Chapter 24 – Enjoy Limitlessly
Chapter 24 – Enjoy Limitlessly
It always starts with reconnaissance. As soon as the Dimensional Rift opened, I sent in two Observation Probes that had been on standby.
Tiririri—
This is different from a game where you can practice on the same map hundreds or thousands of times. Even if the dimension is the same, the location of the Rift changes every time unless it is directly connected from the other side.
In other words, from the nearby terrain to the enemy’s position…
I had to account for and adapt to all of this from scratch.
If there was a silver lining, it was that thanks to my past self having hit a wall head-on several times, I knew exactly what to do now.
‘First, I’ll fix the Rift’s location.’
The location of the Rift must be defended at all costs.
If I fail, the Monsters could use this Rift to launch another invasion toward our side.
However, just as humanity does not know where the Monsters appear, the Monsters do not know the location of the Rift from the start.
‘I will utilize this informational advantage.’
Just as Monsters build Nests in suitable locations, I could establish an ‘Outpost’ on the other side to conquer that dimension.
Right now, this Rift is so inefficient that sending two Observation Probes consumes a significant amount of Mana, but it will be different once I establish an Outpost and gradually increase the size of the Rift.
A proper path through which we can travel back and forth will be opened.
However, that also means stronger Monsters will be able to pass through.
In other words, it is a double-edged sword with increasing risks. But it was inevitable if I wanted to send expeditions and bring extracted resources back to the Main Base.
‘Put another way… as long as I can defend well, there’s practically nothing bad about it.’
That is why the selection of the Outpost’s location was so important.
After searching for a terrain easy to defend with the Observation Probes for a while, I soon found a good spot.
“This looks pretty good.”
The highest mountain in the area, providing a vantage point to overlook the surroundings.
The rugged mountain terrain made it a geography easy to defend.
‘Then, if I build defensive facilities here…’
It would be the icing on the cake.
“As expected, for a Korean, a mountain fortress is the way to go.”
Having made up my mind, I smiled and began pouring Mana into the Nest Mana Stone once more.
Hwaaaaaak—
Then, the Mana Stone, which had been the size of a watermelon, began to shrink as if it were being sucked into something. To fix the Rift, it was moving to the opposite dimension.
Once the Mana Stone was split evenly between this dimension and the opposite one, the Rift became much more stable.
The Mana consumption was still high because the Mana Stone was small, but that was a problem time would solve.
Just as the Nest Mana Stone was created, if I continued to feed it Mana Stones, the stone would grow, the size of the Rift would increase, and it would gradually become more stable.
Through that Rift, I began by sending the Worker Bugs first.
“Ttiriiiiing~?!”
One by one, the Worker Bugs began crossing over the Rift.
Investing a considerable amount of Mana, I sent a total of 40 of them.
‘Quietly. Gather the surrounding stones and build the mountain fortress.’
Looking down through the Observation Probes, I designated a suitable size along the original ridgeline of the mountain. As always, they began the work immediately without a word of complaint.
‘Now… finally.’
All I had to do was wait for them to work.
I instructed the Observation Probes to send an alert immediately if any anomaly occurred, and I ordered all the Assault Cannons and a large number of Magitech Armors to guard the Rift.
Now… there was one last thing to do.
‘Well… you guys work hard. I’m going to sleep.’
It had been a long day, from marching to pick up Seongjae to even summoning a Dungeon. The best course of action was to recover my stamina first and enter the Dungeon in peak condition.
‘Because tomorrow will be an even longer day.’
Of course, it was a task that would be well worth the effort.
* * *
The next morning, after a good rest.
I explained the Dungeon to Sua, Deokchan, and Seongjae.
Then, I spoke as if making a declaration.
“I plan to stay there for a while.”
“H-how long?”
Sua looked flustered.
“At least until the situation over there stabilizes.”
Seongjae thought deeply for a moment and reached his own conclusion.
“Hmm… Siwoo. In my opinion, I think it would be best for me to stay here and start building a firepower generator?”
“Yeah. Do that. I’ll assign some Worker Bugs to you.”
Since that was the purpose of his coming in the first place, there was no reason to stop him.
Next was Deokchan.
“I shall work with Seongjae as well. How admirable of the lad to show such an attitude of wanting to learn technology.”
And the two looked at each other with eyes full of affection.
It seemed there was something that connected fellow engineers and technicians.
Now, everyone looked at Sua.
“Um… uh, well…”
Deokchan looked at Sua and said a word.
“Sua. If this is something you truly wish to do, your father will not stop you. Just please, do not get hurt.”
Her wavering gaze steadied.
“Then I will go with you.”
