leonardwarren Chapter 150 : Chapter 150
Chapter 150 : Chapter 150
Chapter 150. Walled City (3)
Leman Solaris, the skinny man, the chubby man.
The three men who formed the alliance exchanged introductions first.
"I am Leman White. Please call me Leman."
Following Riman, it was the skinny man who said his name.
"I am John Hopkins. Please call me John comfortably."
"John Hopkins... Well, yes, let's do that. Then what about you?"
The chubby man answered Riman's question.
"Call me Thomas."
"Thomas, I see."
The skinny man, John Hopkins.
The chubby man, Thomas.
And Leman White.
Like this, the three finished exchanging names.
Of course, Riman knew.
That all three had given aliases.
Anyway, presumably the only three normal people in this crazy world.
Once they decided how to call each other, they started discussing what each could do.
The one who started it was John.
"As you saw earlier, monsters roam around here. Furthermore, space is tangled messily... In short, it's a very dangerous space. Therefore, we need to know about the abilities each of us possesses. That way, we can effectively break through when we face danger."
"That makes sense."
When Riman nodded and expressed agreement, Thomas said.
"Well, John and I know each other's abilities, so only you, Leman, need to speak."
"Thomas, Mr. Leman doesn't know our abilities. We also need to reveal our abilities."
"Ah, right."
"First, I will tell you my ability."
John rolled up one sleeve.
Then he took out a short knife from his pocket.
It was a small, sharp knife called a scalpel.
John drew a line across his forearm without hesitation.
SLASH-
A long line was drawn on the skin.
Soon, blood droplets seeped out from the gap.
But the very next moment.
FIZZ...-
The wound closed immediately.
The cut skin recovered in an instant.
"Super Regeneration. This is my ability. Not only light wounds like this but also large wounds like amputations can be regenerated immediately."
"Hoh... Is it magic?"
Riman asked, feigning ignorance.
"Haha, no way. It's just a superpower."
John said while rolling down his sleeve.
"Actually, I am a doctor."
"A doctor?"
"Yes. So every time I use my own ability, I always feel regretful. Thinking how great it would have been if I could apply this ability to patients too. If so......."
John trailed off for a moment and then spoke again.
"...Because I wouldn't have had to bury so many patients in my heart."
Yeah well, you did bury them, though.
Riman muttered inwardly.
Just then.
"A saint is born, a saint is born."
Thomas smirked and sneered from the side.
John just smiled bitterly without any rebuttal.
And now it was Thomas's turn.
"I'm simple. Muscle strength enhancement using artificial muscle fiber insertion surgery. And......."
SHING!
Thomas drew the sword he was wearing at his waist.
It was a sword slightly shorter than a katana, but slightly wider in width.
"...Swordsmanship using that muscle strength. This is my ability."
"Hoh."
"But this isn't the end. Hey Leman, do you perhaps know about 'One of Billion'?"
Riman nodded and answered.
"I know. The ultimate enhanced human that appears with an extremely low probability."
A miraculous enhanced human possessing strength far exceeding the normal level because the compatibility between the enhancement procedure and the original body fits excessively well.
That was the 'One of Billion'.
Naturally, the probability of a One of Billion appearing is enormously low.
Probability equivalent to accidentally picking up a stone on the street that happens to be exactly the same shape as the bread one was eating.
But if one becomes it, one can possess strength far exceeding wizards or superhumans classified as strong.
A case where existence itself is comparable to a miracle, that was the One of Billion.
And.......
"That's me."
Thomas was saying he was that very One of Billion.
Riman nodded deliberately exaggeratedly and said.
"...That's amazing."
"Pfft. You can admire a bit more."
"But why are you still trapped here even with such power?"
"What, punk?"
Thomas's brow furrowed sharply.
Startled by this, John intervened between Thomas and Riman.
"Hey, both of you calm down for a moment......."
"The answer is simple. Because you wouldn't have had a way to find out the direction."
At Riman's calm words, Thomas flinched and stiffened.
Riman continued without stopping.
"The space here is twisted. It even flows mixed up. In a place like this, finding out the direction or moving in a constant direction is almost impossible."
"We know that too. Then what, do you have a way to find out the direction in a place like this?"
"Yes."
This time, John also flinched along with him.
"You can... find out the direction?"
"Yes."
"How?"
SWISH.
Instead of answering, Riman showed his right hand.
A ring was on his right middle finger.
The ring that stores Eoduksini.
Riman said.
"This ring will become a compass here."
"What did you say......?"
"You guys might not know, but this ring is vibrating minutely."
Even when outside the Walled City, this ring vibrated.
The closer he got to the Walled City, the stronger that minute trembling gradually became.
And as he entered the Walled City completely, the ring began to vibrate much more strongly than outside.
Of course, it was difficult to notice with the naked eye, but it was enough for the wearer to know.
John asked.
"But what is the relationship between the ring trembling and finding directions here?"
"At first, I thought it was a simple trembling. But when I concentrated and felt it, it wasn't."
"......?"
"This ring is being pulled by some force. The trembling is an incidental phenomenon in that process."
"Being... pulled?"
"Yes."
"Could you explain in a bit more detail?"
"It's the same principle as a compass. The N pole of a compass is always being pulled toward the North Pole. This ring is the same. Toward a certain point inside this Walled City... the ring is being pulled."
