Chapter 214
Chapter 214
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 214
Chapter Title: Reason I Became a Monster - 3
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“Ah, I only bought one bottle.”
“You want to check if it’s empty or not, right.”
“What’s the point of checking?”
“In simple terms, it’s a total mental breakdown. Imagine you had 120,000 points and it shrivels down to 40,000. How would that feel?”
“Uh... it’d be super sad, but I don’t think it’d be full despair. You could just earn more, right?”
“What if it wasn’t yours, but gathered by threatening nearly a thousand people?”
Mi-kyung got the point and suddenly started clicking her tongue.
“T-That’s not okay... People would come rushing to kill him.”
“Now Zhao Zewai’s only got two choices left. Explain it to the people and leave his fate to them, or run away.”
“Um, just my thought, but someone who incited the crowd and stole points doesn’t seem like the type to go down quietly...”
“That’s why we’re here.”
Mi-kyung and I were on the 1st floor of the Great Labyrinth.
The spot was right next to the Chinese residence area.
Zhao Zewai, the guy who made the points vanish, had no choice but to come here.
I could try capturing him alive for negotiations, but that was far from my taste.
Better to kill him clean and sort things out after.
Man, this place is seriously dark, though.
The Great Labyrinth’s 1st floor was starting to get occupied by people bit by bit.
Shelter members had been mining glow herbs from the 2nd and 3rd floors to sell, brightening up a good chunk of the 1st floor.
This area’s dark probably ‘cause it’s near the Chinese zone.
They’ve got numbers, sure, but no knowledge and levels way below ours by comparison.
They don’t even interact with our side.
All they know how to do is pull mobs for reckless plays, get smacked down, and whine in the auction house.
Mi-kyung chattered on beside me for a good while.
Mostly random shelter gossip.
I gave half-hearted replies while pulling up the auction house.
The water bottle was still intact, so it was about time to move.
Yoo-hyun and Yeo-ul had launched their paper airplanes, so news should roll in soon.
That’s when Seok-hyun’s crew pinged me.
Turns out the veteran team had finally breached the Luaat Royal Palace.
They’d rotated my bulletproof vest for the push and scored two killer items inside.
Boiling down the wall of text:
Physical resistance and elemental resistance at last.
This cloak’s perfect for Seok-hyun.
He used to rock one before, but it shredded too easy, so he’d ditched it ages ago.
Pair that with his tanky build? Game over for foes.
Ogre hand-to-hand brawls incoming?
But the real shocker was something else.
“No clue. What monster?”
It wasn’t in Survival Life.
Maybe from the Unknown Monsters expansion pack?
Moments later, I got an old research journal.
Couldn’t read the script, but the monster’s massive bulk grabbed my eyes.
Mi-kyung peeked over and yelped.
“This thing’s a straight-up monster... How’s it that huge?”
“Smaller than an ogre.”
It was basically an ogre scaled down.
Think Hulk.
But hulking out into a beast like that’s gotta have downsides.
This one’s mine, then.
My Tenacity skill nukes debuffs like exhaustion.
Explained it, and Da-jeong lost it.
Ah, that problem.
Da-jeong had actually pulled a barbarian man impression back on Ganghwa Island once.
Thought she was a freak, but looks like she’s grown out of it lately.
The swordsman chimed in with details.
Not like they vanish completely, right?
Anyway, I snagged the bracelet.
A wide cuff, like something an Egyptian queen would rock.
Held it out to Mi-kyung; she bolted in horror.
“No way in hell I’m wearing that. Clothes’d shred.”
No woman’s touching this unless desperate.
Truth be told, not dying to slap it on myself either.
But if it pumps combat power? I’ll do whatever. Survival creed.
Mental resistance ring should cover me...
Body enlarges, though—gotta unequip gear?
“Mi-kyung, close your eyes for a sec?”
She slapped hands over her eyes. I snickered and stripped down.
She’s totally peeking through her fingers.
Down to nothing, unequipped everything—yep, fingers parted.
Mouth agape too. Slapped on the bracelet.
Messages scrolled up.
Abomination Polymorph
Time Limit: 4 Minutes
I became a monster.
“...Get out, all of you.”
Zhao Zewai dismissed his underlings and sank into deep thought.
Two choices.
Come clean and get beaten to death, or bolt and bide his time.
Can’t come clean.
Pure suicide.
His fellow countrymen would never forgive the guy who vaporized their points.
Gotsta run... Maybe a path opens.
He could outrun anyone, right?
But nowhere to go.
East was those pesky Koreans’ turf. South meant more countrymen. North? Long since ruled barren.
Rather rally the crew, head to another country...
If they busted through the Great Labyrinth entrance, decent odds.
Zhao recalled the Koreans’ chatter.
Great Labyrinth linked to spots across countries, for sure.
Just dodge this mess—anywhere works.
He called back the underlings, but two were MIA.
The ones holding the fattest point stacks, naturally.
“...Where’d they go?”
“R-Ran off!”
“Fled to the Great Labyrinth entrance!”
Zhao gnashed his teeth, glaring at the dimension gate outside.
30,000 points gone, hope along with ‘em.
Grabbed by the furious mob? Impalement’s the least of it.
“We’re heading to the Great Labyrinth too.”
“You sure? The guards...”
“They’ll wanna talk.”
“Blast through. Douse in oil, torch with flame cans, loose arrows!”
Underlings recoiled.
Their boss wasn’t just point-waster—he planned to torch their own to escape.
Stick with him?
They swapped glances, clocked no alternatives.
Too late for “we got duped.”
“...We’re in.”
Consensus hit. Zhao nodded grimly.
