Chapter 8 : Pressure
Chapter 8: Pressure
—It workedㄷㄷ
—No assist party formedㅋㅋㅋㅋ
—If her reaction had been just a bit faster
—Lack of physicality;
“I’m screwed…”
The expanded matching had succeeded.
Kang Soyul, who had been frozen stiff, glanced at the chat window and opened her mouth.
“Um, everyone. By any chance, can I leave and proceed alone again…”
—Ab so lute ly im pos si ble
—Don’t know about no takebacks?
—When did you try to easy ride with a party
—Who threatened with a knife to make you do party matching??
“I did fail to cancel the matching quickly… But isn’t a no assist party too much…”
But now that she’d revealed her desire to easy ride, there was no way the viewers would accept Kang Soyul’s request.
Having ultimately failed to persuade them, she began moving forward as if eating mustard while crying. Anyway, she had to clear the mission.
How far had she advanced while clearing debris, dragging her heavy body?
She discovered two Etinels completely smashed and sprawled out.
“Wow! They must be pretty good!”
—At least it’s fortunate in misfortune
—Would’ve been fun if their skill was totally hopelessㄲㅂ
—If they caught two Etinels alone with no assist, they at least won’t drag us down
—? This looks like barely not dragging down level??
“Anyway, I’ll keep going. Looks like whoever went first has progressed quite a bit…?”
Kang Soyul, who had initially been about to pass by the Etinels without much thought, suddenly looked back.
Because she felt something was off.
‘What is it?’
Kang Soyul, who turned her steps around, approached the Etinel debris again and calmly examined it. It was to find what the sense of dissonance she felt was.
One of the lessons she’d learned from playing all kinds of hipster pick games was that no matter how trivial, if something bothered her, she absolutely had to look again.
Because if she passed it by thinking it was nothing, there was a high possibility of greatly regretting it later or getting backstabbed.
—What’s she suddenly doing
—Dunno?
—Why’s she rummaging through dead Etinels? To loot items?
‘What’s strange?’
“—Ah!”
After briefly rummaging through the Etinel debris, Kang Soyul realized what the sense of dissonance she felt was.
“This wasn’t killed with a gun though?”
The completely smashed Etinel debris had no bullet marks whatsoever. Even though she checked by turning it front and back just in case.
That meant the player who smashed the two Etinels had dealt with them using only their body and supernatural ability.
Even though they’d be a no assist player who couldn’t receive any help from the combat assistance system!
—Oh, for real?
—Seems like they caught it without shooting at all
—Seeing there are no separate bullet marks, seems like itㅇㅇ
—Why on earth would they do such a thing;;
Viewers who belatedly checked the Etinel debris again after hearing Kang Soyul’s words chattered noisily.
Most were reactions of being very surprised.
Because defeating Etinels without using firearms wasn’t that easy.
As you could tell from seeing firearms in the armory earlier, in Reverse Planet with its modern setting, firearms could be used as much as one wanted.
Just that when dealing with invaders who crossed dimensions or awakeners, they only displayed power after neutralizing the particle barrier first, so they weren’t well-adopted as main armaments.
In the case of security guards or Etinels appearing in the tutorial, since they had no particle barrier, firearms were very effective weapons.
Therefore, the tutorial mission difficulty was set on the premise that players used guns.
Just looking at the first enemy fought in the tutorial, the Etinel, made this clear.
Etinels were strong and fast enough to match awakener players, but had the clear weakness of being unable to attack at range and not being hard enough to withstand bullets.
In short, they were easy to catch just by maintaining appropriate distance while shooting guns.
Befitting an enemy appearing in the tutorial.
“When I fought earlier, I felt like I absolutely couldn’t win without using a gun? But this person just caught them.”
—If they caught without using a gun, they’re definitely a master ㄹㅇ
—Even not just one but two
—They seem like at least ranker level
—Ranker level is too much;; Just seems pro level
However, that was only when using guns.
The moment you put down your gun, Etinels clearly became enemies that shouldn’t appear in a tutorial.
Power and speed matching awakeners, vicious and thorough combat AI designed to kill Test Subjects was more than enough to massacre newbies.
Even the guidebook for newbies just starting Reverse Planet had ‘Caution! Etinels are not mobs to catch in melee combat!’ written in it.
Yet the unidentified player had caught two Etinels with their bare hands.
‘Could this be…?’
Kang Soyul’s eyes sparkled.
Because she saw possibility from the Etinel debris.
Feeling the spark of hope for easy riding that had futilely died out reignite, she smiled brightly.
‘I have a good feeling!’
“I’ll keep going for now!”
—Look at her expression change because they seem good
—Hope they’re dead right after
—Please fail easy ride please fail easy ride please fail easy ride
—Ah damn, I’m leaving at this rate
Thus, as a result of advancing straight along the path, Kang Soyul could see more Etinel debris and research facility security personnel corpses.
They were laid out like signposts guiding the way, and the surprising fact was that not a single bullet mark could be found on any of those enemies.
It meant the unidentified player was facing and defeating not only Etinels but even security guards with guns without using guns.
‘That’s incredible.’
This was surprising in a different sense from Etinels.
Fighting security guards armed with rifles using only melee weapons and supernatural abilities. With ordinary skill, the particle barrier would be neutralized instantly and they’d become a beehive!
Moreover, since this was the tutorial section, only the first Core Element would be open for supernatural abilities, so didn’t that essentially mean they’d defeated several gun-wielding enemies with their bare body?
