Chapter 89

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 89

Chapter Title: Night in the Rest Area

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The night in the Rest Area was dangerous.

As perilous as the Trial zones themselves.

Darkness created the perfect cover for foul deeds, and beasts stripped of their humanity lurked within it, committing all manner of depravity.

In this world where all sorts of abilities ran rampant, wandering around unarmed in the dead of night was practically suicidal. Even I avoided openly strolling through the Rest Area at night.

"But why'd you come along? Go play with the harpy."

"It's more fun hanging out with you, oppa!"

And just like that, Esera had followed me out of the lodging. In the end, the two of us headed out to buy ingredients for a late-night snack.

I stood at the entrance to the lodging and quickly scanned the surroundings.

The dim street came into view.

It was past midnight, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the road steeped in darkness, barely holding out against it thanks to the faint glow of sporadically placed streetlamps serving as their last bastion.

'The moonlight's dim tonight, too.'

That only amplified the eerie, anxious atmosphere, yet there were still people on the street.

"Fuck, why the hell are you ordering me around?!"

Drunken rants and shouts from brawls echoed sporadically from various corners of the Rest Area.

"Hey there, handsome, feeling lonely tonight?"

The sultry, coquettish voices of prostitutes occupied one shadowy stretch of the street. Some of those gazes turned our way.

I immediately activated my ability.

The moment I used Stealth, Esera and I vanished completely.

Esera looked a bit startled, but while she was visible to me, I was invisible to her without [Full Appraisal].

'Up you go.'

I grabbed Esera and hoisted her onto my shoulder. She brightened up immediately, kicking her legs excitedly like a kid splashing in a pool.

I headed straight for the market with ingredients while pulling out a notepad from my pocket and scribbling.

『You should carry a weapon when you go out.』

『No need in the Rest Area.』

『Still, good to make it a habit.』

Esera promptly thrust something right in front of my face.

『This is enough!』

Huh? I was a little dumbfounded. In each of Esera's hands was a dildo and some anal beads.

『Aren't those the ones I threw away?』

『Yeah, I picked them back up. No owner, so they're mine now. I can whack away with these all I want.』

Come to think of it, Esera couldn't commit direct murder. At best, all she could do was herd mobs to trigger mob kills.

That meant she had no need to carry a sharpened blade in the monster-free Rest Area.

Not unless it was a silicone toy that wouldn't kill even if swung full force.

『But where'd you get the dildo?』

I'd bought the anal beads when developing Seo-yeon's backdoor, but a dildo... especially one that vibrated with a buzz—never purchased that.

『From a vending machine!』

『Huh?』

She handed it over, so I took a closer look. It was extra-large; the size and length were insane. Of course, still smaller than mine...

I handed it back and wrote.

『You're not seriously using that to masturbate, right?』

『Nope. My virginity's yours, oppa. No way I'd give it to something like this.』

『...Yeah, thanks.』

That was genuinely touching...

『Then why'd you buy it?』

I doubted she'd bought it as a real weapon.

『It's just so cool-looking!』

She swung the dildo around on my shoulder like a lightsaber.

『Hit people with this, and they won't die! No need for murder! So this is plenty!』

『...Sure, sure.』

Entering the shopping district, I quickly hit the butcher, vegetable stand, and fruit stall, grabbing what we needed.

Shops had fixed prices anyway—no haggling—and after ten years of buying ingredients for meals, I could spot exactly what I needed at a glance.

Shopping was done in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flash.

A minute per shop was more than enough.

'Harpy's omnivorous, but better stock up on plenty of meat.'

After buying extra for the harpy too, we had about six minutes left. One minute to sprint here, three for shopping.

'Good. Straight back to the lodging now...'

That was when I was just about to leave the shopping district.

"Kaaaak!"

A scream shattered the street.

I halted abruptly and focused ahead.

In the center of the street, thick with a menacing aura, about a hundred people were scattered, surrounding someone.

"F-fuck, what the hell is that?!"

Behind the yellers waited twelve fingerless slaves. From that, it was clearly a crime scene—ambushing passersby at night to enslave them.

'Hmm?'

...Or it should have been.

Oddly, no target in sight. Instead, a massive creature loomed there.

Krrrar...

The beast radiating savage energy was a gigantic wolf around five meters long.

Nearly two meters tall, it was no ordinary wolf we knew.

"S-summon?!"

"Damn it, a mage?!"

As far as I knew, that was a quasi-raid boss monster from the second Trial, [Outskirts of the Black Forest].

And here it stood smack in the Rest Area.

Kraaaargh!

Roaring, it kicked off and began slaughtering people indiscriminately.

"Hiiik!"

"W-what is that?!"

"Aaak! S-save me!"

The black shadow tore through the street furiously. Wherever it struck, blood and flesh sprayed, staining the road red.

"M-monster!"

"Run! Aak...!"

But it permitted no escapes. Despite its bulk, its movements were incredibly agile, prioritizing and chasing down the fleeing first.

"Kuhk."

"D-don't come this way! Stay back! Kaaaak!"

One kick sent two or three tumbling as mangled meat. A casual body slam bowled over four or five like pins.

"Damn it."

The lodging was still far. Realizing escape was impossible, someone yelled.

"Group up! It's just one! Protect the dealers! Send the slaves forward!"

"P-please spare us! Please!"

The slaves, reduced to meat shields, were forced ahead. Ranged ability users prepared attacks behind them.

Whoosh—

But the beast vanished into an alley instantly.

"Wh-what."

"Did it... run...?"

As if.

Thud.

"Huh...?"

A black shadow burst onto the street in a flash, screams erupting immediately.

