Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

C.216: Reason For Becoming a Monster (6)

Up until now, all the fights I had been involved in were anything but hard. I had always scouted and compiled all the information I needed in advance, creating an environment to tip the odds towards me, and fought with the best strategy. As a result, I never got seriously injured except for that time at the beginning of the apocalypse.

But today was a lot different; I was obviously fighting an uphill battle against Go Ho-kyung. Thousands of sheets of paper squeezed me as she unleashed her full force. Each of them turned into a weapon, a shield, and sometimes a bomb.

The dimensional wall that I had been using as my primary means of protection was rendered useless. The attack was far too numerous for it to block. If I block the front, dozens of papers turn into sharp knives and rush towards my back. Overtime, the growl I let out turned into a scream and echoed through the hallway.

In order to kill Go Ho-kyung, I risked the aftereffects of the transformation skill and transformed for the third time, but now, almost 2 minutes had passed.

Will the fourth transformation duration become one minute?

No, I don’t think my body could stand the fourth transformation. After this transformation ended, I would be in a state that is no different from a corpse.

“Die! Die! Die!”

As Go Ho-Kyung shouted desperately, dozens of pieces of paper flew into the sky.

Boom-!!

My vision flickered, and I couldn’t stand the explosion and banged my head against the wall. If things continue like this, I wouldn’t be able to win. The Abomination’s body was certainly powerful, but it was vulnerable to ranged attacks. I can’t even use my weapon properly.

I opened the dimensional door while pretending to jump into Go Ho-kyung right before the transformation was released. My vision was turned upside down and the cold dirt greeted me as my body turned back into its human shape.

“Eughh…” I let out a moan as I prepared myself for the inevitable pain to come. But surprisingly, the pain I felt was far below my expectation.

What is this warm feeling?

When I finally raised my head, I could see Sooyeon looking at me with worried eyes as golden light emanated from her hand.

“Seongho, are you okay?”

“I-i’m fine… But… what is this?”

“I finally reached level 25. I thought the additional effect I got from it that says that I would be able to cure abnormal conditions wouldn’t be that useful, but it looks like I was wrong.”

“Level 25… you’ve worked hard.” It’s really hard to level up with a trait that doesn’t help much in combat. Especially so when the usage of guns was restricted.

She stroked my arm at that moment. The taut muscles quickly loosened up and the pain gradually subsided.

This effect is really good.

“I live comfortably in the shelter thanks to you, so I should pay you back by being able to do this much.”

As I tried to close my eyes for a while, the aftereffects disappeared and Super Regeneration restored my physical strength. I quickly jumped up and gave a nod to her.

“Thanks to you, I lived… Phew…”

“No, no. More than that, some clothes…”

“Cough… Cough…” This is one of the side effects of Abomination Polymorph: Nude show.

I quickly put on the clothes she bought for me. For some reason, the nape of Sooyeon’s neck looked red.

“B-by the way… How’s the situation outside? I heard you are fighting against some girl…”

“She’s stronger than I thought, that’s why I ran away like this.”

“If Seongho said so, she’s a really formidable enemy…”

It’s not to that extent, but I’d say that our matchup was just bad. Her power was the worst matchup that the Abomination form could get.

Scratching my head, I looked out the portal.

-Kuuuuaaaaaakkkk-!!

Go Ho-gyeong was vomiting with her hand on the wall. Blood and mucus poured out of her mouth. As expected, she’s not completely unscratched either. She must have suffered the price of exerting all her might.

“And here I thought that her limit-breaking skill was fraudulent.” I whispered.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked right in my direction.

-You can’t beat me. I’ve seen what kind of ability you have.

Oh right…

By making three Chinese climbs to level 50, she was able to get the information she wanted. The effect of both dimensional wall and the dimensional prison was out in the open now.

Go Ho-Kyung brushed back her messy hair. It was messy and even stained with her blood, making her look even more like a ghost.

-You won’t be able to trick me again. There is no sky here. Shall we see if you can go in and out well even if I block this dog hole?

Suddenly, a piece of paper flew into the portal, blocking it off completely.

-Hehehe. It’s blocked well, right?

Go Ho-kyung’s gloomy voice was still there, but I couldn’t see her since my vision was blocked by the papers. This is a disaster.

Soo-yeon poked the portal with her finger and looked depressed.

“It’s blocked… I’m sure we can break through it, right?”

“I’m not sure…”

A rocket launcher would surely blow the paper away, but It would just stick again.

Anyway, is everybody here?

When I looked around the shelter, I couldn’t see Mi-kyung at all.

Sooyeon hesitated and said, “She is in the Great Labyrinth right now. She should be wearing a cloak and hiding behind her…”

“Huh? She’s out there?”

I obviously saw her going into the shelter… When did she get out?

It turned out that since I didn’t open the dimensional gate, she went to the Great Labyrinth through the Korean Shelter.

When I called the auction house, there were signs that she was making a fuss with the stagnant water team.

