The huge body rose off the floor. The man rolled around as it fell.
âOh my G.o.d! The MumuâŚâŚthese guysâŚ..how did the MumuâŚ..?â
Ark stared at the huge body with astounded eyes. The slime like body was definitely similar to the Mumu that he saw in the Charenjokâs hiding spot. But there was one crucial difference. It was clear just from the name recorded on the information window.
-The destruction ranked monster âMumuâ has emerged!
It only had one name! It was called the Mumu. This Mumu was a huge collection of dozens of other Mumus. It wasnât just the size. The Mumu in the hiding spot had smooth and wriggly skin like jelly and was cute. However he couldnât find that type of charm in this creature. He didnât know if it had anything to do with Osirisâ curse but it had turned into a disgusting black ma.s.s. He saw the creepy skin and remembered something.
âIâŚ..Iâve seen that before!â
It was the black form he witnessed at the top of the elevator shaft!
âThereâs no doubt about it. This guy. He is the one who attacked the elevator and swallowed the Phoenix members hanging in the shaft!â
It became increasingly clear. The Phoenix squadâs enemy!
Roaaaaar!
Then the black form flew at Ark again. Long tentacles spouted from the body and shot towards Ark. He rolled his body and there was a roar as the tentacles. .h.i.t the ground and caused pits. The tentacles had tremendous power! The Mumu that was the Phoenix squadâs enemy! And maybeâŚâŚit was Arkâs enemy.
âd.a.m.n, Iâve reached this pointâŚâŚâ
Ark bit his lip and glared at the Mumu. Even if they were hanging in the vertical pa.s.sage, the Mumu was able to instantly defeat the 30 strong members of the Phoenix squad. He was facing such a monster alone. Ark was thinking it was all over!He didnât know how that monster got here but it was a disaster for Ark.
âDammit, why did this have to happen?â
Various curse words rose in his throat. But after a moment, Ark took a deep breath and pushed it down.
âCalm down Ark! You shouldnât become so upset that youâll become rushed. The attack is incredibly fast and powerful but it isnât impossible to stop. An attack in a straight line like the previous one will be easy to avoid. I have to focus on the fight! AndâŚâŚâ
Ark looked at a cylinder with a blue light in his bag. It was the mana battery pack that he received from the Ramaâs bunker on Beltana. It was an item that could restore 1,000 mana when wearing the battle suit. Ark had obtained 2 battery packs from the Rama. He had used one of them fighting against the Gigantic on Beltana. He had used the battery pack to summon the h.e.l.l hound and trick Valencia. And he thought about using the remaining one on the 40th floor. In fact, Ark had expected something like this to a certain extent. He didnât know a huge Mumu would emerge but he hadnât expected it to end that easily. He had bad luck inside the game so his intuition had sensed something. Thanks to his intuition he was prepared for something happening. Anyway, thanks to that Arkâs battle suit was 100% charged!
âArmour armament!â
Then Ark stood up and shouted. A shock wave spread out as the armour was summon and enveloped Arkâs body. The glossy black battle suit that looked like an insect carapace wrapped around Arkâs body. Ark opened both arms and shouted.
âSuper alloy dagger! Fire Eagle P-40!â
The sides of his bag opened and both weapons sprang out. It was the shotgun that Ark used as a primary weapon, the Fire Eagle P-40! In his left hand was his dagger!
âNot yet! Mind shield!â
-The Mind Shield has been activated.
In addition, the effect of Backstab or Sudden Blow will be nullified by 100%>
A blue sphere was created around the battle suit after the information window appeared. His battle mode was completed!
âNow letâs go! Be prepared to die!â
Arkâs eyes shone red as the helmet closed up and turned. And the moment he looked at the Mumu!
The Mumuâs body vibrated violently. 6 bits of flesh 4~5 metres long shot towards the ground and supported the huge body. It looked exactly like a spider! The shape was exactly the same as the spiders created by the meteorite.
