‘Originally, I would have granted a power to increase physical strength to the point of body collapse… but for that creature with incomprehensible regeneration, it’s better to cast a buff for health regeneration instead.’
Seonhwang’s judgment was correct.
Even if the applied buff was different, it would still dismantle the opponent with stats beyond their manageable limits.
The principle remained the same.
Even destructive actions that elicited a hostile reaction from the body couldn’t be stopped.
Conversely, there was no way to block a buff that elicited positive reactions from the body.
[Health Regeneration 33000%]
[Health Regeneration 58000%]
[Health Regeneration 109000%]
[Strength-All-in Pattern Recognizer] instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
After enduring any attack from Seonhwang, it planned to get close enough to insert its infinitely regenerating body into Seonhwang’s.
Once it got in, that would be the end.
The body would inflate and tear Seonhwang apart from the inside after finishing regenerating.
However, as it dove down towards Seonhwang, its descent trajectory suddenly veered off course.
Its body was no longer obeying.
‘The demon cells I’ve devoured for survival… they’re growing at an alarming rate? Oh no, at this rate, I can’t even control my own body!’
Even the counters against instant death couldn’t avoid destruction, and the demon cells grew excessively massive.
Its human shape twisted and its flesh writhed as it transformed its limbs into those of a hideous monster.
‘This… I can’t stop it!’
A feeling struck.
When the limit of endurance in this doomsday route was reached, a sense of inevitable death loomed.
The same feeling emerged.
Seonhwang couldn’t be overcome even with the Strength-All-in build.
It was frustrating.
Honestly, a sense of defeat washed over it.
However, it didn’t want to go down quietly like this.
‘I don’t know much, but I’ve been searching for Strength-All-in, so the Director must be that new NPC I was leveling up as a player.’
For the Director, and for another version of itself, it had to deal at least a bit of damage to Seonhwang.
“Regeneration kills me… Your approach was good. But don’t forget that before my regeneration kills me, I can inflict damage on you too!!”
Strength-All-in forsook its human form.
Even the body that was forcibly suppressed by mana refinement techniques couldn’t remain confined to the predetermined shape any longer.
Like the stem of a giant plant, its cells swelled grotesquely, turning its limbs and body parts into a jumbled monster.
[A new world boss has been detected.]
━━━
World Boss [Immortal Monster]
Giant Monster – Strength-All-in Pattern Recognizer
━━━
Watching that horrific transformation from the ground, the powerful allies of the coalition were in utter disbelief.
“What the hell is wrong with the Wahyhiemhai Foundation?”
“What kind of monster did they summon?”
“That thing was a person until just a moment ago.”
“You don’t think the Foundation is making their scholarship students into such monsters, do you?”
“Those insane bastards…”
Within the giant branch, those witnessing it, including Jaku, trembled like aspen leaves.
“Is, is that what happens to us too?”
“I, I… ate the dark mana pill from the Foundation, will I turn into that too? Huh?”
“I don’t know, damn it… I took that pill too…”
As the scholarship students wore despair on their faces, Giselle and her friends in the coalition’s command center were equally solemn.
“If that’s what a scholarship student looks like… What will happen to Oknodie, the chief scholarship student?”
“My god… I can’t even begin to imagine how that little guy will turn out.”
“Oknodie’s affinity for dark mana is unmatched. There’s no way he would degrade into such a hideous form.”
Zhuang tried to find solace in Oknodie’s abilities, but Giselle remained pessimistic.
“Remember the overwhelming regeneration of ‘that thing.’ Even Oknodie’s overwhelming affinity can’t lead to complacency.”
At Giselle’s warning, everyone internally resolved.
Oknodie must not reunite with the Director again.
They had to prevent such a situation from occurring at all costs.
Here and now.
They must kill the Director to ensure that Oknodie would never again be harmed!
Boom!
Crash! Crash!
Even as the giant monster caught in Seonhwang’s domain continuously deforming and taking damage, its unique regeneration rendered the damage meaningless.
Seonhwang was barely managing to halt the giant monster’s advance.
This meant the opportunity was once again returned to the Director’s hands.
“Although it may not be intentional, if the results are the same, the process is of no concern, right? It might be an embarrassing gift to show others, but the intent behind a gift is what truly matters, wouldn’t you agree? Let me add a little flourish so everyone receives my gift with more joy.”
A radiant light burst forth from the Foundation’s flagship.
The spirit of the black World Tree, tainted by dark mana, reached its roots beyond the flagship, enveloping the entire archipelago and surrounding waters in an unescapable dimension curtain.
Now, no one could enter or exit without traversing the chaotic dimension that the black World Tree gnawed upon with each passing moment.
The rampage of the giant monster.
Everyone found themselves trapped in a crisis that could not be avoided behind the tenuous shield of Seonhwang.
The moment the giant monster surpassed Seonhwang.
Everyone trapped behind the dimension barrier would be crushed and swallowed by the giant monster and unable to escape death.
“We must strike back before we’re overwhelmed!”
“Now is the last chance while His Majesty Seonhwang endures.”
“Open fire, fleet!”
Numerous mana cannons aimed at the giant monster, both on land and sea.
Worries about missing their targets were nonexistent.
The enormous body was so colossal that simply firing would ensure a hit was guaranteed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening explosions of mana cannons struck the giant monster’s body.
As the monster’s flesh burst and blood poured onto the earth, everyone erupted into cheers.
