Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: The Reason I Became a Monster - 6
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I've only fought easy battles until now.
I always had prior information, set up the environment to ensure victory, and fought with the optimal strategy.
As a result, aside from the early days, I hadn't suffered any major injuries.
In the apocalypse, getting hurt was failure in itself.
On top of that, my dimension gate trait was perfect for hiding or escaping.
But today was different.
I was clearly struggling against Go Ho-kyung.
The moment she unleashed her full power, thousands of sheets of paper pressed in on me.
Each one became a weapon, a shield, or sometimes a bomb.
Even my trusty dimension walls were useless.
I could only create one at a time, but attacks came from all directions.
Block the front, and dozens of papers turned into sharp blades, lunging for the back of my head.
I couldn't hold out.
Krwaaagh!
The pain turned into a scream that echoed down the corridor.
To kill Go Ho-kyung, I'd risked the aftereffects and undergone my third transformation, but two minutes were almost up.
Would the fourth last a full minute?
No, my body couldn't take it.
Once this transformation ended, I'd be a total wreck.
"Die! Die! Die!"
As Go Ho-kyung shrieked in frenzy, dozens of paper clumps flew at me.
Boom boom boom!
My vision flashed brilliantly, and I couldn't withstand the explosions—my head slammed into the wall.
There was no chance of winning in this state.
Abomination's body was undoubtedly powerful, but vulnerable to ranged attacks.
And I couldn't even use weapons properly.
Just before the transformation wore off, I feigned a charge at Go Ho-kyung and opened a dimension gate.
My vision flipped chaotically, and cold dirt welcomed my reverting human body.
"Ugh..."
I braced for the third aftereffect, but unexpectedly, it wasn't that painful.
What was this warm sensation?
I barely lifted my head to see Soo-yeon looking at me with worried eyes.
Golden light poured from her hands.
"Sung-ho, are you okay?"
"Yeah... I'm fine. But... what's this?"
Soo-yeon smiled brightly.
"I hit level 25. I thought the status ailment cure was useless, but it seems to have helped."
"Level 25... you've worked hard."
Leveling up with a trait useless in combat was incredibly tough.
Especially without using guns.
She stroked my arm up to my shoulder.
The tension in my muscles melted away, leaving my body soft and relaxed.
This effect is killer.
"Living comfortably in a stable shelter means I have to pull my weight at least this much."
As I closed my eyes for a moment, the aftereffects vanished, and super regeneration restored my stamina.
I sprang up and bowed to her.
"Thanks to you, I survived... phew..."
"No, no. More importantly, your clothes..."
"Ahem."
One side effect of Abomination Polymorph was this—clothes shredded, leading to a naked show.
I grabbed the clothes she'd brought and put them on.
For some reason, Soo-yeon's nape seemed flushed red.
"A-anyway, how's it outside? I heard you were fighting some woman..."
"She was stronger than expected, so I retreated for now."
"If even you say that, she must be insanely powerful..."
Not quite—she just had a bad matchup with Abomination.
I scratched my head and peered out the dimension gate.
—Urp... blegh!
Surprisingly, Go Ho-kyung was leaning against the wall, vomiting.
Blood and mucus spewed from her mouth.
You didn't get out unscathed either, huh.
She was clearly paying the price for going all out.
"So that's what Limit Break does."
I now understood one of Go Ho-kyung's skills: Limit Break.
She wiped the blood from her mouth and stared right at me.
—You can't beat me. I saw your abilities clearly.
Oh, really?
She'd leveled three Chinese players to 50 just to scout me, and all she got were a few extra effects.
Thanks to her, she'd exposed my dimension wall and dimension prison.
She swept back her disheveled, bloodied hair.
With the wild strands and blood, she looked like a ghost.
—No backstabbing this time. No sky here. Let's see if you can slip through even if I block your rat hole.
Suddenly, papers flew at the dimension gate.
I startled and stepped back as a wall of paper sealed the gate.
—Heh heh heh. Perfect seal, right?
Her eerie voice persisted, but my vision was blocked.
This is trouble.
Soo-yeon poked the gate with her finger, her face falling.
"It's blocked... It will break through, right?"
"The paper's too tough."
