Chapter 36
The place I arrived at was an apartment not too far away.
I wondered if this was an apartment complex for agents, but apparently not. I could only see ordinary people around. I guess they provide civilian housing one unit at a time.
When I entered the unit I'd been given, it had only the most basic appliances and furniture. It was clean, though, so it seemed they'd maintained it well for an agent.
I unpacked for now.
What should I do about clothes?
They'd provide uniforms if I requested them. As for ordinary clothes to wear here, I'd probably have to buy those myself. They'd reimburse me if I submitted the expense, right?
My life had changed in an instant, but I couldn't feel the slightest inconvenience.
No, if anything, everything was so well provided for that, on a visceral level, I felt like I'd simply arrived in heaven.
That made sense, though...
Until what felt like just a moment ago, I'd been surviving in a Seoul where everything had been destroyed. After spending so long in a place like that, this kind of lodging felt incredibly precious.
Come to think of it, I hadn't even seen Mom and Dad because I hadn't had the time. They had effectively died in the giant incident, so I couldn't see them anyway. We'd been separated for an incredibly long time.
Once I got settled as an agent, I'd go visit them. Even if I wanted to see them now, I was currently in the middle of a confrontation with a vampire. It would be better to acquire information and countermeasures from the Administration, resolve the situation, and then go.
"Phew."
Whatever happened, this apartment was my home now.
"I'll take good care of it."
Thinking that, I lay down in the living room.
"Come to think of it."
Where had my regression point been updated?
That was something I was always curious about.
There was no way to find out without dying, though.
It felt a little much to die just to find out... Should I try it once? I hadn't received any particular penalty for dying so far, after all. But the problem was that my regression could suddenly stop.
I didn't know whether I had unlimited lives, so I couldn't just keep dying. To think I was considering dying just to check my regression point... Even I had to admit I was completely insane.
"Descendant of the Singing Star..."
That was the giant's official designation.
Then was my regression point the moment this message window had appeared?
Well, it wasn't important right now.
It was time to do something I'd been putting off.
"Status window, status window, status window."
I opened the status window right away.
ㅡDing.
——————————
[●Status Window]
Name : Kim Geunhong
Age : 24
.
.
.
Round : 2
Death Count : 11
[●List of Deaths by Round]
[●Collected Endings]
[●Functions]
[●Resolution List]
[...]
——————————
"Oh."
A lot of things had appeared.
It was shocking enough that my death count had gone over ten, but this was the first time I'd seen Functions and Resolution List.
"It said functions would unlock."
Was this it?
The Resolution List was probably exactly what it sounded like: a list of things I'd resolved.
There would probably only be one thing on it—the giant.
As soon as I thought about it, the window switched.
——————————
[●Resolution List]
[...]
[Descendant of the Singing Star]
——————————
"As expected, there's only one."
Was that because this was the only thing I'd resolved?
Strictly speaking, the vampire had only run away. The fake Administration had gotten thoroughly beaten once and then stopped trying to provoke me. And with the hospital, all I'd done was escape.
[Descendant of the Singing Star]
I was curious about its identity, but nothing else appeared. If I'd gone through all that to resolve it, the least it could do was give me some information.
"Or maybe the status window's functions haven't unlocked yet."
Now that I knew functions like this existed, there was also a chance that other ones existed too. I'd look into that gradually.
"Hmm."
Come to think of it.
In this round, I hadn't had any contact with the fake Administration. After dying in the brain-extraction incident and browsing the Sejeong board, I'd decided not to get involved with them at all. Aside from calling Department Head Lee Do-hyung to the hospital, I had no connection to them.
"A connection, huh."
Thinking about connections brought Sal-hyung and the nun to mind.
"The black stone."
I didn't currently have the black-stone necklace.
It was a rare item I could obtain by delivering Dr. Kim Sung-han's ring to the Arab lady. I should get it soon.
If I had it, I might be able to build another good relationship with Sal-hyung. Rare items like that had to be collected no matter what.
Sal-hyung had apparently been stationed at the Itaewon mosque in Korea, so I should be able to find him somehow.
But would it be strange for me, as an agent, to just go looking for him?
Thinking about it, the Administration, Islam, and the Vatican had formed an alliance during the giant incident, but the whole thing had seemed more like something they'd been forced to do.
They might not be on friendly terms now, so it would be better to approach carefully.
"All right."
These were things I needed to know anyway.
When I went to work tomorrow, I'd learn about Islam and the Vatican too.
"As for Sister Blaret... I do know where she is for now."
Since she was working as a clerk at a Christian shop, there had to be something there. Sister Blaret had said she was a half-vampire and was tracking down the True Ancestor, so it might be good to visit her when I fought the vampires.
"..."
In this round, I hadn't met either Sal-hyung or Sister Blaret.
It felt like such a shame.
"Functions."
Should I move on to Functions?
[●Functions]
This looked like the main feature to me.
