The Civil Servant Who Concealed Their True Strength Turns Out to be a Master of Possession - Chapter 159

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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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A Civil Servant Who Hides His Strength Is Exceptionally Good at Possession – Episode 159
The egg patterns held meaning.
After realizing this, we went back and collected all the eggs we’d carelessly crushed, then reassembled them.
Fortunately, we hadn’t completely discarded the eggshells, so reassembly was possible.
‘We might even be able to sell this as a dungeon byproduct…’
It was a triumph born from Byeon Gu-do’s greed for profit.
‘Excellent work, Team 5!’
The egg, decorated with tiny holes as if pierced by a small needle and adorned with gem-like stones, naturally unfolded when I opened the top and bottom lids.
The lid sections on top and bottom were shaped like teeth, making it easy to flatten the egg’s round surface like a sheet.
‘It was designed to unfold from the start.’
I carefully opened the surface and connected the parts where the serrated edges fit together precisely.
What had appeared to be merely irregular decorations now formed a single pattern as the lines connected and angles aligned.
“A map…?”
As I spoke, Pee So-won nodded.
“That’s right. A map. It looks like the path we’ve taken so far and the route marked inside it.”
“This jewel appears to indicate the location of the next egg.”
Byeon Gu-do pointed to the yellow jewel at the edge of the map.
“So we should go down this path then?”
Pee So-won gestured toward the eerie corridor inside the iron gate.
“That does seem to be the case…”
That’s when Byeon Gu-do spoke.
Wait.
I quietly examined the serrated edge of the key I’d set aside separately.
I’d found it on the blue egg’s lid, but it didn’t seem to fit anywhere, so I’d put it aside—
After examining the tooth pattern closely, I placed the key diagonally where two other eggs overlapped and fitted it.
‘It matches.’
“What.”
And the pattern engraved on the key also extended in a straight line toward somewhere.
A square island-like area on the key’s handle, and the red jewel there.
“It looks like there’s an egg here too.”
The location indicated on the egg map wasn’t inside the iron gate.
It was a different corridor on the right.
Pee So-won, glancing between the two, spoke.
“Is there any possibility they connect later?”
“It doesn’t seem likely.”
I recalled the nature of mazes.
All maze corridors lead in a single direction unless you turn back.
That’s how you end up with only one entrance and one exit.
“Then it’s simple. They split.”
Pee So-won quickly reached her conclusion.
“Tearing apart?”
Byeon Gu-do furrowed his brow.
“Wouldn’t it be safer if we both explored with four people each? We barely managed to deal with the monsters earlier with four of us, and the number of monsters keeps increasing as we go deeper….”
Pee So-won cut off Byeon Gu-do’s words and pointed at me with a jerk of her chin.
“What do you think?”
“Huh?”
Well… what can I say?
“I think Investigator Byeon’s point makes sense.”
That way is safer, isn’t it?
“Hmm… really?”
Pee So-won spoke with a crooked tone, as if something bothered her.
What now?
That psychopath, what’s bothering her again—
The moment I thought that, Pee So-won extended her leg and struck at the side of my head.
Or rather, she tried to.
I raised my arm to block it.
“…What are you—!”
“Slow.”
“Huh?”
“You’re slow. Noticeably so.”
Damn it.
Her perception is insanely sharp too.
I bit my lip.
Pee So-won spoke toward the bewildered Ma Deok-ho and Byeon Gu-do.
“This sea mist trapped in the maze. I don’t think it’s just ordinary fog. It seems to be causing poisoning symptoms.”
Sweat trickled down my temples.
“We didn’t feel anything….”
“Of course you wouldn’t. The youngest is always the weakest.”
It was true.
While the others felt nothing at all, I could clearly sense my body becoming duller.
‘Since the other team members didn’t seem to notice at all, I was just enduring it….’
But I was beginning to feel my limits approaching.
My entire body stiffens and the sensitivity of all five senses deteriorates.
It’s not precise, but—
‘If even an Awakened One like me is affected to this degree, an ordinary person would probably have collapsed immediately.’
I wonder if this is leading toward some process that transforms people into those monsters.
“Then you should have said something, you bastard—”
Byeon Gu-do patted my shoulder repeatedly with a stern expression.
“Ow, ow, ow….”
I grimaced as I felt my already heavy shoulders sink further under the impact.
At that, Ma Deok-ho supported my shoulder and glared at Byeon Gu-do.
“Stop.”
Oh. What’s this?
Taking my side?
Not taking the barnacle’s side?
How unusual.
“…There are barnacles below.”
He supported me and carefully shifted me to the side so I wouldn’t step on them.
Yeah, that figures.
‘The guy who’s kind to every living thing except humans.’
“But I’m fine, really. I’ll let you know if I really can’t handle it….”
“You’ll tear.”
The moment I spoke, Ma Deok-ho stood beside Byeon Gu-do and said it.
“Yes sir. Let’s do that. Team Leader, look after the youngest. We’ll wrap this up quickly and come back up. We’ll gather those eggshells in no time.”
Byeon Gu-do spoke with his characteristic carefree smile.
No, making decisions this haphazardly….
“I’ll take care of my partner, so you just keep a good eye on yours.”
But before I could stop them, our two-pronged operation was already decided.
And Ma Deok-ho said one last thing.
“If you happen to get lost, just stay put. We’ll find our way back.”
It seemed he meant they’d follow the sound of the barnacles to find their way back.
Even as I thought I couldn’t trust these reckless people, I had no choice but to nod.
“Yes…let’s go.”
What else could I do?
A civil servant does what they’re told.

