《Unbreakable》 Chapter 1 - One Day, Suddenly

Chapter 1: One Day, Suddenly

It was a perfect day for Yoo Dohyuk. His hard work to lose weight had finally paid off, and he was down 30 lbs. from his original weight from 6 months ago. That wasn¡¯t all ¨C his grades for the final exams he checked after confirming his weight were the best out of all 3 years in collegebined, even if it was only to Dohyuk¡¯s standards. ¡°Well, I have finally seen the payoff for being more attentive in my life.¡± He was humming as he took out his cell phone. There, he found his 3rd aplishment where he surpassed the weight loss goal and good grades. ¡°Dohyuk! Where are you?¡± Choi Jimin. She was one of the prettiest girls from this year¡¯s freshman ss. She had a petite body frame and a cute face, and everyone would think gymnast Son Yeon-Je was her look alike when they met her for the first time. She had so many guys drooling over her, but it was Dohyuk who snatched her heart. ¡°Dohyuk: I¡¯m in front of the market. I¡¯m buying veggies to cook with the meat.¡± Running into Jimin in front of the gym when he was about to work out was crucial. What guy wouldn¡¯t challenge himself when a girl they had the hots for was keeping her eyes on them? ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have lost weight if it wasn¡¯t for you.¡± Dohyuk ced his phone back into his pocket with a bitter grin. The sight of a non-athletic guy trying his best and gradually getting better must have left an impression. Around May, Dohyuk and Jimin were close enough to go for a coffee after a workout, and he courted her back home. In June, it was clear that they were dating. And today, Dohyuk talked Jimin intoing over to his bachelor pad to offer her home-cooked chop steak. ¡°Should I get wine? Maybe I should keep it casual with beer...¡± While working his brain at the market, his eyes wandered toward something. There was a tower. ¡°Oh, jeez.¡± Maybe it had been a little over a month. Towers appeared all over the world. It was ck and shaped like a long nail ced upside down. They were all a whopping 200 meters tall. These monoliths didn¡¯t grow from earth or fall from the sky and it caused the world to shake. Experts from all over the world had conducted studies about these towers for a long time now, but nothing hade out of it. A total of 2365 towers, which were thicker than a lighthouse, were standing around with no other effects. ¡°Humans are creatures that adapt fast.¡± That was exactly right. It didn¡¯t even take 3 weeks for people to get used to the towers. The religious groups and scientists were still up and arms in the media, but the regr people were just wondering about the tower with no hesitation. Dohyuk walked into the market. His definition of knowing how to cook chop steak was to read the recipes online, but he had lived on his own for a few years. So he has, at least, cooked a meal or two for himself. ¡°First... I need potatoes, butter... do they have asparagus here?¡± Including the two thick bs of meat, Dohyuk was carrying a basket worth of half a week¡¯s worth of food. But how could itpare to the worth of a fluttering heart? Beep¡ª The cashier was about to hand back his cash card. ¡°Please throw away the receipt.¡± And while he was packing the grocery bag... It happened. ¡°...¡± ¡°Uh, excuse me?¡± Dohyuk called out with dismay. The hand of the cashierdy who was handing back the cash card was frozen as if someone had pressed a pause button. Not only that, her dted pupils lost focus, and her mouth was agape. ¡°Miss!¡± ¡®Is she having some cardiac issues?¡¯ Dohyuk raised his voice and looked around. His shock escted right after. Everyone in the market was frozen in ce and had the same symptoms as the cashierdy. Thousands of thoughts ran through Dohyuk¡¯s head. But before he reached a conclusion, ¡°Gasp!¡± ¡°Haaa!¡± People moved again. Everyone seemed shocked. They took a deep a breath while looking over their bodies. Their reactions were strange. ¡°I... I¡¯m alive! I¡¯m, I¡¯m alive!¡± There were those who raised their hands in emotion, ¡°Honey!¡± ¡°Sang-chul!¡± Those with their families or significant others embraced one another and cried as if they had been apart for years. However, the intense reaction was short-lived. After the brief cheers and hugging each other and crying their eyes out, they soon closed their mouth shut and stared around with vignce in their eyes, as if they were being hostile to one another. ¡®Wha-what is this?¡¯ People moved again. However, the movement differed from ¡®before¡¯. Everyone put their baskets down as if no one cared about grocery shopping anymore and left the market. Dohyuk had to step back in surprise since everyone was ignoring the line at the cashier. He was nkly staring at the people¡¯s movement. ¡°...¡± Dohyuk met eyes with a man. The man was still inside the market over at the cash register. His eyes were wide open like a fish and his gaze was on Dohyuk. ¡®What is it?¡¯ Dohyuk felt a chill run down his spine. The man looked around and dug through the abandoned carts. He finally found a kitchen knife in one cart, and as the man ripped the package off with no hesitation, Dohyuk subconsciously had an intuition. Right now... Stomp! He felt killing intent for the first time in his life. The man ran toward Dohyuk. He pushed everyone in his way and jumped on the counter to run over them. The man¡¯s body and the shining de was definitely facing Dohyuk. ¡°!!!¡± If Dohyuk didn¡¯t turn his body to avoid the man, the knife would bust his head open. The man stumbled because of the shock from thending, but he fixed his posture and swerved the knife again. Fortunately, Dohyuk was fast on his feet at a time like this. He kicked the man on the side and made him fall. Dohyuk wasn¡¯t stupid enough to fight a guy with a knife with his hand alone. ¡°Help! He¡¯s trying to stab me with a knife!¡± Dohyuk screamed on top of his lungs and looked around. However... ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone gave him a short nce and continued to go their way. No, it wasn¡¯t exactly everyone. A few of them stopped after hearing Dohyuk¡¯s voice. However, they weren¡¯ting to help Dohyuk. Instead, they stood still and stared at Dohyuk, just like how the knife-wielding man did. Just as expected, they also looked around their surroundings. Dohyuk knew what they were looking for. ¡°What the...¡± Hell was happening. Everyone was holding a weapon or two. The fallen guy was getting up on his feet. Dohyuk had no choice. He began to run as fast as he could. ... An empty street near the market... ¡°Haaa... Ha...¡± Dohyuk leaned against the light pole and let out his heavy breath. His heart was about to burst from the sprint. ¡°W-Why aren¡¯t they picking up the phone....¡± He called several times while running, but 911 didn¡¯t answer the phone. ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯ He could only assume. He had a side view of the streets while running here. It was not just the market ¨C something had, in fact, happened to the whole neighborhood. Something Dohyuk knew nothing about, and that something made people do some weird things. It especially made some of them attack Dohyuk with weapons in their hands. Broom¡ª An old car appeared on the other side of the street. Usually, it was an element that didn¡¯t cause fear. ¡°...¡± However, Dohyuk had an ominous thought in his head, and that saved his life. The car elerated toward Dohyuk. It was a crazy speed for a small street like this. For the first time in his life, Dohyuk threw his body on the floor. Boom! The sound a car crashing into a light pole shook the whole street. Dohyuk let out a sigh and stood up. Click¡ª A bald man in his mid tote forties with a big stomach came out of the car. ¡°What the hell, man?¡± ¡°... I have nothing against you.¡± He spat out such an obvious fact in such a serious tone. ¡°But you¡¯re just weaker than me. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°What... the hell... does that mean?¡± The man lunged toward Dohyuk with no answers. Dohyuk didn¡¯t run. His anger was bigger than fear. ¡°Die.¡± ¡°You die, you f*cker!¡± Dohyuk threw a punch to hit the man. Thump¡ª But it was Dohyuk who got punched in the stomach and stumbled. The man seemed to be far from an athletic type, and he was even a head shorter than Dohyuk. However, he had avoided the punch Dohyuk threw at him and even jabbed his fist into thetter¡¯s body. ¡°Gasp!¡± Dohyuk fell on the floor, and the man looked down on his fists for a moment before opening his car¡¯s back door. He held a golf club in his two hands. ¡°If I kill you, the Nature is mine. Now, I can live off the Phenomenal Nine instead of you! The world will be at my feet!¡± ¡°What...the f...ck...are...you...¡± Dohyuk used all his strength to get up and step backward, but it was hard just to stand up, and the man was walking towards him. The man was about to swing the golf club. ¡°Get down!¡± A very familiar voice came over. Dohyuk¡¯s body reacted faster than his thoughts. As soon as Dohyuk ducked, shiny metal fragments flew over his body. Remote stun gun. The so-called taser gun shell. ¡°Heek!¡± The man was hit directly by the electrode and trembled to the floor. Dohyuk looked back to see the owner of the taser gun. ¡°I saw yourst text message, so I ran to the market and heard a loudmotion. I was lucky to arrive on time.¡± ¡°You...¡± It was Jimin. ¡°W-Where did you get that?¡± ¡°Oh, this?¡± Jimin collected the taser gun¡¯s electrode and answered in a calm voice. ¡°I jacked it from an empty police car.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This won¡¯t kill him. Although he deserves it.¡± Maybe it was just Dohyuk¡¯s imagination, but Jimin¡¯s voice and attitude werepletely different, and she seemed like apletely different person. ¡°Let¡¯s go to your house first.¡± ... In his room, alone with Jimin, Dohyuk dreamed of this moment for a long time, but he had never imagined it would be under these circumstances. Click¡ª It was only after they locked the deadbolt on the door that they started a conversation. ¡°Just as I expected.¡± Jimin sighed and began to talk. ¡°You have no recollection.¡± ¡°About what?¡± Dohyuk was still holding on to his throbbing stomach while asking her the question. They hadn¡¯t spoken a single word while they were walking to his house. ¡°Recollection of the memories before the reincarnation.¡± Jimin began to exin as she watched the outside through the peephole. ¡°I¡¯ll get to the point. As of the moment, almost everyone in the world came back from the future. Even so, it would only be a memory.¡± ¡°...¡± Dohyuk kept quiet, not because he had nothing to say, but because he had to ponder over the meaning of her words. ¡°That is also the reason why people were trying to kill you. Luckily, not everyone recognized you since your image is drastically different in the future. Soon enough, however, they¡¯ll be swarming to kill you, Yoo Dohyuk.¡± This didn¡¯t need much thought to understand. ¡°What did I do to deserve this?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s one of the rules.¡± She charged across the room to close the curtains, Then, she finally sat on the floor with a big sigh. ¡°[Every human carries a unique Nature.]¡± She continued, ¡°New world rule: [Each person can only carry one Nature.]¡± Dohyuk had yet to understand the meaning of these words, but he would be able to understand soon enough. ¡°[However, within the ¡®first kill¡¯, you can collect your victim¡¯s Nature as your own.]¡± ¡°... So, they are trying to kill me to get whatever I have? I don¡¯t know what that is, but I don¡¯t even have anyth...¡± ¡°No, you do.¡± She cut him off and looked up. Dohyuk lost his words. ¡°There¡¯s no need for any exnation. You¡¯ll have an awakening at midnight.¡± Her eyes were different from the 20-year-old girl he knew. ¡°In a few years, you will achieve greatness. You¡¯ll be one of the nine people of the world to enter the Realm of the Great Transcendence and lead all the other human beings to seed in finally killing that assh*le.¡± ¡°Assh*le...?¡± Dohyuk was caught off-guard since it was the first time hearing Jimin curse. Although it really wasn¡¯t a question, Jimin answered him faithfully, ¡°God.¡± Chapter 2 - It’s Two

Chapter 2: It¡¯s Two

After moments of silence, Dohyuk asked again, ¡°Did you just say God?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat myself.¡± Jimin was different. This woman leaning her back against the wall with her arms crossed was not the same 20-year-old freshman he knew. ¡°In a few hours at midnight, the bastard will invade our.¡± After saying those words, Jimin braced herself to tell the lengthy tale of a warrior who survived years of war. ¡°And you...¡± She breathed before she began telling an epic of bravery. At least she tried to. Boom! Boom! Boom! Bam¡ª The ground shook with a loud noise, interrupting their conversation. ¡°An earthquake?¡± A dab of shock covered Dohyuk¡¯s face. ¡°This can¡¯t be...¡± Compared to Dohyuk¡¯s, however, Jimin¡¯s expression was beyond surprised. ¡°How can it begin so early?¡± She opened the curtains she had closed a minute ago to oversee what was happening outside. Dohyuk could not believe his eyes. The tower, the ck spire ¨C which had stood there mysteriously for a month ¨C was spinning with great ferocity. Maybe the phenomenon he was seeing happened to the other towers as well. He wanted to react somehow or say something, but before he could do so, words shed before his eyes, taking him aback. <> <> ¡°...Ugh!¡± Agony covered his body by the time the shing of the words came to a halt, causing him to drop to the ground. It felt as if an unknown force was crushing his body and the one thing Dohyuk could do was to submit to its power. Crack! As he moaned in pain with his face nted on the ground, Dohyuk realized he was familiar with this pain ¨C muscle ache! The pain ripped him apart as if someone was forcing his joints to stretch. Words began to appear in his front of him once again, blinding him of his surroundings. <> <> Dohyuk felt a soothing aura running through every corner of his body. It eased his suffering, but the pain won over him nheless. Crack, crack! Dohyuk heard it from both inside his body and his surroundings. He wondered was it the earthquake blurring his sight? Perhaps it was the worsened trembling of his body as time passed? All he knew was he could not take the pain any longer. ¡°Ji-Jimin...¡± He groaned, scanning his surroundings for her. Dohyuk soon found out she was lying on the floor, trembling out of control as well. Then he saw ck as his consciousness drifted away. How much time passed before he awakened from his unconsciousness? When Dohyuk opened his eyes, it was already dark outside. The earthquake had stopped, and by the time he regained hisposure, he realized something odd about himself. Not only was the pain gone, but his movements seemed lighter than ever, and his size was somewhat bigger than before. ¡°Jimin? Choi Jimin?¡± Jimin was still lying on the ground. Dohyuk saw her breathing. It seemed like her condition was not serious, but unlike Dohyuk, she was taking longer to regain consciousness. Jimin seemed unhurt from the outside, but to be certain, Dohyuk tried to go beside her to confirm her status. However, words shed before his eyes once again before he could do so. <> <> The sudden appearance of those words before him blocked his path. ¡°What the fu...¡± There were two types of humans when confronting anomalies in conflict with what a human would perceive as normal. There were those who possessed the ability to break their train of thought to rid themselves of stress and seek an external medium to utilize instead. There were also those who searched for a power within themselves and discovered answers to make sense of the situation. Thankfully, Dohyuk was thetter type. An unknown number of people were after his life, but the only thing Dohyuk could think of was how to make sense of Jimin¡¯s story about the resurrection or the story about gods or whatever she was trying to say. He could think about it, but if he stood around doing nothing to adapt to his circumstances, his life would be in danger. With that, ¡°...Status.¡± Dohyuk mumbled with a defeated tone. Words started to list down in front of his eyes showing his physical well-being. <> -Strength: 17 (E) -Stamina: 21 (E) -Agility: 15 (E) -Magic: 2 (F) -Endurance: 17 (E) -Charisma: 14 (E) <> No set ¡®Religion¡¯ at present. <> No set of ¡®Skills¡¯ at present <> Personal Survival (Lv. 2), Wolf¡¯s Keenness (Lv. 1) The word <> appeared at the end as if it were begging Dohyuk to read it. He was about to check the details when Jimin groaned behind him, regaining her consciousness. ¡°You¡¯ll see that more than you¡¯ll want to from now on. That is your seed money.¡± Dohyuk tried his best to give a good response, but he lost all theposure he built when he turned his head to face her, his eyes meeting with hers. Jimin had changed. She was always petite, but it was never urate to call her skinny as she was not out of shape. A more befitting description for her was a woman who hadn¡¯t let go of her baby fat yet. However, that description of her was not true anymore. Her clothes that fit her tightly were short and loose on her now. She was almost a head taller than before. Also, her skin texture changed from soft to silky. It was fair to say Jimin¡¯s body had turned into a gymnast¡¯s. ¡°Oh, this?¡± Jimin acknowledged Dohyuk¡¯s visible confusion. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to stare...¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. My body changed. Did you see the words that appeared when you were in pain?¡± Dohyuk nodded his head as a reply. ¡°Our bodies have been ¡®developed¡¯ by force. We have transcended into the final extent of what the human body can do. If we want to, we can run a marathon forever and our energy will never deplete.¡± She ran her hands from her breasts down to her stomach, signaling Dohyuk to follow her lead. Dohyuk obliged and ced his hands on his chest. ¡°...!¡± What he felt was a firm and curved shape. He was not imagining things earlier ¨C his body had gotten bigger. He could vividly feel his pecs, stomach, and the lines of his abdominal muscles he didn¡¯t have before. ¡°How...is this be possible?¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s God himself who¡¯s giving us all this bullsh*t?¡± A simple answer. Instead of adding more from her statement, Jimin pointed her fingers behind Dohyuk. She was pointing at the scenery outside the window. ¡°Go and see what¡¯s happening outside for yourself, and don¡¯t you dare make any noise.¡± Dohyuk walked closer to the window. ¡°Do you see it?¡± It was dark outside, but the difference was certain even by a single nce. ¡°There are...¡± ¡°A lot, right?¡± Seoul¡¯s night sky was filled with nothing but darkness. The most they could see was the asional full moon hiding beneath the darkness. Tonight, the moon was not the only orb sitting on the skies. No. Was the moon he was familiar with the same as the one he was looking at? It took a few moments before he could process what he was seeing. The ¡®smallest¡¯ orb, the moon, hovering in the skies was as big as a ping-pong ball. However, the gigantic one beside it was of such great proportions, Dohyuk could only hide them from his sight if he ced his palms a few inches from his face. How big and how close did it have to be to Earth to appear thatrge? As he marveled at the orbs in the skies, losing his grasp on reality, he waste to notice a terrifying scene. Under the sky, the streets Dohyuk used to know had transformed into something sinister. Rocks. Monstrous rocks burst out of the asphalt and the concrete of the city, towering over the skyscrapers. Not to mention, the dense forest-like terrain created by the random trees and vines were spewing out of the huge rocks. The crustal movements ruined or destroyed half of the buildings, or perhaps more than half of them. Dohyuk¡¯s house was not safe from the onught as well, the room they were in seemed to be the singr thing left in one piece. The bottom part of his house was eaten by the green incursion. ¡°[Casita¡¯s needle], that¡¯s what they called it. Every time those towers spin, the earth oveps with another world.¡± Jimin bobbed her head towards the distance, gesturing her head towards the ck tower which stopped spinning. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the hell is happening since they were supposed to start spinning at midnight...¡± Jimin was about to throw a tantrum over the destruction the towers caused, but a loud noise interrupted her. Outside, there was a sound from a distance not too far away, a roar which resounded like a foghorn mixed with the cry of a dinosaur that Dohyuk had seen in a movie during his childhood. Right, it was definitelying from a living creature. He didn¡¯t have to be there to understand. He didn¡¯t know what creature it was, but it must be a predator that could wreak havoc. Its roar served as a warning for their impending doom. ¡°Crap...¡± Jimin, knowing the identity of the creature, reached her hands out and pulled the curtains shut. However, someone else¡¯s hand moved faster than hers. It was Dohyuk¡¯s. ¡°OK, I got it.¡± His skin was pale and his hands were quivering, but it wasn¡¯t hardened or stiff. Two serious and focused eyes pierced their gazes through Jimin. ¡°Tell me everything I need to know. What is happening outside?¡± That monstrous roar he heard a few seconds ago made him realize the gravity of his situation. ¡°You don¡¯t have to waste words and time trying to make me understand something.¡± -Just ept it. If not, he will die. Indefinitely. ¡°Sure,¡± Jimin answered without hesitation. ¡°First, you need to kill someone.¡± ¡°Because of Nature?¡± Jimin responded with an affirmative answer, but instead of a verbal answer, Jimin kicked off the floor and jumped. It wasn¡¯t too high of a jump; she even missed the ceiling by few inches or so. However, when Jiminnded on the floor after a few seconds, Dohyuk could not keep his mouth from remaining agape. How many times did she spin? It wasn¡¯t even a perpendicr spin, but a somersault in the air. Jimin was able to change direction andpleted them multiple times in that short amount of time. When her feet were about tond the floor, Dohyuk expected the wooden floor to give into the impact. Instead... Tap. The only sound she made after her feet touched the ground was a light, almost soundless, tap. ¡°This is the effect of my Nature.¡± Jimin continued talking after finding her bnce as if nothing happened at all. She didn¡¯t even stumble a bit. ¡°[Gum bodies]. My flexibility is way above what a normal human body could pull off, all thanks to my Nature. I can go beyond the ability of what humans deemed possible, or to do more diverse and sophisticated movements. I can also perform bodily movements that can burden the joints or muscles of a normal human body without giving me harm. It has its limits... but it¡¯s a pretty good Nature. There¡¯s a lot of use for it in the beginning.¡± ¡°The description sounds like...¡± ¡°A passive skill?¡± Dohyuk opened his eyes in surprise when she predicted what he was just about to say. Jimin smiled faintly when she saw his obvious astonishment. It was the first time Dohyuk saw her smile after the world suddenly changed. ¡°It was aparison to what you told me before, a long time ago, when I was an idiot who stood in your way.¡± The smile faded quickly, and Jimin continued her exnation. ¡°You¡¯re right. Passive. It¡¯s like the basic skills a character has when you y the AOS games. As I said, everyone carries one of each from birth, and you can carry up to two by acquiring your first murder victim¡¯s Nature.¡± ¡°...I guess my Nature is pretty good.¡± Dohyuk mumbled as he thought of the people who tried to kill him. ¡°Calling it ¡®good¡¯ will be offensive to your Nature. It would be an understatement to say your Nature is above all else. It¡¯s number one.¡± Her words didn¡¯t make it realistic. ¡°...Status,¡± Dohyuk mumbled once again to check the list of his stats and continued reading from where he stopped earlier, the description of his <>. The beginning part goes as follows: <> [vor of Iron] Unique Nature of Individual ¡®Yoo Dohyuk¡¯. ¡°Does it say vor of Iron?¡± ¡°Yeah, but...¡± While squinting his eyes, Dohyuk attempted to ask Jimin a question when a strong burst of light, as intense as the high-beam of a car, gleamed towards the room. Simultaneously, a figure appeared from a distance, basking from the glory of its luminance. ¡°Rejoice the glory that has been bestowed upon you.¡± A beautiful and soft voice, so incredible they could feel its tenderness in their hearts, rang on top of Dohyuk¡¯s head. As the light lost its intensity, Dohyuk could now see who the source of the glowing light was. It was located on the ck tower in the distance. There was a gigantic figure of a man hovering over the top of it. The unknown character had two massive wings around from side-to-side, each bigger than the tower itself. Yes, the figure was undoubtedly an angel. ¡°By the name of the Great Deity, Casita, I give you your first suffering.¡± ¡°Talking out of your ass, stupid b*tch,¡± Jimin mumbled behind her breath, her voice filled with nothing but hatred. ¡°I want to rip her head off... but we have no choice since we¡¯re in the ¡®beginning¡¯ state. Listen, you must pass the test that b*tch is talking about. You¡¯re lucky you have me, I memorized the strategy!¡± ¡°First, you must...No, what is happening?¡± The soft-spoken angel shifted its tone and spoke, baffled. ¡°The test hasn¡¯t even begun, but so many became blinded after obtaining a Nature and began ughtering each other.¡± A moment of silence followed. When the angel spoke again, the voice was sterner. ¡°Fine. For those viins who have forsaken the word of the Lord by acting ording to their instincts, you must prepare for the appropriate chapter of your demise. For those who already obtained two Natures, I will smite you with an excruciating pain heaven alone could only give!¡± ¡°N-no way. Another unpredicted situation?¡± Jimin¡¯s voice quivered, but she regained herposure right away and turned to Dohyuk. ¡°It¡¯s alright. You and I haven¡¯t killed anyone yet, so that won¡¯t apply to us...¡± ¡°I think it applies to me.¡± ¡°What?¡± Jimin¡¯s eyes opened wide. Dohyuk¡¯s expression was no different. If it wasn¡¯t for the angel, he was about to ask Jimin how to understand what was happening. ¡°I mean, my status implied so.¡± The letters in front of his eyes gleamed the same as before. On the space invisible to Jimin, the following words appeared: <> [vor of Steel] Unique Nature of individual ¡®Yoo Dohyuk¡¯. And underneath it... [Over the Horizon] Obtained by killing individual ¡®Casita¡¯. ¡°I will first iste the evil beings!¡± As the angel¡¯s voice echoed across the horizon, Dohyuk¡¯s body began to gleam brightly, and it flickered as if it was about to disappear along with him. ¡°I will gift the first suffering.¡± Chapter 3 - Since everyone already knew

