Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: The Secret Chapter
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Chanchilla swallowed dryly and muttered.
“Eight stars? My god... Isn't that Super Ranker level?”
The brown-haired woman spoke in a low voice.
“If they're good, they might even be one of the Ten Strongest.”
Generally, a powerhouse in the 800s was considered Super Ranker class.
A level this high could place someone within the top 50 out of hundreds of Rankers.
However, just as there was a world of difference between those with similar levels, not all Rankers were the same.
Their abilities varied wildly depending on their artifacts, Talents, and the magic they had learned.
That was why rankings were so important, and why the 'Ten Strongest' were treated as beings from another world.
They were the ones who possessed exceptional capabilities even among the powerhouses in the 800s.
Chanchilla snorted and shot back.
“You think the Ten Strongest is just some random name? Why would beings of their stature covet a treasure from the Graves family?”
“You never know. The Graves family's treasure might be valuable enough for even one of the Ten Strongest to desire.”
“Hmm, that's true, but... they have their pride. Would they really covet the legacy of another family's ancestor?”
While Chanchilla and the woman chattered excitedly about the appearance of an 8-star talent, Roxen—a Rank 2 veteran working as a scout in the tutorial area—had a complicated mind.
*'Eight stars? This is insane. This isn't something I can handle. Haa, what should I do?'*
Within the trial, star ratings held more meaning than one could imagine.
There were areas that only high-star individuals could enter, and items that only they could use.
Even the gun Roxen was holding couldn't be wielded by anyone less than a 3-star talent.
“...This is driving me nuts. Alright, I admit it. I don't know who you are, but you're not someone I can just mess with or treat lightly. An 8-star talent... is a VIP that the 'Clubs' would sell their souls to recruit.”
Lee Si-woo tilted his head and asked.
“Club? Is it some kind of gathering for veterans?”
“Tsk, sharp as a tack, just like an 8-star talent. That's right. We call the veteran groups aiming to 'clear' the trial 'Clubs.' And I'm a member of one of them, Sprinter.”
“Clear... you mean if I complete all the chapters, like the one I finished when I first arrived, this trial will be cleared?”
Roxen asked back with a look of disbelief.
“Uh... are all 8-star talents like this? You just say one thing and they figure out ten?”
Realizing Roxen wasn't genuinely surprised but was subtly trying to flatter him to get on his good side, Lee Si-woo clicked his tongue and said.
“That's enough. You won't get anything out of me by fawning over something so trivial.”
“Tch, so prickly. Well, you're right. Completing every chapter to see the ending. That's the goal of the Clubs.”
“Then what's a Rank?”
“It signifies how many chapters you've completed. In my case, I've cleared up to Chapter 2, so I'm called Rank 2.”
“Hmm... how many chapters are there?”
“No one knows for sure, but based on the story that unfolds with each cleared chapter, we believe we're almost at the end.”
“What's the highest Rank currently?”
“Ugh, this is like an interrogation. You're trying to suffocate me with questions. As far as I know, it's 7. I don't know anyone who's cleared a chapter beyond that.”
“Did you get that gun as a chapter clear reward?”
This time, Roxen was genuinely surprised. It was absurd how he'd figured that out from just a few small clues.
“That's right. You get a decent reward every time you clear a chapter. You must have gotten something for clearing Chapter 0, right?”
Lee Si-woo took out the fang axe and said.
“I got a wolf fang.”
In truth, he had gotten a map, but Lee Si-woo was not about to say that.
Roxen clicked his tongue in pity.
“I don't know about your skills, but your luck is terrible. You got one of the worst rewards. Usually, you get useful things like a fire axe, a bag, or tear gas.”
“I see.”
Just as it seemed Lee Si-woo's endless questions were coming to a close, Roxen cautiously asked him.
“You don't doubt I'm a veteran now, do you? How about it? Since fate brought us together, why not join our Sprinter Club? You definitely won't regret it.”
“What do I gain by joining?”
“I'll carry you through Chapter 1. Ah! And I guarantee, even for an 8-star like you, clearing Chapter 1 won't be easy. This trial, or whatever it is... the difficulty is insane.”
“Well, if you lend me a bag first, I'll think about it positively.”
At Lee Si-woo's reply, Roxen said to the brown-haired woman.
“Spee. Give him the bag.”
The woman called Spee frowned and said.
“...This is my chapter clear reward.”
