The Predatory Genius of a Ruined World - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Perhaps the One and Only Ability (1)

—–CROW—– 

“The ability to *heal* the zombie virus!  Give me that ability!”

The letters filling the air reacted to his urgent cry.

「Confirming added settings.」

「Modifying added settings at the manager’s discretion.」

「The Fate Pioneer’s basic stats will be lowered.」

“What?”

「Applying added/modified settings (1%)」

「Applying added/modified settings (4%)」

…….

「Applying added/modified settings (100%)」

「Character status window activated.」

「Awakening the ability to *expel* the virus.」

「You can consume the virus to increase your stats.」

…….

His face crumpled involuntarily at the results that poured out before he could even react.

What he had wanted was the power to *heal* the virus, not to expel it.

But there was no need for Seong-ho to step up and question this.

Someone had already acted before him.

「The Fate Pioneering Team strongly protests.」

「The system cannot infringe on the Fate Pioneer’s authority and must acknowledge the autonomy and judgment of the selected Pioneer.」

「The Fate Pioneering Team is filing a claim for damages against the system.」

The letters were bolder than any he’d seen before.

Seong-ho’s gaze fixed on a familiar word.

‘Fate Pioneering Team…’

It was definitely a word he had seen in the so-called Selection Notification.

He couldn’t be sure of its true nature, but…

「A claim for damages has been received from the Fate Pioneering Team.」

「Review of the claim is in progress.」

「The results of the review will be notified within 7 days, and existing benefits will be applied while the review is underway.」

It was enough for him to realize that what was referred to as the “system” and the Fate Pioneering Team were separate entities.

While Seong-ho was pondering, all the letters before his eyes disappeared.  He stared at the empty car ceiling for a moment, then covered his eyes with his right hand.

“Damn it…”

A surge of mixed emotions welled up inside him.

But this wasn’t the time to indulge in them.

The throbbing pain in his arm still tormented him, and his body, clad only in a short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts, began to tremble from the cold, not fear.

To make matters worse, the zombie that had bitten him was still relentlessly slamming against the car.

‘I have to do something if I don’t want to bleed to death.’

Seong-ho took off his shirt and ripped it.

“Ugh, ow!”

Unbearable pain shot through him as the fabric touched the wound.

But it had to be better than not stopping the bleeding at all.

He gritted his teeth and tightly bandaged the wound.  Tears streamed down his face from the agonizing pain, but he didn’t stop.

After finishing the makeshift first aid, he caught his breath and thought.

‘I received a message saying I awakened an ability.’

He briefly pondered how to confirm it.

“Character status window…?”

On a hunch, he spoke the words he had seen in the previous message, and as expected…

[Character Status Window]

– Character Information –

Name: Han Seong-ho

Role: Fate Pioneer

Level: 1 (0/5)

Physical Ability: 4

Special Ability: 5/5

– Activity Information –

Merit Points: 0

Discrepancy Score: 0P

Influence: None

Title: None

Unfamiliar letters and numbers appeared.

Two things, in particular, caught his eye.

‘Physical Ability and Special Ability?’

It wasn’t divided into categories like strength, agility, or stamina like in game stats.  It was just lumped together as “Physical Ability.”

‘What exactly does a Physical Ability of 4 mean?’

Was it a combined score of his current strength, skill, and stamina?

Then what level were higher or lower values?

It was just a simple combination of letters and numbers, yet it was difficult to understand precisely.

Seong-ho shifted his gaze slightly downwards, leaving the unease behind.

‘Special Ability.’

It probably referred to the ability he had awakened.

‘What’s that 5/5?  Is it the number of times I can use my ability?’

The original novel hadn’t quantified character abilities like this, so he wasn’t sure.

But one thing was certain.

‘This is only appearing to me.’

There was no mention of other characters seeing such a status window.

‘It can’t hurt.’

Since his stats were displayed numerically, he would be able to manage this unfamiliar power more efficiently.

Seong-ho recalled the scenes where the protagonist used his abilities in <Savior of the Ruined World>.  According to the descriptions in the novel, using awakened abilities was as natural as breathing.

‘They said it felt like a new part of your body had grown the moment you awakened your power.’

Indeed, as he focused, he understood immediately.  Something like a new vessel had formed within his body.  Something small, like a marble, yet full.

As he imagined pushing the contents outwards, a change occurred.

*Flash!*

A bright light burst from his palm.

Startled by the sudden light, he shuddered for a moment, then raised his head.  He saw the zombie still throwing itself against the car.

‘If this is the power to expel the virus, as mentioned by the system…’

He had a test subject right in front of him.

Seong-ho immediately moved his body.

‘The window…’

He tried a few times, pressing buttons, but it wouldn’t open.  It wasn’t designed to open with the engine off.

That meant he had to open the door…

Seong-ho clenched his teeth, feeling a surge of tension.  He knew exactly what he had to do.  But he was afraid to actually do it.

What if something went wrong?

What if he failed?

