Chapter 20: Chapter 19
TL/ED: Hamsterminator
It's something unimaginable now.
In the past, when the city government was fervently working on housing expansion, the 40s district was widely perceived as a prime location with guaranteed success, so all kinds of corporations and construction companies spared no investment.
Thus, a city planning map filled with grandiose names like Boutique Street and Entertainment Mega Tower was established.
Had things gone as planned, today's 40s district would have surely been a long-celebrated haven for a prosperous life and a tourist attraction.
If not for the sudden outbreak of war between corporations and families.
The battle between the two whales changed everything.
The land that once dreamed of paradise plunged into the abyss overnight.
Leaving behind countless monstrosities.
From the perspective of historians, the 33-story building used as a base by the Resistance could rightfully be considered a disturbing legacy of that era.
The building, which would have been a flashy five-star hotel in a timeline where war never broke out, had long since been transformed into a fortress after countless modifications.
With training rooms, barracks, operation rooms, armories, and so on packed in like pressed tofu.
Jin, who had never seen anything like this, exclaimed in awe.
"This is a real army..."
"Did you think we were some roleplaying neighborhood watch?"
Albus, who was walking ahead, chuckled.
Then he turned his head again and asked,
"By the way, do you really have to check it out now? You're a critical patient. You were at death's door just a few days ago."
"I'm curious."
Jin had gotten up from his sickbed the moment he heard about the reward.
At the sight of him dragging a wheeled IV pole with trembling steps, the woman who claimed to be his primary doctor was startled. She tried to stop him, saying he needed more rest, but who can block the path of a man?
In the end, he made Albus lead the way and followed after him.
Even with his legs shaking from muscle pain.
"I'm kind of scared that you might be disappointed."
"So what. It's free... I mean, a bonus. If I get something, I'm thankful."
To Albus’s half-worried, half-joking words, Jin replied like that and then suddenly looked behind him.
His attending doctor, who had been following a few steps behind, quickly hid behind a nearby pillar.
What the heck. What’s with her?
Jin, who had never done anything particularly appealing in a romantic sense, tilted his head in confusion, wondering if it was out of concern.
Then he looked ahead again and dragged the IV pole like a cart, clattering along.
When the elevator he boarded with Albus opened with a ding at the fourth basement level,
a massive garage, thick with the smell of gasoline, greeted Jin.
From small compact cars to large armored vehicles (specifically, armored personnel carriers), the place was filled with all kinds. Albus raised his voice.
"Ben!"
But there was no reply.
"Must be in the middle of work...."
Muttering to himself, Albus started walking with heavy steps.
After walking a bit, they began to hear faint music from somewhere.
As they got closer to the source of the sound, there was a vehicle with its hood open, and beneath it were two legs sticking out, which Albus casually tapped with his foot.
"Ah, Damn it. What?"
An irritated voice. Soon after, someone lying on a flat cart slid out from under the vehicle.
"Albus?"
With a face smudged with soot frowning, he got up.
He had a bushy beard, and as he took off the loudly playing headset that everyone nearby could hear, he spoke.
"What's going on? Can't you see I'm working?"
"This is part of work too... just lower the volume first."
At Albus's words, delivered while squinting his eyes shut,
the man called Ben made a crooked face and turned off the music.
"Nagging again... so what's the business?"
"This Solo here has braved his poor health to come and see your stuff."
When Albus pointed his thumb over his shoulder, Ben and Jin's eyes naturally met.
A brief silence.
Then came a drawn-out "Ahh" and a nod from the bearded man.
"So you're that guy. Heard the rumors."
"My exploits are already-"
"I heard your dick’s huge."
"What?"
Even in his flustered state, Jin grasped the thick hand that had suddenly come close.
"Nice to meet you. I've got the stuff ready, just follow me."
After a vigorous handshake that shook both up and down, Ben stomped off ahead.
"......"
"......"
A strange silence lingered between the remaining Albus and Jin, and the attending doctor standing at a distance.
Albus spoke with a voice that mixed in a cough.
"You were completely covered in blood. Your clothes were total rags, so we had no choice but to change them. The rumor... I know nothing about it."
