Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

“AH! He only bought one bottle.”

“Looks like he wants to check whether it is truly clean water inside that bottle.”

“Why?”

“To put it simply, he was in a mental breakdown. How would you feel if you had a lot of money, chose to invest it in some business, and as it turns out, the business was a flop?”

“Uh… I might be devastated, but I don’t think I would feel that much despair. I can just collect them again.”

“Well, that might be the case if all of that money is yours. But what if most of them come from loan sharks?”

Mi-kyung, who understood my meaning, suddenly started to hiccup.

“Oh… He’s so dead…”

“Now Zhao Ziwei only has two options left. Either explain it to people and take their anger head on, or run away.”

“Uh, this is my opinion, but I don’t think the person who instigated and robbed the hard-gathered points from people will choose to lie down and die quietly…”

“That’s why we are here.” Currently, me and Mi-kyung were on the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. The exact location was right next to the Chinese settlement.

Zhao Ziwei, who had blown all the points he had, would have no choice but to come here to escape. I could capture him alive and try to negotiate, but it was far from my taste. I prefer killing him here with my own hands to ease my mind.

Anyway, it’s pretty dark here. The first floor of the Great Labyrinth was gradually being occupied by people. Shelter members dug up and sold lighting moss from the second and third floors, making many areas on the first floor quite bright. The reason it’s dark around here is because it’s near the Chinese settlements, and none of them had bought the moss from us.

What they had going for themselves was only quantity. They didn’t have any know-hows, and their level was really low compared to us. All they have was power in numbers, but then they’ll still get beaten up, then they’ll whine at the auction house.

Mi-kyung chattered beside me for a while. It was mainly a personal change that occurred in the shelter. I called the auction house while entertaining her lightly. Seeing that the water bottles were still there, the time to act was now.

Yoohyeon and Yeowool flew their paper airplanes around the area, so news would come in soon.

At that moment, the Ruat exploration party suddenly called me.

-Seongho! We found something great!

-You will be surprised when you see this.

After failing a couple times, the party was finally able to enter the Ruat Kingdom’s Royal Palace. They took turns wearing my body armor and rushed in, and found two great items inside.

Here’s a summary of the long-winded comments:

「Leather Cloak of Protection: Indestructible, Physical Resistance, Elemental Resistance」

「Transformation Bracelet: Abomination Polymorph」

Physical resistance and elemental resistance finally came out. That item was a perfect fit for Seokhyun. He used to wear a cloak before, but it was torn into nothing but rags so he had no choice but to take it off. Now he finally got its replacement. On top of it, with all the options. Seokhyun would become even harder to kill.

But there was something more surprising than the cloak.

-Seongho, do you know what kind of monster an Abomination is?

-I don’t know. What kind of monster is it?

It’s a monster that did not exist in Survival Life, and a bracelet that allows you to transform into one.

Maybe it was included in that last monster expansion patch?

-Geom-in here, I’ll send you a journal of someone who had been researching the monster.

After a while, the old research journal came to my hand. I couldn’t recognize the letters, but the overwhelming size of the monster caught my eye.

Mi-kyung, who was watching from the side, spoke out.

“This is a complete monster… Just how big is it?”

“It’s a bit smaller than an ogre.”

Overall, it was a miniature version of an ogre. According to Seokhyun’s comment, the bracelet would allow its wearer to transform into an Abomination.

-It’s totally dope. I used it and I turned into a real monster. I’m not joking.

So, like a hulk?

It would be all good if that’s the only thing that it does. However, there’s no way that side effects wouldn’t kick in after transforming into such a huge monster.

-What about the side effects?

-First of all, the transformation time is a bit short. Was it about 3 minutes? And after it was over, I was in a state of severe exhaustion. It was hard.

Huh, it seems that this item was the perfect fit for me. After all, I have the Toughness skill, which greatly mitigates debuffs, including exhaustion.

When I told them that, Da-jeong made a fuss.

