Chapter 5

“Hmm… This is troublesome… I just gathered some prey, you know.”

Swoosh—

As I beheaded a monster, I thought to myself.

This situation wasn’t going as planned.

I thought I’d need some meat shields to get through the tutorial, so I held back from killing them right away. But who would’ve thought there were monsters hiding in the bushes? Now things have gone sideways.

“Sigh… Maybe I shouldn’t have held back after all.”

The fact that I had to abandon the prey I worked so hard to gather was annoying.

When I first woke up here and received guidance from someone, I was so happy. A world centered around military power? Perfect!

On Earth, I had to suppress my desires and act carefully to avoid getting caught. The stress was unbearable. Compared to that, this place was heaven.

Here, you can kill people, and no one will know. No CCTV, no police. If no one’s watching, you can just kill.

Come to think of it, there’s still one prey left.

The one who always yapped behind me, annoying me to no end, had followed me.

“Huff… huff…! Mr. Byeong-ok, wait for me! Huh? Slow down a bit…!”

“Whatever, this situation’s already ruined. Sigh… I might as well kill her. She’s useless anyway.”

“Mrs. Gyeongsil, are you okay? Should we rest here for a bit?”

“…Oh, thank you, Mr. Byeong-ok. Who would’ve thought a monster would pop out like that… But I’m so glad you’re here… Huff… huff…”

“…Mrs. Gyeongsil. You have the food, right?”

“Of course~ I brought it. Just protect me if any monsters come. I’ll take care of the food.”

This woman was truly the dumbest human I’ve ever seen. At her age, she didn’t even bring a weapon when running away.

Her situational awareness was trash. The others at least had some use, but I was planning to get rid of her soon anyway.

“Haha… Mrs. Gyeongsil. I’m not Mr. Byeong-ok.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Mr. Byeong-ok isn’t Mr. Byeong-ok…? What are you… huh?”

Swoosh—

“AAAAAH! My… my leg! Ugh…!”

“Pfft! Hahaha… What will you do without your precious leg?”

“Ugh… Mr. Byeong-ok… please, spare me. Why are you doing this…? Please, let me live…”

“My name isn’t Jo Byeong-ok, it’s Jo Chan-ho. Why are you calling me the wrong name? How rude, haha.”

I loved watching her squirm. I’ve wanted to do this every time she opened her mouth.

I knelt down and locked eyes with the writhing worm.

“You already know, right? Once your leg’s gone, you can’t survive. Hehe…”

“Please… please don’t do this! Mr. Byeong—no, Chan-ho… I was wrong!”

“Still dumb even in the face of death. If it were me, I’d curse you, not beg.”

I stood up, gripping my sword in reverse, and pointed it at the ugly, squirming worm.

“Don’t worry. In your next life, you’ll be reborn as a bug, which suits you.”

“Wait…! Spare…!”

Thud—

As I brought the sword down, the squirming life slowly stopped moving. I loved this feeling. It made me feel alive.

“Ahhh… This is the best.”

It’s a shame my plan fell apart, but whatever.

I can always gather more people, and monsters? I can just kill or avoid a couple.

As I shook the blood off my sword and prepared to move, I heard footsteps. Then, a figure appeared.

“…A woman?”

It was a woman. She carried a spear, and what stood out was her striking appearance. She had long black hair and was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

She spoke.

“As expected… you’re still trash, Jo Chan-ho.”

I flinched.

‘She knows my name…?’

I don’t know how she knows, but my situation just got a lot more complicated. I’m holding a sword, and there’s a corpse right in front of me.

“Haha… It’s a misunderstanding. This person tried to steal my food, so I had no choice. By the way… do you know me?”

The woman glanced at the corpse and said, “No need to explain. I know you’re a psychopathic murderer.”

‘What’s her deal…? How does she know me? Did we meet on Earth?’

Even if we did, there’s no way she’d know I’m a murderer. The police couldn’t catch me.

Every time I killed, I planned meticulously and erased all evidence. No one could’ve known.

‘Whether she knows me or not, it doesn’t matter… She’s not bad-looking…’

“Hmm… You seem to know me. I don’t know how, but why are you here? A woman alone, fearless in this situation? Hehehe…”

“Don’t worry. Things won’t go your way. By the way, I have a question.”

“Quite confident, aren’t you? What do you want to ask?”

“Do you know Lee Yun-seong?”

“…Why are you looking for him?”

‘What’s this? Are they acquainted?’

Whatever. Jo Chan-ho prepared to strike while answering.

“Yes… I know him. But what does that have to do with anything?”

I started moving subtly into a better position to swing my sword.

“Where is he?”

“Haha… Why should I tell you?”

“Answer, and I’ll make your death less painful.”

“……Hahahaha!”

I burst out laughing, but the woman remained unfazed.

