A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 36

Chapter 36

 

There’s no way to run.

We found the flower, and whether it was a coincidence or not that they came here, the moment they chose ‘killing’ over ‘cooperation’ right after finding it…

That means… there’s a high chance they’re after the flower too.

So…

‘If someone has to kill…’

Better me than them.

Better than letting kids get blood on their hands.

 

—

[What a hypocrite.]

—

 

I’ve always lived like a hypocrite anyway.

I crawled forward slowly again. Once I reached the edge of the forest, I quickly slipped between massive trees and hid. Then I got my bearings.

As I drove the axe into the trunk and climbed up, I spotted similar movement in the distance.

‘Do thoughts start syncing just because we worked together for a day?’

The thought passed, and I moved along the branches toward them.

“F’ck, f’ck, f’ck! Where the hell are those brats?! Couldn’t you hit them? You useless piece of sh’t!”

Voices drifted up from below with the wind.

Cha Hyeongseo was already on a branch across from me. We exchanged glances, nodded once, and I pulled another dagger from my bag.

Then… swiftly–

I threw it at the most dangerous one.

“You missed? You mi–”

The man shouting at the front suddenly went silent.

The dagger lodged perfectly between his collarbone and neck.

I had thrown it. Nothing was moving in my hand anymore, and yet… It felt like something had ‘pulsed’ in my grip.

A lingering sensation.

Unpleasant.

That feeling…

Yeah.

Ah.

 

—

[Congratulations on your first kill of a ‘human’.]

[How does it feel to kill your own kind? Now, look in a mirror. You’ll see a monster.]

—

 

Two lowest-grade stones. Five low-grade stones.

They dropped into my hand.

They had no weight… yet felt unbearably heavy.

What… did I just abandon?

 

—

[You abandoned nothing. Your trait ‘Humanity’ will not allow you to abandon anything.]

[‘Humanity’ activates. The information about the stones is restructured.]

[You have obtained 2 lowest-grade stones and 5 low-grade stones belonging to ‘Hong Jaehyung’.]

—

 

It mocks me.

I know it does, and yet…

I clenched my teeth and shoved them into my bag.

The man collapsed beside me.

I quickly drew another dagger and hurled it at the backs of the fleeing men, screaming in panic.

It was easy.

‘…Easier than mutated variants.’

And I gain more from them.

That fact made me feel utterly disgusted.

This situation… unpleasant beyond words.

Reading about it in books or games is different from touching what falls into your hands.

In books and games, it’s not ‘my’ problem.

Even if someone dies, I don’t die.

But here… It’s different.

If I die…

I’ll probably die.

‘….’

Now I understand.

Why do people hunt humans instead of monsters?

It’s ‘less dangerous’… and ‘more rewarding’.

If you start by hunting people, you inevitably grow stronger.

Then you hunt again.

Easy prey.

Maybe only easy prey.

I gripped the dagger tighter.

‘And then you die.’

Just because there’s no tiger in the mountain doesn’t mean the fox becomes its ruler.

No need to drown in that kind of thinking.

The flickering ‘Humanity’ in my trait window slowly settled.

It dimly glowed, but didn’t disappear.

 

—

[Do you really need to keep ‘Humanity’?]

[This is a hell without reason, and what you’re trying to carry is nothing but selfless goodwill without compensation.]

[How that will be perceived… well, you probably know better than I do.]

[Something to think about.]

—

 

I don’t need to think about it.

I swing my blade at those who oppose me.

But at the same time…

I feel guilt.

Heavy guilt.

I’m killing… to survive.

To keep my companions alive.

“AAARGH!”

My dagger sliced the man’s wrist.

It didn’t cut clean through; my strength wasn’t enough.

The guilt deepened.

I abandoned nothing.

I severed nothing.

I didn’t choose the easy path.

Better to walk the harder one… and remain human.

“….”

Silently, I pressured the nameless man.

I dodged the blade aimed at my head, not completely– it sliced my arm.

