Episode 53.

Even as he saw the mob of undead rushing towards the city, Jung Si-woo calmly prepared for battle. Because of his superior intuition, he realized their approach early on, giving him plenty of time to prepare. To be honest, it was because their march was prolonged. It was “battle prep,” but there wasn’t much to do. Jung Si-woo demolished all of the city’s buildings and gathered the massive wreckage. Most of the mob were undead monsters of that caliber; these fragments were enough to face them. He shoved the documents obtained from this quest into his inventory for now. Exterminating the undead was a more pressing issue than investigating this city’s history.

“I finally received the Thunder God’s Rifle, but I can’t even use it because of mana consumption. Isn’t it strange how I’m forced to use another handheld weapon right now?”

“It’s because your mana is low.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“You can get a magic bullet artifact with lower mana consumption later. But right now…hyap!”

Yong Se-ha helped Jung Si-woo destroy the building. To be more specific, Se-ha turned the building’s debris that Si-woo had shattered into ball-like pieces. Unlike Soo Ah-rin, a pure priestess, Se-ha had his strength even in his small state.

“Hyeong-nim, this is an okay size?”

“Yes, it is. Let’s keep pushing.”

“Of course. I’m so glad I can be of help!”

Yong Se-ha’s smile was blinding! How could this kid be so positive? Si-woo couldn’t handle Se-ha’s pure enthusiasm and quickly moved to decimate another building. The bullets started to pile up.

[In the name of Setnak!]

[Setnakkkkk!]

“Hmm.”

Jung Si-woo had a feeling that the undead was a cult following Setnak, and it was true. If that were the case, the other questions would be solved.

“Don’t you think the female follower of Setnak they’re talking about is the Banshee we fought in the dungeon?”

“It does make sense to interpret it that way…”

The city’s inhabitants, who became the undead after losing the Holy War, and Setnak’s servant, Banshee, oversaw them…they had been transported into the dungeon and had fought with Jung Si-woo; it was a plausible explanation. Perhaps Setnak was a god the undead worshipped.

“A world dominated by undead…”

“Ewww.”

Looking at the legion’s scale, it wasn’t far off to say that soon Setnak would dominate the entire world. That, of course, would terrify Ah-rin.

[Punish the incendiary!]

[Punish! Punish!]

[Punish the cowards who’ve ruined the legitimate war!]

[Punish! Punish!]

“No idea what they’re talking about…”

Jung Si-woo frowned at their yelling, which became louder as the distance lessened between them. A legitimate war? There was no legitimate war in this world. War was a sin in which all forcibly embellished violence on a national scale, under the guise of justification or honor.

“The cowards who ruined the war…who are they referring to?”

“Let’s think about that after we annihilate them.”

Jung Si-woo climbed up the wall again. Their army had gotten close enough to where he could see each of the zombie’s faces. He scanned the entire legion to look for their best. However, none caught his eye.

“Zombies, skeletons, ghouls…only the basic monsters are here?”

“Depending on the basis, they can become stronger. Of course, these don’t seem to be…”

Though most had rotted away, some of the zombie’s outfits were kept intact from when they were living. Only 10% of the undead were wearing iron armor or carrying razor-sharp weapons.

“Ah, I found it.”

“Where…kek.”

Amid the undead, Jung Si-woo found a knight, proudly on a dark ghost of a horse. It was a half translucent ghost horse armed in black with a knight wearing matching black plated armor! He had an ax in one hand and a helmet in the other, but only a blue haze floated above the neck where the original head should have been. Only then did Jung Si-woo conclude that its head was inside the helmet.

“It’s holding its neck. He must be a freak.”

“The Headless Knight, Dullahan!”

“Good Lord, it’s a monster we haven’t even encountered in a dungeon yet!”

Soo Ah-rin almost fainted again, so Yong Se-ha explained instead. In the famous undead dungeon, its existence was rarely mentioned. Players have never encountered this high-level undead before; it was an opponent well over Level 200.

“This is perfect. So I’ll be able to mingle with the top players if I beat him, right?”

“Positive!”

If everyone in the world thought this way, they wouldn’t have to worry about stress! While Soo Ah-rin was in a state of shock, Jung Si-woo began to take out stones from his inventory one by one. Dullahan was Dullahan; right now, he needed to eliminate the overflowing amount of undead monsters.

“Se-ha, watch Dullahan. Tell me if you think he’s trying to do something.”

“I will.”

“Ah-rin, you ready that divine power.”

“Yes.”

Jung Si-woo held a stone in hand and drew out all the strength from his muscles. He would reserve his mana for Dullahan. In the first place, there was no need to use mana for the others. He firmly planted his lower body and shifted his waist…he fired the first bullet!

[Kugagaahhhh!]

“Ah.”

The sound of the bullets cutting through the atmosphere sounded like a monster’s roar. If there was a problem, the stone turned to shrapnel as it was unable to overcome the speed.

[Kahak!]

[Kahhhhh!]

That in itself was enough; instead, it was better. Even after becoming small fragments, the pieces didn’t lose velocity. The shrapnel struck the front line of the undead, delivering its fatal blow.

[Setna…um?]

[Kek, Kekek!]

