Intellectual Curiosity

"Phew... that should about do it, right?"

Ha Hui-ryeong came toward me with an exuberant bounce in her step, brushing the blood off her bat.

Seemed like getting to rampage for a bit had worked out all her stress.

"Good work, Hui-ryeong. You too, Ha-yoon. Thanks for the backup."

I handed each of them a bottle of water.

Ha Hui-ryeong and Kim Ha-yoon took the bottles and immediately started chugging them down.

"Ahh~! Yeah, that's it. Right there. A cold glass of water after working up a sweat!"

"Unnie, you sound like an old man."

"You're the one who was guzzling it like an animal, and you're calling me out?"

"At least I don't make a whole spectacle out of it."

"Oh, of course~. Our dignified Miss Kim Ha-yoon would never do such a thing~."

Watching the two of them bicker like this—it had become so familiar it was almost endearing.

Still, the distance between them had definitely shrunk compared to back when we were navigating the subway.

Had spending so much time together these past days actually sparked something like affection?

Sure, they took jabs at each other, but it wasn't laced with genuine killing intent like back then.

"So, how many coins did you rake in?"

At my question, Ha Hui-ryeong swished the water around in her mouth like mouthwash and spat it onto the floor.

"About five hundred? Honestly, no strong ones in the bunch, but there were so many of them it added up pretty nicely."

"Four hundred for me."

"Heh. What's this? I won, huh?"

"...I was focused on covering your back, unnie."

I tilted my head at their answers.

"Why'd you get different amounts? Whatever else might vary, the mutant entities should've paid out the same."

"Beats me. I don't know either."

"Maybe it's because there's no contribution split. Almost everything got taken down in one hit."

Hmm... so that meant I needed to make sure everyone landed at least one hit to get an assist.

That was new information.

Every mutant entity we'd faced up until now had been so powerful that I'd just assumed coins were distributed equally to everyone involved.

But apparently not.

Payouts only applied to those who actually participated.

Yeah, you had to land even the tiniest bit of damage to get your share.

'In a way, that does make sense.'

No complaints here.

Compared to offing regular people or players, the criteria were way more lenient.

The other two cases both required landing the last hit to get any coins at all.

Upon hearing this, Angelica let out a soft "Oh-ho" of admiration.

"How much was it per one? Fifty?"

"Nope. They only gave twenty coins each. Maybe because they're just furballs—they were stingy as hell."

Sure, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were mutant entities, but they came from cats, so maybe that was why none of them were particularly outstanding in terms of raw strength.

Out of everything we'd hunted so far, they yielded the smallest payout per kill.

But thanks to the sheer numbers, we still walked away with a pretty tidy profit.

"Hm. So the mutant entities inhabiting Seocho-gu come in swarms, but there's not much substance behind them. Seems like each district plays out differently."

"Yeah? What was Songpa-gu like for you?"

"We had one or two powerful entities in a fixed area—field boss types. But they weren't anything we couldn't handle. Unlike Gangnam."

I see. So Seocho-gu basically functioned as an experience mine.

Grind here, spec up, then move on to conquer other districts?

To put it in game terms, that was roughly the vibe.

'Well, that said, there weren't any turf wars breaking out over it.'

What I'd actually been hoping for was that other ability users would hear the commotion we raised and come sniffing around for easy pickings.

But contrary to my expectations, no one came at us.

Either there were no ability users settled nearby at all, or we'd rampaged so hard they got spooked and tucked tail and ran. Either way, the situation wrapped up way too smoothly.

'We did stir up a whole stretch of a busy street, though.'

Could things really stay this quiet after all that?

Aside from that man and woman we spotted earlier, there were practically zero living survivors in the area.

And even those two just watched us for a bit before quietly holing up in their hideout.

"Whatever, it's fine. Looks like the area's pretty much cleared out, so let's move on to the next step."

"Next? That wasn't the end of it? You said we were just looking for vending machines earlier."

"We'll do that too, obviously. But I found something interesting a little while ago."

My gaze settled on the rooftop of a commercial building in the distance.

Not a tall one.

By rough estimate, it was about four stories—a thoroughly unremarkable building.

"Something interesting?"

"Yeah. I found us some very devoted friends who'll help satisfy our curiosity."

"Aha... so it's a human hunt this time, huh?"

Ha Hui-ryeong flashed a wide grin, teeth bared.

She'd been acting unusually tame lately, but deep down, that vicious sadistic streak of hers was still very much alive.

Savoring the vibrations of screams and life flickering out.

She knew that pleasure better than anyone.

Every time they writhed in agony, a jolt of electricity raced through her skull and sent her blood pumping faster.

Every time they groveled and begged for their lives, a filthy sense of superiority swelled her chest and stoked her impulses.

The suffering of others, eventually transmuted into ecstasy.

