Smoking. Exhaling smoke. Cigarette smoke billowed in the humid air, dancing under the dim warehouse lights.
"Captain, should we leave this catch with the other trash?" asked the rough man in a black mask, stepping on a cigarette butt.
The Captain grinned, slitting his throat with his hand. "He's not trash. He's bait. If Seo Group breaks the deal, we have an ace up our sleeve."
"But is he really unconscious?" The man approached my body, kicking my ribs. "Or… pretending to be unconscious?"
Suddenly, the Captain received a call. His expression darkened. "Tck, check properly, we're leaving this warehouse. There are more mercenaries attacking us."
"Alright, Captain. Even if he's conscious, he won't be able to do anything here," the man laughed bitterly. "He's just a corpse without magic. This shock magic rope will make him scream."
Grinning, the Captain waved his hand, "It's better if he doesn't know our identity until the deal is done. Otherwise, this will trouble us."
Nodding, the two men slowly exited.
Brakkk—
The sound of the door closing. Several minutes later, I regained consciousness.
BOOOMMMMMMM—!!
What happened? Why was there an explosion? "Ughhh...." My vision was blurry. "Ughhh…. Wasn't I sleeping in bed after the live stream? Wait, what is this—"
Examining myself, why was I dressed like a nobleman? Hands and feet tightly bound in this dilapidated wooden warehouse…?
"...Damn, where exactly am I?!! Is there a camera here!? Stop playing your prank, this isn't funny at all?!!" I tried to move my hands, but this rope was sturdy and tight.
"No camera. No laughter. Only the smell of rotten mud and my own blood."
Moreover… what was this emanating… it wasn't unfamiliar. Like an electric shock, but not electronic. "A rope that generates electricity? Or radioactive?" Neither. But this gave me déjà vu.
"Is this a magic rope...?" Pfttt—, no way, this is the real world. But seeing its light… and I vaguely remembered the guards' conversation: they mentioned I had no magic.
"Muddy ground in this almost collapsing wooden warehouse, dark night atmosphere..." And my hands were tied. "Tck, am I being kidnapped now...? For negotiation?" I grumbled. This isn't a YouTuber prank.
Facts said otherwise. As I moved my body, I realized I was very different—how could I move my legs so strongly? As if I was never disabled. My vision was so clear, my shoulders sturdy, and my voice sounded younger, a slightly light baritone. As if I became a different person? Or, became someone else…?
Sighhh… How foolish of me to realize late because of panic. This wasn't an unfamiliar concept to me. I had delved into the world of games, reading manga, comics, anime, and otaku games. I wasn't so foolish as not to realize this after a brief analysis. Only this explanation made the most sense.
But oh well…. That no longer mattered. I had many colliding thoughts. I trembled with joy until tears flowed unknowingly; this was beyond expectation after years of hopeless living relying on online games. But on the other hand, I was scared.
Sighhh, I don't know who I really am, because my memories are jumbled. My condition wasn't good, with a head wound and dried blood covering my face—a fatal injury. "A-Arghhh..." I was disoriented, trying to get up, but couldn't with my hands tied. Will I be killed even before doing anything?
No, don't be silly. This seems to be just the beginning. "Panic only wastes energy and emotions, but I also can't be too calm when my head is bleeding badly. So, what should I do...?"
Trying to calm down, I noticed something that made my eyes twinkle with a small smirk. "Bingo..."
"But foolishly, did they deliberately leave a broken bottle here?" I muttered, crawling about 20 meters and rolling my body to reach the bottle shard.
Booommmm-!!
An explosion shook the room, a beer bottle fell.
Crashhh—
"Ahhh, so that's where the glass came from?" I took back my words; it was an idiot who left the beer bottle. They thought I was helpless? Or weak? I don't know. The important thing is, this benefits me.
Unfortunately, it was too far to crawl without getting hurt. But, what did I care? "Damn, if it's just this, it's not a problem for me!!"
Merangkak using my shoulders as leverage, I moved slowly towards the largest shard.
Srekkkk…. Srekkk…. Sreekkkkk….
I crawled over shards of glass and splinters, some piercing the skin on my chest. Who cared? This was just a small pain compared to being disabled or dying.
Grasp. I picked up the nearest one. Its size was enough. "This should work…." I slowly bent my hand and began to cut the rope bit by bit until it finally broke.
Why was the magic rope so fragile without magic? Was it strong enough to ward off magic, but physically weak because its material was of poor quality? Normal from their perspective; a weak captive wouldn't be able to tear the rope, it's impossible to use magic because it's an anti-magic rope. They underestimated me too much.
"Sigh, finally... Isn't this too easy...?" I muttered after successfully cutting all the ropes.
I realized something as a price for arrogance. Peeking from the damaged wall, right in front of the warehouse was a military base... which was very large!!
"Damn!! Am I kidnapped by the military?"
"No—before that, where exactly am I!?? In the middle of a forest? It seems this place is far from settlements…" The base surprised me, but I had no intention of staying longer. Something was wrong here... It's very strange if a normal person like me could be calm!
"Wait a minute, where are the soldiers if this is indeed a military base?" I muttered confused. Then I heard a very loud explosion, about 2 km from the base.
Booommmmm-!!!!
An explosion with a 50-meter-high mushroom cloud appeared. I grinned faintly. "Ahhh… are they fighting...?"
A mushroom cloud. That means panic. If they were busy shouting, I could escape. Thank you, armed idiots.