A rocket launcher might punch through, but more paper would just patch it.
Anyway, where's everyone...
Looking around the shelter, Mi-kyung was missing.
Soo-yeon hesitated.
"She's in the Great Labyrinth right now. With the stealth cloak, behind that woman..."
"...What? Outside there?"
I'd seen her enter the shelter—when did she slip out?
Turns out, since I hadn't opened the gate, she'd gone via the Korean shelter to the Great Labyrinth.
Her guts are hanging out.
Calling up the auction house, I saw traces of her fussing with the old-timers.
Soo-yeon, who'd been watching the comments, pouted.
"Didn't we agree not to call me noona anymore?"
Oh right.
I played innocent and called Mi-kyung.
—Mi-kyung, you there?
—Y-yeah... you won't scold me, right?
—No scolding. Give me the sitrep.
—Paper's blocking the view, but your dimension gate seems completely sealed. It's wrapped in paper nonstop.
—And you're behind Go Ho-kyung?
—Yes.
This could turn the tables.
No matter how skilled, anyone loses control momentarily if their focus breaks.
For Go Ho-kyung handling hundreds or thousands of papers, the opening would be huge.
Here, flashbangs and flamethrowers...
I devised a plan and opened my dimension storage, pulling out supplies.
When the flamethrower appeared, Soo-yeon's eyes widened.
"You're using all this?"
"One shot only. If we fail here, it'll be impossible later."
I couldn't confirm if she had a resurrection scroll left.
But there was a reason she'd pushed to her limit in desperation.
I listed the items on the auction house.
—Mi-kyung, listen up. Buy these and throw them in order, fast.
—M-me?
—You're the only one who can attack now. She hasn't blocked the rear, right?
—Rear's wide open. Her butt's super scrawny.
—Here's the plan: Toss the flashbang in front of her—she'll panic. Follow with the firebomb, then roast her with the flamethrower. Can you do it?
If she said no, I'd improvise something risky.
But she replied without hesitation.
—I can do it. Leave it to me.
—I believe you.
Moments later, the items sold.
I asked Soo-yeon.
"Watch closely. If I'm in danger, heal me please."
She grabbed my hand and nodded vigorously.
"Don't worry about healing. As long as you don't die, I'll save you."
Dying wouldn't be a big deal anyway.
Even without a resurrection scroll, it wouldn't reach worst-case.
Still, the aftereffects were brutal—I'd avoid it if possible.
With buffs applied and prep done, a scream echoed from outside.
—Aaaagh!
The paper wall crumbled, revealing Go Ho-kyung staggering, engulfed in flames.
I stabbed the mithril knife into my thigh.
Primal Life activated, massively boosting all stats.
Let's go.
I yanked out the mithril blade and charged outside.
Jung Mi-kyung had pale skin, earning her the nickname "Whitey" from Da-jeong.
Her petite build and cute face made everyone treat her casually.
But her combat prowess was no joke.
She was skilled enough to venture out alone.
After hitting level 25 and gaining the duplicate effect, her confidence soared.
Most monsters fell for the blink duplicate and couldn't find the real her.
'I can do this, Jung Mi-kyung.'
She waited in her stealth cloak for an opening.
As seen in Sung-ho's fight, the monster had incredible senses.
Approach while blinded by blink, and she'd counter.
'Just do as told. Drop the cloak and throw the can at the same time...'
It should be simple—why was her heart pounding?
The monster coughed occasionally, not fully recovered.
Blood dripping meant she wasn't normal.
'Now!'
Mi-kyung dropped the cloak and hurled the flashbang.
Friction from the glowstone powder sparked white flames in the dark hall.
Right in front of Go Ho-kyung's nose.
She coughed mid-hack, staring straight into the flash.
"Ugh!"
Vision lost suddenly, Mi-kyung blinked away.
She lobbed the firebomb from a distance, then pulled the flamethrower trigger.
Fwoooosh!
Black-red flames filled the narrow corridor.
Go Ho-kyung, flailing blindly, got swallowed by the licking fire.
"Aaaagh!"
The gate-sealing papers collapsed as Sung-ho burst out.
With all skills active, his speed was unreal.
