Radioactive Leak (8)
KWA-GWAGWAGWANG!
The spear summoned from the warehouse by Hadong-geon struck the radioactive slime square on the head and exploded in a chain reaction.
The slime, which had devoured an entire building, burst apart, and black flames erupted in all directions, melting its body.
Seeing the black energy burn the radioactive slime confirmed it was a solid hit.
However...
"It doesn't seem to matter much!"
That alone wasn't nearly enough firepower.
Squelch, squelch...
Green liquid gathered around the ruptured and burnt areas and swiftly regenerated the wounds.
"So it's not going down that easily, huh!"
He had somewhat anticipated this from the moment he checked the creature's level through the Eye of the Absolute.
[Slime (Lv. 56)]
Even in this godforsaken world, monsters above level 50 were incredibly rare, and each one was extremely powerful.
And this thing far exceeded level 50.
Considering that even the Cyclops that had shown up in Seomyeon was only in the early level 50s, it was possible to get a rough idea of how strong this thing was.
"Aside from the True Ancestor and White Dragon, this is the highest-level monster I've faced!"
This wasn't going to be easy.
Flap-
A parachute unfolded from the back of the Ratman, drastically slowing his descent.
That meant they'd be able to strike a few more times.
Even now, Hadong-geon was relentlessly throwing spears imbued with black energy while storing them back in the warehouse in real-time.
But judging by how the slime endured the last attack, their firepower was clearly lacking.
"This won't cut it!"
Even if he unloaded hundreds of Hadong-geon's spears from the warehouse all at once, it still didn't seem likely to cause meaningful damage to the slime.
He turned to Hadong-geon and said,
"Get ready."
"Got it."
If multiple small hits weren't working, it might be better to concentrate all their strength into one massive blow.
Hadong-geon silently picked up a spear.
'Enhance Hadong-geon.
At that moment, black heatwaves erupted explosively from Hadong-geon's body.
'Huh?'
He had expected a similar reaction to when he enhanced Seo Ye-jin or Kellican, but this response was on a whole other level-far more powerful.
'What the hell is this?'
Before he could even finish organizing his thoughts, Hadong-geon hurled the spear powerfully into the air.
FWOOOOOM!
It was a strike filled with far more power than usual.
ZIIIIING-
It was summoned again, directly aimed at the slime's head.
KWA-GWAGWAGWA-!
The black energy swirling around the entire spear expanded into a massive drill-like form and began to whirl violently.
The spinning black energy resembled a giant drill.
And then-
KWAARRRRR!
The black drill tore through the air and struck with a brilliant explosion.
And then-
KABOOOOOM!
The nuclear power plant, unable to withstand the impact, exploded, sending shards of the slime flying in all directions.
'...It survived that?'
Even after being hit by a far more powerful blow than anticipated, there was still no system message signaling the slime's death.
Squelch, squelch...
It clearly wasn't an ineffective attack.
The slime was in far worse condition than after being struck by dozens of spears earlier.
Its body had exploded along with the building and was still being scorched by the black flames.
But its vitality was far more tenacious than expected.
Squelch, squelch...
The fragments of its body scattered in all directions began gathering back together.
From above, it was clear that even the smaller slimes that had spread across the entire base were being absorbed back into it.
[Slime (Lv. 56)]
The monster, now even larger than before, writhed in place.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
In the end, it had completely regenerated.
"And on top of that—!"
Slime fragments that had spread to the sea and forest were now rapidly returning to this location.
'Does this mean I have to take care of all of them?'
I glanced over at Ha Dong-geon, who was panting right beside me.
"Huff, huff."
He still had some stamina left, but it seemed impossible for him to launch another attack on the same scale as before.
With a bit of a loophole using the daily quest, I could probably fully restore Ha Dong-geon's stamina up to three times.
But even that wouldn't be enough to wipe out the seemingly endless wave of slimes.
'No choice. Time for Plan B!'
The radiation levels at the Wolsong base were beyond imagination.
The surrounding land was completely soaked in radiation, the forest had turned a dying red, and the sea and air were severely polluted, emitting sharp radiation in all directions.
In this state, continuing the attack any further was realistically difficult.
Because―
Whoosh-
A parachute deployed by Ratman caught fire due to intense radiation.
Boom!
Almost simultaneously with the formation of a small hole, the parachute exploded into shreds.
Ratman, now in free fall, flailed helplessly in the sky.
Vrrrmmm-
At that moment, a black aura began to rise from Ratman's entire body.
I had powered up Seo Ye-jin, and using that power, she had powered up Ratman in turn.
With the boost from the black aura, the enhanced skill dramatically amplified Ratman's vitality.
Thud!
He collided with the ground soon after, but the impact wasn't as intense as expected.
The slime bodies spread across the Wolsong base had cushioned his fall.
However, that green slime was saturated with radiation.
Ssshhhh―
Ratman's body, now exposed to extreme radiation, began to melt as his decaying flesh sizzled away in real time.
'With his zombie trait and the black aura boost, he can probably hold out for a few dozen seconds!'
Ratman's sacrifice bore fruit.
'North Gate, unlocked!'
