I'd successfully lured the Gnoll pack.
The trick was these thin but heavy scraps of metal.
I'd picked up several from the collapsed building.
Thanks to my increased strength, they made for excellent throwing weapons.
Shiiiik—thwack!
I hurled a metal scrap sidearm, skipping it like a stone across water. It nailed the leader Gnoll dead on.
"Kyeng!"
It must've hurt pretty bad.
Stimulated by the leader's cry, the Gnolls stuck out their tongues and came chasing after me.
Thud thud thud.
I arrived at the spot I'd scouted in advance.
I strode up the pile of building debris that rose like a hill.
On one side stood an undamaged highway sound barrier.
On the opposite side loomed a half-collapsed apartment building, standing tall.
So this place was like a narrow hill.
"They're like Goblins!"
I called out the Gnolls' presence to Jang Ho-seop, who was cloaked in invisibility.
He knew about my Target Detection skill.
'Invisibility even masks scents.'
Jang Ho-seop's invisibility hid not just sight, but smells and presence too.
No matter how good the Gnolls' noses were, they wouldn't detect him.
All I had to do was play my part right.
Clang clang clang.
Once atop the debris, I slammed the metal rod into the ground a few times.
The Gnolls spotted me and hurried after.
"Kyung kyung kyung!"
The lead Gnoll barked loudly.
Then it stopped, sending its underlings ahead first.
"Keeheng!"
The pack tried leaping up the debris hill like I had.
But suddenly, they all staggered.
'As expected... balancing's tough for them.'
It wasn't a well-packed path.
No flat stairs either.
You had to step on slanted concrete chunks, and footholds sometimes wobbled.
Plus, the Gnolls were already worn out from chasing me here.
"Kyung!"
In the end, the pack gave up bipedal walking and dropped to all fours.
They crawled up the debris on hands and knees.
Of course, they had to drop their weapons.
"That's right. Good dogs."
I felt a surge of satisfaction at their beastly display.
Gripping my prepared iron skewer, I headed down the hill.
Nothing special—just a rusty rebar.
Shiiiik—stab!
As I went out to greet them, one Gnoll opened its jaws wide.
I shoved the skewer right down its throat.
The Gnoll clamped its mouth shut and convulsed.
Its uvula pierced, experiencing a whole new world.
Thud.
Seeing the others struggle to rise and balance, I leaped back up the hill.
This time, grabbing two skewers.
"Keehiiik."
The pack vented their frustration.
Then their legs shook, and they dropped to all fours again.
"Heh heh."
I went down the hill once more.
Skillfully stepping only on solid spots, I approached a Gnoll.
Another one gaping wide on reflex, prey right in front of it.
Squelch!
I jammed the rebar into its auto-opening maw.
Deep.
Squelch!
If the angle was off, straight into the yellow eye.
I ditched the spent rebars without regret and retreated uphill.
"Kuheng!"
That was when I'd taken down ten Gnolls.
The pack had passed the hill's midpoint.
At the leader's howl, they closed ranks.
"Hm..."
This time, I gripped the metal rod I'd carried from the start.
Far better range than rusty rebar.
Whoooosh—thwack!
I got just close enough and swung.
The Gnoll whose crown I smashed staggered.
Gnoll heads were so big, easy to hit.
'Tougher than Goblins.'
Reeling but still alive.
Skull like iron.
"Keehik!"
I booted it hard down the hill.
The one beside snapped at me, so I jabbed it with the rod.
'Stabbing works best on these.'
Thrusts over swings for efficiency.
"Kyaeng!"
Down below, Jang Ho-seop dropped invisibility and appeared.
Snapped the neck of the one I'd rolled down.
"Keehang?"
Confused by his arrival, the Gnolls froze.
I used the gap to dispatch another.
"Kyung!"
Positioning, reach, momentum.
This battlefield favored us completely.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Gnolls were utterly massacred by Jang Ho-seop and me.
"Hyungnim! These guys had even more trouble going down!"
"Heh heh. Yeah."
The leader Gnoll tried breaking through up or down.
First, it chose down toward Jang Ho-seop.
That's when I racked up a ton of kills.
The pack struggled descending, and I easily stabbed the necks of those turning away.
"See? They panicked when I zipped around."
The leader switched to me after seeing Jang Ho-seop flee, but that wasn't smart either.
More dead by then.
I held the hilltop firm with superior range.
Occasionally rolling one down for Jang Ho-seop to finish.
Finally, the leader was last, wiping the pack.
"I'll hit level 10 soon too!"
