*Chapter 55: Ambitious Youth!*

Amidst the screams, the "Child of Flesh" instinctively looked down.

He saw a foot coming from behind, kicking him directly in the groin.

The force was immense, and it carried an additional terrifying power.

Almost instantly, the "Child of Flesh" felt his testicles shatter.

After all, no matter how strong the muscles, they couldn't protect the testicles!

And while the "Child of Flesh" was still reeling from the pain, the same foot landed two more consecutive kicks.

Bang! Bang!

Two dull thuds later, the "Child of Flesh" completely lost the will to resist. He instinctively bent over, clutching his groin, his mouth wide open, emitting another wail of agony.

"Ah... Ugh?!"

But just as the scream began to escape, it abruptly stopped.

A dagger was skillfully thrust into the "Child of Flesh's" mouth.

Splurt!

Goethe pulled out the dagger and, with a swift motion, stuffed a lit stick of dynamite into the "Child of Flesh's" mouth before charging toward the Pine Hotel. He had already spotted the three "Flesh Believers" who had gone inside earlier.

Likewise, the three "Flesh Believers" noticed Goethe.

And they also saw their captain, who had just screamed in agony, now lying motionless on the ground.

"Kill him!"

One of the "Flesh Believers" roared, and together with his two companions, they rushed toward Goethe.

And then...

Their roar turned into shrieks of pain.

A handful of lime powder was thrown directly into their faces, blinding them.

At the same time—

Boom!

Outside the hotel, the "Child of Flesh's" head and upper body were blasted into pieces, the thick smell of gunpowder mixed with the scent of blood becoming even more pungent. But in the next moment, it was overwhelmed by an even stronger stench of blood.

The three "Flesh Believers," whose vision was obstructed, were easily incapacitated by Goethe with a single kick to each of their groins. They lost most of their ability to fight back, and Goethe then stomped on their necks repeatedly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One stomp after another.

He didn't stop until their necks were nearly crushed.

Goethe then picked up the Gink and jewelry that the three "Flesh Believers" had looted and ran straight up the hotel stairs—just before the fight, Goethe had noticed more "Preying Squads" gathering in the Pine District.

The explosion just now would surely attract these "Preying Squads."

If he tried to leave the way he came, he would definitely be blocked by them at the entrance.

Therefore, going upstairs was the right choice.

Of course, this "right choice" was only to buy some time!

On the third floor, in a room at the end of the corridor.

Goethe's gaze once again locked onto the copper ring on the index finger of his left hand.

"Hope everything goes smoothly!"

Goethe muttered to himself.

Then, the starry sky reappeared.

Following his usual habit, Goethe selected the middle one of the three dim stars.

【Do you want to consume 500 Gink to enter the secret realm?】

...

"Yes!"

With a hint of unease, Goethe mentally confirmed.

Suddenly, the dim star burst into a dazzling light.

Goethe instinctively closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the scene before him had completely changed.

He was now...

In a morgue!

The cold, dimly lit room was filled with haphazardly placed corpses on disorganized iron beds, some even piled three or five bodies high on a single bed.

He stood in the center of the room, his clothes now replaced by a slightly worn pair of suspenders and a blood-stained leather apron, while his top hat had become a felt hat with a frayed brim. The dagger, revolver, dynamite, and lime were all gone.

But the copper ring was still there.

A faint warmth emanated from the ring, and rows of text began to appear before Goethe's eyes—

【Entering the 'Secret Realm,' judgment in progress...】

*[You possess the 'Key', judgment passed!]*

*[The original holder of the 'Sanctuary' has perished, commencing evaluation...]*

*[Evaluating original identity: deceased.]*

*[The new holder will start anew with a fresh identity!]*

...

*[Background: Armed with a useless diploma, as a young man with ambition, you have come to the big city to make a living. However, respectable jobs are out of reach, and even simple manual labor is denied to you as a lone individual. Fortunately, 'Saints' Hospital is in need of a corpse carrier...]*

*[Main Task: Within three months, gain enough reputation (0/100) and a substantial amount of wealth (0/100)]*

*[Temporary language obtained, will disappear upon leaving the instance.]*

*[Clothing, appearance, and equipment temporarily altered; will revert upon leaving the Sanctuary.]*

(Note 1: Upon completing the main task, you will safely exit the 'Sanctuary'.)

(Note 2: If the main task is not completed within three months, you will lose one-fifth of your flesh before leaving the 'Sanctuary'.)

...

“Ambitious youth?”

“Reputation? Wealth?”

Goethe frowned instinctively.

Especially upon seeing 'Note 2,' his frown deepened.

One-fifth of the flesh?

Which fifth?

Would it be a proportional reduction across the body?

Or would it be a clean cut from a specific part?

If it’s the limbs, survival might still be possible, but what if it’s a vital part of the upper body?

A person can't live without a head.

Neither the big one nor the small one.

“To be safe, I must complete the main task!”

“And also...”

“Does this world have supernatural elements?”

Goethe mused to himself.

He was fully aware of why he had entered this entirely unfamiliar 'Sanctuary.'

The goal was to increase his power as much as possible while obtaining a method to interfere with divination.

The latter was even more critical than the former.

Unless the power he gained was enough to turn the tide of a battle!

However, acquiring such power would undoubtedly be far more challenging than finding a way to interfere with divination.

Moreover, Goethe wasn’t even sure if the world he had entered contained any true supernatural elements.

Even though a simple memory had already formed in his mind.

But this memory contained no information about the supernatural.

Only very basic information.

For example, the 'Sanctuary' before him was similar to the 'Anchor Point' world he was previously in; not only was the level of technological development similar, but so was the fashion, among other things.

The most important piece of good news was that the currency here followed the decimal system!

Even though paper and metal currencies were used together, it was still far better than the inhumane currency system of the 'Anchor Point' world.

Of course, this memory also made Goethe understand that he had to meticulously arrange the bodies in the morgue and label them one by one, using writing—this was the key to securing this job.

'He' could read and write.

'He' had understood the job advertisement posted by the hospital.

Without any hesitation, Goethe immediately got to work.

No one understood survival in an unfamiliar environment better than he did.

The first and most important rule: you must behave as you did before.

Carrying corpses wasn’t an easy job.

It required not only physical strength but also mental resilience.

Especially the latter, which could easily deter a large number of people.

However, for Goethe, it was a breeze.

He was long accustomed to handling corpses.

In fact, as someone who had once worked part-time as a 'cleaner' back in his hometown, he was quite knowledgeable about corpses.

So, ten minutes later, when Goethe had finished organizing all the bodies in the morgue, he began labeling them according to the files provided by the doctor.

But then, Goethe couldn’t help but frown.

Huh?

(End of Chapter)