53
Chapter 53
This was the route the Supreme Mages took.
First, the priority was to travel on the surface as much as possible.
While using the subway tracks was relatively safe, the enclosed spaces made them death traps if we were ambushed.
Moreover, with so many unidentified monsters still out there, it was better to stay on the surface where we could use magic for long-range perception and scouting.
Second, following the Line 8 tracks would inevitably lead us near the nest of the Yellow Gaze that Noonim Kang Ah-reum had mentioned.
The area around Lotte Tower, which the Yellow Gaze used as its nest near Seokchon Lake, was likely teeming with monsters or other equally dangerous entities. Even if the Yellow Gaze mostly scanned the surface, other monsters could easily descend underground.
While minimizing time was crucial, the Yellow Gaze and its surrounding nest were extreme danger zones that we weren't yet equipped to handle.
The third reason was similar to the second, though slightly different in nature.
The problem was Jamsil Station.
The Line 8 tracks lead straight into Jamsil Station, and that problematic station also served Line 2.
Coming from the countryside, I couldn't help but tilt my head, wondering why Line 2 was such a big deal. I probably would have remained clueless for the rest of my life if Shin Na-in hadn't exhaled a long, heavy sigh through his gas mask and explained it to me.
"Line 2 is notorious for being the most heavily used subway line in all of Seoul. The population density is insane. And if it's... near the nest of that hideous monster, the number of creatures will be beyond imagination."
"Wouldn't it have been hammered by artillery shells?"
"It's useless if they're packed into the station to avoid the shelling. Even if bunker busters tore it apart, they could just pour in from other stations. Regardless, we can't ignore the possibility that monsters are swarming around Jamsil Station."
I looked around at the others, and both the Pastor and Hamza nodded in agreement.
"Line 2 isn't a place for people. At least it wasn't when I used it."
"It has gotten a bit better. But it's still very crowded."
The man, Lee Se-jun, spoke up without even being asked.
"I wouldn't know."
"I figured you wouldn't."
We Supreme Mages wanted to explore and master magic; we weren't lunatics who went looking for unnecessary danger.
According to Shin Na-in, Line 2 was likely the most utilized line in a city of nearly ten million people. It was near the already crowded Gangnam area, and we had to consider the possibility that people had fled into the subways to escape the monsters during the Critical Point.
When all that was taken into account, Jamsil Station was a living hell.
Lee Se-jun added a few more words.
"Monsters did leak out toward the Front Line, but as for whether their numbers dropped enough for us to break through... I'm not so sure. That area was likely one of the primary targets for the military's artillery; if all the firepower was concentrated on holding the line, the monsters might have filled the gaps we left behind."
"Why does Se-jun suddenly seem so smart?"
"Jemin. I may not look it, but I'm a former short-term Staff Sergeant."
We exchanged thoughts like this as we pushed through the thick fog, where visibility was less than ten meters.
A monster attack? Not a chance.
We Supreme Mages were mages equipped with highly systematic and flexible improvisational skills. But the atmosphere shifted the moment Hamza's eyes snapped open.
Hamza wiped the fogged-up lens of his gas mask with his fingertip and warned us.
"Danger."
Now, short answers were enough.
Once Hamza gave the warning, Shin Na-in—who had shed all his disgraceful titles to become a super-detector—would adjust his headset. He squinted behind his gas mask lens and spoke in a firm, determined voice.
"The sound of fabric fluttering in the wind... three jellyfish."
"I guess they hunt even when the fog is this thick."
Normally, I would have used Tongue Level 1 and Eye Level 1 to their full potential to clear the fog, align my sights, and pick them off one by one.
The Supreme Mage would have wasted precious ammunition—only about 2,000 rounds remaining—on such pathetic mobs. Indeed, both Lee Se-jun and the Pastor had their muzzles pointed skyward.
I would have also carefully popped them using my shortened-barrel AR-15 with the red dot sight.
Normally, that is.
"Everyone, freeze."
"Huh?"
The Pastor's gaze was sharp. It was a look that said, 'What the hell is this brat trying to do now?'
"What kind of bullshit is Baek Jemin planning this time?"
"It's not bullshit; it's magic."
Jung Na-ri, the Inverse Alteration-type mage who had faced us at the department store near Jangji Station, couldn't use Tongue Level 2. I suspected it was because her level of perception was too low.
Then, what level of perception is required to use Tongue Level 2?
