Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Chapter 5 K(3)
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Seeing the blade suddenly appear right there froze me solid.
I'd clearly lain down on a flat rock.
So why the hell was a deadly weapon next to my face?
The answer came easy enough. It had been right there where I lay!
“Ugh!”
With a piece of bread still in my mouth, I hurriedly rolled to the side.
A chill shot up my spine. I'd nearly screamed myself to death just now.
If I'd shifted just a few centimeters more to the right before lying down.
That blade would've pierced straight through my skull or throat.
My heart was pounding at an unnaturally frantic rate.
The abrupt brush with death was downright eerie.
It took several minutes before I could finally calm down.
Dragging my still-trembling body upright, I got a clear view of the thing that had almost killed me.
A rock covered in bushes and moss, with a jagged blade protruding from its edge.
“Ha!”
It was so absurd I let out a hollow laugh.
Stumbling over, I clambered onto the rock and gripped the bladeless shaft.
I tugged hard, but it wouldn't budge easily—something was catching it.
In the end, I levered the bladed end upward like a pry bar.
With a heavy thud, a rock rolled out from behind the bushes and trees.
Only then did the full weapon reveal itself.
“A spear...?”
What the hell was something like this doing here?
I picked up the spear and examined it from every angle.
The spear I had was like a harpoon or arrowhead—sharpened to a point.
But this one had a blade shaped like a double-edged sword.
About 15 cm long.
With additional blades extending from both sides.
Just the spearhead looked like a cross.
And at its center was some incomprehensible rune engraved there.
‘No, letters?’
Staring intently at the etched part, I swung the spear once.
“Oh.”
An exclamation slipped out before I knew it.
I wasn't exactly a weapon expert, but even I could tell this was better than the system-issued spear.
The overall weight was lighter for starters.
And the balance was far superior when swung.
It was much harder than mine too, with no rust on the blade.
It was in perfect shape—I could use it right away. An unexpected haul.
I swung it a few more times to get a feel for it.
The spear that had landed in my hands out of nowhere was pretty satisfying.
But aside from that, my mind was a whirlwind.
The coin from the valley, and now this spear popping up out of nowhere.
‘This is weird.’
These weren't things I was familiar with.
I pulled some loot from my inventory.
No matter how I looked at it, this was a gold coin. Made of real gold.
Fine, jewelry with gold and gems made sense.
But what about these gold coins?
Who in this modern world uses such heavy currency?
‘Unless it's a commemorative item.’
Maybe not currency—a medal?
This spear was just as strange, really.
In an era with guns, even nukes, what was this cold weapon doing here?
Whoosh, swish.
As I spun the spear in my hand, my mind raced.
The black blood from the monsters, the mission zones, summoning and injuries, out-of-place artifacts.
Piecing together the scattered fragments formed a vague, nagging picture.
Before I knew it, my expression had hardened.
‘Land of monsters.’
Where exactly was this? Some corner of the world I lived in?
‘That those monsters are somewhere on Earth?’
It was a ridiculous assumption.
Earth was vast, sure, but the mission monsters numbered in the hundreds, thousands—maybe tens of millions.
I'd never forgotten the number at the bottom of the mission list.
Deep down, I'd already convinced myself it was their count.
Humans living unaware of that many monsters? Impossible.
Which left only one conclusion: this wasn't Earth.
‘That doesn't make complete sense either, though.’
By that logic, this damn game didn't make sense from the start.
Considering what I'd seen so far, the latter guess held more weight than the former.
‘If this isn't Earth.’
Then where? No way to know.
But one thing was clear amid it all.
‘There was civilization.’
Gold coins, ingots, jewelry—and the tech to forge the spear in my hand.
Proof that civilization existed on this land.
‘Monsters aren't the type to use spears.’
Yet they seemed to know these weapons were dangerous.
Which meant someone had fought those monsters with spears before.
That was when my eyes narrowed.
「A patch for updates is in progress.」
A system message popped up out of nowhere.
I flinched, and at the bottom of my vision, a familiar number appeared.
「Progress: 0.01%」
An update patch? This randomly?
I scowled at the number.
No clue why the system was updating now.
I'd have to wait till the progress bar filled. Nothing else for it.
“Tch.”
My head felt ready to split from the info overload in minutes.
I shook my head and stashed the ring and gold coin in my inventory.
‘I’ll think about it later.’
Spotting the dropped bread on the ground, I tore open a fresh one.
Munching again, I scanned my surroundings.
‘Mission first.’
Sort out the complicated thoughts one by one—focus on the mission now.
Munch, munch.
Chewing bread, I opened the mission window and saw the counter.
MISSION
[02-07(1/5)]
Eliminate enemies. (5/7)
Two monsters left.
This mission zone that might not be Earth.
The scattered intel helped steel my resolve.
‘Wandering around like this will take too long.’
Objectively, my combat ability could handle two at once.
And exactly two remained.
I started pulling prepared items from my inventory.
I'd felt bad leaving those plants during the promotion mission, so I'd come ready.
Industrial-sized oil and matches, like from a restaurant supply.
‘I didn’t come vowing to burn everything.’
If this wasn’t Earth, no one to report me, right?
The only ‘human’ in this mission zone was me anyway.
So it was worth trying once.
