novelraw Chapter 10 : Chapter 10
Chapter 10 : Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Mercy
The Goblin's small torso rattled, painfully letting out its breath.
Its pained gaze wandered the air, then turned to Kang Yuha.
Looking at it this way, it didn't look like a Monster, but just a fragile creature.
A horribly broken, crippled creature.
So this was…….
***
“It’s mercy.”
Kang Yuha said.
“Yes.”
I replied.
I knew the meaning behind Kang Yuha expressing the act of killing as ‘mercy’.
In what kind of situation did death become mercy?
The fact that she'd deliberately packaged this situation as mercy must mean it included that much resolve.
That Goblin was no different from livestock being slaughtered.
There was only the difference between it being slaughtered somewhere unseen and slaughtering it herself.
It was a form packaged for its purpose, easy to consume.
As she hesitated, faltering, I added a word.
“Is it hard to kill?”
“No. I’ll do it.”
It wasn't necessary.
She knew the essence of this act.
This was killing for survival.
It was just an act in the process of a struggle for survival.
‘If I can only survive by killing…….’
Whether it’s a Monster, or a human.
What importance did such side-taking have?
The moment she did it, she would become the same kind of being.
What was needed wasn't someone else's comfort, but her own resolve.
“……I’ll do it. I will do it.”
She repeated the words ‘I will do it.’
Several times, and received the knife with a trembling hand.
Ggu-uk.
Even though she put all her strength into it, the trembling tip of the knife didn't steady.
She knelt in front of the dying Goblin, aiming the knife for a moment.
“It’ll hurt more if you don't do it right. Let it go peacefully.”
He said, pointing to the neck, and before this chillingly honest advice.
‘Now…… there’s no turning back.’
She plunged the knife down.
Pu-uk-
The knife missed the neck bone and dug in at an angle.
“Geu-geu-geuk. Kkeuk!”
It would have been better if what she heard was a scream, but the sound a creature made when it died was surprisingly quiet.
Kang Yuha faced the death head-on, wasting none of it, and made a vow as if brainwashing herself.
‘From now on……. This is my world.’
The Goblin shivered.
That faint convulsion traveled up the knife, searing a vivid memory into Kang Yuha's hand.
‘Uuk!’
She pulled out the knife in shock.
Its face, contorted in pain, slowly settled.
Ul-keok!
Like a burst pump, or like a celebratory toast.
Amidst the gushing blood, the Goblin's face was becoming peaceful.
The muscles relaxed, and the pain embedded in its face scattered.
[You have acquired a reward.]
[Kill Reward 10 coin]
And, after receiving the scenario clear reward, the message saying she had chosen the fate of a human, and even the status window instruction manual.
‘Hoo…….’
Kang Yuha let out a sigh of relief.
Is it over for now?
‘Heot?’
Immediately after.
She realized she had felt a slight sense of relief, and fell backward.
When she hastily retreated to avoid the blood that spread across the ground, coming towards her.
“Well done.”
Han Chulwoon's praise didn't sound like praise at all.
“…….”
Kang Yuha, clenching her jaw, pulled back her chin and looked up at the man.
What would happen to her from now on?
What had this world become?
There was a lot she wanted to ask.
But she was afraid she would seem like she was blindly confronting him if she opened her mouth now, so she carefully chose her words inwardly.
Amidst the horrible sensation of splattered blood flowing down her cheek and pooling at her chin, she spoke in a carefully controlled voice.
“……Before that. There’s something I want to ask.”
My eyes met hers indifferently.
Only a fatigue so deep that no emotion could be felt was contained in his eyes, and Kang Yuha flinched her shoulders without realizing it.
But…….
It was something she had to ask.
“Come for revenge.”
I answered faster than the question.
“What?”
“Hmm? That answer was too fast. Ask again.”
But it was as good as having heard the answer.
Because she had already decided what to ask.
‘What can I do for you? Why did you save me?’
That question had returned as an answer in a bizarre form before it was even asked.
Truly a Regressor-like answer.
‘……Revenge.’
Was that really the answer to the question I was about to ask?
‘Just what kind of relationship did I have with that man?’
While she was thinking.
“Ask again.”
I said again.
Kang Yuha decided to enact some petty revenge.
“It’s what you’re thinking.”
……she said.
At that boldness, even I let out a chuckle.
However, just telling her to come for revenge wouldn't be enough.
There was more I had to say.
I stroked Kang Yuha's chin and lifted it slightly.
I met her eyes.
She, too, did not avoid his gaze and looked at him clearly.
Her trembling pupils.
Confirming that she was still afraid of me, I said.
“Don't forgive me. Resent me to your heart's content.”
