Chapter 53
The deafening roar and vibrations finally ceased.
Even as they did, the floor tiles continued crumbling inward, squeezing us tighter.
That's when Namgung Hyuni whispered to me.
"You can distinguish between living and dead sections with that ability?"
"Yes, I believe so."
"...In that case, it would be far better if just we headed to a safe zone."
...?
"I cooperated with your call because of the contract we made at the bank. You haven't forgotten what's written in it, have you?"
I take first place in raid contribution. If Namgung Hyuni places in the top three, the insurance payout we squeeze from the bank skyrockets.
"What happens if we save these people and our contribution drops?"
Ah, I see.
'To this bastard, human lives are worth less than money.'It's infuriating.
The R&Y Hunters are the same.
Hunters all seem trained by the same mentor in lacking basic humanity—they treat others like bugs.
I was so appalled I nearly lost my words, but I spat them out with effort.
"These are civilians. It's their first gate—how much contribution can they even rack up?"
"That's optimistic thinking."
Haa... really.
"By that logic, the biggest threat to my first place is none other than you, Namgung Hyuni."
"...!!!"
"If you're not helping, just stay out of the way."
"..."
Namgung Hyuni's cheeks puffed out in frustration.
At least he wasn't completely dense—he backed off.
I glared at him steadily before refocusing on breaking the current deadlock.
Think.
'The pulsing within.'I latched onto that phrase from the tip. It stood out amid the otherwise sparse info.
'"Within" usually refers to living beings.'It could be a red herring.
But it included "pulsing" too.
Worth a shot.
Better than doing nothing and leaving it to luck anyway.
〔……!!〕
Right, Hemo. The reason the great king and Lord Chungmugong said they'd watch over me was because they admired my knack for seizing luck in clutch moments.
Of course, I'd relied heavily on status windows in abysses so far.
'No time for self-doubt over this.'Knowledge, abilities, blessings—mobilize every resource.
"H-Hey, if you're not causing trouble, mind telling us what you're doing, kid?"
Choi Kangshik spoke up as representative.
People had flinched when I spread the dark red liquid widely.
Hemo's color was blood red. To the public, it skewed toward unsettling.
〔……. …….〕
No, that's just people—I like your color, Hemo.
Before Hemo could sulk more, I quickly answered Choi Kangshik.
"Searching for a safe zone."
"...? You can find one just like that?"
"It's a hypothesis, but it feels promising."
I stopped there and focused on scattering Hemo again.
Choi Kangshik wore a resolved expression and asked no more.
'Assuming the entire space is a living being.'My actions stemmed from that premise.
For instance, we were inside the belly of a massive creature.
The crumbling slabs were illusions.
Treating this space as one giant lifeform...
Slabs that don't sink are part of the body.
'I can drain blood from it.'Once I'd secured some space, Hemo attached <Blood Collection Sticker>s to each slab.
With the blood draw, I recalled the scattered Hemo.
As expected.
Stickers on spots Hemo swept showed varied signals.
■■☹☻☹☹☻☹☹☹☻☹☹☹■
☹■☹☹☻☹☹☹☻☹☻☹☻☹■
☹☹☹■■☹☹☻☻☹☹☹☹☻☹
☹■☹☻☹☹☹☻☹☹■■☹■■
☹☹☹■☹■■☹☹☹■■☹☹■
'Nailed it.'
The black-and-white divide between blood-drainable and not was clear.
'Who knew the stone gargoyle experience would pay off here.'We'd used the same method to sort fake from real back then.
'Step on floors with black stickers.'...Safe zones weren't abundant near us.
Telling shell-shocked people to head far off wouldn't fly.
Legs won't even move—how could they get there?
'For zombie-heavy or distant spots, I'll handle it.'Greedily, I hoped for clusters of safe zones nearby...
As I chewed my lip—
[Golden Die effect applied.]
[Die shows '1', adding 10x to acquisition.]
"...Holy shit."
The intelli red slime shines in place of its moron master.
