Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: 8. Nighttime Day-Use Room (1)
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Red mist and respiratory damage warning.
The latter probably didn’t just mean a bit of coughing.
Not with the way this world had been rolling so far.
‘Lungs melting or something.’
The fact that they announced the nighttime weather right when the day-use service started meant they were basically forcing everyone to use it.
“Wanna hit up a motel?”
“…Huh?”
“For a day-use room.”
“There are tons of houses around here, though?”
Ye-chan was right—residential areas were everywhere nearby.
Behind that mart from earlier, there were housing complexes and apartment buildings packed in tight.
But in Yeong-woo’s eyes, those places had a fatal flaw.
“The owners are more likely to come back there. People who used to live there could still be around.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah… you’re right.”
Ye-chan got it a beat late.
“Yeah, regular houses are definitely places where someone was living…”
“Motels have owners too, but they don’t use every room themselves. There’s gotta be empty ones.”
Of course, that was only if they hurried.
“But even if the rooms are full, you’d be fine, right, sir? Everyone’d wanna bunk with Gumi’s Greatest Swordsman.”
Yeong-woo shook his head at that.
“No thanks. They might start off all friendly, but once they see the Greatest Swordsman asleep, they’ll get murderous even if they weren’t before.”
“Yeah… that could happen.”
Ye-chan nodded in agreement, but he still thought Yeong-woo was one weird guy.
He’d given up a fortune to hand out cash to everyone, even prioritizing the kids in front of that loan shark.
Yet here he was, distrusting people this much… Impossible to read the guy.
「Two hours from now, [Abnormal Weather] Red Mist will generate.」
The climate alert popped up, and a timer embedded itself in the top of his vision.
Flash!
「01:59:58」
‘Two hours? So the abnormal weather kicks in around 11 p.m.’
Considering most people were swarming marts and convenience stores for food, it wasn’t a generous window.
Truth was, Yeong-woo and Ye-chan weren’t in a position to slack off either.
“Know any motels nearby?”
“N-No idea… Aren’t you supposed to know that stuff, sir?”
“You think every adult has that memorized?”
Yeong-woo protested, then realized something.
He’d never once been to a motel in Gumi.
“Let’s just pedal down the main road. If we can’t find one, we’ll head back near the station or break into some house.”
Their current spot was Bisan-dong, way northeast of Gumi Station.
It was totally unfamiliar territory for Yeong-woo, who rarely left his dorm.
Screech, scrape.
They pedaled along the main road for about ten minutes.
Finally spotting a family up ahead, Yeong-woo slowed down.
“Hey! Mind if we ask for directions?”
The woman in the lead threateningly raised the axe in her right hand.
Two guys on bikes with bundles tied down tight—it looked suspicious.
But then she recognized Yeong-woo’s title and her eyes went wide.
“Wait, aren’t you Jeong Yeong-woo?”
As she spoke, her husband clutching the shield behind her and the kids all started digging in their pockets.
Pulling out those damn commemorative coins again.
“Yeah… You live around here? Looking for a motel.”
“A motel? There’s gotta be some…”
She looked like she didn’t know the exact spot.
“Guess we’ll keep looking then.”
Yeong-woo gave a light wave and went to pedal off, but the husband waved him down.
“Go straight up that road you see there—there’s one called Riverside Motel on the left. It’s sandwiched between buildings, so look closely.”
“Oh, thanks.”
As Yeong-woo bowed his head, the woman grinned at her husband.
“You know your way around.”
“Uh, that’s…”
Yeong-woo pedaled off before the husband could finish.
* * *
Riverside Motel.
Not actually by the river, but just like the guy said, tucked between big buildings and hard to spot.
Still, being five stories tall, it probably had plenty of rooms left.
“That it?”
“Looks like.”
Yeong-woo and Ye-chan approached the entrance on their bikes.
The day-use service announcement hadn’t changed the outside much—nothing special. But through the frosted glass door, something shadowy moved.
‘Owner still alive in there?’
No way to leave the loaded bikes outside, so Yeong-woo held his bike and pushed the door open.
Ding-a-ling.
The bell on the door jingled, announcing customers, and right then—
Whoosh!
“……!”
A sudden whoosh of air, and the hologram of Gumi Swordsmanship snapped into a defensive stance.
「Sensory value temporarily increased from 100 to 122.」
‘Some psycho.’
A stolen sensory value of 22 meant the opponent’s base was 44.
If they were born a low-grade human, it meant a veteran who’d farmed a ton of karma. Otherwise, high chance they were…
‘Grade 1 or 2 upper human.’
Either way, ambushing out of nowhere was unforgivable.
Yeong-woo drew Early Bird at unbelievable speed and smacked away the attack.
Ping!
Across from the door, a sword hilt flew into the air.
At the same time, someone screamed and toppled backward.
