[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 16 - Short-Term Contract Worker(8)
From the day after parting ways with Ulman and Lok, Arzen beca very busy.
In the past, he strictly separated his everyday life from his missions. However, from this point on, whenever he had free ti during his daily routine, he would stay holed up in his lodging, pouring his heart and soul into increasing the number of Void Bugs.
The Giant Sli was undoubtedly a formidable foe he had to face. But unlike in his days at the Divine Guillotine, it didn't feel overwhelming or frightening.
“Just a stepping stone for growth… that’s all!”
Instead, he saw it as an important indicator to gauge how much he could grow his Void Army over the sumr and how strong their combat abilities could beco.
Arzen was rapidly becoming stronger. While clearing the southern sector, he managed to increase the number of Void Bugs to 15, allowing him to add one more Void Tyrant to his squad.
“One more, another one, one more!”
Every day, both morning and night…
Training to push the limits of his Void powers as soon as he woke up and right before he went to sleep helped him enhance his abilities quickly.
“Ah, Arzen, you’re back.”
Three days passed in an instant. A new week began, and as he went to the city hall to check in, Milbiet greeted him.
“Did you know Sora received that request?”
“Yeah, well. I didn’t see any byproducts.”
It seed she had cleaned everything up so thoroughly that it felt like the floor was swept clean. Even if soone offered him billions, he wouldn’t be able to do the sa.
“That’s why Sora ca to thank the other day. Despite her not being the most honest person, you know?”
“Really?”
“She thought the designated request was my doing! Hohoho, so she said there was no need to thank . I told her it was all Arzen’s doing. How about that? Good job, right?”
“W-why are you saying that?!”
“Why? You should be grateful when I help you out. Where else are you going to find a nice girl like Sora? When she cos back, how about treating her to a nice al?”
That was nonsense.
‘What the hell… That crazy girl wasn’t even interested in !’
Ugh, I need to be more careful when trying to build rapport from now on.
I was just aiming to score points with the city hall, but because I’m too good-looking, this kind of trouble pops up.
If I misstep even a little, it could get annoying.
“Ah, I don’t want to hear it. I’m feeling bad now. I’ll leave right on the dot today.”
“You have to stay until lunchti to get your stamp.”
I was worried about whether she’d actually show up, but thankfully, I didn’t run into that crazy archer.
Amidst the intense training and battles, a month had already passed.
When he had completely wrapped up the eastern sector, the number of Void Bugs in his squad reached 20!
“Now, I have 2 Void Tyrants at the forefront and 5 Void Majors!”
Four regular Void Bugs would each pair up to support the Void Tyrants.
As the hornet learned to fight, the combat efficiency of the squad rapidly increased. When facing slis, the Void Majors would shoot their poison to expose the sli’s core, and then the regular Void Bugs would rush in to devour it.
“When I was only using the regular Void Bugs, they disappeared pretty quickly due to the constant exposure to sli poison…!”
He reserved the most powerful entity, the Void Tyrant, for critical monts. It would only engage when facing slis that had thick mucous surfaces or those that had grown large from swallowing waste.
“The Void Tyrant’s weaknesses are stamina and mobility!”
By selectively choosing enemies for it to battle, he could avoid significant issues.
“Hmm, wait… is it already this late?”
It was the day he was finishing up in the eastern sector. He had been so excited that he lost track of ti, and it was already well past dawn.
“I need to get out of here. Before I run into that girl.”
However, for Arzen, this unfortunate boy, bad premonitions often ca true.
“Hey, Hornet, heh heh, it won’t be long until the big event. You’re well prepared, right? The day our legion makes its announcent is approaching.”
Just as he was chatting with the Hornet and turning the corner, he ca face to face with Sora, who was hungrily shoving sli mucous into a bag.
“……”
“……”
In other words, running into this crazy archer was the worst possible outco.
They both saw each other at an awkward mont.