■■☹☻☻☻☹☹☹☻☹☻☻☻■
☹☹■☹☹☻☹☻☻☹☻☹☻☹■
☻☻☹■■☹☻☻☻☹☻☻☻☻☹
☻■☹☻☻☻☹☻☹☹■■☹■■
☻☻☹■☹■■☹☹☻■■☻☻■
The scattered footholds multiplied instantly!
What we needed was 'space to stand.'
Even the <Golden Die> counted it as acquisition.
Stats dipped painfully, but survival odds for the panicking crowd rose.
Suppressing the urge to nom this cute red slime, I bellowed.
"Everyone!"
"Among those stickers, step where the black ones are—you'll live!"
"I-Is that for real...?!"
"What're you waiting for? Just do it!!"
Choi Kangshik became my megaphone.
He hopped without hesitation. D-grade porter history gave him solid jump power.
He landed deliberately precarious.
"Wha—!"
"Careful!!"
Balancing with stork legs and outstretched arms, he craned his neck around.
"...See? Told ya?!"
Empty all around—only his spot floated in midair.
"Trust me a bit!"
"Damn it!"
He wagered his life for faith. People stopped hesitating and moved safely.
I stayed put, watching them claim safe zones to the end.
'I'll move last.'Can't just ditch them.
Nearly thirty civilians relied on me.
Moving first would make me no better than the hunters I despise. I regressed spitting on scum like that. Repeating it betrays my principles.
'I'm no righteous soul like hyung.'But I won't sacrifice people either.
'Rescue as many as possible from this abyss.'Honestly?
Best is escaping everyone.
But fixating on best often leads to worst.
Usually, dodging worst for second-best is relief enough.
'Aim for second-best.'Luck might make it best.
"..."
My gaze drifted to Kim Yi-hak.
He'd preached this mindset in school.
Seeing me lead left him dazed.
"Professor, move for now."
"...Uh, yeah."
Awkwardly, he headed to a black-stickered slab.
People crossed like testing stone bridges, claiming spots I indicated.
"Ah, safe!"
"That hunter was right!"
Doubt vanished, relief swelled. They eyed me with admiration.
Tension eased.
Zombies were mindless dead.
'They won't grasp our communication.'In this ideal scenario, all living survive floor one.
Yet the Ruler, Mephistopheles, tilted his head suspiciously.
Sure enough, he clapped, urging shambling zombies.
Ooooooh!
Zombies' momentum shifted.
They'd sunk passively—now they advanced on people.
Damn.
Namgung Hyuni smirked smugly, as if to say see?
"Claim spots early, and zombies snatch them. Get hurt by one, turn zombie yourself. Checkmate."
Infuriating.
Wanna gouge those eyes.
I ignored him. Head down out of his sight, I mouthed.
'Sparkle.'"Looking for me?"
Sparkle, stealthed by magic, responded.
'Release fear powder on zombies approaching people.'"Add one more task, and I could manage."
'Obviously.'"Great. But there's an issue."
"Spit it."
I figured Sparkle alone couldn't powder that many.
But surprisingly, not that.
"Living with you honed my magic. I can slow them all, if not paralyze."
'Then what's the problem?'"Not a problem, but for targeted zombie hits, whirlwind's best."
Sparkle eyed afar.
People and zombies moments from clash.
"Wind would work."
'Wind... wind...'How to whirlwind in a sealed room...
'I can do it.'I closed my eyes.
【Crimson Flame】 - Vermilion Bird's Red Wings
Whoosh!
Flames erupted from my clothes. I cranked output!
Next instant, wind blew.
"Wha—wind out of nowhere?!"
Air flows hot to cold.
Skip the science.
Me as fire demon disrupts airflow. Air, confused by sudden heat, rushes toward cold-radiating zombies.
Fwoooosh!
"Now!"
"G-Got it...!!"
Sparkle folded and flared wings, blasting pink dust at zombies.
Powder grazing living necks and ears enveloped zombies.
Twitch, twitch.
Visibly slowed.
Even broken wooden puppets move smoother.
Right after.
Uwaaaaaah!
Misfooted zombies sank underground.
Sparkle → Seo Wonseok
Transferred EXP: +456
Transferred EXP: +456
Transferred EXP: +456
· <Eternal Blessing> synergy: EXP gain x1.2!