“Mr . Harris is awake . ”


  “Ah . Is that so?”


  When Sungyoon spoke, Chelsea glanced toward the Moon Surface Vehicle .

  “In my personal opinion, it would be best to take him back to Armstrong city as soon as possible . He spoke with such confidence, yet made a fool of himself . He must feel humiliated . ”


  As soon as the Golem had appeared, the three 1st Gen Connectors had gone into a frenzy .

  The one who looked the worst had been Harris . Chelsea clearly remembered that .

  Sungyoon agreed with her . He had initially thought that Harris had something against him, but after speaking to other Connectors, Sungyoon learned that Harris had acted in a similar manner toward all of them .

  ‘He reaps what he sows . ’


  With that thought, Sungyoon put Harris out of his mind . He then asked Chelsea .

  “How were the test results?”


  Chelsea worked on the tablet in her hands .

  “The same . None of them produced meaningful data like you, Mr . Sungyoon . Although, one showed an increase in his strength . ”


  Sungyoon, who was disappointed by the first sentence, perked up his ears .

  “Schneider lasted longer than the others . The strength displayed by him at the end was quite significant . However, Mr . Sungyoon destroyed the Golem as soon as the change had occurred . Other than that, none of the three reported feeling any difference in power . ”


  “We need to do more experiments . ”


  “Yes, we do . However . . . ”


  Chelsea looked at the Moon Surface Vehicle containing the three 1st Gens .

  “I don’t think we can conduct any further experiments . ”


  Sungyoon had the same thought .

  ‘We also have the extra burden that comes from lowering the overall number of Golems . ’


  They had cleared another labyrinth of Golems . If the loss of Golems called forth the attacks from monsters, Armstrong had just taken another step toward their own destruction .

  “We should head back . We won’t be able to conduct any further experiments at least for now . ”


  Chelsea walked toward her research team, and Sungyoon followed her . After a while, they withdrew from the labyrinth . Several Moon Surface Vehicles drove across the surface of the Moon . Sungyoon decided to hitch a ride on one of the vehicles containing the researchers . He looked out the window to kill the time as the gray surface of the Moon passed by at high speeds .

  “Hoo-ahhhhhhhhm!”


  Chelsea let out a big yawn next to him . She stretched her arms as her mouth fell open .

  “Ooooh . This is so uncomfortable . ”


  She had taken off her helmet, but she was still wearing her spacesuit . After trying moving every which way, she still failed to create more space within the spacesuit . So she gave up trying to get more comfortable .

  Soon, the sound of quiet even breaths came out of her body . She had fallen asleep from all the exhaustion .

  Toohk!

  Her head fell on Sungyoon’s shoulder, spreading her golden hair on him .

  Sungyoon looked down at her .

  “Mmm . Mmm-nyaa~!”


  It seemed Chelsea liked the feel of Sungyoon’s shoulder as she clutched at Sungyoon’s arm and leaned onto him . Sungyoon looked at her for a brief moment, then moved his gaze out the window once again .

  For a while, he could only feel the unpleasant vibration of the vehicle .

  After some time . . .

  “Ooh~ Mmm . ”


  Chelsea’s eyes slowly opened . As she wiped away the drool around her mouth, she froze . Her round eyes stared at Sungyoon and rolled around to assess her current situation . Realizing it, she quickly parted from him in surprise .

  “Ah . I’m, I’m sorry!”


  “It’s fine . ”


  Chelsea’s face turned red when she saw a large drool spot on Sungyoon’s shoulder .

  “Oh, oh no! What should I do about this!”


  She desperately tried to look for her handkerchief, but her tight spacesuit didn’t allow for any items like a handkerchief .

  “It’s fine . ”


  Sungyoon was about to calm down the flustered Chelsea when he stopped . He had caught sight of something outside the opposite window . Instinctively, he injected his magical energy in his Gem to check what it was .

  His senses sharpened, and he recognized the object .

  ‘Arrow?’


  However, it was too late to take action against it .

