Chapter 120: The High's Price

[Translator – Aren]

Back when China’s old, outdated traditions and feudal abuses were still alive and well, masters and disciples were often regarded like parents and children.

What are parents and children?

Strip away all the countless decorative words human society imposed on the relationship, the essence becomes clear.

A hardcore veteran who’s got life all figured out and a newbie eagerly gobbling up whatever got handed down to them. That, one could say, is the essence of parents and children.

Therefore, it was only proper for a disciple to gather up whatever scraps their master left behind.

I walked among the corpses Go Ryeoha had left behind, hurriedly stuffing remains marked with magic symbols into the cargo pockets of my pants.

At this moment, neither the pitch-black sky just before daybreak nor the eyes staring from inside the gas masks of the sprawled corpses registered in my mind.

Collecting the bodies of people who had died instantly and gathering their remains was, how should I put it…like sitting in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood café and sipping an iced Americano.

I could almost hear the gentle, light plucking of guitar strings in my ears.

This was where my [Identification] eye patch truly shone.

I’d deliberately avoided thinking about it until now, but before this, getting remains meant stabbing my combat knife into the body and digging through the flesh until I’d practically turned the corpse into rags.

Eyes, tongues, ears, and hands weren’t so bad since they were easy enough to access right away. The heart was the problem.

Since remains weren’t easily destroyed, I first had to kick the person right in the chest, crush their ribs, drive my combat knife down in a reverse grip, tear open the flesh until I could see the heart, then stick my hand inside and pull it out.

And if I went rummaging around because I suspected they might be a Heart-branch wizard only to come up empty, there was no bigger waste of effort.

However, with the [Identification] eye patch, things were different.

Especially combined with Heart-branch, Stage 2 [Physical Enhancement], pulling a heart buried inside someone’s body had become much easier. More importantly, thanks to Go Ryeoha blowing people’s upper bodies apart again and again, there was a lot less work involved in this whole process.

After scraping away the chunks of flesh clinging to them with the edge of my combat knife, I picked out only the still-beating remains. My hands were drenched in blood, which should tell you just how disgusting and gruesome the job was.

At first, even I gagged and dry-heaved internally a few times.

But this was basically likebear bile. Eating it made you stronger, so it wasn’t even an inaccurate comparison. If anything, it was closer to an actual restorative tonic than something like bear bile, whose effects were questionable at best.

The packaging had simply changed from a bear to a human.

-Sqush, squish, squish.

I squeezed the heart a few times to drain it, then bounced it against the floor to shake more out. I’d set the combat knife aside for the moment. I was being careful not to cut it.

It did seem like slicing it open and squeezing everything out would work better…but if I accidentally destroyed the heart, I’d be damn furious.

That was when Go Ryeoha, who had been quietly watching, came splashing through the blood toward me.

"Hubae-nim, you’re still not done?”

"I’m draining some of the blood so they’ll be easier to carry. Cleaning off what’s stuck to them as well.”

"Hmm."

I was inwardly relieved when Go Ryeoha lost interest and started looking around.

From the way the bodies looked as I processed them, I could roughly infer how Go Ryeoha had been using her magic. Once she stopped paying attention and moved away, I rolled my tongue inside my mouth without a shred of hesitation.

Unlike the usual situations where things were so urgent I had to use it in short bursts, I really liked being able to calmly focus this time.

Of course, it still hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.

The sensation of my tongue being finely sliced apart and twisting, followed by the shock of feeling as though the root of my tongue were being torn out, made my whole body go numb.

"Ahuehehehe…”

"?"

"Uhugh..."

"...Hubae-nim, don’t tell me you peed yourself.”

I could feel Go Ryeoha giving an awkward laugh as she put some distance between us.

I attained some enlightenment just then.

So pissing myself could reduce the number of people around while I peeked at the mysteries of magic… That might come in handy later.

Thanks to that, I could examine the corpses and think in peace.

The 55 Unit soldiers and officers under the Gangnam Thousand-Miles Eyes were too busy fleeing from Go Ryeoha, and with no military interference either, this was the perfect time to dig up information. It was time to turn my suspicions into certainty.

Eyes-branch, Stage 1 [Cognitive Expansion].

Looking down at the corpse with my left eye, I pretended to collect the remains with both hands while organizing everything I’d realized so far.

I thought back to when I fought Yellow-Bandage and Velcro.

Back then, after doping and using Eyes-branch, Stage 1 [Cognitive Expansion], what I saw had changed. The threats that had once appeared as red footprints became bizarre red lights, and later, rays of sunlight breaking through gaps in the clouds.

But it had gotten stronger.

Not that Eyes-branch, Stage 1 seemed stronger. I was certain it had become stronger.

The timing of its warnings about incoming gunfire was strange.

Because whenever sunlight reflected off a mirror or a puddle and flashed, I somehow knew it was time to take cover.

Things non-wizards would dismiss as mere coincidence became signs warning of danger and opening a path to survival when seen by me, someone whose Stage was rising. Even where there was almost no fog.

Why? What was the causal link?

Why had the effect grown stronger after changing into signs, compared to when it showed me intuitive, weird versions like red footprints?

