Chapter 14

After observing her for a moment, he let out a small laugh.

“Don’t look so down. We can always team up when we meet again later.”

“What?”

“The quest is just telling us to go to a safe zone, not to stay there forever. Who knows? We might see each other again sooner than you think.”

Even if they had to part ways now, she was a rare talent.

It wouldn’t hurt to plant the seeds for the future.

His words seemed to give her some hope, and her expression brightened slightly.

“You’re right. We’ll meet again someday.”

“Yeah. Let’s meet again.”

Exchanging a handshake with a smile, he turned and resumed his journey.

When they were far enough apart, he suddenly remembered something he had meant to tell her.

“Oh, right! Rachel! Since you’re a warrior, focus on strength and agility first! Stamina can wait until later!”

“What!? Why agility…!?”

“Strength and agility! Strength and agility, remember! Don’t neglect agility!”

“W-Wait…!”

She called out in confusion, but he didn’t have time to explain.

If she put even a little into agility, she would understand his reasoning soon enough.

If she dismissed it as nonsense, then their connection would end here.

Leaving her bewildered voice behind, he set off toward the safe zone once more.

The road to the safe zone, after parting with Rachel, was surprisingly smooth.

No, more than smooth—it was strangely quiet.

Why aren’t there any goblins?

The streets weren’t flooded with goblins like a zombie apocalypse, but up until now, at least three of them had appeared on every block.

Yet, after reaching this area, he had traveled several blocks without encountering a single one.

By all logic, at least twenty of them should have appeared in this distance.

Why?

Sensing something was off, he turned a corner into an alleyway.

“…They’re all dead.”

Scattered across the ground were the torn-up corpses of goblins.

Some were even split clean in half.

Up close, it was clear that they had been slashed apart with something sharp before their bodies were ripped open.

A beta tester?

Most likely, another beta tester who had chosen the warrior class, just like Rachel.

Given the starting weapons of a sword, spear, or mace, this one had obviously picked the sword.

But whoever they were, they were clearly insane.

Killing for experience was one thing, but there was no reason to rip the bodies apart afterward.

Who the hell is this psycho…

“—Justin! YOU SON OF A BITCH! COME OUT HERE!”

“….”

Ah. Right.

He had almost forgotten.

There was a psycho around here.

Alex. That idiot.

Had he actually gone to Jongmin’s address, dead set on killing him?

And when he realized Jongmin wasn’t there, he started screaming like a lunatic.

“Ha… This is just fantastic.“

The one who should be angry was him, and yet this idiot was the one threatening to kill.

Fine. If Alex had something to say, he would hear him out.

Closing his quest window, he turned toward the direction of the voice.

Finding the source wasn’t difficult—Alex was practically screaming his name.

“Justin! COME OUT! Justin!”

“Shut up! Shut the hell up! What the hell is your problem, you psycho?!”

One of the survivors had finally lost patience and exploded in anger.

Understandable. The shouting was unbearable. But provoking that lunatic now was a terrible mistake.

Predictably, the moment an insult was thrown, the madman immediately responded.

— “What? Shut up? Did you just tell me to shut up?”

— “Yeah! Shut the hell up! Are your ears clogged or something? I’m already on edge, and—urk!”

CRACK.

— “Shit, even nobodies like you think they can talk back to me now? Fine. You die first.”

— “Aaaagh! I-I’m sorry! Please! Spare me, plea—AARGH!”

Knew it.

Sighing, he took off in the direction of the screams.

After cutting through a few buildings, he spotted Alex clinging to the second floor of a villa.

The security bars and the window screen had already been ripped out, leaving only the large glass window standing between him and his target.

A sword lay discarded on the ground, having gotten in the way of his break-in attempt.

“Hey, just get out here already so I can kill you! Don’t make this harder than it has to be—”

“Aaaagh! Please! Somebody help!”

“You idiot. Why’d you have to mouth off? Know your damn place.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know his place, bastard.”

As soon as the insult left his mouth, Alex snapped his head around toward him.

But before the lunatic could fully register his presence, he raised a finger, pointing directly at him.

“Black Missile.”

“Aaaaaaagh!”

The spell struck Alex squarely in the side. A grin formed on his lips.

First strike wins the fight.

CRASH.

“Argh! You son of a—!”

Alex plummeted from the second floor like a fly sprayed with insecticide.

Writhing on the ground, he clutched his side, unable to endure the pain.

For nearly a full minute, he flailed in agony before finally dragging himself up, tears welling in his eyes.

“You bastard! I’m going to ki—!”

“Black Missile.”

THWACK.

“AAARGH!”

This time, the spell slammed into his kneecap.

With a wail, Alex collapsed again.

Seeing that his body was still in one piece, a chuckle escaped his lips.

That spell can pierce a goblin’s skull, yet on him, it just broke a bone?

“How much strength did you dump into your stats, you muscle-headed freak? No hole, no blood… Ridiculous.”

“I-I’ll kill you!”

“You still don’t get it, huh? Black Missile.”

THWACK.

“Ghhhk—!”

They say when pain reaches a certain threshold, a person can’t even scream.

Alex, now struck with five consecutive Black Missiles, had reached that threshold.

With every hit, another bone shattered. He had no chance to retaliate.

By the end, all he could do was convulse violently each time the spell connected.

THWACK.

“You dumb bastard. You thought just because the game became real, fights would still work like they do in a game?”

A human isn’t a game character that can keep moving after being hit with a dozen arrows.

A broken pinky toe is enough to mess up someone’s balance. A busted thumb makes it impossible to hold a weapon.