Chapter 165: Materials Supply (1)

In previous Attempts, the dwarves had managed to discover these monsters' weaknesses within two days of receiving Kim Ki-Rok's request. As a result, they currently had plenty of time to make their discovery.

"Unlike me..." Kim Ki-Rok sighed as he spied on the city.

Armed with various artifacts, he observed the city through a telescope. He was using a mix of tools from both Earth and Yuashiel, a combination he referred to as "Earshiel." Kim Ki-Rok then turned his attention back to monitoring the factory.

Perhaps it was due to the support of the World System, or the influence of whatever served as the administrator of the other dimensions, but until a Gate Break occurred, only Hunters could detect or interact with Gates. Kim Ki-Rok used this to his advantage, setting up a watchtower near the Gate to observe the city.

I need to keep an eye on them at all times,

Kim Ki-Rok reminded himself.

The last time he participated in the raid at the Patera Dimension, their success still came at a cost. While casualties had decreased with each Attempt, Kim Ki-Rok had yet to achieve his goal of a flawless victory without any fatalities. Even after identifying the monsters' shared weakness, and even with a long-term strategy that lasted until just a week before a Gate Break, losses had remained unavoidable.

"In a way, I'm just being greedy," he admitted to himself.

They were raiding an S-Class Gate, after all. It was certainly greedy to pursue a perfect strategy without any casualties. However, Kim Ki-Rok had no intention of giving up. He would continue to do everything possible to reduce the number of deaths, and his ultimate goal remained finding the perfect way to execute this raid.

Considering the worst of the crises still heading toward Earth, Kim Ki-Rok believed that finding such a strategy was essential for the planet's survival.

But these monsters' only weakness is Pastera.

Kim Ki-Rok sighed internally.

Pastera was the name of the metal from the Patera Dimension—a material capable of rejecting ninety percent of all mana imbued into it—and it was used to create the outer shells of the mechanical monsters. The name hadn't been coined by Kim Ki-Rok or the dwarves; they learned it after rescuing some unfortunate inhabitants of the Patera Dimension, who had been forced to live as slaves, and acquiring the information those survivors held.

Thankfully, we won't have any problems forging the materials into weapons.

The dwarves were just the beginning. All of the Yuashiel Dimension's craftsmen would soon be drawn in by the news of such a material, especially since it came from another dimension. With their active support, weapon production could begin immediately. If they were producing armor as well as weapons, it would have taken much longer. However, since their only goal was to produce weapons capable of exploiting the mechanical monsters' weakness, the research wouldn't take too long.

The problem is the materials supply...

If they wanted more Pastera metal, their only option was to hunt the mechanical monsters. The real issue, then, wasn't the time needed to forge the metal into weapons, but the time required to track down and defeat a monster to obtain it.

We'll have to keep hunting the monsters on the outskirts of the factory to produce more weapons, and once we have a certain number, we can infiltrate the factory and rescue the inhabitants of this dimension.

Ordinary mechanical monsters could only move according to their programming unless instructed otherwise by the First Mechanical Monster[1]. If the First could only follow its programming like its ordinary counterparts, they might have been able to delay the rescue of the inhabitants of the Patera Dimension. However, the First was the only mechanical monster equipped with artificial intelligence, allowing it to think and act independently.

That was what enabled it to enslave all humans in the first place.

Kim Ki-Rok's brow furrowed slightly as he recalled his previous battles against the First, and all that it had been capable of with its independent thought and actions.

It was possible to defeat the First in single combat, as it was actually an extremely small, spherical-shaped monster. The problem was that if it detected any danger, it would immediately summon groups of powerful mechanical monsters to guard it.

This included Humanoid and Animaloid Mechanical Monsters, as well as the ancient-types that clearly predated the monsters' overthrow of humanity and conquest of the Patera dimension. There were even some mechanical monsters that resembled Earth's modern weaponry, perhaps evidence of their efforts to investigate the Hunters arriving in their dimension through the Gates.

"The First is definitely the worst," Kim Ki-Rok muttered in complaint.

He didn't know what kind of mad scientist had created it, but the First was so vicious that in its final moments it would always try to drag the Hunters down with it, dealing huge damage to the raid team in the process.

