Chapter 144: Mental Illness
Chapter 144: Mental Illness
Choi Joohyun wept bitterly for a long while. But when I neither comforted her nor reacted in any way, she gradually quieted down on her own. As her sobs subsided, I considered what to do next.
What should I do? When I first came here, I’d expected to be attacked or lured into a trap. But instead, they’d taken a step back, trying to plant one of their own in our group. I wasn’t sure why they felt the need to go to such lengths, but in any case, I decided to change my approach as well. They were probably watching from nearby, silent as mice. If that was the case, I’d just have to force them to come out.
Choi Joohyun wiped the tear stains from her cheeks and spoke in a choked voice.
“Just a moment ago, I was ready to die. Thank you so much for helping me. Now that I’ve been given a second chance, I find myself getting a little greedy—I’m a person before I’m a User, after all. So, could you please protect me just one more time? I’m sure those Vagabonds will attack again. I’m truly sorry for what my party and I did, but I want to avenge my companions who were killed so senselessly.”
Perhaps seeing the troubled look on my face, Choi Joohyun pleaded with an even more pitiful expression. She was asking to join my party. I had no intention of letting that happen, so I placed my hands on her arms. She flinched slightly.
“Your situation is unfortunate, but in a way, you’re a User just like those Vagabonds. I can’t just carelessly accept someone like that into my group.”
“But if I’m left alone again, I’ll definitely be attacked. Or I’ll be killed by monsters without being able to put up a fight. I know this is a shameless request, but please, at least let me help from the side when the Vagabonds return. I know a little bit about them, so I’m sure I can be of use.”
Watching her recite her lines as if she’d memorized a script, I took another step forward.
Deep night. Deep in the mountains. And a naked female User. A faint, hot breeze, perhaps a remnant of the passion from moments before, still lingered in the clearing. Our eyes met, and I slowly scanned her from head to toe, taking in her face and body. Choi Joohyun was quite pretty. In the modern world, she would have easily been called a beauty. After appraising her for a moment, I spoke in a voice that might have sounded a bit vile.
“Well, even without all that, I think there’s another way you can be helpful.”
With a smirk, I ran my hand down her soft skin. To my surprise, Choi Joohyun’s expression barely changed. Was this also part of her calculations? She bit her lip and lowered her gaze. Then, her small lips slowly parted.
“My body is already ruined. If you can guarantee my protection… fine. Do as you please.”
Finishing her words, she slowly lowered the arms that had been covering her body. Her firm, round breasts and the prominent mound below came into view. But I’m sorry to say, I had no intention of taking Choi Joohyun to bed. If I had ever planned on recruiting her, I would have given her clothes to wear right away.
Deciding it was about time to get started, I continued in a gentle tone.
“I think you’ve misunderstood. No, thanks.”
“What?”
“I said no. I’d feel bad for my own dick if I touched a filthy body like yours. So I don’t want to.”
“Wh-what do you mean? Then, how…”
Choi Joohyun stammered, her face a mask of confusion. I stopped my caress and gripped her arms tightly. She let out a faint moan of pain, her brow furrowing.
Then I whispered into her ear.
“Like this.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I squeezed with all my strength. Riiip! A gruesome tearing sound echoed through the clearing, followed by a piercing scream. Thrown off balance by the sudden dismemberment, Choi Joohyun staggered. I casually dropped the things I was holding in my hands, then grabbed her by the hair to hold her upright.
“Aah… Aaargh! Aaaaaargh!”
“J-Joohyun-ah!”
As Choi Joohyun’s agonized screams rang out, a dark figure leaped from the bushes. It was Kim Seungbeom, the man from before, his face frantic. It seemed that when I didn’t follow him, he had only pretended to leave and had been hiding nearby.
Kim Seungbeom pointed at me, his face a mask of horror, his finger trembling.
“You… you bastard!”
“Oh. You’re back. Vagabond.”
“What the hell did you do! You son of a bitch!”
“Hm? Oh. You said she was one of the people who followed us. So I’m killing her. Why?”
“It hurts! It hurts! Help me! Seungbeom, help meeee! Aaaaaaaargh!”
When I asked with a smug look, Kim Seungbeom stared at me, momentarily speechless. But Choi Joohyun’s screams seemed to snap him back to his senses, and he growled, grinding his teeth.
“You bastard…! Hand Joohyun over while I’m still asking nicely. If you touch her again, I’ll make your death as painful as possible.”
“What’s this? That’s not something a rapist should be saying. Don’t tell me you caught feelings after a quick fuck?”
“Cut the crap and send her over here now. Grrgh!”
Kim Seungbeom’s face was flushed red, clearly furious. I shrugged my shoulders and replied obediently.
“Alright. I’ll give her to you.”
I slowly moved my hand to Choi Joohyun’s neck. A strange look crept onto his face as he watched my hand move. The moment my hand closed around her deer-like neck, I clenched my fist with all my might, just as I had with Jung Jiyeon. I put all 94 points of my Strength stat into it.
Crack, crrrack!
“Gack! Ghaack!”
“Here you go.”
Thump. Thud-thud-thud.
Her neck wasn’t just broken, it was completely shattered. I bowled her head toward him. The blood that spurted from her neck drew a thin red line on the grass as it rolled. Kim Seungbeom stared blankly at the approaching head, then his face twisted in shock as he slowly sank to his knees.
“J-Joohyun-ah…”
“So her name was Joohyun. What a pretty name.”
“N-no. This can’t be happening. Joohyun-ah. Joohyun-ah? Answer me, Joohyun-ah. Joohyun-ah… Joohyun-aaaaaah!”
Kim Seungbeom, who had been calling the woman’s name like a man who’d lost his mind, let out a bloodcurdling shriek. The whites of his eyes were showing; he looked ready to charge at me. Humming a little tune, I calmly raised my sword. I planned to shove it right into that screaming mouth of his the moment he came at me.
