Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: 8. Nighttime Short Stay (3)
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Youngwoo sat perched on the edge of the bed, quietly listening to the sound of water leaking from the bathroom.
Shaaaa!
“…….”
What in the world was going on.
Right in front of the glass door to the practically pointless bathroom, the woman’s clothes and backpack lay scattered haphazardly.
Everything except the dagger, one-hand sword, and shield, that was.
‘What the hell is she doing in there.’
Imagining the woman showering was practically unavoidable.
She had gone into that cramped bathroom carrying nothing else but a knife and a shield, after all.
Of course, strolling into a room with two complete strangers and casually hopping in the shower first wasn’t remotely normal either.
‘Does she have that much confidence in a fight?’
Then again, looking back on her appearance and story, one thing was clear: she wasn’t your average person.
‘Anyway, once she finishes washing up and comes out, I’ll tie her down tight.’
With hands and feet bound in rope and left on the floor, even if she somehow snapped the ropes and ambushed them, he could react in time.
Assuming Ye-chan woke him up without too much delay, that is.
‘Hmm.’
Youngwoo stared fixedly at the commemorative coin still sitting on the desk.
That was when he noticed the timer had vanished from the top of his vision.
‘Oh, right.’
By now, the red mist should be forming outside.
Conveniently, a window sat against the wall to the right of the bed, so Youngwoo darted over and peered out.
A blue barrier covered the half-open window, but he could still make out the scene outside well enough.
A faint reddish fog was indeed spreading across the city in patches.
“Eh.”
Soon, a human silhouette appeared near the edge of the fog.
Tatat!
A man sprinting frantically toward somewhere.
Completely unarmed, he looked like either a robbery victim or a latecomer who’d skipped the initial quest.
‘Managed to survive without running into any goblins, huh.’
But his luck seemed to run out there.
The red mist was hot on the heels of the man’s legs as he hurried along.
And then, at last.
Swish.
The fog swallowed him up without a sound or hint of presence.
“…….”
The distance to the motel was pretty far, far enough that a scream should’ve carried over, but nothing reached them.
Instead, he could see the man’s silhouette, now blurred within the fog, stumbling along.
Until finally.
“…Ah.”
The man halted and crumpled to the ground.
‘How long was that? A minute?’
Youngwoo mentally clocked the time from the moment the man touched the fog to when he lost control of his body.
‘Feels like about a minute. Not sure if he’s dead.’
As Youngwoo pondered this alone, Ye-chan called out from behind.
“Um… mister.”
“Yeah?”
He turned to find Ye-chan looking a bit flustered.
And standing three or four steps away from him was the woman, freshly showered.
A towel wrapped around her body, a one-hand sword in one hand and a shield in the other.
Yet Youngwoo’s Gumi Swordsmanship and Golden Flash stayed silent.
They’d deemed this no combat situation.
“Thanks to you guys, I got a nice wash. Appreciate it.”
She glanced at the commemorative coin she’d left on the desk—still there—before propping the sword from her right hand against the wall.
Hilt up, ready to snatch at a moment’s notice.
Youngwoo shot her a sharp look, a reminder of their deal from outside.
“I said we’d tie you up without your weapons, right? We’ll stick to our word, so drop the shield.”
The woman let the shield slip from her left hand to the floor without hesitation.
“Everything I said earlier is true. So no need to be so on edge.”
But Youngwoo didn’t reply. Instead, he set the shield between the bed and the windowed wall.
Close enough to grab from bed in an instant.
The woman, no fool, smirked again.
“But seriously, you’re the real Greatest Swordsman of Gumi? Not that huge a city—two guys who look that similar?”
“What if I am? What if I’m not?”
“If you are… well, I’ve crossed paths with someone important. Lucky me. If not? No big deal.”
Vague answer.
Youngwoo opted for silence to avoid stirring up trouble.
He planned to ditch Gumi the moment the fog lifted anyway.
‘Gotta hit another city before the next mutant shows. The stat gap with top swordsmen elsewhere will only grow.’
[Golden Gidan]
|Summon golden rain in 2+ regions. (1/2)
[Special Social Worker]
|Return a mutant alive.
Of the current recommended achievements, those two were the quickest to tackle.
Luck willing, he might knock both out at once.
“Anyway, what’s the deal between you two?”
Another question from the woman.
“Nothing special. Just ended up traveling together.”
“Not family? And you’re sharing a room?”
Her surprise made Youngwoo cock his head instead.
“You’re sharing one right now.”
“Ah, yeah, fair.”
That was when Youngwoo caught a whiff of something off.
