How would I know that? I always slept through Biology class." Kim Namwoon looked at my bloodied shoulder and laughed happily. "But there's one thing I'm sure of. Do you know what it is?"
"What is it?"
"You're going to die now!" Kim Namwoon swung his Swiss Army knife around before I could respond. It was a difficult attack to dodge.
[A large number of coins have been acquired! Would you like to check out the coin usage tips?]
I omitted the explanation that was reaching my ears. There was no need to hear it when I already knew the content.
"No, you're the one who's going to die." I spat while muttering something.
[2,700 coins were invested in Physics.]
[Physician Level 1 -> Physicist Level 10]
[Your Physical level has increased dramatically!]
[Your body's resistance has greatly increased!]
Kim Namwoon's knife pierced my heart. To be more precise, it felt like it was going to pierce it.
My skin was like a solid rock, and the knife only left a scratch on it.
Kim Namwoon's eyes showed his surprise. "How?"
"I'm going to give the correct answer to my question. The answer is: an egg is a living thing."
"What?"
"And during egg-laying season, locusts lay more than 100 eggs at once."
Egg, living being, 100…
Unfortunately, the time he had left to understand the meaning of the information was too short for a student as dumb as he was.
"What do you mean?"
"It doesn't matter if you understood or not. One minute left."
Now fear appeared on Kim Namwoon's face: "Aaaah! Die! Die!"
The knife moved toward my neck. I didn't even bother to defend against the attack.
Toc!
I didn't feel the knife touching my skin. At first, I found it strange. Why would Kim Namwoon stop now? But when I opened my eyes, I saw a gloved hand holding Kim Namwoon's wrist.
Behind Kim Namwoon, there were still people crawling and searching for insects, as well as people willing to hurt others for their own survival. But there was only one person who stood apart from the others, as if unconcerned about the final minute remaining on the timer.
The man in the top hat pushed Kim Nanwoon further away from me, exerting a thunderous pressure even without releasing it. He was looking at Kim Nanwoon with disdain, as if he were seeing a repulsive person. I felt that if I looked at his cold gaze any longer, I would freeze in place.
"This is boring." The cold man crossed his arms, as if he had all the time in the world to have the conversation. "You're too slow."
"What?... Who...?" It was noticeable that Nanwoon was also afraid of that cold man, since she didn't finish screaming as her body stiffened under his penetrating gaze.
At some point, he threw something in her direction that seemed quite viscous. In his hoarse voice, he uttered the following words.
"Kill her or be killed."
"What?"
Time was running out. There were only a few seconds left, and I couldn't understand why that strange guy was doing this. Kim Nanwoon should die. Was my effort for nothing?
Kim Nanwoon looked at the screen. There were 25 seconds left. He didn't want to owe that guy anything. He wasn't even thinking about doing that. But the man's voice sounded again.
"Kill him. Weren't you trying to kill the lady a moment ago?"
It was a pressure that was frightening. Kim Nanwoon didn't want to be indebted to anyone. But even so…
10.. 9.. 8…
He couldn't keep stalling any longer. He did what the stranger told him. He squeezed his hand tightly around the worm, crushing it. There was no turning back now. Kim Nanwoon had managed to kill a living being.
[The deadline has passed.]
[The agreed-upon reward will be paid.]
I clenched my fists in the face of that situation. I'm angry. Why did that cold man save Kim Nanwoon? Didn't he see that Nanwoon is a piece of shit?
I looked away at him, my eyebrows furrowing and anger showing on my face. And in the background, I could hear a lot of heads being blown off one after another.
Even so, I needed to know why. The reason he saved Nanwoon.
Toc. Toc. Toc. Toc.
The sound of stilts echoed from the carriage coming towards us. It was Audrey, who seemed to have a sad expression, coming in wearing a heavy green Victorian-era dress that was now stained with blood. She glanced at me before turning her gaze back to the man.
"I'm sorry, Gerhman. I couldn't convince people to accept our help."
What?
Did he try to save everyone in the train car? Even though it was impossible? Isn't he as cold a person as he seems?
"It was inevitable."
"Look, you son of a bitch!" Kim Nanwoon broke his silence, looking at Gerhman as if he had gathered the courage to speak to him. "Don't think I owe you anything just because you saved me! I don't owe you anything!"
"And who said I need a favor from you?"
"Huh?.. You think you're the ultimate emo badass? You're nothing more than some uncle in a top hat-"
Pow!
All that could be heard was a punch after Kim Nanwoon interrupted. He, who had previously been standing, fell to the ground again. Now the right side of his face was red. I could feel again the same pressure I felt a few minutes ago.
Kim Nanwoon tried to stand up again, until his head was forcefully stomped on, causing his forehead to hit the ground.
"Just because I saved you a minute ago doesn't mean I feel empathy for you. You're just a disgusting piece of shit who makes the worst possible judgment and thinks you're right and should be put on a pedestal." Nanwoon's eyes widened. He felt like his head was being crushed constantly. He felt like he was going to die.
