[The healing effect will now take place.]
A soft green glow enveloped my body, and one by one, my wounds closed, knitting together as if following the commands of an unseen hand—just like something out of a video game.
So, this is the scenario's effect... experiencing it firsthand is entirely different from reading about it.
The automatic healing mechanism had activated, something only accessible to those who passed the First Fable.
The rules were brutally straightforward. Fail, and you face the penalty. Succeed, and you receive the reward of life and healing. As long as you survived the ordeal, you were restored to full health. Yet, this boon would vanish after the Fifth Fable, and the story would truly begin.
For now, everything's proceeding as planned.
I opened my system window and checked the spoils of victory.
[Coins Possessed: 700 C]
Not nearly enough. 500 coins was gained from the passing the First Fable and 200 coins from killing Shin Jinhyuk. But it would have to suffice.
In Fate, coins was everything. They could be exchanged for artifacts, skills... or something even more valuable: strength.
Unlike the classical RPG where the main actors can level up by just hunting monsters, progress was only possible by investing hard-earned coins into one's stats.
But which stats should I increase?
I can only increase a single stat three times with the coins I have now so I have to make it count.
After weighing my options, I made the decision and clicked on the system interface.
[600 coins has been invested into Agility.]
[Agility Lv. 1 –> Agility Lv. 3.]
[Your body agility and speed has increased.]
To be honest, I was planning on saving my coins and observe the situation but I needed to raise my agility levels because of the next story.
I wonder when she will show up.
That girl should be making an announcement anytime soon. But strangely, something strange happened.
[Conditions has been met.]
... What?
[Personal skill, 'Black Box' has partially opened.]
[Broken Fragments of Shin Jinhyuk has been absorbed.]
[You have acquired the Skill 'Blood Demon Ki']
Black Box
A skill with no description or known purpose—had activated on its own?
What was this? A skill that steals other player's skills?
According to my memory, such a skill didn't exist in the novel. My knowledge as the solo reader was useless in this regard. Perhaps It's one of those unique skills.
Before I could reflect further, a familiar voice cut through my thoughts.
[Oh, it seems alot of you managed to survive. Hehe! It must really suck to you right now.]
A transparent window appeared and a familiar face appeared on the screen.
It was a person everybody knew. It was the same person that appeared in Hongdae and caused the tragedies.
Her name was Aurora, the same cheeky fairy from before.
"...."
The surroundings became quiet like a graveyard. No one had the courage to speak. Maybe they were afraid their heads will explode.
More importantly, no one seem to have noticed she was currently inside the president office.
Was this enough to confirm the president's death status?
[Anyways, Let's see now, there are currently 207,910 survivors in Seoul. Now isn't that a big number? I was honestly expecting more people to die.]
She spoke so nonchalantly but the remaining survivors didn't have pleasant faces.
"What? What are you saying?"
"Impossible!"
"Is that all the people left? What about the military?"
They reacted negatively as they should. More than half of Seoul's entire population were wiped out and this was just the first scenario.
The First Fable had two objectives. The first was to get rid of those unqualified to move onto the next Story. The second was to test those qualified to move on.
The people that died were just those were unqualified. And those who survived were the people who quickly adapted to the new world.
The worst part is yet to come.
Naturally, with each Fable we complete, the story difficulty level will increase, and the body count would increase continuously. This wasn't just happening in South Korea; it was a global nightmare.
Suddenly, Aurora's expression shifted, and her lips curling into a frown.
[Huh? What's this?]
Her tone changed, becoming more serious.
[There seems to be a problem. The next Fable will be delayed for the time being so you can use this time to catch your breath. I'll see you all in 10 minutes.]
I narrowed my eyes. A delay? That shouldn't have happened. The Second Fable was supposed to begin immediately, yet now there was a delay.
I glanced down at the headless body besides me.
Shin Jinhyuk.
According to the original timeline, he was supposed to kill everyone here and proceed to the next Fables but now he was dead. Because of that, the plot will change.
[You have permanently changed the fate of a certain character.]
[You have accumulated karma.]
[You have attracted the attention of the constellations.]
[The gods of the heavenly society are looking at you.]
Gods. That was what they called themselves but during old times—the Age of Gods, but now they were referred to as 'Constellations'.
They were mysterious beings that watched the nightmare trials using the broadcast channel and picked out a few mortals to spread their story. Sometimes, they would select their incarnation to execute their will directly.
Most mere mortals' performance were insufficient to pique their interest. Only a handful of people will be able to meet their standards.
It was iconic. I used to be the one watching over the story behind a screen but the position has been reversed.
Was this karma?
[A handful of constellations admire your story.]
[The constellations has sponsored you 500 coins.]
Despite their power, the constellations were fickle, like an audience that could cheer or jeer depending on the spectacle. It was unsettling, but there was no avoiding them right now.
Let them watch
".... Jakga. Are you okay?"
I discarded those thoughts as Angelica approached me.
"Angelica, you also survived?"
"Yes, I survived by killing a cockroach."
