Chapter 118 | Omni Tales

[What, should we stop here? Or keep pushing forward?]

“Hiiik?! I-I said it!”

“Aaack!”

“What is that?! What is that?!” The dwarves were overwhelmed by the might of the Mythical pet. Some of them dropped their stone bows from shock, accidentally triggering the firing mechanism as they fell.

Puck! Puck!

Two arrows lodged themselves into nearby rocks,

Ting! Ting! Ting!

while three others bounced off without even scratching the Land Worm’s scales.

Tap.

The last arrow was caught in my hand.

“Not bad speed. And considerable power too. Is this a mechanical stone bow?” I grasped and bent the bolt’s tip.

Creeeeak!

It bent easily. The fact that the arrowhead didn’t break but instead deformed held significant implications.

“Oh, the tip is made of steel? Amazing craftsmanship.”

“W-What…you just caught the bolt with your hand?”

“No, bending the alloy arrowhead like clay…”

I asked amidst the stunned dwarves, “Isn’t this near the rainforest? Why are there dwarves instead of elves here?”

“Before that, reveal yourself! Who are you? That strange… monster? Mounting object? Whatever it is, what is it? How did a human come here?” The girl holding the gun stepped forward.

The Land Worm responded first.

[Wak!]

“Heeeek!”

Tatatang!

Bullets were fired. This time, they weren’t aimed at me but flew up and lodged into the ceiling.

“Hey, don’t tease them too much.”

[These things keep ignoring me? I can understand not seeing these tiny creatures, but how can they ignore me?]

Ignoring the grumbling landworm, I checked the gun held by the girl.

‘By the way, this is rapid fire…’

I thought it would be at most a musket, but it was closer to a rifle. It was true that dwarves were skilled with their hands, but this result exceeded common sense. Suddenly, we had advanced around 100 years ahead of our time.

Tap.

The girl stumbled, and I seized the rifle from her grasp.

“Ooh. This isn’t bad. A bit rough though…”

Click-click!

“Eek!! G-Give it back!”

Regardless of the girl’s cries, I pulled out the fixed pin and disassembled the weapon. There was everything from the charging handle to the bolt cluster, piston to magazine.

The weapon seemed to be still under development due to its non-standard specifications, but it had one unique feature.

“Huh? These are standard 5.56mm bullets!”

This caliber was steeped in history and tradition. The Republic of Korea’s military still used this ammunition for their personal weapons. While there were differences between the components and rounds depending on the manufacturer, the basic structure remained similar across various firearms. Plasma rifles or rail guns, however, followed entirely different standards.

Seeing the girl’s frantic outburst sparked jae-yeon’s playful side. “Is this your latest military technology? It looks more like a toy.”

“What? How terrifying this new weapon is…”

“Let’s see.”

Chwahk! Chilchak!

I quickly assembled the firearm. The weapon differed from Earth’s advanced firearms in many ways, but it wasn’t difficult for me since I had experience making guns in Ardenia. After assembling it, I pointed the rifle at my head. It was sized perfectly due to being made for dwarves.

“Huh? Wh-what…?”

“W-What are you doing? Stop!!”

“You stupid no…”

Regardless of their shock, I pulled the trigger.

Bang!

“Ackkk!” The dwarf woman closed her eyes tightly. Seeing the other dwarves’ confusion, it seemed like they were well aware of the rifle’s power.

However, my head wasn’t blown away as expected.

Ting~

The deformed bullet rolled on the ground. I was amazed and asked, “This isn’t steel but lead bullets. Also, the 5.56mm caliber… This wasn’t made by you guys, right? If the Crystal Alliance had machine guns, they would’ve crushed both the Empire and Ardenia.”

”…”

Everyone looked at me with blank expressions.

I laughed and said, “Return, Landworm.”

Pop!

Whioooosh!!

“Ack!”

“Wah…”

The building suddenly disappeared, causing a gust of wind to sweep through the underground area. After it settled down…

“Oh…”

“That is…”

“My God.”

A massive tunnel hidden behind the land worm was revealed.

