The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill Chapter 2 2: The First Kill

Jin Yeong never thought he'd die in an office building.

But here he was. Running.

His breath ca in ragged gasps, his chest burning, his legs aching. His shoes pounded against the linoleum floor as he pushed forward, weaving past the overturned desks, the shattered glass, the pools of blood.

Behind him, sothing screeched.

Not a human scream. Sothing worse.

He didn't look back.

He couldn't.

The world had ended ten minutes ago, and he was already fighting to stay alive.

The mont the sky went dark, the mont that voice—that thing—spoke, it was over. The system had awakened, and then the monsters ca.

They had crawled through the shattered windows, alien, twisted things with too many limbs, too many eyes, and hunger dripping from their jagged mouths.

The first ones to die had been the loud ones.

The ones who froze in place, staring at their system screens, too busy marveling at their "gifts" to see the horror descending upon them.

The ones who thought their new powers made them invincible.

Jin had watched a man try to summon fire with shaking hands. Had seen him burn a single ember into existence—before sothing ripped his throat open.

He had seen a woman try to fly, only to be yanked out of the air by sothing long, black, and hungry.

The mont it started, Jin ran.

Not like the idiots who stood there. Not like the self-proclaid heroes who thought they could fight.

No. He ran because that was the only thing left to do.

He wasn't strong. He wasn't special. He wasn't a fighter.

He was just a man in an office building, desperately trying to outrun death.

Jin almost didn't stop.

He should have kept running. Every part of him scread to move, to survive, to get out.

But then he saw her.

A woman lay crushed beneath an overturned desk, her leg pinned awkwardly, twisted at an angle it shouldn't bend. Her breaths ca in sharp, uneven gasps, her fingers clawing at the floor as she tried to drag herself free.

She wasn't going to make it.

Not with that thing crawling toward her.

It was slow, but deliberate. Its limbs—too long, too thin—skittered across the floor, jagged claws clicking against the tile. Its spindly body pulsed with sothing wet and black, its many eyes blinking in irregular patterns. It was savoring the mont. Watching her.

She tried to push herself up, her arms trembling. She wasn't fast enough.

Jin clenched his jaw.

Not my problem.

He could still make it to the exit. If he ran now, he could—

Her eyes locked onto his.

Wide. Terrified.

She wasn't screaming anymore. Maybe she'd realized it wouldn't help. Maybe she'd already accepted it.

But she still looked at him.

Jin's stomach twisted. No one else was stopping.

The few survivors still moving were running past him, focused only on the exit, on saving themselves.

She reached out, fingers shaking, breath hitching.

And Jin moved.

The mont his body lurched forward, his mind tried to convince him it was a mistake.

His feet pounded against the tile as he closed the distance, lungs burning, the heavy scent of blood filling his nose. The woman let out a choked sob when he reached her, eyes darting between him and the monster.

"C-Can you move?" Jin asked, voice hoarse.

She shook her head too fast, barely able to form words. "My leg—"

Jin swallowed hard. No ti.

He bent down, gripping the edge of the desk, fingers wrapping around the cold tal fra. He braced himself and heaved.

Nothing.

The weight pressed down on him, unmoving. His arms trembled as he pushed again, forcing every bit of strength he had into his grip.

The desk lifted. Just enough.

The woman sucked in a sharp breath and dragged herself free. She winced, her ankle unable to support her weight, but she forced herself to move.

"Can you stand?" Jin asked again, this ti more urgent.

She nodded, barely.

Jin grabbed her arm, hoisting her up as gently as he could. She winced, but didn't complain.

"Co on," he muttered.

They ran.

Or rather, Jin ran while half-dragging her behind him.

The hallway stretched ahead of them, the red exit sign still flickering in the dark.

They could make it.

They had to.

Behind them, the creature let out a low, guttural clicking sound. A sound Jin didn't want to hear.

They turned the corner.

And sothing crashed through the wall in front of them.

Jin's breath hitched as dust and debris exploded outward, shards of broken drywall cutting across his cheek.

Sothing big erged from the wreckage.

A second monster.

But this one was different.

It wasn't thin and spindly like the other one. It was thicker, covered in dark, armored plates, its jagged mouth stretching wide as it exhaled a sound that rumbled through Jin's chest.

It lifted one massive arm, claws gleaming.

They weren't getting past it.

Jin's pulse pounded in his skull. His grip on the woman's wrist tightened.

No way out.

His right hand trembled. He barely noticed the weight of sothing inside his pocket, pressing against his leg.

His fingers brushed against sothing small.

Cold. Sharp.

A pocket knife.

Jin's breath shook.

His fingers curled around the pocket knife in his pocket, gripping it tight. It was small—barely bigger than his palm. Useless.

The monster took a step forward, its weight shaking the floor beneath them.

Jin pulled the woman behind him, his mind racing. No way out. No ti to think.

The creature lifted its massive arm.

Jin moved.

He didn't plan to. He didn't even think about it. But the second the monster swung down, his body twisted to the side, yanking the woman with him. The claws crashed into the floor where they had just been standing, shattering tile, sending debris flying.

Jin's heartbeat thundered in his ears.

[ Weapon Acquired: Pocket Knife. ]

A blue screen flickered in front of him. His vision blurred, and for a second, he thought he was hallucinating.

[Would you like to wield this weapon at its maximum potential?]

His chest rose and fell heavily. His whole body was shaking.

He wanted to scream. To run. To wake up from this nightmare.

But he wasn't waking up.

The monster turned toward him, claws rising again.

Jin's grip tightened.

"...Yes," he whispered.

Everything shifted.

The weight of the knife in his palm changed—no, it hadn't changed, but suddenly he felt it.

Every inch of the blade. Every milliter of balance.

His grip adjusted without thinking. His stance, unnatural yet perfect, widened just slightly. His eyes, still wild with fear, sohow knew exactly where to look.

The monster swung again.

Jin ducked, the motion too clean, too precise. His feet planted firmly as he shot forward, pocket knife flashing under the dim light.

The blade sank into the monster's throat.

A spurt of dark, foul-slling liquid sprayed across his arm. The creature lurched, its entire body convulsing violently as it crashed onto its back.

Jin's legs buckled. His breathing was ragged, his hands slick with sothing warm.

The monster twitched once. Then stilled.

Jin stood over it, shoulders rising and falling. The knife was still clutched in his hand.

He stared down at it.

At the dark blood dripping from the blade.

At the clean, effortless cut he had just made.

At the body lying motionless at his feet.

The woman behind him was staring.

Jin swallowed hard.

That… that wasn't .

A new screen appeared.

[ First Kill Achieved. ]

[ Congratulations ]