“I know, Spee. I'm sorry, but please, do it for my sake. I promised I'd support you, right? Once we clear Chapter 1 and leave the tutorial area, I can get you as many bags as you want.”
“Sigh, I guess I have no choice. Hey. Take it. And don't give it back; you can have it. I don't use things other people have touched.”
Spee said cattily and tossed the bag. Lee Si-woo gave a slight nod of thanks and took it.
Lee Si-woo went to the refrigerator and put various canned goods and water bottles into the backpack.
After packing food and water, he secretly took out the map he'd received as a chapter reward and checked it.
Strangely, the map indicated a path on the other side of the diner's refrigerator.
*'This looks like a secret passage...'*
Lee Si-woo carefully folded the map, put it away, and slid the large refrigerator to the side.
A secret door behind the large refrigerator was revealed.
Roxen was startled when he saw the secret door.
“Huh? A secret door? Whoa, no way, did you just find a Hidden Chapter? Wow... is this for real? Are 8-star talents usually this lucky, or are you just weird?”
Lee Si-woo said nonchalantly.
“The refrigerator just seemed too big for such a small diner, so I got suspicious and checked behind it. But a Hidden Chapter? Do those exist?”
“I've heard they do, but this is the first time I've seen one myself. But... don't get too excited just because you found it. Only a select few with the right qualifications can undertake a Hidden Chapter...”
Roxen offered the advice, worried Lee Si-woo might get his hopes up, but he couldn't even finish his sentence.
Before he could finish, Lee Si-woo's hand had already swung the secret door wide open.
*Creeak.*
Roxen muttered in disbelief.
“...It opened? Ah, right, 8-star... I guess someone like that would get a free pass into most Hidden Chapters.”
The familiar message window appeared before Lee Si-woo's eyes.
[Secret Chapter 1 Discovered]
*'Secret? Roxen definitely said Hidden.'*
Lee Si-woo asked Roxen in a slightly clueless tone.
“By the way, is this Secret Chapter very dangerous?”
“Hidden. It's Hidden, not Secret. And of course it's dangerous. Well, the rewards are just as good, though. Wow, but more importantly, you're really lucky, aren't you? If you'd found a Hidden Chapter on your own, you would've gone in blindly and gotten yourself killed. But lucky for you, I'm here, right?”
Roxen said with a confident smile.
“Just trust me! As long as I'm here, a Hidden Chapter is nothing more than a simple treasure chapter. Come on, everyone, thank Mr. Nameless here. Usually, if you're together when a chapter is cleared, everyone gets the reward. So everyone here just hit the jackpot.”
Roxen acted as if he had already cleared the Hidden Chapter Lee Si-woo found, but Lee Si-woo was preoccupied with other thoughts.
*'He doesn't know about Secret Chapters? Don't tell me... did I just find a chapter that even veterans have never heard of?'*
Lee Si-woo stared blankly at the passage beyond the secret door, which gaped open like the maw of a monster.
The passage, bathed in the faint glow of green lights, radiated an inexplicable, ominous aura.
***
After a brief discussion, the group from the diner unanimously decided to attempt the Secret Chapter.
Plenitas and Spee had initially wanted to approach it more cautiously, but Roxen's enthusiastic appeal changed their minds.
This was because Roxen had persistently argued that there was a high chance of finding a 'Logout' item—an item that would let them escape the trial—in a Hidden Chapter.
Lee Si-woo, on the other hand, had no complaints and naturally went along with Roxen's proactive lead.
Now that he had opened the Secret Chapter, he was going to have to clear it out of curiosity anyway. There was no reason to refuse when a veteran like Roxen was willing to take the lead.
“By the way, this tunnel... when does it end?”
Was it because walking through the seemingly endless tunnel was unnerving?
Roxen replied to Plenitas, who was looking around like a frightened rabbit.
“Just wait. It'll end soon. More importantly, this is really exciting. I never imagined there'd be a Hidden Chapter left in the Chapter 1 section. Usually, the 'Explorers' find and clear out everything. Hah! To think I'd get this lucky. You live long enough, you see everything.”
Perhaps because he was hoping that even a nobody like him could get a Logout item, Roxen was unusually excited for a veteran.
Normally, the only missions a Rank 2 veteran could get were menial tasks like scouting in the tutorial area. Clearing a Hidden Chapter and receiving rewards was something that could only happen in dreams.
But unlike Roxen, Lee Si-woo remained tense throughout their walk in the tunnel, observing his surroundings and the group.
