I often thought about it. Why did so many 'predictable villains' appear in
post-apocalyptic stories? It must be the laziness of the authors to think that
crimes such as rape or theft would occur indiscriminately in such a
situation. If the real 'destruction' came, wouldn't humans act more rationally
than they thought?
"It looks like he won't give it. Hey, go ahead and kill him!"
The answer was now right in front of me. I observed the men coming
towards me, as well as the man watching from the rear.
[The constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' expects a fair judgment.]
I once again realized it. The human imagination was cliché, yet real humans
were more cliché than the imagination.
Hwiiik!
The trajectory of the iron pipe moved in a funny manner through the air. It
wasn't a strike with the intent to kill. In fact, it didn't hurt that much.
"I-If you don't run away then you really will die. Get lost!"
The four men surrounded me. One was trembling but the others looked
more relaxed than before. It was probably due to the advantage in numbers.
"What are these brats doing?" Along with the shout, one man rushed
forward. It was clearly a defenseless posture. I moved the thorn.
Puok!
"Aaaaack! My leg! My leg!"
"You bastard!"
"Hit him together!"
The agitated men rushed simultaneously but I wasn't afraid. Their strength
levels were just about 5. I endured the incoming attacks and silently stabbed
the thorn. The men had their thighs successively pierced and fell to their
knees with a scream. Nevertheless, I didn't kill them. It was because the
scenario clear condition was to 'neutralize' them.
[Constellations of the absolute good system nod at your judgment.]
[A few constellations laugh at your humanity.]
[Constellations have sponsored you 100 coins.]
If I became a murderer, I might be able to attract the attention of the
constellations but it was only for a while. Instantly raising the threshold of
stimulation wasn't good in the long run.
[There are three minutes to the end of the scenario.]
Two minutes had passed. Time calculation was important in time attack
scenarios.
"W-What the hell is this bastard? Why won't you die?"
At this time, their leader who was watching the situation from the back
came forward. "You are a fairly tough guy. Everyone back off. I will deal
with him."
"Cheolsoo hyung-nim! This guy seems to have a pretty strong sponsor!"
"Good. It looks like he has a lot of coins."
Knuckles shining with a black gloss—they weren't ordinary iron knuckles.
Did he receive it from his sponsor?
Crunch.
There was the relaxed sound of bones cracking from the knuckled hands.
[The character 'Cheolsoo' has used Threaten.]
[Threaten doesn't work because the overall capabilities gap is too big.]
"Hoh, aren't you quite good? You aren't getting scared at all." The man's
fist moved before he finished talking. The attack was aimed exactly at my
jaw. I quickly stepped back. That guy smiled. "Aren't you quite good? Do
you exercise?"
Even if I didn't have a footwork skill, anyone could do this if their agility
exceeded level 10. Since I previously invested most of my remaining coins
after buying items, the total sum of my body stats now reached 33. Should I
look at this guy?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
Exclusive Attributes: Assault Force Captain (General)
Exclusive Skills: Dogfight Lv. 2, Bluff Lv. 2.
Stigma: Threaten Lv.1
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 6, Strength Lv. 7, Agility Lv. 6, Magic
Power Lv. 2.
Overall Evaluation: A common small fry who was lucky to obtain a
sponsor. He has a tendency to overstate his abilities compared to his
actual combat strength.
Ah…right. Now I remembered.
"Bang Cheolsoo of the Cheoldoo Group."
"What, you know me?"
"Let's see?"
My memory was dim because he disappeared like the wind at the beginning
of the work, but I fuzzily recalled there was a character called Bang
Cheolsoo. He was the stupidest guy in the group at Geumho Station. As far
as I knew, these guys should've been killed by Yoo Joonghyuk. Why were
they still alive?
[ Character Summary ]
Name: Bang Cheolsoo.
Age: 34 years old.
Sponsor: Monarch of the Small Fries.
Ohu, perhaps you are of 'that' category? You must've killed people. Isn't
that right? Yes, I feel that we are somewhat alike."
[The character 'Bang Cheolsoo' has used Bluff.]
Bluff. It was a skill that anyone who was a thug possessed. It was a good
debuff that could weaken the opponent's attack power, but this case was
different.
[Fourth Wall has blocked the bluff of the character Bang Cheolsoo.]
[The confidence of the character Bang Cheolsoo is rapidly falling.]
"Are you ignoring me? You really want to die." Bang Cheolsoo took a
threatening Greco-Roman wrestling posture and rushed towards me, but
that was only a bluff. It was because he didn't have the 'wrestling' skill.
