Volume 8 / Chapter 216

TL: LightNovelCafe

Editor: Hungry Panda

"I opened up the lucky boxes I had gathered the other day, and I found one."

"If it's an item from the level S store… will you be able to find all of the materials you need to make it? It's bound to use materials from the same level."

Looking at the conclusion, they can create a downgraded version if they fill in the missing parts from level A. This is what his helper had told him.

"He said it's performance might be just 30% of a level S, but there shouldn't be apparent differences. And they don't sell the completed product anyway."

That had been the decisive reason for his wanting to create it.

Think about it. A completed product needs to be purchased by an individual, and how many points would that call for?

There is no standard for them to distinguish whether the current drawings are right or wrong, but what if they really could dominate the sea?

This is just my personal thinking, but I have no doubt that the Sub Albatrus was created as a weapon against Sea G.o.d Levadan."

The last of the six Disasters, Sea G.o.d Levadan.

None of the 36 Rankers saw Sea G.o.d Levadan with their own eyes. Underwater battles are trickier than those above ground.

The sea is more than twice as large as the six continents. The deep areas are more than 10,000m deep. Where would they even go looking for him?

The funny thing is that it is a problem even if they find him.

There is no way to catch him.

Just as fish cannot live on ground, humans cannot live under water.

This is why even in the virtual version, they were more averse to water mutants than they were to flying mutants.

"Levadan…"

"Is there an exchange if it's a weapon that lets us take on Levadan? That's why they don't sell the completed product. It's impossible to buy."

Cha Jun Sung looked over the drawings of Albatrus, and stopped at the last sheet. It has all of the materials they need written on it.

"1000 level - level A energy cores?"

"At least. We don't have level S energy cores to be at the center."

Cha Jun Sung instinctively touched his chest.

He has a level S energy core. The one in his fully modified battlesuit.

Strategist smiles. They need dozens of them. It would be nice to have them, but he can't ask Cha Jun Sung for his.

Trillions of points will be used up in building this. There are 1000 in just level A. The numbers in levels B, C, and lower are enough to make his head spin.

"It's a downgrade, but I'm expecting the points to come out to be in the tens of trillions."

Cha Jun Sung choked on Strategist's words.

That's more than he had been thinking. It's a number that would be impossible even for a group.

This is only possible for the World Federation, which is formed by large guilds receiving aid from dozens of countries. It is too much even for hostile force, b.l.o.o.d.y Kingdom.

"I'm going to get the materials from Lifers in World Federation. Those who have over billions are Rankers and masters of large guilds and cadres. We'll get a little from those below them. Won't it be possible out if we all work together?"

"How will you make it?"

He says that he can get the materials through tens of thousands of Lifers. But he is curious as to how they will actually create it.

"I'm going to leave it to the cyborgs. I showed this to famous s.h.i.+pyard engineers, and they said that they'd rather heal a patient with an incurable disease."

They can create it if they enter the drawings into artificial intelligence.

Lower and mid levels lack the skill, so they need to be higher level.

It means that cyborgs become laborers.

Hundreds of points will go into just this purchase. But what can they do? Humans can't do it.

It is because of the difference between the science of Life Mission and the current Earth.

4 and 5 year olds can learn addition and subtraction if they are taught. If they are taught even more, they can even learn multiplication and division.

However, they could never learn equations, calculus, functions, and sets with their ability to learn.

The standards of the two worlds had become the difference between the earth and the sky in the first place.

"How long are you expecting it to take?"

"It seems like 3 or 4 months will be enough since cyborgs aren't humans."

They can work 24 hours a day, 720 hours a month without rest. One advanced cyborg can work the same amount that 100 humans can.

What if there are over 1000 of those?

The production speed will be fast.

Cha Jun Sung had one question. Why is Strategist trying to make the Albatrus? It costs 100 trillion.

"We can't just keep depending on battlesuits. We can try various strategic tactics, but even if we're not infantry, the end is a handful of guns."

Lifers utilize items that fit each of their dispositions. They use weapons ranging from artillery, guns, to swords. The only difference is being at a distance or close range.

There are machines other than these weapons in Life Mission's store that Lifers make themselves like tanks, jets, and helicopters. They perform incomparably better than those of contemporary times, but they have fatal drawbacks. They are expensive and difficult to operate.

