Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: The Coming Night
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Normally, members from various clubs would be waiting at the Normal Town bus stop.
Unlike Chapter 1, Chapter 2 was considerably difficult, so newbies who didn't know any better and wandered off alone often lost their lives.
However, when Lee Si-woo, Ruktator, and Adrian got off at the bus stop, there was no one there.
It was as if they had arrived at the station of a dead city.
“What’s going on? They said a club member would always be waiting here for contact….”
Adrian had arranged with his club beforehand to head to Chapter 2 as soon as he cleared Chapter 1.
The plan had been to breeze through Chapter 1 and begin the real conquest in Chapter 2.
But finding the stop empty left him bewildered.
While Adrian scanned the area around the stop with a grave expression, Lee Si-woo examined the inside of the station carefully.
Judging by Adrian's reaction, his party was supposed to have been here.
And yet, no one was around?
They must have left a trace.
Sure enough, Lee Si-woo's eyes glinted as he spotted a memo on the other side of the glass wall of the waiting area.
-To the police station. Map attached.
Si-woo tore off the map attached below the words 'To the police station.'
After memorizing the simple, clear map of Normal Town with a single glance, Si-woo ripped it to pieces.
Adrian, noticing Si-woo's suspicious behavior, asked.
“What are you doing over there?”
Si-woo crushed the map fragments under his foot, burying them in the dirt, then tore off the memo and showed it to Adrian.
“There’s a memo here. I think your party left it.”
“What?”
Adrian rushed over and snatched the memo.
Seeing the note telling him to go to the police station, Adrian frowned.
“To the police station? Tsk, how am I supposed to know where the police station is in this huge city?”
“Something urgent must have come up, and leaving that note was the best they could do. It seems… some strange change has occurred in Chapter 2 as well, just like the variables that appeared in Chapter 1.”
At Si-woo's words, Adrian's face hardened.
The streets were empty, not a soul in sight.
Commercial buildings lined up between towering skyscrapers.
Even the cars were abandoned ownerless on the roads.
The scenery wasn't much different from Earth, but as Adrian stared blankly into the lifeless city, he spoke.
“I’m heading into the city. What about you?”
“I’ll be going in too, but I think it would be better if we moved separately.”
At Si-woo's suggestion to split up, Adrian asked in a dry voice.
“You think so?”
Si-woo replied, his voice tinged with a faint smile.
“It looks like danger could pop out from anywhere at any time… and we don’t exactly trust each other enough to watch each other’s backs, do we?”
Adrian scoffed at Si-woo's clear yet incredibly cold attitude.
“You have a point. Fine, let’s go our separate ways. But let’s be clear about this. If you find yourself in danger, I won’t help you. We’re not the type to help each other, after all. Right?”
“Trust for trust. Distrust for distrust. That sounds fair. Let’s do that.”
As Adrian walked into the city alone, Ruktator, who had been listening to their conversation while picking his ear with a look of utter boredom, spoke.
“That guy. You know him?”
“Yes. He’s my enemy.”
“So that’s why you tore up the map. Tsk tsk, instead of resorting to such a petty trick, why didn’t you just take care of him here?”
“I considered that… but I wasn’t confident. He’s part of a club and a survivor of that harsh Secret Chapter 1. Just as I obtained a suit, he might have had an ace up his sleeve. Being an 8-star talent, there’s no telling what kind of useful measures his club might have provided him with.”
Si-woo's judgment was correct.
If they had fought here, he would have undoubtedly struggled against Adrian and his shotgun.
And that wasn't all.
Causing a commotion recklessly could have drawn the dangers of the city toward them.
“So, are you planning to go to the police station?”
“Yes. For now, we have to head there. It’s the only clue we have.”
* * *
Thud.
A hulking man over two meters tall stomped on the chest of a man lying on the ground.
The giant, with his rugged features and thick beard reminiscent of a bandit, spoke.
“When did you enter the world of trials?”
As the giant pressed down with his foot, the man of average build felt his breath catch, as if a boulder were crushing his chest.
“I-I’ve been here for a while. I’m not a newbie. Y-You guys know that. You helped us. You were the ones who supported us… so why now, all of a sudden….”
The man cut him off.
“We’ll know once I check.”
The giant shoved a scanner at the man.
Unlike the scanners used by other users, this one was larger and more luxurious—an upgraded version, it seemed.
After checking the man's information on the scanner, the giant silently removed his foot.
As the foot lifted from his chest, the man's face brightened as he spoke.
“Se-See, I….”
The man couldn't finish his sentence.
The giant's foot stomped on the man's neck, crushing it instantly.
Crack.
The giant who had snuffed out the man's life in an instant muttered.
“Making it to Chapter 2 within two months is commendable. But you’re unlucky. It’s the position of our Dawn to eliminate all newbies who entered during the last three months.”
Just then, his companion and lover, who had witnessed his death, shrieked in a shrill voice.
“Hypocrites! You’re fucking hypocrites! Dawn! You were the bastards who used to support us! You were the volunteer club that helped newbies, that made it easier for us to survive here! But fuck, fuck… why now… why are you pulling this shit….”
The giant spoke in a voice as coarse as rusted iron.
“Would you believe me if I said our intentions back then were genuine, and that they haven't changed?”
“Believe you? You want me to believe you? After you just killed someone? You act all high and mighty supporting us, and now you pull this kind of deception and hypocrisy and ask me to believe you?!”
The man murmured in a bitter tone.
“Right. Don’t believe us, and don’t understand us. We are simply… doing what we believe is right.”
The giant raised a fist the size of a pot lid and continued.
