Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 91

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Player of the Ruined World – Episode 091
If I eliminate all the Mutants in the vicinity, L Tower won’t be able to catch me off guard either. It’s a win-win situation for me.
“Let’s go. To where the Survivors are.”
-District main gate. The building visible directly ahead. 8th floor.
After hearing Kim Hanna’s explanation, I took a step forward ahead of the others.
I could tell just by looking at the expressions of those following behind me.
That we were thinking differently.
The group thought they could give hope to the Survivors.
But I….
‘It’s already too late.’
Now that we’ve entered the twelfth episode, it’s far too late to harbor hope.
For the Survivors of the riverside apartments, hope would be Euitaejong.
So from now on, I’m going to shatter their hope.

* * *
As I passed through the common entrance and headed to the 8th floor, Kim Hanna’s Subordinates on the stairs began opening a path one by one.
Upon arriving at a certain entrance on the 8th floor, I found a Man in White Mourning Clothes waiting.
He spoke with a faint smile, as if he had been waiting for me to arrive.
“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“….”
The Survivors visible behind the man.
They were all kneeling in the living room, continuously offering prayers and bows.
Holding what looked like prayer beads in their hands, they were half-crying as they offered prayers to the Man in Mourning Clothes.
Ignoring the man before me and entering the living room, one of those offering prayers cried out in shock.
“Unclean!! How dare you set those filthy feet here without the Divine One’s permission!!”
Then those kneeling in prayer gasped and rose from their places, immediately beginning to push me.
“Get out!”
“Leave, you filthy bastard!”
“You impure wretch!”
It’s true I was momentarily taken aback by their attitudes and expressions.
People no different from fanatics.
But I’m not someone who gets pushed around.
Ignoring those trying to push me out, I forced my way in with strength.
I checked the living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and small room thoroughly.
The master bedroom and small room were both filled with people offering prayers.
Among them, not a single child was visible.
Over fifty Survivors are here, yet there’s not even a single teenager? That doesn’t make sense.
Without needing to ask the details, I could picture in my mind what had happened here.
Only cunning people remained here, offering prayers for Euitaejong.
Elder Chulmin poked his head slightly toward the living room, then clicked his tongue and spoke.
“This isn’t what I expected to see.”
Even Elder Chulmin, who had spoken about giving the Survivors a choice, seemed disappointed by the people gathered here.
Unable to drive me out through force, the Survivors began calling upon the Man in Mourning Clothes.
“Spirit, spirit! Please punish these evil spirits in this place!”
“Impure ones have entered this sacred ground!”
“Foolish creatures, do you not know where you have set foot?!”
The Man in Mourning Clothes then smiled contentedly and spoke to me.
“Won’t you come out?”
“Why should I?”
“Come out and have a word with me.”
He was on an entirely different level compared to the Stage One Euitaejong.
His expression was natural, and his tone carried no awkwardness.
I could almost believe he was human.
Kim Hanna said she detected no scent of a living person from this creature’s body.
Without Kim Hanna’s information, I might have hesitated too.
To be more certain, I crossed my arms and spoke.
“I have nothing to discuss with you.”
“The others were quite surprised. Besides, any rational human—any Korean—wouldn’t enter the living room with their shoes on.”
“So what? Whether these humans are surprised or not has nothing to do with me.”
….
“Isn’t it stranger that you’re not surprised?”
I snorted derisively, and the man maintained his thin smile without saying a word.
Was he wondering what to say?
I was curious how long that smiling face would last.
“You don’t wish to converse?”
“No.”
“Then what is your reason for coming here?”
“There’s someone I need to kill.”
….
“Don’t you smell something rotten? Are all of you just insensitive?”
The Man in Mourning Clothes scratched the bridge of his nose in contemplation, then spoke with his hands clasped respectfully.
“I understand you are a discourteous person, but I ask that you maintain at least basic courtesy.”
….
“Our enemies are the Zombies outside, not humans.”
His learning ability was considerable.
To hear such words spoken to his face without the slightest disturbance.
Or was it possible precisely because he wasn’t human?
I had wanted to probe him, but it seemed he wouldn’t be easily scratched.
Then I’d have to fight with facts.
“The Zombies don’t attack you. I’d appreciate it if you’d explain that first.”
“Isn’t that true for you as well?”
“….”
“I watched you climb up. The zombies parted the way for you. As if you were one of them.”
