Chapter 19
It was unimaginable now, but in the past, when the city government had been pouring its efforts into expanding residential areas, the districts in the forties had been widely regarded as prime real estate where success was practically guaranteed. Companies and construction firms of every kind had spared no expense investing there.
As a result, an urban development plan packed with lavish names like Boutique Street and Entertainment Mega Tower had been drawn up.
Had everything proceeded according to plan, the districts in the forties would undoubtedly have enjoyed lasting fame as both tourist destinations and havens promising a prosperous life.
That was, of course, if war had not suddenly broken out between the corporations and the Families.
The clash between those two leviathans changed everything.
The land that had once dreamed of becoming paradise plunged into the abyss overnight, leaving countless monstrosities behind.
From a historian’s perspective, the thirty-three-story building used as the Resistance’s base could easily be considered one of the darker legacies of that era.
In a world where the war had never happened, the building would have become a glittering five-star hotel. Instead, after countless crude modifications, it had long since been converted into a fortress.
Training rooms, barracks, operation rooms, armories, and more were packed tightly inside it like dense muscle fibers.
Seeing something like this for the first time, Jin let out an impressed exclamation.
“Wow. You really are an army…”
“You thought we were some neighborhood watch playing make-believe?”
Albus, who was walking ahead, chuckled.
Then he glanced back and asked,
“By the way, do you really have to check it out right now? You’re a critical patient. You were hovering between life and death until a few days ago.”
“I’m curious.”
Jin had gotten out of bed the instant he heard there was a reward waiting for him.
When he began rattling along with a wheeled IV stand in tow, the woman who claimed to be his attending physician had nearly jumped out of her skin. She insisted that he needed more rest and tried to stop him, but who could stand in the way of a determined man?
In the end, Jin had Albus lead the way and followed after him.
Even though his legs were trembling from muscle pain.
“I’m worried you’ll be disappointed.”
“So what? It’s free… I mean, it’s a bonus. I’ll be grateful for whatever I get.”
Jin answered Albus’s half-serious, half-joking remark, then suddenly glanced behind him.
The attending physician, who had been following several paces back, hurriedly ducked behind a nearby pillar.
What’s with her? Why is she acting like that?
Jin could not recall doing anything that might have appealed to her romantically.
Is she following because she’s worried about me?
Tilting his head, he faced forward again and continued dragging the rattling IV stand behind him like a cart.
The elevator Albus led him into descended to the fourth basement level and opened with a ding.
A massive garage steeped in the smell of gasoline greeted Jin.
The vehicles inside ranged from compact cars to armored vehicles—or, more precisely, armored personnel carriers.
Albus raised his voice.
“Ben!”
No answer came back.
“Is he working…?”
Albus muttered under his breath and began walking.
After they had gone a short distance, faint music drifted toward them from somewhere.
At the source of the sound was a vehicle with its hood raised. Two legs protruded from beneath it, and Albus gave them a few light kicks.
“Ah, damn it. What?”
A voice thick with irritation responded.
A moment later, someone lying on a flat mechanic’s creeper slid out from under the vehicle.
“Albus?”
The man’s soot-stained face twisted into a deep frown before he sat up.
He had a thick, bushy beard. Pulling off a headset playing music loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear, he spoke.
“What is it? Can’t you see I’m working?”
“This is part of your work too… First, turn that down.”
Albus squeezed his eyes shut as he spoke.
The man called Ben gave him a crooked look and switched off the music.
“Always nagging… So, what do you want?”
“This Solo here has braved his injuries because he simply must see your latest creation.”
Albus pointed a thumb over his shoulder, and Ben’s eyes naturally met Jin’s.
A brief silence followed.
Then the hairy man nodded with an exclamation of realization.
“Ohhh. So you’re that guy. I’ve heard all about you.”
“News of my heroic exploits has already—”
“They say your dick is huge.”
“What?”
Still bewildered, Jin found himself shaking the thick hand that Ben had already extended toward him.
“Nice to meet you. I’ve already got your ride ready. Follow me.”
After finishing the vigorous handshake, during which their clasped hands swung wildly up and down, Ben stomped off ahead.
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence settled over Albus, Jin, and the attending physician standing some distance away.
Albus cleared his throat.
“You were completely covered in blood. Your clothes were practically rags, so we had no choice but to change you. As for the rumor… I know nothing about it.”
