Chapter 188
Chapter 188
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: The Lure
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Savage dashed down the apartment hallway, his breath ragged and sweet.
White monsters with long arms and legs clung to the ceiling and walls, chasing after him.
Even as he was pursued by creatures that leaped between ceilings like monkeys and crawled along the floor and walls like terrestrial spiders, Savage maintained his composure.
‘Seven of them? This many isn’t even a threat.’
Savage was from Labyrinth, one of the three major clubs in the base city.
An elite member of Labyrinth—alongside Dawn and Black Night—he was in charge of communications between Chapter 7 and the base city.
Unfortunately, he was one of those cases who had remained in the city until the end to wrap up his liaison mission, only to get stranded.
‘I just need to hold on a little longer. I've made contact, so a rescue team will come. If I can just hold out until then…’
Savage's body was enveloped in a whitish mist.
His body, having turned into a mist phantom, slipped past the white monsters.
A sword of mist extended from his fingertips, silencing the white monsters and severing their limbs.
It was his Wish, the ability of Mist Transformation, which he had obtained after reaching the Knight class.
Krrrk.
With a faint, monstrous cry, the white monsters collapsed like extras in a B-movie.
Savage stood tall amidst them and sighed in relief.
‘Still, it seems I've cleared out most of the ones in this apartment. Let's see... The penthouse in this building belongs to the director, right? Hmm, the password he sent... here it is. Good, this should make it easier to hold out.’
Having been assigned the penthouse as a safe house through communication with the club's upper echelon, Savage planned to hole up there for a while.
The penthouse had its own power grid and water supply, so he could last for some time even if the city's systems failed. Plus, it was well-stocked with food, enough for one person to easily survive for a month.
Of course, there would be challenges along the way, but he was confident.
With his skills, which were top-tier even among the Knight class, he could handle these low-level white monsters as long as he made good use of the apartment's confined spaces.
Shhh.
Just then, he felt a sinister presence behind him, accompanied by the rustle of clothing.
“Hah!”
With a sharp, urgent gasp, Savage swung the sword in his hand behind him.
Despite his surprise, it was a concise and clean strike.
Unfortunately for him, his opponent was formidable.
Swish.
With a rough gust of wind, a burly, green-skinned arm snatched Savage's sword-wielding hand.
Crack.
The sound of bone breaking.
At the same time, a sharp pain assaulted him.
But like the trained elite he was, Savage activated his Mist Transformation without so much as a groan.
Having turned to mist and escaped the creature's grasp, Savage swallowed a pained grunt and sized up his opponent.
‘An orc? No, how is that possible? Weren't we all supposed to turn human here? And that monstrous strength, breaking through my suit's defense? What the hell is this thing...’
The question arose in an instant.
But Savage shoved the question deep into his heart and focused on the enemy before him.
First, he switched the sword to his left hand, replacing his shattered right, and immediately tried to counterattack.
That is, until the orc's rock-like fist accurately struck him in the solar plexus, even in his mist form.
Thwack!
A red mist spewed from Savage's mouth.
It was mist-transformed blood.
Savage rolled on the floor, feeling as if his internal organs were being twisted.
A quick judgment followed.
‘I'm no match for it.’
Savage turned tail and fled without a second glance.
However, he should have considered it.
A master capable of striking his true form, even when turned to mist, with a blow condensed with mana.
Why that orc, who could have silenced him with a single blow if it wished, had bothered to engage him at all.
Facing a strange figure in a Frog-Bear helmet who had somehow blocked his escape route, Savage gritted his teeth.
‘He had... a companion?’
The strange man, Lee Si-woo, looked at Savage and spoke.
“Why did you choose this building of all places?”
Even as Lee Si-woo trudged closer, Savage couldn't even think of running.
He knew instinctively.
That it was useless to go anywhere.
While Savage, now a cornered rat, darted his eyes around searching for a way to survive, Lee Si-woo calmly continued.
“This apartment is owned by the Labyrinth club, so security is tight. Plus, this side has the private elevator to the penthouse. Hmm, are you affiliated with Labyrinth?”
“…Who are you.”
“Me? I'm a survivor, just like you. Struggling to get out of this city one way or another.”
At Lee Si-woo's blatant lie, Luctator's expression, standing behind him, twisted strangely, but Savage failed to notice.
“Why would a fellow survivor attack me? And how can that person turn into an orc?”
Lee Si-woo casually spoke to Luctator, who had crept up right behind Savage.
“Elder. This guy seems pretty spooked, so why don't you change back?”
At Lee Si-woo's words, Luctator, while making his displeasure obvious, reverted to the form of a ten-year-old girl.
Luctator spoke, annoyed. Although her Wish had brought her closer to her true form, releasing even a bit of her mana reverted her to this pathetic state.
“I hate this form.”
“Still, it can't be helped. It's too inefficient to maintain that form by consuming mana. Ah, and you. You saw that clearly, right? As you can see, the ability to turn into an orc is her Wish. Is your question answered now?”
“Um... Then why did you attack me?”
“That's because I didn't know if you were a survivor or a looter. But after thinking about it, if you're from Labyrinth, you're probably not a looter, right? That's why you're still alive.”
“Why is being from Labyrinth a reason to spare me?”
Lee Si-woo said, a faint smile in his tone.
“A rescue team is coming from Labyrinth to get you, right? And you plan to hold out here until then.”
At Lee Si-woo's words, Savage's mist-like body wavered.
