Chapter 38

Chapter 4 Eyelid (11)

***

Swoosh!

Deep night. In a half-ruined mansion in a city occupied by monsters, something enormous rises from a deep well located underground.

Thud! Crack!

The figure that emerged from the well began to stretch its body, which had been curled up during its sleep. It seemed that even this well, which had been comfortable before, was now a bit tight for its growing body.

“Ugh... Still, I can’t give up on that.”

Personally, I have a strong grudge against the mages who imprisoned and experimented on me, but I have to admit when it’s due.

Thank you for teaching me [Water Mana Affinity].

The professor looked down at the well he had just emerged from. That deep, blue water. He couldn’t resist it. Even though he had just come out, he wanted to go back in! It looked so refreshing! Just a quick dip—

Splat!

“Damn, I can’t get a grip.”

Yeah, let’s be honest. I’m completely addicted to water. It’s worse than drugs. At least with drugs, there’s a sense of danger that you might die from using them, but this is a pure temptation with no risk.

Especially for someone living a wretched life, suffering from the pain of their body tearing apart all day, that well is practically a fountain of life.

Slapping his cheeks to regain his composure, the professor began to carefully pack his belongings. It was past midnight, so he had only six days left. Considering the time it would take to move to the next city, he couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

Roar!

The powerful force he felt in his grip. It wasn’t as much as he had aimed for, but it was enough. Finally, a ray of hope was shining through the bleak game life of this character.

The professor started packing the items he needed in a bundle made from a curtain he had torn.

[Duke’s Curtain / Durability 115]

+ Dried fish (salt + spices) x 9

+ Bottles of blood x 5

+ Dirty cloths x 2

+ Dorvan Balanis’ Basic Water Magic x 1

+ Tarman Anesthetic Solution (1/2)

+ Small Mana Circuit (Very Unstable)

+ Low-grade Mana Stone Fragment

+ 354 sil

“To think the curtain has a durability level similar to my body. Durability is such an abstract value.”

Of course, as a curtain from a duke’s house, it would be made of high-quality, durable fabric. It would be tough enough to withstand most impacts. But even so, it would still be easily cut by something sharp.

‘Just like my glass body. It was extremely vulnerable to impact, but it could withstand pulling forces. There’s still something I don’t understand.’

This is what’s known as a weakness. Just like leather armor is resistant to blunt attacks but weak against cutting attacks, the glass body I have now, with its extreme regenerative ability, must have some weakness. It has to. Please.

He wrapped the bottles of Mute’s blood, which he had collected in case it was needed for regeneration, in a cloth and put them in the bundle. Then he picked up a book with some damp spots.

[Basic Water Magic]

This book was found in Roman’s room. The detailed annotations and explanations throughout suggested it was meant for me. I was already wondering what to do next once my Water Mana Affinity reached 100%, so finding this book was a welcome surprise.

Finally, the mana circuit he found among the many odds and ends in Roman’s room.

[Very Unstable]

This thing is going to explode.

The small groove in the middle suggests that a mana stone should be placed there to activate it. Without research funds, they could only make such a cheap item. With a low-grade mana stone, especially a small fragment, it might not have much explosive power, but as a throwable explosive, it could still be useful.

After carefully tying up the items, the professor put on the duke’s ceremonial clothes, which he had modified to fit his body as much as possible.

Squeak! Squeak!

‘Should I wear this, or not...’

The noble-style top with intricate embroidery was worn as a vest after tearing off the sleeves and splitting the middle. The puffed-up trousers were cut off below the knees, leaving them as extremely tight shorts.

Somehow, it reminded him of the tattered noble clothes he wore when he first started. Maybe this character just doesn’t have a good relationship with proper clothing.

[Do you really need to wear clothes? You’ll be fighting your kind on the way out, anyway.]

“There’s a minimum standard of decency, parasite.”

No matter that this is a game character, and that he’s streaming. He finally had a chance to show a proper fight, and he didn’t want to have something heavy and dangling flying around. Ugh, if that happened, I’d shut it down and go to the community to vent.

After covering up as much as he could, the professor looked around the space where he had spent the past few days. The bathtub he had been moved to, the well that managed his mental state, and the many primitive exercise equipment he had created as his body grew and required more physical activity.

It felt strange.

[Ah, that’s because of me. Looking at this, it feels like I’m leaving home.]

‘Huh? Your home is that place in the north where the Mutation Queen is, right?’

[I developed a sense of self while in this lab. I was born here.]

That’s right. I’ve learned some useless knowledge.

Finally, he securely tied the bundle to his back and silently opened the exit of the underground lab.

It was finally time to test the results of his efforts.

***

Opening the door and stepping outside, the only thing illuminating the quiet city was the bright, lonely moon.

“Grrrr—”

“Ugh—”

‘Level 8. Multiple humanoids. No special features. There don’t seem to be that many Mutes that have infiltrated... Most of the Mutes roaming the city are probably these kinds.’

The tattered shirt and dirty pants of the Mute. They were likely civilians who couldn’t escape when the city fell. The mutants filling the city are probably such innocent victims.

Tick, tick.

As he cautiously approached from behind, a small tapping sound echoed in his head. A dark, smoky figure appeared in the air.

[Shell, do you know this person, or rather, the person they used to be?]

‘Here he goes with his nonsense again.’

The black smoke mass flew forward and perched on the shoulder of the Mute he was targeting. Though it had no physical form and existed only in his mind, it was annoying to have it interrupt at such a critical moment. Truly, a frustrating creature.

[So, you didn’t know them. They’re not alive and won’t help you, so why are you angry? Just because they’re one of your kind? Hmm, I didn’t get angry when Shell ripped out the necks of his kind and drained their blood.]

‘Well...’

How do I explain this? After dealing with this thing for a few days, I learned that it’s best to answer politely when it pops up. Ignoring it just makes it nag until you respond, and it can drive you crazy with endless repetition. Why?

‘I don’t know.’

[You don’t know? You just vowed to kill the one responsible for turning people into this, and you don’t know why?]

‘I don’t know! They had a reason to die at my hands! And do you get angry when slapped? Do you need a reason? You just get angry because it’s annoying!’]

[Oh, so anger doesn’t need a special reason? I understand.]

“Grrr? Grrr!”

‘Damn! You made me waste time and get caught!’

He had to stop it. If this thing made a sound, it would mean a full-scale battle!

His thoughts were long, but his actions were swift. As the creature turned to face him, he pounced from behind, wrapping one arm around its neck to apply pressure and covering its mouth with the other. He then pulled hard in the opposite direction to induce suffocation—

Splat!

[...Suffocation?]

‘Um... When I do this outside, it usually suffocates...’

Moving quietly at night, he had unconsciously done what he usually did outside, but instead of strangling, he had completely pulled out the neck. It came off as easily as a grape.

- Ganjanggeiba: Isn’t it strange for someone with such stats to be an assassin?

- Jokass: It’s because the attack and defense balance is off. Normally, if you train to grow like this, your strength stat should be visible, but because of the bizarre method, it seems to have been absorbed into the mutant traits, so the strength stat isn’t showing.

- Mukaba: I’ve seen a mana user-level knight break down a city house with a shoulder strike in an escape mission.

- Heunganmandu: That was a house made of mud and wood. This guy destroyed the stone walls of an underground lab built to withstand the weight of buildings above, using only his physical strength.

- Speed Wagon: For now, we can only gauge his combat power by the level of his enemies. I speculate it’s around the level of a high-tier knight in hand-to-hand combat.

‘In the end, no one knows.’

The professor threw the Mute’s bleeding body into a corner and checked the situation outside the alley. Fortunately, he had dealt with it before it made much noise,