Chapter 102 – Operation: Bro, Why Are You There? (4)

While Lee Shin-Woo took care of the lord, Jin was looking for a route he could travel unseen from the outskirts of the city.

Most of the undead only saw him as a horse as he roamed around, so they weren't overly concerned about him. It was quite an easy task, one would say.

Sure, it's a lot easier than Shin-Woo's job of infiltrating the inner city teeming with undead, but... That idiot's gathering information right in the middle of enemy territory, so...

Although Lee Shin-Woo explained his plan to Jin most of the time, Jin still didn’t really understand what was going on in Lee Shin-Woo's head. It reminded him of listening to his math teacher explain formulas to him; no matter how patient and kind his teacher was, he couldn’t understand at all.

Damn... I had thought I was getting closer to him, but now it feels like we're actually growing further apart... Even though I'm working hard not to fall behind, even if I can't surpass him...

Jin momentarily thought about Lee Shin-Woo and recalled his second meeting with the goddess. He didn't really know why, but he had asked the goddess about Lee Shin-Woo, not himself.

[You may never speak to me again, yet that's what you're asking about...? You're an interesting child as well. But sure. I'll tell you. At least all that I know about him.]

According to the goddess, heroes were individuals from different worlds who hadn’t lived their full lives; amongst those who died, those with incredible latent potential would be brought over to this world and turned into heroes. But even the goddess herself didn't know for certain where that potential would lead to.

[Especially that kid. The power I granted him wasn't that unusual. I thought he'd become a true hero once he used up all his chances of resurrection, but he went the opposite way.]

Jin was upset again thinking back to his conversation with the goddess. He had asked her about Lee Shin-Woo so that he could learn more about him and understand him better, yet even the goddess didn't really know what was up with Lee Shin-Woo.

[He hasn't even shown his limits yet. You don't need to try so hard to keep up with him.]

[...Please send me back. I want to try out my new skill.]

Not even the goddess knew the limits to Lee Shin-Woo's potential. Jin wasn't a little kid, so it wasn't like he was jealous or anything. However, whenever he felt the gap between their abilities grow further and further apart, he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

I know that personality and potential differ for individuals...

There was nothing worse than having an inferiority complex towards one's comrade. Of course, Jin wouldn’t be sighing like this if he were comparing himself to a normal fellow hero, but this was Lee Shin-Woo he was talking about. He should feel reassured to have the man as his partner, but...

[Lee Shin-Woo - Jin, are you ready?]

His restless pondering was interrupted by a private message from Lee Shin-Woo. Startled, JIn replied, "I'm about done. I can fight at any time."

[Lee Shin-Woo - We're going with Plan A, like we've discussed. Apparently, almost all of our reinforcements have arrived, so get out without being seen and join the rest of them.]

"...What's Plan A anyway?"

[Lee Shin-Woo - I already told you!]

Of course, Jin had listened to Lee Shin-Woo’s explanation on Plan A. Jin’s mission was as follows: First, Jin would join their reinforcements and enter the city without being seen via the aforementioned route.

From there, Jin's role was incredibly important. With his incredible mobility, he would lure all of the monsters outside, namely the level 4 Skeleton Knights and up! In other words, he had to gather the mob!

"I know that far. But it's hard enough to get them one on one. What do you plan to do by dragging them out all at once?"

[Lee Shin-Woo - I already told you about that too. I'm going to Instigate the mobs and take them down.]

"Instigate..."

It was indeed an impressive skill, but was it possible to control all of the undead within the city? Jin felt like Lee Shin-Woo was being overconfident, which made him feel uneasy, but he knew very well that they couldn’t pull the plug now that it had already started.

[Lee Shin-Woo - See you later.]

"...Alright."

Jin finished the conversation by replying in an unsatisfied tone. As if waiting for that very moment, someone else messaged him, and that person was none other than...

[Kratia Melloi - I'm here. Can we really get in undetected?]

The moment Lee Shin-Woo entered the city, he messaged his reinforcements, a.k.a. Kratia. Jin was aware that Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia often talked to each other, but he hadn't expected Lee Shin-Woo to call her when he realized that he needed help.

[Kratia Melloi - Are you listening?]

"...I'm listening. I'll go meet you."

It wasn't really a secret; Jin didn't like Kratia very much. She was talented enough to have a discussion with Lee Shin-Woo as equals... And unlike him, she was human. She was also eye-catchingly beautiful!

Whenever he saw her, he felt like he was seething inside. While he knew very well Kratia held no negative feelings for him, he still couldn’t bring himself to treat her kindly. Especially when he saw her talking to Lee Shin-Woo!

"Why would you come running just cause Shin-Woo asked?"

[Kratia Melloi - Because it's a fair trade. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Plus, we share any knowledge we’ve learned. Mm. Excellent.]

"...I won't take very long. Just wait."

Yeah, this really pissed him off. But because Jin would never in a million years tell anyone why it pissed him off, Jin kept his mouth shut and ran along. And his form, as he ran so quickly and covertly that no one could witness it, was truly beautiful.

In mere seconds, Jin had left the city and arrived at their designated meeting point. Kratia was already waiting.

"Hey."

"...Yeah."

