Shadow Worker (1)
“Nice. Very nice.”
After returning to Jeju Island, Seon Yul entered his Absolute Space and kept fiddling with the railgun, repeatedly letting out admiring remarks.
In truth, the railgun was a weapon Seon Yul had been interested in for a very long time.
Because it was one of the ultimate weapons he had envisioned, he had always thought that someday he absolutely had to own one.
However, when he had previously gone to the Magic Defense Research Institute to check, South Korea’s railgun technology had still been quite lacking, so he had reluctantly given up.
But unexpectedly, thanks to the United States bringing the railgun to him on their own, he was able to obtain one of his ultimate weapons far more easily than expected.
Of course, even this railgun, completed by the United States, was not entirely without problems.
If the advantages of a railgun were summarized simply, they would be its tremendous power, extremely fast muzzle velocity, and high economic efficiency.
Naturally, all of those were great advantages.
The problem was the drawbacks.
Strong recoil, somewhat low accuracy, reactive force, enormous power consumption, stress on the barrel and the internal rails, stress on the projectile, the inability to use high-explosive shells, and so on… all of these were fatal weaknesses.
Among those disadvantages, however, the most critical were the strong recoil, the reactive force, and the stress placed on the barrel, which caused the railgun to break down.
A railgun possessed the fatal durability issue of sometimes breaking after firing only a single shot.
It was so bad that people even called it an expensive toy.
For that reason, the railgun was a weapon that still required a great deal more research before it could be commercialized.
But.
Almost all of the railgun’s disadvantages… meant nothing to Seon Yul.
More precisely, if the railgun were used inside Absolute Space, then aside from the somewhat low accuracy, the enormous power consumption, and the inability to use high-explosive shells, all the other drawbacks could simply be ignored thanks to the basic ‘effects’ of Absolute Space.
Just like all the other weapons.
The railgun, too, would never break down inside Absolute Space.
Of course, if he used the railgun comfortably inside Absolute Space and then took it outside, it might shatter the moment it was brought out.
But at least inside Absolute Space, that would never happen.
Up until now, despite how brutally the Minigun and the GAU-19 had been overworked, their barrels had never ruptured… no, they had never even bent.
The condition-maintenance setting of Absolute Space was so broken that even magazine jams and functional malfunctions, which should have occurred frequently under normal circumstances, had never happened even once.
Thanks to this overpowered setting, Seon Yul could use the railgun without worry.
However, Seon Yul had no intention of being satisfied with just that.
“The moment I saw the information on America’s railgun… a truly brilliant idea came to mind.”
Seon Yul grinned to himself as he thought that inwardly.
Then he pulled out an item from his pocket.
It was the Legend+ grade Enchant Soul he had been keeping in storage because it seemed useless, ‘Extreme Efficiency.’
“If it’s this, then even the enormous power consumption won’t be a drawback anymore.”
Seon Yul muttered to himself with a pleased smile.
From the very moment he had forcibly ‘confiscated(?)’ the railgun from the United States, he had already intended to use this.
Without hesitation, Seon Yul immediately used Extreme Efficiency on the railgun.
[You are using the Enchant Soul “Extreme Efficiency.”]
Flash!!
[A Legend+ grade weapon, “Extremely Efficient Railgun,” has been created.]
After finishing the enchantment, Seon Yul immediately checked the weapon’s information.
[Extremely Efficient Railgun <Legend+>]
— A railgun modified to possess extreme efficiency. This railgun can now fire at full power with only minimal electrical energy. However, in exchange, its durability has become even more unstable.
[Base Effect] None.
[Skill A] Extreme Efficiency (Passive): The railgun’s required ‘electrical energy’ charge is reduced by 90%.
[Skill B] Reinforcement After Efficiency (Passive): The railgun’s attack power increases by 10%.
[Penalty] Unstable durability.
“Okay! It’s complete.”
Seon Yul nodded with a satisfied expression as he looked at the enchanted railgun.
The note saying its durability had become unstable did not bother him at all since he could ignore that anyway.
‘The slightly lower accuracy can probably be overcome to some extent with the help of Heavenly Cuisine buffs and consistent practice… and not being able to use high-explosive shells doesn’t matter either since they couldn’t be used inside a mana barrier in the first place… In that case, doesn’t this railgun basically have no downsides anymore?’
