Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: 9. The Barefoot Superhuman (1)
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Ding-ding… ring!
.
.
.
Ding-ding-ding!
.
.
.
‘What now?’
Stirred from sleep by the ringing, Yeongwoo slowly opened his eyes.
Sunlight poured in through the window he’d left open the night before.
And then.
Ding-ding-ding!
He turned his head to the left.
The motel phone on the nightstand was blaring noisily.
“Damn it.”
Yeongwoo checked his wristwatch as he picked up the receiver.
The time: 8:02 a.m.
Click.
“…Hello.”
The habitual response slipped out unthinkingly.
On the other end, there was silence for a long moment.
Then.
《One hour and forty-eight minutes remaining until checkout.》
The message came in a voice that blended male and female tones.
“What the fuck.”
A chill ran through his body, snapping him fully awake.
Yeongwoo cautiously picked up the receiver again, which he’d flung far away.
But the caller had already hung up.
‘That son of a…’
Still, the wake-up call had been spectacularly effective.
Not only did it jolt him from sleep, but it restored his sense of reality in an instant.
“What… what was that?”
Yechan had bolted awake at the sound too, gripping the window frame with wide, startled eyes.
Yeongwoo glanced at the woman’s corpse still sprawled near the door, then moved to the window to confirm the red mist had fully cleared.
“Checkout reminder. Time to head out.”
There was still plenty of day-use time left, but with sleep gone, there was no point wasting it here pointlessly.
Yeongwoo opened the fridge and downed a can of coffee and some tea.
Then he pulled the dagger from the severed right arm of the woman lying on the floor.
He figured it could serve the same purpose as it had for her—striking at an opponent’s unguarded moment.
‘Now, what’s left.’
His gaze landed on the backpack she’d brought.
He had little interest in spare weapons or miscellaneous junk. What he was after was…
‘Oh.’
Rummaging through the backpack, Yeongwoo felt a familiar texture in his hand.
Clink.
Sure enough, the bottom was piled high with coins.
He flipped the bag over and shook it, spilling out crimson coins and gleaming commemorative ones nonstop.
Clatter!
‘How many people did she kill?’
Yeongwoo assumed she’d raided other rooms before coming here.
The total from the floor came to a whopping 364,000 karma.
32 commemorative coins, 44 crimson ones.
‘Lucky I met her before melting these into stats.’
Now his cash reserves stood at 810,000 karma. In stat terms, that was 8,100 points.
To avoid her mistake, Yeongwoo immediately began allocating.
‘As long as I don’t lose Golden Flash, senses aren’t urgent right now.’
That left strength, stamina, durability.
Strength had hit 400 thanks to the ‘Raging Goblin’ effect, while stamina and durability lagged far behind at 150 each.
‘Durability first? My body still can’t handle max output.’
After a moment’s thought, Yeongwoo set aside 10,000 karma for pocket change and poured the remaining 800,000 into stats.
『Character: Jeong Yeongwoo07』
[Strength] 600 (19+581)
[Stamina] 350 (21+329)
[Durability] 550 (13+537)
[Senses] 100 (24+76)
Built on the premise that Golden Flash’s sense theft worked on monsters and mutants too.
And the basis for that premise?
「Murder Ghost Finger」 - Relic Ring
【10% stat increase in PvP】
【--Empty Slot--】
The ‘PvP’ notation on the new ring.
‘If Golden Flash only worked on humans, it would say PvP too.’
But Golden Flash’s tooltip read:
【Steals 50% of enemy’s senses during combat.】
Enemy senses during combat.
And it was legendary-grade gear, no less.
So Yeongwoo was convinced it worked on mutants too.
Whoosh.
Finishing the allocation, that familiar vitality seeped through his body.
Yeongwoo grabbed some rope from the woman’s backpack, shed the bathrobe, and dressed.
Yechan, who’d been staring blankly, belatedly gathered his clothes.
* * *
Riverside Motel, second floor.
