Chapter 2
I looked down at my hands.
In all those novels where the protagonist possessed someone else’s body, they freely wielded the person’s abilities. So, though doubtful, I had given it a try.
But I never imagined the ability would be this powerful.
“How could anyone let this kind of power go to waste?”
If I had this in my old world, I would’ve locked up every criminal bastard long ago.
‘If only I could bring this ability back with me. Catching criminals would be a breeze.’
Still, catching crooks wasn’t the issue right now—the gateway was.
I shook my head, re-focusing on the mission, and crept forward as carefully as before.
The closer I drew to the building with the gateway, the more thorned lizards I ran into. But drawing on my undercover experience, I slipped from cover to cover and took them down one by one.
—Kuak?!
“[Transmute].”
[You have gained experience.]
I didn’t know how long I wandered the streets in tension before finally clearing out the last lizard at the end of a back alley. At last, I had the gateway building in sight.
The problem? The monster I’d seen on the evacuation shelter’s TV was there too.
“That must be the Poison Toad.”
The Poison Toad was a monster with an impossibly long tongue. It was currently snaking that tongue through a window, groping inside the building.
I approached soundlessly, the same way I would in a raid.
‘Convenience store next to the monster wave zone.’
To be exact, the gateway was the POS register inside.
In the original, it was revealed that the monster wave that killed Seo Gowoon was linked to the POS register. That only came to light when, during the chaos, a hunter fighting the Poison Toad was flung onto it—smashing it by accident.
‘He didn’t know, he was just thrown. But hey, the gateway was destroyed, and that’s what mattered.’
The protagonist, Seo Taejoo, had despaired, thinking if only he’d known earlier, Seo Gowoon wouldn’t have died.
But I didn’t see it that way.
There was no way of knowing a gateway’s location during a wave. And Seo Gowoon—had he simply used his skills—could’ve defended himself against the monsters.
‘He died because he was an idiot. Or maybe the author just wanted him gone quickly.’
Clicking my tongue, I scanned the area. The convenience store door was wide open—clearly abandoned in a rush.
‘There it is.’
I hurried inside. The place was trashed, the toad’s tongue having already swept through. But the POS register—the suspected gateway—was intact.
‘If you’re going to wreck the place, might as well smash the POS too. Do they actually know what the gateway is? Whatever. [Transmute].’
The marble floor before the counter warped into a cone and skewered the register.
Craack!
The POS shattered, and outside came a rumble—like thunder—the sound of a monster wave collapsing.
‘Done.’
That was when—
Whoosh! The sound of something slicing the air, and my hair stood on end.
I rolled aside just in time, watching a whip-like tongue lash past where my side had been.
“[Transmute]!”
A cone of stone shot from the floor, stabbing the tongue.
But unlike the lizards, whose bodies were pierced like tofu, the toad’s tongue only compressed like jelly, then snapped back at me again.
“Damn it—[Transmute]! [Transmute]! [Transmute]!”
I rolled across the floor, creating cone after cone. But in my panic, they failed to deal real damage. The tongue twisted between them with uncanny agility.
‘How the hell is it dodging like that? It doesn’t even have eyes!’
“[Transmute]!”
This time, I aimed at the wall.
A cone shot out and impaled the tongue mid-strike.
A shrill, ear-splitting scream tore through the air outside. The tongue writhed, then fell limp.
“Haa… haa… haa…”
God. I thought I was going to die.
Between the rolling and the strain of using my ability, my breathing was ragged and my body shook uncontrollably. If I hadn’t stretched earlier, I’d have been done for.
‘But seriously—what the hell are those Noul Guild bastards doing? Can’t they even kill one Poison Toad?’
I was leaning on the wall, cursing the guild, when I heard it again.
“Don’t tell me… you’ve got to be kidding me!”
Multiple tongues—each like a spear—came darting at me.
“Shit! [Transmute]! [Transmute]! [Transmute]!”
No time to breathe. I slammed my hands against the wall, conjuring cone after cone. They pierced through the incoming tongues.
By now, I’d gotten used to its attack pattern. Soon, only one tongue remained.
“[Transmute]!”
I shouted with every last ounce of strength.
But—
[Transmute failed due to insufficient mana.]
It didn’t activate.
“What? Oh, you son of a—”
Before I could finish swearing, the toad’s tongue wrapped around my waist and yanked me.
“Ugh!”