âW-wait a minute! A Mumu! Arenât you a Mumu? The Mumu that attacked the elevator? Why did it suddenly turn to a spider? Isnât this cheap? What is your ident.i.ty?â
Ark thought the monster only had the tentacles. It might be fast but it could only go in one direction so it was easily avoided if he concentrated. So he had thought the odds were in his favour. But it suddenly grew 6 legs!
âThis is a foul!â
Kuaaaaah!
The Mumuâs entire body started moving like a storm. Six legs at the same time? Tentacles? Body? Anyway, the long legs started moving like a whip towards Ark.
âDammit!â
Ark cursed as he turned his body.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
It was the sound of the legs continuously striking the ground. While avoiding a huge impact, he moved in the wrong direction and backed up against a wall. Ark was pushed by the impact into the wall. But there was no time for him to scream. The Mumuâs legs were flying straight towards him.
âB-block itâŚ..Sonic Sword!â
Ark raised his dagger. A ringing sound occurred and he could feel pain throughout his entire body. He called it a leg for convenience but the flesh was 1 metre thick. It was impossible to stop the shock wave produced by such a huge body with a dagger. Ark who had used his dagger to block was stuck between the Mumuâs leg and the wall. But this wasnât the end of the Mumuâs attacks. The Mumu started pushing its leg down towards Ark. Then its body started spinning and sparks flew between the wall and the battle suit.
-20 damage!
-32 damageâŚ..
His health fell at a tremendous speed. The great power pressed him against the wall and he was grounded like a pestle. Rather than a battle, it was like the Mumu was using Ark as a toy to play with.
âNo! I canât fight properly like this!â
Ark bit his lip and desperately lifted the Fire Eagle.
âOuch! Ouch! S-Set Bullets Shooting!â
Cheolkeok, cheolkeok, cheolkeok! Pepepeng!
Flames shot out form Ark and the leg was blown off. At the same time a piece of flesh fell off the leg. Ark kicked off from the wall and rolled several metres away. His health had decreased by 20% in just a few seconds. A loss of 20% at the start of the battle was a painful loss.
âThe Mind Shield didnât even hold up against that damageâŚ..he didnât know what it was but the firepower was destructive. Iâll die if Iâm even careless for a short while.â
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
Another leg was approaching from the other side. Arkâs battle style was to block the enemyâs attack with the dagger and then using the pistol or shotgun to counterattack. However his dagger couldnât stop the huge leg.
âBut!â
Pepepepeng!
Bullets spewed from the muzzle of the Fire Eagle. The Mumuâs leg was pushed back and flesh torn off. It was the effect of the shotgun!
âBut that guy has 6 legs. On the other hand, the firing rate of the Fire Eagle was 3 seconds! I canât stop all of the legs using just the Fire Eagle. I have to avoid the rest. Fortunately this area is wider than the control tower. I can take full advantage of the facility if I concentrate. I canât stop moving my legs!â
Ark turned around and ran through the legs in the opposite direction. The firing speed was 3 seconds so he made sure to shoot every 3 seconds. He had to use the weapon to stop the legs.
Kwa kw.a.n.g! Kakak! Kakak! Kakak!
He would attack with the dagger whenever the leg was pushed back. But the level 20 dagger couldnât deal any damage to a boss monster of the control tower. Even when he dealt a few hits, he couldnât see any signs that the Mumuâs health was decreasing. It was the same with the Fire Eagle. The Mumuâs body wasnât iron so the Fire Eagle would exert 100% of the damage but it only lost 1% with every bullet that hit.
âI canât be hasty. Right now avoiding damage is more important than dealing it. I can keep attacking as long as I donât receive more damage. The most important thing right now it to endure it. If I hold out as long as possible then I can also read the attack patterns! My swordsmanship and Fire Eagle will be used as a shield instead of a weapon!â
Offense through defense! That was the tactic that Ark chose. And with that tactic, using the Fire Eagle to push back the Mumuâs legs was more important than ever. He needed to step carefully or there might be a fatal result.
âSet Bullets Shooting!â
Cheolkeok, cheolkeok, cheolkeok! Pepepeng!