-He’s crazy, alright…

-If Rapwi said someone is crazy, they are really crazy!

-What if Seongho dies?

-Everyone in the shelter will be kicked out.

-Don’t make a fuss, I’m not dead.

-Is that you, Seongho?

-Yea… it hurts so bad, by the way.

-The third transformation? You crazy bastard…

-I felt like I was going to die, but thanks to Sooyeon noona, I feel better.

Sooyeon’s expression changed while looking at the comment section.

“Didn’t you decide not to call me noona before?”

Ah, yeah…

I weaseled my way out of the conversation and called for Mi-kyung.

-Mi-kyung, are you there?

-Uh… You won’t scold me, will you?

-I won’t scold you, so tell me the situation.

-I can’t see very well because a lot of papers are flying, but I think oppa’s dimension door is completely blocked. She keeps wrapping it in paper.

-You are behind her right now?

-Yes.

This could turn the situation around.

No matter how strong a person was, if their concentration was broken, their control would be lost for a moment. In the case of Go Ho-kyung, which handles hundreds and thousands of sheets of paper, the gaps will be even greater.

If we use flashbangs and flame cans…

After making a plan, I opened the dimensional warehouse and took out the supplies. I even pulled the flamethrower, making Sooyeon’s eyes widened.

“Are you really going to use all of that?”

“We only get one chance. If we can’t kill her here, it will become even more difficult.”

I couldn’t confirm if she had any resurrection scrolls left. However, there must be a reason why she squeezed her strength to the limit.

I put the things on the auction house.

-Mikyung, listen carefully. Buy these things and quickly throw them in turn.

-Me, me?

-The only one who can attack right now is you. Could it be that the woman is blocking her back too?

-Her back is completely open…

-I’ll tell you how to do it. Throw the flashbang in front of that woman, she will be taken aback for sure. Then throw a flame can and destroy the papers with the flamethrower. Can you do it?

If she said she couldn’t do it, I planned to use a somewhat irrational measure. Thankfully, she posted a comment without giving it much thought.

-I can do it. Leave it to me.

-I’ll believe in you.

After a while, the item was sold.

I turned towards Sooyeon at that moment. “Looking at it, if I am in danger, please treat me.”

She took my hand and nodded her head eagerly.

“Don’t worry about treatment. As long as you didn’t die, I’ll bring you back to life for sure.”

In fact, even if I died, there would be no big problem. However, since the aftereffects were severe, such situations should be avoided if possible.

After receiving the buffs and finishing my preparations, someone’s scream was heard outside.

-AHHHHH!!!!

The wall of paper collapsed and I saw Go Ho-kyung staggering inside a raging flames. I stuck the mithril knife into my thigh, and almost instantly, the Primal Life skill was activated, and all my stats rose significantly.

Let’s go!

I pulled out the mithril blade and ran outside.

Because of her pale skin, Jeong Mi-kyung was called albino by Da-jeong. Moreover, because of her petite physique and her cute face, everyone treated her comfortably. However, her fighting power should never be compromised.

She was a skilled person who often went out of the shelter alone and hunted all by herself. After she reached level 25 and got the ‘after-image’ additional effect, her confidence increased. Quite a few monsters were fooled by the ‘after-image’ created by her blink and had no idea where she really was.

‘You can do it, Jeong Mi-kyung.’

She took her chance with the cloak of stealth wrapped on her body. As confirmed in Seongho’s fight, the monster in front of her had sensitive senses. If she approached her by blindly trusting in her Blink , there was a risk that she would be the one that got surprised instead.

‘Let’s just do as I was told.’

It’s obviously not difficult, but why is her heart beating so fast?

The monster coughed from time to time as if it was not feeling well. Judging by the blood dripping on the floor, she believed that it was absolutely the case.

‘Now!’

Mi-kyung took off her cloak and threw the flash can. The glowstone dust generated friction and created a white spark in the dark hallway. The location was right in front of Go Ho-kyung.

She immediately stopped coughing, as a blinding flash enlightened her whole face.

“Ugh!”

When she suddenly lost her sense of sight, Mi-kyung moved with Blink. With some distance between them, she threw a flame can and she immediately pulled the lever on the flamethrower.

Whosshhhh-!!

Dark red flames filled the entire narrow hallway. Go Ho-kyung, who was floundering due to loss of sight, was engulfed in flying flames.

“Aagh!”

The paper that sealed the dimension door crumbled and Seongho came out. His speed with all his skills activated was no joke. For a second, Mi-kyung thought that he’s using Blink.

In that brief moment, the eyes of the two met with Go Ho-kyung in between. Seongho said with his eyes. He told her to run away. Without wasting any time, Mi-kyung quickly stepped away from her. And tentacles rose from Go Ho-kyung’s body.

“I will kill you all!”

She no longer had her human form as she stretched out her tentacles, engulfed in her flames. Seongho blocked the tentacles that stretched out with the dimensional wall. Then, he kicked the wall and used that momentum to approach Go Ho-kyung in an instant.