-Toughness? That’s a murderer’s skill, one you cannot get no matter how many murderers you kill. How did you get it?

-I used a bug in the battle royale battlefield the other day, and it was still there.

-Then, Seokhyun should get the cloak, and Seongho should get the bracelet.

-Hey, What about me!!!!!!

-So do you want the bracelet?

-Don’t wanna. I don’t want my clothes to be torn!

Wait, you told me about such a critical problem now?

In fact, Da-jeong had dressed like a barbarian once in the past when our base was still on Ganghwa Island. I thought it was because she was a pervert, but it seemed like she had changed.

Geom-in gave an additional explanation at that moment.

-To be precise, even when the clothes were torn apart, they didn’t come loose. Probably because Abomination’s body isn’t big enough to rip them apart completely.

Surely it won’t disappear completely?

Anyway, I bought the bracelet they put up. It was a wide-brimmed bracelet, and it looks like something an Egyptian monarch might have worn.

When I gave it to Mi-kyung, she freaked out and ran away.

“I will never use it. My clothes will all be torn.”

Yeah, with that problem alone, the number of women willing to use the item would go down considerably. In fact, I didn’t really want to use it either. However, it’s my creed to do anything if it helps me increase my fighting power.

All in order to survive.

-It wouldn’t turn me into a lunatic, would it?

-I don’t feel anything like that. I just feel like I’ve gotten bigger and stronger?

-Seongho, don’t be fooled! That guy is originally half crazy, so he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference!

Well, since I also have the mental resistance ring, there shouldn’t be much of a problem… Wait, since my body grows larger, what would happen to all the items I’m wearing?

“Mi-kyung, can you close your eyes for a moment?”

She covered her eyes with her hands and I laughed as I undressed. I know that if she had the chance, she’s going to open her fingers and see.

When I took off all my clothes and unequipped all of my items, Mi-kyung’s fingers were really spread, it wasn’t even covering anything. Her mouth fell open as well.

When I put on the bracelet and used it, a message flashed in my vision.

「Abomination Polymorph」

「Time limit 4 minutes」

I became a monster.

Literally.

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.

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“…everyone get out.”

After sending his men away, Zhao Ziwei thought about the problem in hand. There were only two options left for him.

Do I tell the truth and get beaten to death, or run away and look for another opportunity?

‘I can’t tell them the truth.’ That’s the same as committing suicide. His compatriots would never forgive him for wasting their points.

‘I have to run away… Maybe the road for my future will open.”

But the problem was, there’s absolutely nowhere to go. The east was the territory of the Koreans, and even if he wanted to go there, he had to go through the south first, which was also a place occupied by the Koreans. North also wasn’t an option. After all, it had been concluded a long time ago that there’s nothing there.

‘If I can gather my subordinates and go to another country…’ If they were able to penetrate through the entrance to the Great Labyrinth, there’s a good chance they would survive.

Zhao Ziwei recalled information that Koreans were talking about. It was said that the Great Labyrinth was connected to various places in each country. For him, anywhere was fine as long as this predicament could be avoided.

Zhao Ziwei summoned his men, but two were nowhere to be seen. Of course, they were the two that held the most points.

“Where are they?”

“Th-they had run away.”

“They ran away to the entrance of the Great Labyrinth!”

Zhao Ziwei gritted his teeth and looked at the portal outside. Along with his bright future, 30,000 points had also disappeared. Now, if he gets caught by his angry compatriots, it won’t end with just hanging on a pole.

“We are also going to the Great Labyrinth.”

“I-is that okay? The guards…”

“They will definitely ask why.”

“We can just break through. Pour oil all over the place, set fire with flame cans, and shoot some arrows to add to the chaos!”

Two of his subordinates were terrified at their captain’s words. Not only had he lost the accumulated points of his compatriot, he was also about to create chaos and destroy a lot of things in order to run away.

The two thought for a moment about turning away from their captain and joined the mass. However, after exchanging glances, the subordinates realized that there was no other way. Even if they said that they have been deceived, no one would listen.

