Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: Commands and Gifts
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“Grah, grrr—krrk.”
The [Starving Old Man], no, Seonbu of the Gourmet Expedition Cult—spewing blood from his mouth.
Even after taking heavy damage from the sudden mana stone bomb explosion, he hadn’t lost his will to fight. If anything, he revealed even fiercer rage and ecstasy as he flattened himself against the floor.
Head thrust forward, thin limbs pressing against the ground. A beastly pose. He lacked his previous spirit, but this made him even more dangerous.
He’d abandoned all other attack methods, committing solely to fighting with his mouth and teeth.
‘That bastard’ll just gobble up and spit out whatever I throw at him, huh?’
I’d subdued him once before, but the Gourmet Expedition Cult’s abilities were still a headache for a mage.
‘Can’t exactly use attacks that’d wreck the building either. No choice, then.’
[Devil’s Grasp]
Kwaak!
The spell activated abruptly. A massive hand burst from the wall, reaching to ensnare him. Necromancy-based magic was off-limits against him, no matter what.
“Kyaak!”
But whatever he’d eaten before encountering me, Seonbu leaped up with astonishing agility. He kicked off the wall and shot into the corridor behind like a ricocheting bullet.
Baba-bak! Ta-at!
“Well, now?”
Wall to ceiling to floor. Bouncing in every direction, Seonbu vanished in an instant... and grabbed IPE-888, [Eight Arms], who’d been wandering in the corner of the hall, then started devouring it.
Aduduk—kkaduk—wagjak—churruk—
“Hey, isn’t eating during a conversation bad manners?”
“Karruk! Don’t get cocky, Ho Sang-hyun!”
The moment his feast ended, changes rippled through his body.
Eudeududuk—
Not only did vitality return to his emaciated frame, but the restraints binding him tore apart as new arms sprouted. Adding them to his original ones made ten arms total.
Right—eat arms, grow arms.
“Thanks to you, I lost the power I’d gathered my whole life, but this place is overflowing with monsters that’ll become my new strength!”
Dragging this out would just make him stronger. A classic pattern, huh?
“Feels like your digestion and absorption got faster, too.”
“Kekeke—starved for so long, you see. This time, I’ll repay our Captain by chewing and swallowing your living flesh!”
“Hey, hold up. Just a sec.”
I held both hands out placatingly toward Seonbu.
“What?”
“We’re good to fight and all, but lemme ask one thing. If I accidentally kill you, how’ll I get my questions answered?”
“Ha! Overconfidence! You think I’d squander the final chance the Captain gave me?”
“Yeah, man! The Captain’s grace! That’s what I’m curious about. Didn’t you get anything extra?”
“What... did you say?”
“Like orders or something. Or backup.”
“Backup?”
I rubbed my forehead with one hand and sighed.
“Haa—looks like you’re just rampaging on your own accord.”
“What... Ho Sang-hyun, what the hell are you talking about?”
“First off... no idea how many times I’ve said this, but I’m Ho Sang-hyun... nah, forget it. Just keep calling me Ho Sang-hyun.”
“What do you mean, ‘rampaging on my own’!”
I recalled the recent assault for a moment.
The bizarre behavior from Heo Ji-hyun, possessing Jang Hyun-deok’s body.
‘Started with homunculi attacks, then suddenly summoned spiders, followed by that weird illusion spell.’
Heo Ji-hyun was a vengeful spirit trapped longer in the mansion than Heo Sang-hyun. Her control over the place was dangerously strong, even by my standards.
‘Enough to steal the homunculi I’d hidden in the basement.’
She had plenty of attack options without summoning spiders.
“So why’d Heo Ji-hyun call in spiders back then?”
“W-what’re you saying? Who’s Heo Ji-hyun!?”
“I figure the elephant-headed bastard you worship was probing or testing something.”
It was clear.
The [Predator of the Mountains] had wanted to check my weaknesses then.
“If you were acting on the [Predator of the Mountains]’s orders, you’d have gotten something useful—like orders or at least one ability.”
“T-that’s—”
“But you’re still just relying on your old predation power. Nothing else. You’re bulking up in a hurry to kill me for the [Predator of the Mountains], but... eh?”
“Sh-shut up! What’re you blabbering about! Say it so I understand!”
I scratched my head again.
“Here’s the thing. You’re not even a recycled villain. Just an extra who happened to be here.”
Seonbu wasn’t mobilized for the [Predator of the Mountains]’s attack as a Gourmet Expedition Cult follower. He was merely one patient locked in Paju Central Hospital’s closed ward.
Pure coincidence that he was in the line of fire.
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Think you can fool me with that nonsense!”
Babababa-bak!
His mouth snarled as if ready to charge, but he leaped back at tremendous speed.
Planning to widen the gap and grab something else to eat?
“You think I got nothing from the Captain? Wrong! Wait just a bit! I’ll regain my power and tear you apart!”
“Ah, should’ve just killed you then. Let you go thinking you’d mess with Yang Seo-ho...”
I gauged his movement speed and reached toward the corridor wall. That spot’ll do.
[Wall Creation]
Gurururung! Thud!
“Kraaak!”
Seonbu, retreating face toward me, slammed headfirst into the suddenly risen stone wall.
“Good. No more running now, right?”
New mask in hand—time to test it.
I released the shrink spell on [Reckless Destruction]. Accounting for the horns, it was bigger than my backpack. I donned the massive mask made of water buffalo bone.
Kururuk—
Inky shadows flowed like slime. They merged with the [Night Veil Cloak], enveloping and inflating my body. My eye level shot up in an instant.