Kim Ki-Rok shook off these thoughts, refocusing on the city. The silver city—no, the silver factory—in the distance was surrounded on all sides by tall, sturdy walls. At the center of the factory complex stood a smaller factory resembling a castle. The First never left the confines of that castle, so as long as they avoided that part of the complex, they should be able to rescue the human inhabitants without too much difficulty.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Considering the realities of the situation, however, and the fact that the rescued inhabitants of the Patera dimension would need to survive without help from Earth, the Hunters would focus on dealing with as many of the mechanical monsters roaming outside the factory as possible before rescuing any humans. Of course, before the Gate disappeared, they would provide the inhabitants of the Patera dimension with enough supplies to become self-reliant.

If it weren't for the reward, Kim Ki-Rok wasn't sure everyone would have agreed to such a generous act. But he had argued that supporting the inhabitants until they were self-reliant would further enhance the rewards, so supporting their livelihood had become a vital part of their mission.

"Oh! I found it." Kim Ki-Rok, who had been examining the walls, suddenly shouted as he pressed a button on the telescope to take a picture of his target.

To most people, the metal walls might have appeared to be massive blocks of Pastera, but in reality, the structure surrounding the factory was a single colossal mechanical monster. Kim Ki-Rok snapped a photo of a mechanical arm extending from the wall as it picked up a piece of metal from a cart pulled by another beast-like machine and began repairing itself.

He then shifted his gaze beyond the walls. Although he already knew the structure was a single living machine and that the inhabitants of this dimension were confined to the southwest quadrant of the factory, he couldn't explain how he knew. Therefore, he needed to gather concrete evidence to convince the other Hunters.

After capturing the wall-shaped mechanical monster performing self-repairs, Kim Ki-Rok turned his gaze to the southwest portion of the factory, where he managed to photograph humans being led from their cells by a Humanoid Mechanical Monster. After taking a few additional shots for confirmation, he resumed observing the factory.

As he observed, Kim Ki-Rok began planning where the Hunters should launch their next assault when the time came to rescue the factory's human captives. While the southwest quadrant where the humans were kept might seem like the obvious target, attacking from that direction would be a fatal mistake. Anticipating an escape attempt, the First had already commanded the wall-type monster to reinforce the southwestern section and concentrate most of its weaponry there. As a result, breaking through or invading the city from that direction was all but impossible.

"

Haaah...

" Kim Ki-Rok sighed in frustration.

Would he really have to use the underground waterway again, just like in every previous Attempt? It ran beneath the city, filled with sewage and toxic waste. The thought alone made him feel filthy and repulsed, but it remained the only safe escape route for rescuing the inhabitants of the Patera Dimension.

As for the dangers of poisoning from the sewage and toxic waste, they had potions and spells to counteract that. They could even prevent poisoning altogether using detoxification-related skills. However, there was no way to avoid the grimy feeling that the underground waterway would leave behind.

"Fine then," Kim Ki-Rok muttered, resigning himself to the inevitable.

Their first move would be to use the underground waterway to rescue the inhabitants of the Patera Dimension, just as they had in previous Attempts.

"Instead, let's figure out how to change up our battle strategy..." Kim Ki-Rok decided as he began to calculate how to minimize damage to the assault team.

After all, the quickest way to understand something was to break it and see what failed.

Through repeated regressions, Kim Ki-Rok had gradually refined his strategy for this raid. Early on, he discovered that the mechanical monsters were made of a metal with extremely high mana resistance. Assuming magic would be ineffective, he turned to brute force, only to find their bodies were just as physically resilient. Eventually, he realized that weapons forged from the same metal, Pastera, could pierce them. Even low-level Hunters could take one down using its own material.

***

Back in the present, after completing the Gate reconnaissance, Kim Ki-Rok returned to Korea with help from the Japanese Teleporter, Hunter Kayano Yukie. He spent roughly an hour at the DG Guild before crossing into the Yuashiel Dimension via the permanent Gate.

"Is that a ballista?" Travis asked in confusion.

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "Yes. It's a ballista."

Travis turned to another blueprint Kim Ki-Rok had pulled out. "And this is a catapult?"

"That's right. It is a catapult."

Kim Ki-Rok's visit had come without warning. However, Travis and the dwarven craftsmen, who had been studying the corpse of the monster right next to the Gate, allowed him to approach their work, unlike the other Hunters and the humans from the Continental Alliance who were kept at a distance.

