Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Rest for the Worthless
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Using the items I had on hand and the potions the alchemist whipped up, I restored my mana and turned every survivor at Hyosun Girls' High into slaves in just half a day.
The people at Hyosun Girls' High numbered around three hundred in total. About fifty died in the fighting, and to make an example of the rebels, I beheaded twenty non-awakened folks who looked useless and fed them to Kashnax and Indicron as snacks.
"The remaining survivors at Hyosun Girls' High total two hundred thirty..."
"Add in about a hundred twenty at the mart, and we'll have around three hundred fifty altogether."
Three hundred fifty survivors. Over two hundred of them were non-awakened. And among those nearly two hundred non-awakened from Hyosun, an unusually high number were the elderly and infirm.
It was as if all the old folks and weaklings who survived around here had been taken in by this place.
'They took everyone in without any screening.'
This was a problem. A real headache. Disabled people, old timers, kids—none of them had any immediate use. The kids at least had growth potential... but the disabled and elderly? Their futures were murky at best.
Keeping them alive would just waste resources with no payoff. If I had to find a use... maybe turn them into Alcid-infected hosts or guinea pigs for dangerous item experiments?
'Awakened are useful, but do I really need to keep all these non-awakened around?'
Honestly, if I succeeded in farming mushroom humans this week, I'd have workers better than humans. They could serve as offerings too, and they bred fast. No need to drag around these parasites.
Plus, mushroom humans only needed water and corpses. Leave them be, and they'd handle their own food, clothing, and shelter.
"There are more non-awakened than I expected. Do we really need this many people?"
I asked my women just in case. They all shook their heads, looking none too pleased. A-ram summed up the consensus for the group.
"Well... culling a few wouldn't be so bad."
Having survived alongside me for so long, they knew how to separate personal feelings from business. From a practical standpoint, these people were dead weight to be discarded. Pity or sympathy for the elderly, weak, or minorities was purely personal—and it didn't help the group's survival one bit.
They'd just devour resources needlessly and multiply our mouths to feed.
Of course, even those personal feelings were mostly held by the softer ones in the group, like Hee-sun Noona or A-reum.
Ye-won-i only cared about the group's well-being and wouldn't bat an eye at outsiders dying. Merhere would follow my lead without question. A-ram prioritized herself and her sister A-reum above all, so she had zero interest in strangers.
She was cold-blooded enough to smash her heavy hammer down on kids or adults alike if they threatened her or her sister's safety. Joo Joo-ha was the same.
She and her sister Lee Eun-ha cared little for anyone outside their family. They could be indifferent even to me at times, so the elderly dying wouldn't faze them.
Eun-ji and Hwa-young would proactively suggest weeding out anyone who might harm us, probably more aggressively than me.
Ha-rin was endlessly cold and merciless to anyone not family, so no need to ask her. Sora, technically still part of my harem though absent, put herself first anyway.
'Hee-sun Noona at least likes kids a bit... so I'll separate the elderly and disabled for targeted use.'
Hee-sun Noona got uncomfortable if I was too ruthless. For her sake, I'd spare the kids. But the elderly who couldn't even earn her sympathy? They'd fuel the god idol activation or become Alcid hosts.
'Healthy disabled for Alcid hosts... and anyone over sixty with fundamentally weak bodies? Utterly useless. Waste of food. Starve them as much as possible and use as offerings.'
If they were players blessed with stats despite their age, maybe worth keeping. But old folks who hadn't even awakened? Worthless.
Even if they were former doctors or had special knowledge, players with related classes outperformed them.
No matter the knowledge, non-players without classes got discarded eventually. In a world where level 15 awakened was the bare minimum for street survival, healers outshone doctors.
"Disabled. Elderly over sixty. Step aside."
"N-no...!! Please... Seong-ho...!! No!!!"
"Th-this... b-body..."
A disabled man who looked in his thirties staggered aside, mumbling. His mother screamed for his life. She wasn't alone—family members wailed and begged to protect their own. The elderly, half-compelled by my command, shouted in panic and tried to resist.
Resistance was impossible, of course. If even strong-willed awakened struggled against the compulsion, non-awakened stood no chance.
Then one male awakened mustered courage and challenged my order.
"W-wait a minute... Why separate the elderly and weak? What do you plan to do with them?!"
