Chapter 45

“Hey you bastards! What are you all doing just sitting around! Stop that bastard!”

‘That’s if they can stop me . From how I see it, if they charge in towards me instead of running away, I would actually be thankful . It’ll be less work for me . ’

I disengaged Talaria’s Wing and took a stance .

“Iaaaaaaaak!”

Along with that shout, there was a man who was trying to swing his arm after having it pulled all the way back . I clicked my tongue and watched him .

‘If you attack someone like that, I bet the opponent would really get hit for sure . Right?’

His fist was coming at me along an easily predictable trajectory . With one hand I caught his first and used my other hand to push in the elbow joint in the wrong way .

A blunt sound could be heard . Bone from the elbow’s joint tore out of the skin .

Right at that moment, through an invisible force, my hands were pushed away .

‘As I thought, it was just for a moment but it works . ’

Just as expected, the man’s elbow was healed immediately .

However, the man was struggling on the floor, laying on his stomach while grabbing his elbow .

‘Feigning pain, are you?’

The system’s healing effect completely erased the pain as well .

In other words, that man was struggling because he was either shocked from the pain that he felt at the moment or suffering from a phantom pain .

Tsk .

The man was still crawling on the ground . I stomped on the man’s head and looked at my next target .

There was a giant man who charged towards me from the front .

He was wielding a large sword .

‘He is about the size of a goblin . ’

However, he wasn’t as skilled as one .

‘His stance is all wrong . He can’t bring about the maximum reach like that . Actually, is he so bad at this that he can’t even figure out the possible attack distance?’

I raised my foot and kicked him right on the pit of the stomach .

The impact was going to be dulled because of the system, but it was not like the system was going to completely eliminate the shock from the impact .

There was also the momentum from him charging towards me .

Combining them all, the impact was going to be enough to kill a pig .

The giant gasped for air and got pushed back .

Dealing trauma to the lung or other internal organs worked as well .

To be precise, this was about immobilizing the opponent by hitting the respiratory track .

The shock to the respiratory track and internal organs was going to be recovered quickly, but it was going to be enough for the fight .

The giant was pushed back . He took steps to stay standing up . I charged in to follow him and smacked him on the jaw .

The jaw, which was supposed to aim toward the ground, was turned 180 degrees and spun up toward the sky .

‘I wonder what would happen with this?’

The man fell on the spot like a gigantic log .

After a moment, his neck came back to its proper position on its own .

‘It’s like a scene from a horror movie . ’

Along with a hard breathing sound, the giant started to breathe again .

However, he was still unconscious .

The giant got beat up in a one-sided fight and collapsed . Having watched this, other runts who were charging at me stopped immediately in their tracks .

As I thought, the protection by the system was not perfect .

Damage could be dealt to arm joint, internal organs and even the neck bone .

The system was almost completely nullifying blade attacks, and shock from impacts were dulled .

On top of that, rapid healing effect was added, and there was a limitation that made it impossible to continue using joint-based attack or choking for long .

However, aiming for the critical areas and instantly pressing down or bending worked .

Of course, the wounds were healed quickly, but that just meant more time for those bastards to experience pain .

Before I realized, Kim Min-huk and a few rankers had circled the Representative Federation .

‘Are they trying to prevent the Federation from running? He made a quick decision . ’

As soon as he saw my strength, he concluded that they will win . He then made a move to surround the enemies and destroy them all at once .

‘Actually, even if the pigs ran away, I am confident that I can catch them all in ten minutes . ’

“Nice move . What kind of skill is that?”

‘He is a ranker . What was his name again? I don’t remember . ’

I was not good at remembering names from looking at faces .

‘Well, trying to remember the face of a runt like that would be just a waste of brain space . ’

Some people around me murmured the name, Myoung Jin-chan .

‘Ah, the sixth floor on the normal difficulty . ’

He was one of the top challengers among the normal difficulty rankers .

“By the way, did you know that you aren’t the only one with skills?”

After saying that, Myoung Jin-chan mumbled something for a moment .

After a moment, blue light lingered around the tip of the spear that he was holding .

It could have strengthening and sudden acceleration effect like the one from the second instructor goblin at second floor .

It could be something that enhanced his physical abilities as well .

The bastard was smiling with full of confidence . I said,

“If you are done, hurry up and fight . Mr . Nobody . ”

‘It’s not like that’s a skill worth making a fuss about . Why is he wasting my time dragging along like this?’

