Chapter 91: Chapter 91

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 91: Iro (1)

I swallowed the liquid in the flask.

It had the texture of warm milk.

Occasionally, squishy granules would get caught in my teeth, but surprisingly, it went down easily.

[You bastard!!]

The scruffy-haired man, whose hair seemed to have turned completely white, tugged at it furiously as he screamed.

Gulp!

I had already downed every last drop without leaving a trace.

“What now? I’ve already finished it.”

As I swallowed the remaining granules left in my mouth, I felt a surge coursing through me.

Flash!

[You have consumed the “Genius Researcher’s Stimulant”!]

[Subject “Lee Eunho” will unleash the full potential of their brain!]

[Duration: 1 hour.]

‘Perfect!’

Full brain potential, huh?

There was this urban myth about humans not even using 10% of their brains during their lifetime.

But I’d heard that was complete nonsense.

[With increased potential, you will transcend human limits!]

[All stats will increase by 10 times!]

Could it be… that the myth had some truth to it?

[Your stamina increases rapidly!]

[You gain unmatched reflexes!]

[With superior dynamic vision, you can read your opponent’s movements!]

[Your skin hardens!]

[Defense increases by 10 times!]

…

‘This is incredible!’

So many messages were popping up that it was hard to read or even listen to them all.

Normally, I would’ve ignored them and promised myself to check them later, but this time…

‘There are 11 effects in total. My physical abilities have skyrocketed.’

Thanks to the dynamic vision that lets me read my opponent’s movements, I could easily read and understand everything.

Whoever created this stimulant… did a fantastic job.

“I like this drug.”

[What did you just say?! A mere test subject daring to say you like it or not…!]

“Got any more?”

My mind was clear.

It felt as though a storm had passed, leaving my brain as pristine and refreshing as a bright, clear sky.

It was an unparalleled sensation of euphoria.

[You lunatic…!]

The enraged man lunged at me.

He’d already lost the fight the moment I drank it—what did he think he could accomplish now?

Still, I decided to play along for now.

‘Wait, did I… use acceleration?’

Swoooosh—

His charging body felt painfully slow.

It was like watching a bus slow down as it approached a stop.

Whoosh!

One step to the side.

Another step back.

In the brief moment his body leaned forward, I had already spun around and was standing behind him, staring at his back.

Without even using an acceleration skill, the difference between his and my relative perception of time was obvious.

Then…

Thud!

I delivered a sharp kick to his back.

Crash!

He toppled over like a stack of blocks.

[Bur…]

Face buried against the wall, he tried to form words, his lips trembling ever so slightly.

But I had already…

“Are you asking… if the effects wore off already?”

…I’d already read what he was about to say.

A chuckle escaped me before I realized it.

“This drug is amazing. I feel like I’ve been reborn.”

His face had gone pale, like his snow-white hair.

That arrogant face—the one that had been watching, calculating, and treating us like lab rats all this time.

“Here I come.”

[Wai—]

I threw a punch.

A bare fist, carrying no special force.

Whoosh!

The punch tore through the air.

Boom!

In less than 0.1 seconds, it slammed into the wall behind him as he cowered and curled into a ball.

The concrete wall crumbled like a sandcastle.

“Hah.”

‘It doesn’t even hurt.’

I let out a breathless laugh at the absurd power I’d just unleashed, while he scrambled away on all fours.

[P-please, calm down, Lee Eunho! You’re just a test subject who hasn’t even officially joined the company! If you lay a hand on a regular employee… it’s over for you too!]

Huh?

“A regular employee?”

I didn’t expect to hear something like that here of all places.

[I-I didn’t do anything wrong!]

“Really?”

[I-I was just doing my job!]

“…This restructuring, you know.”

Rip!

I grabbed his fleeing white hair and yanked it back.

His shaggy head was pulled toward me, scalp nearly tearing.

This man, the supervisor of the project—Iro.

“Not just the guilty ones suffer.”

His crazed eyes filled with terror, and his trembling limbs froze with tension.

“You should know that better than anyone, right?”

