Chapter 21: Wave (3)

[You have slain the Grade-8 Beast-class 'Bone Hound Karaka'!]

[You have silenced the leader of the Skull Hound pack in a single strike.]

[Damage against Named Beasts and Monsters increases by 10% when attacking first.]

A universal damage increase against all Named Beasts and Monsters.

Although it was restricted to preemptive attacks, considering the nature of firearms, this effectively meant my first shot always carried an extra 10% damage boost.

I couldn't forget my other perk, either—

[You have slain a Named Beast.]

[The 'Beast Hunter' effect is applied at 10x potency.]

[Damage against Grade-8 Beast-class Skull Hounds increases by 0.5%.]

'Good start.'

I didn't stop pulling the trigger.

Taking out Bone Hound Karaka wasn't enough—I had to finish off the Skull Hound pack it commanded.

'This is different from before.'

What I held in my hands was no longer the piece of junk I once called a gun.

It was something far more deadly.

—Click.

Aim.

Fire.

A simple process, but perfectly optimized to take lives.

'Let me send you all to your leader.'

One.

[You have slain a Grade-8 Beast-class Skull Hound.]

[Damage against Grade-8 Skull Hounds increases by 0.05%.]

Two.

[You have slain a Grade-8 Beast-class Skull Hound.]

[Damage against Grade-8 Skull Hounds increases by 0.05%.]

Three.

[You have slain a Grade-8 Beast-class Skull Hound.]

[Damage against Grade-8 Skull Hounds increases by 0.05%.]

Each kill only took one bullet.

No matter how wildly they ran, Skull Hound movements were predictable.

'Once a Skull Hound loses its leader, it follows one of two behavior patterns…'

Predictable.

Familiar.

One lone Skull Hound, now without its pack, exhibited a new behavior.

But even that was expected.

—Fwwweeeesh!

[You have slain a Grade-8 Beast-class Skull Hound.]

[Damage against Grade-8 Skull Hounds increases by 0.05%.]

It didn't take long to slaughter Bone Hound Karaka's entire pack.

But there was one last step I couldn't forget.

Every Skull Hound I killed died with its head blown apart—

—but that didn't mean they were truly dead.

Inside each one lurked a Bone Parasite, which could turn their corpses into mutated hosts.

'No need to let a Grade-8 beast evolve into a Grade-7 nightmare.'

Unlike shooting moving targets, hitting motionless corpses was effortless.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Tiny flashes burst from my barrel as bullets pierced their hearts.

It only took seconds for the bullets to cover 9 kilometers and hit their marks.

[You have successfully prevented Bone Parasite mutations!]

[Understanding of Bone Parasites has increased.]

[Efficiency of any equipment or body parts implanted with Bone Parasites increases by 20%.]

With the Skull Hound pack erased, my gaze returned to the battlefield.

Killing a mere dozen beasts didn't change much.

But I wasn't fighting alone.

—BOOOOOOM!!

Ark's heavy artillery spewed fire and smoke, filling the battlefield with miniature mushroom clouds.

Yet, the beasts continued their advance.

Their overwhelming numbers—one of their greatest weapons—pushed forward relentlessly.

'That should do it for now.'

I paused for a few seconds to let the barrel cool before raising my rifle again.

With the Skull Hound pack's leader gone, it was time to find another target.

Slowly, I pulled the trigger again.

Next target: Grade-8 Named Flying-class 'Sky Predator Merdon.'

Unlike ground-based beasts, Flying Beasts had exceptional mobility—

Even I couldn't reliably land fatal shots on them from this distance.

But a flying beast didn't need to be killed outright.

'They have another weak spot.'

Their wings.

—Click.

—FWWWEEEEEESH!!

The Explosive Rounds ripped through the air—

—and exploded against the Sky Predator Merdon's wings.

No matter how strong a beast was, it couldn't fly with burning wings.

[KIIIIIIIEEEEK!!]

Merdon plummeted.

And a falling flying beast was nothing more than an easy target.

—Bang!

A bullet tore through the air—

Blasting the Sky Predator Merdon's heart apart.

—BOOOOOM!!

[You have slain the Grade-8 Named Flying-class 'Sky Predator Merdon'!]

[You have pierced a Flying Beast's weakness.]

[Damage against all Flying Beasts increases by 1%.]

'Oh…?'

A mere 1% damage boost didn't seem like much—but it applied to all Flying Beasts.

This meant that, against the entire species of Flying Beasts, I had already gained a permanent advantage.

And of course—

[You have slain a Named Beast.]

[The 'Beast Hunter' effect is applied at 10x potency.]

[Damage against Grade-8 Flying-class 'Black-Feathered Executioner' increases by 0.5%.]

The hunt continued.