Chapter 3: Since everyone already knew

¡°Do...Dohyuk!¡± Jimin screamed as loud as she could, but there was no response from Dohyuk. Not because he ignored her, but because he had to turn around to grab a ¡®certain object¡¯ from his desk. Dohyuk was able to face Jimin again after he got what he wanted to take on his hands. He tried speaking up, but it was already toote. Even if they were to speak, nothing would have changed. Spark. A burst of light red bright, and Dohyuk disappeared from the room. ¡°A...Ah...¡± Jimin lost the calm demeanor she had been showing Dohyuk up until now and covered her mouth with her bare hands. ¡°I couldn¡¯t¡¯ protect him, prot...¡± She thought she could have another chance in life. She believed she could be by Dohyuk¡¯s side as an ally instead of a burden. She was so lost, she couldn¡¯t keep her confusion from herself. The development of the situation that was going on now was in contradiction with the future which she knew. After moments of wallowing in her own self-loathing, Jimin raised her head. ¡°... he cannot die.¡± He was Yoo Dohyuk. He was the man who stood at the top of the world before time had reversed. ¡°He will survive, no matter what.¡± There must be something she could do other than crying ¡®like an idiot¡¯. She needed to train harder to give more strength to Dohyuk who would live through this and stood by her side again. With a determined expression, Jimin clenched her lips shut. Then, she focused her attention on the angel¡¯s voice which rang from within her head. ... The burning burst of light ceased, and Dohyuk felt the chilling air before he opened his eyes.¡±...Ah...¡± A small ache punctured through his head. Dohyuk was ¡®relocated¡¯ outside of his room. It wasn¡¯t difficult to figure out where he was. It was a busy street Dohyuk visited countless times in the past. However, it had been a month since hest visited this area. One of the ck towers stood right in the middle of the road. The said tower stood 20 meters away from Dohyuk, looking down at his puny size. The six-winged angel, whom Dohyuk saw from afar within the confines of his room, hovered over the tower. He was at least 7 to 8 meters tall. The angel watched Dohyuk¡¯s every movement. In fact, he wasn¡¯t the only one the winged giant that was watching. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°What is happening...?¡± It wasn¡¯t only Dohyuk who ¡®relocated¡¯ to the street near the ck tower. Even from Dohyuk¡¯s perspective, hundreds of people were bustling around figuring out what had happened to them. Right as he gazed through the strangers¡¯ faces, Dohyuk used the ¡®object he grabbed from his room¡¯. It was a disposable dust mask. Most of the people he knew owned one of these for a while due to the severe fine dust. Dohyuk was no different. He would be able to hide his face with this. Everyone on the street had taken someone else¡¯s life. If what Jimin said was true, a person was born with only one Nature, and anyone could obtain a second one after murdering someone. The voice which echoed from within his head announced he would iste all who owned two Natures. That meant everyone here must have killed at least one person. ¡°But I haven¡¯t killed anyone.¡± That was the obvious fact that Dohyuk knew better than anyone else. Then why... A frivolousugh resounded through the air. Dohyuk raised his head towards the sky. Numerous angels draped in lights appeared three to four meters above the air and began looking down the crowd. ¡°Are these the heinous creatures?¡± ¡°They all have innocent faces.¡± The figures possessed the form of angels but something seemed off about them. First of all, their sizes were different from the enormous one floating from the above tower, they were a bitrger than humans, but not gigantic. They had one wing on their back instead of a pair, and the features of their faces, as well as their limbs, looked unbnced as if they weren¡¯tpleted figures. The creatures were spread a few meters away from each other while they talked loud among one another. ¡°You better listen to what the almighty angel told you carefully. Consider yourselves lucky you inbreds! Your kind received the grace of the Lord Casita and earned a chance to evolve into higher beings.¡± Unlike the voice he heard from his room, their voices were noting from his head but through their mouths. Even the way they spoke was far different from the soft one he heard earlier, theirs sounded cheap and distasteful. ¡°From now on, your world will collide with other realms for all eternity to train you stronger than your own kind. Death alone awaits those who can¡¯t adapt fast enough.¡± After those words, the single-winged angels halted to a pause. They looked at each other in dismay. ¡°They¡¯re not freaking out.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even see fear in their eyes.¡± They were right. In a ¡®normal¡¯ situation, humans would be petrified in their own fear and wouldn¡¯t function properly no matter what the angels said. However, this was not a normal situation. They were surprised not because of what the angels said but because of the sudden relocation. As soon as the winged ones appeared in the air, everyone calmed down and stared at them. It was as if they knew this would stop something bad from happening to them. ¡°There should¡¯ve been a few of them going crazy by now...¡± ¡°Right, it is fun to destroy them to serve as an example.¡± The angels shrugged in disappointment. ¡°Oh well.¡± ¡°Here, get this.¡± Newer words appeared before Dohyuk¡¯s eyes. <> <<500 coins deposited>> <> ¡°This is the war fund gifted to you by Casita.¡± ¡°Your weak ass bodies have already been trained to the max, so you can¡¯t get any stronger by regr means. You can only buy abilities...¡± The angels¡¯ bbering mouths were shut once again. No one was listening to what they were saying. ¡°Wallet.¡± ¡°Wallet.¡± Everyone was yelling out the word to ess their wallets and they were purchasing abilities already. ¡°What are hell is happening?¡± The angels hadn¡¯t even finished exining, but everyone decided right away which abilities to purchase and began spending the coins. ¡°They are understanding this too fast.¡± ¡°Are they smarter than we think?¡± The only exception was Dohyuk. ¡°Wallet.¡± He mumbled the word under his breath and began reading the wordsid in front of him carefully. <> -Coins owned: 500 -Able to use the coin to increase abilities -Need 50 coins to increase up to F rank (0~10) abilities. <> -Muscle Strength: 17 (E) -Stamina: 21 (E) -Agility: 15 (E) -Magic: 2 (F) -Endurance: 17 ( E) -Charisma: 14 (E) Based on Dohyuk¡¯s understanding, he would need 200 coins to allocate a point to one of his abilities, besides Magic. Dohyuk couldn¡¯t make any changes to his abilities aside from this method. ¡®Let¡¯s think this through.¡¯ It was an obvious choice. Even in simple video games, investing in abilities without any information was the same as pointing a gun at his own head. ¡°Well... whatever, let¡¯s start this madness.¡± When the single-winged angels waved their hand in the air, yellow colored liquids sprayed all over the ce. The foul-smelling liquid sshed all over the street and drenched everyone. ¡°This is the extracted pheromones of the Goblet.¡± ¡°Normally, we would separate the sections around the tower to train you, but we created a special confined area for you disgusting creatures!¡± Before they were able to finish speaking... Shuffle! Dohyuk heard the sounds of something walking through the tall grass fields created by the vines which appeared in between the buildings. Soon, numerous creatures began to emerge. Their heads looked like a hybrid of a dog and a rat. They were about 140 cm tall. Their backs were hunched and repulsive hair covered their bodies. They shook their rat-like tails like fish out of the water. These creatures were twice in numberpared to the humans, outnumbering them. Dohyuk could understand. The creatures were the Goblets the angels were talking about, and they were far too dangerous. ¡°You¡¯ve never seen a Goblet huh? Here, try to survive from them while they are in heat! You can earn coins when you kill them, and if one of you shows an outstanding performance, you¡¯ll get a special prize!¡± ¡°IF you survive!¡± Maybe it was the effect of the pheromones sprayed by the angels because the long and nted eyes of the Goblets were bloodshot red. The hundreds of low growls created an ominous harmony, making Dohyuk fearful of them. ¡°...Sh*t.¡± Dohyuk half consciously took a few steps backward. He ended up identally bumping into someone behind him. ¡°Watch it.¡± With a sharp voice, someone pushed Dohyuk away. It was a guy around Dohyuk¡¯s age. ¡°Don¡¯te next to me again, or I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°...¡± Dohyuk raised both his hands and walked away from the guy. It was Dohyuk who ran into him first, but... ¡°Why the f*ck is he lowering his voice like that?¡± It wasn¡¯t only the guy he bumped into, but everyone was acting the same. The tense atmosphere was understandable, but it seemed like everyone was trying to throw their weights around more than necessary. A strong hint of self-confidence was written all over their expressions. ¡°All that talk about the special istion and it was only Goblets?¡± ¡°...The first achievement will be mine.¡± Each of them all jabbered simr things and began to crack their knuckles as if the Goblets didn¡¯t scare them one bit. Shriek!!! With a ripping scream from the other side, the Goblets began to charge towards them. They were running on all fours with their eyes glowing in fiery red and drooling with foamy spit. Dohyuk observed the creatures and everyone braced themselves to fight their way out with their bare hands. ¡°These bastards can fight them only with their hands?!¡± It seemed possible seeing as how confident the people reacted. However... Tap tap! Instead of raising his fists, Dohyuk began running into a building that wasn¡¯t overtaken by the vines yet. ¡®Even so, I don¡¯t have any information.¡¯ Besides, his instinct was telling him something ¨C those creatures were dangerous. They couldn¡¯t kill them with their hands alone. ¡°...What a loser!¡± The peopleughed as they watched Dohyuk ran. Goblets were one of the weaker monsters. They appeared at the beginning of the ¡®first suffering¡¯, but if fearless men with their potential fight with appropriate weapons, it was easy enough for one of them to fight three of the creatures at the same time. Therefore, no one on the street feared the Goblets. For those who had ¡®experienced¡¯ the future before the resurrection, fighting five of them at the same time should be easy even with their fists. Shriek!! Finally, when the distance was narrowed down enough, the Goblets jumped to attack. Everyone except Dohyuk got ready to fight instead of running away. ¡°Die!¡± Their fists fly towards the Goblets. However... Shriek!!! The result was different from what they had imagined. ¡°Aaaah!¡± ¡°Wha-what the!¡± The Goblets were fast and fierce, a hundred times stronger than the ones in ¡®their memories¡¯. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, you idiots underestimated Goblets way too much.¡± ¡°Do they consider Goblets weak in this world? Well, they are weak, but...¡± ¡°But we did give them 250 percent extracted pheromones. The Goblets will fight till the end without considering their bodies getting destroyed.¡± The angels giggled as they watched the devastation on the street. ¡°Even so, I didn¡¯t think they¡¯ll try to fight with their bare hands.¡± ¡°If they had found some kind of weapon to throw around, they could¡¯ve had some chances.¡± ¡°I thought they will be smarter since they already had some blood on their hands.¡± As they said, the Goblets were enhanced by the angels, but they were not stronger than normal. With that small change alone, the past battle experiences of the humans were rendered useless. Not to mention, the battle patterns of the crazed Goblets were far different from what they had been ustomed to, and more than anything, their ignorance strengthened the Goblets further. The benefit of knowing the future made them vulnerable without realizing it. ¡°Ugh¡± ¡°Aaaaahhh!¡± In an instant, the street was filled with their agonizing screams. On top of the movements and attack patterns, the horny Goblets were able tond impactful attacks than what was deemed normal. While the humans scrambled in disbelief, more Goblets piled up to attack. ¡°This, This can¡¯t be happening!!!¡± People began to fall as several goblets rip them apart. Death alone awaits their arrival. No one thought it would be this agonizing to die on their second chance. They began to run off with their confidence in between their legs. It didn¡¯t matter if they had two Natures. They didn¡¯t stand a chance when their basic abilities were so weak. There were no confident returners anymore. Instead, there were only beginners caught off guard by the alteration they had faced. ... A few minutes ago, when other Goblets ambushed the people with their fists up... Hiss... One Goblet headed off into a different direction alone. He could smell the stench over there. He couldn¡¯t see it, but there was a building where the pheromone could be smelt from inside. The Goblet followed its instinct and walked towards the building. It headed into an open building, following the stench of the pheromones towards the lobby. As it turned around the corner... Crack! A sudden blunt impact crushed its face. It was Dohyuk. He, who was waiting around the corner with a fire extinguisher in his hands, ambushed the Goblet. The Goblet didn¡¯t die, but the blow which Dohyuk swung with all of his might onto the creature was too strong. Dohyuk was not stupid to miss this chance. ¡°Eeek!¡± Crack! Smash! Dohyuk smashed the creature¡¯s body until the Goblet lost his bnce and fell to the ground, only then did it cease to move. Dohyuk kept smashing the Goblet¡¯s head with the fire extinguisher. He didn¡¯t know anything about the future, but that was the reason he seeded. <> This caution and cunning idea was possible due to Dohyuk panicking like a tensed up scaredy-cat. This was the ultimate weapon which allowed humans to be on top of the food chain. <> <> Before Dohyuk was able toprehend the words which appeared, he felt a jolt of energy running through his body. ¡°...¡± With the bloody fire extinguisher in his hand, he hid behind the corner again. It was like the magic behind animal instincts. He could hear the footsteps of the second Goblet from the building entrance. Before he could realize it, the words appeared once again: <> <> Dohyuk was getting ustomed to the current situation very well. The future had now be the past he didn¡¯t remember, and he had no knowledge of this new world, just like the first time. Chapter 4 - First Meal

