Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 012
Chapter Title: The Tutorial Begins (11)
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It was too late when the two eyes and four ears—sharper than those of an ordinary troll—noticed the ambush.
“?!!”
“?!!”
The powerful strike leaping down from the tree cleaved the Twin-Headed Troll's left head clean in half.
Its tough hide and sturdy skull were utterly useless against the lightning-fast downward blow.
“Twarrrgh...!!”
The right head bellowed in rage at its brother's death. Kang Mu-hyuk swiftly swung his sword horizontally, slicing into the creature's eye.
Slash!
It was a razor-sharp, precise attack.
‘I have to hurry!’
With the Twin-Headed Troll's vision completely blocked, Kang Mu-hyuk didn't hesitate and dropped to the ground.
“Traaagh...!!”
The Twin-Headed Troll flailed its arms wildly to rip him apart. It was a somewhat pathetic sight.
Whoosh! Whooosh!
But its power was no joke. If those arms caught him, he'd be torn to shreds in less than a second, no doubt.
‘Can't drag this out!’
For Kang Mu-hyuk, this blinded moment was his one and only chance.
So he charged in, steeling himself for death.
Whooosh!!
A massive arm grazed past his head. A hair's breadth from disaster. If the angle had dipped just a little lower, his skull would've burst like a watermelon.
The near brush with death chilled his spine, cold sweat pouring out.
Yet Kang Mu-hyuk didn't retreat. He pressed deeper, slashing the Troll's flank.
Slash!
“Traaagh?!!”
Still sightless, the Twin-Headed Troll clutched its side and screamed.
‘Not enough!’
Kang Mu-hyuk darted to the other side, hacking fiercely at the exposed opposite flank.
Slash!!
A far stronger blow. This one plunged between ribs, reaching the organs.
“Tra...aa...gh?!!”
A scream blending fury and fear echoed out. Panicking, the Twin-Headed Troll swung its arms like a madman.
Whoosh! Whooosh! Whoooosh!
The air tore like fabric. But Kang Mu-hyuk had already circled behind its back.
‘Now!’
The back beyond arm's reach. The exposed nape.
Kang Mu-hyuk seized the opening.
He planted a foot on its back and leaped, striking down at the nape.
Slash!
‘Too shallow!’
Regrettably, he couldn't sever it fully. The tough skull halted the blade halfway.
‘Again...!’
Kang Mu-hyuk swung once more to finish the job. But he failed—and paid dearly for it.
Thwack!!
“Gah...uhk...?!!”
Struck by a wild arm swing, Kang Mu-hyuk flew back, tumbling across the ground several times before stopping. Thick blood gushed from his mouth.
Cough! Cough!
A mortal wound. It wasn't exaggeration to say he'd lost every point earned so far.
“Gr...uh...uuh...!!”
Kang Mu-hyuk glared at the Twin-Headed Troll, vomiting blood nonstop.
His vision shook unstably. Pain wracked his body beyond endurance.
“Tra...aaa...!!”
One small mercy: the Twin-Headed Troll hadn't fully regained its sight.
The gashes on both flanks seemed to slow recovery... Still, desperation loomed.
“Cough!”
Tremble!
Kang Mu-hyuk leaned on his sword like a crutch and rose. Teeth ground together. Grind!
‘This... is... it...!’
His eyes burned with resolve. A will to triumph that pierced even death.
Thump...! Thump...!
Kang Mu-hyuk swallowed hot blood. Then leveled his sword again.
‘Definitely...!’
He hadn't planned to, but his mind changed. Choi Tae-seong decided to gift Kang Mu-hyuk despair.
‘...The higher you soar, the harder the fall. Taste even a sliver of my pain, Kang Mu-hyuk.’
So Choi Tae-seong waited in silence.
“......”
Waiting for Kang Mu-hyuk to fell the Twin-Headed Troll.
To revel in dramatic triumph.
He advances.
Swings the sword.
Kang Mu-hyuk poured his spirit into those simple acts. This was his final chance.
Thump...!
Thump thump...!
Whether it defeated the Troll mattered not.
What mattered was pulling it off.
‘...Go...ing...!’
Body low, he charged. Time crawled. Twice—no, three times slower than normal. It felt like a stroll.
The Twin-Headed Troll's huge arm hurtled forth. Impact meant instant death.
Wh...oo...o...osh...!
But slow.
Sloth-slow. Dodging was effortless. A mere sidestep sufficed.
