Chapter 44

[Damn! How many of these things are there? There’s no end in sight!]

[We’re almost there! Just hold on a little longer!]

Although the Titans and various tools overwhelmed the Deep Ones, the Deep Ones had the numbers to overturn the overwhelming difference in power.

The screen showing the machine’s status was completely red, and they were almost out of weapons. However, even in this desperate situation, everyone did their best in their roles, and they finally reached their target, Section C-5.

[We’ve arrived! Everyone get out! And Mr. Carmen, is there anything like a self-destruct device in the base?]

“Self-destruct device? Why would a resource base have something like that?”

[Damn it. Then what about weapons like torpedoes?]

“No, this is a resource base, not a military base! Why are you looking for such things!”

[Getting on a submarine isn’t the end of it! What will we do if they chase us?]

Carmen’s expression hardened as he finally understood the intent behind the question.

Come to think of it, if these creatures could make holes in the base, there was no reason they couldn’t do the same to a submarine.

A normal escape would just mean changing their place of death from the base to the submarine.

And a moment later, another question came that made Carmen even more flustered.

[How long does it take to get the submarine moving?]

“Once everyone’s aboard, we can move right away. Why do you ask?”

[Then could you wait about 5 minutes?]

“5 minutes? Every second counts in this situation!”

[There’s a good reason! I’ll try to be as quick as possible, so please wait just 5 minutes! And make sure to search the submarine too!]

“Why that too?!”

[Getting ambushed by hidden creatures is a creature feature cliché]

“H-hey!”

He tried to ask more, but the communication had already been cut off.

Carmen continued to deliberate until the moment they entered the base and boarded the submarine to start it up, but finally made up his mind.

“Wait for a moment!”

“Wait? What nonsense is that? We barely have time as it is, and you want us to wait?!”

“Jerome hasn’t come. We need to wait for him.”

The people who had been focused only on boarding the submarine finally realized that Jerome was nowhere to be seen.

The person who gave them the courage to move when they were waiting for death in the warehouse, who fought at the front without fear of unknown monsters, who played a crucial role in getting everyone here.

Although they wanted to escape this hell as quickly as possible, they weren’t shameless enough to abandon their comrade and benefactor without hesitation.

“Just what is that bastard doing and where?”

“I don’t know, but he asked us to wait a moment. And he specifically asked us to search the submarine interior.”

“Damn it, damn it!”

Grrrng!

“Do we… have to wait longer?”

A massive tremor as the base collapsed, the impact strong enough to be felt inside the submarine.

As fear and anxiety spread among the people, and even Carmen fell into serious deliberation about whether they should wait longer, finally, the awaited sound came through the radio.

[Boarding complete! Let’s go!]

“Moving out!”

The arms holding the hull were released, and the propellers started rotating as the submarine began moving forward.

Carmen, who had been staring intently at the display showing the submarine and its surroundings, turned his head at hearing a familiar voice.

“Did you search the submarine?”

“Of course! More importantly, why were you so late?”

“I was taking out some insurance for contingencies.”

“Insurance?”

Yuseong passed by Carmen, who wore an uncomprehending expression, and turned his attention to the massive display on one wall.

Countless Deep Ones, numbering in the thousands, were swimming around the base. Though they hadn’t been detected yet, it was clear they would notice their presence and give chase as soon as they left the hangar.

“Is the submarine fast enough to shake them off?”

“I can’t be certain since we don’t know how fast they are, but being living creatures, I don’t think they can match our emergency ascent speed. The problem is that they’ll likely catch up before we can reach a position where we can make that emergency ascent.”

“I see.”

Due to the tilted base and complex underwater terrain, the submarine would need to move along the wall for a while after leaving the hangar before it could surface.

It was a situation where all they could do was pray, but one person thought differently.

‘Good thing I took out that insurance.’

“Why aren’t you moving?”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? At this rate, those things will catch up to us!”

“That won’t happen. Let’s go.”

Hearing the confident tone that showed not even a hint of doubt, Carmen grabbed the controls as if enchanted.

And the moment the submarine moved forward with a slight tremor, Yuseong raised both hands like conducting an orchestra and sent a signal through the connected mana threads.

“Huh, huuuh?”

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem with the engine?”

“That! Look at that!”

Following someone’s pointing finger, everyone could only wear dumbfounded expressions at what they saw.

“…Why are those moving? Don’t tell me someone got left behind?”

“We checked several times, that’s impossible! Is someone remote controlling them?”

“That model can’t be remotely controlled!”

“Then what the hell is it?!”

Six Titans fighting against the Deep Ones – a scene that defied common sense.

Of course, the culprit was Yuseong.

‘Good thing the mana held out just barely.’

The reason Yuseong asked for 5 minutes was to install Thorny Vine in the Titans’ cockpits for remote control.

It would have been impossible with equipment requiring precise manipulation, but the Titan was a simple work machine operated by levers and buttons. It was enough to attach Thorny Vine to some important levers and buttons and send signals.

