Chapter: 46
Destroying a living being.
There weren’t many people who could do that without hesitation.
That would change somewhat later on, but the current generation of players was no different.
Some couldn’t even bring themselves to fight monsters, let alone other people.
That was why Eugene held in special regard those who could stop seeing living creatures as living creatures.
Of course, indiscriminate thrill killing like the Ten Evils was an exception.
He acknowledged their decisiveness, but their very existence was evil.
Those bastards were nothing more than pests who contributed absolutely nothing to clearing the Tower.
Park Jihoo, however, was different.
He had a perfectly valid reason.
There were certainly people who would still say violence was a crime, but at least Eugene didn’t think so.
To prevent future trouble, Jihoo had cut off his compassion at his fingertips.
Well, killing them outright would have been the surest option.
But expecting that much from someone who was still a minor was unreasonable.
Even this alone was enough to earn Park Jihoo Eugene’s approval.
So that’s why they called him the Battle Demon.
It meant he wasn’t simply some lunatic addicted to fighting.
Without realizing it, Eugene reached out and ruffled Jihoo’s hair.
“What? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
Only Lee Siya failed to understand the scene, blinking in confusion.
“You don’t need to know.”
Eugene deliberately chose not to explain.
If the Battle Demon was the fist that crushed enemies without hesitation, then the Sword Empress was a noble blade.
All Lee Siya had to do was stand proudly on her own, her sword held high.
The filthy blood and flesh could be left for Park Jihoo to wade through.
Either way, both of them would eventually play indispensable roles in the battle against the apocalypse.
That was, assuming they continued to grow like this.
“Hey… but what should I do? I don’t know anyone outside either.”
The conversation returned to Park Jihoo’s concern.
Someone who could look after his little sister…
Money honestly wasn’t the issue.
If Lee Giseok treated him well, money would never be a problem.
The real issue was finding someone trustworthy.
“What if she stays at my house?”
At that moment, Lee Siya suddenly spoke up.
“What?”
“My house. I’ll be going back into the Tower in six days anyway, so it’ll be empty. Jihoo’s little sister can stay there. And if it’s my mom and dad, they’ll be trustworthy too.”
She had probably said it without thinking much.
Naturally, she hadn’t discussed it with her parents at all.
Even so, Park Jihoo’s eyes lit up.
For some reason, if it was Lee Siya’s parents, he felt like he could trust them.
Eugene also thought it wasn’t a bad idea.
No, to be honest, he didn’t really care either way.
He just liked that it meant one less troublesome thing for him to deal with.
“Sounds good. Then do that.”
With those words, Eugene started walking away from the two of them.
“Where are you going? We were still talking.”
Lee Siya hurriedly stopped him.
“What? Is there something else to discuss? His problem’s already solved.”
“Still, shouldn’t the oldest one wrap things up?”
“…Oldest?”
Who?
Me?
Eugene blinked.
“What are you talking about? It’s not like there’s that much of an age difference.”
“Then how old are you, mister?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Whoa. You’re way younger than I thought.”
Lee Siya looked genuinely shocked.
“How old did you think I was? Do I really look that old?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Objectively speaking, Eugene looked young for his age.
He had such smooth skin and youthful features that people would’ve believed he was only twenty.
Even so, Lee Siya had assumed he was at least in his late twenties.
She’d even wondered if he might be in his thirties.
It wasn’t because of his appearance.
It was because of the atmosphere he gave off.
But twenty-three?
It felt as though he had lived through an entirely different timeline by himself.
“What the heck? I treated you like an adult for nothing. I got ripped off.”
“Oh, shut it.”
Eugene snorted and turned away again.
“Anyway, deal with your own business.”
“Ah, where are you going?”
“I’ve still got something to do.”
It was a lie.
At this point, there wasn’t anything Eugene actually needed to do outside.
He simply didn’t want to get tangled up in matters that had nothing to do with him and that he had no interest in.
“Then enjoy the rest of your vacation. See you in six days.”
With that, Eugene disappeared beyond the security perimeter they had finally reached.
People were still gathered there watching the commotion, but he ignored them completely as he walked straight through.
“…Should we get going too?”
“Yes, noona.”
After staring blankly at Eugene’s departing back, Lee Siya spoke, and Park Jihoo nodded.
Unlike Eugene, the two of them quietly slipped away from the crowd’s gaze.
“You shouldn’t meddle in other people’s family affairs.”
The most important, troublesome, and exhausting task had just come to an end.
Everything from here on depended on Lee Giseok, so there wasn’t much left for Eugene to do.
The details and timing had changed somewhat, but in the end, events would probably flow much like they had during the first run.
So why bother getting involved in something that already sounded like nothing but trouble?
“I’d rather spend that time washing my feet and getting some sleep.”
Rest was important to Eugene too.
This was only the fifth floor.
There were still ninety-five floors remaining.
Moving quickly was necessary.
But speed alone wasn’t enough.
Everything had to be perfect.
And for that, proper rest was essential.
“The problem is, I don’t have anywhere to rest.”