Seon Yul had essentially erased all of the railgun’s fatal weaknesses.
Moreover, if firing the railgun at full power originally required 100% electrical energy, now it could fire at full power with only 10% charged, meaning the rate of fire itself could not help but increase as well.
At this level, even the United States, which had willingly handed over the railgun, would never have expected that such a monstrous railgun would be born.
He could not take it out and boast about it in front of others, but Seon Yul felt as though he had just obtained a mythical-grade item.
‘But this isn’t the end.’
Thanks to the mythical(?) railgun, Seon Yul could say he had grown several steps stronger once again.
However, there were still more ways for him to grow.
Seon Yul had cleared the Frozen Cave alone and naturally monopolized an enormous reward.
The rewards were similar in scale to the Arachne raid. Because it was a hive-type raid gate, the experience gained was somewhat higher than during the Arachne raid, while the quality of the spoils was slightly lower.
As a result, his level had risen from 63 to 67, and the spoils were…
[Hive-Type “Glacier Bat” Raid Gate Destruction Spoils]
→ 1 Top-Grade Magic Stone / 61.4 kg of Intermediate Magic Stones / 49,579 Glacier Bat Wing Fragments / 178,455 Glacier Bat Fangs
There were no completed items or Enchant Souls at all, only one top-grade magic stone, and not even a single high-grade magic stone.
Thus, while the quality had dropped significantly, the amount of intermediate magic stones was far greater than during the Arachne raid, and the quantity of material items was overwhelmingly higher as well.
But since Glacier Bats were a hive-type monster, it was natural that quantity would outweigh quality.
Seon Yul had no particular complaints about this part.
What mattered was that his level had surpassed 65 and reached 67.
Why that was important could be seen by looking at the Stigmata Points he had accumulated.
— [Stigmata Level] 67 (01.14%) (Stigmata Points: 5)
— [Unique Ability] Absolute Space <EX> (Level 10)
(Details omitted)
At last, he had gathered 5 Stigmata Points, meaning he could raise the level of Absolute Space to 15.
And when Absolute Space reached level 15, not only would the number of entrances increase by one, but an Additional Ability B would also be created.
The Additional Ability A he had obtained previously was Structural Modification.
Structural Modification had been a necessary ability for managing Absolute Space efficiently.
Then what kind of ability would this new Additional Ability B be?
Seon Yul was extremely curious about it, but after enchanting the railgun, he held himself back for several days to double the joy.
Now, Seon Yul immediately spent his 5 Stigmata Points and raised the level of Absolute Space to 15.
— The level of Absolute Space has increased by 5.
— The size of Absolute Space increases, and its functions are improved.
— The weight of external objects that can be brought into Absolute Space increases from 16,000 kg to 99,000 kg.
— Absolute Space has reached level 15, increasing the number of entrances by 1, making a total of 4.
— Upon reaching level 15, Additional Function B is added.
The level-15 Absolute Space ability now appeared as follows.
[Absolute Space <EX> (Level 15)]
: You can create an absolute space that no existence can arbitrarily interfere with… a space that belongs solely to you. This space does not belong to any dimension and will never disappear under any circumstances. When you close the entrance, it is immediately and completely cut off from the outside world, and no being can enter Absolute Space.
[Space Size] Area 105 pyeong, Height 7 m (Maximum Area: 350 pyeong. You may expand up to the maximum by paying 1 kg of intermediate magic stone per pyeong.)
[Number of Entrances] 4 (One additional entrance is added upon reaching ability level 15)
<Each time a new entrance is opened, 10 g of intermediate magic stones are consumed. However, the amount consumed varies depending on the size of the entrance.>
[Emergency Entrance] Setting in progress
(Each use of the emergency entrance consumes 200 g of intermediate magic stones.)
[Permitted Carry-in Weight] 99,000 kg [15,174 kg / 99,000 kg]
[Additional Function A] Structural Modification – By concentrating your mind, you can change the structure of Absolute Space exactly as you imagine it in your head. However, the more complex the structure, the longer you must concentrate, and if you fail to imagine it clearly, the structure will not change. Once the structure has been changed, it cannot be modified again for 24 hours.
