NOVEL NEXT Chapter 119: Opening (1)
The red Kaiju had long been a corpse from her initial strike.
Unbelievable… She really lives up to the battle power of 12 million!
“Hmm.”
As her gaze fell upon him, Yongyong instinctively trembled like a frog before a snake.
Oh, so this is what humans feel, trembling in the face of Dragon Fear.
A new perspective was forced on Yongyong.
“T-twelve million battle power… lets you wield that kind of strike?”
He blurted out the question without realizing it.
Ambition for growth. He naturally possessed this desire like any other. He did not crave enhancement procedures for no reason.
“Huh? Twelve million? Ahh… I presume you’re talking about combat power in the training ground?”“…Yes!”
Yongyong had prided himself on knowing his battle power down to the exact decimal. But somehow… seeing her made him feel like a frog in a well.
“Hmm? Combat power there is… no more than numbers… but if I had to measure, I’d guess mine would be around 30 million.”
“Th-thirty million?”
“….”
“Eek!”
Perpe squealed from the side.
Yeah. That’s the normal reaction.
Maxien was the odd one to so casually speak of power in the tens of millions.
“This Avatar sure is good though. I heard it was enhanced with some kind of Sacred Relic they obtained. It does seem to withstand my power a little…”
Fuck! Right, she wasn’t even in her real body. And she said it only withstands her powera little. That must mean even her current body can’t handle her original power… Then what she just showed… Oh.
Yongyong stopped thinking at that point.
Yep, she’s from another dimension. No need to compare and get depressed.
But just as he reached this small resolution…
“By the way. Aren’t you too weak?”
BWAAH! Please don’t be so mean, looking at me with such eyes!
Yongyong was instantly defeated!
“Well… maybe I should say you held up well against a Quadra Number?”
Quadra? Huh? Does she mean the red Kaiju? It sure was strong. A Quadra… that’s got a nice ring to it. Maybe it was super powerful? Then maybe I’m allowed to have just a bit of my pride bac—
“It’s the lowest of the Numbered Entities, but it’s still a Named one.”
…The lowest? Wha? Uh, what the hell is wrong with the monsters in that neighborhood…?
Yongyong felt he was close to achieving Nirvana.
Hoo. Calm down, me.
“…Can I become like you, noonim?”
“You’d need to learn how to use your own body properly first.”
“What? You mean learn Body Techniques?”
Yongyong assumed she saw potential in his nice metallic body, but that was not the case.
“You have Ether weapons equipped, by the looks of it… and an Ether Engine, right? My meaning is that you’re failing to use them properly.”
“!!”
Wha, does this mean I can evolve beyond Full Metal Wardragon?!
“Noonim! Please train me alongside Virdel noonim!”
At that moment.
Ssss-
“EEK!”
Yongyong’s scales quivered under Maxien’s overwhelming aura.
“Hmm. Are you prepared? If you’re half-hearted, better forget it.”
“!!”
Her freezing aura made his knees buckle.
But if it’s to become stronger!
“…Yes! I can do it!”
Yongyong cried out with determination. However…
“But I don’t want to. The talentless are quick to give up. Imbeciles who can only produce mediocrity even with good equipment…”
…BWAAAH!!
As a dragon once hailed as a prodigy, Yongyong never imagined hearing such a brutal evaluation. His tears would not stop.
“Please help me! I…”
“You?”
“I’m Karlstein hyungnim’s porter!”
“H-huh?”
Maxien, who had been barely paying attention, changed her attitude at his exclamation.
“Care to elaborate?”
“I need to grow stronger to serve Karlstein hyungnim!”
It seemed his sincerity reached her.
“…I’ll think about it. But you’ll need to be ready.”
“Yesss!”
I don’t get it, but I guess I got approval! Y-yeah!
Ding-
ㄴlook at how dat dragons being treated
ㄴI bet he wouldn’t have had a chance if not for being a porter.
ㄴwhere’d all his honor and pride as a dragon go?
ㄴrlly Yongyong? Who dis noonim for u to be so humble?
ㄴtsktsk. safe to say he’s singlehandedly bringing shame to dragonkind.
ㄴthis is the moment where you speak out liek a man yongyong! Tell her u’ll educate her at night! go on shout!
ㄴSo can we meet this noonim if we go to World?
Are these crazies serious? If you’re gonna suicide, do it alone.
Yongyong hastily exited the Community, just in case something happened.
Fortunately, when he checked Maxien’s expression, it seemed like she was not watching the livestream. Otherwise… it would have been an utter catastrophe.
Yep, I should delete the replay too.
“I will! Do my best! To serve Karlstein hyungnim!”
“Hmm. I won’t forget those words.”
He felt a chill at her remark, but it seemed he had safely cleared the hurdle.
“By the way… you.”
Maxien pointed at the small girl beside them.
“Yeek?!”
Perpe, usually dazed and unsteady in her normal mode, hid behind Barron in fright.
