Chapter 3. Encounter with Looters.
Chapter 3. Encounter with Looters.
"Boss, are Awakened Ones normally this strong?"
"Hard to say. I've never met any other Awakened Ones myself."
We talked as we walked toward Seocho Station.
"Have you two ever run into other survivors?"
"Honestly, early on we did think about joining other survivors—we even considered heading to a survivor group."
'The looters I mentioned yesterday probably made other groups seem too shady.'
"The survivors you told us about yesterday—the ones who kill people and take their things—that put us off. You're the unusual case, Boss."
'True enough. From a normal survivor's standpoint, a stranger could be anyone—you'd have to treat them as a potential threat... and if it means taking on that kind of risk...'
We kept an eye on our surroundings while chatting as we went, and before we knew it, it was already time for lunch.
We split the rations they'd been carrying and the food I pulled from my subspace, then ate.
A question suddenly came to mind.
I was used to killing from my time in the other world, but for these two, it had only been two months since the law lost all meaning.
Could they personally take the life of someone who came at them with malice?
"You two... if looters came to steal your supplies, could you kill them yourselves?"
"..."
"The government's already collapsed. If you're weak, losing what's yours is only natural. So—can you handle it?"
"We..."
Truthfully, I wanted to hear their answer.
If they said they'd give scumbags a second chance—send them packing, or offer them another opportunity just because we'd won—I'd have been deeply disappointed.
Of course, this isn't Titan, so I could understand that response. But if they wanted to survive, they'd have to change too.
"Sihu... honestly, if I imagine some terrible people doing awful things to me, I really can't stand it... so even though it'd be hard, I think I'd put myself first..."
Right. In my case, it had only been two days since I returned from the other world. For them, two long months had already passed.
They'd watched society and the law crumble, watched the government fall apart.
They'd even heard firsthand about the existence of looters.
They knew far better than I did—a man barely back in this world—just how meaningless morality and law become when civilization collapses.
As for me, like it or not, life in the forest meant I'd faced other humans only after I'd already gained a fair amount of power.
Still, I'd lived on Titan. I knew all too well what kind of posture I needed to adopt in this world now.
"But how did you two manage to survive in that café for two months?"
"Luckily, supplies had been delivered that day, so we were pretty well-stocked. But we were just about at the bottom of our supplies, which is why we came out together to find food."
'They're not a special case—other survivors must be in the exact same situation...'
We kept moving, ransacking small clothing shops and convenience stores along the way to stock up on supplies.
"While we walk, I'd like to hear a bit about you two."
"Actually, Seok-hyeon and I enlisted together, got discharged together, and were studying for certifications together."
"And I was on break, studying for certifications and working on my English when all this happened!"
"That's right, Boss... I still can't believe this all broke out practically as soon as we got discharged."
"But you, Boss... you seem a little unusual. As strong as you are, and clearly an Awakened One, it struck us as strange that you don't belong to any group and you travel alone..."
Honestly, I figured it was only natural they'd be curious.
I was nothing like the people who'd only just started handling mana with the System's help—I'd learned to wield mana in real combat, scraping and clawing my way through Titan just to stay alive.
But that didn't mean I'd been driven by patriotism or some hero complex.
"I just... survive on my own and enjoy this world for what it is. No other reason. I already suffered and scraped my way into a job, and now it's all worthless."
"Heh heh... we've got our troubles, sure, but you've got a rough deal too, Boss. Also, watching you, you kind of come off like an old man."
I'd lived for nine hundred years, so maybe that wasn't exactly wrong. Though I'd be more like a grandfather than an old man.
"Speaking of which, have you heard anything about the government assembling survivors into shelters?"
"Oh, right—didn't you say there was someone you were looking for, Boss? As far as I know, the courthouse and prosecutors' office are near Seocho Station, right? I vaguely remember hearing something about a holdout around there. The Defense Intelligence Command is right next to it too."
"He's right, Sihu! If there are survivors, they're probably near that area—right by the Lotte Mart you're looking for."
I had no idea how these coincidences kept lining up, but I let out a sigh of relief.
Not that I thought the military would've successfully contained the initial outbreak, even if a base was nearby.
That outfit is more conservative and rigid than any other organization on Earth.