It was then.
“Don’t be reckless, Kim Seungbeom.”
A husky voice flew out of the darkness, stopping Kim Seungbeom in his tracks. At the same time, figures began to emerge from behind rocks, trees, and bushes. The main event was finally starting.
One, two, three, four, five. Including Kim Seungbeom and Choi Joohyun, that made seven in total. I’d already gotten a rough idea of their numbers when I activated Third Eye, so I wasn’t particularly surprised. Instead, I quickly scanned their classes and stats.
“Hmm.”
Nothing special. A few of them had some years and stats under their belts, but that was it. Strictly speaking, none of them were a match for me. That allowed me to relax even more. I wondered if this was what the God of War, Cha Seunghyun, felt when he faced 800 Users.
While I was momentarily lost in thought, Kim Seungbeom was thrashing about, trying to shake off the hands that held him.
“That bastard—he killed Joohyun!”
“I know. It seems our plan was discovered. So calm down for now. He’s surrounded, anyway.”
The User before me had a gentle appearance, but there was a dark shadow in one corner of his expression. Soothed by his words, Kim Seungbeom took a deep breath and roughly pushed himself to his feet. I noticed he was now wearing simple clothes and equipped with his original weapon. It didn’t take long for the grief in his eyes to turn into a murderous glare.
I calmly looked around. One swordsman. One archer. One axe warrior. One mage. One Combat Priest. One regular Priestess. Including the now-deceased Choi Joohyun, it was a decent enough caravan. The mage who had appeared first spoke to me with a grim face.
“I never thought you’d see through our little scheme. I thought something was strange when you changed the watch, so this was your plan.”
“Heh heh. Your plan was pretty good, too. The problem was the actors’ poor performance.”
“You arrogant bastard. We were going to leave you alone until we found something new, but it seems that’s no longer necessary. Let’s see if you can keep that expression after we’ve captured you.”
“Capture me? Not kill me horribly?”
At the grim man’s words, Kim Seungbeom shot back a sharp question. The man chuckled with a sinister voice. It seemed that, aside from Kim Seungbeom, the others were quite composed, confirming they were indeed Vagabonds. And Kim Seungbeom must have been something like Choi Joohyun’s lover.
“Don’t worry. We’ll kill them all eventually. But first, we capture this guy and immediately attack the others. We’ll kill all the men, and as for the women… hehehe. I saw some pretty decent bitches back in the city. Lucky bastards.”
“Don’t make me laugh. I don’t know what you bastards are thinking, but Joohyun was my… Grrgh. I need to kill him now.”
“Now, now. Calm down. It’s not like I’m completely emotionless about a companion’s death. First, we’ll cut off this bastard’s limbs and make him watch as we violate those bitches. Then, at the very end, we’ll slit their throats one by one, right in front of his eyes. How about that?”
This proposal seemed to pique his interest. Kim Seungbeom’s expression remained contorted, but he stopped struggling. He nodded once or twice and ground his teeth.
“Grrrk… Fine. That’s not a bad idea. No, it’s a great idea. I’ll pay him back in kind.”
As Kim Seungbeom raised his sword with a slightly calmer demeanor, the others who had been watching silently began to speak up.
“I’m calling dibs on that whining priestess bitch. She looks like she’d cry her eyes out while we do it. Just my type.”
“I’ll take that stuck-up bitch with the sharp tongue. I wonder what she’ll scream when she’s pinned under me. Heh heh.”
For the record, five of the six were men. Only the one quietly holding a bow was a woman, and she seemed to be the archer who had tracked us. While the other men casually exchanged lewd jokes, she remained silent, her face covered by a hood.
In any case, I slowly raised my sword toward the group of men who were getting ahead of themselves. It seemed all the actors were on stage; it was time to bring down the curtain. A movie is no longer fun once you know how it ends. Seeing me raise my sword, the mage who appeared to be the leader sighed and spoke.
“What a pathetic bluff. I don’t understand why you came here alone knowing what was going on, but we’ll use this opportunity to teach you just how terrifying the Hall Plain can be. Alright, everyone. Rough him up a bit. Just don’t kill him.”
“Kraaaaaah!”
The moment the mage finished speaking, Kim Seungbeom charged with a roar. It was a reckless assault with no form or technique, relying solely on his superior stats. What an idiot. I snorted and, timing it perfectly, swung my sword downward. He raised his own sword to block and tried to close the distance, but my blade naturally cut through his and cleanly split his head in two.
Kim Seungbeom collapsed to the ground without so much as a squeak. A huge stir went through the Vagabonds, who had been watching with confident smirks.
“Kim Seungbeom! Dammit! Was that a cutting spell? Did he have a magic weapon…? Don’t panic! Don’t rush in, wait for my defensive magic! Use our numerical advantage!”
“No, it’s not a cutting spell.”
I muttered in a drained voice and tilted my head slightly to the left. At the same time, I saw an arrow graze past my head. And just as I had done with the scorpions in the pitch-black forest, I let my sword gently brush against the arrow as it flew past.
The arrow, which had been flying straight, followed the force I’d imparted and drew a gentle curve, neatly piercing the throat of the priest who was standing there dumbfounded. Nice. A direct hit.
“Three down. Four to go?”
“You crazy… H-Hyeonseung!”
“Ahn Soyeon! What the hell are you doing?!”
“N-no! I-I was aiming for…”
I had taken down three of them without moving a single step. Only then did the Vagabonds seem to grasp the situation, their faces flashing with alarm as they began to raise their weapons. But I had no intention of letting them. I could probably finish off at least one or two more before they managed to regroup.
My mind made up, I charged toward the mage before me like a beast starved for blood.