Chapter 5: Murderer (1)
Han Chulwoon felt the moving parts of his whole body creaking.
‘It’s hard.’
His breathing was beyond ragged; it was stuck in his throat, stinging.
His muscles, unable to endure the overwork, had long surpassed their limit, rupturing, drying up like dried filefish, and becoming compressed.
A faint steam rose from his entire body.
That this body was already at its limit…….
At its limit…….
It endlessly spat out pain that was no different from a scream, but his mories constantly told him to move.
‘But it’s still just the first scenario.’
The thing called ‘one’s best’ always touches one's limit.
One can only grow as much as the amount of pain one willingly endures.
The man, whose mind alone had grown imnsely, unlike his weakened body, just continued to move, ignoring the dying signals his body was sending.
Ten Orcs had already fallen.
Two remained.
Han Chulwoon, in the middle of fighting, imdiately raised his stats with the coin he obtained every ti he killed an enemy.
First, Stamina.
It was the stat that granted the body the ability to sustain itself.
In addition to the commonly spoken of effect of stamina, it also had the effect of recovering wounds.
Thanks to that, he could recover while fighting.
He was able to continue a fight that would have originally been impossible.
And Strength.
If he didn't have this ability, he would have ended up just scratching the Ogre’s skin surface with a re kitchen knife.
Han Chulwoon’s stats, which he had raised by focusing on these two abilities, were as follows.
[Strength : 13]
[Stamina : 13]
[Focus : 8]
[Willpower : Error(Unknown)]
In particular, Stamina showed a drastic change every ti he raised it by 1 point.
‘Instant recovery effect.’
This was a provision for the early scenarios; when you put a point into the Stamina stat, at that mont, your recovery power would be amplified by hundreds of tis.
‘Because the scenario doesn't want too many sacrifices.’
To prevent the scenario’s participants from dying from even small injuries, it rapidly recovered the body every ti Stamina was raised.
This effect worked very powerfully in the first scenario, then its effect gradually diminished, and it only worked up to the fifth scenario.
‘Before then. I have to secure a Stamina of at least 15 or prepare other ans of recovery.’
It was a repetition of that.
Kill, and raise Stamina.
Kill, and raise Stamina.
Kill, and raise Stamina.
Finally, before fighting the Ogre, he focused all his remaining coin into Strength.
“It’s the last one. You've been waiting, haven't you?”
He plunged several of the kitchen knives he had bought beforehand into that giant body.
It was impossible to carve out the Ogre's skin with kitchen knives.
They would get stuck in the hard muscles, and the kitchen knives would break first, unable to even be swung properly.
Instead, he drove the knives one by one into precise locations.
The broken blades dug in and paralyzed the Ogre’s nerves and joints, and in the end, he was able to tear off the neck of the bastard, whose movents had stopped, as if sawing it.
‘Ogre skin tissue. This is useful.’
He collected it.
[You have slain the Ogre.]
[You have acquired the title ‘Giant Slayer’.]
[Strength stat efficiency increases by 5%.]
He had obtained a title, too.
A simple, but extrely efficient title.
Because of the characteristic of raising abilities by %, it was a title that was useful even until the late-ga scenarios.
‘That bastard was a monster placed solely for a challenge.’
Ogres existed only one per scenario area, and did not participate in attacks.
Although the Ogre was unard, killing this bastard in the first scenario was nearly impossible.
It was a monster that one could only challenge with the sponsorship of a Constellation, but Han Chulwoon had managed to take it down all by himself.
As if to prove that achievent, there was one among the Constellations who showed interest.
[The Constellation ‘Ruin of the Gigantes’ is entering.]
[The Constellation ‘Ruin of the Gigantes’ shows interest in your martial prowess.]
[Sponsors 100coin.]
A sponsorship of 100coin could be called a large sum for the first scenario, but.
‘Hm? It’s the first scenario, but a sponsorship for …….’
The doubt was greater than the joy.
‘Has the Constellation of Regression disappeared?’
That bastard was one who had stuck to Han Chulwoon even before this apocalypse began, keeping other Constellations from approaching.
Thus, no matter what he did, the first thing he would see was the mockery sent by the Constellation of Regression, but…….
This ti, that was gone.
‘Sothing has changed.’
Isn't this quite a desirable situation?
Did the events of his past life cloud the connection with the Constellation?
“……Pheu. Hehehehehe.”
With his body pushed to its limit, with his ragged breath, his lungs hurt so much that it nearly cut off his breathing, but.
“Hehehe.”
A low laugh ca out.
He laughed with bated breath.
He felt the pleasure of obtaining sothing he wanted for the first ti in a long ti.
