Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: ACT 1. The Beginning of the End (4)
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Lee Seon-yul’s eyes watched me intently.
Unlike some of the survivors behind him who started cursing about what nonsense I was spouting, his eyes were trying to grasp the meaning behind my words.
At last, Lee Seon-yul nodded his head.
“Huh? Wh-what!?”
“If you open that door, the monster will!”
“Watch closely.”
I murmured softly to those who, horrified, were starting to back into a corner.
The lock holding the door shut was released, and with a clatter, the door swung open.
The Death Bite came into view.
As I drew closer, the Death Bite lowered its body and snarled.
This mad dog has a set attack pattern.
A single hit would mean injury, so there was no room for error. But if I could navigate its attacks safely, I could take it down right from the start.
The last two times were surprise attacks.
This time, however, would be a head-on fight.
Naturally, the difficulty was different.
*I can do this.*
I steadied my breath.
Even if the world has become a game, I’m not some overpowered character.
My body has the physical abilities of an ordinary person who doesn’t particularly work out.
I may have raised my stats, but letting my guard down was absolutely forbidden.
*A Death Too Soon… was it?*
The first ending.
It’s the ending you get if you die without even succeeding in the first chapter’s objective: ‘Escape the Danger Zone.’
The name says it all.
Out of 49 whole chapters, dying in the very first one is far too early, isn't it?
I will survive.
Survive and…
*Reach the 100th True Ending.*
The beast had no eyes, but I felt our gazes meet.
In that instant, it began its attack.
*Swish!*
First attack: a swipe with its right foreleg as it charges forward.
A light kick off the ground into a back jump would make it easy to dodge.
Still, getting my arm grazed by its foreleg was unavoidable.
“Hoo.”
If its attack pattern starts with this move, it will be followed by two more linked attacks.
Second attack: a lunge, biting at my head after pushing off with both legs.
Normally, dodging sideways is the safe way to avoid this and end its combo.
But I couldn't do that.
Because what I was aiming for was for it to complete its entire combo.
I leaped back once more, creating more distance.
The Death Bite, having jumped about two meters, seemed to take the bait and initiated its next linked move.
Third attack: landing with a downward slam of its forelegs.
Slamming down after a powerful leap, its attack power is more than a human’s durability can withstand.
The moment it hits, most of your ribs would break, or even if you were lucky enough to escape with fewer broken bones, its long, sharp claws would tear your flesh apart.
Its forelegs extended, less than a second before they would hit me.
*Now.*
Twisting my body to the side, I plunged the dagger deep into its neck.
*Squelch!*
Pierced through the neck, the Death Bite shuddered and then went limp.
In the very early stages, it’s a tricky beast to kill in a one-on-one fight with Chapter 1 stats, but if you understand it well, it's somehow possible.
Plus, the dagger I chose had a unique effect: ‘greatly amplifies the damage of the first strike against animal-type monsters.’
[You have hunted a monster of a higher tier than your current progress.]
[100 Coins have been awarded.]
*Lucky.*
I think the chance of getting bonus coins was around 30%.
Catching my breath, I paid the coins to raise my stats.
It was only a small increase, but the difference was clear.
Especially in these very early stages.
“H-He really killed it? Without any skills…”
“Maybe it’s more manageable than I thought?”
Although I had a weapon, I hadn’t used any player abilities.
Literally just the basics.
Seeing me take it down using only that, the expressions of the others, who had been watching with bated breath, began to change.
Among them, my eyes caught Lee Seon-yul, who was standing a little farther away.
His mouth was slightly agape, as if intrigued.
Then I saw a faint smile form on his face.
“You must learn to protect yourselves. If you can’t, you will die someday.”
No one dared to speak.
Only after Lee Seon-yul locked the door again did people start to agree with me.
“He’s right. We need to accept that the world has changed and act accordingly.”
It was the woman I’d made eye contact with earlier.
Once someone voiced their agreement with me, others who had been hesitating began to chime in one by one.
Lee Seon-yul’s expression seemed to relax a bit as well.
“But you have a dagger… don’t you?”
“You all will receive one soon enough.”
The woman tilted her head but didn't ask any more questions.
This dagger was a weapon given by the system window the moment the world changed.
Her asking meant she hadn't received a weapon yet.
No, not just her. Looking at all the players, not a single one had one.
[Weapons will now be distributed to all players.]
“Huh?”
“What’s this system window… Oh, a weapon!”
“It gives us weapons once we decide to fight!”
One by one, weapons suddenly appeared in the players’ hands.
So it was just a matter of different timing.
The look in the players’ eyes slowly changed.
They were bare-handed before, but not anymore.
At least they had weapons.
Some of them had chosen daggers, just like me.
I only did it because I knew the strategy and was confident I wouldn't get hit, but for a first-timer, the straight sword and shield set would have been the safer choice.
“They’re coming up again.”
The sound of Death Bites ascending the stairs could be heard.
The players, who had just found the will to fight, felt their faces stiffen with tension.
“Just how many of these things are nearby for them to keep coming?”
“Monsters emerge from interdimensional portals called Gates. And since one of those Gates has opened very close to here, if we stay, we will have to face them endlessly.”
Lee Seon-yul’s words drove the point home.
Even those who were still hesitating reluctantly agreed to leave this place.
*THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD!*
Through my Extreme Eye, I could see that the staircase was filled with the forms of monsters.
Lee Seon-yul would take the lead and clear the way, but players were still human.
His stamina had its limits.
To face the monsters that would be lying in wait the moment we stepped outside…
The players needed to get somewhat used to fighting monsters here and now.
And.
To move forward, they had to open that door, their last bastion, with their own hands.
“Well then, I’m opening it.”
*Creeeak.*
Slowly, the rusted door opened.
In that instant.
Through the gap, several monsters charged in ferociously.
***
After barely making it to the first floor, Lee Seon-yul was, as expected, quite exhausted.
Outside the building, about ten Death Bites remained.
As we had discussed beforehand, the players formed groups of three to take on one Death Bite each.
My role was supposedly to move around and save anyone in danger, taking care of the Death Bites for them, but my real intention was to approach the groups that had nearly defeated their monster and steal the last hit to get extra coins.
“These creatures have no eyes or ears, so they have a highly developed sense of smell. If we don't thin their numbers now, they'll relentlessly track and ambush us until we reach the stadium! So we’ll use this as an opportunity to gain experience and eliminate as many as we can!”
And I’ll earn as many coins as possible.
I swallowed that last part.
These people had yet to ‘personally kill’ a monster.
There was no way they’d know they could get coins, albeit with a certain probability, for killing a Death Bite right now.
I planned to exploit that difference to earn as many coins as possible before moving on.
“W-Wouldn’t it be better to just deal with the ones here and go!?” a civilian, who had been watching the fight in dead silence near Lee Seon-yul, shouted.
I glanced at him and shook my head.
“Ignoring them and leaving might seem like a good idea for now, but what do you think will happen when they gather in greater numbers and start chasing us?”
“W-We’ll deal with that then… Right. That Lee Seon-yul person will have recovered his stamina by then, so it’ll be fine!”
“What if that happens while we’re already engaged with other monsters? If we don't have the manpower to spare for these things and that situation arises, most of the people here will probably…”
“Die.”
As Lee Seon-yul cut in, the vile-looking man who had been constantly protesting gasped.
Danger exists in any choice.
But to survive, you must choose the path of relatively lesser risk.
Having recovered somewhat, Lee Seon-yul approached and spoke to me in a voice only I could hear.
“Monsters will continuously spawn from the Gate. We can’t just keep fighting them forever. What’s your plan for that?”
“You probably know better than I do, Seon-yul-nim. About 30 minutes have passed… I think we can fight for another 30 minutes before we go.”
“…”
Lee Seon-yul’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His expression clearly said he didn’t understand how I knew that.
Gates don’t spew out monsters endlessly.
Once they release a wave, there’s an hour-long cooldown, after which a certain amount of time must pass before they reactivate.
For a Gate that spawns E-rank monsters, reactivation takes six hours. Plenty of time to kill them all and move on.
“Kim Se-hyeon-ssi. Have you perhaps also regressed?”
“I wish. It would be nice to have that trait, but unfortunately, I don’t.”
Reincarnation, Transmigration, Regression.
Among the traits, these are the highest-grade ones, classified as the Three Sacred Treasures.
If I had one of them, I wouldn’t mind failing once or twice and would try all sorts of things, but sadly, I didn’t have one.
I watched Lee Seon-yul’s back as he moved closer to the civilians to observe the situation.
*‘Kim Se-hyeon-ssi. Have you perhaps also regressed?’*
His words echoed in my ears.
He might not be wrong.
I had played through this game over a hundred times to clear it.
In a way, it was the same as having regressed over a hundred times.
*Because of those experiences, I was able to reach the 00th ending.*
My head grew cold.
If this truly was my last chance.
Then I had to use every bit of experience I had accumulated to produce only the most optimal results.
“Grrrrr…”
In the meantime, more monsters had appeared.
Two more.
Since I was the only one available, the ideal scenario was for me to take care of both of them.
Killing the enemy is good, but not dying is the priority.
This isn’t a game where you can just spam skills.
Even a single basic attack from a mob can be fatal.
Don’t attack recklessly. Be fast, concise, and strike at the perfect moment.
*Stab!*
And, decisively.
[You have hunted a monster of a higher tier than your current progress.]
[100 Coins have been awarded.]
[100 Coins have been used.]
[Strength 3 -> 4]
“Didn’t his movements just get better…?”
“Was he always an athlete or something?”
A change in stats shows an immediate difference.
Excluding skills, a person with Strength 5 can’t beat someone with Strength 6 in a contest of pure power.
It’s just a difference of 1, but that’s how the structure works.
Of course, in a real fight, stats aren’t the only factor, so it’s just a reference.
“Yelp!”
After I finished off the two monsters, the other players’ fights were starting to take shape.
“O-Once you get used to it, they’re actually manageable!?”
“It’s easier than I thought! They aren’t that tough if you fight them in a group!”
There was no need for Lee Seon-yul to step in.
Because I, having raised my stats early with coins, had been running around, landing the final blow on every single Death Bite.
*Killed 11 and got 400 coins, huh.*
It was roughly a 30% chance.
I wish I’d gotten a little more.
I licked my lips in disappointment.
[A Trait has been unlocked.]