Chapter 100
Chapter 100
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Racial Change
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Before heading to the Missing Persons' Forest, I took care of a few things with the items I'd bought from the black market.
For example, dragging in a slave and feeding him an Alcid larva. Or giving Screaming Grass to Hee-sun Noona. Mostly dealing with stuff I'd bought from poachers.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Kieeeek!!!
Thud! Thud!
The moment I pulled the Alcid larva from my bag, it went berserk, thrashing wildly to escape the glass jar. At this rate, the jar might shatter, or the larva might die from the shock first. I needed to feed it off quickly before it was too late.
"Go into that room, open the jar's lid, and swallow this whole. Don't chew it—just gulp it down. Got it? That's an order."
Just in case the Alcid larva escaped when he opened the lid and tried to parasitize me or someone else, I told the slave to go into the storage room alone and eat it.
"W-wait a second!! Please!! Ah, no!!! I, I did wrong!! I'll work hard!! Please!! Please spare me!!"
"No!! Hurry up and eat it! You're the only one! You're perfect for it!! Get in there and eat it!!"
I kept ordering the resisting slave to go into the supply storage, open the lid, and swallow the Alcid. He screamed that he didn't want to and begged for his life, but I ignored his shouts and yelled back relentlessly.
"Ugh...!! I said I'm sorry!! You fucking bastard!!! Why!! Why me!! I don't want to!! Save me!!! Someone help me!!! No!! Uwaaaah!!!"
His screams made the slaves cleaning the mart during the day click their tongues and turn away. No one was going to help him. He was alone.
'Even after all these orders, he's still resisting... This guy's got some serious mental fortitude. Perfect candidate for eating the Alcid larva.'
The slave I'd chosen to feed the Alcid larva to was a plain guy named Yoon Ha-jun. He was a non-awakener I'd rescued from the Sports Center—a nobody whose disappearance from the mart wouldn't raise any eyebrows.
Ha Jin-seong had also mentioned he was oddly rebellious and didn't do his work properly. I'd delegated slave management to Ha Jin-seong, and he'd diligently compiled lists of the non-awakened, observed their behavior, and reported the problematic ones to me.
More precisely, I'd made the non-awakened evaluate each other.
The ones with bad evaluations became test subjects or offerings like this. A sort of self-evaluation system among slaves. They constantly watched and snitched on each other—a dystopia straight out of the apocalypse.
Anyway, Yoon Ha-jun was disliked by the other slaves. They'd all labeled him trash. Death was all that awaited him.
But I couldn't afford to waste scarce manpower, so I decided to gift him the blessing of the Alcid larva. Even if Yoon Ha-jun himself didn't appreciate it.
'Judging by how he's resisting my orders this hard, if he'd been an awakener, his Will stat would've been insane.'
Which made him perfect for evolving into an Alcid that wielded psionic energy, a mental power. I should praise Ha Jin-seong later. He'd scouted the ideal candidate.
"Come on, cut the crap. Eat it already. My patience is wearing thin. And you idiot—this won't kill you. You'll get ridiculously strong. Or do you want to be offered up to me instead? Want to die screaming under torture?"
"Hic... Hic... Fuck... Fine, I'll eat it... You bastard... I'll eat it... Hic..."
I handed him the glass jar with the shrieking Alcid larva. Threatening torture to death made eating the weird larva seem like the better option. Finally, Yoon Ha-jun—who'd resisted my orders tooth and nail—clutched the jar to his chest and shuffled into the supply storage.
"See? It wouldn't hurt to eat it nicely. This'll make you stronger. Then I'll treat you like an executive. You saw Jin-seong drinking imported liquor with his little brother, right? Eat this, get strong, and join them for drinks."
"F-fuck... You shitty bastard... Drop dead... Just die..."
As I offered encouragement to Yoon Ha-jun heading inside, he cursed me right up until the door closed. Even I had to admit, if someone ordered me to swallow a live insane larva like that, it'd make my head spin. I silently took his abuse.
I'd curse up a storm too if told to gulp down some fucked-up alien lifeform.
The supply storage door shut completely. Curious if he'd eat it properly, I pressed my ear to the door to eavesdrop.
Ugh... Fuck... Motherfucker... Why won't it open...
Plop!
Kieeeek!!!
Uwaaaah!!! Get away!! Uwaa!!! Uwaaa!! It hurts!!! Don't bite, you fucker!!
Crash!!
Kieeeek!!!
Fuck!!! I can't do it!! How am I supposed to eat this!!!
Bang bang bang!!
Save me!!! Open this door!!
"No way."
Uwaaaah!!!
I gripped the door handle to keep it shut. His screams echoed for a while. Then they gradually quieted.
Creak...
I waited a bit longer before opening the supply storage door.
"Hey. Yoon Ha-jun. Hey."
"Ah... Uh... Uuuh... Ahhh..."
Yoon Ha-jun was huddled in a dark corner of the storage room.
I activated my altered vision to pierce the darkness and approached him. He muttered broken words that never formed sentences, twitching like a broken robot.
"Hey... Ugh... Fuck..."
Curious what was wrong, I grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. That's when I saw his wrecked state—and a wave of rotten stench hit me.
"Turning into an Alcid, huh..."
His tongue was gone, probably devoured—his mouth hung open. Blood from his mouth soaked his chin and upper body. Worst, an Alcid tail wriggled where his tongue should be. Grotesque.
His face was ballooned like a pufferfish. Yellow pus oozed from his nose and ears, something brain-like sloshing out. That explained the rot smell. Too disgusting to look at squarely.