The real death that he had earnestly sought, but had hit despair several tis thinking it might be impossible, and had thought he had failed to achieve even in his past life.
It was now right in front of him.
“……”
Han Chulwoon wiped the corner of his own mouth once with his hand.
Blood sared on his lips, and he returned to an indifferent expression.
‘Now……. I can finally et them.’
Not yet.
This joy had to be postponed.
He was a body that could not commit suicide, for a reason.
And there were a few things he had to do before that.
Right.
There's no ti to be laughing.
When the day he truly died ca, he had decided how he would die.
He cald his excited heart first.
‘I've obtained everything I can from the ship's deck.’
He calculated his earnings.
The coin remaining after raising stats was 51.
The sponsorship money was 100.
A total of 151 coin remained.
‘100 coin is more than usual.’
He could use this to raise ‘Stamina’ and recover his body, which had been pushed to its limit, but.
“Hoo……”
He let out a sigh.
Even if the stat had a recovery effect, a foundation for recovery would be necessary.
Thanks to using up his body's nutrients to their limit, his body's recovery was slow.
Replenishing nutrients before putting more points into Stamina would help recovery.
The higher the calorie content of the food, the better.
That alone would make the recovery effect much higher.
‘I’m craving a soda.’
I want a really cold and fizzy one.
I wanted to pour it down so hard my throat stung.
‘There are vending machines inside the ship.’
Han Chulwoon sat cross-legged, He stabilized his breathing using a breathing technique.
It was one of the skills he had obtained by stealing a secret manual from a Murim Constellation in the past.
With every single breath, his breathing quickly beca orderly.
It was after he had cald his breathing.
He called out to one person from among the terrified people.
“Kang Yuha.”
“……Yes? M-?”
She asked back, her eyes wide as saucers.
“Yes. You.”
Kang Yuha wanted to hear an explanation from the man, but her lips wouldn't part easily.
Only baseless deductions increased.
The identity of those monsters?
The unidentifiable screen floating before her eyes?
And the words ‘Scenario’ written on the screen.
‘This screen feels a bit like a ga. Is it sothing like a quest?’
What she was most curious about was the man in front of her.
Han Chulwoon's identity and purpose.
Even in a world turned upside down and in the midst of the monsters' horrific massacre, that man approached with an intense presence.
Why was he calling ?
How did he know my na?
Walking heavily.
The man lifted his heavy feet and approached her.
As the people nearby were startled and stepped back, a semi-circular stage was ford, walking heavily.
The man, having co right up close, spoke.
“You.”
At that, Kang Yuha could sll the thick scent of blood.
The tallic sll clinging to him was heavy.
“High school. Do you rember it?”
High school?
The mories from that ti…….
She had mories of studying hard, but no particularly great mories.
She groped through her faded mories.
In the midst of that.
‘Ah. Don’t tell ?’
She seed to rember sothing.
He was probably, in the past…….
“I don't rember.”
“……Yes?”
“It was too long ago.”
“Ah, yes……”
What on earth did he want to say?
While it was puzzling, the tension had certainly lessened.
The man, who had seed like an unidentifiable monster, now felt human.
……Still.
There was an uncomfortable feeling, but.
“Look carefully.”
“……Yes? Ah.”
When he lifted her chin.
She ended up flinching her shoulders.
The not-yet-dry blood soaked her chin, lukewarm.
It was shudderingly rank.
“Over there, you see many things.”
But the man's words broadened Kang Yuha's view.
When she turned her gaze from the corpse in front of her…….
It was the sa everywhere.
Not only were corpses floating down the river, but they were also caught on the railings.
She, who was sharp, could imdiately realize.
Just what they had died from.
‘Monsters…….’
Wasn't this hint enough?
‘In the end, can we not escape anywhere.’
With just the number of people already dead, she could guess the scale of the monsters that had invaded this land.
She couldn't know the exact number, but she could realize with just a little insight that even this horrific massacre was not a special event at all.
“Follow .”
He was already moving away.
Kang Yuha, who had hesitated for a mont, hurriedly followed after him.
‘What on earth is going on?’
She wanted to ask for an explanation, but it wasn't easy.
anwhile, Han Chulwoon guessed her inner thoughts.
‘You are a person who blooms talent from within pain, so that frustrating heart you feel right now will also beco good fertilizer.’
He postponed his desire to be kind.
***
2nd floor.
Seo Yeonhwa, after moving the injured person.
Found a box she was seeing for the first ti.
When she looked inside, there was a short blade.
‘Huh? There’s a weapon here. What. Is this also the influence of that 'scenario' thing…….’
