Chapter 215
Chapter 215
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: The Reason I Became a Monster - 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thump, thump, thump!
Kang Sung-ho heard the telltale heartbeat of a murderer.
If there had been just two more people nearby, it would have escalated to a full pounding boom.
But with no zombies or ghouls around here, no Deathmatch event would trigger.
Zhao Zewai, who had been glaring at him, let out a smirk.
A rather relaxed chuckle.
"Once you gain power, you suddenly start acting all laid-back, huh? You must've been the same with your fellow countrymen—your words and actions toward them."
Sung-ho shook his head.
"Nah. I never had that luxury. I was always rushed and brutal."
"Guess you weren't an overwhelming powerhouse, then."
"Think what you want."
"Haha... yeah, whatever. Everything's my way now! Now that I've got this power!"
Zhao Zewai clenched his fist and focused his mind.
The bonus effect granted to him upon reaching level 50 was Clock Up.
In an instant, the man in front of him seemed to blink in slow motion.
"So slow... even closing your eyes."
Sung-ho's face turned serious, as if he'd realized something.
"You've gotten stronger."
"Of course I have! After eating that weird thing and enduring that insane pain!"
"Weird thing?"
"None of your business!"
Zhao Zewai brushed it off vaguely, but An Geun-seok's involvement was now confirmed.
Sung-ho checked his status window with Ability Analysis.
The points were nothing special, but level 50 was shocking.
A guy who'd barely scraped past level 20 had hit 50.
"Impressive... Might be the strongest among survivors."
Of course, excluding the veteran trio.
Zhao Zewai grew arrogant at the admiring tone.
"Know why I'm acting so casual?"
"Casual is a privilege of the strong, right?"
"Pfft... I just want you to feel it too... despair."
"What despair?"
When Sung-ho played dumb, Zhao Zewai suddenly burst with frustration.
"The potato! That potato you sold for 10 points! If you'd just fulfilled my request, I wouldn't have been mocked by my countrymen!"
But Sung-ho had his own side to the story.
"10 points for that amount is plenty. Catch a few zombies, and you've got two days' worth of calories..."
"Shut your mouth!"
"And about that water bottle earlier—diving in without knowing my stock was reckless."
Grind—
Zhao Zewai ground his teeth and approached him.
Like a predator closing in on prey.
"120,000... a whopping 120,000 points gone up in smoke... because of what you did!"
"Watch your words. We were selling water bottles, and you guys got greedy and jumped in."
As he responded, Sung-ho noticed something off.
The points from selling the water bottles barely exceeded 80,000.
So where did the other 40,000 go?
'He didn't buy and sell alone... his underlings must've sensed the mood and bolted.'
They might've leveled up like Zhao Zewai.
Better stay cautious.
Sung-ho rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the transformation bracelet.
A laugh escaped Zhao Zewai's lips.
"Looks like something the Egyptian queen would wear."
"You feel it too, huh? Bracelets on a guy do feel off."
"Last-ditch struggle? Whatever. I'll break your limbs and make you crawl."
Sung-ho stood and positioned the bracelet on his wrist.
"And?"
His unchanged expression despite the threat infuriated Zhao Zewai.
What gave him such confidence!
"I won't let you die easy... You'll be my punching bag for months at least."
"Too bad. No plans for that here."
As the bracelet locked on, his eyes flashed red for a split second.
Zhao Zewai missed it and focused his mind.
'First, smash that ugly mug!'
Before the thought finished, his body shot forward, slicing through the air.
The world around him slowed dramatically.
But Sung-ho's gaze tracked him perfectly.
Could he keep up with this speed?
'No way!'
He thrust his fist, but Sung-ho's hand shot out at matching speed and grabbed it.
"Gasp!"
Zhao Zewai's heart sank.
Incredibly, the guy had moved at a similar speed!
But the real shock was elsewhere.
The man's body swelled massively, morphing into something bizarre.
"Huh?"
Zhao Zewai couldn't even use his ability properly; he just stared.
It was so surreal, like a movie scene—he couldn't look away.
A human turning into a gray-skinned monster? Ridiculous.
But it was happening for real.
Completing his Polymorph into Abomination form, Sung-ho exhaled deeply.
Grrr—
Zhao Zewai trembled, unable to even pull his hand free.
The monster before him boasted overwhelming bulk and presence.
Only now did he notice the red eyes.
Dark crimson, like filled with blood—utterly eerie.
Sung-ho squeezed his hand.
Crunch—
His buff-stacked, sturdy wrist crumpled instantly.
"Gaaahhh!"
Zhao Zewai screamed, unable to endure the pain.
And then, two shadows appeared behind Sung-ho.
.
.
.
Suddenly, heartbeats echoed through the Dae Mi Labyrinth, throwing many into chaos.
"Who the hell is that?"
"Everyone, check headcounts!"
Fortunately, no one panicked and fled.
They all had plenty of experience by now.
They tried to narrow down suspects from the auction house.
Koreans gathered in the shelter at a key spot on the first floor.
Precisely, members of the Korean shelter plus the foreigners Sung-ho had brought.
Under Jang Won-taek's coordination, they'd been pushing toward the second floor.
They had guns but saved them as backups, mostly using fitting cold weapons.
Maces for close-quarters skeletons, arrows poured on bulky orcs.
The Dae Mi Labyrinth monsters were stronger than surface ones, but their unity kept things manageable.
Up until now, anyway.
Lee Beom-seok, leading the survivors, urgently posted to the auction house.
The Koreans had secured key areas, but they didn't know every corner.
The regions lit by glow grass were just a fraction of the first floor.
An unknown murderer appearing wasn't strange.
But there should've been some incoming reports.
Aside from the murderer's presence, everything was shrouded in fog.