I wasn't a fool. The owner of this body must not be an ordinary person judging by his clothes. This was my golden opportunity. The battle there benefited me.
Smirk…
"This base looks deserted? Why is no one patrolling, lucky!" Or, should I think that?
Without much thought, I immediately opened the warehouse door and ran quickly towards the military vehicle parked next to the workshop—the only vehicle available.
Tap! Tap! Tap-!!
However, I was surprised by several people fixing an engine in the workshop. They stared at me in a daze.
Ahhh…. How foolish of me….
"Ehhh... Isn't that the hostage the captain caught for the boss's business deal?" whispered one.
"Ah... You're right..." They fell silent, then realized. "Hey, you bastard, that hostage wants to escape!! Catch him!!!" shouted the technician, then ran quickly towards me with a wrench, followed by another technician.
"Damn!!!" The situation I was trying to avoid actually happened!? I growled. I was still 40 meters from the vehicle, while the technicians were already in front of me. Without thinking, I charged at one who wasn't ready.
Dashh-!
I snatched his wrench and kicked the technician in the stomach, sending him flying.
Brukkk-!!!
The others were wary and attacked head-on. "If you choose to fight rather than obey, don't blame me if your brain contents are messed up because of your own choice, you bastard!!" yelled another technician, swinging a large hammer.
"You think you're dangerous? I was born from the chaos you fear, haha!!" I exclaimed, giving the middle finger and getting ready. I dodged diagonally, swinging the wrench.
Thud-!! Brukkk-!!!
"Kuhuhuhuhuhh... It seems this wrench is quite effective for hitting someone's head..." I chuckled, two people lay sprawled.
Well, that wasn't a bad start. "Now only 4 more bastards..." I continued the attack as quickly as possible. I parried attacks, kicked, then hit the opponent's head with the wrench until they passed out. It didn't take long to take down the others.
But…. Weren't they so weak? Everything happened so fast that I myself only realized I had defeated six people with just a wrench. "Hehhehehehhh… huft... huft... huffttt...." No wonder, they barely had any fighting experience and bodies weren't as strong as hunters. While I, though not yet awakened, had a healthy enough physique to defeat those who had no intention of killing me. This was a gamble for my life.
I gambled because I had to.
Step step step
I approached the fallen men, taking a key that had dropped from one of the technicians. "It was predictable he would carry this key..."
Without thinking, I immediately got into the military vehicle, starting it— "Tck, what else is missing?!!" The car wouldn't start. Whether God blessed me or what, I quickly found an electrical problem with the engine after checking the car's hood. Pressing the gas pedal, I sped towards the open gate.
Whooshhh...!!
Inside the vehicle, I laughed freely, driving wildly. Finally, I was free! "Wohhoo~!!! Damn, this is so fun!!"
I glanced to the side and saw hundreds of people fighting guerrilla warfare in the forest, gunshots and explosions echoing!
Bang bang bang bang bang-!!!
"Hey!! Why is a combat car driving towards the enemy?!! Is he an idiot!?"
"Look, you fool!! Isn't that Captain Bird's car that was serviced? Why is it here?!!"
"Idiot!! The one in the captain's car must not be our ally!! Quick, attack him-!!!"
A barrage of attacks and hundreds of bullets rained down on my car.
Kring ting ting ting ting-!!!
The whistling sound of bullets was deafening. But, who cared? This car was bulletproof!! Forget small caliber, I even doubted heavy machine guns would be able to penetrate!
"Ahahahaha-!! This is absolutely insane-!!"
Hurled, hurled, and hurled away-!!!
In my entire life, I had never experienced such intense joy. Rocket fire even nearly hit me. Of course, I did it with my god-level driving skills! Ahh, that's just nonsense, I've never even driven in real life before!
The only limit I had was the one I placed on myself. Today, I broke it!
If I manage to get out of here, I swear that I will live only for my own pleasure!! I don't care about anything that doesn't concern me, I don't care about anything that doesn't concern me!
Love? Morality? Justice? Nonsense!!
Now it's my turn! I want everything—lust! power! chaos!
If I have to be a devil to live freely…
Then let this world explode with my last laugh!!!
However, when I was almost at the outermost point of the battle border, the military vehicle I was driving was thrown into the air, accompanied by a loud explosion from underneath it.
Duarrrrr-!!!!
"W-What..."
Brakkkk-!!!!
The vehicle crashed hard to the ground, but I was still conscious. I crawled out slowly through the damaged door. I realized too late, it seems I stepped on a landmine while driving.
drifting…
Crawling...
"U-Urghhhh, how foolish of me... Who would have thought there was a landmine on this road..." I muttered, holding my blood-soaked head. As I crawled out, I heard footsteps from the bushes.
Kreseskkk...
I sighed in frustration. "Tck, did they manage to catch up to me...?"
Uwahhhh…. My efforts couldn't have been in vain, right? I took a metal shard embedded in my shoulder, holding it like a knife, preparing to fight. My heart pounded erratically. Someone emerged from behind the bushes.
"...Butler...?" I muttered disoriented as I saw a middle-aged man in a complete butler uniform, holding a long-barreled rifle.
"Young Master!! Is that really you?! You managed to escape!!" exclaimed the old man with uncontrolled joy.
As I slowly nodded, my vision blurred and my consciousness faded. Although dizzy and weak, a sense of peace enveloped me. Finally, I passed out with a gentle smile on my face, because my escape from the kidnappers had finally succeeded…