As soon as they closed the door and stepped into the hallway, a cacophony assaulted their ears.
Ding-ding-ding!
Ding-ding-ding!
Phone bells blaring from the other rooms on the second floor.
“……?”
With every door wide open, Yeongwoo could peer into each room as he crossed the hallway.
“My God.”
The sprawled corpses in the cramped motel rooms told yesterday’s story plainly enough.
Most victims were men, some in bathrobes, others completely naked.
A few had only half their outer clothes on.
One room held a mix of men and women—clearly tougher nuts for her to crack, judging by the heavy combat scars left behind.
‘Impressive, either way.’
Yeongwoo was genuinely awed.
Combat prowess aside, how had she even gotten in? Check-in, that is.
Each room had different gender ratios and guest types, yet she’d succeeded every time.
‘Well, I opened the door for her too, in the end.’
Yeongwoo kept walking until he reached the last room at the hall’s end.
“…….”
Two women, apparently mother and daughter, lay dead without even holding weapons.
As he approached the doorway, a blue barrier appeared blatantly.
Meaning outsiders couldn’t enter while day-use time was active.
Ironically, the room’s occupant who could dispel it was gone.
The world had gone mad.
Glancing back, he saw Yechan standing there with a gloomy face.
He considered asking if he was okay morally, but held back.
“Let’s go. We have to.”
“…Yeah.”
They wheeled their bikes downstairs to the lobby, passing the Grade 1 extra’s corpse—still head and torso apart—and exited the motel.
With day-use time not yet expired, the bright daylight held few people.
Click.
Yeongwoo placed one foot on the pedal and pondered.
‘Where to now?’
A fork in the road.
South to Daegu metropolis, or north to smaller cities like Sangju and Mungyeong.
A slight detour west beforehand could hit Gimcheon too.
‘Gimcheon or Mungyeong’s top swordsman should be weaker than Daegu’s.’
He decided to sweep smaller cities fast and monopolize the mutants.
Screech.
Yeongwoo’s front wheel turned west.
Yechan silently followed suit.
* * *
Whoosh!
The bike carrying Yeongwoo hit its physical max speed.
Southwest toward the Gyeongbu Expressway.
The route retraced their path, but the scenery was worlds apart.
Corpses littered the roadside like a plague had swept through.
‘The red mist killed them.’
Or more accurately, post-mist poverty.
Warnings had broadcast two hours before the mist, so anyone with money could’ve found shelter.
Meaning roadside dead were likely the poor.
Thus.
“Aw.”
“Another bum.”
Early scavengers rummaging corpses mostly came up empty.
Yeongwoo and Yechan pedaled through the dead and living alike.
Whoosh.
Either the blistering speed or spotting the Early Bird at his waist kept anyone from stopping or attacking them.
‘Do mutants spawn at fixed times daily? If so, I could plan routes around it.’
Yeongwoo’s grasp of this world’s schedule so far:
9 p.m.: Day-use service starts.
10 p.m. daily: Tax collection.
11 p.m.: Abnormal weather.
10 a.m.: Day-use expires.
Monsters and mutants sometime before sunset.
But patterns for events besides taxes remained unclear.
Like whether they repeated at exact times daily.
‘Guess I’ll know tomorrow.’
He shot through Sinpyeong-dong to Gumi Central Road.
Splash!
‘There it is.’
The elevated highway in the distance: Gyeongbu Expressway.
‘I’ll jump over up there. Should be fine now.’
Carrying Yechan up might even work.
Eager to test his near-superhuman physique, Yeongwoo stomped the pedal.
Then.
Crunch.
The center of gravity plunged.
“Huh?”
He braced with one foot, but the bike shattered beneath him.
“Ah…….”
The frame couldn’t withstand his output.
Likely from the excitement of spotting the highway.
“…….”
As Yeongwoo stared at the wreckage, Yechan, who’d passed him, braked hard.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just the bike’s toast.”
