Episode 23

“――♪”

“Why do you look so happy today?”

“Just get to work.”

“Hmm, why are you picking on me? You skipped work too.”

“…….”

“No! I just meant it like that. So, where did you go?”

“I went to see hope.”

“Hope? What kind of hope? The hope to end the disease?”

“No. The hope for the lost ones.”

“Lost ones? I always wonder what you’re talking about… Ah! Let’s go together!”

Additionally, Swimming and Diving reached level 6, and Suggestion rose to level 3.

The title had not changed. Despite defeating the Sewer Master and the Sewer Monster, it was still the Tyrant of the Mountain.

Is the title of Tyrant of the Mountain better than the other two titles, or is there a reason it hasn’t been obtained?

Well, it doesn’t seem like I’ll need to go to the sewers again.

And I reached level 17 and grew a level. I always had a sleek build from the start, but since I was small, it didn’t seem noticeable. Now, eight out of ten people passing by will say I’m a wolf. The other two will probably suspect I’m a monster. After all, my color is black.

Are there black wolves… in existence?

I feel like I’ve seen them in movies, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one at the zoo. Also, my health has surpassed 200, but I’ve never really been exhausted, so I’m not sure what it feels like.

Come to think of it, what is the point of the health stat?

This is what the health stat description said when I checked with Espionage. I understand stamina and vitality, but toughness? Isn’t that something from a game? Like, CC abilities recovering quickly…

It seems that it’s not about CC abilities recovering faster, but rather defense. It seems health represents vitality, stamina, and defense.

Health seems to be a much more important stat than I thought. This must be the reason why the monster wolf barely took any damage from my attacks.

In addition to health, all stats increased with the level-up. Mana increased by 2 every level, but seeing it go from 49 to 52, it seems I experienced a slight mental drain, which is why it increased by 1 more. Suddenly, I was struck with awe when I remembered Lee Eunha’s mana stat of 316.

No, forgetting about Lee Eunha who had 300 mana, what about that man with over 400? How much mana did he burn through? Mana that tempts into a coma with the sweet sensation of omnipotence. I’m fine now thanks to the level-up, but thinking about how I felt that impulse every time I used mana…

Anyway, the important thing is that I overcame one disaster. Now, the only thing left is to thoroughly search the room I haven’t checked yet.

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I already knew it, but some of the meat chunks in the room were human. Before I searched the room, there was something I needed to do first.

I couldn’t start a fire in the sewer or call anyone. I dug a pit in the stone floor and gathered them together to bury them.

There would be no tomb or grave, and no relatives would be able to visit, but at least it was better than drowning them in contaminated water in a trench.

I buried them and searched the room. All that was there were flasks with poison, acid, or suspicious chemicals, but there were also his research notes.

I closed the book. It was the expected content, and it was unpleasant. I cursed at Rat Man in my mind, searched the room thoroughly, and found an egg.

There were several dragon bugs, but only one survived in the form of an egg, while the rest dried up and died like mummies. I didn’t get a chance to eat them last time… I was about to try, but stopped.

The dragon bugs that were on the front line. Since they couldn’t enter the sewer, they must have been waiting endlessly for their dying comrades. Well, eating just one wouldn’t be enough to show off.

It seems like there was nothing more to find. I leaped over the trench and crawled back up the slope. As a bright light appeared, I instinctively used Weak Stealth.

“Whoosh… whoosh…”

I don’t know where they got it from, but they were fully covered in a gas mask, protective suit, and boots… completely protected. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Did they come from the fire station? Wouldn’t it be hot dressed like that?

Their breathing was rough. The blood on the protective suit told me they had already fought once. Probably the rats they missed and couldn’t see.

No matter how much of a rat it was, it was a monster. If they dealt with it, they were undoubtedly a hunter. No escape route, a dead-end path. I hesitated a little about the skill points, but opened the [Acquirable Skills List].

I used the skill points I hadn’t used since fighting the monster wolf at level 7 to acquire Stealth. A delayed surge of mana stirred me, but the hunter just waved the flashlight around without spotting me.

