At this moment, Yoo Sangah shouted, "Dokja-ssi! Behind you!"
I reflexively leaned forward as a bloody fist came flying through the air. It
was a familiar fist covered with energy. I felt something falling towards me
and instinctively kicked out. I didn't need to look back to know what was
behind me.
A 9th grade human type, demonic person. Human mutants infected with
black ether. That's why demonic people were classified as a high-risk
species, despite being 9th grade. Demonic people made from a normal
human base were no different from zombies, but it was particularly
dangerous if their hosts were different.
I saw the badge of the school student with a damaged head.
"…Kim Namwoon." The guy whose head burst a few minutes ago was now aiming for me as a
demonic person. Kim Namwoon's vocal cords that burst out were in a
bizarre shape.
"Kuweeeoooh."
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Lv. 1 has been activated!]
[This person doesn't have any consciousness. The skill Omniscient Reader's
Viewpoint will be cancelled.]
Damn, it was as expected. My thigh was scratched by Kim Namwoon's
overgrown black fingernails. A pain that felt like a burn spread through my
leg. The skin which hadn't been cut by a knife was now torn by fingernails.
This was the main reason why demonic people were dangerous. The
demonic people became several times stronger than when they were human.
"Yoo Sangah-ssi, immediately―" I felt something as I spoke. Without
looking back, I could see what was going on.
"Let me go! Let go! Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi!"
Han Myungoh, who had just been limping, was carrying Yoo Sangah over
one shoulder and moving across the bridge at an astonishing rate.
[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' admires how easy you are to trick.]
[The constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is impressed with your
sacrifice.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
…Indeed. Planning to leave me? By the way, the way he was running was a
little strange. Despite being on one leg, he was running as fast as an
Olympic athlete. This couldn't be the exclusive skill of Han Myungoh, who
had a big belly. Therefore, it must be the stigma of his sponsor. I already knew the constellation who provided that stigma. It was the
Onelegged Swift Horse. I used Character List on the distant Han Myungoh.
[The information of this person can't be read in 'Character List'.]
Once again, Character List didn't work properly. If I remembered correctly,
the stigma of 'One-legged Swift Horse' came from the constellation Lame
Trickster. Lame Trickster didn't give any stigmas in the mental barrier
system. In addition, Han Myungoh couldn't possess such a skill from the
beginning. In other words, my skill failed not because of Han Myungoh's
ability.
…I was stupid. I looked at the message window floating in front of me and
laughed.
[This person isn't registered in 'Character List'.]
I was thinking too hard when it meant literally that. Character List literally
read the information of characters. Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh were
characters who didn't originally appear in Ways of Survival. They were
people who would've died if I hadn't saved them. It was natural that I
couldn't confirm their information with Character List.
"Gruk! Gruk! Gruk!"
On one side, the incoming Kim Namwoon and demonic people were
jabbering nonsense at me. On the other side, Han Myungoh was already
halfway across the bridge. Lee Hyunsung and Lee Gilyoung had already
entered the safety zone across the bridge so I couldn't ask for help from
them.
This was truly a predicament. I couldn't cross the bridge alone. My brain
moved quickly. Should I capture one of the demonic people and cross the
bridge? It was worth trying, but the success rate was too low. Unlike the
name, the demonic people were categorized as non-human, meaning they
didn't count as a person. "Kuaaaack!"
Several demonic people lost their balance and fell down the bridge. The
fallen demonic people became the food of the ichthyosaur. Like a piranha,
the ichthyosaur broke the demonic people into dozens of pieces in an
instant.
Distant fear came flooding back in.
If the number of people on the bridge became 'odd' for even a moment, I
would be like them. It was impossible to cross alone. Then?
"…Let's take it slow." I muttered as I attempted to control myself. Right
now, I needed to remain calm. There were still a few usable methods, but
the important thing was to handle matters in front of me. I controlled my
breathing and walked to the demonic people.
"Kuweeok?"
Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to make them fall down the bridge using
inertia. I reduced their numbers by making them fall steadily. The
dokkaebi's stopwatch floating in the air was blinking. The time remaining
before the scenario ended was 15 minutes.
"Sigh…"
Nails flew from a blind spot and pierced my shoulder bone. No matter how
calm my mind, no matter how much information I knew, I couldn't help my
untrained body.
"Kuwoooook!" The wild Kim Namwoon's attacks were becoming
increasingly faster.
Left shoulder.
The right thigh.
The top of the head.
I had to break the flow. I barely avoided the flying fingernails and kicked
his legs.
"Kyah?"
This person lost all senses and wasn't hurt at all. I stepped back, hitting a
broken steel frame. I could hear the raging sound of the ichthyosaur at the
bottom of the pillars.
[A few constellations are rejoicing in your adversity.]
[Constellations have sponsored you 200 coins.]
It was a steady accumulation of coins. Now I held 5,000 coins. It was a
significant number of coins for the beginning.
[Wow, you are quite good at surviving. Now now! Will any constellations
help this poor friend?] It was the dokkaebi's merchant-like voice.
I wanted to tear it apart.
[Geez, there is really nobody?]
