Chapter 1064

〈 Chapter 1064 〉 1064. Spirit’s Atlantis

I sat where the other challengers were waiting.

All the challengers were men, and their gazes were directed at Lei Mei.

I understand them. Lei Mei was the only woman here, and she was even pretty. A beauty with looks like Lei Mei wasn’t common.

‘And above all, her outfit is very revealing.’

A pink cheongsam clung to her body, revealing every curve. If you looked closely at her ample chest, a protruding part could be seen—she was definitely not wearing a bra. Her waist, large hips, and snow-white thighs were on full display. It was an outfit that stimulated the lewd thoughts of any man.

‘I want to devour her.’

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one thinking such things.

Most of the men here would undoubtedly pounce on Lei Mei if they got the chance.

‘These are the kind of guys who’d commit rape without hesitation in a place like this.’

Lei Mei must be aware of this fact. Yet, she confidently carried herself in such attire.

‘She either trusts her own skills, has a hidden bodyguard, or has some other ace up her sleeve.’

I stared blankly at Lei Mei. Objectively speaking, she gave off a dangerous vibe. But her figure was so alluring that it dulled my caution.

‘I should confirm her…you know…’

I swallowed hard.

As I watched the sexy Lei Mei, time passed quickly.

“A special event has occurred.”

“For the next 6 hours, you may use the Forest of Beings.”

“Obtain Life Points within the Forest of Beings.”

“Rewards will be determined based on the collected Life Points.”

“Alright, challenge time. Everyone, this way please.”

Lei Mei stepped forward. She waved her hand toward the challengers, who stood up and approached her. The atmosphere among the challengers grew heavy.

We stood in front of the wooden door she pointed to.

“Beyond this door lies the Forest of Life. Obtaining Life Points in the Forest of Beings is simple. Kill a living being, and you’ll receive corresponding Life Points. Oh, for plants, it’s a bit special. Only certain plants grant Life Points. Don’t think setting fire to the forest will get you lots of points—it doesn’t work that way.”

“Do humans count as beings?”

One challenger asked. Immediately afterward, the challengers began eyeing each other warily. The mood soured instantly.

“A being refers to anything alive.”

That meant killing a human would also grant Life Points.

“…Are there any other rules?”

“You cannot leave the Forest of Beings before the 6 hours are up. And if you die, everything you have becomes property of the lab. You’re challenging for free, so no complaints, right? Anyway, if you survive the 6 hours, you’ll earn your reward.”

The challengers remained silent. No one here had come without knowing what they were getting into. Everyone had come hoping to strike it rich.

“Alright, challengers, go inside! I’ll be cheering for you!”

Lei Mei’s pink lips curved into a half-moon. Despite the mocking tone in her smile, she was beautiful enough that it didn’t feel unpleasant.

The challengers opened the wooden door and entered the Forest of Beings.

Just before entering, one challenger reached out his hand toward Lei Mei’s chest. Lei Mei easily moved back to avoid it.

“Felot, don’t get too cocky. Your tits have already been handled by plenty of other guys. Let me touch once.”

“I’m dressed like this…”


Hey there, Spirit! So, it seems you’ve mistaken me for something I’m not… I’m not a prostitute, and I don’t go around throwing my body around recklessly. Believe it or not, I’m still a virgin!”

“…Oh really? Sorry, but I can’t just take your word for it. Guess I’ll have to verify that myself.”

The guy starts approaching Ri Mai, who takes a step back. Her subordinates suddenly appear and block him. He clicks his tongue in annoyance.

“Another time. I’ll be back later for round two. You should look forward to it—because I’ll show you the true meaning of a woman’s pleasure.”

“Geez, creepy much? But at the same time, kinda impressive. Mr. Pelot, aren’t you scared of the Black Liquor Gang? For your information, I’m close to being one of their low-ranking officers.”

“Hmph. If the Black Liquor Gang had any sense, they wouldn’t let someone like me slip through their fingers.”

“Ah, so you were an aspiring member, huh? Good luck with that. Once you join, I’ll make sure to give you a *special* welcome.”

“Heh. Sounds fun.”

Pelot smirks as he grabs the spear strapped to his back before stepping into the forest. I follow closely behind.

「Welcome to the Forest of Beasts!」

As soon as the notification pops up, I summon my Scarlet Lightning Sword and stab Pelot in the back.

“Ugh… Y-you…!”

Pelot swings his spear backward, but I grab the shaft with my left hand and unleash electric currents. A red bolt crackles from my blade, shocking him into collapsing.

“Aaargh… W-what the hell?! Is this… that guy’s doing…?!”

“Who’s ‘that guy’? Your reason for dying is simple: you pissed me off.”

Poke. Pokepokepoke.

I stab him a few more times in the gut and kick his head against a tree, shattering it.

「You’ve gained 100 Life Points.」

A notification appears.

But wait—it wasn’t an AP gain alert. Looks like killing exiles here doesn’t reward Ability Points after all.

“You psycho!!”

“Surround him!!”

The challengers swiftly move in and surround me, weapons drawn and pointed straight at me.

I slowly glance around at them—all tense faces staring daggers at me.

“What’s this about? Want to dance?”

“You started it! Why did you kill him?!”

“I got annoyed, so I killed him. Honestly, I don’t feel much toward any of you guys… but now, I’m starting to get irritated again.”

Zzzt.

Electricity sparks around me. Maybe wiping out these fools and collecting their life points isn’t such a bad idea. They might put up a fight if they all attack at once, but I can handle it.

“Uh, excuse me…”

Ri Mai’s voice interrupts from behind, making me turn my head. She stands by the open doorway, looking awkward as she smiles nervously.

