NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
Chapter 6 – Survivors of a Ruined World (2)
—–CROW—–
“If you’re not going to help, please stay back.”
Seong-ho snapped at Choi Seung-jo, his voice slightly sharp. He was about to use his ability, and he wasn’t comfortable with an untrustworthy stranger nearby. Fortunately, Seung-jo backed away without protest.
Seong-ho, on the other hand, moved closer to the evolved zombie.
“Ugh.”
Nausea welled up with each step he took. It was only natural, considering he was looking at pieces of flesh and organs floating in the water. His legs kept trying to freeze up, so he bit the inside of his cheek.
Forcing himself forward, Seong-ho finally reached the evolved zombie, which was writhing on the ground. It couldn’t get up properly and was rolling around due to its unbalanced center of gravity. Seong-ho stepped on it firmly and glanced at his status window.
‘It’s a good thing I leveled up before coming here.’
Since he had a sufficient number of uses available, using his ability wasn’t a big burden. The problem was the unchanging Discrepancy Score.
‘I can’t just leave an undead evolved zombie because I’m worried about that, this is driving me crazy.’
Leaving a live time bomb as it was would be foolish. Clicking his tongue inwardly, Seong-ho stretched out his left hand towards the evolved zombie.
*Flash.*
The characteristic white light of his ability burst forth as he used it. More intensely and for a longer duration than usual.
“Ugh…”
It felt like he was desperately holding his breath underwater. Or perhaps like the power within him was being sucked out. The unfamiliar pressure made him want to pull his hand back and stop, but Seong-ho gritted his teeth and endured the stifling sensation.
How much time had passed?
“Ugh!”
His breath caught as if he had just escaped a narrow passage. As Seong-ho gasped for air, the light vanished. At the same time, all the strength drained from his body. It wasn’t as debilitating as ability exhaustion, but he definitely felt weak and drained.
In the end, Seong-ho had to kneel on the damp ground and catch his breath. After composing himself with a long sigh, Seong-ho glanced at the messages still lingering in the corner of his vision.
「10 Merit Points earned.」
「100 Discrepancy Points earned.」
「Minimum requirements met.」
「You can now access the Pioneer’s Cradle.」
Among them was an unfamiliar phrase.
‘What’s the Pioneer’s Cradle?’
A button with the same phrase appeared at the bottom of his vision after the message. Presumably, pressing it would allow him to access this Pioneer’s Cradle, but…
‘I’ll check that later.’
He was more concerned about the Discrepancy Score, which had increased by 100 points.
‘It seems it’s because I dealt with an evolved zombie, not an ordinary one.’
Whatever the reason, the three-digit number created considerable pressure. He had acted because he felt he had no choice, but he hadn’t expected the score to increase this much.
Seong-ho bit his lip anxiously.
‘This is driving me crazy. I still have no clue how to lower it…’
「Members of the world have witnessed the Fate Pioneer’s actions.」
「Members of the world are being influenced by the Fate Pioneer.」
「The Fate Pioneer’s influence has slightly increased.」
「Discrepancy Score decreased by 3P.」
「Discrepancy Score decreased by 1P.」
「Discrepancy Score decreased by 2P.」
「Discrepancy Score decreased by 3P.」
…….
Before he could finish his thought, a new stream of messages poured out. At the same time, his Discrepancy Score, which had seemed impossible to lower, began to decrease.
Seong-ho, biting his lip without realizing it, suppressed his agitation. Instead, he tried to understand the situation by absorbing the unfamiliar words.
‘The Discrepancy Score accumulates when I use my power on zombies.’
And it decreased when the beings of this world recognized him and were influenced by him. Remembering this, he recalled the ‘Influence’ section in his status window. It seemed to be closely related to the Discrepancy Score.
Seong-ho opened his status window to check for any changes. And his eyes widened.
[Character Status Window]
– Character Information –
Name: Han Seong-ho
Role: Fate Pioneer
Level: 2 (10/25)
Physical Ability: 4
Special Ability: 1/11
– Activity Information –
Merit Points: 15
Discrepancy Score: 85P
Influence: Only a very small number of the world’s members recognize you; you have no significant influence.
Title: None
The change in the Influence section was surprising, and the fact that his full Special Ability charges had been completely depleted was shocking. After a moment of bewilderment at the sudden changes…
‘It takes 10 Special Ability charges to take down one evolved zombie?’
No wonder the Merit Points and Discrepancy Score had increased tenfold. Amidst the various variables and circumstances, Seong-ho found a positive aspect.
‘At least I confirmed there’s a way to lower the Discrepancy Score.’
That alone was a significant achievement. Just as Seong-ho let out a sigh of relief mixed with satisfaction…
*Splash.*
The sound of someone stepping in water came from behind him. Seong-ho, shoving the virus marble into his pocket, picked up the wooden spear that had fallen near the evolved zombie and turned around. Choi Seung-jo, who had been approaching him, stopped in his tracks.
Assessing glances were exchanged between the two.
‘He looks to be in his early to mid-fifties.’
Was he the one who stepped forward first because he was the leader of this place? Or was it a display of confidence that he could protect himself in case of emergency?
‘It could be both.’
Just as he finished his assessment, Choi Seung-jo spoke first.
