Chapter 10 (1/2)

Just as Seol took a step forward while pointing the sharp, broken edge of the chair leg at the monster…

Kkeeeick!

It flinched and cowered. The monster quickly retracted its head and pressed its crawling body flat to the ground. And when his airborne first step finally came down to the floor, it retreated in a flash, its reaction speed as quick as a boar that got stung by a scorching skewer.

The sneakily retreating monster looked like it was very confused right about now, as if it couldn't quite figure out why it was running away like this.

Growl….

When the monster accepted the fact that it was getting suppressed by Seol's aura, phlegm gurgled loudly in its throat. Its instincts were screaming out danger warnings.

This human in front of its eyes was incomparable to everyone else. If it attacked this man, then it would die.

The monster had already filled its belly to some extent. Also, there were lots of other prey running loose outside. There was no reason for the monster to brave this danger in here.

As soon as the monster made this decision, it rapidly escaped through the open door. Truly, it possessed quick wits and just as quick reflexes.

Ttuk.

The broken leg of the chair slipped out of Seol's hand and fell. Seol looked around the a.s.sembly hall's empty interior with a somewhat dazed face. He looked totally deflated right now.

Not a long time had pa.s.sed, yet he could spot well over ten corpses lying on the pool of blood. Eventually, the hole that monster crawled out from caught his attention.

'It's the hole from the diary.'

So, that was it, then. The hole from the diary was that one.

Seol took another glance at the hall's exit. There was some hesitation, but he still chose to cross the floor and cautiously peered over the edge, now dripping wet with blood. Then, he carefully stepped into it.

[The diary of an unknown student has been updated.]

Seol arrived at the bas.e.m.e.nt floor. He decided to walk forward, at least for the time being. He must've overused his powers a bit, since his mind and body felt quite fatigued.

The corridor bent 90 degrees up front, and he eventually arrived at the part where it was lined with doors set at a regular interval on either sides. It seemed that the school had used this underground floor as the s.p.a.ce for club meetings and activities. Seol pushed open the door with a colourful banner proclaiming ”Go, anywhere!”

The room beyond was small and intimate, only about three or four pyungs wide. Checking the posters hanging on the walls, it seemed that this room belonged to a travel club. (TL: 1 pyung = 3.3 square metres)

Seol lowered the golden bag from his shoulder and sat down against the wall.

As he sat there like a man in a trance, his once-hazy consciousness seemed to return to him, bit by bit. It was as if he was waking up from a long dream.

And, soon enough….

'What was I even thinking….?'

The previously-forgotten terror and disgust came cras.h.i.+ng, in that order. The smell of blood he had blocked out of his mind, with the help from the adrenaline rush, caused him to gag out reflexively. When he recalled the appearance of the so-called weakling monster, his entire body began s.h.i.+vering in fear.

However, all of this only lasted for a short moment. When he slowly gathered his breaths, the s.h.i.+vering and shaking came to a stop. Feeling his heart settle down, Seol couldn't help but form a wry smile.

Was the demonic destroyer Seol of the dream the real him?

Or was the man s.h.i.+vering in fear right now the real him, instead?

It all felt like he was experiencing the Zhuangzi's 'the b.u.t.terfly Dream' right now. (TL note at the end)

Seol gritted his teeth and focused his mind, trying to organise what had happened so far.

The first thing to figure out was the questions regarding his eyes.

The evolved ability called 'Nine Eyes'…. Now this managed to give Seol quite a bit of mental shock. After all, he had been living under the a.s.sumption that seeing the green colour was all his eyes were capable of.

'No, it wasn't that there were no other colours, I just couldn't see them.'

The newly-unlocked colours were yellow, vermillion, and crimson. Just as important, there were other colours yet to be unlocked.

Kahng Seok was shown in yellow colour, the so-called 'Attention Required'; yet there was no colour for Yi Surl-Ah. That meant he couldn't see her colour yet.

Thinking about that girl, his thoughts became rather complicated. Her pleading shouts of help still rang around in his head. If he didn't take his time making up his mind, could that good-hearted girl still be alive by now?

[Mister Kahng Seok, Mister Lee Hyung-Sik, and Mister Jeong Min-Woo have arrived at the second floor waiting area.]

'They got there already?'

The sudden announcement helped clear out Seol's mind somewhat.

[#Bas.e.m.e.nt first floor, the club room (excerpt from the diary of an unknown student, page 5)]

I've somehow managed to hide in the bas.e.m.e.nt, but tears keep pouring out of my eyes. I can't stop crying.

I can't forget the screams of my friends dying right in front of me.

What kind of a monster was that? And why…. Oh, G.o.d. Please, help me….

I cried for so long. Eventually, my stomach grumbled in hunger.

I knew this wasn't the right time nor the place, but still, I'm so hungry….

Seol read the diary of an unknown student carefully, before discovering that there was a file attached to it as well. Things were quite hectic not too long ago, so he must've missed it. When he clicked on the file and opened it, Seol's eyes became wide in surprise.

'A map?'

The attached file was actually the blueprint-like map of the entire school grounds. When he clicked on the 'main building', that portion of the map expanded in size and Seol could easily check out the building's interior layout.

His gaze fell on a spot by the second floor. This particular room was in a rectangular shape, and there were six blue blinking icons located on or near the edges and lines demarcating the walls. However, he saw one of them changed to red colour, before ceasing to blink altogether.

Knock. Knock.

Seol was trying to figure out what those blue blinking icons could mean when he heard the sounds of knocking on the door. Surprised, Seol turned around to look, and found the door briefly being bathed in green hue before the colour vanished completely.

”….He's not in here, either?”