“….”
“Who exactly are you?”
The man’s question stirred the fanatics into excitement.
“Reveal yourself, you evil spirit!!”
“A zombie, this one’s a zombie too!”
“We knew when we all pushed together and couldn’t move you! This is a monster wearing a human mask!”
“Kill it!!”
Soon people came rushing with clubs, kitchen knives, and baseball bats.
People completely brainwashed by the man in mourning clothes.
Park Sangil, who had been observing the situation, opened his inventory and drew out a curved sword, then pressed it against the man in mourning clothes’ neck as he spoke.
“Everyone put your weapons down. Unless you want to see your holy one’s head fly off.”
“Holy one!!”
“The holy one is in danger!”
“Protect him! We must act!”
Just as the fanatics were about to rush forward with foam at their mouths.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
At the man in mourning clothes’ command, the people stopped in their tracks as if by magic.
They seemed ready to even pretend to die if the holy one ordered it.
“These people are not enemies.”
“…Yes?”
“They are messiahs like me. The chosen ones.”
At the man in mourning clothes’ words, the fanatics wore expressions of bewilderment.
Clang— Clatter— Thud!
The people then lowered the weapons in their hands and knelt before me.
“We apologize. We didn’t recognize you.”
“The messiah, the messiah has come!”
Just moments ago they had condemned me as an evil spirit, yet with a single word from the holy one, their attitude flipped like a coin.
Is there not a single person here with any sense?
“You said you came to meet me, didn’t you?”
The man called the holy one then asked with a pleased smile.
“I didn’t say I came to meet you.”
“Didn’t you say there was someone who needed to be killed?”
“….”
“Who else could it be but me?”
Then came murmurs from the people.
It was only natural for them to be confused—it was as if a messiah had come to kill another messiah.
The man in mourning clothes moved toward the entrance as he spoke.
“Come along. I have much I wish to share with you.”
“….”
Whether I followed or not, he opened the opposite entrance and stepped inside.
Park Sangil, Elder Chulmin, and Hong Yeonhui looked at my face instead of speaking.
Their expressions asked what I would decide.
“Let’s go in.”
No matter what tricks the man in mourning clothes employed, he couldn’t defeat us in our current state.
Since we still held our blades, I followed the man into the neighboring house without resistance.

* * *
As we sat on the sofa waiting, the man approached carrying teacups.
“Please, have some.”
“….”
When I offered no response, the man smiled thinly and continued.
“I know what you’re thinking. Why would a mutant behave this way, yes?”
The man who had revealed himself as a mutant.
“Please, drink while we talk.”
The man handed me the teacup with a satisfied smile.
When I didn’t drink the tea, he smiled thinly and continued.
“There’s no poison. If you don’t believe me, I’ll drink first.”
“Stop wasting time with nonsense. What’s your real purpose?”
“Are you curious?”
“I’m not in the mood for word games.”
As I grasped the curved sword I’d set beside me, the man burst into hearty laughter.
“Understood. I appreciate your directness.”
“….”
“Then… let me tell you. I too was once a mindless mutant. Initially, I possessed no reason, and all I did was observe humans.”
His words sent confusion through my mind.
He admitted being a mutant so readily… that it almost seemed like he wasn’t one at all.
The man observed my expression carefully, then sipped his green tea with a faint smile.
“Confusing, isn’t it? That a mutant can speak human language and think like a human. Moreover, I can even drink tea like this.”
“Not particularly surprising. I’ve seen plenty like you.”
“Plenty? Mutants indistinguishable from humans like myself?”
I had seen plenty.
In the game.
Meanwhile, the man released a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness. That there exists a mutant like me who cares for humanity.”
“…What?”
“I… have no intention of harming humans.”
At his words, the eyes of all my companions in the living room twitched.
“You say you have no intention of harming humans? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“There is no hidden meaning. I simply wish to save as many humans as possible.”
I couldn’t distinguish truth from falsehood by expression alone.
Even in No Way Home, I’d never encountered such a situation, so this was equally bewildering for me.
Could I become allies with a Mutant the way I had with the Zombie King?
Or was there some easter egg I wasn’t aware of?
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“Can’t you see with your own eyes? There are fifty-four Survivors living together in this place.”
“….”
“They may appear strange to your eyes, but they are precious family to me.”
“Family? Do you even know what family means?”
“Do you?”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
Family.
