Chapter 85: 5th Floor, Psychiatric Ward (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: 5th Floor, Psychiatric Ward (1)
[A gift has arrived from the Caladium Kingdom.]
[Would you like to check it?]
A golden status window blinked before him.
'The Caladium Kingdom...'
A tremor shook Jinhyuk's pupils.
It was a nation belonging to the 'Empire,' which was hostile to Murim.
And the Caladium Kingdom was one of them.
'So they've started to move as well.'
He had expected their paths to cross eventually, but he hadn't anticipated them acting this quickly.
Then again, with new variables appearing that could shatter the delicate balance, they must be desperate to claim them.
At the same time, it meant the situation was urgent enough for the prideful, aristocratic Empire to swallow its pride.
'Both Murim and the Empire are trying to recruit promising players early to shift the power dynamics of the Tower.'
Seeing them rush over with armfuls of gifts was... how should he put it? Almost cute?
With a smirk, Jinhyuk examined the gift.
Time to see just how generous the rulers of the Tower's middle floors could be.
Ding!
[You have acquired the skill 'Faint Body Scent'.]
[Faint Body Scent]
Acquisition Difficulty: F
Description: A skill that erases not only your scent and breath but also the slightest vibrations in the air. When active, even wild animals will fail to notice your hiding spot. (Duration: 3 seconds. After 3 uses, a 24-hour cooldown is required.)
[Due to the sponsorship of a high-ranking faction, the system's suppression has been partially mitigated.]
On any other floor...
this skill would have been deemed merely 'useful.'
Its duration was incredibly short, and it even had a limit on the number of uses.
However, in a situation where he had to escape while breaking through crazed patients and named monsters, its value changed entirely.
'With my unique abilities and skills sealed, an F-rank skill holds more value than an S-rank.'
It was practically equivalent to gaining three extra lives.
If they went as far as defying the Tower's restrictions to gift him this...
they must really want him badly.
'I'll put this skill to good use.'
There was no reason to refuse a freebie meant to win his favor.
Nor did he need to feel any burden about accepting it.
'I just need to walk the tightrope between these factions and milk them for all they're worth.'
Playing hard to get, keeping them on the hook just enough to drive them crazy.
That was the best position for him to take moving forward.
Good.
Now that he had a reliable skill in hand, it was time to go.
Jinhyuk opened the gate leading to the psychiatric ward.
At that exact moment.
Hummmm!
[You have selected Floor 5, 'Psychiatric Ward'.]
[Your unique abilities and skills are sealed.]
[There is only one rule: Escape the ward alive.]
A status window announcing the start of the new floor appeared.
At the same time, Jinhyuk's consciousness faded.
* * *
Damp air.
A stench saturated with blood and excrement.
A darkness so thick he couldn't see an inch ahead.
All of these things made one thing clear:
He was indeed in the psychiatric ward, a place notorious for its abysmal survival rate.
Ding!
[Due to the Ancient Dragon Makedrian's Grimoire, one of your skills has been unsealed!]
[You can now use 'Gluttony's Eye'!]
The status window appeared exactly as expected.
An 'eye' skill, which had relatively weak restrictions, was one of the easiest to bypass the system's seal.
'This is exactly why I chose this book from the Magic Grand Library.'
That aside...
'No matter how many times I experience it, I just can't get used to this smell.'
Jinhyuk frowned and shook his head.
Right then.
"Ugh..."
"It's pitch black. Hey! Is this the starting point?"
"Damn it, why is this place like this too?"
Voices drifted over from Jinhyuk's side.
"Can anyone light this place up?"
"No can do. All our abilities are sealed. I feel like I've been sent straight back to the starting village."
It was only natural, considering they had suddenly lost all the powers they had grown so accustomed to using.
It was probably how modern people would feel if they were suddenly deprived of electricity.
"Huh? There's something in my pocket!"
"Your pocket?"
"Yeah. The texture feels like..."
Click!
Whoosh!
With the sound of a lighter, a small flame flickered to life in the dark room.
The five men and women could now faintly make out each other's faces.
A Western man and woman, an Asian woman, and a Black woman.
'And me.'
That made five of them in total.
"Phew. Now I can breathe. If I knew this place was going to be such a dump, I would've chosen somewhere else."
"Huh? I have something in my pocket too."
"Me too."
"Mine feels like a key."
Randomly assigned survival items.
The people in the room quickly checked their pockets.
Of course, Jinhyuk had already checked his item before anyone else.
'A ballpoint pen...'
It was a Monami Ballpoint Pen, the kind commonly found in any office.
Anyone else would have cursed at being given something so useless.
But Jinhyuk merely nodded as he looked at the sharp tip of the pen.
'Not bad.'
A true veteran doesn't blame his gear.
They simply achieve the best possible results with whatever they have.
Anyway...
'They're all complete newbies.'
From their initial reactions to their ability to handle the situation,
everything about them was amateurish.
It meant none of them had ever cleared the psychiatric ward before.
In the past, he might have carried these trembling newbies along.
But there was no reason to do so now.
This wasn't a game to be played for fun.
"Looks like we'll have to figure this out on our own. Has anyone been here before?"
A burly Western man spoke up.
"I tried it once, but it was so long ago..."
"I heard that on Floor 5, the layout and items change every time, so past experience doesn't really matter anyway."
"That's why I chose this place too. The mine was so popular that it filled up instantly."
