How to Survive in a Fusion Punk

Chapter 18 – Mana Overload

Among the countless stars, there was one that remained tucked away in a corner.

It seemed to be saying, “Please don’t pay attention to me.”

Despite that, the reason Jin chose this one was clear.

He had never seen a skill with “overload” in its name that wasn’t effective in a short battle.

And now, at this moment,

Jin instinctively felt that his choice was right.

He felt the immense power swirling inside his light body.

The creature lightly gestured with its hand.

That alone made Fenrir and Jin quickly create distance, each moving in opposite directions.

Boom!

Right after, a deafening sound erupted from behind them.

The invisible force crushed the steel frame of the 3-story shelf, and the packaged goods tumbled to the ground.

In the meantime, Jin, closing the gap in an instant, threw a punch.

Whoosh—Thud!

The sound of slicing wind and something blocking the punch echoed in quick succession.

The rainbow-colored force field flickered in the air.

The rebound sent Jin flying backward, but he quickly drew his Gravis from his waist.

Boom!

A golden line, surpassing the speed of sound, collided with the force field.

It targeted the exact spot Jin had just struck.

Boom!

The shockwave created a ripple at the point of impact, exposing the hidden force field’s outline before fading away like a wave.

But the heated warhead couldn’t pierce the shield and fell to the ground.

This all happened in a single breath.

“Interesting!”

The creature laughed heartily and snapped its fingers.

Then the steel frame nearby creaked, bending as if alive, and wrapped around Jin’s wrist.

Then came the electric magic.

Zzzzt!

The twisting lightning shot toward him, glowing white.

But in that moment, Fenrir’s sword cut through the steel frame with a sharp sound.

With the pressure lifted, Jin narrowly avoided the lightning and leaped high.

Using the second-floor shelf as a springboard, he spun in the air and aimed his heel at the creature.

Thud!

But again, the force field blocked the attack.

At the same time, invisible power struck him, sending him flying into the air.

Grinding his teeth, Jin curled his body, even though he had anticipated the counterattack, as the shock made his bones resonate painfully.

“How can there be such an absurd skill?”

No matter how hard he tried, the force field absorbed every impact, and even the smallest opening sent a transparent hammer smashing toward him.

And on top of that, there was the chain lightning to deal with.

He might as well be feeling the pain of Team Rocket at this point.

Jin painfully realized once again.

That damn plague doctor was a true monster.

That was undeniably true.

If he had been alone, even if the “Mana Overload’s Grandpa” came, he would have definitely died.

So, he had to protect him.

The werewolf, who was stalling time alone over there.

“Khrrgh!”

Fenrir let out a roar and swung the sword he was holding.

All the steel objects flying toward them were instantly sliced in half.

Even after that, Fenrir dodged the incoming magic and struck at the force field several times, but despite his resistance, he was knocked off his feet by the transparent force and sent flying into a place where broken and twisted steel objects were scattered.

It seemed like a wolf skewer might be born soon.

Jin, who was mid-air, caught the giant body flying toward him.

Screech…!

He barely managed to stop before the creature’s body was pierced in the back, and he turned to ask the staggering Fenrir.

“How many seconds left?”

“20 seconds? 15? I’m not sure.”

“Push harder. I think if we hit it a few more times, it’ll break.”

Jin slammed the ground with those words.

In the corner of his vision, the plague doctor, surrounded by the field of force, appeared to be expanding.

Even the tiny cracks at the edge of the barrier became visible.

Just a little more.

Just a little more.

He gritted his teeth, squeezing out every ounce of mana.

Crackle!!

The red sparks grew fiercer.

Jin’s humanly impossible momentum accelerated once again, and with astonishing speed, he closed the distance, throwing his punch with everything he had.

Boom!

Finally, the sound of the field of force changed.

The sensation on his skin, the feel of it in his hands, was completely different.

Before, it had felt like hitting thick mud, but now it was like striking a thick sheet of metal.

Jin didn’t stop.

He planted his feet firmly and relentlessly threw his punches.

He threw, threw, and threw again.

Despite the barrage of spells the plague doctor unleashed, tearing his body apart, Jin didn’t even register it.

