novelraw Chapter 67 : Catastrophe-Class Calamity (1)
Chapter 67 : Catastrophe-Class Calamity (1)
Chapter 67: Catastrophe-Class Calamity (1)
[Identifying new Trait.]
[Would you like to acquire the Trait ‘Blood Vessel’?]
[However, this Trait comes with a race restriction.]
Blood Vessel.
It was a Trait that could only be obtained after progressing to Episode (15).
‘It provides a vessel different from a mana circuit.’
Just like the mana circuits of mages, the dantian of martial artists, or a cyberpunk’s mechanical heart — it had the unique ability to collect and store power related to blood.
In other words—
It meant having two engines.
Even the Pure Blood absorbed in the laboratory could unleash several times more potential when channeled through the Blood Vessel.
Yohan chose Blood Vessel as his second Trait.
Wooong!
With a burning sensation, he felt as if a small shrine had been built within his body.
“Well then. Shall I refine the Pure Blood once more?”
Whoosh!
A hot energy circled through his veins.
“Kh—!”
He flinched momentarily from the pain, but soon welcomed it.
It was proof that the refinement was proceeding properly.
Focus.
From this point on, precision was key to achieving the highest purity.
Forgetting even the passage of time, Yohan immersed himself in his work.
One minute. Three minutes… ten minutes.
And finally—
Crackle!
A dense cluster of pure mana coiled within the Blood Vessel.
[Blood Vessel: 40]
Only those among the True Ancestors with particularly exceptional qualities possessed this Trait.
Who would’ve thought he’d obtain it himself?
His luck was starting to feel almost unnerving.
But that unease didn’t last long.
His heart began to thump with exhilaration at the thought of wielding even more dazzling and powerful Bloodline Powers.
At that very moment—
Ding!
A red status window appeared before his eyes.
[Mid-level Administrator ‘Inukami’ activates ‘Public Message’!]
[From this moment onward, a Calamity Event will be added!]
“Woof! Ruff! Can everyone hear me? This is my first time using a Public Message, so I’m a little nervous!”
A cute administrator in the form of a baby retriever appeared.
Damn it.
Of course things never went smoothly for long.
When fortune comes, misfortune follows — that’s the rule.
The very warning Priscilla had given was now becoming reality.
“The Calamity Event was originally scheduled to appear about a week after the start of the Episode, but some players have been caught using exploits in this sacred scenario. I can’t even imagine how lightly they must’ve viewed this holy mission.”
Inukami perked up his ears and his eyes gleamed.
Then—
With an innocent face and a pink tongue hanging out...
“So, to show just how hellish an Apocalypse truly is… and what happens when you play fair and square in an Episode, I’ll give you a taste.”
He pronounced a death sentence.
[A Sub-Episode has been created.]
Type: Catastrophe (天災)
Details: The field boss’s territorial limits are removed. However, players may now form an alliance with the boss through negotiation. Doing so grants the title “Traitor of Humanity.” (Those who stand against the boss will suffer a fivefold increase in hunger level, and half of their current food reserves will be contaminated.)
Join forces with the enemy and slaughter humankind.
Otherwise, be tormented by unbearable hunger and thirst.
This was the despair spoken of by a Catastrophe-class Calamity.
“Well then, let’s begin! Woof!”
Inukami’s figure disappeared.
At the same time—
[50% of food and water in the Daejeon area have been contaminated!]
[All monsters’ divine rank has increased by +1 stage.]
The calamity had begun.
＊＊＊
Growl.
Even after sleeping more than ten hours, the twisting hunger gnawing at his gut was far from normal.
“Fivefold hunger rate, huh…”
Even with the 30% hunger reduction he had achieved through food combinations at the mart, it was useless.
And now, with half the food and water supply contaminated— finding something safe to eat or drink was about to become a nightmare.
But. The most important thing was elsewhere.
Johan’s gaze turned to the first section of the status window.
A boss monster freed from its area restriction and the mobs that held hands with it.
Inevitably, that condition could only culminate in the worst catastrophe.
“Vivian.”
“Yes, Lord Johan.”
“Gather the rest of the members.”
They had to move quickly from now on.
