Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

I had always been wondering about the reason why monsters roared in front of their enemies. I thought that if they had time and leisure to do that, it would be better for them to attack quicker. But after changing into Abomination, my thoughts changed. Power was overflowing in my body. I wanted to explode this energy out, and the simplest way was to roar it out.

Kuoohhh-!!

It wasn’t as strong as an ogre’s roar, but it was still strong enough to shake the entire cave system. After doing it, I felt relieved for some reason, but it only made the people even more frightened.

Well, it would be stranger if they’re not afraid of a monster whose skin can’t even be pierced with knives.

I took advantage of the moment when the two guys hesitated after having their attack blocked and shoo-ed people.

Noticing the meaning of my gesture, Hyung-jun hyung shouted to the people.

“Everyone leave! Go into the hallway!”

“N-now?”

“We’ll only get in his way by staying here!”

If it wasn’t for the dimensional wall, Yuzuka’s head would have been separated from her body. People didn’t know about that fact, but they were aware that it could’ve been them that was in that situation and started to leave.

Meanwhile, the two Chinese grabbed their wrists and just stared at me.

You guys are shocked, huh?

I once again let out a roar and ran towards them. As the cave shook, the two became clots of blood under my knuckles. But it was never my intention to kill them. After all, rather than getting the partial sum of points the system gave you after each kill, getting all of their points was far better.

The two of them couldn’t stand my strikes and ended up crawling on the floor. Even with their level, stats, and unique ability, they would have to wait for someone to rescue them. Unless, of course, they had recovery abilities like me.

After a while, the 4-minute time limit expired.

「Polymorph is ending」

My eye level suddenly dropped, and a tremendous pain and sense of helplessness hit my whole body. I gritted my teeth and arched my body frontwards. The after effect wasn’t just a normal exhaustion. Even though the effect was reduced to 30% thanks to the effect of my skills, it was still this severe.

Just how bad is the 100% that Seokhyun suffered?

“Whoa…” I come to my senses after feeling the cold air. My vision was still shaky, but it was still at the degree that I could tolerate. If it was someone else, they would already be rolling on the floor by now.

“16,000 points. 15,000 points.” When I told the amount of points they each have, both of them flinched and shuddered. I took out two mithril blades and stuck them between their legs.

“I don’t have time, so I’ll be brief. Give your points to me, and I’ll spare your lives. If you refuse, of course, you would die. Choose.”

I pulled out the mithril blade and stuck it into the ground near their groin.

“Heup!”

“Ugh!”

Terrified, the two tried to move away from the blade, but were unable to because they were bound by the elderwood ropes.

One of the Chinese swallowed his saliva and asked.

“Are you really going to spare us…?”

Instead of answering, I put up two crappy items at the auction house. It’s ridiculously expensive at a grand total of 31,000 points, but it doesn’t matter at all because there were already customers who would definitely buy it.

“I hate waiting. If you don’t buy it in 10 seconds, I’ll cut off each of your limbs one by one, starting with your dick.”

As my eyes met theirs while threatening them, the two trembled in fear.

“Sp-spare me!”

“As for the dick, please…”

“Buy it now, then.”

The two of them fumbled and opened the auction house. Right after, the items disappeared from the list and my total point count became 60,000 points. Even though I haven’t eaten yet, I feel full for some reason.

I opened the dimensional prison at that moment. After punching the two guys in the face, I pushed them in with my foot.

“Khuck!”

When I untied the rope binding them, their bodies rolled around and entered the dimensional prison. I don’t know what kind of environment was waiting for them inside, but I know for sure that it wouldn’t be easy for the two of them to survive.

The dimensional prison disappeared soon after, leaving only Zhao Ziwei, who was barely conscious. I put the elderwood rope into the dimensional slot and aimed the mithril blade at his neck.

“Let me ask you one thing. Who helped you, and what did they do to you?”

A faint smile crept across his lips.

“Do you think I will… tell… you…?”

“Then die.”

I don’t have to raise my kill count just to kill him. The plan was to put him in the dimensional prison when its cooldown is done. And in case he didn’t die at that time, I would call the monsters around the Great Labyrinth to deal with him.

After a while, the dimensional prison appeared once again, but there was no trace of the two who entered it. Now it’s time to deal with Zhao Ziwei.

I was just about to put him in the dimensional prison, but suddenly, white things came pouring out of the hallway. I raised a dimensional wall to block it, but I couldn’t do so for Zhao Ziwei.

The white paper turned into a spear and pierced the guy’s chest.

“Keuk!”

The guy immediately died. Right after, the paper turned into a rake shape and tore something off from his body. At first, I thought it was the heart that was taken out, but it wasn’t. It was some sort of flesh, which was wriggling in vigor.

The sound of high heels started to echo at that moment. Then, a mysterious woman wearing a suit and glasses slowly walked out of the darkness.

At her attire, I couldn’t help but look at her with bewildered eyes.