“No other way out but the Great Labyrinth. We can communicate—settle in another country, done!”
Why not sooner?
Instead of clashing with Koreans on this cramped turf, America or wherever.
Hell, the Chinese grudge against Koreans might’ve brewed this whole mess.
Zhao’s crew had fanned those flames hard.
Then came murmurs from outside.
“Why’d Liang Yifan and Zhou Daoming rabbit?”
“Something go down in the office?”
Crowd sniffed the off vibes.
Zhao scrambled to pack.
“Gear up, hurry!”
“C-Can’t we explain? Say they bolted with the points...”
One clinging to hope, poor sap.
Zhao, amnesia on his own sins, scoffed.
“Think they’ll hear you out nice? Lucky if they don’t rip you apart.”
“Wasn’t us, though?”
“Keep whining that. See how far it gets.”
Underling’s lip twitched at the snark.
“Trusted you... Kept buying bottles on faith, and you blew it! Everything’s fucked!”
“So? Wanna brawl here and get nabbed?”
“Hand you over—we might skate... Not our mess, right? You own it.”
“Would sell his own ancestors...”
Air turned toxic.
Underlings spectated the spat at first.
But sides were obvious.
Gazes crossed—they knifed the pissed-off comrade.
He crumpled, spewing curses and groans.
Zhao panted ragged, scanning the crew.
“Hoo... Thanks for picking me.”
“To the end. Whatever it takes.”
“Another country—we’ll make it.”
But Labyrinth-hopping countries? Massive gamble.
Shackles lift inside, but slacker hunters gain squat.
One piped up with solace.
“Koreans been claiming 1F lately—light on monsters. Dress like ‘em, we’re gold.”
“Clothes too. Move!”
Meantime, office crowd swelled.
Tarry longer? Escape’s a pipe dream.
They punctured the scavenged oil drums, hurled ‘em out.
Oil gushed sudden—panic erupted.
“What the—?”
“Oil!”
Flame cans sailed in. Fire roared huge.
Crowd scattered wild. Zhao’s cadre loosed arrows.
Mayhem rocked the Chinese zone.
“Huk... huk...”
Zhao Zewai wheezed, slinking into the Great Labyrinth.
Chaos to breach the human wall? Solid.
But snag hit.
Countrymen weren’t as dumb as he figured.
Guessed his Labyrinth flee, walled the entrance.
Sacrificed grunts—barely squeezed in.
“Sorry...”
Muttered it, face blank of regret.
Alive’s alive, yeah?
Just flee abroad now...
Skeletons rattled up then.
Normally trivial, but he was banged up, stamina tanked.
Chewed his lip bloody.
“Me... die here?!”
Long knife sucked vs. skeletons—no backups.
Bloody scrap with three; downed ‘em.
Price: gashes shoulder, gut.
“Damn... dammit!”
Blood plipped from his crotch.
Slapped on salve, but vision swam anyway.
Bled out too much.
Rest’s the play, but he pushed on.
Countrymen hunted him to kill.
“Almost... just a bit more...”
1F dotted with Korean signs.
Signposts to country entrances.
Zhao’s Korean sucked, but memorized key bits.
“Here...”
Smile cracked his lips at last.
Wiped it fast.
Young woman popped up.
Suit crisp, book in hand.
Prim skirt, heels—Zhao baffled.
“Who the hell’re you?”
“No need to know. Point is, I can help you.”
“Spouting bullshit?”
“You’re on the run, yeah? Could use aid.”
“Ha, haha... Delusional. Just off you.”
Couldn’t actually kill, though.
He’d made an example kill to grab power once.
She—Ko Ho-kyung—slitted her eyes in a smile.
“As if trash like you could. Dream on.”
“We’ll see...”
He heaved the long knife with effort.
“Nope. Gotta force it.”
Her book flipped—hundreds of sheets burst out.
“Wh-what?!”
Eyes bulged; sheets snared him tight.
“This paper crap!”
Strained—no give.
Ko smirked, pulled writhing flesh lump from her bag.
“Mouth wide. Or eyes get poked.”
One sheet rolled sharp, jabbed his gawking peepers.
Terror—he gaped.
“Wh-what do you want?”
“Simple test. No sweat. Hell, it’s a boon—making you strong.”
“What...?”
In his shock, she crammed the flesh down his gullet.
Gagged to hurl it—slid throat-deep.
“Urp!”
Sheets retracted to her book.
She lounged against the wall, eyeing his aspen-shake tremors.
“Uwaaaak!”
“Kruuuugh!”
Zhao quaked, snapped back.
Torment gone.
Ko’s glasses gleamed as she eyed him.
“Perfect. Grew beyond expectations.”
“What’d you do to me?”
“Chill, check status. You’ve hit heights your old self couldn’t fathom.”
Zhao summoned his status—jaw drop.
Level 50.
Stats, skills: busted.
Power surged through him.
Could shred every Korean now.
“Heh... Thanks for the upgrade?”
Ko slid her glasses up, icy.
“Save it. You’re just a guinea pig to crack his power.”
“‘His’? That top-level Bbangz dude?”
No reply—just a smirk.
“Give it your all.”
“You bitch...”
Bared fangs; she vanished in a paper whirlwind.
He scanned around, spat.
Nothing in his way now.
“This power... I’ll kill ‘em all.”
Bloodstorm swept the 1st floor.
Zhao roamed, slaughtering everything in sight.
None tanked his strikes.
Victory high, he wandered the dark—bumped someone.
Sung-ho perched on a rock.
“Zhao Zewai, yeah?”
“Who’re you.”
“Probably the guy you’re hunting.”
Both grinned wide.
[Reason I Became a Monster - 3] End