I knew that the monsters approaching were three Human-skin Jellyfish. I knew what they were and what they looked like. And with Eye Level 1 alone, I could backtrack their positions through the red footprints.
Although it was merely a precognition with a ten-second time lag without the help of Tongue Level 1, it meant I could determine the position of the red footprints from ten seconds ago. In other words, I could gauge their current location.
On top of that, the fog was quite thick.
There was no reason to hesitate.
Alteration-type Eye Stage 1.
My eyes felt a bit strained, but it was a recoil I could easily handle.
Simultaneously, the fog swirled and cleared, revealing several spots. Red footprints were bouncing toward me, using the fog clouds as stepping stones.
They weren't fast, but it was clear they'd be right in front of me in ten seconds.
Until now, I had been desperate just to keep those red footprints from approaching.
I had focused solely on firing first, waiting for the moment the owners of those footprints lined up before my muzzle ten seconds later. In other words, there had been a limit to how I applied my magic.
But now, with some breathing room, I could gauge the monsters' current positions through the time-lagged precognition that showed me ten seconds into the future.
If it took about four to five seconds for me to think and estimate their location, a 100% precise pinpoint was impossible.
However, a predictive shot became possible.
To lament and complain that this precognition only shows ten seconds ahead would be the mark of a third-rate mage. In this arcane system of Alteration-type Magic, where pain is the only price, the ability to properly distribute the pain one can endure is also a skill.
A predictive shot was enough. I rolled my eyes to determine where the red footprints were coming from.
They were in the air near the intersection. It seemed those monsters drifted along, waiting in areas where people frequently passed or ambushing from the back of rooftops.
They were beasts; I was human.
Once I grasped their habits, I could win.
This was the perfect opportunity to test the power of Tongue Stage 2.
I slung the rifle strap over my shoulder, quickly pulled up my gas mask with my left hand, and stuck out my tongue.
Orthodox Alteration-type Tongue Stage 2.
Desire Explosion - Appetite.
As expected, since I wasn't targeting them precisely and it was Tongue Stage 2, the recoil hit me despite the thick fog. For a brief moment, it felt as if the taste buds on my tongue were boiling.
Then, blood burst forth.
Squelch!
The metallic, fishy taste of blood soaked my tongue. I felt a stinging pain linger at the tip before it began to drip away.
Yet, my eyes remained open, even as they grew bloodshot.
I refused to let them close, wanting to see what happened to the hazy figures beyond the fog. The fact that I could endure the tears pricking my eyes was the result of the magic I had achieved.
A true miracle of equivalent exchange. It was different from everything else that only granted opportunities after bone-deep agony.
An omnipotent power that willingly gives back as much as one carves from their own bones; magic met my expectations once again.
One of the three fluttering figures flinched.
One of the red footprints shook violently and then disappeared. Or so it seemed. When I widened my eyes again to clear the fog and look beyond, the red footprint was being stamped upon by another monster.
The Human-skin Jellyfish, seized by a burst of appetite and hunger, no longer had any patience.
Hunger was a force that compelled humans to become beasts. That desperate pain, which had driven people in historical famines to eat their own children just to survive, had subdued even the nature of a monster.
The distorted faces that made up the Human-skin Jellyfish puckered their mouths and shrieked in unison.
The suction-cup lips of the Human-skin Jellyfish drooled simultaneously, ready to wrap around whatever they could reach.
And right now, another unsuspecting Human-skin Jellyfish was closer to it than we were. The moment the kinship shared among the monsters was pitted against magical hunger, the creature howled.
The Human-skin Jellyfish howled at its shattering kinship, but to sate its hunger, it unfurled its skin toward its own kind.
Chomp!
Another red footprint disappeared.
Unable to overcome its immediate hunger, the Human-skin Jellyfish pounced on its peer. The other struggled to survive, but having been ambushed first, it was at a disadvantage.
Thump.
The Human-skin Jellyfish became entangled. As they struggled to devour each other, I realized how the Human-skin Jellyfish practiced predation.
This monster inserts its skin into a human's mouth, fusing its skin with the internal organs. It then melts and eats all the organs and everything that could rot, essentially taxidermying the victim before integrating the skin into its own to increase its size.
Watching them tumble over each other to shove distorted, screaming faces into each other's mouths was like watching a nature documentary. It was all the more grotesque because these monsters originated from human bodies.
Then, the last remaining one made a different choice upon seeing the cannibalism.