"M-my leg! My leg!"

"Kaaaak!"

Lightning-fast from an unexpected alley, the wolf butchered three, snatched one as trophy, and vanished into the opposite side.

Aaaaaaaaak!

Screams faded, then cut off. Moments later, it burst from the darkness again, snatching another.

"Th-this fucking shit."

"It doesn't even touch the slaves!"

"Where the hell did that bitch go, and how'd this thing show up?!"

Esera, watching the blood-and-flesh-strewn chaos from a safe distance, slid her notepad toward me.

『Why's a monster here?』

『That's not a monster.』

『Then?』

『It's a person like us.』

There were abilities like that. Ones that let you transform into monsters.

They were called Druids or Shapeshifters.

I used [Full Appraisal] on the black beast flickering in and out of sight.

'Terrifying stats, as expected.'

Higher than our party members'.

A true quasi-raid boss.

'And it can turn into a Shadow Wolf? Must've struggled in the second Trial.'

In other words, if you'd ever killed or assisted on one, you could transform into it.

Mana cost was high, so not spammable, but the stat correction on transform made it outright broken.

'Among Mythic grades, the most unique and rare case.'

But the penalty of needing a prior kill made it less than ideal.

Greater stat gaps increased mana drain exponentially, and the biggest flaw... you couldn't surpass the Trial level you were on.

'Seo-yeon could sweep new Trials effortlessly. Ha-na could handle two or three easily.'

But [Polymorph] couldn't exceed Trial-zone power. Since its ceiling was those monsters.

For us, that meant skeletons, specters, harpies, bats at best.

'Only one-on-one viable with mobs.'

With experience and wits, maybe two, but that was the limit. Lame for Mythic.

'Still, great for early survival compared to all-stats... definite low-end advantage.'

At least pulls their weight.

And clear limits came with strengths, like the scene unfolding now.

"What monster's that strong?! Where'd it even come from?! What's its deal...!"

"Shut up and block the front!"

"Fuck that! How do we know where it'll pop from? And have you assholes even landed a single proper hit from back there?!"

"Fuck, it's zipping by so fast—you need to buy time to land shots!"

They couldn't even track its movements.

Most monsters ahead would outstat players like this. Meant overwhelming advantage in PvP.

Especially in darkness.

"N-no! Clouds covering the moon..."

It knew human weaknesses, compensated for them, and exploited them.

"Kaaaaaaaak!"

The hunt resumed. Faces paled.

"Th-this fucking sucks."

Moon obscured, streetlamps all shattered—realizing they were in pitch black, they panicked in terror.

Fear sank deep, and someone yelled.

"Scatter! Run for it!"

"What?! You idiots! Don't panic...! It's just one!"

The apparent leader tried calming them, but fear deafened them.

"Don't bullshit me! I'm surviving! I will...!"

"If we all run, fuck, at least one'll make it!"

They scattered every which way.

But perhaps it awaited this. The black wolf mercilessly butchered the fleeing.

Thud! Thud! Thwack!

Massive forepaws chased and shredded bodies.

"Guhk."

"Kweeehk."

No mercy whatsoever. One by one, lives snuffed out on the ground.

"H-huh?"

Curiously, not a single slave died. I blankly watched the slaughter unfold in under two minutes.

'Movements so skilled. Innate talent. Quadrupedal beast mode, yet so masterful.'

Yet puzzled too. No Korean with that ability in my memory.

'No, foreign name?'

Still, first time hearing it.

Liliana? No such name among final Trial survivors.

Rare even for Mythic. Though limits kept it off rankings.

'Still busted in early Selection Process. Victory over a hundred.'

Even starting surrounded, shattering formation, now only one survivor left.

Crunch. Crunch.

The wolf took damage too—a slight gash on its flank.

But that was it... Too little for reversal. Situation hopeless.

Maybe why.

"P-please spare me. We got greedy and messed up..."

The group leader groveled. The wolf pinned him with a forepaw.

"Kuhk. P-please... M-money, anything you want."

More pressure. Crunch, cruuunch. Ribs snapping echoed chillingly into the night.

"P-please. Take this and forgive... Kuhk?! Wh-why? I gave you all the money..."

Splurt! Blood erupted; the man died.

The wolf snorted lightly, scanned around, then vanished down the street with a gust.

"......"

Silence blanketed the corpse-strewn street.

The earlier commotion had scared off passersby; slaves fled too.

Hop!

Confirming we were alone, Esera jumped off my shoulder.

『Be right back!』

She dashed to the battlefield, rummaging through corpses like a grim reaper.

'What a headache.'

Chucking dryly, I kicked off the ground and charged. Zipping to Esera, I drew my sword from my waist and raised it high.

Whoosh!

Fierce wind above my head. Almost simultaneously, a heavy blow slammed my blade.

Kraaaang!

The lunging wolf's massive claw clashed with my sword, sparks flying.

Eh?

Esera looked up startled. The wolf's eyes widened, staring down. I shoved its forepaw back with force and retreated with Esera.

Sniff sniff.

Landing where we'd been, it scanned and sniffed. Soon tilting its head in confusion.

Esera's trembling hand scribbled, thrusting the notepad at me with effort.

『Didn't that guy go that way earlier...?』

『Yeah. This is a different one.』

『Eh?』

Two of them. One hunted humans while the other watched from a rooftop.

Two with such a rare ability teaming up...

The wolf searched thoroughly but missed us. It could've hit Esera because she was shaking corpses while looting.

'Esera's Stealth isn't absolute.'

Failing to find us till the end, it licked its chops and vanished down the same street as the first.

Truly, a world demanding constant vigilance.