Jang Won-taek from the Korean shelter posted.
Even Sung-ho had almost no stock of face veils.
In murderer state, you'd draw aggro from nearby survivors.
Last year, maybe not—but now, with experience, even murderers had to worry about dying.
Such a guy? Unlikely.
But Lee Beom-seok didn't dismiss his respected superior.
Lee Beom-seok gathered the group and instructed them.
"Tighten security. Stay in the shelter for now. If something overwhelming hits..."
"Hyung-jun-ssi."
"Then we use the guns."
Guns were to be avoided if possible, but not in this case.
Then, a roar echoed from somewhere.
A massive bellow that shook the entire Dae Mi Labyrinth.
"Wh-what was that?"
"Sounds like a monster roaring..."
Oh Hyung-jun quickly searched the auction house for Lotus Shelter.
There it was.
Sung-ho had entered the Dae Mi Labyrinth.
Desperate comments from shelter members poured in.
That's when Hyung-jun chimed in, and members explained to him.
"Abomination? He turns into a monster like that?"
"What's with the sudden noise?"
Hyung-jun relayed everything he'd heard to the group.
The conflict with the Chinese over water bottles, the bracelet that polymorphs into a 2.5-meter monster, etc.
Hearing the full story, people looked incredulous.
"Sung-ho turns into that monster and is fighting Chinese guys right now?"
"Sounds insane."
"I'd love to say impossible, but..."
World ended, monsters appeared—turning into one wasn't that special.
Even a dragon flying over Seoul skies would get a shrug now.
Murmurs rose, and Beom-seok fixated on the Chinese fighting part.
How could they stand a chance?
Asking Hyung-jun, he checked comments and replied.
"Three of them hit level 50."
"Three Chinese at 50? Possible?"
"From the story, that An Geun-seok from Redneck zone—he must've done something."
Beom-seok's jaw dropped.
"Level 50's way above Sung-ho, right?"
"Sung-ho's 41 or 42... not that huge a gap, but still strong."
High level didn't mean automatic strength.
Ability user combat power came from items, skills, bonus effects.
But a group freely entering/exiting Dae Mi Labyrinth? Doubt they only got levels.
So what to do?
"We should..."
As Beom-seok started, another roar shook the labyrinth.
"Th-that was close, right?"
"Sounds like this way?"
Eyes fixed on the corridor.
Sharp-eyed Hyung-jun spotted something.
"Orcs incoming!"
"Sh-should we shoot?"
"Wait! Something's behind them!"
With their numbers and guns ready, monsters weren't the issue.
The fear was the three level 50 Chinese and Sung-ho.
What form would they appear in?
"Gather behind the spring!"
At Beom-seok's signal, people huddled against the wall by the bubbling spring.
Soon, several orcs appeared.
People hesitated—laugh or cry at the monsters' faces?
Terrified and shaking!
Dae Mi orcs were huge, fierce; close combat tricky.
What had them so horrified?
Answer came quick.
A shadow loomed in the corridor; something thudded heavily onto the cavern floor.
"Guhk!"
"Urk!"
Two rolled on the ground, struggling to rise but limp.
They were Liang Yifan and Zhou Daoming, who'd fled earlier.
Thud, thud, thud.
The cavern trembled as a massive monster filled the corridor.
Koreans gaped in shock.
What musclebound behemoth was that?
Even next to an enhanced ghoul tank, it'd look childish.
"Ah, ah..."
Sight of the gray monster sapped their will to fight.
Sung-ho slowly entered the cavern, scanning around.
Conscious but with altered mouth structure, he couldn't speak.
Instead, he lightly thumped his chest to signal reassurance.
Backfired.
"Eek!"
"H-he's gonna kill us?"
Terror spread; Sung-ho stopped communicating and tossed what he held.
It was Zhao Zewai.
Not dead, but arms and face mangled.
Twitching intermittently terrified everyone.
Liang Yifan and Zhou Daoming exchanged glances.
One shot left now.
Take hostages.
Liang Yifan's eyes gleamed; he appeared behind the group. Zhou Daoming controlled the orcs.
Terrorized orcs' eyes turned red.
Grroooar!
Orcs charged Sung-ho.
Surrounded by five over-2-meter brutes, his presence unchanged.
Grah!
With a roar, one orc flew into the wall, splattered.
The other four met similar fates.
The one clinging to his leg got stomped dead; the arm-biter's teeth shattered.
A frenzied orc's head was grabbed by a massive hand—crunch.
Krunch!
Snap—
Sung-ho casually crushed the skull, then eyed Liang Yifan behind the group.
He'd pressed a long knife to Yuzuka's throat.
D-don't move..."
But Sung-ho approached.
Heavy footsteps boomed; people panicked, clearing a path.
Yuzuka, the unlucky hostage, bit her lip.
Better not be a burden...
"I said don't move! See this?"
Liang Yifan tensed his grip, but the blade didn't pierce Yuzuka's skin.
Was her skin steel?
No.
A small dimension wall had formed where Sung-ho looked, blocking the tip.
Liang Yifan trembled at the approaching behemoth.
"Damn!"
His body vanished.
Hidden with his Stealth trait.
But Sung-ho, with Super Sense active, tracked him visually.
That's when Zhou Daoming charged.
"Uwaaaah!"
A level 50+ ability user's speed was no joke.
Wind whipped; suddenly, two long knives aimed at his chest.
People imagined them piercing, eyes clenched shut.
But the sound wasn't flesh tearing—it was metal clanging.
Clang!
"Kuhk!"
The two stabbers clutched wrists, retreating frantically.
Incredibly, the blades hadn't pierced skin.
"My god..."
"Knives don't work?"
Eyes widened in horror.
An invincible monster had appeared.