Perhaps deciding that predating its own kind was better than targeting us, it lunged at the Human-skin Jellyfish seized by magical hunger.
Chomp!
And with that, the last red footprint vanished.
The Human-skin Jellyfish rolled around the road, devouring one another. They swung their tentacles incessantly and beat the others' skin with their puckering, human-lipped suction cups.
I watched the scene and spat out a glob of blood.
Ptui.
When I put my gas mask back on, everyone reacted in their own way.
The Pastor seemed bewildered, seeing the figures in the fog suddenly tangle with each other.
"Jemin. What did you do?"
"Orthodox Alteration-type Tongue Stage 2. I triggered Desire Explosion to spike their appetite, and this was the result."
"A terrifying power. Do not use it recklessly."
Hamza turned away, his face pale, while Lee Se-jun gave a thumbs-up, not entirely understanding what had just happened.
"Oh Allah, protect me."
"Jemin, that's incredibly convenient."
Only then did I hear a strange sound.
*Gag, blegh...*
Shin Na-in had pulled up his gas mask and was retching. After he finished heaving, he repeatedly dipped his hand into his canteen to rinse his mouth. Only after a thorough gargle did he put his mask back on.
"Jemin. Please let me know before you use the Alteration-type Holy War Formula Tongue Stage 2."
"What did the monsters say?"
This time, Shin Na-in didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he just gritted his teeth as he readjusted his mask.
"You should definitely unlock the Hearing Line later."
Fortunately, I was a mage of the Eye, Tongue, and Hand lines. I could rest easy knowing that even if Shin Na-in had heard something, I wouldn't hear it until much later.
Readjusting my grip on my rifle, I aimed at the three monsters still tangled and tearing into each other on the road.
"Either way, the experience points are mine."
"You actually believe those rumors about earning experience by killing monsters?"
At the Pastor's bewildered tone, I burst out laughing and pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang...
Just as the pleasant sound of shell casings hitting the ground reached my ears, I waved the muzzle to disperse the gunsmoke and replied.
"It feels good."
If they're going to die anyway, why not believe in whatever gives me a benefit?
I patted my rifle once and motioned with my chin toward the fog.
"Three monsters for three bullets. It's a fair exchange, and if there's a rumor that I get a bonus on top of that, why would I hate it?"
Needless to say, the Supreme Mages' tactics became much more diverse from that point on.
With the utility of the Orthodox Alteration-type Tongue Stage 2 proven, something akin to stealth became possible.
We walked as if we were on a stroll, but Seoul was by no means a land for humans. Walking through fog with visibility under ten meters, familiar sounds and ominous, strange noises often overlapped like a dissonance.
The click of a switch, the drip of a leaky faucet, a strange groan like that of a starving person squeezing out their last breath, the wind whistling through broken windows like a human scream...
Sounds weren't everything Seoul had to offer.
The smell was also part of Seoul.
As we moved further in, a foul odor hit my nose, revealing the horrors of the past four months.
The stench of sewage leaking from drains in the cracked asphalt, the faint, chilling scent of decaying corpses, the sickeningly sweet smell of rotting meat, and a pervasive damp mold—that was Seoul.
I was glad I had written the word [Purification] in blood on the inside of my mask.
I had used a gas mask filter, Hand Stage 2, and an enchantment to carve in Purification, yet if I could still smell it, I couldn't even imagine how horrific it actually was.
Seoul felt different to the touch as well.
One might wonder how I could feel anything through a poncho, combat uniform, boots, and a gas mask, but I truly did. While the smell of raw rubber brought the essence of Seoul to me, I felt the changed city with my whole body through the soles of my boots.
It was damp and humid. Dew clung to everything. This wasn't the clear, fresh dew of a morning, but a dew fishier than blood, saltier than tears, and more stinging than an open wound.
In places where the dew had gathered heavily, my footsteps would make a splashing sound, like walking through shallow puddles. As we moved toward the center of Seoul, the dew on my poncho increased.
With just a rough movement of my arm, droplets would patter down.
Walking through this place, I couldn't help but doubt Kang Ah-reum's words. Especially since most of the firepower boasted by modern weaponry relies heavily on visibility.
Was the fog really for the benefit of humans?
Perhaps we were all thinking the same thing, as the group grew suddenly quiet. It was a question that couldn't be easily answered.
I took a more compromising stance.
I believed the fog was indeed for magic, but not necessarily for the sake of ordinary non-mages.
