Chapter 18
Whine!
A Black Dog turned into a pool of blood. The Akasha Message Seong-Hwi had been waiting for appeared.
[Trait Quest: Pursuer of Chaos I, complete.]
[Unlocking Trait: Chaos Chaser.]
[1,000 Karma obtained.]
[Commencing Trait Quest: Pursuer of Chaos II.]
...
[Chaos Chaser (Trait)
Rank: F(0)
Description: The tenacity of a chaser who resents the Chaos more than anyone. 10% boost in attack for a set duration against the race Chaos.
Duration: 30 seconds
Cooldown: 24 hours]
...
[Pursuer of Chaos II (Trait Quest)
𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Rank: F+
Description: Hunt 1,000 Bodies of the race Chaos in the Dark Forest.
Progress: 0 / 1,000]
“Chaos Chaser? Not Chaos Hunter?” Seong-Hwi mumbled as he examined the unlocked trait.
Yuri Nazakov had surely mentioned that his trait was called Chaos Hunter, but Seong-Hwi had been given the trait Chaos Chaser, and the quest had turned into a chain. The rank of the new quest was F+, a rank higher than F.
Yuri Nazakov had likely upgraded his trait by completing the chain of quests. Seong-Hwi was impressed by the Mad Dog of Moscow. He had hunted a thousand Black Dogs and a thousand Bodies—during the mandatory quest, no less. It was a piece of cake for the current Seong-Hwi, but the quest had likely put Yuri’s limits to the test. He had likely hunted restlessly until he could no longer postpone acquiring a Teleport Rock.
Seong-Hwi examined his new trait, Chaos Chaser. Although it only lasted thirty seconds once a day, a ten percent boost in attack was phenomenal. It meant that it could boost one’s overall attack, a culmination of one’s stats, skills, and item effects, by ten percent. On top of that, traits were different from skills in that they did not consume mana.
This trait alone should save my life many times over.
Seong-Hwi finally understood why Yuri Nazakov was unmatched against the Chaos. This trait would have an enormous effect when against the Chaos. Considering half of the Mirror World’s population was the Chaos, its value skyrocketed even more.
It’s even an upgradable trait. I’m looking forward to it.
Hunting a thousand Bodies was a piece of cake for Seong-Hwi, who had already established a rule for his D Weapon and acquired Destiny Force, the secondary force of humans.
I’ll also get one more trait here.
Seong-Hwi’s eyes glinted red. He was aiming to get the trait, Hundred-Man Killer. As one could guess from the name, it could be earned by killing a hundred people. Although information about traits was rare, most knew how to get Hundred-Man Killer.
One simply needed to kill a hundred people regardless of location, duration, or means. Other traits were restricted in the number of people who could acquire them, but not this one. It was as if the trait was inciting people to kill just a hundred people. Seong-Hwi had planned on getting the trait after reaching the Mirror World. After all, he would naturally obtain the trait even if he didn’t want to once he was there.
There are too many people to kill.
Traitors who sold fellow humans to superior races, those who killed for pleasure, sex criminals, loan sharks, and many more. Seong-Hwi would have earned the trait eventually as he killed the parasites of humanity. However, he changed his mind.
I don’t know what kind of bastards they are, but I hope there are at least a hundred of them.
Seong-Hwi had set a rule for his D Weapon and raised his stats, all to kill the bastards who had made a mess of the District 8 safe zone. Since they had reduced his Karma profits from hunting to zero, they would pay the difference with their lives.
Seong-Hwi’s goal in his previous life was to expand the rights of his persecuted race in the Mirror World. His thought that humanity as a whole needed to grow stronger had been utterly destroyed. Hence, his goal in this life was for himself, not humanity as a whole, to become stronger than ever imaginable.
Only after he took the place of one of the Ten Lords and Fiends would the other races see humans differently. As a result, humans would naturally have more of a say in the Sēmen[1], the Great Conferences of Races, which decided the destiny of the Mirror World.
Hundred-Man Killer isn’t enough. I’ll start the trait quest as soon as possible and get the Thousand-Man Killer, and even the Ten Thousand-Man Killer.
Seong-Hwi did not mind if that could only allow him to become a Fiend, not a Lord. He would use everything he could to become stronger. Just like how dung was used for manure, he would kill humans who did not deserve to live and use them as fertilizer for his growth. He would kill humans for the sake of humans—it was truly ironic, but the trait, Hundred-Man Killer, made it possible.
Just be at least a hundred.
***
Ten days went by since the people of Earth were Lost into the Dark Forest. Most people were heading to the center of the forest to get their hands on the Teleport Rocks. The closer they got to the center, the smaller the zones got, and hence the chances of meeting people from other districts increased. Those who played it safe were likely in the second zone, while those who moved quickly had likely just entered the third zone.
Wryyy!
Ahhh!
There were fifteen Bodies. Although they took the shape of humans, they were made purely of black blood. Eleven of them were Blood Bodies, three of them were Bone Bodies, and there was one Flesh Body with patches of flesh attached to its bones.