“My introduction is too late. I am Han Jae-yeon, Emperor of the Human Empire.”

“Han Jae-yeon?”

“Han Jae-yeon…”

“Han Jae-yeon!”

For some reason, they seemed more surprised by my name than the title ‘Emperor of the Human Empire’. The girl spoke on behalf of them.

“That’s the same name always appearing in the notification messages!”

”…Notification messages?”

“The floating text in the air.”

‘Ah, they mean world messages.’

Apparently, this was the term used by the Crystal Alliance.

‘It seems they have adapted to the system in their own way.’

Indeed, even the ammunition being used now reflected this adaptation.

[5.56mm NATO Ammo (Regular)]

‘Ammo drops… I see. It must be from a rare Elf Archer of another world.’

It appeared these hunters were reverse-engineering weapons based on encounters with monsters.

“Lower your weapons. It seems like they won’t work against this opponent.”

“I expected it to be a monster after seeing the flood of item acquisition messages… but this really exceeds imagination. Bullets that can penetrate plate armour were stopped by his bare body…”

The dwarves removed the bolts from their crossbows and loosened the tightly drawn bowstrings. Judging by their frightened appearance, they didn’t seem inclined to engage further.

“I am Hyrin, the technician of the Steel Hammer Family. Nice to meet you. Han Jae-yeon…or should I call you Your Majesty?”

“It doesn’t matter. By the way, where is this place? I never expected to encounter someone so deep underground.”

“What do you mean ‘where’? You caused chaos by suddenly appearing! The ground started shaking, making us think the mine was collapsing!”

“A mine. Well, there is no other reason to dig this deep.” I bypassed them and checked the condition of the tunnel. The size was adjusted for the dwarves, so the ceiling was too low.

“Are you listening to me? You came here because…”

“I didn’t come here on purpose. This place was just along my way.”

I confirmed the minimap and saw a starting point above my head. My goal had been the flower shop, so this was supposed to be just a stopover until now.

“Just…along your way?”

“Yes. I intended to go to the rainforest’s flower shop…no, the dragon’s vein.”

The Hyrin showed disbelief at my words.

“The dragon’s vein in the rainforest is still far south from here. Yet you were just passing by… Wait, hold on.”

Hellaim turned away from me and looked at the massive tunnel devoid of any light. “This tunnel… How far does it connect?”

“The Windbreak Highland.” I also gazed upon the black tunnel, which was large enough not just for subway trains but entire buildings to pass through.

“In other words, it extends all the way to the end of this continent.”

There lay an immense road stretching over 1,000 kilometers straight ahead.

“W-wait, Hellaim. If such a colossal tunnel spans that distance…”

“Wouldn’t it be sufficient for the entire Alliance to utilize it?”

“Hold on, hold on! More importantly!” Hellaim silenced the murmuring dwarves with emphatic gestures.

“W-wait, what was that thing earlier? It seemed like some kind of wall… Could it have been its head? Does a monster exist capable of creating a cavern this vast?”

Her words drained the color from their faces.

“Wait, wasn’t that thing like a golem just now?!”

“Now that you mention it…”

“So, the whole thing was its body, not just the protruding part?!”

Their belated screams reflected how they had been unable to fully comprehend reality earlier despite their hysterical reactions.

‘Well, land worms are massive.’

Land worms were colossal creatures, not merely large. With sizes comparable to skyscrapers slithering along the ground, these beasts distorted one’s sense of perspective when viewed from afar and shattered any sense of realism up close. As the creature advanced by carving out tunnels for itself, only seeing its head would make it appear as a wall, making it difficult to discern its true serpentine form even when facing it directly.

“A living excavator.”

“Something bigger than a mountain. Deeper than the abyss…”

“It truly is a disaster that will swallow up the entire world… Really?”

“I saw it too. Of course, since it was a world message.” Laughing at the summoning phrase of the landworm, I moved forward. The dwarf-sized tunnels were too low but I could pass through by bending my waist.

”…A human?”

“What? Why is there a human here…”

After walking for quite some time, we arrived in a spacious area. The dwarves, water people and elves made dumbfounded expressions when they saw me. However, unlike Hellaim, they didn’t show hostility or aim their weapons.

