Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Abandoned One
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As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a stone ceiling. Moisture and chill seeped into my back from the floor. I rubbed the goosebumps prickling my arms and pushed myself up.
I was in a prison cell made entirely of stone on all sides.
The all-too-familiar sight made my mind quickly piece together the situation. It was a space I couldn't possibly mistake, one I had no business forgetting.
*What the hell.*
A memory flashed in my head: clicking the beta tester application link for Brutal 5, only to be sucked into the monitor amid a burst of blinding light. That was my last recollection from the real world.
The first emotion that hit me was sheer absurdity. These lunatics were now using fake beta win notifications for new games to lure people in and possess them.
Even if it hadn't been me, anyone who'd played Brutal 4 even a little would've fallen for this trap hook, line, and sinker. You needed at least this level of creativity to go around shoving people into games, apparently.
The next emotion was regret.
*I must've been insane. Why the hell did I clear the enemy reinforcement mode world-first?*
Yeah, what kind of world was this nowadays?
Getting isekai'd into a novel you'd faithfully followed to the end, or a writer getting possessed by their sole dedicated reader—those at least had some root in logic.
But these days? Possessed into novels you hadn't even read, ones you'd only skimmed, ones you never commented on, ones you judged by the cover, ones you filtered out, ones you trashed, ones where you trashed the author, even getting yanked in again after coming back once. It was a brutal, cutthroat world.
In a place like that, a hardcore player with 30,000 hours in Brutal? I was prime bait for whatever terrifying entities were desperate to rack up human possessions.
But what could I do? I'd already done it, and now I'd been marked and dragged here.
I stood up. The floor was too cold to sit on barefoot any longer. Besides, the tutorial area's first event would kick off soon.
A plan automatically formed in my mind. I'd passed through this section thousands of times before. I knew exactly how to move and act here.
—Help! Aaaah!
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than frantic footsteps and horrific screams echoed from afar.
*It's starting.*
I took a deep breath and positioned myself against the wall farthest from the iron bars. Outside, people shoved and trampled each other in a desperate bid to flee.
Prisoners in the cell across from mine peered out through their bars with baffled expressions, trying to gauge what was happening. With everyone fleeing for their lives en masse, who could blame them?
—Thud... Thud...
The ground trembled faintly in the distance. As the vibrations grew closer, the prisoners exchanged confused glances.
Finally, the heavy thuds reached right beside us. The moment one prisoner pressed his face to the bars to look outside and collapsed in terror upon seeing something—
—Groooarrr!
From the end of the left corridor, a grotesque monster lumbered into view.
Its body was so massively fat sideways that it nearly filled the entire hallway, its skin covered in twisted, malformed scales.
Its legs and thighs were thicker than a person's torso, but its even fatter belly made the proportions seem balanced somehow.
Its arms were less than half the length of its legs. Yet one hand gripped a wooden club almost as tall as itself, already splattered in blood.
Its face was a nightmare of distortions, its mouth torn open nearly to the ears, jagged, uneven teeth protruding outward.
The tutorial area's boss: the Human Slaughterer.
The prisoners across from me screamed bloody murder at the sight of it, shaking their cell. Drawn by the noise, the Human Slaughterer veered toward them instead of me.
Its enormous bulk swung through the iron bars like they were noodles and barged into the cell. Soon, agonized screams mixed with the sickening crunch of human bodies being pulverized.
Blood splattered across the cell walls. Up to this point, it was all exactly like the game. Brutal 4's graphics hadn't been top-notch, but the vivid chunks of mangled flesh made my stomach churn a bit.
True to its name, the Human Slaughterer had butchered the prisoners. It lumbered back out, fresh blood dripping from its club onto the dried stains below.
Now, I was next. Its massive frame thudded forward again. The cell door's bars bent and gave way without a second's resistance.
As the Human Slaughterer shoved half its body inside and raised its club-wielding arm toward me—
—Crack!
Just before the arm swung down, a massive fissure spiderwebbed from where it planted its foot, splitting the floor.
Startled, it aborted the swing and staggered back.
But the cracks kept spreading until the entire cell floor fractured with ominous groans. It looked ready to collapse any second.
*Now it begins.*
Assuming I'd plummet to my death, the Human Slaughterer snorted once and turned away. It was true—I'd fall along with the crumbling floor.
But I wouldn't die.
I closed my eyes and braced for impact. The floor soon reached its limit and gave way beneath its own weight, collapsing in a heap. My body tumbled down into the depths amid the falling rubble.
"Cough, cough."
I'd inhaled a lungful of dust and broke into a fit of coughing.
I shoved aside a rock in front of me with my arm and clawed through the pile atop my body. After struggling for what felt like ages, I finally crawled out.
I'd landed in the prison's lowest level.
This was where Brutal 4 truly began. Everything before the fall—the stuff in the upper cells—was just the intro in game terms.
I dusted myself off roughly and slipped out through the bent bars. Silence reigned all around. It was exactly the scene I'd seen in the game.
I'd never imagined I'd experience this firsthand. A complicated mix of feelings washed over me.
*Wonder what background they picked for my past deeds.*
I looked down at myself. A muscular build clad only in a skimpy loincloth. Unfortunately, past deeds and body type were separate, so no clues there.
Honestly, I was a little relieved it wasn't a female character.
*No point speculating anyway—I can check right away.*
I headed for the nearby stairs. Climb these, and I'd trigger the tutorial area's first trash mob fights—while also revealing what past background the player had chosen.
I picked up a crude wooden club from the landing and ascended stealthily, minimizing my footsteps while straining to hear voices from above.
"......"
Nothing.
*Shit.*
Realization hit, and my face twisted.
If you climbed without making noise, you'd overhear the enemies' conversation midway up. They argued over how to split loot.
Mention armor, longsword, shield? Knight background.
Daggers, magic scrolls? Thief.
Staff, robes? Mage.
And so on.
But hearing nothing meant the player's past background was "The Abandoned." Realizing that, a surge of frustration welled up inside me.
*Ten possible backgrounds, and they pick that one?*
The Abandoned was the weakest by far among selectable pasts. Started at level 1 with all stats at 1, no items, weapons, or armor whatsoever.
All stats at 1 made it the most efficient for PvP in certain level brackets, but that was its only upside.
Getting there was the real hell. Low HP, trash stamina, pathetic attack power, no gear.
The kind of self-imposed hardcore mode veterans picked for masochistic thrills.
In the game, sure—you could just infinite retry. But now I was sucked inside. No guarantee of respawning after death.
I sighed inwardly and gripped the wooden club. Better than nothing. Clutching it tightly, I slowly climbed the stairs. The upper floor came into view bit by bit.
*Just as I thought.*
As expected, the spot for background-revealing items was empty. Prisoners in ragged clothes wandered aimlessly nearby, clubs in hand.
Identical to the scenery I'd seen ad nauseam in the game.
Which meant my task here was the same grind I'd done endlessly before.
I took a deep breath and stepped up to the upper floor.