Ch.100100. Machine Whale

“The security team won’t be escorting you on this field trip. There are enough instructors around.”

By the time I grasped the situation, the bombardment was already underway.

Bombardment? That’s strange. Among monsters, those capable of bombardment…

No, that’s not it. No bombing would come from land. Among monsters that can bombard, there are only six types from S-class to SS-class. But they don’t operate in water.

Then what could it be?

The instructors’ radios reported that an amphibious assault ship had been hijacked.

An assault ship? It’s a machine, right? Was it hijacked by humans?

And the bigger problem was that the assault ship’s bombardment was directed at us.

With radios blaring, the other instructors couldn’t leave the hospital.

If this place got bombed, there would be massive casualties. So everyone was preparing defensive barriers with magic against the bombardment.

I couldn’t just sit still either.

“Instructor. I’ll hide underground or somewhere. I’ll find somewhere safer than here.”

“Don’t go outside! Stay in here!”

Right now, none of the instructors had the capacity to worry about someone like me.

They were all holding radios and staring out the windows.

I hurriedly moved through the hospital corridor to the adjacent building.

Then I ran toward the sea. In the opposite direction of the bombardment.

What situation is unfolding now? Think calmly.

Criminal occupation? Hijacking?

Let me think this through. I don’t know why they specifically targeted this trap, but just hijacking one assault ship?

And the parts Oh Juhwan gave me were confirmed to be from a submarine.

Come to think of it, didn’t I hear that the mini-submarine we saw when we arrived had sunk? Monster attack… submarine sinking, submarine parts found near Aerial, “only” an assault ship hijacked.

Wait a minute.

The puzzle pieces were coming together in my mind.

“It’s a Mechanic Slime!”

A Mechanic Slime that freely controls machinery… but Mechanic Slimes shouldn’t be able to move underwater?

No, such assumptions are meaningless. This situation is different from before my regression.

Something else is coming to mind. But the sea is getting closer.

I vaguely remember hearing about a battle on Jeju Island before my regression.

I didn’t know it was this serious.

Perhaps a stronger variant emerged as the future changed.

It’s definitely a monster. Not human.

I took out my main card and attempted transformation.

In an instant, I leaped into the beach with the body of a half-dragon Sura.

[Evolution]

-Adult form

[Main Card]

-Species: Marine mammal, Name: Half-human Half-fish Sura, Growth form: Adult

Characteristics: Aquatic Predator (Agility and Magic Power increase by 1 rank against enemies smaller than yourself, all stats increase by 1 rank underwater, all stats decrease by 1 rank on land), Diving (Resistance and Magic Resistance increase the deeper you dive), Genetic Effect (Strength rank increases and skill power enhances when attacking with teeth), Endurance (Sub-card effect extension)

Strength: S

Agility: B

Resistance: S

Magic Resistance: S

Stamina: S

Magic Power: A

Skills: Bite, Tail Strike, Magic Charge, Harden, Bite

Evolution: Fish, Half-human Half-fish

Sub Cards: Shockwave (Can emit shockwaves from head), Shock Resistance (Blocks enemy skills and resists continuous effects)

This form is definitely the best underwater.

I swiftly moved my body toward where the ships had been docked.

Among the burning vessels and floating debris, I spotted the imposing amphibious assault submarine.

[Aquatic Predator]

-Effect unavailable

Unfortunately, the assault submarine is much larger than me. At least 100 meters of massive body. My body is only about 16-18 meters?

The difference is several times over.

The characteristic doesn’t work, but I can use other methods.

[Skill]

-Harden

-Shockwave

[Sub Card]

-High-speed Propulsion

-Strength Amplification

I charged to unleash a shockwave. Cutting through the water toward the one having fun above.

I hardened my forehead and crashed into it with my steel-like strength.

I felt vibrations in my forehead as shockwaves spread around me.

A circular shockwave centered on me cut through the water and shook this entity.

The part I rammed clearly showed signs of cracking.

In a moment of silence, the crack suddenly began to repair itself.

Self-repair? This isn’t human. It’s a monster.

Metal Slimes control machines, they don’t regenerate the outer shell like that.

Amid my confusion, the ship was now being covered with dark, leathery skin.

Draw out more information. About this creature.

In my future knowledge, was there anything that transformed machinery like this?

