Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Drive Hunt
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Lee Yu-na took one look at the rat-like monsters and said,
"They're disgustingly ugly."
Goblins and orcs were ugly too, but these squeaking freaks crossed a whole new line.
"The eyes look like they're about to pop out..."
A tap on the back of the head and those eyeballs would probably go rolling out.
The whiskers were weirdly long, the snout stretched out thin.
The green fur was sparse and brittle, patchy in spots.
It was like they'd taken a direct hit of radiation.
"D-Die! Die, you monster!"
So people gritted their teeth and swung their weapons.
Their numbers were decent, but nothing special—they were clearly mopping them up without much trouble.
Mentally draining, though.
"Argh! Run away!"
Even so, the woman on the building rooftop raised her voice again.
She had to see we were handling the rat pack just fine.
"She's a bit far off."
She was outside my Target Detection range.
Would've reached her on the first floor, maybe, but the rooftop was too high.
Still, I could almost feel her emotions.
Desperation in her flailing gestures, anxiety on her face.
"No reason for her to freak out like that."
So I jumped back into the fray.
Time to wrap this up quick.
"Aaaah! My calf—it's biting my calf!"
"Hold on a sec."
People helped each other out, thinning the rat herd.
I shelved any thoughts of sharing EXP and booted the ones nipping at my feet with my sturdy hiking boots.
Battle over soon enough.
"Let's head that way and regroup."
"Got it."
We passed through the back gate of Myeongsin Women's University.
Near the back gate stood two boxy dormitory buildings.
Twin towers, facing each other across the road.
From the gate, left one's Building 1, right one's Building 2.
The woman who'd warned us was on the roof of Building 1.
"No, don't come this way—run! Hurry!"
The walls were splattered with grime, but the dorms looked newly built.
One odd thing: every first-floor window was boarded up tight.
Like they were worried about something climbing in.
"Hey! Shut up already. Those people came over here because of you."
Another woman popped her head up from Building 2's roof.
She snapped at the one warning us.
Short hair, fierce face.
"Ho-seop."
"Yeah."
"Spirit Stone."
The two women started arguing.
Didn't seem to get along.
"What, should we just sit here and watch?"
"Then what? You gonna take responsibility if strangers drag danger to us?"
Jang Ho-seop brought over the square metal case and set it in front of me.
Uncle Jang-su made it—my custom Spirit Stone case.
Unlocked it and fed mana stones to the Spirit Stone.
"What's that?"
The fierce short-haired girl eyed my Spirit Stone curiously.
Whoosh—
A blue wave pulsed out from the Spirit Stone, spreading in a sphere.
It kept expanding even after passing the back gate.
Set to cover about the size of a school field.
Still way under the max range.
"Now, let's talk."
"Sure."
Jang Ho-seop planted himself between the twin dorms.
Cracked his neck and looked up at the roofs.
"Hello. Uh, it's kinda high up. Mind coming down to chat?"
The two women stared at the safety field like they'd never seen one.
Gawked in wonder, then glanced down at Jang Ho-seop's voice.
The fierce short-haired one spoke first.
"Mister. You can't come in here."
"Pardon?"
Jang Ho-seop blinked in confusion.
"What the hell is this lady on about? Is this your property or something?"
She fired right back.
Rough start.
#
Jang Ho-seop talked the two women into calming down.
Explained the safety field's function to ease their nerves.
Not easy, though.
The Building 1 woman was fine, but the Building 2 one kept picking fights.
"Ugh, fine, just talk from there. How many times do I have to hear the same thing?"
"You're not getting it, so I explained again. And is face-to-face talk that hard?"
Bit surprising.
I figured he'd just ignore or brush her off.
But he didn't back down from her attitude at all.
"Mr. Yi Hyun. Treatment's done."
While Jang Ho-seop bickered with the Building 2 woman, our group finished regrouping.
A few had minor wounds from the short scrap.
Bites and scratches from the rats.
With Sis Seol-hee's purification, no big worries.
"Why should we come down? What if you do something shady?"
"Shady? What shady stuff are we gonna do?"
People had gathered the rat monster corpses too.
Waiting for me to use Mana Stone Extraction while the talk dragged on.
If we couldn't get to the point by then, I'd handle it my way.
"You could do shady stuff. World's gone to hell."
"Pfft... even in this hell, you don't need to worry about us."
"What? What do you mean by that?"
"What about you? What's 'shady' supposed to mean?"
I activated the skill, and mana stones the size of ten-won coins popped out of the rat corpses.
Smallest I'd seen yet.
A few bodies got gutted by hand too—no stones, even after rummaging the innards.
"Ah, whatever. We can talk to this guy. Like we're dying for your help."
When I first got Mana Stone Extraction, I was a little disappointed.
But the longer I used it, the more I appreciated it.
"These are level 1 or 2—no stones normally."
Being able to extract from stuff that wouldn't drop any the regular way was huge.
Everything on the Spirit Stone needed mana stones.
Personally, though, the best part was convenience.
Just reach out, fast, clean results.
Finished extraction quick.
