Candy Crush
Candy Crush
Rainwater flowed down his leather gloves.
A secluded alley in Seocho-dong.
Sergeant Kim, wearing a pulled-down mask, tightened his grip on his knife.
"What the hell. Is the game of tag already over?"
His rough breathing scattered messily into the downpour.
Sergeant Kim was, in the past, an ace who had been selected as an elite combatant even within the special forces.
A talent that everyone called a 'human weapon.'
But wasn't it a national loss for a genius to be trapped in one well?
So, after proudly discharging, he confidently knocked on the door of the Hunter Association, but.......
[I've told you how many times now! It's difficult for non-awakened individuals to register as Hunters!]
[And if you're so amazing, you should've stayed in the military. Why did you even discharge? Sigh... Get out of here before I call security.]
It was a humiliating rejection, enough to paralyze his reason.
Just because he lacked that thing called Ether.
The combat skills he had built up with blood and sweat for decades were treated like trash in an instant.
Is being an Awakened everything?
Is this a world where having Ether is all that matters?
He couldn't accept it.
So, to prove his true worth, he stepped into the black market.
But even in the underworld, those without Ether were only given the role of cleaners who swept up corpses.
"Do you think we shed that blood just to wipe the asses of some Hunter bastards......?"
The unbearable humiliation made him feel like his head would explode.
In the end, he deceived the organization and boldly stole a Military Witch Detector.
If they wouldn't acknowledge him.......
Then he would just have to prove it himself, wouldn't he?
The Witch's Heart.
The 'Ether Crystal' forcibly awakens an ordinary person.
The final gamble to overturn this unequal world.
'I'll prove it to the world.'
That even a non-awakened person can hunt a Witch!!
His gaze turned to the Witch in front of him.
What the platinum-blonde girl was clutching tightly in her arms was a red toy hammer for toddlers.
"W-why are you doing this to me...? Sob... Hic...."
The young, terrified voice trembled.
Sergeant Park, who was beside him, let out an absurd laugh.
"Seriously, a little brat like this is a Witch? The world is truly going to hell, truly."
He flicked his blade lightly and looked back at Sergeant Kim.
"To think we've suffered such humiliation because of a mere brat like this...... The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is. Don't you agree? Sunbae-nim."
Sergeant Kim's brow furrowed.
"Cut the crap. Let's finish this quickly and pull out."
He glanced at the buildings in the back alley and warned.
"Even though we set up a jammer, we've made too much noise. It'll be a headache if people swarm here."
"Yes, yes. Understood."
Sergeant Park exuded killing intent and tightened his grip on his dagger.
He slowly took steps toward the girl.
"D-don't come any closer......!"
The girl screamed and thrust the toy hammer forward.
"If you come any closer......."
"Ho-oh? And what will you do if I come closer?"
Sergeant Park stomped his feet loudly and teased.
"Woah!"
Splash―!
"Eek!"
The little Witch stumbled backward and fell.
"Sniff......."
But she cried and stood up immediately.
He burst into laughter.
"Puhahahat! A Witch, yet you're scared....... If someone saw this, they'd think we were bullying a little kid?"
"I told you not to come!!"
"Hey, let's make this easy. If you stay still, I'll slice your throat without pain and then extract your heart."
The girl, eyes squeezed shut, swung the toy hammer wildly.
"Don't come! I said don't come......!!"
Sergeant Park reached out his left arm as if it were pathetic.
He intended to lightly swat away the toy hammer with his forearm.
And then slash her white neck with the dagger in his right hand.
"Well then, goodbye, you Witch b*tch."
However.
Piercing through the sound of the downpour, a childish noise rang out.
Ppyok.
The moment the red toy hammer head touched Sergeant Park's left arm.
"Huh......?"
He shattered and crumbled like a glass window.
"?!"
Sergeant Kim's thoughts stopped completely.
What was scattered on the floor wasn't red blood.
Colorful jelly beans and thousands of star candies poured out onto the asphalt.
"W-what is this......."
His junior, who had been with him for a whopping fifteen years, turned into a candy grave in an instant.
"You...."
Sergeant Kim raised his bloodshot eyes.
"You, you bastard! What the hell did you do......!!"
He made eye contact with the girl, whose ankles were submerged in the pile of candy.
That moment.
A cold chill ran down Sergeant Kim's spine.
"......."
Purple light was flashing in her round, innocent pupils.
It wasn't the gaze of a scared child who had been crying just a moment ago.
It was the gaze of a Witch, terrifyingly arrogant, looking down on humans as insignificant creatures.
The girl puffed out her cheeks with an aggrieved expression.