Mi-kyung thought he'd blinked and flinched.
In that instant, their eyes met over Go Ho-kyung.
Sung-ho's gaze said:
Run.
As Mi-kyung retreated, tentacles sprouted from Go Ho-kyung's body.
"I'll kill you all!"
Flames-wrapped, tentacles extending—no humanity left.
Sung-ho blocked the sluggish tentacles with a dimension wall.
He kicked off it, using the momentum to close in instantly.
More tentacles lashed, but he was already swinging the mithril blade.
Ssssk—
A weird sound, then a tentacle and her left arm severed.
"Aaaagh!"
Black-red blood and fluids spurted from the stump.
In that brief moment, Sung-ho checked her stats.
Aftereffects of Limit Break—massively debuffed.
You had limits too, huh.
Sung-ho grabbed a flailing tentacle and yanked.
Thrusting the mithril blade straight, he pierced her gut.
"Hurk... ugh..."
Their faces inches apart.
Blood trickled from Go Ho-kyung's mouth.
Her ambiguous grin-cry twisted.
The mithril blade raked mercilessly from gut to chest.
That was it.
Even a monster beyond human couldn't survive shredded organs.
Her eyes lost focus, but Sung-ho didn't relax—yanked the blade and decapitated her.
The small head, tangled in long hair, rolled.
"Ugh..."
Mi-kyung closed her eyes at the gruesome sight.
Sung-ho scanned warily.
If a resurrection scroll, the body would glow and vanish.
But it didn't—instead, the old scene replayed.
The ground around the corpse turned gooey, tentacles rising.
"Begone!"
Sung-ho slashed with mithril, but tentacles ignored, wrapping the corpse.
Then sank into the earth.
Left: sticky blood trails, fluids, and a floating message.
Nice items dropped too, but my eyes were fixed on Limit Break.
I'd check its effects later.
Mi-kyung blinked right up to me.
"Oppa."
"You did great, Mi-kyung. Thanks to you, I survived."
She jumped into my arms, grinning.
"You would've won even without me."
Then space rippled—someone appeared.
I shoved Mi-kyung behind me, blade out.
An Geun-seok.
He stared blankly.
"I said wait a bit, but you couldn't hold back and made me lose my secretary."
"You can see my status window too?"
"Did you get Ability Analysis?"
"Your stats are surprisingly meh."
I snarked; he pinched his brow.
"Aigoo. The headache just got worse."
"Face looks fine for that."
"Within expectations. Your growth is impressive... but still in my palm."
"Guys who say that usually regret it on their deathbed: 'Should've uprooted him then.'"
Mi-kyung giggled behind me; An Geun-seok looked sheepish.
"Classic cliché, sure. But this ain't a movie or game. If I wanted, you'd be dead in an hour."
"Try me."
He shook his head.
"Pass. 13th floor monsters would make a mess... Anyway, where'd you get Abomination transformation?"
13th floor—Great Labyrinth, probably.
I shrugged.
"Hunting."
His face sneered.
"Don't joke. That option never drops. From Lotus?"
"Tell me what took Go Ho-kyung's corpse, and I'll share."
An Geun-seok twitched, sighing.
"Fine... Fair trade—you revealed extras. Those tentacles are Corrupted Elderwood roots. The secretary's reviving via Elderwood's power. She's grinding her teeth for you."
"From the spirit spring?"
His eyes bulged.
"How... No way you..."
"Using it usefully myself. Felt like Elderwood was hurt. Thought it was me, but nah."
"You know a lot. Got questions."
"Figure it out with force."
"Sigh... No choice. Time to use them."
"Scary monsters on 13th floor?"
"Guaranteed—no more leisure when they show. Judeca-nim's pets."
"Bring 'em. I'll kill like her."
His polite mask cracked—feral face emerged.
"Fine! As you wish! Spoiled brat rampaging—pay for killing my secretary!"
"Shut up and scram."
Then, hilariously, Seok-hyun and Da-jeong appeared in golden light.
Why were royal palace kids here?
An Geun-seok panicked to flee, but Seok-hyun grabbed his hand.
"Gotcha~"
An Geun-seok's face twisted horribly.
The Reason I Became a Monster - 6 End