Survival of the Strongest
I thought to myself, "I'm cold."
The narrow, dark space still had some time before light could enter.
Level one, and not a single stat had risen. Yet every single one had jumped by a full ten. If I swung a kitchen knife right now in the modern world, even a two-point stat would feel substantial.
I could see exactly how unreasonable this growth was.
Looking back at the achievements I had acquired, they were clearly not the kind anyone could simply monopolize on their own.
First Awakening.
First Murder.
Experiencing Death.
Anyone with decent luck could snatch them in an instant. But because I was the only awakened person here, I had monopolized them. On top of that, most people who obtained the final achievement would already be unable to use it.
It was no different from the flaw in the Tutorial Tower's 'resurrection' system.
Whether Karina had intended it or not, I didn't know. But one thing was certain: this was an absurd stroke of luck.
「Kkiik!」
"If you want to live... Hmm? There's a pretty decent guy here. Well, surviving is a completely different story, though."
The voice changed.
But I didn't panic in the slightest. I quickly moved Lin to the farthest corner and charged straight toward the center first.
Exactly on time, the ceiling opened and various weapons rained down.
「Chwararararak!」
If I could choose, I would have picked the best one among all these weapons. But I didn't even have the eyes to judge weapons.
In the end, I grabbed the most ordinary-looking sword.
"Where the hell did you cut in line, you bastard!"
I swung the sword toward the neck of the first one rushing up from behind. It felt heavy, but with my strength and magi added, even swinging it one-handed felt light.
「Seokeuk! Phseut!」
I hadn't even cut the neck clean through, yet the man whose neck I had severed couldn't stop the excessive bleeding with both hands and immediately met his end.
"..."
I stared at the corpse that had turned into a body in an instant.
My composure was shocking even to myself.
I already knew I was a cold person, but recalling how I had nearly vomited after killing someone in my first loop made this adaptation monstrous.
"Lucky."
Maybe it was because I had killed him once before.
「Stupid bastard. If you're weak, it's only natural you die. Don't worry. I'll happily impregnate your little sister, kuhahaha!」
Since the guy who said that was going to die anyway, it didn't matter.
"This guy has a lot of connection with necks."
The first time, his neck was torn off and he died. The second time, his neck was cut off and he died.
Anyway, I needed to check something.
Was the man I killed this guy, or could I maintain this coldness even after killing others?
It was an extremely important question.
To protect not only Han Suhui but also Lin, who was like a sister in this world!
"What are you doing! Without a weapon, you can't even start!"
"Everyone, charge together!"
After hesitating for a moment after killing one, they were still all weaklings gathered here.
I killed two more in a rush, but I had no choice but to step aside from the pile of weapons.
「Chaeng, chaeaeeng!」
After that was pure pandemonium—an Abyssal Howl and a living slaughterhouse.
Humans consumed by madness kept killing each other endlessly.
'Is Lin okay?'
Puuk─.
Now that I was casually stabbing bellies with a knife and killing people without a second thought, I hurriedly looked around for Lin.
Thankfully, whether it was the power of the quest or everyone was too panicked to think clearly, Lin was still sitting in the corner, trembling while staring at me.
The more I looked, the cuter she seemed, and the more she resembled Han Suhui.
Even to take this child out of this horrific place, I had to kill everyone.
But...
「Jjeojjeok!」
"Hyung, just because it looks shiny doesn't mean it's a good weapon?"
I had been careless because the sword looked thinner and lighter than the one I was holding. I never imagined it would have better durability and sharpness than mine.
"C-cough, fuck..."
I felt searing pain as a foul smell rose and my vision blurred. I stared fixedly at the sword piercing my abdomen.
"...I remember that sword."
I got up with tears streaming down, ran toward Lin, and made a vow.
'I'll definitely save you. So, just wait a little.'
[You have died.]
#
[3rd Loop]
The sword the bastard had picked was definitely a fine blade.
Whether the guy who killed me had good eyes for weapons or not, I confirmed that he picked up a spear and lasted a long time after taking this sword from me. I had decided that if this sword broke, I would grab that spear too.
But compared to the excellent weapon, my skill was terrible.
「Puuk!」
"Kuk!"
Even in the overwhelmingly superior situation with the better weapon, I had to die five more times simply because of my lack of skill.
#
[11th Loop]
I could feel my proficiency with weapons rising sharply.
Whether it was the power of magi, my talent, or the experience of fighting on the gallows with my life on the line, I didn't know what was accelerating my growth.
I thought it was a combination of reasons.
"Kuaaaak!"
Now I had reached the level where I could fight almost anyone one-on-one. But I still couldn't handle multi-person ambushes. Even while fighting, I remembered the faces of those cowardly bastards who coordinated attacks and, upon reviving, immediately cut off their lives.
#
[15th Loop]
It was impossible to block every multi-person attack in advance. Humans were animals that would do anything to survive when cornered.
The more overwhelming my power, the more those bastards would gather to survive. But I couldn't just hide to block the ambushes either. When I spotted a weak one, I charged at them like a leopard hunting prey without rest. In the end, I was back to Amitabha.
