Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Chapter 2 Promotion Exam (2)
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Up until now, the system's intentions had been crystal clear.
Kill the living creature in front of you and absorb its mana.
The three tutorial stages had drilled that pattern into me.
This time, the only change was that the target had shifted from beast to monster.
The moment I realized that, I bolted in the direction the monster had vanished.
I had to catch that bastard who'd taken a knife to the eye and fled just moments ago.
Now I had a reason not to miss out on the performance-based rewards!
'Ten million won!'
Yeah, capitalism was great.
It was enough to momentarily drown out my resentment toward the system and the fear of death.
There was no guarantee I'd actually receive the money, of course.
But if I did, that was ten million won in one shot.
No reason not to chase it down.
Of course, I only dared because I figured it was feasible to some degree.
I'd knocked out a polar bear with one punch, and in the clash with this monster just now, I hadn't been overwhelmingly outmatched.
Sure, the tongue lashing out had caught me off guard.
But I could keep up with the monster's movements and speed.
I'd dodged its attacks multiple times, in fact.
In mana operation mode, I wasn't losing out physically.
And to top it off, the thing was injured.
'I can catch it!'
The pursuit wasn't difficult. A dagger lay not far away.
After retrieving my weapon, I followed the black liquid splattered on the dirt ground.
'Is this... blood?'
Confusion flickered as I eyed the monster's trail.
But after a few minutes of chasing, I spotted my target—and a curse slipped out automatically.
"You crazy bastard!"
The monster was moments away from killing a complete stranger, a white guy I'd never seen before.
"Put that guy down!"
The instant I activated mana operation, I hefted my spear shaft and hurled it at the monster.
The spear sliced through the air at an astonishing speed and buried itself in the monster's gut.
"Kieeeek!"
The thing let out a horrific screech as it whipped around.
Without a moment's hesitation, it started to move—like it was trying to flee.
A spark of rage ignited in my eyes as it carried off my prey.
Ten million won was slipping away!
"Hey, you fucker, stop right there!"
I couldn't let it get away.
I kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.
The 20—no, 25-meter gap closed in an instant.
I vaulted over the fallen white guy, landing squarely on the monster's back as it exposed itself.
"Ten million won!"
I bellowed in fury.
The reward for catching it dangled tantalizingly before me.
Ten million won was more than enough to fire me up.
My focus sharpened to a level incomparable to when I'd first encountered the monster.
The way it turned toward me.
The razor-sharp claws swinging at me.
The rope-like tongue shooting out almost simultaneously.
It all began to flow in slow motion.
Still airborne, I twisted my upper body to evade the claws.
My left hand seized the monster's tongue.
By then, the longsword in my right hand was already pressing against its jaw.
「Your senses expand.」
「Trait: Sensory Expansion has been created.」
Beyond the sudden system messages, my eyes locked with the monster's.
Incredibly, in that single remaining eye, what bloomed was fear.
Even seeing that, I thrust the sword in without a shred of hesitation.
"Kiiik...!"
This monster had definitely tried to kill me.
It just couldn't because I wasn't weak.
No room for compromise.
The resistance from the blade piercing its flesh was intense.
I yanked hard on the hand gripping its tongue, while shoving the sword hand even harder.
Drip, crack.
Twice in total, the blade punched through the monster's palate and out its skull.
Black liquid sprayed into the air as the monster's body went limp.
As the corpse began to topple backward, I finally landed on my feet.
"Hoo."
It had all happened in mere seconds.
But in my superhumanly sharpened senses, it felt like dozens of seconds.
That phenomenon where everything slowed even further.
I tucked away the sensation I'd felt right before killing the monster in a corner of my mind.
Analyzing and practicing it could wait.
Now it was time for the mana to flow in.
Bracing for the impact, I turned around.
Toward the white guy.
Brown hair, blue eyes.
He'd sat up by then, clutching his throat as he stared at me.
'Absorb the mana first, then claim it was mine to begin with.'
I'd preempt any arguments about stealing kills.
