[Entering the 30th floor of the Tower of Myth, 'Contaminated Land'!]
A fierce wind began to blow even before the space finished forming.
The pressure was so intense it felt like my face was being crushed. Was there a typhoon nearby?
This damn tower should at least let you start in a safe place, not right next to a typhoon... Huh?
I squinted at the unbelievable sight.
So that's why the wind was so strong—I was in free fall.
Are you out of your mind? Tower of Myth.
Good thing Kancho and Momo weren't here.
If they had been, they'd have gone flying off with a whoosh!
Swoooooosh...!
I shifted my gaze at a strange ripple.
A flock of wyverns was charging toward me, as if they thought I was food.
As the floor's name suggested, they were all consumed by contamination.
Clank.
I pulled chains from my inventory and wrapped them around both arms.
Nothing beats this for aerial combat.
Kraaaaash!
A wyvern that had closed in right in front of me opened its maw.
Normally, I would have crushed its skull instantly, but not this time.
I unwound the chain from one arm and lashed it toward the wyvern's neck.
The chain wrapped around tightly and pulled taut.
Using the momentum, I swung myself up onto its head.
'Your name from now on is Chunsik.'
I had a new mount.
Kraaak!!
Of course, it wasn't a docile mount like a Kentaripin.
The wyvern thrashed wildly, shaking left and right, flipping upside down, and writhing like crazy.
Good thing my stomach was empty.
[Stellar Alchemy]
A formation circle drew beneath my feet.
In an instant, an Elia-brand Velcro insole was synthesized.
I'd been wondering when I'd get to use it in real combat, and now the time had finally come.
'Great adhesion.'
I spread my freed arms.
[Iron Brand]
The moment I activated it, the black dragon Drakhan's scales split into two streams.
I infused them with a dark blue aura.
After rotating my hands to spin all the scales.
'Bye bye.'
I swung them toward the oncoming wyverns.
The scales were already tough, but with the aura added, their cutting power had doubled.
There was no way wyvern hide could withstand this disaster.
Kwaaddddduk!!
The wyverns that touched the vortex of scales had their forms scattered in an instant.
If there were a competition for blender performance, this would definitely take first place.
After grinding them up for a while, I looked around.
Even contaminated, their instincts seemed intact.
The remaining wyverns kept their distance and didn't approach anymore.
Even the one I was riding had stopped thrashing, probably afraid of being shredded too.
"If you're not coming, fine."
No choice.
I had to summon the specialist in long-range interception.
"Kancho."
Pop!
"Kancho, Yodel Ranger Vice Captain! You called, sir!"
"Let's take those down."
I pulled a machine gun and ammo belt from my inventory and set them on the mount's back.
"Where's Third Class Momo!"
"I'm here!"
Momo Third Class had manifested without me noticing and was preparing to serve as the assistant gunner.
She was even wearing the safety-first helmet used during the cathedral construction.
Kancho took a prone firing position and looked up at me.
"Captain! How many do we need to take down!?"
"All of them."
Twitch, twitch, twitch!
Kancho's ears moved rapidly, and the corners of her mouth stretched wide.
There it was.
The Satanic expression that Elia and Camilla dreaded so much.
"Firing!"
"Fire!"
Ratatatatatatat!!!
Bullets left the machine gun and tore through the air.
I'd ordered tracer rounds this time, so their trajectories were clearly visible.
Kwagagagagak!!
Explosions bloomed across the sky in an instant.
This was practically a full bloom.
Kraaak!!
The wyvern lurched from the massive recoil, but the bullets didn't stop.
No matter where it staggered, Kancho just kept firing.
Wyverns here, wyverns there—every shot was a hit.
After pulling the trigger for a long while, Kancho lifted her head.
"Momo Third Class! Yodel Telescope!"
"Where is the Yodel Telescope!"
"Ah, it's around my neck."
Kancho looked around with the Yodel Telescope.
Then she jumped up and saluted.
"Kancho, Yodel Ranger Vice Captain! Mission complete!"
Twitch, twitch, twitch!
"Good job."
I gave her a thumbs-up and vigorously patted her twitching ears.
"Hey, Momo Third Class! What are you doing! Clean up the ammo belt!"
"Got it! If I do this, will I be Momo Private?"
"Not yet! You need more achievements to get promoted!"
"Promotion is so hard!"
"The path to promotion is long and arduous! Keep at it! Moya!"
The Kancho-Momo duo sat side by side, tidying up the ammo belt.
Momo stood up with a serious face and walked toward the machine gun.
"Huff!"
She squatted down and tried to lift the machine gun with all her might.
As she strained and trembled, Kancho was startled and shouted.
"Don't overdo it! You'll hurt yourself!"
"Phew! That was really dangerous!"
Momo wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked up at me.
"Master! This won't work! I tried to get promoted right away, but I failed!"
"I'll take care of it."
I packed the machine gun away and took a slow breath.
The smoky smell of gunpowder seeped into my nose.
It was much better than the stench of contamination.
"Good work. See you in a bit."
I dismissed Kancho and Momo, then lifted one foot.
My business in the sky was done. Time to go down.
[Earth-Destroying Falling Star]
Booooom!!!
* * *
Just before Kancho, Yodel Ranger Vice Captain, pulled the trigger.
The members spread across the Contaminated Land stared at the sky.
Their guild was called Scavengers.