“We will be with you.”

When they said so, Zhao Ziwei nodded.

“Now that this has happened, the only way for us to survive is to enter the Great Labyrinth. Since we can speak the language, we can go and live in another country!”

Why didn’t they do that sooner? After all, It would have been better to go to a place like America than to cause friction with Koreans in this small land. In a way, the Chinese’s hatred for Koreans might have been the reason why they found themselves in the current predicament.

At that moment, they heard a muffled sound from just outside their office.

“Why did Liangfan and Zhou Daoming run away?”

“What happened in the office?”

People had noticed the strange atmosphere.

Zhao Ziwei hastily packed up.

“Quickly pack your things, come on!”

“Sir, can you just explain? Just tell them they ran away with the points…”

Zhao Ziwei laughed at the guy. “Will those guys listen to the explanation? We will be lucky if they don’t tear us to pieces instead.”

“But, it’s not exactly our fault. We aren’t the ones who did it.”

“Just try it. They won’t even try to hear you.”

Zhao Ziwei smirked, and his subordinate’s lips twitched.

“You know, I trusted you… I trusted you and kept buying the bottled water, but you ruined it! Everything is over!”

“So what? Do you want to fight me here and get captured by those people?”

“If we gave you to them, we might be spared… After all, we didn’t do it, did we? You are the one who’s responsible.”

“The one who will even sell his ancestor…”

The atmosphere deteriorated quickly. At first, his men only watched Zhao Ziwei and the other subordinates spat on each other. But it was clear whose side they were on. With a quick movement, they stabbed their comrade in anger. The subordinates who threatened to turn Zhaou Ziwei to the mass collapsed with curses and moans.

Zhao Ziwei took a deep breath and looked around at his men.

“Whoa… Thank you for choosing me.”

“Let’s go all the way, no matter what happens.”

“If we go to another country, we will be able to do anything.”

However, going to another country through the Great Labyrinth itself was a hard task itself. If they entered, the shackles of the battlefield would indeed get released. But those who had neglected their hunt wouldn’t be able to hunt properly inside.

But not all hope was lost. One of his men suddenly said something.

“These days, Koreans are occupying the first floor of the Great Labyrinth and have made it their hunting ground, so there shouldn’t be a lot of monsters there. All we have to do is dress like a Korean.”

“Then, we need to get some clothes first. Let’s hurry.”

In the meantime, the number of people who were approaching the office increased. If they delay any longer, they won’t be able to even dream of running away.

The men drilled a hole in the oil barrel they had barely saved and threw it out. People were startled when the oil suddenly poured.

“What is that?”

“It’s oil!”

As the flame cans flew in, the fire suddenly grew large. People were shocked and quickly scattered. At that time, Zhao Ziwei and his men shot arrows towards the mass, creating a great uproar in the Chinese settlement.

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“Cough… Cough…” Zhao Ziwei gasped for breath and hid in the Great Labyrinth.

Causing chaos and breaking through a lot of people to enter the Great Labyrinth wasn’t an easy feat. However, he still pulled through in the end. But then there was a problem: His compatriots were not as stupid as he thought. Knowing that there’s a chance that he might escape through the Great Labyrinth, they built a human wall at the entrance. Zhao Ziwei was only able to enter thanks to the sacrifice of his men.

“I’m sorry…” There was no sign of regret on his face as he muttered that. All he thought was to run away to another country.

At that time, several skeletons appeared with a rattling sound from their skeletons. Normally, they wouldn’t be a big deal, but as Zhao Ziwei was currently injured and his stamina was at an all-time low, the puny skeletons looked like grim reapers.

He bit his lip until it bled.

“Do you think I’m going to die here! After all I’ve gone through” Long knives don’t work well against skeletons. However, Zhao Ziwei was still able to deal with the three skeletons after a bloody battle. In return, he suffered major cuts to his shoulder and stomach.

“Damn it… Damn it!”

