Chapter 96 – Contamination Facility (2)

The party cautiously entered the mansion’s entrance. Fortunately, no one interfered until the party entered inside.

It was a quaint four-story mansion not very different from the mansion they saw when first coming to this world.

However, unlike the old mansion from that time, the walls and windows were sparkling with luster. They could tell how well-maintained it was until becoming contaminated.

However, the scattered railings and bloodstains on the lobby floor informed the party of what happened from contamination not long ago.

In the lobby with marble floors and wonderful paintings hung, heavy armors were displayed to match.

“Tsk, now I reflexively aim guns whenever I see armor.”

“Back then they really didn’t break.”

Looking at the armors, Michael flinched in surprise and said a word, and Hayden also agreed with his words.

“Tsk, I really can’t adapt to the change. The kid became no fun.”

Michael looked regretful seeing Hayden agreeing with his words. At his appearance clicking his tongue as if a toy was taken away, Hayden shook his head.

That’s when it happened. Sun-woo warned quietly.

“Looks like you shouldn’t lower the gun you were aiming.”

The party immediately understood Sun-woo’s words. They all raised their weapons and looked at the armors standing against the wall.

Clank! Clank!

Simultaneously, the armors began moving.

“No way, does this world use armors for house security instead of guards? Every time we enter a house, armors holding swords greet us?”

Michael raised his gun and fired at the central armor.

Tang!

The bullet struck the helmet hard and the armor helmet flew backward rolling on the floor.

As before, the helmet that fell to the floor moved again trying to return to its original place. But the helmet could only barely roll toward where the armor was.

“Think I’ll fall for the same method! These are bullets containing mana something! Think you can move freely after being hit by my bullets?”

But mana bullets still seemed precious. He set the control to single-shot and carefully shot the armors one shot at a time.

Simultaneously, Daniel with <Physical Enhancement> rammed the armors with his greatsword laid sideways, and Hayden moved paintings hanging in the lobby to strike the armors and pulled down curtains to wrap the remaining armors.

They couldn’t control the armors because of the opponent’s telekinesis, but using other objects could sufficiently interfere.

Sun-woo and Nan-seol didn’t need to step forward. Unlike before, the rest of the party alone overwhelmed the moving armors.

“Do these armors also move because of some gem?”

Nan-seol, who couldn’t participate thanks to the party running wild, asked Sun-woo with a regretful expression. When armors and stuffed beasts moved before, contaminated amplification stones moved them.

But Sun-woo shook his head.

“An ability user hiding behind the second-floor railing in the back of the lobby seems to be controlling them?”

Sun-woo raised his hand pointing above the fighting party’s heads. Behind the second-floor railing he pointed to, a corridor stretched out.

“Really?”

At Sun-woo’s words, Nan-seol’s expression brightened as she launched her body. She seemed relieved hearing it wasn’t ghost-possessed amplification stones.

She leaped over the party dismantling armors for a while, then arrived before the stairs and immediately shot up to the second-floor railing.

When Nan-seol flew her body beyond the second-floor railing, the armors that had been continuously returning to original form stopped moving.

“Oh, they stopped.”

“Phew, almost used up all the bullets.”

The party that kept dismantling armors breathed sighs of relief seeing the armors no longer moving.

Along with that, a small explosion rang from behind the second-floor railing, then Nan-seol appeared again. She seemed to have caught the ability user hiding behind the railing controlling the armors.

“Whew, this is really annoying. That’s the end now, right?”

“Doesn’t look like it?”

At Michael’s muttering looking at the broken armors, Hayden shook his head.

Clank, clank.

From the corridor beyond the second-floor railing, from beyond the third-floor railing too, the walking sounds of armors were heard.

While the party looked up where sounds came from, Nan-seol descended below as if flying.

“Tons of armors are walking in the second-floor corridor.”

“You’re saying more than one person controls the armors?”

To Daniel’s question, Sun-woo answered.

“I feel people hiding deep in the second-floor corridor. The problem is it’s not easy for me to check above the third floor.”

“Tsk, do we have to find them one by one while smashing those armors?”

Everyone wasn’t very tense about fighting armors, but this kind of hide-and-seek seemed unpleasant.

Moreover, the reason they came to this mansion wasn’t for such brawling.

“At this rate of commotion, they’ll all flee or reinforcements will come. Isn’t there some method?”

Armors’ appearances already began showing on each floor’s railings. Armors beginning to descend the stairs and armors rolling down pushed by other armors. They seemed about to reach the first floor soon.

“Let’s take a shortcut.”

Sun-woo stood in the lobby center, placed his hand on the floor, and knelt on one knee.

The floor was made of thick marble. A floor made of one giant marble somehow obtained, without even visible cracks. Sun-woo fully drew up internal energy.

Tremendous internal energy surged up from his dantian, traveled along blood vessels, and gathered in his hand pressing the floor. Sun-woo’s hand gradually shone brightly and the hand pressing the floor began trembling.

The next moment, a spirit shout burst from Sun-woo’s mouth.

“Explode!”

Kwang!

With a tremendous sound, light burst out and vibration struck the building. The surprised party lowered their bodies and several armors descending below fell from the railing.

