Amidst the chaos of clashing bodies and the desperate cries of those fighting for survival, I stood face-to-face with Shin Jinhyuk.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and madness. It was definitely uncomfortable and while it was a dangerous position to be in, I had no choice. If I wanted to move forward, if I wanted to survive, this confrontation was inevitable.
Shin Jinhyuk looked at me as if he was puzzled then a disturbing smile formed on his lips. Anyone would be disturbed if soomeone told them they were going to kill them, but that mad demon Infront of me was smiling instead.
"Why me though?" He spoke with a mocking voice. "There are plenty of people here you could kill. Wait, is it because of the woman?" His eyes darted toward the figure of the woman bleeding on the floor, as if trying to find some resemblance. "But you two don't look alike."
I shook my head slowly, not breaking eye contact. "No, I'm not related to her."
"Then..."
"I'm simply here to kill you. Do I need any other reason?"
"Oh?" Shin Jinhyuk's smile seemed to widen even more. "Is that so? Are you trying to play the hero by killing me here? I thought someone like you would show up sooner or later. Even if you manage to kill me, it won't make a difference. You can't save these people."
He gestured lazily to the chaos around us, as if the lives of everyone here were nothing but a joke to him.
"I think you are misunderstanding something here."
His smile faltered slightly. "Hmm? What's that?"
"I'm not trying to save this people. They are going to die anyways."
"Hahaha! Of course! You're right. They're all going to die, aren't they?"
Even if these people attacked each other with all their might, killing someone is not easy. In the end, not everyone can be saved.
If they joined hands to take down the monsters then maybe more people will survive. But that was simply impossible with their current state of mind.
... More importantly, how do I deal with him?
Shin Jinhyuk was dangerous—dangerous enough to warrant caution. Killing him was necessary if I wanted to survive and see the next trial. But a direct approach wasn't going to work.
I silently activated my skill, and the familiar chime of a message rang in my head.
[Exclusive skill 'Omniscient Wall' has activated.]
+
[Private Information.]
Name: Shin Jinhyuk.
Age: 23
Star Constellation: None.
Main Attributes: Evolutionary (Common), Serial Killer (Rare)
Unique Skils: Growth Acceleration Lv. 1, Blood Demon Ki Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Strength Lv. 5, Agility Lv. 5, Physique Lv. 3, Magic Power Lv. 4.
Description: A man on the verge of becoming a monster. Left unchecked, he may evolve into a great demon. Eliminate him before his potential blooms into catastrophe.
+
Two words stood out to me from the status window:
Evolutionary and Serial Killer
Those attributes can't go well together unless you wanted absolute destruction. There were good reasons for coming to this evaluation.
The Evolutioary was one of the few evolutionary attributes in the narrative. It was ranked 'common' but it had the potential to evolve into something far more powerful and frightening, but only in the hands of the right person. The problem was that it was mixed with the Serial Killer attribute, which was selected for people who loved killing and senseless slaughter.
Not only that, the bastard also possessed perfect adaptability. His evolutionary evolved into the Mad Demon and with it, he would become one of the 20 strongest players in the Song of Nightmares.
"Hey," Shin Jinhyuk's voice interrupted my thoughts. "I like you. What do you say we team up? We could tear through the stories together."
Anyone who hadn't read the novel would be tempted to accept. With his strength, surviving the trials would be much easier.
But I knew better. Shin Jinhyuk was a snake. He'd backstab me the moment I let my guard down.
"Sorry, but I have to refuse."
"That's a shame. I was expecting you would say that. Now then..."
Before he could finish his sentence, something flashed past my face—a silver glint of a blade.
I jerked my head to the side just in time, the blade barely grazing my cheek. Blood dripped from the fresh wound.
"You dodged that? Do you exercise?"
"Do I look like the athletic-type?"
My voice was calm, but my mind was chaotic. What the hell was with that ridiculous speed?
I saw something emerging from Shin Jinhyuk's shoulders. It was as if I was looking at a ghost.
[Blood Demon Ki Lv. 1]
A crimson aura rose from Shin Jinhyuk. It was the skill that made him an unstoppable force.
Kwang!
A fist crashed down where I'd been standing a second ago, leaving a small crater in the ground.
"Haha! This power... I want more!" His laughter was wild, unhinged.
He lunged at me again, relentless. In one hand, the blade of death, and in the other, the fist of destruction. Each strike came faster and stronger than the last, and dodging became a desperate dance of survival.
One wrong move, and it would all be over.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The scene of me dodging many blows that could crippled an adult male continued. With each passing moment, Shin Jinhyuk was getting more and more frustrated.
"What the hell?! Are you some kind of eel? Stop wriggling so much and stay still Damnit!"
What an unreasonable thing to say. If I stopped moving, I was definitely going to be stabbed.
Shin Jinhyuk dashed towards me with more energy than before and continued his relentless assault.