"If you don't mind me asking, who is it you're looking for? Is it rude of me to ask? Heh heh..."
"Just someone precious to me."
Maybe she picked up on something in my tone, because Jia's face turned serious. She hemmed and hawed for a moment, then fell quiet.
I wasn't sure what they were thinking, but I hadn't really said anything that meaningful...
At any rate, things were going smoothly enough—or as smoothly as they could—while we quietly talked and made our way to the vicinity of Gyodae Station. That was when it happened.
— Fwisht!
— Clang!
I'd deflected it and confirmed in an instant: not a bullet, but an arrow. Which meant this wasn't the military—it was survivors.
"What the—! Boss, I think these are the looters I told you about. You need to run!"
Even during my time in the other world, looters had been a common problem.
Some were just desperate, struggling to survive and only taking a portion of your belongings. But there were others—the kind who, like these, aimed to inflict lethal wounds right from the start.
If they were going for a killing shot rather than just a threat, they were the sort of trash that killed people for sport.
"Heh heh... you an Awakened One too?"
"Boss, you see the chick? Before we offer her up to the big boss, how 'bout you and I have a taste first?"
"Yeah, I'll sample her first, then you can have a turn."
The band approaching as they bantered numbered about six.
'Rotten bastards, soaked in the stench of blood.'
"Hey, you lot. Hand over the chick and everything you've got, and I'll let you go painlessly."
"We'll leave you enough food to eat, and we'll be on our way."
"What's this retard on about? Thinks being an Awakened One means we can't kill him?"
Honestly, they must have already imagined a situation like this.
Even on Titan, when plagues and constant wars tore nations apart, it was humans who sank to the very bottom and became the most vicious of all.
And of every race in existence, humans were the only ones who could turn their blades on their own kind without a shred of hesitation.
In that case... what I had to do here was exactly the same.
Back on Titan, to keep from losing my humanity as a man called Cheon Sihu, I'd gained a power no one else could even look at—and even then, I'd given every last piece of trash a single chance.
Of course, not a single one of them had ever taken that chance and repented.
They'd smile to your face, but behind your back, they were always scheming for revenge.
— Chaos Sword Technique: Formless.
— Puh-buh-buh-buhk!!!
What people call an invisible sword—the Mind Sword, a blade conjured purely by will to extinguish life.
Aside from the one they called "boss," the other five collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
"Wh-what the...? No matter what kind of Awakened One you are, I've never seen anything like this!!!"
'So he's seen real Awakened Ones before.'
"Where did you come from?"
"You fucker... shut your mouth and kill me if you're going to kill me, you son of a bitch!!!"
"Do you know what happens to a human body if its blood circulation runs in reverse?"
"Wh-what the hell are you talking about!!!"
I injected my aura into the bastard's body and reversed his blood flow.
Under normal conditions, reversing someone's circulation puts catastrophic pressure on the heart and blood vessels, inflicting fatal damage to the heart and other organs until they can't take it anymore and burst.
But if I injected ki to make the body withstand that pressure?
It wouldn't kill him, but he'd feel unimaginable agony.
"GYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Within moments, the bastard's face flushed crimson—so red it looked like both his eyes might pop.
'That should be enough.'
"Kuh-heup... kuh-heuk... kah-hak..."
"You feel more like talking now?"
"Please... we're holed up in a hospital nearby... our big boss said we were running low on supplies and women, so we came out this far... please, let me live..."
The moment I heard his answer, I blew his head clean off.
'They saw that. They'll see me as a monster now.'
"That must be the first time you've seen something like that. You can leave me if you want. Or you can leave after we reach Seocho Station. Either's fine."
"No, Boss. Bastards like that deserve to die. We've already been saved by you."
"That's right, Boss. Either way, if you hadn't been here, Jia would've been violated, and we'd be dead too..."
"Sihu, it's okay. They're right—if you hadn't been here, we'd all be dead."
I met their eyes.
Min-cheol and Seok-hyeon's gazes carried a faint trace of fear and awe, but there was no revulsion in them.
Jia's eyes were different—something like pity and sympathy flickered briefly across them.
'You possess that kind of power, yet why do you wear that expression... and why do I feel so sorry for you...'
[ Acquired Skill: "Mind Sword." ]