Chapter 154
“Groooh?”
The undead mastodon that had been thundering forward came to an abrupt stop.
Its merciless charge halted as if struck by lightning—
or as though it had been doused in ice water.
Its whole body flinched violently before freezing in place.
“…Groooh?”
Normally, undead felt no fear.
No matter how strong the foe, they attacked without hesitation or doubt.
That was their greatest strength.
But now—
The undead mastodon felt unmistakable fear.
All because of the human before it.
Lloyd sat calmly on the ground, eyes open and steady.
The moment their gazes met—
Ding-dong.
[Mana Heart Skill Option ④ : Undead Domination has been activated.]
A new message appeared before Lloyd’s eyes—
Like an unexpected gift,
like a symbol of glory for one who had endured a great trial.
A surge of system messages filled part of his vision.
[Your Mana Heart has absorbed and successfully refined a massive amount of corrupted energy during Trance. This extraordinary experience grants your skill a new unique option.]
[Skill Option ④ : Undead Domination – You may control undead beings whose mana reserves are lower than yours for a limited time. The duration depends on the mana comparison between you and the target. During domination, all controlled undead will obey your every command. However, the undead will only remain loyal while maintaining direct eye contact with you. Once this condition ends, they will immediately become hostile. No limit to the number of targets. Can be used once per day.]
‘Just like the message says.’
Lloyd recalled the moment.
It had happened right after [Rapid Recharge].
He had felt the chaos around him.
Then he opened his eyes—
And saw the undead mastodon charging toward him.
At first, he’d tried to stand and dodge.
But then the new message appeared.
[Undead Domination activated.]
The moment he read it, his eyes met the lead mastodon’s.
And right then—
The undead beast froze in terror.
Its expression was like that of a student who’d borrowed money, vanished for a week, and was suddenly caught by his lender in the cafeteria.
In short—it panicked.
‘So basically, because I absorbed so much undead mana through Rapid Recharge, I gained a new skill that lets me control them for a while?’
That was the conclusion he reached.
And the sight of the halted undead mastodons before him proved it.
‘Hah. I wasn’t counting on such a sweet bonus.’
He had only used [Rapid Recharge] as the best option to block their charge in this narrow canyon.
But to gain a skill like this on top of it—
‘And my rank even advanced to Intermediate Expert.’
He could feel the difference.
The vitality surging through his body was unbelievable.
Compared to when he was a lower-tier Expert, it felt like he’d gone from a skinny beginner at the gym to a heavy lifter pressing five hundred kilos.
‘It’s like finding a forgotten fifty-thousand-won bill in my winter coat pocket.’
But this wasn’t the time to celebrate.
His gaze dropped to the bottom of the message window.
There it showed the remaining time for his newly activated skill.
[Currently Dominated Undead : 108]
[Time Remaining : 4m 58s… 4m 57s…]
There were 108 undead mastodons still in the canyon.
Barely under five minutes left.
‘Not much time. If only the duration were longer, I could use zombies or skeletons as free labor.’
Maybe that could even become reality someday.
But for now—
This wasn’t the moment to waste a single second.
Lloyd stood immediately.
He kept his gaze locked on the undead, careful not to break line of sight, and backed away.
He reached Ppodong and the five baby mastodons.
“Are you all okay?”
“Ppodong!”
“Pwaaeeh!”
“Good. That’s a relief. You were scared, huh?”
“Ppodong! Ppodong!”
“Oh? You were hugging them to keep them safe?”
“Ppodong!”
“Well done.”
Apparently, while he’d been in trance using [Rapid Recharge], Ppodong had embraced the five young mastodons to protect them.
Lloyd kept his eyes fixed on the frozen undead herd as he spoke.
“Alright. We’re getting out of here. Listen carefully.”
“Ppodong!”
“Pwaaeeeh!”
“We’ll run across their backs to reach the canyon exit. No time for questions.”
“…Ppodong!”