“Wearing high heels in this kind of world?”

“Well, I never have to run in the first place.” She shrugged. “Nice to meet you. My name is Go Ho-kyung. I am Ahn Geun-seok’s secretary. As you can see, I am a paper magician.”

“A game developer that has a secretary? That’s new.”

“Albeit that’s my current position, I originally worked at the production company’s front desk.”

She moved the paper on Zhao Ziwei’s body, brought the flesh to her mouth, and swallowed it whole.

Wow…

She’s gutsy, alright…

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“…it doesn’t taste good.”

“So you are a monster too.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“Please don’t lump me with you guys.”

“I’m sorry, but I saw you turn into an Abomination. It left quite a lot of impression.”

“By the way, is Abomination a monster which was included in the unknown monsters expansion?”

“It can be said that it was the weakest monster in the patch. Even the Brutra that you saw back in the game is stronger.”

“Thank you for telling me.” I glared at her and opened the dimensional slot.

Shaking her head, she gathered hundreds of sheets of paper and fashioned them into a shield.

“These papers are quite strong, so they won’t tear even under immense attack. Of course, you can try..”

“Are you telling me it’s vain to attack you? You are kind.”

“I am giving you this advice because I feel sorry for you.”

“I have a question.”

“It is my role to answer those questions. What are you curious about?”

“What do you want from me? What are you going to do with me?”

She traced my body from the head to toes with her finger.

I was honestly embarrassed with my naked state.

“I need your body. Your high level is also important.”

“If you need a strong body and a high level, can’t you just use that disgusting piece of flesh?”

After all, those flesh could make the level of those three Chinese to level 50 in an instant. It should be possible to even make their level higher, so why would they need me anyway?

Go Ho-kyung pointed at her chest and grinned.

Has it already gone down there?

“This flesh is just a temporary measure. It couldn’t make people as good as someone who leveled organically like you.”

“What’s good about someone like me?”

“You guys have a high potential. You don’t know, but Survival Life has hidden stats.”

Hidden stats, huh? It’s the first time I heard about that information.

“Stop talking in a roundabout way, get to the point.”

“Sorry, but my life will be in danger if I tell you about that…”

“Does that guy in the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth even attack you guys with its tentacle?”

“Even though you called him so, I’m sure you will change your mind and will accept him soon enough.”

Even if that were to happen, I’m sure it would only be possible using that thing’s brainwashing skill.

In any case, Go Ho-kyung seemed to be unwilling to answer any more questions. Then, I would have no choice but to fight.

When I took off the transformation bracelet and put it back on, a different message appeared.

「Abomination Polymorph」

「Time limit: 3 minutes」

「Warning: The aftereffects will become stronger」

Shit…

The transformation duration had become even more limited and the aftereffect became even more severe.

As I began to transform, Go Ho-kyung slowly took off her glasses.

“With great power comes great price. You must have felt quite a bit of pain when the polymorph was over.”

I’m sorry to say this, but I have the strength to endure it.

She took out another book out of nowhere and opened it. Hundreds of sheets of paper scattered at that moment.

After I completely transformed, the energy inside my body exploded and I roared.

Go Ho-kyung whistled in response.

“Seems like you didn’t use all of your strengths before. As expected from a purebred.”

I rushed at her while activating Super Sense. In an instant, the wall of paper spread wide. I shook my fist to try to tear it apart. But, surprisingly, the paper stuck.

Then, an explosion happened.

The shock was strong enough to make my arms tingle. But right after, my Pain Tolerance skill quickly relieved the pain I felt and Super Regeneration began to restore the flesh and skin I lost.

However, even after trying more, I still couldn’t reach her. After all, the wall of paper keeps appearing endlessly.

“You will never be able to touch me.”

Let us see if that’s true.

I leaned forward and clawed through the paper wall even fiercer than before. Go Ho-kyung’s figure could be seen behind all the paper momentarily, but she soon disappeared once again.

“I have hundreds of books. You will soon get tired of tearing and your transformation will end. And what will you do after that?” She laughed.

Instead of answering, I burst out with all my strength and tore the paper again. And the moment her whole body was revealed to my eyes, I adjusted my line of sight and opened a dimensional wall between the book and the papers.

She was taken aback when the page failed to return.

“Why is this…”

It’s called dimensional wall, paper girl.

Without giving her any time to react, I rushed at her. Once our body collided, we rolled on the floor together. Tentacles wrapped around my body as if it were there in the first place.

This woman was a monster too.

I grabbed her head, pulling out the tentacles clinging to her limbs.

“Even if you kill me…”

There is a resurrection scroll, right?

Searching through hundreds of sheets of paper for a resurrection scroll is a waste of time.

But how about this?

This place was the Great Labyrinth. In this place, respawn spots were limited. if she died, she can only respawn on the 1st floor. Therefore, I just need to find her and kill her again.

