Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Under World (3)
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Before entering Seoul Station, I stopped by a nearby shop to pick up some emergency equipment.
‘First, two smoke grenades and two flares.’
I clipped the smoke and flare grenades to the belt around my waist.
For monsters that were nearly impervious to modern weaponry, these smoke and flare grenades were some of the most useful tools available.
‘Next.’
I strapped knife holsters to my left and right thighs and slotted three throwing knives into each.
“Ah, I should grab this too.”
I picked up a headlamp from a corner of the display shelf.
It was an essential item for exploring the sewers.
“And for the last thing…”
*Tremble, tremble.*
My hand shook pathologically as it reached for the display shelf.
Just looking at the price tag below made me want to vomit, but I had no choice.
‘Three medium-grade potions.’
I could skimp on other things, but I had to buy these.
“Two flares and two smoke grenades. Six Holy Stone-coated knives. One LED headlamp and three medium-grade potions.”
When I brought them to the counter, the clerk scanned the barcodes and tallied up the total.
“That’ll be 7,320,000 won~”
“You damn robbers.”
A price that made my stomach churn.
To make matters worse, about 6,000,000 of that 7,320,000 won was just for the potions.
‘Damn potion pushers.’
The price for a potion that was barely more effective than a fast-acting ointment was absurd.
‘Shit.’
Still, I had no other choice.
The difference between having them and not was huge.
“Excuse me? What did you just…”
“Ah, I said the blades and durability of these knives are excellent.”
-*Tiring!*
Shut up.
“Haha! Our shop’s products are famous for their quality~”
Perhaps he hadn't heard my mumble, as the clerk nodded with a bright smile.
“Will you be paying by card?”
“I’ll pay with cash. Ah! But what to do… I only have exactly 6,000,000 won…”
I fluttered the envelope of cash I had prepared beforehand and let out a sigh.
*Smile.*
The clerk smiled back.
“The total is 7,320,000 won.”
“Can’t you give me a little… since I’m paying in cash?”
“The exact total is seven million, three hundred and twenty thousand won.”
“Is this how you treat a regular? I’ve been coming to this shop for years!!!”
“Our shop opened a week ago.”
Dammit.
“I meant that I’ll *become* a regular for years to come.”
“…Haaah.”
The clerk let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“I can do it for 7,000,000 won.”
“6,500,000 won.”
“Sir, I really can’t go any lower.”
“Let’s meet in the middle at 6,600,000 won.”
“How is that the middle?”
After a bit more haggling, I was finally able to purchase the equipment for 6,700,000 won.
‘Damn it, I could have gotten it for less.’
But it wasn't worth wasting any more time here.
[…You truly are relentless when it comes to money.]
“You have to save when you can.”
I had no intention of sparing any expense for ‘Paradise’, but it was better to be as frugal as possible when buying trivial gear like this.
[Hmm. Had I known money was so important to you, I would have tried to procure some… I am sorry I cannot be of any help.]
“Haha. I’ve already received more than enough.”
It wasn't an empty platitude; I had earned a jaw-dropping amount of money since becoming her Apostle.
[Still….]
Vega frowned, looking genuinely disappointed.
‘My Goddess’s love for her Apostle is quite something.’
Oh-jin smirked and turned around.
“Let’s go.”
With his preparations complete, Oh-jin followed the sewer map provided by the Association and headed for the Seoul Station underground.
[By the way, are you certain you can handle the flesh monster said to be beneath Seoul Station?]
Vega asked in a worried tone.
The image of the flesh monster from Lee Shin-hyeok's memories naturally came to mind.
Its body was over twenty meters tall.
It had eight destructive arms and controlled hundreds of beasts, a monster that had utterly destroyed the entire station.
‘Well, if I fought that thing now, I’d definitely die.’
However.
“It’s sealed right now.”
[Sealed?]
No matter how threatening a monster was, things were different if it was sealed.
Sealing implied it was bound and immobilized somewhere. What good was a powerful monster if it couldn't fight back?
‘It’s just a giant punching bag.’
I once again organized Lee Shin-hyeok’s memories in my head.
‘Lee Shin-hyeok was certain he could have stopped it if he had known it was sealed beforehand.’
If that was the case, there was no reason I couldn't do it.
Even inferring from fragmented information, I was overwhelmingly stronger than Lee Shin-hyeok had been during the first timeline.
[Hooh. I was wondering why you were so confident… So your plan was to dispose of the sealed monster before it awakens!]
Vega nodded repeatedly, impressed that a Regressor’s plans were on another level.
“Anyway, let’s go find it.”
[You do not know its precise location?]
“In the first timeline, the seal was broken and this whole place collapsed.”
[I see. That would make it difficult to know.]
“In any case, it’s definitely somewhere beneath Seoul Station.”
If I searched hard enough, I figured I could at least find a clue.
“Alright, then.”
*Creeak.*
I opened a manhole cover and entered the sewer.
“Ugh.”
As soon as I entered, a pungent stench assaulted my nose.
[What a truly unpleasant odor.]
Vega also wrinkled her nose and covered it with her hand.
“You can go back if it’s too much.”
[No. I may be able to help, might I not? The restrictions on me are not yet so severe, so I shall remain with you.]
That was fine by me.
“Let’s head down for now.”
[Understood.]
We descended through the sewer, which was tangled like a complex maze.
I wanted to use the Stigma of Canes Venatici to track it, but I couldn't bring myself to use it amidst this insane stench.
‘If I really can’t find it, I can just use it then.’
For now, let’s just go deeper.
-Squelch, squelch.