Then he quickly left the scene.
Jin turned his head to glance at the doctor, scratched the back of his head, and started moving again.
"Here it is, right here."
In front of Ben, who clapped his hands, was something covered in a white cloth.
Just by its silhouette, Jin widened his eyes, already guessing what it was.
No way, is this really?
"Your friend told me. You're a walker, right? A Solo who gets around on foot in this day and age? Isn’t that a bit too old-fashioned?"
Grinning, Ben yanked off the cloth.
As Jin expected, a motorcycle appeared with a flourish.
Its matte khaki body gave off a heavy and futuristic design. Yet it also carried a rough feeling, as if it had been heavily modified rather than kept pristine.
"Wow. Ah. Sss, damn."
Jin couldn’t help but let out exclamations at the intense first impression, which Ben watched with a proud expression as he spoke.
"Cool, right? The base frame is from Nocturne Industries' Lion XR, but I replaced everything else. It’s a bit heavier than the original, but I boosted the engine performance enough that you won’t notice the difference."
Even with the brief explanation, Ben seemed to get more excited, starting to chatter away about the motorcycle’s specs and features without being asked.
Of course, Jin didn’t understand most of what he was saying.
Something about injector spray pressure, variable valve timing, and so on.
This guy’s exactly like that old man Brof.
Jin decided then and there to remember Ben as the younger Brof from now on.
Still, out of respect for the guy's enthusiasm, he kept nodding along.
Trying hard to match the gestures of agreement, he was caught off guard when the young Brof suddenly threw out a question mark.
"So, what are you gonna name it?"
"Huh?"
"The name. A proper ride deserves a cool name. We can't just call this reborn machine the Lion XR, right?"
Then he paused and looked at Jin.
His eyes were full of anticipation, and Jin furrowed his brow.
Damn. Why are you making me do this?
This kind of stuff is too much pressure.
Even so, he scrambled to come up with something in his head.
Just before the mood could turn awkward, Jin barely managed to move his lips.
"...What was the base frame called again?"
"Lion XR."
"Right, Lion XR. So it's a lion, right? And you added wings and gave it a spiky tail. Upgraded it and all."
"Mm. That's true."
Confirming Ben's nod, Jin continued.
"A monstrous lion with big wings and a spiked tail. So how about Manticore?"
As soon as he blurted out what came to mind, he watched the other’s reaction out of the corner of his eye.
"Oooooh! Perfect! Exactly it! Monster lion! Manticore!"
Ben started laughing loudly, showing all his teeth.
"You’ve got naming talent? Alright, Solo. As of today, you're the owner of the Manticore. Go ride that beast hard!"
Right after that, Ben flicked something with a ting! and Jin caught it in the air, opening his hand.
Seeing the keys, he let out a sigh.
"Getting a reward is really tough."
***
He got the keys.
It would have been nice if he could have left dramatically in a whirl of dust and wind.
But Jin was still lying on a hard hospital bed, wearing his patient gown.
In movies, you’d see the protagonist tear out their IV and throw on a jacket before storming out.
Unfortunately, Jin was in such bad shape he quietly decided to finish the entire IV drip.
Every drop of that stuff costs money.
It’d be a waste not to take it all.
After making that decision, who knows how much time had passed?
As he stared at the IV drip falling, Jin suddenly flinched as a face flashed through his mind.
A tall figure in a pitch-black leather long coat, wearing a beaked mask.
To him, it was the monster engraved in his memory as the Plague Doctor.
This time had really been dangerous.
If Fenrir hadn’t been there,
If the bomb hadn’t gone off on time,
If he hadn’t somehow broken through the Force Field.
If even one of those countless variables had gone differently, he would have definitely died.
The fact that his life had been saved by an uncontrollable series of coincidences could be considered lucky, but in another sense, it was an extremely unsettling result.
Above all, the Plague Doctor hadn't died.
It wasn’t some instinctual feeling, it was the lack of experience points.
The only experience Jin had gained was the Quest completion reward, which meant the bastard had survived the explosion and was still out there somewhere.
