I Became an Illegal Cheat User

108 – The Greed Raid (2)

– Kieeeek!

– Kki-ki-gik, kki-ki-ki-gik!

– Kiki-kikikikikikik!

The gray expanse was being stained black by the paint of monsters.

‘They just keep coming up endlessly.’

The sight of monsters crawling out of the hole in the ground was like smoke being blown into a nest of insects.

‘…I can’t even count them anymore, can I?’

Just a moment ago, it seemed like there were tens of thousands.

Now, it feels like there are at least millions.

And that number keeps increasing.

“Well… what do you think? My army.”

Grid, sitting in a lavish chair whose appearance I couldn’t recall, crossed his legs with an arrogant expression.

He propped his chin on his hand, looking at me with eyes filled with anticipation and excitement.

From that gaze, it seemed he was hoping that Arthur and I would exhaust our magic, stamina, and energy while fighting the monsters.

‘What a futile delusion.’

Unless the infinite items are forcibly deactivated, that will never happen.

Of course, he doesn’t know that, which is why he’s acting this way.

Thinking that, I held back a sneer.

Though it might not be visible due to the helmet, I couldn’t help but wear a smirk.

Then, suddenly, I noticed something strange.

‘…What’s this? The defensive items are all pretty similar?’

Defensive items flying around Grid like a fortress.

They had slightly different shapes, but overall, they all looked quite alike.

Shields and crystal orbs.

Half of the hundreds of defensive items were in the form of shields, while the other half were crystal orbs.

‘…Now that I think about it, it was the crystal orb that blocked the bullets with the speed limit lifted, right?’

Ah, I think I get it.

The effect of his defensive items.

‘Looking at them now, they’re all round and fluffy.’

They look like they’d absorb quite well.

I chuckled softly and raised my gun.

Click.

「Hmm?」

At my sudden action, Grid tilted his head in confusion.

Even though he knew my attack wouldn’t work because of the defensive items, he looked puzzled as I aimed my gun.

But it didn’t matter.

To confirm what had popped into my mind, I decided to go ahead.

Boom—!

I fired a bullet that only had super accuracy applied.

A flash, accompanied by a crack of thunder, shot toward Grid.

And, as expected, one of the defensive items flying around him blocked the way.

‘Just as I thought.’

But I wasn’t disappointed.

The reason I pulled the trigger wasn’t to hit him.

Boom—!

The ‘shield’ that had blocked Grid let out a tremendous roar and shattered with a loud crack.

‘The shield absorbs damage like Aegis.’

And seeing that it wasn’t completely shattered, it’s an A-grade.

The fact that it cracked without being destroyed by an attack combining super accuracy and the damage of an S-grade item means it can only be A-grade.

If it were B-grade, it would have been smashed to pieces in an instant. Conversely, if it were S-grade, it wouldn’t have even a scratch, let alone a crack.

Most S-grade items come with the ‘indestructible’ option.

‘Of course, just because it has ‘indestructible’ doesn’t mean it can’t be broken at all.’

Just as there are countless items in the world, there are also items that can nullify or eliminate ‘indestructible’ or ‘immortal’ properties.

For example, something like ‘mistletoe’ that killed Baldur in Norse mythology.

Anyway, now that I’ve learned about the effect of the ‘shield,’ one of Grid’s defensive items, it’s time to examine the ‘crystal orb.’

Speed limit release [ON / OFF]

Ding-dong, the sound of the cheat activating echoed.

I tightened my grip on the trigger.

Krrrrrrrrr KWA-aaaNG──!!

With a massive thunderclap, the world was momentarily bathed in blue light.

At the same time, the Aegis I had newly equipped on my finger crumbled away rapidly, crackling!

And from the muzzle, a gigantic blue flash traced a trajectory toward Grid.

……Fzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz──!!

Following that, an immense electric sound accompanied the thunder as it followed the path drawn by the flash.

Shuuu!

All of it was sucked into the crystal orb-shaped defensive item along with the flash.

Crack.

I wondered if it had the effect of absorbing instant-death level damage like the Aegis, as the crystal orb, having absorbed all the flashes, split in half and vanished.

Seeing that scene, I silently cheered.

‘Alright, effect confirmed.’

The shield form absorbs regular damage.

The crystal orb form absorbs lethal damage.

Having completed my analysis of Grid’s defensive items, I deactivated the speed limit release and lowered the gun I had aimed at him.

At that moment, Grid looked at me with a puzzled expression.

「It’s nice that you’re easing up on your strength, but… I can’t understand why you did such a thing.」

Well, from my perspective, it was a necessary action, but from his standpoint, it must have seemed unnecessary.

Beyond not understanding, I probably looked foolish.

“Ugh, you foolish brat.”

I had recognized it from the moment he did something so stupid, but to be this oblivious was just pathetic.

I stared at Grid, who hadn’t even realized why I had fired my gun twice, with disdain.

Perhaps he felt my gaze.

“…You’re quite the troublemaker.”

Grid frowned, as if displeased.

But that expression was fleeting.

A grin spread across his face, revealing sharp teeth like a shark.

“Yoo Jin, the time has come.”

Then, with exaggerated gestures as if performing in a play, he spread his arms wide.

“My army is ready to welcome you…”

He announced that the summoning of the monsters was complete.

As he said, the paint that had been darkening the field came to a halt.

Yet in the distance, the field I could see was nearly obscured by the monsters, their gray forms almost indistinguishable.

“…Show me your limits.”

Grid said this as he slammed his fist down onto the armrest.

And with that signal, it began.

– Kieeeeeeeeeek─!!

