Chapter 47

The [Girl Seeking Salvation] quest had several differences from the quests he had taken so far.

It was not a regular quest but a linked quest, and due to completing the previous quest, he clearly understood what situation the client was in and what they needed. And most importantly, the quest’s grade and objective itself were ambiguous.

[Girl Seeking Salvation]

-Civilization Classification : M-5

-Civilization Grade : 0.82

-Difficulty : ??

-A girl who barely survived after defeating an unidentified monster. However, even more dangerous and vicious monsters roam inside the mansion. Please save the girl who is in a desperate situation in your own way.

-Clear Conditions.

1.Girl’s Salvation : ??

An absurd situation where both difficulty and rewards were marked with question marks.

The difficulty wasn’t a big problem since he had some sense of it after experiencing the mansion’s monsters through 999 deaths, but it was a serious issue in terms of uncertainty about the possibility of retrying.

‘Regular quests send you back to Earth if you fail without retry rights. But this quest has no grade.’

Everything was uncertain – whether retry rights with set grades and uses could be used on an ungraded quest, and if not, whether this quest could only be attempted once.

He considered asking other users but was held back by the thought that he should avoid getting involved with them as much as possible.

That thought hadn’t changed even after meeting other users.

The meeting with Kang Changseok went relatively smoothly, but that was only because he made that decision.

If he had harbored hostile intentions, he might have been incapacitated or killed without being able to put up much resistance.

‘I can’t entrust my life to others’ whims. I’ll avoid interactions with other users until I gain enough strength to at least protect myself.’

Having made up his mind, Yuseong gathered all his preparations and selected the quest at the top of the list.

[‘Girl Seeking Salvation’ will now begin]

[Initiating Deus Ex Machina Program]

[Dimensional coordinates specified and Ariadne’s Thread connection complete]

[Initiating spirit particle transfer]

* * *

“Haa, haa!”

Stumbling legs and a body drenched in sweat, a heart beating so violently it might burst at any moment, and searing pain running up both arms.

She wanted to just give up everything and sit down to rest comfortably.

However, Alice couldn’t do that.

Squeeze!

“Ungh!”

Alice tightly bound her tattered arms with thorny vine and started walking again.

‘Mr. Yuseong will come to help.’

Yuseong had not given up even after experiencing 999 deaths and defeated the monster.

Having watched the entire process from start to finish, Alice knew better than anyone how difficult and painful it had been for Yuseong.

Would she give up the life he saved just because of this much pain?

That was impossible.

If she couldn’t run, she would walk, if she couldn’t walk, she would crawl – she had to survive no matter what.

That was the only way she could repay Yuseong even a little bit.

Clank! Clank!

But Alice knew well that this escape wouldn’t last long.

The footsteps gradually getting closer.

The moment she confirmed the appearance of the antique-style living armor approaching, Alice collapsed on the spot, her strength draining from fear.

“Hic, huuk!”

No matter how determined one might be, reality is cruel.

A body paralyzed by fear, tears naturally flowed when she saw the living armor that had suddenly appeared before her, raising its sword.

‘…Mr. Yuseong.’

She had done as much as she could.

Just as she was about to give up everything and accept death, a familiar voice rang out.

-After all that trouble to save you, it would be disappointing if you gave up so easily.

In that moment, Alice’s body began moving independently of her will.

She got up from her spot like a windmill spinning her legs to dodge the attack, then naturally raised both arms to take up a stance.

And less than a second later, she dropped both arms again.

“My, my arms…”

-It’s dangerous!

Warned by Alice, Yuseong came to his senses and threw his body backward, narrowly avoiding the sword swung at his chest.

‘Damn, was it always this painful? And why is the situation so urgent?’

He hadn’t noticed when his fighting spirit was peaked after experiencing 999 deaths, but the moment he entered Alice’s body again, he could freshly realize just how crazy his actions had been.

Serious injuries where the skin was torn away revealing the muscles underneath.

There’s a limit to displaying guts – it would be impossible to fight properly with these arms.

‘It’s hard even to grip tools. Then I’ll have to use my legs…’

Clank! Clank!

Perhaps angered by the eel-like dodging, the living armor’s sword began tracing even denser trajectories.

It was an attack that would be difficult to even react to with Alice’s stats, but just before the blade made contact, Alice’s body moved at an incomparable speed to before and avoided the attack.

‘It works!’

Enhancement Procedure skill that raises all physical ability stats by 50 points.

When Alice’s stats, which had seemed ready to collapse at a touch, rose to a level comparable to decent athletes, she could dodge the living armor’s attacks without much difficulty.

The problem was finding a way to deal damage.

Even with somewhat improved physical abilities, hitting Shadow Moon Style 16 against armor made of solid steel wouldn’t deal any damage.

As Yuseong was racking his brain, his eyes suddenly lit up.

‘That skill…’

Though he had never tried it before, it was theoretically possible.

Crack!

After barely deflecting the vertically swung sword, Yuseong jumped up along the blade and arm stuck in the ground and lightly placed his foot on the living armor’s chest.

