REAPER SCANS
Monopolizing Skills to the 666th Floor
[Translator – Darkraider 2.0]
[Proofreader – Nine ]
Chapter 30 - Nurse Park Se-hee
‘I guess trash will always be trash,’ I thought.
After beating the crap out of Jo Dopal, I pretended to give him another chance, but it was just a trick to make him reveal how he truly felt.
‘Thanks to Parasite, I can hear everything you’re mumbling.’
On top of that, I used Winged Ascent to observe him from above. I caught him expressing his complete and utter lack of remorse directly.
I landed on the ground and deactivated my wings.
“You pretended to repent in front of me, yet you swore at me as soon as I left,” I said.
“Ha… Haha… Th-that’s not it… I was talking to my friend. Would you look at that? He just hung up. Haha…” Dopal made a pathetic attempt at a lie, gesturing to his phone.
“You mentioned something about how I got your IED acting up again, right? Why don’t I check that out for you?”
In a flash, I shortened the distance between us.
Dopal instinctively raised his guard, but...
‘It’s no use.’
I had already circled around him, my leg coming up for a roundhouse kick.
Wham!
“Ugh!”
My kick landed on the back of his head, knocking him out in one hit. I dominated him with a monumental difference in speed and strength, but the stats that I had gained in the Labyrinth weren’t all that contributed to my power.
‘It’s also thanks to Dice Roll.’
I’m certain Dopal had used his skill, but unbeknownst to him, I had used it too. I ended up with a 6, the highest roll possible, pushing all my stats over 22.
‘An ordinary acolyte would need to reach the 70th floor at the least for stats like these.’
Of course Dopal was no match for me.
“Actually, I never intended to let you live,” I said.
“Ugh… What?”
“You really think that I’d let you live after seeing the fucked up shit you just tried to pull on a civilian?”
Shocked, Dopal’s eyes trembled. “Th-then, why did you bother—”
“I was just curious if you would actually repent or not. I left on the off chance that you’d turn over a new leaf, but just like I thought, you’re non-recyclable trash.” Mana extended from my hand and coiled around him. “Go to hell.”
“Guh! N-no… Ahhhhhh!”
Dopal screamed as he twisted in pain. I used the Nerve Toxin skill from the Poison Maestro.
‘You should feel like bugs are crawling all over your body. I know from personal experience.’
From the 50th floor onward, the Labyrinth began assigning battle missions. Battle missions involved fighting other acolytes, and pre-regression, I ended up fighting someone who had this exact skill.
‘The worst part of this skill is how it feels.’
If it hadn’t been for my high resistance at the time, I would have been in the same boat as Dopal, writhing in place until I looked like a twizzler.
“Augh… Uuugh…”
Dopal’s squirming and struggling didn’t last that long. Soon, he drew his final breath and fell limp.
I had just murdered a man in cold blood, but I felt nothing. This guy more than deserved to die, and this wasn’t the first time I had killed someone.
‘I planned on killing him the moment he kidnapped an innocent woman.’
I didn’t want to keep a criminal on my Parasite list. It wasn’t like I had the twisted hobby of spying on acolytes as they committed atrocities or anything.
‘I was hoping that he’d repent, but no dice. Not that I would’ve spared him even if he did, though.’
Dopal was quickly disqualified because I needed people with good personalities on my Parasite list. They needed to refrain from causing trouble and getting themselves killed. Otherwise, I would lose their skill.
Right on cue, I got a message.
[The skill ‘Dice Roll’ has disappeared.]
Although I lost the skill because Dopal died, it wasn’t much of a setback. I actually had another reason for killing him.
‘The energy that appears when someone dies. I’ll need to see if it appears again.’
Soon enough, a black, shimmering substance arose from Dopal’s corpse. Karma had manifested once more.
I brought my hand close to it like I was absorbing essence…
[You have absorbed Karma.]
[Core Progression: 7%...]
My Core progression rose another 1%.
Like I had suspected, it appeared when someone died, just like it did the first time after I had killed Lee Hwi-yong and his gang.
‘Dopal made for a good test. I’m starting to understand it more.’
However, I didn’t know if it applied to everyone who died yet. Would Karma also appear on normies?
‘I’ve only seen acolytes die so far. Next, I should check what happens when a normal person dies.’
That would give me some additional information.
However, how would I manage that and where?
‘I know just the right place.’
Flap!
I spread my angel wings and flew into the sky.
* * *
“This patient was in a car crash!”
