How to Survive Restructuring

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 67: Nightmare (2)

"Jieun! Hold them off for one minute!"

"ː∑!"

‘That means she gets it, right?’

Whoosh-!

Jieun, who let out a strange sound, began gathering weapons from the fallen.

"Yeji! Hand over that &∏!"

"Kiyaa? Ack! You thief∮∃¡!"

…There was a bit of noise, but still.

【Prince of the Investigation Bureau' compliments the resilience of District 13's targets.】

【’The Raven of the Administration Bureau' acknowledges you as an ideal subordinate.】

Jieun, with her incredible resourcefulness, floated the gathered blades into the air, creating a wall around me and our group.

Now, while I have this moment…

[You are afflicted by hallucinations caused by the Fear of Nightmares.]

The system message says it's a hallucination caused by fear.

So, if I can just deal with the "Fear of Nightmares," it’ll be fine.

And conveniently, I have something in my inventory.

A mind-blowing stimulant.

▣ Elixir of Defense

Temporarily shields the user’s mind with a barrier, granting immunity to all fear- and disease-induced status effects. Duration: 3 hours.

This elixir grants immunity to all fear-induced status effects for three hours.

Shielding the mind?

It sounds more like a tranquilizer than a stimulant.

Anyway.

"Oh! That’s from the skeleton ШЯъ mission—"

"Right, the one I got after completing the skeleton mission. Drinking it should break the hallucination."

"¤! Perfect! Though it’s a shame we only have €‡ one bottle…."

Jieun glanced at Jaehyuk, who was hiccuping with his face planted in the ground, a look of pity crossing her face.

She must be worried about Jaehyuk enduring in this state until the mission ends.

In my hand is just one bottle.

Once it’s in my stomach, that’s the end of it.

But.

"It’s not just one bottle."

"ΦΨ?"

"We can share it."

"…?!"

Jieun, busy fighting monsters, briefly turned her head before snapping it back in surprise, baring her terrifying fangs.

▣ Diluted Fatigue Recovery Potion

-A fatigue recovery potion made from boiled herbs.

Diluted with plain water to increase quantity. It has limited effectiveness but seems useful for everyday fatigue recovery.

I got the idea from a diluted fatigue recovery potion sold at the very first stall—a lower-tier shop item.

If you dilute the potion with water, its properties remain the same.

‘The effect will be weaker, though.’

So, by adding a few drops of the elixir to leftover water bottles:

─ Ding!

▣ Elixir of Defense

Temporarily shields the user’s mind with a barrier, granting immunity to all fear- and disease-induced status effects.

Due to the reduced quantity, its effectiveness is limited. Duration: 10 seconds.

Thus, an elixir with a short 10-second duration was born.

【Prince of the Investigation Bureau' laughs in disbelief, saying it's absurd to discuss resilience in front of someone like this.】

【An anonymous observer admires target 'Lee Eunho’s' ingenuity with items.】

‘Diluting it reduces the effectiveness, and dividing the dose shortens the duration.’

In other words, I can either dilute it to stretch the supply or split it to use the full 3 hours in parts.

Diluting has risks, though.

So.

─ Drip!

I poured the elixir into the water bottle I had prepared earlier in the morning.

One, two, three… ten.

─ Ding! Ding! Ding…

The 3-hour elixir was now split into ten 18-minute elixirs.

Now, I’ll take one first.

Gulp!

I held the cool liquid in my warm mouth before swallowing it.

It wasn’t water or gas, but a strange energy flowed down my throat.

Then.

[You consume the 'Elixir of Defense.']

[The fear within you dissipates.]

[A defensive barrier is formed. Remaining duration: 17 minutes 59 seconds, 58 seconds, 57 seconds…]

Whoosh!

As the energy spread throughout my body, the cold weight clinging to my skin melted away.

The tingling, soothing sensation flowed down my spine and finally dissipated below my waist.

─ Swish, tap! Tap! Tap!

My legs, once stiff as logs, felt light again.

They were no longer obstacles but tools I could use.

‘…I’m alive.’

It was suffocating, as if I had forgotten how to live until now.

Anyway, that leaves 9 bottles.

As I lined up the nine water bottles and fiddled with them, Jieun gasped in surprise.

"You’re going to share them?!"

"Huh?"

"Wow, Eunho, you’re really…!"