Arzen had been talking to the Hornet, and Sora was in the middle of collecting the sli.
“Hmm.”
“Hah.”
For a pair of teenagers, just the fact that they had witnessed each other in an embarrassing situation was sothing that would linger in their mories as a dreadful experience.
“Phew.”
Arzen made the first move!
“Heh, what’s this big event? Heh heh. Talking to bugs is a specialty of those who have no friends, huh?”
Sora’s sharp counterattack!
“You’re just a loudmouth who can only deal with insults!”
“Hmph, when your skills reach their peak, you can deal with insults with your mouth too!”
“Damn, you’re so shaless! Yeah, you’d need that kind of thick skin to shoot arrows with your mouth.”
“Not as shaless as a corrupt official who steals the country’s salary while only showing up twice a week.”
“Seriously, how can you not feel embarrassed even once?”
“Who are you talking to?”
“Ugh, get lost!”
“You get lost!”
Just as they were moving away from each other on the other side of the sewer, Arzen unintentionally asked, “…How are your siblings doing?”
There was a brief mont of hesitation before Sora replied.
“Um… thanks to soone.”
“Yeah, tell them to take care.”
An awkward silence fell between them again.
This ti, it was Sora who broke the silence first.
“…What days and tis do you go to work?”
Arzen had mixed up his work schedule to avoid running into Sora. He completely randomized the days and tis he would go in during the week.
He continued on his way, shaking his fist behind him.
“I’m not telling you, idiot.”
***
Another two weeks passed.
During that ti, Arzen had road through 12 sectors, excluding the central one. He hunted the newly spawned slis and further honed the Hornet’s command of the Void Bugs.
“In the process, I’ve added two more Void Bugs!”
These were not made into the more powerful variants but were instead placed as regular Void Bugs in the squad.
“The ti until the day of reckoning has been roughly 50 days!”
They had moved from early sumr into late sumr. Compared to 50 days ago, the Void squad had nearly doubled in numbers.
It wasn’t just about the increase in numbers; the Hornet had learned from battles and beca more adept at leading.
“The day of reckoning has co.”
On the eve of the decisive battle, Arzen had gathered all the Void Bugs in his room and declared:
He stood on his bed, arms crossed, gazing at each one of the Void Bugs with solemnity.
‘Now I understand why that bastard Olart, the commander of the Divine Guillotine, used to inspect adventurer squads before deploynts…’
There was a romance in it that was hard to express in words!
As he watched the assembled unit, he felt an overwhelming emotion that made his heart swell.
“The operation target is the Giant Sli! It’s that bastard who rcilessly slaughtered your senior Void Bugs 50 days ago.”
Buuuuuuummmm……
The Void Bugs flapped their wings with indifference, but the synchronized sound was enough to evoke a sense of discipline in the unit.
“But you are different! Unlike those ignorant seniors, you are much stronger and twice as many! Hornet, explain tomorrow’s Giant Sli extermination operation to the children!”
Buuuuuuummmm……
Unfortunately, the Hornet could not convey commands that were not expressed in a formal manner.
“Since the Hornet's voice is hoarse, I’ll explain instead! The formation will consist of 2 Void Tyrants, 5 dium Bugs, and 6 Regular Bugs!”
Buuuuuuummmm……
“The poison stingers from the 5 dium Bugs will open the path towards it, allowing the Void Tyrants to charge in line and penetrate deeper.”
In that process, the Void Tyrants would likely perish, but their sacrifice would be rembered with honor.
“If the first Void Tyrant dies, the second will take its place and continue the charge.”
And if the second falls?
The remaining Regular Bugs would follow the example set by the first and second Void Tyrants.
“The target is the core! If we can destroy that damned Giant Sli’s core, victory is ours!”
At that mont, a loud bang echoed from the adjacent room as soone punched the wall.
“……Can’t you let sleep, damn it!”
“……What ti is it that you’re already sleeping? Life?”
