Chapter 2

Seo-eun sighed again and marked the southern district on the map.

Even though she had decided to head for the northeastern district, which was less aggressive and controlled by a less powerful guild, the appearance of a mutant left her with no choice. The southern district was her only remaining option. Seo-eun erased the marks she had made with a stick.

She packed a water bottle containing tap water, some mushrooms, and a painkiller into her laptop backpack and slung it over her shoulder, placing a sleeping bag on top. After setting her destination, she moved quickly. The powerful guild in the northwest, where she was currently, was DK, but fortunately, she hadn't encountered any of its members.

I'm pretty good at hiding from ability users; maybe I'm really just a little mouse.

Still, 'Cha Seo-eun the elephant shrew' is a bit better than 'Cha Seo-eun the little mouse.'

<Cha Seo-eun the little mouse detects a mutant.>

This is real.

Of course, she only flared up inside; her expression remained unchanged.

<500 meters ahead at 8 o'clock, a mutant desert horned lizard is expected to appear. The desert horned lizard shoots toxic blood from its eyes. Even a graze from that blood will cause instant death for Cha Seo-eun the elephant shrew! But it's no problem. The elephant shrew is a master of escape and will abandon even its family when a predator appears.>

This time, it's from a lover to family... It's as if I'm being treated like an animal that has lost its sense of humanity.

The messenger may be annoying, but it's essentially an excellent mutant detection navigation system. Seo-eun took a deep breath and ran straight toward 2 o'clock, the opposite direction of 8 o'clock. She planned to avoid the lizard mutant and head for the southern district.

At the center of the Narakga, there is a crossroads where the four districts meet, which is the fastest route from the northwest to the southern district. However, Seo-eun didn't want to encounter the powerful guild that controlled the crossroads. She had no choice but to take a longer route.

Fortunately, there were no reports of other mutants appearing besides the desert horned lizard.

As soon as she saw a bicycle leaning against a utility pole, she tried to get on it, but there was no saddle. Seo-eun pretended to levitate and pedaled while keeping her buttocks in the air. She rode for several kilometers until she reached the southwestern district, where the bicycle chain broke.

With a click, as the pedal caught, Seo-eun pushed the handlebars away and leaped off. She turned her body to direct all the impact to her back, and the sleeping bag hit the ground first. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder, but it wasn't the time to relax.

<Cha Seo-eun the elephant shrew has entered the southwestern district. Detecting mutants in the southwestern district.>

Seo-eun ran quickly toward the southern district. However, several groups were running toward her from the direction she was heading.

"Hey! Turn back! Turn back! Kid!"

A man running through the darkness frantically waved his hands at Seo-eun.

<Male African zacana mutant detected nearby! What rotten luck.>

What's an African zacana...?

The people running away looked like combat-type awakened individuals. The fact that so many were fleeing indicated that the African zacana was a formidable mutant. Without hesitation, Seo-eun turned around and began to flee even faster than they did.

<Cha Seo-eun the elephant shrew will die if she even grazes the leg of an African zacana! The African zacana is estimated to have 12 legs.>

It's not surprising anymore that everything leads to death. But 12 legs... The moment the message about the 12 legs ended, the sound of a huge bird running approached. Goosebumps ran down her back. She hated spiders and centipedes, and the thought of a bird with 12 legs was unimaginable.

<100 meters ahead, a remarkable aura has been detected. It's a very impressive aura.>

Is there another mutant?

<The distance to the remarkable aura is decreasing. 80 meters, 30 meters.>

The speed at which the distance was closing was alarming.

<If you don't lie down immediately, you'll be crushed!>

There was no need to ask what would be crushed. Seo-eun quickly crouched down and covered her head. Almost simultaneously, a blinding flash of light passed over her head. A deafening screech, like the collective screams of hundreds of beasts, erupted.

Seo-eun covered her ears to block out the terminal scream of the mutant. When she turned around to see what had happened, the bird's black beak was open, pointing at the ground. The body parts it had been holding fell to the ground, and the torso it had been carrying in its many feet also dropped.

Seo-eun saw a red gash on the bird's long neck. It seemed to be a formidable opponent, as it was using its magnetic ability to keep its severed head attached. Another white flash quickly passed by Seo-eun, who was covering her ears.

A gash appeared on the neck of the mutant, which was larger than a 5-ton truck, cleanly separating its head from its body. It was so clean that it seemed like it might land as softly as a feather, but a thunderous crash echoed.

Seo-eun, who had been crouching, quickly got up. Just as she was about to run toward her destination again,

Caw, caw, caw, the bodies of the fallen bird released baby birds. They didn't seem to be multiplying like planaria, and they didn't look like they had hatched from eggs as the bird died. They were already fully grown. The baby birds, with their feathers bristling, were extremely agitated.

<Five baby African zacana mutants detected. Male African zacana carry their babies under their wings. It's tedious to repeat, but Cha Seo-eun the elephant shrew will die if she even grazes a baby! But it's no problem.>

"Are you going to abandon your friends and run this time?"

<...>

Seo-eun's preemptive move cut off the message.

Reflecting on it, the mutant that had just died wasn't one with 12 legs but a male carrying five babies under its wings.

The babies should at least be making chirping sounds, but these five looked like hungry pterodactyls. Still, with the male dead, the fleeing individuals began to fight the baby birds.

Among them, the largest one seemed to be a member of the 'Tugon' guild, which controlled the southwestern district. As a fire ability user burned the male's corpse, the babies became even more frenzied. Seo-eun, who had no intention of joining the fight, turned around to find another escape route.

At that moment, she saw a man approaching silently. She had to look back at the people fighting the baby birds.

If a graze from a baby means death...

Then not touching them is fine, right?

Seo-eun started running without even a running start, scolding herself for the complacent thought that the smell of the burning bird was like grilled chicken.

<Malice is approaching. Move left immediately!>

Snap! Seo-eun threw her body to the left, and the flash of light that had appeared twice before split a baby bird in half. Seo-eun, who had thrown herself against a wall, was slightly propelled forward by the sleeping bag. If she had been propelled even a little faster, part of her body would have been torn off by that energy.

Seo-eun's heart was pounding faster than when she was running.

Why would that guy be here?

While she couldn't escape in any direction, the distance between her and the guy was closing, and an excited voice erupted from even further behind.

"Vice Guild Leader!"

It was Kang San, who still maintained his two-block haircut. He was waving his hands frantically from a distance.

"Please! Don't go anywhere, let's talk!"

Seo-eun rolled her eyes. As Kang San got closer, the guy was right behind her.

The guy's eyes, which appeared to be a bluish-green at a glance, looked like highly compressed interstellar material up close. Every time Seo-eun looked into his nebula-like eyes, she felt like she was being sucked in. Maybe it was because of the mask that made his eyes stand out even more.

"Hey, it's really good to see you?"

Cha Haya smiled and pulled down his mask.

Hey, you still look really good.

If it were before, she might have replied like that, but now her mouth was tightly shut.