The tentacles stretched out again, but Seongho was already wielding a mithril blade.

Fwoosh-!!

A strange sound was heard, and the tentacles and Go Ho-kyung’s left arm were cut off.

“Aaaagh!”

Dark red blood and bodily fluids gushed out from the cutted surface. In that short time, Seongho checked Go Ho-kyung’s stats. Perhaps it was due to the aftereffects of using Limit Break, but it was in a state of great deterioration.

As expected, you were also limited.

Seongho grabbed one of her tentacles and pulled it. Then he stretched out his mithril blade straight ahead and pierced her stomach.

“Huh… Ugh…”

Then, their eyes met each other. Go Ho-kyung was bleeding from the corner of his mouth while Seongho’s was still fine. Her ambiguous face distorted into something which was hard to tell whether she was laughing or crying.

Then, the mithril blade mercilessly ran from her belly to her chest.

That was it.

No matter how monstrous she was, it was difficult to endure when their internal organs were smashed. Focus disappeared from her eyes, but Seongho didn’t let his guard down and drew the knife before striking her in the neck for one more time. Her head was wrapped around her long hair and rolled across her floor soon after.

“Euugghhh…” Seeing the terrible sight, Mi-kyung closed her eyes.

Meanwhile, Seongho kept his vigilance and looked around Go Ho-Kyung. If she had a resurrection scroll, the corpse would be engulfed in light and disappear.

However, the corpse did not disappear even after he waited. Instead an old scene was recreated. The ground around her corpse becomes mushy and sets of tentacles spring up.

“Go away!”

Seongho attacked it with the mithril blade, but the tentacles wrapped around her corpse without even stopping. Then, all of it disappeared into the ground. All that remained was her thick blood, bodily fluids, and message in his field of vision.

「Your level has risen to 43」

「You have acquired 200 points」

「You have acquire ‘Limit Break’ skill」

「Limit Break: Greatly raises the limits of the body. Duration: 10 minutes」

She also turned one of the items I wore into an item, but my eyes were glued on the skill. I will try to figure out the effect later.

Mi-kyung approached me with Blink at that moment.

“Oppa!”

“Nice job, Mikyung. I lived, thanks to you.”

She jumped into my arms and laughed.

“Even if it weren’t for me, I believe you will be fine!”

Then the space shook and someone appeared. I quickly hid Mi-kyung behind me and extended my mithril blade.

The man who appeared was Ahn Geun-seok. He looked at me with a dejected face.

“She told me to be patient, but to think that not only she failed to kill you, she even gave a skill to you…”

“Can you see my status window too?”

“Oh, you have the Ability Analysis skill?”

“Your stats are unexpectedly insignificant.”

When I smirked, he touched his forehead.

“Oops. The troublesome person has become even more troublesome.”

“Your face is surprisingly relaxed for someone who said that kind of thing, though.”

“Well, it’s still within our estimation. Your growth is certainly great… but it’s still on the palm of my hand.”

“Most of the guys who say that always beg when they die and tell me to give them another chance.”

Mi-kyung giggled behind me, and Ahn Geun-seok was also embarrassed.

“There are definitely cliches like that. But this is not a movie or a game. If I make up my mind right away, you will die within an hour.”

“Try it.”

He shook his head.

“I will refrain. After all, if the monsters on the 13th floor come out, it will be a mess… Anyway, where did you get the Abomination Polymorph skill?”

The 13th floor he talked about must be the Great Labyrinth floor.

I roughly answered his question.

“I got it while hunting.”

His expression changed to a mocking one.

“Stop joking. An item with that option will not drop. Did you get it from Lotus, by any chance?”

“If you tell me the real identity of the tentacle that took your and Go Ho-kyung’s corpse, I’ll tell you.”

Ahn Geun-seok twitched his cheek and let out a sigh.

“Alright, it’s not really a bad trade for me anyway. Thanks to you, I’ve figured out a lot of your additional effects. Those tentacles are the roots of the corrupted Elderwood. Go Ho-kyung is currently being resurrected with the power of the Elderwood. She’s grinding her teeth at you, so you can look forward to it.”

“AH! In the spring?”

At my words, Ahn Geun-seok’s eyes widened.

“How do you know that… Don’t tell me…”

“I’m using it a lot, too. But it felt like the Elderwood was hurt. I thought it was because of me, but it looks like I was wrong.”

“You know quite a lot. I have a few questions I want to ask you.”

“I won’t tell you, even if you use force to make me.”

“Sigh… I will really use them.”

“From your words, it seems there is a scary monster living on the 13th floor?”

“I assure you, when they show up, you won’t be able to relax any longer. It’s a monster raised by Giudecca herself.”

“Bring it on. I will kill them like I kill you and Go Ho-kyung.”

In an instant, the mask of courtesy was removed from Ahn Geun-seok’s face and a ferocious face was revealed.

“Okay! Do as you wish! I will make you pay for killing my secretary!”