[……!]

Wham!

I twisted him around and drove my fist into his gut.

[Ugh!]

His upper body crumpled helplessly.

But then…

BEEEEEEEP—

“!!”

A sharp alarm stabbed into my brain.

It felt like my skull was being pierced by a blade.

[Warning!]

[Researcher Iro’s defense system is activating!]

[Brace for impact!]

Zap!

Electricity surged from his body, starting at the fist I had buried into his stomach.

[Electric Discharge is activating!]

Fwoooosh—!

An intense burst of light engulfed the field of view.

If it had been an ordinary person, they would have been incinerated instantly by the sudden bombardment.

But.

"Ugh."

[The shock is fully absorbed by defense power amplified 10 times!]

[The status condition 'Unconscious' is replaced with 'Dizzy'!]

Fortunately, my health remains intact.

Pulling my fist free, steadying my staggering body, I shook my head.

[See you next time! I’ll be back!!!]

The guy used that moment to escape, fleeing desperately with his tail between his legs.

"Accelerate!"

This is just the beginning.

The rat hunt.

* * *

‘Crazy. Absolutely insane.’

Iro was utterly aghast.

The Electric Discharge was a kind of defensive barrier he had painstakingly prepared.

With countless advanced technologies at his disposal, he had meticulously designed this armor to protect himself and prevent any technology leaks.

Its strength was so overwhelming that even the combat specialists at headquarters couldn’t do anything about it.

The center director himself had personally assured him, "With this, you can rest easy."

"Ugh."

Ugh?

Ugh?!

How strong is that stimulant for him to brush it off so easily?

No—how can someone’s body endure such an overload?

‘How much was amplified? Five times? Six times?’

Lee Eunho.

While he was expected to have considerable potential, the reality was far more alarming.

And then.

【27F - Trap Activated!】

【Toxic Gas Deployed!】

...

【Target Elimination - FAIL】

Even when he released toxic gas capable of making massive creatures cough up blood within ten seconds.

【6F - Trap Activated!】

【'Ravenous Lizard King' Deployed!】

...

【Target Elimination - FAIL】

Even when he unleashed monsters so fierce that headquarters had to form specialized teams to deal with them.

【19F - Trap Activated!】

【'Freezing Room' Opened!】

A room so cold that one breath would freeze your organs, and the next exhale would spit out the shards, leaving you bloodied inside.

【Target Elimination - FAIL】

Still, Lee Eunho couldn’t be stopped.

His survival skills were nothing short of cockroach-like.

And, above all else.

‘How is he tracking me so accurately?!’

Right now, Iro was equipped with a "mobile elevator," allowing him to move directly to any floor within the tower.

Yet, despite only running on foot, Lee Eunho managed to pinpoint and follow him to every floor with eerie precision.

It was enough to make even ghosts weep in frustration.

As his panic turned into fear, the ominous sound of footsteps echoed faintly.

Tap.

[!!]

He had caught up again.

Iro felt his mind going blank.

[10th Floor - Trap Activated!]

He shouted urgently.

【ERROR!】

【No traps are available.】

【Would you like to input new settings?】

Just like his rationality, the traps had run dry.

[Damn it!!]

Though enraged, Iro knew it was his own doing.

The Sky Island’s tower wasn’t built with external invasions in mind.

With Eunho’s relentless pursuit, he had burned through all his traps layer by layer.

Regardless.

‘If I get caught, it’s over.’

The genius researcher thought to himself.

[If I face him one-on-one… I’ll definitely lose. But if I summon others to fight in my place… it’ll take too much time. Out of everything I brought… is there anything usable…?]

He racked his brain.

[The experimental drugs have too severe side effects…]

Thinking until his frontal lobe felt like it was on fire.

And finally.

[That’s it! That might work…!]

Sifting through and discarding every other option, one last choice remained.

Click.

It was time to head back.

【Select the floor to move to.】

[10th floor.]

The place where Eunho had stolen the potion.

The research lab.

* * *

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Tick—!

Dodging the freezing storm falling from the ceiling, I stepped out of its path.