"It said I was given 5,000 points."
When I focused for a moment, the window changed.
——————————
[●Functions]
[...]
[●Points Held : 5,000]
[●Acquire Ability]
——————————
"Oh, as expected!"
The 5,000 points came through properly, wha—what?!
"Acquire Ability?!"
I could acquire abilities?!
[●You can spend 3,000 points to acquire a new ability]
The window changed the moment I was startled...!
"This is insane!"
So I could get abilities by spending points?
What the hell were these bastards thinking, only giving me this now?!
I looked over everything, but no concrete explanation appeared. It didn't say what kind of ability it was or what form it would take. Apparently I could spend points to acquire an ability—but could it be random, like a gacha?
If that was the case, they should have given me a ten-pull along with the vampire encounter!
"But why is it so expensive?"
3,000 points for one ability? I received 5,000 points for resolving the giant incident, so wasn't that ridiculously high?
"..."
I should probably investigate the criteria for receiving points too. Maybe the giant was such a pathetic weakling that I only got 5,000 points.
Whatever the case, I now knew the status window had an incredible function.
An ability?
I would definitely acquire an incredible ability. Then, with an ability that overwhelmed everyone else's, I'd beat that crazy vampire bitch to death. I'd beat her until she was as miserable as possible. I'd pay her back for everything she'd done to me. It had been a long time ago, but my hatred hadn't faded at all.
While I was at it, I'd get revenge on the fake Administration and tear the hospital apart too.
Dr. Kim Sung-han, please wait for me.
I will definitely save you.
"Let's do it!"
If I had points, I had to use them.
Judging from the circumstances, it seemed random, so I decided to pray for something good.
"Allahu Akbar! O Allah! Please bestow your light upon me!"
As I prayed to Allah, I could almost see an apparition of Sal-hyung giving me a thumbs-up.
The moment I heightened my focus while looking at that apparition.
ㅡFwoosh!
——————————
[...][...][...]
[...][...][...]
[...][...][...]
——————————
Several slots appeared, like a random loot box.
Was it telling me to choose one?
With things like this, I usually press the exact center first... I was thinking that when—
ㅡDing!
[You have acquired a new ability.]
[You can now detect new phenomena.]
"Detection?"
That was the moment I finished reading the explanation.
[You have unlocked your first ability.]
[Additional functions of the status window have been unlocked.]
[You can now use the Point Shop.]
"There are more things?!"
——————————
[●Status Window]
Name : Kim Geunhong
Age : 24
.
.
.
Round : 2
Death Count : 11
[●List of Deaths by Round]
[●Collected Endings]
[●Functions]
[●Resolution List]
[●Owned Abilities]
[●Point Shop]
[...]
——————————
"Wow!"
This was insane, absolutely insane!
Now it was even giving me a Point Shop?
I felt incredibly satisfied as I looked at my beefed-up status window. It felt like I'd acquired my first means of powering up after starting a game.
Riding high, I immediately entered the Point Shop.
.
.
.
——————————
[●Point Shop]
[-Available Purchases]
[●2,000 Points]
[-Lowers the death count by (1).]
[●2,000 Points]
[-The #$%#$%$ value will decrease.]
——————————
.
.
.
It was as if the excitement I'd felt just moments ago had been a lie.
"What's this?"
My body turned cold in an instant.
Then an inexplicable anxiety began filling my heart.
The anxiety filling my heart spread into my innards and then throughout my entire body. I felt a chill as though my fingertips were freezing.
There were two things available for purchase in the shop.
One was lowering my death count.
The other was lowering something unknown.
A value I couldn't read.
"..."
What... was this?
Death count.
Was this important after all?
I checked my death count again.
[Death Count : 11]
Eleven times.
I'd died eleven times so far.
"Was this something important enough that I had to spend points to lower it?"
I didn't know.
What were points, anyway, and why was the shop selling things like this?
A chill rose all the way to my bones.
"Was I... not supposed to die?"
Generally speaking.
People obviously weren't supposed to die.
No one could come back to life, and life ended when you died. No one could defy that.
But I'd come back to life over and over with this regression ability and made it through all kinds of situations.
Simple regression.
Wasn't it an ability without any penalties?
"No, no."
It could just be an assumption.
Maybe it was simply some value that could be lowered.
A death penalty? It would be strange if there were such a thing... No.
"To begin with."
Why did this strange status window exist?
Why did I have the ability to regress?
Questions filled my head. At this moment, I had an overwhelmingly strong feeling that I shouldn't die anymore. There had to be a reason. There had to be a reason why I could lower my death count with points...
"Then... what does this mean?"
The one below it.
"What value does it lower...?"
[The #$%#$%$ value will decrease.]
I stared at it.
But the status window didn't answer me.
It simply remained that way.
Amid my unanswered questions, I realized that I was alone. There was no one else in the apartment. No. This didn't merely mean that I was alone.
I wouldn't be able to discuss this with anyone.