“Thank you for your help.”
They were words of gratitude, but laced with caution. He had to choose his words carefully to avoid provoking him further. It would be better to be an outsider who revealed something about himself rather than a complete enigma.
“Then I’d like to receive some help as well.”
Seong-ho rolled up the sleeve of his newly acquired padding and untied the cloth he had wrapped around his wound.
“Can I get some treatment? I was looking for a hospital because of this… If there’s no one to treat it, medicine would be fine. Something like a blood coagulant or antibiotics.”
Since he knew about evolved zombies, they wouldn’t be able to easily dismiss him. They were likely to try to engage in conversation, hoping to glean more information.
Indeed, the wariness in Choi Seung-jo’s eyes softened. Instead, he looked Seong-ho up and down, as if calculating something, and asked, “…Are you an Awakened?”
“As you can see.”
Seong-ho showed off the white light emanating from his palm, and a glint appeared in Choi Seung-jo’s eyes.
“What exactly is your ability?”
“I saw those blood lumps flying around earlier, was that you?”
Choi Seung-jo’s brow furrowed slightly when Seong-ho responded with a question instead of an answer.
“If I ask you how many other Awakened are in your camp besides you, and what their abilities are… do you intend to answer?”
It was a warning not to ask about his ability unless he was willing to reciprocate. Choi Seung-jo, instead of asking more, conceded gracefully.
“…I’ll repay you for your help.”
“Good. That’s all I needed anyway.”
With that, he turned around and gestured for Seong-ho to follow. Seong-ho breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
‘That was lucky.’
Those who were injured or killed in the recent incident might be angry, but for Seong-ho, the camp being attacked was a stroke of luck. Thanks to that, he was able to enter without revealing his ability. It was bittersweet that someone else’s misfortune could be his good fortune, but…
‘Let’s not dwell on it.’
He had to survive first. Seong-ho followed Choi Seung-jo, putting his hand in his pocket. He could clearly feel the round marble inside.
‘Is it… bigger?’
It felt larger than the marbles he had seen before. He slipped the marble out of his pocket and into his mouth, and his suspicion was confirmed.
Level: 2 (10/25)
His experience had increased by a whopping 10 points.
‘Is the amount of virus experience gained proportional to the amount of ability used?’
Perhaps the ratio of ability used and virus experience gained was the same.
Seong-ho continued to organize his thoughts while zigzagging to avoid the scattered zombie flesh. The smell of rotting corpses, blood, and filth was disgusting, but seeing the torn flesh, bones, and organs was even more unbearable. He usually didn’t react much to gore and violent movies, so he thought he had a strong stomach, but…
‘Videos are just videos.’
The real thing was far more horrifying than he could have imagined. He felt nauseous, but since there was nothing in his stomach to throw up, only bile rose in his throat.
Seong-ho entered the hospital, disgusted by the gruesome sight before him.
* * *
Choi Seung-jo led Seong-ho to the hospital’s emergency room. However, it was two hours before Seong-ho received treatment. This was because there were many injured among the camp members. Seong-ho waited patiently without complaint. Pressuring them would only backfire on him, the one who needed treatment.
Fortunately, the wait was rewarded.
“The blood vessel suturing is finished…”
Nurse Lim Chan, who said he had worked at another hospital before the virus outbreak, spoke in a gloomy voice. His eyes were already red and swollen before he met Seong-ho.
“Now you just need to take care of the wound until it heals… I’ll give you this so you can move your arm, but try to avoid using your left arm as much as possible…”
He didn’t neglect to give precautions amidst the chaos. Seong-ho, having taken in all the information, briefly expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. We should be thanking you.”
Lim Chan gathered the bloodstained bandages and gauze, along with some medical instruments like scissors and needles, and continued, “We might all be dead if it weren’t for you… Thank you so much for helping us.”
It was a very somber tone for an expression of gratitude. Seong-ho, as if ignoring the heavy atmosphere, spoke in a deliberately casual tone.
“We help each other out.”
Then, pretending to look around, he continued, “By the way, there are a lot of people here. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many people at once… I’m surprised. When was this place established?”
“I wasn’t here from the beginning either. I arrived this summer.”
Seong-ho tried to ascertain when the virus outbreak had started through the conversation. But there was no need.
“Thanks to this place, we had a safer summer than last year. Last year was a difficult time… with the virus spreading, people suspecting each other, killing each other, locking each other up…”
He got his answer before he could even ask another question. The virus outbreak had started last summer. It meant a year and a half had passed since the apocalypse began.
‘It’s not as late as I thought.’
Seong-ho, having finally figured out the time he had entered, breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Almost simultaneously, Lim Chan stood up and said, “Then please rest. I need to finish up here.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After the exchange, Lim Chan finished cleaning up. In the process, his stretched-out round-neck t-shirt slipped down slightly, and as he turned around, the nape of his neck came into Seong-ho’s view.
‘Butterflies…?’
One, two… five. Five butterfly tattoos of varying sizes were lined up from Lim Chan’s shoulder to his neck. He stared at the tattoos for a moment.
*The longing was palpable in the touch that traced the five butterfly tattoos lined up on his shoulder blade.*
A vivid sentence, as if he was seeing it with his own eyes, came to mind.
—–CROW—–