46. The Company’s Hunting Dogs

Let me cut to the chase-I made a huge mistake.

BOOOOOM!!!!!

“KYAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

A horrific scream loud enough to burst eardrums and black ectoplasm splattering everywhere, staining the surrounding buildings.

The Corpse Snail was like a balloon. The moment it burst, it released an enormous explosion sound and spewed ectoplasm in all directions.

Thanks to that, not only were the nearby buildings drenched, but so was I.

Yeah, this was the huge mistake I made. I only meant to pop its head, but I had no idea the whole thing would explode like this.

[1,200 Points Acquired]

[Level increased by 4.]

“Ugh…!!!!”

I succeeded in killing the Corpse Snail with a single piercing strike, but I ended up drenched in the overwhelming amount of medicinal ectoplasm and various foul-smelling bodily fluids that burst from its body.

I might as well have rolled around in a sewer.

My attempt to earn easy points backfired spectacularly.

Don’t get me wrong-I’m thrilled that I took down a 1,200-point monster without a full-on battle. But I never expected to get this filthy.

I guess I was too overconfident.

“Ugh… soaked. I’m completely drenched.”

My whole body is slippery. Sticky, stinking ectoplasm. This is disgusting.

I wiped the ectoplasm off my face. I feel like throwing up. Seriously, this is insane. I should’ve just fought it head-on.

I must’ve gotten too full of myself.

“Ugh. God. Fuck. Ugh. Fuck.”

I should probably just throw away the clothes I’m wearing now. My weapons can be cleaned, but the clothes are completely contaminated-it’s faster to just toss them.

“The paper shikigami… they’re all soaked.”

Not just me, but the paper shikigami I had stored in my cross bag were also drenched.

I worked hard to make these, and now I’ve wasted all that premium paper.

“Sigh.”

Well, at least the Corpse Snail is dead.

I gained four levels, earned a whopping 1,200 points, and completed the quest.

500 points came in, and a random engraving began to form.

“Ugh…!”

My head throbbed as if it were about to split open.

What the hell? Why does my head hurt? Is the engraving being etched into my brain or something?

[Mental Barrier: Blocks mental manipulation attacks such as illusions, hypnosis, or intimidation.]

Soon, the engraving settled, and information surfaced.

A mental barrier? So now I can block that hypnotist bastard’s attacks.

“Fucking perfect.”

Now, anyone trying to use hypnosis or mind control won’t be able to lay a finger on me.

‘For now…’

After retrieving a small crystal from the Corpse Snail’s remains, I immediately left the scene.

Soon, every monster that catches the scent of this thick ectoplasm will swarm here.

“Haaa.”

Once I was a safe distance away, I checked the item I had picked up earlier.

[Bead of the Ten Thousand Evil Spirits: Upon absorption, awakens the Spirit Power stat and allows the acquisition of ‘Existence Evolution.’]

“Spirit Power and Existence Evolution?”

Let’s absorb it first.

I clenched the bead tightly.

Soon, it vanished as it was absorbed into me.

“Interesting.”

Spirit Power could be considered the strength of my soul. This stat doesn’t grow with stat points-it grows in sync with my level.

In other words, my current Spirit Power is 25. Since my level is 25, it’s the same.

“Hoh.”

Existence Evolution is a skill that allows me to evolve a target’s soul by one stage.

In short, it means I can evolve my summons or slaves.

And to do so, I need to meet the required Spirit Power stat for the evolution.

For example, if Number 3, whom I just released outside, requires a Spirit Power of 30 to evolve, then I need to reach level 30 first.

Yeah, simply put, I need to level up and grow stronger to evolve my underlings.

“Not bad.”

For now, I invested the stat points I just earned into Strength and Endurance.

[Name: Elena]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 25]

[Strength: 20]

[Stamina: 12]

[Perception: 11]

[Willpower: 8]

[Endurance: 6]

[Spirit Power: 25]

[Magic Points: 755/1000]

[Skills]

-Support: Status Check, Monster Identification, Inventory Expansion (1), Existence Evolution

-Magic: Magic Sensitivity, Magic Accumulation, Magic Emission, Magic Concentration, Magic Enhancement

-Curses: Paper Shikigami Creation, Shikigami Exorcism Method, Shadow Shikigami Creation, Shadow Application

-Alchemy: Basic Healing Potion Creation, Clay Golem Creation

-Pyrokinesis: Fireball, Flame Emission

-Electrokinesis: Lightning Strike, Lightning Whip

-Cryokinesis: Ice Bullet, Cold Energy Emission

-Light: Light Sword, Photon Barrier

-Martial Arts: Demon Digestion Method, Fire Meditation, Darkness Stealth

-Engravings: Night Vision, Mental Barrier

-Mutation: Intangibility, Scale Skin Armor

-Blood Magic: Blood Replenishment, Blood Flow Acceleration

-Heresy: Corpse Offering, Torture Training, Heart Extraction, Tentacle Eruption, Flesh Wall Creation

-Otherworld: Other World Infiltration, Monster Absorption (Gate of the Underworld, Scent of Another Land)

“Hoh.”

