Chapter 2: Overcharged Mana
With a resounding “Whaaaaack—”, my fist, filled with overflowing mana, shot forward.
And then…
Crack-crack-crack!
I heard the sound of something shattering to pieces.
“Kyahhh!”
“Krrr-haaah!”
The ‘something’ that shattered was none other than my own arm, unable to withstand the rampaging mana.
“…?”
The tattooed woman, who had inadvertently let out a scream, looked up with a confused expression.
‘Damn it.’
My attack hadn’t dealt any real damage to the enemy.
All it did was pose a significant ‘threat’ before self-destructing mid-air.
‘…This damned unique trait.’
It was all because of Overcharged Mana.
A trait that allowed one to possess immense mana, yet did not provide the physical body needed to withstand that power.
My body, weakened and frail, couldn’t handle the mana that had grown disproportionately large.
‘Looks like I really need that mana suppressant.’
The mana suppressant was an essential drug for me, to maintain daily life and plan for the future.
However…
‘Lee Se-han.’
It was because of that bastard that I hadn’t been able to take my suppressant today.
As a result, here I was, in this mess.
‘Actually, if I had taken the suppressant, I might have been killed by the Red Hunter.’
It was possible that the only reason I even had a plan to confront the tattooed woman was due to the lack of suppressants.
Not that it meant I felt grateful to Lee Se-han for it.
“…What is this?”
The tattooed woman, who had been piecing the situation together, finally opened her mouth.
“Ha. You had me scared for nothing, huh? You’re dead.”
She seemed to be even more enraged now.
Apparently, she had concluded that my attack was nothing more than a bluff.
Which, to be honest, wasn’t entirely incorrect.
After all, my right arm had been rendered completely useless just from trying to execute that one attack.
“Wait! I didn’t want it to be like this either.”
“Shut up and die, you damn porter.”
She began to stomp her way toward me.
Her stride and expression were full of rage.
She seemed humiliated that she had been frightened and even let out a scream because of a mere porter.
But I had my own retort.
“I tried to finish you off in one blow, but I couldn’t control the power.”
To be honest, I had expected my arm to break.
I’d considered it a fair trade, sacrificing one arm to kill her.
But I hadn’t expected the direction of my attack to be completely thrown off.
However, this time would be different.
The tattooed woman was already right in front of me, so there was no way the attack could miss.
“Huup!”
With a mighty shout—
Whaaaaack—!
I threw another punch, this time with my still-intact left arm.
Once again, it was accompanied by an overwhelming surge of mana.
“Hmph! I’m not falling for that again!”
The tattooed woman, assuming this attack was yet another bluff, didn’t even bother dodging.
She merely twisted her body slightly and jabbed her dagger at me.
Crack!
“Grrk.”
Once again, my left arm shattered under the pressure of the mana.
But at least…
‘The direction is roughly correct.’
The attack didn’t miss this time.
BOOOOOM—!!
“Kyahhh!”
This time, it was the real deal.
The attack hit its mark, and the tattooed woman was sent flying.
However…
‘She’s screaming? She’s not dead yet, huh.’
I had aimed for her midsection, but unfortunately, the attack veered off course and hit her shoulder instead.
It wasn’t a lethal strike.
Moreover…
“Ugh.”
Every breath sent a sharp pain through my chest.
It seemed it wasn’t just my left arm that had broken.
‘At this rate, I’m going to die for real.’
The worst-case scenario I had feared was becoming a reality.
A body of, at best, 3-star quality was crumbling under the pressure of 8-star—no, possibly even higher—level mana.
It was a serious problem.
More than anything, the fact that the tattooed woman wasn’t dead yet was the biggest issue.
“You… you bastard… Were you hiding your strength this whole time?”
She asked.
I couldn’t respond.
I was too busy suppressing the mana that was on the verge of rampaging.
“…Why the hell were you working as a porter with that kind of power?”
Fortunately, she hadn’t noticed that my left arm was broken yet.
But that wouldn’t last long.