Crack!

Simultaneously, the building lobby floor began splitting with Sun-woo at the center.

The spot where Sun-woo was became dented and the cracks starting from there spread widely over several meters.

Though using energy, anyway the marble several meters thick became tattered from Sun-woo’s one punch.

But the party couldn’t understand Sun-woo’s action. Because there was no need to smash the floor like that when not collapsing the building.

That was natural because Sun-woo’s action wasn’t finished yet.

Sun-woo, who endured the explosion’s recoil with <Physical Enhancement>, pushed Earth Spirit toward the split floor. Until just before, the sorcery had limitations in surrounding reconnaissance, but the completely smashed floor couldn’t block the sorcery’s movement.

Kwaaaaaa!

The floor cracks gradually widened and eventually the central lobby part caved in below.

A giant hole over 10 meters in diameter formed in the hall center, and the party fell below along with the floor panels falling downward.

“No, at least say something first…”

Finally ending with Michael’s grumbling, the party’s appearance disappeared from the hall.

The armors that lost their target wandered around for a while, then began quickly gathering to one side.

***

Below the hole Sun-woo made, a large basement spread out. First the floor panel fell to the basement raising dust, and the party members descended in order on top.

Nan-seol and Sun-woo descended lightly and softly with lightness kung fu, and Daniel overcame the impact with <Physical Enhancement>. And Hayden floated his body with telekinesis descending slowly.

However, Michael fell screaming, but Hayden grabbed him with telekinesis from above so he could gently descend before hitting the floor.

“Can’t you at least say something first so I can prepare my heart? Always starting things without saying anything, making me startled…”

Michael grumbled then closed his mouth. Apparently there were more startled people.

A group of people gathered at the basement entrance somewhat away from the center where the party fell.

Soldiers wearing uniforms and summoners wearing various outfits, they were guarding the entrance to block people coming down to the basement.

Their eyes widened seeing the suddenly pierced ceiling and the party that fell.

Because enemies appeared from a completely unexpected place. The armors on ground and telekinesis users, and the traps and ability users placed everywhere down to the basement all became useless.

The next moment, the side that moved first was unexpectedly Sun-woo’s party that became a surprise attack.

Sun-woo’s party, who were at least prepared while descending below, poured attacks toward the people gathered at the entrance.

Michael’s gun spat fire and Hayden’s telekinesis interfered with their movements.

The enemies also created something like shields blocking the bullets Michael shot, but those shields were immediately destroyed.

Because Sun-woo, who rushed before the enemies in an instant, smashed the transparent shields with his burning sword.

The fight after that proceeded almost one-sidedly. Because there were no people who could block the swords of Sun-woo and Nan-seol who jumped among enemies.

Telekinesis or superpowers couldn’t easily activate due to Hayden’s interference, and people far from the two people also couldn’t restrain them because of Michael’s shooting.

At least two people who looked like warriors tried to block Nan-seol and Sun-woo, but both fell unable to endure several exchanges.

When enemies were cleaned up in an instant, Michael whistled low.

“Whew, our team seems really strong. We struggled even defeating one contaminated monster, but now complete victory against opponents like this…”

“More than the team becoming strong, one person became strong.”

Michael’s boasting was immediately pointed out by Hayden. But at Hayden’s pointing out, Michael looked at him with a strange expression.

“No, what’s that expression?”

“Heh, because you became cute again. Did tension release a bit?”

As Michael said, Hayden’s expression that had been hardened continuously looked somewhat released. Probably he who was extremely tense trying to handle everything alone became somewhat comfortable meeting the party.

“More than that, we should hurry. There are people rushing from above.”

Sun-woo’s senses felt numerous movements. Armors descending from the first floor and enemies who were hiding outside the door were gathering.

At Sun-woo’s words, Daniel ran to the door front and leaned his back against the door.

“I’ll block here, so hurry.”

Daniel activated <Physical Enhancement> with his words. The door blocking the basement entrance was an incredibly thick steel door that looked like it would hold for considerable time as long as it didn’t open.

If Sun-woo’s party had descended through the stairs normally, they might have spent long time before this door.

When Daniel blocked the door, the party could finally check the basement.

The floor and walls were all made of hard rock, so probably the person who built this mansion spent long time and manpower digging rock to make the basement.

Initially made for other reasons, but afterward it seemed used as a wine cellar. One side of the basement still had broken oak barrels and shelves abandoned.

And now it was being used for different purposes.

In the center where oak barrels were cleared, several small gems were floating in the air forming a circle around a fist-sized gem at the center.

A shape similar to the formation seen when attacking the enemy base in the New Continent and the formations seen for spatial movement. Sun-woo took out his phone checking the gems with the camera screen.

[Contaminated Amplification Stone]

The gems floating around the large gem were amplification stones as Sun-woo expected. Moreover, contaminated amplification stones.

But the large gem in the center was an unexpected item.

[Enhanced Contamination Neidan: The contaminated neidan of the Human-Faced Spider enhanced with special technology.]

The gem emitting brilliant purple light was unexpectedly a neidan from the murim world.