Ark placed the muzzle on the approaching leg and pulled the trigger. He avoided the attacks from the other legs, reloaded the gun and swung his dagger when he could no longer avoid the legs.
Pepepepeng!
There was no time to think once the battle began in earnest. He also had no time to check the Mumuâs body. Ark ran around the wide power generating facility! Blocking two legs took a lot and it required all his concentration if four legs attacked at once. How much time had pa.s.sed?
âNow Iâm starting to see the pattern. At first I had no room to think but the moves become simple once Iâm used to it. It sometimes shows irregular movement but I can hold up if I use the Fire Eagle!â
Tuntun said that the Mumu was a creature with almost no intelligence. It mightâve changed to a huge Mumu but it was still stupid. In the beginning he didnât have the timing and received at lot of damage. Now he couldnât avoid it to a certain extent and had room to breathe. But it had high attack and defense so it would take him a while to defeat it. Ark was good at fights but he couldnât keep up his concentration forever. He had to defeat it while his concentration was maintained!
âNow is the time to switch to attack!â
Ark turned his body and stared at the Mumu.
Snap!
There was a crack as he received a huge impact to his stomach. The pressure pushed Ark backwards and he looked down at his stomach.
âUgh! What is this? This isâŚ..chunks of iron? No, machine parts! These are machine parts?â
Various mechanical parts were lodged into his stomach. The extravagant pressure was caused by the chunks of iron hitting him.
âP-Perhaps?â
Ark suddenly lifted his head. The Mumuâs body on the 6 legs was swollen like a balloon and metal objects were flying from its mouth.
Peng!
Ark reflexively lowered his body and the iron chunks. .h.i.t behind him. The metal parts had barely missed Ark.
âU-unbelievableâŚ..t-this b.a.s.t.a.r.dâŚâŚit can even do ranged attacks?â
The huge Mumu had picked up metal parts while travelling around the control tower and now it was launching them as projectiles. The huge Mumu used its recycling ability to create projectiles! But he wasnât complimenting it. This ability was terrible for someone fighting the Mumu like Ark. The situation changed 180 degrees once the Mumu started to shoot the iron chunks. The situation had been good for him because he became familiar with the legâs attacks. But that pattern didnât help once the iron chunks were added. The iron bullets flew at a speed difficult for him to see!
Peng-snap! Peng-snap! Peng-snap!
The Mumu fired the iron chunks every 0.1 second. The iron chunks aimed at his legs, shoulders and head. Fortunately this was the power generating facility and it was filled with various mechanical devices. He could hide behind those machines to catch his breath. But that only lasted for a moment.
Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng! Snap! Kwa kwa kwa kw.a.n.g!
The machines crashed to the ground when it was. .h.i.t by the indiscriminate shower of bullets.
âPant pant pant, the Mumu! I canât die like this!â
Ark face darkened as he ran and confirmed how much of his health had decreased. He confirmed that his health was reduced to 60%. On the other hand, the Mumu still had 90% health left. He had attacked dozens of times with the Fire Eagle and only reduced the health by 10%. Now the chance of him winning was 0.1%.
âDammit! This isnât funny! Iâm Ark! I canât die like this!â
Cheolkeok, cheolkeok, cheolkeok! Pepepeng!
Ark ran behind the machines and attacked for 5 minutes. Then something unthinkable occurred. One of the pipes that was broken from the Mumuâs attack started spreading unidentified gas. The gas ignited when Ark shot his Fire Eagle and flames spread everywhere.
âOh my G.o.dâŚâŚ!â
Ark watched the flames and murmured in a blank voice. Suddenly a shadow jumped out from the flames and stood in front of Ark. In the next moment the flames parted like the Red Sea.
âFire! There is fire! Start the fire prevention tasks!
Chwaaaaah!
Water started to stream down from the ceiling.
âH-howâŚ..?â
Ark who had been raising his Fire Eagle muttered with a stupid expression. Ark started at the man that appeared through the flames. The man had a large body and red hair like fire!
