Episode 2 – A Nightmarish World (1)

[The healing effect will now take place.]

My body shone with a green glow and all my injuries began to close one by one just like in a video game.

'So this is the scenario effect. Experiencing it for myself is really different from reading.'

It was the automatic healing effect that only activates when a walker passes the scenarios.

The rules were simple. If you fail, you will face the penalty. If you pass, you will be rewarded and healed.

'Thankfully, everything went according to plan.'

As long as you did not die, you will be fully healed. However, the healing effect will stop when the walkers reach the 5th scenario and the story will begin in the essence.

In the meantime, let's make use of the coins I just received. I silently opened the system window and checked my total coins.

[Coins Possessed: 700 C]

700 Coins. 500 coins was gained from the passing the scenario and 200 coins from killing Nam Jinhyuk.

'It's too low but I will make due for now.'

In Nightmare, coins was everything. It can be used to buy powerful magical artifacts and skills from the shop. But it also has another function.

'It can also be used to increase my overall stats.'

Instead like a classical RPG where the main actors can level up by just hunting monsters, the main actor's overall stats has to be increased with coins.

'But which stats should I increase?'

I can only increase a single stat three times with the coins I have now so I have to make it count.

My magic power was 12 and my agility was 5 which narrows down my options to strength and physique.

After thinking about it for a while, I finally made my decision and clicked on the screen.

[600 coins has been invested into Physique.]

[Physique Lv. 3 –> Physique Lv. 6.]

[Your body endurance and defence has increased.]

To be honest, I was planning on saving my coins and observe the situation but I needed to raise my stamina levels. It was because of the next scenario.

'I wonder when she will show up."

That girl should be making an announcement anytime soon. But strangely, something strange happened.

[Conditions has been met.]

... What?

[Exclusive skill 'Omniscent Wall' has activated.]

[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Wall has consumed Nam Jinhyuk dream fragments.]

[You have acquired the exclusive skill 'Blood Demon Ki']

A skill from my status window activated on its own. It was the mysterious skill without a description.

What the hell was this? A skill that steals other Walker's skills. According to my memory, I don't think such a skill existed in the novel.

'Just what kind of skill is this?'

A number ranked skill without a description. My knowledge as the solo reader was useless in this regard.

Before I could question it, my thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

[Oh, it seems alot of you managed to survive. Hehe! It must really suck to you right now.]

A transparent window appeared and a familiar face appeared on the screen.

It was a person everybody knew. It was the same person that appeared in Hongdae and caused the tragedies.

Her name was Aurora, the same cheeky fairy from before.

"...."

The surroundings became quiet like a graveyard. No one had the courage to speak. Maybe they were afraid their heads will explode.

More importantly, no one seem to have noticed she was currently inside the president office.

Was this enough to confirm the president's death status?

[Anyways, Let's see now, there are currently 207,910 survivors in Seoul. Now isn't that a big number? I was honestly expecting more people to die.]

She spoke so nonchalantly but the remaining survivors didn't have pleasant faces.

"What? What are you saying?"

"Impossible!"

"Is that all the people left? What about the army?"

They reacted negatively as they should. More than half of Seoul's entire population were wiped out and this was just the first scenario.

The 1st Nightmare had two objectives. The first was to get rid of those unqualified to move onto the next scenario. The second was to test those qualified to move on.

The people that died were just those were unqualified. And those who survived were those who quickly adapted to the new world.

'The worst part is yet to come.'

Naturally, with each scenario we pass, the difficulty level will increase as well and more people will die in the process.

This was the current situation of not only Korea, but other countries all over the world. Indeed, this was an apocalyptic world right now.

[Huh? What's this?]

Aurora forward slightly as if she came across sonething unpleasant before continuing.

[There seems to be a problem. The next scenario will be delayed for the time being so you can use this time to catch your breath. I'll see you all in 10 minutes.]

My brows frowned slightly at those words. The next scenario should have started right away but she said there was a delay. I probably know why.

I glanced down at Nam Jinhyuk's body, which had his head completely crushed.

According to the original plotline of the novel, Nam Jinhyuk was supposed to kill everyone here and proceed to the next scenario.

But I killed him. Because of that, the plot has changed. If I was right, those guys angered by Nam Jinhyuk's death will show their hostility. They were not here. No, they were in the stars.

[A few constellations look at you with hostility.]

True Gods, usually called Constellations or Conceptual gods, are mysterious beings in the narrative that arrogantly watched over worlds and universes from their distant cloud.

They watched the nightmares using the broadcasting channel and picked out a few mortals to spread their Myth. Sometimes, they would select their incarnation to execute their will directly.

Most mere mortals' performances were insufficient to pique their interest. Only a handful of people will be able to meet their standards.

It was iconic. I used to be the one watching over the story but the position has been reversed.

I wondered what the characters felt when they were being watched by me.

[A handful of constellations admire your story.]