Looked like the Alcid larva had entered through his mouth, eaten his tongue, and was now devouring his brain...
"Uuh... Heuhha..."
"Damn... What the hell..."
I left him there in the storage room. Then I ordered other awakener slaves to monitor him closely for any weird behavior. Couldn't have him going berserk if he lost it. A few hours later, when I checked back, he'd changed a lot.
All his hair and body fur had fallen out, and long antennae like the Ebony Cockroach's sprouted from his forehead. His teeth were gone, mouth morphed into an insect's maw. His eyes became compound insect eyes like a dragonfly's—I couldn't tell where he was looking. Utterly repulsive and horrific.
Felt like staring at a human-fly hybrid from an old movie. Too repulsive.
"Kishi... Kishishishi."
"Hey, Yoon Ha-jun. Can you understand me?"
"Kishishi. Yes. I'm fine. Obey orders, Master. Like Master..."
Yoon Ha-jun bowed his head to me. No message about his Slave Brand disappearing. But something felt off, so I grabbed him with Tentacle Ejection.
He immediately emitted psionic waves demanding release and started resisting.
The waves knocked nearby working slaves to their knees or flat out, clutching their heads.
This wasn't Yoon Ha-jun anymore. It was the Alcid settled in his body. Or a fusion into something new. Either way, this thing wasn't my slave.
"Kiaaa!!!! I obey!!! Master!!! I like you!! Please let me go!!"
"Shut up!!"
A mad monster confessing love to me, thanks to the Ten Thousand Demons' Favor. Made me want to puke.
But it wasn't fully mature—its psionic energy was weak. I beat it repeatedly with tentacles, threatening death if it didn't submit.
Even then it resisted, so I drew my ritual dagger and slashed it up. Only then did it tremble and swear obedience. During that, I noticed its skin beneath had turned into chitinous exoskeleton. Its body was fully Alcid now.
'Fucking gross...'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[The opponent has submitted to you.]
I reapplied the Slave Brand to its forehead. Couldn't let a dangerous thing like this roam free.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Player 'Yoon Ha-jun (Alcid Infected)' has been made a slave.]
It was still Yoon Ha-jun. But fused with the Alcid larva, the Slave Brand glitched—treated as a separate entity.
"Kishit..."
I released the bowing Alcid Yoon Ha-jun.
"Do you lay eggs or reproduce?"
"Kishishi... Alone... During spawning season... Lay eggs in water. 3 to... 2 at a time..."
"Report whenever you lay larvae. I'll make you regret it if you breed recklessly."
"Understood... I obey Master absolutely."
"What's your food?"
"Flesh... Rotten... Fresh... Any flesh."
"Zombies everywhere outside. Scavenge your own."
"Understood... Will do. Obey without question. Don't discard me. Servant of the Ten Thousand Demons..."
Couldn't stand looking at his ugly mug, so I slapped a Kamen Rider mask from the toy aisle over his face. The jutting antennae were annoying, but better than the bare face.
'Next...'
With the Alcid larva handled, time to feed the Screaming Grass to Hee-sun Noona.
I wanted to boost her Magic Power before entering the Missing Persons' Forest. Plus, her Magic Power was already high at 80. Add the Screaming Grass for +50, breaking 100—should trigger an achievement.
"Hee-sun Noona. Let's take our meds."
"Huh? Meds? Birth control?"
"Nah, I already took those."
I pulled Hee-sun Noona aside. Everyone was busy with their tasks midday, so it was just us.
"Noona, got this from the black market... It's called Screaming Grass."
"Yeah... Jun-ah, is this for me? You're not eating it?"
"Yep. We're going to the forest together. It'll tonic you up. And there's only one, so you eat it alone. Secret from the others, okay?"
"Yeah... But you don't need any?"
"I'm fine—I've scavenged plenty. And it'll work better for you."
"Okay... Thanks...!"
Hee-sun Noona hugged me, deeply touched.
Until now, I'd only given stuff to the combat roles. Giving her an item felt novel. If I'd known she'd love it this much, I'd have pampered her more. She's the type who hides her envy, so I'd been oblivious.
"Alright, lop off the head..."
I laid the Screaming Grass gently on the cutting board and sliced its head clean off with a kitchen knife.
Crunch!
"Kiiik...."
It deflated with a hiss, starting to die. Even decapitated, as a plant, it didn't drop dead instantly. Had to eat it before it fully died for the effect.
"Noona, eat it quick!"
"Okay!!"
Hee-sun Noona eyed the wriggling Screaming Grass disgustedly but nodded and chomped it down alive at my urging.
"Ugh... So bitter..."
"Here, Noona—candy."
"Yeah... Still bitter... Spit..."
Insanely bitter, from her face. She looked so funny and cute distorted that I ruffled her hair wildly. Anyway, she'd chewed and swallowed it all—her Magic Power should rise soon.
About five minutes after Hee-sun Noona ate the Screaming Grass, the changes began.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Slave Kang Hee-sun has achieved 'Mana User'!] [Slave Kang Hee-sun has achieved 'Apprentice Forest Keeper'!] [Please select Achievement Reward.] [Please select Achievement Reward.]
"Wha...? J-Jun-ah... My body's weird... It's hot..."
Her Magic Power stat had risen. Achievements triggered, and Hee-sun Noona's appearance began changing.
"Ears... My ears...!"
Her ears elongated. Her features sharpened, beautified like plastic surgery. Before, she had a soft, warm beauty. Now... just stunning. No way...
She'd become a forest keeper... a forest fairy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