I crouched beside the cooling corpse and neatly folded its hands over its chest as I pondered.

The mystical knowledge I’d stubbornly forced myself to learn despite how damn boring it was flickered vaguely through my mind.

Signs. Sorcery. Divination. Symbols.

Countless words flickered through my head, but I couldn’t connect them clearly.

I didn’t know enough.

But based on experience and instinct, I could say one thing for certain.

The current Eyes-branch, Stage 1 [Cognitive Expansion], which told me when to dodge bullets through flashes or reflected sunlight outside the fog, was far more powerful than when it warned me of threats through red footprints inside the fog.

In that case…

If I deliberately created circumstances outside the fog where I could discover signs, wouldn’t I be able to see something more detailed for the same price?

That was why I was recovering corpses. It wasn’t that I felt absolutely no sympathy for the dead, but considering these bastards would've shot me the moment they saw me, the feeling that they’d had it coming was sliiiightly stronger. If I had to put a number on it, about 75%.

I focused with one eye, trying to read Go Ryeoha’s method of killing from the dead soldier’s corpse.

My right eye saw nothing beneath the eye patch and closed eyelid, but my intact left eye witnessed something strange around the damaged part of the corpse. The blood that had been flowing helplessly away split into thin streams and began drawing a picture.

The bloodstains soaking into the sleeve of the combat uniform formed a somewhat simplified depiction of what had happened.

Magic was showing it to me like an illustrated storybook so even a dumbass like me could understand. There was a reason why I loved magic so much.

However, interpreting it was up to me.

I took in the strange signs drawn across the corpse in its own blood and tried to interpret them all at once.

And what I came away with was a harsh wake-up call. The synergy between the Hands and Heart-branches went far beyond the rigid applications I’d been imaging.

"Hah. Holy fuck!”

They were incredibly efficient and brutal methods.

1. Subdue the target with a Heart-branch wizard’s punch. During the impact, the blood already coating the fist gets onto the victim, then Hand-branch, Stage 4 [Material Substitution] changes it into an explosive sensitive to physical stimuli. As the victim is knocked away, the friction triggers a small explosion as well, ensuring they die from the combined shock and blood loss.

2. Efficient use of blood through [Penetration]. Raise just one finger and drive it into the opponent’s body like a finger technique out of a wuxia novel. Hand-branch, Stage 2 [Enchant] apparently doesn’t work directly on the human body, but it does seem to work on protective gear worn over it.

First, the glove inscribed with [Penetration] pierces straight through the protective gear. Then the Heart-branch wizard’s raw strength punches through the soft flesh beneath it. In the process, the caster’s blood enters the victim’s body. As the caster pulls their hand back, they can kick the victim away or create distance, then transmute the blood into poison or explosives to guarantee the kill.

If the lethality still isn’t enough, the Fire-spewing Hands can be used to introduce flames to the equation and force the explosion.

The reason for this tactic was extreme efficiency.

A single strike could use up all the blood coating the glove, so she killed one victim per finger.

3. Naturally, tactics like these reproduce enormous amounts of blood.

And Go Ryoeha used even that spilled blood as part of her tactics.

Since the enemy couldn’t tell whether the blood belonged to the caster, Go Ryeoha, or to one of the victims, they had no choice but to be wary of it. In that situation, scattering the blood everywhere with Hand-branch, Stage 3 [Telekinesis] or a Heart-branch wizard’s strength could break apart enemy formations or send them into a panic.

The tactic was even more effective against enemies who knew how Go Ryeoha fought. And anyone who had learned firsthand that getting blood on them made death difficult to avoid would inevitably become more cautious.

4. Only once enough blood had been spilled did she begin ranged attacks, scattering it with Hand-branch, Stage 3 [Telekinesis] and Heart-branch, Stage 2 [Physical Enhancement].

I figured the reason she didn’t start by flinging blood around was that she couldn’t afford that much blood loss. Go Ryeoha’s tactics focused on crushing the enemy while minimizing her own bleeding.

The final image was a caricature of Go Ryeoha standing proudly on top of the corpse with one fist raised and a confident smile on her face.

That was when a thought occurred to me.

The pictures drawn in blood seemed to depend on the talents and experiences the corpse had possessed while alive. Maybe the stronger their experiences, memories, and final thought before death had been, the more detailed the signs became.

Now he was just a Heart-branch wizard from the 55 Unit who’d been killed and even had his heart stolen, but maybe this guy had once enjoyed drawing as a hobby.

Only then did I reach toward his neck to check for dog tags.

But the Heart-branch wizard from the 55 Unit wasn’t wearing any.

After examining all the images, I rubbed away the bloodstains with my hand so no one else could see them.

The magic’s effect ended at the same time.

Since the thought had occurred to me, I checked the other soldiers too, but it was the same.

Wizard or non-wizard, none of them were wearing dog tags anymore.

For no particular reason, I ran my blood-soaked hand over the chin strap of my gas mask.

Had all of them abandoned even their own identities in their thirst for revenge.

Then the thought branched off in another direction.

Maybe they were afraid of retaliation against the family and other people they’d left behind outside the blockade line.