"I told you...... I told you not to come closer......."
At those words, Sergeant Kim lost his grip on reason.
"You fcking btch!!"
The junior who had trusted him and even betrayed the organization to follow him had died, becoming pieces of candy.
A miserable end where he couldn't even recover the body.......
"I'll kill you!!"
With a roar filled with malice.
Sergeant Kim raised his dagger and charged.
However, as much as he rushed.
Da-da-da-da-da-da-dat―
The girl also flapped her short legs and ran away.
'I'll tear you to shreds. I'm absolutely not going to kill you easily!'
Sergeant Kim shouted and kicked off the ground.
But after just a few steps, astonishment struck his brain.
"Why is she so fast?!"
Her reaction speed, sliding through the rainy road.
Her physical agility far exceeded human standards.
She looked to be at least dozens of kilometers per hour.
"Damn it!"
In the blink of an eye, the girl flexibly turned the corner and disappeared from his sight.
"Haa, haa......."
He spat and turned the corner, but the dark alley was filled only with silence.
"Where are you hiding, you fcking btch!"
Behind him, as he scanned the surroundings with bloodshot eyes.
A sweet scent wafted over.
Step.
Driven by instinctive fear, Sergeant Kim swung his dagger and turned around, but.
What touched his forehead first was the bright red toy hammer.
Ppyok.
Only then did Sergeant Kim realize deep in his bones.
Why the Hunter Association didn't hire non-awakened people.
Why even the black market didn't give out Witch requests.
A Witch is.......
Because she was the 'law' of the world itself, which could never be opposed by the experience or grit that humans had built up.
"Ah......."
With that futile sigh.
His massive frame collapsed like a sandcastle.
Pas-s-s-s-s―
In the downpour, colorful candies poured out noisily in all directions.
【Skill】
Skill Name: 《Candy Crush》
Effect I: Converts the struck area into candy and destroys it (applies to both living things and objects).
Effect II: If the target's Ether is depleted, full-body candy transformation and instant-death judgment.
I gasped for air and stared blankly at the translucent screen.
"Ha... haa...."
The men who had been screaming to slit my throat until just a moment ago had evaporated.
What remained in their place.
Were only jelly beans and star candies.
The sweet fruit scent wouldn't wash away, even in the downpour.
Just like the worry stuck in my mind.
"I, I... killed... a person...."
What do I do?
Will they accept this as self-defense?
I don't even have money.
What about hiring a lawyer......?
The conclusion I reached after agonizing for a long time.......
F*ck it.
I don't know either.
I warned them several times not to come closer in the first place.
They drew their knives first, so isn't it their own fault?
"Whoong...."
I steadied my breathing and lightly bounced on my feet.
Seu-euk.
My body floated up as lightly as a balloon.
And when I landed, I didn't make a single sound.
It seems like I don't have any strength at all with this kid's body.
But instead, I'm as nimble and quick as a rat.
Plus, turning people into candy.
"......This is the power of a Witch."
Just like they said, the performance is top-notch.
I turned my eyes to the 'Witch Gallery' screen.
The bulletin board was busy with users tearing each other apart over whether I was alive or dead.
[General] Did that 404 newbie get hammered earlier?
Author: Human-Fertilizer-Factory
Heart-extraction ending asdfghjkl?
President-of-Roasted-Meat: Getting fodder-cut by a Beater is seriously rough;;;;
ㄴ Mirror-Therapy-Specialist: It's been 5 minutes and no post, so getting his head smashed is the standard outcome lol
ㄴ Corpse-F*cker: Hey, if you're alive, at least post a dot. I'm dying of curiosity.
ㄴ Room-Corner-Shrine-Maiden-chan: My tarot cards just said... Newbie-chan is not dead...
ㄴ Wishing-for-Upgrade-Success: F*ck, the shrine maiden reads tarot too?
At this rate, they'll be holding my funeral.
So, I took a picture of the pile of candy on the floor and posted it.
[General] (NSFW) Corpse-F*cker, here's a pic of a thick pile of corpses.
Author: ㅇㅇ(404.404)
(Attached photo: Pile of candy spread on the alley floor)
Me, the great one, has arrived.
Corpse-Fcker: You fcking bastard???
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(404.404): Isn't this the place to do this?
ㄴ Corpse-Fcker: That's not how you post that, fck.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(404.404): Ah, sorry sorry.
ㄴ Mirror-Therapy-Specialist: Is this newbie's adaptability for real lololol
Room-Corner-Shrine-Maiden-chan: Ho-eh... I believed in you, Newbie-chan...
ㄴ Darkness-Itself: Kekeke... You destroyed the foolish humans and finally started to wield your power...