He just kept attacking, intensifying his efforts.

The sparks grew darker.

Crackle!!!

The light, swallowed by pain, soon began to consume his sanity.

At this point, what he had to give up was his life.

This was the price he had to pay, the inevitable consequence.

Perhaps the broken barrier was a small miracle in itself.

…Clink─!

Amid the flying debris, Jin’s bloodied body was sent crashing backward as a sword embedded itself in the plague doctor’s chest.

“Krrr!”

Fenrir twisted his mouth, then, with all his might, started advancing.

At the end of his path, there were stairs leading down to the basement.

The plague doctor hesitated, stepping backward, toward the place he had come from.

But that hesitation was brief.

Grabbing the blade with his gloved hand, he slowly raised his mask-wearing face.

“This is an unimaginable pleasure. Truly… I am enjoying this.”

A chilling voice, unlike before.

Then, dark energy surged from the plague doctor’s body, forming into massive wings.

At that moment—

Clink.

Jin, who had already aimed his Gravis at him, exhaled heavily and spoke.

“Enough… get lost!!”

Boom─!!

The sound of thunderous gunfire.

The plague doctor’s body, hit by the direct blast from about five meters away, swayed and toppled backward.

In Jin’s eyes, the entire process unfolded in slow motion, like strands of taffy stretching.

Click.

Click.

Tick-

His internal clock, which had been ticking away diligently, finally completed a full rotation and chimed—

And with that, a deafening roar swept through the warehouse.

***

It had truly been a horrible day.

Jin, who had bought his favorite ramen from the convenience store, was feeling a bit hungry.

Excited to soothe his empty stomach, he tore open the bag with a happy heart.

But—

Wait a second.

The product, which he had purchased based on the picture showing seaweed, was missing the seaweed.

How could this happen?

Others were posting pictures with two packs of seaweed, and here he was with none.

It was a huge disappointment, but there was nothing to be done.

He had already boiled the water.

He added the noodles, the soup powder, and the flakes.

He ate it quickly, slurping it down without much thought.

The problem started that evening when his body began aching.

The symptoms worsened, and soon it became difficult to stay conscious.

His bones felt like they were splitting, his muscles seemed to be melting away, and his internal organs felt like they were burning.

Jin struggled through the night, writhing in agony.

***

How many times had it been?

Fainting and regaining consciousness over and over again.

Finally, when the early dawn light started coloring the world through the window, a status screen appeared in front of Jin, whose body and mind had become weak.

「(Complete!) Crisis」

────────────You survived.Reward: 3,000 XP──────────────────

“Raccoon!”

With a random shout, Jin, who had regained consciousness, saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

But that wasn’t anything special.

For a homeless person with no home, it’s natural to wake up to an unfamiliar ceiling every day.

What was worse was the most dreadful sensation in the world, causing Jin to snap awake.

He immediately got up and screamed, almost like a scream of panic.

“Food!”

Jin turned his head, and a strange face blinked before cautiously speaking.

“Are you okay?”

In response, Jin trembled like a drug addict going through withdrawal.

“No, not at all. I’m sorry, but do you have anything to eat? I need it urgently.”

“Just a moment.”

The woman hurriedly left the room, and Jin began to sweat coldly.

It might look like some ridiculous comedy to others, and they might even scold him for being pathetic, but the situation was far more serious than it seemed.

Jin had PTSD from hunger, and if left unchecked, it could lead to a panic attack.

This time, the hunger was especially severe—he had likely gone five days without food.

A short while later, the woman hurriedly returned and handed Jin a plate, which he grabbed without checking what was on it, stuffing it into his mouth with a desperate hunger.

As he chewed, he realized it was an apple pie.

His complexion returned, along with some of his senses.

“What… is this…”

After realizing the IV needle in his arm, he looked around at the medical equipment in the room and turned to the woman, who was blushing in a corner.

“Excuse me.”

“…Yes?”

“Where am I?”

“This is the resistance’s hideout.”

The answer didn’t come from the woman but from an unexpected voice.

A man entered through the tent flap and looked at Jin.

“How are you feeling?”

“Who are you?”

The face was somewhat familiar.

