Chapter 559 – Pretty Useless Bastard (5)

Lee Chul Min was the one to break the silence.

"…A, are you out of your mind?"

He could speak easily now that he opened his mouth to speak.

His voice slowly started to get louder.

"I always thought this son of a bitch was crazy! How dare you spew such bullshit without knowing what you should and should not say? Huh?"

Lee Chul Min approached Cale.

He looked ready to grab him by the collar at any moment.

"Enough!"

Park Jin Tae's loud voice filled the room at that moment.

"That's enough, Lee Chul Min."
"Leader-nim!"
"Be quiet!"

Lee Chul Min's anger instantly subsided after hearing Park Jin Tae get angry.

Park Jin Tae looked toward Kim Rok Soo.

"…Explain it in detail."

Cale turned away from Park Jin Tae and looked at Grandma Kim and the siblings.

"…Hey."
"Hyung…this-"

The siblings looked at Cale with flustered expressions

On the other hand, Grandma Kim was the calmest person in the room.

She gently smiled toward Cale. However, Cale could tell that this was a forced smile.

She didn't want to show that her mind was completely chaotic.

She was putting on a front for Kim Rok Soo who was speaking.

She smiled as best as she could before starting to speak.

"Hey, Rok Soo. You know the weight of your words, right?"

That was why Cale had no choice but to respond.

"Yes, ma'am, I do."

He looked back toward Park Jin Tae.

"It is exactly as I said, sir."

Tomorrow at noon.

A solar eclipse would happen throughout the world at the same time.

That alone was enough to realize that this was no regular solar eclipse.

And one minute later…

Once the sun shone down on the world again…

Every central shelter on Earth would disappear.

Park Jin Tae recalled what Cale said word for word before repeating the last part.

"…Finally, the monsters will charge in like a tsunami and attack the central shelter."

They all heard Kim Rok Soo's voice again.

"The monsters will not randomly attack together. They will attack based on their Grade."
"…Grade?"
"Yes, sir. Grade. It is based on a monster's strength and abilities."

Park Jin Tae started to frown.

"…Monster Grades-"

Grades had yet to be determined at this time.

Cale knew this was the case as well.

However, people had investigated the issue of the central shelters and the monsters later on.

It had been based on what people remembered, but they were able to gather a lot of information that way.

One of them was the Grades of the attacking monsters.

"It starts with those at Grade 3 and below. Then the Grade 2 monsters will come. Finally, the Grade 1 monsters will attack. Of course, Grade 1 monsters are the strongest."

That was why there was talk in the future about whether this pattern was some sort of training for humans to be able to fight against the unranked monsters.

Of course, the reality was hell for it to just be training.

Park Jin Tae looked toward Kim Rok Soo with difficult emotions.

'I definitely felt that something seemed different, but…'

Kim Rok Soo had felt different than normal after being hit earlier.

That was the reason he had chosen to chat with him, but…

This was too difficult to accept.

Park Jin Tae opened his mouth to speak.

"… Are you out of your mind?"

That was the only way he could ask.

He then heard a response.

"Are you questioning my ability? Would you like me to tell you more?"

That response made Park Jin Tae shut his mouth.

'You're an ability user with multiple abilities, right?'

He heard the thing Kim Rok Soo whispered in his ear once again.

It was such a large secret that he couldn't even get angry at the fact that Kim Rok Soo was speaking informally to him.

Park Jin Tae looked toward Cale again.

He pointed to himself.

"Tell me one more thing."

Tell him one more of his secrets.

Cale chuckled at the gesture and walked over to Park Jin Tae.

Park Jin Tae's grip tightened on the couch as he watched Cale walk over.

'He'll definitely tell me about the ability I'm hiding.'

Park Jin Tae started to get nervous.

Kim Rok Soo whispered at that moment.

"You are going to fight in the frontlines, putting your life on the line, if danger arrives at this place."

Park Jin Tae's pupils shook even more than before.

"You're going to say that the old and weak people are getting in your way of fighting and evacuate them first. Then will be people like me who don't have any abilities."