'Then if I become strong enough to win against multi-person attacks, that's it.'
I gritted my teeth and faced the bastards rushing at me.
#
[23rd Loop]
When I could no longer handle multi-person attacks, ambushes and sneak attacks greeted me. No matter how much, I couldn't easily overcome them. Humans didn't have eyes on their backs, so reacting was never easy.
But there was a lesson.
No matter how much you sharpen your senses, attacks from outside will always take longer to react to.
'If I kill all the bastards who can do ambushes and sneak attacks, that's it.'
By dying and dying repeatedly, I was sure I could learn to react or avoid vital points to some degree. I was becoming a master of combat.
#
[31st Loop]
Finally, I could kill everyone except Lin. My body was covered in blood from the beheaded. And now, if I killed the last remaining one, I could clear the 'Survival of the Strongest' quest and leave this hellish place.
But the last survivor was a formidable opponent in another sense.
"S-save me."
He was a boy who hadn't yet reached puberty.
I was surprised at how he had survived in that Abyssal Howl. Or rather, I had guessed. It was the same principle as the invisible power that had protected Lin.
"Can I take this kid with me too?"
I asked indifferently, hiding the rage within.
But the answer was always the same.
"Kill him. I can spare your sister, but only one man can come out from there."
"Understood."
I nodded slightly, staring at the boy who was begging for his life without even holding a weapon in front of me.
I remembered what Karina had said.
The Tutorial Tower gave different quests depending on each person's abilities.
I could vaguely guess what this quest wanted to turn me into. But it didn't feel unpleasant. I had endured because I lacked power, but this tower had a place that perfectly matched me.
"Gladly become a demon. If I can fulfill what I want."
"S-save..."
"Sorry."
「Seokeuk!」
I didn't turn away from the boy who died with his eyes open.
My heart felt terribly dirty.
Despite having killed over three hundred people across dozens of loops without a second thought, killing this boy who didn't resist made me angry.
'Seeing this, my heart isn't dead.'
Sometimes I wondered if I was a human without a heart, but it seemed I wasn't.
"Oppa..."
"It's okay, Lin."
It was sincere.
My heart was uncomfortable, but it wasn't broken or shocked. As I said earlier, if protecting my sisters meant becoming a demon, I was ready.
[Tutorial Chapter 1 cleared.]
[Quest completed.]
[Reward: Experience points acquired. Level up from 1 to 3.]
At the same time, I felt my vision flip and returned to the modern world.
"Hoo, that was intense."
「Thud!」
I leaned against the wall of the tiny one-room apartment and breathed heavily. I thought I was maintaining my coldness, but returning to the modern world brought fatigue all at once.
On top of that, I hadn't gotten proper sleep when I should have been sleeping.
This was something to be grateful for.
[Current Time]
[PM 12:40]
Thankfully, I still had time before my part-time job. It was truly fortunate that the 'Leadership Development and Training' lecture scheduled for today had been canceled.
I wanted to lie down and sleep right away, but there were still things to do.
"Karina, status window. And bring up the message I glanced at earlier."
[Yes, understood!]
Karina, hearing my informal speech as she always did, was already showing polite behavior toward me.
[Congratulations on completing the quest sincerely.]
[First Quest Clear Achievement: All stats +3.]
Karina wiped her sweat and said something.
[Hoo, you really worked hard.]
[Karina is watching from the side too, it's really a horrific difficulty. So, how about you quit here?]
"No need to say meaningless things."
[Hii, yes...]
I silenced Karina and leisurely stared at the status window. Another achievement from the quest clear was very good. And the free points given per level up were only two at most?
'Few.'
Of course, bonuses might differ for each person.
But the difference wouldn't be huge.
Karina had definitely mentioned the word 'balance.'
'No, it wasn't exactly that.'
If talking balance, I was the one who destroyed that word to its core. It was obvious just from looking at the overwhelming status window.
'Level three, and all stats are already twenty.'
On top of that, including the magi stat, I was a monster.
The place to invest the bonus points was already decided.
"Karina."
[Yes!]
"From now on, all remaining points obtained from level ups should be invested entirely into 'Magi'."
[Understood! Ah, but remember, Magi is an energy that can be consumed, unlike stamina and strength.]
"I get it."
Magi, magi.
It meant you could become stronger by investing points, but using that power consumed it and recovery took time.
If magi was insufficient, my strength would exactly match the 5(+15) as per the numbers.
But with magi, I could exert more than that even in my current state.
Anyway, it was nothing but a scam that magi existed.
'All-rounder.'
I muttered to myself and slowly lay down, thinking.
I had decided to quit my part-time job as soon as possible.
With such scam-like power, I had no intention of wasting time on part-time like an idiot. School was the same. I knew the era of awakened people was about to begin, so there was no need to desperately try to enter a big corporation as a stepping stone.
Strictly speaking, I could quit school immediately, but there was a reason I wouldn't.
It was revenge.
Ironically, most of the humans who had bullied me since middle school and high school were attending this recovery center.
"Um..."
Among them, the first target of revenge was none other than 'Song Yura.'