Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Mist (MIST)
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High-class hotel room.
It felt utterly detached from the world outside.
An atmosphere that didn't suit a crumbling world at all.
Plush bed, comfortable chairs, even a luxurious table.
A man sat there in the room, legs crossed.
"So, to sum up what you're saying."
He took a sip of wine before speaking.
His voice sounded leisurely at first glance.
But a hint of irritation laced his tone.
"You're saying the woman with Charm is already dead?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
The woman's voice trembled faintly as she knelt and answered.
The man beside her kept his head bowed low, as if he couldn't bear to look up.
With the dawn of destruction, massive changes rippled through society.
A world where society collapsed and murder was justified.
Naturally, new laws emerged in such a place.
And the most fitting law in this ruined world was simple.
Strength.
Your past status didn't matter.
Nor did who you used to be.
Your rank depended on your traits.
And what job you chose.
The man had been blessed with such fortune.
If asked whether it was purely his own power.
Honestly, it was ambiguous.
"Didn't I tell you Charm was too useful to pass up? That we had to secure it?"
"W-we searched for her, but by the time we got there, she was already dead."
"Did you at least check who killed her?"
"It seems she left in a car... but we couldn't go that far..."
The man slammed his wine glass down with a clink.
The woman flinched at the uncharacteristic outburst.
"What do you think is the greatest power in this world?"
"O-of course, it's the power you possess, Master."
"Wrong."
The man gazed down at the woman impassively.
"The ability to dominate others. In that sense, Charm is incredibly versatile. Depending on the user, it can even control human minds."
The power to make others fall for you.
It let you turn people into tools.
And against enemies, it could make them betray their teams.
That was why he desperately wanted such a high-utility ability.
Yet to lose it so pointlessly.
"I'm greatly disappointed in you."
"P-please, give me a chance to make it up to you!"
"No amount of effort will bring back a lost ability."
The man's shadow flowed out like it was alive.
It twisted into something reminiscent of a Paris hell.
"A-aaah..."
It gaped wide and swallowed the woman whole.
He turned to the trembling man beside him.
"Don't disappoint me this time."
"Y-yes, sir!"
The man savored his wine like it was a fine treat.
"I spared her on purpose since her ability wasn't that great. Looks like I'll have to handle things myself."
He remained utterly calm, even after literally eating a person.
As if he'd just sampled some dessert he'd stumbled upon.
"Next time, I should eat someone with decent traits."
With that thought, reincarnator Kim Chun-sik stepped out the door.
There were plenty of people to eat anyway.
This was the Doom Hotel.
Where the most capable survivors gathered.
It hadn't been long since we left the museum when night fell.
Maybe because we'd had such a grueling day.
We all collapsed into bed without a word.
The next day, as expected, the quest window popped up.
Mist (MIST)
Type: 1st Main Quest
Difficulty: D
📍 Description: Vicious monsters continuously spawn in the foggy area.
📍 The fog occurs in all areas except safe zones.
📍 Avoid the fog, claim a safe zone, and survive the monsters.
'Finally, a main quest.'
We've rolled through what feels like 28 chapters of a webnovel already.
Now we finally get our first main quest.
Luckily, it didn't seem too tough.
Just survive. That was it.
'But what's a safe zone?'
I glanced out the window.
The fog had already blanketed everything outside.
Visibility was so poor that even people right next to you would be hard to see in it.
"And it's called Mist... Makes me think of that movie, which doesn't help my mood."
"What movie?"
"Whoa, you scared me."
Yoo-ri had woken up without me noticing and asked from beside me.
I quickly looked away after checking her top.
"If you're living with a guy, watch how you dress."
"Hm? Oh, my apologies."
Yoo-ri casually buttoned up her dress shirt.
She must've felt stuffy sleeping, since she'd even taken off her bra.
Maybe because she was a knight in her past life.
Yoo-ri showed no concern about being exposed at all.
'Does she not know how beautiful she is?'
A face that could debut as an idol tomorrow.
And breasts straining against her shirt buttons like they were screaming for help.
Lucky for her I'm not some average guy.
If I were a normal extra, I'd already be smitten, confessing, and dead.
"So, what about the movie?"
"Oh, our world had a movie kinda like this situation."
A horror flick with monsters in thick fog.
The ending was intense enough that I still remembered it.