His voice was extremely calm as if he knew he was telling the truth.

Kim Rok Soo had already experienced it once before.

"The last. Once it is the last moment and everybody else is gone… That's when you will run away."

Cale moved away from Park Jin Tae's ear and looked at him.

The two of them made eye contact and Cale started to speak again.

"That's the kind of person you are."

Park Jin Tae slowly started to speak.

"Ha, hahaha-"

His laughter filled the room.

He was laughing so hard that he was starting to tear up.

"…Haaa."

He then caught his breath…

And started to speak with a smile also as if he was sighing.

"Looks like I had an even bigger secret found out."

He then heard Kim Rok Soo's voice again.

"I'm going to save you too."

Park Jin Tae's eyes opened wide. He looked at Kim Rok Soo with a piercing gaze before finally starting to speak.

"What is your plan?"
"Leader-nim!"

Lee Chul Min who had quietly been standing there raised his voice as if he couldn't let this continue, but Park Jin Tae didn't even give him a glance.

He was only focused on Cale's lips.

Cale slowly started to speak as if to respond to that focused gaze.

"We must create an attack team. We will then initiate a defensive battle. The center of the defensive battle will be-"

Cale could not continue speaking.

"Leader-nim, are you really going to believe this bastard-"
"Silence!"

Tap!

The sound of his hand slapping down on the wooden armrest sharply echoed in the room.

Lee Chul Min looked toward the person in shock.

Grandma Kim.

She was the one who had told Lee Chul Min to be quiet.

"Rok Soo, keep going."
"Yes, ma'am."

Park Jin Tae showed his agreement with Grandma Kim by remaining silent.

Cale continued to speak.

"The center of the defensive battle will be Jang Man Soo. It needs to be him."

Everybody in the room flinched at this sudden name that was mentioned.

This was not a name they had expected to hear at all.

"The mister's ability specializes in defense."

Park Jin Tae subconsciously started to mumble after hearing what Cale said.

"…Mr. Jang Man Soo awakened an ability?"
"That's right. You can confirm it tomorrow."

The extremely calm voice made it seem as if he was telling the truth.

Cale then continued to speak to Park Jin Tae.

"And Park Jin Tae, you will be the center of the attack team."

Park Jin Tae gulped and started to speak.

"But isn't it better to go to a different temporary shelter rather than protecting this central shelter?"

He thought it would be better to move to a temporary shelter and avoid the monsters' attacks that way instead of defending if a horde of monsters were going to attack.

"Well, we would need to go to multiple temporary shelters to fit everyone."

The central shelters were much larger than the other shelters. That was why they would need to split up and go to different shelters.

They would then have to keep moving to different temporary shelters.

They had no idea when any temporary shelter would disappear.

They were not going to stay safe forever.

Cale shook his head.

"That is not a good idea."
"…Why?"
"Unfortunately, the monsters will attack the temporary shelters as well. Of course, the number of monsters attacking those shelters will be less than here at the central shelter, but it will not be a small number as it will be based on the number of people who will be at the temporary shelter."
"Ho."

Someone let out a gasp.

But what Cale said next put the people even more at a loss for words.

Cale calmly stated the things that ended up happening.

"Furthermore, the temporary shelters will gradually lose their abilities once the central shelters disappear."

Even Lee Chul Min did not bare his fangs at Cale this time.

"…So, you're saying that in the end, all shelters will disappear?"
"Yes."

Lee Chul Min's voice was shaking after hearing Cale's firm response.

"…That will be hell."

His voice could not help but shake as he imagined hell on earth.

"The world will only be without any shelters for three hours."

Park Jin Tae looked toward Cale again.

Cale continued to speak as everybody's gazes were focused on him.

"A different looking central shelter will appear one day after these central shelters disappear."
"Then we can go there!"

Cale nodded his head at Lee Jin Joo's statement.

"As long as we can survive one night that is."

Park Jin Tae brushed his face with both hands.

He didn't question whether Cale was telling the truth or not anymore.

