Episode 1 – Kim Jaehyuk (3)

"Oh god! Are those zombies?"

"Run away!!!"

The people screamed and ran in terror upon seeing the monsters. Even a dog will scare a person, let alone a monster especially zombies. In no time, chaos erupted in the crowd and the place became noisy.

Jaehyuk pushed his way through the fleeing crowd. His attention was on the demonic people that were slowly approaching.

"There are alot of demonic people."

The difficulty of the Tutorial depended on how crowded a particular location was. Songpa-gu was the largest distinct in Seoul with a population of 647,000 residents.

It was reasonable. If the people teamed up together and fought the horde, they will be able to gather a great amount of rewards. However, that was only logical thinking.

People don't think logically when faced with a dangerous situation. Their instinct will be to run away. And look at the result.

"MOVE! OUT OF THE WAY!"

"DON'T PUSH ME, BASTARD!"

"ARGGHH!! HELP!"

Due to the large amount of people running around, a few people would occasionally fall on the floor and fleeing people would step on them.

It was expected. Although the streets of Songpa-gu was wide, the place was simply too crowded with people because of the holiday.

For that reason, it was difficult to run away and soon, the streets of Songpa-gu became flooded with blood and torn bodies.

... No, you guys are doing it all wrong.

The last thing you wanted to do was run away. The theme of the tutorial was 'Survival'. You cannot survive a zombie horde by simply running away.

Not only the streets was filled with demonic people, inside every building, every shop, every safe house and hiding spot – Zombie were always hiding at the corner.

Fighting was the only option available. Once a main actor takes the stage, the people will slowly begin to realise this too. It seems Jaehyuk would have to be the main actor again just like in his other regressions.

[Survive the demonic people for 10 minutes.]

[A weapon will be provided...]

[You have acquired a basic weapon 'Beginner's Sword'.]

A starting weapon was usually provided at the beginning of the tutorial. Each person was given a different weapon depending on their talent. Unsurprisingly, Jaehyuk was given a sword.

Clank—

Jaehyuk shook his head and tossed the sword away. It was a sword with terrible durability.

... That sword is useless. It will just break if I use it.

As a swordsman using of the heavenly slaying swordsmanship, he needed to suitable sword that withstand the sword technique.

So a beginner's sword that could break at any moment was completely worthless in his eyes. He would rather fight using his bare-fists than a dull blade.

... I guess bad habits die hard.

"Kiyaaah—!"

"Let me go, Bitch!"

"Noooo! Damn you!"

A girl kicked the hand holding her leg and ran up the stairs of a building. The zombies devoured the young girl that has been sacrificed.

When Jaehyuk saw the scene, he laughed. It was a rather sick thing to do but he found the scene to be really funny.

He has witnessed similar scene many scenes before. People who won't hesitate to sacrifice others to save their own skin. That was human nature.

...That was just her fate. If I remember correctly, the girl that kicked her also died.

It was funny. Sacrificing your best friend you have known for a long time just to die in the end. Karma really works in mysterious ways.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"

Right on clue, Jaehyuk heard a loud scream coming from the same building that girl entered. What happened to her was obvious.

(T/L: The scene of the girl sacrificing her best friend was a reference to the anime 'Highschool of the Dead']

"Gruk— Gruk— Gruk—!"

On one side, the screams of the people filled his ears. And on the other, the demonic people were jabbering nonsense at him. Jaehyuk raised his foot and kicked the demonic person infront of him.

The zombies flew and knocked down a few of his buddies in the process. That was not the end.

"I guess I should take action."

Tired of just watching the chaos, Jaehyuk decided to join the party too. Leaping into the air, he swung the unsheathed Hwando.

Slash—!

With a clean slash, three demonic people charging towards him were decapitated.

Thud— Thud—

The heads of the demonic people rolled, straining the floor with blood and Jaehyuk looked at the Hwando with a satisfied expression.

It was a sword that cost a fortune. He had to spend the whole of his life savings in order to buy the sword. But he didn't regret his decison. He already knew he was going to leave Earth so what's the point of preserving his money.

... It will do for now.

Known as the Sword Demon of the battlefield, he had wielded many blades. The quality of such blades were at least above average but the Hwando will do for the time being.

"Now then..."

Jaehyuk faced the rest of the horde with a frightening smile.

"... Where were we?"

He jumped right into the horde of zombies without hesitation. It was a suicidal move that would make anyone call him insane. Even so, the hands of the undead did not touch him. Instead he was rapidly moving here and there.

Slash— Slash—!

Spurt—!

The sword quickly moved and pierced the head of a demonic person, spilling blood all over the place.

