Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: ACT.17 The Nonexistent Strategy (10)
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The Gabriel Abandoned Hospital, the main base of the Geumeumdal Guild.
The surrounding area was even more teeming with monsters than when I had last come.
“Monsters are usually terribly protective of their own territories…”
Anyone seeing this sight would have a question mark pop over their head.
All sorts of monsters were tangled together, staggering about aimlessly.
‘Or maybe all of them are monsters infected with the virus, treated as if they’re the same species.’
Either way, I wouldn’t have to deal with them.
Being a monster didn’t grant immunity to the virus.
In time, most of them would melt away and die.
I completely dismissed them and turned my gaze to Choi Seo-hee.
“The seal on you was placed by Kwon Seong-shin, right?”
“That’s right. I was foolish enough to fall for it.”
“And you were fooled a second time.”
“You’re dead.”
“Can you even attack me?”
I smirked and walked toward the secret passage.
Bound by our contract, if she tried to attack me with malicious intent, she would receive a shock so immense it would lead to her immediate death for breach of contract.
She might be a psychopathic murderer, but Choi Seo-hee valued her own life. There was no way she would do something that would only harm herself.
Choi Seo-hee ground her teeth loud enough to be heard before following me.
“Ugh!”
“Die, you bastard!”
There were a few people guarding the secret passage, but Choi Seo-hee, with my permission, went on a rampage as if to relieve her stress and subdued them.
With the expedition force having entered the Ark Gate, the residential area was currently short on combat personnel.
Geumeumdal hadn’t missed that opportunity and had deployed most of their forces to carry out a terrorist attack.
Choi Seo-hee and I were here to raid Geumeumdal’s now-defenseless main base.
“You understand the plan, right? While you draw their attention and take care of the other members, I’ll neutralize Kwon Seong-shin.”
“In other words, I’m the bait, right? Understood loud and clear.”
“Not bait. A diversion.”
“Same difference.”
Choi Seo-hee said sarcastically as she warmed up.
We had already reached the end of the secret passage.
[Using the skill, ‘Extreme Eye’.]
I checked the space beyond the door.
Perhaps because they were short-staffed, there was only one person who should have been guarding the secret passage.
Looking wider, there were only five people within a 10-meter radius.
Scanning the entire building, up and down, there were fewer than thirty people.
Where was Kwon Seong-shin?
‘There he is.’
It didn’t take long to find him.
The fourth basement floor.
There was only one person there, but I could feel an aura even stronger than Lee Chan-ho’s.
“Begin. Once you’ve subdued everyone, come down to the very bottom.”
“You said I could smash everything to my heart’s content.”
“Do as you please.”
As I nodded, Choi Seo-hee grinned and kicked the door open.
“Wh-What!?”
“An ambush! Aaargh!!”
“Ahahahaha!!”
The once-tidy room was transformed into a junkyard.
She’s like a wild boar.
I slipped out of the space that had instantly become a chaotic mess, hiding my body in the darkness.
The truly important information would be with Kwon Seong-shin anyway.
There was no need to handle these superficial things with care.
I continued down the complexly intertwined stairs.
The hospital’s basement was frigid.
Perhaps because it was empty, a desolate atmosphere lingered, reminding me of a few famous horror games.
A special card key was required to go below the third basement floor, but using the one I had swiped from Lee Chan-ho, I had no problem.
‘They’ve been forcibly expanding the basement.’
I soon reached the fourth basement floor and slowed my pace.
I moved slowly, observing my surroundings.
From things I’d seen in books, like glass flasks and droppers, to tools whose purpose I couldn't fathom, the place was filled with equipment.
It was clear that some kind of research had been conducted here.
“Why are you sizing me up like that? So unmanly.”
I shifted my gaze to where the voice came from.
There stood a man in a disheveled white coat and a medical mask.
[Character Information]
Name: Kwon Seong-shin
Age: 30 (Male)
Strength: 67(+2) | Stamina: 70(+2) | Agility: 65(+3) | Mana: 70(+5)
Unique Ability: Malignant Mutation (S)
Traits: Spirit of Inquiry (S), Solitary Researcher (S), Madness (A), Obsession (B), Mad Scientist (S), Immunity (S)
Skills: Increased Work Speed (A), Vial Toss (B)
In the original game, you never fight Kwon Seong-shin directly.
He makes a quick exit, unable to do anything against the combined assault of the guild masters.
The protagonist fights not Kwon Seong-shin, but the ‘test subjects’ he left behind.
My eyes naturally shifted behind Kwon Seong-shin.
A mysterious inner room, veiled by a black curtain.
My eyes, using Extreme Eye, could see something emanating an unpleasant aura from within.
‘Kwon Seong-shin’s own combat power wasn’t high.’
His unique ability, traits, and skills.
None of them were directly related to combat.
His stats were high, as befitting an S-rank, but that was it.
If asked simply about ‘strength,’ one could confidently say Lee Chan-ho was stronger.
That’s because he was the type to utilize tools rather than his own power.
The only thing to be slightly wary of was his A-rank ‘Madness.’
It was a trait that had the additional effect of preventing him from dying easily, even after sustaining fatal injuries that would kill an ordinary person.
“Truly amazing. To destroy the main force in such a short time. Just how thoroughly did you prepare? Tsk, those guild folks. They can’t handle an all-out war with us, so they resort to these little tricks. It’s no fun, no fun at all.”
