Life Mission

Chapter 6

The sensation of slitting a throat remained on his hands. He took his accoutrements apart and threw each of the items into the vents.

The emptied bag became lighter. Cha Jun Sung wore the pack and went back up into the vent. It was narrow, but he could move his body.

Chiik.

He sprayed the odorless spray on the vent and bag. He wanted to block the entrance, but the cover had become so crushed that it was impossible.

-[You have acquired 10 points.]

-[Information on the Level 1 mutant Kawod has been added to the PDA.]

The Kawod whose neck had been sliced was dead with its tongue hanging out. Cha Jun Sung ignored Odin’s notice and began moving. He could check it once his safety was assured.

Kikik.

After Cha Jun Sung disappeared, a few more Kawod came in. It must have been because of the smell of blood. They looked around the dead Kawod and opened their mouths.

Kwajik.

Bones came out as the skin was ripped off. One Kawod had its face in the stomach and swallowed the intestines. Cha Jun Sung would have thrown up if he had witnessed the scene.

It could not be helped. Kawods were at the bottom of the food chain.

Hunting?

It was difficult to even survive. It would be genocide even if dozens of Level 2 mutants came charging. Since they could not starve, cannibalism became the obvious route.

Kyakyakyakya!

Soon, other Kawods also gathered. Just as the helper had said, there were 21.

Since 1 was dead, there were 20 left. Cha Jun Sung heard their laughter from a distance and solidified his commitment to escape.

Ack!

Hearing the ear-splitting screech, Cha Jun Sung dug deeper into a corner of the kitchen.

This was already the third time he heard that sound. It seems four lifers including himself were running the tutorials. But three people had already died.

“You said you’re Odin? Is the tutorial easy or hard?”

-[Should I calculate the variables?]

“Other than those.”

-[With an average mind and body, the difficulty is normal.]

“If you calculate it?”

-[The difficulty of the game is set, but we do not know what might happen at any time. If a change occurs, we cannot guarantee safety even in a tutorial.]

It seems they had packed lifers into a space that was appropriate to hold the tutorials.

And it also sounded like anything could come out at any time to raise the difficulty since it was not a game. In some ways, it was an irresponsible response.

“I did exercise a bit, but am I worse than average? Why am I so tired?”

-[It is because you excessively protect your body. Your body exceeds the average by a lot, but this is a situation where your mind does not sustain it.]

“Forget it.”

Cha Jun Sung gave up on talking. Protecting? Anyone would try to protect himself. It is his own fault if he gets involved without thinking and dies.

The screaming people are the ones who could not differentiate between reality and virtual reality.

“It’s safe here.”

The kitchen doors were made of sturdy iron. The Kawod would not be able to break it down with their strength.

-[You cannot do anything in your isolated state.]

“I know. It’s a bother to talk about every little thing, so just give me a route out.”

He needed a place to be comfortable. An exposed area was dangerous. His plan was to move according to a strategy after fully understanding the tutorial.

“It’s easy as long as the Kawods don’t cause a problem.”

-[There are four Kawods in this area. It is the same downstairs.]

Just getting down the stairs meant escape. He did not even expect a machine gun. Even if he just had a pistol, he could use it with the dagger.

“I’ll have to kill them.”

He did not want to be prey, so he would have to become the predator. It would be good to avoid them, but even if there were 100 of them, he would be willing to meet all 100 in this type of environment. It would be better to reduce their numbers and expand the space he could move in. He was not even that averse to it after killing one.

“The nearest one?”

-[One in each of the two rooms between the hallway and front. Two in the room you started in.]

Cognate predators slept in one place. The hallway was open and a small room was past the hall. The room he started in was optimal.

“You said that as long as I don’t die, you can put me back to my normal state even if my arms or legs get cut off?”

-[It is possible.]

“Confirmed.”

Cha Jun Sung took out the tape from his bag and wound it around his arms and legs tightly. He needed to do this at least to avoid mortal wounds since he does not have armor.

Hu!

He breathed in deeply before acting out his plan. It would be a lie if he said that he was not nervous. This was his way of trying to stay alive. That was all.

Puk.

The dagger dug deep into the Kawod’s heart. A humanoid mutant’s body structure is similar to that of a person. The location of the heart was the same. Instantly killed!

“It’s tiring.....”

14 of them?

Ah! With the first one he killed, it was 15. He spent the whole day on just the 3rd floor. As long as there were no Kawods, going down would be easy.

He could leave after killing as many as he could. When he asked Odin if he could jump out of the window instead of going down the stairs, he had said that I could try it if I wanted to die.

If he were unlucky, he would be overcome with mutants or he could even meet stronger mutants. He aptly gave up on any path aside from the stairs at that.

“It’s the last medicine.”

The medicine in his pack had healing effects. Homeostasis began as soon as he put it on, and a scab formed. He did not have any mortal wounds, but he had suffered quite a few minor injuries.

Especially his arms and legs. This was the result of pushing forward with trust in this medicine’s effects and tape. Even this much had only been possible because he had the medicine.

Kak!

“It’s been awhile since we heard that. It’s the fourth.”

It was the first scream he had heard in a day. It seemed the other lifers were doing fairly well. If not, wouldn’t he have heard a series of screams like he did yesterday?

Eujuk eujuk.

“How could they be rock heads in the game and in real life?”

-[It was a fact that Kawods were stupid. Level 1 meant that they had been infected by the A virus, but only aggregated inferior cells due to failing to adapt.]

Level 2 was still a low level.

A mutant needed to reach Level 3 to show some success in adaptation.

“That’s a frank assessment. At any rate, I just have 6 to catch?”

-[Yes, that’s right.]

After fighting with two, he felt that he could take on a third. However, he decided to be careful because his stamina had weakened and he had a lot of minor injuries.

“Let’s start again.....”

“Assholes! Where is this! Send me home. You assholes!”

As Cha Jun Sung was about to go up the vent, he stopped at the ranting he heard nearby. By his tone, he must have been summoned while drunk.

“Reality version? Damn! I blew everything! My life savings were wasted!”

Cha Jun Sung was not an writer, but he detailed out the man’s behavior in his head.

The man had heard the news that the game was suspended and drank as he downloaded the application for the reality version. He had been sent here after being summoned to the briefing room.

Since he was drunk out of his mind, everything the helper said was nonsense and the quiet closed area was perfect for his tantrum.

“That man’s on a roof. The Kawods can’t get up there because the door is locked?”

-[It is open. There is another reason why the Kawod are not going up there.]

“Huh?”

-[You must remain calm. You need to take deep breaths and maintain your composure.]

He was bewildered. The man was the one in danger, but why was he being told to stay calm?

Kung!

A fear-inducing roar. Cha Jun Sung’s legs weakened at the roar and he plopped down. The man did not have a very different reaction.

“This, this sound..... Could the boss of this closed area be that guy?”