“Is that so? That’s a great offer. Hehe… If you can, then try it!”

With that, I lunged. The distance was perfect. She hadn’t even drawn her spear yet. Whether she’s a pro or not, being this careless is overconfidence.

“Even if I save you, you’ll still get hurt somewhere!”

It happened in an instant. The woman dodged the trajectory of my swung sword and kicked my defenseless abdomen.

“What the hell…! What kind of move is that?!”

I desperately blocked it with my arm that wasn’t holding the sword.

*Crunch!*

“AAAAAH!”

Even though it was just a kick, my arm felt like it was broken. Overwhelmed by the unexpected pain, I screamed. Clenching my teeth to endure the pain, I quickly stepped back.

“Ugh… What the… hell is this?!”

How could a human’s kick have such destructive power? It was beyond comprehension. A single kick breaking an arm was outside the realm of common sense.

“You managed to block that. I was planning to turn you into half a cripple.”

“You… damn bitch…!”

I had to stay calm. This woman was on a completely different level from the prey I’d hunted before.

“Alright… You wanted to know where Lee Yun-seong is, right?”

“Yeah, where is he? You must’ve met him.”

“…If I tell you, will you let me go?”

“Sure. If you tell me, I’ll let you go. Answer first.”

“…….”

“Speak.”

“…….. Pfft… You have no intention of letting me go. You’re planning to kill me.”

“…….”

I could tell her promise to let me go was a lie. As someone who’s killed many people, I could read her expression. It was the same face I made when I lied to my prey about sparing them.

“Ugh… Damn… you… bitch…”

I couldn’t accept being treated like prey when I was the one who hunted.

I picked up my sword again and headed toward the corpses. There had to be a way to win.

She might not know, but I have a unique trait. And thanks to the woman I killed earlier, the environment was set.

[Name: Jo Chan-ho]

[Age: 29]

[Job: Intermediate Swordsman (Rare Grade)]

[Title: None]

[Unique Traits]

Quiet Steps (Grade Under Measurement) – Reduces the chance of being detected when approaching someone.

Murder Festival (Grade Under Measurement) – Temporarily increases strength and agility stats with each kill, up to a max of 10. Allows healing using nearby blood, but not one’s own blood.

[Traits]

Intermediate Swordsmanship Understanding (Rare Grade) – Slightly increases understanding of swordsmanship.]

[Stats]

Strength – 18 Agility – 20

Stamina – 16 Luck – 05

Magic – 00 Resistance – 10

As I touched the blood, I felt the pain gradually subside. My broken arm didn’t fully heal, but the pain was almost gone.

“Alright… I can feel confident now.”

“Ha… Why don’t you drop the formal speech? I see you switch to casual speech when you’re desperate.”

Ignoring her provocation, I slowly approached her. Charging in recklessly like before would get me nowhere.

As I walked slowly, I carefully observed her movements and spoke.

“By the way, I’m curious. Why do you want to know where Lee Yun-seong went?”

“Why do you care?”

“Well… I was wondering if you two were close. If so, I’m sorry to say I’ve already sent him to the same place as that lady lying over there.”

Her expression twisted into a grimace as soon as she heard my words.

“…I know you’re provoking me, but it’s still disgusting.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she grabbed her spear and stabbed the ground. I was shocked. Her speed was terrifyingly fast.

‘What the hell! How is she this fast?!’

I desperately swung my sword to deflect the spear aimed at my legs.

*Clang!*

‘Ugh…! What the hell are her strength and agility stats, you bitch?!’

Just blocking her attack sent a shock through my arm.

Her figure disappeared in an instant. Suddenly, she swung her spear from behind.

“You…! Damn bitch!”

I swung my sword a few times, but none of my attacks landed. While I was putting all my strength into blocking her attacks, she was effortlessly dodging mine.

‘Now!’

During the exchange, I noticed her side was exposed. Her spear was tied up by my sword in my right hand. With her spear bound, I aimed a kick at her side.

“…What the?!… Ugh!”

But the result was the opposite. Instead, I was the one rolling on the ground. She had shifted her spear downward and tripped me before my kick could land.

*Thud!*

“AAAAH!”

The pain of the spear piercing my sword arm made me drop my weapon.

“Ugh…”

“…Stop whining. Now, are you ready to answer? Where’s Lee Yun-seong?”

“Kehehe… I chopped that bastard up and fed him to the monsters a long time ago…”

*Slash!*

“AAAAH! You crazy bitch!”

“Next time, it won’t be your fingers, but your wrist. I’ll ask again. Where did he go?”

“Ugh… How many times do I have to say it… I killed that bastard… AAAAH!”

“…Where did he go?”

“Ugh… You crazy bitch…!”

After that, the sound of something being cut and human screams echoed through the forest.