Basic battlesuits are 10 million. Basic tanks and armored cars are on the fringe as well. They need to learn to drive them or make a cyborg do it for them.

Compared to the expensive points, there are a lot of things that they need to keep in mind like double sensitivity. They perform well because they are deadly weapons created to defeat the enemy. The problem is that rather than investing points there, they benefit more by investing in battlesuits and using the rest of their points to get auxiliary equipment.

The ground isn't a suitable environment for hundreds of tanks or armored cars to move on. Efficiency decreases in places that are impossible to enter.

It is also hard to hide the noise, so it is easy to become targets for mutants.

So if they are using a battlesuit, there is no reason to add on more gear to make it more complicated. That only brings bad results.

"There are too many obstacles on the ground. No matter how I think about it, there isn't anything more efficient than fighting with a battlesuit."

Powerful and easy.

These are the battlesuit's greatest advantages.

"But the Albatrus is different. This giant weapon can take on tens of thousands of Lifers at one time, and it has tremendous combat power. This makes the genocide of mutants possible."

How is the power of an aircraft carrier?

It is impossible to compare to tanks or armored cars. If they board the Albatrus, they can reduce the Lifers sacrificed while wasting points.

It's just a theory because they haven't practiced, but Strategist stayed up all night to check the specifications and it seems there is plenty of possibility.

"Rather than the sea and sh.o.r.e, it is the difference between weapon quality and application."

"That's right."

The sea is a tricky area for Lifers to act in. There are very few missions related to the sea, and Lifers avoid even those.

If a means of attack forms, they don't fall behind on the merits of above ground war. With the Albatrus, they can kill mutants without even touching them.

There are no boundaries in the vast ocean. They can keep going up and down.

They can move as they please and kill everything in sight because there are no towering mountains or c.u.mbersome things like buildings. Moving around is easy too. They can just float around.

"The Albatrus is a weapon sold in the level S store. We need to use it."

He wouldn't have made work like this if it had been an ordinary marine weapon. It's the type of thing that they can't get now like the opening card.

"After hearing you out, it really doesn't seem bad."

There is a giant tank that 100 Lifers can board among above ground weapons as well.

It is a weapon in the level A store. They can buy this through drawings as well, and a bus would look like a toy car if placed in front of it.

Since they're able to make the Albatrus, there's no reason for them to buy it now. Strategist was actually thinking of using this kind of item too.

"You might have heard from Mr. Park Jin Hyuk, but more than 600 people died during the level B advance mission. It's a terrible loss since they were a valuable power."

There was a collision immediately after getting through the Red Blood Worms. They had wide range weapons but if they come in hordes, they have no choice but to engage in close range battle.

"I was able to get to this high position due to the sacrifice of others. I'd like to protect lives I can protect."

They need a st.u.r.dy and large s.h.i.+eld that can protect them from any attack.

The Albatrus would be able to play that role.

"And there is someone who can support my decision. Come in."

Wiing!

Cha Jun Sung looks at the automatic doors of the office. At the moment, they are the only two people in the room.

Who is going to come in?

As the automatic doors open, a fairly old middle-aged man enters. This is someone Cha Jun Sung has never seen before.

"Introduce yourselves to each other."

"Cha Jun Sung, I'm Overload."

"We've met a few times in the virtual version, but it seems you don't recognize me because I look different. I'm Yann Clark. I'm a Sea General."

"Huh?"

Sea General.

He is a unique Lifer, the only one of the 36 Rankers who worked with the sea in the background. No user is better versed in Life Mission's ocean than he is.

Had he been in the World Federation?

"Alright. Then shall we get started?"

He thought they were coming to an end, but they're now just getting started?

It seems this will take a long time.

 /  / 

Volume 8 / Chapter 217

TL: LightNovelCafe

Editor: Hungry Panda

Most Lifers are prejudiced towards the ocean.

This is referring to the abnormal ocean where sea mutants live. This is the same for Cha Jun Sung. The ocean is where they can't move properly without specialized equipment.

Sea General worked in the ocean for 10 years. A few users also worked in the ocean, but he is the only one who caught a level 8.

An underwater level 8, not a level 8 above ground. It's incredible.