To be honest, I don’t know what familial love is.
When I offered no response, he continued with a faint smile.
“Family isn’t limited to parents, children, and siblings. Isn’t family those who care for and cherish one another, even without sharing blood?”
“….”
“It seems you already knew I was a Mutant before coming here. Yet these people came with you anyway—aren’t they your family?”
“….”
“Those who share your burden even when their lives may be at risk—what else would you call that if not family?”
I couldn’t muster a counterargument.
Park Sangil, who had been observing the situation, seemed to think I had silenced him, and raised his eyebrows as he asked.
“Humans and Mutants as family? Do you really think that makes sense? You’re different species to begin with.”
“What’s wrong with that? Don’t you call dogs and cats pets?”
“….”
“Pet means a companion, a partner. Isn’t that family?”
Even Park Sangil was rendered speechless by the Mutant’s eloquence.
Unable to bear it any longer, Elder Chulmin rubbed his forehead and asked.
“This time, I’ll ask the questions.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“The Zombies won’t rush at you. And those people over there probably revere you like a god.”
“Yes, that’s true. But that’s not a reason why we can’t be family.”
“Just by looking at their behavior, this isn’t family.”
“Hmm.”
The man stroked his chin thoughtfully instead of arguing, then interlaced his fingers and asked us.
“Very well then. Now I have a question for you. When you came up here, the Zombies parted to let you through.”
“….”
“But your bodies don’t carry the scent of a Mutant. Only the thick stench of blood clings to you.”
“….”
“What exactly are you? And why don’t the zombies attack you?”
Euitaejong’s defining trait was to observe situations, comprehend them, analyze them, and learn from them.
It was a typical characteristic of an Euitaejong.
His pure curiosity.
I couldn’t get caught up in that question.
As Elder Chulmin was about to answer, I subtly extended my right hand and spoke instead.
“We have a skill for that.”
“A skill?”
“We’re players. You’d know that, right?”
“Players… I’ve seen a few people who call themselves players.”
“….”
“They were either overly aggressive or excessively defensive.”
“….”
“Since such people couldn’t work with me, I eliminated them with my own hands. Are you people like that?”
Eyes devoid of any malice.
That expression full of curiosity was utterly chilling.
I couldn’t win this with words.
We were in a position to make judgments, while that creature was nothing but a curious child.
Even the finest blade cannot cut flowing water.
We’d only lose our way in endless questions.
So I asked directly.
“Where’s the Reinforcement Type.”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe you grew to Stage 4 without any Reinforcement Type?”
“When the twelfth main episode began, many mutants experienced sudden growth.”
“….”
“Of course… I was already Stage 3 during the second episode.”
What?
Hearing those words, I looked at Hong Yeonhui with startled eyes.
Hong Yeonhui, understanding the current situation, gripped her sword hilt and rose from her seat.
Shing—
Without hesitation, we both drew our curved swords and aimed them at its throat.
“Enough games, you monster.”
“…How rude.”
For a mutant to reach Stage 3… it couldn’t be done just by eating zombies.”
Hong Yeonhui beside me furrowed her brow and spoke.
“How many humans have you killed, you insane bastard.”
“….”
“Even at Stage 4, nothing speaks this well. You’ve already consumed over a thousand people, haven’t you?”
The setting of No Way Home.
The Euitaejong observes and learns from humans.
For such an Euitaejong to grow to a level indistinguishable from humans, it must consume the human groups once observation is complete.
The more humans it consumes, the more its linguistic abilities, cognitive functions, and facial expressions become increasingly similar to those of humans—such is the characteristic of the Euitaejong.
I thought it had suddenly grown when the twelfth episode began, but that was my miscalculation.
If the fanatics over there call this thing a divine spirit, it means they’ve known each other for quite some time. Why did I overlook this?
The Euitaejong standing before me now was a monster that embodied the very textbook definition of what an Euitaejong should be.
The man stared blankly at Hong Yeonhui and me in turn, then suddenly burst into raucous laughter.
“Puhahahaha!!”
With the laughter came lips curling higher and higher.
Those bloodstained corners of his mouth began to tear open until they nearly reached his earlobes.
Unlike the laughing mouth, his eyebrows and eyes had turned savage and fierce.
The dissonance was utterly grotesque.
Then a low voice, different from before, flowed from the man’s mouth.
“You eat dogs too, don’t you? Selfish bastards.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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