Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Faceless Competitor (1)
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*Flick.*
I flicked the lighter open and lit the string tied to the end of the shuriken.
The moment I threw it into an empty space, the Death Worm flinched and turned its body in that direction.
The Death Worm has no eyes; instead, it detects its prey by sensing temperature through its skin.
This method worked because its primary prey were E-rank monsters with significantly high body temperatures.
“I’ll draw its attention! Move!”
The kids screamed and scrambled to escape.
Two shuriken left.
I could buy a little more time with them, but considering the creature's size, it wouldn't be enough.
Simply distracting it wasn't going to work.
I had to damage it, make it realize I wasn't easy prey, and force it to retreat on its own.
“Kyaaaa!”
As soon as I saw the Death Worm recoil in confusion after pouncing on the flaming shuriken, I threw another one.
I couldn't give it time to think.
I had to keep confusing its senses and create an opening.
‘With my current Strength stat, I can’t pierce that tough hide.’
But that didn't mean I was out of options.
I readjusted my grip on my dagger and rushed toward the Death Worm, which had its back to me.
The structure of the Death Worm's hide came into view.
Small segments between the hard plates.
If I aimed for those relatively soft spots, it was definitely possible.
*Plunge!*
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
The Death Worm thrashed its body upward and roared.
The attack landed, but the dagger was too small compared to the beast's size to be a significant blow.
The Death Worm immediately turned to face me, its maw gaping wide as it charged.
My vision filled with the sight of countless teeth packing its mouth like the circular blades of a saw.
The moment I was swallowed, I'd be torn to shreds by those teeth.
I crossed both daggers to block the incoming teeth.
*CRUNCH!*
“Kuh!?”
Damn it. I expected this, but I was completely outmatched in strength.
I was pushed back by the Death Worm's force, and the already unstable ground began to crumble again.
*Crack.*
To make matters worse, the daggers blocking its teeth couldn't withstand the pressure and began to break.
Just as expected from a monster rated C-rank on physical stats alone.
‘But.’
I dropped one of the shattered daggers and pulled out a shuriken.
The last of the three I'd recovered from the corpse.
I used it to stab into the gums between its teeth.
“Kyaaaak!!”
The Death Worm shrieked from a pain it had likely never felt before and retreated.
With this, it should now recognize that the 'prey before it' was not to be trifled with.
The Death Worm warily sized me up before deciding to retreat. It reared its head back and burrowed into the nearby ground.
The aftermath caused the surrounding ground to crack once more.
It even chose to flee with the shuriken still embedded in its gums, leaving me with only a half-broken dagger.
I clicked my tongue with a *tsk*.
Still, if losing a weapon was all it took to make that monster retreat, I suppose it was a net gain.
“Kyaaah!”
A high-pitched scream drew my attention.
It was Jo Min-ah, who hadn't managed to avoid the fissure created by the Death Worm's new tunnel.
“Jo Min-ah!”
Jo Min-woo, who was nearby, quickly ran over and tried to reach for her.
But the ground between them split, making it impossible to cross.
“I’ll go! You guys get to safety!”
“No, hyung! You’ll be in danger too!”
Go Yeong-jun tried to stop me, but I ignored him and moved.
This was a great opportunity to significantly raise my affinity with the twins.
It was worth taking a certain amount of risk.
“Grab on!”
Leaping across the cracked earth, I reached her and grabbed the arm of Jo Min-ah, who was barely clinging to the edge.
I could have pulled her up and saved her right then, but the tremor hadn't stopped.
More of the ground collapsed.
The piece of earth supporting my feet broke off and fell away.
There was nothing to stand on.
My body felt weightless, just before I began to fall into the chasm.
Seeing Jo Min-ah’s eyes fill with despair, I gave a faint smile.
“Live.”
“O-Oppa…?”
I swung the arm holding Jo Min-ah’s hand with all my might.
With a youthful scream, Jo Min-ah was thrown back onto solid ground, while I, in turn, fell.
“Oppa!!!”
Her heart-wrenching scream faded quickly into the distance.
Besides hers, there were other voices calling out to me, but I couldn't hear them clearly.
The wind rushing past my face was fierce, a testament to the chasm's depth.
Despite it all, the corners of my mouth twitched.
‘It’s done.’
Falling into the pitch-black abyss, I let out a silent laugh.
Contrary to their appearance, the twins don't trust others easily.
That's why I went to the school to rescue them myself, to counteract that beforehand.
Two unexpected things had happened, but in the end, it turned out for the better.
‘After all this, there’s no way they won’t trust me now.’
I recalled all the things I'd done in the past to win the twins' favor just to advance the chapter.
Things that made me wonder if it was really necessary.
Now, all that tedious work was skipped in one fell swoop.
‘I just have to make it back alive.’
I looked around.
Even though I was falling, I was close to the wall.
‘This could work.’
I slammed my dagger into the wall with all my strength.
My face contorted from the sudden strain on my shoulder, but I endured it.
My speed didn't decrease noticeably, but I could feel the difference.
But it was only for a moment.
*Clang!*
“Ugh!?”
The dagger was already damaged. There was no way it could hold for long.
Unable to bear the strain any longer, the blade and hilt separated.
Now I had no weapon. No way to slow my descent.