“Wh-…… what on earth does that mean……”
It was because she had forced out a voice that wouldn't come.
Kang Yuha was adrift in the middle of this Zen-like conversation.
“Why do I have to resent you?”
I didn't answer.
I continued with different words.
“Raise your Stamina first. It’s good to secure Stamina up to 15.”
“…….”
With this, she knew the conversation was over.
For now, she had no choice but to raise her Stamina as instructed.
‘Uht.’
At that moment.
She felt her heart, which had felt like it would burst, and even her breathing, ragged with agitation, calm down.
‘Stamina was described as the body's endurance.’
The status window had definitely explained it that way, but was it the effect of her body stabilizing?
Even her mind felt much lighter.
She could see this situation a little more boldly.
“I won’t hate you without a reason.”
She said to me.
It was a demand for an explanation.
If you truly want to be resented, then explain why I must hate you, what on earth happened in the past life.
Explain all of it, she was saying.
“I know. You’re not that kind of person.”
“……Then why?”
“But, you were good at it.”
“…….”
Regressor.
Kang Yuha mulled over that concept countless times.
***
A little later.
I entered the restaurant on the 3rd floor.
There was some time left before my next action, so I planned to fill my stomach.
After a little time passed.
A temporary scenario activated.
This was because the main scenario had been abnormally interrupted.
[Scenario (Special)]
[The Castaway]
[Humans are social animals. You can't live alone. Join another group for a better life.]
[Enter another scenario zone.]
[Success: Join the scenario]
[Failure: Death]
[Hint. We will mark the area where the scenario is taking place.]
And soon, another Observer would come.
‘Tarchus will probably come.’
He wasn't a particularly welcome guy.
‘That guy is a really boring one.’
Besides, one Witch was enough of an Observer to tag along.
I planned to leave this area before Tarchus arrived.
‘Let’s prepare.’
A proper meal was comparable to restorative medicine.
‘My body is also very damaged.’
First, I checked the ingredients.
The white juice from the Witch's eyeball.
A fishy, sticky liquid imbued with Magic Power.
‘It tastes nauseating, but it reinforces Magic Power.’
I opened soju and canned fruit and mixed them appropriately.
This was a drink for me to drink.
‘It helps awaken the talent for Magic Power.’
I had only applied a tiny bit of Magic Power, but this foolish body had already reached its limit.
Having operated Magic Power with an unprepared body, it was a situation where even the precursors to Magic Power Rampage (Qi Deviation) were showing.
I could suppress the Magic Power Rampage through meditation, but drinking the Eyeball Soju before that would be a great help.
Gulp.
‘As expected. One bottle of soju completely gets rid of the unpleasant smell.’
A “Aaaah..” of satisfaction came out automatically.
It seemed to be lacking a bit of sweetness, so I ate a few more pieces of fruit.
‘Next is stir-fry.’
I started a simple stir-fry.
It was a cooking method I preferred.
If you just put whatever in oil and fry it, it becomes a pretty tasty food.
Being high in calories was another advantage.
Above all, it would be hard to eat such an oily dish for a while.
‘It’s possible to grill or boil anything, but oily food is definitely delicious.’
Chii-ik-
Warm heat rose and the savory aroma spread far.
While I was at it, I completed a dish for 40 people.
It was an amount that would be left over even if all the survivors ate.
‘Wait. Did a fight break out because of this?’
I couldn’t remember.
Because sometimes a fight would break out over leftover food.
Whether this was such a place or not…….
I was a little confused.
‘This was where Yeo Gangseok was. Then it should be fine.’
I finished cooking.
Tu-uk.
First, I placed a plate in front of Kang Yuha.
“I’ll eat well. But…… it’s one plate? What about yours, Mr. Chulwoon?”
“I have something else to do.”
And I sat facing the direction where the river could be seen.
Around then.
Kwak!
The Magic Power inside me began to rise up scratchily.
‘Is it starting?’
It was because I had drunk the Witch's Magic Power.
It was as if it had a will of its own.
It was stuck in my throat like a thorn, refusing to go down smoothly.
Refusing to assimilate.
My body was heating up with pain, and even my breathing was becoming ragged.
Tu-uk.
My calmly seated posture was perfectly peaceful.
In the end, it was quiet.
‘Yes. There should at least be this level of sensation.’
I operated my breathing technique.
Indeed, even though I had only absorbed a tiny part of the Witch's Magic Power, it was vaster than my entire Magic Power.
Metaphorically, it was the task of pouring a lake into a pond.
A bizarre attempt to put an elephant in a refrigerator.
There was no way there wouldn't be side effects.
That's why.
‘I’ll have to let it overflow.’
I would use it as a foothold for growth.