Rather than a fog for everyone, I saw it as a blessing only for those who had awakened to magic and were prepared to advance with it.
The other Supreme Mages had to admit that the fog was, at the very least, useful to mages.
The message that the thick fog was for "outdoor activities" pointed to an uncomfortable truth: while modern non-mages saw the fog as an enemy, for mages, it was a blessing, a barrier, and the product of a miracle.
As we walked along the road, Hamza would warn of danger, Shin Na-in would detect the sounds of monsters, and I would immediately open my eyes to scan the surroundings.
"Danger."
"Head open. No spine attack. Four jellyfish."
"They didn't notice us. They're heading that way after hearing the gunfire from earlier."
The fog hides everyone.
Both monsters and humans, equally. As long as one could use magic, the fog was the humans' home turf. We decided to take full advantage of that home-field advantage.
The Pastor made his decision as soon as he heard the report.
"Avoid engagement. If we stop to kill every single monster, we'll never leave Seoul. We need to hit our objective first."
Splash, splash.
We kept our profiles low, moving cautiously to avoid the monsters.
Seoul's population may have plummeted, but its reputation as a city of ten million wasn't for nothing. In a city that once housed at least nine million people, as many mages as there were, monsters would be just as abundant.
We hadn't come to dump lead into every single citizen of Seoul who had devolved into one of millions of monsters just to save them.
The goal of the Supreme Mages was strictly to acquire magical knowledge and rescue friendly local survivors.
Therefore...
We ignored the screams of those trapped in monstrous bodies, still possessing self-awareness and wailing in agony.
For those caught in the beginning of eternity, the only thing we could offer was the vague promise of salvation: that one day, we would put a bullet in them and end it.
***
April 18, 2028, 11:45 AM.
We had spent a lot of time fighting monsters, manipulating them into fighting each other, or simply avoiding them altogether.
Thanks to that, the forest of apartments that had surrounded us finally began to thin out. I scanned the area just in case, but no red footprints were visible.
Instead, amidst the swirling, slightly thinning fog, an open plain appeared faintly in the distance.
This was when Hamza expressed difficulty and Shin Na-in spoke of pain.
"Huh...? I-I'm not sure."
"The sounds are erratic... There are monsters. They're here... but I can't get a clear read."
The effect of the thinning fog hit us immediately.
Was the fog's density different depending on the area? We were once again at a crossroads.
Either detour back toward the thick fog or push north quickly along the boundary of Olympic Park where the fog was thinning. In a situation where we couldn't expect to easily find other survivor groups, our window of time was short.
Considering the monster hordes that moved after just a few gunshots, the longer we stayed in one place, the greater the risk.
That was when Lee Se-jun stepped forward.
"Let's break through quickly. Normally, we'd need to establish a hideout, but with the local Seoulites being essentially hostile neutrals, it'll be hard for us newcomers to secure one. We need to gather supplies and push through as fast as possible toward a clear destination. It's far more advantageous to link up with Go Ryeo-ha, a local survivor who is guaranteed to be friendly."
Surprisingly, his words made sense.
With no way of knowing where the military support had gone, the only option for the Supreme Mages was, paradoxically, a spirited advance. Retreating now would only mean fighting the monster hordes concentrated near the Front Line.
Besides...
There was still so much I didn't know.
Magic, the knowledge of magic, and an environment where magic could be learned were all available in Seoul—the thought of having to leave was unbearable...!
For a brief moment, I slightly understood the mindset of those lunatics who claimed that studying was the most fun thing in the world.
"...Fine."
The sound of the Pastor exhaling a short breath was heard through the gas mask filter.
"Let's try to reach the Han River by the end of the day. If Olympic Park is still intact, take a look. We might never see it again."
Click.
Everyone readjusted their weapons and followed the Pastor's lead.
We would continue north along the road near Olympic Park. That plan was the most realistic and the most fitting choice for the Supreme Mages.
Then, the sound of children's laughter drifted along the roadside.
Along with a blinking yellow traffic light, the sound of children laughing and chatting reached our ears like a radio broadcast.
Hahaha... Hehehe... Hehe...
They were all bright, cheerful laughs. Among them was the sulky crying of a child who seemed to have been hurt while playing with friends.
I saw the Pastor flinch slightly.
A subspecies of Teratoma? I raised my guard to the maximum, recalling Shin Na-in's advice that had previously helped me escape a mental attack.
Now, it was my turn to save the Pastor.
"Pastor. You're not actually that kind of good person."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
End
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