"There's something that Lifers are mistaken about, but sea mutants are weaker than above ground mutants. It's just that Lifers are handicapped because their activity is in the ocean, making people feel like these mutants are stronger."

He said that he had been completing missions in the ocean since the reality version was launched.

"Above ground mutant are as smart as humans once they get to higher levels. Isn't it kind of a definite since some of them are evolved from humans?"

Sea mutants aren't like that. Humans can't live in the ocean.

Since evolution begins from marine life, they become smart animals rather than as smart as humans.

Sea mutants can't approach humans intelligence, and they can't get close to absorbing human knowledge. The level  8 that Sea General caught was also smart and shrewd, but he had finally been able to catch it.

"Are you saying that the ocean would be easier if we had the proper equipment?"

"It'd be good to change the battlesuit to act in the ocean."

This was the point. If they could just create the Albatrus, it'll become the best weapon to attack with and hunting level 8s could be easy. Cha Jun Sung cannot sympathize because he used all his energy in killing Odelia and Narsiel.

"1000 people can enter a level B mission and 10,000 people can enter level A. What do you think would happen if these kinds of numbers of Lifers roamed above ground?"

Since they are big even after hiding their traces with the battlesuit, they would soon be found out by mutants.

Cha Jun Sung agreed.

This is right.

"But the Albatrus could move that many people secretly."

There are more docile sea mutants than there are aggressive ones. A lot of them move in hordes because they haven't been able to evolve past their animalistic habits, but it's game over if they just torpedo it in the middle.

"I bought a submarine in the level B store and have been working in the Pacific Ocean. I worked on a boat in real life, did it for 10 years in the virtual version, and lived in the ocean for over 4 years in this place too."

What he heard from Strategist is that the Albatrus is the top combat weapon. People with level A specifications would be able to catch level 8 mutants.

This would strengthen them to level S and once completely filled with Lifers, they might even be able to catch Sea G.o.d Levadan. A man needs to have a goal. Sea General wants to catch Sea G.o.d Levadan and quell the ocean.

He isn't making an appeal for the Albatrus with personal ambition.

There's no reason to only go through missions on land. If they just succeed in creating it, they could move their main stage to the ocean. Simply put, they can kill with the Albatrus instead of working themselves to the bones with battlesuits.

Cha Jun Sung listened and thought that something was missing.

He had listened to Strategist and Sea General's impa.s.sioned speeches and enough of the explanations, but he doesn't know why they have called him here.

"But why have you called for me?"

"I'll be straightforward. Have you purchased anything from the level S store that could be used for the Albatrus?"

He doesn't. Of course he doesn't.

He plummeted when he lost his s.p.a.ce compression bag. He's still going crazy when he thinks about what a loss it is.

Cha Jun Sung told them the truth. It doesn't make sense that he lost something so important, but what could he do? It's the truth.

"What a pity. Then will you be able to help us in creating this?"

It seems they're asking him to become an investor. What they want from him won't be several millions of points. It'll be in the billions at the least.

'There isn't really any item to buy.'

He doesn't have anything to buy in the level A store since he hasn't opened level S.

All he has left to do is to save up points for future use. If he wants to, he could help. The key is what benefit there would be to him.

"How much support do you need?"

"It's 1 trillion. Rankers are 50 billion, cadres 20 billion."

0.1% of 100 trillion.

It is a small portion overall, but thinking of all of the Lifers who will invest, one person will have to take on 1/1000.

"If you help us, we will put you in the level A advancement."

"Advancement?"

Cha Jun Sung's eyes grow wide. Level A advancement missions are extremely limited. There are only 50 level A missions, and there aren't even 3 advancement missions.

High difficulty. Of those, there isn't a mission related to the ocean.

He was going to wait until Park Jin Hyuk's group met level A specifications, but they'll get him in?

"Yes! It's a level A advancement in the ocean."

Huh?

Life Mission's satellite cannot watch the ocean's ecosystem, so there are only a couple level B missions, much less level A.

"I was near the Pacific Ocean when I found Deep-Sea Teeth."

Sea General speaks.

Deep-Sea Teeth are level 8. He had discovered them in the virtual version as well and went looking for them thinking they might live in the same place, and it had been a hit.

"When I found them, a level A advancement mission came up. Haha! It's a good thing I ignored them and just went on, or else I could have died."