“We have no way of knowing who opened the Secret Chapter. So… we’ve decided to kill all the newbies who have entered in the last three months. Only then can we ensure no one gets their hands on the Red Butterfly.”
Sensing the danger, the woman pulled a pistol from her coat and aimed it at the man.
Bang!
The muzzle aimed at the man's heart spat fire, but he had already covered the area with his left arm.
Clang!
The man's left arm was suddenly encased in a suit covered with matted brown fur.
Partial suit transformation.
A function only available to suits of Rank 3 or higher had been activated.
The suit, which at first only covered his left arm, gradually spread across his entire body.
Soon, even a helmet reminiscent of a ravenous bear with bared fangs and gleaming red eyes formed.
Terrified by the imposing presence of the Rank 3 suit, Grizzly, the woman pulled the trigger relentlessly.
Bang! Rat-a-tat!
The claws on the back of the man's right hand, glinting with a sharp edge, sliced through the air between the uselessly ricocheting shell casings.
Swish.
The woman's head, severed by the trajectory of the passing claws, fell to the floor.
Staring blankly at the woman's head as it rolled across the ground, the man flicked his right hand to shake off the blood drops clinging to his claws.
The man muttered.
“May our foolish choice today be recorded by future generations as a wise one….”
With those final words, the man left in search of other prey.
* * *
The first thing Lee Si-woo did after parting with Adrian was change his suit.
Having changed into the Frog Suit he received as a reward, Si-woo grumbled as he fiddled with the frog-like helmet.
“Of all things, a frog. This looks so lame.”
Beside him, Ruktator, wearing the Rat Suit Si-woo had given him, grumbled back.
“…And here you are complaining after pawning off this rat-fucker suit on me. You wretched brat.”
“Rat-fucker suit? It has a proper name. It’s called Rat.”
“Using a fancy word doesn’t change the fact that this suit is based on a rat. Ugh, but at least it seems pretty useful.”
“With swiftness added to your movements, Elder, your power will be even greater.”
“Just as you said, the swiftness option is quite useful. But… what about your suit? Is it any good?”
Si-woo checked the Frog Suit's functions with his scanner.
Frog Suit
Description: Enhances jumping ability when equipped. Grants the user the ‘Jumping’ Talent.
Si-woo smacked his lips and said.
“It has a Jumping option, so I can jump high now.”
“…Is that all?”
“No. If that were all, I wouldn’t have given you the Rat Suit, Elder.”
Si-woo took out a dagger with a green blade from his golden bag.
Poison Dagger
Description: Enemies cut by the blade are poisoned. Grants the user the ‘Poison’ Talent.
Ting.
[Poison Frog Set (2/2)]
[Set item equipped. Special skill, ‘Paralyzing Tongue,’ is granted.]
“Hmm, I’ve gained a skill called Paralyzing Tongue… could you let me hit you with it once?”
“Paralyzing Tongue? Don’t tell me your tongue shoots out like that white monster’s….”
Si-woo’s voice dropped low, as if the mere thought was horrifying.
“…I’m considering not using it if that’s the case. Please let me check.”
“Fine, give it a try.”
Si-woo touched the watch on his suit.
It was a method for using the suit's interface that he'd learned while talking to the bus driver on the way to Chapter 2.
A translucent interface window appeared in Si-woo’s vision.
A red bar appeared at the 12 o'clock position of his vision, and below it, a blue bar.
It was an HP bar to gauge the suit's durability and an MP bar that determined how many times he could use a skill.
Si-woo looked at the translucent skill button labeled 'Paralyzing Tongue' at the 5 o'clock position and willed himself to use the skill.
Instantly, a hole opened in the center of his palm, and a purple tongue shot out.
Lick.
After giving Ruktator’s chest an embarrassing lick, the tongue retracted back into Si-woo's palm.
Ruktator looked down at the sticky saliva on his suit's chest and spoke.
“My body won’t move properly. The effect is excellent. Seems like the skill, or whatever it is, activated just fine.”
Si-woo nodded and said.
“Hmm, so it activates immediately? The effect is pretty good.”
“But… there’s another effect.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“I feel disgusting. No, my chest is actually dirty now.”
Purple saliva was dribbling down Ruktator’s chest.
Seeing it, Si-woo spoke in a hesitant voice.
“It… well, it certainly looks that way.”
“And you. That skill looks incredibly lame. You heard that licking sound just now, right? Don’t use it carelessly. It ruins your image.”
“…Understood.”
“Let’s go to the police station. And let me tell you this in advance, even if you get a new suit, I’m not using that one. Got it?”
“…Yes.”
* * *
Surprisingly, the city was safe and quiet.
Amidst a stillness that could be the calm before the storm or a sign of peace and safety, a boy who looked to be about eighteen years old was on the move.
Black hair and melancholic black eyes.
And a scar that cut diagonally across the center of his face.
Though he looked young, the boy with the extraordinary impression was as disheveled as a homeless person who had been wandering for a long time.
But despite his worn and dirty appearance, from his clothes to his backpack and hiking boots,
his entire attire was filled with functional beauty from head to toe.
It was a fashion that pursued maximum efficiency without any unnecessary flair.
‘I think I’m almost there….’
The boy acted with constant tension.
The boy, who had been cautiously scanning his surroundings like a squirrel just out of its hole, suddenly stopped.
A sign engraved with a light-blue dove.
After confirming the three words written next to it—Police Station—the boy let out a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky.
Watching the sky gradually turn crimson, the boy muttered.
“Night is coming. I have to warn them.”
The boy ran urgently toward the police station.