Chapter 17

I often thought about it . Why did so many ‘predictable villains’ appear in post-apocalyptic stories? It must be the laziness of the authors to think that crimes such as rape or theft would occur indiscriminately in such a situation . If the real ‘destruction’ came, wouldn’t humans act more rationally than they thought?

“It looks like he won’t give it . Hey, go ahead and kill him!”

The answer was now right in front of me . I observed the men coming towards me, as well as the man watching from the rear .

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ expects a fair judgment . ]

I once again realized it . The human imagination was cliché, yet real humans were more cliché than the imagination .

Hwiiik!

The trajectory of the iron pipe moved in a funny manner through the air . It wasn’t a strike with the intent to kill . In fact, it didn’t hurt that much .

“I-If you don’t run away then you really will die . Get lost!”

The four men surrounded me . One was trembling but the others looked more relaxed than before . It was probably due to the advantage in numbers .

“What are these brats doing?” Along with the shout, one man rushed forward . It was clearly a defenseless posture . I moved the thorn .

Puok!

“Aaaaack! My leg! My leg!”

“You bastard!”

“Hit him together!”

The agitated men rushed simultaneously but I wasn’t afraid . Their strength levels were just about 5 . I endured the incoming attacks and silently stabbed the thorn . The men had their thighs successively pierced and fell to their knees with a scream . Nevertheless, I didn’t kill them . It was because the scenario clear condition was to ‘neutralize’ them .

[The constellations of the absolute good system nod at your judgment . ]

[A few constellations laugh at your humanity . ]

[The constellations have sponsored you 100 coins . ]

If I became a murderer, I might be able to attract the attention of the constellations but it was only for a while . Instantly raising the threshold of stimulation wasn’t good in the long run .

[There are three minutes to the end of the scenario . ]

Two minutes had passed . Time calculation was important in time attack scenarios .

“W-What the hell is this bastard? Why won’t you die?”

At this time, their leader who was watching the situation from the back came forward . “You are a fairly tough guy . Everyone back off . I will deal with him . ”

“Cheolsoo hyung-nim! This guy seems to have a pretty strong sponsor!”

“Good . It looks like he has a lot of coins . ”

Knuckles shining with a black gloss—they weren’t ordinary iron knuckles . Did he receive it from his sponsor?

Crunch .

There was the relaxed sound of bones cracking from the knuckled hands .

[The character ‘Cheolsoo’ has used Threaten . ]

[Threaten doesn’t work because the overall capabilities gap is too big . ]

“Hoh, aren’t you quite good? You aren’t getting scared at all . ” The man’s fist moved before he finished talking . The attack was aimed exactly at my jaw . I quickly stepped back . That guy smiled . “Aren’t you quite good? Do you exercise?”

Even if I didn’t have a footwork skill, anyone could do this if their agility exceeded level 10 . Since I previously invested most of my remaining coins after buying items, the total sum of my body stats now reached 33 . Should I look at this guy?

[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated . ]

[Character Information]

Name: Bang Cheolsoo .

Age: 34 years old .

Constellation Sponsor: Monarch of the Small Fries .

Private Attribute: Assault Force Captain (General)

Exclusive Skills: Dogfight Lv . 2, Bluff Lv . 2 .

Stigma: Threaten Lv . 1

Overall Stats: Physique Lv . 6, Strength Lv . 7, Agility Lv . 6, Magic Power Lv . 2 .

Overall Evaluation: A common small fry who was lucky to obtain a sponsor . He has a tendency to overstate his abilities compared to his actual combat strength .

Ah…right . Now I remembered .

“Bang Cheolsoo of the Cheoldoo Group . ”

“What, you know me?”

“Let’s see?”

My memory was dim because he disappeared like the wind at the beginning of the work, but I fuzzily recalled there was a character called Bang Cheolsoo . He was the stupidest guy in the group at Geumho Station . As far as I knew, these guys should’ve been killed by Yoo Jonghyuk . Why were they still alive?

“Ohu, perhaps you are of ‘that’ category? You must’ve killed people . Isn’t that right? Yes, I feel that we are somewhat alike . ”

[The character ‘Bang Cheolsoo’ has used Bluff . ]

Bluff . It was a skill that anyone who was a thug possessed . It was a good debuff that could weaken the opponent’s attack power, but this case was different .

[Fourth Wall has blocked the bluff of the character Bang Cheolsoo . ]

[The confidence of the character Bang Cheolsoo is rapidly falling . ]

“Are you ignoring me? You really want to die . ” Bang Cheolsoo took a threatening Greco-Roman wrestling posture and rushed towards me, but that was only a bluff . It was because he didn’t have the ‘wrestling’ skill .