While Ark's battlefield roared with explosions, I lay far behind the frontlines, pulling the trigger again and again.

Beasts filled the sky and earth—

But to me, they were nothing more than moving targets and prey.

That was when—

[Here… here…]

[This way…]

—Ether began whispering.

Perhaps it was because the hunt had gone on too long—

The voices had been waiting for this moment.

But it didn't matter.

This was no longer the same battlefield as before.

Ark's frontlines had now become a sea of Ether's sorrow and screams.

In a place like this—

A whisper that weak would scatter before it could reach anyone.

Just like now.

[Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.]

[Come here… all of you, come here.]

[Kiiiiik! Kiiiik!]

Amidst this overflowing ocean of Ether, the whisper calling out to me was barely even a drop.

Unless I deliberately exposed my position, no beast—except those with exceptionally keen senses—would ever think to change direction toward me.

I aimed my rifle once more.

To show the intruders of Ark what true death and despair felt like.

And…

Perhaps because I had been firing without rest, I could clearly see the number of Named Beasts within the Red Line had dropped significantly.

'The Grade-8 or lower Named Beasts in the Red Line are almost all gone.'

But I had no intention of stopping here.

The war raged on at Ark's frontlines.

Which meant it was time for me to target beasts I normally wouldn't even be able to touch—those of the Orange Line.

The only reason I could even consider them was simple—

Ark's overwhelming firepower had already stripped their tough exoskeletons, exposing their weak spots.

I was merely landing the finishing blow.

[You have slain the Grade-6 Insect-class 'Bloodshot-Eyed Crooks'!]

[You have slain a Named Beast.]

[The 'Beast Hunter' effect is applied at 10x potency.]

[Damage against Grade-6 Insect-class 'Red-Eyed Giant Dragonfly' increases by 0.5%.]

I didn't gain much since I only landed the final hit, but just stacking Beast Hunter's effect made it more than worth it.

I continued my sniping spree.

One by one—

Named Beasts fell.

The beast horde that had once filled the Red and Orange Lines was thinning.

More importantly—

Ark, which had momentarily been pushed to a disadvantage, was now launching a full-scale counterattack, stalling the beasts' advance.

'Then…'

With the Named Beasts of the Red Line eliminated, all that remained were the disorganized stragglers.

—Click.

[Disabling Suppressor Mode.]

[Switching to Standard Mode.]

Until now, I had always used a suppressor, even when hunting Mossback Kupf.

In this world, loud noise was practically a death sentence, since it could trigger another Wave or attract distant monsters.

But the Wave had already begun.

With only fodder left in the Red Line's battlefield, there was no longer any reason for me to sacrifice bullet velocity for silence.

Besides—

Even if I fired without a suppressor, in this warzone of constant explosions and gunfire, it would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

There was no reason to hesitate.

'Time to wrap this up.'

[Switching to Assault Rifle Mode.]

I had held back for so long.

It was finally time to unleash an unlimited storm of bullets.

—Click.

'My vision's a bit… blurry.'

Probably due to astigmatism and hallucinations.

'Doesn't matter.'

I no longer needed precise sniping like before.

The battlefield was swarming with nothing but beasts—

I could fire anywhere, and I'd still hit something.

—BOOOOOM!!

Flames erupted from my rifle.

Unlike before, when only the sound of bullets ripping through the wind was heard, gunfire roared from my barrel first.

Of course, in this deafening warzone, my gunfire vanished into the storm of explosions and screams.

[You have slain a Grade-10 Beast-class Hellhound.]

[Damage against Grade-10 Hellhounds increases by 0.05%.]

[You have slain a Grade-10 Insect-class Square-Jawed Soldier Ant.]

[Damage against Grade-10 Square-Jawed Soldier Ants increases by 0.05%.]

0.05%, 0.1%, 0.15%…

My Beast Hunter effect stacked endlessly, rising like a stock chart in the middle of a market boom.

And I matched its pace—firing relentlessly.

The heat of the barrel was growing.

Then—

As if drawn by the flames of my rifle.

A group of ten flying and insect-class beasts, ranging from Grade-8 to Grade-9, began flying straight toward me.

'Where do you think you're going?'

I was about to pull the trigger without hesitation—

—Until I saw it.

'…Huh?'

The reason my finger halted on the trigger was simple.

Hanging from the claws of those flying beasts—were bodies.

'That's…'

Ark soldiers.

Unfortunately, they weren't alive.

Judging by their bullet wounds, it was likely they had been shot by their own allies after being captured by the beasts.

But that wasn't the important part.

What mattered was what they were wearing.

Even in death, they were fully equipped with Ark-made military gear.

'Oh…?'

The meaning was clear.

'It's not even Christmas…'

It seemed like Santa Claus had arrived, delivering presents straight from the sky.

***

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