Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Seizing Control
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“Kieeeek-!”
A goblin burst out from the darkness—the most common trash mob of them all.
Torn ears, glistening green skin, and a crude rusty dagger clutched in its hand.
“Kyaaak!”
“N-no, stay back!”
The three of them screamed and tumbled backward.
The man fell flat on his ass in an undignified heap, while the women flailed around, clinging to each other.
Being naked, their flesh rubbed together shamelessly, groins fully exposed, but no one had the luxury to care.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue.
Tap, tap.
My index finger stopped drumming against the spear shaft.
The goblins leaped.
Distance: three meters. Air time: 0.5 seconds.
Slow.
They were just pixel blobs on a monitor brought to life in realistic detail.
To my eyes, trained to break down every frame, their movements played out in crystal-clear slow motion.
Thud—
I kicked off the ground.
No need for flashy techniques.
The most efficient path, the surest vital spot.
Squelch—!
The lead goblin’s throat impaled itself on my spear tip.
It toppled over without even a scream.
“Kiek?”
The moment the other two hesitated, I yanked back my spear and dropped low, drawing my shortsword.
Then I spun, driving it straight into the heart of the one on the right.
Thud.
One left.
Terror-stricken, it tried to backpedal, but it was too late.
I gripped my shortsword tight and smashed it down onto the bastard’s skull.
Crack.
[Experience 5 EXP acquired.]
[Experience 5 EXP acquired.]
[Experience 5 EXP acquired.]
Time from start to finish: seven seconds.
Not a single drop of blood stained my leather armor.
“……”
Only ragged breathing echoed in the heavy silence.
I shook the blood off my weapons and turned back indifferently.
The three stared up at me, dumbfounded.
Terror, shock… and an instinctive relief at my overwhelming power.
I jerked my chin toward the pile of skulls in the corner.
“Situation’s over. How about throwing something on?”
“……Pardon?”
“You planning to prance around naked forever? It’s embarrassing for those watching.”
Only then did they snap to their senses.
“Ah……”
The athletic woman moved first.
Biting her lip, she swallowed her shame and approached the skulls.
“Ugh……”
Her hand trembled as she picked up a scrap of fabric reeking of rot.
But she didn’t hesitate.
Instinct had taught her that pride meant nothing compared to survival here.
As she squatted to dress, her flawless back and firm glutes were laid bare.
Good posture. Toned muscles too.
Some kind of athlete?
At least she wouldn’t drag me down if we had to run.
To me, though, she was just ‘Porter A with decent stamina stats.’
Meanwhile, the younger-looking woman huddled up, covering herself and sniffling in hesitation.
“Hic… How am I supposed to wear that……”
“Damn it! Why do I have to put on crap like this!”
While the woman dawdled, the potbellied man snatched up rags and threw them on, yelling.
He’d already pegged me as his lifeline, glancing at me nervously the whole time he dressed.
In the end, the athletic woman tossed the last scrap to the younger one.
“Just cover up for now. Unless you’re trying to show off your chest to the guys.”
Finally, she wrapped the rag around herself, sobbing like she’d eaten mustard.
It barely covered her unreal curves.
Her heavy breasts swayed with every step, slim waist asserting itself even through the loose cloth.
Less exposed, yet somehow more tantalizing.
I could feel the potbellied man’s sneaky glances her way.
Not even a dog in heat. Read the damn room.
I tsked in disdain and spoke up.
“We’ll do introductions on the move. I’m Han Yujin.”
“Ah, I’m Choi Hyun-sik! Back outside, I ran a small business. Haha……”
Choi Hyun-sik sidled up to me with a servile grin.
“Um… I’m Lee Seo-ah. I run a Pilates studio.”
Lee Seo-ah.
Figured she had a physical job.
She’d dropped her sharp edge from earlier, gazing at me with feigned calm.
But she couldn’t meet my eyes straight on. That slaughter show was still burned into her mind.
“Park Yumin… I’m a college student……”
Park Yumin hid behind Lee Seo-ah without even glancing my way.
Han Yujin, Choi Hyun-sik, Lee Seo-ah, Park Yumin.
This was the tutorial party lineup.
In the game, the three dot NPCs—minus me—lay naked at the start, never moving a muscle.
But now they were living, breathing humans.
One decent fighter, one meat shield, one porter.
Not bad.
But did it even matter?
I’d cleared it solo anyway.
I led them deeper into the dim passage.
Not just walking, of course.
The map’s every item spot was already mapped in my head.
“Hold up.”
I stopped naturally, pointing at the sloppy pile of rocks by the wall.
“Looks like something’s there.”
“Huh? I just see rocks……”
Choi Hyun-sik cleared the pile, puzzled.
A weathered wooden chest hid inside.
Opening it revealed a rusty longsword, a blunt club missing teeth, and a rickety wooden shield.
“Ooh! Weapons!”
Choi Hyun-sik’s eyes gleamed.
He snatched the longsword quick as a flash.
As the cold steel settled in his grip, his slumped shoulders straightened.
“Heh, they say there’s always a way out even if the sky falls.”
He swung it experimentally at the air, then shot me a sly look.
The servility was gone, replaced by shallow bravado.
“Han Yujin, right? Now we’ve got weapons too. We’re equals, yeah?”