* * *
“This doesn’t seem to be it either.”
A moment later.
Pee So-won dispatched all the eyeball spirits in the corridor with even more remarkable focus than before.
Those eyeball spirits rolled toward us like snowballs made of eyes.
‘Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me want to puke.’
And finally, I discovered the yellow egg marked on the map, but that egg too shattered easily.
I opened the lid on both the top and bottom of the egg just as I had done before, then unfolded the map I’d shared with Byeon Gu-do and Ma Deok-ho.
When I aligned it with the egg, I could see a green jewel embedded deeper inside this time.
“It’s over there.”
Pee So-won pointed to the wall on the left.
As she began removing the barnacles on the wall, that iron gate-like structure gradually came into view.
“There seems to be a key.”
“Yes.”
I responded to Pee So-won’s words and aligned the key on the lid with the map again.
This time, no other jewels appeared.
As if they were all converging toward the center.
“…This seems to be the right path.”
I swallowed slightly and gazed at the thick fog beyond the iron gate.
The fog grew denser and denser, and my body grew weaker and weaker.
“Are you alright?”
Pee So-won asked.
“I can manage.”
“I’m not asking if you can manage. I’m asking if you’re alright. You always answer beside the point.”
Geez. Picking a fight again for no reason.
“Never hold it in.”
Pee So-won looked down at me with a serious expression.
“There was someone else like that before. Someone who endured well. That kind of person drains the people around them.”
At those words, I bit my lip.
The warmest psychopath I know.
But that warmth is like a campfire—I can’t tell if it’s burning hot or just warm.
That’s my partner.
My… partner.
Someone I must protect, and who must protect me. We’re one team.
I clenched my fists tightly.
My fingernails dug into my palm, and I felt pain.
That pain faintly awakened my body’s senses.
‘Get a grip.’
“If it gets too hard, I’m right behind you. For now, let’s go meet the others.”
“Roger.”
I rose from my seat.
And that was the moment it happened.
“…?”
I collapsed back into my chair.
What?
My legs already gave out?
“What is this.”
But when I looked back, Pee So-won was also bracing herself against the wall.
Boom!
And soon I felt vibrations rising from the ground again.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The vibrations were rhythmic.
Like the footsteps of a giant.
And those vibrations were coming from beyond the iron gate, not from behind us.
“Get down!”
I threw myself flat a half-beat after Pee So-won’s command.
I felt the iron gate whiz past just above my head.
At the same moment, Pee So-won’s gun fired.
Bang!
The instant I lifted my head, I saw Pee So-won suspended in mid-air.
I stared at the massive form that caught my eye.
No, what I thought was a limb—
It was an amalgamation of enormous hands, ears, feet, and eyes all crammed together.
“Damn it. Seriously….”
Pee So-won was gripped in the arm of the giant—that grotesque creature with all manner of body parts jutting out—and she aimed her rifle at it.
“Everything’s coming out now.”

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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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