EMS personnel rushed in, pushing a gurney into the emergency room. The patient they were delivering was covered in blood.
Doctors and nurses quickly transported the patient into a surgery room. Unfortunately…
“We tried our best, but… the patient has passed away.”
Before they could even begin to mourn the patient’s death, however, another patient was rushed in.
Emergency rooms saw more death per day than anywhere else. In South Korea, an average of 130 people died per day across all emergency rooms.
Doctors and nurses had the difficult job of witnessing these horrific incidents first hand, but no matter how difficult things got, none of them ever wished for the death of their patients.
The same went for Park Se-hee.
“Let me try,” she said, bringing her hand close to a patient’s body. “Light of Harmony.”
In an instant, the abrasion on the patient’s body healed. As if time had been rewound, the wound sealed without any scars.
The torment on the patient’s face abated.
“Phew… I think that did it,” Se-hee said.
“Th-thank you, doctor!”
She smiled. “I’m not a doctor. I’m just a nurse.”
This was the fifth time today that she had been thanked by a patient’s family. She couldn’t imagine a more rewarding job.
“Nurse Park, could you please take a look at this patient?”
“Ah… My skill’s on cooldown, but I’ll be right there!”
When the Labyrinth first broke out, Se-hee thought the world was coming to an end.
However, it didn’t.
[The 15th floor of the Labyrinth has been cleared for the first time!]
…
[The 27th floor of the Labyrinth has been cleared for the first time!]
…
[The 39th floor of the Labyrinth has been cleared for the first time!]
[Time Left Until Annihilation: 413 days, 19 hours, 40 minutes, 54 seconds]
Due to the efforts of an unknown person, the annihilation countdown had been extended, giving the world over a year of time.
Additionally, after a stroke of luck, Se-hee herself had become an acolyte, obtaining an incredible skill called the Light of Harmony.
▷ Light of Harmony (S)
— Effect: Heal the target’s wounds and temporarily increase their durability. Against targets perceived as enemies, it deals damage and decreases their attack damage. 3 minute cooldown.
Originally, she was just a normal nurse, but the skill elevated her above others, because even the greatest doctors couldn’t instantly heal wounds like she could.
‘Thanks to this skill, I’ve been able to save so many people.’
Se-hee considered this one of the positive side effects of the Labyrinth. There was indeed merit to becoming an acolyte.
The only problem was that she had too many patients. She couldn’t handle the flood of patients all on her own. Her skill had a 3-minute cooldown.
While that didn’t seem very long, every minute was practically an eternity when racing with death against the clock.
Of course, the doctors still worked the hardest they could, but they couldn’t perform the same dramatic miracles that the skill could.
“Nurse Park, could you please use your skill on this patient?” someone asked.
“No!” another cut in. “We’re in more dire need!”
“Get in line. We were waiting first!”
The people that had witnessed the miracles an acolyte could enact all started seeking out Se-hee. They fought each other, demanding that she use her skill on their family.
Of course, she wanted to help and save every single person.
‘I would love to use it on everyone, but…’
Because of her skill’s cooldown, she had no choice but to choose her patients through triage.
‘I want to heal more people… but I don’t know how.’
This was Park Se-hee’s greatest misfortune.
However, little did she know that someone was observing her efforts...
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Darkraider 2.0
Proofreader - Nine
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* * *
‘Park Se-hee.’
After seeing her face in the Abyss, I didn’t think I would seek her out of my own volition. Especially while stealthed.
‘Camouflage is keeping me from drawing any attention.’
Camouflage lowered the chance of people nearby perceiving me. It was strong enough that normal people could walk past me like this and fail to notice me whatsoever. It would be like I was never even here.
‘Even though I’m not invisible, no one’s even glancing my way.’
I would definitely show up on the security cameras, but that wasn’t a problem either. I had transformed my face, and on top of that, it would be censored with static on-screen.
As planned, I had witnessed the death of some normal people in the emergency room. However, no black energy had ever risen from their corpses.
I thought Karma would appear the moment I witnessed anyone’s death, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
‘Is Karma only made when an acolyte dies? I can’t be certain, but let’s assume that for now.’
Orcus had already told me that he didn’t know, but he seemed like he was hiding something.
‘Since I got what I was after, it’s time for me to get out of here.’
However, as I was about to leave, I couldn’t take my eyes off Se-hee.
‘This is the first time I’ve ever seen her working at the ER.’