”Who's there?” (Seol)

Seol's sharp voice stopped the noise on the outside from moving away.

”Whew, finally found you. Hey man, can I come inside? Oh, right. I'm not trying to threaten you or anything, so please, relax.”

”If you don't feel comfortable with me joining you, just say so. I will leave you alone in peace.”

”….Come in.” (Seol)

The door slowly creaked open.

”Thank you! I was actually worried just now that you'd tell me to scram or something.”

The man entering the club room while speaking in a jovial tone was one of the eight Invited - he who wore a green baseball cap over his slightly long hair; his softly tanned complexion was slightly covered by a pair of sungla.s.ses.

”Man, I had to work hard just to find you. I mean, the b.l.o.o.d.y footsteps were getting faint, and there were so many of these rooms here too…. Oh, right. You also want a smoke?”

The man put his bag down on the floor and raised a small fuss, before suddenly presenting Seol with a packet of cigarettes. Wordlessly, Seol fished out his own packet. He still had one cigarette left.

”You smoke a hybrid? I don't like them. Hate those weird flavours, man.”

He then proceeded to light Seol's cigarette. Soon enough, two men were staring at each other while blue smokes lazily drifted in between them.

The man slowly opened his mouth.

”Should we introduce each other? Name's Hyun Sahng-Min.”

”….It's Seol.”

”Seol? Kinda girly name, don't you think? Is it a single syllable name?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

”How did you find me?” (Seol)

Seol changed the topic. Hyun Sahng-Min didn't seem to mind. He simply flicked the fingers holding the cigarette.

”I saw you at the a.s.sembly hall, entering the hole in the floor.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

”You remained in the hall, too?” (Seol)

”No, no. I also ran for the exit, you see. But I came back…. Huh, you were in there the whole time?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

Seol nodded his head silently. Seeing this reply, Hyun Sahng-Min simply scratched his head. He then quickly continued on with his explanations.

At the critical juncture between life and death, the crowd was able to remove the pulpit and the piled up chairs to yank open the exit door. The escaping people then scattered to everywhere. Some headed off towards the front gate of the school, but the majority followed Kahng Seok and ran to the front entrance of the main school building.

However, they encountered a new problem: the entrance was locked.

”It wasn't like we didn't have any time on our hands, though. You see, that monster looked like it would chase us down right away, but for some reason, it didn't.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

Hyun Sahng-Min took a look at Seol for a short while, and then carried on.

”But, no matter what we did, kicking, pus.h.i.+ng, shoving…. Whatever the f*ck we did, the door didn't budge. And we were getting all d.a.m.n anxious and everything. And to make matters worse, the monster showed up, too. I'm telling you, it was no d.a.m.n joke back then.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

”So, what happened?” (Seol)

”Dunno. I was trying to pick up a rock or something in the nearby flower garden to crack the windows open, but when I saw the monster, I took off, man. I took a long way around and came back to the a.s.sembly hall.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

Hyun Sahng-Min lowered his sungla.s.ses and smirked slightly.

”Since it attacked there once already, I figured it wouldn't show up there again.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

”And you happened to see me, and then decided to follow me.” (Seol)

”Yep. Never in my wildest imaginations did I think you'd enter the hole. I was understandably hesitating on what to do. But, when I got down there, you were long gone. So, I've been looking for you until now.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

”Why?” (Seol)

”What the? You asking cuz you don't know?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

Hyun Sahng-Min prattled on. Of course, Seol too could more or less figure out the reason.

”It's simple, really. I want to join you. That's why I searched for you…. So? What do you think? You want to ride alone or with me in tow?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

”If you are willing to let others tag along, well, how about me? But, I'm telling you this right now, I'm not planning to leech off you or anything like that.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

When Seol remained silent, Hyun Sahng-Min became more anxious than before.

”Alright, let me say this out loud. Me, I can endure unfairness, but I can definitely not stand losing out, man.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

Seol stared back somewhat confused by this statement. Hyun Sahng-Min killed off his cigarette and sat up straight.

”Listen, man. What I'm proposing here isn't an equal partners.h.i.+p. No, it's more like a vertical relations.h.i.+p.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

”A vertical relations.h.i.+p?” (Seol)

”That's right, man. You let me tag along, then I'm gonna carry out your orders, man. And yeah, I'm willing to take on some amount of danger for you if you ask me to.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

Hyun Sahng-Min's proposal was simple and easy enough to understand.

'It's fine to use me.'

'I'm a pretty useful guy, so believe me and utilise me.'

Seol could just about understand why this man was willing to go this far, in this manner.

It was all because of Seol's golden Mark. There was also the possibility that Hyun Sahng-Min had figured something out back in the a.s.sembly hall, too.

However, Hyun Sahng-Min wasn't a selfless good Samaritan. Obviously, he would want something in return.

”What do you want in return?” (Seol)

”Well, lots of things, but…. For now, surviving and making my way to the Paradise. That should suffice.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

Seol studied Hyun Sahng-Min for a while.

”If you're a lone wolf, I will respect that. I also don't want to force the issue. I told you this before, didn't I? You don't want me, then I'll quietly go away.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)

He spoke up to here, and slowly offered his hand.

[Hyun Sahng-Min's Status] [1. General Information]

Summoned date: March 16th, 2017

Marking grade: Bronze

s.e.x/Age: Male/26

Height/Weight: 176.2 cm/65.8 kg

Current condition: Good

Job: LV. 0 (Invited)

Nationality: Republic of Korea (Area 1)

Affiliation: N/A

Alias: N/A

[2. Personality] Temperament:

- Self centered (Only seeks out benefits for himself)