"You think you can tell me not to go easy on you?! To me, of all people!!"
"Kid, you're right. I am an old man at heart. And that means I know things brats like you don't."
"Yeah? Then I'll teach you something even old bastards like you don't know!!"
Thud!
Black energy leaked from Kim Namwoon’s hand and slammed straight into me.
But...
[You must still remain 'an unfallen pillar' in front of Dokja.]
[Even when a fierce storm rages, a tree's roots run deeper than you think.]
[Attribute: 'Support Raised with an Abandoned Dream' reduces all pain.]
That was why. My attribute made this level of pain feel like nothing.
Of course, just as the message said, it reduced pain; it didn't nullify the attack.
The blow had landed all the same, but Kim Namwoon had no way of knowing that even this was far too familiar to me.
How many injuries had I endured for Dokja's sake?
Wounds and bruises I already knew well—medals proving I had protected Dokja.
To me, pain wasn't a symbol of misery. It was the hope that I could protect her.
Boom!
"What the hell is this? I'm crazy strong, aren't I?!"
Boom!
"You said you wouldn't go easy on me! This is you not going easy on me?! Just standing there and taking hits!!!"
Boom!!
Boom!!!
"Ms. Dokja... Mr. Dokyun is..."
"...I can see that too. Why is he...?"
Why isn't he fighting back?!
Just as Namwoon shouted, and just as Dokja and Sangah worried, Dokyun was simply absorbing the punches without even attempting to guard.
Even if the pain was reduced, that didn't mean the attacks weren't landing. He should have collapsed long ago under the effects of Kim Namwoon's skill, [Blackening].
That would have been true if stats didn't exist in this world.
"Huff... huff..."
"You done hitting me?"
"Why won't you fall?!"
"Because I've got something to rely on too."
My base Stamina was 4.
It was likely thanks to all the grueling manual labor I'd done since childhood to earn money and keep Dokja alive.
Having lived in circumstances where my physical limits were constantly pushed, my Stamina was 4 and my Strength was 5. There was no way that bastard, who had never trained a day in his life, could be stronger than me.
On top of that, my attribute had activated twice already.
[All stats increase by 10.]
Which meant my current Stamina was 14, and my Strength was 15.
I had bet that the overwhelming gap in stats would render Kim Namwoon's attacks useless, and my gamble had paid off.
Perhaps, without the pain reduction, I wouldn't have felt the impact at all.
"Just fall already!!!"
Shhk!
In a final, desperate struggle, Kim Namwoon pulled a knife from his clothes and slashed at me.
Kak—!
Ting!
"You... what the hell are you?"
"An old bastard and a siscon, you piece of shit."
Thud!
"Kghhk!!!"
Boom!!
This time, the blow landed properly. I imagine two or three of his ribs just shattered.
"Cough!"
Blood sprayed from Kim Namwoon's mouth.
I could see pure terror settling into his eyes.
I could feel the same fear radiating from the others standing behind him.
All except one.
Dokja alone.
"...Two minutes left."
"S-save me...!"
"Since I'm an old man, let me teach you one thing you didn't know."
"W-what?!"
"If you're going to kill someone, you have to be ready to die too."
It was a simple truth.
The world was fairer than people thought. It didn't allow you to kill without risk while forcing the other side to bear the entire burden.
"You said it yourself! You're never supposed to get used to kids dying! And you're still going to kill me?!"
"And my little sister said this too. That we have to get used to the deaths of kids like that."
"You sick siscon bastard."
"And you looked at my little sister and said, 'I just have to kill a coward like you.' So who's the coward now? If you ask me... I think that coward is standing right in front of me."
Thud!
Thud!!
With that, I began to rain blows upon Kim Namwoon in silence.
He begged for his life, then cursed me, but it didn't matter.
Crunch!
Crunch!!
Crunch!!!
By the time the sound of the impacts changed, Kim Namwoon's jaw had been completely pulverized. He couldn't even gasp for air.
[You have killed a living being.]
[You have obtained an additional reward of 100 Coins.]
Even after the message appeared, confirming his death, I didn't stop. I kept throwing punches.
Splash...
Splash...!
Before I knew it, Kim Namwoon's head had vanished, leaving only his body behind.
The sight was no different from the people whose heads had exploded at the Dokkaebi's hands at the start.
"3, 2... 1. That was close."
When I finally checked the time, it had been dangerously tight.
I hated Kim Namwoon for trying to kill Dokja, so I had wanted to kill him brutally, leaving him in total despair.
But I had nearly cost myself my life in the process. Next time, even if Dokja is involved, I should probably exercise a bit more restraint.
[The time limit has expired.]
[Paid settlement will now begin.]
"Aaaaaargh!"
"Ughhk!"
As the timer hit zero, the heads of those who hadn't killed 'at least one living being' began to burst.