They had all faced this unbelievable situation known as the cataclysm already.

They always had to prepare for the worst.

That was especially the case if the worst-case scenario was going to be hell.

Park Jin Tae opened his mouth to speak.

"Does a Grade 1 monster have to be as strong as the bastard with three horns?"

Monsters did not have names yet and were called out by their characteristics at this time.

Cale nodded his head.

"That monster is one of the Grade 1 monsters."
"And those things will come attacking like a tsunami?"
"After the Grade 3 and Grade 2 monsters go by."

Lee Chul Min subconsciously started to speak.

"O, our attack team can't handle it if more than four of them come at once! We will die! But they're going to come like a tsunami? How is that possible?"
"Of course, there will be less of them than the Grade 3 and Grade 2 monsters."
"That's obvious! There aren't as many of those strong bastards! Even still, even still, there has to be at least more than ten of them, right? Especially if all of the ones around us come to attack!"
"Definitely more."

Lee Chul Min's eyes were full of fear.

He heard Park Jin Tae's stern voice at that moment.

"We can't last through that."

He continued to speak.

"It is impossible. All of us can't survive."
"No."

Cale was stern.

"We will persist."
"…How are you so sure about that?"

Unlike Park Jin Tae's voice that was full of hesitation, Kim Rok Soo's voice had no hesitation at all.

"We can move to the new central shelter without any of us dying."
"…How?"

'How are you able to say such things?'

That was what Park Jin Tae's eyes were asking.

Smile.

Kim Rok Soo started to smile.

The skinny young man with a sharp gaze started to smile brightly.

The blood-colored eyes bastard had made a big mistake.

Cale opened his mouth to speak.

"Data."

Park Jin Tae subconsciously asked back.

"…Data?"

The ability that Cale had awakened while he was Kim Rok Soo could not be used 'right now.'

But that did not mean that the memories he had gathered had disappeared.

His power came not from the present nor the future, but from his experiences in the past.

It was important to awaken his ability, but there was a reason he thought that this battle at the central shelter was doable even without it.

Cale had a power that came from experience.

"I have all of the data regarding those monsters."

Cale who was in Kim Rok Soo's body right now, the man who had lived as Kim Rok Soo until he was thirty-six and then lived as Cale continued to speak.

"Weaknesses, movement patterns, attacking styles, and destructive force. I also know the order in which the monsters will attack."

His voice was starting to get stronger.

"All of that information is in my head."

The records he had gathered while facing despair in the past.

That was a way to have hope right now.

"We can win because we have data."

Data.

That had been the foundation for how humans were able to create societies on Earth again, the thing that allowed them to go from being weaklings to proper opponents of the monsters.

"Please trust my data. Then we will all survive."

All of them looked toward Kim Rok Soo with complicated expressions.

But at that moment…

"I have always trusted you."

One person walked over to Kim Rok Soo and grabbed his hand.

"…Grandma."
"You're a good kid. You also have a strong will. Who would I trust if I can't trust someone like you?"

He heard Park Jin Tae's voice.

"Lee Chul Min."
"Y, yes sir?"
"We are changing to emergency status immediately."

Park Jin Tae got up from the couch.

He looked out the window.

The sun was already setting.

He walked past Cale and headed out the door.

"We don't have much time so we will trust your prophecy for now, Kim Rok Soo. Lee Chul Min!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Call over all of the ability users with attacking abilities."

Lee Chul Min opened his mouth to speak as if he was a trained soldier.

"Yes si-"

It was at that moment.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

They heard a loud explosion.

They could feel the old building slightly shaking.

"Aaaaaah!"

Lee Seung Won plopped down on the ground in shock as he shouted.

"O, outside!"
"What? Did a monster already appear?"

Lee Chul Min who was also shocked responded to him.

'What is going on? I don't have any memories of this happening.'

Cale looked out the window after hearing this sudden explosion as well.

This was the first time.

This was the first time he heard an explosion like this since coming here.

He could see the sunset outside the window.

"…T, this crazy!"

Cale started to frown.

He quickly rushed toward the door.

