Monsters become stronger, the important point was that that time had not yet come.
This was the very beginning. In other words, it was the era where guns were king.
The development itself wasn’t difficult.
Since it was a device fired by an Explosion Ability, there was no need for complex internal structures like firing pins, bolts, or triggers.
A simple steel pipe that fit a steel ball and a funnel that automatically fed the balls into the pipe were enough.
Since they were weapons used by Magitech Armors, there was no need to worry about convenience. There were no stocks or sights.
The machines simply moved their arms with precision to control the recoil, aimed automatically, and exerted the ability to fire.
Furthermore, since everything, including the steel balls, did not have a complex shape, I could create them myself through simple shape transformation using my ability.
Meanwhile, there were unsung heroes hiding behind the armors in the heat of battle.
“Ding!”
“Ding-ding-ding!”
Beneath the armors’ feet, Worker Bugs scurried about, steadily replenishing the Mana Stones needed to recover the rapidly dropping mana.
They even secretly crawled into the growing piles of corpses to harvest Mana Stones and recover the used steel balls.
A creative economy in the middle of a battlefield. There was no worry about supplies.
Thus, the Magitech Armors could essentially fire infinitely.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
By the time the barrels began to glow red from overheating, the Monsters that had surrounded the area were all corpses rolling on the ground.
“Is this… for real?”
The firepower was far stronger than I had anticipated.
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Errors:
Genderbend: Looking through the Observation Probe, the two women seemed flustered.“Uh… huh? Ms. Siwoo? What is this…?”
…
At my words, the two women immediately took action.
…
The victory objective was the survival of the two women.
…
The Magitech Armors followed the two women, heading to the same building. More precisely, they were passing the second floor where the two were hiding and heading to the third floor.
…
The Magitech Armors followed the two women, heading to the same building. More precisely, they were passing the second floor where the two were hiding and heading to the third floor.
Water is life: power through water volume
Fire: The ability to attract surrounding Monsters with Fire Manipulation was a common ability
Urgent fire?: urgent Fire Manipulation.
High-tech water gun: Since it was a water gun fired with explosion ability,