[Stamina: 10 (+3)]
Still, when I looked down using Extreme Eye, the remaining distance was survivable with my current Stamina stat.
I closed my eyes and braced for the imminent impact.
***
[The Angel of Benevolence is moved to tears by your spirit of self-sacrifice.]
[You have been sponsored 700 Coins.]
I got up, clutching my throbbing head.
The first thing that greeted me was a system message.
I laughed incredulously at the words 'spirit of self-sacrifice'.
It was all a calculated move, but to the angel, it must have looked like a touching scene.
It would have been nice to get a sponsorship from the devil too, but there was no reaction. He must still be watching.
[You have left the quest area.]
[A penalty will be imposed if you do not return within 3 hours.]
This is the same, too.
I let out a small sigh as I closed the blue window floating in the air.
Each main quest has a designated activity area, and leaving it results in a heavy penalty.
That's why, even if I know what will happen in the distant future and want to prevent it, I can't do anything about it right now.
After playing the game for the nth time, you naturally know almost everything. If you could just solve it all in advance, it would mess up the story, wouldn't it? It was an understandable measure.
“*Cough.*”
When I coughed, blood came out with it.
On top of that, there was pain in my chest and abdomen.
‘Feels like I broke a couple of ribs.’
If I hadn't raised my Stamina stat beforehand, it wouldn't have ended with just this.
Sighing, I took out a recovery potion and drank it.
The pain quickly subsided.
It's best not to move until the potion's effects have fully circulated.
After a moment's thought, I opened my status window.
[??? (EX)]
1. ?????
My unique skill still showed no information.
The '1.' in the description only allowed me to guess that it had multiple abilities.
What exactly they were, and how many more there would be, was a mystery.
[One Who Started from the End (S)]
1. Acquire 'Extreme Eye' skill
2. (Unreleased)
3. (Unreleased)
“Hah.”
I was dumbfounded.
The perks I received for clearing the 00th ending were all useless in combat itself.
Of course, Extreme Eye was an incredibly good skill. That was an undeniable fact.
But if it had been a combat-related trait, I might have been able to kill the Death Worm outright.
Stroking my jaw in disappointment, I lowered my gaze.
The parts marked 'Unreleased' would gradually unlock over time, while the question marks meant the effect was active.
I could only guess what those effects were.
It seems like fully utilizing it is a long way off.
Once I could move without discomfort, I scanned my surroundings to figure out where I was.
It felt like an artificially made cave.
Candles were placed at regular intervals on the walls, and the iron holders were sculpted into the faces of tigers.
‘This is old.’
It was so rusted that it was hard to guess its original color.
Perhaps to support the ground, wooden pillars were also placed at long intervals on both sides of the path.
‘Wait. This structure…’
There's no doubt.
The location roughly matches, too.
This is the place where 'that weapon' is.
To have accidentally fallen into this place, at the exact time the weapon disappeared.
This is a stroke of fate.
‘This is perfect.’
Normally, to get here at this point in time, I would have had to completely leave the survivor group.
After trying it a few times and concluding it was better to give up on this weapon or get it later and stay with the survivors, I never did it again.
But now, I was in a situation where I could obtain it without leaving the survivor group.
There was no reason not to take it.
“Who’s there?”
The moment I got to my feet, a voice came from another direction.
Not the cry of a monster, but a human voice.
In a situation where I should have felt relieved, my guard went up instead.
‘At this point in time, there’s someone here?’
It was impossible.
Even someone who had passed the early stages of 'End of Apocalypse' wouldn't know a place like this existed.
After all, I myself only found out about this place around my 50th playthrough.
No, more importantly.
“I didn’t expect to find someone already here. Surprising.”
[Using skill, 'Extreme Eye'.]
[Character Information]
Name: Hwang Chan-jin
Gender: Male (27)
Strength: 6 (+4) Stamina: 5 (+4) Agility: 6 (+4) Mana: 5 (+4)
Unique Ability: Cold Heart (S)
Traits: Glacier (S), Combat Sense (C), Cold-headed (A), Killing (D)
Skills: Instant Regeneration (E)
I had never once seen a character named Hwang Chan-jin while playing the game.
“Are you a newly awakened player?”
Hwang Chan-jin looked me up and down.
Among those who started from the same point, there shouldn't be anyone stronger than me.
The coins scraped together from achievements, quests, and sponsorships. High-grade traits and a unique ability.
However, Hwang Chan-jin was no pushover either.
‘Two S-ranks?’
[Cold Heart (S)]
Grants perfect resistance to cold.
Additionally, greatly increases the user's ice-based attack power.
S-Rank Effect: Grants a certain degree of fire resistance.
A unique ability that grants resistance to two different elements.
I knew it existed, but the acquisition requirements were so demanding that I'd never tried to get it.
Glacier was also a superior version of the ice trait.
His unique ability and trait had an astonishingly good synergy.
No, above all else.
Those abilities aren't something you can obtain this early in the game.
“...Who are you?”
“I asked first.”
Arriving here this early never triggered a meeting with a specific NPC. Not even once.
That meant only one thing.
Hwang Chan-jin was 'someone who had played this game to some extent'.
And one who had progressed in a completely different direction than I had.
The variable I had been most concerned about was standing right in front of me.