Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Virus (2)
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“How did the person who asked you to do this convince you?”
“Uh, they said... they'd help me find my mom and dad...”
The child hiccuped, tears streaming down their face.
I slowly closed my eyes, then opened them.
‘So that's what happened.’
It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on.
They were using children to collect samples of the virus.
And not just any children, but orphans whose parents had died or gone missing in the chaos.
[The 'Angel of Benevolence' is enraged, asking how they could do such a thing.]
[The 'Holy Judge' is furious and strikes the ground with their sword.]
Coaxing a child isn't a difficult task.
Especially one so young they can't even tell how dangerous it is.
The child's condition wasn't good either.
The skin exposed to the toxic energy was already discolored, and the virus had likely already infiltrated their body.
They just couldn't feel it yet.
I forced a potion into the child's mouth and said,
“Go to the biggest building here right now. Tell them Kim Se-hyeon sent you, and they'll let you in immediately. Then, tell them everything that happened, exactly as it was. If you don't, you'll die.”
I said this as I wrapped the child in darkness.
Terrified by the word "die," the child ran off, crying.
The darkness would prevent the virus from spreading and protect them from further exposure on their way back, but...
...it couldn't stop the virus already inside their body from getting worse.
Still, getting some kind of treatment was their best chance.
I'd given them a potion, so they wouldn't collapse on the way.
I'd spoken harshly because of my anger, but it was better than dying.
“What do you think you're doing, you bastard!”
Realizing something was wrong when the child suddenly fled, the ones who had been hiding swarmed out at once.
Five of them.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
Five burly men had surrounded a single child and were practically threatening them?
I put on an innocent expression and replied.
“What is it?”
“That was something we asked the kid to do! Why did you butt in and make them run away crying!?”
If someone were to only hear this part of the conversation, they'd think I was the bad guy bullying a child, and these guys were the righteous ones.
Jo Min-ah bit her lip and tugged on my sleeve.
She was angry but would wait for me to act.
Jeong Ha-yeon would have lost her temper and punished them right away.
Come to think of it, it should be about time for Jeong Ha-yeon to awaken.
“It seemed too dangerous for a child, so I was going to do it for them.”
“What? Why would you arbitrarily...”
“What about you? Making a child do something this dangerous. You're grown adults, you should be doing it yourselves.”
“Th-that's none of your business. We promised that kid a solid reward.”
“A solid reward?”
I finally couldn't hold back my laughter.
The crescent moon tattoo openly displayed on his shoulder.
It was them.
“You should speak clearly. The kid was fated to die shortly after finishing the job anyway, so what reason was there to keep your promise? You never intended to keep it from the start, did you?”
“You son of a...!”
*Thwack!*
I slammed the man who was rushing at me with a bewildered look on his face into the ground.
The other four froze in their fighting stances, completely stunned.
They weren't even core members of the organization, just the lowest of the low.
They were no match for me.
“So this is it.”
I searched the unconscious man's limp body and pulled out a small, cylinder-like glass tube.
If you're going to collect and transport a virus, you obviously need something to protect yourself from it.
This must be the thing that blocks the virus.
‘So they had a way to protect themselves, yet they made a kid do it.’
*Crack!*
“...?”
But the glass tube suddenly cracked and then shattered.
Dammit. Did it crack from the impact when he hit the ground?
I clicked my tongue and shifted my gaze to the other four.
This man couldn't have been the only one with it.
I just had to take down the others and get theirs.
*Vwooom!*
Just as I was about to move, a sound like a giant amplifier vibrating rang out.
A mana wave so powerful it made my fingertips tingle.
Could this be...
“R-run! That guy's a monster!”
“Aaaah!!”
Snapped to their senses by the sound, the four of them cleverly scattered in different directions.
Since there were two of us, they probably thought at least one of them could escape and report back.
Good judgment, but they had the wrong opponent.
[Using 'Army of Darkness'.]
“Bring them back.”
*Swoosh.*
The dark soldier hid itself in the shadows and began the pursuit.
With their stats, there was no way they could escape the dark soldier.
Come to think of it, my mana stat has gone up, so I should probably start summoning knight-class entities.
But first, I need to finish things here.
“Oppa. Over there... doesn't that look strange?”
Jo Min-ah pointed to a spot with a serious expression.
The place where the gate had been.
The space there was fluctuating violently, a sign that something was about to appear.
‘The mid-boss is appearing already?’
It's way too soon.
How long has it been since Chapter 8 started?
‘No, this is actually for the best.’
Among the randomly appearing gates, the appearance of a mid-boss is also random.
That makes it a difficult opponent to deal with by waiting in advance and killing it as soon as it appears.
Plus, it's a creature that significantly accelerates the spread of the virus, so eliminating it this early would be a huge advantage.
Mid-bosses also have additional rewards, so I can monopolize them.
*Ooooooh...*
A bizarre cry echoed like an auditory hallucination.
A monster, the very incarnation of grotesqueness befitting that cry, slowly revealed itself from within the gate.
It looked like a creature exposed to radiation that had mutated in the most extreme way imaginable.
It was called a mid-boss, but the monster was a full four meters tall.
Jo Min-ah covered her mouth, unable to speak.
I was pretty shocked the first time I saw it, too.
‘Though even seeing it in person now, I'm still not used to it.’
The toxic energy around the gate had grown stronger.
The virus alone was a headache, but now there was even stronger toxic energy.
That was the trickiest part about fighting this demonic beast.
