The Retired Max-Level Worker Wants to Rest - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Multi

TL/ED – Miso

Cha Yu-ra.

She had to go back. No matter what.

‘There’s no way I can die here.’

Of course she was scared.

Being dropped into this strange world, watching bizarre monsters come out and kill people. The terror of not even being able to breathe properly felt like it was wringing her brain dry.

She was afraid.

She wanted to give up.

She thought dying would be easier.

‘But I can’t do that.’

She had two younger sisters.

A middle schooler and a high schooler.

Both still students.

‘What happens to them if I’m gone?’

If they found out Cha Yu-ra was dead.

Would the world leave them alone?

‘They’re young girls, on top of everything.’

It was a family of three daughters.

They had no power to protect themselves.

No money, no food, and the house was a rental.

Tuition was due next week.

And what had the world become now that these Gates had appeared? She didn’t know the details, but it couldn’t be good.

That was why she had to go back. No matter what.

Stir…

She was asleep.

But Kim Ho-cheon had created a party and invited both Cha Yu-ra and Park Dong-cheol before they fell asleep. He’d hoped it would help with their recovery.

And then.

-Your level has increased.

Blue mana rippled across her body.

At the same time.

-Trait [Regeneration] has manifested.

She’d gained a trait.

Severe injuries combined with potent healing medicine.

The physical growth that came with leveling up.

And this thing called mana.

All those factors had come together.

And then.

“……Hoo.”

She woke up after just a single day.

Her torn thigh and broken arm.

All of it, fully healed.

‘I need to help.’

The moment she rose, she went looking for Kim Ho-cheon.

She had to help him to get out of this place.

Alive and in one piece.

* * *

The Card Reward was three cards, as expected.

But there were three additional cards as well.

‘One’s a skill, one’s an item?’

An item had appeared.

That was the one I was most curious about.

But skills first.

-Target Enhancement: Consumes internal mana to enhance a target.

Something like this existed.

More than the word “enhancement,” what intrigued me most was that it consumed “mana.” I’d guessed that something called mana existed as I leveled up, but I’d never actually used it.

‘The others don’t look particularly useful.’

Remote Control.

A skill that had appeared at Level 10.

Not needed yet.

Physical Enhancement.

The first skill Park Dong-cheol had gotten.

‘Using Physical Enhancement definitely made him faster and stronger.’

Even a single level’s gap was significant.

A single skill, even more so.

The physical growth alone was so drastic that even I felt strange looking at myself. So what would happen if Physical Enhancement were stacked on top of that?

But it was a skill I didn’t need.

“……Target Enhancement.”

I chose it.

I wanted to try using mana. And I figured picking this would lead to more mana-based skills appearing in future rewards.

Click.

I picked up the Gauss Rifle.

Aimed it.

‘Titanium alloy.’

Rounds usually ricocheted off.

Just left a few scratches.

Ping-!

Ricocheted, as expected.

Just a small scratch.

“Enhance.”

I used the skill.

Something welled up from deep in my gut. That cool, refreshing energy flowed up through my arms, down to my fingertips, and I could feel it seeping into the Gauss Rifle.

Hummm.

The Gauss Rifle glowed blue.

As if cloaked in a faint aura.

‘I can perceive the Gauss Rifle far more clearly now.’

Like my senses had expanded.

So this is what mana feels like?

It was fascinating, and moving.

‘Being able to use mana meant you could become an elite combat soldier.’

Elite combat soldiers were nobility.

They held ranks above even commanding officers.

On par with fleet admirals, one might say.

They were, in every sense of the word, “heroes.”

‘I was called a war hero too, but they were on a different level entirely.’

I’d seen it countless times.

Single-handedly wiping out thousands of Brakta, blocking tens of thousands of air raids. They were less human and more like walking fleets.

And now, I could use that same mana.

“Hoo.”

I steadied myself.

Then pulled the trigger.

Bang- Clang!

Definitely different.

It didn’t punch through, but it dug in a full centimeter.

This wasn’t simply a matter of increased muzzle velocity. The round’s strength and hardness mattered too, and both had to improve to produce a result like this.

“Interesting.”

And that was just me using it.

What if Cha Yu-ra used this?

‘It’d be way stronger.’

Not bad.

And it wasn’t limited to the Gauss Rifle, either. It meant I could use it on the Turk I was piloting. Or even on the turrets.