“Pwaaeh!”
They seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.
Without hesitation, they nodded.
Lloyd gave quick instructions.
“Ppodong, you’ll carry me. The five babies—grab each other’s tails with your trunks. Like a train. Got it? Good. Hold tight until we’re clear.”
“Pwaaeeeh!”
The canyon was blocked by the undead herd.
They had less than five minutes.
The only option was to cross over their backs before the domination ended.
“Let’s move!”
“Ppodong!”
“Pwaaeh!”
Time left: four minutes, twenty-six seconds.
Ppodong and the five baby mastodons kicked off the ground.
Lloyd shouted at the undead herd.
“All of you, kneel!”
Zzzzt!
His command reverberated like a mental shockwave.
The reaction was instant.
“…Groooh!”
The lead undead mastodon faltered, then bent its forelegs, then its hindlegs—lowering its massive body as far as possible.
It bowed its head.
Its thick trunk extended forward, forming a perfect step.
“Go, quickly!”
“Ppodong!”
“Pwaaeeeh!”
They climbed onto the first mastodon’s back and looked ahead.
“…Groooh!”
Over a hundred undead mastodons filled the canyon in a line.
“Let’s gooo!”
They ran.
Clack-clack-clack!
Over the first one’s back.
Kicking off the second’s head.
Springing from the third’s rump.
But then—
“Groooh!”
Each mastodon they stepped on suddenly stirred.
As soon as they passed over one, it jerked up violently, snarling in rage.
The reason was simple.
‘Just like the skill description said—once eye contact is broken, control ends.’
Since Lloyd was facing forward on Ppodong’s back, he was no longer maintaining eye contact with those behind.
They immediately reverted to their original state.
But he couldn’t turn around either—
If he did, the ones still ahead would rise up too.
That left only one choice.
“Run! Faster!”
“Ppodong!”
“Pwaaeeeh!”
Realizing the situation, Ppodong pushed himself even harder.
His chubby sides jiggled, his round backside bounced, his little limbs blurred as he sprinted with all his might.
The babies behind him were nearly airborne, bouncing in a line.
“Pwaaeeeh!”
The first, gripping Ppodong’s tail with its trunk, cried out but held on even tighter.
The second, third, fourth, and youngest did the same—
Trusting their siblings, gripping tightly, not letting go.
Because of that, none of them fell behind.
“Good! Keep going! Run, Ppodong!”
“Ppodong!”
Time remaining: three minutes, twenty-five seconds.
Lloyd quickly calculated.
‘About fifty left. We’ve passed halfway. It took one minute to get this far. If we keep this pace, we’ll make it easily.’
He felt a spark of hope.
A clear path to survival.
He encouraged his loudly.
“Great job, Ppodong! Just a little more!”
“Ppodong! Huff, huff!”
“Kids in the back! Don’t let go of the tails!”
“Pwaaeh!”
Perfect.
Everything was going well.
They just had to keep running.
“Go!”
“Ppodong!”
They dashed even faster.
The number of mastodons ahead kept dropping—
Twenty. Fifteen. Eight. Five. Three. Two.
Finally, they leapt over the last one.
Flash!
“Yes! The canyon exit’s ahead!”
“Ppodong!”
“Pwaaeeeh!”
By now, [Undead Domination] had completely ended.
Even if he turned around now, he couldn’t regain control.
‘Right, once a day max.’
All that was left was to run full speed.
Once they exited, he would blast the cliffside—
Trigger a landslide to bury the undead herd for good.
He finalized the plan in his mind.
Then spurred Ppodong forward.
They sprinted through the narrow path—
Leaping over a stream, turning several bends.
In the distance, the canyon’s exit appeared.
Hope gleamed bright.
They were almost free.
At least, that’s what he thought.
“Groooh!”
Fwoooosh!
A harsh roar split the air.
Something was flying from behind.
“What—!?”
Lloyd instinctively ducked.
Wham!