It seemed the moment her decision was made.
“Great. Then let me tell you the precautions.”
I called Sua aside and explained what would happen the moment we entered. I reminded her of the things she needed to do and the preparations she had to make.
She listened with a serious expression and nodded.
‘If she’s this disciplined… at least she won’t die.’
The tension on her face was a good sign.
And finally… we stood before the Rift.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes…”
“Then I’ll enter first. Don’t forget that it consumes a significant amount of Mana.”
I gave her the final precautions.
Hwaaaaak—
I drew up my Mana and approached the Rift.
Swaaaaa—
As I passed through the Rift, a sound like a waterfall echoed.
* * *
Clear air.
“Huu…”
I took a deep breath.
As the Apocalypse—the end of the world—progressed and industries slowly became paralyzed, the Earth’s air was indeed becoming clearer.
However, humanity was still in the midst of its final struggle.
In particular, munitions factories were still running, and tanks or armored vehicles occasionally passed by, causing pollution.
In contrast, this was a world where not a single drop of oil had ever been properly burned. The quality of the air was on a different level than Earth’s.
As I enjoyed the pleasantly clear air, the sound of a waterfall began to echo behind me once more.
Swaaaaa—
Sua had followed me in.
“Huha… huha… hua…”
She was breathing deeply.
Her pale expression showed that she was not used to consuming this amount of Mana all at once.
“Sit down and rest for a bit. You’ll be fine soon.”
“Yes.”
Meanwhile, she wasn’t the only one entering.
Swaaaaa— Swaaaaa—
The sound began to repeat.
The Magitech Armors were entering as well.
I immediately checked their status.
“Good.”
There were no major problems.
“Now, you guys pick up your tools too.”
It wasn’t just the Worker Bugs who could work.
After instructing them to work, I looked around the area, and it seemed the outline of the fortress was roughly taking shape.
Furthermore, there were several trenches where one could immediately hide from unexpected long-range attacks.
“You’ve worked hard. This is excellent.”
It was an unbelievable amount of work for just 40 bugs to have done overnight. Of course, it wasn’t finished yet.
“Still, it’ll take a long time until it’s complete.”
A mountain fortress was a structure that usually took hundreds of laborers several years to build. Even though these were Worker Bugs who worked 24 hours a day without needing to rest, eat, or sleep.
Even so, one cannot build a mountain fortress overnight.
Fortunately, the mountain terrain that served as the foundation for the fortress was so rugged that it acted as a natural fortress.
‘Well… that’s why I chose this place.’
I grinned.
Meanwhile, while I was checking the progress of the work, Sua seemed to have recovered some of her Mana.
“Mr. Siwoo… what should I do now?”
“Ms. Sua. You brought the waterproof tarp as I mentioned, right?”
“Yes.”
“Now, spread it over that hollowed-out area and start collecting water like a pond. Start right now.”
“Oh, yes!”
I instructed her to create a small pond.
For Sua, a Water Ability User, the water she could use was no different from ammunition. In other words, I was telling her to create a stockpile of ammunition.
‘Now, shall I start moving the Assault Cannons?’
I rolled up my sleeves.
The medium-sized Assault Cannons still required a significant amount of Mana to pass through the small Rift. I began bringing the Assault Cannons over one by one, step by step.
Swaaaaa—
* * *
It was the next morning when I had summoned all four Assault Cannons.
At night, we each had a deep sleep in the two tents set up by the Worker Bugs, and for meals, we enjoyed the special taste of ramen eaten at the mountain peak.
“This… somehow feels like we’re on a camping trip.”
Sua had a bewildered expression.
Meanwhile, while she and I enjoyed this unexpected camping, the Magitech Armors and Worker Bugs were all working hard.
Thus, the defensive posture of the mountain fortress was established to some extent.
Around the afternoon of the second day, as the size of the pond began to grow.
I felt that the time had come.
“Ms. Sua.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll start the operation now.”
“Um, what kind of operation is it?”
“Just… a lot of Monsters will be coming.”
Sua’s face turned pale.
“Uh… a lot are coming?”
“Yes. A very large number.”
I grinned at her.
* * *
Teo-ong! Teo-ong! Teo-ong! Teo-ong!
Masses of light, illuminating the surroundings brightly, were fired toward the sky.
Sua’s eyes widened.
“M-Mr. Siwoo? Were they those kinds of things?!”
“Ah, is this the first time Ms. Sua has seen them fire?”
Whether the Assault Cannons knew of Sua’s surprise or not, they began firing once more.
Teo-ong! Teo-ong! Teo-ong! Teo-ong!
The impact points were areas nearby with high Monster Density.