Before the situation worsened further.
At the same time.
At O-World, an amusement park located on the outskirts of Daejeon, a fierce battle had just ended.
Rides grotesquely twisted by all kinds of contaminants.
Clowns giggling as they carried balloons of flame, and tigers with unnaturally large heads roamed about.
Huge monsters of unknown identity also prowled around the roller coaster and the Viking ride.
“Check this side first. There seem to be quite a few whose limbs are intact.”
“We will disarm them and gather them to one side.”
Priests with black hoods flipped up were weaving between corpses, searching for survivors.
“My, what a dreadful sight.”
Kain Belmaier.
A priest belonging to the Requiem Cult sipped his tea as he spoke.
A mountain of corpses that made one think of the word massacre.
Three allied assault teams and the troops and police from the provincial unit had all been wiped out.
Beside Kain stood a gaunt man with jet-black skin and a height of three meters.
“Selection… was a sin. Retribution… is the blade for the dull-witted.”
The boss monster of the second episode summoned to Daejeon.
Gluttony, the seat of Greed—one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
He stared at the burning amusement park with hollow eyes.
“Compared to that, you are… wise. To submit to me was… surely the correct choice.”
“Hoho. You flatter me. Now that a new calamity has begun, more will try to come under your banner.”
“Likely… for they will want to live.”
All life had a strong survival instinct embedded in its DNA.
It meant they would do anything to survive.
Like those bastards over there.
“P-please spare me.”
“We heard it too. What that dog administrator said! We will join you. We will follow you!”
People begged desperately for their lives.
Scarlet flames erupted from Gluttony’s two eyes.
“How pathetic… pitiful. To crave a chance that has already departed.”
Ironically, for a Greed that devoured endlessly, he was so emaciated he looked as if he would collapse at any moment.
Therefore.
He was always starving.
For fresh blood and flesh.
For endless desire and craving.
“Guaaah!”
The man at the very front’s body slowly burned away.
Red flames licked and devoured the frail flesh.
Ash was sucked into Gluttony’s nose and mouth.
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
Hunters who had lived through many ordeals trembled like aspen trees.
Those who had been isolated in Daejeon and the detachments the Korean Hunter Association had sent to resolve the situation.
They had been fairly elite assault teams, but before Gluttony they could not use any strength.
Fwoosh!
Patsut!
One by one.
They turned to ash and became feed for a sin.
Only after more than ten people had died did Gluttony’s feast stop.
“Fear… this much will do.”
So then.
“From now on… select among yourselves the strong who will survive. If you prove your worth… by slaying your kin….”
He would spare them.
For murder was the purest and most primal original sin.
[…It was done.]
Valentina closed the small vial’s cap.
“It’s finished, Lord Johan.”
“Good. Well done.”
Johan nodded as he took the vial from Valentina.
This was a double-edged sword he preferred not to use if possible, but with the situation spiraling toward the worst, there was no choice.
If they couldn’t create a variable, this episode would never be cleared.
The party headed straight for O-World.
Leading the way, Ragnar Lodbrok and Lagertha moved cautiously, scanning their surroundings.
Behind them followed Johan and Valentina, and Go Hanil and Lee Jaehwan.
For the record, Reina had disappeared early in the morning.
Perhaps fearing reprisals, she had at least paid the lodging fee properly.
“This side looks safe.”
Ragnar Lodbrok, wielding two axes, pointed toward the street lined with shops.
If they followed the Yudeungcheon visible beyond and traveled for about two hours, they could reach the stronghold where Gluttony was.
Of course, the road there was far more arduous than the route to the mart.
‘Food aside, water’s the problem.’
Even with a hunger penalty, one could last a day or two without food.
But water was different.
Needing to engage in fierce combat, they couldn’t last half a day without water.
For that reason, unlike on the first and second days, they encountered a considerable number of bandits and looters.
“Hand over everything you have and I’ll let you live.”
“Water… bread. Anything’s fine. Give it.”
A group of men and women.
Their eyes hollowed, as if hunger had progressed rapidly.
Judging by their direction, they were likely planning to enter under the boss.
At least that way they wouldn’t die.
“There are many civilians, too.”