"Thanks for coming down. Name's Jang Ho-seop."
Perfect timing—the Building 1 woman stepped out.
Right before, I'd heard clanking from the dorm entrance.
They'd barricaded the door too, huh.
"I'm Ki Eun-chae."
Ki Eun-chae wore a uniform—school militia, probably.
A few other women following her dressed the same.
"Could you tell us why you told us to run?"
"It's the Big Rats, but... is that safety field really okay?"
The Building 2 woman slunk back inside, face red.
Said a bit more, but Jang Ho-seop's comebacks got to her.
Jang Ho-seop, meanwhile, grinned and chatted with Ki Eun-chae.
"So, to sum up, that's not the whole rat pack?"
"Right. At first, we fought them while rescuing people."
Big Rat—their term for the rat monsters.
Short for Big Mouse.
Started with a manageable number.
Then suddenly exploded, trapping them here.
Lots died in the process.
The bone piles we'd seen coming here? Big Rat handiwork.
"Overwhelm by numbers."
That was how the Big Rats conquered the area—with sheer volume.
They'd swarm anything bigger, burying it under bodies.
"Roughly how many total?"
"Not sure exactly. At least over 200."
The pack at the back gate? Sentries, basically.
These folks holed up, waiting for the Big Rats to leave.
"That's a lot."
"Yeah. And I think there's a Big Mom too..."
"Big Mom?"
"Oh, female Big Rat. Way bigger than the rest. Seems to pump out tons of pups."
Ki Eun-chae spilled everything she knew.
She'd been dying to talk.
"Gotta take 'em out or bail, then."
"Yeah. We failed at both."
One Great Dane-sized female Big Rat.
They called her Big Mom.
Big Rats had some communication too, apparently.
Showed tactical moves.
"Probably great sense of smell."
"Smell?"
"Yeah. Kill one, and a huge pack shows up fast. That's why I yelled to run."
The safety field blocked scents too.
Kept things quiet so far.
Ki Eun-chae looked relieved now.
"Oh, are you the only survivors from this university?"
"Probably others holding out in buildings. Not sure."
Wrapped up Big Rat talk.
Jang Ho-seop got the full layout now.
"Even before isolation, groups splintered off, fending for themselves."
"Makes sense. Cataclysm hit on a weekday afternoon... lotsa people on campus?"
"Yeah. But so many died... who knows now."
I listened, sorting my thoughts.
Time to wipe the Big Rats.
#
Jang Ho-seop and Ki Eun-chae finished talking.
I huddled with the group.
Shared some rations with Building 1 folks.
Payment for intel.
Then commotion from Building 2.
"Argh, where're you touching?"
"Just go back quietly."
"You screw with our stuff, piss us off, and...!"
Building 2 woman.
Demanding food as payback for "interrupting" them.
A few girls tried coming over; our people blocked them.
"Guess she was spying."
Jang Ho-seop chuckled.
"Who the hell are you to stop me? Hey? Don't touch me!"
The Building 2 woman kept yapping even as she got pushed back.
Finally took a few slaps from Kim Ha-na and retreated.
"Only good people here?"
I smirked at Jang Ho-seop's quip.
That woman was toeing the line.
Attitude grated, but no real interference.
Couldn't, even if she wanted.
Nothing direct at me.
Plus, Jang Ho-seop asked me to let it slide.
"Big Rats first."
Planning a total massacre.
Settling near Eunhyeon Stream meant clashing eventually.
Better hit them before they grew stronger.
"Yeah. Try the skill?"
"Go for it."
Jang Ho-seop closed his eyes.
Probed Big Rat info with his Fundamental Skill.
System gave two- or three-sentence answers now.
"Whoa, bro. Ki Eun-chae was right. And..."
Ki Eun-chae's story.
What we learned fighting them.
Jang Ho-seop's Fundamental Skill.
We brainstormed a plan to take the pack.
"Get cooperation from over there too."
"Cool. Just Building 1?"
"Yeah, whatever. They're support anyway."
Plan set, prepped for action.
That's when Bae Bong-sik caught my eye.
"Mr. Bae."
"Y-Yes, Mr. Yi Hyun."
Man at least ten years my senior.
Still stiffened when I called.
"Respect."
Dark tanned face, rough hands.
Kind eyes in contrast.
That man looked at me with pure admiration.
Auntie Soo-jung's training sessions affected people similarly—but uniquely.
"What's this?"
"Oh, thought maybe edible? S-Sorry."
Bae Bong-sik had snagged a Big Rat corpse and skinned it clean.
"Not complaining. Find anything?"
"Hmm... skin peels easy. Not much fat... yeah."
His eyes were different, as expected.
"Edible or not... still checking."
"Got a way. Prep for battle first."
Bae Bong-sik might solve a big issue.
#
Three hours later.
I'm running.
Chased by a massive Big Rat horde.
"Huff... huff..."
Suddenly, rats appeared ahead too.
Like the green-infested ground was writhing.
"Left."
Can't go back.
I sprinted and veered into an alley.
"Oh."
Alley dead-ended.
Tall wall blocking it.