Convinced by Savage's reaction, Lee Si-woo continued.
“That rescue team. Let's scale it up a bit. I have some people with me, and it's a pretty large group.”
Savage recoiled at Lee Si-woo's suggestion and snapped.
“Nonsense. The virus has already spread completely. Maybe one or two people, but they can't take a large group. Who knows who might be infected? I'd rather die here. I have no intention of causing trouble for the club.”
Lee Si-woo replied with a meaningful nuance.
“What if there's a vaccine? And what if they've all been inoculated? Still no good?”
“What...? A vaccine? There's no way...”
“If you're skeptical, I'll let you see for yourself. Ah, for your information, I have a thousand people with me. They're on armored buses for now, waiting in a safe place. Well, I can't be sure how long it'll stay safe... so I'd appreciate it if you could get that rescue team here as soon as possible.”
Savage, who had been listening silently to Lee Si-woo, deactivated his Mist Transformation.
Clutching his right arm, which dangled limply from the broken bone, he grumbled.
“Damn it, no matter how I look at it, this feels like I've gotten tangled up in something nasty... Hey, the vaccine. Prove it properly. If I can confirm it with my own two eyes and it's true, I'll see what I can do. But in return, don't forget you have to provide that vaccine, or whatever it is, to our side too.”
Lee Si-woo spoke in a gentle voice, as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
“Don't worry. I'm not stupid enough to lie about something that can be verified immediately by catching a white monster and having it bite a few survivors.”
Having said that, Lee Si-woo gently patted Savage's shoulder and continued.
“But first, let's treat that wound. I have a pretty effective potion.”
Savage was slightly relieved by Lee Si-woo's kind attitude, but an inexplicable sense of anxiety also lingered in his chest.
For some reason, his heart pounded with anxiety, like a fish that had taken the bait.
‘…Can I trust him?’
Was it as if he had read Savage's inner thoughts?
Lee Si-woo whispered in his ear.
“No need to be so anxious. Well, our first impression wasn't the best... but if you're really worried, you can just request that a division commander be included in the rescue team. Right? There's no way we'd act recklessly if a division commander from Labyrinth is coming. And Labyrinth wouldn't hesitate to send one if there's a vaccine involved. Right?”
At Lee Si-woo's attitude, which had suddenly become as friendly as a neighborhood pal's, Savage unknowingly nodded.
He had been persuaded by Lee Si-woo's reasonable words.
Never dreaming that what Lee Si-woo really wanted was the big fish mixed in with the rescue team.
* * *
Two days had passed since Lee Si-woo returned with Savage.
During that time, Savage had confirmed the vaccine's existence, and, overjoyed, had contacted Labyrinth. Today, two days later, he received word that the rescue team was on its way.
In truth, Labyrinth couldn't afford to send a rescue team so quickly, but upon receiving the report about the vaccine, they had pushed themselves to dispatch one.
Luctator, waiting for the rescue team with the survivors, asked Lee Si-woo.
“You said you filled your 100 million points, didn't you? So why do we have to do this crap again?”
Lee Si-woo, along with Luctator, had succeeded in filling his 100 million points after dealing with the city's survivors.
The problem, however, was that Lee Si-woo was very greedy.
“Once we move on to Chapter 7, we can't come back here. So we have to grab everything we can.”
“How much do you need?”
“30 million points should do it. That's enough to buy a Rank 6 or higher suit.”
“That's quite a lot... Can you get it all from the rescue team?”
“Yes. If a division commander comes, I can definitely get it. I think Savage alone is probably worth a few million.”
“Hmm, what about that self-harm stunt? You don't have to do that again, do you?”
“The price of top-grade potions has doubled, so using Great Fortune is difficult. I'm thinking of just cutting off my wrist to sustain a serious injury. That much can be covered by a high-grade potion, even if it takes a little time.”
“Are you sure you don't need my help? If a division commander is coming... it won't be easy, even for you.”
“It can't be helped. The points only count if I kill them myself. And... I'm thinking of testing out this slick new weapon I got.”
A green spear spun gracefully in Lee Si-woo's hand.
Its shaft was woven from plant stems, its pure white blade reminiscent of ivory.
As Lee Si-woo practiced with the 'Spear of Spinus,' a Royal-grade item he had purchased from the shop with his recent points, handling it freely to get a feel for it, he saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance and spoke.
“They're here.”
Lee Si-woo stood next to Savage, who was waiting for the rescue team at the very front.
“They've arrived right on schedule.”
“My director is always punctual.”
“They're also following the route we provided perfectly.”
“That's because we cleared the area around that road...”
Savage couldn't finish his sentence.
Shink.
As Lee Si-woo, having raised his body's mana to its absolute limit, smoothly turned, the trajectory of the spearhead following his hand drew an arc and swept across Savage's neck.
Savage's head, which had never imagined Lee Si-woo would launch a surprise attack, rolled unceremoniously across the floor.
His wide-open eyes held not even a trace of resentment.
Lee Si-woo hadn't allowed him the time to harbor any.
“Rest in peace. And I won't say I'm sorry.”
Lee Si-woo took a remote control from his pocket.
Pressing the button on the remote, which detonated the massive explosives planted along the rescue team's route, Lee Si-woo continued.
“Because I'm... the kind of trash who's embarrassed to even apologize.”
Simultaneously, the ground directly beneath the rescue team's armored bus erupted, and crimson flames shot into the sky.
It was a beautiful explosion, one that made the millions of points spent on the explosives well worth it.