Although I told him to come at me, I actually charged in first for the strike .

His spear tip with blue light quickly came at me . However, I dodged it and drew Gladius .

‘It would be no good to thrust a spear so hurriedly like that . ’

Regardless, thrust attacks showed gap in defense when it failed . This guy did not prepare for this at all . Instead, he made a full, deep thrust motion . He was also awkward at taking back steps to gain distance .

A spear had a long reach, which was a great advantage . However, the spearman didn’t even know how to control the distance . Calling him Mr . Nobody suited him perfectly .

I cut Myoung Jin-chan’s hand that was holding the spear . To be precise, I struck it .

Although I swung at his hand like I was going to cut off his fingers, the impact was dull like the strike was made with a wooden sword .

‘Thought so . Because of the meddling from the system, this won’t work . ’

Pain was inflicted on his hand at an instant, and Myoung Jin-chan ended up letting go of the spear because of the pain . He tumbled and picked up the spear again . I looked at him as if he was a fool, and then I put away Gladius .

‘He dropped his spear in middle of that? To think that he is one of the top rankers . Looks like there will be no need for me to use Blink or Talaria’s Wing . ’

Instead of the short sword, I brought out the Savage warrior’s backsword, which had the advantage in terms of length and weight .

Since blade attacks did not work in this space, it was pointless to swing sharp weapons . It was the same as swinging something else that was blunt .

I had no complaints .

A club was best for giving a good beating .

I thought about the stick that my middle school teacher used to carry around to give students beatings as punishment .

. [TL: Back in about 20 years ago or so, it was perfectly fine for teachers in Korea to beat the crap out of students for punishment . ]

If I compared a short sword to a two feet long ruler, Gladius is about as long as a broom stick that’s broken in half, and this backsword is like a billiard stick .

‘Teacher, I, your unworthy student, will follow your teachings . ’

It was not like these pigs were going to be corrected even if the teacher came in person . However, it was not like the beatings I was about to deliver were for the sake of teaching them anything, so it did not matter .

* * *

I lied down on the grassy field and closed my eyes . The grassy field felt gentle .

As I thought, this place was Kiri Kiri’s mound .

I thought that there was no other place better suited for taking a nap during the day time .

There was the gentle grassy field, and there was a cool breeze .

The sunlight was not too bright .

It was perfect .

I could hear sounds of what could be described as screams of dying pigs . If it wasn’t for it, it would have been even more perfect .

I had a good reason why I was leisurely lying on the grass .

First, I felt so refreshed that I could fly right now .

To think that beating up people made me feel this refreshed…

It was odd, but it was true .

The onslaught of beating continued for a few hours, and that completely cleared the stress I had accumulated lately .

Moreover, in this space, you could not get tired, so I didn’t even feel exhausted from the hard labor of giving the pigs the beatings .

It felt like I just got out of a bath on a hot spring . I felt like I was sitting on a bench while drinking a banana milk . It felt that relaxing and refreshing .

‘It is perfect for just stretching out, is it not?’

The second reason was to check the status window .

[Basic swordsmanship (Lv . 7)]

Wow…

My swordsmanship skill was up .

I did not think it would go up from fighting those pathetic pigs .

I thought about it for a moment, and I realized that I have never fought opponents that were weaker than me .

Even when I was fighting against goblins by the hundreds, it was made possible only because I had the power skills from the gods .

Even a grunt goblin soldier was far stronger than those pigs . It was beyond comparison .

The difference in physical attributes were big . The difference in combat strength was at a whole another dimension .

Naturally, my swordsmanship was developed toward passive methods that allowed me to dodge the enemy attacks .

I used shield to block or dodge the attacks, and then I used my quick speed to aim for the gap in the enemy’s defense and hit the critical points .

It was effective . However, it was thrust oriented, and lacked in variety .

However, when I was beating the crap out of those pigs, I used the backsword like a club .

Since I obviously had the protection from the system, I didn’t bother to think about dodging or blocking attacks either .

Thanks to that, I got to try new attack patterns . As of result, my swordsmanship skill’s level went up .

‘Um… If it is possible, I would like to beat them some more…’

I gave a quick glance to the direction where the pigs were screaming .

Unfortunately, it did not look like my turn would come .

The third and the last reason why I was just killing time while lying on the field…

I didn’t exactly have anything left to do at the moment .

When I really started to beat the crap out of the pigs, Kim Min-huk stepped in .

