The 12 Monarchs.
The list of villains shifted every time Soo Jinyoung reincarnated, but those twelve were constant—the primary antagonists of the World of Nightmare.
Among them was the Mad Berserker of Gwanak-gu, Jung Donghyun. His danger rating was relatively low, but that didn't mean he was weak.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhgggg!!!! My hand!!"
Jung Donghyun screamed, clutching his broken hand.
The crowd around us stared in disbelief. From their reactions, I could guess that no one had dared to stand up to him until now.
"You bastard! Who do you thinking you are?!!"
Jung Donghyun glared at me with bloodshot eyes, his pride visibly wounded.
The Mad Berserker. A man who only respected strength. If I wanted to get through to him, I needed to take a bold approach.
"Kim Jakga," I said plainly.
"…Kim Jakga? What kind of name is that?"
"I hear that a lot these days."
"Who the hell asked?!" he snarled.
At that moment, he unleashed his spiritual pressure. It was a good attempt—but laughable compared to Soo Jinyoung's level.
[Jung Donghyun has used the Authority of Malice ]
[Personal skill, 'Black Box' has activated.]
[The Black Box has forcefully nullified the authority 'Malice']
"W-What?"
He blinked in shock.
He tried to hide it, but it was clear that his confidence was cracking.
If my memory served me right, the Divine Authority of Malice was designed to instill paralyzing fear, powerful enough to seize the hearts of its victims—or even kill them outright.
But what he wielded wasn't the true Authority. It was merely a Minor Divinity (약화된 권능): a fragmented, watered-down version of the original power.
This one, in particular, was a pale shadow of the Forgotten Gladiator's Authority of Malice.
Even so, Minor Divinities could prove deadly, especially to ordinary people without a Star Contract to shield them.
Unfortunately for him, I wasn't an ordinary person.
"You... what are you trying to pull?"
"Isn't that ironic? I was about to ask you the same thing. Did you really think no one would step in? You see, I despise the things I hate. And when I see someone acting foolishly, I make sure to teach them a lesson. Have you ever received one thousand spanks to the butt?"
"Spanks? Who the hell do you think you are, you arrogant punk!"
"Arrogant? Me? Ah, don't be silly~ I'm just trying to have a conversation with you, to explain that what you're doing is wrong. There's no need for violence if we could just talk things through like calm adults. But it's clear you're not someone who's interested in reasoning."
"You dare... You dare...."
Jung Donghyun seemed like he was about to turn red. Didn't he look like a rotten tomato?
I chuckled internally. This was Jung Donghyun's flaw.
Overconfidence. He wasn't weak, but he was prideful, shortsighted, and painfully stupid. Because of that, he picks fights that he does not win and ends up suffering as a result of those choices.
[Personal skill, 'Black Box' (Envy) has activated.]
I began reading his information.
+
[Character Information]
Name: Jung Donghyun
Age: 28
Star Constellation: Forgotten Gladiator
Main Attributes: Berserker (Unique), Tax Collector (Common)
Skill Cards:
| Sword Training Lv. 2 |
| Powerful Blow Lv. 2 |
| Berserk Lv. 3 |
| Muscle Enhancement Lv. 5 |
Divine Authorities:
| Malice |
Overall Stats:
| Physique Lv. 18 |
| Strength Lv. 16 |
| Agility Lv. 12 |
| Magic Power Lv. 10 |
Description: A character with decent physical abilities. His Star Contract is mediocre, but his warrior capabilities are considerable.
+
I realised the reason why he was so overconfident.
With a total stat of 56, he was stronger than most survivors in the Seoul Dome and among the top 50 Walkers. Yet, he was far from being the strongest Storywalker.
Jung Donghyun began to speak in a threatening manner.
"This bastard... Who the hell are you looking at with those eyes? Are you looking down on me?"
Jung Donghyun roared as he swung his fist forward. It was an strike charged with raw, aggressive energy.
[Jung Donghyun has used the skill 'Powerful Blow.']
It would be dangerous if I was hit by that. Fortunately, the attack pattern was predictable. I sidestepped and countered, driving my fist into his nose with precision.
Jung Donghyun staggered backward from the impact, clutching his bloodied nose. His eyes burned with fury as he barked at his men.
"You bastards, why are you just standing around for? Get him!"
At once, four men surrounded me. Their confidence seemly bolstered by their numbers. They moved with an air of smug assurance.
I summoned the Iron-Cutting Sword and gripped it tightly.
"Waaaah!"
One of them charged recklessly, aiming to test me. I waited until the perfect moment, then drove the sword into his thigh.
"Aaaaack! Fuck!"
"This bastard!"
"Attack him together!"
The injured man crumpled to the ground, clutching his leg as the others rushed me simultaneously. Their lack of coordination and skill was painfully obvious.
This was a pitiful display for a supposed hunting squad.
Did Soo Jinyoung even bother to train these men properly? That woman is always too impatient.
I dodged their clumsy attacks with ease. The Iron-Cutting Sword flashed repeatedly, relentlessly.
Puok! Puok!
"Uwaaaack!"
"My arm! My arm!"
After the Iron-Cutting Sword pierced their limbs, the men writhed on the floor, screaming in pain like children. But I avoided fatal blows, as it would be troublesome if they died.
[A few constellations nods at your Judgement.]
[The constellations have sponsored you 100 coins.]
[A few constellations wish for the death of the Gwanakgu group.]
