Terrestrial Savior Archetype - T.S.A Chapter 20 (part 2): Murder Mech (1)

Jeong-woo furrowed his brow as he entered the convenience store.

The aftermath of a quite intense battle.

There were five bodies lying around the beverage refrigerator, which was an unseen blind spot from the outside.

Each of them was torn apart, and the cut surfaces were quite thick, about five centimeters.

The sound of essence swallowing an area as large as him.

Moreover, the cut positions were completely different for each body.

Some had their chests cut, while others had their waists. Some even had their necks severed.

‘How did this happen? Can essence be controlled to this extent?’

It was a spectacle that he could not help but be excited about, having learned about the liquidity of essence only a few minutes ago.

Including the convenience store employee near the cash register, a total of six people.

However, while attacking each opponent individually, they were all killed using essence.

A total of six consecutive releases.

There were only two conclusions Jeong-woo could draw from this.

Either the crazy bastard who had mastered the manipulation of essence in just seven hours had come and gone, or there was someone nearby who possessed an enormous amount of essence.

Either way, it was not a situation to be taken lightly.

As Jeong-woo’s expression hardened, Sun-woong, who followed him, grinned.

“Do you have any idea what the problem is?”

Even as Sun-woong looked at the corpses, he couldn’t grasp their significance.

Instead of explaining in detail, Jeong-woo picked up some tapes and post-its lying in a corner of the convenience store.

There was not a single item like bandages or medicines that anyone could find left.

“Luckily, I found everything I was looking for. Let’s go now. We should head towards the station area to get a better sense of the atmosphere.”

Where could the one who committed the massacre be by now?

The blood flowing from the corpses was still in a non-coagulated state.

As Jeong-woo walked out of the convenience store, he searched the blood coagulation time on his phone.

And there it was.

“On average, it begins to coagulate between 8 to 10 minutes…?”

---

Sadang Station.

The subway transfer hub located in Sadang-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul.

It’s famous for the high number of passengers getting on and off due to the intersection of Line 2 and Line 4.

As a result, during rush hours, there was always a massive crowd flooding the platforms.

And today was no different.

The moment the nameplate of the Earth appeared, at 8 a.m.

Jeong-woo recalled the subway and the station, which were packed with people at that time. If this were a novel, there would have been a massive number of awakened beings for each subway station.

It seemed likely. Whenever something started, characters would immediately engage in actions like murder or betrayal.

However, he knew very well that this was not ‘fiction.’

Just until lunchtime today, the hurdles for being in the top ranks of saviors were relatively low.

Of course, there were always variables.

The predators and unclassified ones didn’t have their rankings tallied.

If he were unlucky enough to encounter a predator with 3,000 units of essence, he could die instantly, even if he was the third-ranked savior.

“It looks like it’s over there.”

Sun-woong pointed at a pile of vehicles in the distance as he spoke.

The road had been eerily quiet for a while, but soon, hundreds of vehicles appeared about 100 meters ahead, all jumbled together.

Jeong-woo checked if there were any vehicles destroyed by the essence, but he couldn’t find any traces similar to what he saw at the convenience store earlier.

Judging from the accumulated blood on the ground, there was about a 10-minute difference on foot between here and the ‘nong’ area.

“Since there are only two paths, forward or backward, there’s a 50% chance that our paths are the same.”

An unfamiliar and frightening opponent.

Still, Jeong-woo hoped that the person wouldn’t head towards the area of Haengun-dong.

It was better to face him directly than having the essence stolen by the cleaners.

Stealing essence from beings not affiliated with the Earth was akin to foreign currency leakage.

“Oh, people…”

Sun-woong was about to point somewhere with his finger when he quickly fixed his expression. It was a belated realization of whom he was with right now.

However, Jeong-woo had already spotted them.

Four people were moving quietly amidst the sea of vehicles that filled his sight.

Three men and one woman.

He didn’t know what brought them here, but…

’16, 8, 31, 4.’

In Jeong-woo’s eyes, they were not humans but clusters of essence.

Each member’s position showed a distinct ratio of essence.

“The woman seems to be the genuine article, and the others have probably killed something.”

Even so, they couldn’t be their opponents.

The difference in the number of digits of their essence was substantial.

If there was one inconvenience, it was that they would have to release dozens of essence units among the vehicles just to consume them.

The sound of iron dissipating was quite loud.

If there were many people nearby, they would rush over upon hearing the fight.

If all those who came were essence holders in the tens range, it wouldn’t be much of a burden, but Jeong-woo didn’t know what would happen if awakening beings in the hundreds interfered.

It would have been easier if all the people nearby had gathered in one place; he could have cleared them all in one strike.

Swish.

“…?”

As Jeong-woo hid the wrench inside his bag, Sun-woong widened his eyes in surprise.

Soon, he also hid the pen inside his pocket.

“Jeong-woo, sir?”

Was it because the opponent’s essence possession was too insignificant, and they wanted to spare them?

Seeing Sun-woong’s puzzled gesture, Jeong-woo pressed his index finger against his lips, silently signaling him to be quiet.

“Let’s first inquire about the situation nearby and then decide when to kill them.”