The feeling of filth seeping into my shoes was incredibly unpleasant.
‘I should have bought some boots.’
That hadn’t occurred to me.
I followed the beam of my headlamp down into the sewer.
Just as I neared the lowest level.
[My child. I sense a rather ominous energy from that direction.]
“Hm?”
Vega raised her hand and pointed.
I checked the map.
‘There’s no path over there.’
According to the map, it was a dead end.
“Let’s check it out.”
Still, if Vega felt an ominous energy, I had to investigate.
“Is it the same kind of energy you felt in the cave before?”
[I cannot say it is exactly the same… but it feels similar.]
Vega nodded.
She then crossed her arms and continued.
[The energy I felt then was a sticky sort of unpleasantness, as if it were clinging to my body… The energy I feel this time is a sharp unpleasantness, like being pierced by an awl.]
“Is that so?”
In any case, both were unpleasant energies.
‘…In that case.’
It occurred to me that the power of the Black Stars might be involved this time as well.
‘The basketball-sized Holy Stone embedded in that flesh monster’s head was also black.’
Perhaps the recent, frequent discovery of rare variant Holy Stones was also related to the power of the Black Stars.
“Let’s go see for ourselves.”
I took out my spear, gripped it tightly, and moved forward.
When we reached the dead end.
-Gurgle.
“This is…”
Where a solid wall should have been, there was a passage made of a reddish-black mass of flesh.
A corner of Oh-jin’s mouth curled up.
‘Bingo.’
It seemed I had come to the right place.
Just then.
-Grrrk, grrrr.
With a low growl, two reddish-black lizards emerged from the fleshy passage.
Though I called them lizards, only their heads were reptilian; their bodies were humanoid.
‘Reptilians.’
3-star monsters that rarely appeared in gates.
‘…Is this a variant, too?’
Normal Reptilians were green, but these creatures had skin as dark red as blood.
“Krrrrrrrrrr!!!”
Before my thoughts could continue, the two Reptilians let out a shriek, their long tongues flicking in and out.
*Shing!*
A sharp, white bone like an awl shot out from the back of each Reptilian’s hand.
“Well, this is perfect for a light warm-up.”
Oh-jin grinned and gripped his silver spear.
The debut of his newly acquired weapon.
His heart pounded with anticipation.
“GuRuuuuuu!!”
With a strange howl, the two Reptilians sprinted along the walls.
Their speed was certainly incomparable to something like an Ant-horn.
‘But.’
It wasn’t enough to pose a threat to me, whose growth had astonished even the Constellation of Polaris.
-Swoosh!!
A silver trajectory shot towards the Reptilian’s neck.
*Leap!*
The Reptilian running along the wall jumped, thrusting its bone spike forward.
-Klaang!!
“Krrrraaaaaaa!!”
As it blocked the silver spear with its bone spike, it twisted its body to strike Oh-jin with its long tail, but…
“Not a chance.”
*Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!!!!!*
“Kaaaaaaa!!!!!”
Blue lightning flared to life, coiling around the silver spear.
Unlike when I used Lee Shin-hyeok's spear, the electricity wasn't concentrated at the tip but spread evenly across the entire weapon. It traveled up the bone spike and scorched the Reptilian's body.
With a horrific scream, one Reptilian was thrown backward.
“Karu…!”
The other Reptilian, which had been charging, froze.
Its yellow eyes darted around as it hesitantly backed away.
“What, scared already?”
“karaaaa.”
As I stepped forward with a grin, the Reptilian turned and fled back into the fleshy passage.
[Are you not going to pursue it?]
“No reason to.”
[Hm?]
Vega tilted her head, looking at me.
“Well, just wait a moment.”
Reptilians are fundamentally pack monsters.
They are somewhat organized and moderately intelligent.
The two loitering at the entrance were likely sentinels.
‘In that case.’
The next action of the one that fled without a second thought after its partner died was obvious.
“Perfect situation for fishing.”
[Fishing?]
“Well, it’s less like fishing with a line and more like dragging a net.”
Oh-jin chuckled and aimed his wire shooter at the walls.
-Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Three shots to the left and three to the right.
Six lines were created.
[Indeed. So that was your intention.]
Vega smiled softly, as if she understood what Oh-jin was about to do.
After waiting quietly for about three minutes.
-Thudududududu!!!
“KAraaaaaaaaa!!!”
“GruAaaaaaa!!”
The passage shook with terrifying screeches.
From the end of the passage, dozens of Reptilians charged fiercely, running along the walls.
“Well, even if they have some intelligence, monsters are still monsters.”
Oh-jin grinned as he watched the swarm of Reptilians charge toward him.
He crossed his outstretched arms in an X-shape and poured the magic of his stigma into them.
-Vwooooom!!!
With a loud metallic hum, the six wires I had embedded in the walls spread out to cover the passage.
“Kraaaa?”
Sensing danger, a Reptilian tried to stop abruptly, but it was pushed forward by the dozens of others surging from behind.
The six wires wrapped around the group of Reptilians like a net.
And then.
‘Changnoe.’
Blue lightning surged violently along the wires.
The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the passage.
“Kaaraaaaaaaa!!!”
“Grururururururu!!”
The Reptilians struggled to break free from the wires, but the more they thrashed, the more the six lines tangled around them.
Oh-jin watched the Reptilians being electrocuted in the wires with a satisfied expression.
‘Hell yeah!’
The performance is insane!
*Pzzt—*
[Activating 《Pitiful Excuse Lv2》.]
*Zzzzzzzzzzzzt—*