Episode 32.
“I-it’s all true. Please believe me. Really, it really is.”
The bucket-hat-wearing middle-aged man who had been brimming with confidence just moments ago.
That guy who had seemed like he wouldn’t utter a single word under any torture was now shedding tears and snot.
He couldn’t help it.
“Kuugh….”
Around him, others were collapsed and writhing.
They were the measly Awakeners who had been acting all smug just moments ago, boasting that they had been chosen.
Of course, they were also members of the Black Moon, just like the bucket-hat-wearing middle-aged man, Gim Jeonguk.
“Kuugh, kuuugh.”
“Gack, grrrk.”
They writhed like insects with their faces pressed against the ground.
The reason?
It’s simple.
They had enhanced their limbs, and even their eyes and internal organs, and failed.
‘This probability really kills you.’
There had been countless physical enhancements until now.
But what were the results?
Failure, failure, and more failure.
They had even used it as a method of torture.
Anyway, those guys screamed in unimaginable pain due to the failed enhancements.
Having tortured seven people without saying a word, and facing torture with an unknown purpose, Gim Jeonguk—the guy must have fallen into extreme terror.
And this was the result.
Unlike the others, he hadn’t attempted any enhancement, yet he had spilled information on his own.
If the information had been useless, I would have tortured him anyway.
‘A hideout, you say.’
As someone who possessed Ki Bullets, he knew some fairly high-class information.
One of the hideouts of the Black Moon, which operated as a cell-based organization—that came out.
Of course, finding that out had taken quite a long time.
Because all sorts of questions had been exchanged to exploit the loopholes of the Contract characteristic.
“Fine. I’ll believe you.”
“Th-thank….”
But the guy couldn’t finish his sentence.
Thwack!
He collapsed, losing consciousness from the shock of a blow to his solar plexus.
And the next moment.
Thud, thud, thud.
Men in black suits approached from all around as if they had been waiting.
“Shall we take care of them?”
They were all uniformly dressed—Chairman Gang’s direct team.
No matter where you go, dirty things are bound to happen, especially in the business world.
For them, a team created to handle such matters, disposing of a few people was nothing.
“Yes. Please do.”
“Very well.”
As expected of veterans.
The traces of eight people disappeared in an instant.
While I stared vacantly at the spot where they had disappeared.
“Mr. Yunchan.”
A muscular physique visible beneath the suit.
The man in the black suit who had spoken to me earlier was Seo Changyeol.
He was the current team leader leading this team.
“Yes.”
“Everything is ready.”
“Ah, already?”
I bowed my head in response.
Taciturn.
Well, since his work required strict confidentiality, he couldn’t help but be taciturn.
“This way.”
The place I followed him to was a warehouse prepared underground.
On the floor of the warehouse, illuminated by bright lights, were various pieces of equipment that had taken time to enhance.
“Very well.”
Team Leader Seo, having completed his purpose, returned to where he belonged.
I gazed at the equipment laid out neatly on the floor.
Armor types including anti-blade vests and bulletproof vests, and close-quarters weapons like knuckles and swords, as well as ranged weapons like bows, throwing stars, and concealed weapons—there was a heap of them.
‘How much sweat I shed making these.’
To others, it might look like I was enhancing without any effort, but that wasn’t the case.
Each enhancement consumed an enormous amount of mental strength.
If I weren’t a Regressor but an ordinary Awakener, I wouldn’t have been able to exceed one hundred enhancements per day.
But I could do more than that.
Because I had the experience and know-how of having reached the final evolution of my characteristic, as well as the perseverance and mental strength to have survived through the apocalypse.
And what I saw before my eyes now was the result of the past month.
The reason I had kept mass-producing them even though I already had equipment I was using was precisely for today.
The first things I touched were two anti-blade vests.
Of course, all of them had completed Transcendent Enhancement.
Holding one in each hand.
『Synthesis』
An ability obtained by evolving the Enhancement characteristic.
Hwooaah!
Light burst forth just like during enhancement, covering the anti-blade vests.
They squirmed as if they had turned into liquid, clumping together into a single form.
This newly obtained ability combines equipment of the same grade into one, producing an item one step higher—a so-called evolved item.
Here, evolution means reaching the Two-Star stage that had been blocked and unattainable until now.
If successful, one would gain the opportunity to enhance ninety-nine more times together with Two-Star Transcendence.
Tzzt, tzzztzzt!
The moment the light matter, turned liquid, merged into one.
Boom!
Along with a small explosion.
Pssshhh!
Black smoke indicating failure leaked out.
“Tch!”
I clicked my tongue lightly.
Because that explosion and black smoke meant failure.
‘Even if it’s just Two-Star, this is pretty tough.’
The success probability of Synthesis to go from One-Star to Two-Star is merely 40%.
Of course, I possessed the supreme trait, Fortunate Luck.
‘Still, the probability is 80%.’
Unlike ordinary enhancement with 100% success, in the case of Synthesis, even with Fortunate Luck applied, the success probability was 80%.
Unlike before, if attempting Synthesis, failures would inevitably occur from time to time.
『Synthesis』
But I had plenty of materials.
Not yielding to a single failure, I continued attempting Synthesis.
Flash!
At the moment of the third attempt, golden light burst forth announcing success.
『+0(★★) Expert Lightweight Anti-Blade Vest
Category: Armor
Durability: 75/75
Unique Effect: Slightly increases resistance to all bladed weapons
Transcendence Effect(★): Low probability of destroying bladed weapons
Transcendence Effect(★★): Moderate probability of reflecting damage from bladed weapon attacks
Description: An anti-blade vest that protects the wearer from bladed weapons and impact weapons. Befitting an expert-grade anti-blade vest, it cannot be pierced by ordinary bladed weapons and provides solid resistance. Through Transcendent Enhancement, special abilities have been granted to destroy bladed weapons or deal reflected damage to attackers with a certain probability.』
The One-Star anti-blade vest that had been stuck at its limit had evolved into Two-Star.
