Terrestrial Savior Archetype - T.S.A Chapter 20 (part 1): Murder Mech (1)

An 8-lane road extended from Haengun-dong to Sadang Station.

As Jeong-woo ran along this road, he fought against a group of Cleaners for a long ten minutes, and through this, he learned one very important fact.

That Essence had a “regeneration time.”

Essence was a kind of fluid resource that was depleted and then replenished.

In simple terms, the total amount of essence was like a “mana pool,” and essence itself was mana.

The crest-shaped wave that swept forward 20 meters was his “Full Power” attack, so he couldn’t use it every time he extended his hand.

He hadn’t realized this because he had never been in a desperate fight before.

He spat out all the essence that he had been holding as usual, and when he attempted to discharge it again immediately, he felt a significant decrease in power.

The range was barely 5 meters, far from the previous 20 meters.

Though it only took a few seconds for the essence to regenerate, during a battle, it became a serious limiting factor.

It was especially evident when facing multiple enemies like before.

Thanks to that, the distance between him and the cleaners narrowed, creating dangerous situations. He realized that precise control of essence release was necessary for prolonged combat.

This was a problem that could only be solved through experience and practice.

‘It’s a miracle that I got out of that alive. It was a valuable experience…’

Jeong-woo shuddered as he recalled the cleaners who had surrounded him in an instant.

It was fortunate that there were residential areas on both sides.

Over time, the cleaners had spread out in that direction.

If hundreds of cleaners had chased him to the end, he might not have survived.

Towards the end, essence had been depleted to the point where he couldn’t even maintain a thin defensive barrier.

“Phew.”

Jeong-woo took deep breaths as he looked around.

Due to being relentlessly chased, he had already passed through a small hill leading from Naksungdae Station towards Sadang Station.

Sun-woong, who had been running in contemplation, now straightened up and let out a long sigh.

“If we go down about ten more minutes, we’ll reach Sadang Station. Maybe there’s an entrance there, so… let’s proceed cautiously. If the situation doesn’t look good, we might have to turn back.”

Before an awkward silence could settle in, Jeong-woo quickly attributed credit to luck. Sun-woong nodded but still looked uneasy.

“What we saw earlier might only be the tip of the iceberg, right?”

“Yes. Even if it’s not around here, it could emerge anywhere…”

Jeong-woo had no intention of comforting him at this point.

While it’s true that the Earth could endure for another 42 days, it doesn’t guarantee the survival of humanity. The Earth might survive, but the human race could cease to exist.

“Right now, the only way is to keep getting stronger.”

Jeong-woo silently looked at his companion.

Sun-woong had 51 essence in his possession.

Honestly, he was not much help in a fight.

Nevertheless, Jeong-woo judged it beneficial to keep him alive.

It wasn’t just because of the handshake they shared.

No matter how skilled Jeong-woo was as a savior ranked high on the list, he still needed to sleep like any human. Therefore, he had to take turns with someone during night watch duty, and Sun-woong was the only person he could trust with that responsibility.

In a way, for Jeong-woo to survive, Sun-woong had to survive as well.

“Do you plan to contact the government?”

Sun-woong asked cautiously.

Having briefly scanned through the ongoing heated discussion about the “First Channel,” Jeong-woo responded thoughtfully.

“The reason the government is searching for saviors is probably to close the Gates. I don’t know what plans they have, but I think there’s a higher chance they’ll be more of a hindrance than help right now. Even if they chose a radical route, they won’t come out saying they’ll sacrifice their own people to gather essences.”

The acquisition of essence is much faster when done independently.

He judged that getting entangled with the government from the beginning would not only expose their identities but also put them at risk in the worst-case scenario.

“If there were any saviors among the government officials, they wouldn’t willingly deal with outsiders like us who are considered dangerous. They might use the government’s credibility to call us all in and then stab us in the back…”

It was a conspiracy-like thought, but it was also the most efficient option the government could choose.

A method to obtain a large amount of essence with minimal casualties.

“No need to complicate things. We just need to quickly acquire the ability to close the gates. Then we can do anything, whether it’s making a deal with the government or establishing a safe zone ourselves.”

“…I see.”

As the two continued their conversation, a convenience store appeared on the other side of the road.

Naturally, their pace slowed down.

The entrance was already in a terrible state, and the interior was a mess as well.

Someone had looted and passed through.

“It seems like an Awakener was here.”

Jeong-woo leaned his upper body forward from the side of the road and glanced inside the convenience store.

The cut surfaces of the fallen shelves were very clean.

Traces of essence being used.

Even the convenience store uniform and the flesh inside were neatly cut, just like the cut surfaces.

“It’s not the type that blows everything away like me. It feels more like a blade…”

Jeong-woo recalled the release of essence that his father, Park Min-gu, had shown him.

It looked like swinging an extremely fine thread.

However, what had been released in this convenience store was something thicker than that.

“If there are any tapes or paper left, let’s take them.”

As Jeong-woo pushed aside the essence to protect his body, a bluish ‘outer boundary’ appeared around him.

Just like a cartoon character.

Seeing this, Sun-woong blinked his eyes intensely.

The defense barrier that had blocked bullets during the previous run. It was probably that.

“……”

Swish.

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