The more you indulged, the deeper you sank into that swamp—a quagmire you could never crawl out of, until you were utterly addicted.

And that was why she—

"When do we go? Right now?"

Despite having just worn herself out rampaging without a second thought, she was practically bouncing on her heels, urging me on with a giddy expression.

I decided I might as well indulge her anticipation.

I'd felt a similar sensation myself recently, so I could understand her impatience to some extent.

"Then let's get right to it. Alright, let's move fast. Lady Ha!"

"Hell yeah! So where is it? Over there? Or over there?"

"You see that building across the street?"

"That one?"

"No, a bit more to the right. Yeah. That's it. Right there. I spotted about two people watching us from that spot. One man. One woman. There might be more inside."

"Just two. A little underwhelming, but not bad."

Ha Hui-ryeong took the lead, practically skipping ahead like a kid on a field trip.

Kim Ha-yoon followed behind her, expression as flat and dry as ever.

Angelica, on the other hand, wore a somewhat complicated and ambiguous look.

"So that's why you hesitated earlier. But isn't this a little too impulsive? I'm a bit concerned about whether charging in headfirst like this is the right call."

"It's fine. We're a little worn out, but we've still got the barrier Ha-rin put on us. And if things go south, we can just use your trait and book it."

"Well... true enough."

To begin with, our lineup wasn't the kind that would lose to your average nobodies.

Ha Hui-ryeong with her overwhelming breakthrough power, me with an instant death skill, Angelica with her knack for creating variables, and Kim Ha-yoon who could handle all sorts of situations.

Our party had a well-balanced composition covering close, mid, and long range.

Even if some unexpected disaster struck and someone got injured, we could just heal up using Ha Hui-ryeong's trait.

No half-assed ragtag group stood a chance against us.

"And besides, if anything happens, you'll protect me, won't you?"

"That goes without saying."

"Yeah, that's reassuring. If I ever let my guard down, make sure you cover me."

We walked for quite a while, trading trivial chatter like that.

When we finally reached the building where we'd spotted the survivors, Ha Hui-ryeong let out an excited huff like she was ready to storm the place right then and there.

"This is the place, right?"

I nodded.

Still, just in case, let's hold off on a frontal assault.

"Yeah. But we're not going through the front door. We're going in from above."

"Huh? Why?"

"Wouldn't it be way more effective to hit them in the back of the head from a path they'd never even dream of, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rather than just waltzing in the obvious way?"

At that, Ha Hui-ryeong made no effort to hide her annoyance, but she didn't put up much of a protest either.

She just shrugged and said, "Fine. We'll do it your way."

I shot a subtle glance at Angelica.

"Angelica, can you float all of us up and deliver us to the rooftop?"

"Of course."

At my request, Angelica activated her ability right away.

My feet lifted off the ground, and that familiar floating sensation from last time washed over me.

"Ooh."

Ha Hui-ryeong and Kim Ha-yoon, who were experiencing this for the first time, widened their eyes at the novel feeling of hovering in empty air.

In any case, once we safely reached the rooftop, we kept our footsteps hushed and carefully pulled open the door leading inside.

Creeeeak.

The old hinges groaned, and at the same time, the dark interior yawned open before us.

No one spoke.

We exchanged silent communication through glances and hand signals.

Like that, we crept down the stairs with our footsteps deadened.

That was when it happened.

From below, the smell of ramyeon stung my nostrils, and someone's voice came through faintly.

— So this is the last packet of ramyeon. Sigh... getting food just keeps getting harder.

— Can't be helped. Things outside have gotten way more dangerous ever since those Gangnam bastards started crossing over recently.

Gangnam?

Did that mean survivors who'd fled that piano monster had made their way over here?

That was good news.

If that were true, then Hui-ryeong's mom might have ridden that same wave into Seocho-gu.

— That's exactly what pisses me off. Suddenly swarming in as a huge pack and strutting around like they own the place... god, I can't stand the sight of them.

— I'm with you on that one. Those people have been stripping every last bit of supplies from the area, so now we have to trek way further out every single time.

— Exactly. And why the hell did they have to drag every single zombie along with them? Honestly, they've got no shame at all.

The two of them went on and on, endlessly grumbling to each other.

From the sound of it, the situation was genuinely terrible.

— Just a little while ago, too. Those bastards earlier—you think they came from Gangnam too?

— Considering the direction, probably. The last wave of refugees were all Gangnam natives, so wouldn't those people be the same?

— Except these ones are even worse. Those bastards, they were all using some kind of weird power. You saw it too, right? All that lightning and chunks of ice flying around.

— Yeah. It was definitely insane. So let's just stay quiet here for a while, even if things get rough. At least until those people move on.

And then we came up in the conversation.

There was a thick layer of loathing in their voices, but the slight tremor in their tone made it obvious—they were scared out of their minds.