Realizing that made Jin’s palms instinctively clammy.
Feeling too uneasy to stay still, Jin quickly pushed himself upright.
Then, leaning back against the bed’s headboard, he let out a long exhale.
And cautiously tried to raise his mana.
Or, he tried to.
If it weren’t for the searing pain like tens of thousands of needles stabbing inside his body.
“......!!”
Jin trembled violently, unable to even scream.
Clenching his fingers and toes in agony, he tried to endure when someone pulled back the curtain and came in, injecting a shot into him.
A moment later, once he’d barely stabilized, Jin moved his lips toward the woman adjusting the IV drip rate.
“Th...thank...”
“You need to be careful. Your circuits are torn to shreds. If you try to raise mana recklessly, it could send you into shock.”
It was a statement that hit the core.
Despite the pain, Jin asked,
“...He said you’re a doctor. Are you a mage too?”
“If even lowly talent qualifies as such, sure.”
She answered like that, then hesitated a moment before, just like Albus had earlier, pulling up a chair to sit by his bedside.
“My name is Grace.”
“...I’m Jin.”
As Jin blinked at the sudden introduction,
Grace, fidgeting with her fingers, opened her mouth.
“Jin. Do you happen to know your body's condition?”
“My body?”
What? Is it a terminal diagnosis?
Hearing the attending doctor who’d been tailing him at a fixed distance all day, Jin automatically tensed.
Just like any other patient stricken with anxiety, he began to ramble half-excuses, half-denials.
“What’s wrong? Is it really that bad? I don’t think so. I’ve got some freakish recovery ability, you know. I may be hobbling around now, but in a few days-”
“That’s right. It doesn’t make sense.”
Grace cut him off, swallowing hard.
“Because you were definitely dead.”
Not terminal- dead?
Jin stared at her, not knowing how to take this.
“I’m alive though?”
“Yes. You are. That you were dead...sorry. That was an exaggeration. I was just so shocked. That someone whose entire organs had begun protein denaturation and coagulation opened their eyes again.”
“Told you. I’ve got ridiculous recovery.”
“No, that alone doesn’t explain it. Unless... it was reconstruction.”
At her next words, Jin closed his mouth.
Because the Plague Doctor had mentioned that exact same thing.
“Reconstruction?”
“It’s a higher concept than healing. More like an urban legend. In a state where self-recovery is impossible, a body pushed to the extreme destroys the damaged areas and rebuilds them anew. And not just restoring them, it’s said to make them even stronger than before.”
Having said her piece, Grace finally relaxed a bit.
It seemed she'd been agonizing all day over whether or not to say this.
Apparently, bringing up something like an urban legend to someone who just came back from the brink of death wasn’t easy.
Just as Jin was thinking that,
Grace, with her expression stiffening again, added the final part.
“If, by chance, I wasn’t mistaken and it really was reconstruction... Jin, as long as you survive, you might keep getting stronger. As if... you're evolving.”
Evolving.
At that moment, Jin recalled his Trait.
That one thing a playable character could start with.
Unlike other skills, you couldn’t choose multiple, nor could you change it later.
It was truly the element that defined your identity in gameplay.
Irregular
Jin had finally realized what the vague description of “breaking through the limits of the species” truly meant.
Nietzsche’s saying, that which does not kill you makes you stronger, he never thought it would hit home like this.
With a tangled mess of emotions, Jin rubbed his face dryly.
Then he recalled a game recommendation post he had seen long ago,
and the nameless writer who had created it.
He also remembered the face of his younger acquaintance, who had recommended the Vagabond build.
Had that guy foreseen all this?
Probably not.
To them, Project Neo was just bits of data on the other side of a monitor.
It was probably just veterans putting together foolproof combinations with hearts for newbies.
Ironically, it was just that someone who had read that post ended up being kidnapped into this crazy world.
Yeah, that’s all it is.
A story no one else in the world could relate to, something only he knew.
Jin let out a dry laugh for a while, then muttered quietly.
“Damn world.”
~~~
Hi! If you are enjoying this novel, please leave a rating and review on NovelUpdates via the link below. Thanks!