As long as the mana held out.

“Enhance.”

This time I enhanced a turret.

Hummm-

Mana enveloped the entire turret.

The mana draining from my gut was five times as much. It only stopped once it had wrapped around the whole structure.

‘This one glows blue too.’

The mana in my gut dropped below half.

Couldn’t use this too many times.

But then.

Thud-thud- Thud-thud-

The turret suddenly activated.

Why?

“……The range increased.”

That was it.

The Auto Turret’s original range had been around 300 meters.

Now it reached 600.

-You have gained EXP.

-You have gained EXP.

-You have gained EXP.

“Must’ve been quite a few out there.”

The turret didn’t stop firing.

It only ceased after more than thirty rounds.

EXP rose considerably, but my level didn’t budge. The higher the level, the more the required EXP seemed to grow exponentially.

Was it because of the party?

‘No, that’s not it.’

It did reduce slightly.

But not by any meaningful amount.

If anything, hunting as a trio would increase the total EXP earned. That was one of the things I’d naturally come to learn.

And next.

“Second reward.”

This one was an item.

Now this was truly interesting.

-Sword

-Bow

-Staff

No item names or descriptions.

It was as if it was asking me to choose a role.

Close-range attack.

Long-range attack.

And support.

‘I’m obviously support.’

Staff.

In most games, choosing a staff came with mana-related bonuses. Better than a sword or bow I could barely use anyway.

-You have selected Staff.

-You have obtained [Staff of Larne (Magic)].

Staff of Larne.

Magic grade, was it?

I could check the description.

[Staff of Larne (Magic)]

: A staff imbued with the essence of Larne, the lightning spirit. Increases mana pool and mana recovery rate. Additionally, grants use of the low-tier lightning spell [Electric Arrow].

“……Oh.”

Magic.

Increased mana pool and recovery rate.

That alone would’ve been more than enough.

But it also came with a magic skill.

Tap.

I gripped the staff.

A cool sensation wrapped around my palm.

‘Mana is definitely filling up fast.’

The total capacity felt larger too.

Should I try the skill.

“Electric Arrow.”

I said it aloud.

Mana drained rapidly from my body.

Crackle-

An arrow materialized before my eyes.

Made entirely of electricity, no less!

“Ohh.”

Fascinating.

Something like this was possible.

It genuinely felt like becoming a mage.

‘How do I control it?’

Couldn’t touch it with my hands.

So couldn’t throw it either.

Then…

‘Think.’

Fly.

I willed it.

And then.

Whoosh- Crack-crack-crack!

It flew toward where I was looking.

Struck the titanium plate and scattered.

“……Is it strong?”

Hard to tell.

Then a thought occurred to me.

“I’m not turning into too much of a jack-of-all-trades, am I?”

The skills I’d picked up so far were all over the place.

Super Regeneration.

Steel Heart.

Technician.

Target Enhancement.

And now this staff on top of it.

Breathing Adaptation was a trait, so I excluded that.

‘Then again, Super Regeneration and Steel Heart are survival skills.’

The foundation for staying alive.

Technician was EXP income.

Target Enhancement opened up the mana skill tree.

And the staff on top of that.

‘Not bad.’

I was planning to level up more anyway.

It’d take far more EXP, but I had a way.

Before that, though.

“Let’s move the resources first.”

I placed my hand on the Turk.

Mana drained out in a steady stream.

Hummm.

The Turk was enhanced.

Mana was now bone dry.

But I had the Staff of Larne. I set it carefully beside the cockpit seat.

Rumble-

The Turk set off.

Sure enough, movement speed had improved too.

Enhancement turned out to be a better skill than I’d expected.

.

.

.

It took a full day.

Mining and hauling resources.

Then running the Refinery Engine through the morning.

Meaning I’d pulled an all-nighter, catching only scraps of sleep.

“Huh?”

That was when morning arrived.

I’d just showered and stepped out of the room.

Cha Yu-ra was stretching in shorts and a t-shirt. Her thigh and arm looked perfectly fine to anyone.

“Oppa!”

She came running over with a smile.

She looked completely healthy.

“Your arm and thigh? You should’ve needed at least five days of treatment.”

“I got a trait, [Regeneration]!”

Regeneration, huh.

