[You have died]
Wearing a "mask of pain," Kenmyo Isayama sat on the sofa clutching his chest, looking utterly shaken. When he felt his chest and found it completely intact, he collapsed back onto the sofa in relief.
"What the hell... was that?"
Closing his eyes, the scene from a moment ago replayed in his mind. He hadn't seen much—only a blurry black shadow rapidly approaching him from behind.
The pain of twisting bones and tearing flesh had surged through his brain. Before he could even react, Kenmyo had looked down to see a massive hole opened in his chest. Then came a "heart-to-heart" session, courtesy of that unknown "kind soul." He'd had a perfectly clear view of what his own beating heart looked like inside his chest.
Heh, it even splattered.
It certainly wasn't a pleasant experience. Although he didn't truly die, he still experienced every bit of agony and despair leading up to death in excruciating detail. In his last memory, a blood-drenched hand had reached through his ribcage, ripped his heart out, and crushed it.
His brain had practically short-circuited. Even as his consciousness returned to reality, he instinctively felt like there was still a gaping hole in his torso.
Now, here was the dilemma.
It was currently 11:08 PM. In fifty-two minutes, his two daily entry attempts would refresh. Should he go to sleep? Or should he continue grinding this insane "self-harm" game?
He was already exhausted from the day's events.
But even as he thought it, he already knew the answer.
Kenmyo stood up quickly, unlocked the psionic shackles, and headed to the basement. He trotted down the stairs, gave a quick nod to his disheveled sister—who was busy doing who-knows-what—and rushed into the storage room.
"Sister."
After a flurry of rummaging sounds, Kenmyo emerged from the storage room. Passing his sister again, he added, "Goodnight. Bye, Sister."
"?"
Kenmyo's whirlwind entry and exit left Sakura Isayama staring blankly in confusion.
After re-locking the basement shackles, a seemingly empty-handed Kenmyo lay back down on the sofa.
[Do you wish to enter the "All Souls Temple" plane?]
"Yes," obviously.
As long as he wasn't about to drop dead from exhaustion, he would keep grinding. How could he become a powerhouse if he was afraid of death? Points were his absolute priority right now; even if he had to sacrifice sleep, he had to stockpile them.
The familiar ringing in his ears returned. When Kenmyo opened his eyes again, he was back at the exact spot where he had died in "Round One."
There was no corpse, no blood. Everything was identical to his first arrival. The pitch-black forest, the heavy rain, water up to his ankles. Total darkness, save for the faint flickers of light from the ghostly temple above.
This time, the system's warning about the temple's danger wasn't as exaggerated as the first time; the blood-red text had dimmed.
"If the script follows the first run, then..."
In this deep, oppressive environment, Kenmyo waited silently while popping a salted plum candy into his mouth. The sugar and salt helped steady his frayed nerves and provide a boost of physical energy.
"Here it comes!"
Whoosh— The sharp sound of wind breaking reached him. The shadow was approaching at a terrifying speed.
Hearing the familiar movement behind him, and using the mountain lights and the reflections in the water, Kenmyo reacted instantly—unlike the first time. He spun his body rapidly into a defensive stance.
Clang!
A blade-like, sharp object collided with something hard, creating an ear-piercing screech. Orange-red sparks flew from the friction in the darkness.
By the light of those tiny sparks, Kenmyo finally saw the "murderer" who had disemboweled him. At first glance, it looked like a human. At second glance, it was pure horror.
It was a male wearing the ancient clothes of the lowest commoners. His rotted lips had fallen off, leaving tatters of bloody skin clinging to his face. One eye was rotted in its socket, while the other was missing entirely, leaving only a hollow hole.
This wasn't a human; it was a corpse that had been rotting for God-knows-how-long.
"So heavy!"
Gritting his teeth, Kenmyo held up a metal riot shield he had pulled from his inventory. The iron plate already showed a clear dent. It was obvious this thing—no different from a "walker" in a movie—possessed monstrous strength.
I don't know why you can move, or how your skeletal, rotted body is this strong... but I've got you now!
Kenmyo took a deep breath. Using his shoulder to drive his 6 points of Strength, he unleashed a full-powered shield bash. Though it was a struggle, the heavy rain and flooded ground worked in his favor. He successfully slammed the creature to the ground.
Feeling the thing lose its balance, Kenmyo let go of the shield with his left hand. As the "walker" and the shield splashed heavily into the water together...
Splash!
He stomped one foot onto the shield, using his body weight to pin the creature down.
As for his hands?
Kenmyo's right hand firmly gripped an object that appeared out of thin air. He leveled the guide bar against the disgusting thing's neck. His left hand decisively pulled the starter cord.
The terrifying weapon let out an ear-piercing roar as the engine kicked to life.
Vroom! Vroom!
It was a massive, high-powered, diesel-fueled chainsaw. Kenmyo's family used to use it for pruning trees.
In the "All Souls Temple" instance, Kenmyo's inventory worked normally. The candy he ate earlier was a test to see if items in the slots could be pulled out.
The engine roared continuously.
Splatter—
Flesh and black blood sprayed everywhere. The high-speed rotating chain sliced through anything Kenmyo wanted it to. Against a tool designed to cut through the hardest timber, the walker's neck was defenseless.
The head tumbled into the water, and the dark blood contaminated the surrounding puddles. Deprived of its head, the vengeful spirit went limp and motionless.
[You have killed: Vengeful Spirit - Villager]
[Points +300]
[Exploration Progress +0.005%]
[Description: An ordinary villager from the village at the foot of All Souls Temple. Due to their association with the monks, the entire village of 55 people was massacred.]
How much?
"300 points!" Kenmyo exclaimed.
He didn't care why a spirit with such terrifying strength was labeled as an "ordinary villager." His eyes were glowing "green" with $$ signs.
There are 55 more like this?
I'm becoming a literal chainsaw murderer.
One word: Kill! Kill! Kill!!!