Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Ruined World (4)
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The moment they entered the gate, a flurry of system windows popped up. What kind of explanation was this? Sa-yoon hit skip out of habit and opened his eyes as the light faded.
A vast, endless plain stretched out before them, with a single intact car parked in the middle. Sa-yoon stepped out of the car, which wouldn't start after entering the gate, and opened the back door with a mischievous grin.
"You okay?"
"Do I look okay?"
Geon-ju, whose hair was a mess from the reckless driving, glared at him. He was shedding his fox-like cunning more and more, starting to act like a wildcat.
"You look fine."
No broken limbs. He must have gripped the seatbelt tight just like Sa-yoon had told him. Sa-yoon praised him for being such a good boy, but Geon-ju's face twisted with unspoken complaints. His pretty features were plastered with dissatisfaction.
"What's wrong with messy hair? It looks good on you."
Still in his early twenties. Right at the age where he obsessed over his looks. Sa-yoon straightened it out for him, and the man got out of the car with an exasperated look.
"You think I'm mad about that?"
"Nah, probably not."
"Then why piss me off? Who enters a gate like this?"
"Why not? We do it all the time."
They must have crashed at least thirty cars into gates. Whenever the system ordered him to kidnap someone and kill them without a trace, loading them into a truck and dumping them in a gate was the easiest way to dispose of evidence.
Geon-ju stared at him like he was some primitive savage, probably because he hadn't adjusted to Night Rat life yet and didn't grasp how convenient gates were for cleanup. He brushed back his hair and muttered in a subdued voice.
"Didn't you say we'd rest first?"
"We did. In the car."
"You said we'd rest at the guild."
"Once you're in the guild, guild cars are basically home, right?"
Sa-yoon said it shamelessly, like everyone lived that way. Geon-ju swallowed a sigh, pressed his forehead, and groaned.
"What about the gate you said we'd go to? You swore it was A-rank."
"A-rank? Must've misheard. I definitely said S-rank."
Well-oiled tongue in motion. Skill Deception activates.
Opponent's distrust is high. Skill countered.
Tch.
Sa-yoon lit up briefly at the skill activation, only to click his tongue less than a second later. He turned away from Geon-ju's glare—the kind that screamed, "The guild leader's spouting bullshit"—and whistled innocently. You can't spit on a smiling face, and pretending not to notice made it harder to call him out.
Taking him in the car had definitely been the right call.
If he'd walked him in, Geon-ju would've resisted—even if it meant using skills—refusing to go another step.
Sa-yoon patted himself on the back for his foresight, satisfied with the successful kidnapping. Geon-ju pulled a sword from his inventory.
"Even if you attack me with that, you'll lose."
"Speak of the thief first. My legs are twitching too. I just pulled it out thinking we need to gear up now that we're here."
"If that's the case, fine."
Sa-yoon would've gladly sparred if Geon-ju had wanted a real fight. He shrugged and drew his own weapon. A system alert arrived belatedly.
It had been a while since he'd seen clear conditions. They were still infuriatingly brutal, enough to make even a saint curse at the blue window. After a long pause, Geon-ju asked,
"Why do S-rank gates always have so many conditions?"
"Not all S-ranks are like this. This field's just a bit extreme."
"Field?"
"Official name's Ruined World, but Awakeners call it the Field. As far as I know, there's no gate quite like it."
Geon-ju, who had never experienced a Field before, looked puzzled at the claim that it was uniquely special.
"Special how?"
"Why do you think it's called a 'world,' pretty boy?"
"What's with the twenty questions all of a sudden?"
His tone was a bit grumpy. Sa-yoon looked around silently.
Unfamiliar buildings lay in ruins, labs reduced to charred or weathered husks. It looked no different from his previous visits.
"You skipped the explanation, so you wouldn't know, but this is literally a 'ruined world.'"
"What does that mean?"
"It's a recreation of a world like ours that got invaded by monsters and failed to stop them."
It was a real world, once.
According to the intro video the system showed on his first visit, this place recreated another dimension's world.
People once lived here. Awakeners appeared to fight the monster invasion that brought ruin.
And they failed.
In a way, it was the system's warning to Earth's humanity.
Clear gates properly, or end up like this.
Of course, only for those "savior" types it ordered around.