"You say 'them'?"

"There's a male and female pair."

He's saying there are two.

Of course. There have to be two level 8s to make it an advancement mission.

"Do they live in the Pacific Ocean?"

"Yes. They have a newborn baby, so they won't move."

There's no reason for them to move. They are below Levadan, but Sea Teeth are a top predator in the ocean. They will hold that position now too.

"But if we kill them with the Albatrus, we won't be able to advance because we wouldn't get enough contribution points."

"I think it's enough to support when fighting against two of them, since what the helpers look at is whether we qualify to advance or not."

Cha Jun Sung's combat power is beyond level A.

It doesn't seem like he'll fail even if he gets support. It would be comfortable to be backed up by a large military force.

It could be fine to leave it half killed and finish up. Cha Jun Sung had actually been thinking about getting help from the Federation when entering level A advancement.

If the Rankers go, he was confident they could complete the mission with him at the center. But from the way things are going, it looks like Strategist's group is going to attack the ocean with the Albatrus. He needs to follow them whether he likes it or not.

"Can I think about it a bit before answering?"

"Alright. I hope we can hear good news within a month."

From the perspective of Strategist's group, they can create the Albatrus without Cha Jun Sung. They are trying to get him to join because of his combat power that goes beyond level 8.

Cha jun Sung held off on making a decision. He could invest in something worth 100 trillion points if he has to. He needs to weigh what is more beneficial to him.

A building that collapsed under bombing.

Cha Jun Sung and Park Jin Hyuk's group are sitting at the top of the wreck. They are on high ground, so the panorama is in full view.

Corpses laid out at the foot of the wreck, near the debris.

They have killed nearly tens of thousands of mutants. Causes of death vary, too. They were cut up, punctured, or ripped up. And this is in progress. A lot of mutants are coming in to them. As many mutants die as well.

6 automatic cannons use up a mountain of bullets piled as high as they are. There are so many that the pile does not seem to get smaller.

There is one installed in the east and northwest directions, and 2 are supporting where they are being pushed back from the center. Cha Jun Sung's group occasionally pulled the triggers on their reinforced rifles. Where Cha Jun Sung's group is sitting and drawing out the scene is so disconnected from the atmosphere outside that they're scared it might come out in their dreams.

Can they say it feels like the automatic cannons are a boundary?

Park Jin Hyuk yawns in boredom.

He occasionally throws a bomb in places where it looks like they can get through.

The number of corpses only increases.

"There are two months left, right?"

"Yeah."

Cha Jun Sung responds to Park Jin Hyuk. They are nearing the completion of Albatrus. They have been laboring ever since Cha Jun Sung agreed to support the project. He is actually entering a mission with his party members for the first time in a while, and they are hunting mutants in a one-sided ma.s.sacre. They chose level B missions to do these in.

It is harrowing to think of trying to gather 100 billion points, but his party members fortunately helped take on the burden. All 5 people agreed to help him with 10 billion each for 50 billion.

Strategist pulled Park Jin Hyuk's group in, too.

Each person promised to support with 20 billion and since they took half of Cha Jun Sung's with 50 billion, that's 30 billion.

It is hard to do alone, but it's easy when divided up because of reward points.

If 6 people enter a 50 million point level B mission, there are 3 billion reward points.

What Lifers need to provide for the Albatrus is not points, but materials. As long as they meet the conditions, it doesn't matter how they achieve it.

Party members help each other and in the case of Park Jin Hyuk's group, they provided 70% of the materials and Cha Jun Sung hadn't been able to match that. Even so, he is performing the role that Strategist gave him well. There are 2 months left till completion, and it seems they should more or less be able to make it.

"If it goes according to plan, we should be able to gather the points comfortably."

 /  / 

Volume 8 / Chapter 218

TL: LightNovelCafe

Editor: Hungry Panda

The Albatrus' performance is being revealed during the production process. There is a big difference between looking at it through drawings and while it is being created. The physical appearance itself is overwhelming. The boat is as large as the city seen in Dead Ark. It is smaller than a s.h.i.+p but top of the line in combat power.

There is no need for the average Lifer to kill mutants himself. As long as they board, the Albatrus brings in 1/n of mutant points. Cha Jun Sung is aiming for the advancement mission, but this is creating the optimal environment for Lifers who are completing missions with points as their target.