It was a guild responsible for purification, a vital industry of the kingdom, tasked with eliminating contaminated monsters and restoring eroded land.
If left alone, the contamination would endlessly devour the territory, so Scavengers had set out today for monster subjugation as usual.
But then they encountered a flock of wyverns with absurdly high contamination levels and were preparing for a life-or-death battle.
Suddenly, the monsters shot up into the sky, leaving them as mere spectators.
"V-Vice Guild Master."
"I see it."
The man called Bram, the Vice Guild Master, let out a low breath.
The dark blue something that had been wildly tearing through the sky had disappeared from view moments ago.
Even the chilling cries of the wyverns had somehow stopped.
What in the world was happening up there in the distant sky?
"Huh?"
Bram, who had been frowning, rubbed his eyes.
Was he seeing things?
For a moment, the sky seemed to turn red.
"The sky looks really red."
"Yeah. Like a sunset... but it looks like blood...?"
Bram's pupils dilated.
It was real blood.
"Everyone! Shields up! Mages, cast barriers!"
Following Bram's orders, the guild members raised their shields in unison.
Beneath them, the mages hurriedly chanted spells, but they were too late.
Before the barrier was complete, a torrential downpour came crashing down.
Thudthudthudthud!!!!
It was a rain of massive chunks of flesh and scattered blood.
The faces of the guild members, including Vice Guild Master Bram, turned pale.
They had never seen anything so horrifying in their lives.
'What... what's up there?'
His heart began to race.
The wyverns they had encountered earlier weren't ordinary.
They were all contaminated, their power levels raised by at least two tiers.
And yet something had ground them up like this?
He couldn't even begin to guess what was up there.
"Everyone, prepare to move! Get back to the base as fast as possible!"
There was no time to dawdle.
Whatever it was, the moment it came down, they'd all be annihilated.
Just as they were about to move.
Kwagagagagagang!!!!
A thunderous roar struck their eardrums.
Without exception, everyone's gaze shifted to the sky.
They all knew they had to leave, but not a single person moved.
The explosion was that spectacular and beautiful.
'Did a high-circle royal mage come?'
He looked around, but saw no one like that.
Of course not.
For an ordinary purification guild to receive support from a royal mage was like trying to catch a star in the sky.
They weren't the kind of people to come out of nowhere and help just because they were bored.
Thudthudthud!
The rain of blood and flesh seemed to have finally stopped.
But then, charred black chunks of flesh began to pour down.
And not long after.
Sweeek! Kwaaang!!!
A wyvern crashed into the Contaminated Land at incredible speed.
Dust clouds spread in all directions.
As a shadow emerged from within, Bram and the guild members aimed their weapons.
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly.
'Please...'
He desperately hoped.
Whatever it was, that it wouldn't be an enemy.
Step.
When a man emerged, Bram's face filled with question marks.
He had expected something with horns or scaly skin.
But it was a young man who looked completely harmless.
Gulp!
Jinhyuk, who had walked out, also swallowed dryly.
The people were drenched in blood and flesh, stained red.
It reminded him of Red Momo after dismantling the black dragon Drakhan.
"Um..."
Flinch!
Just by opening his mouth, they flinched and startled.
"Are you all right?"
When he asked cautiously, Bram and the guild members looked at each other.
Given the impact of his entrance, it wouldn't have been strange if he'd said, "I'll kill you all."
But contrary to expectations, he asked a surprisingly kind question.
Vice Guild Master Bram slowly steadied his breath.
Then he cautiously opened his mouth.
* * *
Temporary base of Guild Scavengers.
"Ohhh... This is...!"
Bram and the guild members' eyes sparkled intensely.
A dazzling crystal ball that the outsider Yoo Jinhyuk had presented.
According to him, this magical item was what had wiped out the wyvern flock earlier.
"For such immense firepower to come from this small orb... incredible."
"It has its limitations, given its power. The number of times it can be used per day is also restricted."
"This is foreign technology...! Thanks to you, we witnessed something truly remarkable."
"Not at all."
Jinhyuk replied nonchalantly and wore an awkward smile.
It was better to keep one's cards hidden rather than reveal them.
"I didn't know you were down below. I'm sorry again!"
He bowed his head to the people who had turned red unintentionally.
"Oh, don't apologize! If it weren't for you, Mr. Jinhyuk, we don't know what would have happened to us."
"That's right! We've taken down quite a few monsters, but we'd never seen that many wyverns before! We might have all died!"
Smack!
A girl nearby slapped the boy who had just spoken on the back of the head.
"Hey! The Guild Master said words can become reality, so don't say such unlucky things!"
"Oh, right! I forgot. Sorry, sorry."
"Go wash up! If you're late, there won't be any hot water."
"That won't do."
Following her advice, the boy hurried off.
The girl sighed deeply and stood beside Bram and Jinhyuk.
"Please have some of this. It's tea that warms the body."
"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
"You're welcome. I'm the one who should be grateful for saving our guild members."
She smiled and sipped her tea.
Just as the girl said, the tea warmed her chest.
"Could I take a look at a map? I'd like to know where I ended up."
"Oh, yes! One moment."
The girl rummaged through her bag, pulled out a map, and spread it.
"This is the location of the temporary base."
As the girl pointed to a corner of the map, Jinhyuk's hand, which had been sipping tea, stopped.
'This is...'
It was the village Leon Mortier had desperately tried to protect: Myard.
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T/N:
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