My body was full of murky energy.
I was born with such a constitution.
Making that 'energy based on imagination' called 'Gi' or 'Magic Power' overflow in my own body, I felt a stabbing pain from inside.
I managed it.
But I didn't suppress it.
I intentionally made the Witch's Magic Power overflow, but guided it to avoid fatal vital spots.
[Magic Power Operation Ability improves.]
It tingled.
It was the power overflowing within.
[Magic Power Operation Ability improves.]
There was a set path for Magic Power to travel in the body, but I let the Magic Power flood that path, and it stabbed at my body like blood that had escaped its vessels.
It was comparable to internal bleeding.
[Magic Power Operation Ability improves.]
A clearly spreading current.
A terrible sensation pierced my body and surged up.
“…….”
My meditation proceeded steadily.
‘If the mind wavers, Magic Power rejoices.’
That joy.
Is harmful.
It was the initial symptom of what is called Qi Deviation, so it was an ordinarily dangerous situation.
But to handle Magic Power, I had to completely control my own mind first.
I couldn't be dragged by my mind like a beast; I had to lead my mind proactively.
A task with an uncertain outcome, distinguishing my essence from my mind.
[The Constellation ‘Six-Eyed Prophet’ blinks its six eyes at Han Chulwoon’s composure.]
[The Constellation ‘Six-Eyed Prophet’ observes Han Chulwoon with its third and fourth eyes.]
“Keuk!”
My brow furrowed a little, but my thoughts continued.
‘The mind is just something that changes in an instant. It’s futile.’
My body cried out in pain.
My mind told me to writhe in pain.
That mind kept trying to synchronize with the pathetically weak body, so I reprimanded it and held on.
Your (the mind's) master is not that body, but me.
I suppressed it with reason.
[Magic Power Operation Ability improves.]
‘Of course, would the world care how someone like me feels?’
I endlessly devalued my own mind, and at the end of it, I found peace.
Even if a flooded river messes up the surrounding land, the river ultimately remains.
If I endured and endured, I could feel the river becoming wider and deeper.
I felt like I was about to collapse from exhaustion.
My body was staggering, and my mind was fading.
Following the overflowing Magic Power, the remaining Magic Power was also swept away.
But it was enough.
After pouring everything out, the spot might look empty.
Nevertheless, the path ultimately remains.
Even a dry river gets filled after time.
If it became deeper, I was satisfied with that.
[Magic Power Operation Ability improves.]
[A Magic Power Circuit is formed.]
It was a task of enduring everything to forge that path.
“Hoo……”
An empty body.
When I opened my eyes again.
Everything was the same.
Kang Yuha, dozing after finishing her meal, the backgrounds flowing leisurely past the window.
The pools of blood glowing like fluorescent lights.
‘Yes. This is regression.’
The only thing that ever changed was myself.
Just like this ship.
The whole world was in its place, but because the ship moved, it looked as if the world outside was moving.
Even though the only thing that actually moved wasn't the world, but my own mind.
Chijik-
[Region No. 03. Korea]
[You have acquired Magic Power Operation Ability.]
Chijik-
[Magic Aptitude 1 Level.]
[You have acquired the Beginner characteristic.]
‘The most basic stage of magic.’
This meant I had reached the 1st stage of the magic rankings, which are classified into 8 Classes or 8 Ranks.
Chijik-
[Measuring Magic Aptitude.]
[The school of magic you can handle is…….]
Chijik-!
[Magic is…… Magic is…… Magic is…….]
Chijik-!
[Error(Unknown). Cannot measure Han Chulwoon’s Magic Aptitude.]
Several messages appeared on the status window, but I ignored them.
An error message this loud would normally be corrected by an 'existence of a higher-class' than the Observers, but in this world, there were just too many geniuses who were beyond the standard…….
It was unlikely that anything would happen.
‘The Librarian must be busy too.’
It was just that through the process of my Magic Power being purified, my mind would stabilize and my thinking ability would improve a little.
Magic knowledge that could fill the Great Library and more was latent in my memory, so for now, just waiting would make many things better.
Seuk-
I took out a cigarette and put it in my mouth.
‘If it’s Qi Deviation, it’s a process worth going through at least once.’
And then I straightened one finger and tried to light a small flame.
But then.
“…….”
‘No.’
I stopped.
As expected, a cigarette only tastes right when lit with a lighter.
I put the unlit cigarette back in the pack.
‘A lighter isn't even that hard to find.’
A little patience would make the cigarette taste better.
After that, I also ate.
I polished off 4 servings right there.
Even during that time, the ship moved on its own.
So that the survivors could reach another scenario.
…….
…….
…….
Soon, we reached the riverbank.