Whether someone lived inside Seoul or outside of it, there were probably fewer people with absolutely no connection to the city’s 10 million residents.

Lastly, I collected Hundred-Miles Eyes’ remains as well.

I leapt down by stepping across signboards, gathered up a pair of eyeballs and a heart, and stuffed them into the now bulging cargo pocket of my pants. That was when Go Ryeoha came over.

-Thud!

"Hubae-nim, what were you thinking so hard about?”

"I was admiring Master’s flawless and efficient combat style.”

Unlike me, who had to dig through corpses with a combat knife to get the remains out, one explosive punch from Go Ryeoha neatly took care of everything except the remains.

Regardless of how brutal it was, it was efficiency taken to the extreme.

At least now I knew Go Ryeoha showed no mercy when dealing with wizards who harmed non-wizards.

Though Go Ryeoha herself looked embarrassed as she brushed the blood off her poncho.

"Huh? Haha, flattering me won’t get you anything~”

"More importantly, can explosives really go off without a detonator or anything?”

"Well, that’s becauseC3H5N3O9... Ah! You noticed it was Material Substitution? Most people don’t pay much attention because they think it’s pretty plain for Hand-branch, Stage 4. Hubae-nim, you really do have a sharp eye! Making medicine is way more impressive, though!”

"Hmm."

I had no idea what she’d been talking about at the start, but I definitely heard her praise my powers of observation.

Thanks to the gas mask hiding my face, I could let the corners of my mouth twitch as much as I wanted.

But my joyous farming didn’t last long.

Someone with an ominous air was approaching through the alley.

Lee Sejun.

While I’d been pondering magic and studying Go Ryeoha’s tactics, the bastard had been busy farming experience points from Amalgams all by himself. He came striding over, breathing heavily.

The machine-gun barrel caked in blood, the now-empty ammo box, and the limp backpack after he’d burned through all his ammunition made it obvious just how many monsters he’d killed.

Lee Sejun looked between Go Ryeoha and me, then spoke briefly in an exhausted voice.

"Jemin-ssi, Ryeoha-ssi. Neither the wizards nor the monsters are coming anymore. The fog’s clearing too. We can’t handle the backlash if we keep chasing them. We already took out one of their officers, and it looks like we got some information, so let’s pull back.”

"Ah, right. The backlash…”

Go Ryeoha, who had been worked up from the fighting until just moments ago, placed a hand over her gas mask as though touching her cheek.

I looked between the two of them and blinked.

"What backlash?”

"Jemin-ssi, now that I think about it, you haven’t had Heart-branch, Stage 2 for very long, have you? No wonder you were using it like crazy.”

-Huuuff—.

Lee Sejun spoke between heavy breaths through his gas mask filter.

"You’re about to be starving to death. Let’s get back quickly.”

It was right before daybreak.

I tilted my head, still unable to figure out what Lee Sejun was talking about…

"Uuuugh!”

I dropped to my knees.

Baek Jemin, the man, came back to his senses and realized his vision was fading.

There was no strength in my arms or legs.

I was trembling uncontrollably.

Salica welled up beneath my tongue, and a twisting pain seized my stomach as though my intestines were twisting.

It was a completely different kind of pain from being sliced or beaten.

Hunger.

Feeling that I no longer even had the strength to force words out, I desperately made my brain work.

Right. Reduce the penalty through doping!

"C-Cargo pocket.”

"Huh? Hubae-nim, did you bring some chocolate or something?”

"H-Hearts and…eyeballs…”

"Jemin-ssi. Are you resorting to cannibalism now?

F…uck…

Why the hell would I eat people?

Go Ryeoha probably knew that I was referring to doping, but instead of rummaging through my cargo pocket, she raised her index finger and wagged it at me like an older sister.

"You can’t waste valuable remains just to endure a little hunger. You should give them to your sponsor or save them to share with your other companions later. If you get addicted to doping, you’ll end up like those people in Seoul who went around hunting other wizards!”

She was treating me like some damn drug addict, so I gave up on the idea.

But the real ordeal was still coming.

"I’ll carry him back. Ryeoha-ssi, cover us…”

-Flinch.

I squeezed out every last bit of strength I had and raised my hand.

Holding my palm out toward Lee Sejun, I spoke firmly.

"Jemin-ssi?”

"Master’s carrying me.”

Through the lens of our gas mask, Lee Sejun’s eyes met mine.

Lee Sejun’s furious contempt for a lustful man clashed against my own conviction as Baek Jemin. A real woman was infinitely better than a man whose filthy secret dream was to become a cute TS girl.

Go Ryeoha looked between the two of us, then burst into bright laughter as she walked over.

"Hubae-niiim~. So you were secretly a little pervert, huh? Still, you worked hard today, so as your master, I’ll do you the favor of carrying you back.”

"Ryeoha-ssi. Jemin-ssi is deliberately faking this. He’s an incredibly creepy man.”

-Grooooowl—.

Consumed by hunger, I grimaced and collapsed flat onto the ground. Even then, my resentment remained perfectly clear.

The old saying thatit doesn’t matter who carries you on their back is bullshit.

I’d rather defect to the 66 Society than let Lee Sejun carry me!

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