Chapter 4: First Meal

Cho Changhun, a man dubbed as the Guillotine on his first life before his memory went back in time, cringed. ¡°...What?¡± Surely, the first achievement should have been his. The street was in chaos, but he was the one who snapped a Goblet¡¯s neck with his bare hand for the first time. However, he wasn¡¯t. The words signaling that he cleared the first achievement did not appear. ¡°...¡± As his eyes wandered, Changhun continued his steps deep into the alleys to avoid the Goblets. A second Goblet found him but Changhun avoided its attack and got a hold of its neck. The Goblet tried to fight its way out of the choke hold but it was no use. The monstrous grip was a characteristic of Cho Changhun¡¯s Nature. Snap. ¡°Who the hell is it?¡± Changhun mumbled as he snapped the neck of the second Goblet. Everywhere he looked, there was no one who could fight off the Goblets. Everyone lost the confidence they once had and spread out to find a weapon or hide. It was a somewhat expected situation. ¡°F*cking losers.¡± One could understand the situation if one used their brain. Everyone who was here had two Natures. There was no one stronger than those who had two Natures. One Nature they were born with, another Nature they got from their first victim. One could only have two Natures in their lifetime. Before the regression, it was rare to see anyone who killed someone because they calcted which Nature they wanted. It took a long time for people to understand the meaning of Nature, and most had blood on their hands before they could fully understand. However, this was a rare second chance. They needed to consider carefully before their first kill and created the perfectbination of Natures they wanted to use. Cho Changhun was lucky. When he regressed, his long-time friend was next to him. His friend was someone who held such an envious Nature, and Changhun always regretted to lose a chance to have him as his first kill. Therefore, he acted fast and snapped his friend¡¯s neck once he got a second chance. However, not everyone was this lucky. Some were already strong before the regression. Therefore, most of these scums probably killed the closest person in front of them to get the second Nature without thinking twice about it. ¡®No matter what their Natures are, losers are losers. The fundamental definition of garbage does not change.¡¯ Look at them getting destroyed just because of one unforeseen incident. They could consider the difficulty they were facing a difference of the circumstances they once had in the past. Even if they lived the same future, there must be a huge gap between those who achieved experience with their own strength, and those who followed the tails of another fighter. ¡°...Whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Changhun mumbled as he hid in the alley. It was too bad he missed the first achievement. It wasn¡¯t the time to care much about one achievement they gave at the ¡®beginning¡¯. ¡°Yama¡¯s armor is mine.¡± An item that transformed a woman who owned a useless Nature into one of the strongest powers within the Korean Penins. That item was in this section. There must be people with higher skills here. It was hard to decipher who, but one of them might have taken the first achievement. If Changhun could have the armor in his hands, he would be the strongestpetitor in this section. Then, he could move further to a position of power to rule the second world. The most powerful position was held by Lord Yoo Dohyuk before the regression. ¡°Kekeke.¡± Changhun¡¯s eye sparkled with greed and ambition. ... ¡°Whew...!¡± Dohyuk put down the fire hydrant and calmed his harsh breath. 12 kills total. It resulted from him hiding in different ces in the building and killed every Goblet that came his way. He could still hear the cries of the Goblets from outside, but his strength was bottoming out fast. So Dohyuk ran upstairs to hide in a janitor¡¯s closet at the end of the hall. He could barely breathe. Every bone and joint in his arms was in pain from swerving the weapon, but... he could feel it. ¡°This is not my original body.¡± He was stronger. This was a realization he got after crushing the Goblets with the fire extinguisher. He could feel his strength and stamina explodepared to who he was before. If it was his original body, it would have burned out after 3-4 kills. ¡°Status...¡± Dohyuk whispered themand word. <> -Muscle Strength: 17 (2+) (E) -Stamina: 21(2+) (E) -Agility: 15(2+) (E) -Magic: 2(F) -Endurance: 17(E) -Charisma: 14(E) <> [The First Hunter] +2 Muscle Strength/ Stamina/ Agility to Holder There was no big difference in the numbers, but until a few hours ago, Dohyuk considered them as ¡®just numbers¡¯, but as Jimin had told him, these were Dohyuk¡¯s means of survival. He tilted his head for a while, then he moved his finger above a word that piqued his curiosity. That was the answer. <> -Force. Determines the amount of weight you can lift and the speed of the body movements.- Dohyuk ced his finger above each word from stamina to charisma to check each of the descriptions. Then, ¡°Wallet.¡± He checked his earnings. <> -Current Amount: 740 -Able to use the coins to increase the abilities. -50 coins needed to increase F-rank (0~10) ability. -200 coins needed to increase # rank (11~50) ability. He originally had 500 coins in his wallet. The words exined earlier how killing Goblets appearing in front of him would give him 20 coins. ¡°Whew,¡± Dohyuk recollected hisposure as he increased the abilities he selected. <> <> <> Dohyuk knew nothing. He didn¡¯t know which ability he needed to attain in order to gain better results. He could make assumptions though. <> -Body stamina along with tolerance to physical shock. Determines the resistance and natural recovery ability of various traumatic injuries.- ¡°The more I rest, the more behind I get.¡± Dohyuk thought. If hebined what Jimin and the single-winged angels said, the only way to increase his abilities was through the usage of coins. Dohyuk knew only one way to earn coins. ¡°To kill monsters.¡± Humans didn¡¯t kill each other on the streets. It seemed like there was no use in killing another human after earning a second Nature. However... ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee that killing will stop.¡± Those people who tried to kill Dohyuk from the market had no remorse. It was if they lived in a world where murder was amon circumstance. This meant that there could be a situation where humans must kill another human to defend themselves. Also, Dohyuk had no information. If he included the ones he got from Jimin, the amount of information Dohyuk hadpared to those who acted like they know ¡®everything¡¯ wasughable. He had only one option: he needed to earn coins by all means and increase his body performance as much as possible. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how to use these Natures yet.¡± Dohyuk stood up. ¡°I...¡± Thanks to the increase in his stamina, Dohyuk felt like he could breathe better. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± He couldn¡¯t think of anything other than that. The world turned upside-down in an instant. His life was in danger several times. Everything he heard was loads of nonsense about him killing a god and that he held a Nature everyone wanted. He wanted to survive. It was an intense desire that felt ufortable even for Dohyuk himself. Maybe this was a side he didn¡¯t realize he had because he never felt the need to be so cautious. Dohyuk stepped out of the janitor¡¯s closet. He threw away the bent-up fire extinguisher he used until now and grabbed a new one. One step after another. He drew the interior of the building he remembered in his head and moved his feet. ¡°There is a small alley behind this building.¡± There, he could attack the Goblets entering the alley as he did in the building. Dohyuk opened the doors to the emergency stairs quietly. Then, in the stairway... ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ...They met. A skinny man in his forties who was climbing the stairs stopped to look up at Dohyuk, but he soon smirked. ¡°I found you, assh*le.¡± A nasty grin smeared his mouth. Who knew where he found it, but he had a metal skewer in his hand dripping with blood. ¡°I saw you. You were running all over the building to hide your ass when the Goblets were running towards us! I saw it, you assh*le.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You must have started from this neighborhood thest time, eh? This building is probably hiding a hidden item or a temple. Whatever that is...it seems like a weapon you can use right away.¡± The man¡¯s eyes locked on the fire extinguisher in Dohyuk¡¯s hands. It was stain-free, recently picked up, and without a drop of blood. ¡°Hand it over while I¡¯m still feeling nice, or I¡¯ll rip you apart into pieces.¡± ¡°...¡± The man climbed up the stairs as he spat out daunting threats. ¡°You can¡¯t win over me. I killed so many Goblets outsi...¡± Before the man could finish his words, Dohyuk lunged his body down the stairs. He had enough time to think. In this changed world, threats to kill you don¡¯t end with the said threat. Dohyuk didn¡¯t have whatever the hell the man thought he had, but even if Dohyuk told the truth, it would be stupid of him to think this situation would end in peace. He attacked first then. There were about 15 flights of stairs between the man and Dohyuk. Luckily, the stairway was narrow, and the man was heading up the stairs. Thebined weight of Dohyuk and the fire extinguisher contacted the man. ¡°Aaugh!¡± The two mangled bodies crashed down the stairs and fell to thending. The metal skewer fell off the man¡¯s hand. Dohyuk released fire extinguisher he was holding, but he did not deliberately do so. Dohyuk¡¯s body was aching from crashing down the stairs and his eyes were rolling, but his hands were holding onto the man¡¯s hands. The man was choking his neck with an incredibly strong grip. Dohyuk remembered the disaster that happened in the park. A short and older man with arge gut was so skilled in fighting it felt as if he was a professional fighter. ¡®I can¡¯t win. There¡¯s no way I can win if I fight him.¡¯ With nothing else in mind, he choked him back with all the power in him. It was a purepetition of strength. The man tried to fight his way out, but he had no chance since Dohyuk had the upper hand even from his position. In a shorter amount of time than Dohyuk expected, the man¡¯s body dropped. ¡°...¡± When Dohyuk calmed his mind. Stab! A sharp and deep pain prated Dohyuk¡¯s thigh. ¡°Aaah!!¡± Dohyuk screamed in pain, and the man regained his strength. The man shook himself off of Dohyuk¡¯s choke hold and stood up. ¡°What the f*ck...You scared me, assh*le!¡± The man started to kick Dohyuk in a fit of rage. Dohyuk rolled his body to dodge the man¡¯s kick, pulled his body up, stood on his own feet, but his body couldn¡¯t function properly anymore. He had a knife stuck in his thigh. ¡°I almost got f*cked over...Ha, I found a purpose for my useless Nature. ¡®Long Breath¡¯, isn¡¯t it f*cking stupid?¡± Instead of attacking Dohyuk right away, the man calmed his breath while touching his neck. The end result had been decided. A de the size of a fruit knife was struck deep inside his inner thigh and it had ripped Dohyuk¡¯s artery. Blood was spewing out between the de and the scar. Dohyuk grabbed the de with his quivering hand. << Bone de of Cuspid Tribe ¨C E>> -Physical attack correction value: 3~7 -Durability: 19/20 -Holds bleed out promotion (Lv. 2) ¡®Option¡¯ [Looks jagged but it is hard to pull out once it¡¯s stabbed deep. Considered valuable to Goblets.] ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll die faster if you pull it out.¡± The man grinned with a victorious look on his face. ¡°I think my item luck in this life is good. I¡¯m feeling the secret you have would be a jackpot.¡± Dohyuk couldn¡¯t concentrate on what the man was saying. It wasn¡¯t from the pain. Losing blood wasn¡¯t significant enough to lose his conscious, and, it wasn¡¯t because he felt distraught from the miserable situation. ¡°Well, just think that you won¡¯t be able to die quickly by bleeding out.¡± It was because he saw the words in front of him. << Satisfied Condition to Activate Nature>> (vor of Iron) <> ¡°You¡¯re f*cked...¡± ¡°Digest.¡± As soon as he murmured the word, the de on his thigh glowed. Dohyuk cringed as he tasted the vor of the item on his tongue. It was disgusting. The man¡¯s face cringed almost as badly as Dohyuk, but his expression was worse. It was no wonder because he realized the situation he was in. As he witnessed the de disappearing without a trace, and the scar healing right before his eyes, ¡°Yoo, Yoo, Yoo...¡± He could not believe who he had just messed with. Who he had just dared to mess with. Chapter 5 - As much as it hurts

Chapter 5: As much as it hurts

<> <> <> Before he could even read the letters- ¡°Yoo, Yoo Dohyuk?¡± ¡°...¡± His name popped out of the man¡¯s mouth. Dohyuk looked at the man, surprised, but he could understand the situation better. Dohyuk thought to himself if he should reveal his identity to the man, but he decided it was no use thinking about it. He took his mask off and showed him the lower half of his face. A groan came out of the man¡¯s mouth. ¡°Nonsense, no...¡± Dohyuk¡¯s decision was right. ¡°This bastard...¡± Dohyuk¡¯s revtion petrified the man. It was as Jimin said. Dohyuk was the man who kicked major ass before the regression. ¡°Casita... Casita said... you... the Phenomenal Nine will not remember...¡± ¡°But I do.¡± Dohyuk bluffed without knowing what the man was saying, ¡°I also remember what you were saying just a minute ago. Did you say you¡¯d tear my limbs, or how I won¡¯t be able to die in peace?¡± Dohyuk might seem cold from the perspective of the observer, but it was a hundred percent pure bluff. At least, Dohyuk knew one fact: bluffing could be valuable too in a fight if it worked on this guy. ¡°You¡¯re the one who will die. Now take responsibility for what you said.¡± ¡°Uh... ah, ah, ah!¡± the man mumbled with a frightened expression. The man rushed to Dohyuk. ¡°He¡¯s... not running away...¡± He hadn¡¯t expected this situation. Dohyuk lifted his arms and balled up his body. The man¡¯s fistnded onto his ribcage. ¡°...! ¡± Barely. He held his scream. The man¡¯s fist was sharp, too sharp for a man far in a calm state. ¡°I-I¡¯m not dying!!!¡± The man blinded by his fear threw his fist mercilessly. Realizing the opponent he confronted was ¡®that¡¯ Yoo Dohyuk was that much of a shock to him. However, as Dohyuk had experienced firsthand, the magnitude of the strikes this man was throwing half-consciously was far above the level of the average guy. It was as if his skills had been cultivated after surviving for many years. ¡°Die, die, DIE!!!¡± The man¡¯s scream and the sound of a fist pounding Dohyuk filled the stairway. Dohyuk was silent as he took the blows. He heard it somewhere. Even in martial arts, as long as one protected the pressure points, it would be the offender who would lose their strength first. ¡°I can stand it.¡± He didn¡¯t know of it at first, but the ¡®consuming¡¯ the knife from his thigh affected him more than just curing his wound. His stomach wasn¡¯t full, but he felt like he had just eaten a full-course meal, filling him with vitality. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be much difference in our abilities, anyway. Then he will be the one to drop first.¡± He couldn¡¯t be sure though. It was a speech to make him feel better. Dohyuk reassured himself to endure the pain. He recalled his cut was gone, and... ¡°...Haa...Haa... ¡± The time hade, the point at which a man¡¯s physical strength bottomed out. The fatigue awakened the man. He turned his head, seeing the fire extinguisher and spearsying on the floor. As soon as his eyes and body retreated to pick them up, Dohyuk made his move. He nted a devastating blow on the man¡¯s face. ¡°Ugh-!¡± Before the first moan was out of his mouth, Dohyuk threw the second and third punches. His punches seemed amateurpared to the man¡¯s punches, but they were blows which carried all of Dohyuk¡¯s physical strength. The man threw his body to the wall, raised his hands, and buried his head in them. He took the same pose as Dohyuk did before, but Dohyuk did not throw more punches right on the man. Instead, he gave a much heavier blow. Bash! He struck both of the man¡¯s arms. ¡°Aaaauugh!!¡± Dohyuk picked up the fire extinguisher. He had enough practice with wielding a fire extinguisher during thest few hours so his blows allnded sessfully. Smash!! The third blow broke the man¡¯s right arm. The man attempted to kick Dohyuk, but because the gap between them was too narrow, the first kick missed. He tried a second time, but it collided with the fire extinguisher that Dohyuk struck reflexively. The man broke his knee after receiving that blow. When the fire extinguishernded on his broken torso, the man fell toward the lower stairs. Dohyuk did not bother helping the man. When the body stopped rolling to the bottom of the stairs, the neck of the stranger was bent over strangely. <> <> What was that? There was a reason for not killing a human, but still, ¡¯17¡¯ was such an ambiguous number. Did the coin amount change depending on the condition? His trail of thoughts stopped here. Dohyuk was appalled with himself. He realized the coin was the first thing that came to his mind after he killed a person. His head was calmer than expected. To be honest, if this was the guilt of killing a person, it wasn¡¯t as bad as he thought. Then, he noticed his body trembling after five seconds or so, p!! He pped both sides of his cheeks with his palms. ¡°Let¡¯s move...¡± It was natural for the mind to be unstable, but he was a modern man who lived a normal life for twenty-something years and had just killed a man. That was that, and this was this. ¡°You have to move. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die.¡± He¡¯d either forget about the whole thing like a psychopath or regret it for the rest of his life. Whatever happened had happened already, and he had to continue moving on towards newer goals. Whatever the f*ck happened in the mind, the body had to do things properly. Dohyuk looked at the fire extinguisher. The paint was peeled off and its bottom part was dented, but it seemed to have been able to y its role well. ¡°Good¡± With that murmur, he put the mask back on and went down the stairs. Slowly and discreetly, with prudence in all senses, he decided to head out and get more coins. He had no ns, and the best he could do was to survive. ... The streets were calm. There were more dead bodies than living ones, and they were all spread all over the ce. Corpses either from Goblets or humansyed around the bloodied streets. There were no angels in sight, and maybe that affected the pheromones to fade. The Goblets were diurnal creatures, they returned to their timid personality and hid somewhere to pass the night. Only the stragglers that woke up toote from the pheromones asionally roamed the streets at night. There was a hunter who was looking for such stragglers. Struck! It was Dohyuk. ¡°Easy.¡± Dohyuk could certainly feel it. He felt that the goblets were much weaker than when they were attacking like they lost their minds. Dohyuk inspected the areas between the buildings and corners of the alleys to hunt the Goblets one by one. Even though the Goblets were weaker now, moving around in a much wider space while watching his back drained his mind and body. <> <> <> ¨C Current Amount: 377 coins Dohyuk ground his teeth tost longer. ¡°A Little bit more.¡± Dohyuk couldn¡¯t see anyone else hunting for Goblets. He took this opportunity to earn as much coins as possible. Besides, the ¡®bone knife¡¯ the man had before gave him so much power. If he could find items like that by killing the Goblets, it was all the more reason to hunt. ¡°I can still kill two or three more. More...¡± Dohyuk clenched his teeth and swung the fire extinguisher. ¡°What the hell is he doing?¡± There were countless people watching Dohyuk with this question in their minds. Most of them were experts, AND among the people in this quarantine zone, these were the guys who had the skills to reach the top before the regression. The reason why they were able to see Dohyuk was because they were sheltering at the high points of buildings, rocks, or trees. There, they were watching the whole street while taking a break. ¡°Can he even move tomorrow?¡± Before the regression, there was one rule to follow to the T without exception. If it was not necessary to do so, one must not overwork their musles to a certain degree. When the ck tower, Casita¡¯s needle, rotated for the first time, the whole human race underwent a forced development and awakening. That strength was not a superpower that cames out indefinitely without a source. It consumed oxygen and calories, and it needed a breather and rest. They were only stronger, but the body was still judged by its limitations. This was why so many people in the world before the regression failed. They did not think of how much activity was appropriate for the reformed bodies and moved recklessly. It was no wonder then why their muscles ached. Of course, muscle pain was not a simple difort. It was a sign of overworked muscles recovering and regaining its strength. This was a phenomenon called supepensation. However, that was only the case before the awakening. From the moment the world changed, humanity had exhausted the possibility of natural growth. There was no longer a supepensation. The means of raising abilities could only be taken from the devices god and angels had arranged, such as ¡®achievements¡¯ or ¡®coins¡¯. Therefore, one must not overwork their body. They must always leave an adequate room to prepare for this new world where one had no way of knowing when things would happen. Now, when the sun came up, the angels would present a new event. ¡°With that pace...well, even if he stops for a while, his body will scream in pain.¡± Like others, Cho Changhoon looked down at Dohyuk with no emotion. ¡°He will be naturally thinned out since he can¡¯t move.¡± Or he¡¯d die before then. ¡°But his ambition is impressive.¡± If they were able to see Dohyuk, or if it wasn¡¯t for the mask he was wearing, they would realize the man behind this ridiculous sight was Dohyuk. Only then would everyone, including Cho Changhoon, have different thoughts. They would probably view his action as something that carried some kind of greater meaning, or they would¡¯ve taken the risk to get down and cut off the buds of the big tree. However, the mask covered Dohyuk¡¯s face and ensured his security. So, the gazes of everyone held either ridicule or sympathy. With all of their eyes watching his every move, Dohyuk was able to hold onto his strength until he reached his breaking point. ... When he opened his eyes, there were two things he realized. First, it was daytime, and... ¡°Uhh ...!!¡± He was experiencing an unbelievable anguish. He was inside a warehouse. When he felt he had drained every drop of his strengthst night, Dohyuk walked to the nearbymercial building. Maybe it was nothing, but he could feel eyes on him he couldn¡¯t see. Therefore, he paid more attention before he called it a night and entered a small restaurant in the back of the building. The freezer that stored the food was turned off, so after closing the door and stacking boxes to block the entrance, he could close his eyes and rx. Everything seemed safe, but the problem was the muscle pain. ¡°Uh... ah...¡± It was much more intense yesterday when he copsed with Jimin after the first rotation of the ck tower. In addition, his body was not healing itself. Dohyuk couldn¡¯t lift his upper body and moaned on the ground. It was so painful it felt like he was losing consciousness every time he closed his eyes. St! After falling on his head multiple times, Dohyuk barely held up his arms to lift his upper body. ¡®I have to eat.¡¯ Of course, he had no appetite in this situation, but his body, or his instinct, was telling him to consume something. He was empty now. He was exhausted. If he did not eat, he would experience far more terrible things. His trembling arms patted the stacked boxes, then spilled everything from inside because he couldn¡¯t lift anything out of them. Thanks to that, he was able to eat what spilled out. Soggy half-rotten raw meat. Unwashed vegetables. Freezer-dried rice and various noodles. There were even sauces. ¡®I...¡¯ Using his hands and his mouth, Dohyuk chewed all that fell on the floor at random. When he became weak, he would rest and bepletely still like a corpse, then he woke up once again to eat more. ¡®I... I...¡¯ Like a worm that wriggled on the floor. He was refueling the price of the action he consumed the night before through calories and rxation. ¡®I want to live.¡¯ The lighting in through the vents was cut off. A full day had passed, and now it was night time again. Something must have happened outside. However, Dohyuk was inside the whole time, just like how the experts thought while making fun of him. Finally, the pain began to fade to such an extent that he could feel that his stomach was satisfied. Dohyuk closed his eyes. ¡°...Whew.¡± Not to ¡®faint¡¯, but to ¡®sleep¡¯. Then... <> [Over the Horizon] Body... <> <> And mind... Finally able to fully rest <> He started to grow. Chapter 6 - Named