“As far as I’m concerned, you can do whatever you want… but honestly, fighting each other won’t benefit either side much. Humans are only worth 100 points, after all. My advice? It’d be smarter for all of you to team up.”

I lower my sword, relaxing my shoulders to signal no intention of fighting further. Some sigh in relief while others frown.

“This guy’s dangerous. He kills people just because he’s annoyed. If we don’t deal with him now, it’ll cause trouble later.”

“Relax already. Isn’t it normal to lose your temper and kill someone every now and then? Haven’t you ever done that?”

A scarred man sheathes his weapon and chuckles.

“…Didn’t you see how skilled he was earlier? This guy’s the strongest among us.”

“So what? I’m not interested in risking my life for some pointless brawl. If you wanna die so badly, go ahead and charge first.”

“…”

“Heh. Afraid to die too, huh? Stop trying to stir up trouble. We’re neither your allies nor your subordinates. Frankly, even I felt a little annoyed seeing that idiot get wasted.”

One by one, the men surrounding me lower their weapons. The guy facing me eventually does the same after gauging the situation.

“Fine. Let’s call it quits here.”

[Accelerate activated. Duration: 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 4]

[Fleeting Moment activated. Remaining stacks: 3]

Thud.

I plunge my blade straight into the heart of the guy who just lowered his sword.

“What do you mean ‘call it quits’? Did you seriously think I’d let you try to kill me and then act like nothing happened?”

“You little–!”

He tries to swing his sword, but he’s way too slow.

‘Lightning!’

Red electricity surges through his body, killing him instantly.

「You’ve gained 100 Life Points.」

I turn my gaze toward the remaining ones.

“Woah, woah, calm down! You…”


<Body> I get that you’re feeling upset. We apologize. We don’t hold any grudges against you—it’s just that your sudden outbursts startled us. And yeah, the guy who just croaked totally lost control. Let’s just call it a day, alright, buddy?”

“Shut up and give me my damn points already, you bastards!”

“What the hell! Scram!”

The bastards all scattered in different directions. Not like we were close or anything; we barely met today. No one here is dumb enough to fight or sacrifice themselves for strangers. As the retreating bastards fled, I swung my blade and summoned a bolt of lightning.

In the blink of an eye, I wiped out most of them—but four managed to escape. Even though I’m strong, there’s still only one of me.

“You’ve obtained 100 Life Points.”

“You’ve gathered 1,000 Life Points. One of your stats has increased by 1.”

“Agility has increased by 1.”

Finally, after killing ten people, one of my stats went up.

I couldn’t help but marvel at the overwhelming value-for-effort ratio.

‘Next reward threshold is at 3,000 points. Will it boost another stat?’

Most rewards are random, except for a few. The best outcome is a stat increase, followed by consumables like potions. And then there’s the ultra-rare chance to obtain high-tier equipment or skills.

I glanced toward the door.

There were still some challengers left inside who hadn’t come out yet.

“Are you guys not coming out?”

As soon as they step out, they’ll die instantly. Easy 100 points per person. With five left, that’s 500 points waiting for me.

“…I quit. I remembered I have plans tonight.”

“My condition isn’t great today, Li Mei. I’m dropping out.”

“There will be other days.”

“You crazy son of a bitch, go get yourself killed by a monster!”

I stared coldly at the bastard who cursed me.

“H-Help! Sorry! That was a slip of the tongue! Please spare me!”

Terrified, the idiot apologized profusely before fleeing without waiting for my response.

“Wow, this hasn’t happened in a while.”

Li Mei remained calm as ever.

“…You said ‘a while’?”

“Yes, it’s happened a few times. Usually, the challengers end up fighting each other.”

“…So, Li Mei, you’re not challenging the Forest of Living Beings?”

“I’m not a challenger—I’m the manager. Number 62, I believe in you. You’ll gain much from the Forest of Living Beings.”

Before the wooden door closed completely, I hurled my sword—not at Li Mei, but at one of the nearby challengers. However, the blade didn’t pass through. It hit an invisible barrier and clattered onto the floor.

“I told you already, you can’t leave the forest until six hours are up.”

“Understood.”

“Y-You psycho! You tried to kill me! Do you even know who I am?!?”

My intended target screamed like a banshee. I memorized his face but had no intention of hunting him down later—it was simply too much hassle.

The wooden door shut. Feeling a pang of regret that I couldn’t see Li Mei anymore, I turned around. After re-summoning my blood-soaked sword, I prepared to leave the bloody mess behind when I sensed something approaching.

It wasn’t human.

A grotesque green plant-like lower body fused with the head and torso of a crow—a monster. Its wings flapped uselessly, unable to fly, but sharp spines jutted out dangerously.

Manrai (卍雷).

I activated the skill. Five thunderbolts formed into a 卍 shape in midair, encircling the monster.

Keeeeeeeee!

The Manrai resonated and exploded violently. A dazzling flash of lightning erupted in every direction. Naturally, the crow beast at the center didn’t survive.

“You’ve obtained 200 Life Points.”

Monsters gave twice as many points as humans. But that doesn’t mean this creature was stronger than the men I previously dealt with. This forest assigns points based on species rather than individual strength. Humans are worth exactly 100 Life Points.

‘No need to waste time hunting down humans then.’

While Li Mei emphasized cooperation among challengers, there’s no concept of party play in this space. Only the one who lands the final blow gets the points. Others are just distractions.

I hesitated mid-step as I sensed more monsters heading this way.

‘Did they smell the blood? Guess this spot is perfect for farming.’

Gripping my Hwaryeonbido tightly, I braced myself for battle.

The goal: at least 50,000 Life Points.