What if he died here?

All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind, and his body stiffened.

Just then, the zombie lunged at the car again and bounced off, causing the vehicle to shake.

As if possessed, Seong-ho’s stiff body moved.  He quickly flung open the car door the moment the zombie bounced back.

‘No turning back now!’

Pushing himself to the limit, Seong-ho quickly pressed his back against the opposite door.

*Groaaan!*

The stubbornly persistent zombie, drooling, pushed its way into the car.  Its movements were violent, but they began to slow as it bumped against the seats and the ceiling.

Thanks to this, Seong-ho was able to grab the zombie’s head with his hand without difficulty.

*Flash!*

As before, a white light burst forth, and the zombie’s body went limp as if by magic.

「1 Merit Point earned.」

「10 Discrepancy Points earned.」

“Haa…”

All the strength drained from his body along with another message.

He wanted to collapse as the tension left him, but there was still too much to worry about.  Seong-ho checked his status window again.

‘The Special Ability number decreased.’

The number, which had been 5/5, was now 4/5. This reinforced the assumption that the number represented the number of times he could use his ability.

That wasn’t the only change.  The Merit Points and Discrepancy Score in the Activity Information section had increased.

Merit Points: 1

Discrepancy Score: 10P

Did they increase because he used his ability?

He tried using his power again, just in case, but the numbers didn’t change.

‘It seems they only increase when used directly on a zombie.’

What was the purpose of these numbers?  What would happen if they kept increasing?

Seong-ho looked for related information in the previous messages.

「Merit Points and Discrepancy Score are accumulated based on the Fate Pioneer’s activities.」

「Merit Points can be used to receive various forms of support.」

「If the Discrepancy Score becomes excessively high, the Fate Pioneer’s location may be exposed.」

“Huh…? Is that all?”

It was a ridiculously vague explanation.

How could he receive the support?  To whom would his location be exposed?

Nothing was properly explained.

But despite this, he had a strange feeling.

‘The word ‘discrepancy’ doesn’t sound good…’

He had a feeling that having a high score wouldn’t lead to anything good.

The problem was that he had absolutely no idea how to lower the Discrepancy Score.

‘Can it even be lowered?’

Surely it wouldn’t just keep accumulating?

Irritation flared up for a moment, but he tried to continue thinking rationally.  However, before he could reach a plausible conclusion, something dropped from the zombie with a thud.

It fell onto Seong-ho’s hand, which was still holding the zombie, and rolled onto the car seat…

“A marble?”

It was a black marble about 1cm in diameter.  Staring at it, a thought occurred to him.

‘The power I awakened is the power to expel the virus, right?’

So, if he had just expelled the virus from the zombie…

“Does this mean this is the virus…?”

Seong-ho kicked the motionless zombie out of the car and picked up the marble.  Then he recalled the message he had seen earlier.

“Consume the virus to increase your stats…”

He hesitated for a long time, holding the marble in his hand.

Then, driven by a hunch, he put the marble in his mouth.  It was a gamble he took, thinking there wouldn’t be a problem since he was immune.

Like a snowflake melting on his hand, the marble smoothly disappeared in his mouth.  Immediately, his status window changed.

Level: 1 (1/5)

He now perfectly understood the message about consuming the virus to increase his stats.  By consuming the virus and raising his level, he could increase his quantified abilities, like Physical Ability and Special Ability.

“Haha…ha…”

It was truly absurd.

It was unbelievable enough that he had woken up in a strange world, but now he had to eat viruses to level up.  Frustration boiled inside him from the continuous stress.

He wanted to scream and vent all the pent-up emotions that had been building up inside him, but…

‘Zombies have good hearing.’

Ordinary zombies had completely lost their sight, and their sense of smell was only slightly more sensitive than a human’s.  However, their hearing was incredibly acute, even surpassing that of wild animals.  Knowing this, making loud noises would be foolish.

Instead of struggling, Seong-ho glared at the empty air with bloodshot eyes.  *Hiss, hiss.*  White steam escaped erratically with his breaths, heated by frustration and rage.  Amidst the hazy scene, Seong-ho calmed his anger and thought.

‘I have to go back.’

Back to the world he belonged to.  Back to the peaceful world he had dedicated everything to achieving.

‘What do I have to do to do that?’

Seong-ho squeezed his eyes shut and gathered the remaining fragments in his mind.

The first thing to consider was the notification unilaterally delivered by the Fate Pioneering Team.  It had been a hazy experience, almost like a dream.  But as he tried to recall the content, it became strangely clear.  It felt like opening a saved word file.

According to his memory, the content of the notification was simple.

‘Change and pioneer the fate of this world… and that I couldn’t refuse because I had already agreed.’

It was definitely related to that strange survey he had taken before going to bed.

‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have participated even if someone held a knife to me.’

It would have been better to get stabbed and go to a proper hospital in the modern world.

Another wave of frustration surged, but Seong-ho desperately tried to focus on recalling his memories.

—–CROW—–