  Sungyoon grabbed Chelsea’s hand and pulled her in toward him . Chelsea was taken aback as her face turned red . However, without hesitating for even a moment, Sungyoon summoned his armor and raised his shield .

  He caught sight of Chelsea’s helmet, so he picked it up and yelled .

  “Everyone, seal your space suit and get down!”


  The arrow flew true as it pierced the Moon Surface Vehicle .

  In a flash . . .

  Boom!

  The space sucked all the air inside the vehicle with a screaming sound . The impact ripped the Moon Surface Vehicle apart like paper, and its pieces were sent flying across the surface of the Moon .

  The other Moon Surface Vehicles around them came to a stop .

  Sungyoon stood atop the surface of the Moon . His face hardened as he looked at his surroundings . The Moon Surface Vehicle he had been riding until a moment ago had become a wreck of flesh, blood, and organs .

  ‘There are no other survivors . ’


  Sungyoon found that the only Chelsea and him and survived . He looked at Chelsea, who remained in his arms . She was surprised, but that wasn’t the only reason why she was pale . Sungyoon quickly put the helmet over her head .

  “Ha-ah! Ha-ah! Ha-ah!”


  Chelsea rapidly breathed .

  ‘Will she be ok?’


  Although it had been very brief, Chelsea had been exposed to space, and she was a normal human .

  ‘Are you ok?’


  Without his helmet, Sungyoon couldn’t talk to her, so he used hand gestures . Chelsea nodded as she hadn’t suffered any lasting damage .

  The other Connectors exited their vehicles . One of them, who was acquainted with Sungyoon, moved his mouth . Sungyoon could guess that the man was asking what had happened, so he pointed toward the direction the arrow had come from .

  The Connectors turned their heads, and they flinched at what they saw . An unknown group of attackers had suddenly appeared on the surface of the Moon . They were clad in armor that covered their entire body and face . Since they freely operated on the surface of the Moon, it was obvious that they were a group of Connectors .

  Suddenly, Sungyoon’s eyes picked up something once again .

  ‘Another arrow!’


  Shielding Chelsea, Sungyoon raised his hammer . The arrow had been shot from a long distance, so he still had time . However, the arrow was flying at incredible speed . Sungyoon didn’t want Chelsea to suffer from the secondary effect of the attack, so he charged toward the arrow and swung his hammer .

  Kwahhhng!

  An explosion followed .

  ‘Koo-oohk!’


  Sungyoon retreated a couple of steps .

  It was merely an arrow, yet the power behind it was immense .

  ‘Is it . . . vibrating?’


  Sungyoon opened and closed his hands to get rid of the tingling numbness . He looked around . None of his ambushers held a bow . His gaze went beyond them, but he still failed to spot the archer . He used his sight enhancing magic, yet the result was the same .

  ‘Someone is sniping me from a great distance . Even the eyes of a Connector failed to spot the person?’


  The ambushers started to charge toward Sungyoon and his group . The latter raised their weapons as a response .

  Sungyoon gestured Chelsea to retreat toward the rear, then charged forward with his shield and ax in hand . As he reached the approaching group, he swung his ax toward his nearest enemy .

  A heavy sensation ran up his hand as his opponent’s large shield blocked the attack . However, the opponent was inferior in terms of strength and was pushed back . Sungyoon didn’t give the person any time to regroup .

  He unsummoned his ax and shield, and brought out the halberd . Before his opponent could get back into his defensive posture, Sungyoon stabbed him . His opponent’s movements became undisciplined, and he quickly brought up his shield to block the halberd . As a result, he lost his balance for a split second .

  When the halberd was about to hit the shield, Sungyoon unsummoned it and changed his weapon to his hammer .

  His opponent had expected the impact from the halberd, so his movement came to a brief halt .

  Sungyoon struck the shield with his hammer . A soundless explosion followed, and his opponent completely lost his balance . The halberd once again made its appearance, and Sungyoon hooked the halberd behind his opponent’s leg . The ambusher fell to the ground, and his upper body became exposed .

  Sungyoon took up his ax to apply the finishing blow . However, as he was about to swing it, something caused him to twist his upper body . A spear had flown in from the side, and its blade brushed past Sungyoon’s helmet .