<Structural Modification Cost: 5 kg of intermediate magic stones per use>
[Additional Function B] Worker Summon – You can summon Shadow Workers who can be given simple commands. Shadow Workers are a lower version of ‘Shadow Spirits,’ mana lifeforms composed entirely of shadow with a height of 1 meter. Their intelligence is extremely low, so they cannot execute even slightly complex commands. To summon the first Shadow Worker initially, 1 high-grade magic stone is required. After the first summon, they can be called whenever desired. However, for the workers to function, intermediate magic stones are required. Each worker consumes 0.1 g of intermediate magic stones per second while working, and the current maximum number of Shadow Workers that can be controlled simultaneously is 4. Shadow Workers absolutely obey their summoner’s commands, but may disappear if they suffer a strong shock or damage. Shadow Workers cannot leave Absolute Space.
‘What is this supposed to be?’
Seon Yul scratched his head as he looked at the description of the newly added function.
As expected, the cost was magic stones.
But after reading the description several times, Seon Yul realized that this was actually a function he had greatly needed.
‘In that case…’
Up until now, whenever Seon Yul dragged enemies into Absolute Space to fight them, or when he tried to handle multiple weapons inside it, he had clearly felt certain limitations.
Even when hunting Glacier Bats, he had barely managed to use five weapons… two Gatling guns, two flamethrowers, and one K4 high-speed automatic grenade launcher, only after putting on an entire circus act and even making use of Arachne threads.
But that had truly been just a temporary measure, and it had only been possible because he had prepared in advance.
‘If I had Shadow Workers… I could practically operate an artillery battalion by myself.’
Of course, he had no intention of deploying K9Xs to that extent.
But the important point was that he could do it if he wanted to.
Before, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t.
Alone, three units had practically been his limit.
‘And I could give each of them a Gatling gun and have them fire a simultaneous volley… or give them sniper rifles and do a synchronized sniper shot… Ah, maybe sniping isn’t a simple command?’
As Seon Yul continued imagining ways to use the Shadow Workers in his head, the more he imagined, the more he concluded that they could be extremely helpful.
“First… let’s summon just one.”
To understand it more accurately, the best way was simply to summon one and try controlling it.
He currently possessed 19 high-grade magic stones, so spending one would not be a problem.
“Initial summon of a Shadow Worker.”
Seon Yul consumed one high-grade magic stone and performed the first summon.
[Summoning Shadow Worker No. 1.]
Swoooosh.
From the floor of Absolute Space, a small shadow figure… like a tiny person painted entirely black, slowly rose.
It had no eyes, nose, or mouth. It was simply a small, child-like figure made entirely of shadow.
Once the summoning finished, Shadow Worker No. 1 stood still in place, waiting for Seon Yul’s command.
And while the Shadow Worker remained summoned like that, 0.1 g of intermediate magic stones was indeed being consumed per second.
‘So magic stones are consumed even if they’re just summoned.’
‘Then… reverse summon!’
Looking at the Shadow Worker, Seon Yul issued the reverse-summon command in his mind.
Pssshhh.
The Shadow Worker slowly sank back into the floor and disappeared.
Once it was reverse-summoned, the consumption of intermediate magic stones naturally stopped.
After confirming that, Seon Yul summoned Shadow Worker No. 1 again.
Since the high-grade magic stone was only required for the initial summon, this time it appeared without any cost.
‘And summon again.’
Swoooosh.
Shadow Worker No. 1 rose from the floor again.
This time, Seon Yul ordered it to go to the corner and bring over the ammunition box placed there.
The Shadow Worker toddled over with its short legs, reached the ammunition box, lifted it easily, and carried it back to Seon Yul.
The box was fairly heavy, yet it lifted it effortlessly, suggesting its basic physical ability was not weak.
‘Now try picking up that Minigun and firing it over there.’
Seon Yul issued a more serious combat command.
Shadow Worker No. 1 once again diligently ran toward the Minigun, lifted it, and began firing toward the front.
Interestingly, at first, the Shadow Worker had simply stood there holding the Minigun blankly.
But the moment Seon Yul imagined in detail how to fire the Minigun in his mind, it immediately began firing exactly the way he had imagined.
‘Ah! So if I imagine the details while giving the command, it follows exactly like that!’
Now that he finally understood how to use the Shadow Worker, Seon Yul nodded in realization.
Shadow Workers… this thing was definitely something special.
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