– Kyaaak─!!

– Kyaaa─!!

The monsters let out their ferocious howls.

Rumbling──!!

They started charging toward me and Arthur.

Kugugugugung….

An uncountable number of monsters rushed forward all at once, shaking the ground as if an earthquake had struck.

Even in such a situation, Arthur kept his hands on the pommel of the sword embedded in the ground, watching the approaching monsters with calm blue eyes, like a serene lake.

But that tranquility was short-lived.

Golden magical energy began to swirl in Arthur’s eyes.

Tsutsutsutsu.

Magic flared from her body, gradually taking shape.

Clang.

The armor of the knight king, stored on the round table.

It had become a splendid armor, just like its form.

Of course, it was merely made of magical power; it wasn’t real.

But since it was crafted from Arthur’s golden magic, its defense was assured.

No, it would be sturdier than most armors, beyond mere assurance.

“Lee Yu-jin, I am ready.”

Arthur said this as he pulled the sword he had driven into the ground.

Then he lowered the visor of the helmet he had manifested, concealing his face.

Nodding at Arthur, who instinctively assumed a combat stance without my prompting, I transformed Astra’s form.

────────────────────

– Form 「Change」

[Changing form: Angel of Death (+Thunderbolt)]

[Number of registered items: 4]

────────────────────

In an instant, the form of the pistol transformed into a minigun.

Not coated in black, but in blue and white, like Thunderbolt.

A minigun that had become heavy yet slightly sharper.

At the same time.

‘Transmission.’

I sent grenade boxes over the heads of the approaching monsters.

But before I could detonate the boxes.

「What I want to see is your limit, Lee Yu-jin. Not these explosives.」

Grid had stolen the boxes with Steel.

‘Ah, damn it.’

I had momentarily forgotten.

That he had Steel.

And that the grenades were of A-rank.

Swoosh….

The grenade boxes, stolen by him, vanished due to the constraints of the infinite items.

Seeing that phenomenon, I sent the box underground this time.

“I just told you, what I want to see is not the explosive material, but your limits.”

Yet again, the creature stole the boxes with steel.

“No… The flow of magic should be minimal, right? Did it really sense that?”

Of course, the amount of magic used for transmission varies depending on the distance and the weight of the item.

Even so, the flow of magic exposed to the outside is extremely small compared to the magic being used.

Unless one is a true superhuman sensitive to real magic, it shouldn’t be easily detectable.

Moreover, Grid is a corrupted being that uses magic, not magic power.

Given that, it should be able to sense large flows of magic, but not something as minimal as during transmission.

Yet, as soon as I used the transmission, it sensed it?

There can only be one explanation.

“This place, the hidden world, is practically its body.”

With that thought, I recalled what Grid had told me earlier.

– “The core that maintains this hidden world is precisely you.”

The realization that its heart is the core sustaining this hidden world.

This means that this place is essentially its body.

Why hadn’t I thought of that?

“I’m just as clueless.”

I let out a bitter smile and activated the injector filled with magic recovery potion.

As I felt my magic replenishing, I reflected on my lack of insight.

“Tera, how much processing power do we have left?”

– …Calculating, you can operate 25 golems and 500 drones.

“What if we exclude the drones?”

Since drones are classified as items, it can steal them anyway, so they are unusable.

Thus, it makes sense to funnel all processing power into the golems.

Tera answered promptly, understanding my intent.

– Then you can operate 30 golems.

Thirty golems.

Compared to the millions of monstrous legions, that number is very, extremely small.

But considering that these golems have been enhanced, it doesn’t feel like a small number at all.

Including Arthur and myself, it only intensified.

With that thought, I transmitted ten defensive golems and twenty iron golems before me.

Thud, thud thud!

Clank, clank!

The defensive golems anchored themselves deep into the ground, switching to defense mode.

And before those defensive golems, the twenty iron golems transformed into humanoid forms in unison.

– Iron MK. 87, ready for deployment.

– Iron MK. 87, ready for deployment.

– Iron MK. 87, ready for deployment.

– Iron…….

「…Hmm?」

A puzzled voice from Grid echoed above me.

It seemed that the golems, specifically the equipment attached to them, were unable to steel.

‘Of course, it makes sense.’

The reason was quite simple.

Golems are not items; they are lifeless beings created through alchemy.

Thus, they are unaffected by steel, which can only steal ‘items.’

Additionally, the equipment attached to the golems, the minigun and Aegis, are considered parts of the golems, placing them outside the classification of items.

Of course, if they were to detach from the golem’s body, they would immediately revert to being items.

– Enemy detected.

– Enemy detected.

– Enemy detected.

– Enemy detected…….

The cameras in the eyes of the iron golems shifted from blue to red.

Whirring, clank clank!

Simultaneously, they drew chain swords and shields from their wrists.

– Commencing enemy extermination.

Thud thud, they charged towards the monsters, shaking the ground beneath them.

For those iron golems, I transmitted the ‘Shattered Courage Spear (S-)’ behind the defensive golems and drove it into the ground.

Thump!

The wave of the spear’s aura spread.

Arthur and I, a crimson glow rising from the bodies of the golems.

A violet aura enveloped every monster that entered within a 1 km radius.

And then, following that—

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiing─!

The turret minigun attached to the defensive golem began to spin with a fierce sound.

Following that golem, I too spun the barrel of the minigun.

And when the horde of monsters came within range—

Kwaaa──!!

Twenty turret miniguns attached to ten defensive golems fired.

Kwaaa──!!

…Paziziziziziziziz──!!

My minigun, wrapped in lightning, unleashed its fury.