"Stop beating around the bush and come on."
"Son of a bitch!"
The key skill that Bang Cheolsoo had was Dogfight Lv. 2. His combat
power was insignificant unless he got into a melee.
"Die!"
The agility difference was so high that his attacks rarely hit me. I looked at
him with a bit of sympathy. Not all constellations had a desire to raise their
incarnations as the 'protagonist' of the scenario. For example, his
constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' was famous for being thrifty with
his incarnations. A masochist who enjoyed using idiots as his incarnation
and watching them be crushed by other incarnations. That was the
'Monarch of the Small Fries'.
[The constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' is delighted.]
[The constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' has sponsored you 100
coins.]
Despite his incarnation being smashed, he was supporting the enemy.
Originally, I was thinking about ending the time attack in one blow but now
the story was a bit different.
[There are two minutes to the end of the sub scenario.]
Then I should make the most of the remaining time.
"You rat bastard!" All of his lines were in the style of the Monarch of the
Small Fries. How pitiful. "Haha! I hit you!"
His attack luckily hit but there was little damage. The spot where I was hit
just stung a bit.
"How?"
How? My physique was Lv. 12. His strength was only Lv. 7. The disparity
in the overall stats created a huge combat power gap.
"Is it my turn now?"
I touched the cheek of the stupefied Bang Cheolsoo before hitting it as hard
as I could. A few teeth flew out as Bang Cheolsoo screamed. I didn't
hesitate and pierced his arm with the thorn.
"Aaaagh!"
I pinned one of his arms to the wall with the thorn and started the
indiscriminate assault. I chose the areas that were the most painful without
knocking him out, such as the back, thighs and sides.
[The constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' is delighted.]
[The constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' has requested an extension
of the sub scenario time.]
[The sub scenario is extended by one minute.]
I also paid attention to the parts where the woman had been injured.
"Cough! Kuheok! Kuheeok!"
Blood and flesh were scattered. Broken teeth fell to the ground and the
broken bones twisted abnormally. However, I didn't stop kicking.
"S-Stop! Please! Let hyung-nim go!"
The men standing to the side exclaimed with panic. I looked over at them
once in a while. Then I looked at the half naked woman lying on the
ground.
Humans were weak. How could such weak humans do such cruel things?
They used the excuse of the world being destroyed. They killed, raped
women and stole from others.
Was it because of instincts? I was suddenly curious as I saw Bang
Cheolsoo's eyes stained with fear in front of a stronger violence?
"Why did you do it?" It was a question out of nowhere. In fact, I didn't
expect an answer to this question but at the moment I was about to kick him
again, Bang Cheolsoo opened his eyes.
"Fuck…just kill me you son of a bitch."
The moment I saw his eyes, I knew he had answered my question in his
own way. A look that didn't show any lingering attachment to life. Yes. It
wasn't because of instincts. Bang Cheolsoo talked in a voice that was
subsiding.
"Dog, this dog-like world…"
This guy was a human who had been despairing long before this world was
destroyed. Just like me.
[There are 10 seconds left to the end of the sub scenario.]
I didn't delay any further and gave a strong kick to his neck. The breath was
knocked out of him and Bang Cheolsoo finally fainted.
[You have met the conditions to clear the sub scenario.]
[You have earned 300 coins.]
I hope all of you are happy.
[The constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' is satisfied and has
sponsored you 100 coins.]
The other men crawled and approached me one by one.
"H-How cruel…"
They looked at Bang Cheolsoo, who had been turned into a rag, and then up
at me with fear. It was like they were dogs waiting to be disposed of at a
slaughterhouse. I picked up the collapsed woman and the convenience store
bags. In any case, the world had been destroyed and I had to live a new life.
"Take me to where the group is."
Geumho Station was originally a place that would grow into the region's
base after it was organized by Yoo Joonghyuk. In his first regression, Yoo
Joonghyuk broke through the second main scenario with the Geumho
Station group, allowing the people of the group to occupy a place in the
new era. Even so, that was the first round. By the third round of regression,
Yoo Joonghyuk was different. The 3rd turn Yoo Joonghyuk was a monster
who monopolized everything.
"…Even so, he was someone who would do the basic clean up."
"Huh?" The man guiding me was surprised.
"I'm just talking to myself. It is a habit."
[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' likes your monologues.]
"Yes…anyway, this way."
