19. The Inevitable (5)

What’s the most important thing for survival?

It’s knowing exactly when to strike and when to retreat.

If you can’t grasp that timing, you won’t be able to do anything.

“Hahk… hahk…”

Now is the time to strike. The timing for growth. An unmissable opportunity to explore a goldmine.

So I run. I run like hell. Whether the Machung or the Mud Midgets win, if I’m too late, the survivors will swarm the hospital.

Therefore, I need to rush in now, quickly kill the Mud Mite, and obtain points and materials. And if there happen to be any survivors, I’ll rescue them and work to complete the quest. I must grow stronger.

‘Jang Yi-sang…’

Running into Jang Yi-sang yesterday was nothing short of shocking. If I were to confront him now, there’s a 99% chance I’d be captured and become just another disposable plaything.

Considering the monster forces that already seem to have been influenced by him, the possibility of me taking him down alone right now is effectively 0%.

“Huuu… Fuck.”

Gasping roughly, I finally arrived in front of the hospital.

I can’t remember the last time I ran through the streets at night.

At this hour, I’d usually be lounging around at home, but here I am, running like a madman to earn points. My situation is almost laughable.

How should I put it? It’s tragic from afar, and even more tragic up close.

‘Is no one here?’

I activated Night Vision.

No Mud Midgets in sight. No signs of movement either.

It seemed there were no Mud Midgets inside.

They must have all rushed out to fight the Machung over territory.

Still, the moment I entered the building, I immediately hid in a corner to avoid being spotted.

After crouching there for a moment to catch my breath, I surveyed the hospital interior.

‘It’s completely empty.’

The Mud Midgets had all fled to stop the Machung from invading their nest.

Normally, at least a dozen would be guarding the hospital entrance, but now it was eerily silent.

Makes sense. Right now, their biggest threat isn’t me-it’s the Machung.

Moreover, the latecomers immediately clashed with the Machung, so they never even had a chance to properly notice me.

They probably never even considered that someone might invade and loot their base while they were away. Typical of low-intelligence creatures.

‘Damn, these bastards really went all out in just a few days.’

The hospital was littered with corpses. Most of them were human. Given the doctor’s coats and nurse uniforms, they were likely the hospital staff.

Since their trait is tracking humans, it seems they skipped other monsters and specifically hunted people for food.

They even left the half-eaten bodies lying around, allowing all sorts of bugs and filth to fester inside the hospital.

The stench of rotting corpses was so strong it made my head spin.

These creatures clearly have zero concept of hygiene.

Living in filthy swamps, they probably don’t even worry about disease-they just live recklessly.

“Uuuu… Ughhh…”

Then, from among the corpses, I heard someone moaning in pain.

“Damn it…”

A survivor. Someone still alive. I carefully approached the person-whether man or woman, I couldn’t tell.

“Hey.”

“Ugh… ughhh…”

“Snap out of it. Hey.”

It was a battered middle-aged woman. She looked like she had been repeatedly assaulted by those creatures. Her clothes were torn, and her body was covered in wounds.

From her torn uniform, she must have been a nurse at the university hospital. Too old to be a breeding vessel, she was likely reduced to a plaything.

“Haa… Fuck.”

This isn’t something anyone sane should see. She didn’t even seem mentally intact. The whole scene was disgusting in every way.

“Uuuuaaahhh…”

“Hey, shh.”

“Ugh… ughhh…”

The woman, unable to even open her eyes properly, clung to me and screamed.

Her voice was filled with grief, anger, disgust, and explosive hatred. Her mind seemed already broken.

Can’t blame her.

Watching people being eaten alive beside her, enduring whatever those creatures did to her-how could anyone stay sane?

It’s tragic, but it’s probably too late to save her.

*Crack.*

I quickly snapped her neck, extinguishing that fragile spark of life.

“15 points.”

Just 15 points. Even less than a Silence Spider larva.

In this ruined world, human life is worth so little.

“Tch.”

The aftertaste is bitter. In a world where only the law of the jungle remains, the fate of the weak is miserable and horrifying.

Everyone I’ve killed so far, everyone being slaughtered by monsters-it’s all the same.

The weak are devoured, killed, and suffer.

‘And I’m no different.’

If I don’t find a way to escape this godforsaken novel world, I’ll never break free from this war of all against all.

This rotten world doesn’t forgive weakness, fueling my desire to grow stronger.

If I don’t want to see such miserable sights, I must gain enough power to kill them all.

‘Enough pointless thoughts.’

My current goals are to kill the Mud Mite and find any survivors I can save.

Though, judging by that woman’s state, finding anyone salvageable here seems nearly impossible.

‘But where should I go? Maybe downstairs?’

I rushed into the hospital with two grand goals-killing the boss and rescuing survivors-but now that I’m inside, I’m at a loss for how to find the Mud Mite.

I realized I need detection skills. If I could pinpoint the enemy’s location, I could strike immediately.

‘And I wish I had a proper stealth technique, not just the Demon Digestion Method…’

I can only hope the general store has relevant books or items.

‘For now, I’ll have to search floor by floor.’

“H-Help me!!!!”

Then, a woman’s scream for help faintly reached my ears.