Blood dripped between his legs. He gave it first aid with healing ointment, but still couldn’t close it. Soon after, his vision began to shake, as the result of too much blood leaving his body. Resting well was the only answer, but he continued to hasten his steps. After all, his compatriots were tracking him down to catch and kill him.

“Just a little bit, a little bit more…”

On the first floor of the Great Labyrinth, there were several signs installed by Koreans. It’s a signpost that tells travelers who were lost where the entrance to which country was located.

Zhao Ziwei did not know Korean well, but he memorized a few words.

「America, Texas」

“Here you are…”

A smile finally appeared on his lips. But before he could laugh, a young woman appeared in front of him. To his surprise, she dressed up in a formal suit while holding a book. He was dumbfounded after looking at the well-groomed skirt and the high heels she wore.

“Who are you?”

“You don’t need to know. What you need to know is the fact that I can help you.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you being chased? You will need help.”

“Ha, ha ha… you’re talking nonsense. I just need to kill you.”

But he couldn’t actually kill her. His current kill count was one after killing someone to rise to the highest seat of power amongst the Chinese in Korea.

The young woman, Go Ho-kyung, narrowed her eyes and smiled.

“Don’t even dream about it, it’s futile.”

“I’ll know if it works or not…”

He lifted the long knife with difficulty.

“Looks like I have no choice but to inject it by force.”

The book Go Ho-kyung was holding fell over and hundreds of pages of paper came out.

“What, what?”

When Zhao Ziwei opened his eyes, hundreds of sheets of paper bound him.

“What kind of paper is this!”

He tried to break free, but the paper wouldn’t budge. Go Ho-Kyung smiled and took something out of her bag. It was a wriggling flesh.

“Open your mouth wide. Otherwise, I will poke you in the eye.”

A piece of paper curled into a sharp point and pressed against Zhao Ziwei’s wide eyes. In terror, he opened his mouth.

“Wh-what do you want?”

“It’s a simple experiment, so don’t be afraid. Isn’t it better for you, though? It will make you stronger.”

“What?”

Surprised, Go Ho-kyung threw the flesh into Zhao Ziwei’s open mouth. He vomited and tried to spit it out, but the flesh went down his throat.

“Euk…”

At that moment, hundreds of papers that bound Zhao Ziwei returned to the book. Go Ho-kyung then proceeded to watch as Zhao Ziwei trembled.

“Aaaagh!”

“Level up and stats rise. So far so good.”

“AAAAGHHHHHH!!!!”

Zhao Ziwei trembled before finally coming to his senses once again. The pain that tormented him was now gone.

Go Ho-kyung looked at him with twinkling eyes behind her glasses.

“It’s great. You have grown more than I thought.”

“What have you done to me?”

“Don’t get mad and just open your status window. You have now reached a realm that you’ve never even dared to imagine.”

Zhao Ziwei called his status window and was startled. His level had changed to 50! Both his stats and skills were no joke either.

He could feel the power overflowing from his whole body. He thought that he could tear all of the Koreans to pieces now.

“Huh…should I say thank you for making me like this?”

Go Ho-kyung pushed up his glasses and replied coldly.

“There is absolutely no need for that. After all, you are just an experiment to find out about the extent of his abilities.”

“By him, are you talking about the highest level joseon bastard?”

Instead of answering, she only put a sneer on her lips.

“Work hard.”

“This bitch…”

When Zhao Ziwei was about to pounce on her, Go Ho-kyung wrapped herself in thousands of pieces of paper and disappeared.

Zhao Ziwei looked around him and spat.

“With this power… I will kill them all.”

A bloody wind blew through the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. Zhao Ziwei roamed the Great Labyrinth and killed everything in sight. No one could withstand his blows. He wandered around in the dark, drunk with victory.

Until…

He met someone sitting on top of a rock.

“Zhao Ziwei, right?”

“Who are you?”

“Probably the person you were desperately looking for.”

The two laughed at the same time.