The whip-like coil crushed my ribs. I couldn’t even struggle; the pressure choked the breath from my lungs. I was being dragged, the rush of air whistling in my ears, slammed against walls and debris.
‘Damn it…’
As my vision dimmed, the pressure suddenly vanished. My body dropped, rolling across the floor.
“Cough—cough—!”
“You useless bastard. Didn’t you say you were at the shelter? Why the hell are you buried here?”
A cold voice cut through my gasping. I forced myself to look up.
Curly black hair. Dark eyes under heavy lids. A straight nose, red lips. Handsome, but with a sharp, almost androgynous face, twisted in a scowl.
I knew that face.
“Haa… Seo… Taejoo?”
The face of the novel’s protagonist.
“…Always dragging shit into my life. Always leaving stains. Useless fuck.”
He cursed, just like in the novel. And yet, all I felt was relief—because I was alive.
‘So I escaped death, huh.’
Strength drained from me, and I collapsed. Taejoo grabbed my arm and hauled me up roughly.
“Argh! What the—!”
“Stop whining and get up.”
“Let go, you bastard! I’m hurt!”
He just scowled harder and slung me over his shoulder. My crushed chest screamed, stealing what little breath I had.
“Ugh—p-put me… down—!”
But he didn’t. I couldn’t fight back. The pain was too sharp. Cold sweat streamed down my back.
“Shut it.”
“You crazy son of—put me down—!”
Before I could finish, a blond man ran up.
“Vice Guildmaster! You can’t just rush off like that—huh? Wait, why’s this guy here? Wasn’t he supposed to be at the shelter?”
Taejoo paused, then answered flatly.
“Because idiots do idiotic things. Don’t ask. I’m leaving this to you guys.”
“You’re going already? Fine. Damn, Seo Gowoon, that stupid—”
“Watch your mouth.”
The blond froze. “S-sorry.”
Taejoo opened a car door and tossed me into the passenger seat.
“Ugh! You—psycho—!”
He didn’t care. He started the engine.
‘If I buckle this seatbelt, I’ll die.’
Instead, I curled up, bracing for the whiplash.
And it was the right call.
Taejoo’s driving was insane. Sudden accelerations, brutal braking, sharp turns. If I were still a cop here, I’d have thrown him in jail for reckless driving without hesitation.
‘Might’ve been better if he just left me to die.’
My vision was blurring, white sparks flashing, when the car screeched to a halt.
“Out.”
“Can’t move.”
“Bullshit.”
Every nerve screamed as I forced myself out under his glare.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me…’
I barely managed to close the car door when I noticed—
“…This isn’t a hospital?”
It was a house.
‘You bastard. Someone this injured should be in a hospital!’
Even if Gowoon was a troublemaker, was he really the type to just dump someone like this?
“Hurry up. Or do you want me to drag you?”
“I can’t, you bastard—”
“Then crawl.”
It wasn’t even a joke. Not from him.
I gritted my teeth, summoning what little strength I had, and staggered toward the small house. Every step was agony, cold sweat dripping onto the ground.
In the novel, Taejoo had been portrayed as soft at times. But with me—there was no mercy.
I barely crossed the threshold before he slammed me against the wall by the collar.
“Are you insane? Do you want to die? If you’re so eager, then do it quietly without being a burden!”
“Ugh—let go—!”
“Useless bastard. Can’t you just sit still, keep quiet, and live off the money you’ve got?”
His glare was ice, his words dripping with contempt.
“…If it weren’t for my parents’ last wish, I’d have killed you already.”
His teeth ground audibly.
“One more stunt like this, and I’ll show you exactly what I mean.”
He hurled me aside and left. The car engine roared, fading into the distance.
I couldn’t move. The pain had crossed the line into numbness. Oddly, I thought:
‘Wow. Seo Gowoon… you really were something.’
To act like a brat against someone like him? That took guts.
Still trembling, I dragged myself inside. Every inch felt like knives slicing me apart.
“Damn bastard. What, did you want me to die in here?”
I clawed my way toward the sofa. My vision blurred, sweat and tears dripping together.
“Please…”
I wanted to stop, to collapse. But no—if I did, I might really die here.
Panting, I finally reached the sofa and leaned against it. My body screamed, but the relief almost made me pass out.
‘Don’t sleep. If I sleep, I’ll die.’
I snapped my eyes open and forced a hand beneath the left seat cushion of the three-seater sofa.