ㄴ Wishing-for-Upgrade-Success: Did you level up? If you caught two Beaters, check if you leveled up.
Level?
At those words, I pulled up the status window.
【Status Window】
Connected IP: 404.404.404.404
Title: 《Dimension Stray》
Level: Lv. 02
Stats:
SRT: 1 / DEX: 15 / INT: 11
/ VIT: 2 / WIS: 4
[Unique aptitude stats have been automatically distributed upon leveling up.]
[DEX +6 / INT +4]
"Oh......."
I really did become level 2.
So that's why I felt my body was unbelievably light.
I quickly captured this screen and posted it on the board too.
[Verification] Touching Corpse-F*cker's stocking-clad feet;;;
Author: ㅇㅇ(404.404)
(Attached photo: Lv. 02 status window info)
Do stats usually go up this much when you level up?
Corpse-Fcker: Fck! You wanna die???
ㄴ Schizophrenia-Max: lololol I see it, I see it, I see the sword-user
ㄴ Wishing-for-Upgrade-Success: Even if you don't aggro them, the Witch-bros will come running like dogs. Don't worry.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(404.404): As expected, I only have my Witch-brosㅠㅠ I love you all~~
ㄴ President-of-Roasted-Meat: But you really hit level 2? I thought it would be impossible with just two Beaters.
ㄴ Frostbitten-Grandpa: Since you succeeded in hunting... without a territory... or a Witch's House... you probably hit the bonus jackpot... maybe??
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(404.404): Territory? Witch's House? What's that?
ㄴ Life-Logout ♥: Read the notice. I summarized the terms.
Just tell me.
So annoying.
While the veterans poured out analysis posts and came to an understanding.
One fixed-nick posted a cold comment.
Human-Fertilizer-Factory: But now isn't the time to be impressed. Looking at the photo background, it looks like a big city alleyway. If Beater-tier fodder were able to track you with a detector, it's only a matter of time before regular Hunters figure out the situation.
ㄴ Corpse-F*cker: This is true. Get out of the area quickly.
ㄴ President-of-Roasted-Meat: Looking at the signs, it looks like Korea. If you dally, you're seriously f*cked.
ㄴ Room-Corner-Shrine-Maiden-chan: Ho-eh... The old territory intruder was Korean... Judging by the photo... If it's Seoul, you might definitely get subjugated...
Subjugation.
The brutal word crossed my vision.
I finally escaped the suffocating goshiwon (cramped study room) and thought I might finally touch some money.
But now I'm in a position to be hunted by guys called Hunters!
Oh my, my fate!!
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(404.404): Sob What does this baby Witch-bro do now? ㅠㅠ
ㄴ Life-Logout ♥: If it's really the capital of South Korea, in the worst case, an SS-rank Hunter might be dispatched.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(404.404): Is SS-rank strong?
ㄴ Human-Fertilizer-Factory: 0.0001-second cut to smash your head. Okay?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(404.404): Gulp
F*ck!
At that rate, wouldn't I be kicked to death at the speed of light?!
ㅇㅇ(404.404): Head Mod-nim, can't you step in just once?
ㄴ Life-Logout ♥: I'm sure everyone wants to help, not just me. It's a world where it's hard for a newbie to survive these days. But the risk is too high for my main body to leave the territory.
No, no!
Don't give up so easily!
Cheer up!!
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(404.404): Please save this baby Witch-bro ㅠㅠ Eonni-deul, Noona-deul, pleaseee
Just when my head was getting complicated.
The red Head Mod's comment was pinned.
Life-Logout ♥: A newbie starting in the middle of a big city. What a screwed-up balance. The situation is turning into a real hassle.
ㄴ Life-Logout ♥: Can't be helped. I'll initiate the 'Walpurgisnacht' event for the first time in a while.
At that moment, the bulletin board exploded terrifyingly.
ㄴ President-of-Roasted-Meat: Let's go for a no-holds-barred festival!!
ㄴ Schizophrenia-Max: Oh, the first Head Mod event in a whopping 20 years lol
ㄴ Darkness-Itself: Kekeke... Is the festival of the abyss beginning... Show them your night...
ㄴ Room-Corner-Shrine-Maiden-chan: Hwa-wa... It's an exciting festival...
ㄴ Mirror-Therapy-Specialist: Hunter bastards are all dead, get ready, ah kimochi lol
ㄴ Human-Fertilizer-Factory: Human-bastard-f*ckers lol the fertilizer will be sweet lololol
ㄴ Corpse-F*cker: I should collect some parts while I'm at it.
Walpurgisnacht......?
What the hell is that?