“…Wow.”
—ㅁㅊ;;;
—What kind of person is this
—Isn’t this definitely pro level?
—Questionable if even pros are possible
—Isn’t it a hack
Kang Soyul let out an exclamation upon discovering debris of a whopping four Etinels sprawled in the same place, beyond one or two.
Because judging by the distance where the debris was placed, they’d clearly faced all of them in one battle, yet still no bullet marks appeared.
Even viewers who had been debating about skill level seemed overwhelmed by this and began murmuring.
From some hasty ones, even talk of hacks gradually leaked out.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
To achieve victory against four Etinels without using guns at the tutorial stage. That was an act that could rather be called an achievement.
If a video was taken and uploaded to a Reverse Planet-related community, it would have become a huge topic.
In fact, some viewers already left chats saying their hands were itching so they’d go write posts on their communities and come back.
‘Could this be an iTube angle? Was that good feeling earlier because of this?’
No assist tutorial started because of a mission.
An unidentified player met there.
But that player is clearing the tutorial without using firearms?
……Truly, wasn’t this content that would guarantee considerable views if a video was uploaded to iTube?
Kang Soyul smiled inwardly.
‘And I can easy ride the 150,000 won mission as a bonus!’
“Let’s hurry!”
Abandoning her previously cautious attitude, Kang Soyul ran off in a rush.
Because the thought occurred that the player going ahead might clear the tutorial mission alone before she even arrived.
Anyway, that player would have defeated all enemies blocking the path, so there was no need to be on guard against possible attacks either.
Using the debris and corpses as guides, she soon could enter a fairly spacious cavity.
And there she saw.
“Ueok.”
—Whoa;
—Just how many did they kill
—ㅁㅊ; This is no joke;
—And all this was caught without using gunsㄷㄷ
The sight of security guard corpses, clearly numbering over dozens at a glance, rolling around on the floor.
And also the appearance of a man standing alone at the center.
‘That person is…’
Kang Soyul looked as if entranced at the man standing still while trampling on security guard corpses.
He was a man with a handsome face—deep black hair, clear and distinct features, even the dark circles under his eyes felt attractive.
As if proving how many enemies he’d killed coming here, the Test Subject clothing he wore was dyed bright red.
“……”
Clearly, it was inside a spacious cavity.
Yet looking at the man standing alone made the area feel cramped. Like if some unidentified something strangled her breath from an invisible place.
It would be because the man naturally wielded heavy pressure.
Kang Soyul, who instinctively shrank, stepped back one step, and cheobeok—blood splashed.
Had he heard that sound?
“……”
The man turned his head toward Kang Soyul.
Murkily clouded inverted eyes indifferently examined her.
Kang Soyul also looked at the man, and when her eyes met his looking at her, goosebumps rose up her spine with a shiver.
Pupils shining pure white, flashing with only madness and murderous intent.
What suddenly passed through her mind was a game she’d played in the past, ‘Escape from the Serial Killer!’
Because the crazy serial killer appearing there had exactly those kinds of eyes!
Ossak—
‘Danger!’
When the man suddenly disappeared from view, Kang Soyul realized her instincts were sounding an alarm.
Because she recognized that she was in danger somehow. Very much so!
Without thinking further, she shouted.
“—Please spare me!”
Meomchit!
The next moment, Kang Soyul could see the man’s hand that had approached right before her eyes.
The hand dripping blood was in a state of having approached close enough to burst her head at any moment.
Not only that, a dagger blade drawn before she knew it was stuck close to her nape!
If the timing of her shout had been even slightly late, what would have happened was obvious.
She would have gotten a game over without even realizing it.
Quick judgment had saved her life.
She unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
“……Not it, then.”
The man, who had been looking at Kang Soyul with pure white pupils, muttered. It was a voice that seemed to belatedly hear the desperate cry and realize she wasn’t an enemy.
He slowly withdrew his extended hand and dagger. Like the Grim Reaper putting away his scythe.
And only then could Kang Soyul, who could see the man up close, realize he had various weapons wrapped around his entire body.
Around his waist hung just two daggers—even three if including the one in his hand!—and some unknown chain and scythe, and on his back he wore two longswords crossed.
To the point of wondering if one could really use them well with so many weapons on one body.
Though he must have used them well to have survived here.
‘…Am I alive?’
Kang Soyul glanced at the man’s eyes.
In the pupils stained only with madness and murderous intent, a clear light of reason had returned, as if her cry had gotten through just now.
Even if he didn’t seem completely normal, at least it seemed like he wouldn’t silently kill her like just now.
‘The chat window—’
—Please spare me lololololㅋㅋㅋㅋ
—Just begging first is so funnyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
—Why’s he suddenly trying to kill her;;
—Must’ve thought she was an enemy
—Sometimes when you focus that happensㅇㅇ I do that too
—Was spacing out then burst out laughing fuckㅋㅋㅋㅋ what’s with begging for lifeㅋㅋㅋㅋ
‘As expected, a mess.’
The chat window she furtively checked was in chaos as expected.
Those ridiculing her cry, those cursing the man, those defending the man mixed together as chats went up at high speed.
If she’d been killed by that man, surely an even greater commotion would have occurred.
Either way, the fact that it was a considerably shocking entrance was certain.
Enough to appeal to not only live broadcast viewers but even iTube viewers.
Satisfied with that fact, Kang Soyul smiled brightly and spoke.
“Hello!”