Chapter 190
Chapter 190
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Chapter 35: The Traitor (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I stopped staring at the timer that had started counting down second by second again and pulled out a new potion.
When I sprinkled it on the wound, sure enough, the timer stopped decreasing and began to increase.
‘Using a high-grade potion buys me about four or five more minutes, huh.’
Just in case, I tried a low-grade potion, and the timer’s fluctuation dropped to around one minute.
Once I’d figured out the cause, I immediately attempted Purification.
The level of my growth-type Purification trait, granted only to Alpha ranks, was currently 3.
‘The only new message when it leveled up was that the purification range would expand.’
Compared to level 2, when the target had expanded to include others, the description had clearly changed.
But even though it had been quite a while since it leveled up, I still had no idea what “range” actually meant.
「Contaminant detected.」
「Purifying contaminant.」
「Purification rate 0.10%」
「Purification rate 0.12%」
「Purification rate 0.18%」
….
It was only today that the mystery was solved.
I felt my mouth go dry in an instant.
If the Purification trait had still been stuck at level 2, purifying the contaminant would have been impossible.
‘Level 2 had a clear additional effect back then.’
So, purifying this contaminant must be the effect of level 3.
Once my thoughts reached that point, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the words in front of me.
‘Forced shutdown….’
I’d bet my entire fortune that it was a death sentence.
‘If I hadn’t raised Purification to level 3….’
I would have had to live with that timer ticking down every day, extending my life with potions.
“Whew.”
The diligent past I’d built had overcome this chilling crisis, but it was too soon to relax.
‘Purification speed isn’t as fast as I’d hoped.’
It seemed to be because the thing that needed purifying was multiplying.
The purification process itself wasn’t all that smooth either.
At first, it felt like something was gently rubbing the inside of my skin.
But as the numbers climbed, it intensified, and once the purification rate passed 20%, it became outright pain.
When it exceeded 40%, it was hard to even stifle my groans.
“Urgh…!”
It felt like someone was scraping my soul clean.
Of course, I couldn’t just stop because it hurt.
I curled up on the floor, gritted my teeth, and continued the purification.
After the rate passed 50%, all my focus was on the purification.
The agonizing, nightmarish process finally ended a full sixteen minutes later.
The moment the warning vanished, I snapped my head up.
To check something I hadn’t had a chance to amid the sudden injury, infection, and purification.
Beyond the collapsed wall, where my spear had fallen, lay Jang Cheon-yu’s corpse, its neck half-torn off.
“Haa….”
Only after taking it in could I finally let out a sigh of relief.
‘Good.’
Just moments ago, that hand shooting out of thin air had fired the skewer before veering toward Jang Cheon-yu.
The motion had seemed almost like…
‘It was trying to grab him.’
It hadn’t happened now, and it was just my subjective judgment, so I couldn’t be certain.
But it felt less like slashing and more like trying to take him away.
Kidnapping? Or rescue? The answer would change a lot.
‘Whatever was beyond that rift was definitely a monster.’
I’d seen those bizarre, gleaming red eyes unique to those monsters.
And the black skewer that had been embedded in my gut until moments ago.
The thing that had lost its form and turned to liquid shortly after I pulled it out.
“Kerak….”
It was extremely similar to the thing embedded in Ahel’s body when I first met him.
Putting together the bits of information now in my hands led to an unwelcome hypothesis.
If that black hand’s goal hadn’t been kidnapping, but rescue…
‘There’s a traitor among the Players.’
The thought ignited a searing rage from deep in my chest, hot enough to burn me alive.
* * *
The moment K’s double barrier shattered, Lily held her breath and watched him intently as she used a new barrier stone.
“Kerak….”
A low, guttural voice came shortly after, and Lily shivered without meaning to.
She glanced up furtively to see K glaring murderously beyond the collapsed wall.
Lily forced her gaze downward, stealing another peek at K’s piercing wound, which hadn’t fully healed yet.
Staring at it brought the voice of the CIA director, Martin Eastner, spinning in her head.
- If he sustains a major injury in this battle…
Take him out.
‘Of course, only if there’s zero chance of failure.’
Martin had grown increasingly wary of K over time.
Despite several interactions, K had shown no friendliness toward America.
‘He’ll never side with the US.’
K insisted on neutrality—a powerful neutrality that was hard to touch carelessly.
As proof, he kept his distance even from his home country’s Korean government.
‘He’s open to cooperation out of necessity, but he won’t become a force to stand with us through life and death.’
Interpreted differently, that meant…
‘If he no longer needs us, or if things veer from what he wants, we could become enemies.’
Of course, one individual couldn’t topple a nation.
But they couldn’t afford to do nothing just because of that common sense.
K’s influence in the game was unrivaled.
‘Every Player knows who K is.’
A significant number had likely survived near-death crises or benefited thanks to him.
Meaning they probably harbored subconscious goodwill toward him.
‘His estimated fame is around 500,000.’
She’d estimated based on steady community posts and the list of missions he’d cleared.
Lily herself, as Player Association president, had 80,000 fame. Ethan, the European branch head, had just under 90,000.
Considering all three were beta testers, it was an enormous gap.
No other Player came close to K.
‘A truly one-of-a-kind existence.’
It wasn’t surprising that Martin had started feeling threatened by K’s influence.
And just now, the perfect opportunity to eliminate K had arisen.