Post-battle, heading back to where we first spotted the pack.
Jang Ho-seop yelled excitedly.
He struggled with his first Goblin, but seemed fine now.
"What about you, hyungnim? Not 20 yet?"
"Nah."
Gnolls gave more EXP than Goblins.
EXP seemed tied to their aura size.
"Wonder what skill I'll get?"
One more thing.
Jang Ho-seop guessed I'd get another general skill at 20.
"Feels like it won't be combat-related."
Maybe from concrete level-up gains.
Or his mindset differed from normal folks.
'Pharmacy people kept struggling.'
The pharmacist said killing was hard for modern people.
Yet Jang Ho-seop adapted in days.
"Probably tied to fundamental skills... Strictly speaking, yours aren't combat either."
"Jang Ho-seop."
"Sorry! Wasn't probing, just..."
Almost there.
Might be leftover Gnolls.
"We're close. Quiet down."
"Ah! Yes, sir."
We climbed Olympic Expressway.
"Kyung kyung!"
As expected, survivors in the pack's habitat.
But way smaller than the ones that chased us.
"Uh... pups?"
A few big ones too.
Females minding young?
We cleared them without issue.
Pup EXP was negligible.
"Hyungnim... those people..."
After total wipe, people remained.
Alive and dead mixed.
Goblin corpses piled aside.
"What the hell... ughk."
Jang Ho-seop trailed off queasily.
Captives' states were gruesome.
'Kept them alive as long as possible?'
Beat and tourniquet marks on bodies.
Monster instinct?
Goblins hadn't killed humans outright either.
'Still, better caught by Goblins...'
Gnolls seemed to understand humans better.
What wounds killed slowest.
Maggots writhed in living flesh.
Limbs rotting.
Calves holed, threaded with long strings.
Barely breathing, not living.
'Meanwhile...'
When we arrived.
Females and pups were eating.
The woman's corpse they'd torn into—breasts and organs first.
"Jang Ho-seop."
"Yes."
Between captives and feast spot.
A lone abandoned man.
Limbs mangled, but alive.
"Kill him."
Jang Ho-seop stared shocked.
"Pardon?"
"This guy. You kill him."
His eyes wavered.
I repeated firmly.
Did killing humans give him EXP?
Time to confirm.
"Stab like with monsters."
"No... hyungnim, I..."
He shook his head.
Eyes unsteady.
Then a tiny voice.
"...Please."
The fallen man.
Incredibly, speaking.
"Pardon? What...?"
Jang Ho-seop knelt, ear close.
"Kill... me."
Clear as day.
He begged for death.
"Hyungnim."
Jang Ho-seop looked at me.
I nodded silently.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Jang Ho-seop saw himself as an ordinary college student.
Even when panic disorder forced his leave of absence.
'Just a bit uncomfortable. Rest up, start again.'
His breaks lengthened.
Gaming till sleep crashed, sleeping in—blissfully comfy.
Still believed he could return anytime.
The 'Great Cataclysm' shattered that.
'Monster apocalypse?'
Quick judgment.
Fantasy novel stuff now real.
No old life left.
'Suicide?'
No will to live.
Even awakening fundamental skill beating Goblin for mom—future bleak.
Then dragon appeared.
It soared, bellowing disaster.
'Breath... can't breathe.'
Vivid death terror, like first library panic.
Then he saw one man.
'Whoa.'
The man butchered the savage monster in seconds.
Watching him alive and vital calmed Jang Ho-seop unconsciously.
Stifled breath eased; he fixated, entranced.
'Yi Hyun...'
Yi Hyun became hope incarnate.
Creepy side? Didn't matter.
'Stick to hyungnim no matter what.'
His conclusion.
Like hero's sidekick.
Protagonist's right-hand man.
To earn that, needed Yi Hyun's approval.
'Be useful first... no annoying habits.'
Observed Yi Hyun closely.
Tried grasping him.
Tough.
Too alien.
'No... don't analyze. Accept.'
Did what he could now.
Wrapped insulation tape on looted kitchen knife, steeling resolve.
Stay by Yi Hyun, survive.
"Kill this man."
Knife hand trembled.
Regretfully, his vow excluded 'murder'.
Enough courage for charging monsters.
"Hyungnim."
Gazed at Yi Hyun.
Solid rock now blankly urging murder.
'Test. No hesitation...'
Quick judgment again.
Squelch.
Stabbed the death-wishing throat.
Easier than expected.
Like Goblin neck.
No shock, no vomit urge.
Just numb.