As soon as I tightened my grip on her, she began to struggle violently. But before she broke free, a strange noise could be heard from her body. Her body went limp, and at the same time, golden light enveloped her.

I quickly shifted my attention and tried to find her respawn location with my Super Sense.

There you are…

As I stepped on the ground hard and blitzed towards her location, Go Ho-kyung’s figure soon appeared in my line of sight from the darkness. On her face, fear was palpable for me to see.

“Monster…”

Talking about calling the kettle black….

I kicked her with my foot as I ran. Her body flew from the impact like a kite with its string cut. When she crashed to the wall, her body, which was bent at an odd angle, was bathed in golden light once again.

At the same time her body vanished, my transformation met its limit. Feeling extremely helpless and in pain, I fell to my knees. Excruciating pain, like being stabbed in the intestines with a heated needle, ran through all over my body. Moreover, my sight wasn’t only shaking, I could see that the world was getting darker and darker this time.

“Shit…” Seemed like transforming twice was the limit of my current body.

As I held back the rising acid threatening to go out from my throat, I saw someone getting up from the other side of the hallway.

“I will kill you! I will tear you to shreds!”

She’s mad alright…

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While Seongho was fighting Go Ho-kyung in the Great Labyrinth, the stagnant water party, who searched the royal palace of Ruat, finally found a mental immunity item.

Da-jeong and Geom-in tilted their heads when they saw the options for the ring.

“Wouldn’t we be safe to attack monsters in the lower levels of the Great Labyrinth if we wore this?”

“Maybe? But why did they make this?”

Seokhyun looked around the lab and said,

“The people of Ruat were also trying to fight against the monsters in the Great Labyrinth.”

“But still they lost. Doesn’t that mean it was useless, after all?”

“Seemed like these guys didn’t think so.”

Seokhyun placed Captain Scarab and Chief Stag Beetle in the journal on the desk. The two eagerly opened the journal and wrote something in Korean on the desk.

-Giudecca

“What is Giudecca?”

Tentacles were drawn beside the words ’15th floor of the Great Labyrinth’ and Da-jeong snapped her fingers.

“It must be the name of that monster.”

After looking through the journal more, Captain Scarab diligently wrote in Korean.

-Very dangerous. Mental attack, monster control, space division…

Incredible abilities were listed one after another.

“Can we win against it?’

As the swordsman scratched his cheek nervously, Da-jeong placed her hand on his shoulder.

“We now have the mental immunity ring.”

“We only have one ring, though…”

At that time, Captain Scarab wrote again.

-Can copy items, this facility is needed. More aether stones too.

“If we want to take all the devices here, we need Seongho to come here.”

“Can’t we just tell him to come? What is he doing right now, by the way?”

“I have asked about it and the members said he’s fighting in the Great Labyrinth.”

“Against who?”

“The Chinese who tried to manipulate the market for bottled water.”

Da-jeong, as if not liking the news, stomped the ground.

“He’s fighting against bastards who are a little over level 20 at most?”

With his power, it wouldn’t be a surprise for a massacre to take place, not a fight.

“They say the Chinese are over level 50. So, their fighting power was not a joke.”

Noticing that the situation was quite serious, the three tried to gather information. When Geom-in saw Yoohyeon’s comment, he’s flabbergasted.

“Wow… He’s winning against 3 guys who are over level 50?”

“Can he take care of the aftereffects, though?” Da-jeong said to no one in particular, her words full of worry. “He-hey, Rapwi! Don’t take off your panties! Not here!”

“Ah, my bad.”

Trying to take off his pants because he felt too excited, Seokhyun scratched his head. He wanted to go and fight with him right away, but no one knew where the entrance to the Great Labyrinth on this continent was located.

However, a new comment came up.

-Unnie, unnie, are you in the auction house right now?

-Who is it?

-This is me, not Albino… but Mi-kyung.

-Where are you now? Are you next to Seongho? Are you wearing the stealth cloak?

-Oppa closed the dimensional door. So, I entered the Great Labyrinth through Seoul.

Seokhyun raised his thumb at those words.

-As expected of Mi-kyung. After hanging out with Seongho often, your guts become stronger.

-It’s not quite like that. Anyway, right now Oppa is fighting against a woman.

-There’s a woman among the three Chinese?

-No. I think the woman was the one who made them level 50. Papers are flying around and it’s a mess.

-Seongho has the transformation ring with him, right? If he transforms into Abomination, he would be able to beat her.

However, Seokhyun’s expression became quite serious.

-The aftereffects wouldn’t be a joke, though.

-It’s Seongho, though. He should be able to endure it.

-Even if he endured the first time, it will be very difficult the second time. It’s difficult even for me.

-Oppa has transformed for the third time now!

-He’s crazy, alright…

When Seokhyun called someone crazy, it meant that the person was truly crazy.

Meanwhile, Geom-in was restless, and Da-jeong could only bite her lips hard.

What should we do?