“Stop beating around the bush and come on . ”

“Son of a bitch!”

The key skill that Bang Cheolsoo had was Dogfight Lv . 2 . His combat power was insignificant unless he got into a melee .

“Die!”

The agility difference was so high that his attacks rarely hit me . I looked at him with a bit of sympathy . Not all constellations had a desire to raise their incarnations as the ‘protagonist’ of the scenario . For example, his constellation ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’ was famous for being thrifty with his incarnations . A masochist who enjoyed using idiots as his incarnation and watching them be crushed by other incarnations . That was the ‘Monarch of the Small Fries . ‘

[The constellation ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’ is delighted . ]

[The constellation ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’ has sponsored you 100 coins . ]

Despite his incarnation being smashed, he was supporting the enemy . Originally, I was thinking about ending the time attack in one blow but now the story was a bit different .

[There are two minutes to the end of the sub scenario . ]

Then I should make the most of the remaining time .

“You rat bastard!” All of his lines were in the style of the Monarch of the Small Fries . How pitiful . “Haha! I hit you!”

His attack luckily hit but there was little damage . The spot where I was hit just stung a bit .

“How?”

How? My physique was Lv . 12 . His strength was only Lv . 7 . The disparity in the overall stats created a huge combat power gap .

“Is it my turn now?”

I touched the cheek of the stupefied Bang Cheolsoo before hitting it as hard as I could . A few teeth flew out as Bang Cheolsoo screamed . I didn’t hesitate and pierced his arm with the thorn .

“Aaaagh!”

I pinned one of his arms to the wall with the thorn and started the indiscriminate assault . I chose the areas that were the most painful without knocking him out, such as the back, thighs and sides .

[The constellation ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’ is delighted . ]

[The constellation ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’ has requested an extension of the sub scenario time . ]

[The sub scenario is extended by one minute . ]

I also paid attention to the parts where the woman had been injured .

“Cough! Kuheok! Kuheeok!”

Blood and flesh were scattered . Broken teeth fell to the ground and the broken bones twisted abnormally . However, I didn’t stop kicking .

“S-Stop! Please! Let Hyung-nim go!”

The men standing to the side exclaimed with panic . I looked over at them once in a while . Then I looked at the half naked woman lying on the ground . Humans were weak . How could such weak humans do such cruel things? They used the excuse of the world being destroyed . They killed, raped women and stole from others .

Was it because of instincts? I was suddenly curious as I saw Bang Cheolsoo’s eyes stained with fear in front of a stronger violence?

“Why did you do it?” It was a question out of nowhere . In fact, I didn’t expect an answer to this question but at the moment I was about to kick him again, Bang Cheolsoo opened his eyes .

“Fuck…just kill me you son of a bitch . ”

The moment I saw his eyes, I knew he had answered my question in his own way . A look that didn’t show any lingering attachment to life . Yes . It wasn’t because of instincts . Bang Cheolsoo talked in a voice that was subsiding .

“Dog, this dog-like world…”

This guy was a human who had been despairing long before this world was destroyed . Just like me .

[There are 10 seconds left to the end of the sub scenario . ]

I didn’t delay any further and gave a strong kick to his neck . The breath was knocked out of him and Bang Cheolsoo finally fainted .

[You have met the conditions to clear the sub scenario . ]

[You have earned 300 coins . ]

I hope all of you are happy .

[The constellation ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’ is satisfied and has sponsored you 100 coins . ]

The other men crawled and approached me one by one .

“H-How cruel…”

They looked at Bang Cheolsoo, who had been turned into a rag, and then up at me with fear . It was like they were dogs waiting to be disposed of at a slaughterhouse . I picked up the collapsed woman and the convenience store bags . In any case, the world had been destroyed and I had to live a new life .

“Take me to where the group is . ”

* * *

Geumho Station was originally a place that would grow into the region’s base after it was organized by Yoo Jonghyuk . In his first regression, Yoo Jonghyuk broke through the second main scenario with the Geumho Station group, allowing the people of the group to occupy a place in the new era . Even so, that was the first round . By the third round of regression, Yoo Jonghyuk was different . The 3rd turn Yoo Jonghyuk was a monster who monopolized everything .

“…Even so, he was someone who would do the basic clean up . ”

“Huh?” The man guiding me was surprised .

