Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Now Who's the Prey? (3)
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"Just like I said earlier, I was trying to think of it as us getting revenge for them."
A bit of leeway had opened up.
The battle was over, and no monster presences could be felt nearby.
It seemed the explosion had swept away all the trash mobs, allowing them to rest relatively comfortably.
"Those two. They might've killed a lot of other explorers besides us, right? They didn't seem like rookies at this."
"Probably. There must've been others who suffered before us."
"So, we might've avenged the grudge of all those people who had to die like that."
Regen, who had been listening quietly, let out a hollow laugh.
It was just like Mannan to think that way.
Well, it had been the obvious choice if they wanted to survive.
'But that's not enough to ease his mind, I guess.'
On top of that, he seemed to be aligning it with the ethics a human should uphold.
"Anyway, that's what I meant. Don't feel too guilty about it, Regen."
"......"
"You probably didn't make the decision lightly either. I feel bad for putting it so harshly."
Crackle. Crackle.
Mannan said as he tossed more wood onto the fire.
"......"
Regen sipped the tea he'd warmed over the flames and thought.
'Was he saying that for my sake?'
Another hollow laugh escaped him.
He'd thought Mannan was saying it to keep himself from breaking down.
'He must've seen my expression and gotten worried.'
An unexpected encouragement at an unexpected time.
Maybe because he'd drunk the nicely warmed tea, his overheated head seemed to cool slightly.
"Honestly... it doesn't sit right with me."
Regen blurted it out.
"You looked like it. You were trying so hard to hide it, but it showed. Don't suffer alone—talk to me. What's a friend for?"
"Friend...? That's cringey, man."
"What? Why? Why's friend cringey?"
No, less cringey and more guilty.
The outside was Regen, but inside was Park Jin-seong from Earth.
That word still carried a twinge of guilt.
"It's not that cringey... whatever, forget it. Instead of this, shouldn't we grab their bags too?"
"Huh?"
"Let's go full steam ahead this time. Earlier, we only took the gear off their bodies, right?"
Mannan shook off his unease and shifted his gaze to the bags at the campsite.
It was support for Regen's judgment, and a sign that he himself was changing his mindset.
The two bags left by Clark and Helena came into view.
"...Hey. There's a ton of stuff. And different gear too."
"......"
"Looks like they looted a bunch from others before we showed up."
The bags were stuffed with miscellaneous items.
Proof that they'd done quite a bit of plundering here.
"Let's see if there's anything useful."
The moment Regen reached in to check.
"...What the hell?"
Rustle.
His hand grasped an admission certificate.
Ones brought by the people they'd killed.
They'd been holding onto them, probably planning to dispose of them later.
"They killed this many?"
He'd figured it wasn't just one or two, but this many?
A total of thirteen certificates came out of the bag.
If two were the ones they themselves used to enter... that meant they'd taken at least eleven lives here.
'Beyond the ones these bastards killed, there are probably more victims here. This...'
He couldn't help but consider the worst-case scenario.
"...Holy shit."
Regen's pupils began to tremble.
Those two lowlifes had claimed eleven lives.
"...Fuck."
The tension that had loosened while sitting and resting returned all at once. Sweat trickled down Regen's back.
"Mannan."
"Yeah?"
"Pack up and let's move."
"...Why?"
The 4th floor had a hidden pattern.
Honestly, he hadn't thought the conditions would be met.
'Fifteen deaths trigger the awakening and activity of the 4th floor's hidden monster.'
A pattern requiring fifteen deaths, hard to fulfill under normal circumstances.
That's why he'd put that info out of mind... but now it flashed rapidly through Regen's head.
If these guys really killed thirteen people.
"Werewolf..."
"What? Werewolf? Why them?"
"......"
"You said we could avoid them if we were careful. What's the problem?"
Regen shook off the mounting tension and continued.
"...Its superior form, the Lycanthrope. That could awaken."
The worst-case scenario.
If the possibility was high.
'We need to prepare as much as possible.'
A truly nasty bastard that emerged when the hidden pattern was fulfilled.
If it had awakened, survival could be tough.
* * *
Werewolf.
A ferocious creature walking on two legs with a muscular build like a human.
The monster on the 4th floor, called a wall of tears for beginners.
'Even those guys are tricky enough.'
The problem was that the 4th floor had something even worse than werewolves.
"...Lycanthrope?"
"Yeah."
"That evolved form of the werewolf...? Why would that suddenly appear here?"
"According to the book, it awakens when enough people die on the 4th floor... It hides normally and starts moving when it smells blood."
Manna's pupils shook violently.
He might not know the details about Lycanthropes, but he knew their infamous reputation.
"I heard Lycanthropes are on par with 3rd-stage monsters. Regen, if what you're saying is true..."
Gulp.
Swallowing hard, Mannan asked Regen.
"We can't take a Lycanthrope, right?"
"...Yeah."
"...Then we gotta head to the 5th floor right now, don't we?"
"Right."
Regen nodded.
There was no other way.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no way to beat a Lycanthrope.
'Of all things... these crazy bastards went on a rampage looting without end.'
His resentment naturally turned toward the two plunderers.
If they hadn't killed so many people... they never would've encountered a Lycanthrope.
But the two had already taken many lives.
The conditions for the Lycanthrope's appearance were aligning perfectly.
"T-then let's hurry. I heard once that thing starts chasing, it's hard to escape."
"Yeah. We need to hustle, but..."
As Regen spoke, he perked up his ears, focusing on the sounds around them.