‘If I can’t find them on foot, make them come to me.’
I poured oil around the area.
Strike, strike—the moment I lit the match and tossed it, time seemed to slow.
Dense greenery had me a bit worried.
But once the flames caught, they spread like wildfire.
Back to the fire, I sent the butterfly high up.
‘Let’s see.’
Would the stragglers charge the flames? Or flee?
I bet on the former.
The monsters I’d faced were aggressive.
No way they’d run from something strange.
Minutes after hurrying away from the blaze.
「2.1 Mana is absorbed.」
「1.8 Mana is absorbed.」
「1.5 Mana is absorbed.」
「1.3 Mana is...」
Mana started pouring in.
Through the floating butterfly, I spotted a massive mana clump barreling toward me fast.
Time to end the mission.
* * *
Back in Jong-hoon’s empty lab, I caught my breath while purifying the lingering tainted mana.
It hadn’t been a cakewalk, but I’d handled it solo.
Never liked this game, but accomplishment was separate.
“Whew.”
Exhaling deeply, I opened my inventory.
Seeing what was inside, I clenched my fists tight.
‘It’s there!’
Thank god the system hadn’t touched my loot.
Ten million won last time; this was surely worth more.
If it kept like this, I’d tackle missions more aggressively.
Grinning ear to ear, I slotted the spear into the empty space.
Only then did I notice my clothes and hair were singed.
As I’d guessed, the monsters swarmed the rising flames.
One got tricky when the other joined mid-fight.
But no life-threatening injuries.
‘Abdomen hurts pretty bad, though.’
Brushing off the singed hair like it was nothing, I headed to the tripod with the camera.
Stopped recording and grabbed the phone nearby.
Tapped Jong-hoon’s number at the top of the call log—signal went through.
Riiing, riiing.
『Hyun-woo?』
Barely two rings, and he picked up.
“Yeah, Uncle.”
『Any injuries?』
“This time I’m good.”
Luckily, no major new wounds in the second fight.
『Hold on. Be right there.』
“You’re busy—take your time.”
After hanging up, I checked the recording.
Fast-forwarding made it eerie.
Me vanishing in white light at dawn, reappearing hours later.
The camera had just filmed empty space.
I’d hoped it was all delusion.
‘No need for the psych ward, then.’
Sighing repeatedly, I heard hurried footsteps.
The door lock beeped frantically too.
The lab door flew open, revealing Jong-hoon panting on the other side.
His eyes quickly scanned me. I gave an awkward smile.
“I’m back.”
His face twisted oddly at that.
Mouth opening like he had words, then closing.
Stepping in and shutting the door, he said,
“Show me the wounds first.”
“This time I’m really fine...”
“Now!”
Stern tone. No leaving till I showed.
Eyeing him warily, I started undressing reluctantly.
“Ugh.”
He groaned.
‘Better than last time, at least.’
Not injury-free, though.
Abdomen and back were black-and-blue, with plenty of torn gashes scattered around.
Grabbing the first-aid kit from mission entry, he pressed my abdomen and asked,
“Pain?”
“Not much...”
Hoping he’d let it slide.
I’d agreed to his help for truly deadly injuries only.
Not expecting checkups for every survivable scrape.
But facing his bulging eyes, I couldn’t lie.
“It hurts.”
Honesty it was.
“Back too... Can’t risk it—chest X-ray, abdomen CT first. Treat the leg wounds.”
“Yes.”
Quick compliance softened his glare.
After disinfecting fresh cuts, he dragged me through tests and treatment.
Torn abs meant two hours stuck at the hospital.
But my mind was light. Cleared a level 2 mission without major risk.
Priceless loot too—total win.
* * *
Even now, hours later, Jong-hoon’s voice echoed in my ears.
‘Good thing potions healed me up some.’
Or I’d have been trapped way longer.
Rubbing my ears, I swallowed a sigh.
Injuries inevitable ahead, and he’d worry each time.
‘No choice but to get used to it.’
Stuck in the game, adaptation was key.
Wasting time on unchangeables was pointless.
Pushing down the unease, I sorted this mission’s rewards.
First up: attribute stone.
Pulled the rainbow rock dormant in inventory for three months, focused my mind.
With attribute mana over 50, I sensed the alien part amid my mana.
Same liquid, different color?
Unlike red mana, this was colorless.
Isolated and extracted, I saw it clearly.
Transparent mana shimmering like summer heat haze.
Held it to the stone.
「Using Attribute Stone (Advanced).」
「Determining suitable attribute for user.」
「Lightning attribute granted.」
System message flashed; colorless mana shifted.
Crackle.
Sparks dancing endlessly at my fingertips—definitely lightning.
‘Existing mana was like smoke.’
Attributed mana felt different.
Materialized, it took a whole new form.
Staring piercingly at the sparks in my palm, I pondered.
‘Suitable for the user, huh.’
Lightning fit me, apparently.
‘What’s the basis?’
Doubt passed quick. Couldn’t ask the system; not a big deal.
‘Advanced grade—must be good.’
Shop lower-grade ones cost 30k mana; advanced 50k.
I’d used an item way beyond my means.
Satisfaction enough.
Instead of obsessing over unknowables, I focused on now.
“Status window.”
Damn system