‘If it weren’t for Fortunate Luck, I would have had to repeat this dozens or hundreds of times.’
It was possible because it was me.
It couldn’t be helped, because the realm of probability meant that if you had no luck, you could fail even after hundreds of syntheses.
“Well, the anti-blade vest is a success.”
It wasn’t over yet.
Flash, flash!
I continued attempting enhancements.
『+99(★★) Expert Lightweight Anti-Blade Vest
Category: Armor
Durability: 75/75
Unique Effect: Slightly increases resistance to all bladed weapons
Enhancement Effect(9/99): Slightly increases resistance to all bladed weapons
Enhancement Effect(15/99): Slightly increases resistance to all impact weapons
……
Enhancement Effect(99/99): Low probability of greatly reducing damage from bladed weapons
Max Enhancement Effect(Max): Low probability of complete immunity to bladed weapons
Transcendence Effect(★): Low probability of destroying bladed weapons
Transcendence Effect(★★): Moderate probability of reflecting damage from bladed weapon attacks
Description: An anti-blade vest that protects the wearer from bladed weapons and impact weapons. Befitting an expert-grade anti-blade vest, it cannot be pierced by ordinary bladed weapons and provides solid resistance. Through Transcendent Enhancement, special abilities have been granted to destroy bladed weapons or deal reflected damage to attackers with a certain probability.』
An anti-blade vest that had gone through Two-Star and max enhancement.
‘Ordinary bladed weapon attacks won’t even faze me.’
Though it’s not a treasured weapon, at the current level of Awakeners, piercing a Two-Star anti-blade vest would be impossible.
Most would be satisfied here.
But I am not someone who would be satisfied with just this.
I’m still hungry.
Now that the mysterious force called Black Moon has appeared, no amount of preparation is enough.
Flash!
This time, I attempted Synthesis on the bulletproof vest.
Was I unlucky?
Despite an 80% probability, I failed a whopping two times.
“Hoo—”
I let out the breath I had been holding.
Eeeee!
My ears rang, and I felt like the sky was spinning.
‘It’s definitely different from enhancement.’
Synthesis demands concentration and mental strength incomparable to ordinary enhancement.
If even I, who handles hundreds of ordinary enhancements with ease, suffer from this level of dizziness, that says it all.
But I had no intention of resting.
To replenish consumed mental strength, a full day was needed.
With the situation escalating rapidly now, every minute and second was precious.
Moreover.
‘Because resting after pushing my abilities to the limit is the way to save time.’
I endured through sheer stubbornness.
And since resting for a day would allow me to recover my mental strength, enduring to the maximum was the shortcut to saving time.
Flash!
I attempted Synthesis on the bulletproof vest once more.
Hwooaah!
Finally, I succeeded in the synthesis.
The Two-Star bulletproof vest became powerful protective gear that could block ordinary bullets, just like the anti-blade vest.
Satisfied here?
As if!
What I obtained through the evolution of my characteristic wasn’t merely Synthesis.
『Mixing』
I combined the Two-Star, +99 enhanced anti-blade vest and bulletproof vest into one.
One might think it’s similar to Synthesis, but it’s fundamentally different.
If Synthesis is the ability to combine equipment of the same grade into one to transcend its limits, Mixing is combining ‘different’ equipment of the same grade to produce a new result with mixed effects.
Hwooaah!
Golden light burst forth.
“Oh!”
This time I was lucky.
I succeeded in Mixing on the very first try.
I looked at the completed black vest before my eyes with an appraiser’s gaze.
『+99(★★) Veteran’s Bulletproof Anti-Blade Vest
Category: Armor
Durability: 30/30
Unique Effect: Slightly increases resistance to all bladed weapons
Enhancement Effect(9/99): Slightly decreases damage from all bullets
Enhancement Effect(15/99): Slightly decreases damage from all bladed weapons
Enhancement Effect(20/99): Moderately increases resistance to all bullets
……
Enhancement Effect(99/99): Moderately increases resistance to all bladed weapons and bullets
Max Enhancement Effect(Max): Low probability of complete immunity to all bladed weapons and bullets
Transcendence Effect(★): Low probability of destroying bladed weapons and complete immunity to bullet damage
Transcendence Effect(★★): Low probability of reflecting damage from bladed weapons and bullets
Description: New protective equipment mixed with the advantages of anti-blade vests and bulletproof vests.』
This is what I wanted.
Truthfully, there are many risk factors.
The enemy may be Awakeners, but the stage is modern times, not the apocalypse.
Since they can freely use modern firearms, having to choose between anti-blade vests and bulletproof vests was inevitably difficult.
Of course, wearing both would work, but that would inevitably hinder movement.
So I had waited for the characteristic’s evolution.
Because if I manifested Mixing, I could create new equipment containing the advantages of both.
Snap!
I equipped the bulletproof anti-blade vest born from Mixing.
‘With this.’
No matter what weapon the enemy uses from now on, I won’t have to worry much.
And.
“Shall we begin?”
The work wasn’t finished.
Using these two abilities, Synthesis and Mixing.
I would create special equipment that had never existed before.
‘Because I need to stir things up.’
I had found one of the Black Moon’s hideouts.
‘Since there’s a possibility an executive is there, I should be able to get even higher-class information.’
The conclusion of all this was one.
Before the apocalypse arrived, it was to eliminate the force called Black Moon.