With that, he hurried away.
Jin glanced toward the attending physician, scratched the back of his head several times, and started walking again.
“Here. This is it.”
Ben clapped his hands together.
In front of him stood something covered by a white cloth.
Jin’s eyes widened as soon as he saw its silhouette and guessed what lay underneath.
Wait. Don’t tell me this is…
“Your friend told me you don’t have a ride. A Solo who still runs everywhere on foot in this day and age? Aren’t you a little too honest for your own good?”
Ben grinned and yanked away the cloth.
Just as Jin had expected, a motorcycle was unveiled with a flourish.
It had a matte khaki body and a futuristic design that radiated a dignified sense of weight. At the same time, it had clearly undergone extensive modifications, giving it a rugged rather than polished appearance.
“Whoa. Oh. Damn… Wow.”
Jin could not help but pour out exclamations at the powerful first impression.
Ben watched him with a proud expression.
“Looks good, doesn’t it? The basic frame is from a Nocturne Industries Lion XR, but I tore out and replaced practically everything else. It weighs a little more than the original now, but I boosted the engine performance to compensate, so you probably won’t notice much difference.”
Even that brief explanation seemed to excite him, and Ben began enthusiastically rattling off specifications and technical details about the motorcycle that no one had asked for.
Naturally, Jin understood almost none of it.
Something about injector pressure, something else about variable valve timing.
He’s exactly like that old man Brof.
Jin decided that from now on, he would remember Ben as Young Brof.
Still, out of respect for the man’s enthusiasm, he nodded repeatedly.
As Jin diligently offered gestures of agreement, Young Brof suddenly threw him a question.
“So, what are you going to name it?”
“Huh?”
“Its name. Every proper vehicle needs a cool name. This thing has been completely reborn. We can’t keep calling it a Lion XR, can we?”
Ben stopped talking and stared at him.
Faced with those expectant eyes, Jin furrowed his brow.
Damn it. Why are you making me do this?
You’re putting me under way too much pressure.
Even so, he hurriedly racked his brain.
Just before the silence became unbearably awkward, Jin finally managed to move his lips.
“Uh… What did you say the original frame was called again?”
“Lion XR.”
“Right, Lion XR. So it’s basically a lion. And you gave it wings and replaced its tail with one covered in spikes, right? Since you upgraded it.”
“Hmm. I suppose I did?”
After seeing Ben nod in agreement, Jin continued.
“A giant winged lion that swings a spiked tail. So... how about Manticore?”
He had simply blurted out the first thing that came to mind, then cautiously watched Ben's reaction.
“Ohoho! That's perfect! Perfect! A monster lion! Manticore!”
Ben burst into laughter so hard that every one of his teeth was on display.
“You're surprisingly good at naming things. All right, Solo. Starting today, you're the owner of Manticore. Go out there and ride her hard!”
A moment later, Ben flicked something through the air with a ting!
Jin caught it out of reflex, opened his palm, and looked down.
It was the motorcycle key.
He let out a sigh.
“Claiming a reward sure isn't easy.”
Now that he had the key, it would've been nice if he could kick up a cloud of dust and ride off dramatically.
Unfortunately, he was still lying on a stiff hospital bed in nothing but a patient's gown.
In movies, the hero always woke up after a serious injury, ripped out the IV like a badass, threw on a jacket, and walked away.
Sadly, Jin felt far too terrible for any of that.
He obediently decided to finish every last drop of the IV.
Every single drop cost money.
What a waste it'd be otherwise.
How much time had passed after making that decision?
As Jin silently watched the IV drip, a face suddenly flashed through his mind.
A tall figure clad in a pitch-black leather long coat.
A beaked plague doctor's mask.
To him, it was the monster he had branded as the Plague Doctor.
That fight had truly been dangerous.
If Fenrir hadn't been there...
If the bomb hadn't exploded at exactly the right moment...
If they hadn't miraculously broken through the barrier...
Had even one of those countless variables turned out differently, he would have died without question.
His survival had depended on a chain of uncontrollable coincidences.
In one sense, that made him lucky.
In another, it left a deeply unsettling feeling.
More importantly...
The Plague Doctor hadn't died.
It wasn't merely a gut feeling.
He hadn't received any experience points.