I wondered if the author here drew inspiration from it.
"Hmm. Whatever it's about, this is reality now. Confuse fiction with real life, and you might die."
"...You're right."
That's when Hye-na stirred and sat up, hair tousled.
"Yawn~ You guys are up early."
Even fresh out of bed, Hye-na's beaming face was adorable.
Moments like this really showed how unfair the world was.
"Ugh, that fog is insane. Driving in this is gonna suck."
Hye-na pieced together the quest and situation, looking worried.
Fog so thick you couldn't see ahead.
A quest outright telling you to flee from monsters.
Not ideal for traveling.
"But the fog won't lift until the main quest ends. We'll have to move anyway."
"Can't we just head straight to the hotel?"
Yoo-ri shook her head at my question.
"You can't enter the hotel with a ticket during a main quest."
Tickets had restrictions like that too.
We'd just have to proceed carefully.
"Wish we could use tickets anywhere."
"Can't be helped. It was already night when we left the museum, and we were all beat."
I swallowed my regret and turned to Hye-na.
"Hye-na, can you drive in the fog?"
"Hmm, I'll try carefully. But speed-wise..."
"Speed?"
"Might be like a turtle crawling."
"...That should be fine."
We didn't need to rush anyway.
The main quest just started today.
As long as we reached our destination before it ended.
"How long does the 1st Main Quest usually last?"
"A week in our world. Probably similar here."
A week.
Even at a snail's pace, we could make it.
"Looking at the map, our destination is a safe zone."
"Even better then."
Yoo-ri stretched languidly.
"We can rest there if we arrive early. How we rest matters too."
"Y-yeah. Staying in fog 24/7 sounds unnerving."
Of course, we could handle most monsters.
But we weren't tireless berserkers built for endless combat.
"What kind of monsters appear in the fog? Not zombies again, right?"
"They look like this."
Yoo-ri suddenly pointed out the window.
I turned to look.
A massive mosquito was buzzing around out there.
"Whoa, most infuriating sight of the year so far."
Mosquitoes pissed me off just on sight.
A man-sized one ignited my inner pest control fury.
Hm, something I've thought before.
This author's monster naming sense is trash.
Or maybe no sense at all.
The bear we took down last time was just called 'Bear'.
At least give 'em proper names.
Though I'd just call it a mosquito bastard anyway.
"Eek!"
Hye-na screamed after peering out the window.
Her face was pure terror.
"Scared of bugs?"
"Ugh, hate 'em so much. Even normal ones suck, but those are huge... Zombies would be better..."
Eh, still, bugs over zombies spraying blood and guts everywhere, right?
But tastes differ.
I decided to respect hers.
"D-do those suck human blood too?"
"From what I know, yes."
"Ugh, horrifying. Wish all mosquitoes were dead."
Definitely a nightmare for civilians.
Zombies at least just ran around.
These flew too, making them hard to dodge.
Plus the fog made moving tough.
'Pretty much game over for normals outside safe zones.'
Which meant safe zones would be packed.
Not exactly positive in an apocalypse.
Especially right after that 'Human Hunt' quest.
'Quest named Mist too. Wonder what cancer character the author’s throwing at us this time.'
Maybe because of Han So-young last time.
I couldn't picture survivors positively no matter how hard I tried.
"Anyway, we can't move if we don't deal with those things."
I grabbed my baseball bat and stood.
Fog charges were one thing.
But our driver was too spooked to hit the gas properly.
"I can handle it if you want."
"Nah, I wanna test myself against a new enemy."
We'd leveled up solid at the museum.
Strength stat over 20 already.
New traits and skills.
Even my weapon had grown a few ranks.
I wanted to see what my power could do now.
'Perfect, just one monster, and Yoo-ri's here. Golden opportunity.'
I gripped the bat and stepped slowly into the fog.
Its massive size sent a chill down my spine.
I tightened my two-handed grip on the bat.
The moment the mosquito turned toward me.
I charged and swung.
'Mosquito slice!'
I didn't use Soul Strike, of course.
But with my boosted strength, a normal swing should be plenty effec-
-Splaaat!!
The mosquito's head exploded on impact.
The headless giant bug crashed to the ground.
"...Huh?"
I stared wide-eyed at my bat.
Did I get way stronger than I thought?