"Huff! Huff! Huff! Are you seriously insane!? Haaah!"
I stopped running at full speed, darting between abandoned buildings. I looked back, then collapsed onto the rooftop of some unknown building to catch my breath.
That was the first time my life had been in genuine danger.
It was probably a person. No, was it even a person to begin with? I couldn’t see clearly from a distance, but the moment I saw that thing carrying a coffin, it was already a red flag.
And that projectile it fired—could I even honestly call that a bullet?
"The heat is no joke. And that explosion—what, did a grenade go off or something!?"
Any Korean man who’d completed his military service knew exactly what a grenade felt like. Rattled by a blast that rivaled one, I took a moment to steady my breathing and sort through what had just happened.
"...No matter how much I want to deny reality, I can’t. Fine, let’s admit it. This is definitely not the world I used to live in. And that explosion just now... I only felt the heat and shockwave. There were no fragments or traces of a bullet."
When the projectile hit the ground, I never actually saw its shape.
There was only that absurd heat, and the only fragments left behind were dirt and bits of asphalt reduced to powder.
And then—
"A weapon with power that makes it impossible to fire one-handed, and a blast force that's basically tank-level."
A weapon with tank-level explosive power, fired by a human?
That made no sense.
Even humanoid robots sometimes collapsed from the recoil, but that thing hadn’t budged. It had just stood there and fired multiple shots.
"My physical abilities have also increased in a completely absurd way. My jump power is enough to leap away from where a shell is about to land to reduce the damage... and then there’s..."
The blue aura that had appeared when I first tested it, and the sheer force that smashed the ground when I struck.
I remembered the [Appsolabs Knuckle] I’d seen at first, and a skill I’d wondered about, thinking, *No way, could it really be?*
"...Wait, don’t tell me I really turned into the Eunwol I used to raise?"
I had to admit it.
The weird bastard I’d just met, the effects and aura that appeared when I punched, and the way my fists devastated the ground.
"......."
Silently, I equipped the [Appsolabs Knuckle] from my inventory.
It was embarrassing, sure, but still. Didn’t I have this, at least?
"There’s a certain romance in using these if you're a Maple Story character!"
In the middle of the night, I unexpectedly practiced using my skills. Embarrassed as I was, I still felt a thrill at the sight of the skills manifesting one after another, and I threw my fists out again and again.
==========
"........Did it... go... away?"
The being carrying the coffin lowered the box-like weapon in one hand and stared at the place where the 'human' had been.
That being—no, 'she'—took a shallow breath and lifted the coffin back onto her shoulder.
"Human... cannot... trust. Must... avoid... absolutely. I... must... protect."
"This... cannot... be... allowed. No... more... human... must... be... avoided."
The life reaction captured by her 'eyes' was clear.
It was not a 'machine,' but a living being—a 'person.'
That was exactly why she had to respond even more forcefully.
Humans cannot be trusted. I must... protect it with my own hands.
Gripping the chain that served as the strap for the coffin, she walked forward in silence, treating the 'hope' she carried as something precious.
The tainted story must be rewritten. That is my mission, and the mission of 'us.' We’re still far away... but please wait a little longer.
Though she never said it aloud, her inner thoughts were deeply sorrowful and wistful.
If someone had seen her from behind—someone who knew the 'truth' or could see through it—they would have found her figure pitiful and heartbreaking.
Moving quietly and steadily, dragging the coffin along, she eventually stopped when the moon rose and the surroundings became too dark to navigate. She stepped inside a nearby abandoned building.
".....Here... is... safe. I... rest... here."
Thud.
"Today... still... moved... safely. Did not... encounter... a single... Rapture."
Thump.
"Parts... are... lacking... so... I must... search... another... area. There... were... too... many... parts... I... needed... first... so... I was... flustered."
Clack.
"I... do... not... care. The... most... important... thing... is... you. So... I... will... not... give... up... until... the... end."
The woman gently set down the coffin that should have been incredibly heavy.
Speaking in broken fragments, she slowly looked down at her own hand.
It was not a human hand, but a mechanical one—a robotic hand.
Nikke. Artificial humans created solely for combat with machines.
To be exact, only her 'brain' was a living human organ; everything else was machinery. She was a cyborg.
Ignoring the slight tremor in her hand, she turned her gaze back to the coffin.
Thinking of the 'hope' resting within, she smiled faintly beneath her helmet.
"Today... the... sky... is... very... clear. So... many... stars... are... nice. The... moon... is... bright... too. I... wish... I could... have... seen... it... with... you."
"Sleep... well... Cinderella."
Looking up at the stars strewn across the night sky, she quietly closed the eyes hidden behind her helmet.
===========
"Huff... huff... huff..."
I practiced using my skills like a madman.
Just as I’d expected, there was only one set of skills I could use.
Only Eunwol's skills. And the ones I could access so far were...