If I killed them all here, I could catch the constellations' attention for a while, but I had no intention of eliminating them. They'd be useful when the 4th Main Story arrived.
Time to finish the performance. I raised the sword at Jung Donghyun, who was hiding behind his men.
"Come here, I'll deal with you next."
"This son of a bitch..."
Jung Donghyun gritted his teeth, his pride clearly wounded. It didn't take long before he stepped forward, with his fists clenched.
"Fine! Everyone back off! I'll take care of this myself!"
His men retreated, and Jung Donghyun drew his sword. Sparks flickered around his body as his broken arm began to heal, the bones forcibly realigning as his muscles expanded and turned red.
It was the phenomenon of a skill being activated
[Jung Donghyun' has used Berserk Lv. 3]
[Jung Donghyun' has used Muscle Strengthening Lv. 5]
[All basic stats has increased by 10 levels.]
A whole ten levels. This was the reason the Mad Berserker was so difficult to deal with. Things were about to get serious.
Whoosh!
A sword sliced through the air, aimed directly for my face, as if trying to split me in two. I swiftly sidestepped and calmly evaded the blade.
Donghyun smirked. "What's wrong? Are you scared yet?"
I barely managed to dodge the attack in time, the blade grazing my cheek. His speed, boosted by an agility stat of level 22, was ridiculous. With his overall stats now at 96, I knew the fight had become far more dangerous.
Before I could react, a relentless barrage of slashes came at me.
"Die! Die! Die!"
Donghyun swung his sword wildly, as if in a frenzy. I wasn't surprised; he was called the Mad Berserker for a reason.
The Mad Berserker attribute temporarily raised a user's overall stats, but at the cost of their rationality. It made the user a berserk fighter with enhanced strength but also diminished control.
"Hahaha! Is dodging the only thing you can do?"
His attacks were fast and furious, and his confidence grew with each strike. It was difficult to avoid his barrage entirely, but thankfully, our agility difference wasn't that wide, so I was able to avoid most of the blows.
I reached into my dimensional storage and summoned two white pills, popping them into my mouth.
[You have consumed two enhancement pills.]
[All stats will explode exponentially for five minutes.]
[Physique Lv. 20 –> Physique Lv. 30]
[Strength Lv. 20 –> Strength Lv. 30]
[Agility Lv. 20 –> Agility Lv. 30]
[Magic Power Lv. 20 –> Magic Power Lv. 30]
[Your body is overflowing with great potential.]
[Your muscle fibres have gotten much stronger!]
[You can now unleash greater strength.]
[You can now move much faster.]
[Your body has gotten tougher.]
Enhancement Pills (강화 약)
Each one raised all stats by five levels. Most people wouldn't use them after the early stages of the nightmares, considering them a waste. But right now, they were incredibly useful—especially with the 4th Fable approaching.
"Hey," I said, as Donghyun swung his sword through the empty air. "It's my turn, right?"
"W-What?!" Donghyun exclaimed.
I didn't hesitate. I slammed my clenched fist into his cheek with the force of my newly enhanced body. A few teeth flew out, along with blood, and Jung Donghyun screamed. He tried to retaliate, but I pierced his hand with my sword and pinned it to the wall.
"Uwaak!"
Donghyun made a groan as he tried to remove the sword but it seems he has ran out of time.
[The skill time limit had been reached.]
[Berserk has been disabled.]
"What? How?!" Donghyun gasped.
"Why was you so surprised? Don't you know how your own skill works?"
The Berserk skill could only be used for a short time before it turns deactivated. That was why most Walkers usually avoided berserk skills. Jung Donghyun has returned back to his original level.
Releasing the reality of the situation, Donghyun shivered and looked at me in fear. What a satisfacting expression.
"Wait... please, let's talk this out." he pleased.
"Talk? How strange. Isn't that what I said before you decided to be violent?"
"I'm sorry. It was my mistake. I won't do it again. Just give me a chance."
"Did you give a chance to that boy over there?"
"That..."
He struggled to answer. Humans were weak creatures. They liked oppressing those weaker than them but would lick the boots of those with higher power. It was something I had already experienced.
I grabbed Donghyun by his hair and raised my fist.
"Don't worry, you'll thank me for this someday."
"That... Wait! Uwaak!"
My fist slammed into his nose as he tried to speak. It seemed I had broken his nose because blood gushed out, but I didn't stop. I raised my fist and punched down repeatedly.
The sound of fist meeting flesh echoed through the air.
The survivors watched from the background. The weak-hearted ones looked away while the rest observed in silence.
I didn't know what they were thinking, but it was important that they witnessed this performance.
Pow! Pow! Pow!!!
"Kuheok! Kuheeok!"
Broken teeth and blood spilled to the ground. Donghyun's face had swollen, but my fists didn't stop.
Maybe it was because he was a fictional character I hated while reading the novel, maybe it was because of my own stories or perhaps I was simply following my human instincts. Either way, it was cold and calculated physical violence.
At some point, someone spoke up.
"Hey, you can stop now."
"No, not yet. I have to beat him up a little longer... enough to scare him into repentance. It's important to prevent acts of violence from happening again by eliminating the root."
"Jakga-ssi."
A familiar voice. More importantly, the place grew dead silent as I stopped my fists. I turned my head and saw someone.
Eh? What was this situation?
"Soo Jinyoung-ssi?"