The only experience Jin had earned was the quest completion reward.
Which meant...
The monster had survived that explosion and was still out there somewhere.
The moment that realization sank in, his palms became damp with sweat.
Unable to stay still, Jin hurriedly pushed himself upright.
Leaning against the headboard, he slowly exhaled before carefully trying to circulate his mana.
Or rather...
He tried to.
If not for the agony that felt as though tens of thousands of needles were stabbing him from within.
“...!!”
Unable even to scream, Jin collapsed onto the bed, his body trembling violently.
He curled his fingers and toes, desperately enduring the pain.
Then someone pulled aside the curtain and injected something into his IV.
A little while later, once he had finally calmed down, Jin looked toward the woman adjusting the drip rate and forced out a few words.
“Th-thank...”
“You need to be careful. Your mana circuits have practically been torn to shreds. If you force your mana again, you could die from shock.”
She had gone straight to the heart of the matter.
Even through the pain, Jin asked,
“...I thought you were a doctor. You're a mage?”
“If talent as insignificant as mine can even be called that.”
She answered quietly.
After hesitating for a moment, she dragged over a chair—just as Albus had done earlier—and sat beside his bed.
“My name is Grace.”
“...I'm Jin.”
As Jin blinked at the unexpected introduction, Grace fidgeted with her fingers before speaking again.
“Jin... do you know what condition your body is in?”
“My body?”
What?
Am I terminally ill?
Hearing those words from the attending physician who had been quietly trailing him around all day made Jin instinctively tense up.
Like any anxious patient, he immediately began stumbling over his words.
“What? Is it really that bad? It shouldn't be. My recovery speed is honestly ridiculous. I might look like this now, but in a few days I'll—”
“Exactly.”
Grace cut him off.
“It is ridiculous.”
She swallowed hard.
“You definitely died.”
Not terminally ill...
Declared dead?
Jin stared at Grace with an expression that plainly asked, How exactly am I supposed to take that?
“But... I'm alive.”
“You are.”
She nodded.
“You're alive. Saying you died was... I'm sorry. That was too strong a way to put it. I'm simply astonished. Someone whose proteins had denatured and whose internal organs had begun coagulating... waking up again is beyond belief.”
“I told you. I recover ridiculously fast.”
“No.”
Grace shook her head.
“That alone can't explain it.
Unless... it was Reconstruction.”
Jin fell silent.
Because the Plague Doctor had mentioned the very same thing before.
“Reconstruction?”
“It's a higher-order concept than healing. More of an urban legend than anything else.”
She spoke carefully.
“It's said that when someone is pushed beyond the limits of survival and ordinary regeneration is no longer possible, the body destroys the damaged areas and rebuilds them from scratch.”
“And it doesn't simply restore them.”
“The rebuilt body becomes stronger than it was before.”
After finally voicing her theory, Grace visibly relaxed.
Only then did Jin realize she'd been debating all day whether she should even tell him.
Bringing up something that sounded like an urban legend to someone who had practically come back from the dead couldn't have been easy.
Just as that thought crossed his mind...
Grace's expression grew serious once more.
“If I'm not mistaken... if it really was Reconstruction...”
She looked straight at him.
“Jin... then as long as you survive, you may continue growing stronger.”
“Almost as though... you're evolving.”
Evolution.
At that moment, Jin remembered his own trait.
The one thing a playable character could choose at the very beginning.
Unlike skills, you couldn't pick multiple traits.
Nor could you ever change it later.
It was the very identity of your playthrough.
Irregular.
A being that transcends the limits of its species.
Only now did Jin finally understand what that vague description truly meant.
What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
Nietzsche's famous words...
He had never imagined they'd become so literal.
Jin rubbed his face with both hands.
Then he remembered an old online recommendation for the game.
He remembered the anonymous player who had written it.
And he remembered his younger sibling, who had recommended the Vagabond build.
Had they ever imagined something like this?
Of course not.
To them, Project Neo had been nothing more than data on the other side of a monitor.
A veteran player had simply put together a beginner-friendly build that was hard to fail with.
By some cruel twist of fate...
The person who read that guide had been kidnapped into a world gone mad.
Yeah.
That was all it was.
A story no one else in the world could ever understand.
A truth known only to him.
After letting out a hollow laugh for a long while, Jin quietly muttered,
“Goddamn world.”