Chapter 58 (1/2)

Chapter 58 – Day 13, 10th Floor Big Picture (2)

–I smell something in front.

Even if I didn't study him very much, the use of the sacred creature was obvious. The sacred creature recognize anyone with desires as food. In a nutsh.e.l.l, he could detect enemies in the darkness.

”…”

“If you have a complaint then say it immediately.”

I said while looking back to see Jin Soo-young making a dour expression.  We were getting closer to the castle, but the feast of blood and flesh that she wanted didn't happen. After the first encounter, I used the sacred creature's sense of smell to approach the castle without meeting any Tellans.

Jaaeng. Jaaeng. Jaaeng.

I could hear the sound of banging coming from every direction. The people who escaped probably weren't looking for me with reinforcements, but rather dealing with other 'demons.' Perhaps we weren't the only explorers on this floor.

As I reached the mountain, I looked up. The slope wasn't gentle. There might be a separate uphill path to the entrance, but the one in front of me was a cliff that was almost at a right angle. I could see light from the wall above me.

“Surely you aren't going to climb up?” Jin Soo-young asked with an expression of disgust.

“I seem to be repeating this three times, but I don't intend to force you. If you want to kill something then go on alone.”

“Oh, I don't feel like it.”

I started to climb.  I concentrated my power on my fingers and toes and moved using the cliff protrusions. The height was approximately five floors and I checked my stamina.  It was the first time I tried rock climbing and it was the height of a high rise apartment. Once I was at a height of one floor up, Jin Soo-young looked up at me and called out.

“Is there really a need to kill the boss?”

I climbed the cliff without answering. The surface of the cliff was gradually changing to bricks.

“You are trying to fight a religion. Even if the command system collapses, there is a possibility that it will actually have an adverse effect on the lower ranks.”

I continued steadily without answering. Iek. A sound was heard. It was the sound of stones crumbling as Jin Soo-young started climbing.

”…Don't ignore people who you slept with.”

“It is fairly creative that you found a reason not to be ignored.”

“Is there any other reason?”

“I don't know what type of experience you had, but there are many reasons to ignore people that I've slept with. Their character. Or their character.”

”What…!?”

Before an answer came back, I jumped in a window that the light was coming from. It was a corridor without any people. There was nothing different from a movie based on old Europe. I just felt like this place was more damp and older than the movies.

There wasn't a clear route, so I let the sacred creature smell again.  Only this time, I had it find the target with the strongest smell within its range.

-A delicious smell! Two of them!

If this guy said 'delicious smell' then it only meant one thing. There had to be an explorer.

‘The same as me?'

–Yes. There are two.

They were on the move right now. They weren't close to me, but I got a sense of the direction they were heading. I slightly changed my order.

Chose the best smell among those that don't have a delicious aroma of a unique talent.

There was one above me. It exactly matched the direction that the two with unique talents were heading.

“In the end, people think the same.”

I muttered as I turned my head to one side of the corridor. A Tellan had walked around the corner and was looking at me with astonishment.  The suppression was instant.

”I am a demon.”

”…!”

Indescribable terror filled the man's eyes. His reaction to my joke was huge.

“Now I will remove my palm from your mouth. If you make a small noise then I will kill your family and drink all of your blood.”

”Crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d.” Jin Soo-young said from behind me.

I ignored her and asked a question. The presence of the 'stairs' here and what people ate. Specifically, the number of resources that could be harvested. He was afraid but due to that, the answer emerged quite smoothly. And at that moment…

”… Really useless. This place.” Although it wasn't exact, Jin Soo-young's words expressed everything.

The resources were moss that grew without light and groundwater. Specifically, this place didn't have any resources. According to the lord of the castle, approximately 2,000 people lived here. That was all.

There were no treasures in the castle or secret places. Except for the warehouse where simple armor and weapons were stored, the moss was what they ate as fuel. It was obviously inferior compared to the Kasava of the forest.

I was able to see clearly due to the light from the hallway. The equipment and hygiene were better here, but the development and resources of the forest were much better. It was enough to say that the people here were malnourished.

“A barren wasteland and 2,000 religious fanatics… Well, there is even a lord. I don't think there is anything to gain from here.” Jin Soo-young nodded as she talked. “There aren't even treasures or secret places. I will… What, you aren't killing them?”

”Yes.”

Jin Soo-young stared with outrage as I knocked out the man in the corridor. “Just throw him out the window. If you get caught later, then it will be annoying. Can't you just kill him?”

“No.”

”…Why?”

”I don't need to touch his life.”

”Ha!” Hrmm. Jin Soo-young laughed before leaning her head out the window.

”How funny.”

Below the window, lights were running around. There were the sounds of gongs like fierce battles were occurring elsewhere.

“I thought you were a broken sociopath, but you're human after all? Pretending to have principles but changing that behaviour every time…”

I stared at Jin Soo-young. Jin Soo-young jumped at my gaze.

”W-What? Am I lying?”

”I'm going. Don't follow if you don't want to.”

I walked down the corridor and stunned any Tellans that I met. As I lay them down in a corner, she repeated. ”It really doesn't make any sense.”