It was not like we were going to fight along with each other .

The fight was already over .

Kim Min-huk went to the pigs that I beat to pulp and tied them in ropes .

I had no idea when he had such things ready .

It seemed even Kim Min-huk was thinking he should neutralize them by force if there was an opportunity .

Like that, all pigs related to the Representative Federation were tied up in ropes like fishes on ropes on an old school fish market . I was now talking to Kim Min-huk about what to do about the pigs .

The school girl, who had been keeping quiet until now, stepped forward .

The girls said her name was Park Jung-ah . She told us what she thought should be done .

We judged that her opinion was the most appropriate one and left the rest to her .

Her opinion was as the following .

The most important thing for neutralizing the Representative Federation’s power was sending the challengers on the first floor to the second floor and beyond . This was the most effective measure .

Also, we had to prepare for retaliation that could come after the day of the great harmony ended .

Finally, to make sure these bastards do not even think about committing the same immoral acts toward the new challengers, the bastards had to be punished severely and break their spirit .

So, Park Jung-ah proposed that the Representative Federation’s pigs should be used as sandbags for combat training .

It was to eliminate the victims’ fear and to get them used to the combat even if it was for just a little bit . Also, she said this will bring the people together from having directly fought against the pigs of the Representative Federations .

To begin with, there were more victims than the Representative Federation members . If all of the victims charged in and fought them instead of choking in fear, there was no way that the side with superior number was going to lose inside the waiting room where the injuries healed automatically .

Of course, it would have been a different story if there was a strong one that could ignore the difference in number or the protection by the system . However, the Representative Federation didn’t have such a person .

First, she gathered everyone standing on the field to a place and explained the evil acts perpetrated by the Representative Federation and the suffering of the victims .

Like that, she even garnered understanding from the people who were not related to the Representative Federation . She garnered support from them toward the victims, and she requested punishment against the Representative Federation .

Also, she rallied the victims together .

She gathered the people and raised their fighting spirit for resistance . She talked about what needed to be done in the future .

Along with the possibilities of the future, she also talked about the danger . However, her overall message contained hope .

Kim Min-huk and other rankers took a step back . Their roles were limited to just supporting her .

They said that it was the right thing to do to have Park Jung-ah, one of the victims, lead the process and resolve it .

As soon as the situation was organized like that, Park Jung-ah executed the idea that she told me and Kim Min-huk .

So, at the moment, on the green plain over there, the rankers were using the pigs as sandbags and teaching the victims of the Representative Federation the basic moves for boxing and swordsmanship .

Occasionally, there were victims that refused to participate in the training . However, we did not accept their refusal .

Even if they cried and refused, we forced them to attack the pigs .

No matter how I thought about it, it was unethical . However, I could not think of anything else that was better .

Like that, the situation was concluded .

So, now that I have finished my part in the matter, I was just sitting around .

‘There is still about 13 hours left before the day of the great harmony is over .

Should I really just take a nap, or should I go join the victims and practice swordsmanship together?’

I was thinking about what to do, but I could hear a light footsteps coming toward me .

It was Park Jung-ah .

“It must’ve been hard for you too . ”

I greeted her with that . Park Jung-ah lightly lowered her head and plummeted next to me, and then she got on her knees .

‘… This kid has a talent for making a person panic . ’

I got up awkwardly .

“Thank you so much . On behalf of my older sister and other victims, thank you . ”

‘Older sister?

Was there an older girl next to her?

I didn’t see anyone who was talking to her as if they were close?’

“Also… I know I am intruding, but I have one more favor to ask of you . ”

Like that, Park Jung-ah’s story started . It was a pretty long story, longer than I thought it would be .

She started with her story before she entered the Tutorial . Shen then told the stories about what happened to her after entering the Tutorial and how her older sister died .

After that, she told the stories about what happened there after .

Her stories ended with her asking me to lend her my strength .

“I know I am intruding . I’ll pay for this debt for the rest of my life . I’ll never forget it . ”

‘… Out of the blue… you are asking me to lend you my strength?

Should I train her or something?

Should I get her something like the Devil’s Fruit from ‘One-Piece’?’

I suddenly thought about the handgun that I purchased earlier .

It had no restriction on who could use it . Also, it was probably incredibly powerful .

Kiri Kiri said it was necessary for clearing the Fifth Floor .

I needed it too .

“How are you going to pay back the debt?”

