Chapter 146
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: The Tattoo Mystery and Jamsil's Zombies
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Putting together everything that happened to Seo-yun, I'd come to one conclusion.
The pattern I'd engraved on her, thinking it was just a simple womb tattoo, might actually be a magic circle rune I didn't know about.
You might wonder why I wouldn't know that, but just as languages have commonly used expressions and ones that existed in the past but vanished from use, magic circles could have runes that were used at first but are no longer in practice today.
And when I learned about magic circles in that other world, I never got taught about those obsolete runes, so I had no clue.
Otherwise, simply injecting demonic energy into some random pattern wouldn't produce any effect.
"So, when you put demonic energy into it, what happened?"
"My body suddenly got hot, my head started hurting, and all the strength drained out of me. I realized something was wrong and quickly pulled back the demonic energy, but..."
"By then, you'd already lost so much strength that you passed out?"
Seo-yun nodded at my words.
"From what you've told me, I have no idea what kind of magic it is. There's no way a magic circle that causes harmful effects on a normal person's body would exist. Ah, so that's why it's an unused rune?"
But there wouldn't be any reason to create a rune like that in the first place.
It must have had some use, which is why it was made into a magic circle rune and employed.
I just had no clue what that effect was.
And speaking of coincidences, it was amazing that it matched her womb tattoo exactly.
How does something like this even happen?
"For now, since we don't know what effect it has, don't inject demonic energy into it anymore. No more collapsing like you did just now."
"Yes, Master. I was just curious, but I won't do it again. Promise."
"Good. We'll figure it out together later. We can experiment when I'm there with you."
Even if I didn't know the effect, if I supported her and watched closely from the side, I could probably figure it out.
"Anyway, putting that aside, is everything else okay? I engraved magic circles all over your body yesterday."
Seo-yun listened, then raised her arm and looked over her body.
"Other than collapsing just now, nothing's wrong. Thank you so much, Master. Thanks to you, those awful scars I hated are almost gone. It feels like I've been reborn."
After checking herself over and confirming nothing was amiss, Seo-yun bowed at a perfect ninety degrees in gratitude.
"No need to thank me. This much is just service for my disciple. Besides, I have plenty of tasks for you, so this is my investment."
"Yeah, Yejin unnie told me. You like useful people, oppa. I'll study black magic really hard! So I can be a big help to you, Master."
"Don't just say it—level up your skills already. And what about the scars on your face? Planning to erase them after revenge?"
Seo-yun, who had been smiling brightly at me, turned serious as I mentioned her facial scars and revenge.
"Yes. After I get revenge on Joo Hye-ri, I'll wipe everything clean like settling accounts. I'll ask you again then."
"Got it. Rest up a bit, then practice controlling your demonic energy. I think I'm ready to teach you Mana Drain soon. Once you learn that, you'll pull your own weight."
With that, I headed out to tackle the day's tasks.
Recently, I'd burned through a ton of coins, so I needed to farm more. Plus, I had to run through dungeons nonstop to raise the difficulty faster.
The sooner I cranked up the dungeon difficulty for better rewards, the bigger the payoff.
And who knows, I might snag some great loot along the way.
Just as I was stepping outside, I felt a tug on my clothes.
I turned immediately to see Seo-yun reaching out, grabbing my collar to stop me.
"What? More to say?"
I thought we'd covered everything.
Seo-yun's face flushed red—embarrassed, maybe?—as she bowed her head. She mumbled in a tiny voice.
"T-today... please..."
It was so quiet, like in manga where the guy pretends not to hear the girl. I genuinely couldn't make it out.
"What? Didn't hear a thing."
When I asked again, she kept her head down but mumbled a bit louder.
"Have sex with me tonight!"
"What? Sex?"
Never expected to hear that straight from Seo-yun.
But hey, no reason to refuse.
Sex is fun for me anyway.
And doing it with Seo-yun had its own unique flavor.
"Alright. I'll come to your room tonight, so get ready."
"Y-yes!"
Hearing my answer, Seo-yun lifted her head with a bright voice. Guess the idea of sex with me excited her that much.
Yejin had given me a heads-up, but I didn't realize she was this hooked.
If I was meeting her tonight for sex anyway, investigating that womb tattoo during it sounded good.
I was getting curious myself about what function that rune served in black magic.
With our plans set, I headed outside.
The place was bustling with people hard at work.
"Awake, sir?"
"Yeah, keep up the good work."
They were loading stuff into vehicles, so it looked like they were heading out far today.
"Planning to take the cars out today? How far?"
"Was just coming to report, sir. We've cleared around here and were thinking of scouting toward Jamsil."
"Jamsil? What's suddenly over there?"
Jamsil came out of nowhere, so I asked why.
Ha Dong-seok's personality meant he'd handle minor stuff without reporting to me. If he was coming to tell me personally, it had to be important.
"A few of my men went farther out recently to gather intel. They said something's up in Jamsil."
"Something? Confirmed what exactly?"
"Not sure why, but a massive horde of zombies is gathered inside Jamsil Gymnasium. Including mutants."
What the hell?
Zombies spawned daily, but their locations were random.
Otherwise, we'd camp spawn points or set traps and wipe them out at dawn.
To prevent that, zombies popped randomly. So why were they clustered in a gym?
If not natural, there was only one answer.
"Someone gathered them there, huh?"
"Yes. Figured we'd check it out and see who's doing it and why."
Killing zombies earned coins, which powered up skills to get stronger. That was the world's rule now.
Zombies were basically walking money.
If you were too weak to handle them, that was one thing. But any decent Awakener survivor wasn't that fragile.
So why gather them instead of killing?
No special reason, no point.
This got me insanely curious.
"You guys handle clearing the area. I'll check Jamsil."
"Pardon? You'll go yourself, sir? No, we should scout first since intel's thin and report back."
"Why? Worried about danger?"
"You play a huge role in our survival, sir. We think it's safer if we confirm first and you go only when it's secure."
Ha Dong-seok had a point.
With power and water cut off, without me, securing them would be tough, and safe bases wouldn't exist.
Plus, my stockpiled food meant no meals to worry about.
I covered most survival basics—food, clothes, shelter. If something happened to me, it'd be chaos for everyone here.
But he was overlooking one thing.
"Hey, who's worrying about who?"
"Sir?"
"You think I'm weak enough to need your worry? Sorry, but nothing you imagine is a problem for me."
Ha Dong-seok sighed, then smiled faintly.
"True enough. You've always exceeded expectations..."
"Don't sweat that. You focus on your jobs. Unknown stuff? I can handle it solo. If you go and screw up, it hurts me too."
Feeding, housing, spending coins on them—if they died somewhere stupid, I'd lose my investment.
Better I check dangers myself. Way more stable.
With black magic, I could bulldoze through anything.
Plus, a zombie horde? If Ha Dong-seok's crew cleared it, they'd get coins but no demonic energy.
Me going solo? Coins and demonic energy, best of both.
All factors pointed to me going alone being way more profitable.
"Understood, sir. We'll clear the area and farm coins. We'll report any updates."
"Good. Keep it up. Jamsil's mine."
Ha Dong-seok bowed and headed to his men.
Now, off to Jamsil?
Wonder what's waiting for me there.