  ‘Shit!’


  Sungyoon glared at the enemy who had interrupted him from the side . This second attacker’s face was hidden by a helmet, but his appearance was malicious . Sungyoon swung his ax toward this person, but the ax hit nothing as the second attacker twisted his upper body to dodge it .

  Sungyoon let go of the ax, and due to its momentum, the ax continued on its path . At the same time, the hammer appeared . Sungyoon’s second attacker had been solely focused on the ax, so he looked taken aback .

  A soundless explosion occurred once again .

  The second attacker was sent flying to the side, and his upended figure landed on the surface of the Moon . His left arm, which had received the impact of the hammer, was bent at an odd angle .

  However, Sungyoon once again couldn’t land the finishing blow as an arrow flew toward him . His eyes looked beyond to see where the archer was located .

  ‘That bastard is stealthily focusing his attack on me . ’


  Sungyoon defended the attack of another ambusher .

  ‘No . It isn’t just the archer . ’


  The ambushers were grouped up in a way that made it clear Sungyoon was their primary target .

  However . . .

  ‘They are beginners when it comes to fighting other humans . ’


  Fighting monsters and fighting humans were two completely different things . It wasn’t just the ambushers . Sungyoon’s comrades looked clumsy when fighting other humans too .

  Sungyoon was used to fighting against other humans now, and he pushed down on the bitterness caused by this fact . His side was doing a little better . After all, these Connectors were elites handpicked by Armstrong .

  However, the arrows that came flying toward them at regular intervals was a problem . Whenever a Connector blocked the arrow with his shield, his movement became slower, as the powerful vibration induced numbness in their muscles .

  Sungyoon blocked the sword coming at his neck .

  ‘Damn it!’


  He ground his teeth . The arrows were very annoying .

  Sungyoon’s side slowly started to gain an advantage over the ambushers . After a while, the ambushers decided tp retreat, and at the same time, the barrage of arrows became fiercer .

  It was clear that their opponents had called a general retreat .

  ‘We don’t need to chase after them . ’


  Sungyoon watched the ambushers turn around in ones and twos . If he could have his way, he wanted to capture one of them for interrogation . However, he had to protect some people at the moment .

  ‘It could be a trap too . ’


  Unfortunately, some of the Connectors in his party didn’t share the same view .

  ‘Wait!’


  Sungyoon reflexively yelled at the couple of Connectors trying to chase after the ambushers . Of course, they couldn’t hear him .

  ‘Shit . ’


  He gestured the remaining Connectors to protect the researchers, then took off .

  ‘I’m not going to go too far . ’


  He planned on catching up with the Connectors to tell them to stop chasing the ambushers . If they ignored his order, it couldn’t be helped and he would pull back . They would have to face the consequence of their own actions .

  However, in front of his eyes, a phantom suddenly appeared on the surface of the Moon .

  A sword literally emerged out of the ground, and the phantom swung it toward a Connector chasing after the ambushers . The Connector quickly raised his shield, but the powerful attack sent him flying .

  The arrow didn’t miss such easy prey .

  Puh-uhng!

  That was the sound that would have rung out if air existed in space . The arrow connected with the body of the Connector and exploded it . Since the Connector was wearing armor, his flesh couldn’t explode outward . However, blood seeped out through the gaps in the armor, and one could tell what had happened by the sight of it .

  The other Connectors chasing after the ambushers came to a stop . It was the same for Sungyoon, whose eyes had widened . However, the reason for the shock he felt was different than that for others .

  His eyes gazed at the man clad in black armor and a black cape . A black greatsword graced his hands . It looked as if this man was obsessed with the color black, and in some ways, it completely contrasted in color with Sungyoon’s gear .

  Surprisingly, Sungyoon knew that armor . In the past, a proud Jimin had shown him a picture, where her younger self was standing next to a figure . The armor worn by the figure in that picture was similar to the one in front of Sungyoon’s eyes now .

  ‘.…… Hahn Jungbum?