Pre-regression, Se-hee was the 11th of the 12 acolytes. However, before she came under the Triad as a whole, she was just Harmonia’s acolyte.
‘Since she’s got the Light of Harmony, one of Harmonia’s skills, I’m certain that things are the same this time around.’
It took me a while to get close to Se-hee. Although she was the only other Korean among the 12 Acolytes, it wasn’t easy to approach her. At the time, I had no room in my heart for other people.
‘She had been the one to approach me first.’
I’m sure she did it because we were the same nationality, but we grew close as we talked.
‘I had no idea at the time that it would bite me in the ass.’
Becoming close to her proved problematic because her death traumatized me. It influenced me greatly, and afterward, I became a tank so I could protect others.
However, you couldn’t protect people alone.
Rather than saving one or two people in the moment, it was much better to become strong enough to stop the annihilation altogether. That was the only true way to save as many people as possible.
I didn’t realize that until later, though.
‘I never should’ve gotten close to her.’
I wasn’t going to give her my heart this time. I was going to abandon my previous life and forge a new one.
I would look out for myself and focus solely on destroying the Labyrinth.
‘Of course, that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t copy her skill… Even I need a healing skill, after all.’
I secretly planted a mana parasite in her head.
[The target only possesses one skill, so duplication will commence immediately.]
[You have successfully duplicated the skill ‘Light of Harmony.’]
Harmonia would have no idea that I had just copied a skill from her acolyte.
‘But is she just using her skill to treat people instead of entering the Labyrinth?’
Harmonia wouldn’t be pleased by that.
Whatever the case might have been, it was time for me to go. If I stayed too long, there was a chance I could be discovered.
* * *
After working in what felt like a battlefield, Se-hee began her trek home.
She regretted her choice.
‘I shouldn’t have picked this path…’
Someone was following her, and the fact that she was walking down an alleyway without any security cameras only served to heighten her anxiety.
‘Don’t be afraid. You’re an acolyte. An acolyte of the Goddess of Concord,’ she assured herself. She had yet to even step foot into the Labyrinth, but her stats still made her stronger than a normal human.
However, she only had the basic starting stats, so she could hardly be considered transcending human limits. The difference was laughable.
Still, she trusted her skill and gathered her courage.
‘I can take them on.’
When she came to a halt, the person following her also stopped. Se-hee turned to face her stalker.
“Why are you following me?” she asked.
“I have something to tell you.”
It was a male voice. His face was obscured by a hood, but his physique and voice most certainly belonged to a man.
“Do you know me?” she asked.
“I do. You’re Park Se-hee, an ER nurse at the Myeong-seong Medical Center.”
Se-hee’s eyes widened, but what really surprised her was what the man said next.
“Or should I say you’re Park Se-hee... acolyte of the Goddess of Concord?”
She froze, startled. However, before she could fully process his statement, he continued.
“You want to treat more people, don’t you?” he asked. “I know how.”
“How…?”
“Enter the Labyrinth and start clearing floors. If you prove your worth, you could be selected by the Triad. Become their acolyte, and receive additional skills.”
She couldn’t believe it. He wanted her to enter the Labyrinth? And he knew that she hadn't cleared a single floor yet?
“There is a limit to how many people you can save with a single skill,” the stranger said. “You can save more people by clearing the Labyrinth and becoming stronger. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Wh-who in the world are you…?”
“Just a person giving you some advice. The choice is up to you.”
With those words, the man vanished.
It was almost like she had encountered a ghost.
* * *
‘Phew. That should do it,’ I thought.
Se-hee’s greatest wish had always been to save as many people as possible. In the past, after learning that the Labyrinth would help her with that goal, she regretted waiting too long to enter it.
Aware of this, I waited until she got off work to advise her.
‘She should be entering the Labyrinth soon after that.’
Of course, I didn’t give her that advice just so she would benefit from it. It would facilitate my goals as well. If she became one of the 12 acolytes, she would be given more skills. Then, I would be able to copy her other skills as well.
That was my true intent.
‘That’s the only help I’ll give her. The rest is up to her.’
For now, I intended to let the Triads know about this.
But would you look at that?
[The Triad of All Creation wishes to speak with you.]
[‘The Chamber of Eternity’ is temporarily accessible using the God of the Underworld, Orcus’s authority.]
[Would you like to enter the Chamber of Eternity? Y/N]
Apparently, I had piqued their curiosity.
‘I guess I’ll go in. I have an order to give them, anyway.’
____
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