Was that why?
He was the first to notice an unusual sign.
*Clatter.*
Directly above his head. Lee Si-woo looked up, sensing a presence beyond the ceiling, like a cat crawling in the night.
There was a hole in the board-like ceiling tile, which looked particularly fragile.
And Lee Si-woo saw it.
A bloodshot white eye staring at him from beyond the hole.
“Above! Watch out ab—!”
Before Lee Si-woo could finish, the ceiling shattered and a white monster dropped down.
Pale, elongated white arms and legs.
The white monster, crawling on all fours like a spider-human, pounced on Spee, who seemed the most vulnerable of the group.
“Kyaaaaah-!”
As Spee screamed, bitten on the shoulder by the white monster, a gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
*Bang!*
*Ssshk.*
As the white monster with a hole in its head collapsed to the floor, Roxen wiped the cold sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and approached Spee.
“Spee. Are you okay? The wound?”
Suddenly, an ominous premonition flashed through Lee Si-woo's mind, and he shouted at Roxen.
“Don't get close!”
But it was too late.
Her eyes already turned a ghastly white, Spee rolled them back and bit Roxen's leg.
“Kuh! S-Spee! What the hell are you... Wait! White... monster? Th-this is... cough, cough.”
Roxen, who had suddenly started dry-coughing, began to tremble violently.
Seeing this, Chanchilla silently bolted back toward the entrance they had come from.
He was fleeing, having realized there were carriers of the Scelestus virus in the tunnel.
Meanwhile, instead of running, Lee Si-woo charged toward Roxen.
*Whoosh.*
Lee Si-woo spun in mid-air, using the centrifugal force to deliver a picture-perfect roundhouse kick to Roxen's neck.
*Thwack!*
With a brutal impact, Roxen fell, and Spee lunged at Lee Si-woo like a rabid dog.
Lee Si-woo slammed the fang axe into the space between Spee's eyes and shoved her chest hard with the sole of his foot.
Glancing at Spee as she rolled across the floor, Lee Si-woo turned back to Roxen, who was down from his surprise attack.
Just as Lee Si-woo snatched the gun lying next to Roxen, Roxen, now also infected by the virus, let out a monstrous shriek and charged.
*Bang!*
After skillfully reloading and putting a bullet hole in Roxen's forehead, Lee Si-woo ran toward Plenitas and shouted.
“Plenitas! Forward!”
Plenitas, who had been frozen in place, trembling, said to Lee Si-woo.
“What? W-wait! If there's a virus, isn't it more dangerous to go deeper inside? We should go back to the entrance...”
“No. We've come too far. They'll catch us before we reach the entrance. So we have to push forward. Clearing this chapter—that's the fastest way to survival.”
“But...”
*Thud. Thud.*
Dust fell from the ceiling, accompanied by countless presences.
Realizing they were coming, Lee Si-woo roughly grabbed Plenitas's hand.
Lee Si-woo growled like an angry wolf and snapped.
“Shut up! If you want to live, just follow me! Before I leave you behind! Got it?”
Overwhelmed by Lee Si-woo's forcefulness, Plenitas silently nodded.
“...Yes. O-okay.”
Just then, a message window appeared before Lee Si-woo's eyes.
[You have been infected by the virus.]
[Time remaining until mutation: 00:59:51]
[Find the vaccine before full mutation.]
Only then did Lee Si-woo realize.
This virus wasn't just transmitted through contact like bites; it was airborne.
*'This... is not the virus I knew.'*
The original Scelestus had no airborne transmission symptoms.
Not only that, but the infection speed wasn't so fast that one would turn into a monster mere seconds after being bitten.
In every aspect, it had evolved to be more vicious than the original virus.
Therefore, this virus was either a new strain modified by Black Night, or it was the legendary original form of the virus.
Yes, the original form of the White Calamity that had ended the Age of the Faceless, the one that even Black Night had sealed away, lacking the confidence to control it.
Lee Si-woo squeezed his eyes shut.
*'Damn it, to avoid being infected by Scelestus, I needed to have mana... but my current body doesn't have a single drop. This is not good.'*
At this point, like it or not, there was only one option left.
*'I have to clear this Secret Chapter within one hour—no, 59 minutes. There's a high probability that... the chapter reward is the vaccine.'*
Having made his decision, Lee Si-woo grabbed Plenitas's hand and sprinted forward.
Every second counted.
There was no time to waste.