Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Monster Extermination #2
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Is it because it's the place most similar to Yubungi?
Or maybe it's pity, I don't know,
but thinking about spending 3 years in an empty space without the gallery;; it just feels kinda off;;
At this point, hasn't the guy evolved into a monster?
(Photo of ripping into a monster with his teeth)
(Photo of slicing dozens at once with a wooden bat)
Somehow, the newbie's respectable...
So send a newbie my way too, damn it.
Muscle brain, can you do that stuff?
(lol)
Monsters' kryptonite is definitely a crazy bastard;; and a perfectly sane crazy one at that;;
Do I still look like a Yubungi to you?
YukkiyaAAAAAAAH!!!
MuskiyaAAAAAAAH!!!
For real, monsters don't scare you?
Yeah, I was scared at first, but after dying a few times, they were total pushovers?
...I'm genuinely glad you're human.
(lol)
"These guys think I'm a monster...?"
I felt a bit wronged.
A person locked in a room for 3 years might go a little crazy, right? Come on.
Do you guys get how I feel!?
Couldn't sleep properly.
Couldn't eat properly.
Emotions dried up completely.
They wouldn't understand that hell where even death wasn't allowed.
I'd missed 'taste' so much that just the salty flavor from chewing on a monster moved me to tears.
And that's nothing compared to me.
That uncle who only ate frozen dumplings was fine after decades locked up.
I'm just a rookie by comparison.
Right?
"Ah, talking to myself again. This is a habit too."
I was leisurely wandering the second floor.
Searching for what I assumed was the 'mid-boss' from the game.
Not the weak 'student monsters' that could be handled with brute force.
But entities designed by the rules to be impossible to fight directly.
"That shadow that burst into the [Lodge Room], or the eye I saw on the stairs... Even if I fought them now, it'd be 100% defeat. In game terms, they're maxed-out stats at 999."
Unless I could shoot energy blasts from my hands.
Or cast magic.
It's common knowledge that a normal human body can't beat those monsters.
But that doesn't mean I should avoid them.
Unlike humans with just one coin, I had an unknown number of coins.
Plus some rules still unrevealed.
I couldn't say for sure, but those rules probably hid traps.
"Like that bell that never rang once, or the 'friendly' entity on the rooftop—vague rules like that."
'Friendly' was nonsense from the start.
A monster that only had malice being friendly?
So one of two things.
Either the gallery's collective knowledge was wrong.
Or the 'rules' themselves were written deceptively from the beginning.
"Using my brain really doesn't suit me..."
How long had I been prowling the hallways?
Between the classrooms I'd exterminated, an 'unavoidable' sound began to echo.
[Ding~dong~dang~dong~♪]
[Ding~dong~dang~dong~♪]
444th Period, 444th Period, 444th Period, 444th Period...
The bell signaling the end of class, mentioned in the rules.
Emphasizing the ominous number 4 makes it clear.
That's the bell from the rules.
It told me to go to the control room on the '4th floor,' right?
In run 1 or 2, I might've trembled and gone up.
But why not just smash it?
"What the fuck is that shit blabbering?"
Kwachik———!!
The speakers in every classroom kept yapping.
So I personally disassembled the sp/eak/ers with my bat.
To prevent reassembly, I threw them out the window for good measure.
Then some balloons staring at me from outside the window.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
I grabbed the thumbtacks from the desk and popped them all.
In kill/death terms, about 100/3/0.
The only nagging thing was that the shadows on 1F and 2F were subtly different.
1F was a formless shadow.
2F had enough form to think, "Is that a person?"
"Well, I probably killed it anyway."
There are no allies here.
Just monsters not worth eating and one mystery gallery user.
Plus that bell from just now.
'Thought it'd retaliate right away, but apparently not.'
Usually in these setups, you'd go insane immediately or some monster snaps your neck—the cliché.
Seemed like it wouldn't come until the next bell.
Kwaaak——!
I gripped the bat in my hand tighter.
There were rooms on 2F like [Staff Room] and [Bathroom], different from classrooms.
But according to:
[Palm Tree 10 Years: Everything except classrooms is neutral entities]
ㄴ[Palm Tree 10 Years: Stick to classrooms if possible, then straight to 3F]
ㄴ[Palm Tree 10 Years: Killing them gives good EXP lol]
I'm no murderer.
Why assume I'd barge in and kill first?
Mysterious, but my feet were already heading past 2F to 3F.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Thanks to experience from 1F.
Unlike before when I hesitated, I straight-up reached the 3F entrance.
A place radiating heavy tension unlike 1F or 2F.