Then, I immediately heard his movement.

[Target detected!]

[Tracking Target: Iro]

Blink!

The 10th floor.

That’s where he had gone—the floor where I first encountered him.

The research lab.

‘Ending it where it all began, huh?’

Crunch!

Gripping the blood-soaked, humming Skybreaker Sword, I walked forward.

The rat that had been scurrying away was now, strangely, sitting still.

When I arrived, the 10th floor was eerily silent.

[……Huff!]

Except for the sound of the rat’s labored breathing from somewhere behind.

‘Ten seconds.’

My acceleration skill would be ready in ten seconds.

So, I—

Boom!

Swung the Skybreaker Sword.

The sheer force of the sword’s innate attack power, combined with the awakened strength within me, erupted in an explosive burst of energy.

‘…Is this for real?’

I felt my muscles swelling, trembling.

My organs and veins, packed with power, were boiling up.

Like magma surging to the surface.

KRA-KA-BOOM!

The wall crumbles.

And then—

Swoosh— BOOOOOM!

The next wall also collapses.

[!!]

Crouching like a rat, hiding behind the wall, a mop of disheveled hair emerges.

[...You came fast.]

The guy, frantically typing something on a screen filled with unknown numbers, speaks.

"Found you."

[W-Wait a second...!]

Slash!

[Aaaaargh!]

Better to deal with him before he pulls something reckless.

It didn’t even take a full second to sever his hand.

And then—

Thud!

The guy's right hand fell to the floor, rolling away.

Along with it, the unfamiliar object he was clutching so tightly.

‘A syringe...?’

Crunch!

Grabbing his pale neck, I asked,

"What is this?"

[Urgh... N-nothing...!]

His face contorted in pain, but all he coud do was feebly scratch at my hand with his remaining left hand.

While my left hand choked his neck, my right hand reached for the syringe on the floor—

[Urgh... Urrrghhhh...!]

A grotesque sound emerged.

Not from the man struggling for breath, but from within the pile of collapsed stone walls.

"...Investigator?"

[Uwoooaaaarghhh!]

A scream so monstrous, it’s hard to believe it came from a sentient being.

Twitch!

The investigator twitched.

Everything started to twitch in his left arm, his right leg, his twisted head, and even his bent spine.

And all at different speeds and directions.

“What the hell is this...?’

The investigator I thought was just a pleasant but useless forever-middle-manager...

Crunch!

Began to swell.

Crunch!

His joints twist, break, and inflate.

As tall as me.

Then twice my height.

Until he reached the ceiling above.

Finally, he broke through even that.

And then—

CRRRRUUNCH!

Things that shouldn’t exist begin sprouting from his body.

‘...Arms?’

Instead of hands, saws, blades, horns, spikes, and whips are attached to countless arms.

Some arms are as thin as 1 meter, while others are tens of meters long and thick.

[Hmm—Now that's more like it!]

The advanced technology capable of creating such a potion.

The syringe in the investigator’s hand.

The grotesque transformation taking place.

All the clues point to one answer.

‘Modification.’

['Eliminate the Multi-Attack-Type Chimera!']

A massive fist, bristling with spikes the size of a human body, hurtles toward me and the man.

In an instant, hoses resembling syringes pursue me, dripping black, unidentifiable liquid from their tips.

I immediately realized.

I can’t let that touch me.

‘Dodge it...!’

BOOM!

I manage to evade, but shards from the investigator’s shattered fist fly at me like sparks.

“Ugh!”

[You’ve sustained a serious injury!]

[The Awakening effect immediately nullifies the status ailment 'Fracture'!]

Pinned under debris, my skin was scraped instead of my bones being crushed.

And in that moment, the man escapes my grasp.

Leap!

He jumps onto the Chimera’s foot.

"You bastard... What the hell did you do?!"

[I made some enhancements. It was pretty useless before, you see.]

‘Enhancements,’ huh?

Promising to "enhance" whoever entered his capsule—so this is his real ability.

[Chase them!]

"!!"