The man had helped Jin and Fenrir with their illegal entry earlier in the mission.

Albus, probably.

After recalling the name with some difficulty, Jin asked,

“So why am I here? The warehouse? Has a lot of time passed?”

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I’ll explain everything.”

Albus pulled a chair next to Jin’s bed and sat down with a thud.

“First, the logistics warehouse collapsed. It completely caved in.”

“Then…”

“Right. The mission is completed. You can go back and collect your share.”

That was the news Jin had been hoping for.

But before getting too excited, there was still a lot Jin hadn’t heard yet.

He raised an eyebrow, urging Albus to continue.

“Want to know how you ended up here? It’s nothing special. That wolf beastman carried you back to the rendezvous point after you passed out.”

“Ah, Fenrir.”

Only then did Jin remember his companion—or friend, maybe?

Regardless, he suddenly felt uneasy and asked,”What happened to him?”

“He, too, was bedridden for a few days. But he was in better shape than you, so he returned to downtown yesterday.”

“…What?”

That bastard?

So what about me?

Was this how little our comradeship meant?

Jin shuddered with the feeling of betrayal as he thought about losing his driver in a single day.

Then, he turned to Albus and asked again,

“By the way, how long was I out? Was I really down for that long?”

“Today marks the fifth day. Three of those days, we thought you were a corpse.”

“Huh?”

“You probably don’t remember, but your body temperature rose to 48°C. According to the doctor, your protein denatured, your internal organs hardened like stone, and you even went blind from optic nerve damage.”

Blindness?

Jin instinctively reached for his eyes.

Was it a side effect from the mana overload?

But that couldn’t be the case, considering Albus was clearly talking and moving around just fine.

Realizing his remarkable recovery, Jin couldn’t help but joke,”That’s some quack doctoring.”

At those words, the woman in the corner visibly flinched.

She quietly lowered her head and stepped outside the tent.

“…Is that her?”

“It is.”

The atmosphere suddenly turned somber, and Albus cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Anyway, it’s a relief that you survived. I heard you’re some kind of enhanced human, right? Is that true?”

“Something like that.”

It would be ridiculous to deny it, so Jin nodded and, with his last lingering question, asked,

“By the way, there was a monster guarding the warehouse.”

At that, Albus wore an expression that clearly said, “Here it comes.”

“I can’t give you a definite answer since I didn’t see the situation firsthand, but based on what I’ve confirmed, that factory wasn’t just a simple logistics warehouse,” Albus said, lowering his voice.

“Their post-mortem operations were quick, so I didn’t stay long, but I found several bodies in the ruined underground area. Not the TB security forces. They were mutants. With just a bit of mana injected, they would’ve immediately stood up and moved.”

Mutants?

What was that?

Jin furrowed his brow.

Something didn’t feel right, and he had a bad feeling that this conversation was about to take a dark turn.

And his hunch wasn’t wrong.

“Don’t get it? TB has teamed up with dark mages. Those crazy bastards… Maybe Mute town isn’t their only goal. With a situation like this, the city government, which usually treats us like dirt, might even move on it. Damn…”

Albus’s face was dead serious, but to be honest, the story didn’t fully register with Jin.

Were mutants the trademark of dark magic? So that plague doctor was a dark mage, huh? And he teamed up with TB?

“You might not believe it, but we didn’t send you to the warehouse because we expected something to be there. We just wanted to hit the herb supply to cause some disruption. Still… I’m sorry.”

Seeing Albus bow his head, Jin scratched his cheek.

“It’s fine. I didn’t die.”

Considering how full of scum the downtown area was, Jin was surprisingly soft when it came to this kind of apology.

Besides, the status screen that had been so nagging earlier, constantly telling him to run, had just told him, “You survived.”

Plus, he had gotten plenty of experience points.

So, he figured there was no real harm done.

With a groan, Jin lay back on the bed, but Albus’s voice cut through his thoughts.

“No, there’s no such thing as an unpaid effort in this line of work. Thanks to you, we’ve gained quite a bit.”

That made Jin sit up again, his curiosity piqued.

“So? What’s your point?”

“What else would it be, Solo? A reward.”