Yeongwoo grimaced but figured it wasn’t a big deal.
‘I’ll run.’
Strength 600, stamina 350, durability 550.
Might look silly, but full sprint could outpace city driving.
Yeongwoo secured the bike’s sack and his backpack with rope.
Then.
Crack.
Soles planted firm, he launched toward Yechan ahead.
Bang!
He barely took two steps before an odd noise erupted at his feet.
Boom!
“……?”
His shoes burst under the high-speed strain.
But barefoot didn’t hurt, so Yeongwoo blew past stunned Yechan.
Roooar!
Just running felt like opening a train window—wind whipping fiercely.
‘Is… is this for real?’
Awed by his absurd athleticism, Yeongwoo eyed the approaching expressway.
Head craned back, the road’s top was barely visible, yet he felt he could leap it in one.
‘Yeah, I got this.’
Legs primed for max output tensed.
Then.
Thud!
His right foot crushed the ground, hurling his body skyward.
Whoosh!
Defying gravity, Yeongwoo rocketed up.
‘Holy shit.’
He landed smoothly atop the expressway.
Crunch!
Rough asphalt ground against his heel.
Yeongwoo checked his sole, then shouted down to Yechan below.
“Can you make it up?”
Yechan slowly wheeled toward the road.
“No. Not like you, old man.”
His tone sank heavy for some reason.
“……?”
Sensing something off, Yeongwoo tilted his head.
“You okay? Nothing wrong, right? I’ll help you up. Go back down, piggyback, and jump.”
Yechan, now beneath, quietly lifted his chin to meet Yeongwoo’s eyes.
“…Is there even a point in going that far?”
“Huh?”
Yeongwoo’s face scrunched in confusion.
Yechan glanced around, then hooked a foot on the pedal.
“Even up there, I can’t match your speed. Guess this is where I stop being a burden.”
“Burden? What are you…….”
As Yeongwoo searched for words, Yechan continued.
“Go on. I’ve got a weapon and some money now. I’ll manage.”
“…For real? Splitting off like this?”
“We weren’t family anyway. Call it parting ways when the time comes.”
Yechan smiled bitterly.
Only then did Yeongwoo realize he meant it.
But could he? That soft kid in this mad world……
‘No, that’s meddling too much. We weren’t family, like he said.’
Yeongwoo forced acceptance.
Realistically, Yechan was becoming dead weight, and independence was smart for his growth.
But bonds aren’t pure logic. Yeongwoo, who’d grown fond, felt a pang.
“I’m ultimately heading to Seoul. Survive, and we’ll meet there someday.”
Yechan blinked blankly, then chuckled dryly.
“Seoul? Sure. By then, I won’t be ordinary either.”
Both knew the odds of Yechan reaching Seoul alive were slim.
“…Yeah. Take care.”
“You too. Thanks for everything.”
Yechan bowed his head.
Then wheeled away beneath the overpass without hesitation.
Clatter!
Yeongwoo turned; Yechan was already crossing the expressway, heading off.
Soon a dot, then vanishing into the distant cityscape.
* * *
“…….”
His first companion gone, but no time to dwell.
Yeongwoo turned to a small road sign.
‘Gimcheon, 27km… I can run that.’
Unthinkable before, but now? Totally doable.
No souls on the highway, just scattered stone vehicles.
Yeongwoo inhaled deep and sprang forward.
Boom!
Surroundings blurred by like before.
‘Running flat out barely tires me. I’m a real monster now.’
And it was only day two.
‘How strong are the other top swordsmen…….’
That thought cut short as his forward view, empty till now, changed.
“Huh.”
Unclear, but a faint reddish beam far ahead.
Less than a minute later, uncertainty turned to certainty.
‘……!’
Still dim, but a red pillar clearly shot down from high in the sky ahead.
‘Mutant marker.’
Yeongwoo’s face hardened, sensing much.
It meant he hadn’t eliminated yesterday’s mutant in Gimcheon.