The space before me and the Wolsong base, churning with slime, both began to ripple.
Almost simultaneously, Ratman's lifeline was severed and the visual connection ended.
But-
Gloop-
I could still see the writhing slime beyond the North Gate.
The connection had been successfully established.
"Eye of the Absolute."
Swoooosh-
I activated the Eye of the Absolute from this side and infused it with black energy, revealing the Wolsong base beyond the North Gate in vivid detail.
Radiation was spreading in all directions, tearing everything down in real time.
Even I wouldn't survive if exposed to that kind of radiation.
However—
Rumble-rumble-rumble-
The North Gate was completely blocking the radiation.
At least within the safety zone, there was no need to worry about radiation
exposure.
"Invisible Hand."
I still had one unused skill point left.
Right before starting the operation, I invested it into Invisible Hand, leveling it up to Level 3.
This increased both its range and power.
And at Level 3, a new feature unlocked-simple, yet powerful:
Splat-
The ability to summon multiple arms.
Eight invisible hands stretched out from my body, extending through the North
Gate.
And then-
"Enlarge."
As they grew massive, black energy surged at their clawed tips.
Slash!
They began to shred the slime bodies to pieces.
Fwoosh!
All eight hands tore into the slime wildly.
The smaller slimes gathering nearby were destroyed in a single blow and were being tallied in real time.
[You have hunted Radiated Slime (Lv. 29).]
[You have hunted Radiated Slime (Lv. 33).] [You have hunted Radiated Slime (Lv. 32).]
****
Radiated slimes of various sizes were obliterated before they could even merge with the others, ending their lives on the spot.
Chwaaahk!
Even after Ha Dong-geon threw his enhanced spear, the slime, which had always regenerated back to its original form, began to shrink rapidly.
Around that time, it seemed the slime also sensed that its life was in danger.
Squish-
What it chose wasn't to fight against the invisible hands, but to get as far away as possible.
And honestly, that was a pretty smart choice.
The invisible hands couldn't stretch beyond a certain distance, so they couldn't attack it anymore.
However, the eight invisible hands had already completely incinerated the nearby slimes in a short amount of time, drastically reducing the radiation levels around the North Gate.
'Quest granted to Ha Dong-geon. Quest reward: full recovery!'
[Citizen Ha Dong-geon has completed the quest.]
[Quest cost: 100,000,000 won will be consumed.]
After spending 100 million won to fully restore Ha Dong-geon's condition, I turned to my retainers who stood ready by my side and said,
"Everyone, get ready."
We had assembled everyone capable of battle-Ha Dong-geon's party consisting of Kang Deok-soo, Kim Ga-young, Moon Byung-ho, Kim Gun, Kim Da-jung, and Oh Eun-joo; another party with Lee Jun-hyuk, Jang Sung-jun, and Kim Min-ho; and lastly, Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon.
They were all wearing the same outfit: radiation-shielding suits.
These suits had been enchanted by Kim Da-bin herself, who had invested her own money to strengthen the suits' original function. They were now significantly more effective against radiation.
All at once, I cast:
'Enhance.'
A black aura rose like a heat haze.
Each retainer emitted the aura differently, but the ones who stood out the most were Ha Dong-geon, Lee Jun-hyuk, and Nam Ji-ho.
"No matter how skilled you all are, avoid directly touching that monster's body as much as possible."
What we gained from Ratman's sacrifice wasn't just the opening of the North Gate.
The black aura's protection was surprisingly powerful. After all, it had lasted for several seconds even inside the slime's body.
"Begin the assault."
With Ha Dong-geon in the lead, we moved through the North Gate toward the Wolsong Base.
"Hrrgh!"
Fully recovered, Ha Dong-geon was the first to strike.
Screeeeeee!
A swirling black drill once again struck the slime hard.
KWA-BOOM!
That was the signal. All the retainers unleashed their attacks at once.
Kim Ga-young's piercing arrows, now coated with the black aura, tore through the slime fragments scattered around the Wolsong Base. The fragments, barely at level 30, stood no chance and perished on the spot.
"Rise!"
Whoosh-
Kang Deok-soo's Iron Knights had transformed. They no longer wore silver armor, but had become the Black Knights.
Their halberds, wreathed in black aura, burned away the slime fragments.
Crack!
Slimes struck by Moon Hae-ri's arrows were trapped in black ice and purged.
"Uooooh!"
Kim Min-ho, cloaked head to toe in the black aura and rampaging like a beast, was quite the sight-but there was someone whose synergy with the divine power I bestowed was unmatched.
Fwoooosh!
Nam Ji-ho, who had the ability to control fire.
Because of the black aura mingled with his flames, his fire had turned pitch-black, and it engulfed the fleeing slime.
Whether it was the flames themselves or the way the black aura harmonized with them, the enormous body of the slime began burning rapidly without even a chance to resist.
And then-
[You have hunted Slime (Lv. 56).]
[You have gained a massive amount of experience points.]
[421,889,332,080 won has been deposited into the wallet of the Absolute Ruler of the Household.]
[Citizen Nam Ji-ho has defeated the boss of the 'Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant.']
[You can now construct an outpost at the 'Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant.']
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]