Like when we’d gained Breathing Adaptation.

Maybe it developed through getting badly hurt and recovering.

Not that it mattered to me, since I already had [Super Regeneration].

“Yeah? That’s a relief. Really glad to hear it.”

“It’s all thanks to you, oppa. My level went up twice, too. I think that’s why I healed faster.”

That made sense.

After all, the physical growth and increased mana that came with leveling up would surely aid recovery.

“Dong-cheol’s still asleep?”

“Yeah, but he seems to be recovering.”

A severed limb wasn’t easy to come back from.

And the abdominal wound had been deep, too.

“Then, want to get to work?”

I asked.

She hopped up with an eager yes.

She was definitely someone with energy.

I hoped she could stay that way.

‘Something feels off.’

I looked up at the sky.

This planet was supposed to be beyond the reach of Brakta influence. No delta-class or higher nests had shown up on radar.

And yet, the survival instincts honed over thirty years in my past life seemed to be warning me of something, though I couldn’t pin down what.

.

.

.

We moved out.

With the Loader Back attached to the Turk.

We packed it full of refined metals, processed resources, and critical components that could only be fabricated with base facilities.

Our destination was the Basin where the nest had been.

In other words, where the mineral deposits were.

“This spot should work.”

The site of the former Brakta alpha-class nest.

The mine that had been dug deep into the hillside.

It was full of ore.

“You just need to stand guard up here.”

I built her a Watchtower.

It was a simple metal structure, so it didn’t take long. With a Turk, melting and raising metal was nothing.

“Got it. I just shoot everything that comes, right?”

“Yeah. I’m putting up a turret here too, so just hold out until then.”

“Works for me. Good to shake off the rust.”

She shouldered the rifle.

I’d need to upgrade that for her later.

Whirrr-

The Turk’s output ramped up.

I used [Enhance].

Blue ripples seeped into the Turk. Checking the control panel, I could see improvements in both power consumption efficiency and Fusion Cutter output.

‘This really is something.’

Enhancing machines with mana.

I’d never even heard of it in my past life.

‘Work first.’

I laid the foundation first.

Then set the flooring and drove in the supports.

Level surfaces and no dust were critical.

Bang-!

Just then, a gunshot rang out from above.

Cha Yu-ra had started shooting.

-You have gained EXP.

EXP flowed in on my end too.

The party system was definitely worthwhile.

Time passed like that.

-You have crafted [3D Metal Printer].

-You have gained EXP.

The printer came first.

Having it meant less manual labor.

-You have crafted [Refinery Engine].

-You have gained EXP.

Next, the Refinery Engine.

Oxygen and water were the immediate needs.

There was no room for additional Energy Storage yet.

But I needed to keep refining ore to supply metal materials. That would drastically cut construction time.

-You have crafted [Energy Storage].

-You have gained EXP.

Stored surplus energy first.

Had to, for the power supply to work.

-You have completed [Turret Ammo Workshop].

-You have gained EXP.

Ammunition next.

Why?

Because I planned to build turrets here.

This one took the most time. I had to draw energy from the storage, and the metal produced by the Refinery Engine had to be fed in automatically, which meant building conveyor belts too.

-You have crafted [Auto Turret].

-You have gained EXP.

Set it up right beside the Watchtower.

Cha Yu-ra could finally catch her breath.

And then.

-You have constructed [Auto Turret Reloading System].

-You have gained a large amount of EXP.

-Your level has increased.

Metal and energy from the Refinery Engine.

Ammunition from the Turret Ammo Workshop.

That ammunition to the Auto Turret.

I’d connected it all.

And the EXP gain was substantial.

‘Now every additional turret I add will link up automatically.’

No need for manual reloading.

Ammo production was more than sufficient.

Thump.

I slumped down on one side.

Dawn was already breaking.

I’d pulled another all-nighter after all.

But then.

-Attention, all users.

A system message appeared.

I think the unease started right then.

-It has been 6 days since arrival.

-On Day 7 of survival, the First Trial will begin.

“…….”

I couldn’t process what I was hearing.

Then the next message appeared, delayed.

-First Trial: Brakta Swarm Attack!

-Creeds 1,000/1,000

-Cree’vah 50/50

-Basilaks 30/30

-23:59:55

An attack warning.

With only a single day to prepare.

……How the hell were we supposed to stop this?