Terrestrial Savior Archetype - T.S.A Chapter 5 (part 1): Choice and Focus (3)

Squeak.

As Team Leader Jo pulled the door, the latch twisted, producing a sharp metallic sound.

If there was someone inside, it was an unmistakably loud noise that would force them to turn their heads.

However, the three of them didn’t even realize that there was a loud noise coming from the door right now.

They were too busy trying to understand the scene revealed through the gap in the door.

“What… What is that…?”

Jae-hyung, who was at the back, stepped back in terror.

What appeared through the 20-centimeter gap in the door was an object they had never seen before in their lives.

A transparent blue sphere about the size of an adult’s head.

Such objects were scattered all over the parking lot floor, as if flowing endlessly.

Furthermore, each sphere had slightly different sizes and color concentrations.

“Could it be… eggs…?”

Jeong-woo narrowed his eyes.

If they were to find the most similar existence to that on Earth, it would probably be the eggs of a fish.

And it wouldn’t be surprising if those were actually the eggs of some fish or other creature.

After all, it wouldn’t be strange for something like this to happen in the courtyard where they saw Earth’s declaration document as soon as they came to work.

However, his thoughts changed soon after.

“No, maybe those are…”

He remembered the warning Earth had given him when he was in the office.

“If you die, your essence will be left behind in that spot. Your colleagues can pick it up and use it immediately, so don’t lose your wit until the very end.”

Now Jeong-woo was certain.

“Those… are essences.”

Essences that fall to the spot where a person dies.

In other words, it meant that dozens of people had died in that parking lot just a few meters away.

Without leaving a trace of blood.

“If those are really essences, how can the surroundings be so clean?”

No, more importantly, where is the existence that killed them?

As Jeong-woo pulled the door to secure his line of sight, Team Leader Jo, who was holding the doorknob, opened his eyes wide.

“Jeong-woo, what are you…?”

Thud!

The door was already wide open inward.

Jeong-woo scanned the surroundings intently, like a person about to jaywalk.

Team Leader Jo felt a creepy feeling when he saw that.

“Could he be trying to go in that direction?”

Then he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his head.

It was because he had belatedly thought that those might be essences.

As Earth emphasized, essences were both weapons and armor.

“And they become stronger as they gather…”

Therefore, the three of them were in a situation where they were facing a storehouse of weapons.

Team Leader Jo’s mind became complicated as he was about to say something.

Crack!

Jeong-woo dashed out beyond the door.

“Assistant Manager Park!”

Team Leader Jo’s startled voice echoed throughout the parking lot.

But Jeong-woo was already about to reach the pile of essences, crossing between the parked cars.

“I won’t have many opportunities to obtain so many essences like this!”

Finally, his right foot touched one of the tightly gathered essences.

Then, as if his ankle was being cooled down, he felt something pushing into his body.

“This is…”

It was the energy he had felt during the sensory test, to the point of getting tired of it.

The number ‘5’ drawn in his mind changed to ‘6,’ indicating an increase in essences, and something else came into his sight.

“…!”

It was none other than a vehicle.

Jeong-woo stood in line with the rear-parked cars on his right.

The hoods of these cars were all grotesquely deformed.

As if a large beast had stepped on and passed over them.

It was an area that couldn’t be seen from the emergency exit.

“…Oh my.”

He thought he had thoroughly surveyed the area, but this was a clear mistake on his part.

Unless that lone thing who caused this chaos hadn’t left yet…

When Jeong-woo turned his head to survey the area again, he smelled something strange.

“…?”

It wasn’t a typical smell.

There was another smell circulating between the distinctive smell of the parking lot’s air and the smell of rubber.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly what it was.

It was somewhat similar to the scent of tree resin…

Jeong-woo frowned as he looked around, and Team Leader Jo and Jae-hyung slowly walked in.

“…Are you okay?”

Unlike the dialogue that seemed to be concerned about the other person, Team Leader Jo’s gaze was fixed on the pile of essences at Jeong-woo’s feet.

Sensing this, Jeong-woo moved between the essences, and the large objects that looked like eggs turned into powder.

Tick, tick.

As the essences turned into powder and scattered in the air…

7, 11, 16, 19…

The amount of essences he possessed began to increase rapidly.

There were still many unexploded essences nearby.

It seemed that they were absorbed by the person who made the first contact.

“Let’s clean up quickly and leave this place…”

Team Leader Jo entered the “essence field,” offering a ridiculous reason.

He was also driven by the greed for essences.

Tick, tick!

Then, even Jae-hyung, who had been watching from the sidelines, joined in.

“Um… Then, I…”

Swish.

Just as he lifted his foot, about to step on the essences on the outer edge of the field.

“Something’s not right.”

Jeong-woo stopped his movement, feeling an immense discomfort.

At first, he thought it was a misunderstanding, but soon realized that it wasn’t.

The smell that irritated his nose had become even stronger, and he felt a sense of space from above his head.

As if a giant vent had appeared…

“Beware!”

Despite searching around, they couldn’t find the “enemy.”

And yet, a strange smell continued to waft from somewhere.

As if responding to Jeong-woo’s hypothesis, the essences that had been scattered on the floor suddenly gathered together.

Thud!