【Main Scenario #1 - Prove Your Worth has ended.】
[Survivors in Car 3807 of Train 3434 bound for Bulgwang: 6 total]
[You have obtained 300 Coins as a basic clear reward.]
[100 Coins have been deducted as a channel usage fee.]
I survived.
And I would make sure she survived too.
My life. My hope. My Dokja.
[Wow, amazing. What on earth happened here?]
The Dokkaebi appeared before us again, as if this were all routine.
Things like this would happen often from now on. I'd have to get used to it.
But why was it that even after brutally killing a person... I felt no hesitation?
Was that just the kind of person I was?
Was this what it meant to be a hypocrite?
"Oppa, are you okay?"
"I don't know. I'm more shocked by the fact that I feel nothing after killing someone than by the act itself."
"...It might be because of your attribute. Don't worry too much."
Only then did I notice a new message window.
[The guilt staining your hands shakes your mind.]
[You may become an 'indiscriminate murderer,' but you cannot become a 'fallen tree.']
[You cannot collapse in front of 'Dokja.']
[Attribute: 'Support Raised with an Abandoned Dream' activates.]
[The pillar forcibly raises you back up.]
[The pillar forcibly buries your mental damage.]
Just as Dokja guessed, my attribute had blocked the mental shock.
Was that a good sign or a bad one?
It was hard to see it positively when the wording of the message was so ominous.
"Haah... You were right. My attribute blocked it."
"An attribute that protects your mind is a really rare and valuable attri—!"
[Keep the chatter down. Unless you want your heads to explode.]
The Dokkaebi cut us off and looked into the air with delight.
No, not completely empty air.
It was staring at something that looked like stars in the void and grinning.
Dokja probably knew what those were too, but there was no reason to irritate the Dokkaebi by talking now.
The survivors are Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah, Dokja, me... and that guy called Manager Han, plus the brat who owned the bugs. Six in total...
Crunch.
A faint bursting sound came from Dokja's side. I turned to see her crushing the last remaining bug.
I didn't know why she had bothered to kill it, but she must have had her own reason.
And naturally, I had no intention of stopping her.
[With the death of the character 'Kim Namwoon,' two Constellations express faint hostility toward you.]
Constellations. The most central mysterious beings in [Ways of Survival], the beings we also called gods.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this entire story was controlled by them.
At least, that's how Dokja had explained it to me.
[A few Constellations are appalled by your Scenario.]
[The Constellations have sponsored you with 500 Coins.]
I knew Coins had all sorts of uses, but I didn't know exactly what they were for, so it was probably best to save them for now.
"Dokja. Here."
"This is... a handkerchief?"
"You've got blood on you. You should wipe it off."
"Thanks."
[A few Constellations are moved by your kindness.]
[The Constellations have sponsored you with 300 Coins.]
Kindness...
It wasn't a word that suited someone like me—someone who couldn't even feel guilt after killing another person because of an attribute.
[Well now, everyone! Looks like you really earned your keep? Quite a lot of survivors too, huh?]
"Dokja. Six, including me. Is that a lot of survivors?"
"You could say that."
Dokja and I turned our eyes toward the youngest child among the six.
As if to prove we were siblings, we looked at each other for a moment without saying anything, then walked over to the child.
"Kid. ...Do you want to live?"
The child quietly nodded at Dokja's words.
"Then come with us."
"Become our little sibling!"
"...? Oppa, what did you just say?"
"? I told that brat to become the youngest in our family."
[A few Constellations are startled by your idea.]
[The Constellations have sponsored you with 400 Coins.]
Normally, in an apocalypse like this where a child had no guardian, if someone said, "Come with us," wouldn't that usually carry the feeling of becoming a new parent?
That's all I meant by it.
It's not like I have some suspicious taste for little boys.
[Anyway, I'm impressed. I honestly didn't expect much from this car, but you somehow managed to clear the first Scenario.]
At that moment, it felt like my eyes met the Dokkaebi's once again.
[Ah, let me correct myself. I did expect at least one person to pass.]
The Dokkaebi giggled while looking at me, as if to say its earlier words hadn't been empty talk. It looked so innocent that it was hard to believe this was the same being that had exploded people's heads right in front of us.
[Now then, since you've overcome hardship, there should be a reward, right? As a reward for clearing the first Scenario, you've now earned the right to receive sponsorship from the esteemed Constellations. Well? Excited?]
Other than me and Dokja, no one had any information about Constellations, so the reaction was muted.
Of course, if I showed that I knew the setting details, I'd only be treated as even stranger, so I couldn't let it show.
[Well, hearing it a hundred times is nothing compared to experiencing it once yourselves.]
Snap!
As always, the Dokkaebi flicked its fingers.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
A familiar yet subtly different window appeared before everyone.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register