Of course. It would be strange for a constellation to support me after what
happened during the Sponsor Selection.
[What did I say? You should've chosen well when you had the chance. How
pitiful.]
Kim Namwoon attacked me again and again, resulting in damage to my
waist. Of course, I also injured Kim Namwoon's left side with the knife.
Thanks to that, his stomach was hanging out like a skipping rope. In order
to kill a demonic person, I had to completely destroy the heart. However,
the skin of a demonic person was hardest near the heart. The Swiss Army
knife wasn't able to pierce it with sharpness alone. Dammit, it wouldn't be so hard if I had just one combat skill.
[The exclusive skill 'Bookmark' is activated.]
…Bookmark?
['Character Bookmarks' is activated.]
[Available Bookmark Slots: 3]
[Bringing up the list of available bookmarks.]
Bookmark. I've read over 3,000 chapters of Ways of Survival and I never
saw this skill name before. Still, I intuitively knew how to use it.
"Activate bookmark number one."
There was the feelings of pages turning in my head. It was the scenes of
Kim Namwoon in Ways of Survival.
「Hahahaha! I'm full of strength! 」
「Die! Die! Die! Die!」
「A new world requires new laws.」
[ People Listed in the Bookmark Slots ]
1 .The Delusion Demon Kim Namwoon (Understanding 25).
2 .Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung (Understanding 35).
3 .Empty slot.
Kim Namwoon's memories crowded in and all of my muscle nerves started
to tense up. The power of another person was spiking within me.
[The number one bookmark has been activated.]
[The level of the Bookmark skill is low, shortening the activation time.]
[Activation Time: One minute.]
One minute. That was enough.
[Your understanding of the character is low, so only a part of the character's
skill is activated.]
[Blackening Lv.1 has been activated.]
Kim Namwoon was breathing roughly as he rushed towards me. His body
was covered with a black energy that was threatening me. I firmly placed
strength on the heels of my feet and rushed towards Kim Namwoon. If we
had the same skill, I absolutely wouldn't lose.
At this moment, I really was Kim Namwoon. I was the crazy killer who
ruled the world of 'Ways of Survival' with the protagonist. In a situation
where Blackening was properly played, the Delusion Demon of the
battlefield couldn't be easily beaten.
"Kyaaack!"
The Swiss Army knife cut through uncomfortable sensations. It tore
through muscles and flesh. From the upper left arm to the heart. There was
the sound of a whole human being cut up as Kim Namwoon staggered. If he
still had eyes, he would be glaring at me right now.
"Kuoh, kill. Ohhh. D.i.e" The young man who felt pessimistic towards the
world and dreamt of breaking away from it. If Ways of Survival hadn't started, he might've gone to university after sitting his CSAT¹ and enjoyed
campus life. "…Don't, want…to…die"
I watched Kim Namwoon falling down the bridge without saying farewell.
Despite him being a hated figure, I couldn't help feeling strange emotions.
[Your understanding of the character 'Kim Namwoon' has increased.]
[The number one bookmark has been disabled.]
A surge of fatigue overcame me as the power went away. It was hard, really
hard.
"Kuwoooook!"
There was 10 minutes remaining. There were still many demonic people
moving about. It was unreasonable to take on so many even with Lv. 10
physique. However, from the beginning, I had no intention of taking care of
them alone. It was a little late but he should appear around now.
Kwajik! Kwajijijik!
There was a crackling sound like he had been waiting. I knew it. I thought
he would do reckless things in order to gain achievements and donations.
Kwajijik! Crunch.
It was obviously the sound of a person's flesh colliding with another body,
but it sounded more like a mace crushing flesh. In fact, I had collected this
many coins and thought it would be worth challenging the protagonist.
Now I realized how mistaken I was. From the stationary train, the demonic
people were thrown away in a straight line, as if a tank had rushed through.
Was this really a scene caused by a 'human'?
"Kyaack?"
[ Character Summary ]
The headless demonic people realized that something was strange and
started turning around. However, it was too late. The man destroyed all the
demonic people threatening me and appeared in front of me. An
overwhelming force without any weapons. He beat the demonic people
with only two fists.
I had prepared my mind in advance but sweat still flowed down my back.
Dealing with this guy? It was absolutely impossible. I couldn't win even if
my overall stats rose by more than double what they were now.
"You, who are you?"
The man's cool gaze turned to me. I reflexively turned on Character List in
order to overcome the fear.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is
converted to Character Summary.]
Name: Yoo Joonghyuk.
Exclusive Attributes: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Sage's Eye Lv. 8, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 8,
Weapons Training Lv. 8, Mental Barrier Lv. 5, Crowd Control Lv. 5,
Reasoning Lv. 5, Lie Detection Lv. 4…
The list of exclusive skills continued endlessly. Before I could get to the
end of the list, a rugged hand appeared and grabbed my neck.
"You, how the hell are you alive?"
The 'first way' to survive in a ruined world. The one who proved that
method was right in front of me. Regressor Yoo Joonghyuk. The grand
tragedy of this world began with this person.
[1] CSAT – a South Korean standardized university exam.