For Park Jin Hyuk's group who has just become level A, Rankers, and below level B Lifers, matching the specifications for their respective levels was more urgent than advancement. They are doing this because they need the points, but repeatedly hunting is boring and is a source of considerable stress.

To think that points acc.u.mulate once they board the Albatrus even though that means that all they do is eat, sleep, and play?

That itself is paradise.

"It doesn't matter much to me since the World Federation will take care of it, but the maintenance cost must be considerable and repairs will cost a lot if it takes a big hit."

Albatrus is an item similar to the Universe Eye. There is a maintenance fee in points for Lifers that board it.

The payment system is by paying a fee.

If several Lifers fill the points for Albatrus, they get used from there. If it isn't filled, it is a definite that they can't activate it. 1000 in just 1 second - maintaining it for one day sucks up 86.4 million points.

It is at a level A standard. If they upgrade to level S, they don't know how it'll change.

It is worth doing, but the numerical value is horrifying. What would happen if the supply of points is cut off in the middle of the sea? They would be buried. In the worst case scenario, they all have to squeeze out points.

"The sea…"

"I've wanted to go deep into the sea ever since I was very young. I'm sure everyone's had that thought before. It's the world of the unknown."

The only body of nature that hasn't been touched by humans. Mutants may be wild in the world of missions, but Cha Jun Sung's world is where seeing a big whale is more fascinating than a lion or tiger.

There is a lot more that hasn't been revealed compared to what's on land.

Cha Jun Sung's party alone has 4 Rankers. But they don't know anything about sea mutants.

"Do you think there are 100m whales and octopus too? Or a tuna as large as a boat?"

Park Jin Hyuk has an expression full of expectation. He has a childlike innocence. He is in his early 20s, but curiosity has no correlation with age.

"There are stingrays that big too."

Cha Jun Sung has never seen it either, but he has heard that there are mutants that large. There are stingrays as large as buildings.

"Was its name Bergon?"

"Bergon is right."

Violet remembered the name. It is a sea mutant that is the second fastest in the ocean.

Aka Sleeping Scissors.

It is called that because it is known to be calm, but cuts everything up when it gets angry. It is also Red Eye's pet mutant, but Cha Jun Sung has no way of knowing that.

"But what are Deep-Sea Teeth?"

"I don't know either. I didn't ask for details. I tried looking on Lifer World, but there's no information. Though I wasn't expecting to find anything since it's a level 8 ocean mutant."

"I can't wait! A fight with a battles.h.i.+p and monsters! I feel like it'll be better than a sci-fi movie!"

"Don't depend on Albatrus too much. There's going to be a lot of struggle because there are two level 8s. We might have to battle under water."

Ejection.

They can't rule out the possibility of having to use a battlesuit that can be active underwater in order to fight.

Hundreds of small diving vessels will protect the Albatrus, but in the event of an emergency, Lifers on board will need to make up for what's lacking.

It's fine to believe in the Albatrus' performance, but blind dependence isn't.

While mutants were being ma.s.sacred by the automatic cannons, two giant lizards appeared with a tremendous roar.

Level 7 Basilisks. Bullets bounce off of their thick skins.

Cha Jun Sung stands up.

Park Jin Hyuk's group stays seated. They are level A Lifers, but they cannot fight against level 7 mutants because they have only gone through stage 7 of body modifications.

Rankers didn't get past the stage 7 wall either. There are side effects in stages 5 and 6, too. They are slowing down because they can tell what is beyond that without seeing it.

Cha Jun Sung had searched for a solution to the side effects, and had found a basic answer thanks to Odin. The solution had been closer than they thought.

It is him.

"For now, it's me."

Papat!

It is a bother to think of how many level 7s he will need to kill from now on, but he'll just do it because he already has a foot in. It's just for two months.

This is the production site of Albatrus.

Different from ordinary s.h.i.+pbuilding methods, building the ark is full of the unfamiliar from the foundation work to materials.

A buzzing scenery of workers' chatter and the sour smell of sweat is missing.

Of course it is. The workers aren't human.

Boom boom!

Advanced cyborgs move black metals.

It is black iron alloy from the level B store. 200,000 points for a large stick. Most of the Albatrus' keel and hull is made out of this. The World Federation used 8 trillion points in purchasing 40 million of these black iron alloy sticks.

