Terrestrial Savior Archetype - T.S.A Chapter 17 (part 1): The Price of Power (1)

A lone human darted through hundreds of cats.

It was an uncanny and surreal sight.

Sun-woong glanced at the figure of Jeong-woo, who took on the role of a ‘human’ from behind.

Though he didn’t fully comprehend the distortion that had started to affect this world, at least in Sun-woong’s eyes, Jeong-woo truly seemed like a savior.

No, he acted like a savior.

Different from himself.

The warning message that had appeared in Jungang-dong not long ago.

The ‘Predator’ attribute score of the human, Sun-woong, is nearing the lower limit.

Kill fellow beings or absorb twice the average essence within a short period.

From this, Sun-woong seemed to understand what the role of a predator entailed.

It was an existence that had to eliminate others indiscriminately to consume their essence.

Whatever the purpose might be…

Jeong-woo’s father, Park Min-gu, came to his mind again.

With just a brief handshake, Min-gu could grasp his opponent’s traits.

That’s why Sun-woong knew he wasn’t a true predator.

But precisely because of that, he knew Min-gu spared him.

“Move aside!”

Meanwhile, Jeong-woo had approached within 8 meters of the entrance.

Though the cats made way for him to pass, if he wanted to kill them all at once, he needed to move to the side.

As Jeong-woo shifted his direction slightly outside the pathway, the cats standing in that spot expressed their displeasure with their unique sounds.

But there was no time to consider their circumstances.

Several of the “Cleaners” had already sensed Jeong-woo’s presence.

“Everyone, retreat! We can’t close this gate!”

Jeong-woo shouted urgently as he prepared for an attack, but the cats continued their relentless assault.

They acted as if all they had to do was stop the cleaners.

Tak!

Finally finding the right position, Jeong-woo collected essence in his fountain pen.

Suaaa…

Around five meters from the entryway.

He pulled his right arm back as if preparing to pitch and then thrust it forward with force.

Along with a streak of light, the fountain pen sharply pierced the air at a specific point.

Sass!

Following that, a reverse-cone-shaped wave burst out, consuming the space as it spread.

Puahhh!

“…!”

Even Jeong-woo was surprised by his own attack.

The attack’s range extended up to 8 meters in front of him.

Consequently, not only the cats that were about to clash with the cleaners but also the entire group vanished at once.

And the essence they had possessed hung in the air.

It was the second time he witnessed a ‘field of essence,’ including the company’s parking lot.

Tick. Tick, tick!

As cleaners poured out from inside the entrance once more, Jeong-woo hastily absorbed the essence on the ground.

Then he noticed something.

‘Huh…?’

On the dark entryway, a number was written.

“10,843.”

As he finished reading the number, he felt a chill down his spine.

‘Surely not.’

But his hope was immediately crushed by the evaluator announcement.

• To close this entryway, a savior must attack with over 10,843 units of essence while possessing the power to close.

“…”

10,000 and 843.

Jeong-woo couldn’t even fill half of the ‘843,’ which could be called ‘scraps.’

He currently had 331 units of essence.

This was thanks to the essence he had received by sharing the dropped essence from the cats.

‘Ah…’

A profound sense of despair engulfed him.

He took a few steps back, and a few more units of essence were absorbed, bringing the total to 335.

His ranking within South Korea was ‘3rd.’

A possessor of the power to close.

This was the rank of a savior.

He had risen from 4th to 3rd place.

This fact only drove Jeong-woo even more insane.

In South Korea, only five entities could close an entrance.

But if the 3rd-ranked savior barely had around 300 units of essence, how many units did the others have?

Even if they had 3,000, it was still far from the required amount.

It was genuinely laughable and contradictory, but Jeong-woo trembled at the innocence of the saviors.

Including himself.

‘Ah… Ha.’

An iridescent surface of indeterminable density.

As he stared at the gate in a daze, Cleaners flooded in like a tidal wave, and the cats rushed past Jeong-woo to attack the intruders.

*Human. Fight.

*Block them!

*Human!

*Human. Move!

The cats left final messages as they valiantly fought and perished.

Most died instantaneously, their bodies vanishing into thin air. However, some were left writhing in pain or gruesomely disintegrated.

Peeeech!

Jeong-woo couldn’t display any expression in the face of this tragic and meaningless scene.

Thump. Thak!

Cat body parts flew off with each step he took backward.

“…”