He'd be dead if not for me, so I had the justification.
I'd even rehearsed what to say to the guy.
But the incoming messages forced me to postpone the conversation.
「Successfully eliminated enemy. Absorbing 61 contaminated mana.」
The far greater mana than the polar bear barely registered.
'Contaminated mana?'
No sooner had I questioned the unusual message than I collapsed, screaming and rolling on the ground.
"Hraaaagh!"
Hundreds, thousands of needles burrowed into me, stabbing every inch of my body.
I'd never felt pain absorbing mana before.
Just a maddening sense of rejection.
This time was different. It felt like my body was being torn apart.
Even as I writhed in agony, the system messages kept coming.
「Contaminated mana detected in body. Check Chaos Value.」
「Mental contamination beginning.」
「Purify the contaminated mana.」
The bolder-than-usual text faded, leaving an afterimage.
"Hey!"
That's when the white guy started rushing over in a panic.
Pain I'd never felt before in my life.
An approaching presence.
A stranger.
Reflexively, I yanked the spear from the monster's body and aimed it at him.
Getting attacked by that guy right now would be dangerous!
He froze as the black-liquid-dripping blade pointed at him.
The pain kept raging all the while.
"Grk, hng...!"
I gritted my teeth, trying to endure, but my body convulsed like it was seizing.
The spear shaft trembled; my vision blurred.
"Hngh, hack!"
The pain finally ebbed after what felt like an eternity.
Tears, snot, drool.
I wiped my messy face, gasping raggedly, when an unfamiliar voice rang out.
"Are you ok?"
I tried to respond.
But what came out wasn't an answer—it was a question.
"What...?"
Someone was whispering in my head, faint voices murmuring.
I shook my head violently, but they grew clearer.
When I finally understood the words.
Unthinkingly, I gripped the spear aimed at the white guy tighter.
'Kill...?'
Just once.
Understanding the voice in my head made something surge up in fury.
'Why the hell is this happening?'
Why was I so pissed off?
My breathing turned ragged, like I'd sprinted hundreds of meters flat out.
The noise in my head grew louder.
Kill, kill, kill, kill!
'W-what the...'
Was this schizophrenia I'd only heard about?
Gritting my teeth, I backed away from the white guy.
Otherwise, I'd lunge at him.
Right now, I wanted to kill him more than anything.
No illusion. Murderous intent boiled within me.
My eyes shook aimlessly.
In that moment, a phrase flashed through my mind.
「Purify the contaminated mana.」
'Purification.'
I frantically opened my inventory.
* * *
Player Kang Hyun-woo (Beta Tester)
Mana: 192.33
(Attribute Mana: 13)
Chaos Value: 31.72%
Affiliation: Earth
Race: Human (Player)
Rank: Delta
Attribute: -
Traits: ?????, Assimilation, Tenacity, Mana Operation (0.57%), Sensory Expansion (0.01%)
I'd been gathering plants whenever I had time.
Not a huge amount, but it meant steady side income beyond regular missions.
Thanks to that, a new line appeared below my mana, which was nearing 200.
'Chaos Value?'
An unfamiliar term, the mental contamination message, and a white bead the size of a ten-won coin.
I hesitated only briefly.
I popped the presumed purifier bead into my mouth.
It dissolved like smoke, absorbing into me, and the thorns embedded in my body rained out.
As the Chaos Value dropped to 0, the voices in my head vanished.
"Hoo...."
Only then could I catch my ragged breath.
Staggering to my feet, I made the white guy flinch and tremble.
I scanned him thoroughly.
'Player...'
A player thrown into this insane game just like me.
One who'd cleared the full tutorial—top tier.
A white guy speaking English.
From the Japanese I'd heard after entering this space, I knew players came from various countries.
Instead of speaking, I just stared at him silently.
He spoke first.
"Are you ok?"
"......"
"Ah...... I'm Ethan. First, thanks. You saved my life."
"......"
"Do you speak English? Understand me?"