My head nearly brushed the ceiling. Reaching out, I saw my black arms had nearly doubled in length.
[The mask infused with an ancient curse spews wicked fluids from the abyss, enveloping you. The moment the fluid—straddling reality and intangibility—touches your skin, unparalleled pleasure warps your mind.]
[Mental Strength stat resists the ‘Berserker’s Curse’ generated by the mask. Mental Strength check... failed.]
Failing this check meant living as a mindless monster, unable to remove the mask until death.
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyss’s Madness’ activates. Changes Mental Strength check result to success.]
“Simple enough.”
[S-Grade Accessory ‘Reckless Destruction’ unique function, ‘Craving for Violence,’ activates.
// Craving for Violence: +5(+N) to Strength, Vitality, Agility stats for N minutes. Attack power increases, and melee combat proficiency surges. (N randomly selected from 1~10.)]
[Conducting Luck check to determine N value.]
[Check complete. N=3]
“Three minutes? Bad luck.”
To compensate, I activated buffs.
[Bullying Bull’s Recklessness]
[Lion’s Bravery]
[Bear’s Tenacity]
Even without the Berserker’s Curse, it felt incredible. This what ‘healthy’ feels like? Curtain Call types lived like this all along?
I slowly approached Seonbu, cornered in the dead end.
“Huh? Huhh—? Huuuh? Uwaaaak!”
Seonbu frantically pounded the new wall behind him, but it only dented slightly.
“Here I come. No mercy this time.”
Kwaduduk—wadududuk—
Kung! Kwajijik!
Wududuk—ppajijik—
Kwaaaang!
Blood and stone wall fragments scattered everywhere.
“Whoopsie—”
Oops, smashed the wall too.
Not even worth calling a fight. Seonbu crumpled the instant I grabbed him.
What, too easy? That it?
I glanced at Seonbu under the wall debris, then turned away.
“Krrrurrrr!”
What’s that?
A six-legged monster with a massive maw growled at me. Beast big enough to fill the corridor.
Uh, pretty sure there was something like that on the patient roster. Forgot the name. Does it matter?
Ah, Seonbu was heading to eat that? If he’d absorbed it, I wouldn’t have taken him down so easily.
“Krrrurrrr!”
As I approached, the hulking monster spat out the corpse in its mouth and bared its palm-sized fangs.
Fresh red blood pooling on the floor.
Security guard’s corpse. Even without Seonbu, most ‘patients’ confined here were deadly monsters. Better to kill it. Kill them all. Unexplained ecstasy licked my body. Fingers itched. Craved clutching something sturdier.
“Yeah, you come here too. Still got three minutes.”
“Krrrurrr—”
The monster hesitated, backing away.
“Hehe, why run? C’mere.”
[Leap]
Kwaaang!
Converted leap magic to propulsion, closing in instantly. Kwajik! Blood sprayed everywhere.
Kwaduk! Huh? Pretty tough.
[Acceleration]
[Blind Fury Strike]
[Rock Skin]
[Dragon’s Claw]
Kwaduk—wududuk—ppagagak—
Waduk—chwaaaak—ppududuk—
Kwajik! Kwaduk! Wajijik!
Kung!
The monster lost its form and collapsed. Forgot what it even looked like originally.
Drop—
Something wet touched my horn.
Glancing up, blood that had splattered to the ceiling dripped down, one drop, then another.
Not just the ceiling. Everywhere—my body, horns, head, face—all drenched in blood.
Feels—really—good—
[Craving for Violence effect ends. Reuse cooldown: 86,400 seconds]
“Urk— whoa whoa whoa.”
Vision dropped sharply. The shadows receded into the mask, reverting me to the small, frail Kim Shin-hwa burdened by heavy buffalo bones.
Covered in monster blood.
“Ugh—”
What is this? What did I do?
I’d definitely nullified the curse?
“Ah—damn, is this what my head friends were talking about?”
Lost control of my body briefly. Damn, so this is it. The blood-mad Kim Shin-hwa who wants my body.
Krrrurrr—clunk clunk clunk—thud thud thud—
Wanted time to think, but the commotion and blood scent drew other ‘patients.’
“Ah, this turn of events feels off, doesn’t it?”
I turned back to the wall-buried... whatever was left of Seonbu. What was the [Predator of the Mountains] after? Surely not done yet?
“Better chat with my friends later.”
“Kim Shin-hwa, could you introduce me to those friends of yours?”
“......”
What?
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Feast’s Sacrifice’ activates.]
Blood dripping from the ceiling. Blood covering my body. Blood overflowing the floor. All of it surged in one direction at once.
Rushing with ferocious momentum, like drawn by intense gravity. Even droplets clinging to me flew off—drip—sideways, not down.
Churruk—churrurup—
Sucking in the blood with its whole body... was Seonbu’s utterly crushed corpse.
Wududuk—wuduk—
The ten grotesquely twisted arms began to move.
Several of the overgrown arms plunged into his chest and yanked out his own head.
Wujijik—
“Pitiable Seonbu. Your body is far too frail to serve the great cause.”
Seonbu shed tears with a sorrowful expression.
No—something forcibly possessing Seonbu’s body spoke through his mouth.
“Kim Shin-hwa. To arrange this meeting, I endured long years and countless sacrifices.”
The grotesquely twisted ten arms.
A severed head held in one of them.
And stone wall fragments scattered circularly at his feet. The shards ‘coincidentally’ formed lotus leaf shapes, unfurled.
No words I knew could describe ‘it’ further. But its beauty and eeriness were undeniable.