Chapter 138 - Defense (2)

“...But, how are you going to manage the defense?”

As I was scanning the intruders with the cameras inside the facility, Seo Ah-in, who was watching beside me, suddenly asked that question.

“What do you mean, how am I going to manage?”

“Of course, since it’s you, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, I feel like you’ll manage it using some perverted method, but honestly, aren’t there quite a lot of them?”

As she said that, Seo Ah-in pointed to the ‘summoning stones’ the figures on the screen were holding.

Well, it was an item that could be bought with a rather expensive amount of points after conquering a mana crystal. It was an item that allowed one to temporarily summon things from the zones they had conquered, regardless of location.

“Just one of those being used is... terrifying. And on top of that, each of those people looks quite strong. Even with my sister or Ms. Catherine, wouldn’t it be a bit difficult?”

It was possible to think that way.

And the fact that every single one of the guys who had barged in there possessed such an item meant that they had all rushed in with the single-minded goal of taking me down, putting aside any thoughts of the future for now.

“Just what kind of grudge do those people have against you, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik?”

“Jealousy is a scary thing. It can make someone who has no connection to you hate you infinitely.”

It was true.

Probably more than half of the guys over there had never even met me.

‘But...’

Conversely, that’s why there were methods that worked well.

Most guys who moved on such trivial motives also responded well to a certain kind of violent ‘education.’

Therefore, what was a way to completely shatter and scatter the wills of those guys filled only with envy and jealousy?

“Scaring them.”

I continued with a grin.

“Ah, we messed with someone we shouldn’t have. We shouldn't act rashly, we just need to carve that into their brains.”

And if that went in effectively.

Whether they used the summoning stones or not, their will to fight itself could be completely shattered.

In this regard, it was better that the opponents were people who knew how to use their heads. Because their rational judgment could be crushed by irrational factors.

I had done it a lot to opponents back when I was rolling around in the slums, so the effect could be considered proven.

“...Are you an onion?”

“What?”

“How come new things keep coming out no matter how many layers you peel back? How many more layers are there underneath?”

“...”

What on earth was that supposed to mean.

***

It was probably the same for most of the people here, but Iba Eindolf was a Climber who could pride herself on being of a decent level.

In her home country, she was barely considered A-class and wasn't treated as anything special, but she was a woman who had established enough of a standing to be recognized as one of the veteran Climbers.

And, now.

Iba was completely terrified.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo-!”

Breathing heavily, her gaze wandered aimlessly in the darkness where not a single clock could reach.

‘How... how did this happen...!’

In fact, it wasn't that difficult at first.

At best, there were wooden soldiers made of intermittently pouring mana, and rudimentary traps.

When Kim Gyu-sik first made his threatening remarks, the prevailing atmosphere was one of ridicule, thinking that his level was obvious if he was making such a big deal with just this level of deployment.

Iba and her comrades were the same.

“Ha, all talk and no action. Is this all there is?”

“He’s nothing special after all, I told you.”

Just as everyone was laughing, talking, and cheerfully traversing the inside of the facility, and their camaraderie was getting a little stickier.

A long, dark corridor appeared before their eyes.

“Hmph. I’m sure the inside is full of flimsy things too.”

“He’s pulling some pathetic trick again.”

And just like they had been doing until now, everyone casually walked into the corridor.

It didn't take long for them to realize that it was a fatal mistake.

[Have you all warmed up enough?]

It was around the time that such a voice began to echo through the facility.

It was a voice that felt no tension at all, as if it was truly looking forward to what was about to happen.

“Hmph. Your bluff was seen through a long time ago. Why don't you just sit there and wait quietly?”

“Your days of acting up without knowing your place are over today!”

[Then, let’s start for real now, shall we?]

Next, the sound of the room’s ‘structure’ changing was heard in an instant.

The floor shook, the walls moved, the ceiling descended, and then some ‘devices’ began to rise from nearby, one by one.

“...What is that?”

At the same time as someone said that anxiously.

The corridor, which had been illuminated by at least a little light, became completely pitch black.

[Ah, so.]

Beep, beep, the sound of something being operated echoed through the speakers.

The sound of a digital clock and mechanical devices moving.

[It won't stop until only one person is left alive.]

With those words.

[Well then, do your best.]

From the nearby ‘devices,’ something poured out all at once.

No one could figure out exactly what it was, but they remembered that ‘they’ rushed at them, screaming.

In the pitch-black darkness, an attack by monsters that made their blood run cold.

“...Gak, kahak...”

And just by recalling the memory of that time, Iba's breathing became ragged.

She couldn't even remember properly how she had escaped, how she had survived.

But the terrifying experience of blood and flesh flying around nearby was horrifyingly and clearly etched in her mind.

Hot, cold, and at the same time, scorching.

She remembered trying to resist by using a summoning stone, but nevertheless.

“D-dammit! We’re surrounded!”

“Don't panic! Calmly, one by one... Aaargh!”

“Langdon’s been hit! D-dammit!”

No matter how they tried to defend, no matter how they tried to cope, no matter how they tried to stick together.

They skillfully broke through their formation as if they knew everything.

