episode_0076

76. Grocery store.

Wheeeee-!

Inside the speeding car, Deok-su whistled and shouted. His expression was quite excited.

“Seriously, isn’t that too strong? Leader? I thought you dropped a nuke or something!”

He must be talking about the jeep’s explosion. Yohane replied as if it were nothing. In reality, Yohane had done almost all of it, so at least it was a sports car with top-tier specs.

“Humble, aren’t we! Well, that’s what makes Leader so charming! Isn’t that right? Leader’s wife?”

“······.”

Sarah simply remained silent. It wasn’t the first or second time Deok-su had acted like this, and there was no need to react to everything.

Anyway, they continued to speed through the wilderness. It wasn’t that there weren’t players targeting them along the way.

Yohane mostly stepped up to intercept the enemies. Unless they kicked the car like Cha Seung-in and his group, most of the battles were ranged.

Yohane’s skills shone in those moments. Close combat was one thing, but no player could match Yohane’s combat power in ranged combat.

As it happened, Yohane’s group was chasing a man. Deok-su said from the side.

“That guy, that punk! Look at him running away with his tail between his legs! Leader! Give him a nice magic attack!”

“Yes.”

It was someone who had attacked Yohane’s group and then fled in defeat. His teammates had already turned to ashes. He was alone.

The man was riding a monster bike that looked heavy. It was probably something he got from a car center. They wouldn’t be giving away motorcycles like that for free at the beginning.

Yohane lightly loosened his fingers and fired a Fire Arrow.

Whoosh-!

“Eeeek!”

The man’s bike swerved dynamically. It was definitely fast at changing direction because it was two-wheel drive. Yohane was a little envious. It was a means of transportation that could compensate for his current weak mobility. If used well, it could also be used in combat.

Yohane fired another Fire Arrow.

Fire Arrow.

[Structural Reading] [Size Transformation (Large)]

It was no longer an arrow. A giant ballista arrow of flames rushed toward the man.

Whoosh-!

The man dodged it again with ease. But his face didn’t look relaxed. He had already seen enough of Yohane’s skills. In fact, what he was doing now was just a desperate struggle.

Immediately after, the giant arrow wriggled. Then, its form changed.

Fire Chain.

The biggest advantage of fire magic is that even if they are different types of spells, they fuse well if they are the same fire. Yohane constantly explored its essence and was becoming more and more familiar with it.

Swish- Thud!

“Aaaaargh!”

The man is bound by chains that sprang out like a spider web. Yohane wrung the man out as if he were twisting laundry. Red water flowed down like laundry. Eventually, the shrunken man plummeted to the ground.

“Finally caught him! Good work!”

Deok-su laughed heartily and gripped the steering wheel tightly. They approached the place where the motorcycle was.

Yohane stepped lightly out of the car. Thanks to that, the space where Sarah was sitting became wider. The car was a two-seater. Yohane didn’t know because he had his back turned, but Sarah had a strangely disappointed expression. She quickly hid it when Yohane turned around.

Yohane stroked the monster bike and said to Sarah.

“From now on, I’ll be moving around with this. After all, the two-seater car was a bit cramped.”

“······.”

Sarah just nodded. She didn’t have anything to object to.

Yohane fiddled with the bike for a while, then climbed onto it with a light movement.

Suddenly, Deok-su thought about Yohane’s age. Wasn’t he just twenty years old?

“Leader! Can you even ride that? I heard you only studied?”

“I didn’t only study······.”

Vroom, the monster bike made a loud roar. It was like a wild beast howling.

“The way the man who just died rode it is in my head. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, um. Hey, Leader, maybe it’s because you’re still young, but a means of transportation is not something you can ride just by looking at it once, is it······?”

Vroooooom-!

Yohane lowered himself diagonally and rode the bike. It was his first time, but it looked quite plausible. Deok-su’s mouth opened slightly, then closed again as a bug flew into it. Crunch, um, protein.