"A cockroach?"
I tilted my head. Did she really kill survive but killing a cockroach.
The condition of the First Fable was to kill a living being, not a human. Meaning, bugs and insects can be killed to pass the story. But I found that to be a little suspicious.
I lowered my gaze and noticed she was gripped her right arm that was shaking uncontrollably. It was here, I realised what truly happened.
"Angelica, did you..."
"That person, did you kill him?"
She looked between the headless corpse of Shin Jinhyuk and the firearm I was holding in my right hand.
I answered with an indifferent expression. "Yes. I killed him."
"I see."
She sighed and then looked at me.
"It can't be helped. If you didn't kill him, you would have died. Besides..."
She looked at the headless corpse once more with a strange look.
"That man also killed someone as well. So he got what was coming to him."
I was surprised. I honestly didn't Angelica to say those words. She was already adapting to the new world.
I looked over at the remaining survivors and began to count. One, two, three... There were five survivors in total in the hospital. Three males including me and two women.
"Alright, Everyone gather around."
The survivors gathered at my words and I looked at them one by one. I excluded the doctor and Angelica and played attention on other survivors.
The first was a man with short cut hair and a big build. He was very tall and looked around his mid-twenties. I think there was a character with those features.
[Exclusive skill 'Omniscent Wall' has activated.]
+
[Character Information.]
Name: Lee Jongho
Age: 27
Star Constellation: King of Giants.
Attributes: Ex Military Soldier (Common), Tanker (Rare)
Unique Abilities: Strong Defence Lv. 1
Skills: Weapons Training Lv. 2, Camouflage Lv. 2, Patience Lv. 3
Divine Protection: Gigantification
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 10, Strength Lv. 10, Agility Lv. 7, Magic Power Lv. 5.
Character Description: An ex soldier from the military with great potential. He had a sense of justice but has low self confidence in his morals due to what he did during his soldier days.
+
Lee Jong-ho. It was my first time seeing him in person but it was unmistakable. This person was one of the supporting actors of the novel. But was he supposed to be in the hospital?
According to my memory, he was supposed to appear at the beginning of the Second Fable. So why was he here? Maybe he came here with the other survivors and blocked the door.
That wasn't only the strange thing though. I also noticed something else. Another character was also here as well.
My gaze shifted to the woman standing nearby.
Short hair with slightly tousled with blunt bangs that frames her face. Her eyes were indifferent yet calm and she possessed a delicate yet sharp features.
She wore a hospital gown strained with blood. She survived the First Fable because she was a natural born killer.
How many people did she kill?
If I remembered correctly, she was bought to the hospital after getting caught in a car accident just like me. But her circumstances were vastly more different from me.
I silently opened her information.
[Character Information]
+
Name: Jung Yunhee
Age: 19
Star Constellation: Void Walking Saint
Main Attributes: Sword Demon (Unique), Assassin (Rare)
Unique Abilities: Demon Slaying Lv. 1
Skills: Knife Mastery Lv. 3, Katana Mastery Lv. 3, Cooking Lv. 10, Void Steps Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 3, Strength Lv. 3, Agility Lv. 9, Magic Power Lv. 4.
Description: A demon slayer with the assassin attribute. She has immense potential. However, she is suffering from a double personality disorder and has become unstable due to an accident. It's advisable to be careful around her.
+
Her information naturally flowed inside my head. Another supporting character had appeared in the hospital.
It was a good thing. Maybe I could use this to my advantage.
"Hello, I'm Lee Jongho."
"Jung Yeonhee."
"I'm Angelica."
"Doctor... Sorry, I'm Lee Kwangsun."
Everybody looked at me. They were waiting for me to speak.
"I'm Kim Jakga."
I continued speaking.
"I'm sure everyone have already noticed the situation. There is a status window which shows sonething like Stats, Skills, Attributes. Is there anyone who still hasn't caught onto facts?"
As expected, no one raised up their hands. There is no person in South Korea that hasn't played an RPG at least once. If they haven't they would have at least read a manhwa.
Doctor Kwangsun spoke.
"Are you sure the government is not playing a cruel joke on us? This doesn't feel real. We are all in a dream, right? We will be waking up any time soon."
He seems to be slowly losing his mind and thought everything was unreal. But I completely destoryed his delusions with my next words.
"This is reality."
My stern words caused the doctor to close his mouth.
"This is not a dream and it is not a prank from the government either."
I looked over the rest of the group.
"We are alive and people are died because of us. We cannot change that and there are no excuses for what we have done. Therefore, we must live in such a world where if we don't kill, we won't see tomorrow. Do you understand?"
The eyes of the group were changing. At the moment, I felt like a hero giving a speech to the crowd.
Lee Jong-ho nodded and looked at me.
"You're right. But what should we do now? The fairy said we should wait for the next scenario. Jakga-ssi, what do you think?"
"It's simple."
There was something we must do before the Second Fable. No. If we must wanted to survive, then we must take the first step.
"We will leave this place."