"Fourth job, Hyper, fifth job, and even sixth job are possible, but the amount of stamina they consume is way too much... huff."
The surroundings were a complete disaster, torn, slashed, and shredded as if they’d been mauled by a pack of beasts.
From the first job through the third, the destructive power had been beyond imagination, but starting from the fourth job, it was on another level entirely.
To use them properly, I’d need not only proficiency but also a better grasp of how to manage the stamina consumption.
"This is insane. It’s not just destructive power—it’s basically a 'natural disaster'!"
A disaster.
The kind of catastrophe caused by nature or structural failure that results in massive property damage and loss of life.
Starting from the fourth-job skills, the power climbed so absurdly high that it felt like a guaranteed catastrophe.
One of the fourth-job skills I used most often was [Demon Slash].
Starting with that technique, the others produced power that was downright shocking.
Three abandoned buildings split apart in an instant and weathered away into dust.
Of course, it was possible if I controlled the output or managed the mana consumption.
"But that’s the hard part..."
Beyond that, some of the third-job skills were comparable to the fourth. More than anything, some of Eunwol's 'remade' skills and 'pre-remake' skills from the world I came from were mixed together.
Some skills had been combined into chained attacks.
Others were classified under entirely different mechanics.
"Wow. What the hell did I do to this character?"
I drank an Elixir from my inventory—one that restored 50% of HP and MP—while looking around.
"This place is a total mess. Hahaha."
Even though it was just a test, unleashing everything from the first to the sixth job had left the area looking like a war zone.
If I’d used this on that attacker, what would have happened?
No, even if I could use them, I was too inexperienced. I would've been taken out in an instant. Don’t get cocky.
No matter how incredible the power, using it required adaptation, technique, and experience.
I was only at the stage of confirming the skills and testing them. If I rushed in just because I was strong, I could really get myself killed. I needed a new plan.
I’ve confirmed the skills, and my inventory has plenty of supplies. But I don’t know when they’ll run out, so for now, I should explore other areas, gather more supplies, and keep practicing.
I decided to set aside the third-job skills for now, as they felt a bit ambiguous.
The first- and second-job skills were powerful, but perhaps because their difficulty was lower, I adjusted quickly. I had already reached a point where the skills flowed naturally.
Moreover, Eunwol had many practical second-job skills, including attacks that mitigated the distance disadvantage of close-quarters combat.
"The classic 'come here and get hit' style. Hoo~ nice! Since I've survived this far, I might as well enjoy it! I can even use skills you’d only see in a game."
I chose to think positively, just as I had when I first woke up.
Even if I broke down or gave up on everything, the fact remained that I was alive. I wasn't going to let myself die pointlessly.
Maybe that was why I’d been able to discover these skills and check my inventory.
"All right, then let’s get going—"
The moment I brushed off the dirt, stretched, and prepared to move.
[ Kiiiiiiing ]
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Mechanical sounds echoed from all directions, accompanied by the noise of something moving.
When I turned my head, spider-like machines—robots—were closing in on me from behind.
Their red lights glowed ominously, and heat shimmered from what looked like gun barrels.
[ Kiiiiiing! Kiiiiiing! ]
Amidst the swarm of mechanical robots, a fairly large one emerged with a heavy metallic thud.
It was about the size of a bus. I could only stand there blankly as the bastards aimed their terrifying barrels at me.
"......Now I remember. Those guys are Raptures. The machine lifeforms from the NIKKE world."
So that robot-like wreck I saw yesterday had been a Rapture after all.
Watching the swarm close in, I let out a long sigh and grabbed my head.
What is NIKKE?
It’s a story about how machine lifeforms called 'Raptures' invaded and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction, and how 'Nikkes'—cyborg combat weapons made using human brains—were created to fight them.
The few surviving humans fled underground and built a sanctuary called the Ark.
The ground I was standing on now was an apocalyptic wasteland filled entirely with Raptures.
In other words, it was basically a Korean version of Terminator turned into a cute-girl shooting game.
And in the real world, it had a reputation for top-tier art, a great story, and... well, a very specific focus on 'assets.'
"...This is insane! Hahahahahaha! Ah... good, good. Since it’s come to this, I might as well try my hand at survival! I can even use skills that look like they came straight out of a game!"
Having roughly figured out the world, I decided I shouldn’t just stand there blankly. It was time to deal with them.
[Demon Slash]
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Thud! Thud! Boom!
I struck first with [Demon Slash], a first-job skill with the most appropriate power for the situation.
When one Rapture, slightly larger than an adult, was smashed to pieces in an instant, the others reacted. They seemed to possess some intelligence, as they quickly aimed their barrels and fired back.
Ratatatatatatatat!
Bang! Thud!
"Too slow!"
Whoosh! Boom!
Puhuhuhuhuhuh-pang!
The incoming bullets were practically visible to me. I quickly used [Leap], one of my basic skills, to bound through the air.