I ran, evading the investigator and the man’s attacks.

I hurled the unanswered questions.

"That guy... wasn’t he your ally?"

Swoosh—!

As I dodge the onslaught of swords, axes, and saws flying at me, a whip grows out of the investigator’s arm and lashes toward me.

[I don’t ally with idiots.]

BOOM!

The whip, as hard as steel, tire through the ground.

The collapsing floor keft me falling with nothing to grab onto.

As I looked up while plummeting, the man…

[I’ll make an exception for you, Lee Eunho. You’re the only human I recognize.]

…smiles.

Brightly, radiantly.

[Of course, you’ll be a brain in a jar, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a conversation partner?]

Like the first time we met, he spreads his arms wide.

[Come to me!]

* * *

3, 2, 1.

“Accelerate!”

The cooldown ends, and I shout.

Tick!

‘For the 10th floor, it’s awfully high.’

If I’m awakening my body, they could’ve thrown in flying abilities or mind-reading powers.

‘Would I die if I fell?’

For some reason, I feel certain I won’t die instantly in this state, but betting my life seems too risky.

“Summon! Activate!”

I summoned a green-card iron door.

I clung to the rope I barely managed to summon but quickly fell.

Thud!

[Your high defense absorbs all the impact!]

As expected, the condition is extraordinary.

But the problem is...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

'How am I supposed to take that thing down?'

[Groooooaaaaarrrrr...]

That guy—whether he's a researcher or an inspector—his personality might be questionable, but his abilities are terrifying.

He remodeled his harmless-looking, weak colleague in an instant.

And turned him into someone capable of taking on not just a hundred but a thousand foes.

Swoosh!

Only 5 seconds until the skill ends.

"Sword Wind!"

As I ran, I swung my sword, unleashing a crescent-shaped blade of wind.

And then...

Slash! Screeeech...!

I easily severed one of its saw-bladed arms.

But—

Tick—!

The timeline snapped back into place.

Splaaaat—!

From the severed spot, crimson blood vessels and muscles shot up in strands, twisting and growing.

At the end of it, another gruesome saw blade emerged.

'Even when cut, it regenerates?!'

[Resistance is futile! Just come to me, Lee Eunho!]

Horrifying.

The odds were overwhelmingly stacked against me.

This wasn’t a one-on-one fight; it was more like one against a thousand.

But...

'It takes approximately one second to regenerate.'

One second.

If I could seize even a half, or a fraction, of that second...

'With acceleration, I can land 30 strikes... No, given my condition, maybe 50. Plus, if I use my skill voucher...'

I’ll divide that single second—then split the fractions further.

'It’s a shame I can’t use my counterattack skill... but if I don’t have teeth, I’ll fight with my gums.'

I’ll win.

I’ll take it down.

No matter who stands in my way.

With that decision, I took a step forward.

[Don’t worry, just die! I’ll disassemble your organs one by one and put them on display!]

With a maniacal scream, dozens of arms flew toward me.

Splaaaat—

Clang!

Click! Clack!

Screeeech—!

I calculated all the trajectories, destinations, and speeds of those attacks.

'To take its head... I’ll need to sacrifice at least one arm.'

I’m one move short.

But still, to take this monster down, I weighed what I could protect and what I couldn’t.

And in that moment of leaping forward—

"Shape Creation!"

With a sharp shout, a wall of earth erupted.

Rumble!

The ground below shot upward as if it would reach my nose.

Splaaaat—

Clang!

Click! Clack!

Screeeech—!

The dozens of arms were blocked.

Encased in a giant wall of earth that shielded me like a protective hand.

"It’s my turn to help, isn’t it?"

"!!"

Then, gasping for breath, someone ran up, briefly avoiding my gaze before adding softly—

"…Oppa."

"......"

I stood before the earth wall that cast its protective shadow like a shield.

Her flowing lavender hair and the faint scent of grass brushed past my nose.

"Seems like it is. Your turn."

At my vague reply, the sharp savior smiled.

Her cat-like eyes curved into crescent moons.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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