It seems like the hunter still felt an unease. Even with a Stealth (D) Lv.4 skill, I wasn’t completely invisible. I thought about using Espionage, but it seemed like it might draw attention, so I stopped.

By the way, what’s going on here? No one in the story seemed to have noticed the sewer disaster.

At least, no one discovered the sewer before the disaster struck. Maybe they did find it, but died in the process… I wondered if hunters could die in the sewers.

The rats were weak, and the piranhas weren’t very threatening either. But that’s just based on my standards. If the rats attacked in groups? Unlike me, they could target weak spots, so I wasn’t sure.

I didn’t want to stir things up, so I quickly left the sewer.

It was a clearly suspicious place.

The deputy team leader jumped over a trench that was more than 10 meters wide and squinted as he surveyed the area.

“Ah, damn.”

‘It’s so damn humid.’

It was the inevitable fate of wearing a gas mask. The deputy team leader pulled it off, regretted it, and put it back on in less than a second.

Breathing deeply to endure, the deputy team leader saw the fog forming inside the gas mask. After a quick look around, he spotted a desk, a chair, and what seemed like a door leading further inside.

‘Hah, well, they really put effort into this. If they had that kind of dedication to build something here, couldn’t they just live outside? No, that’s probably why they managed to stay hidden.’

‘They built it here, so of course it’s impossible to find. In such a deep underground place, it would be hard to detect mana. They’re not a rat.’

‘If there wasn’t any sign of a fight, even if I did feel something, I would have just passed it off as a cleaner or some staff.’

‘…But why is there no one?’

‘I definitely sensed something and came down, but aside from a few rats wandering around, the place was strangely clean. There were bloodstains, but no corpses. Maybe the person I sensed earlier already handled it?’

‘Could it be that the person I sensed earlier did all of this?’

While thinking that, the deputy team leader found a journal on the desk.

[November 15, 2066: No results after years of research. I need to find suitable materials to create―.]

“That’s been omitted.”

It was a sentence with the subject omitted, likely to prevent someone from reading their journal. But these kinds of writings can usually be understood by reading the context, unless they’re using a cipher.

After all, they probably never thought anyone would come here. That’s probably why the security was like this. The deputy team leader continued reading the journal with his damp eyes.

[December 17, 2066: I finally found it. The right material was―.]

[April 6, 2067: I succeeded in alchemy! However, it was a failure. The―survived only for 5 hours and died due to a rejection response.]

[June 25, 2067: I need more―. I was contemplating the method when, just in time, they came. They told me they would supply―to me.]

[June 27, 2067: They kept their promise. In just two days, they supplied me with enough―. Great. I can continue the experiment.]

[September 8, 2067: The second success of―alchemy. But it’s still not the result I wanted. I need something stronger and more persistent.]

There was a list of incomprehensible words.

[January 6, 2068: I finally succeeded. I locked―in a cage. They seemed satisfied with my results and promised to supply more―.]

[June 9, 2068: It went berserk. But it calmed down quickly. I thought there was no rejection response, but there was. It seems that I need more―.]

[November 6, 2068: After implanting more of―’s eyes, the rejection response decreased. I wonder why this happened. More experimentation is needed.]

Eyes? Rejection response? Were they trying to create life? Homunculus? Chimera? The deputy team leader, lacking knowledge in alchemy, couldn’t quite figure it out. Then, he discovered a mound of earth that was bulging out.

The stone floor was cracked, and it was only that spot that had earth piled up. It looked as though something had been buried there. The deputy team leader gritted his teeth as he dug up the soil.

“It was a chimera.”

‘The omitted subject was the chimera and a human. These insane bastards were using humans as materials to create a chimera. But what is truly unclear is the content of the journal.’

‘The alchemist said he locked the chimera in a cage. But the severely damaged cage was no longer capable of holding anything, and there was nothing left.’

‘The journal mentioned that it “went berserk.” Could the chimera have gone berserk and eaten the alchemist? The signs of a fight point to both the alchemist and the chimera. I am full of questions. Maybe there is a secret passage?’

The deputy team leader searched the room thoroughly but found nothing.