The air.
Sound battered his ears.
Ha...a...!
Ha...a...!
Kang Mu-hyuk heard his breath. And an impossible sound.
‘...Cut...ting...!’
His movements felt off. Creaking? Twisting, imperfect.
Yet the will to cleave the Troll stood unshaken.
Thump...!
The heartbeat surged through him. Echoing, filling every inch.
At last.
Kang Mu-hyuk leaped with all his might.
“?!!”
As the Twin-Headed Troll jerked its head up in alarm, cold steel gleamed in its eyes.
Swoosh!
Top to bottom. Lightning cleaved its head.
Slash.
Tough hide, sturdy skull—irrelevant. Death carved from brow through nose, mouth, throat.
“Tr...aw...r...gh......”
Its death throes were brief. Clawing to reattach its head, it snagged on a root and collapsed. Battle over.
Haa...! Haa...!
All strength spent, breath came ragged. Yet victory's roar rang mighty.
In that instant, Kang Mu-hyuk's eyes snapped open.
“I... won...!!”
The exhilarating victory showered him with gifts: joy, thrill, tears—the boundless glory reserved for victors alone.
But joy proved fleeting.
Stab!
“...?!!”
Choi Tae-seong had intruded.
“You should've watched your back.”
Without a moment's pause, Choi Tae-seong severed Kang Mu-hyuk's neck.
Slash!
Kang Mu-hyuk's vision drowned in black......
Yet Kang Mu-hyuk didn't despair. He calmly quelled his fury, reaffirming his potential.
‘...It's fine. No issue. Sure, Choi Tae-seong got me... But that wasn't my mistake. Just rotten luck. Like stepping in shit mid-stride. If anything, downing the Twin-Headed Troll... First boss kill ever—my rating's up, not down.’
In truth, his evaluation soared. Constellations watching him swelled from three to seven. Info requests flooded in.
Still, the sour finish stung. Had Choi Tae-seong not slain him—had he rested, recovered—it would've been worlds apart.
Grind!!
‘Choi Tae-seong...! You fucking bastard...!! Just you wait. Next time... No matter what, I'll kill you!!’
Kang Mu-hyuk swallowed his rage.
The impulse...
The slaughter impulse only raged fiercer the harder it was suppressed.
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill...!!
Curses against the world. Resentment toward all that breathed. Endless torrent.
Gr...r...uh...uuh...
Sticky drool dribbled from his mouth. Eyes stained redder than blood.
Twitch twitch!
Muscles ballooned grotesquely. Nails and claws jutted out, curving like a werewolf's.
Crunch! Grind!!
Ears probed the ground below. Even treetops above evaded nothing.
Swoosh. Slither. Ssss.
Keen senses tricked him—surface, not tunnel.
Hunger and sleep long vanished. Only bloodlust endured.
“......”
But Lee Sang-hyun held back. Teeth clenched, arms wrapped tight, enduring.
The demon orbited Lee Sang-hyun, whispering without cease.
Flailing hands, shouts to vanish, ears plugged—the demon persisted.
Emboldened, it prattled on.
A hellish nightmare. Yet Lee Sang-hyun refused to break. He battled the slaughter impulse.
Because it demanded endurance.
‘...Just... a bit... longer...’
How many “just a bits”? How many holds?
Lee Sang-hyun endured. Again. And the long night ended.
‘...Day 5...’
Day 5 arrived.
The five days it commanded.
Lee Sang-hyun deemed something special post-day 5 an “awakening.”
The reward for conquering Berserker's curse—the slaughter impulse—body evolution.
But no. Not awakening. Exhaustion.
“Uh...uuh......”
Physical limits breached. Collapse inevitable.
Thud.
Empty, if empty. Predictable, if so.
Superhuman or not, could a human forgo food, water, sleep for five days?
While crushing ceaseless tension, fear, horror, impulse?
Impossible. For humans—unthinkable.
Thus, Lee Sang-hyun passed out. Overwhelmed by ravenous hunger, thirst, drowsiness.
“......”
Berserker's curse, blood-crazed, bowed to flesh's bounds.
Compliance, willing or not.
The yammering demon fell silent. No audience.
......
Lee Sang-hyun slumbered deeply. Five days warring impulse drained body; mental toll added two days' recovery.
Two days. Forty-eight hours.
Thus, in the week's survival game, zero monsters. Zero humans hunted.
Player nadir.
But quelling Berserker's curse? Far from poor.