Probably one of the PE teachers from Hyosun. Warrior class, nothing special... forgettable.
His absence wouldn't even register.
"What do I plan?"
"Y-yeah... What are you going to do with them? Why pull them out?!"
I stepped closer, locking eyes. He shrank back, face pale with fear.
I wasn't about to kill him just for speaking up.
Slaves could voice opinions. I was generous like that. So I explained kindly.
"Offer them up. Some of them."
"O-offer...?"
"Yeah. My lord who watches over us is always hungry."
"Wh-what the hell... You mean sacrificing people to some made-up god that doesn't even exist...?"
Made-up god? I couldn't deny the "weird" part, but claiming non-existence...
Indicron and Kashnax's presences swelled slightly at his words. No anger, but apparently amusing from their perspective.
'Crazy... stop laughing in my head... please... my skull feels like it's gonna split.'
I shooed away the cackling evil gods. But Botamilli, asserting her presence after so long, was the issue. She seemed seriously pissed.
⚙ DIVINE MESSAGE ⚙
It's because most of my divine dignity has been stripped away. I'm not in the best mood.
Imprisoned in the backrooms, barely existing as a "god," Botamilli looked irritated. She'd just been fact-slapped.
'He's talking out of ignorance. Don't let it get to you. You're a god. Can't fuss over every bug's chirp.'
⚙ DIVINE MESSAGE ⚙
True enough. You're right.
After some coaxing, Botamilli retreated. Watching me all day had made her more human-like than at first—almost eerily imitative.
'Anyway... those without god-related classes like me or the holy servants might not sense gods. They might not know... but they shouldn't spout off carelessly.'
Ignorance was no excuse for mouthing off, especially from a slave.
'Proving it by opening Chaos or Abyss would shatter their minds. No good way to demonstrate without that... pity.'
Still, a warning was in order.
"Hey, teacher. Gods exist. Watch your mouth—for your own sake. They're pretty pissed at your words. Got it?"
Gulp...
He swallowed dryly and nodded at my sharp warning.
"Alright, back to it. Move, quick!"
Soon, all the elderly from Hyosun were herded to the auditorium. Their fates would be decided there: Alcid hosts or evil gods' meals.
Meanwhile, Ha Jin-seong led our mart crew, loaded with supplies, to the school.
After the battle, I'd sent Ha-rin back to the mart as messenger. Dullahan on skeleton horse didn't communicate well, but Ha-rin on wolf was perfect.
"Bro!! We're here!"
"Yeah, good. Bring all the mart supplies to the school. First, relocate all non-awakened from the mart here."
"Got it. Oh, what about the corpses with the parasitic spores implanted?"
"Load them on the wheelbarrows, handle carefully. Damage kills them."
"Yes sir! We'll be gentle!"
Ha Jin-seong directed his men to haul food and goods from the mart. Plant Farmer Joo In-hye revived shattered trees with Hee-sun Noona. Engineer Jeong Ji-yeon repaired broken turrets.
Hyosun conquest complete. Ha Jin-seong and the executives would handle the rest. Time for my tasks.
"Let's see..."
I entered the basement storage of the main Hyosun building.
Old desks, junk everywhere—like it hadn't been touched in years. Everyone had forgotten the basement.
I extended tentacles, shoving clutter to the walls, and placed the god idol in the center.
Hard-won item—better hidden in a sealed, forgotten spot than exposed on the roof or field.
"Old man. Over here, quick!"
"Ugh... w-wait... wh-what the hell is that...?"
"What else? Our new guardian spirit."
"Oh... r-right... But young man... why drag just me to a place like this...?"
The geezer balked obviously. Sixty-seven, gout limiting mobility, former middle school Korean teacher—now just a simple sacrifice with no power.
"Nothing much. Just need your soul."
I stabbed his throat with my sword. He hadn't expected instant death—stared in shock as I pulled it out. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Gack... guh... kuhak..."
Thud. Splatter...
He clutched his gushing neck, writhing on the floor.
His stale old blood splattered the god idol.
"Devour it. Gain power."
I clasped hands before the idol. Conditions met.
The idol glowed brightly, greedily slurping the old man's blood.
For the next month, this place would be warded against stray ghosts—no Ghost Gates nearby. Zombies would steer clear too.
Yeah, the god idol was like an apocalypse mosquito net.
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