It wouldn’t take her much time to realize that neither of my arms was moving properly.
The tattooed woman adjusted her grip on her dagger and sighed.
“Huff… You’re not going to let me live, are you?”
“……”
No. I will let you live. Please, just leave.
I was practically dying to say it.
But I feared that if I opened my mouth, I wouldn’t be able to control the rampant mana any longer.
“I never thought I’d die to a porter, but I might as well put up a fight.”
She slowly started advancing towards me.
I focused all my remaining strength and managed to force out a few words.
“…Go.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll… let you live… so… leave.”
I did it!
I managed to speak, controlling the rampaging mana.
“……”
The tattooed woman didn’t respond.
Damn, what’s with that uneasy silence?
Hurry up and leave! Before I kill you!
“…You’re not in good condition, are you?”
Crap.
She figured it out.
I realized it too late.
Because I was focusing on suppressing the mana while speaking, I wasn’t able to keep a proper expression!
With a sinister smirk, she approached me.
“What a show-off. You almost had me fooled.”
There was no choice now.
I had to use my final option.
“…Do you know?”
I just blurted it out.
I couldn’t control the mana anyway, so I diverted it all into my mana circuit.
Just this once, I made up my mind to kill her no matter what.
“I’m not going to listen to your nonsense. Die!”
The tattooed woman charged at me.
And I…
“I still have both my legs left for the gods!”
I focused mana into my right leg and swung it toward her.
Whirrrrr—
An enormous amount of mana enveloped my leg.
And just like before, my leg couldn’t withstand that immense power.
Crack!
My shin bone broke.
Damn it.
The attack trajectory shifted.
The tattooed woman was still charging at me, aiming to slit my throat.
Her outstretched dagger was just inches away from piercing my neck.
BOOOOOM—!
Crack!
“Huh?”
A dumbfounded sound escaped my lips.
Even though my shin had broken and my kick veered off course, it managed to strike the tattooed woman’s chin perfectly.
‘Should I call this luck?’
The tattooed woman died.
With such a ridiculous amount of mana behind a direct hit to a vital spot, it would have been a miracle if she survived.
“I’m alive… Uhg!”
The relief of surviving lasted only a moment.
Thud.
I collapsed immediately.
“Damn… it.”
Even though I had killed my opponent, the excess mana within me began to tear my body apart.
Crack!
The left leg, which had been relatively unharmed, shattered as well.
If I couldn’t suppress this mana, I had no idea what would break next.
Would it be a bone fracture, a muscle tear, or would my organs explode?
So, before that could happen…
“Grrr…”
Slide— Thump.
Slide— Thump.
I desperately crawled forward.
Toward the corpse of an Ironclad Faction Hunter lying on the ground.
‘That guy definitely had a potion.’
A recovery potion.
That ridiculously expensive item that cost hundreds of thousands of won each.
If I could get hold of a potion to heal my broken body, I could at least put out the immediate fire.
‘Fix the broken leg first, then escape the dungeon somehow.’
That was the initial plan.
Of course, while escaping, I’d have to suppress the rampaging mana, and if I failed, my body would shatter again.
Even if I somehow escaped the dungeon, it would be a hellish ordeal until I could get my hands on a mana suppressant again.
I’d have to return to the organization and convince or maybe even threaten the supply officer…
‘Damn. They’re basically telling me to die.’
It was effectively a death sentence.
But I couldn’t give up.
‘I have to live.’
I had to survive.
I couldn’t just die so meaninglessly, without achieving my revenge.
Slide— Thump.
Slide— Thump.
I twisted my elbows, knees, head, and pelvis as I wriggled across the ground.
It was a grotesque spectacle, but I eventually made it.
‘Potion!’
I found a potion in the chest of the Ironclad Faction Hunter’s corpse.
‘Ugh.’
With arms that barely functioned, I pulled out the potion.
Now, if I could just open the cap and pour it on my leg… then yeah.
I’d at least be able to walk out.