"......!"
An object that always points to a constant point regardless of the placed location.
"...So you can use that ring as a compass."
"Yes. Although it's a guess for now......."
"As of now, it's the only hope. Right?"
"...Yes."
Thomas, who was listening from the side, asked Riman in a blunt voice.
"What, so that ring tells us the way out?"
"No. But we can use it as a tool to find the way out."
"How?"
"First, let's move toward the direction this ring points."
"How do you know what's there? Wouldn't it be right to go in the opposite direction rather?"
"Space twists, unravels, and bends moment by moment, how do you find out the exact opposite direction? For now, we have no choice but to follow this ring."
To this, John asked Riman.
"Then... what would be at that place?"
"I don't know, that. But... the probability that there is a clue is high."
"......."
"Then I will ask for the last time. Will you follow this ring, or......."
"I'll follow."
"Let's follow."
At their knife-like answers, Riman nodded.
"Good. Then right now......."
"No, before that."
"Yes?"
"So Mr. Leman White, what is your ability?"
"Ah."
Riman picked up a stone that had fallen on the floor.
A stone about the size of an apple.
Riman flowed mana into it with his palm.
[Incision]
SLICE.
The stone split exactly in half.
John and Thomas muttered in indifferent voices.
"As expected......."
"Is it a slash-type ability?"
Just that moment when they were about to make some judgment.
Riman flowed newly constructed mana into his palm again.
[Freeze]
CLACK!
The split stone froze and stuck back together as one.
Then John and Thomas's eyes shook.
"Multiple abilities...?"
"Are you an enhanced human?"
Riman shook his head and said.
"No. I'm a wizard."
"......?!"
John asked in a wondering voice.
"Wait a minute, from what I know, I heard wizards can only use magic of one system......."
"Have you ever heard that there would be a place like this where we are right now?"
"......!"
"It's a world where common sense is more powerless than you think. You guys should know that well too."
"......."
"Anyway, my ability is this. Wind magic, and Ice magic."
Of course, besides this, Riman had many abilities.
Electricity, Earth, Fire, Evil Spirit Manipulation, Shock Absorption and Release, Super Senses, Martial Arts, etc.
But Riman didn't reveal that far.
Because there was no reason to show all his cards to enemies.
It was an alliance right now, but he had no intention of dragging this alliance to the end either.
Riman said.
"Now, we've confirmed each other's abilities like this, and confirmed the way to go. Is there anything else we need to do before leaving?"
Both John and Thomas shook their heads.
Riman nodded and said.
"Then let's go."
* * *
The three moved quickly.
Toward the direction Riman's ring guided.
The way was quite rough.
Just when they thought they were running on the floor, they were running on the ceiling before they knew it, and they thought they were definitely going straight but they were making a big turn, and the direction of gravity changed abruptly.
It was an environment where they would have inevitably gotten lost long ago without the ring's guidance.
"Phew... Let's rest for a moment, Mr. Leman."
At John's request, the three stopped walking for a moment.
A brief break time.
John asked Riman.
"Um, by the way, how much further do we have to go?"
"I can't guarantee that either. Just that......."
"Just that?"
"The trembling of the ring is gradually getting stronger. Anyway, it's certain that we are getting closer to something."
While Riman and John were conversing like that.
Thomas took a water bottle out of the bag at his waist and wet his mouth.
Seeing that, Riman asked.
"Come to think of it, how long has it been since you guys entered here?"
"Well. Since the sun doesn't set here, I don't know exactly but... it feels like it's been a week."
It was about a week ago that Kowloon Walled City became like this.
That meant these two didn't come in from outside Kowloon Walled City but had been inside Kowloon Walled City continuously.
Riman asked.
"Then how did you solve the eating problem for a week? Seeing you drink water, it doesn't seem like your bodies can endure without eating."
"Here is Kowloon Walled City. And there are quite a few shops handling food in the Walled City. If we raid those shops, we can get as much food as we want."
"Aha......."
"Look at that. There's a refrigerator floating over there too. If we crack that open, there are quite a lot of ingredients inside. The quality is out of this world but well... you won't die if you eat it."
Sure enough, a commercial refrigerator was floating in the sky behind.
Thomas said.
"What shall we do? Shall we drag that down and solve a meal first?"
"There won't be time for that."
"What?"
CRASH!
At that moment, the window of the next building shattered and something popped out.
A beast with a big mouth and six legs.
It was a fission body of Iseopgwi.
Because it popped out abruptly without any sign, John and Thomas flinched in embarrassment.
Riman was the only one maintaining composure at this moment.
Magic emits through the filter of coldly settled reason.
[Incision], 23 consecutive shots.
SLASH SLASH SLASH!
It gets cut.
The body of the rushing Iseopgwi was cut into several pieces in an instant and rolled on the floor.
THUD THUD THUD!
Looking at the chopped pieces of flesh rolling on the floor, John and Thomas said.
"...Wow."
"This, if it weren't for Mr. Leman, we would have been done for."
Saying so, John swept down his chest.
To this, Riman said.
"Don't relax your tension."
"Yes?"
"It's not over yet."
"What did you say?"
"Beasts are flocking."
THUD, THUD, THUD...-
Heavy footsteps heard from all directions.
Riman said.
"Everyone equip weapons. Prepare for battle."