âPureah?â
âAlan!â
Then he heard a familiar voice from behind. Ark reflexively turned his head and his mouth widened. One man was descending the ladder connected to the control towerâs outer wall. The light attached to the battle suit revealed that he was the leader of Phoenixâs team B, Clark.
âClark? And Pureah as well! T-then the other members?â
âIt is only us!â
Clark jumped down from the ladder and aimed his arms at the Mumu.
âEnergy Blast!â
10 lights simultaneously formed from Clarkâs battle suit. It moved in a circuit to gather at his wrist and was fired as a ball of light. Energy blast was the main weapon of Clarkâs Esper battle suit! The mana ball was guided like a missile and exploded when it hit the Mumuâs body.
Roaaaaar!
Clark ran up to him while the Mumu wobbled.
âAlan, are you okay? Why did you break your connection to the multiple communication network? Donât you know we thought you were dead?â
âHuh? B-but I checked it shortly after the surprise attack in the elevatorâŚ..â
âAt that time I used a grenade and spatial movement to barely escape. But my Nymphe received damage from the grenade exploded and didnât work for a while. It was the same for Pureah. Pureah used the flamethrower when he was eaten and he was immediately thrown up again. You probably checked your Nymphe when mine wasnât working and Pureah was still eaten. I met up with Pureah but you didnât connect to the network so I thought you were dead.â
Ark broke the network connection after he checked it. He was the only one who escaped from the elevator so there was no reason to maintain the connection when he needed to talk to Jay. Anyway, since then Clark and Pureah proceeded with the mission. They were in the vicinity of the 20th floor when Charem suddenly started falling. That was when Ark cut the power to the particle accelerator. Clark thought that a problem occurred in the power facility so they went there and saw the Wire Camera Ark used to stop the propeller. Then they descended the ladder and saw Ark fighting the Mumu.
âBut I never imaginedâŚ..you would be fighting here alone. You mightâve guessed already but that thing is out enemy. At that timeâŚ..I saw it clearly. It swallowing my colleagues inside the dark shaft!â
Clark glared at the Mumu.
âThat monster b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I canât let it go now that Iâve encountered it again! Letâs show the power of the Phoenix squad! Letâs go Alan! Weâre going to get revenge for the colleagues inside its stomach!â
âOhhhhhh!â
Clark and Pureah yelled and ran up to the Mumu. The situation changed once Clark and Pureah joined.
âEnergy Blast!â
âBurning flames, Frame Buster!â
A ball of light and flames flew towards the Mumu. In a fantasy world, slime like monsters would be weak to magic. It was the same with Galaxian. The Mumuâs health started going down at a ridiculous speed after being hit by the mana sphere and the flames. But they couldnât take the counterattack of the Mumu lightly. It swung its legs and continuously fired iron chunks. While they had the best firepower in the Phoenix squad, Clark was an Esper so he had weak defense while Pureahâs movement was slow thanks to the flamethrower.
âIf Clark and Pureah die then there is no way to defeat the Mumu! I need to draw the attacks!â
âTake this! Set Bullets Shooting!â
Cheolkeok, cheolkeok, cheolkeok! Pepepeng!
Ark attacked the Mumu with the Fire Eagle. The water from the sprinklers above his head continued putting out the flames. Furthermore, the fan had stopped working so the facility was filled with thick smoke. Ark ran around in the thick smoke and attacked the Mumu while Clark and Pureah kept on attacking as well.
âPant pant pant, this terrible guy. Where did this monster come fromâŚâŚ?â
Clark groaned in the middle of the battle.
Clark was still unaware of what it was. The opponent was the Mumu that worked as a floor cleaner. The Mumuâs combat power was beyond what was expected for something that worked as a floor cleaner. Even though Clark and Pureah joined, the Mumu still has a 6:4 advantage. That wasnât the only problem.
-Danger! Danger!
The concentration of toxic fumes in this area has reached the limit! If you donât leave this area quickly then you can suffer fatal nerve damage!