At the moment the living armor tried to grab his ankle, confident in victory after such an excessive movement, a heavy sound like beating a drum rang out.

Thump!

“This works.”

The living armor went limp.

Originally, it was common sense that Energy Release should be performed through fists or palms.

This was because hands were the most suitable parts for synchronizing and releasing energy.

However, Yuseong hypothesized that with Eye of Truth, which could see and synchronize with energy flows, Energy Release could be performed through other body parts besides hands, and that hypothesis proved excellent.

‘If it can be used with feet, then shoulders, knees, or even the whole body…’

“Urgh.”

Brought back to reality by the intense pain rising from both arms, Yuseong stood up staggering.

First priority was healing the wounds.

-Mr. Yuseong! It is you, right, Mr. Yuseong?!

“Who else would come to help you besides me?”

-…I believed you would definitely come back.

“We’ll talk later. Let’s move somewhere else first.”

After briefly walking down the corridor looking around, Yuseong approached what appeared to be the most shabby-looking door.

‘This would be impossible with Alice’s original strength, but…’

Maximizing strength with Mana Enhancement and momentarily blocking sensation with Pain Nullification, he swung his arms.

Shadow Moon Style 16. Wind Slash.

Crack!

After instantly destroying the wooden handle, Yuseong entered and roughly closed the door before looking around.

A small room that seemed to have been used as a guest room with just a few pieces of furniture.

Lying down on the bed in the corner, Yuseong opened his inventory and took out the items he had prepared.

[Spending 5,000 karma points to take out Emergency Regeneration Ampoule for Severe Trauma(D+)]

[Spending 100 karma points to take out Lowest Grade Recovery Potion(E)]

[Spending 100 karma points to take out Lowest Grade Recovery Pill(E)]

Loading the regeneration ampoule into the syringe gun, Yuseong placed the muzzle against his forearm and pulled the trigger.

Hiss!

“Kuk!”

The moment the regeneration ampoule entered his body, a burning pain began rising from both arms.

Pain so extreme it reflexively triggered Pain Nullification.

However, its effects were definite, with the torn skin visibly regenerating and the twisted arms and fingers returning to their original form.

After injecting another regeneration ampoule and applying the recovery potion and recovery pill, it wasn’t long before his arms regained their original state.

“…Now I feel a bit more alive.”

After briefly testing with Shadow Moon Style 16, Yuseong nodded with a satisfied smile.

-Mr. Yuseong!

“You scared me! Lower your voice.”

-Ah, I’m sorry… No, that’s not it, Mr. Yuseong! What was that just now?

“Medicine. I made some since I obviously needed to treat those injuries – couldn’t do anything with them.”

-I-I see. Thank you so much. As expected of Mr. Yuseong…

“Wait, let’s get this clear first. Accepting your request for more help was just an accident, not my real intention. I came back only to gather information. Got it?”

Though his face felt hot as if he had somehow become a tsundere, he couldn’t help but say these words.

-Yes!

“…You sure you understood what I said properly?”

-Of course I understood everything!

Regardless of circumstances or purposes, in the end Yuseong had come to help her.

That single fact was all that mattered to Alice.

“Well, fine. How much time has passed since I disappeared?”

-Not long. About 5 minutes?

“5 minutes, huh.”

The time ratio between Alice’s dimension and Earth was almost 1:1.

Yet while almost 2 months had passed on Earth, only about 5 minutes had passed in this world.

‘This is an extremely skewed ratio incomparable to anything experienced so far. Was the time ratio arbitrarily adjusted the moment I accepted the additional quest?’

Well, if the original 1:1 time ratio had been maintained, it would have been impossible for Alice to survive in this mansion with her arms in tatters.

Having finished confirming, Yuseong looked down.

The slender girl’s body unchanged from when he first saw it, and the dress stained with monster blood.

After repeatedly opening and closing his fist for a moment, Yuseong made up his mind and spoke.

“Can I ask you a few questions?”

-As many as you’d like!

“What were you thinking when you asked me for more help after I killed that monster?”

-I was scared of being alone and wanted Mr. Yuseong to stay and keep helping me.

“Wanted me to help, huh.”

Not asking to kill the monsters or escape from the mansion, but purely just wanting help.

Only then did Yuseong realize why this quest’s grade was marked with a question mark.

‘Without setting a specific purpose like do this or do that, just vaguely wanting help meant the purpose wasn’t set. Does that mean the difficulty changes depending on what choices I make within the category of salvation?’

Salvation.

The dictionary definition means saving someone from difficulty or danger.

Just as the saying goes that something can be a nose ring when hung on the nose or an earring when hung on the ear, salvation too can have many interpretations depending on perspective.

To put it extremely, even taking one’s own life to prevent suffering abuse from monsters or experiencing a painful death could be considered salvation.

‘Easy and quick. And would receive an equally miserable clear rank.’

Of course, he had not the slightest intention of choosing such an option.

He planned to achieve results that would at least make all his efforts and preparations so far feel worthwhile.