Deok-su said blankly.

“Leader, were you a delivery rider? Your cornering is artistic.”

Screech-!

Yohane answered as if he were dumbfounded. What is this old man saying?

“No. I only studied.”

“No, you just said you didn’t only study······.”

“······.”

Never mind. Yohane turned around and started first. Deok-su hurriedly followed behind him.

“Let’s, let’s go together! You’re weak!”

Vroooooooom-!

***

They moved while mostly killing the players they encountered along the way. It wasn’t exactly intentional. Yohane’s group of only three people was a delicious-looking prey, and the people at the forefront couldn’t miss it.

Only humans who are good at harming others and deceiving others can occupy the top ranks of the tower. It was impossible for them to ignore Yohane’s group, who looked weak at first glance.

Thus, the second day dawned.

[00:10:05.2351]

The strange thing was that it wasn’t dark at 00:00. The time on this floor was different. It seemed like it only distinguished between times when people could be killed and times when they couldn’t. From 12:00 to 23:59, it was dark, and at 00:00, it magically became bright.

And finally, a new store appeared. Sarah said to Yohane, who was riding the bike next to the sports car. It sounded like she was speaking quietly, but it was easy to hear. Her sense of adjusting the volume was excellent.

“Mister Yohane.”

“Yes.”

“I see something. It’s not a player.”

“Then is it a car center?”

“No, it looks like a store that sells groceries. There are fruits hanging around the store.”

It’s not even night yet, but a grocery store appeared······.

Whether it was simply because they arrived early or whether it was the tower’s original intention, I didn’t know. Yohane thought it was the latter. There was still too much time left until the day was over.

Screech-!

The group that arrived in front of the store looked at the cars parked around it.

Deok-su counted the numbers as if he was showing off that he was an old man.

“One, two, three, raccoon, squid, yukgaejang, turkey, palbochae······ Eight teams? Not many.”

It was a very small number considering the number of people at the start of the marathon. It was proof that they were at the top. There must be people who have already gone ahead, and there must be teams that are still behind.

Since it was daytime when people couldn’t be killed, there was no unnecessary conflict, so it seemed like they were just getting food and going their own way.

The group threw open the front door of the store. Surprisingly, the interior was very eerie. The skull-shaped bell hanging on the front door shook back and forth, making a crying sound. It was as if it was crying.

Clatter- Howl-!

‘I feel terrible.’

It wasn’t very pleasant. A cheerful voice came from the front.

[Welcome! Welcome to the Death Fruit Store!]

“······.”

Yohane looked at the store owner with interesting eyes. He had a very similar form to a human, but he was definitely not a human.

Clatter, clatter-

‘Skull?’

Somehow, the guy who reminded me of the monster on the first floor seemed to have a very bright personality. That made it even more unpleasant. As if he knew that, he seemed to be speaking even more energetically on purpose.

[If you bring the item you want to purchase, I will help you with the payment!]

Yohane ignored the skull clattering its jawbone and looked around inside. There were about forty players walking around the store.

There were 5 cars outside, just the right number. They glanced at Yohane’s group who had just entered, then quickly turned away.

It seemed like they were trying to avoid unnecessary friction. At least for Deok-su.

But not for Yohane.

‘I’ve been underestimated.’

He didn’t miss the greed that flashed in their eyes for a moment.

Not all of them. Some were wary that only three people had come all the way here, and some just thought they were lucky. Both were somewhat valid views.

Anyway, Yohane’s group looked around the corner. It was very different from modern fruits. No, it just seemed like this store was unique.

Yohane picked up an apple teeming with maggots. It smelled like copper.

[Maggot Apple]

There was a sign with an explanation written below.

[A whopping 50g of animal protein in one apple? Rich in dietary fiber and has a magic recovery effect! We are currently offering it at a special price! *This fruit is completely harmless to the human body. (Guaranteed by the Tower.)*]

“······.”

Yohane felt dizzy.