Chapter 38 - 37 : Poison Tower

I slept for twelve hours straight. Twelve hours. That’s all we had left before Mission 3. The world hadn’t stopped breathing, but I swear it had gone quieter. A storm silence. Not peace—just a pause. We were back in the warehouse for now, reinforced from every angle. Our traps hadn’t been triggered since the last goblin swarm, and our little group had earned one day of stability. Most of us were pretending it was enough. But Mother? She wasn’t pretending. Her eyes were glowing crimson again as she sat cross-legged near the center, a deck of cards splayed in front of her—each one linked to the weapons we’d scavenged and stored. She wasn’t reading fortunes "The third, that is best for you." she said, gesturing to me. She placed her palm on the center card. The edges flared faintly green. When I touched it, the warehouse around me rippled—and something ancient crept into my hand. It wasn’t steel. It wasn’t fancy. It was a sword carved from rich, aged wood—gnarled at the hilt, smooth at the grip, engraved with tiny living leaves that pulsed faintly when I held it tight. A notification slid into my mind. [Weapon: Verdant Branchblade – Naturebound] > – Basic attacks apply Binding Roots. > – Minor Heal (Touch-Based). > – New Skill Gained: [Bark skin] > → Encase yourself in wooden armor> Reduces physical damage by 35%. Alright,* I thought, flexing the weightless blade. Who said only metal can kill? "Ugh, at least it’s better than your wooden staff " Ye-Rin muttered behind me, "this system is trolling me." She had drawn a pair of—wait for it—sunglasses. Classic black shades, like the ones old Korean detectives wore in 80s dramas. She slid them on with a sigh. "+20 charm when facing reptile-type monsters," she said blankly. I blinked. "...You’re joking." "I wish I was." Mi-Sun arched an eyebrow. "They suit you." Ye-Rin struck a pose. "Dino boys beware. I’m irresistible now." We shared a much-needed laugh. Mother’s card next lit up. A bandanna, deep red and embroidered with an ancient symbol, folded itself into her palm. [Worn Relic: Crimson Focus Band] > – +10 Mental Resistance. > – Increases resistance to mind control, illusion, fear. She wrapped it around her wrist like a charm, her mouth set firm. "Good. I’ll need it." While the rest of us examined our loot, Sang-Woo was sitting beside Hyun-Tae. He was hunched over, fingers trembling around the double-barreled shotgun laid across his lap. His eyes weren’t really here—they were stuck somewhere between panic and regret. Sang-Woo didn’t say much. Just sat with him. Like someone might sit beside a grave. Then the shotgun... spoke. "Are you gonna mope forever, or can we move on?" Hyun-Tae jerked so hard he nearly dropped it. "WHAT—?!" The shotgun twitched in his grip. Its barrel shimmered slightly—embedded with glowing sigils. "Took you long enough to wake up, champ. I’m not just a weapon—I’m your conscience with buckshot. And newsflash, you suck at pep talks and why are you always on high? Are you on crack?" Sang-Woo choked back a laugh. "It... talks?" The shotgun grumbled. "Unfortunately. I’ve been stuck with this drama queen for six days now. You try being cradled by a grown man who sobs louder than his gunshots." Hyun-Tae just stared. "What... are you?" [Weapon Awakened: Boom-Boom – Nature: Straight-Talker] – Sentient Shotgun – Automatically loads. High morale damage. – Passive Ability: *Unfiltered Banter.* "You’re my Nature?" Hyun-Tae mumbled. "No, genius. I came from your Nature. You’re a ’Talker’, right? Means everything around you starts developing opinions. Including me. And brother? You have issues.Look at your stat sheet. Name : Kim Hyun-Tae Gender : Male Age : 59 Level : 11 Nature : Talker Class : Wild Card Sub-Class : ( Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : (Unlocks after Sub-Class) Strength: 0110 Agility: 0110 Health Point: 0110 Magic point : 0110 Stamina : 0110 Nature : Talker Description: Rare chance of a weapon gaining its own consciousness after talking with it. Class : Wild Card Description : Can do anything. Learn anything. Be anything. Basically jack of all trades master of none In-Ji, polishing his pistol a few feet away, blinked. Boom-Boom turned to him. "Now that one? Nice aim. Clean shot. Polite trigger discipline." In-Ji blinked again. "...Thank you?" "See, was that so hard?" Boom-Boom said cheerfully. "Let’s all try not being emotional trainwrecks!" Hyun-Tae couldn’t help it. He started laughing. A little manic at first. Then steadier. And then he wiped his eyes and whispered, "Thanks." Meanwhile, Eun-ha sat on the second floor balcony with Seo-yeon, knees drawn to her chest. The girl was quiet—staring out into the horizon—but her eyes weren’t empty anymore. They were tired. But aware. "I was inside it for so long," she whispered. "I know," Seo-yeon said softly, brushing her hair. "I knew... something was wrong. But it felt warm. Like I wasn’t scared anymore." Seo-yeon nodded. "Because you were brave. You stayed strong even when you were alone." Eun-ha looked down. "...Do people hate me now?" "Never," Seo-yeon said firmly. "You were used. But you’re not broken. You’re still you." "I want to be helpful," she said. Seo-yeon hugged her tighter. "You already are." As the clock ticked down to zero— A gust of wind swirled inside the warehouse. And a familiar, annoying, godforsaken voice echoed like a clown at a funeral. "Helloooooo little roaches!!" Donald Duck’s voice. We were *teleported* before we could groan. The space around us bent, snapped, and suddenly we were standing on a large metallic platform. Far above the clouds. The sky was... tinged green. Toxic. "Did you miss me?" Donald asked, twirling an umbrella made of smoke. "No? Too bad!" His face was half-warped again—cartoonish and smiling, but stretched unnaturally. "Time for another round of existential horror! Mission 3 begins *now!*" We braced ourselves. > "Out of *323,604,128 participants," he said with a cheerful twirl, "40 million died in Mission 2. But! Silver lining! That means more people are adopting to this!" 279,825,671. That’s many people are alive. Ye-Rin muttered, "You call that a silver lining?" "Today’s challenge," Donald declared, spinning a cane, "is called Toxic Twins. Two poison towers have begun to leak into your region’s air system." Green clouds pulsed across a digital map behind him. "If both towers are not destroyed *at the same time*, the poison will spread uncontrollably, and everyone in Buk-gu will melt like butter in a microwave!" "Oh fun," I muttered. "Simultaneous destruction." "Oh, and by the way—each tower is guarded by a *Poison Keeper. Think big. Think gross. Think level 30 and above." Donald gave us a wink that made my blood curdle. "So! Split up! Plan ahead! Or die horribly!" The floor beneath us lit up. [MISSION 3: TOXIC TWINS – STARTS NOW] Objective: Destroy both towers at the same time. Penalty: Entire sector infection. Time Limit: 9 Hours. I looked around at our group. Seo-yeon, her eyes calm but steel-hard. Mi-Sun, already activating her bloody gaze. Sang-Woo, checking his shield and nodding to Boom-Boom, who replied, "Let’s rock." In-Ji, loading up. Hyun-Tae, standing straighter than ever, shotgun slung over his shoulder, muttering, "I got this." Ye-Rin, tilting her shades with a smirk. "Hope one of them is a lizard." And Eun-ha—safe behind us, watching with quiet eyes. I gripped my wooden blade, the leaves on it pulsing like a heartbeat.