Lagertha spotted women and children behind the armed people.
In extreme situations, people were forced into extreme actions.
…A pitiable thing.
However.
“Circumstances do not justify actions.”
If one understood everything and excused every act, there would be no such thing as a villain.
One could pity them, but nothing more.
Each person must take responsibility for their own deeds.
“Ragnar Lodbrok.”
“Yeah… can’t be helped.”
[Ragnar Lodbrok activated Lv1 ‘Warrior’s Roar’!]
With a roar, the Viking warrior plunged straight into the midst of the looters.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
His axes cut through the crowd in all directions.
“Waaah!”
“Aah!”
He had aimed to incapacitate rather than kill.
Still, they were injured, so things would not be easy for them going forward.
After that, they wasted quite a bit of time encountering various people and monsters.
[8-star ‘Corpse Leech’ defeated.]
[10-star ‘Corrupted Corpse’ defeated.]
[January’s 3-star ‘Wraith’ defeated.]
The last wraith in particular was no pushover.
It had summoned and controlled the spirit of a dead samurai, resulting in a bloody fight that lasted over ten minutes.
“Meat!”
“Brother. Isn’t water usually the priority here?”
“Meeeeeat!!!”
“Okay, okay. Here. Phew.”
Ragnar Lodbrok and Lagertha pulled out jerky and water and shoveled them into their mouths.
“We’ll rest for fifteen minutes, then move again.”
Johan suggested a break.
They still had about an hour to go to O-World, but if they pushed on now they’d only exhaust themselves.
“I’ll plant some scouts around the perimeter.”
Valentina volunteered for sentry duty.
“I’ll collect any byproducts. Since I can’t fight, I might as well do this.”
Go Hanil moved toward the monsters’ corpses.
As they gradually worked together and synced up, they had come to know each other fairly well.
Especially Ragnar Lodbrok and Lagertha.
‘At first I only intended to team up with them for this episode…’
He had changed his mind.
Their potential was far greater than expected.
‘By the way, were there such skilled people in the Warhammer Guild?’
He knew they were individually strong, but not to this extent.
There must be some unknown backstory.
They could find that out later.
For now, something more important awaited.
Thud.
Johan approached Lee Jaehwan, who was sitting under a utility pole.
Hidden class: ‘Heavenly Scribe.’
At last he had an opportunity to have a proper conversation with this guy.
“You holding up okay?”
Johan asked with a 100% friendly smile.
Of course, the other raised eyes brimming with 100% suspicion and tried to slip away.
Oh ho. Who’s going to pounce on you?
Where are you rushing off to?
He quickly grabbed the wrist and made him sit back down.
“I—I’m just Yoo Gimyung. I only did what that man told me to. I never intended to kidnap people or drain their blood, not even a little.”
“I don’t much care about that. There’s only one thing I’m interested in: your ability.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“The Revelation ability.”
The ability of regression could cause a butterfly effect, changing the future even with a small variable.
Homeostasis existed to some degree, but it wasn’t perfect.
However.
The Revelation used by the Heavenly Scribe was the great will of the world.
Whatever was written there would come to pass no matter what.
Interpretations could be ambiguous or dual-meaning, but the fundamental outcome would not change.
Therefore the Heavenly Scribe would become, for every faction thereafter, no less than a ‘sacred relic’ that all would prioritize securing.
“H-how did you…?”
Lee Jaehwan’s voice cracked all over the place.
Tsk tsk.
At the very least he should have denied it or tried to negotiate.
‘Well, if he were that cold-blooded he wouldn’t be under someone like Yoo Gimyung in the first place.’
Strangely, the hidden class ‘Heavenly Scribe’ was not often given to seasoned veterans.
Among those who lived through a thousand runs to the mid-episode, only about 200 out of 10,000 people worldwide had the scribe class on average.
Those who managed to keep their identity hidden until the end numbered only about ten.
In any case, it was extremely rare.
Johan looked at the tearful, trembling Lee Jaehwan.
A naive face barely over twenty.
His behavior suggested he had only experienced the world through a phone.
“You should be grateful. If it weren’t for this guy, you would have been used and died at the hands of very nasty people.”