Think back.

[I heard the Magician Guild fought a strange monster? There was an enemy that fused with human machinery, having both a monster’s firepower resistance and intelligence.]

[Really? How did they catch it?]

[Sister Jo Seong-hui infiltrated using spatial movement and found strange liquids inside. They say it’s an even nastier form than Metal Slimes? Seems like more research is needed.]

Yes, that’s it.

The later designation was Parasitic Spore. While Metal Slimes “control” machines, this is “fusion.” It turns machines into monsters.

I don’t know its exact rank, but if Jo Seong-hui had to intervene? It’s probably SS-class.

At least it shouldn’t appear now, but it might have existed before.

I could visibly see the color changing before my eyes.

Machine and monster. The entity began closing the spaces where the artillery was located.

Diving.

Not missing this opportunity, I shook it again with a water vortex.

The vortex raged violently, attacking the submarine.

I hoped it would get caught and crash somewhere.

The submarine tried to turn heavily in the vortex.

I moved again in this opening.

[Magic Charge]

With magic enveloping my body, I charged toward the caught enemy again.

In this state, to finish it quickly…

But I noticed some foreign objects near the vortex.

Debris from destroyed ships?

When my vision clearly saw them, they rushed toward me and exploded.

I felt a slight tremor throughout my body. Yes, these are mines.

This thing spread mines? How underhanded.

But I felt a chill. The submarine that had been helplessly spinning in the vortex suddenly stabilized, forcibly resisting the current while maintaining its position.

And something was launched.

No, it could only be torpedoes!

I hurriedly tried to turn my body, but the torpedoes tracked me.

Unnecessarily good functionality.

I tried to dodge the approaching torpedoes, but they were faster.

Soon, the torpedoes pounded my body.

Bubbles appeared everywhere, obscuring my vision.

Damage? It hurts a bit.

As I started swimming again through the bubbles, I saw it surfacing once more.

It opened its upper section and fired artillery upward.

Then it dived again.

Even though it must know I’ll ram it again.

I struck it again with a shockwave, but unlike before, it only shook slightly. It quickly turned its body.

Its bulk, more than five times mine, began to overshadow me and struck.

“Mmm!”

Clearly, this whale’s resistance is strong. I barely felt what should have been a massive impact.

But this means neither of us has a decisive move. We can both withstand each other’s attacks?

My mind was screaming that it was time to use M-points.

How do I break through that? I need a powerful, concentrated strike… which already exists on my side.

The problem is that only mechanical insect types can use it.

I need to create something new.

If it’s related to mechanical types, I’ll have to use mechanical sub-cards to create a card.

I have only two mechanical sub-cards in my current situation.

I had to decide on a sub-card using 3,000 M-points.

The card I thought I didn’t particularly need.

A card made from mechanical sub-cards, but one I thought had the least utility, now needed here.

-Stat Up (Enhances your stats.)

-3,000 M-points consumed

Yes, currently I’m still in a stat-reduced state because Aquatic Predator is unusable.

I immediately purchased the Stat Up card and replaced my card.

High-speed propulsion is enough now. I need to boost all stats.

[Stat Up]

-All stats increase due to mechanical output.

Strength: SS

Agility: S

Resistance: SS(+)

Magic Resistance: SS(+)

Stamina: SS

Magic Power: SS

The moment I finally reached top-tier stats, I charged forward.

I simultaneously activated the Harden skill and the Solid Itself sub-card.

Let’s see how far this goes.

At this moment, mechanical parts seemed to extend from my head.

As I rotated my body, I could see parts covered with machinery here and there.

However, the mechanical parts diminished the further they were from my head.

With this power, I challenged it once more.

As I charged, I felt a heavy sensation I hadn’t felt before.

This attack was different from previous ones. I saw the submarine suddenly shooting upward.

Like a whale jumping.

The submarine violently shook and began breaking apart.

Now!

[Bite]

-Receives the effect of Solid Itself.

[Magic Charge]

I used skills again to leap after the falling enemy.

[Parasitic Spore Infiltration]

-Blocked by Resistance and Magic Resistance.

As expected, it’s trying to infiltrate because it’s mechanical? But this form is especially resistant to such things.

I bit the damaged area. Like a shark, I shook my body left and right after biting.