Something massive and black swept past overhead.
“A rock?”
It was a boulder nearly three meters wide.
One of the mastodons must’ve hurled it with its trunk.
‘If that hit me, I’d be meeting my ancestors right now.’
Cold sweat dripped down his face.
But a moment later—
He realized his relief had come too soon.
The huge rock that had just flown past him—
Was now spinning toward the canyon wall like a thrown spear.
‘…Wait.’
It hit.
BOOM!
The entire canyon shook.
KWA-A-A-AANG!
The impact echoed violently through the narrow gorge.
The cliff trembled.
A chilling sensation crept up his spine.
‘No way…’
He quickly looked up and activated [Surveying].
And saw it.
‘Cracks… spreading through the cliff!’
Hairline fractures—
Growing larger by the second.
Goosebumps rose on his skin.
“Ppodong! Faster! As fast as you can!”
In that instant—
CRASH! BOOM!
A twisting rumble filled the air.
The cliff began to collapse.
The landslide had started.
“Damn it!”
BOOM! KWAANG!
Boulders crashed down from every direction.
They ran through the chaos—dodging, weaving, leaping desperately for life.
But it was no use.
‘No… there’s no way out!’
Darkness swallowed his vision.
His hands grew cold.
The canyon exit loomed ahead—
But every path toward it crumbled.
Everywhere he looked, rock and earth fell.
Tons upon tons of debris cascaded down.
Escape was impossible.
Even a blast wouldn’t help now.
‘Crushed to death? Seriously?’
He almost laughed.
‘Should’ve just run with the workers… Should’ve stayed safe instead of playing the hero.’
But it was far too late.
He lifted his head.
No sky above.
Only falling earth.
It was over.
“…I’m sorry, everyone.”
Accepting his fate, Lloyd spoke quietly.
Then—
Whip!
“…!”
Something white shot through the air.
It wrapped around his arms, legs, and body—sticky and strong.
Not just him.
“Ppodong?”
“Pwaaeh?”
Ppodong and the five baby mastodons were also ensnared before they could react.
All of them—bound in a white, web-like substance.
“This is… a spiderweb?”
Lloyd’s eyes widened.
And then—
A clear voice rang down from above.
“Ggoming—!”
Lirigzon Gashi
Thank you !
Hello!
I was very happy to find this novel translated here (first time on this website) – but I can see it’s only from chapter 260?
Are the rest of the chapters translated elsewhere? Or are you considering translating them as well but later?
Thank you for what you’ve shared so far!
Hi! Thank you for the kind words! I really appreciated it 🙂
Yes, dont worry. I will be working on the earlier chapters once we completed the whole novel. We have about 40 chapters left more or less.
Thank you for the translate, But if you plan to add chapters before 260 I would be grateful
Don’t worry! I will. Once we finish the novel, I will upload the earlier chapters.
Thank you😍
Hi! Wanted to say thank you for your(person/team?)for translating, really appreciate it. You(singular/plural?) are the only one(s) I found that did proper translation for this series that is not paywalled like hell. I also wanted to ask what are the usual dates you release translations? Thank you very much for your work
Are you translating it yourself or is it a machine translation? Since I will be translating it into Turkish with Google Translate to read, it will be very complicated if it is a machine translation.
im using AI to translate it then I proofread once done to make sure the flow of the story is still there
Hi, really appreciate your guys work. Do not want to sound needy, but wanted to ask. How soon will you guys finish the series, now that I am so close to the end my blood is boiling to read the rest!
5 more weeks and we are through! we only have 26 chapters left from the raw material.
what happened to chapter 93 and beyond?
i started the translation of this novel from chapter 260 (mermaid arc) because that was the current arc in the manhwa at that time and finished it till the last chapter which is chapter 408. what you are seeing now are the updates from chapter 1 to the current chapter. i am consistently uploading chapters 2x a week every tuesdays and thursdays. we will eventually get there in time, dont worry!