“I’ll live the rest of my life for the sake of the others . I’ll fight to protect the others . ”

She said it with such determination and resolve that I was at a loss for words . It was ridiculous .

‘Hey . How is that considered repaying the debt to me? It seems like this girl is misunderstanding me about something . Still, if I told her she needs to return the favor back to me directly, I would look undignified .

God damn it, she got me on a checkmate .

I cannot refuse to help her after hearing something like that .

Wait, did this runt give me that speech just now on purpose while aiming for this?’

I didn’t say anything back to her . Instead, I just opened my inventory and gave her the handgun while hoping I would look cool and chic .

“It is a magical tool that will cause explosion from a distance . Here is the barrel, and this is the trigger . It does not have a safety lock, so be careful . Also, it only has five shots, so use it sparingly . ”

“How powerful is it?”

“Honestly, I do not know . I have never shot it before myself . ”

“I think I’ll have to shoot it once as a test . ”

Park Jung-ah said that and started to walk toward somewhere .

I was actually curious about the handgun’s power, so I followed her .

Park Jung-ah approached a pig that was working hard getting beat the crap out of .

‘Was his name Lee Chang-suk?’

She walked toward Lee Chang-suk .

Standing in front of Lee Chang-suk, who was working hard at receiving beatings, she brought out a potion bottle from the inventory .

‘Where did she get that? Wasn’t she a challenger in the First Floor?’

She calmly opened the lid and applied its content on one of her hand .

The liquid appeared to be some kind of lubricant .

‘Or is it oil?’

Lee Chang-suk received more beating than anyone . He received more painful beating than anyone . However, thanks to the healing effect by the system, appearance wise, he looked fresh .

His face was a mess with blood and tears . He was not able to talk properly and having difficulty catching his breath . From that perspective, he did not look all right . Still…

Regardless, I just meant that he did not appear to be seriously hurt anywhere on his body .

Park Jung-ah had a calm look on her face . She slowly pushed in her fingers, which had lubricant applied, in the gap just below Lee Chang-suk’s eye .

Slowly, little by little, her fingers went in deeper .

Lee Chang-suk’s eyeball looked like it could pop out… No . Actually, it really was slowly coming out .

Regardless, his eyeball was not pulled out or destroyed, so system did not do anything .

‘There was a method like that . ’

Lee Chang-suk was foaming on his mouth like a rabid dog and struggled . However, Park Jung-ah remained resolute .

Using the gap that she made with her finger, instead of the finger, she shoved in the narrow barrel of the handgun . Having realized this, Lee Chang-suk’s desperate struggle reached its peak .

His screaming was so loud that it was making me go deaf .

I shall omit the desperate swears, curses and pleads for life that Lee Chang-suck poured out in the process .

BOOM!!

The explosive sound was closer to the sound of a lightning bolt striking down instead of a gunfire .

Lee Chang-suk’s head became just a lump of blood . Its shape could no longer be identified . Actually, to be precise, it became so grotesque to look at that it was hard to stare at to identify it .

At an instant, Lee Chang-suk became a corpse with its head exploded . The system did not provide him with healing .

Due to the explosion, blood and pieces of flesh were thrown up into the air . When they fell back down, Park Jung-ah felt them as if they were spring rain shower . Fiddling with the handgun, Park Jung-ah quietly mumbled,

“It is not bad . ”

‘… Oh my… This bastard is crazier than me . No, this bitch is crazier than me . To think someone like that would be out there…’

The way she looked at the moment was making me hard to believe that she just killed her tormentor .

There was no madness, sadness, bliss or emptiness .

It looked like she just wanted to test the handgun’s power, and she looked calm as if she only did what she was supposed to have done . I felt shocked, and I felt fear .

I thought that, if there ever was a person with the heart of iron then it must be her .

I thought I got used to blood and death from being in the Tutorial . However, it was scary even for me to look .

Park Jung-ah raised the hand that was holding the handgun . She raised her voice and garnered everyone’s attention toward her .

She did not look like a priestess who received people’s admiration and respect . Instead, she looked like a devil who used force and fear to oppress and rule over the people .

In the area, the sounds of people screaming and puking never stopped . However, ironically, sounds of cheer and applause also exploded .

Also, she stepped up over the headless corpse of Lee Chang-suk and started another speech .

Just like that, the watchmen who protect the law and order of the Tutorial’s Korean server, the Order of Vigilance was born .