He'd heard about how she was doing from Lee Shin-Woo, but it'd been a few months since they'd last met. Jin greeted her as curtly as Kratia did him and observed her.

She's way too pretty. You shouldn't be able to take care of appearance in this world, so how?

Kratia looked even prettier than before. Her light purple hair running messily down her shoulders was the same, but even that had become more distinctive and charming than before. And her contrasting sky-blue eyes were staring straight at Jin.

"If you've become so much stronger, Shin-Woo must've made even greater progress."

"Don't talk to me like I'm the odd one out,” Jin said petulantly. “He beats you too."

"Hoo."

Kratia laughed in a relaxed manner. Could it be...? Jin examined her, but he couldn't gauge her level at all.

"Then let's go. We have to try our hardest not to fight anything and just drag them out, right?"

"Yeah… Hop on."

He really didn't like having someone else riding him, especially when it was Kratia, but... Now wasn't the time to deal with such trivial feelings. Kratia looked a bit apologetic and got onto his back.

"There are undead everywhere. They looked really organized."

"Are you doubting me? Just hold on and watch."

Jin made his retort coolly before starting to run. Unlike Lee Shin-Woo, Kratia wasn't able to adapt to his speed. Crying out in shock, she held onto Jin as tightly as she could whilst shivering. That made Jin feel a little better. He was well aware of how childish it was.

"We'll be there soon."

"Keuk, guuuek."

There were definitely undead patrolling in their immediate vicinity, but Jin had already completely figured out where they were, which directions they were looking in, and even where they were going; he was able to elude all of them even though he was close.

The task was made possible by combining Jin's unimaginable reflexes and the route Lee Shin-Woo had mapped out.

"We have 11 seconds. We have to get in within that time frame."

"Gueeek... O-Ok..."

From the outside, it looked like a normal, empty space within a forest, but Kratia had been updated about the situation by Lee Shin-Woo and realized soon what lay hidden at their destination. She barely managed to overcome her motion sickness and took out an item: the Limited Order Bone Core that Lee Shin-Woo had remodeled.

[Confirming general administrative authority. Opening facility.]

An enormous door suddenly appeared on the ground of the vacant lot and screeched open; the opening was only big enough for them to barely make their way through. Kratia's expression stiffened once she sensed the awful death energy inside.

"Do you think we'll be able to get out safely...?"

"I guarantee you that we'll get out safely, so long as none of our opponents use magic."

Jin sounded as stiff as she looked.

"But the real problem is what would happen after we drag all these guys out."

"Ah, you're right."

"Let's get in before the undead catch on."

There were enemies everywhere, yet they were adding more enemies to the mix. If the other heroes were to hear about this... No, there really was no reason to compare themselves to other heroes on every single matter. The situation made Jin wonder whether Lee Shin-Woo was really a hero.

"It's closed," Kratia said.

"Can you open it again?"

"Yeah. That's not a problem."

As soon as the two heroes entered the facility, the door shut automatically. Though they were thrown into the dark all of a sudden, Jin's blazing blue goblin fire provided some illumination.

"Do you see anything?"

"..."

Kratia was a typical mage. While her other stats were fairly decent since her level was high, her magic was almost ten times her other stats. It was impossible for her to assess her surroundings with her agility.

"Keep your defensive magic up."

"Got it."

But Jin, who possessed ridiculously high agility, immediately realized that the facility was something of a demon’s lair as soon as he entered. He'd heard from Guillotine Steelworker about it, but he hadn't imagined the mess it would be in.

"Huh?” Kratia asked while activating defensive magic. “I can sense a Golem's magic... Weren't they failed test subjects that were buried? Then why are there Golems around?"

"They might've been mere failed test subjects at the time, but..." Jin replied stiffly. He was already thinking about how he'd have to move so that he could protect himself from them.

[Hm, I sense someone.]

One of them noticed Jin and Kratia trespassing. At that moment, the pitch-black facility lit up all at once, illuminating the entire area.

[A human...]

[It's a human!]

[An administrator?]

[The Emperor?]

"..."

The testing facility was definitely a lot bigger than they'd expected it to be, and it looked like it had been buried with the overflowing sand, as well as the unidentified cables, machines, Golems, and piles of metals scattering messily about. In addition...

[Are the tests...over...?]

"These crazy..."

Test subjects were fused together to create monsters. A human body inserted into the torso of a monster with a core in place of its heart. A monster with the upper body of a human bizarrely affixed to it.

[Lv5 Golem Chimera][1]

[Lv5 Flesh Golem]

[Lv6 Chimera Golem]

One thing they were sure about was that none of them looked like proper Golems... No, none of them even looked like proper undead.

[If not... Then did we fail...?]

[Failure...]

[Are they...alive...?]

[They're alive...?]

These 'Golems' they'd found stumbled to and fro in an eerie manner whilst speaking hoarsely and gradually approaching. Kratia tightened her fists at the horrific sight, and Jin sighed deeply.

"Hold on tight!"

"Gyaaaahk!"

Just like Lee Shin-Woo had told him, Jin started running, awakening the nightmares in the facility that had been lying dormant for decades.

1. T/N: I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but the author writes "Golem Chimera" and then inverts it with "Chimera Golem" below.