The Devouring Genius of a Destroyed World-Chapter 26

"Ah, Mr. Ahn, this is Im Chan, my companion."

"I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Ahn Hee-seob."

"Hello, I'm Im Chan."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Im Chan cautiously spoke up.

"Are we leaving now?"

Seongho shook his head.

It was already getting late, and there was the issue of potential infections from today’s zombie clearing.

He decided they would wait until the infected showed signs of mutation.

It was a perfect opportunity to solve the Corruption Score problem.

"I’ve already received permission to stay a few more days, so we can think about when to leave."

Im Chan nodded, understanding.

The group packed their things and returned to the cathedral with Ahn Hee-seob.

The camp was busy cleaning up after the events of the day.

Naturally, most of them had suffered injuries.

Im Chan, upon learning this, gently spoke up.

"Would it help if I stepped in?"

His soft voice was enough for Ahn Hee-seob, who was guiding Seongho, to hear.

"What do you mean by stepping in?"

A hint of suspicion was evident in Ahn Hee-seob’s tone, his guard up.

Flustered, Im Chan stammered.

"Ah... well, um, I was a nurse before, so I thought I could help..."

Ahn Hee-seob’s eyes widened.

He briefly glanced between Seongho and Im Chan, processing this unexpected turn of events. Not only had Seongho saved them, but now he had brought an invaluable medical professional with him.

After a moment of contemplation, Ahn Hee-seob spoke, his voice now cautious.

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"Then, could you take a look at the wounded? We’ll compensate you separately."

"Uh... would that be okay? Seongho?"

"Im Chan can do as he pleases without needing my permission. If you're worried about the kids, I’ll look after them, so don’t worry."

After hesitating, Im Chan agreed to treat the injured.

The cathedral camp welcomed the newly arrived medical professional.

After Im Chan left, Seongho and Im Ji-hyo arrived at their two-person room in the convent.

"Ahjo... Ji-hyo’s sick."

Seongho took out some water from his backpack and fed it to Im Ji-hyo.

Then, suddenly, he tilted his head.

"...Do you have a fever?"

"Huh? No, I’m not hot!"

Im Ji-hyo immediately denied it, but Seongho had a slightly doubtful expression.

When he touched her forehead, he could feel a slight fever.

‘It’s not too hot, but...’

He decided to check using his ability, just in case.

However, her temperature didn’t drop, and no virus bead appeared.

‘She’s not infected.’

If she had been, Im Chan would have noticed.

‘If she was in pain, I think she would have mentioned it to me.’

Children tend to have slightly higher body temperatures, so it might have just been a misunderstanding.

But in uncertain situations, Seongho decided to be cautious.

‘Better safe than sorry.’

He picked Ji-hyo up and said, "Let’s wash up and rest."

"Huh?"

Seongho quickly moved. First, he turned on the oil heater in the room.

Next, he requested clean water from the cathedral camp.

While the water was heating, he stepped outside to gather several smooth, round stones.

He carefully washed Ji-hyo’s hands, feet, and face with the warm water.

Just to be safe, he also warmed up some drinking water and gave it to her.

Meanwhile, the stones he had placed on the heater were getting hot.

After removing Ji-hyo's coat and shoes, Seongho carefully slid the heated stones under her blanket.

An hour later, Ji-hyo was comfortably nestled in warm blankets, looking much better.

"Ji-hyo, are you sleeping?"

"Yeah, I’m sleeping."

"I'm not sleepy though..."

Im Ji-hyo pouted for a moment, but soon fell asleep, her eyes slowly closing.

Seongho, having confirmed her even breathing, began to clean up.

He dumped the dirty water and tidied up the room, which took about five more minutes.

Just as he sat down, feeling like the work was done, a sudden message popped up on his screen.

[The results of the damage compensation claim submitted by the Fate Pioneer Team have arrived. Would you like to view them? (Y/N)]

Startled by the sudden message, Seongho narrowed his eyes.

‘It was supposed to be a maximum of seven days.’

Today marked the eighth day since he had arrived in this cursed world.

Even when calculated in hours, it had been slightly over 168 hours.

Seongho had fallen into this world around noon, and now it was night.

‘Of course, I’ve been so caught up in everything that I forgot about the time.’

It was true that he was late, but there was no way to ask why.

‘Let’s just see the content.’

He clicked “Yes,” and suddenly a bright light poured out, and something dropped from mid-air.

Seongho instinctively caught it.

However, there was no time to inspect the object.

A message appeared in the center of his vision.