Using the double jump, I landed squarely on the head of a distant Rapture, causing the bullets aimed at me to hit their own allies instead.
I moved like a squirrel, hopping from one enemy’s head to another, using their own attacks to maximize the chaos.
But then—
Kiiiiiiing! Pyoobang! Boom!
"Whoa!?"
A laser fired by a larger unit knocked me off balance. The blast threw off my trajectory in midair, and just as I was about to crash to the ground—
[Arrived]
Shh-shhk! Whoosh! Thud!
"That was too close! Damn it!"
I used [Arrived], a movement skill from the first job, to land safely.
Some of the Raptures had been disabled by friendly fire, but there were still quite a few left, including the large one.
All the Raptures aimed their barrels at me again after I’d repositioned, but—
"Come here. I’ll beat the hell out of you."
Kang! Kkwajajajajajak!
A spirit resembling a vicious demon appeared in midair and swung a giant scythe, pulling the Raptures toward it.
[Shattering Iron Prison - Front]
The demon-like entity was a 'blade spirit' that swung its scythe in various directions to pull enemies in or smash them aside, dealing massive damage while solving the distance problem of close combat.
"Wow, this thing’s insane."
Perhaps because the laws of this world were different, most of the Raptures were sliced apart and shattered by the second-job skill alone.
The larger ones were dragged in front of me, their functions almost entirely destroyed.
Whoosh! Boom!
I unleashed [Demon Slash] with all my strength, blowing the big Rapture to pieces and rendering it beyond repair.
The remaining Raptures attacked until the very end, but—
Kang! Kkwajajajajak!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Boom! Bang!
Using [Shattering Iron Prison - Rear] and [Demon Slash Combo], I began wiping out the remaining Raptures one by one.
The bastards who had ambushed me were apparently weak; most were reduced to dust or a few scraps of wreckage.
The larger one had its core blown clean in half.
Once I finished cleaning up, the surroundings were a total wreck. The trees wrapping the buildings and the grass on the ground had all been burned or crushed under the weight of the Raptures.
"To think I could do this much with only first- and second-job skills. Am I actually amazing?"
I was getting carried away by the results, but then I remembered the Raptures’ nature and their intelligence. I needed to leave, and fast.
After all, these things shared information through a network or 'Calling Signals,' with a higher existence called the 'Queen' at the center.
They were machines, but their information-sharing speed was far faster than any human's.
They were the ones who massacred humans and dragged Nikkes away to inflict 'Corruption'—brain contamination and ideological indoctrination.
In other words, these things were humanity’s enemy.
That was the core premise of the NIKKE world, but—
"...Then the thing that shot at me yesterday was either a Nikke or a Rapture."
With a lingering doubt, I hurried my steps.
===========
Meanwhile, on the opposite side from the protagonist, a Nikke was moving in a desperate hurry.
"D-dan-ger-ous. A Lord-class Rapture... appeared!"
As she fled, another swarm of Raptures pursued her at high speed.
Thud! Thoom! Thud! Thoom!
A Lord-class Rapture—one of the higher-tier types, resembling a massive mouth with electronic railguns mounted on both sides—moved slowly but heavily, leading the swarm.
The smaller Raptures began firing while moving, and the pursued Nikke dodged the barrage as she ran.
Ratatatatatatatat! Bang bang! Kkwakwang!
"Grrr...!"
The damage and shockwaves from the bombardment washed over her, but she instead wrapped her arms around the coffin she was carrying, trying to minimize any damage to it.
She could have reduced her own damage by using the coffin as a shield, but by doing the opposite, the shockwaves battered her body mercilessly.
Even for a cyborg, the damage continued to accumulate.
[ Kiiiiiiing! ]
Crackle crackle crackle! Thwack! Pwoooom!
"Aaaagh! Agh!"
As her speed gradually slowed, the huge Lord-class Rapture aimed one of its railguns and fired.
A tremendous shockwave and explosion engulfed the Nikke.
Overwhelmed by the accumulated impact and the railgun’s devastating power, she collapsed.
"Nnng... ugh... no..."
Her joints damaged, she crawled forward with a grinding sound, reaching out toward the coffin that had been knocked a short distance away.
"N-no... no..."
But the coffin was just out of reach.
Soon, dozens of Raptures and the giant Lord-class unit rushed in to crush her.
With death staring her in the face, the Nikke shut her eyes tight behind her helmet and whispered in her heart.
I’m sorry... Cinderella... I don’t think... I can protect you anymore...
Just as a Rapture was about to pierce her body, before she even had time to feel the tears running down her cheeks—
"Lie still right there. If you move, you might die, you know?"
A mysterious voice echoed.
Kang! Kkwajajajajajajak! Kkwakwakwakwang!
With the sound of screeching metal and something being ground to pieces as the last thing she heard, she lost consciousness.
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