The man in the top hat said nothing more after that and continued crushing Nanwoon's head. I understood the message he wanted to convey.
Just as I saved you, I can kill you.
He was truly terrifying. He has to be my ally, not my enemy.
Nanwoon was beginning to shed tears as he started shouting at the man. "Stop! Please! Stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I don't want to die!"
"Mr. Mun-Gerhman… He understands. You can stop hurting him." In her sweet voice, Audrey looked at Gerhman with empathy for the situation.
After a brief moment, he removed his foot from on top of Kim Nanwoon.
Gerhman said nothing. He turned to the green-eyed man who seemed to have managed to save someone as well.
When I looked to the side, the woman who should have died in the first scenario was also alive. This deviates significantly from the original story of Ways to Survive.
But that didn't matter when I saw the window. Why? Why was I so calm with the view in front of me? It was like I was reading a novel.
[You killed 124 living beings.]
[Death History: one grasshopper, 123 grasshopper eggs.]
[You killed living beings of the type without resistance, so the number of coins received is reduced by half.]
[6,200 coins were acquired!]
[The number of coins used for the statistics level was automatically subtracted.]
[You have a total of 3,500 coins.]
[The award for 'Mass Murderer' was obtained because of the excessive number of deaths.]
My face could be seen in the dark window of the train car.
It was a face I had never seen before, despite having looked in the mirror countless times in my life. I wiped the blood from my cheeks. The blood didn't come off, which meant there was blood on the window.
Kkiik.
A trembling sensation arose, and the subway began to move again. This made the familiar subway noise.
Then, the light entered and the darkness was dispelled from the windows. We arrived at the surface section of Line 3 between Apgujeong and Oksu.
From outside the window, you could see the Han River and Seoul.
Ahh . Someone sighed. It was a sigh that contained a profound relief at having survived.
However, it didn't take long for the meaning of the sigh to change to Ah, Ah… And to Ohh…
The landscape outside the window was no longer the Seoul they knew. Smoke and dust rose from the ruined city.
The bridges over the Han River had collapsed. The Han River itself was red with the bodies of soldiers, while, among the fallen buildings, a monster was stomping on a K1 tank as if it were a toy.
[Main Scenario #1 – Proof of Valor is over]
[300 coins were acquired as a basic completion reward.]
[100 coins were deducted due to the channel usage fee.]
[The agreed-upon reward will be paid.]
The old world was destroyed and a new world was born.
And I was the only reader who knew the end of this world.
POV Klein
This world is truly falling apart. That's what Klein was thinking to himself as he looked out the window at his old world, now so different from what he knew.
Klein asked if that was how his world was destroyed before the cosmos, the giants, the elves, the bloodthirsty beings, and the demonic wolves entered the planet. That was truly a bombshell dropped in his face.
And unfortunately, he couldn't avoid her.
Unable to do anything until the train stopped, he sat down and enjoyed the ride, observing the survivors around him. 3.. 7.. 11..
Eleven. There were eleven survivors inside the train car. Even though it wasn't a large number, it was significant. He saved the lady and the white-haired boy, who was now sitting cross-legged in a corner of the car. And Leonard saved the crazy man who had come towards him earlier.
Klein felt a slight resentment toward that guy. He couldn't trust him, even though he was in the same situation as Klein. But he didn't want to think about it anymore. He turned his face toward the white-haired boy.
Did I overact? Sorry, man. You're the kind of person Gerhman Sparrow doesn't tolerate.' Klein felt he should apologize to Kim Nanwoon. But that wouldn't be Gerhman Sparrow's style. So he pretended to just ignore it.
Audrey and Leonard were amazed by that world, even though it was in chaos. Seeing them with their eyes shining warmed Klein's heart. He wanted to talk about everything in that world. He wanted to chatter about how everything works at this point in time. He wanted to spend more simple moments with his two only friends. But that's not possible.
' Who knows when I'll go back to sleep and not remember anything in the dream... Phew...' Gerhman leaned back further in his seat and slowly closed his eyes, trying to calm his thoughts.
' Even after being alone for so long, it sucks not being able to talk to anyone… There's so much information to process. I feel like this is going to drive me crazy and make me lose control! But who could help me with this? It's not like there's anyone I can talk to in my head.'
In this moment of reflection, a strange rustling occurred in the gray mist, and a buzzing could be heard in Klein's mind. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a window giving him information he didn't believe.
[The conditions for using the unique skill Gray Mist of Knowledge have been met!]
[The exclusive skill, Gray Mist of Knowledge Level 1, has been activated!]
What surprised Klein most was not those sentences, but what came after.
Grand Master... Are you listening to me?
{Your miserable, needy, and loyal servant Arrodes is missing you!! o(╥﹏╥)o}
'Arrodes?!'
How could a mirror possibly talk to you in your head?
Notes: