I Am a Reincarnator
The story I told Kim Hansu and Choi Heejeong was simple.
"Just do exactly as I say."
That was the main point.
"Hmm……."
Choi Heejeong nodded with a reluctant expression.
Kim Hansu picked at his ear with a bored look on his face.
"Hoo—"
"It's about time. Let's go."
Soon after, the news broke.
The Safety Planning Department's first conquest of Underground Floor 10 ends in a spectacular failure.
But in my previous life, I changed that fate.
And it would be the same this time.
Madric Blood shouted,
"Conquering the floor is safety itself. Understood?!"
"Yes!"
We soon boarded the teleporter to Underground Floor 10.
Vmmm!
Flash!
Moments later, the familiar cave scenery came into view.
"Brr, it's creepy as hell."
This time, Kim Hansu said what Choi Heejeong from my previous life had.
I said to the two of them,
"Baby spiders will come out soon, so let's each fend for ourselves and survive."
"Huh? Sp-sp-sp-spiders?!"
"Hm, do they poison you if they bite?"
"Yeah. If they bite, you die in about a minute."
Even small peppers can be spicy.
The baby spiders' venom was potent.
In my previous life, Choi Heejeong and I hid in a crack in the wall, but this time, I planned to join the fight as a combatant.
Shhh shhh shhh.
Soon, a swarm of baby spiders crawled out along the cave walls.
"Eek!"
"Kukuku."
I decided to ignore Kim Hansu and Choi Heejeong for now.
This was my first time seriously contributing to the Underground Floor 10 conquest, so I was on edge too.
I wanted to see how they'd handle emergencies.
"Hup!"
I gathered the blood energy swirling inside me and focused it at my feet.
I stepped toward the swarm approaching me.
Blood Spirit Step.
I'd grandly named it that, but it was really just mindless stomping.
"Die! Die! Die!"
Splat! Splat! Splat!
But it was surprisingly effective.
The qi gathered at my feet made the spiders burst on contact.
Splaaat!
"Argh! Why are there so many?!"
Choi Heejeong's sharp voice echoed my own frustration.
But I gritted my teeth and endured.
The department head had fought off swarms like this with ease before.
If I crumbled to mere spiders, the me from my previous life would laugh at this me.
After all I'd overcome in twenty years!
That's when I spotted a tiny spider trying to climb up a nearby hunter's leg.
"Die!"
Thud!
"……Hm?!"
Sensing my presence, he turned to look.
As I lifted my foot, a spider corpse was there.
Realizing what had almost happened, he gave me a silent bow.
"Thanks. You saved my life. I owe you one."
"No big deal. We hunters have to help each other."
"Hahaha. No time to chat now—find Gwak Do-cheol once we're out. I'll treat you big time!"
"Sounds good."
Gwak Do-cheol was a burly middle-aged man with a jaw beard.
In my previous life, he'd died from a baby spider bite, but this time, I'd saved him.
Soon, he was helping Robert wipe out the swarm.
As for Department Head Madric Blood…… well, no need to mention her.
Soon, the baby spider wave ended.
Madric Blood shouted,
"Check for casualties!"
"All clear! Everyone's alive!"
"Phew."
Sweat poured down like rain.
But nothing could feel more refreshing.
Thanks to my changes, Gwak Do-cheol and Robert didn't die this time.
A smile crept onto my face.
"You look really happy, Jeongha-ssi."
"Oh, Heejeong-ssi. You're alive."
"Huh? So you thought I'd die?!"
"No way. I wouldn't let you die, Heejeong-ssi."
Because when the department head defeats the Jade Legged Blood Hand and extracts its core, she'd need to help me…… No, wait.
On second thought, I didn't need to consume the Jade Legged Blood Hand's core this time.
Actually, consuming it wouldn't work anymore.
Unlike natural elixirs like Clear Spirit Oil, monster cores build tolerance after one use.
"Y-yes, yes?"
Her face flushed as she stammered.
Then—
"Hey, you."
It was Madric Blood's voice.
"Yes?"
She grabbed my wrist out of nowhere, checked my pulse, sniffed my neck, and stared at the top of my head.
"……?"
Why was she suddenly doing this to me?
Only one thing came to mind: the Jade Legged Blood Hand's core.
I vaguely sensed it had an attribute similar to Madric Blood's abilities.
After inspecting my body this way and that, she furrowed her brows.
But she wouldn't figure out the source of my power.
The Jade Legged Blood Hand was still alive deep inside me, after all.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Let's go!"
"Yes!"
As we started moving again—
Rumble.
"……?"
The procession halted.
A sign we were nearing the boss stage!
Soon, a massive cavern appeared.
Madric Blood led the way inside, and the boss emerged.
-Kiyaaaaah!
The human face on the Jade Legged Blood Hand split wide open at the mouth.
Its razor-sharp teeth were grotesquely horrifying.
Then the department head glanced back at me.
"You three."
"Yes?"
"Handle it yourselves."
In my previous life, she'd told us to stay back.
Now, she was okay with us lending a hand.
Of course, I had my own task.
"Kim Hansu, Heejeong-ssi."
"Yeah?"
"Yes?"
"Both of you, come here."
"Where we going?"
"Hurry. Trust my Gift."
"Ah! Okay."
"Hmph."
With three of us this time, we could finish faster.