The men of the Cheoldoo Group, who were supporting each other, stopped
moving. We descended to the bottom of the dark platform and found a
place where there was still light. I heard the buzzing sound of people as we
went down the stairs.
"The Cheoldoo Group! People are hurt!"
Some people rushed over to support Bang Cheolsoo's group. There was
more of a system then I thought since people were moving in an orderly
fashion. In the meantime, I saw familiar faces run over.
"Oh my god. Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi!"
Fortunately, it looks like nothing happened. I greeted the person, "Yoo
Sangah-ssi."
"I'm glad. Really, I'm really glad!" Yoo Sangah stood in front of me with a
happy expression. I was startled and offered an awkward handshake. There
were a lot of scrapes on the back of Yoo Sangah's hand, showing she had
suffered quite a hard time in the past four days. I heard a sound and
something became attached to my leg.
"You're alive." It was Lee Gilyoung.
I stroked the boy's head and asked, "Have you been well?"
Lee Gilyoung nodded. He must be hungry since his cheeks were really thin.
I pulled out a chocolate bar from the bag and placed it in Lee Gilyoung's
hand.
"I knew you were alive, Dokja-ssi. Hah…" Finally, I looked at Lee
Hyunsung. The muscles of his upper half seemed to have become more
solid. Maybe Lee Hyunsung had protected these two. "I'm really sorry. At
that time, I left Dokja-ssi…"
"It was an unavoidable situation."
"Phew, I'm glad that Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi was right."
…Yoo Joonghyuk? Why was that name heard here? Lee Hyunsung noticed
after a moment and said, "That, Yoo Joonghyuk said that Dokja-ssi was
probably alive…"
"…Where is Yoo Joonghyuk now?"
"He isn't here now."
Not here?
"Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi left the station yesterday. So…"
I could determine many things before Lee Hyunsung finished speaking. I
see. It was truly like that. He was a person in a rush.
"That reminds me, there is one more person."
"Ah, the department head."
Yoo Sangah didn't finish speaking because a group of men suddenly
intruded. Nonetheless, it was a good thing.
Everybody, out of the way!"
I didn't have to hear the explanation to see what happened straight away.
Three or four men armed with a hammer or pipe started to surround me.
There was a familiar face among them.
"Y-You…!" Han Myungoh abandoned me on the Even Bridge and now he
looked like he had seen a ghost. Han Myungoh must've joined this group.
"G-Get rid of that guy! He is a very bad person! He shouldn't be here!"
A thief was always the one who felt pins and needles. Han Myungoh started
exclaiming wildly. However, I noticed that the other men looked at each
other and didn't easily move. There was something weird. Han Myungoh
was placed in the center yet they didn't listen to him?
"Haha, Han hyung. Everyone should get along so why don't you stop?"
"Ah, t-that…"
"You are a new person."
The man split apart to the sides and a path was formed. A slim man
appeared among them. I could tell just by looking in his eyes. This guy had
a sponsor.
"Nice to meet you. Can I ask what your name is?"
"Kim Dokja."
"Dokja-ssi. I see. I am Cheon Inho."
Cheon Inho? It felt like a name I should remember. I inserted strength to the
hand holding the thorn. It looked like this guy was the leader of the
Cheoldoo Group. He lost half of his men to me so he came here to make
trouble.
"I heard the story from those you came with. You fought a monster
and saved my group members." …What?
"Everyone, please gather! We have a brave new group member!"
At Cheon Inho's words, people started to turn this way one by one. It was at
this time that I knew. It was impossible for the charisma of Han Myungoh
to gather this much power. Cheon Inho was the real leader of this bunch.
"Wah! It is food!"
Hungry eyes fell on the convenience store bags. Then Cheon Inho spoke as
if he had been waiting, "He delivered it exactly to us. He is a rare good
person."
The words made all the eyes look at me like I was a savior. The mother
holding the child and the elderly man who hurt his leg were looking at me
earnestly.
Cheon Inho…I seemed to remember. Yes, there was this guy in the
Geumho station group.
[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is excited.]
In this ruined world, the real danger wasn't people like Bang Cheolsoo.
Humans moving while feeling despair weren't the least bit dangerous to me.
The really dangerous people were those who used the despair of others as a
fertilizer for power. Just like this guy.
"Welcome to Geumho Station, Kim Dokja-ssi."
Cheon Inho was laughing on the inside while gazing at me. He chuckled
while shaking my hand. Cheon Inho would never know. At this moment,
his future had been decided.