But Lily Evans couldn’t bring herself to draw her blade on him.
Instead, she just glanced at the watch on her wrist.
‘Already 21 minutes….’
It had been well over twenty minutes since K pulled the skewer from his abdomen.
He’d used six potions, half of which went to stopping the bleeding early on, so they probably hadn’t affected the timer much.
It should be nearing the limit by now, but K showed no signs of anxiety.
Confirming it repeatedly, Lily clenched her fists tight and stole another glance at his profile.
‘As expected… Alphas can purify contaminants, huh?’
Her gaze then fell on the black liquid pooled on the floor.
The monsters called it kerak.
Lily had learned about it five days ago.
The cult had assembled a scouting party to investigate the next main scenario stage, and the association had sent Players along.
While the investigation team operated in Einz territory, the scouts headed to the contaminated zone.
Encountering an 8-star general-grade wasn’t planned.
But reports said they’d hunted it easily with the cult knights’ help.
However, when the scouting Players returned, an unexpected problem arose.
‘Players wounded by the 8-star general-grade’s kerak were infected.’
Biharians could treat such wounds with potions, regardless of size.
From minor scratches to severe punctures, four or five low-grade potions could stop the bleeding and allow natural recovery.
But for Players, it was entirely different.
Potions only extended the timer temporarily; they couldn’t heal naturally.
‘Even those with just a tiny scratch got the warning message.’
The moment a Player was wounded by the black weapon, infection and forced shutdown timer messages appeared.
‘They tried dozens, hundreds of potions on them.’
It was useless. The timer never extended beyond an hour.
When time ran out, they collapsed like puppets with cut strings and died.
The scouting Players were quite shaken when reporting the situation.
- One tried experimenting and died like that, and it turned into total chaos. Everyone was terrified….
Seeing a Player die when the timer hit zero had caused the panicked ones to riot.
‘Problems without solutions breed panic.’
That’s why Lily had issued a gag order on the 8-star general-grades, black weapons, kerak, and their effects on Players.
The infected were still extending their lives daily with potions.
‘Even they don’t know how long they can keep it up, so they’re visibly anxious.’
Fortunately, it seemed they’d found a solution today.
‘But is this really fortunate?’
Lily bit her lip with complicated feelings.
Just then, K, who had poured potion directly onto his wound, stood up.
He walked with heavy steps toward the pooled black blood.
“Contaminant, huh….”
After a faint mutter, he turned to Lily and said,
“Since you’re not killing me, looks like you’ve sorted out your stance. And the reason is… probably this. Do you know what it is?”
“…Yes. The Biharians call it kerak. A biochemical weapon usable from 8-star general-grade… something like that?”
K let out a scoff at Lily’s words.
“Biochemical weapon? Well, it’s congealed blood, so not wrong. You even know it starts from 8-star?”
The reason generals are divided into 7-star and 8-star is kerak usage.
Nodding slightly, K withdrew his gaze and said,
“Then no need for explanations.”
“Yes.”
She replied flatly, but her mouth was parched.
Imagining K using Purification power to reject America made her vision blur.
Lily watched K carefully, even breathing cautiously.
‘From what he’s saying, he knows some of the CIA’s internal situation.’
Worst case.
‘Who the hell told him?’
People who’d know the CIA’s internal mood…
‘Plenty of them.’
With third awakenings underway, the government had verified over 2,000 American Players.
Nearly half were government-affiliated, steadily hunting.
Most were managed by the CIA’s new Player Management Division.
Pinpointing who among the many had tipped off K wouldn’t be easy.
‘I could narrow it to those with potential contact…’
But if that reached K’s ears, it wouldn’t end well.
As sighs piled up inside Lily,
“The Players hit with forced shutdown—how exactly does the infection spread?”
K asked.
What she knew was info K could figure out himself given time.
Better to share it, save him time, than hide and struggle.
‘Since I’ve already made an enemy, I need to make amends.’
Having sorted her stance as K said, Lily spilled everything she knew.
When she finished, K furrowed his brow and let out deep sighs.
“Infection regardless of wound size… The balance is way off.”
He didn’t stop there, rubbing his face vigorously.
“I’m losing it….”
Blood from his hands smeared his face, but he didn’t care.
He just kept muttering to himself.
“…right, ……won’t even…”
Lily strained to listen but couldn’t make it out.
It was just stream-of-consciousness mumbling, pronunciation unclear.
Giving up on eavesdropping, Lily watched K, lost in thought.
‘Once the truth about contaminants and Purification spreads, K’s influence will expand uncontrollably.’
The exact number of Alpha Players wasn’t confirmed yet.
‘At first, we thought just some top rankers had promoted to Alpha.’
Estimated a few hundred.
But as time passed, doubts arose.
‘Most of those we thought were Alpha were actually Beta.’
From the first promotion exam’s 7th and 10th, second exam’s 5th, 9th, 16th, and third’s 3rd and 4th.
Top rankers who survived newbie phase showed rapid growth.
Self-purification sped up mana accumulation.
As their feats drew attention, their Beta status was quickly confirmed.
Lily still clearly remembered verifying the third-exam selectee ranked 3rd.
‘Third exam had 500,000 Players.’
With more selectees, more top rewards, she thought.
But Coconut, ranked 3rd in that exam, was Beta.
That sparked the worst assumption.