"If you're going to ask me to team up with you, I'm not interested."
Min-beom looked at him seriously in the eyes, holding onto his sword as Dong-hyun chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"H-hey dude-- You know we can level up together and make ourselves one of the Rank S!" Dong-hyun said, laughing nervously. Bora and Myung-mi went to Min-beom as Bora coiled around his shoulders.
"Yeah no, I'd rather level up solo, keep dreaming though." Min-beom snapped as he rolled his eyes at him.
"Come on kid!-"
"Please don't push me further." He warned, glaring at him as Dong-hyun and his teammate backed off with angry looks on their faces.
[The character, Choi Dong-hyun's trust in you went down to zero!] Min-beom ignored the screen as he put his other hand in his pocket.
'As if I need that idiot's trust.'
He snorted as he scanned the old buildings, some people started chatting and the scenario didn't seem to be over yet. The skies turned dark as if it was about to rain. He looked at Myung-mi beside him.
"That guy is fishy, Master." Myung-mi said, glaring at Dong-hyun and his gang.
"Indeed, they are." Min-beom replied, letting out a soft sigh.
He shook his head as he turned to the others, busy talking as the others searching some buildings to loot. Min-beom looked over to the other side, his face became pale when he saw that the shadowy gates were open, the Rank D gate, revealing the main beasts and different kinds of monsters such as red scorpion, black serpent, and white spiders. They were massive.
'Oh crap.'
[The Rank D Gate is now opened!]
The people readied their weapons and skills for the next gate, there were only four hours on the clock. Min-beom held onto his sword and smiled nervously. Bora slithered down the ground, following Myung-mi.
"H-hey! Where are you two going?" Min-beom asked nervously and helplessly on the next round.
"Watching from the sidelines."
Bora said and hissed softly as they walked to the corner, leaving Min-beom in the middle of the street.
[Myung-mi and Bora are abandoning you in the middle of the scenario.]
He frowned by the remark and decided to accept that he would be alone in this scenario.
Once the Rank D beasts were revealed, they were massive and a lot stronger than the Rank E. They had sharp razor claws, white fur, sharp teeth and red eyes glowing menacingly, just like the Rank E beasts but more terrifying.
Some people decided to back off while some were too confident to fight the beasts by themselves. Min-beom watched them fight the beasts as he stood there, holding onto his sword. He saw Jung-Lee there in the distance, fighting the beasts by himself, using his skills. It was an amazing sight.
There were endless dings, loud growls and screams filling the air. It was too much for him, he couldn't move as he saw the others getting killed by the beasts, their flesh falling to the ground and disappearing from this world forever.
It was too much.
Before he could do anything, a Rank D beast leaped at him, and he reacted too late.
'Oh sh*t! -'
His ember eyes widened in shock, fear and disbelief. He felt like he was going to die, his memories flashing before him. He lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud.
All of a sudden, the Rank D beast was stabbed in the heart from behind. He was saved.
His eyes widened more as he saw the beast fall to the ground, revealing the person behind. Min-beom looked at the person, their hair was long that cascaded over their shoulders, it was color red.
Their eyes were brown, and they were wearing a crop top, sweatpants, a loose white jacket, a choker and she... She was holding a sword in her hand; she also had a bubblegum as she blew it and popped.
Min-beom didn't recognize the woman, he looked up at her like she was his savior, which was true. He had never seen this character in the novel before. He doesn't remember any characters that perfectly described her.
'A one-time character or something?'
"Are you okay?"
The woman asked as she put her hand on her hip, looking down at him. She reached out a hand to help him get up as he put his hand on hers.
"Thank you." Min-beom bowed slightly in gratitude as the woman laughed.
"Don't mention it, good luck surviving."
She said as she ran towards the other beasts with her sharp sword, cutting them with ease, she seemed powerful and too confident.
Min-beom held onto his sword as he watched the others fight off the beasts, all of a sudden, there was a screen that appeared in front of him:
"[Four hours left to complete the second scenario.]"
'Darn it… I need to at least kill 3 Rank D beasts.' He facepalmed, disappointed in himself that he was just watching from the distance, the others were already making their kills as the ding sounds filled the air. He needed to do something.
Before he could walk into the scene, someone bumped into his shoulder, Min-beom kept his balance steady as he looked at the person that bumped into his shoulder.
