Chapter 18
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: PvP (1)
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“…?”
Sung Dong-gil couldn’t comprehend the atmosphere right now.
The moment the student they’d risked their lives to rescue came to, Min-jun and So-hee’s vibes turned outright deadly.
The student’s eyes were severely bloodshot—maybe from exhaustion or some health issue—but aside from that, he looked perfectly fine.
“Haha… why’s everyone-”
“…”
It was the instant Dong-gil, worn out by the endless silence, opened his mouth to try and ease the tension.
“Where do you think you’re going…!”
The male student who’d regained consciousness suddenly hurled himself toward the window.
Min-jun reflexively seized the fleeing student and slammed him down onto the bed.
“What’s your connection to the bastards who ambushed us?”
The words that followed from his mouth carried a sting that made the back of his own head throb.
* * *
From the window facing the athletic field, thick sunset light poured into the nurse’s office, so vivid it felt graspable.
Amid that orange glow, floating dust drifted lazily, slipping between the stares of Min-jun and Park Sun-woo as they locked eyes.
To a stranger’s glance, it might’ve seemed as serene as an empty classroom after school.
In reality, though, the ‘temperature’ in the room was chillingly cold—verging on outright frigid.
“What’s your connection to the bastards who ambushed us?”
Park Sun-woo rolled his eyes, gauging Min-jun’s accusatory glare.
His gaze lingered momentarily on the wrists of the group before shifting elsewhere.
But it looked so much like the typical behavior of a frightened person that… no one in the room except Min-jun seemed to notice the odd dissonance.
“Team Leader, I get the gist of the situation. Just calm down for now-”
“Dong-gil Uncle.”
Dong-gil tried to step in amid the sudden tension, but So-hee—who knew what those red eyes meant—cut him off.
Min-jun ignored them entirely, focusing solely on Park Sun-woo.
“I’ll ask again. Who were the guys who ambushed us, and what’s your relation to them?”
“…I’m sorry. Please, spare me.”
Min-jun pressed Park Sun-woo once more, but the guy just trembled like a leaf, repeating pleas for his life like a parrot.
“…”
In that pointless back-and-forth, the minute hand on the wall clock ticked onward… and Min-jun’s patience plunged toward rock bottom.
Shiiiik—thunk!
Before anyone else could react, a dagger plunged right between Park Sun-woo’s legs.
It was driven in so hard that only the hilt protruded above the mattress, leaving its mark.
“…I’m sorry. Please, spare me.”
“Cut the shitty acting. I’ve met another human with eyes just like yours before.”
Min-jun grinned at Park Sun-woo’s subtly twisted expression.
“It all felt too damn convenient. We save someone in danger, and bullets come flying right after. We arrive, and our feet get tied saving some unconscious guy…. Right, so what’s next? Trick us into dropping our guard and lure us into a trap? Or maybe you stab us in the back yourself?”
“Wh-what are you talking about? I was just walking and got attacked by those bugs-”
“If you’re as innocent as you claim, wanna make a bet? Sunset’s falling anyway, so we’re not moving tonight. Looks like we’re holing up here…. If nothing happens to us before that sunset over there fully dips, I’ll gift you this dagger stuck in the bed.”
Gulp.
Park Sun-woo swallowed hard, staring at the dagger embedded in the bed.
“But if your buddies can’t hold back and attack us in the meantime?”
Min-jun lightly plucked the deeply embedded dagger free using just his thumb and index finger.
“Before I even fight your friends, I’ll kill you first, no matter what it takes.”
As Min-jun finished speaking, Park Sun-woo’s excessive shaking shifted to a subtle tremor, and his eyes began wandering lostly.
Meanwhile, the sunset sank lower, slipping beyond the horizon.
As time passed, the light filtering into the nurse’s office stretched deeper, reaching the opposite wall.
“S-sorry… I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do it. They—they made me…. They said they’d kill me if I didn’t, so I had no choice.”
Park Sun-woo bit his lip, then dropped to his knees, looking up at Min-jun.
“Fine, say we buy that you approached us. But what about your red eyes?”
“They said to join their group, you have to become one of them, so they forced me… to pull the trigger. Sure, that doesn’t erase the fact that I killed someone, but it really wasn’t something I wanted to do!”
“Who the hell are these guys you’re talking about, and what were they planning against us?”
Hesitating as if torn whether to speak, Park Sun-woo finally squeezed his eyes shut and spilled their future plans.
* * *
Twilight draped the sky.
Yoon A-rin overlooked the school from the rooftop of a villa near Mang-san High.
Crackle.
- Vice-Captain. Time’s up, but the maknae hasn’t come out. Looks like they couldn’t escape.
A junior’s voice came through the radio.
According to plan, the maknae should’ve escaped long ago.
But something had gone wrong—no contact at all.
“Something’s up…. Still, we can’t waste more time. We need to start the hunt before sunset. Light up the ‘cave.’”
- Yes, understood.
At her command, the juniors moved with machine-like precision.
Those who’d done similar work before expertly hurled stones to shatter the second-floor nurse’s office window, then lobbed in Molotov cocktails.
The building was different from their last hunt, but the school they’d roamed just days ago made prep work even easier.
Traces of how the kids had blocked monsters at the start still lingered.
The prey entering Mang-san High would think those barricades from days ago would protect them from monsters.
But when flames roared and smoke billowed from exactly those things, they’d have no choice but to burst out the windows.