He brandished the sword showily.
“Honestly, I was scared back there with no gear, but I did kendo back in the day. Can’t follow you around forever. Right?”
Predictable.
Power goes to his head, wants to flip the pecking order.
My leather armor and solid weapons probably tempted him too.
I smirked and stepped aside.
“Then take point. I won’t stop you.”
“F-for real?”
“Veteran up front benefits the whole party.”
My cool response threw him off, but he puffed up quick and turned to the women.
“See? From now on, I’ll protect you all. Just stick with me!”
Strutting like a hero, he rounded the corner.
Tap, tap.
I drummed my thigh.
3, 2, 1.
Right after the corner.
The tight ambush spot with a goblin lurking.
“Gaaaargh-!”
As expected, a gruesome scream and Choi Hyun-sik tumbling back.
“S-save me! My arm! Uwaaaah!”
A goblin hidden in the shadows had slashed his forearm long and deep.
He’d clumsily dropped his sword and rolled on the ground bawling.
The women screamed and ducked behind me again.
“Ha……”
What a pain.
I figured he’d dodge out of fear, but his reflexes were way slower than I’d guessed.
I strolled forward.
As the goblin went for his throat, my spear pierced its side first.
Squelch—
Easy cleanup.
I looked down at Choi Hyun-sik, trembling and bleeding out.
“Didn’t you say you did kendo back in the day?”
“S-sorry… Please spare me… Uuugh……”
Blood gushing from his arm.
Leave him like this, he’d bleed out or be combat-ineffective even if lucky.
Ditch him?
I pondered briefly.
A clueless deadweight might be better off gone.
But.
No.
Tutorial boss clear reward.
The chest’s reward grade scaled with surviving party members.
All four alive maximized chances for that item I wanted.
Damn system.
Grimacing, I pulled a vial from the bag I’d snagged with my armor.
Classic early-game staple: Minor Hemostatic.
Not a potion, but precious consumable at the start.
Spritz.
I doused the wound, and he flailed in agony.
“Shh! Shut it.”
I clamped his mouth shut.
“Scream like that, and every monster on the other side comes running.”
Finally, he clamped his own mouth, eyes wide in horror.
Moments later, his twisted face relaxed.
The wound visibly knitting.
“Wha… wha……?”
Choi Hyun-sik gawked at his arm, then me, back and forth.
Tears welled up.
“Sob… Th-thank you for saving me……”
He bowed at my feet.
“Thank you! Truly! I’ll serve you as Big Brother till I die!”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I didn’t save you ’cause I like you. And who’s calling who Big Brother? You look a decade older.”
I tossed the empty vial and nudged his ass with my boot as he crouched.
“You’re alive. Get up. No time for whining.”
“Y-yes, Big Brother!”
He sprang up, moving spryly.
Pecking order sorted.
The potion cost? I’d recoup it from the reward chest.
I turned without regret and pressed into the darkness.
Han Yujin strode ahead into the dark.
A strange silence hung among the three left behind.
Choi Hyun-sik caressed his bandaged arm, staring blankly at Han Yujin’s retreating back—the same guy who’d just kicked him.
“Big Brother……”
Terror, humiliation, overwhelming relief.
To him, teetering on death’s door, that kick wasn’t an insult.
It was salvation: You’re still useful, so I’ll keep you.
Lee Seo-ah alternated glances between Choi Hyun-sik and Han Yujin’s back, swallowing dryly.
Her eyes swirled with complexity.
Who the hell is that guy?
At first, she’d pegged him as a punk with lucky gear and a bad attitude.
Scolding them for parading naked, forcing them into corpse rags—she’d wondered if he was a sociopath.
But that last act shook her doubts.
That was clearly valuable medicine.
Only an idiot wouldn’t realize this was a game world.
Healing items were worth their weight in lives early on.
Yet he’d used it without hesitation on someone who’d challenged him.
Tsundere type?
No, too dry-eyed for that label.
But one thing was clear.
He’s not some psycho who kills or ditches people on a whim.
Lee Seo-ah clenched her fist.
Pride stung, but she had to admit it.
To survive this hell and get out, tailing that man was the safest bet.
“Um… unnie.”
Then Park Yumin tugged cautiously at Lee Seo-ah’s rag.
Her face still pale with fear, but her eyes burned with new desperation.
“We should… hurry after him. If we lose that oppa… we’re really dead.”
To Park Yumin, Han Yujin wasn’t scary anymore.
She’d seen what happened when Choi Hyun-sik got cocky.
Witnessed the gruesome fate of the weak who lashed out.
To her, he was the sole pillar to lean on, the savior here.
Even if that pillar was a thorny, dangerous bush—better a thousand times over than the vomit-inducing monsters.
“Yeah… let’s go.”
Lee Seo-ah answered curtly and stepped forward.
Park Yumin trotted after, and Choi Hyun-sik scrambled behind with groveling haste, longsword in hand.
Footsteps echoed from behind.
The rhythm had changed.
No more hesitation or irregularity—just steady tempo matching mine.
They’re following on their own now.
I curled my lip slightly.
Ruling through fear had limits.
Show them profit—survival—and humans crawl after you.
Tap, tap.
My finger drummed the spear shaft briskly.
Party control fully secured.
Time to start the real hunt.