He’d been kicked out of the tiny boarding room he’d been staying in.
Meaning he didn’t even have a place to lie down tonight.
“Guess I’ll have to find a sauna or a motel.”
He still had around one million won left.
To some people, that was barely enough for a single night of drinking.
But it was more than enough to get through six days.
“Yeah, a motel sounds better.”
After thinking for a moment, Eugene nodded.
Rather than a public bathhouse filled with strangers, he’d rather spend a little more money and have a room all to himself.
“Now, where’s the nearest motel…”
Normally, he would’ve searched with his phone.
Unfortunately, it was dead.
“Can’t be helped.”
He’d have to find one the old-fashioned way.
There should be a few around Myeong-dong.
And if not, he’d just book a hotel instead.
Leaving his worries behind, Eugene started walking down the mountain.
That was when it happened.
“Hey! You there!”
Someone shouted loudly.
Eugene ignored it.
He didn’t think they were calling him.
Though even if he had known, he probably would’ve ignored them anyway.
“What, are your ears clogged? Hey! You in the tracksuit! I’m talking to you!”
Eugene still intended to ignore the voice.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t.
Four men with badly beaten faces stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“Hm?”
Eugene tilted his head as he looked at them.
The men frowned and took a step closer.
“This guy’s funny. You hear me now?”
Their posture was openly threatening.
The people nearby quietly began backing away.
Eugene’s eyes swept over them in an instant.
What’s this?
They acted like street punks.
They looked the part too.
But their bodies and movements told a completely different story.
Their stride is consistent, and their muscles are alternating between tension and relaxation just right.
If anything happened, they were in the perfect state to react in less than a second.
Their eyes also appeared lazy at first glance, but they were carefully watching Eugene’s hands and feet.
These guys are trained.
They weren’t players.
No one besides him should’ve reached the fifth floor already.
Besides, the way they moved was more like…
Ah.
He thought he understood.
Soldiers.
Not the worthless amateurs Eugene had demolished yesterday.
These were properly trained elites.
Not Korean, though.
If they belonged to South Korea, they wouldn’t have approached him like this.
They would’ve arranged a meeting inside the facility.
That would’ve been far quicker and more reliable.
Which meant they were most likely special forces or intelligence agents from another country.
Now which one could it be?
While Eugene was briefly lost in thoughtā
“Boss, don’t you think this guy’s a little slow?”
One of the four men let out a mocking laugh when Eugene simply stood there without answering.
“Hey, let me ask you one thing. Answer properly, and I won’t even hit you. I’ll just let you go. Sound good?”
The bald man called “Boss” grinned.
“I was actually going to say the same thing.”
“…What?”
Eugene wasn’t the type to do what others told him.
Quite the opposite.
“I’ll be the one asking the questions, and you answer them. If you don’t feed me any bullshit and answer honestly, I’ll let you live too. Okay?”
“The hell’s wrong with this idiot?”
The one who had been provoking him the whole time finally lost his patience and raised his hand.
Whoosh!
The sound of his palm slicing through the air carried considerable force.
A normal person would’ve been knocked unconscious by a hit like that.
Eugene sighed inwardly.
Not that it mattered.
He could take a hundred, even a thousand strikes like that without feeling the slightest impact.
No matter how well-trained the man was, he was still just an ordinary human.
He was far too weak to even faze a level-30-plus player like Eugene.
The man’s attack was so slow it almost made him yawn.
Eugene simply raised a finger.
He didn’t even need mana.
Using only the tiniest fraction of his strength, he lightly poked the exact center of the man’s palm.
Thrust!
The result was horrifying.
“AAAAAAAGH!”
The man screamed.
Of course he did.
Eugene’s finger had pierced straight through his hand.
The pain was one thing.
But the impossible sight before his eyes was an even greater shock.
He had never once imagined something like this could happen.
Overwhelmed by terror, he instinctively screamed and staggered backward.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Eugene didn’t allow it.
He curled his finger into a hook while it was still inside the man’s hand and caught him there.
“Y-you…!”
The man’s eyes trembled with pain and fear.
He desperately wanted to pull free and run away.
But he couldn’t.
The warm crimson blood pouring from the hole in his palm had frozen his entire body.
“Hmm.”
“What the hell…”
The other three men, including the bald one, stared in horror.
Judging by the way their hands instinctively moved toward their waists, they were carrying guns.
Guns.
On South Korean soil.
“I’m going to ask you some questions now, so listen carefully.”
Still wiggling the finger that had pierced through the man’s palm, Eugene looked at the now deathly pale group.
“Where are you from? I can more or less guess why you’re here, but I’m not sure where you came from. China? Japan? America? Russia?”
As he asked, he carefully observed their reactions.
Their breathing.
The tension in their muscles.
The size of their pupils.
Even the slightest tremor.
He took in every detail.
And then he knew.
“America.”
His voice was filled with absolute certainty.
The men’s faces instantly stiffened.
The street-thug act disappeared in an instant, replaced by an aura sharp enough to cut flesh.
“So I was right.”
Eugene smiled.