‘They don’t seem to have the energy.’

I continued moving forward.

“Hey, hey! Wait a minute!”

“If you move so freely…” The Hellaim and dwarf warriors chased after me but couldn’t stop my steps. It was because they already sensed the huge difference in power.

Hoo-oong!

“Ugh! What wind suddenly… huh? Human?”

“A human.”

“How did a human get here?”

As I continued to move, the commotion grew louder. However, regardless of their reactions, I kept walking until finally passing through a large entrance. Beyond it lay a vast space unlike anything I’d seen before.

“Woah… This could almost pass for an underground city.”

I spotted dozens, perhaps hundreds, of buildings scattered around with numerous holes dotting the area. As if sensing danger from the vibrations caused by the land worm’s burrowing, many Ahjins cautiously emerged from these holes.

‘They look like beggars.’

At first glance, they didn’t appear to be in good condition. Their bodies were emaciated as if they had been starving for some time, and their complexions looked unhealthy due to living underground. The aquatic races such as rabbits, wild boars, and deer also exhibited patchy hair loss, appearing quite pitiful.

“This place… It’s the largest iron ore production site of the Crystal Alliance. During its peak, over 10,000 workers resided here constantly,” Hellaim explained, having given up on stopping my advance.

“It seems there are even more now than during its prime,” I observed, taking in the surroundings.

Terra gave a bitter smile at my remark. “Of course. With the original inhabitants joined by dwarves from aboveground, along with various aquatic races and even elves… My estimate is that it surpasses 100,000.”

Despite its enormous size, the mining area appeared cramped and filthy due to the sheer number of refugees. The Ahjins were suffering from severe food shortages, their faces covered with dirt and devoid of hope. Honestly, I was amazed that this many individuals had managed to survive for over a year under these conditions.

“Human! What?! Hellaim, why did you bring a human here?” At that moment, a group of water people emerged amidst the Ahjins.

“Oh, werewolves.”

“You! Human! What do you want by coming here! Wait, more importantly, how did you even get in? There should be those fake elf bitches outside!”

“Fake elves? Oh, you mean the four elven scouts from another world right above us.”

“What is this? Are you ignoring me?” An agitated werewolf grabbed my collar. Or rather, he tried to grab it.

Click.

“Huh?”

The moment our hands touched, the werewolf’s expression abruptly changed. Those with strength can sense it just by touching someone else’s hand.

“E-ehhh…” The ferocious werewolf hesitantly stepped back. His bristled fur relaxed, and his mangy tail drooped towards the ground. As I approached him, he crumbled onto his knees, unable to stand any longer.

“That’s right, good boy.” He didn’t dare protest even when I stroked his head. The other aquatic race members accompanying him were bewildered.

“S-sis? Are you okay?”

“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

Once their leader was subdued, the other water people didn’t know what to do and looked lost. Regardless of them, I looked around at the water people. Suddenly appearing humans, along with the commotion caused by the noisy arrival of the water people, meant that thousands of eyes were focused on me.

“Sigh…I have to do this again.” With a bitter smile, I opened my inventory.

Fortunately, there was plenty of supplies. It was natural since 10 sub-characters were present on Windbreak Highland.

Puck! Puck! Puck! Puck!

I took out four bone swords and stuck them into the ground. Then I placed wooden boards on top to create a makeshift table. Finally, I put something on it:

Thud.

A wild boar hind leg weighing over 15 kilograms.

”…Eh?”

”…Meat?”

Their blank stares turned to shining eyes. Before they could become agitated, I quickly moved.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The table was piled high with wild boar legs. Everyone watched in awe as endless legs appeared out of thin air, unsure if it was reality or an illusion.

“What are you staring at?”

“Uh… Huh?” I addressed Hellaim, who looked dazed.

“Light the fire.”

“W-What? Yes! Uh, no. Right! Okay!!”

As Hellaim hastily began moving, I turned to observe the Ahjins.

“Let’s eat first.”

It was mealtime.