At the time, I managed to create a distance of 10 metres between us. But Shin Jinhyuk casually covered that distance with just three mightly steps.
A fist that could knock me out with one blow came towards my face. I naturally dodged it by titling my head to the side.
Then came down the blade which I dodged by side-stepping again.
Each dodge felt like a miracle. I had no special combat training, no skills to predict his movements, yet I was able to keep up. It wasn't skill—it was something else.
It was because I activated one of my unique abilities and pages began turning in my head.
[Despite having great strength, Shin Jinhyuk was too predictable and his movements were lously at best.
Compared to the protagonist that has experienced three lives, his movements were similar to a child trying to tackle an adult.
Shin Jinhyuk swung his blade again and again however, he could never reach that person no matter how he tried
After a while, he felt an impact at the back of his neck.]
The scene above was when he met that person for the first time and suddenly attacked to attain dominance. Perhaps it was because of his instinct as a serial killer, he was able to sense the strength of the protagonist.
However, he lost in a one-sided manner. All his attacks were straight forward. He always aimed for the vital points and because of that, his attacks easily countered.
I could tell he was not used to fighting. An experienced fighting wouldn't be making such straightforward moves.
Despite knowing that, it was still difficult to dodge because of my weak stats and my stamina was running low as a result of the constant dodging.
The time was running short. There was only two minutes left before the scenario came to an end.
During that time, I have to find a way to kill this person. He has already passed the trial but I absolutely not let him proceed to the next one.
What should I do now? I can always use that weapon but I can't risk it. Let's go with that strategy, but it was a pretty dangerous road so I have to careful.
Suddenly, my movement became slow and I frequently got hit by the swiss knife. I intentionally reduced my speed so I can be hit. Luckily, there were not fatal wounds, only a small cut.
But then,
Peok!
"Arghh!"
I groaned as I sank to my knees from a sharp pain in my shoulder. The blade didn't pierce me but It took a chunk of my fresh.
"Hahaha! I finally got you, you eel-like bastard! I'll like to see how you can dodge now."
Shin Jinhyuk rushed towards me like a carnivorous animal. He was rushing at me with greater speed than before. He was planning on completely crushing me with immense force.
I wouldn't be able to dodge even if tried. However, the same could be said for him.
"You're predictable to the very end," I muttered with a smirk, and pulled out the weapon I had been hiding all this time
A military-issued pistol.
"Wh-Wha..."
Shin Jinhyuk's eyes widened in shock. He realized too late what was happening an tried to pull back, but his momentum of only carried him forward. There was no way he could stop now.
I aimed the gun at his forehead and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed through the room, and Shin Jinhyuk collapsed to the floor, with blood and brain matter splattering across the floor. His body twitched once, then went limp like a broken lily.
At the same time,
[You have killed one of your own species.]
[200 coins has been given as additional compensation.]
The system message arrived. With this death, I should have passed the conditions of the First Fable.
I stared at Shin Jinhyuk's lifeless body. His head was a mangled mess, but I felt no guilt. Just a hollow sense of satisfaction. Why? I had just killed a man, yet there was no remorse, no regret.
Even though I was forced by the system, even though I had to kill Shin Jinhyuk. Why?
At the same time, a message bought the rest of the survivors into despair. It was only people who couldn't kill their opponents and failed the scenario.
[The First Fable has reached its conclusion.]
[Those unable to pass the Fabel will face the failure penalty.]
"Please wait... No!!"
"Someone help me!"
The people screamed in horror, but it was too late.
Assassinated, strangled, poisoned, shot, beheaded, slaughtered, hacked apart, beaten, burned, crushed, frozen, drowned, or something else entirely. Nobody knew the exact method they were going to die.
It was then...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
There was no blood. There was no explosion. They collapsed without uttering a single sound or scream.
They just simply died.
Like some consumed battery, their lifespan was exhausted. It was anything like a soul, that object would have been extracted from their bodies.
Like an unappreciated background characters, they died pathetically and worthlessly. Sure was the fate of background characters.
A gamer would have said they had died an NPC's death.
How would anyone react in face of such a scene?
I watched it all with a calm, unchanged expression, as if it were just some cruel joke. But it wasn't. This was reality.
In the end, the ground floor of the hospital was filled with nothing but corpses and blood.
Someone let out a sigh of relief that they managed to survive. But that sigh would change once we go outside. Outside was more chaotic than inside the hospital.
[First Fable – Proof of Worth has ended.]
[500 coins have been acquired as the clearance reward.]
[You have passed the qualifications to become a Player (Actor).]
[The shop function has been unlocked.]
[You can purchase items from the Shop.]
The world I only knew has now become reality. A world was destroyed and a new world has been born.
[Welcome to the Soul Link.]
The tragedies was just beginning. This was the beginning of my suffering.