Chapter 6: Named

... ¡°Ugh...¡± Dohyuk opened his eyes, feeling the soreness throughout his body. However, that was the only kind of soreness that one would have after getting a good muscle workout from the previous day. He rose and looked around. The area was a mess. ¡®I ate too much.¡¯ He opened the door and went out to the restaurant. The clock on the wall indicated that it was almost noon. He had spent an entire afternoon yesterday in pain, and also spent the night and morning in his sleep. ¡®...I can¡¯t keep doing this.¡¯ Dohyuk rubbed his face. He now learned what would happen if he overworked himself. It was too much of a pain to bear. ¡®I bet a lot of things happened after that.¡¯ About 12 hours had passed from his room with Jimin to this restaurant in his aching body. There was no telling what might have happened during those 24 hours he spent passed out in this ce. ¡°Status...¡± Dohyuk mumbled. <> -Strength: 29 (+2) (E) -Stamina: 30 (+2)(E) -Agility: 24 (+2)(E) -Magic: 2 (F) -Endurance: 23 (E) -Charisma: 21 (E) Too many stats had changed. If he remembered correctly, his stats should have been this: <> -Strength: 17 (+2)(E) -Stamina: 24 (+2)(E) -Agility: 15 (+2)(E) -Magic: 2 (F) -Endurance: 17 (E) -Charisma: 14 (E) If only his lower digits changed, he would have epted it, but this was too big of a difference. Dohyuk then mumbled with a shaky voice, ¡°W-wallet.¡± If he remembered correctly, he hadn¡¯t used his coins to increase his stats yet. But if he did it without knowing... <> -Current coins: 757 The number of coins was as he remembered it. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± The number of coins he acquired from killing about 30 Goblets was about 640 coins. The increased stats would¡¯ve required at least thousands of coin,s so it didn¡¯t make sense. ¡°...¡± He scratched his head in confusion. ¡°...That message.¡± Dohyuk came to an answer. Before he fell asleep, he remembered the message he saw. <> -[Over the Horizon] Over the Horizon. The Nature that wasn¡¯t owned by Dohyuk originally. ¡°If I faint... my stats go up after resting?¡± He guessed on the skill¡¯s effects. If he continued to overwork himself like yesterday, would his stats go up without using coins? ¡°That¡¯s...¡± He almost said it was lucky, but shook his head. His stats did increase, but he ended up losing 24 hours. He wasn¡¯t sure what value that lost time would hold. ¡°...?¡± Then, he heard a sound. It came from outside the restaurant, within the building. There was voice screaming in agony echoing through the building. Dohyuk then walked out to the corridor and realized it was a man¡¯s screaming up from the first floor. He silently walked down the emergency stairway towards the 1st floor. As he came down, he peeked out to the corridor, and there he was. ¡°Hee eek!¡± Dohyuk couldn¡¯t see his bottom, but his upper body was covered in blood. He was trying to get into the building, but he couldn¡¯t as he was severely injured. ¡°This... this is too different... Why is there the elite mob from se-second...¡± He couldn¡¯t continue as something appeared from the back, crushing the man¡¯s head. Dohyuk gasped. It was arge hook, connected to a chain. It prated the man¡¯s head, killing him instantly. The chain was pulled by some unknown entity from the outside and man¡¯s body was dragged along with it. Dohyuk didn¡¯t hesitate, but he tried to walk up the stairs again. But- -You were here. ¡°What!¡± There was a giant man waiting behind him. It was the angel, one of the one-winged angels that he met yesterday was looking down at him from behind. Dohyuk quickly swung his extinguisher. -Ooh, don¡¯t do that. The angel easily blocked with his single hand. -Don¡¯t be afraid, poor thing. I¡¯m not here to hurt you. And he used his other hand to turn Dohyuk in his direction. -I guess you were separated, so you don¡¯t know what happened to this region today. ¡°...What happened?¡± -Hmmm? You¡¯re shaking? The angel spoke as if it was a weird thing. -Yes, this is a normal reaction I suppose. But your people don¡¯t fear us, you know. Actually, I would say your people are really rude. The angel gently pushed Dohyuk to make him walk toward the entrance and continued talking. -Actually, what we were trying to give you yesterday wasn¡¯t anything special. Do you remember those small things you fought during your first night? ¡°..Goblets.¡± -Yes! We were going to bring out more civilized, weaponized goblets next! You were supposed to face them on the second day. But... -But your people were too rude! We were going to give you guys some tips on fighting the Goblets and the status windows, you know. And guess what was the reaction? ¡°...¡± Dohyuk licked his lips. It seemed like this angel enjoyed using Dohyuk¡¯s fear against him. Then... ¡°They... ignored you. They didn¡¯t fear you, thinking they knew everything.¡± -EXACTLY! The angel raised his voice. -They acted like they knew everything and they just want to end it quickly... Oh! How rude it was! So I added a bonus for such arrogance. The angel and Dohyuk then came to the corner where the man was taken by the chain. Dohyuk was now able to see outside of the building. -Since you guys know everything, shouldn¡¯t there be a greater challenge? There were people. And above them were the angels who were blocking them from getting closer to the center of the region. The ¡®hook¡¯ was at the center. -That, my friend, is the challenge. As Dohyuk watched, a word popped up on top. << Elite: Chicheck the Butcher>> -Strength: 30(E) -Stamina: 21(E) -Agility: 30(E) Magic: 11(E) Endurance: 11(E) Charisma: 6(F) -Skill: Agony of Seven Hooks (Lv.7) -Talent: ughter(Lv.3), Sadism(Lv.2), Masochism(Lv.6), Flesh eater(Lv.4) -Equipment: Hook of Torment ¨C D x 7 It was about as tall as Dohyuk, but he couldn¡¯t see its face or body. It just looked very skinny, and it was covered in ragged leather. There were chains that were connected to the seven hooks that wrapped his body. With the hook, he was ying with the ¡®meat¡¯ he had just acquired: the man who was trying to flee into the building. The man was now nothing but a piece of meat. ¡°What is this bullsh*t, you bastards!¡± A man among the group of people shouted angrily. One of the angels then came down to the sky and faced the man directly. -You¡¯re rude. Watch yournguage. ¡°...! It- it¡¯s true! That¡¯s the elite mob! It has 30 strength and agility with D-rank equipment and a skill! How can we kill it on one on one!¡± -Wow, you sure know a lot. The angel answered sarcastically. He then raised his voice to speak to everyone else. -If you know all that, then you must know that this is a ¡®bonus¡¯. If ANY of you manage to kill it, the game will go on as nned. No harm done. ¡°No harm, you said...?¡± -AND, we didn¡¯t force you to fight it. Only volunteers need to fight it, and if it wins, then we will give out VERY VERY good rewards and it will be done. Then, all of the angels burst out in unison. -O¡¯ HOW WONDERFUL IS THE GRACE OF CASITAS! However, their expressions showed that they were all smug. Both the angels and people all knew that the harm had already been done. They just wasted day and a half against Chicheck that no one could defeat. The other regions should already be on their third day. They were currently confined into their region at the moment, but it would changeter on. If this went on, this entire region would be left behind. Everyone was scared of this. ¡°I will challenge!¡± One of them walked out after learning of Chicheck¡¯s pattern through multiple battles and from the fear of being left behind. Yet the result was atrocious. He managed to avoid a few attacks in the beginning, but he soon was out of breath and was done for. Without enough stats, it was impossible to fight against those hooks. -Well, if youck in status, buy some with coins. You all must know that, right? ¡°You don¡¯t release Goblets after the first day... how can we...¡± Someone tried to object, and stopped. Silence fell in the crowd. They now knew what these angels were really up to. If these people didn¡¯t want to be left behind, they needed to gain coins. And to gain more coins, the only option left was to kill each other. ¡°...¡± Human hunting was not being done because it wasn¡¯t ¡®efficient¡¯ enough in this stage. But with realization came the next step. Everyone was now eyeing another person, and they started distancing themselves. Like other angels, Angel Basil was intrigued. ¡®Look at those fools.¡¯ The ghastly expression and despair fit those pieces of trash. He turned to the man behind him. He was the one that Basil brought out from the building. The one that feared him, unlike the other humans. But it was weird. Even after he had learned everything, he seemed to think differently. ¡°...¡± The human turned toward Chicheck. He chewed on his nails as he felt fear and will to ovee it. Soon, when the human stopped chewing on his nails, the only thing that can be found on his face was one thing. ¡°...Hey.¡± Determination. Dohyuk called out to the angel. Chapter 7 - Cried

Chapter 7: Cried

-Hmmm? Basil looked back. Most questions were boring, but this human was different. Basil had faced many beings throughout countless dimensions, but it was rare for one to entertain angels. However, the question was far from what he had expected. ¡°What¡¯s the reward for killing that ¡®Chicheck¡¯?¡± It was rather- -...Are you dumb? It was a dumb question. -Why would I tell you that? ¡°Well, why not?¡± Basil couldn¡¯t answer. The human was right. -Well... if I tell you, it might affect your decision, right? ¡°Even if you do tell me, I wouldn¡¯t know anyway.¡± Dohyuk answered and continued speaking. ¡°Besides, I will challenge regardless.¡± -What? Basil answered in surprise. -You¡¯re not dumb. You¡¯re mad. You can¡¯t defeat Chicheck. No. No one here could defeat Chicheck, unless one of these humans killed everyone in this region and boosted their stats. -You are choosing a fight that you cannot win. ¡°No.¡± Dohyuk shook his head. ¡°I think it¡¯s doable. Besides...¡± He looked out. ¡°It¡¯s better to fight a battle that I chose, than fight a battle that I did not choose.¡± The crowd was almost ready to jump at each other to kill. There was one muscr man ring at Dohyuk, drawing closer. His steel baseball bat looked like he had used it multiple times already. ¡°I have to fight either way.¡± Even if Dohyuk defeated him, there will be more. That¡¯s why he chose. ¡°This, is what you guys want, right?¡± Dohyuk looked up at the angel. ¡°So, tell me. The end of the story is either I win and get that reward, or I die trying, knowing what reward I just missed.¡± -...Ha. The answer... -Hahahahahaha! ...came withughter. Basil raised his hand and became it was filled with a green light. Dohyuk instinctively felt that if he touched that light, something bad would happen. Yet the ray of light shot out against the muscr man. -No, no. You can¡¯t touch the challenger. The man became frozen stuck in ce. -He will be freed soon. I would not kill any of you by myself. You can be someone else¡¯s coin. The angel then turned to Dohyuk. He moved his hand, but this time, there was something else in his hand. ¡°...A book?¡± -Yeah, a book. It was a thick book with a red leather cover. -It¡¯s like a secret skill book. If you read this, you will learn certain skills. ¡°Like martial arts?¡± -I dunno? I don¡¯t know about puny human stuff, but you will surely be less ¡®inferior¡¯ after reading this. The angel then pointed at Chicheck. -You seem dumb, but you do know how to think. ¡°...¡± -I will wish you luck. Either way, it will be interesting for sure. Dohyuk moved up. ¡®...You¡¯re mad!¡¯ He spoke to himself. ¡°Status.¡± <> -Strength: 29(+2)(E) -Stamina: 30(+2)(E) -Agility: 24(+2)(E) -Magic: 2(F) -Endurance: 23(E) Charisma: 21(E) Current coins: 757. Dohyuk immediately used his coins to buy more stats. <> <> <> ¡®I can do this.¡¯ Dohyuk could only reassure himself. -Stepping forward will be the beginning. He needs some space for his chains, you know. The angel spoke from above Chicheck. Dohyuk nodded and the angel smiled viciously as he floated higher into the air. Dohyuk put down his extinguisher and Chicheck turned to Dohyuk. It was the beginning. Dohyuk lowered his head and a cold object shot through where Dohyuk¡¯s head was. It was a crude move, but Dohyuk was able to dodge it. ¡®I can see it.¡¯ Maybe it was because his agility was now at 27(+2), but he could react to the hook. Chicheck began swinging its hooks faster. Dohyuk couldn¡¯t get closer as he was too busy dodging the hooks being thrown at him. It seemed like other challengers weren¡¯t just weak fools after all. ¡°UGH!¡± Then, he felt a hook stuck on his shoulder, making him fall to the ground. Another hook was thrown into his shin. ¡°Nngh...!¡± It was more painful than he had imagined. ¡®Please.¡¯ Dohyuk prayed. He was full of tears from the pain as Chicheck began pulling it. Dohyuk prayed even harder and grabbed the hook. It wasn¡¯t to resist. <> x2 -Physical damage : 12~17 -Durability: 32/40 -Option: Increase pain(Lv.5) -Weapon handed down to the mad butcher. Hard to use without specific skills. Dohyuk used one of his rare experiences. <> [vor of Iron] He prayed because he wasn¡¯t 100% sure if it would work. ¡°DIGEST.¡± It was a miracle he only experienced once. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was going to work. <> But it worked. His shoulder and thigh shined in light and Dohyuk sprinted out. His fully-recovered muscle and his 27(+2) agility quickly helped him moved across. He was so quick that Chicheck barely realized its hook was gone when Dohyuk¡¯s heavy fist punched him across the face. Dohyuk then grabbed ahold of Chicheck¡¯s head. With his 29(+2) strength and 27(+2) agility, Dohyuk kicked him with his knee. He felt something crushed through his knee. ¡°KKKYAAAAARGH¡± It was a non-human scream. Then, something struck against Dohyuk¡¯s cheek. Chicheck had used its third hook to hit Dohyuk. His cheek had been prated and his teeth were crushed. His tongue was ripped and the hook came from Dohyuk¡¯s opposite cheek. Chicheck tried to pull its chain but- Dohyuk grabbed Chicheck¡¯s hand which was on the chain. ¡°EEEEK!¡± Dohyuk couldn¡¯t think anymore. He just moved instinctively. Then- ¡°DIEEEEEEE!¡± He began pounding Chicheck¡¯s face. ¡°KAKAAA KAAA!¡± Chicheck swung another hook, and it struck Dohyuk¡¯s left nk. He was heavily wounded, but it was not enough to stop his pounding. Also- -Stamina: 21(F) -Endurnace: 11(F) Chicheck¡¯s weak stats worked against itself. Atst, Dohyuk¡¯s fist swung without hitting its target as Chicheck fell onto the ground. <> <> ¡°Ugh...¡± Dohyuk was bleeding heavily. His tooth fell along with the blood from his mouth and the left side of his body was bleeding heavily. ¡°Heh....¡± If he wasn¡¯t in such a bad state, everyone would¡¯ve noticed that he was crying. It was painful. He was terrified. It was only his third day. Just three days ago, he was just a normal young man who was still learning and living. He didn¡¯t want any of this. He wished this was a dream. But it wasn¡¯t. He then took the extra hooks from Chicheck and wrapped it around himself. He then began walking back to where he hade from and began the healing process. ¡°J-Dj-Dji...¡± Excruciating pain came from all parts of his body and he couldn¡¯t even speak correctly. ¡°Jijest...¡± As he barely spoke, his wounds shined, consuming all the hooks including the one that had prated his cheek. <> <> <> <> His wounds disappeared, and so did the dust mask that covered his face. People should have noticed who he was now, but some might have noticed since he ate the equipment. That didn¡¯t matter though as he was ready for it. ¡°Status.¡± Dohyuk spoke to himself. <> -Strength: 29(+2)(E) -Stamina: 30(+2)(E) -Agility: 27(+2)(E) -Magic: 2(F) -Endurance: 23(E) Charisma: 21(E) <> <> Everyone was watching as Dohyuk stopped at the man who was struck with a ray of light by Angel Basil. He was nowing back to himself from being paralyzed. ¡°What...¡± Before the man could act, Dohyuk acted first. He punched the man in the stomach. The man always took hits while he fought back, but Dohyuk¡¯s fist was much more painful to withstand. Dohyuk pounded him and the man tried to grab Dohyuk, but it was no use. Dohyuk grabbed it and snapped it into an abnormal angle. ¡°AAAARGH!¡± The man grimaced. Dohyuk hesitated for a slight second, but then shouted, ¡°You DARE try to attack me, you assh*le?¡± He then punched the man¡¯s face, again and again. ¡®I can¡¯t run forever...¡¯ He did not have the memory, but he needed to act fast if he wanted to survive. ¡°YOU-¡± If he was to survive, he needed to stay on top of everyone, even if it was the wrong thing to do. ¡°ASSH*LE!¡± He had to do it. <> <> A message popped up, and Dohyuk shouted. ¡°I¡¯m Yoo Dohyuk!¡± He shouted angrily. ¡°I don¡¯t give a sh*t about what you think about me! But know this, you assh*les.¡± He kicked a dead man. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to end up like this one, don¡¯t make me angry.¡± Dohyuk red at the people with his reddened eye. He just did it to not look at the dead body, although it was perceived as a threat. ¡°Any problems with that?¡± No one dared to object. Chapter 8 - Let us go

Chapter 8: Let us go

Dohyuk¡¯s spection was right. These people never grouped up. It was as if there was some rule against teaming up. This added strength to Dohyuk¡¯s aggressive behavior. He was, after all, the most powerful one among everyone here. Without teaming up, they had no chance against Dohyuk. -Wonderful! It was the angels that broke the silence. One was shouting in excitement while another was spitting, ranting about the oue. All of them seemed to react differently. -You outperformed our expectations! Basil came down next to Dohyuk. He could barely hold back his as he became teary. -So! I should continue with the game as promised then. Good work to all of you! People began to rx at those words. At least they were now freed from the death game where they needed to kill each other. It was much better to just move on with the game at this stage. -Like I said, our n was to release a more civilized version of Goblets, but I think we weren¡¯t considerate enough. If we go as nned, wouldn¡¯t it put you one step behind everyone else then? People began to pale at those words. -SO! We will give you guys a chance to catch up. We will be releasing the 2nd and 3rd trials at the same time! And the ground began to tremble. The clock of Casitas was moving again. -The 3rd trial is nothing special! We didn¡¯t release the ¡®other world¡¯ ecosystem openly yet until now, but I am unlocking that. That meant everything up to the 2nd trial was a tutorial. Yet having the 3rd trial together with the 2nd just meant that people had to face the 3rd stage without any coins, items, or stat boosts that they could have gained in the 2nd trial. -Well, I wish you all luck! I mean, you are a special group after all, right? You deserve this kind of advantage. And with that, they began flying into the sky. -And to you too! I will be watching you. Please keep entertaining us! Basil also tried to fly, but Dohyuk grabbed his wrist. -WHAT! The angel¡¯s face turned 180 degrees, to those of a demon. The expression was so vicious and full of hate as if he was just touched by the filthiest thing in the world. It would be easy for the angel to crush Dohyuk. He knew this, but he needed to say what he had to say. ¡°Give me my book.¡± -....OH! The angel¡¯s face turned back to normal. He smiled and handed over the red book. <> [Skill book created to be rewarded as a special reward. Reading the book will grant the kick skill ranging from C ~ AAA rank automatically.] [Can be only used once.] [Requires a total of 115 points in Strength, Stamina, and Agility.] -I¡¯m sorry, don¡¯t be mad, okay? Good luck! He then disappeared into the skies. Dohyuk looked at disappearing angel and mumbled. ¡°What are you bastards...?¡± Dohyuk felt anger against those demons who had put him into this world, but he had to move. The world was now changing. Buildings and streets began to copse as rocks began appearing everywhere. Dohyuk grabbed the book and began to run. ¡°...What is it?¡± Changhun became confused. There was no chance that the 3rd trial had begun as it seemed like there was zero percent chance that anyone would kill Chicheck at any moment. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll know soon.¡± He then went back to his work. He was in the basement of one of the buildings. It looked like as if it wasn¡¯t destroyed by the rocks and nts that appeared, but if one walked down to the 3rd lower floor of the basement, they would arrive at a strange ce. It was a 20-meter wide cavern. At the corner was a 4-meter high sculpture that resembled a monster. It had three heads and three pairs of arms with three distorted genitals sitting down. It was crudely made, but very realistic. Its three pairs of eyes were made out of red gems that shined within the darkness. It was Demon Mashiv that the Goblets worshipped. ¡°Whew.¡± The work was done. There were five naked pair of men and women moaning on the ground with their crippled joints. ¡°It¡¯s a bit earlier than expected but...¡± On the 2nd morning, as Chicheck was brought by the angels, Changhun prepared offerings faster than he nned. He couldn¡¯t beat Chicheck either, so it was easy to lure these fools by lying, ¡®There is a power that can only be obtained by thebined power of two.¡¯ After a full day, the offerings were ready to be served to Mashiv. ¡°Some of you might know about Whore Lee Jihee.¡± He spoke as he ced moaning offerings at front of sculpture. ¡°It was out of pure luck that she found this ce. Oh, yes. She wasn¡¯t the type to venture in,¡± he mumbled. The first time people faced this world, they helped each other more openly. Lee Jihee was a former preschool teacher. She was easily scared and had a depression issue. The people who grouped up with her made her protect the young kids and went out to search for food. This building was their hideout. She probably was had the intention to find a safer ce when she found this ce of worship. When she faced the sculpture¡¯s six pair of eyes, she was filled with the demon¡¯s voice. ¡°AND, that¡¯s how she killed those kids she protected to serve them as offerings without hesitation.¡± ¡°...!¡± ¡°Nngh...!¡± ¡°Butpared to those innocent kids, I guess it¡¯s better to use you guys as offerings.¡± Ten men and women tried to scream in terror but they couldn¡¯t speak out. Changhun was not interested in them anymore. ¡°O¡¯ Great Mashiv...¡± Changhun raised his arms. ¡°I humbly ask you, O¡¯ Lord of the blood ofmbs, who stands atop the hall of ughter!¡± The sculpture¡¯s six eyes began to shine brighter. ¡°Grant me the honor to serve you in my life and death!¡± The sculpture moved. The surface that should have been stone was now moving like real flesh. Men and women were terrified, but they couldn¡¯t move. Demon Mashiv was now upon them. The demon looked down and smiled. And the feast began. With its three mouths, three pair of arms, and three genitals, it raped and consumed his offerings. After a long time, Changhun realized that he just witnessed a terrible atrocity beyond imagination. The demon then grabbed Changhun¡¯s arm and took a bite. The searing pain struck him at once. ¡°AAAAARGH!¡± Changhun screamed in agony. When Mashiv spit it out, only the white bones of his arm was left. <> <> Then, the sculpture began dismantling itself and Changhun¡¯s bony arm was covered with new muscle and flesh. <> And the voice came to him. He felt his new master¡¯s power filling him. He turned down to look at the arm. It was something that couldn¡¯t be described as a human arm anymore. <> <> -Binds to the body -Grows by consuming It was a ticket to take him to the top of this world. The earthquake soon died down and Dohyuk finally found a safe ce to hide. It was a small trailer truck turned upside down that was then covered by overgrown nts. He sat down in the storage area and sighed. The area was now in ruins. The change happened for three full hours. Dohyuk had to keep running as destruction kept urring until now. He then ced the book on hisp. ¡°It¡¯s so heavy.¡± <> The book, which was heavy, was unopenable unfortunately. It probably was because of the requirement. Dohyuk¡¯s current total of stats for strength, stamina, and agility was at 107, which meant he needed 8 more points. This would require him to gather 1600 coins. If Dohyuk didn¡¯t get an additional 1443 coins, as he had 157 coins remaining, he had to carry this heavy book around. He then felt hunger striking him. As he felt the rumbling of his stomach, he realized something. ¡®It¡¯s not only the muscle ache.¡¯ His skill gave him strength, but it needed to equal amount of calories. He remembered that he devoured the food boxes yesterday. ¡®I would need a ce to rest for a long time and an abundant amount of food...¡¯ Both of these were hard to get in the world in its current state. Also, the reason to kill another human was increasing even then. Dohyuk unwrapped one of the chains from his body. <> He now understood some of his ¡®vor of Iron¡¯. If he consumed things that popped up with their name by holding it, he would heal and it would fill him up a bit. He had three chains at the moment. Dohyuk mumbled, ¡°Digest.¡± The chain disappeared. <> ¡°Hmph.¡± Dohyuk felt he was instantly out of hunger. It was like he just had full meal. Also- <> <> ¡°I see.¡± Dohyuk thought. He began to organize what he knew about the skill. If he digested equipment, it would first give him calories, which then would be used to heal wounds first and then fill him up after. Any remaining amount would be turned into coins. ¡°Then...¡± Dohyuk unwrapped the two other hooks. <> -Coins: 649 He just gained 492 coins by digesting the hook. If this was after some of it was used to fill himself... ¡°If it gives me 500 at least...¡± It would bring him to 1649 coins. He would have enough coins to increase the stats. ¡°Digest.¡± <> <> <> <> Messages popped up and the message that he had been waiting for popped up atst. <> <> <> ¡°...!!!!¡± Dohyuk clenched his fist in excitement. The rest was a breeze. <> Dohyuk brought the book up again and without knowing and said- ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He opened the book. Chapter 9 - Things to choose