I have to deal with that first.
“Min-ah. You have the Solar Beam skill, right?”
“Yes. I haven't used it yet, though...”
“Use it now. Before it's all the way out.”
Jo Min-ah nodded and immediately used the skill.
*Kwwaaaaang!*
'Solar Beam,' a skill that can be selectively obtained after defeating the Disaster of Verdure, can neutralize toxic energy and viruses.
Even so, the effect is only temporary.
After a while, the stuff flowing out of the gate will fill the area again.
‘But.’
That short amount of time was enough.
*Shhhk!*
I ran through the path Jo Min-ah cleared and swung my sword.
After I cut off the dozens of arms sprouting from its body in a single clash, the monster opened its maw wide, about to do something.
The breath pattern.
Removing its main means of attack, its arms, guarantees this pattern.
The result was just as I'd intended.
*Fwoosh!*
A deep purple breath instantly filled my vision.
A mere graze from this deadly poison would be fatal, but it wasn't very fast, so it was easy enough to dodge.
If you get scared and back away, you can't dodge it. You have to charge in.
‘Huh?’
The breath, which was slightly off to the side, bent unnaturally.
As if it were intentionally avoiding me.
I narrowed my eyes and saw Jo Min-ah's Flame Armor was wrapped around my body.
Flame Armor could burn away incoming toxic energy and viruses, but it shouldn't be able to push them away like that.
Feeling something strange, I lowered my head slightly.
A faint light was leaking from the pocket where I kept the dimension stone.
Could the dimension stone have the effect of repelling this?
*Shhhk!*
From bottom to top.
I sliced its head off diagonally.
The monster, now suddenly a Dullahan, charged at me regardless, but a charge without proper aim was hardly a threat.
‘No, this is...’
I saw it snatching its severed head.
Was its goal to retrieve its head rather than attack me?
But that meant it was running right toward Jo Min-ah, who could be called its natural enemy.
“Min-ah!”
“Leave it to me!”
A fireball the size of her own body appeared in front of Jo Min-ah.
It was a skill anyone with a flame-type ability could use, but considering how recently Jo Min-ah had awakened, this was remarkable progress.
[Ooooooooh!!]
Its slowly regenerating body began to burn, emitting a foul stench.
Its attack power isn't bad, either.
As expected of an S-rank ability, its base damage is on another level.
Still, her stats are low, so it doesn't seem to be doing enough damage...
[Oh, ooooh, oooh...]
“...Hah.”
I was wrong.
Jo Min-ah's flames were dealing proper damage.
That thing's regeneration is so strong that even ten C-rank players with stats of 30-40 wouldn't be able to put a dent in its HP.
I was genuinely impressed.
This game is fundamentally about finding an enemy's weakness, weakening them, and then proceeding with the strategy.
As long as we were skipping that entire process, the actual difficulty was even higher.
Even though she had an S-rank ability, considering her low proficiency and stats, plus her lack of other traits and skills, Jo Min-ah was already far surpassing the chapter's recommended level.
“Not bad, Min-ah!”
*Shhhk!*
The moment my sword flashed, the monster's body, including its head, was split into multiple pieces.
This time, I'd imbued it with Encroachment, so regeneration should be impossible.
[You have defeated the 'Mutated Deep Forest Treant'.]
[You have acquired 1500 coins as a reward.]
The gate disappeared, and the toxic energy gradually subsided.
The virus moves mixed with the toxic energy, so it should disappear on its own as well.
The gate here was more or less dealt with.
Come to think of it, I wonder what Hwang Chan-jin is doing.
He's definitely not the type to sit still.
“Ughhh...”
“Oppa. I think that man is waking up.”
“Is he?”
Not bad timing.
It's a bit surprising that the soldiers I sent after the runaways are taking so long, but they'll definitely catch them if I wait a little longer.
I flicked my fingers, creating rings of darkness that bound the man's hands.
“You bastard...!”
“The Geumeumdal Guild. Right? And the reason you're doing this is to experiment with the virus.”
“...”
Silence is affirmation.
He must have thought I was dispatched from a major guild, as he kept his mouth shut and refused to answer.
“...Your bravado won't last. You've already been exposed to the virus!”
“You can't be completely fine either, can you?”
“Hmph, we are not concerned with the virus.”
“But you are.”
I shoved the shattered glass tube in front of his face, and his complexion turned pale.
He was no different when it came to the risk of being exposed to the virus.
‘Though it doesn't affect Jo Min-ah or me.’
I can use the 'Annihilation' function, one of the sub-options of Lord of Darkness, to block it before it even gets close.
Similarly, if Jo Min-ah burns it away with her fire, the surrounding area would naturally be purified.
But fighting while doing that consumes a lot of energy, so it's best to avoid it if possible.
“If you don't answer my questions properly, my hand might slip and I might just toss you over there.”
“Wh-what do you mean your hand might slip! You'd be doing it on purpose!”
“I don't kill people recklessly. How could I intentionally throw someone in there to experience the horrific pain of their body melting while they're still alive? Right?”
I said, putting on a sad expression.
The man's face contorted.
[The 'Devil Who Mocks the Heavens' nods in agreement.]
‘Huh?’
I detected a strange power from the fragments inside the glass tube, and my eyes flashed.
I couldn't grasp it earlier with everything going on, but it feels familiar, yet extraordinary.
This is definitely...
‘A dimension stone?’
There was no doubt.
This was a fragment of a dimension stone.