It wasn't incomprehensible, but I couldn't help grimacing.
I'd ditched English completely after the high school equivalency exam.
I clicked my tongue briefly and opened my mouth.
"It......"
Of course, I stopped before finishing.
'No, why should I bother with my shitty English?'
He wasn't considering my side, just blabbering in English as he pleased.
I pointed my spear at the monster's corpse and said.
"No need to argue ownership. This was mine to begin with."
I planned to bag as many monsters as possible for the top reward.
This one I'd just killed was fertilizer for my ten million won.
"What?"
He looked totally lost, like he hadn't understood a word.
But I had no reason to kindly translate into English.
'I kept him alive—that's enough.'
I turned my gaze away from the white guy—no, Ethan.
"Tsk."
Next, I stowed the longsword in my inventory and inspected the monster's corpse.
'What kind of animal is this...?'
No matter how I racked my brain, I'd never seen a beast like it.
And the black liquid oozing from the wound.
'Is this really blood?'
Blood, as I knew it, was red.
Yet that obvious, absolute truth was being denied.
What the hell was this thing?
Trailing the questions was a word I'd seen many times before.
I glanced at the still-open status window and checked the affiliation line.
'Affiliation: Earth...'
So what would a different affiliation say?
Lost in thought, I pulled up the mission window.
MISSION
[Promotion Exam (Beta Test)]
Eliminate enemies. (1/13)
The count had risen.
And the monster I'd killed counted as one.
This thing was an enemy as defined by the system, so different affiliation from me.
"Humanity's survival..."
The phrase from the first day I'd been summoned to this wretched game scrambled my thoughts.
What the hell was going on?
"Hoo."
I let out a long sigh and scratched my head vigorously.
'Questions later, for now.'
This wasn't a good place to ponder too long.
There were at least 12 more of those monsters out there.
Pushing aside doubts about the system and the situation, I looked back at Ethan.
Our eyes met, and he flashed an awkward smile.
Like he'd been waiting for me to look.
"I have some......"
Before Ethan could finish, my body jolted.
The mission count at the top had ticked up.
'Someone killed a monster.'
No time to stand around.
My goal in this mission was clear.
I gripped the spear shaft tightly.
From his thanks, he didn't seem keen on claiming this monster.
Though he'd been getting owned, Ethan was a full-tutorial clear player too.
Should I team up with him?
'But will he hand over the next prey too?'
Probably seven players entered the mission zone total.
One might be dead, leaving six.
Eleven monsters left.
How much performance could I rack up with him?
Was proposing to travel together a net gain?
My dilemma became moot.
My heightened hearing caught an unfamiliar presence.
- Keeik.
I whipped around toward the sound.
"Hup."
Channeling mana, I filtered out rustling leaves to hone in on the tangled cries.
"Kiiik."
"Keeik?"
"Kyak!"
Thud thud, thud, thud thud thud.
The ground vibrations weren't rhythmic. At least two!
"They're coming!"
The moment I shouted, two monsters burst from the trees and bushes.
They closed in at unbelievable speed.
And as if pre-planned, one charged me, the other Ethan.
My face twisted in disgust.
'As expected.'
These fuckers had high intelligence.
Gritting my teeth, I thrust the spear at the one leaping at me.
I'd aimed precisely for the torso, but the spear tip missed.
It twisted mid-air to dodge.
'It knows blades are dangerous.'
The first monster I'd fought had dodged my spear thrust too.
It recognized it couldn't take a stab.
With my vigilance ramped up, I swung the spear.
The shaft smashed into the side of the one that had twisted to evade the tip.
"Kyaek!"
The monster flew sideways, but lashed its tongue at me.
Instead of my neck or torso, I offered my left arm.
The three-pronged tongue wrapped around it tightly.
"Gh!"
The instant its four paws hit the ground, it yanked hard.
'Without mana operation, I'd have been dragged.'
As I braced my waist and legs to resist being pulled.
"Graaaak!"
A scream rang out.
Damn System