Chapter 9: Things to choose

Everything up until now wasn¡¯t pleasant to say the least, but this- This was the worst of all. ¡°Uh...¡± As he flipped the pages, enormous amounts of information began seeping into his head, as if his brain was being overwritten forcefully. He was filled with headaches and dizziness, but he couldn¡¯t stop. An unknown force made him flip 4 to 5 pages per minute. It was like hell. When Dohyuk went through thest page, he was finally freed. <> ¡°S-status...¡± <> -Strength: 39(+2)(E) -Stamina: 30(+2)(E) -Agility: 40(+2)(E) -Magic: 2(F) -Endurance: 23(E) Charisma: 21(E) <> -None <> -Skill: Flying Master Kicks -Talents: Survivalist , Sense of Wolves Bleed Increase pain Dohyuk then ced his finger on the skill he just acquired. <> [Ipleted art of kicks by Elder Heran of Ruuga Nation to continue the heritage of traditional martial arts. Comprised of various fancy and powerful kicks, butcks variety due to the creator¡¯s sickness beforepleting it. Rank decreased due to reason. However, its foundation is considered to be one of the best between any martial arts that contain kicks.] -Proficiency: 1/10 -More skills and special moves will be unlocked as proficiency increases. Dohyuk stood up and posed. He had never heard about this ¡®Flying Master Kicks¡¯ before, but he could easily think of everything he needed to know about this skill now. He used his left leg to kick, which became the best kick he had ever done in his life. But his head told him that it was not right. He tried again, this time with more power, creating a swooshing sound that would only ur when swinging a huge blunt object. < > Dohyuk mumbled, ¡°I just know it as a knowledge.¡± Just knowing it was enough to allow him to use such kick, but he needed to practice to make it truly his. It seemed this proficiency directly reflected. ¡®But there¡¯s more.¡¯ Some moves were as if they were shrouded by a fog within his memory. Maybe these were special moves that could be unlockedter on. ¡°But.. isn¡¯t this...?¡± Dohyuk was not familiar with any martial arts. Yet all the moves were very familiar to the only martial art he knew. Anyway, it was time to move on. ¡®I can¡¯t stay here forever.¡¯ First, he needed coins and food. It only had been a few hours since he was filled by eating hooks. Yet he was already filling bit empty in his stomach. ¡®I might even die out of hunger.¡¯ Dohyuk then opened the trailer door and walked out. He was shocked. ¡°Ugh.¡± The air was different. It was humid and very hot. Also, the sight wasn¡¯t like anything he had seen before. There were nts everywhere as if it was a jungle. He then felt something touching his left arm and turned. It was a bug that the size of a child¡¯s fist. It was about to prate Dohyuk¡¯s skin by using its 3 cm long proboscis. ¡°...!¡± He reacted quickly without thinking. The blood-sucking insect was crushed b y Dohyuk¡¯s fist. > <> Dohyuk felt uneasy as he then heard the chilling sound of an unidentified being from the distance that he heard together with Jimin back in his room. Then he heard a sound, and he hid from it. The bush nearby the truck was a good ce to hide. It was A human that appeared. The young man had a sword that was twice as long as a kitchen knife and he had a ne. ¡°Whew.¡± The young man looked around. It seemed like he was ready to fight and kill at any moment, as he was viciously searching for prey. Dohyuk pondered on two choices. Ambush. Stay hidden. The young man then began to walk out. He had a confident gait and Dohyuk knew what choice he had to take. He decided not to ambush him and let the young man walk out into the jungle. The name of the man was Joo Eunhyub and he was doing pretty well up to this point. <> -Durability: 25/25 -Option: Damage nullification (Lv.5) [Made to protect children of rich families. Forbidden use in official games, but all nobles use it.] <> -Physical Damage: 29~34 -Durability: 13/15 -Option: Efficient cutting(Lv.4) [Weapon of Baco Jungle Guards. Crude and has low durability, but works well in ¡®cutting¡¯ anything.] ¡®Good.¡¯ He had encountered some unforeseen events, but it was going well. Before he came back to the past, it was considered breeze for the early stage with one ¡®C¡¯ ranked item. Eunhyub had two C-rank items, so it was great. ¡®Too bad that I couldn¡¯t increase my stats from the 2nd trial, but it doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is who finds better treasure.¡± He did have to fight against anotherpetitor in search of his jungle sword when he went to find it at the hidden ¡®Ruins of the Guards¡¯. The winner was Eunhyub, and with it, he was able to easily kill two otherpetitors at the ¡®Corpse of Noble Boy¡¯ to loot the ne. The third was in front of him. Fall of Gahura. Eunhyub¡¯s first thought was to drink water from it as he was thirsty. But there was someone here already. It was a young woman at about the age of twenty. She was hiding as Eunhyub came to the fall, and ambushed. They fought silently, without making much sound. They knew that if they made any sound, it would only attract morepetitors. The woman used her left hand with a shield to strike Eunhyub. It was her skill. ¡°Dumb b*tch.¡± Eunhyub scoffed. His jungle sword had cut the woman¡¯s hand along with the shield into two. She screamed but the sword quickly prated her throat, killing her. ¡°I have seen you somewhere... shame. You might¡¯ve lived a bit longer if you were a bit cuter.¡± Eunhyub then turned toward the fall. If he acquired one from here, he would be the best of this region. ¡°I will be the new Phenomenal Nine.¡± He then used his hand to drank some of the water. Someone struck him on the back of his head, making him fall to the water. ¡®I almost lost him,¡¯ Dohyuk thought. He almost lost him as he had to keep his distance and he actually did lose him. It was only due to the woman¡¯s scream that made him track back. Dohyuk realized that the man¡¯s sword and ne was a result of him going to a ce where it was stored. ¡®The others aren¡¯t like me. They know at least some information about this ce.¡¯ Then, that young man¡¯s confidence meant he knew where he was going. Dohyuk decided to follow and he was right. ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°...!¡± Dohyuk was shocked as he saw Eunhyub getting up. The water was shallow and only came up to about knee height. Dohyuk made a strong enough strike at the man¡¯s head and he did not imagine him to get back up. ¡°D... dammit... ne saved me...¡± He caressed the ne and took up the sword. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of bastard you are...¡± But before he can finish, he looked at his attacker and stopped talking. ¡°Uh... y-you...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me a while ago?¡± Dohyuk readied himself. ¡°You... you...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance. Lower your weapon.¡± Eunhyub¡¯s eyes shook. He bit his lip so hard that it bled. ¡°F*ck off.¡± He was filled with too great of an ambition to give up now. Besides, he had two of C-rank items. ¡°I... I know your weakness. Eve-even... even you... I kn-know- I am stronger at the moment!¡± Eunhyub stuttered but Dohyuk did not pay any attention. He was already thinking of how to attack. ¡®I have the higher ground so...¡¯ Eunhyub readied his sword. His fear and the pain from the back of his head clouded his thinking. ¡®His weakness.... Weakness..¡¯ There wasn¡¯t much. But there was a rumor about the weakness of the famous Dohyuk. Dohyuk¡¯s nature required him toy all of his five fingers on the item to be activated. ¡®If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll aim the bottom. The bottom...¡¯ The two of them nned their next method of attack. ¡°AAAAAHHHHH!¡± It was Eunhyub who moved first. He shouted, forgetting to keep quiet, and charged against Dohyuk, aiming at his leg. As he was on lower ground, he didn¡¯t even need to lower to attack the lower part of Dohyuk¡¯s body. He just needed to swing in a horizontal line. But when his de reached the target, the target was not there. He didn¡¯t dodge the attack. It was just that Dohyuk¡¯s attack required him to jump high first. ¡®There¡¯s no next if I fail.¡¯ He nced at Eunhyub at the bottom and the body flipped. Spinning two times in the air, he swung his leg. It was a very basic skill, but it was the first skill he could use with the current proficiency. -Do-Ryu-Zen The kick cleanly cracked Eunhyub¡¯s head. Chapter 10 - The one that shines

Chapter 10: 0: The one that shines

Dohyuk felt something crushed under his feet. < > <> SPLASH! Dohyuknded in the pond of water and looked back. There was enough time for Eunhyub to attack, but he couldn¡¯t. Dohyuk looked at his crushed skull. As for the part of the head where was he struck, it seemed like the ne couldn¡¯t protect him from the second kick. Eunhyub struggled to stand, but soon fell. His body shook on the ground like a flinching fish. Dohyuk first kicked the sword away from the man and took the ne off him. After he put the ne on himself, he took the sword with him and headed toward the water. Eunhyub came back to his senses, but he knew right away that he was going to die. He couldn¡¯t feel his body. And the fear of dying was short. He epted that he had failed, even in the second life. ¡®But...¡¯ Why did Dohyuk not finish him off? Maybe it was a punishment for trying to fight against the former greatest man in his first life. That¡¯s when sound came from behind. Eunhyub barely turned his head to look. It was Dohyuk who was drinking water from the pond. After washing himself a few times, Dohyuk turned to Eunhyub. What came next was unexpected. Dohyuk raised his guard instantly as he realized Eunhyub had not died and readied his newly-acquired sword. Then Eunhyub realized. This was not the Dohyuk he knew from a previous life. ¡°You... you really... have lost your memory...¡± All of these people who came back from previous life knew. Everyone needed time to adjust to this strange world. They had to ovee the fear of fighting others, and to kill them. And when they did kill others, they then had to ovee the guilt of killing someone. It took time and experience to get there. ¡°I see...¡± So, this was why Dohyuk had not finished him off. He was not used to killing people. ¡°Ha... ha...¡± Eunhyub still lost anyway. Dohyuk then walked out from the water. ¡°D..do you know... that it¡¯s the first time... for me to even... have a word with you?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I admired you...¡± Admiration. This was feeling that most people that came back had toward Dohyuk. Just like now, people did not group themselves in a previous life. They fought against each other andpeted for survival. That¡¯s when ¡®Phenomenal Nine¡¯ appeared. Gutz Nordman ruled over northern Europe and most of Russia under his axe. Feiyen the Swordmaster was based in the central Chinese territory and gained fame. Pastor Walter Hescock the Gunner preached over all over North America except the west. Africa was thend ruled by the Otanka Brothers, which they divided into the east and west. Australia was taken by Scrap Dealer, Cactus Bill. Southern Europe and the Middle East was governed by Prophet and Royal, Kusham Al Rasheed. All of South America was imed by Simon El Patron who was also known as Verde Diablo. Andst, the one who shined brightest among all 9 stars was Yoo Dohyuk, the Great Emperor who reigned supreme over all of East Asia through the West of North America. And they issued orders to the people. It was oppression, but it was much needed for those who were weak. ¡°I... I was... really... astonished... and jealous...¡± All of the people, including those who were strong and weak, envied him. At the same time, they were jealous. ¡°I... I wanted to be like you... Emperor.¡± Dohyuk did not answer. Eunhyub then smiled as hisst conscious left him. ... <> <> The message popped up and Dohyuk was still standing. It was his third time killing a person, but unlike the first time where it was by mistake, and the 2nd time when he made up his mind to pose himself against the crowd, it deeply affected him. He closed his eyes and clenched his feet. Then, a window popped up which he couldn¡¯t see because he was closing his eyes. <> -Over the Horizon <> <> <> Dohyuk opened his eyes. He pped both cheeks with his hands and looked around. He needed to focus. ¡°Waterfall.¡± The man he just killed came here intentionally. There was also the woman who was killed by him. It was surely a ce that was hiding something. The waterfall was small. It was only about 5 to 6 meters. Dohyuk drank some of the water and nothing popped up, meaning the water itself wasn¡¯t it. Then... Dohyuk took a step forward and came to the stop in front of the waterfall. He then reached out into the fall at the wall. There was a space. A cave was behind the waterfall. As Dohyuk took a step inside, he heard a voice. -You are very fortunate, my child. The cave brightened up instantly. It wasn¡¯t big. Inside, there was a stone sculpture of a woman that shined brightly in orange. The sculpture was sitting down with a fully naked body that was seductive enough to seduce any man who came across it. Two dragons were wrapped around it, but what was the most fascinating was its hair. The hair that was so long that it covered the entire backside of the sculpture, making it seem like it was burning. -Don¡¯t be afraid. Come,e to me. It was a beautiful voice that was so charming, but Dohyuk did not go any closer. ¡°Who are you?¡± -I am your savior. The voice spoke with someughter. -I will be your light and the guidance to help you survive this world. I am also your master who you will serve for your life. I am the master of all burning fire, Gahura. ¡°...¡± -Shame. If you were only faster, you would have been the first who would serve me. But still, you deserve my mercy of fire... Dohyuk listened to the voice and read the message that popped up. <<¡®God: Gahura¡¯ asks for faith>> There was a religion category within the status window. He also saw the ones called themselves angels so it wasn¡¯t surprising to see any gods, but... -Now, kneel. I do not require anything from you for serving me. ¡°No.¡± Dohyuk shook his head. ¡°Well... I won¡¯t do it for now.¡± Rejection. -FOOL! Do you even know what you are being offered? It is your only chance of gaining my power to save yourself from your demise! The voice changed its tone. It was enough to make Dohyuk scared, but it reinforced his concerns. ¡®God.¡¯ Dohyuk needed everything in his power to protect himself. But why? Was it because it was these ¡®gods¡¯ who made the world to be like this? Or because Jimin said he had ¡®killed God¡¯? Or because Dohyuk realized that there was nothing that was free in the world? No maybe... ¡°I- I understand. Even if it means I lose the chance... If I have the right to leave this ce, I want to leave... now.¡± Dohyuk tried to leave by turning back. It was actually okay for him to turn back. It was entirely up to the person who found the shrine to decide, but a sudden wall of fire erupted at the entrance. The sculpture of a woman began to move. Its rocky surface turned into skin and the hair really became burning mes. -INSECT! The goddess was angered by Dohyuk¡¯s words. Maybe it was also because she came to like Dohyuk. Anyway, Gahura had no intention of letting this human go alive. Killing ¡®lowly beings¡¯ were against the rule. It was the rule set to limit the interferences of the gods. But the consequences too bad as it would still just be a small incident. -DIE The goddess voiced her order against the unsuspecting Dohyuk. Then Dohyuk saw it clearly. <> [Over the Horizon] And other words showed up in the goddess¡¯ eyes. <> < > < > -...What? < > < > And she was destroyed from the power that backfired at her. Chapter 11 - Not him

Chapter 11: 1: Not him

-Aaaaaaaaah Arrogance. That was the only way to describe it. The Goddess had many different ways. She could¡¯ve just ordered the many of her newly-acquired followers to find and kill Dohyuk. Or, she could¡¯ve just summoned a mythical creature to fight in her ce. But she did not have such patience. She was too overwhelmed with rage that she ordered it herself. Die. A wordced with power. The voice of a god with intent had such power that it could even tweak reality to make it happen. But that same power was now reflected back to her. How could this ¡®rule¡¯ consider this lowly being to be equal to her? She couldn¡¯t question it any longer, however, as she was too terrified. She was losing her godliness. It was the power, knowledge, and energy that she had built up across eons, and it was now leaking away. -I... I cannot go back... And before she could finish, she disappeared. The effect spread throughout the world. One-winged angels panicked. -What! They knew one of the gods whopeted against this world had just perished. It was shocking, even for those four-winged angels who watched over other angels. Gahura wasn¡¯t just being expelled from this world. She perished as a being. And then came the problem. Without special circumstances, there were a lot of shrines that served different gods. So was Gahura. Since its owner perished, all of these shrines that contained fiery power were now turning into a firebomb that would shake the world. -This will ruin everything! -Half of them will be burned alive! -What will be our orders? The four-winged angels issued the following orders: Casita¡¯s needle began moving and the angels quickly learned what to do. If the needle spun a wheel, Earth would be overwritten with different worlds. It was apparent that it was trying to ovee the problem by recing the world. -But... It worked as intended. Earth was now overwritten by the world that was nned to have been brought upon 7 dayster. It sessfully saved the world from burning and most of the humans survived. -...But this changes our n. -Yeah. They aren¡¯t ready for this. -They¡¯ll die if we don¡¯t give them something. At the very least, it was unexpected. Basil came down from the broken rocks. It was the ce that was called ¡®Waterfall of Gahura¡¯ until an hour ago. This region was where the evil ones who started out with two Natures were quarantined. And the shrine was supposed to be here. -He probably died. Basil was speaking of Dohyuk. It was an interesting human so Basil had been eyeing him for a while. This ce was thest ce he saw Dohyuk and for some reason, he was very close to Gahura¡¯s shrine when Gahura perished. That¡¯s when Basil found something under the rocks. It was the Crude Jungle Sword. -So he did die. That¡¯s a shame...¡± Basil lost interest and tried to fly out, but- ¡°Leave... that...¡± -....! Basil turned and found a human. How did he crawl out from under those rocks? The human was covered with burns, it was surprising enough for him to still be alive. ¡°Leave that... alone...¡± The human tried to stand up. He had a crushed face, only one working eye, and crushed legs and arms. Dohyuk¡¯s entire body had burned severely, yet he still stood up. ¡°It¡¯s... my sword...¡± He tried to walk up to Basil. -...Ha. Basil couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. -Hahahahaha! You¡¯re alive! Really? ¡°...¡± Dohyuk ignored Basil¡¯sment and barely walked up to Basil. Basil handed over the sword and Dohyuk mumbled. <> His skin began to regenerate and his arm returned to normal. But it wasn¡¯t enough. The damage was too great to be healed with just one C-rank item. Dohyuk grabbed onto the ne. <> And with that, he was fully recovered. Even then, he was too fatigued and Dohyukid himself against the ground. Basil looked down at the man. -...Status Basil opened up the status with his ¡®Administrator¡¯ ess. It disyed Dohyuk¡¯s stats. <> -Strength: 39(+2)E -Stamina: 30(+7)E -Agility: 40(+2)E -Magic: 2(+3)F -Endurance: 26(+5)E -Charisma: 25(+3)E <> None <> Skill- Flying Master Kicks (Ga.2) Talents ¨C Survivalist(Lv.2), Sense of Wolf(Lv.1) Bleed (Lv.1) Increase Pain(Lv.4) Pain Nullification(Lv.2) Precise Cut(Lv.2) <> [First Hunter] -2 points to Strength/Stamina/Agility [First Tamer] -3 points to Magic/Charisma [Return from the gates of hell] -5 points to Stamina/Endurance <> vor of Iron ¨C Unique to Yoo Dohyuk **** **** ***** **** Acquired by Killing ******* Basil had opened the status because it was weird. Dohyuk could not have survived. He had no chance. The fire that erupted from a shrine was enough to kill all the humans at the current stage. They should¡¯ve been burned to their bones -...What is this? What was interesting was the other aspect. It was no surprise that Dohyuk had two Natures. That was why he was in this region. Yet, his 2nd Nature was distorted to Basil¡¯s eyes. -What¡¯s wrong? Is there something wrong in the system? That¡¯s when Dohyuk stood up. And a message popped up and showed his endurance had gone up by 3 because of stimtion. Basil couldn¡¯t see that because he was too focused. -Oh... this is it. Basil was now watching at Dohyuk¡¯s achievement. Two achievements had recently been acquired. [Return from the gates of hell] was the achievement given to the one who came back alive from almost being killed. And another one. Basil reached out to Dohyuk and felt something very faint. -It¡¯s there. ¡°...What?¡± Dohyuk asked back, still panting. -Spirit or ghost... I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s attached on you. It¡¯s your servant. ¡°What are you...¡± -But when? Basil began to think instead of responding to Dohyuk. If Dohyuk had gone through some event that would allow him to gain a spirit, there was no way Basil could¡¯ve missed it. -Well, it was Gahura¡¯s shrine after all. The shrine was full of fire energy so it wasn¡¯t weird to have some that wouldtch onto Dohyuk after Gahura¡¯s energy diminished. And it would have showed some resistance to the fire in turn to keep the new host alive. -Well, you¡¯re alive because of him. He¡¯s too weak to even point it out because of the system but... It was her, actually. -It is attached to you without any contract so he will have to serve you as a master unless you wish to give it up. You should think about raising him as he might be worth it. It wouldn¡¯t be much as it would still be an insect if it did grow, but Basil didn¡¯t expand on the details. -So, let¡¯s go back to work then. He didn¡¯t need to leave. The other angels were busy going to other people to exin what was going on. -Due to certain unforeseen events, we had to rewire the clock to make it run faster. This world is too harsh for you people to handle currently. So, they found a way to fill the gap. -We¡¯re not doing this to make you guys suffer. ¡°...¡± ¡®Bullsh*t,¡¯ thought Dohyuk, but he did not answer. -So, we are giving you a ¡®Gift¡¯! And something that was the size of a fist was ced on Basil¡¯s hand. ¡°This...¡± It was familiar to Dohyuk. Chapter 12 - Perspective of a hunter