[The constellations has sponsored you 500 coins.]

Despite being in a high position of power, the constellations were just like people. Some will resent you while some will like you. Either way, It was a rather uncomfortable experience.

'It's not like I can do anything about them.'

At the moment, I decided to let them be. Now it was time for the constellations to take the role as the spectators.

".... Jakga. Are you okay?"

I discarded those thoughts as Angelica approached me. Her shoulders were shaking and her eyes were almost dull. She was no longer the girl I knew.

"Did you..."

She looked between the headless corpse of Nam Jinhyuk and the firearm I was holding. I knew what she was thinking. I answered with an indifferent face.

"Yes. I killed him."

Angelica then looked at me with a complicated expression.

She was lucky enough to live by killing a cockroach but I, on the other hand, was not so lucky. I probably looked like a murderer in her eyes.

"It's fine."

She sighed and then looked at me.

"It can't be helped. If you didn't kill him, you would have died. Besides..."

She looked at the headless corpse once more with a strange look.

"That man also killed someone as well. So he got what was coming to him."

I was surprised. I honestly didn't Angelica to say those words. Maybe she was already adjusting to the new world.

I looked over at the remaining survivors and began to count. One, two, three... There were five survivors in total in the hospital. Three males including me and two women.

"Alright, Everyone gather around."

The survivors gathered at my words and I looked at them one by one. I excluded the doctor and Angelica and played attention on other survivors.

The first was a man with short cut hair and a big build. He was very tall and looked around his mid-twenties. I think there was a character with those features.

[Character List has activated.]

[Opening Character List.]

+

[Character found.]

Name: Lee Jong-ho

Age: 27

Constellation Sponsor: King of Giants.

Attributes: Ex-Soldier (Common)

Skills: Weapons Training Lv.1, Camouflage Lv. 2, Patience Lv. 3

Stigma: Gigantification Lv. 1.

Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 10, Strength Lv. 10, Agility Lv. 7, Magic Power Lv. 5.

Character Description: An Ex-Soldier from the military with great potential. He had a sense of justice but has low self confidence in his morals due to committing murder.

+

Lee Jong-ho. It was my first time seeing him in person but it was unmistakable. This person was one of the supporting actors of the novel. But was he supposed to be in the hospital?

According to my memory, he was supposed to appear at the beginning of the second scenario. So why was he here? Maybe he came here with the other survivors and blocked the door.

That wasn't only the strange thing though. I also noticed something else.

'She's also here as well.'

My eyes fixed on the woman standing nearby. Her void black eyes locked onto mine. She had short, tousled ink-black hair that fell to her shoulders, and her hospital gown was stained with blood.

I knew who she was. Her appearance matched the description written in the novel.

I silently opened her information.

[Character Information]

+

Name: Jung Yunhee.

Age: 18

Constellation Sponsor: Limitless Swordsman

Private Attributes: Sword Demon (Rare), Assassin (Rare)

Exclusive Skills: [Demon Slaying Lv. 1], [Kendo Lv. 3], [Knife fighting Lv. 3],

Overall Stats: [Physique Lv. 3], [Strength Lv. 3], [Agility Lv. 9], [Magic Power Lv. 4]

Character Description: A demon slayer with a unique ability. Due to her mental instability, it's advisable to avoid her for now.

+

Her information naturally flowed inside my head. Another supporting character was found in the hospital. I wasn't expecting this development but maybe I could use this to my advantage.

"Hello, I'm Lee Jong-ho."

"Jung Yeonhee."

"I'm Angelica."

"Doctor... Sorry, I'm Lee Kwangsun."

Everybody looked at me. They were waiting for me to speak.

"I'm Kim Jakga."

I continued speaking.

"I'm sure everyone have already noticed the situation. There is a status window which shows sonething like Stats, Skills, Attributes. Is there anyone who still hasn't caught onto facts?"

As expected, no one raised up their hands. There is no person in South Korea that hasn't played an RPG at least once. If they haven't they would have at least read a manhwa.

Doctor Kwangsun spoke.

"Are you sure the government is not playing a cruel joke on us? This doesn't feel real. We are all in a dream, right? We will be waking up any time soon."

He seems to be slowly losing his mind and thought everything was unreal. But I completely destoryed his delusions with my next words.

"This is reality."

My stern words caused the doctor to close his mouth.

"This is not a dream and it is not a prank from the government either."

I looked over the rest of the group.

"We are alive and people are died because of us. We cannot change that and there are no excuses for what we have done. We now live in such a world where if we don't kill, we won't leave to see tomorrow."

The eyes of the group were changing. At the moment, I felt like a hero giving a speech to the crowd.

Lee Jong-ho nodded and looked at me.

"You're right. But what should we do now? The fairy said we should wait for the next scenario. Jakga-ssi, what do you think?"

"It's simple."

There was something we must do before the second scenario.

"We will leave this place."