“…”
Barron broke out in cold sweat, forced to meet Maxien’s gaze.
Her gaze is… strangely daunting…
Her eyes were like a predator’s, sharp enough to make him feel as if he were being cut all over.
Barron subtly moved aside, pushing Perpe in front.
“Wuhhh!”
The girl teared up, but Maxien smiled at her.
“You… are a bit special. Interesting.”
Perpe trembled furiously.
“Mm. I definitely want to research you.”
Barron slightly regretted his actions upon hearing that.
Surely she doesn’t mean dissection or experimentation?
Fortunately, it did not seem like that was her intention.
“First, let’s fix that awful habit of losing your mind during battles and… Hmm.”
Her sharp gaze, like a researcher studying a subject on the operating table, scanned the trembling little girl.
“You’re a Milo-type. It’s rare to have such ridiculously high stamina, and decent attack power too…”
Maxien trailed off, muttering to herself.
Milo? Who is that? I mean in the first place, does Oradge have only such monstrous individuals for companions?
While Oradge radiated intense pressure, this woman was different. Her aura felt like raw power. Though not as overwhelming as Oradge’s, it carried an uncontrollable edge that made it all the more chilling.
“Hmm… I’m glad to see so many useful children.”
Ah. We may claim to be the strongest in our worlds, but to her, I suppose we are just useful kids.
Despite his battle power of 220,000, Barron could only cry inside.
***“Maxien did what?”
Karlstein shook his head, reading a recent report.
-Just you and me in World, huh.
-What are you saying, Maxien? There are so many people here.
The first thing she did upon entering World was to spout some nonsense, which seemed to lift her mood slightly.
Karlstein did not mind—he was used to her occasional strange remarks. In any case, it was not bad news to hear she had decided to train Yongyong and Perpe, alongside Virdel. Especially considering that the Sephiroth were their enemies.
“Sacred Relics… Sky Ship…”
The Sephiroth mysteriously possessed many abilities extremely useful and desirable.
With Selena and Keisha Winsler, research was progressing. They had taken an Avatar supplied by the Galactic Empire, combining it with Silver Liquid and a Sacred Relic.
“In any case, Maxien seems fine.”
But the new Avatar was not sufficient for his use.
How do I put it… a careless touch will throw off its balance.
Karlstein had already learned that the hard way, after ruining two Avatars.
“Anyway.”
Thanks to ongoing research, his plan could move forward.
“World Grand Opening!”
The base of the Sephiroth and Kaiju forces had already been identified. Karlstein discovered that they, like him, were reinforcing their forces through dimensional connections somehow.
“Haha.”
What a lucky treasure trove! Automatically replenishing resources!
The Silver Liquid buried in World was tempting, but the Galactic Empire also had a considerable desire for Kaiju corpses and the Sephiroth clan.
At present, the Galactic Empire was mining enormous amounts of the Silver Liquid, which was similar to the Sephiroth’s Silver Blood, from World. Their mining speed was incomparably faster than that of the Kaiju and Sephiroth.
It’s probably a technological difference.
In this situation, rather than making the extermination of the enemies a strategic goal, what if they carried out a hunt leisurely, collected their corpses, and even aimed to obtain Karma Points?
And if they fully opened World to automate everything?
“Now that’s hot.”
Karlstein did wonder if he was being too greedy, but he would be hitting three birds with one stone. Four birds, actually, if he considered the usefulness of Community users in the future.
Before, he had been unsure how to handle the Kaiju and Sephiroth minions. However…
“Virdel’s Avatar experiment is too successful.”
If they could summon the heroes of the Galactic Empire, they could respond to emergencies as needed.
Still, Karlstein preferred using the Community users. The heroes of the Galactic Empire did not have all the time in the world and could not be deployed indiscriminately.
“But we need to make a selection first.”
A full-scale opening of World was still too much. He planned to gradually expand the membership through applications.
Depending on the user, World could be an extremely dangerous battlefield, where they could end up massacred. He needed to choose carefully.
Flip-
“Heheh. It’s popular, fortunately.”
Karlstein did not know why, but ever since Maxien rescued Yongyong and the others, applications for World had skyrocketed.
Flip- Flip-
Guess it’s time to mine for gems.
Karlstein carefully reviewed the users’ applications.
Considering Perpe’s case, I can’t be careless.
Perpe had recently been selected in the second recruitment. Due to being inactive in the Community and seeming rather dull headed, she was almost rejected, but luckily made it.
The outcome, however, was unexpected—the girl was actually ranked third in battle power.
Mm. With just a few more like Perpe, my plan will go smoothly.
The goal was to sift through the raw stones for gems.
“Let’s see who’s here…”
And of course, Karlstein permanently banned the morons who put pictures of Orc wieners in their applications.
“Fuck…”
…Frankly, Karlstein thought everyone could perform at least average, except for those nutjobs.