Chapter 12: Perspective of a hunter

¡°Dice?¡± He wasn¡¯t sure, but it looked like it. The dice had twenty surfaces, but it definitely looked like one. -Wrong. The angel replied curtly. -Most of you guess that this as a dice. How interesting. Then what is it? Dohyuk tried to ask, but the angel just handed it over to Dohyuk. <> [Must have for people of Dunein Dessert. Extract from ck Dragon Fruit within the Dunein Dessert. It reduces itself against the air to permeate the area with its distinctive smell that humans cannot smell. But it is enough to repel any unwanted guests from underground.] [Remaining time: 47:59:02] ¡°...Freshener?¡± -See, it¡¯s not a dice. Basil cackled and continued speaking. He then pulled out a pocket that was just big enough to put the cube in. -It¡¯s simple. If you have it out constantly, you will use all of it in 48 hours. If you want to save it, put it in that bag and hide it until wee to you after 48 hours. Dohyuk listened. -And when that timees, we will give you coins in regards to how many hours you have left in that freshener. The less you use it, more coins you get. That was it. The angel began floating away. -I wish you luck! Oh, and I congratte you on surviving. Keep it up! Dohyuk did not watch the disappearing angel. He looked down at the freshener, but he did not put it into the bag right away. ¡®There¡¯s a reason for giving this away.¡¯ It was apparent that there was a certain danger for not using it. Dohyuk nced around. The area was now filled with rocks. It was ruins of the fall being destroyed. Dohyuk began to climb up and went up to higher ground. ¡°...!¡± And he saw the world. On top of it was the jungle that had appeared, but now the bottom was filled with sand. Mud and building ruins were no longer in sight. Dohyuk then narrowed his eyes. There were some humanoid beings walking toward Dohyuk¡¯s area. It was the Goblets. There were about four to five of them. Dohyuk readied himself to fight, but what happened next was shocking. Worms? Without their sharp teeth and human thickness, about 20 worms emerged from the ground and attacked the Goblets. Dohyuk couldn¡¯t even see if Goblets had been torn apart or were dragged back down. They were just gone. ...The smell of the cube will repel unwanted guests. ¡°...¡± Dohyuk turned away and looked down. There was the rocky area the Goblets were trying hard to get into, and the rocks were tightly packed across the surface of the earth. That was when Dohyuk opened the bag and put the cube in. He now knew what to do. ... In the ruins of a certain building, outside the quarantine zone that Dohyuk was in, Choi Jimin was looking down at her opponent with cold eyes. ¡°Ugh...¡± The man¡¯s name was Kang Hurak. Jimin knew him from her past life and had faced him about 10 minutes ago. ¡°How about you serve me? I guess I can have you as my sidekick.¡± Hurak spoke as he pulled out his weapon. <> It was an A-rank weapon that was impossible to acquire at the current point. Jimin shed her middle finger before they fought and she was victorious. ¡°Hah, stupid fool.¡± It was the difference of sheer skill. Hurak couldn¡¯t evennd a strike against Jimin while all of his joints had been crushed. However, what was interesting was that it wasn¡¯t critical enough to kill him. Jimin had not found anyone worthy enough to rob a Nature from yet. Hurak had a decent Nature, but it didn¡¯t work well with Jimin¡¯s current one. Jimin still could wait. Even with one Nature, she knew how to fight. ¡°Ugh.... You...¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you just be modest? You have to know how to bend if you get stronger,¡± Jimin said. Those were the words Dohyuk used to say. ¡°...Anyway, thanks for this.¡± Jimin picked up the knuckle. However, she felt a certain presence from behind and quickly turned around. The new guest however, had no intention to fight. ¡°Wow, that was so cool. You are still the same Jimin.¡± ¡°...Julian.¡± The man was Caucasian. He was a young Frenchman who had been living in Korea as an exchange student to learn Koreannguage and culture. After many long years, however, he was now a different being. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. You know I¡¯m not here to fight.¡± ¡°Then beat it.¡± Jimin knew what he was going to say. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in joining your crew.¡± ¡°Because of Dohyuk? Whoa, do you think he¡¯s still alive?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡¯re out of your mind.¡± Julian scratched his head. ¡°I sent my crew to scout for three full days in this region, but there was no Dohyuk. The only sightings were from the first day when he was seen running away from supermarket.¡± ¡°...Maybe he¡¯s hiding somewhere.¡± ¡°Maybe he was killed by some lucky dude already! But I didn¡¯t hear any news on someone getting Dohyuk¡¯s nature yet. Either a really smart one got it or...¡± The information that followed almost got Jimin to react. ¡°You¡¯ve heard the rumors, right? Those who acquired 2nd Natures right at the beginning have all disappeared. I don¡¯t think the man with no memory could have killed another so quickly, but maybe he¡¯s there?¡± Chapter 13 - Perspective of a Hunter (2)

Chapter 13: Perspective of a Hunter (2)

¡°Believe what you want, I¡¯m not joining you. If you¡¯re done, then choose. Beat it, or have your bones shattered like that stupid fool.¡± The air grew tense as they watched each other. Jimin and Julian were too used to fighting; they had reced their own characteristics from what they were in their previous life. But... ¡°I¡¯ll beat it.¡± Julian backed off. It was simple. Jimin was powerful. She was powerful even in the past life, but she was currently a step ahead of everyone. And considering the item she just obtained... ¡®She will be the strongest duelist.¡¯ Julian could have brought his ¡®family¡¯ to fight, but that would be too risky and unworthy. ¡°Think about it. I¡¯m not asking you to join my family. You know that we all have earned a second chance. And the ¡®throne¡¯ is empty.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not only us who made it to the end that were resurrected. You need to make up your mind if you want to survive.¡± People who died before Dohyuk managed to kill a god were also brought back to life. They, too, had memories up until their deaths to try again. This meant that those who were powerful, whose only fault was to challenge Dohyuk, now had a second chance at the throne. ¡°You can be the new master. I just want to be a friend so if either one of us bes...¡± ¡°Bastard.¡± Jimin took a step with the knuckle on her hands. ¡°C-calmez vous (Calm down)...¡± Julian raised his hands in surrender and took a step back. However, as he stepped up to the fence of the roof, he added, ¡°Forget about Dohyuk. Even if he survived, he will not adapt to the new world. What we NEED to worry about is the lucky bastard who might have gotten his Nature.¡± Before Jimin could charge, Julian leaped off the roof. Jimin stopped and her expression dropped. Her cold look instantly turned sad. ¡®Dohyuk...¡¯ She still had faith that Dohyuk was alive, but she was worried about how he had adapted. The situation had been moving rapidly even for those who hade back. Jimin took the cube from her pocket. This roof was safe ce against those ¡®worms¡¯, but... ¡®I can¡¯t stay for 48 hours in this ce.¡¯ Even if she had a full 48 hours, coins given by the angels would only be a small amount befitting for a starting zone. It was better to explore other hidden areas during those 48 hours. ¡®Others will think the same.¡¯ Nheless, if she gained more strength within 48 hours, it would be easy to beat up most of worms. Jimin then jumped down in opposite direction of where Julian jumped. ¡®I have to collect more... for Dohyuk too.¡¯ She could picture a terrified Dohyuk in some unknown safe ce. She gritted her teeth and ran out. A sudden shock came from behind. ¡°Ugh!¡± Dohyuk, who was taking a break, moaned. Someone had snuck into the rocky area and thrown a boulder the size of a small child at Dohyuk. It directly hit Dohyuk¡¯s back. ¡°You¡¯re a fool for sitting like a dumb duck!¡± The ambusher quickly ran up to Dohyuk and kicked him. It would be a critical blow if it connected, but... ¡°Huh?¡± Dohyuk quickly dodged the attack. It wasn¡¯t a move from a novice and Dohyuk was able tond a kick on the man. ¡°ARGH!¡± He quickly blocked it with both his arms, but he was pushed back. Dohyuk¡¯s ¡®Strength¡¯ was that much stronger and so was his ¡®Stamina¡¯. By consuming the ne, he had ¡®Damage Nullification¡¯ that absorbed half of the damage from the boulder. ¡°You...!¡± The man tried frantically to attack, to which Dohyuk dodged and struck back. After a few more exchanges, the man realized that Dohyuk was practicing as he had superior stats and skills. However, he needed experience to utilize it. That was why he was now focusing on practicing against ¡®weaker¡¯ opponents when he had a chance. The result was made due to the difference in ¡®Stamina¡¯. ¡°Ugh...¡± The kick hit the man¡¯s stomach and he buckled to the ground. Before he slumped down, he got up and began running away. Dohyuk did not chase after him. He had earned his purpose. -AAAAAARGH! And a scream came from a distance. Dohyuk then picked up the pocket from the ground. It was what the man dropped during the fight. ¡®...He was foolish.¡¯ He took the cube out and checked the time. [Remaining hours: 35:39:02] ¡®I should be more careful. It would have killed me if he was stronger.¡¯ Dohyuk opened his cube pocket and added the new one into it. It was now 7th cube in the pocket. This was his ¡®savings¡¯ per se. There was a part of it within the desert that had hidden aspects. It would be an idea to go after it but... this was what the angel said: -And when that timees, we will give you coins in regards to how many hours you have left in that freshener. The less you use it, the more coins you get. Considering the amount of time that was left, he¡¯d gain more coins. ¡®I¡¯m just guessing but... the onesing here are weak or who are not so sure.¡¯ For a few hours, the six people he had beaten were those with no special weapons. These people were those that had lost against thepetition or they were cowards who were trying to find a safe ce to maintain the time on their cube. Dohyuk wasn¡¯t too clear with the details, however. ¡®I¡¯ll wait.¡¯ He¡¯d hunt the weak ones that he could hunt without fail. This was Dohyuk¡¯s way to ensure his survival. He now learned that he had to be alert at all times for any unexpected prey. And then, there was a new prey. Dohyuk silently rose up. Chapter 14 - To the last one

Chapter 14: To thest one

The ce he headed was to was the high rock that hebeled as ¡®Scouting Area¡¯. Before he climbed the rock, he stopped and listened to the sound. The footsteps were even clearer, but there wasn¡¯t one. Dohyuk quickly climbed the rock and saw it. There were three people in the ¡®group¡¯ that was now walking into the rocky regions. When Dohyuk killed Chicheck, it was apparent that none of the people had the intention of forming a group. They did not want to trust anyone, but this was suspicion based off weakness and fear. The ones in the quarantine zone were divided into tworge groups. There were ones who luckily acquired sought-after Natures right at the beginning, or ones who just killed anyone in the beginning just to gain a 2nd Nature, whichever it might be. Most belonged to thetter group. These people were weak in their past life, and that was why they couldn¡¯t trust one another, leading them to act on their own. ¡°Dammit.¡± The three people who just walked in also had the same idea in mind. However, they now knew that they were toote. Just ¡®knowing¡¯ wasn¡¯t enough. That was why the two women and a man were now working together. ¡°Water... is there more water?¡± A man with a huge body spoke as heid down a big bag he was holding. It was about meter-long duffel bag that had a lot of stuff in it. The tall woman with a traveler¡¯s backpack replied quickly. Her backpack was filled with a lot of scavenged foods. ¡°Not yet. We all had a sip while ago.¡± ¡°For f*ck¡¯s sake, then you carry this. This thing is so heavy, and you want to have the same share of water?¡± ¡°Since when did we say we weren¡¯t going to carry it?¡± It was a small teenage girl who answered instead. Of course, the spirit inside her was much older. ¡°It was you who said you couldn¡¯t trust us to carry it. That¡¯s why she and I took in turns carrying the backpack.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Please, if you are going to pick a fight, then do it. It¡¯s a waste of energy and water to even quarrel.¡± The man shook in anger, but he sat. These two women were cousins. The man was stronger than both of them, but it was apparent that he would be at a disadvantage if a fight broke out. ¡°Anyway, this looks like a good ce. It has a lot of shade too.¡± The man changed the subject and turned to the tall woman, but she had a strange expression on her face. ¡°Hey?¡± ¡°...Focus. Pretend we¡¯re still talking.¡± At her words, man and girl became silent. ¡°One. It¡¯s watching us.¡± [The walls have ears.] It was the tall woman¡¯s Nature that let her know when there was someone peeking or eavesdropping on her. She took the 1 liter water bottle and handed it over to the girl. ¡°Sense it.¡± She then drank about half the bottle and used the rest of the water to wet her face. Then she activated her Nature. [Loan Shark¡¯s Nose] It was a Nature that would increase one¡¯s sense of smell by consuming water from the body. Her lips were distorted. ¡°You¡¯re right. There¡¯s one that¡¯s hiding.¡± ¡°Where?¡± the man asked, but the girl waved it off. ¡°No need to find him. He has no food or water. Nor does he have a weapon.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll run away if we go after him.¡± The tall woman spoke and the other two agreed. ¡°No need to fight. We¡¯ll rest here and if we leave enough room, he will try toe after our food or try to ambush us. We¡¯ll know if he keeps watching us with her Nature anyway.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll then have our offering,¡± the manughed. He then told the others, ¡°When we use this, we¡¯ll do it together.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who we¡¯re the most worried about.¡± Then they began resting. Dohyuk licked his dried lips. Water, milk, and bread... he had no time to enjoy any meals for the past few days. He watched the three constantly. After they finished their meal, they began resting by lying down or sitting by a rock. ¡®They aren¡¯t fully rxing but...¡¯ It was a chance, Dohyuk thought. If he ambushed, would he be able to overpower all of them? If so, he would be able to take the foods and the mysterious duffel bag. ¡®No.¡¯ Dohyuk shook his head. ¡®There¡¯s three of them. They just finished eating and it looks like their rxing but...¡¯ The ces they were resting were oddly distanced against each other. It wasn¡¯t close enough to defeat all three of them even if he ambushed. ¡®Forget it. I¡¯m just being distracted by the food.¡¯ Dohyuk then grabbed on his ¡®food¡¯. There were a few rings, nes, and other stuff on his hands. These were E~F rank items he obtained from his six prey. ¡®This is my food.¡¯ He was hungry. He had just fought six people after 10 hours. Digesting items gave him the feeling of being full, but it did not fulfill his eating desire. ¡®I will wait them out,¡¯ Dohyuk thought. It was obvious that they would notst long with the amount of food they had. With the three of them consuming it, they¡¯d only be able to eat once more. When that was done and they became hungry, he needed to wait for that moment. ¡®They won¡¯t leave this ce.¡¯ Dohyuk then waited. Chapter 15 - To the last one (2)

Chapter 15: To thest one (2)

¡°Hey, this isn¡¯t what we expected,¡± the man growled. His patience had run out, ¡°Didn¡¯t he run away?¡± ¡°No, not yet,¡± Tall woman replied. ¡°He¡¯s still watching us...¡± ¡°Then why isn¡¯t heing!¡± The man¡¯s voice echoed through the entire rock region. They were trying to act as if they were resting but they were now running out of patience. ¡°Idiot! If you yell like that...¡± ¡°Sh*t! Who cares about yelling! He doesn¡¯t have food anyway! He¡¯s probably at the brink of dying by now!¡± The man stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go and kill him myself. Hey, tell me where he is with your Nature.¡± ¡°...¡± The girl did not agree but she silently took up the water bottle and drank. She then pointed at the high rock. ¡°Bastard, so was that where he was hiding? I¡¯ll go get him, you girls prepare the ritual.¡± The girl then took the object from the duffel bag. The tall woman also did not stop him. ¡°How do I get up?¡± The man walked around, looking to find a way. Atst, he was able to get up from a ce which was out of sight from the others. The tall woman then realized that the number which showed someone was watching had now disappeared. This meant... ¡°Hey...¡± Before she could speak, she saw a kick from the corner where the man had disappeared off to, and the man was thrown back with his face crushed. The man tried to fight back, but his opponent was fully prepared. Dohyuk appeared, kicking the man multiple times. He then searched the man and took the cube. The tall woman knew who he was. ¡°Yoo... Yoo Dohyuk.¡± Her voice shook as she began thinking. The only option was to kneel with her cousin, apologize, and offer this shrine to him. The man was not dead yet, so the Great Emperor could use him as an offering to obtain great power. ¡®Maybe then I will live.¡¯ She did not want to fight. She decided to let her cousin know about this n and tried to turn back, but she couldn¡¯t. Her cousin kicked her knee and used her elbow to hit her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But we weren¡¯t that close anyway.¡± The girl grabbed her cousin¡¯s head and crushed it down against the shrine. A stone pir was in the duffel bag. She mmed her cousin¡¯s head against it a few more times and she died. Blood began to flow onto the pir. Then, the pir began to shine. < > -For 1 offering, 3 or less followers will acquire the religion. And with the blood, the pir began to transform into a human figure. It looked more like a robot with a wide opening in the center. -Who wants to have my power? The voice came to her and she spoke. ¡°I... It¡¯s me! I am your servant, Sung Jina.¡± She spoke excitedly. Dohyuk was distancing himself as he was surprised by the girl¡¯s ¡®friendly fire¡¯. -I see. The robot took a step and hugged the girl, pulling the girl inside as if she was now the wearer of the armor. Before the front closed, she saw a message popped up. <> <> She knew something was wrong. The armor closed, imprisoning her within. -Weak. -But I will use you as my beast. Then her body was crushed within the robot armor. ¡°...Damn.¡± Dohyuk became pale as he watched the blood dripping out from within. Then, its head turned toward Dohyuk and a message popped up. <> -Strength:?? -Stamina:85(D) -Agility:?? -Magic:?? -Endurance:?? -Charisma:?? -Etc:?? -Equipment:?? [Once a human who wished to be the servant of the God of War and ughter but turned into a beast instead. It has an unstable mind and body. Its only purpose is to ughter and fulfill its master¡¯s wish.] Those were the same words as when he saw Chicheck for the first time. The body of armor took a step toward Dohyuk. He did not react. He could not react. It was dangerous. This was an enemy he could not handle. -Wow, you¡¯re screwed. Dohyuk turned his head. It was Basil who had appeared. -But it is a bit unfair. You wouldn¡¯t know the requirements unless you provide the offerings. It always ends up destroying a region because of it. ¡°That¡¯s...¡± -There¡¯s no other way than to destroy it. It¡¯s not like the challenge quest we did with Chicheck, but Ka¡¯Kudenol will give you some reward if you do manage to destroy it. But... He knew what Basil was going to add. -You can¡¯t beat him. The robot¡¯s hand was now turning into a vicious de. Dohyuk tried to run, but Basil blocked him. -Where are you going? ¡°Move. Go away if you¡¯re done.¡± -Oh, I¡¯m not done yet of course. Dohyuk flinched, but he realized that it was now time. -Didn¡¯t I say it? I had toe back. 48 hours. Time was up. -Let me see... oh, you did collect a lot! Before the angel could finish, the robot attacked. However, Dohyuk ran at it. It wasn¡¯t to fight it. Before he was going to collide, Dohyuk jumped to the side, having the armored robot run past him. Dohyuk then began running. -Huh? Are you running? He heard the angel¡¯s voice, but Dohyuk did not care. He then arrived where he had intended to go. He was next to the tall woman¡¯s body. 9th cube. ¡°...Count this one too.¡± It was the treasure that would increase the chances of his survival even slightly. -Whoa, look at you. The angel smiled while the armored robot attacked. -That was close. <> <> -If you hadn¡¯t gotten thest one... <> <> Chapter 16 - Mines