Places I had found in advance using the Observation Probes.
‘Assault Cannons. To your positions.’
The Assault Cannons that had fired Indirect Fire now moved to their positions for direct fire. It was the mountain peak, overlooking a significant portion below the fortress without any obstructed view.
And then… impact.
Kwakwakwakwang!
Light that brightly illuminated the afternoon as it began to grow dim.
Sua was horrified as she watched the scene from atop the fortress.
“What kind of explosion… is that so…”
I brought her focus back.
“I’ve poked a hornet’s nest. They’re coming soon.”
“Kweeeeeek!”
Rake Wolves let out monstrous screams. Noticing the sudden attack, they began heading toward the place where the light had been fired.
Straight toward this mountain fortress. However, they slipped while climbing the rugged mountain, and they had to struggle to climb over the walls that had reached a certain height.
And that meant…
Tudadada—
They were perfect targets for my Magitech Armors to shoot.
But that wasn’t all.
Puck— pupupupuck—
There was also Sua, who drew water from the pond and provided calm fire support to pick off the Rake Wolves.
‘Her skills have definitely improved.’
She was firing increasingly powerful Water Spears day by day.
However, unlike Earth, there were also medium-sized Monsters here.
“Kuuu-uuk. Kuuuu-uuk.”
A monster the size of an elephant, with two thick, long apricot-colored legs and several short tentacles. The so-called Stomper.
“M-Mr. Siwoo! Something huge is coming!”
It was only the size of an elephant, but for Sua, who had only seen similarly sized creatures until now, it seemed to be a great shock.
“Don’t worry.”
I reassured her.
And as soon as the creature appeared near the fortress…
“Fire.”
I immediately gave the order to fire.
Teooooong—!
And a mass of light fired in a direct line.
It hit the torso connecting the Stomper’s two legs and instantly sliced the creature in half with a single shot.
“Kueeeeeek!”
The creature died with a monstrous scream.
Sua’s expression was filled with even more horror.
“Mr. Siwoo’s ability… is there no limit to it?”
“I can’t create water, though.”
I grinned at her words.
“Focus on the situation. Stop the Rake Wolves from approaching.”
“Yeees…”
Sua’s tone sounded somewhat deflated.
* * *
We were able to finish the battle before dinner.
Since Mana consumption required an equivalent amount of calories, we decided to eat the combat rations that Sua and Deokchan had received from the National Army.
When I slid the pound cake, which came as a dessert, into the packaging of the hot combat rations, Sua seemed shocked once again.
“Hul, was that how you eat it?”
“Ah, you didn’t know?”
Thinking about it, Deokchan and Sua, who would have been from the generation before the new combat rations were released, wouldn’t have known.
‘It’s written on the packaging… but it’s easy to miss.’
I had been exempt from military service, but former soldiers among my colleagues had stepped up to teach me these things. For instance, Seongjae.
While we ate, the Worker Bugs harvested the Mana Stones from the Monsters we had cleared. In particular, unlike the low-grade Mana Stones so far, the Mana Stones from the Stompers were at least usable.
After filling our stomachs with combat rations, a smile naturally formed on my face as I looked at the Mana Stones piled up in front of the Rift.
“Sigh, how long has it been.”
My Mana Stones had decreased significantly as I started paying the maintenance costs for the medium-sized Assault Cannons and conducting Advanced Research on Composites.
I decided to let half be absorbed by the Nest Mana Stone fixing the Rift and pour the remaining half into research.
“Oooooh… finally, Mana Stone smashing!”
[Composite Research in progress… 56%]
[Composite Research in progress… 59%]
[Composite Research in progress… 62%]
[Composite Research in progress… 67%]
The research stage rose noticeably.
Considering how long I had waited and endured, it felt as if a stifling feeling was being cleared away.
“Ah… hahahahaha!”
Feeling inexplicably good, I let out a hearty laugh, and Sua looked at me with strange eyes, tilting her head.
“Why? Did something good happen?”
My eyes sparkled as I looked at her.
“Ms. Sua.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry… but I’m not letting you sleep tonight.”
“W-what do you mean by—”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Teo-ong! Teo-ong! Teo-ong! Teo-ong!
Because the sound of the Assault Cannons’ artillery barrage echoed.
“Kweeeeeek!”
“Kueeeeeek!”
And…
Due to that artillery, the Monsters began to swarm in once again.
It was the moment Sua’s face, which had been somewhat red, turned pale.
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Errors:
Manipulation: Fire Manipulation was unavoidable.
…
in case of Fire Manipulation.
???: I was exempt from Go Ara,
men: And the man…
With the man’s Artillery Barrage