The forces of the undead, including the Dullahan, couldn’t grasp what they had just witnessed. Just now, their enemy hadn’t used mana. He only utilized the strength from his body to throw a rock. With that alone, he crushed more than dozens of the undead on the spot. An attack with no mana infused in it typically wouldn’t kill them. However, the fatal attack impaired their functioning, and there was no other option but death.

“Wow.”

“I’m gonna keep going.”

Jung Si-woo, the one who created this miracle, apathetically grabbed another rock as he mumbled to himself.

[Kahak!]

[Kueeeek!]

Maybe he developed a knack for this, but his second shot wiped out an even wider range of undead. Jung Si-woo threw the stone after calculating the shot’s range, realizing that it was going to break in mid-air inevitably. Not only the undead army but also Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha, who were beside him, couldn’t help but be terrified watching him.

“Is there any player who can do that?”

“Maybe the Water Spout Guild Master…but it would be a stretch without mana.”

Jung Si-woo was superior because of his naturally monstrous build, which needed no mana enhancements to be in that state. Another was his ability to extract and utilize that physical strength at will. Other players were too reliant on using mana and were trying to solve everything with it. As their levels rose, they thought their enhanced bodies were only a mere tool to wield mana. They didn’t attempt to delve any deeper than that. Sure, one could argue that those players didn’t have the time to deal with their bodies, as they were busy studying and mastering their skills. But if they had seen what Jung Si-woo had done, they would realize what a critical mistake they were making.

“Hyeong-nim is aware of his body and has mastered the technique of fully drawing out the strength from it. That’s not all, which is shocking by itself. He can combine the two, his strong body and mana together…”

If one were to compare Jung Si-woo’s battle with the Armored Orc Commander to the Ghast’s, it would be clear as day. The speed at which he grew was rapid. It was so quick that it seemed like just his breathing made him stronger. Ten Jung Si-woos from a week ago wouldn’t be able to beat him right now. Surely, in ten more days, this fact wouldn’t change.

[This boy is…a grenadier?]

It was probably Dullahan. The sound of his murmuring passed down even to Jung Si-woo through mana.

[His Grace relishes in Death. If we are to sacrifice the entire Legion for the sake of a certain one’s death, it would be pleasant. I look forward to seeing how long you can maintain yourself.]

Even at Dullahan’s words, Jung Si-woo never flinched. He proceeded to throw the third stone, once again destroying dozens of the undead. However, in his mind, Jung Si-woo was thinking something different.

“So he’s saying he won’t need to get up for battle. Okay, this is my lucky day.”

This is what was wrong with the higher ranks! They always send out their subordinates because they don’t want to fight but then realize the situation’s gravity when worse comes to worst. At that point, it’s already too late to handle the situation! But this was something Jung Si-woo was grateful for!

“Se-ha, keep looking. You don’t know when they’ll change.”

“Yep.”

“Phew, great! Then let’s…”

Jung Si-woo shot the fourth rock and stretched his body again. Next, he poured out the stones from inventory on the wall. He held a stone in each hand as his eyes lit up.

“Changing to rapid shooting mode.”

“You right now are like a machine. Stop it. It’s scary.”

He took a short breath and fired off the stones in succession. Although it had less destructive power and speed, it was more than enough against the zombies and skeletons. Another part of the legion fell again, yet Jung Si-woo didn’t check to see and immediately threw two more stones. He threw two, lowered his head a little, picked up two more, and threw again! Pushing forward without losing a single second, Jung Si-woo seemed like a stone-firing machine gun.

[Kuaaak!]

[Se, Setnaakkkkk!]

[They’re dying! Completely dying!]

[Kuek, Kueeek!]

The undead had yet to step a single foot towards the castle. The shrapnel annihilated those who stepped even a little forward; to say it was only physical force was, in reality, alarming. In an instant, the number of destroyed undead exceeded a thousand. This was when the change started.

“Uh, um.”

“They… they’re eating their comrades?”

“What?”

It was true. At some point, the ghouls in the middle section came forward and began to scarf down the zombies and skeletons. Some did die from the rocks Jung Si-woo threw; however, they were moving around efficiently in the midst of the raining shrapnel. They were building their strength as they gradually filled their bellies. Soo Ah-rin yelled out as she looked at one part of the legion.

“Elite! It just became an elite!”

“They can’t win with numbers, so they’re trying to lower them and only build their best and brightest…!”

It was no longer the fragments that stopped the zombies and skeletons. No one had ordered the ghouls, but they were eating the zombies and skeletons! The army had surpassed tens of thousands but soon fell to less than ten. In the blink of an eye, it had dropped to less than half of that.

“If they keep going like this…”

“They’re not some combination robot. How cowardly to level up as they please!”

As Soo Ah-rin expected, this quest wasn’t about annihilating the undead army but searching for the truth. Meanwhile, Yong Se-ha was yelling at the ghouls for their cowardice. At a sudden thought, Jung Si-woo forcefully threw the rock in his hand. The elite ghoul, who was busy feeding off the zombies, raised his head and died the next moment from the precise stone shot.

“Hm.”

“That’s…”

A dark light emanating mana fell exactly where the ghoul was destroyed. It was what Marina Bissett had called a mana stone.

“Of course.”

Jung Si-woo muttered with confidence, seeing the stone. This wasn’t a dungeon.

This was the living, breathing world.