"Sorry man!" The man grinned as he rested the heavy metal sword on his shoulder, looking so powerful and strong.
"It's fine-"
'How can this man carry such a massive sword!?' Min-beom thought to himself as he stared at the confident man.
The man gave him a charming wink, making him flinch slightly as if cupid as hit him and didn't miss a shot, the man charged at the Rank D beasts with ease and speed.
He looked at his surroundings, thinking of a strategy to kill off the beasts that were half powerful.
'Attacking it on the chest… Severing its head… It's too risky.' He let out a weary sigh, not knowing what to do at all. He brought up his attribute screen and took a look at the stats, seeing if there was more to his stats.
"This guy only has 550 coins… Not enough to upgrade my stamina or speed." He muttered under his breath as he stood there, chilling as if the scenario never bothered him at all.
The two creatures watched him in the corner with confused looks on their faces.
"Bora… Is master really, okay?" Myung-mi hovered in the air as he looked over at the white snake, "I guess he's not okay, I mean- he is never okay."
A screen popped up in front of Min-beom at the top of his attribute holographic screen:
[Myung-mi and Bora think you have gone crazy.]
Min-beom ignored the screen as he closed his attribute screen. He decided to take a risk and try to kill one of the Rank D beasts. He spotted one that was isolated from the others and ran towards it with his sword.
'Jackpot!'
The beast noticed him and roared, ready to attack. Min-beom dodged its swipe and stabbed it in the chest, but it didn't seem to affect it much.
The beast bit him in the arm, making him scream in pain. He kicked it in the face, making it let go of him. He saw blood dripping from his wound and felt dizzy.
'Damn it, Nevermind! I shouldn't had done that!'
He knew he had to finish this quickly, or he would die. He gathered all his strength and swung his sword at the beast's neck, hoping to sever its head.
Min-beom felt his sword cut through flesh and bone and heard a thud. He looked down and saw the beast's head on the ground, its eyes still open.
He had done it. He had killed a Rank D beast.
[Kill Rank D beasts (1/3) Incomplete.]
[Several Gods are impressed by your courage.] - [10 Golds have been gifted!]
'Darn... This wound hurts like hell...'
Min-beom groaned at the pain as his arm bled slowly. He scanned the scene and saw no one paying attention to him. They were all busy fighting the Rank D beasts. He was about to move away, but a hand grabbed his wrist. He spun around, but there was nobody there. He noticed a copper-colored hair below him.
'What?'
He lowered his eyes and found a little girl. She had copper locks, green orbs and a peaceful face, she doesn't look terrified at all but rather concerned, as if everything that's happening was normal for her.
'How did a kid get here?' Min-beom stared at the little girl in confusion. He couldn't remember any characters from the novel that looked like her.
'Is she a new character? The only kid I know from the novel is…'
"Ahjussi! Y-your arm is bleeding!" The little girl cried out as she examined his wound. Min-beom felt a pang in his chest when she called him "Ahjussi".
'Ahjussi… Do I look that old…?'
"Uh, yes- But I'm fine-" He lied, trying to calm the weird little girl who appeared out of nowhere. The little girl released his wrist and pointed at a brick. "Ahjussi- Could you please sit there?" She asked. Min-beom was taken aback by her request.
"Uh… why?" He wondered.
"I'm going to heal your wounds, Ahjussi." She said, lowering her head slightly in respect. He sighed.
"Alright." He agreed and walked over to the broken brick and sat on it. The little girl came closer and placed her hand on his arm where the wound was.
Min-beom watched the others fight the Rank D beasts on the sidewalk. The sound of flesh tearing, and screams filled the air. He looked at the little girl and saw her hand glow.
He was shocked as he felt a warm and safe sensation from the light. The wound slowly healed and disappeared without a trace on his skin.
He was curious about why the little girl helped him.
The little girl moved away and smiled at him warmly. "Are you feeling better now, Ahjussi?" She asked. Min-beom nodded, feeling thankful.
[Several Gods are moved by your kindness.] A screen appeared beside the little girl in a short time and then vanished.
"Yes, I feel much better and great. Thank you, kid." He said as he got up from the brick. He didn't feel any sharp pain in his arm anymore. He gripped his sword as he watched the others fight. There were only 3 hours left on the clock.
Suddenly, a hologram screen appeared in front of him:
[New ability unlocked! "Gamer's Knowledge!"]