I felt a little bad for Jieun, who clearly misunderstood my intentions.

"No."

"…?!"

"It’d be wasteful—no, inefficient to share them all."

Oops. Almost said the quiet part out loud.

"Once we kill the Nightmare, the hallucinations will end anyway."

So the investment should be minimal.

Even just 1/10th of a bottle.

"Jieun, you can hold out with your mental strength, so you don’t need it. The rest should only go to those who absolutely need it."

This isn’t because I’m hoarding the potion.

It’s just about being efficient.

So.

"I think three people should have it."

"Three people? Just three?"

【'The Raven of the Administration Bureau' gives a thumbs-up, saying smart friends are different.】

【’Prince of the Investigation Bureau' chuckles, wondering what you plan to save it for.】

Instead of answering, I turned and approached my first test subject.

Whack! Thud!

"Kyaaaaah! Soyoung, let go of me, you bastard!"

Thud-!

It was Sola, tearing at a lamppost.

Her usual cold demeanor was nowhere to be seen; she was like a rabid dog.

That must mean this hallucination struck a nerve deep inside her.

"Soyoung! Come here! Please…!"

Her hands, scratched and bloodied, were desperately clawing.

‘Soyoung must mean….’

"Soyoung!!"

"You bastard...! What are you doing?!"

Sola and Yeojin's friend.

The name of the friend who had been harmed by a homeless man during the Seoul Station mission.

'...This is bad.'

Tap!

Suppressing pity, I gripped her shoulder firmly and let the medicine drip into her mouth.

"…Mister…?"

The child, who had been wailing, blinked her tear-soaked eyelashes.

She finally seemed to regain her senses, glancing around before her limbs fell limp.

"Sola! The abnormal condition—no, treat yourself first. Quickly!"

I pointed at her battered hands, which looked as though she'd been tortured.

"Yes…"

Sola brushed back her sweat-drenched, seaweed-like hair and replied.

And then—

─ Whoosh!

A blue light enveloped her, and in an instant, her wounds healed with fresh new skin.

It was a relief I found her quickly.

If she'd accidentally touched a power pole and caused a current to flow...

'That could’ve been disastrous.'

I swallowed hard and asked,

"Can you heal the abnormal conditions of the others?"

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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"I… I'll try."

Sola grabbed Yeojin, who was equally drowning in despair beside her.

She gently but firmly held the one remaining friend who was nearly driven mad by fear.

From her small but strong palms, healing light radiated and wrapped around Yeojin.

─ Whoosh!

Moments later.

"Huh? What…?"

"Min Yeojin! Are you okay?!"

Yeojin’s usual bright and lively expression returned to her eyes.

"I'm okay..."

"Min Yeojin! What's wrong? Snap out of it!"

"…Please save me! I beg you!"

…But soon, she fell back into her nightmare.

'The healing effect lasts about 10 seconds. Once it wears off, they're back under the nightmare's influence.'

Sola lowered her head in despair.

But this was enough.

I hadn’t expected a single treatment to solve everything.

The important thing was—

"Can you keep healing these people whenever they're out of control?"

Nod!

As long as we could prevent severe damage, that was enough for now.

Next—

"Waaaaah!"

A little girl, about five years old, sobbing her heart out.

"Mommy! Don’t go…!"

I held the crying child close. I couldn’t bring back her mother, but I could at least soothe her desperate cries.

"…It’s okay, Yura. Drink this."

I let the potion drip between her lips, like giving medicine to a sick baby.

"…"

Yura soon regained her senses and sniffled.

"Yura, hold hands with Daddy and everyone here, okay?"

I wanted to comfort her more, but—

"Can you do it?"

"Y-Yes!"

Even while sniffling, Yura’s response was admirable.

Thinking so, I poured the last remaining potion into Jaehyuk’s mouth.

And then—

"It’s… it’s reattached?"

Jaehyuk stared at his healed limbs in awe.

"I’m alive…! I’m alive, hyung!"

"Good for you."

"Thank you, hyungggg…!"

Now, preparations were complete.

"Let’s go."

Running. Dodging. Stabbing. Blocking. Advancing.

And killing.

I felt both familiarity and exhilaration in the freedom of movement I had regained.

Like being unbound after captivity, I ran wildly, swinging my sword like a mad horse.

Thunk!

I drove steel into a throbbing heart.