I’m not choosing the ‘right path’ to be righteous.

From the moment I chose to kill…

I don’t even know if this is the right path anymore.

The dagger cut through the air again.

Still, this is my conviction.

I must be willing to hurt… for someone else.

 

—

[‘Amateur Psychological Counselor’ responds.]

—

 

I must remember… what kind of blood my power is built upon.

 

—

[‘Beginner Dagger Mastery’ proficiency increases.]

—

 

The dagger became sharper.

By recognizing the weight I carry…

I empathize with others.

I carry their sorrow with them.

 

—

[Something sprouts.]

—

 

This is how I love others.

This is how I love the world.

And why…

I chose the path of a counselor.

 

—

[‘Humanity’ responds.]

[What has sprouted resonates with ‘Humanity’.]

[‘Humanity’ answers.]

[‘Amateur Counselor’ gazes at ‘Humanity’.]

—

 

This is the only way I know to protect someone from pain.

If they carry guilt…

I carry it too.

If they carry sin…

I carry it too.

If they carry deep sorrow…

I carry it too.

If they carry depression and anxiety…

I carry it too.

But… never… do I get swept away.

I exist while carrying it.

That… is my meaning.

And the meaning of a counselor.

 

—

[‘Humanity’ evolves.]

—

 

Maybe that’s why I never became a top-class counseling teacher.

Because this isn’t the mindset of an educator.

Not bad luck, just who I am.

 

—

[Trait: One Who Walks the Defined Path]

 

[One Who Walks the Defined Path (1)]

Definition:

Not justice, but definition.

You have defined yourself and the path you walk.

Call it hypocrisy… it doesn’t matter.

Even if it breeds hostility… it doesn’t matter.

It may indeed be hypocrisy.

It may invite hatred.

But you walk forward.

Because it is the path you defined.

※ Current definitions established: 1

—

 

—

[Skill: Definition (1)]

 

[Definition (1)]

You feel guilt.

Thus, you connect with the world.

You resonate with the guilt of others.

The greater your guilt, the sharper your movements become.

The more you understand others’ guilt, the more your blade moves according to your will.

※ Current guilt carried: 3

※ Strength +5%

⁇ Strength scaling (weak → somewhat human?)

—

 

I exhaled slowly.

Looking at the three “lives” in my hand… stories turned into stones…

I wiped my chin.

Then I felt a gaze.

I turned.

“…Hey, Nam Muyeong.”

Lee Hoin was looking at me.

 

—

[Tragedy? Or comedy?]

—

 

He stood there, visibly shaken.

Then asked:

“Why?”

His eyes seemed to say…

‘You’re not that kind of person.’

I looked at him silently for a moment.

“They attacked first.”

At that, he stepped closer and yanked up my sleeve where the symbol was.

The symbol had completely lost its light.

Meaning… it had already been used.

A hidden rule we learned over three days.

‘Or would have learned eventually.’

The “Rabbit” grants an extra life… and loses its glow afterward.

Hoin looked at me, then checked Cha Hyeongseo’s symbol.

Hers had already lost its light, too.

There was no sign she used it in that fight.

‘…She didn’t have one?’

She didn’t, and still pushed me?

Without hesitation?

This kid…

I stared at Cha Hyeongseo, dumbfounded.

“…Hey. Stop staring and move. We don’t have time.”

Only then did Hoin sigh and nod.

Hyeongseo moved toward the flower first.

I followed with the canteens.

Finally… we can escape this damn place.

We set down the canteens, linked hands… and poured the blood.

Sticky sounds.

A nauseating metallic smell filled the air.

The flower devoured every drop… even the blood on our bodies… before erupting with light.

In an instant… it dragged us into another space.

I thought it would be a narrow tunnel… but it was wide.

Like a massive corridor.

The moment we stepped in…

 

—

{ Escape! }

—

 

A rabbit holding a sign jumped up and down, celebrating.

And beyond that… there was the story merchant.

Dozing off, then suddenly jolting awake… the story merchant stood up in surprise.