They had all come here for their own reasons.
To Jinhyuk, none of their reasons made much sense, but he kept it to himself.
"Well, this is a headache."
"Let's discuss this carefully before we move."
While the others chattered away, Jinhyuk's gaze was fixed on the door.
'Now that they've lit the lighter, it should be about time for them to show up...'
Lighting a fire didn't just grant visibility.
The moment a player used light to see ahead, the things lurking in this ward could also see the players from the shadows.
At that exact moment.
Thud. Thud.
Faint footsteps echoed.
The others, still talking loudly, failed to notice the anomaly.
They were too busy arguing about how to survive.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The footsteps grew louder.
Now, even the people inside the room could hear them.
"W-what is that sound?"
"Lock the door! Lock the door first!"
"Ugh!"
The wooden door slammed shut.
Almost simultaneously.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
The door rattled violently back and forth.
"They're here! They're inside!"
"Cackle, cackle!"
"Burn them all! Burn them to ashes and purify them!"
"The blood of the heretics!"
"I'll tear you to shreds!"
Crazed, fanatical voices echoed through the door.
"Eek!"
"Damn it. Are they already here?"
"We have to get out of here right now. A door like that won't hold for long!"
The people who were once patients here had long lost their humanity.
Now, they spent their days drenched in blood and madness, offering living sacrifices to an unknown god.
Only two choices remained.
Fight or run. They had to choose one.
But for the people here, fighting wasn't an option.
How could they possibly fight when their abilities were sealed?
They had to run.
Before it was too late.
Before they were torn to shreds or burned alive!
"W-we need to find a way out!"
The burly man looked around frantically.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Their hearts pounded rapidly, and their breathing grew shallow.
Their voices grew louder and more panicked.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Screeech! Thud!
Splinters of wood flew in all directions.
Through the broken gaps, a blade stained with bits of flesh peeked through.
There was no time.
Just a little more, and the door would be completely smashed to pieces.
Just then.
"Here! Over here!"
The Black woman shouted, pointing at the ceiling.
It was a ventilation shaft.
If they went up, they could survive. At least they wouldn't have to die like rats in a trap.
"Hurry!"
"Damn it. Hurry... hurry!"
Tearing off the vent cover, the players began to scramble up frantically.
Crash! Thud!
A gap the size of a child's fist had opened in the door.
Bloodshot eyes peered through the opening.
"Pull me up! Pull me up too! Hurry!"
Supporting from below and pulling from above, they escaped the room one by one.
However...
"What are you doing? Grab my hand, quick!"
Jinhyuk, who was last, simply stood in place. He showed no intention of heading toward the vent.
"Damn it, leave him! We can't afford to save someone who's begging to die!"
"She's right. Let's go."
"Tch!"
The man clicked his tongue.
He stared at Jinhyuk in frustration, but only for a brief second.
Clack!
The vent cover slammed shut.
* * *
The sealing of skills and unique abilities.
These two facts alone were enough to drive the players' terror to its peak.
But...
'If they're going to get this terrified just because their abilities are gone, I don't know how they expect to survive what's ahead.'
Abilities were merely supplementary.
'There are so many hellish things waiting for them in the future, and they're already tucking their tails just because their abilities are sealed?'
'And against mere fanatics, no less.'
He could have used 'Faint Body Scent' which he received from the Caladium Kingdom, but it was too precious a skill to waste here.
Jinhyuk gripped the ballpoint pen in a reverse hold.
Click!
With a familiar sound, the tip of the pen clicked out.
And at that exact moment.
Crash!
The door shattered, and half-naked men poured inside.
There were about thirty of them.
Their rolled-back eyes and blood-drenched bodies made for a rather grotesque sight.
"Kill him!"
"Cut off his limbs!"
"The Lord demands his blood!"
Rusty scythes, skewers, and kitchen knives flew toward Jinhyuk.
"I've actually been curious about something for a while."
There was one question he couldn't answer back when they were just AI.
"I wonder if fanatics can feel fear too."
Human nature hidden beneath madness and blind devotion.
He wanted to see just how long they could keep that mask on.
He wanted to find out.
With those final words, Jinhyuk's body vanished like smoke.
Thwack!
"Ack?"
The ballpoint pen pierced the temple of the man at the very front.
A thin stream of blood sprayed from the wound.
"If you wanted to use your numbers to your advantage, you shouldn't have come through such a narrow entrance."
What was the point of having so many people?
At most, only two could attack him head-on at a time.
Furthermore, weapons like scythes and long skewers, which were difficult to swing in such a cramped space, were actually a disadvantage.
Pulling out the pen, Jinhyuk lunged toward his second target.
Thwack! Crack!
Eyes, medulla oblongata, Adam's apple.
Even if he couldn't pierce bone, there were plenty of vital spots he could target.
"Argh!"
"Aaaargh!"
Horrific screams echoed through the room.
His cold, merciless strikes showed absolutely no leniency.
In an instant, more than half of them were turned into cold corpses.
"..."
"..."
Their fierce momentum was completely shattered.
It was only natural.
The difference in their combat prowess was on an entirely different level.
The fanatics, who had come to slaughter the players, were instead completely overwhelmed by Jinhyuk's terrifying bloodlust.
"What's wrong? Is that it?"
Jinhyuk pointed the blood-dripping ballpoint pen forward.
But right then.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, one of the walls collapsed.