‘There’s still a coherent survivor!?’

I quickly closed my eyes and focused on the direction of the sound.

Soon, the cries of survivors reached me.

‘Downstairs.’

It was coming from below.

Given their swamp origins, it makes sense they’d prefer dark, damp spaces. They must have settled in the basement.

‘First, the layout…’

Before blindly heading down, I checked the hospital floor plan posted on the wall near the first-floor counter.

Understanding the layout would help me anticipate ambushes or traps.

‘B1 has the broadcasting room, nutrition department, staff cafeteria, and pharmacy office…’

Got it. I could roughly guess where the Mud Mite might be.

‘The staff cafeteria-relatively the largest space, with plenty of food and water before the utilities were cut off. That’s the spot.’

The likelihood of the Mud Mite being there is pretty high.

“Kyaaaa!!!!”

Meanwhile, the screams grew louder. I hurriedly rushed down the stairs.

“S-Stop itttt!!!!”

“Uwaaaaah!!!!!”

Were the Mud Midgets eating the survivors they had stored as emergency rations? Or were they replenishing their forces by breeding more minions?

Either way, the screams were becoming more desperate. If I didn’t hurry, I might not make it in time. As someone who needs to rescue 27 people and earn 3,000 points, I couldn’t afford to delay.

‘Fuck, it’s dark.’

Being night with no light sources, the university hospital’s basement was pitch black.

Thanks to Night Vision, I could still see fine, but any normal person would be helpless down here.

One of the Mud Midgets’ traits is their keen sense of smell, making them even deadlier in the dark.

Hell, they’re basically sacks of skin with no eyes-they rely entirely on smell.

“Kieeee!!!”

“Hup…!!”

The moment I reached the bottom, waiting Mud Midgets greeted me. At a glance, there were three.

*BAM!!!*

*SPLAT!!!!*

I quickly shut the stairwell door, and a poison spike embedded itself in the door. A second slower, and it would’ve hit my stomach or shoulder.

“Kieeeeeee!!!”

*BANG! BANG!!!*

They slammed against the door, screeching. Soon, the sound of more Mud Midgets swarming toward the stairs reached me.

*CRASH!!!!*

The door didn’t even last three minutes before being torn off.

But that was more than enough time to prepare for a full wipeout.

“Make way.”

As the door opened and Mud Midgets poured out, I unleashed the spell I’d prepared: Flame Emission.

Using Archangel’s Magic Book and baton, I extended my arm slightly past the stair landing and unleashed a torrent of fire.

An easy hunt, thanks to terrain advantage.

If this were outside, I’d hesitate to use fire magic for fear of attracting other monsters-but this is inside the hospital.

No holds barred. Perfect for roasting Mud Midgets.

*WHOOSH!!!*

“Kieeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!”

The lead Mud Midget let out a scream that sounded like its vocal cords were tearing as it was instantly roasted alive.

The ones behind, unable to retreat or advance due to the swarm pushing from behind, were also caught in the flames and cooked.

Hot air and thick smoke billowed upward. I’d prepped by soaking a paper towel in water and securing it over my mouth, which helped me endure somewhat.

“Kyaaaa!!!!”

Once enough of them were dead, I canceled the spell.

The flames vanished, leaving behind a pile of charred Mud Midget corpses on the stairs.

They all charged blindly and ended up like roasted sweet potatoes.

Oddly, it smelled delicious. What the hell? Are these things edible? If so, maybe I could farm them for food.

‘Though eating something that’s been eating human flesh feels kinda gross…?’

If I were starving, I wouldn’t care-but I’m not desperate enough to consider cannibalism yet.

‘Mana consumption…’

I used about 100 MP just now. Flame Emission consumes 4 MP per second, so I fired it for about 25 seconds.

Anyway, thanks to their pack-calling trait, all the Mud Midgets on B1 swarmed here and burned together. Only a few stragglers in the back survived, staggering toward me.

“Hyaa…!”

*CRACK!!!*

I swung a steel pipe cleanly through their heads.

*SPLAT!!!*

Their skulls burst like watermelons.

Their durability is absolute trash.

Just a few taps, and they explode. Pathetic.

No wonder they multiplied into the hundreds so quickly.

A species that relies on quantity over quality.

“3,625 points.”

Including the last Mud Midget, I earned 250 points total. At 10 points each, that means I killed 25 of them with Flame Emission.

‘Anything worth harvesting?’

I approached the pile of dead Mud Midgets to check if any parts were worth collecting.

Killing this many and leaving them would be a waste.

“What the hell, these trash bastards…”

Nothing to sell? Seriously?

They’re ridiculously numerous, yet their corpses are this worthless?

At least Goblins had ears, gallbladders, and hearts to harvest-but these fuckers have nothing.

Goblins are better. Hell, Goblins even gave me healing potions!

“Haa…”

My enthusiasm plummeted. It’s depressing that killing them yields nothing.

And the fact that they’re only worth 10 points each is downright irritating.

Wasting mana to burn them feels like a rip-off.

“Tasteless.”

Since Mud Midgets are disgustingly worthless, I prayed the Mud Mite would at least be valuable as I pressed onward.