"Feel anything? Changes?"
"Pardon? Well..."
Yi Hyun asked.
Only then did Jang Ho-seop study the dead face, pondering deeply.
'I killed him. I... did.'
Ordinary guy.
30s, office worker vibe.
Probably unmarried, lots of friends.
Such thoughts.
"Level? Same?"
"Pardon? Level? Ah... yes. Unchanged."
"Okay."
Next question hit realization.
He'd killed a person, not monster.
Ended a whole world with his hands.
"Hyungnim. I... this guy... um..."
Stammering.
"Died quick. Eased his pain."
Yi Hyun spoke curtly, turned away.
Then emotionlessly killed the rest.
Thud smack!
They crumpled one by one.
Fleetingly easy.
After all done.
Yi Hyun gathered corpses, handled delicately.
"Hyungnim..."
Like on bridge, Jang Ho-seop spaced out watching.
Under heavy clouds.
Yi Hyun alone moved.
Brushed maggots, closed torn flesh.
Covered mangled bodies with cloth, bowed in silence before them.
'Ah. Even I'm struggling... hyungnim.'
Suddenly clouds parted.
Sunbeam poured on Yi Hyun's head.
Jang Ho-seop watched wide-eyed.
'Showing me.'
Yi Hyun bore grave sin.
Murder named.
Yet Jang felt reverence in his acts.
'Right. Can't ignore it.'
Thought watching his back.
Ordering murder meant much.
'Test, resolve... sacrifice.'
Test to grasp murder's weight.
New world demanded such resolve.
'Tough calls all his... I'm wrecked by this.'
Yi Hyun shone saintly in his eyes.
Unshaken, guiding the frail like him.
'No doubts... yeah. Just accept.'
Jang Ho-seop rose from his slump.
Approached Yi Hyun.
"Hyungnim. I'll help. Can't let you bear heavy load alone..."
"It's fine. Go rummage that pile for anything useful."
Yi Hyun pointed at junk heap.
Gnolls' stolen loot dumped haphazardly.
"As expected... Yes. I'll grow fast to help."
Jang Ho-seop murmured at his back.
Approval earned.
Yi Hyun sacrificed to guard his heart.
Not just survival—repay grace at his side.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
'What's he on about.'
Jang Ho-seop spouted nonsense.
Couldn't carry more anyway, invisibility limits.
'Ah, level up expands invis range?'
Skill growth possible.
Direction unknown till seen.
But certainties emerged.
First, Jang Ho-seop got no EXP from murder.
So murder EXP was my fundamental skill's perk.
'Plus, great efficiency.'
Goblin EXP efficiency dropped with levels.
We guessed growth penalty.
Murder had no halving.
Felt like more EXP even.
Varying by person, but skill effect.
'Hit 20 thanks to it.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[General Skill awakened.]
Mother's voice rang, new general skill acquired.
⚔ STATUS ⚔[Mana Stone Extraction] Extracts Mana Stones from all enemies.
Unlike existing skills, this one required conscious focus to activate manually.
But what was a Mana Stone?
"Hyungnim. I picked these out..."
While I pondered alone.
Jang Ho-seop brought items.
Jewelry, watches—valuable stuff.
"No food. Clothes all torn."
"Why keep grabbing smokes?"
"Pardon? For bartering, obviously... toss 'em?"
He had uncanny insight into this new world.
Spitting monster names, thinking smokes for trade—plausible.
"Nah. Keep 'em."
"Yes! Smokers'll crave more."
So I asked.
"You know what a Mana Stone is?"
"Mana Stone? Wait, these guys have 'em?"
Glanced at Gnoll corpses.
"So what is it?"
"Mana Stones are... mystical rocks. Energy sources, currency substitutes..."
"Currency? Like coins?"
He explained fantasy tropes.
Asked which country used them; awkward laugh.
"Just fantasy..."
"Ah, that."
Told him my new general skill.
"Whoa? Hit 20?"
"Yeah."
"But earlier..."
He nodded.
Like he'd pieced it.
"Your levels fly, hyungnim."
I'd agonized faking excuses.
But he continued.
"Makes sense. Solo'd all those monsters."
Lucky, no lies needed.
Before leaving, test new skill.
"Gonna try it."
"Yes!"
Kneeled by female Gnoll corpse, hand over torso.
"Mana Stone Extraction."
Said name on instinct.
"Ooh!"
Jang Ho-seop exclaimed.
Embarrassing.
"Hm... huh?"
But 10 seconds passed, nothing.
His puzzled voice leaked.