"Hey, what's going on?!"

Park Jin Tae was shocked at his action but Cale pushed Park Jin Tae aside and ran out the door.

He heard Lee Jin Joo mumbling behind him.

"…A black dragon?"

Cale started to frown even more.

'Why is that here?! Why is that here right now?!'

The black Yong shooting up into the sky was the culprit behind the explosion.

It was a sparkling black Yong.

"Why is this punk, why, why?!"

Cale didn't have any time to think.

He quickly ran down the stairs and headed outside the building.

"Hey, hey! Kim Rok Soo!"

He heard Jang Man Soo who was waiting on the first floor calling his name, but Cale didn't have any time to look back.

He heard Park Jin Tae and Lee Seung Won's voices behind him as well, but he still could not look back.

Cale ran outside the building.

The sparkling black Yong that was shooting up to the sky was turning faint and disappearing.

However, Cale ran in the direction of the Yong.

Cale could run without worrying about anything as there were no monsters near the central shelter.

He heard Park Jin Tae's voice far behind him.

"Hey! You're about to step outside the boundary!"

That was the case.

He would soon be past the boundary and it would not be weird if monsters appeared at any moment to attack Kim Rok Soo.

But Cale could not stop.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey!"

He could see someone walking over to him in the distance.

"…You-"

Cale slowed down.

He could not believe what he was seeing.

However, the distance between him and the approaching person slowly became smaller.

The person had started to move faster as Cale slowed down.

And finally, the person stopped in front of Cale.

Cale started to speak.

"…You…why are you?"

The other person started to speak.

"You seem to be around my age right now, when is this?"

Cale finally managed to open his mouth that was difficult to open.

"Choi Han."

Choi Han was standing in front of him.

The sparkling black Yong.

That was Choi Han's skill.

"…How did you...?"
"I found a way to squeeze in."
"What?"

Choi Han quietly looked at the skinny and shabby Kim Rok Soo as he continued to speak.

"Cale-nim, you are currently unconscious and imprisoned inside a black orb."

His voice was calm.

"I went to the Endable Kingdom, but I was unable to get near it. It is impossible to get near it."

What was he talking about?

Cale's mind started to become complicated.

'I'm imprisoned inside a black orb right now?'

His gaze was focused on Choi Han.

His clothes did not match this world, but his physical appearance that was perfect for Korea was looking at him, at Kim Rok Soo.

"That is why I found a way to squeeze into Cale-nim's mind, into the test."

Cale was shocked that Choi Han knew about the test.

"How can you get involved-"
"I made a deal with the God of Death."
"…What?"

Choi Han started to smile.

"I made a deal with the God of Death so that I could get involved with this test."

He then quickly added on.

"I needed to help you, Cale-nim."

Cale started to frown even more.

Choi Han calmly continued to speak while looking at his frown.

"Isn't it better to do it together than to do it alone?"

Cale suppressed his emotions that were trying to make him tear up and opened his mouth to speak.

"…What did you offer him?"

What did he offer the God of Death to make the deal?

Cale asked and Choi Han answered as if it was nothing.

"He said that I would live longer than Raon. I didn't want that. I didn't want to be left alone. So, I matched my lifespan to Raon's."
"…You offered a part of your lifespan to the God of Death?"
"Yes. Only the time I would end up living alone."

Cale couldn't help but say the following.

"You crazy bastard!"
"That's what I wanted because I didn't want to be left alone. I didn't want to experience solitude anymore."
"Are you crazy?"

An innocent smile appeared on Choi Han's face.

"Unfortunately, I haven't been normal for a long time."

Cale heard people approaching behind him.

"Who is this?"
"Hyung, who is this person?"

Choi Han smiled brightly and responded once he heard Park Jin Tae and Lee Seung Won who had followed Cale.

"I'm someone who came to pay for his meals."

Cale had to bite his lips after hearing that because of the emotions filling his body.

He barely managed to speak.

"I'm sorry."

That was the only thing he could offer Choi Han right now.

"And thank you. Really, thank you very much."

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]