'No howling yet.'
Its emergence required at least fifteen corpses piled up on the 4th floor.
The situation fit, so it would appear soon.
But its howling hadn't reached them yet.
"We've got some time to prepare, at least."
"What?"
"I heard it lets out a howl once it starts moving. And... that sound is so loud, it echoes across the entire 4th floor."
Regen's mind raced.
In a situation where it might awaken, the way to maximize survival chances.
It popped into his head.
"Use the corpses."
"Use them how?"
"Turn them into bait to lure it. Once it activates... make it go after the corpses first instead of us."
They needed to buy as much time as possible.
"Then we bolt straight for the teleport stone. No breaks."
* * *
"...You think it'll really come for the corpses?"
"Probably."
He couldn't be sure.
How much time leaving the corpses would buy, even Regen didn't know.
"We have to use every trick we can right now."
"......"
"Ever heard the nickname 'Forest Tyrant'?"
"Forest Tyrant... you mean Ogre? Why bring that up?"
"Right. The Ogre got that nickname for its insane destructive power and vicious temper. So, do you know what the Lycanthrope is called?"
"No idea. It has a nickname too?"
Regen recalled a post on the community forums.
It was around the time info on Lycanthropes started spreading.
Yeah.
When the hidden monster was discovered by chance, tons of users had gone crazy researching counters.
'That's when I learned about the nicknames high-floor NPCs commonly use in DAT.'
"The Forest Glutton. Glutton."
"Huh?"
"...What kind of nickname is that? Does it eat all day? Or gorge itself in one go?"
"Both."
It was a literal glutton.
Eating all day. And eating massive amounts.
"What, is there really a monster like that?"
"They say it's because of the moonlight. This floor always... has a full moon."
The 4th floor, eternally under moonlight.
Perfect conditions for werewolves, and especially for those hypersensitive to it.
Those types absorbed endless moonlight, growing abnormally strong into Lycanthropes.
'And to maintain those grown muscles, they developed insane appetites.'
If food was scarce nearby, it would hibernate long-term, minimizing energy use.
So it was really, really hard to encounter one under normal circumstances.
'But over fifteen lives got snuffed out on this floor. That blood scent must've stimulated it.'
Damn.
How nice it would be if an alert message popped up.
【A bloodthirsty being awakens.】
In the game, exactly at fifteen deaths, this message would appear.
No need to speculate and tense up like this.
When that message popped, you'd just start preparing immediately.
'...No such messages appear here. We have to judge and react in advance.'
Regen spread the two corpses appropriately around the campsite.
Hoping the scent would draw it here, he also scattered chunks of monster meat nearby.
"Let's head out now."
Please.
Even one minute here distracted would help.
With that hope, Regen and Mannan's gazes turned to the forest's edge.
Where the teleport stone was.
The only way to the 5th floor.
'Based on our speed so far, it'll take ten minutes of running.'
Before it chased them down. They had to reach the 5th floor teleport stone.
If they didn't leave the 4th floor, it would pursue relentlessly.
* * *
Thud thud thud!!
Regen and Mannan's footsteps echoed without pause.
They had to escape the 4th floor. With that single-minded drive, they'd run nonstop for nearly ten minutes.
"...Huff! Huff!!"
It wasn't easy. Their breaths came ragged, heavy legs screaming in protest.
Their classes were mages to begin with, so stamina-wise, they couldn't compare to other jobs.
On top of that, they hadn't properly rested in days.
Sleep-deprived. Barely eating.
And moreover.
"...Flame!!"
Sizzle!!
They kept burning mana to suppress the ghouls they encountered along the way.
Mana was like mental strength for a mage.
The more you used, the dizzier you got.
"...Huff!!"
The two poured in stamina and mental strength.
Everything they had, sprinting toward the 5th floor.
'Just a bit... should we rest a little?'
The thought crossed his mind as his breath reached his limit.
―Awooooooo!!
"Regen, that was just..."
"Yeah. It's him."
A wolf's howl.
But far rougher and more savage, slamming into their ears.
The clear howl rang in Regen and Mannan's ears.
'Lycanthrope...!!'
It had awakened.
The air's flow shifted, hitting their bodies.
'The mana flow... it's changed weirdly.'
As mages, they could sense ambient mana to some degree.
The flows tangled chaotically.
Like the atmosphere converging before a massive storm.
―Awooooooo!!!!
The whole forest announced the Lycanthrope's awakening.
Goosebumps erupted across their skin.
That thunderous, murderous voice filling the entire 4th floor made their bodies react.
'...This forest's ruler.'
A howl that brought overwhelming helplessness.
So overpowering in raw strength through sound alone, it made them want to drop everything and give up.
...Was running even pointless now?
Slap!!
'Snap out of it.'
Regen slapped his own cheek.
He knew why his strength was draining.
Its passive skill, Intimidation, had activated.
In the game, a message like this would've popped up.
【Character loses the will to fight!】
A kind of debuff.
It auto-triggered with overwhelming level gaps.
Boss monsters like this came with it standard.
It had frustrated him endlessly during gameplay.
You're a character who entered the tower prepared to die—why does one intimidation drop your stats?
'...Turns out it wasn't a joke system.'
Experiencing it firsthand, it made sense.
Rest? Give up?
Shaking off the countless whispers inside, Regen shouted.
"...Mannan!"
"Huff! Yeah!?"
"Keep running!"
"Got it...!!"
They had to run.
Ignoring their bodies' screams, they moved their legs.