Chapter 16: Mines

<> <> Dohyuk felt a small paper card forming in his hands. <> [Item to summon famous wandering merchant of the desert who has many valuable items. You are required to have enough coins to purchase his valuable items. Be wary of how much you have.] Dohyuk immediately put it in his pocket. Whatever that this merchant was selling wasn¡¯t applicable right now. ¡°Status.¡± <> -Strength: 39(+2)(E) -Stamina: 30(+7)(E) -Agility: 40(+2)(E) -Magic: 2(+3)(F) -Endurance: 26(+5)(E) -Charisma: 25(+3)(E) <> -Coins: 18293 The armored robot was now turning back to Dohyuk. It was a slow turn, but its charge was at the speed of lightning. ¡®I was lucky.¡¯ It was out of pure luck that he survived in dodging the attack. <> < D>> <> <>> It was a choice that couldn¡¯t be undone. <> < D>> <> <> Dohyuk made his choice and did not look back. He did not have time to do so. The armored robot approached him and swung its sword. Dohyuk could barely manage to react. It was hard, but it was doable. Dohyuk kicked the armor¡¯s right arm. Just kicking its arm hurt him a lot, but his increased strength had paid off. The arm was thrown back widely and Dohyuk jumped up. -Do-Ryu-Zen A kick with a spin in the air squarely struck the armor¡¯s neck. ¡®Itcks power-¡® Before Dohyuk could think, something grabbed Dohyuk¡¯s arm. It was the robot¡¯s left arm. Dohyuk was then was thrown out. Pain surged up as he crashed against the ground. It felt like some of his chest bones were breaking. Dohyuk moved his head and the sword pierced the ground where his head previously was. Dohyuk then grabbed the armored robot¡¯s left arm that was holding onto Dohyuk¡¯s arm. <> [vor of Iron] ¡°...¡± There was no hesitation. ¡°Digest.¡± Dohyuk mumbled and the arm disappeared. Dohyuk did not stop there. He reached out with both his hands to touch the other part of the armor, but the robot quickly took a wide step back. <> -Coins: 3013 Even after his injuries were healed, arge amount of coins were deposited into his wallet. The robot¡¯s left arm now had the once-human arm sticking out from it. ¡°So I can... digest it.¡± He now had a way to fight this thing. <> <> ¡®I just need to touch it.¡¯ Its armor was gone, but it was surely working. That¡¯s when the armor did not move. It began to morph itself. ¡®It¡¯s...¡¯ It became more slender. The sword on the right arm had also changed shape. It was now like a thin sickle, but there was more. A total of 9 sickle des were now sticking out from various parts of the body. ¡°UGH!¡± The armored robot moved in. Unlike its previous charge, the movement resembled that of fencing. ¡®W-wait...¡¯ The robot was now moving much faster and Dohyuk was now having a hard time following it. The armor had altered itself to better fight against Dohyuk and his Nature. ¡®Let¡¯s keep calm.¡¯ Dohyuk thought as he dodged those attacks. At least he was able to dodge them. ¡®But it will be over if it moves even quicker.¡¯ Dohyuk moved. As he tried to dodge, the armored robot moved its right shoulder, following its de to where Dohyuk had moved to, and it finally sliced one of Dohyuk¡¯s arms off. -Oh, man. Basil moaned. Maybe it was too much. -Well, it transformed... I guess it was too much. Transformation through education. This was the Nature of Ka¡¯Kudenol¡¯s ughter machine. The robot had started out weak because of the girl¡¯s weak power had served as a host, but the robot was growing. The only way for Dohyuk to win was toe up with a n to kill it with one strike. -Oh, there you are. Basil turned and two other angels came down to him. -Wow, ughter machine? -That¡¯s done. But look at him, he¡¯s not even screaming with his arm cut off. The angels cackled and tapped on Basil¡¯s shoulder. -Let¡¯s go to the other region. I heard there¡¯s a crazy one.¡± -Crazy one? -Yeah. You heard about the one with Gauntlet of the Fire Demon? Jo Changhun? He has a record number of kills now. He¡¯s killing everyone he sees. The angels seemed excited. But... -You guys go ahead. Basil turned back. -I¡¯m going to watch some more. The other angels shrugged. -Okay, fine. -It¡¯s your choice. The angels flew away, but Basil did not turn back. He wasn¡¯t sure why he was still watching, but something was making him ufortable right now. Dohyuk was still dodging with his arm cut off. It didn¡¯t hurt as the attack was very vicious and the cut was extremely clean, but the fear of having one lost body part was pressuring him. ¡®What should I do...¡¯ To win? Dohyuk thought. He couldn¡¯t just grab those sickles, but the only part of the robot he could touch was one of the sickles. It was now even getting faster. That¡¯s when Dohyuk heard a small jingling sound from his pocket, and that gave him an idea. He took out the object. It was an F-rank bracelet, the only food he had after the long battle with the group. It wouldn¡¯t grow his arm back but- ¡®It might be enough to stick it back on.¡¯ Dohyuk nced at his cut-off arm. It wasn¡¯t far. ¡®...Let¡¯s see.¡¯ He then jumped. The robot pursued him, swinging its sickle at Dohyuk. He felt heat on his right as his ear cut off,nding on the ground. Yet, he got to his target. He was now holding the arm. All he needed to do was thest step. But... was it because he was relieved? His other wrist was cut off by the sickle that followed. Dohyuk looked down. He tried to grab onto the arms that dropped, but he couldn¡¯t. He took a step back. The robot came closer, but Dohyuk took another step back and slumped down. ¡°No...¡± He kneeled. ¡°You can¡¯t... do that.¡± When the armor came close enough to raise its sickle high to finish- ¡°You shouldn¡¯t step on other people¡¯s hands.¡± Dohyuk looked at the armored robot and spoke. ¡°Digest.¡± One of the robot¡¯s legs shined. It was one of Dohyuk¡¯s arms. It was the mine that was carefully ced. The robot swung and Dohyuk jumped up. He didn¡¯t think gaining his hand back would allow him to touch the armor. That was why he wanted to experiment. If touching would allow him to digest, would it be possible with the hand that was cut off? Therefore, he picked up the hand and had it hold onto the bracelet. And he knew. That¡¯s why he gave up his other hand and kicked it to have its palm face the sky so that it would touch the robot¡¯s foot when the armor stepped on it. That¡¯s why Dohyuk closely observed the cement and the armored robot¡¯s footsteps. Then, he kneeled at the right distance. It was now payback time. His regrown left hand held onto the armored robot¡¯s right wrist while he used his right hand to hold the head. ¡°DIGEST!¡± And with the light, Dohyuk kicked it with his knee. ¡°Thank you, YOU BASTARD!¡± <> <> <> <> <> Chapter 17 - This taste

Chapter 17: This taste

Dohyuk saw the message, but he did not stop. The armored robot was still moving. But now, there was no armor covering it. There was only human flesh. It was enough to withstand the attack it was making. The only part that had armor was its leg. Dohyuk raised his hands to block the kick; it was painful but that was it. Dohyuk grabbed it and spoke. ¡°Digest.¡± The armored robot had lost all ways to fight now. With Dohyuk¡¯s low kick, its legs were destroyed and it was now mostly just the flesh of a human figure. Luckily, it still had a piece of armor on its chest so Dohyuk ced his hand on it. ¡°Digest.¡± <> <> Dohyuk¡¯s hand was pushed back and he readied himself. ¡°Yo.you.yo.yyuu...¡± What happened next wasn¡¯t a weird trick. The part of the head with no armor was now a mouth with bubbles of blood leaking out of it. ¡°Ngh..ngnggkkkeeeit.¡± It was a had to consider that weird sound a voice. But soon- ¡°Y...ou...ah... ie...¡± It was turning into a voice. And finally- ¡°Nihehehe, it¡¯s so yummy.¡± It was the voice of a young girl. The voice was so beautiful that any man would fall in love with it. ¡°Blood is so YUMMYYYYY! This one is a bit dull, but it¡¯s still good. Sweet.¡± She licked her lip, or rather, what was the shape of lip. ¡°It hurts.¡± Then, the body of the robot, no the one that came down to borrow the body, stood. ¡°But I like the feeling of pain too! I just want to stay here forever.¡± Then Dohyuk could finally see the face. Within the holes of the face, there should¡¯ve been the face of a beautiful girl. ¡°... I can¡¯t do that though, can¡¯t talk too long.¡± Dohyuk knew it instinctively. This was the simr being he had faced at the fall. God. Gods were simr to those angels, but they were more arrogant with more power. ¡°Youuu.... You are sooooo cooooool! There are tons who fight like you, but there are none that fight like you and shakes like a scared kitten.¡±¡± That being was now talking to Dohyuk. ¡°You.... Do you want to....¡± <> <> <> <> <> < <> <> The message popped up and stopped immediately. And- ¡°F********************CK!¡± Dohyuk flinched at the scream. A sound came from behind and Dohyuk turned back. -Ugh... The angel was on the ground, face down. But it didn¡¯t stop there. It seemed like some power was pushing down on the angel. ¡°YOU WANNA DIEEEEE!? YOU M**HER F*CKING HALF-WING!¡± The robot, no the God Ka¡¯Kudenol, screamed in rage. ¡°WHY DO YOU KEEP CUTTING ME OFF!!! YOU PIECE OF F*CK!!!!¡± -P-please, have mercy...! The power that suppressed Basil grew stronger. The angel was terrified. This was Ka¡¯Kudenol. The Goddess of War and ughter, A Girl in bloody dress. She was the most insane among all gods. -It¡¯s... it¡¯s.... It¡¯s not me... The power that pressed Basil was one of her abilities. This was breaching of rules of course, but she didn¡¯t care. She did not care about any of that at all. -It¡¯s... rule... and the system¡¯s... ¡°F*CK YOU.¡± Basil was afraid because she would kill him without even thinking. The power then destroyed a part of the angel¡¯s bones. He closed his eyes, and... ¡°...Weren¡¯t you talking to me?¡± Dohyuk spoke. ¡°HUUUUUH?¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t send a message, you can just talk.¡± Ka¡¯Kudenol became curious and lifted the power off from Basil. ¡°Right. RIGHT! I can do that! I can do that!¡± The empty eye sockets changed into the shape of crescent moons as she smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s y!¡± ¡°...How?¡± ¡°Not in this boring ce. Oh, but you need to get out of this ce then.¡± She scratched her blood-covered cheek with her bloodied hand. ¡°OH!¡± She then pped, sttering blood all over, which sshed onto Dohyuk¡¯s cheek. ¡°Right! You can be my ¡®Champion¡¯ and wipe this whole f*cking ce down!¡± The angel gasped. -....Disciple...? Was there any instance, where a god choose someone to be their Champion at this stage? It wasn¡¯t impossible, but if it happened... it would mean absolute victory. It was only one that existed throughout all the dimensions of the world as the only physical being that championed a god¡¯s power. Basil looked up. He had to report this as an administrator. He could not let this go through or else his life was going to be jeopardized. If he could only report, the archangel woulde down himself and get this cheat to... The power pressed down on Basil again. Ka¡¯Kudenol seemed to be aware of this already, but she kept speaking to Dohyuk. ¡°There was one doing that alreadyyy, but I think you¡¯ll doooo betterrr.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Should I get rid of him right now? Yeah. I should get rid of him first so...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Dohyuk answered resolutely and Ka¡¯Kudenol and Basil both flinched. ¡°Whaaat?¡± ¡°I said no,¡± Dohyuk repeated. Champion or not, the result would be the same as what the God of Fire offered him. ¡°Why should I believe a psycho like you?¡± ¡°...¡± She called herself ¡®God¡¯. ¡°You have someone but you¡¯ll get rid of them? I don¡¯t know about that nonsense, but you shouldn¡¯t be saying that in front of the next one.¡± However, what was making Dohyuk speak was because of the feeling of opposition. Just like when he faced Gahura, opposition filled him. But this time, he was thinking. Gahura tried to do something against Dohyuk and was banished. The explosion almost killed Dohyuk, but he survived. ¡®And I was told that I killed a god.¡¯ Something must¡¯ve been rted to those events. If these gods tried to do something severe, there was something in ce to protect him at least. ¡°I can¡¯t say I will never believe a god but...¡± Dohyuk red, ¡°I am not giving myself to a dumb psycho. And stop f*cking dragging your words! It¡¯s annoying. You sound like some dumbf*ck, not a god.¡± -....Oh no. Basil mumbled. He could not even imagine what would happen. That poor soul was now doomed for eternity. And so was Basil who unfortunately stayed close. However, Dohyuk knew what he had done. He grew tense as he watched the goddess standing still. ¡°....¡± Ka¡¯Kudenol moved, but it wasn¡¯t what Dohyuk or the angel expected. ¡°UGH!¡± The body covered in flesh and blood came closer to Dohyuk and grabbed his head with both hands. The power and speed could not be fought against. Dohyuk awaited for the god¡¯s attack but- ¡°Ha.... Hehehehee...¡± It was augh, full of pleasant emotion. It was also smiling brightly at Dohyuk. ¡°Look at you shiveringggg.... You are really really trying hard. You¡¯re reallyyyy scaredddd.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And you spoke like that to meee. Even when you imagined what might happen... with all your courageeee.¡± It was excitement instead of anger. ¡°You... you are really amazing.¡± The god¡¯s mouth opened and the tongue reached out toward Dohyuk, but it wasn¡¯t an attack. Rather, it licked on Dohyuk¡¯s face with full of affection. It was one lick, from the chin to the forehead. <> ¡°Thisssss, is my present ¨C to have you think about me until we meet againnn.¡± <> With that- ¡°Bye-bye.¡± Her body exploded. It was at its limit, but it did not leave any damage. Dohyuk took a step back and looked down at his bloodied body with the blood and flesh that had exploded unto him. ¡°...It¡¯s... better than before.¡± He then picked up the reward. Body of the armor part that lost its master. With it on his holding, <> Dohyuk took up the paper. He had enough coins to do so, and he also wanted to just forget about what just happened. Before he ripped it apart to activate it, he turned. -W..what. It was the angel that flinched as he got up. ¡°I don¡¯t want to boast, but...¡± Dohyuk spoke, ¡°You¡¯re alive because of me.¡± -... ¡°Twice now.¡± Dohyuk did not wait for Basil to answer and ripped the paper. Chapter 18 - Customer

Chapter 18: Customer

There was the sound of paper being ripped, but something changed in front of Dohyuk. Space began to distort in the storm-like shape and color began to appear. When the formation grew big enough, the area finally transformed. ¡°Ugh...¡± The shape was a Caucasian man. He wore worn down clothes and a turban. ¡°Ugh...¡± The man bowed down with a huge backpack on his back, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was because of that as he started vomiting everything in his stomach. ¡°Sudden teleportation... it¡¯s not worth it...¡± The man mumbled before he looked up and faced Dohyuk. He didn¡¯t scream, but the man scowled. It was a normal reaction since Dohyuk was covered with blood and flesh. ¡°C... customer?¡± He could barely ask the question. The man then took off his backpack and took out something that looked like a football. It sounded like there was water in it. ¡°Here, why don¡¯t you use this water?¡± ¡°...Thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing! You can use all of that water.¡± Dohyuk opened it up and sshed water onto him. It was clear and cold. <> [Saves 15 liters of water, but the weight of the bag remains the same. The temperature of the water is kept at 7 degrees Celsius.] Dohyuk then began drinking the water instead of cleaning himself. He was also quenched of thirst by digesting, but the pure desire of wanting to drink was not solved. Even so, there was still water left even after he drank a lot. The man was now opening his backpack. After fiddling with the backpack, it turned into the shape of a small cart. It seemed to have a simr effect to that of the water bottle, as the valuables inside were more than what the backpack could hold. ¡°Wee!¡± The man pped. ¡°Lawrence Fletcher-Mukasa greets you, the customer. Is this your first time using our Summoning service?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exin. Since there are a lot of customers who want to purchase many of our goods, we are now selling the summoning scroll that we normally did not distribute in the past. Should I go over the pricing?¡± ¡°...¡± Dohyuk nodded. It seemed like he was allowed to buy the paper again. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to hear about the paper. ¡°We are offering it at an affordable price of 500 thousand coins for an opportunity to call us again!¡± ¡°...What? How much?¡± ¡°500 thousand coins, sir. Well, it can be a bit costly depending on your circumstances, but we have a cheaper version that calls for a ¡®random¡¯ merchant instead.¡± ¡°And how much is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s 200 thousand coins.¡± Dohyuk turned and checked his wallet. <> -Coins: 45013 He only had five digits, and that was the greatest amount he ever had since he got here. Yet, it wasn¡¯t enough to even buy a scroll to call them again. ¡°It¡¯s too much.¡± ¡°Huh? Well, maybe I can add some discounts to...¡± ¡°I only have about 45 thousand...¡± Before Dohyuk could finish, he saw the merchant¡¯s expression change instantly. ¡°What? 45 thousand 45 THOUSAND?!¡± He scratched his head angrily. ¡°Whoa, give me a break. I thought it was weird as to why I was being called in the current stage. Hey, sir. Do you know how much my stuff costs?¡± ¡°How would I know if I haven¡¯t used...¡± ¡°B-rank at least!¡± Lawrence yelled. ¡°You don¡¯t need to scream.¡± ¡°What- I don¡¯t need to scream? Hey, do you know who I was with until now? Who I was...¡± But Lawrence stopped. He was eyeing what Dohyuk was holding. <> -******* -********* -** **** ***** [Once used by a god as a conduit toe down to Earth. Its stat is reced with a god¡¯s power. It holds special power, but it only can be used with the god¡¯s permission.] It was the armor of the ughter machine. ¡°Wait... are you going to use that? It looks a lot of work to carry it around.¡± It wasn¡¯t heavy, but Dohyuk did not intend to carry it around. He did try to ¡®Digest¡¯ it already. <> <> This kept on going. Lawrence became calm and asked, ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we do this?¡± ¡°You give me that, and I will give you 200 thousand coins as well as the summoning scroll. It¡¯s not the random one, or me. It¡¯s a scroll that summons my colleague who sells more affordable stuff. You will be able to buy a few things from him with 200 coins. And with the summoning scroll, you¡¯ll be getting 700 coins.¡± ¡°....¡± ¡°How about it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I know one thing,¡± Dohyuk held onto the armor. ¡°This is more expensive than what you are offering.¡± ¡°...Hah.¡± Lawrence scoffed, ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is either. I¡¯m just offering because it looks like god-rted stuff. That stuff has other uses for it. It¡¯s good for being 200 thousand at least.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll start at million coins.¡± Dohyuk spoke and Lawrence became angry. ¡°You piece of tr...¡± His words stopped as he saw something behind Dohyuk. Dohyuk turned back. -... It was the angel with a scowl on his face. ¡°What?¡± -You piece of trash. Lawrence gasped. -Who saved who? ¡°I saved you.¡± An angel. It was a powerful being that would make one scared, but Dohyuk did not look away. ¡°Well, you can say all you want, but don¡¯t you think you¡¯re too different from a while ago?¡± -...! ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do this against that crazy b*tch instead? Oh, well that would not have made you rage at me I guess.¡± Basil raised his hand and punched. A shockwave filled the area as Dohyuk did not dodge. He could have dodged it if he wanted to, but he didn¡¯t. But the punch did not strike Dohyuk. Instead, the air that rippled scratched Dohyuk¡¯s skin. -I¡¯ll let you go this time. The angel growled. -If you talk that crap again, I¡¯ll cut your arms and legs. That armor of yours will cover your body next. And then he flew off. Dohyuk watched the angel disappear, took off his shirt, and took up the armor on him. The armor was small so he was curious as to if it would fit, but the armor quickly began restructuring itself and attached itself to Dohyuk¡¯s body quickly. It fit veryfortably on top of him. ¡®It¡¯s a bit too ck though.¡¯ But, it was better than any type of clothes. ¡®...Funny man.¡¯ It was enough to just tell him to try to wear the armor. He didn¡¯t need to go all through that to let him know about it. ¡®Well, I guess that¡¯s the first repayment.¡¯ Dohyuk then turned again. This was the second. ¡°What is this!¡± Lawrence was gathering his stuff as his cart was blown away by the attack just now. ¡°G-good... this is good. This is okay... this...¡± As he looked through it all, he soon found something and became instantly depressed. Dohyuk knew, but he kept quiet. After Lawrence checked every product, he found that it was the only product that had sustained damage. ¡°There¡¯s only one problem. Did it lose value?¡± ¡°...!¡± The merchant flinched. ¡°This...¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what that is,¡± Dohyuk said. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much it costs, or how much it costs now. I also don¡¯t know how much it will cost to fix it and how it will work now.¡± But he knew one thing. It wasn¡¯t a coincidence that the product was damaged. ¡°If you think it might be better to sell that me that to me now... of course, I don¡¯t think it won¡¯t happen, BUT, if you do... I might buy it from you.¡± ¡°...¡± The merchant did not answer. He then looked at Dohyuk and spoke. ¡°45 thousand...¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start at 10 thousand.¡± ¡°...!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just joking. How about 40 thousand?¡± Dohyuk quickly changed his words at the merchants¡¯ reaction. It was a bad choice to make the merchant angry so he wouldn¡¯t be able to sell it off. ¡°....Okay.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Dohyuk received the item from the merchant. < > The bag with tears did not show any messages. Maybe it was because of the cover. ¡°I will... nevere here... again...¡± Lawrence almost seemed like he was crying as he packed his backpack again. He then spat and demanded, ¡°Give me back my water bag.¡± He held his hand out toward Dohyuk. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Let me use it a bit more. I still have blood on my face and other ces.¡± ¡°...Make it quick.¡± Dohyuk then began cleaning his blood off with the water and drank some more. He then handed the bag back to Lawrence. ¡°Hey.¡± Lawrence did not receive it. ¡°...¡± He was watching Dohyuk with shock. He was even more shocked than when Basil came closer. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Your... your cheek.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Was there more blood? Dohyuk rubbed his check. ¡°Nothing¡¯s on it.¡± He didn¡¯t have any mirror to look, but at least that¡¯s what it felt like. However, Lawrence was definitely looking at something. ¡°It... it can¡¯t be... her Champion is...¡± ¡°Hey.¡± Dohyuk tried to make him rx by raising his hands, but Lawrence screamed and took a step back. He was obviously terrified. Lawrence took out a paper and tried to rip it, but he hesitated. He thought of his expression as a merchant against a potential customer. ¡°I... I¡¯m sorry for... my attitude... I truly...¡± Lawrence then reached into his pocket and took out three more papers. They were the same type of paper that he used to call Lawrence. ¡°I... I am sorry I can¡¯t deliver to you directly myself... Well... I... I will visit again... and apologize...¡± He ced papers on the ground and spoke. ¡°Thank... thank you for using our... merchant group... I am your Lawrence Fletcher-Mukasa...¡± And he ripped the paper and disappeared. ¡°What was that?¡± Dohyuk took the papers. ¡°He didn¡¯t take the bag either.¡± He kept on rubbing his cheek as he spoke. What was on it? It felt weird, but at least he got something from the meeting. He had bought the bag with 40 thousand coins, so it had some value. He opened it up and became confused. ¡°This...¡± Dohyuk knew what it was. But why would he need it? He pondered as he took it out of the bag. Chapter 19 - Goodnight