Even with its never-ending regeneration, a limit appeared; the flesh that had fallen off did not regenerate.
However, this was merely a momentary illusion.
“Oh, dear.”
“Look below.”
“It’s not that it hasn’t regenerated; that hideous monster has split into smaller fragments!”
“Crazy. Just now… the one that devoured an animal, is it growing bigger?”
“It’s absorbing. If caught, it gets absorbed!”
As human-sized fragments stood up, they charged across the battlefield like an army of minions following their giant monster leader.
Masters who were barely tending to their wounds gritted their teeth and unleashed spells, hastily modifying their malfunctioning magical equipment to use as disposable artifacts.
Both people and tools were nearing the end of their limits, but to halt the giant monster’s forces, they had to squeeze out every last resource they had.
“See? If you take down the small ones, they won’t get back up!”
“The fragments can be eliminated with a single strike!”
Despite the wearying news, it was the only reason everyone could muster the strength to fight.
The problem was that the black World Tree surrounding the battlefield kept spewing forth dark mana, contaminating the entire interior of the mana barrier.
Unlike the existing World Trees that produce abundant nature mana for the elves and forest beings, the black World Tree produced dark mana that polluted and destroyed the earth.
“If we block the forces and stop the giant monster, if we don’t destroy the black World Tree soon, we all face the risk of dying from dark mana poisoning!”
At that moment, Giselle in the command center realized there was still hope.
The flagship of the Foundation.
Near the spot where the Director managed the black World Tree.
Somewhere there, the Warrior Party must exist.
As long as the hero doesn’t give up, this fight isn’t a lost cause, nor is it over yet.
“Deploy the reserves. We must not be overwhelmed by the giant monster’s forces any longer.”
The allied forces didn’t lose hope.
The final desperate battle began.
*
The flagship of the Foundation had turned into a complete mess.
The damage inflicted on the flagship by Seonhwang’s attack was beyond ordinary.
Out of 16 engines, 11 were damaged, and the right wing was entirely lost.
The mana supply within the zone had also reached its limits; there were now more dark areas than lit ones.
Bang! Roar!
Devices exploded and flames erupted.
Secretaries rushing in with equipment often found themselves crushed under collapsing ceilings or swept away in explosions.
In the midst of such chaos, the Warrior Party, shielded by Saintess Yufi’s protective magic, was somehow able to maintain their lives.
“The mana flowing through the hallway has vanished!”
“A shortcut has opened up. Let’s hurry!”
“We can’t! The mana supporting the prison doors around the hallway has also disappeared!”
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Eeeek!
As the isolation rooms lining the hallway opened, men and monsters who looked dangerous with black veins emerging from their faces stumbled out.
Those heavily affected by dark mana had become indistinguishable between man and monster.
Their bodies had transformed grotesquely, as modifications attempted to push the limits of endurance, turning every being into an abomination.
“Those people… are showing mana reactions of level 6 or higher. They’ve reached the level of high school upperclassmen, but have been injected with dark mana to the point they can no longer endure…”
“As an archer, I must say, that’s already the end for them. Their human reasoning must have completely evaporated by now.”
“I wish that were true… but it doesn’t seem to be the case. The Saint of Light, Mademois, sensed an overwhelming stress emanating from them.”
Sister Nise of the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church realized that the mutated humans were feeling stress, and just sensing that stress led to an immense enhancement of their power, indicating they were enduring extreme pain.
“Their souls are suffering. The owners of those bodies may have become idiots, but there still lies a soul within. Like those being ‘punished’ by the Foundation.”
At Nise’s words, everyone recalled the most punished soul currently with the Director.
“Oknodie’s torn soul fragments… does that mean they’re implanted in those creatures here, suffering like this?”
“While we can’t be sure, the possibility is extremely high…”
“Wait, are we seriously saying we should kill each and every one of those things? That’s impossible. Just looking at them, they seem extraordinarily strong. We’d exhaust ourselves first!”
Despite the protests from Archer Skola, Ishtar replied in a hushed voice.
“You don’t even need to join in.”
“What?”
“When humanity faces a crisis, they grow stronger. Right now, I see a crisis for humanity. Anyone who can commit such atrocities, led by an existence I cannot consider kin, must not survive here or humanity itself will face annihilation.”
Just as Ishtar’s killing intensity peaked, the Hero System granted her increased battle functionality output.
“I will destroy every single creature that might harbor Oknodie within them.”
With a heart full of killing intent, the hero dashed down the corridor lined with creatures.
*
The Principal looked over towards the battlefield where pure chaos was unfolding, and then away from the earthy Oknodie, rolling on the ground like a carefree soul.
[While your friends are rolling outside like dogs, what are you doing here? Didn’t you say you’d stop the Director’s ultimate move?]
“I did!”
[But they already used it on the other side?]
“That’s why I’m worried! If they pull out [Marine who Specializes in Strength All-in], I’m planning to summon an alternate character that can’t be taken down in a single hit.”
[Oh? You’re going to offset a taboo with another taboo?]
“Once you break a taboo, there’s nothing stopping you from doing it again, right?”
[You came up with a great plan—so why aren’t you executing it?]
Oknodie, now looking like a dim-witted Molunodi, answered.
“No matter how hard I dig through my memories to try to summon, it just doesn’t work as if the master is absent from their empty house!”
The character Oknodie was attempting to summon, one that would never fall in a single hit, was the [Strength-All-in Pattern Recognizer] that was rampaging around as a giant monster.