He addressed their confusion. "Didn't you say we need the same metal as the monsters' outer shell to attack them effectively? The one with extremely high mana resistance?"

"That's right, we did," Travis confirmed with a nod.

"Well that's why I brought these."

Travis's eyes widened. "I see... You're planning to deploy these siege weapons on the battlefield and use metal-based ammunition to attack the mechanical monsters from range?"

"Yes, these weapons will be useful for those who lack the skills to fight the mechanical monsters in close combat," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

"How strong are these monsters?"

"These mechanical monsters can't use mana," Kim Ki-Rok replied. "However, the extremely mana-resistant metal that makes up their bodies also gives them durability and weight, allowing them to imbue their attacks with great physical force. Their attack power is close to that of an A-Class monster, and their defense is that of an S-Class monster."

"What about their speed?"

"The same as an A-Class monster."

"I can see why you'd need siege weapons to deal with them," Travis concluded.

"Yes, but there's something else," Kim Ki-Rok said, taking out a photo he had printed in advance.

Travis and the other dwarven craftsmen gasped collectively. The photo showed the wall-type mechanical monster picking up metal and repairing itself.

"Could that wall really be a monster?" Travis asked in surprise.

"The Patera Dimension is a dimension completely conquered by these mechanical monsters," Kim Ki-Rok explained. "As for the metal that makes up the shells of these monsters, we don't know what the original inhabitants of the Patera Dimension call it, but let's call it Patera metal for now, after the name of their dimension. In any case, considering the complete control the mechanical monsters have over their dimension, we need to assume that anything made of Patera metal could be a mechanical monster in disguise, and we need to be prepared to fight it."

Travis nodded. "In other words, it's not just the city walls you need to be careful of. Even the buildings themselves could be monsters, so you'll definitely need those siege weapons."

"That's right," Kim Ki-Rok confirmed.

"All right, we should have no problem forging what you need. There are a lot of craftsmen who've come over to see, touch, and examine this new metal, or the Patera metal, as you've called it. So we have no problem starting production immediately. However..." Travis gave Kim Ki-Rok a look.

Kim Ki-Rok guessed what was on his mind. "There is a problem with supplying enough materials."

"That's right."

Though Kim Ki-Rok had already been aware of this, he pretended to be lost in thought for a moment, stroking his chin before replying, "For now, please make some weapons for close combat—swords, blades, and spears. We'll obtain the materials you need by hunting the monsters lurking around the outskirts of the city."

"Got it," Travis agreed. "As you should already know, producing more siege weapons won't be difficult. What will be a challenge is customizing the consumable ammunition for the siege weapons so they can inflict the greatest damage on those monsters."

"Of course I understand," Kim Ki-Rok said with a grin. "That's why I requested you focus on producing the regular weapons you're used to forging first."

With their dwarven craftsmanship, it wouldn't be difficult to create more siege weapons. What would take time, however, was figuring out how to forge the metal into the consumable ammunition needed for those siege weapons, such as the giant bolts shot by ballistas and the stones thrown by catapults.

Seeing that Kim Ki-Rok had met his cautious words with a smile, Travis chuckled before turning back to the blueprints. He wasn't interested in the catapult or ballista, since those siege weapons already existed in the Yuashiel Dimension. He was interested in a different blueprint.

"Is this also a siege weapon from Earth?" Travis asked.

"Yes, it was a siege weapon used a long time ago."

"Hoooh, this one looks quite interesting. What is its name?"

"They were called shingijeon[2]. It's a type of structure that enables you to fire multiple rocket-propelled arrows at once."

Creating modern weaponry with Patera metal was extremely difficult. The material was tough to work with and could only be forged by the dwarves' unmatched craftsmanship or the expertise of the Patera Dimension's natives. That was why Kim Ki-Rok had brought blueprints for ancient siege weapons.

He had included blueprints for ballistas, catapults, cannons, and the shingijeon. Kim Ki-Rok wouldn't have brought them if he didn't truly believe they could be useful in the raid. These siege weapons hadn't been used in ages, but they still worked. In fact, the rare materials used to create them ensured these ancient siege weapons would soon play a crucial role.

1. From here on referred to as the First. ☜

2. Literally translates to the Mechanical Arrows of the God. For those who have heard of the 'hwacha,' a shingijeon is just that without wheels. ☜