They tore apart all their coordination with overwhelming force that made their souls leave their bodies.

“T-these guys! They’re not ordinary! Fighting them is suicide!”

“Q-quickly, run!”

As if the attack was weaving through the brains of everyone there, everyone scattered in a panic.

What happened next was a predictable development.

They were all being hunted. All the information being conveyed from her surroundings pointed to that situation.

The smell of blood, and the screams and footsteps of other Climbers echoing everywhere.

‘First, somehow, I have to survive...’

Why she had come here in the first place had long since been wiped clean from her mind.

Only the thought of having to get out of this hellish place quickly dominated her thoughts.

‘...Huh, uh...’

But, her body wouldn't listen.

She was a fairly competent front-line Climber. Her body was her most powerful asset, and the source that allowed her to act as a Climber.

And that very thing was now completely exhausted, unable to even move.

This shouldn't be happening.

In any fierce battle, there had never been a case where a Climber of her level failed to check her own physical condition.

That just meant that she had been pushed that far until just a moment ago.

“...Sob, hic...”

And this situation was undoubtedly a stage prepared by a single person.

Luring them into this place, preparing those monsters. Maybe he was even enjoying watching this on camera right now.

“...”

Suddenly, such a thought occurred to her.

Maybe they shouldn't have come here from the beginning.

She even had the delusion that the opponent was not a human, but a supernatural being like a demon.

Otherwise, how could he create such a situation against veterans like them who had been through all sorts of things?

“Captain...? Is that you, Captain?”

As Iba was thinking that and practically crawling on the floor, a familiar voice reached her ears.

It was one of the comrades she had brought with her. A loyal subordinate who had been with her for a long time.

“Are you okay? You’re alive!”

It felt like tears were about to burst out. How glad she was just to see a familiar face in this hellscape.

She painstakingly fumbled her blurry vision and approached him.

But as soon as she got close enough to confirm her subordinate’s face.

Iba quickly realized that she shouldn't have felt that way.

Dilated pupils, trembling hands, a whole body covered in blood.

“You... are you okay?”

“Captain. We’re all going to die here. Aren’t we?”

“...What are you talking about?”

Her subordinate looked back at her with unfocused eyes.

As their eyes met, a feeling that something was terribly wrong washed over Iba’s spine.

An eerie chill ran through her entire body.

“...He said it would continue until only one person survived. Didn’t he?”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but, f-first, calm down. Let’s talk—”

“He said he’d spare one person. Didn’t he?”

“Wait—”

“So, if everyone except me dies, I can live, right?”

The following events all happened in an instant.

Her subordinate drawing his weapon and rushing at her, and her, somehow trying to survive, using a summoning stone to buy time with summoned soldiers.

Pale, her lungs feeling like they were on fire as she gasped for breath, Iba once again thought in her mind.

In the first place.

She shouldn't have come here.

***

“Ms. Seo Hye-in. Please get Iba Eindolf on your side out.”

I yawned as I checked on the female Climber who had been running around frantically before collapsing from exhaustion.

[...Should I proceed as per the protocol?]

“Eject her outside the facility, confiscate the summoning stone, and isolate the summoned soldiers for sample investigation. Yes, as per the protocol.”

[...]

A silence mixed with self-pity, as if asking if she had been called to do such chores, came back from the other side of the communicator.

Well, it was an important job, so I told her to do her best.

The summoning stones could be converted into points, and the sample collection from the soldiers could further enhance the Dwarves' equipment by imbuing them with various magical properties.

Including Iba who was just taken out... I think I've gotten about 10 of them now.

Quite a haul.

“...Wooow...”

And Seo Ah-in, who was watching from the side, let out a groan with a horrified expression.

“You, you’re really a demon by nature, aren’t you? Wouldn’t even the demon race call you professor?”

What’s with all the high praise?

It was just a facility full of tricks, and those guys had all fallen for it.

In fact, what was roaming around in there wasn't monsters or anything, but just a few Trent Soldiers wearing the Dwarves' equipment.

I just turned off the lights, deprived them of their sight, and used sound, direction, and psychological blind spots to scare them.

The results are as you can see.

If even one of them had properly come to their senses and tried to break through together, it would have been quite a struggle, but those guys who were scared out of their wits didn't even respond, and in the end, didn't they start stabbing each other in the back?

“No, I mean... with so many Climbers of that level gathered together, to manipulate just a few of them and make them all think like that... how did you do it?”

“You saw their behavior patterns before.”

I was talking about the section where I deliberately placed easy traps and few soldiers in front of those guys before letting them enter the ‘stage’ in earnest.

It wasn't for nothing.

I had already analyzed their general behavior mechanisms back then, how they acted, how they reacted, how they cooperated.

“...You mean to say that you grasped and memorized all of that in that short amount of time, and then mercilessly poked at their psychological weaknesses to the point where they were running away with tears and snot streaming down their faces?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“...”

Seo Ah-in covered her eyes with her hand and bowed her head.

It was a gesture that was almost filled with remorse, as if she didn't know what to do with this person.

“You demonic bastard...”

Why.

Why are you like this to me?

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