Like low-level zone below, high-level above in a game.
"Welcome———!!!"
Already high on endorphins, I ignored the vibe and burst into the [3-1] classroom.
"Teacher?"
"Still break time, why are you here..."
"Wait, is that a wooden bat in your hand!?"
"Correct~!"
Unlike the shadows, these 'normal-looking' monsters got their heads bashed.
Crumbled easily, so definitely monsters.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!!!"
"Teacher, you're insane!?"
"Police! No, ambulance!!"
The monsters hysterically clamored in unison.
Normally, I'd subdue them and extract info or escape methods, but with the excellent source [Still on Break After 10 Years], no reason to keep them alive.
"You trash, how dare you eye a human? Born monsters, you should've just eaten your feelings quietly. Who the hell talks back to a godlike human? Uwoooooh!?"
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
"Surrender nicely now, and I'll spare you!"
With that, the ten students neatly knelt.
Given their groveling, they really wanted to live.
Kaang———!!!
Five kneeling heads crushed along with the bat.
The remaining five's faces turned inhumanly vicious.
"If it weren't for you bastards! I wouldn't! Be stuck! Here! You! Fucking! Shits! For real!!!!!"
No mercy left.
I even swept up the dust with a broom and tossed it out.
Red letters appeared on the window amid it all.
Crang———!
Smashed it with the bat right away.
Staring at the shattered fragments and the wrecked classroom.
"Serves you riiiight!!!! You idiots!!!!"
I burst into genuine loud laughter for the first time in ages.
Revenge begets revenge?
Bullshit.
That's a loser's delusion who can't handle backlash. Smash 'em all, and there's no backlash to begin with!
How long did I cackle in the classroom?
Kong!
Kong!
Kong!
Footsteps like walking with the 'head.'
Hearing it inside the classroom meant about 10 seconds to arrival.
"No time to run. Window outside impossible. Only option left?"
One.
Didn't know who it was.
Tadak——!
As planned, flung open the window, climbed up.
Grabbed a nearby fallen chair.
Kwajijik———!
Slammed down on the ghost walking on its head's precious part.
Ghost with head and legs swapped.
Unlike expected no gender.
Kong! Kong! Kong!
It hopped in agony.
Of course, I wouldn't miss the chance.
Thud-!
Picked up shattered metal shards.
Puk! Puk! Puk!
Mercilessly hacked the precious spot I'd smashed.
Even then, the cursed thing glared with eyes, pissing me off.
"What're you staring at, fucker!"
Pow——!
Soccer-kicked its corn clean off.
Considering it didn't crumble under total assault like the 'shadow,' it had overwhelming power.
Good opportunity.
Didn't know human limits.
Gripped the bat on my back tight.
Kwachik! Kung! Pakak! Woodruk!
I swung with all my curses.
God must approve my deeds; unlike last run's weak break, my bat still swung mighty.
[Kwaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!]
"Hurts!? Me too!? Hurts, that's youth, fucker!!"
[What bullshit, you lunatic!!!]
"Who talks informal to teacher!! Who said make noise in hall!? Penalty! Penalty!! 10 points, death sentenceeeeee!!!!"
[Kwaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!]
Infused with grudge from 'teacher' I killed before.
The bat engraved [Monster Extermination] with an awl.
Kang! Kang! Kaaang!
Turned ghost to ash regardless.
Smarter than others.
High chance it'd chase to 1F if fled.
Swoosh!
Other student monsters peeking from classroom.
Flashed sweet smile.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
Managed to exterminate [3-2] too.
Dunno why stuck 10 years in easy place, but now only [3-3] with gallery user left.
"Welcome———!!!"
No different from others.
Only difference: already saw carnage, so monsters dropped human act from start.
Subduing them cost one finger.
'Tch, didn't expect losing a finger from carelessness.'
Middle finger chomped breaking neck.
Adrenaline dulled pain, fine now, but in one-two hours, bleed out.
The one sitting still, not acting.
Her—no, gallery user [Still on Break After 10 Years] looked fully 'human' contrary to worry.
Dunno what she ate or how she washed for 10 years.
Looked way better than me after 3 years locked.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Emotions surged with each step.
3 years.
3 years.
Even chatting in gallery wasn't face-to-face human talk, just substitute.
Meeting same human this happy.
To ease guard, smiled approaching her.
"Peekaboo!"
"........."
Huh?
No reaction?
Weird, touched shoulder.
Plop!
Collapsed with rolled-back eyes.
Breathing, so not dead.
Why faint?
Talk about irony.
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