"....."

Just then, Ha Hui-ryeong flashed a hand signal.

It was the gesture for let's jump them right about now.

We all nodded in unison.

One, two, three.

Patter-patter-patter.

The moment the last folded finger disappeared, Ha Hui-ryeong kicked off the stairs and shot forward.

I charged after her with Angelica right behind me, and bringing up the rear, Kim Ha-yoon conjured ice to support us.

"Wh-what the—!?"

The man and woman boiling ramyeon heard the footsteps and their faces flooded with unmistakable panic.

But only for a moment.

"ORYAAAAAP!!!"

With a bizarre battle cry, Ha Hui-ryeong revealed herself, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and the man and woman immediately turned tail and bolted without the slightest hesitation.

They'd clearly been through this type of situation before—their movements were impressively quick.

They split into two directions and fled to different areas.

"Oh? We playing tag now?"

Ha Hui-ryeong's grin stretched all the way to her ears. She hurled her bat with full force toward the woman.

—Crackle-zap.

Thunder roared along its trajectory, and in the next instant, Ha Hui-ryeong materialized right in the woman's path.

"Kyaak!!"

The nameless woman was so thoroughly startled that she tripped over herself and tumbled to the ground, landing flat on her ass.

At the echoing scream, the man's head whipped around frantically.

"D-Da-hye noona!"

He looked torn—flee for his life or try to save her.

But he must have realized pretty quickly that there was no saving her. Gritting his teeth, he turned his back.

"Ha-yoon."

"Yes."

I called her name quietly, and without needing any further explanation, Kim Ha-yoon sensibly launched a volley of icicles.

Crunch! Craaack!

The icicles shot forward and pierced straight through the man's shoulder blade and thigh.

"Gaaah, my leg, my leg—!"

"Kyaahk, glrrrk!!"

The screams of the man and woman mingled together in a dissonant harmony.

Mm, yeah. There was a certain unique flavor to this.

A satisfied smile crept across my face as I slowly descended the stairs.

"It all ended in one hit? Isn't this way too anticlimactic?"

Ha Hui-ryeong looked down at the woman trembling like a fish out of water and let out a mocking snicker.

Conveniently enough, the nameless woman hadn't lost consciousness.

She must have adjusted the power output—only intermittent convulsions racked her body, but she hadn't passed out.

"True. The fact that they bolted the second they saw Hui-ryeong makes me think they're not ability users."

"We don't know that for sure yet. They might have simply been so startled that their legs moved on pure instinct. We'll need to verify further."

Angelica hadn't let her guard down in the slightest.

She swept her gaze around the area, carefully scanning for any additional threats.

Thanks to her, I could take that particular worry off my plate for now.

"In this state, they can't even put up a fight, so we can take our time finding out. Alright, fine. Hey, you. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Is it just the two of you living here?"

Leaving the nameless woman to her fate as Ha Hui-ryeong's new plaything, I addressed the man whose limbs were locked down with ice.

His face was twisted tight with pain as he forced his mouth open.

"Nnngghk...! Wh-what. What the hell is this...! How—no. Why? How did you know we were here...!"

But that wasn't the answer I was looking for.

He was so disoriented his eyes couldn't stop darting around, and his sentences kept cutting out like a busted radio.

"Guy's completely out of it from just this much. Is their mental fortitude made of tofu or what?"

"My arms and legs have all been impaled. I'd say keeping any semblance of sanity is the stranger thing here."

Kim Ha-yoon delivered a cold rebuke.

I tilted my head slightly at that.

"You think so?"

"If the same thing happened to you, wouldn't you be crying and thrashing around in a total mess?"

Now that she mentioned it, maybe so.

He was strung up on an ice crucifix like Jesus, icicles skewered through all four limbs, and he still hadn't lost consciousness. Maybe this guy actually had some impressive mental fortitude after all?

I pressed a hand to my chin and let out a thoughtful hum. Angelica tugged lightly at my sleeve.

"What now? Interrogating him in this state seems difficult."

"It's fine. That's just a bonus. Our real objective is something else."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Haah... Angelica. It seems you weren't paying proper attention. Didn't I say it? They're test subjects."

"Meaning, in other words..."

"Yeah. We need to see just how far our Lady Ha's ability can reach."

At that, Angelica's eyes lit up.

Back in her school days, she'd had very little to do with studying, but in strange areas like this, her academic zeal was absolutely ferocious.

"Then first, we'll need to confirm whether severed parts reattach, or if new flesh simply regenerates. Next, the abdomen. I'm intensely curious whether the healing effect still applies even after we slice open the stomach and pull out the organs. Fufu, I do hope they manage to endure for a good long while."

She was so passionate about it that completely unhinged ideas started pouring out of her without a second thought.