The 10 trillion budget that they had initially estimated increased to 12 trillion, but there wasn't that much more of a burden on Lifers. It just increased slightly. They decreased the types of items they can change as if they were batteries like energy cores and weapons, and considered what they can't.

With materials from the level A store and a downgraded version, they can kill two birds with one stone. They're on the fringe about getting even one. Strategist chose Albatrus' durability. If it can collapse like a sand castle under the enemy's attack, it is deadwood no matter how great the equipment is.

The external shape has already been completed. It has been half a month since they started production on the inside.

When even this is done, they have to bring in and install the thousands of energy cores to the designated locations in order to attack. For the past few months, 15000 cyborgs created the Albatrus without stopping for even a second except when they charged the energy cores.

The drawings themselves were input into artificial intelligence, so they were carried out without a single error. The production speed was fast.

The inside of Albatrus.

Cha Jun Sung's group and Strategist's group are gathered at the place that will become the headquarters.

Since nearly 20 Rankers are gathered together, it looks completely full even though that isn't a large number.

There are Lifers like Nine Tail and Light Shooter who aren't bound to groups and take on personal activities instead, but they went against their personalities and decided to work together because of the difficulty of the advancement mission.

If Cha Jun Sung's combat ability hadn't been above average, it is so difficult that they wouldn't be able to complete it without overdoing themselves.

They will be ma.s.sacred if they enter a level A mission without Cha Jun Sung now.

So they need to work together even if they don't want to, and they can't take on a level A mission if they don't advance. Now, their greatest concern is body modification.

When they get together, they only talk about topics regarding body modifications.

Rankers think that Cha Jun Sung is in stage 10 of body modifications. Even if he used the card, there's no other way to explain completing a level A mission. Cha Jun Sung talked about his body like this:

'Ever since I got infected by the Oriax in Public Underground, it seems I've gained immunity. That's why I'm free from the side effects of body modifications as well.'

He just said what came to mind because he can't tell them that he's become a mutant, and they bought it just as he had expected. The side effect of stages 5 and 6 is delirium.

They were even more envious of Cha Jun Sung because death is a possibility in stages 7 and 8.

Not long ago, Cha Jun Sung heard something fun and interesting from Odin.

There is no guarantee of what will happen if an ordinary Lifer drinks Cha Jun Sung's blood, but Lifers already have a diluted strain of A virus inside them.

They all have some kind of immunity to the blood.

These are all just hypotheses. It's just that Cha Jun Sung thinks it's worth a try.

He only told Strategist about this. It would be fortunate if he didn't take it as his being crazy, but he thought about it positively like a human.

"We leave two days after it's complete. I want to test it, but the maintenance points are too much. It looks like we'll just have to do it during the real thing."

They don't really need it.

The cyborgs created it without a single error.

It doesn't make sense for level S combat weapons worth 10 trillion points to malfunction.

It's the helpers' job to move the Albatrus into their mission area.

The minimum number of pa.s.sengers to board is 1000. They need to match that number no matter what.

The normal gate opens separately for each person. The helpers will combine their power to open a giant gate, to move the Albatrus whole. When that happens, the Lifers inside will be able to follow automatically. As the level goes up, a lot of strange things happen. They all learn that much more.

Strategist looks at Cha Jun Sung.

He knows what that means. They can't advance if they can't get past stages 7 and 8, regardless of survival.

'I'll set up the meeting. They'll make their choices.'

He might have to give a lot of blood.

The Rankers might worry too, but if they could raise the possibility by even 0.1%, they won't turn down the proposal.

Cha Jun Sung looks over the construction site from headquarters. They borrowed Mechanic City's largest stadium. Nearby, thousands of World Federation Lifers are walking around standing guard.

It's because b.l.o.o.d.y Kingdom could create a ruckus.

But Rankers were also standing guard, so they would have to go back even if they tried to challenge them.

'Getting closer.'

It seemed as though it was only yesterday that they were level E Lifers, and now they are suddenly level As. If they become complete level S, only one mission is the goal.

'Evil Queen.'

It is delusional to try to try all level S missions solo.

What will there be past level S?

Will they be able to completely understand Life Mission?

Let's go. All the way.