“Alright, mind putting your clothes back on? Kinda awkward tying you up like that.”
He signaled Ye-chan for the rope. The woman smirked and spoke up.
“Tying me with clothes on isn’t riskier? Who knows what’s in the pockets.”
Towel-clad, she brazenly lifted both arms.
Ye-chan, rope in hand, looked pained, eyes flicking between Youngwoo and her.
Youngwoo, still atop the bed, grumbled irritably.
“That’s my problem. Get dressed already. Drag this out more and…”
“And what?”
She looked annoyingly relaxed.
That sealed it for Youngwoo: at least one of her claims was bullshit.
Like the pregnancy bit.
‘No matter how easy we seem, it’s two against one. And she’s this chill? While “pregnant”?’
He fixed his gaze on the woman still waving her arms, urging him to tie her.
Then.
“Hand it over.”
He hopped off the bed and took the rope from Ye-chan.
“Uh… what’re you gonna do?”
“She wants it like this. Gotta grant her wish.”
Deep down, Youngwoo figured she wouldn’t go quietly.
Everything screamed wrong.
Weirdest of all: her insistence on staying unarmed.
“…….”
Youngwoo toed the shield at her feet aside. Her lips curled.
“Feel safer now?”
“Dunno.”
Early Bird in his right, rope in his left, he closed in.
She eyed the blade like it was poison, body quivering.
“Gonna tie me holding that? Dangerous. Set it down a sec—I’m unarmed here.”
Youngwoo ignored her, binding prep locked in.
“Stay put.”
Distance down to two spans.
“……!”
His brows twitched.
A glint from inside her towel.
Gumi Swordsmanship and Golden Flash blared warnings in sync.
「Sensory stat temporarily boosted from 100 to 137.」
“Shi……!”
Whoosh, flash!
They moved as one.
She yanked a hidden dagger from the towel, lunging for his throat. Youngwoo...
Swish!
Snapped the dangling Early Bird upward, severing her arm.
The right one, dagger gripped, thrusting his way.
Tsssh!
“Huh?”
So fast she blanked on the pain, she gawked at her arm sailing off at a crazy angle.
Then.
Thud. Arm hits floor. Scream erupts.
“Kya啊啊啊!”
Blood fountained from the stump.
Youngwoo sighed, watching her blood soak the sheets red.
Night in a bloodbath, check.
“Hey.”
“Kuhuhu……!”
“This being the ‘last room’—meant something else, huh? You cleared everywhere else, left this for last?”
Solid guess, but she had no breath to confirm.
Too busy flailing toward the door.
“Wait. You’ll die outside anyway.”
He yanked the wedged shield free, hurled it diagonally at her back.
Whoooosh!
Dreadful whistle. Steel shield crumples her waist grotesquely.
Crack!
“…Ack!”
She faceplanted with a yelp, drenched in sweat, teeth gnashing.
“Y-you psycho bastard……!”
Youngwoo leaped down, voice low.
“Coulda played nice till dawn ambush… why pick the hard way? Worked like a charm on others, huh.”
Terror flickered on her face. Misjudged him bad.
“You… are the Greatest Swordsman.”
“Didn’t know? Way off from what you pictured.”
“W-well…….”
“Die.”
No need for more. Sword tip plunged deep into her nape.
Spurt.
Tremors ceased. Small blood pool spread below.
“…….”
Youngwoo sloshed through the blood, frisking her.
No other weapons in the towel. But her finger bore something.
‘Ring, huh.’
Dull, tarnished silver vibe.
‘Item?’
He slipped it off. Tooltip popped.
「Serial Killer’s Finger」 - Relic Ring
【10% stat boost in PvP】
【--Empty Slot--】
*‘Portrait of the Murderer’ perk.
‘Portrait of the Murderer?’
An achievement.
One Youngwoo hadn’t seen before.
Not ‘Hothead’ type—different disposition. Meaning…
‘She unlocked one too.’
First impressions confirmed: no ordinary foe.
Ye-chan, ringside for it all.
“…….”
Frozen stiff, breath caught.
Every second a shock.
“You good? Total scammer.”
Youngwoo half-assed the comfort, biting back, ‘Pregnancy was fake too, probably.’
Time: 11:23 PM.
Window check: fog thicker now. He crashed on the bloody bed.
Splash.
Fresh blood scent everywhere.
Not sleep-ruiningly gross.
Accustomed now.
Tension ebbed. Muscles unwound.
Eyelids drooped heavy.
Rustle.
But Ye-chan.
“…….”
Couldn’t drift off like Youngwoo.
Stood rooted, eyes on the corpse by the door.
A brutal, eerie night.