[Dagger]
[A short sword, good for hiding.]
[Slash F]
[Thrust E]
When she picked up the knife, an explanation appeared on the status window.
If so, it must be a weapon placed by the 'scenario'.
The witch's actions were clearly just a horrific massacre.
For what purpose on earth would they place such a weapon, and even set rules?
‘It’s not like they’re just playing with people.’
Why on earth are they giving this kind of chance…….
‘In any case, it seems they didn't intend for us to fight monsters called Goblins with our bare hands.’
Returning to the 1st floor, she inford them of the weapon's existence.
“I found a weapon in a strange-looking box on the ship. There might be more weapons like this.”
The people stirred.
In any case, it ant they didn't have to just give up and die to the monsters called Goblins.
After that.
Seo Yeonhwa ca up one floor again.
She was carrying the dagger, which was over a handspan long.
Again, the 2nd floor.
She clenched her teeth.
She steeled her resolve.
First, there was sothing she wanted to test.
‘I just have to block two places.’
Given the ship's structure, if she just blocked two places in the hallway, it seed she could completely block the path to the lower floor.
‘Is that right? It must be.’
Even she herself, who had made the judgnt, couldn't be confident.
Because she didn't know the ship's structure well.
There might be other stairs leading to the lower floor besides this one…….
‘I have to be the one to do it.’
She was thinking of blocking the passage where the monsters were coming with her own body.
‘According to the scenario’s rules, the monsters won’t attack .’
She stopped in the middle of the hallway, spreading her arms and legs as if to block it.
After practicing various poses and positions.
‘This seems sufficient.’
She decided to go to the floor above.
If it went well, they could block the monsters' advance with just two people.
‘As soon as I confirm it’s safe, let’s go get one more person.’
She had seen that several people were crushed to death.
There must be soone besides herself who had chosen the ‘path of the monster’.
‘Hoo……. I think this will really work.’
Seo Yeonhwa smiled faintly.
A small hope had erged.
She went up one more floor.
3rd floor.
The floor where the Goblins were.
Teobeok.
When she went up, the first thing she faced was the witch.
She was beautiful, to the point of being srizing even for another woman to see, but…….
Goosebumps!
It was a feeling like all the fine hairs on her body were standing on end.
Making her earlier resolve seem colorless, her whole body trembled.
Her entire body's muscles stiffened, and she even felt the illusion that a knife was pointed at the tip of her chin.
-Ah, do not be afraid. I only punish those who deviate from the scenario. I do not inflict the slightest harm on sincere participants.-
It was a gentle voice.
So much so that she wanted to believe imdiately that those words were sincere.
‘I…… have to be…… brave…….’
If the witch was, by any chance, the root cause of this, the thing to do was simple.
To kill her.
It seed possible if she seized a mont of carelessness.
‘Wi-With this dagger I found…….’
She didn't know what kind of amazing magic the witch used, but at least her skin looked as soft as a human's.
‘If I aim for the neck…… or the heart…….’
Normal judgnt was impossible.
Only the obsession that she had to succeed dominated her mind.
‘The hallway is narrow. I can pretend to just be passing by her side and launch a surprise attack.’
As if her purpose was just to pass by.
She averted her gaze and stealthily approached the witch.
The hand gripping the knife was full of sweat.
‘Don’t be nervous. Just once is enough. Just once……!’
Deoldeoldeoldeol.
As she decided to kill the witch, she rembered choking people to death.
It was a mory recalled not by her head, but by her hands.
Just before killing.
She could feel the fluttering blood vessels and the briefly convulsing muscles.
She had choked them until that faint resistance ceased.
And with the coin she earned like that, she had raised her stats.
She rembered the feeling from that ti, too.
No way to excuse it.
It was a clear pleasure.
If so, right now.
Was she, trying to kill the witch, trembling from the horror of murder?
Or trembling from the pleasure of murder?
If she killed the witch, just how much coin could she earn?
Thump.
Thump.
Her heart pounded as if it would burst.
She was afraid that rough heartbeat would seep into the witch's ears.
Finally, when she was one step away.
The witch showed her back, her long hair hanging down enough to reach her buttocks.
‘Exactly the neck……!’
With a feeling close to desperation, she drew the knife and swung.
Kwak!
And her knife pierced the witch's neck.
‘S-Success!’
However…….
There was the witch, turning around smoothly with the knife still stuck in her neck.
Her smile was serene, and her gaze from beyond the helt could not be read.
-Oh my, you, a murderer, doing such a thing.-
No different from the beginning…….
It was a gentle way of speaking.
-Did you perhaps think you could be forgiven if you repented?-
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