Although they showed terrible movements like flailing their arms or swinging weapons in random directions, they more than achieved their purpose of drawing attention.

“Emergency ascent!”

Though the creatures had finally noticed their presence and started approaching, the submarine was already ascending at a speed that surpassed them.

“…Haaa.”

As the distance between the Deep Ones and the submarine gradually increased, Yuseong sat down on the floor with a sigh of relief as the tension drained away.

While no quest was easy, this one felt particularly draining on his mental strength.

[You have cleared the quest ‘Unidentified Organism. Highly Hostile to Humans’]

[Analyzing clear process, please wait a moment]

[Fate Change Rate 168.9%, Otherworld Skill Usage 40.4%, Otherworld Artifact Usage 28%]

[Final Evaluation: SSS Rank]

[Amazing! Han Yuseong, you have succeeded in saving not only the client but the fates of many people! Rewards will be distributed!]

[Basic Clear Reward: 200,000 Karma, Emergency Regeneration Ampoule for Severe Traumax5, High-powered Explosives for Rock Crushingx3, Pure Titanium Ingot 5kg]

[Additional Condition Clear Reward: 3,500,000 Karma, High-concentration Helium-3 Fuel Rodx1]

[SSS Rank Clear Additional Reward: 4,000,000 Karma]

[Return to original world will begin shortly]

“…At least the hard work paid off.”

“Hard work paid off?”

“Ah, I mean seeing everyone escape safely makes it feel worthwhile.”

“Hahaha! Indeed! Thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, we’d be those monsters’ food by now. When we get up there, I’ll treat you big time.”

“That’s…”

Yuseong, who was about to play along until they returned to Earth, suddenly froze.

Something massive was visible beyond the display.

It was a crude description, but truly nothing else came to mind except “something massive.”

This was partly due to its bizarre appearance that seemed to lump together everything that might appear in a nightmare, but also because even though he was clearly seeing it with his own eyes, its form changed in real-time like rippling smoke, making it impossible to describe its proper appearance.

“……”

The moment Yuseong thought he made eye contact with that being through the display, what appeared to be its mouth opened.

────.

A resonance from the abyss that couldn’t be expressed in language.

A massive resonance that combined sound, waves, terror, and malice struck the people directly.

“Kuheck!”

“Uu, uwaaaaah!”

Though they couldn’t understand what that resonance was, the people who could feel the malice contained within it collapsed to the floor, either trembling or screaming while clutching their heads.

However, they were the lucky ones.

They only experienced momentary terror and despair because they couldn’t understand the meaning contained in that resonance.

“…Ah.”

But Yuseong was different.

Due to the Primal Language, Babel skill that allowed him to understand and know all types of languages, Yuseong realized the meaning contained in that resonance.

The mysteries and truths of the infinite universe, unknown beings existing beyond the universe, content tempered with infinite malice toward life.

These were things that a mere human mind couldn’t even comprehend, let alone accept, but Yuseong understood and accepted them through the power of his skill.

And Yuseong, who had no skills, equipment, or abilities to protect his mind, had to pay the price for this forbidden knowledge.

“Uweeeeeeek!”

Blood flows from every opening – eyes, nose, mouth.

A terrible feeling as if something was drilling holes in his head and stirring his brain.

And just before everything ended, a message appeared that would save Yuseong.

[Initiating Deus Ex Machina Program]

[Ariadne’s Thread tracking complete]

[Initiating spirit particle transfer]

* * *

The moment he returned to Earth, what Yuseong felt was a headache so severe he wondered if his head might burst, and an unbearable urge to vomit.

“Keheuk! Kek!”

After running to the bathroom and dry heaving for a while, Yuseong finally managed to come out and threw himself on the sofa.

A bizarre state where extreme mental fatigue that could make him lose consciousness at any moment coexisted with a headache that kept his eyes wide open. While pressing his temples and circulating the Bermund cultivation technique to calm his body and mind, Yuseong stared at the ceiling with hollow eyes.

‘…To think I’d be so grateful that all skill-related knowledge and experience disappear after synchronization ends.’

Knowledge, know-how, and information that could be classified as skills all disappear upon returning to Earth unless separately purchased from the karma shop after the quest ends.

He guessed that the knowledge and realizations contained in that massive being’s resonance must have been things that could be classified as skills.

The problem was that it was dangerous knowledge that humans couldn’t and shouldn’t understand. Fortunately, he survived by returning to Earth before fully understanding it, but if he had been even a little later, he might have developed some mental illness or fallen into a brain-dead state.

“Geez, isn’t there a way to erase these memories? Just thinking about it makes my head spin.”

As he was lamenting, Yuseong suddenly realized something and froze.

When a quest ends, all information that could be classified as skills disappears.

Then why…

‘…Why do these memories remain?’

Mysteries and secrets that clearly surface when he closes his eyes.

With a headache like needles stabbing his brain, Yuseong quietly closed his eyes.