Just as a faint glimmer of hope started to spark—
Grooo—
A sound crushed that glimmering hope.
I instinctively turned my head and locked eyes with a monster.
It had green skin, protruding tusks, and a pig-like nose.
‘…….’
Just my luck.
Was the orc I thought I killed actually just unconscious?
At this point, I didn’t care what the reason was.
The important thing was the consequence of it all.
This situation, right now…
ROOOOOAAAAAR—!!!!
‘Shit.’
It was a checkmate situation.
The orc looked at the scattered corpses of its kin around it and let out a deafening roar.
Then it immediately charged at me.
Wham!
It kicked me with all its might.
‘……!’
My eyes widened from the pain.
Even so, I somehow managed to hold onto the potion.
Because this potion was the only hope I had left in this dire situation.
But while hope was singular, despair lurked everywhere.
The orc was coming to kill me, and the pain made it impossible to keep my mana suppressed as it began rampaging again.
My limbs were already shattered to pieces, so unlike with the tattooed woman, fighting the orc was not even an option.
And then came the final blow.
Wham!
The orc’s powerful kick sent me flying through the air.
And then—
‘A cliff!? Seriously?!’
I began free-falling.
The fierce wind battered against my entire body.
ROOOOAAAAR—!
I could hear the orc’s roar of victory avenging its fallen brethren, fading in the distance.
I clenched my eyes shut.
I had to lessen the impact of the fall somehow.
I…
‘I can’t die like this!’
─I had to survive.
Ding!
[Tenauzes’ Arrangement 4]
- The arrangement left behind by Dragon Lord Tenauzes for the last of the dragons.
- A mighty power of a dragon lies dormant here.
- There might be a chance to discover a special treasure.
- Entry Requirement: Mana 1,000,000 or higher
[You have entered the dungeon.]
Boom!
“Kuh… cough…”
After falling for what seemed like forever, I finally hit the ground.
To be more accurate, I collided with it.
‘I… I can’t breathe.’
The height was significant, and it wasn’t a proper landing.
Flailing my arms and legs to lessen the impact had barely made a difference.
I was just thankful I hadn’t died instantly.
‘But I’ll still die like this!’
Although I barely escaped instant death, death itself was still looming over me.
My 3-star level body barely survived, but the injuries were far more serious now.
The limbs I had barely managed to move were now completely out of my control, and my mana was rampaging even more violently.
The only consolation was that the pain had crossed the threshold, leaving me numb to it all.
‘The potion…’
I pushed my face toward the potion I had clung onto so desperately.
If I could just drink it, I might be able to cling to life a little longer.
Survival beyond that was uncertain, but…
‘I need to survive first.’
I gritted my teeth.
With my limbs immobile, I had to rely on the movement of my head and neck alone.
Wriggle… thud.
It was a movement no different from that of a worm.
But it was a desperate struggle for survival.
I would do whatever it took… to live.
Wriggle.
And I finally managed to reach the potion.
Now came the second challenge.
Click.
I bit down on the cap of the potion.
I had to find a way to open it.
But it wasn’t easy.
Slip…
The cap kept slipping away from my teeth.
I managed to reach it, but how was I supposed to open it now?
‘Damn it.’
A surge of curses rose up in my mind.
Opening a bottle cap with just my face required an incredible amount of delicate force control.
And right now, I was anything but delicate.
‘Should I just break it?’
If I used my jaw strength, I could probably break the bottle itself.
Glass shards would undoubtedly pierce my mouth, but the potion’s healing effects would still outweigh the injuries.
‘Let’s do it.’
I made my decision.
Then, I immediately bit down on the neck of the bottle with my whole mouth and clenched with all my might.
Crack.
Crack, crack.
I could hear the sound of glass starting to shatter.
Just a little more and I’d be able to break it.
Just as I was pouring all my strength into crushing the potion bottle—
【Who’s this crazy bastard?】
An unfamiliar voice rang in my head, as if it had pierced through my thoughts.
‘……!’
I was utterly stunned.
There was someone else here.
—
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