Slice!

Following the thin line that extended from it, I slashed through.

Once freed from the penalties of 'disobedience to orders,' I immediately noticed the nightmare’s core.

As I lunged in and cut through, muscles and bones that should’ve resisted were severed as easily as well-cooked meat.

[You have slain a Nightmare!]

[You have slain a Nightmare!]

…

【'The Raven of the Administration Bureau' is pleased with your unstoppable progress!】

【500 Welfare Points Awarded!】

Was it because of the nightmares’ formidable power?

Or because I relentlessly targeted their cores?

Either way, the Nightmares themselves posed little threat in terms of brute strength.

"I’m sorry… I’m sorry…"

Around me, most people were either trembling with their heads pressed to the ground or blindly stabbing at anything, human or beast.

But even this horrifying nightmare was drawing to an end.

─ Thud! Thwack!

"Noona! This side is done! Need help?"

"Yes! Please!"

I glanced at Jaehyuk running toward Jieun, who was gasping for breath.

─ Scream! You fiend!

A blood-red Nightmare charged, trampling over the corpse of its comrade.

It was the size of an adult male, with eyes so upturned they reached its temples, jagged teeth protruding grotesquely, and a blood-soaked mouth that sent chills down my spine.

But—

「31.7%」

This creature, too, relied on a head, heart, and blood to survive.

When pierced or slashed, its health would deplete just like ours.

There was no need to fear.

Thinking so—

─ Slash!

「19.2%」

I cut off its left arm.

「6.2%」

He severed the right leg.

And then—

─ Kiyaaaahhh...

As the fading groans subsided and the number above its head reached zero:

「0%」

[You have defeated the Nightmare!]

[You have earned 200 welfare points!]

A message confirming the creature's death appeared.

This was already the 28th such message.

"Finally, the last one."

Out of the thirty, only two were still alive.

Excluding the one the other two were dealing with, the one before him was the last.

And when all of them had fallen—

Flap! Flap—!

A new figure appeared.

This one was a head taller than the other nightmares, with bat-like, shriveled wings twitching across its armpits and back.

The spear it held was easily over 2 meters long and thick enough to require both hands to wield.

This thing—no matter how you looked at it—

"Is it the boss?"

As I muttered, suspecting it was different from the others, the creature bared its teeth and let out a screech.

─ Kiyahhhh... insolent human...!

Thud!

The massive monster, which had been lurking in the shadows, finally revealed itself after most of the nightmares had met their demise.

I didn’t want to drag this out.

Dodging the whip-like attack of its iron tail spike, I leapt forward in one swift motion.

Thunk!

The crimson neck, now inches away.

I drove my sword deep into it, twisted, and sliced upward.

─ Gahhh...!

From the collarbone to the nape, the flesh split and fell away.

From the gaping wound, instead of blood, thick black smoke began pouring out, as though hacked open by an axe.

It was a fatal wound, anyone could tell.

Ready to end it, I charged forward—

[Duration expired.]

[The elixir’s effect has worn off.]

Thunk—

My body stiffened.

Specifically, my entire right leg below the waist froze, rigid like stone.

[The fear of the abyss seeps into you due to the lingering effects of the Nightmare.]

The 18 minutes granted by the elixir were up.

But—

"Die."

─ Thwack!

With the creature already within arm's reach, there was no need to move closer or flee.

All I had to do was stretch out my arm and end it.

[You have defeated the 'Abyssal Nightmare.']

[You have earned 500 welfare points!]

Stagger!

The weight of the sword embedded in the creature pulled my center of gravity forward.

Right—this was it.

Without support, I couldn’t even lean forward.

The sensation, which I had momentarily forgotten, brought a bitter smile to my face—

Clap!

Jieun grabbed my right arm.

"Eunho! Are you alright?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Clap!

"Hyung! You saved my life!"

Jaehyuk grabbed my left arm.

"......"

"Did you take care of all of these on your own? Wow..."

"Hyung, I bet you could’ve handled all thirty even without us!"

Looking at their faces, I couldn’t help but feel a little better.

As Jaehyuk spoke proudly and Jieun marveled in amazement, I was about to respond when—

Thunk! Roll, roll—

From the gas spewed out by the Nightmare, something suddenly dropped.

"Huh?"

Under the sunlight, it sparkled with iridescent hues—a transparent orb.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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