Just as the wounded area was about to peel off more, something touched me again.

Magic.

Magic was enveloping the landing ship.

And it began firing torpedoes with even greater firepower than before.

Once again, I moved my body here and there to find an opportunity.

The pain hurts even with Stat Up. This is no joke.

But how do I handle it when attacks just get repaired and it moves away? I need to remove the parasitic spores inside.

As I pondered, I saw magic gathering nearby.

It began to dive, then suddenly shot upward from below me.

This wasn’t normal submarine surfacing. It was coming up like a fish, splitting everything in its path.

That form was like a sword. A 100-meter sword wrapped in magic.

Danger…

I hurriedly turned my body, and when I heard the sound of metal friction, I collided with this 100-meter submarine and bounced up.

The destructive power of its sheer size combined with magic attack. This entity unusually rotated 360 degrees and fell again.

But magic pushed me away relentlessly, and I was forced to jump out of the water.

And artillery was waiting for me.

I have to take that hit. There’s no way for me to dodge in my current state.

But at that moment, a shield stopped in front of me.

What’s this? The shield created a barrier and began blocking all the artillery.

Han Min-woo?

As I turned my body, I saw Han Min-woo and the instructors approaching on a boat.

This body should be able to withstand it. Wait? They’re helping me? Even though I’m a monster?

After the artillery fire ended, my mind raced.

We can’t communicate with each other, but they definitely saved me.

But in this state, how to deal with the enemy…

No. Can’t we do it? If I make a hole…

I can’t enter anyway, but what if I make a hole and they go in?

The core itself, fused with the machine, isn’t much.

This is worth trying.

The question is whether they’ll follow well. At that moment, Han Min-woo shouted toward me.

“Let’s fight together!”

“…”

As expected, Min-woo, you’re a good guy. Yes, I can trust Min-woo.

I took out 5,000 M-points and a mechanical card.

I need a more reliable ranged weapon too.

*

The instructors were surprised at Han Min-woo’s words.

“Let’s go help.”

“What? Min-woo, what are you saying?”

Before their eyes, they could see a whale and an amphibious assault submarine fighting fiercely.

Han Min-woo checked with his shield as they exchanged powerful blows.

“Isn’t that whale known to the Association as a monster that helps people? And now it’s fighting against that enemy.”

“It’s dangerous. There’s still controversy in the Association about how that monster behaves.”

“We should wait for one of them to fall.”

But suddenly the assault submarine surfaced and began firing again.

“At least that landing ship is more dangerous than the whale. From what I’ve learned, judging by its changing form, it must be a monster, right?”

“Yes, a monster suppressing and using machinery… different from Metal Slimes.”

“Such types usually have weak cores, right?”

“That’s right. Usually we’d target the core directly, but with that armor, where could we enter…”

That’s when they saw the submarine jump like a whale from the sea surface under the whale’s fierce attack.

There was clearly a hole.

The instructors now understood what to do.

“If only that whale doesn’t attack us…”

They just couldn’t trust the whale.

From this point, the assault submarine began gathering magic, bringing crisis.

“That whale is incredibly tough. The submarine just rammed it with a mass of magic.”

“Let’s go!”

Han Min-woo convinced the instructors and finally boarded the boat.

He aimed Perseus’s shield at the whale in crisis.

“Are you going to throw it? I’ll control it for you.”

The moment an instructor quickly placed Han Min-woo’s shield in front of the whale, the attack was blocked.

Now the question was the whale’s reaction.

As the whale turned its body and looked at them, Han Min-woo shouted.

“Let’s fight together!”

How would this message be conveyed to a monster whale? In this tense moment, the whale’s tail struck the waves once.

“Did it just answer?”

“Is it just a tail strike?”

The instructors were watching with curious faces. When one of the artillery pieces tried to target them, the whale blocked the front.

“Did it just defend us?”

“My goodness.”

The instructors now had no choice but to believe. And at this moment, as the whale moved forward, something strange happened.

“That whale’s forehead and entire face are being covered with metal.”

Something was happening.

Before their astonished eyes, a jewel-like object appeared in the center of the whale’s forehead, looking like a giant eye.

“Look at that! It’s suddenly changing?”

At that very moment, something like a laser cannon fired before them.

“Oh my god.”

They watched this amazing sight with their mouths open.