It’s completely different from when I first opened my status window. The number of skills is dizzying.

It hasn’t even been two weeks since I was possessed, and I’ve already come this far. I’ve been working like a maniac.

‘When I get out this time, I should really just rest…’

I’ve been pushing myself too hard.

I should take a break before burnout hits.

“The points I have now…”

I’ve saved up about 3,815 points.

A considerable amount.

“Next, check the quests.”

Since I completed the 1,000+ point monster-hunting quest, a new one should have appeared.

[Quest: Hunt 10 official hunters from Pax Company (0/10)]

[Reward: 10,000P, significant increase in credit score]

“What the hell is this?”

It wants me to kill Pax Company hunters.

You could see this as a 10,000-point quest, but in a way, it’s like getting 1,000 points per hunter.

‘Hunting official Pax Company hunters… This is a bit…’

When I killed a Blue Cross Group hunter, I got 300 points.

But this time, it’s 300 plus 1,000. After running around to earn points, I can say that 1,000 points is pretty good.

‘Besides, it’s about time I started hunting hunters too.’

I can’t keep running forever.

I’ve already been annoyed by the Pax Company guys roaming around and causing trouble.

‘I need to prepare thoroughly and start hunting.’

They might counterattack or identify me, leading to an ambush. So it’s better to eliminate enemies stealthily.

“For now…”

It’s been a little over three hours since I entered the Other World. I still have 21 hours left to stay inside.

But my body feels disgusting. The ectoplasm is all over me, the smell is unbearable, and it’s hard to endure.

‘It’s only been three hours anyway.’

I should go out, regroup, and come back. Honestly, staying like this for over 20 hours is foolish.

“I give up!”

I quickly gave up and went outside.

******

“Phew.”

As soon as I got home, I washed off the ectoplasm clinging to my body.

Now I feel better. I was seriously about to throw up earlier.

“Here, read this first.”

“Huh…?”

I handed a spellbook to Jin Seon-mi, who was sitting blankly in Unit 402, and told her to read it.

“This is… No. How can something like this…”

“Exist? I don’t know either. I don’t even understand my own existence? So just read it quickly.”

“Okay. Um…”

“What.”

“Who are these people…?”

Jin Seon-mi glanced alternately at Numbers 1 and 2, who were resting beside her.

One was a monster wearing a human disguise, and the other was a human with a broken mind.

Neither of them is normal.

“They’re my bosses.”

“Ah… Is this some kind of villain organization?”

“Us?”

I’ve never once thought of us as a villain organization.

Even though I’ve committed a lot of killings, we’re more of a survivor group than villains, right?

“Ah, villains? We’re not that grand. We’re just survivors.”

“…”

Jin Seon-mi closed her mouth. She seemed to find it hard to accept, but I decided not to dwell on it.

If I say we’re not, then we’re not.

“Anyway, you read the book. You two… just rest.”

“Yay!”

“Ugh.”

Numbers 1 and 2 looked incredibly happy when I told them to take a break for once.

I made them work a lot today, so I told them to rest a bit. You can’t just work all day, right? People need breaks too.

If you work too much, you’ll burn out.

“Then.”

I closed the door to Unit 402 and headed down to the basement.

“Hmm.”

The basement had already turned into a freezer. It’s freezing. The performance is better than expected. This would be perfect for storing frozen food.

‘Maybe too cold for a kimchi fridge.’

I’ll find out if I try.

There weren’t any major changes to the base. I opened the general store and bought a Blood Magic book.

Then I immediately reset the store. This cost me 900 points.

[Quest: Spend over 10,000 points at the general store within a week (1,800/10,000)]

[Reward: 1,000P, credit score increase, discount coupon]

I have 2,915 points left. Checking again, it seems resetting the store counts toward the spending.

‘Alright, let’s see what showed up this time…’

I hope it’s weapons or equipment.