‘Next time, I’ll herd them a different way.’
This time, the maknae had successfully lured the prey to the prepared spot, but once they pulled this off, the traces would be too obvious to repeat for long.
So… they needed to buy as much time as possible this round.
Lost in thought for a moment, she soon saw flames spread—the nurse’s office window belching thick black smoke.
“Everyone saw that monster fight earlier, right? Just watch out for that one, and the op’s a success. I’ll split the time loot evenly if we pull it off clean, so hustle. First squad, prep to fire. Turn ’em into Swiss cheese the second they pop out.”
- Yes, first squad prepping to fire.
When hunting animals huddled in their burrows, you had to stoke the smoke just right to make them bolt out on their own.
The more panicked they got, the slower they’d react to the sudden bullet storm—and once a round hit home, the hunt got way easier.
“…?”
But even as the flames raged and smoke poured thicker, not a single one emerged.
‘No way they’re inhaling smoke and suiciding in there?’
That wouldn’t do. If the prey just died on their own, they gained nothing.
Crackle.
“Op’s gone sideways. Second squad, rush the nurse’s office before they croak-”
Crash!
Just as she was about to issue new orders to her juniors.
Not the second-floor nurse’s office—but the first-floor admin office window right below—something burst out.
It was that monster from before.
Yoon A-rin snatched up the radio and yelled.
“First squad! It’s him! Light him up!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Even caught off guard, first squad—who’d hunted once before—snapped off shots fast.
“These crazy…”
First squad’s response was perfect. It was just that the prey before them was a far more monstrous beast than expected.
The thing charged, blocking iron balls with a man-sized greatsword, and amid the hail of bullets, it cleaved one junior clean in two.
Regret flashed that their damn senior hadn’t bailed for nothing—then the radio crackled, and second squad’s leader chimed in.
- Vice-Captain! Nurse’s office is empty! They must’ve sniffed out our plan!
If the op details had leaked somewhere, the culprit with that potential was obvious.
“Maknae, you fucking traitor?”
Rage boiled to her scalp, but she had to stay cool.
If she cracked, the whole team would.
Yoon A-rin took a deep breath and keyed the radio.
“Primary op failed. Second squad, stand by and provide covering fire when I engage it.”
Yes, Vice-Captain!
That bastard toying with first squad—swinging the massive blade like a baseball bat—had long surpassed human limits.
Only she, with the highest stats, could buy time against it.
Click-click-click—
Steeling herself, she pumped 12-gauge buckshot into the pump-action shotgun.
This hunt had to succeed.
No—in this godforsaken world, they had to succeed every time.
All they knew was pulling triggers; the only way to buy time was slaughtering their own kind in place of the bugs.
Yoon A-rin swallowed down the nausea surging once more as time ticked on.
* * *
Slaaaash!
The greatsword swung horizontally, bisecting one foe’s waist.
[Eliminated ‘Lee Yeon-woo’ and stole 122 hours.]
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ignoring their comrade’s death without a mournful glance, they sprayed bullets wildly at Min-jun.
It looked less like attacking someone and more like desperate thrashing to survive.
‘But.’
Their shots bounced harmlessly off the greatsword, and as they fumbled to reload, Min-jun activated [Space Domination].
“Wha… what the—!”
While they panicked at their slowed movements, Min-jun leaped forward another step, bringing the greatsword down on the nearest one.
Shiiiing—boom!
By the time the heavy slab of metal slammed into the dirt, kicking up dust, the body lay mangled into paste beside a dropped gun.
“Eeeek!”
With two of four dead in seconds, the survivors recoiled in terror.
They soon ditched their guns, screaming surrender.
“S-surrender… I surrender!”
“Uncle, I’m only 18! Please spare me!”
“If your eyes weren’t that red, those words might’ve swayed me.”
As Min-jun approached with the greatsword matching his height, the trembling pair overcame their fear and bolted in all directions.
But… with stats barely scraping level 2 or 3, they couldn’t escape Min-jun’s grasp.
Foes who’d lost the will to fight were easier to kill than the bugs roaming outside.
“Whew…”
Min-jun shook the blood from his blade and scanned the surroundings.
Dismembered corpses littered around him, and the athletic field’s dirt soaked up massive bloodstains, turning damp.
No matter how justified, killing eroded one’s humanity—that much was certain.
Even on his second time, the mental toll was this heavy.
If every future kill hit like this, his mind might break before his body.
He needed to steel himself.
Recalling the quest window that had popped up while grilling Park Sun-woo, Min-jun summoned it again.
「[Sub Quest – PvP]
Difficulty: E+
You have learned that the ‘Mang-san High Shooting Club’ will ambush ‘Min-jun and Kids’.
Complete the following conditions to lead your party to victory.
Clear Conditions:
① Eliminate 70% or more of ‘Mang-san High Shooting Club’ party members (4/19)
② Eliminate ‘Mang-san High Shooting Club’ party leader ‘Baek Ki-hyuk’ (0/1)
Time Limit: None
Rewards: Karma +1.5, 800 hours
Failure: Death」
Since everyone in his group had gotten this quest, theirs surely mirrored it.
With “Death” on failure, the two groups had crossed an irreversible river.
“You the uncle Lee Min-jun?”
Shaking off scattered thoughts, Min-jun looked up at the approaching footsteps.
Before him stood a female student in gym clothes, a long shotgun slung over her shoulder.