“Aaah!”
Yeong-woo flung the glass door wide to get eyes on it.
“Urgh!”
The source of the scream: a guy in his early twenties, probably.
“…….”
Yeong-woo glanced between the guy’s grotesquely bent right hand and the one-handed sword jammed under the motel counter.
“Oh.”
His counterattack had been too strong—not just knocking the weapon away, but shattering the hand holding it.
‘Right, my strength’s at 300 now.’
And his initial base strength was just 19. Basically superhuman already.
Still, Yeong-woo could hold food normally or ride a bike because he’d lived as a regular guy just ten-odd hours ago.
He still had the feel for how much force to use in daily life.
But if he ever lost that sense, he’d get results like this—unexpected.
“Whoa, damn.”
Ye-chan, following behind, frowned at the sprawled youth.
“Guh, urgh!”
The nameless ambusher kept wailing.
Yeong-woo rifled through his pockets first.
Not a single coin, as expected.
So he’d come early to the motel to rob people.
Next step was obviously to cut his throat.
“You— what grade? Role? Extra? Supporting?”
Yeong-woo’s question bought the guy a stay of execution.
“Ugh, urgh!”
But with a broken wrist, was the question even registering?
The youth just alternated between groans and screams.
So in the end.
Crack!
“Arrrgh!”
Early Bird pierced the youth’s thigh. A bit of torture to get his attention.
“Sir? What the hell…!”
Startled, Ye-chan tried to stop him.
Sure, the guy attacked first, but no need to torture, right?
But Yeong-woo had his reasons.
To learn what kind of person his supposedly Grade 1 supporting actress mom was, he needed to interrogate another upper human.
“What grade human are you? Role? Tell me that, and I’ll either let you live or kill you quick—your choice.”
“Guh… You psycho!”
The furious youth tried to spit at Yeong-woo, then stopped when he gripped Early Bird tighter.
“Wait! Gr-Grade 1. Grade 1 extra.”
“Grade 1?”
Yeong-woo’s eyes widened.
A real upper human.
“Job?”
“N-Nah, none of that crap.”
“Unemployed? What about your parents?”
At that, the youth’s tear-streaked face twisted completely.
Like a different person.
“You killed them.”
“What?”
“You bastards killed them! You filthy scum…!”
It wasn’t just rage—it was fury and grief so intense it made the air feel boiling.
His parents were probably upper humans too, sniped off by public vote judging by the reaction.
“What bullshit now? Just kill me!”
The youth looked beyond reason now.
But reset or not, family history aside—he’d still tried to kill a random motel-goer.
“…….”
No more talking, Yeong-woo decided, and swung Early Bird as ordered.
Slash!
In a blink, a red line crossed the youth’s neck, and his head tumbled.
Splat.
The severed head hit the floor, its stump squelching wetly.
Ye-chan, who’d watched it all, went pale.
“…….”
Too brutal and bizarre for a high schooler to process.
The sir he’d seen as an ally torturing just to learn the guy’s grade, and the tortured guy’s parents wiped out by the masses…
Moment of realizing he lived in a far more horrific world than he thought.
“Th-This… is this really okay?”
Ye-chan stared at the lone head and spoke. Yeong-woo tilted his head.
“What? Mad I didn’t kill him right away?”
He genuinely didn’t know what Ye-chan was objecting to.
So Ye-chan had even less to say. He didn’t fully know what scared him either.
Was it Yeong-woo turning inhuman? Or the world itself?
“…No.”
Ye-chan shook his head and gestured to keep going.
Yeong-woo looked uneasy but moved anyway.
「01:16:32」
The mist timer said just over an hour left.
If no rooms here or some other snag, they’d have to bike frantically to another spot.
‘Or fail both and crash in someone else’s day-use room—wake up throat slit.’
Dodging the blood pooling at their feet, Yeong-woo and Ye-chan crossed the lobby.
Then.
Thud.
They cautiously climbed the dark stairs, lights all off.
But bluish light leaked from above, brightening as they ascended.
“…What now?”
“Dunno. Hope no more monsters this late.”
Yeong-woo gripped Early Bird tight in his right hand, eyes fixed ahead, moving slow.
Finally.
Thud.
They reached the second floor, and saw the source of the blue glow.
Room doors glowing faintly.
“…….”
Surreal as hell, but time was short—Yeong-woo headed to the end of the hall.
He picked Room 208.
As he approached, the blue border intensified.
Then an interface popped up.
「Use day-use service?」
[Riverside Motel Room 208]
|Space: Narrow
|Facilities: Bathroom
|Day-Use Fee: 3,000 karma
|Duration: Until 10 a.m. next day
「How many will stay? Enter number.」
A holographic keypad appeared.
“…….”
Yeong-woo thought a sec, then reached out.
「2」