For Sa-yoon, with his True Evil of Humanity trait, it was more like an example of the end his world might face under his lead.
Not that he planned to destroy it or anything.
He'd never sworn to turn Earth into this while entering a Field. Sure, the damn system forced executions, so he'd triggered gate overloads or killed high-rankers on purpose—but he'd never actively tried to end the world.
By the time he'd grown numb, thinking, "Who gives a shit if this world burns?", he'd gotten his status window. Finding a way out of the system had been the most fun since awakening, but Earth's destruction would've ruined that.
If it's gonna end, at least wait till I'm dead.
Geon-ju, mulling over his words, finally got it. Sa-yoon continued,
"Seeing is believing. You'll get what I mean once the gate activates. Monsters from E-rank to S-rank will spawn everywhere, threatening your life. Unless you secure a safe 'base,' you're constantly exposed. But even securing one doesn't make you perfectly safe. Then you fight two kinds of threats."
"Two kinds?"
"Monsters... and people."
"It's getting weirder by the minute. What do you mean, people?"
Geon-ju frowned at the word "people," assuming it was a joke. Sa-yoon explained calmly. Maybe skipping the video had been a mistake.
"I said it already. It's a 'world.' Not just us."
"..."
"The Field recreates the people who lived in this ruined world too."
Memories of his first time flooded back vividly. Exhausted and covered in monster blood, he'd finally found a base and caught his breath. Less than two days later, strangers burst in. He'd welcomed them, thinking they were allies—only to get ambushed and killed. The betrayal stung when he respawned.
He'd been such a sucker back then. Without the system, he might've died two days after being thrown into the Awakener world, with his pathetic skills.
"Looking back, maybe that would've been better."
"Talking to yourself out of nowhere?"
Geon-ju snapped gruffly at the mutter during his reminiscence. Sa-yoon snapped out of it casually.
"S-ranks talk to themselves a lot. It happens."
He'd done it so much, it even became a skill. A useless one called Monologue.
"Anyway, point is, even with a base, you won't relax. You have to defend against the locals stealing it, plus monster waves every two days. No choice, though—it's safer than outside, and it's a clear condition. It'll be rough all around, so brace yourself."
"Shouldn't you tell me this stuff before we come in?"
"Would you have come if I did?"
"Of course not."
"That's why I didn't."
Sa-yoon had his reasons. He was explaining nicely now, wasn't he? Geon-ju tilted his head skeptically.
"Fine, I'll thank you for explaining—grudgingly. But earlier you said it was a low A-rank gate."
"I said it was a tough S-rank."
"How do you lie so effortlessly...?"
His reaction hovered between awe and disdain. Used to it, Sa-yoon checked the rest of the conditions.
He still needed to explain the dungeon, but telling him now might make the pretty boy throw a tantrum and demand to leave. He'd save that for later.
More importantly, time was up.
Feeling a faint tremor in the ground, Sa-yoon grabbed Geon-ju's wrist.
"Incoming."
A sharp ding followed his low voice.
The faint vibration grew violent with the window. Soon, the whole world shook hard enough to rattle their bodies.
Ku-gu-gu-gu—
As the ground quaked like the world might flip over, Sa-yoon's eyes narrowed.
"Unless you wanna die, stick right by me."
"You brought me to a place this dangerous?"
"It grows you fast to match. Nearly die forty-two times, and you'll hit A-rank in no time."
Even now, he pitched the Field's growth benefits. Another alert popped up.
The standard S-rank luck wish signaled the real start.
With his natural Luck stat at F-, thanks to the system's bullshit, Sa-yoon mentally flipped it off and yanked Geon-ju into his arms.
Shwaaack!
Ignoring Geon-ju's yelp, the ground beneath them erupted without warning the moment he scooped him up. Dirt cascaded like sand, revealing a massive monster's maw.
An S-rank monster: Earth Dragon.
Thanks to years in the Field, Sa-yoon had anticipated the ambush. He leaped with Geon-ju in tow and swung his longsword.
Sharp energy from the blade clashed with its teeth.
—Krraaaargh!
The Earth Dragon roared. Sa-yoon grinned, his hairs standing on end in thrill after so long.
"Nice welcome."
Finally, a proper fight after dealing with scrubs.
It was the overture to at least a month of blissful Field life with his pretty boy.