Chapter 19: Goodnight

It was light and soft. The long and thick linen object was tied up with a rope. Dohyuk took it and unwrapped the sleeping bag. <> <> -Increase sleep efficiency(Lv.-) Alert when threatened(Lv.-) Automatic Stealth (Lv.-) Resistance against elementals(Lv.-), Luby of Great Mother(Lv.-) Protection of Great Mother(Lv.) Examine Sanity(Lv.-) [Created by the blessing of the Lord of Elementals in the Hot Springs region. Many skills are embedded to give the best rest.] [Many of attributes have been deactivated due to damage] Dohyuk quickly tied it up again and held it up like a backpack. He then began to walk as he thought. ¡®...Sleeping bag?¡¯ He had hoped for some kind of weapon or armor since he thought he might need those at the moment. But a sleeping bag? ¡®I mean, it¡¯s better than nothing.¡¯ It was still better to carry around food or water rather than this thing. He then walked up to the three high rocks that stood against each other. It was the ce he decided to use as a hideout. It looked like there was no space to walk in, but when he did, there was a bit of space inside. He then began to unpack inside; he still had to use it anyway. After he got into the sleeping bag, he realized. ¡°Actually...¡± It had been a few days since hest slept at the building. ¡°How did it...¡± Happen. Before he could finish... -.... He heard a melody. ¡°What!¡± A melody was delivered into his head. He tried to get out of the bag. The angel and the Goddess of Fire all used the same method to send him their message. Yet, he couldn¡¯t get up. No, he didn¡¯t want to get up. The melody was so calm and rxing that Dohyuk was falling asleep. ¡°No.. I can¡¯t.. I...¡± <> <> -Current rate: 12334/13000 -Danger This was the one that Dohyuk had not even realized, the reason why he did not fall asleep yet. It was because of terror and fear. -...Don¡¯t be afraid, my boy. Rx. The world changed. Three days ago, he faced God¡¯s wrath himself. He almost got himself killed with severe burns. Then, he had to stay alert and fought against three others. He then fought the armored robot and faced Ka¡¯Kudenol. -You tried... so now... you must rest... It was the ce of rest where his mind tried so hard to face the danger of bing ¡®corrupted¡¯. Dohyuk closed his eyes. -Good. Now... go to sleep. The sleeping bag did not lose the voice of the Great Mother and lured the man to sleep. -Hey. A voice called to him and Basil turned back. It was same one-winged angel Wilem who was watching Basil with a smug. -Beat it. -Whoa, don¡¯t be so cold. I¡¯ve heard all about your ¡®mistake¡¯. Like all other angels, Basil and Wilem were sitting on the surface of Casita¡¯s needle. Wilem came closer. -Everyone¡¯s interested! How did that Basil break the ¡®rule¡¯! Even if it was a mistake while unleashing anger! -... -But I know. It was just for show. Basil turned away. -What do you want to say? -Oh, it¡¯s nothing. I just know that you did that on purpose to help that insect. I sometimes have those that I want to help out so they can survive a bit longer too. -Cut the crap. -Why didn¡¯t you give him a weapon or armor? Wilem asked him directly. -Didn¡¯t the merchant have more powerful and useful ones? Why that... useless thing? Isn¡¯t it a waste of your ¡®payment¡¯? Wilem nced at Basil¡¯s left hand. He was missing a pinky and ring finger. It was the punishment for breaking the rules. -You know that these people are insane. It makes it more interesting though. -... -Their minds are corrupted. I don¡¯t know about what the higher-ups are saying, but these insane idiots will contribute to our best project ever! With that said, isn¡¯t your toy a bit too weak and normal? It has been doing pretty well up to this point. -I didn¡¯t know you were interested in others this much. -Think of it as advice. The sleeping bag was just the wrong choice. ¡®It¡¯s not a good thing at all,¡¯ thought Wilem. He had not seen how the man survived until now. However, he wasn¡¯t interested as there were much more interesting beings. One thing was certain: these humans were insects. That was why they needed to go crazy to adapt to the change. The sleeping bag, on the other hand, worked the other way. It gave the human ¡®sanity¡¯. -Your toy will die soon. You know that there¡¯s one that earned the affection of the Fire Demon in this region. -... Basil did not object and Wilem spoke more sarcasm for a while before he finally gave up. -Hah, fool. He then flew away and Basil just looked into the distance, to the ce where Dohyuk was. ... Dohyuk rose up in shock. His ceiling wasn¡¯t the sky of the rocky region he¡¯d seen when he fell asleep. It was a room, a room full of sand that came in through the window. -Calm down. Angel Basil was the one standing behind Dohyuk. -Today¡¯s the 8th day. The 8th morning. ¡°8th?!¡± -You¡¯ve been sleeping for a long time. Basilmented, -Follow me. People are waiting. Dohyuk packed the sleeping bag and followed Basil. ¡®This is...¡¯ As he looked outside the window, he realized that even in its destroyed state, it was the ce where everyone had gathered on the first day. The roads that should¡¯ve been filled with nts and sand had been cleaned up by something. People and angels had gathered, but unlike the first day, the number was down to two digits. When he walked out, everyone was looking at Dohyuk. -We had a tournament nned. Basil spoke. -You can choose to join and if you are defeated, even if you don¡¯t kill anyone, you will get a reward. And if you win, you will get a really cool gift. Everyone was kneeling. There was one man with a bare top with bloody eyes. Part of his entire arm was distorted grotesquely into some kind of flesh. -Everyone surrendered. All but him and you. ¡°What?¡± -Those bastards talked about it themselves already. They are going to serve that one as their master now. So... it¡¯s up to you two. Dohyuk then asked, ¡°What if I give up?¡± -Well, he will be a winner then. But... ¡°The result will be same, Yoo Dohyuk.¡± The man spoke from the distance. ¡°If you give up, I¡¯ll send out my ¡®dogs¡¯ and kill you.¡± It was the one who owned Gauntlet of the Fire Demon. He was greedy for victory. The ¡®dogs¡¯ referred to the people who were kneeling before him. ¡°So, you better choose to fight me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...And prove that I am the one who will beat you.¡± Dohyuk did not answer. He just looked at Basil inly and spoke. ¡°I guess there¡¯s no choice.¡± -You sound cool. ¡°...Do I look like it?¡¯ Dohyuk smiled bitterly and put down his backpack. He was terrified as always, but his condition was great thanks to the sleeping bag. At least he needed to try his best to survive. As with Chicheck, the angels began forming a stage for the two have their battle. ¡°Oh.¡± Dohyuk then realized he still had some coins after buying the sleeping bag. He had about 5000. ¡°Status.¡± Chapter 20 - Coward

Chapter 20: Coward

<> -Strength: 60(+2)(D) -Stamina: 38(+7)(E) -Agility: 61(+2)(D) -Magic: 2(+3)(F) -Endurance: 52(+5)(D) -Charisma: 25(+3)(E) <> -Coins: 5013 Compared to what Dohyuk sawst time, there was a huge difference in the stats. The change in Strength, Stamina, and Agility were understandable due to his Nature, but... -Endurance: 52(+5)(D) ¡®Endurance?¡¯ It was in the high 20s when hest saw it, but it had doubled. <> -Strength of mind. Reduces the insanity rate. Increases resistance against mental and physical pain. He had read through all the exnations of the attributes on the first day. And with that, he decided that this attribute needed less attention. He somehow managed his encounters against the angels and gods and also withstood his arms getting cut off along with his entire body being burned alive. Why would he need more Endurance? That¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t too happy about it. <> <D>> <> He finished purchasing points and walked into the empty lot where the angels were making preparations. The man was about a head taller than Dohyuk. Thick muscles covered his body. Not only that, but his veins were so ck they were visible like crackednd in a drought. The man knew about Dohyuk¡¯s Nature. It was a powerful Nature that would help the user consume the opponent¡¯s items. ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe it at first.¡± The man spoke, shaking as if he were having an orgasm. ¡°You were in the same region. I didn¡¯t know I had such luck.¡± ¡°Luck?¡± ¡°All those people will witness your death. It is I who will kill you. It¡¯s a pleasure that only one man can enjoy in this world!¡± Dohyuk looked at the man. He wasn¡¯t lying. He was really extremely excited by the thought of killing Dohyuk. ¡°Let me ask you one thing.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first time I ever got a chance to talk with someone for more than a few seconds. I¡¯ve always wanted to ask.¡± Before Jo Changhun could answer, Dohyuk asked, ¡°Why do you all need to act like psychos?¡± He just purely wanted to know. The world did change, but that didn¡¯t mean they all had to kill each other. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a second chance? If you all know everything... then you know that it¡¯s not going to end well even if you think you can be all mighty and everything.¡± Moral issues aside, it just didn¡¯t seem logical to seek to fight and kill others. ¡°Ha... hahahaha!¡± Changhunughed, ¡°So, it was really luck. That¡¯s what got you to the Great Emperor seat! Even if you don¡¯t remember, is that what you speak of after living a week in this world?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Listen. The strong eat the weak.¡± Changhun raised his one leg. ¡°And you.¡± Dohyuk knew instinctively that move wasn¡¯t just some flex. ¡°Weak.¡± mming his foot on the ground, he activated his 2nd Nature. [Tremor of the Anteater] It created power that pulled the target toward him, forcing the target to fight in closebat. Changhun was optimized for close one-on-one battles. Gauntlet of the Fire Demon. And with the other ¡®First¡¯ achievements, he had the top physical stats within the region. Dohyuk¡¯s body was drawn in and Changhun raised his left arm. The power in his left arm allowed him to crush any enemies within his grasp. ¡°Die,¡± Changhun spat as he reached out for Dohyuk¡¯s head. But before his handnded, Dohyuk¡¯s twirled his body. It was then that his right foot that showed up. It was like a somersault kick. It shed past Changhun¡¯s arm and struck his chest. And what was more shocking was the pain he felt from the strike. It was the only type of damage that could be made with Strength and Agility ranked D or higher, and Changhun was only able to achieve with that the help of the multitude of achievements he had. ¡®...How?¡¯ Changhun stopped in confusion and Dohyuk did not miss the opportunity. He then kicked Changhun again. ¡®I was right.¡¯ He was right to have jumped before Changhun¡¯s footnded on the ground. Dohyuk did not know what would happen, but he just guessed it had something to do with destroyingnd. At least it helped him transition into an attack. ¡®Left arm,¡¯ Dohyuk thought. That was the most dangerous threat at the moment. ¡®I have to worry about the foot m and the left arm.¡¯ He reminded himself and dodged Changhun¡¯s left arm again before kicking him. ¡°DAMMIT!¡± Changhun screamed. The enemy had no memory, but he still couldn¡¯t even catch up to him. It was the grasp that no one in this region could avoid. His power and speed were simr to Changhun¡¯s, and he also increased the force of his grasp. Unlike his previous life, he now had the help of his other Nature and the skills to make it work together with his original Nature. Yet, the result was the type ofbat style that Changhun was not used to. As for Dohyuk, this fighting style was what he was used to as it was something that he used to survive in this world. Dohyuk kicked Changhun¡¯s chin. ¡°I.. I can¡¯t...¡± Changhun then realized the problem. ¡°Weapon!¡± He looked at his ¡®dogs¡¯. ¡°Give me anything that I can use...¡± <> <> <> Before Changhun was shocked by the message, his body was filled with magical energy that increased his power. It was the drug that Mashiv used to overwhelm his body. ¡°Ugh... nggh... hg.g...¡± Changhun¡¯s mouth was filled with bubbles, but he felt powering into him. It didn¡¯t allow him to inflict more damage, but it allowed him to forget about everything except for killing. He then lifted up his leg again. Before he could lift it, Dohyuk charged. Changhun raised his arms to defend instinctively, but it wasn¡¯t Changhun who Dohyuk was aiming for. He quickly mmed his leg down in front of Changhun, simr to what Changhun was trying to do, but his purpose was different. The shock destroyed the surface beneath them and Changhun lost his bnce. Having the mmed leg as the center of bnce, Dohyuk shot his leg out with all his might. < > He didn¡¯t know what he was doing, but it was the special move where he could unleash multiple strikes at the target. -AHHHHHHH!¡± After about two seconds, someone¡¯s body was thrown onto the ground and the victornded with his steps. ¡°No...¡± While vomiting blood and reading the message popping up endlessly that said, ¡®God is disappointed,¡¯ Changhun mumbled, ¡°This is... not Yoo Dohyuk...¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t,¡± Dohyuk responded. ¡°I¡¯m not the one you know.¡± Chapter 21 - Dogfight

Chapter 21: Dogfight

¡®It was weird.¡¯ The opponent¡¯s movements weren¡¯t normal. He was clearly imaging an opponent of something else entirely. That¡¯s when he thought maybe Changhun was imagining the fight against Dohyuk from his previous life. ¡°...¡± Changhun realized that his enemy was not the Great Emperor. It was a different monster entirely. But it was toote. His Gauntlet of the Fire Demon did give him coins for sessful kills, but it could not heal him. ¡°Did I win?¡± Dohyuk asked the angels. -Hmm. They didn¡¯t seem to object, but they didn¡¯t dere a victory. Changhun had stood up. -Whoa -He stood up! -Way to go! The angels cheered for Changhun, but they were soon shocked. -Uh... They knew it wasn¡¯t Changhun who was moving his body. ¡°Argh... ah... rg...¡± He moaned in pain as his damaged bones and muscles began to distort to find their ce. <> <> ¡°...Trash?¡± Mashiv finished speaking as he took control of Changhun¡¯s body. Mashiv then turned to the angels. ¡°This is my right. I will kill you all if you interrupt.¡± -.... -.... The angels couldn¡¯t respond. It wasn¡¯t only because they were afraid of Mashiv. Mashiv did have the right to do so as he owned Changhun. It could have been seen as a god volunteering to fight on their follower¡¯s behalf. ¡°What is this?¡± Dohyuk spoke as he readied himself, ¡°...Why can¡¯t it end cleanly?¡± ¡°I would¡¯ve finished it with iming my power and putting this fool¡¯s spirit in hell if it wasn¡¯t for...¡± Mashiv, with its inverted colored eyes, looked at Dohyuuk. ¡°Some trash with the seal of that ¡®whore¡¯ on the cheek was beating up my dog.¡± ¡°...!¡± Dohyuk rubbed his cheek, and Mashiv charged. It was a quick attack that sent Dohyuk flying backwards. He was able tond safely, but Mashiv¡¯s hand was already in front of him, striking him again. And with it he said, ¡°This should have been the result from the beginning.¡± Mashiv began beating Dohyuk down; the violence was impossible for Dohyuk to avoid. The power still remained as it was still Changhun¡¯s body, however, this was with the skill and experience of a god. When Mashiv stopped, Dohyuk was kneeling down. If it wasn¡¯t for Mashiv holding onto his head, he would have fallen into the ground. ¡°Not bad,¡± Mashivmented as he watched Dohyuk. Even in his state, Dohyuk¡¯s eye still embodied defiance or a will to survive. ¡°...I will give you a chance.¡± Mashiv tapped his cheek. ¡°Rip off your cheek.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Cut the whore¡¯s seal out and consume this fool¡¯s body as a means to serve me as your master.¡± This ce had no shrine, but what existed was the Gauntlet of the Fire Demon and Changhun¡¯s body who was deeply imbued with the gauntlet. It was enough for one to ept Mashiv the body. ¡°With that, you will be my dog-¡± It wasn¡¯t Dohyuk¡¯s arm or leg that interrupted. It was done by the only part of the body he had the energy to use. He spat on Changhun¡¯s face. ¡°You all jabble... like parrots...¡± All of them, gods and humans alike, spoke of the same thing. ¡°F*ck... you.¡± As Dohyuk spoke, Mashiv¡¯s fist crumbled his face. ¡°YOU FOOL!¡± A voice came to Dohyuk who had almost fainted. Mashiv clenched and prepared for another punch. It was going to be thest one that would kill Dohyuk, but Dohyuk grabbed it. ¡°...!¡± A strength that was too powerful for Changhun¡¯s body to shake off held onto his fist. ¡°Youuuu... shouldn¡¯tttttt... doooo thisssss.¡± A girl¡¯s screech wasing from Dohyuk¡¯s mouth. ¡°Don¡¯tttttt interfeeeeere with kidsssss¡¯ fightttt.¡± ¡°YOU....!¡± Mashiv moaned and Dohyuk began to rise. The hand that was grabbing Dohyuk¡¯s head was now being grabbed by Dohyuk¡¯s other hand. ¡°Youuuur dog is weakkkkk.¡± ¡°You... You have no right! I own this body! How dare you control his body for having just a seal! That is against the rule-¡± ¡°F*CKKKKK!¡± Ka¡¯Kudenol screamed as Dohyuk¡¯s knee struck Mashiv¡¯s chin, and Changhun¡¯s body was flung back. Dohyuk¡¯s body let go of one arm and held onto the arm with the gauntlet and wrapped itself against the entire body with both legs. ¡°F*ck those rulesssss.¡± Mashiv was now being tied down. ¡°I likeeeee my puppyyyy.¡± Then, the gauntlet began to grow in size and Ka¡¯Kudenol jumped back. The gauntlet had been destroyed. ¡°Now you can say ¡®WE¡¯ wonnnn.... Righttt?¡± ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Mashiv charged. Without the arm, however, there was no chance for Mashiv to win. ¡°Hmmmm.¡± Dohyuk¡¯s eyes turned into crescents while watching. With the ¡®host¡¯ being destroyed, the oue was obvious. It was an easy fight for Ka¡¯Kudenol. But... ¡°My prettyyyy....¡± She smiled and raised the leg. What came after was- -Kan He Nan Mu It was a kicking skill that waspletely different from Flying Master Kicks. As if it was some kind of a whip, Dohyuk¡¯s two legs moved in a frenzy, as savagely as they could. And when they stopped, Changhun¡¯s body was covered in blood with all of his nerves cut off. Dohyuk¡¯s body walked up and stepped on Changhun¡¯s gauntlet. ¡°Don¡¯t eat stuff on the groundddddd.¡± With the power, Ka¡¯Kudenol cut the gauntlet off from Changhun¡¯s body with the leg and kicked it away. And it was done. Mashiv had been kicked out of Changhun¡¯s body and Changhun was dying. ¡°But...¡± Ka¡¯kudenol then looked up. ¡°What are youuuuu?¡± It was the angels. -....heeeek! ¡°Why are you just watchiiiiing? That asshole isn¡¯t supposed to do thattttt!¡± -..... It was actually Ka¡¯kudenol who shouldn¡¯t be doing what she had done as Mashiv was still bound by a rule. But nobody could object. They were up against someone who did not care about the rules. ¡°Oh well....¡± Ka¡¯Kudenol nodded without doing anything. ¡°I have no timeeee, and my puppy is too strong-minded so I have to get outtt.¡± Ka¡¯Kudenol waved to Basil among the angels. ¡°You,e downnn.¡± -.... Basilnded as the other angels watched. ¡°Let¡¯s do thisssss. I let you goo, but you protect himmm until he wakes uppp.¡± -.... ¡°You can do thattt, right?¡± Basil and the angels looked at each other. Just looking didn¡¯t pose any problems, but if it in some way helped Dohyuk, there would be a problem with the fairness. The angels then turned to the top of the ck tower. On top was the four-winged angel, the top administrator of this region who was looking down silently. Ka¡¯Kudenol then looked that way and spoke. ¡°You have no problem toooo? Right b**tchhh?¡± -.... The four-winged angel did not speak or make any expressions. ¡°Goooood.¡± Ka¡¯Kudenol pped and began touching Dohyuk¡¯s body, feeling every wound and muscle. ¡°It¡¯s so cool.¡± And with that, Dohyuk¡¯s body copsed. ¡°Uh....¡± And came. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!¡± Dohyuk screamed. He had been keeping his consciousness even when Ka¡¯Kudenol was controlling him. That¡¯s why he could feel everything. Every pain from the wounds to the muscles seared through his body and it was like unlike any pain he had felt before. It was because of Ka¡¯Kudenol¡¯s godly skill. As Dohyuk felt unbearable pain, he saw two things: the face of an angel and the message that popped up. <