[Damage Compensation Claim Results Based on the Fate Intervention Authorization Agreement]

The absurdly long title made Seongho frown.

But he wasn’t shocked just yet.

Below the title, a much longer body of text was packed tightly.

[Hello, Fate Pioneer Han Seongho.

I am the head of the central management department overseeing fate intervention.

First, I would like to express my sincere apologies for the disruption caused during the fate intervention process.

We also apologize for the delay in delivering the results due to the prolonged review process.

We promise to provide smoother services in the future to ensure a more dignified fate intervention without further unfortunate events.

Now, regarding the damage compensation claim...

(omitted)

...

The common opinion of the central management department is that the judgment made by the responsible officer was not wrong.

Indeed, the special privileges you requested pose a significant threat to the existence of this world due to their strong compatibility with fate.

However, it is also the common opinion of the department that the responsible officer should not have arbitrarily adjusted the request of a fate pioneer who paid the proper fee for intervention.

After lengthy discussions, the following compensation decisions have been made:

- Compensation One

Allow the fate pioneer’s ability to ‘grow’ without limiting it to the current state, with this growth being achieved through further awakening.

- Compensation Two

Increase the amount of virus required for leveling up and the amount of virus that can be obtained from zombies, making it easier to level up.

- Compensation Three

Adjust the ‘growth limit’ based on the period in which the fate pioneer’s requests were rejected.

- Compensation Four

As compensation for the delayed review process, one ‘survival item’ will be provided.

However, the growth guidelines are set by the central management department and are non-negotiable.

Please refer to the attached document for details, and be aware that any failure to meet these conditions will be the sole responsibility of the fate pioneer.

Once again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience... (end of document).]

Seongho carefully read through the lengthy document before opening the attached guidelines.

[Ability Growth Guidelines]

- 1st Awakening

: Starting from the moment the ability is awakened, the ability to extract the zombie virus from infected individuals is granted.

This corresponds to the ability Seongho currently uses.

Next...

- 2nd Awakening

: Achieved at level 10...

Seongho quickly scanned the content and squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fists tightly.

The conclusion was simple despite the lengthy explanation.

‘It’s not just about purging the zombie virus—my ability can develop further.’

Although the central management department set the growth conditions, this was the foundation Seongho had wanted for his abilities all along.

That alone was an encouraging outcome.

He thought to himself, scanning the growth guidelines.

‘What I requested was not an idle concern about being a threat to this world.’

This meant that they couldn’t just let an unchecked, runaway horse loose.

Though he wasn’t entirely satisfied...

‘At least the possibility is open now.’

It was certainly better than having his ability downgraded.

Seongho let out a long sigh, finally feeling a sense of relief.

Now, he finally had the time to inspect the object in his hand.

"A tumbler?"

He was immediately greeted by a system window.

[Endless Tumbler]

- A survival item specially created by the central management department, providing an unlimited supply of drinking water.

"Wow."

This was a compensation Seongho was quite pleased with.

He could handle food by either carrying preserved food or growing crops with Im Chan’s help, but water was always a hassle.

Finding

drinkable water in the city was difficult, and there was no guarantee it would rain anytime soon.

But with this one item, that worry was gone.

Seongho immediately opened the tumbler and poured water into the empty basin.

The stream didn’t stop until the basin was full.

It was far more than what a 500ml tumbler should contain.

With a satisfied expression, Seongho packed the tumbler away.

‘The compensation isn’t bad. I got some satisfactory things.’

Next, it was time to check the fate intervention rewards and the exclusive quest rewards.

"Let’s check the fate intervention rewards."

[Mandatory Rewards]

- 10 Reputation Points

- 1 Ability Stat Point

[Optional Rewards]

- Fortune Cookie (×1)

- Invisible Man Candy (×1)

"Please confirm your choice for the optional reward."

The Fortune Cookie and the Candy had reappeared as options.

The mandatory rewards of Reputation Points and Ability Stat Points had been reduced.

‘Looks like there’s a difficulty to fate intervention after all.’

Without much hesitation, Seongho selected the Fortune Cookie.

Though he was curious about the Invisible Man Candy, his curiosity wasn’t as important as choosing a recovery item that could save his life.

As soon as he snatched the Fortune Cookie from the air, he felt the tension and anxiety that had been building up ease.

‘This feels reassuring.’

Seongho carefully tucked the Fortune Cookie into his pocket and looked up.

‘Next is the rescue quest.’

Opening the Pioneer’s Cradle, the questions he had regarding the rescue quest were finally answered.