“I’m just talking to myself . It is a habit . ”

[The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ likes your monologues . ]

“Yes…anyway, this way . ”

The men of the Cheoldoo Group, who were supporting each other, stopped moving . We descended to the bottom of the dark platform and found a place where there was still light . I heard the buzzing sound of people as we went down the stairs .

“The Cheoldoo Group! People are hurt!”

Some people rushed over to support Bang Cheolsoo’s group . There was more of a system then I thought since people were moving in an orderly fashion . In the meantime, I saw familiar faces run over .

“Oh my god . Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi!”

Fortunately, it looks like nothing happened . I greeted the person, “Yoo Sangah-ssi . ”

“I’m glad . Really, I’m really glad!” Yoo Sangah stood in front of me with a happy expression . I was startled and offered an awkward handshake . There were a lot of scrapes on the back of Yoo Sangah’s hand, showing she had suffered quite a hard time in the past four days . I heard a sound and something became attached to my leg .

“You’re alive . ” It was Lee Gilyoung .

I stroked the boy’s head and asked, “Have you been well?”

Lee Gilyoung nodded . He must be hungry since his cheeks were really thin . I pulled out a chocolate bar from the bag and placed it in Lee Gilyoung’s hand .

“I knew you were alive, Dokja-ssi . Hah…” Finally, I looked at Lee Hyunsung . The muscles of his upper half seemed to have become more solid . Maybe Lee Hyunsung had protected these two . “I’m really sorry . At that time, I left Dojka-ssi…”

“It was an unavoidable situation . ”

“Phew, I’m glad that Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi was right . ”

…Yoo Jonghyuk? Why was that name heard here? Lee Hyunsung noticed after a moment and said, “That, Yoo Jonghyuk said that Dokja-ssi was probably alive…”

“…Where is Yoo Jonghyuk now?”

“He isn’t here now . ”

Not here?

“Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi left the station yesterday . So…”

I could determine many things before Lee Hyunsung finished speaking . I see . It was truly like that . He was a person in a rush .

“That reminds me, there is one more person . ”

“Ah, the department head . ”

Yoo Sangah didn’t finish speaking because a group of men suddenly intruded . Nonetheless, it was a good thing .

“Everybody, out of the way!”

I didn’t have to hear the explanation to see what happened straight away . Three or four men armed with a hammer or pipe started to surround me . There was a familiar face among them .

“Y-You…!” Han Myungoh abandoned me on the Even Bridge and now he looked like he had seen a ghost . Han Myungoh must’ve joined this group . “G-Get rid of that guy! He is a very bad person! He shouldn’t be here!”

A thief was always the one who felt pins and needles . Han Myungoh started exclaiming wildly . However, I noticed that the other men looked at each other and didn’t easily move . There was something weird . Han Myungoh was placed in the centre yet they didn’t listen to him?

“Haha, Han hyung . Everyone should get along so why don’t you stop?”

“Ah, t-that…”

“You are a new person . ”

The man split apart to the sides and a path was formed . A slim man appeared among them . I could tell just by looking in his eyes . This guy had a sponsor .

“Nice to meet you . Can I ask what your name is?”

“Kim Dokja . ”

“Dokja-ssi . I see . I am Cheon Inho . ”

Cheon Inho? It felt like a name I should remember . I inserted strength to the hand holding the thorn . It looked like this guy was the leader of the Cheoldoo Group . He lost half of his men to me so he came here to make trouble .

“I heard the story from those you came with . You fought a monster and saved my group members . ”

…What?

“Everyone, please gather! We have a brave new group member!”

At Cheon Inho’s words, people started to turn this way one by one . It was at this time that I knew . It was impossible for the charisma of Han Myungoh to gather this much power . Cheon Inho was the real leader of this bunch .

“Wah! It is food!”

Hungry eyes fell on the convenience store bags . Then Cheon Inho spoke as if he had been waiting, “He delivered it exactly to us . He is a rare good person . ”

The words made all the eyes look at me like I was a savior . The mother holding the child and the elderly man who hurt his leg were looking at me earnestly .

Cheon Inho…I seemed to remember . Yes, there was this guy in the Geumho station group .

[The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is excited . ]

In this ruined world, the real danger wasn’t people like Bang Cheolsoo . Humans moving while feeling despair weren’t the least bit dangerous to me . The really dangerous people were those who used the despair of others as a fertilizer for power . Just like this guy .

“Welcome to Geumho Station, Kim Dokja-ssi . ”

Cheon Inho was laughing on the inside while gazing at me . He chuckled while shaking my hand . Cheon Inho would never know . At this moment, his future had been decided .