“……Hey, you idiot, it’s already 1 AM!”
Arzen ignored the chatter of the bugs and finished explaining the operation.
As a commander, maintaining dignity was essential. He couldn’t show any signs of being intimidated by others.
“Phew, that’s it for now. Enjoy the last monts until the battle.”
***
Then Arzen fell into a deep sleep.
He didn’t wake up until after 10 AM, when it was already too late to sleep any longer.
‘It’s the ti when even the chirping of morning birds can’t be heard!’
Still, the adventurer’s guild was bustling as usual.
Arzen purchased a rather expensive cloak from the belongings of the deceased.
It was nearly three tis the price of the cloaks he had bought before, but one shouldn’t only look for value when shopping.
‘On important days, it’s also essential to dress appropriately to set the mood!’
He stopped by Olive You for an early lunch.
Then he climbed up to a hill overlooking the sea, peeled an orange, and spent an hour gazing at the ocean.
After that, he headed to the city hall.
“Oh my, Arzen. You seem different today. You look really serious!”
Milbiet said.
“You noticed. Today is the day of reckoning.”
“The day of reckoning?”
“I’ve been preparing for today for 50 days. It’s ti to settle things.”
Milbiet’s expression turned serious for a mont.
“I see. So you’ve finally found your courage.”
“Well, if you want to put it that way.”
“I’ll be cheering for you! Next ti, you should bring Sora along to the welfare departnt as a youth couple, right?”
Recently, Arzen’s opinion of Milbiet had dropped significantly.
‘I thought she was a smart elite bureaucrat, but it turns out she’s a total airhead!’
Because of this, his efforts to gain her favor had taken a nosedive.
“Just get to work.”
“Haha, okay.”
That day, since he arrived late for lunch, he finished work early in the evening.
‘There’s a reason for this route.’
The city hall was located in the center of town, so the entrance to the central sector's sewer was not far.
‘As much as I don’t want to admit it, the Giant Sli is a formidable foe.’
This would be the first powerful enemy he encountered after mastering the powers of the Void.
‘So I’ll skip dinner! I might have to run through the sewers later… It’d be a disaster if I had too much in my stomach then.’
Arzen opened the entrance to the central sector.
The massive lock clicked open.
The chains clanged against the tal bars, creating a heavy echo that reverberated down the staircase.
‘The stench from the sewers feels even worse than usual…’
Was it because of the rival’s presence, or was it the tension before facing a formidable enemy that caused this sensation?
‘I don’t know; I’ll find out when I go!’
Arzen carefully descended the stairs.
‘The sewers are twisted to one side as if sothing massive has passed through… It’s nearby.’
The central sector was the largest, so caution was necessary from the mont of entry.
‘Even the rats are holding their breath. They’re scared!’
Arzen opened his to and snapped his fingers.
“Kaz, to Arcturus! Ill-Worker, deploy the Void Beasts and find it!”
The Void Beasts were deployed, and they had been searching for nearly an hour when…
In the vast corridor on the other side of the central sector, sothing imnse began to rise from the sewer.
Arzen couldn’t believe his eyes.
‘What am I seeing right now?’
Is this a hallucination?
‘No! This… this isn’t a hallucination!’
The sewer was not rely bubbling up.
At that mont, the Giant Sli was transforming into the very sewer itself.
‘Has it absorbed all the sewage over these 50 days?’
As it rose, an empty space ford where the usual sewage flowed.
‘This creature… does this an I wasn’t the only one who got stronger over these 50 days?’
This thought deeply unsettled Arzen.
‘With the sli’s abilities, it could have ambushed , but it’s standing out in the open like this!’
But that wasn’t all.
Without the slightest hesitation or fear, the creature approached Arzen, an action he could neither forgive nor accept.
“Grrr… Don’t ss with ! You’re still just a low-tier monster, no matter how big you get! Ill-Worker, fully deploy the Void Beasts! Show it who’s boss!”
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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