“Huh? It’s me…”

The deputy team leader called the team leader. He never imagined that a single wolf might have devoured both the alchemist and the chimera.

The power of Stealth was incredible. When it was weak, people often noticed me, but now, I could walk down a main street without being noticed. It wasn’t just Stealth anymore; it felt like I had become almost invisible. Still, I avoided main streets to prevent running into hunters.

This should be enough. When I released the dragon bugs I brought from the sewer, the ones that had been following cautiously gathered in a swarm. They were probably afraid I would eat them.

“Grrr!”

I nodded for them to take it, and the dragon bugs hesitated before creeping closer. I got a bit nervous and stepped back, and a few of them took off, carrying eggs.

Wasn’t it said that they were in metamorphosis when I checked with Espionage? Oh, they were larvae, weren’t they? Were they larvae of a fairy dragon?

The mention of dragons made me feel a bit regretful. Maybe I should have just ignored them and eaten them. No, it’s fine. There will be another opportunity next time. I’ll think of it as doing a good deed by letting them go.

“…….”

The dragon bugs flew off. Two of them even did a little dance like they were waving goodbye, and it was kind of cute and amusing.

I watched the dragon bugs leave for a moment and remembered the sewer events. I had tried not to leave any traces of Rat Man, but after sensing someone’s presence, I decided to leave the journal behind. Things like chemicals and poisons could be abused, so I disposed of them by dropping them into the trench.

The rest was probably handled by the hunter who entered later, so I figured they would take care of the aftermath—disposing of the bodies and repairing the sewer. Above all, the biggest achievement I gained from dealing with Rat Man was…

‘Baek So-yul.’

By taking down Rat Man, nothing will happen to her. In that case, the “Witch’s Disaster” that was destined to happen in the future will not occur.

[Destruction probability: 100% → 99.98%.]

0.02%. The system showed the changed probability. I gave a wry smile.

“Only 0.02%?”

No, should I say it’s a significant 0.02%? Even if it’s a disaster in a single city, it’s still 0.02%. I truly felt how precarious this world is. But the clear fact is that by preventing the disaster in the sewer, the probability of saving the world that was doomed with a 100% chance of destruction was increased by a mere 0.02%.

A tiny chance for this world to avoid destruction has appeared. Isn’t that enough?

Karma—An element not mentioned in the original work.

It seems that evolution through consumption, like with the amorphous slime, is not possible. Like how I evolved into a Worg by consuming one.

It was a bit disappointing. There were only two revealed paths, but they just showed the route. They didn’t specify any clear species or entities. So, I used Espionage.

A higher species of Worg. Since Worgs are wolves… that must mean I evolve into a wolf-like form. A higher species of Worg? I’m sure the monster wolf’s species name was High Worg…

It couldn’t be. A sudden feeling of unease made me close the Path of Marang message and check the Path of Humanity.

One path leads to a wolf, and the other to a werewolf. Was evolving into a Worg a mistake? Of course, if I had to choose, the Path of Humanity would be better, but…

Neither path appealed to me. In fact, if I wanted, I could transform into a human-like form now. It wouldn’t be hard if I just changed my appearance. If I changed my vocal cords too, I could pass as a human, as long as no one checked me with a skill.

I need to think more about it. Both paths can’t be evolved into right now anyway. I don’t know what the conditions are, but even when I tried to check them with Espionage, I couldn’t read them. It was as if the system was rejecting it.

While I was thinking about which evolution would be better, I reached Gwangan-ri. Time had passed, and the sun was setting. Lovers were shrieking, and groups of friends had gathered.

Gwangan-ri waterfront park.

Some people were drinking alcohol with sashimi as their side dish, while others were passing by with skewers in their hands. Monsters had appeared and the world was in chaos, but people’s lives didn’t seem to have changed much. Those laughing and chatting all looked genuinely happy.

“…….”

Will there ever be a day when I can sit with people again? A day when I can sit without worries, laughing and chatting freely?

“How foolish.”

Isn’t this why I’m doing all this?

Let’s just wait a little longer.

So they can enjoy a little more time.

I took an unnecessary nap until they disappeared.