“One day.”
“Hmm?”
“This wasn’t a long-term plan. The guilds had no intention of doing anything to you. It was my suggestion to do this.”
“And you expect me to believe that? Would you believe it if you were me?”
Kwon Seong-shin brought a finger to his temple and made a circling motion.
…To see a crazy gesture from an actual madman.
As if the topic wasn’t particularly interesting to him, Kwon Seong-shin waved his hand dismissively.
“Whatever, whatever. Let’s talk about something more productive.”
“Like what?”
“Weren’t you wondering why you haven’t seen our guild members?”
The Jamryong Guild estimated the Geumeumdal Guild to have over 400 members.
Even if they were dispersed in cells, they had assumed there would be at least 70 to 80 members at the main base.
With the lower cells wiped out, the remaining members would have gathered, so the number should have been even higher.
And yet, the number of people I had identified with Extreme Eye was only around 30.
As I remained silent, the corners of Kwon Seong-shin’s mouth curled up.
“The virus research is already finished! It has achieved perfect mutation, becoming a virus so tremendous in both infectivity and fatality that nothing in history can compare! They left to spread it in the residential area! From now on, we rule Seoul!”
He spread his arms wide to the sides, laughing as if he had already won the fight.
Lee Chan-ho and the other executives were all annihilated.
There were no longer any high-ranking combatants left in Geumeumdal.
So they had decided.
A way to win without fighting.
“We were waiting for those guild bastards to enter the gate. I bet they have no idea that we intentionally let them take the cylinders that were being transported here.”
As he spoke, several cylinders lay to his right.
And a ‘heavily whittled down’ Dimension Stone, which appeared to have been used in the cylinders’ creation.
Kwon Seong-shin didn’t know that we had a Dimension Stone as well.
With Gong Yeong-hoon dead, he thought the cylinders were the only way to enter the Ark Gate.
The Dimension Stone was being used to block the gate, and the expedition team had taken all the cylinders.
There were no means left in the residential area to control the virus.
“I have one question.”
“Hmm? Go on, what is it? I’m in a good mood right now, so I might just answer.”
“If your goal is domination, killing everyone here would be meaningless. That must mean there’s a cure.”
“A cure~?”
Kwon Seong-shin tilted his head, feigning ignorance. Since he was a genuine madman, it was hard to tell if he was acting or not.
I remained silent, waiting for his answer for several seconds.
Suddenly, Kwon Seong-shin burst into laughter, a faint glimmer of madness in his eyes.
“Of course, there is. There has to be. I don’t want people to die either. What’s a ruler without a crowd to rule?”
“…That’s a lie.”
“Kik. Kikik.”
A grating laugh, like a rusty gear trying to turn by force.
I had heard he was an unpleasant fellow until my ears bled, but he seemed even worse than I thought.
Kwon Seong-shin had the S-rank trait, Immunity.
Even without a cure, he himself would remain unaffected.
Kwon Seong-shin’s eyes gleamed with madness.
“Those guys won’t be able to clear it.”
“Why do you think so?”
“No matter how much I mutate it, it’s nothing compared to the real thing inside that gate. I’m struggling to make a cure for my own creation, and they think they can beat that monster? That monster that spreads this virus with every breath? Kikikik. Bullshit. Utter bullshit!”
*Hiss.* A puff of white smoke spread out.
It was a different color from the one Lee Chan-ho had spread, so this must have been the final, fully mutated virus.
“The guilds will be annihilated. Even if they somehow manage to kill it and return, their forces will be severely crippled, and the residential area will already be crawling with the virus! If I release my mutated monsters in that state, do you think you can hold out? Hmm? From the very beginning, you were all dancing on the palm of my hand!”
I glanced at the Dimension Stone near Kwon Seong-shin.
Despite being heavily whittled down, it was still the size of a fist.
“…I wonder who’s on whose palm.”
A scoff escaped me.
“Hmm? Are you saying this genius scientist could be wrong?”
“You are. About everything.”
In an instant, I drew my sword and swung it.
The Dimension Stone, which had been fixed on an empty candlestick, lost its support and fell to the floor. Immediately, a soldier emerged from the darkness, caught the stone, and concealed itself again.
It happened so fast that Kwon Seong-shin could only stare, wide-eyed and frozen.
“First. With the guilds vacating their posts, it was obvious you wouldn’t just sit still. We’ve already prepared countermeasures for any additional virus attacks.”
Not everyone had entered the gate.
Each guild left behind more than ten B-rank players, and Jo Min-ah and Jun Bo-ra were still standing.
Hwang Chan-jin and all the guild masters had entered the Ark Gate, but if they hadn't, Geumeumdal wouldn't have made a move so easily.
Everything had to fall into place for me to enter this easily.
“Second. The gate will most likely be cleared.”
Hwang Chan-jin’s presence was a great help.
He possessed overwhelming talent and had considerable knowledge of the game.
We weren’t on good terms, but our objective was the same.
In situations like this where we had to cooperate, he was an incredibly reliable asset.
Kwon Seong-shin’s expression changed as he listened quietly.
“And finally, the third point.”
*Swoosh.*
The soldiers revealed themselves.
Soldiers who would be completely unaffected no matter how much Kwon Seong-shin filled this room with his virus—a perfect counter to him.
“This is the end for you, too.”
Kwon Seong-shin’s lips twisted, then curled up into a bizarre, almost grotesque smile.