All we had to do was haul the Jade Legged Blood Hand's excrement to the battlefield, and Madric Blood would take care of the rest.
"Ex-excrement?!"
"What bullshit."
"The company will give us clean suits anyway. Is your outfit worth more than your life?"
"Well, that's true, but……."
"I'd rather swim in it than carry that crap."
……Wouldn't that be even grosser?
Anyway, as I started scooping excrement with my clothes like last time, a thought struck me.
"Heejeong-ssi. Can you move all this excrement to the battlefield at once?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
I whispered in her ear,
"Actually, I have a Gift that lets me know others' Gifts. Not in detail, though."
"Ah……."
She understood immediately but shook her head.
She held up her index finger.
"No way. Transfer only works on a single specified object. So……."
Her explanation was straightforward.
She could transfer a water bottle, but not the water inside—because the bottle was one object, while water was countless droplets combined.
"Hmm…… So it's difficult, but not completely impossible?"
"Probably because my stats are low. It just feels that way intuitively. And I need a target object to swap with."
I clicked my tongue.
"Can't be helped, then. We'll have to carry it manually."
"I might be able to help a bit?"
It was Kim Hansu.
"Yeah, hurry up and help."
"No, I mean I can assist Choi-noona's ability."
"What?"
He snapped his fingers—the same hand he'd been picking his ear with.
Snap!
Vmmm!
The surroundings turned green again, like in the exam room.
He grimaced.
"Hurry. Even I can't maintain this range for long."
From his words, this "Kim Hansu's Domain" seemed connected to the battlefield.
I nodded to Choi Heejeong.
"Heejeong-ssi. Quick!"
"O-okay. I'll try!"
She pointed her index finger at the sea of Jade Legged Blood Hand excrement.
"Huuuup!"
She took a deep breath, focusing her mind.
Flash!
Light flared, and the excrement in "Kim Hansu's Domain" vanished clean.
"Did it work?"
I looked at Kim Hansu and Choi Heejeong.
Blood streamed from both their noses.
"……Kukuku."
"Hngh."
Choi Heejeong grimaced, clutching her head.
Overusing her Gift with low stats had caused side effects.
"You two okay?"
"Manageable."
"A bit dizzy, but…… I'm fine."
Nosebleeds weren't dangerous.
Their eyes were a little bloodshot, though.
Rumble!
The cave shook violently again.
"Something's happening."
"Sounds like the boss is down. Let's check."
"Okay."
I went with them to look at the battlefield.
And sure enough, the floor was flooded with Jade Legged Blood Hand excrement.
The Jade Legged Blood Hand had flopped belly-up on it.
With orbs instead of feet, it couldn't grip the slippery muck.
Its soft belly was a fatal weak point.
The perfect chance to finish it!
Of course, Madric Blood sensed it too.
"Hah!"
Blood Impact Epsilon.
Bloody Spear.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
-Kiyaaaaao!
Over ten blood spears plunged deep into its belly.
Deeper than in my previous life—I could tell at a glance.
And with that, the Jade Legged Blood Hand met its end.
"Hmm, got it?"
Choi Heejeong and I replied to Kim Hansu's mutter in unison.
"Got it."
"We got it."
"This time…… no one died."
There were injuries, but every hunter who joined the conquest survived.
That was the most encouraging part.
"Huh? 'This time'?"
"Nothing."
"Hmph."
I looked at the fallen Jade Legged Blood Hand.
The eight blood orbs at the ends of its legs lost their glow.
Cut off from the power of the core inside it.
Realizing this, Madric Blood clawed madly at its belly.
She soon pulled out the core and held it before her eyes.
"Hehe."
She wrapped it carefully in a handkerchief like a sacred relic and tucked it into her inner pocket.
Her highest stat was A-rank now.
From what I remembered, consuming the Jade Legged Blood Hand's core would make her S-rank.
She had ways to absorb nearly 100% of the core's power.
If I'd used the same method, my own power would be way beyond D-rank.
I smacked my lips inwardly with regret, but it couldn't be helped.
There were other ways to grow stronger besides cores.
The hunters, dazed from the impromptu excrement feast(?), finally spoke up.
"D-did we clear it?"
"We won? For real? On the first try?"
Madric Blood grinned and climbed atop the Jade Legged Blood Hand's corpse.
She shouted,
"Yes! The Safety Planning Department has won!"
"Wooooah!"
The hunters threw their hands up.
"We did it!"
"Long live the Safety Planning Department!"
"Long live!"
"Um…… Should we cheer too?"
Choi Heejeong scratched her temple.
At that moment, Madric Blood looked at me.
"Of course, we must separately commend those who made this first clear of Underground Floor 10 possible with their brilliant contributions."
She leaped into the air and landed before me in an instant.
She glanced between me and the two beside me, then spoke.
"I was a bit surprised when that bizarre liquid appeared out of nowhere…… but you did quite the clever thing."
"You knew it was us."
"Did you think I wouldn't notice Gift waves on that scale?"
Her tone sounded scolding at first, but her lips curved up slightly.
"Thanks to you, none of my subordinates died. Tell me what you want. I'll grant it if I can."
That was exactly what I'd been waiting for.
I shouted out the deep desire burning inside me.
"I want to get stronger!"
……stronger! ……stronger! ……stronger!
My cry echoed throughout the vast cavern.