Before the slain demonic person hit the ground, Jaehyuk already moved towards his next target like a lightning bolt.

The cycle repeated with Jaehyuk slashing the zombie and moving to the next one at lightning speed over and over.

Slash— Whoooosh—!

A thin line was drawn all over the demonic people and then blood scattered into the air in the next instant.

In a split second, more than 20 demonic people has already been slain. And more were being added to the kill list.

Slash— Slash— Slash—!

[You were the first to kill a Demonic Person.]

[You have obtained 100 coins.]

[Your Strength stats has increased by 3.]

[Your Agility stats has increased by 2.]

[Your Physique stats has increased by 2.]

[Your Strength stats has increased by 2.]

[Your Agility stats has... ]

[...]

Multiple system notification appeared before Jaehyuk but he ignored them. He was busy swinging the sword here and there. His targets were the undead.

"Dismantle."

Slash— Slash—

The sword dance drew blood and painted the floor red. It was a single slash that took the lives of many undead.

Throughout the battle, only the first technique of the heaven slaying swordsmanship — Dismantle was used.

It was simple. At the same time, it was elegant and precise. The sword danced with deadly accuracy. It was the sword technique that has been refined throughout 99 regressions.

"The Arts of Heaven Slaying means surpassing the boundaries of your being. It can only be achieved when the body and spirit are in unity. Swing the sword until you are unmoved by the world and become one with the spirit. Only then will you be able to learn the arts of slaying heaven."

Jaehyuk remembered the words of his master from back when he was first started learning the arts of heaven slaying.

Back then, those words sounded like complete nonsense to his ears. Everytime he swung the sword, he was repeatedly told he had no talent.

It pained him but it was true. He only survived in his past regressions due to teaming up with other players and a stroke of luck.

At the time, he didn't possess any other skills or acquired any hidden skills. He was weak. He was barely average at best with no sugarcoating.

He gave up everything and focused on the 'Slash'. Vertical swings, horizontal swings, diagonal swings. The basics of the basics. He swung the sword over and over, day and night without rest.

He swung the sword until he couldn't anymore. He swung the sword until his hands bleed. That was his daily routine. Some player wondered if I was insane. Some pointed their fingers at him and laughed, even calling him the 'Mad Slashing Demon'.

But that all changed when he ascended to a new level. His soul had undergone a transformation and his swings were more precise. Even the power of his slashes changed.

He could fight. He was no longer weak boy he was before his transformation.

Even now that he doesn't have the Heaven Slaying swordsmanship as a skill, it doesn't mean he could no longer use the technique he had taken a lifetime to refine.

It doesn't matter if his own body does not remember the technique. As long as his mind and soul remembers the technique, his body will also perform the technique unconsciously.

Jaehyuk continued to slash through the waves of undead.

Slash, slash―

[Congratulations, you have acquired the skill 'Sword Intent'.]

[Skill: Sword Training]

Grade: A+

Description: Increases the understanding of the sword. You will be more proficient in using swords and your body senses will dramatically increase.

"I see. So it's happening again."

Skills were the abilities that the players of the Dark Tower possessed. There are many ways to get them but a few popular ways are through awakening, training, or simply buying it from the 'Shop'.

It is also possible to learn skills from other players. Although there are skills that cannot be taught or passed down but that's a story for another day.

... Yes, I can feel it. My sword sense is slowly returning.

Jaehyuk saw a faint line on his sight. He recognised this line and immediately traced the line with the sword without hesitation. It was then the power of his slash changed.

Kaboom—!

With a roar, the demonic people were blown away in a straight line. Not only the demonic power, it was an unstoppable attack that destoryed everything in its paths.

This was something that happened rarely. Maybe one in a hundred or thousand, he would see a faint line and followed it without hesitation. It was a rare chance to hit a critical damage just like in a video game.

If you followed the line without failure then even the most powerful barrier will be penetrated. He always wondered if this was the true essence of 'Dismantle'.

... It should be appearing soon.

In the next moment, Jaehyuk was bombarded with system notifications.

[You have defeated 100 zombies in 10 minutes.]

[You have achieved an unbelievable feat in the Tutorial.]

[You have acquired the title 'Undead Slayer']

[Undead Slayer]

A title given to a hunter who has slain 100 undead creatures.

Effect: +5 to all stats when fighting undead species.

The message of the new title was not the only notification he received.

[Your overall stats has drastically increased.]

[Your body has become much stronger.]

[You have become more agile.]

[Your body defence and stamina has increased.]

... This is good.

After checking the messages one by one, Jaehyuk closed the window. There were still undead that needed to be killed and he wasn't planning just yet.

Without wasting time, he jumped out once again and swung the sword.