“Clutch Bag and I will tank at the vanguard. Bow, Yo-yo, and Smartphone will provide support. Sword will handle the right, Sledgehammer will handle the left, and the rest will provide support when necessary!” Jun commanded.
After the tragedy of District 8, Jun’s team was conquering the Dark Forest step by step with the Teleport Rocks as their main goal. They were now equipped with sufficient stats, skills, and a few items they got from item cubes.
“Manhole! I got the left side!” Clutch Bag, Na Seong-Tae, shouted.
He did not get a sword or hammer like he wanted from the item cubes, but was wielding a metal shield with a few dents here and there. He had gotten it from an F-rank item cube.
“Haaah!”
Seong-Tae pushed away the charging Bodies with his F(43) Strength. Jun also blocked them from the right with his D Weapon, a manhole cover.
“A Bone Body is going to you!” Seong-Tae shouted once he noticed a Bone Body charging toward Jun.
Seeing that, Jun fixed his stance and activated a skill he received from an F-rank skill cube.
[Activating Skill: Immovable.]
Gyeeeh!
The Bone Body smashed its powerful bony fist into the manhole cover. Jun would have lost his grip on the manhole cover or been pushed back before, but he did not budge from his position. Jun, covered in a faint brown color, returned to normal.
[Canceling Skill: Immovable.]
“Fuuu! Haah!”
Jun could never get used to the feeling of mana being consumed after the skill was canceled. It felt as if his energy was being depleted. However, he ignored the feeling and fulfilled his role as a tank. He pushed away the Bone Body that showed an opening once its attack did not go through, so that it couldn’t approach his teammates.
“Take this!”
Sledgehammer, Park Ho-Geun, was wearing galvanized steel armor over his torso. It looked poor in quality, but it boosted his survivability several times over compared to wearing nothing. It allowed him to charge while taking attacks when necessary.
“Hup!”
Ho-Geun held his sledgehammer at the end of the handle to take advantage of rotational force, and activated a skill.
[Activating Skill: Focus Strike.]
The sledgehammer was swung like a windmill and destroyed the Bone Body’s skull and os like cracking an egg, turning it into a pool of blood on the spot.
On Ho-Geun’s right was Sword, Kim Seung-Jun.
[Activating Skill: Double Slash.]
“Die!”
Seung-Jun only swung his sword once, but the Bone Body’s skull was slashed twice. He thrust the sword into the opening formed on its skull to destroy its os, and it melted away. Ho-Geun and Seung-Jun could comfortably deal damage thanks to Seong-Tae and Jun’s tanking. The Bodies were defeated rapidly.
On top of that, ten arrows flew from the rear, shot by Bow, Namgung Min-Jae. He got ten Old Iron Arrows from an F-rank item cube. The power of his archery skyrocketed now that he was using iron arrows instead of fragile wooden ones. His arrows, flying at just the right moments, were the vanguard’s lifeline. Beside Min-Jae was Smartphone, Han Ye-Ji, with her eyes gleaming with a green light, not even blinking.
[Activating Skill: Danger Detect]
“Bow, left of Manhole! Yo-yo, behind Sledgehammer!” Ye-Ji shouted.
She acted as the eyes of the team by letting teammates know who was in danger and where the danger was.
There was also Yo-yo, Nam Do-Hyun, beside Min-Jae. The twelve-year-old boy became much less talkative after the shock he experienced from seeing the District 8 massacre, and his eyes overflowed with vengeance. He loaded a rock into a sling he made by ripping cloth and continued to fire them at his targets relayed by Ye-Ji, using a skill.
[Activating Skill: Slingshot.]
Gyaaah!
“Thanks, Do-Hyun!”
Ho-Geun noticed the Blood Body that stopped in its tracks as it was about to attack him, after getting hit by the rock fired from Do-Hyun’s sling. He immediately swung his sledgehammer to destroy the Body’s head.
Three more were at the rear: Yarn, Choi Hee-Gyeong, Puppy, Ha Rin, and Compact, Yoo Hwa-Yeon.
“Dammit! Dammit! What the hell am I doing?!” Hwa-Yeon shouted as she bit her lip, staring at her teammates doing their part.
Jun had told the remaining members to provide support when necessary, but she couldn’t do anything in the battle because she had gotten duds in both skill and item cubes.
If only I had raised stats using those Karma!
Hwa-Yeon stared at Ha Rin, comforting the scared Yorkshire Terrier. Rin might seem like she was also doing nothing, but they had found the group of Bodies thanks to her D Weapon, the cowardly puppy Chocho. As for Hee-Gyeong, she gripped the leather whip she had gotten from an F-rank item cube, waiting for the right chance to support.
“Watch out!” Hee-Gyeong shouted once she noticed the Flesh Body charging at Seung-Jun, who was busy attacking the other Bodies, and raised her whip.
[Activating Skill: Melto’s Tongue.]
Hee-Gyeong’s leather whip extended forward like a frog’s tongue, wrapping around Seung-Jun’s waist, and pulled him backward.
“Urgh!”
Seung-Jun evaded the Flesh Body’s attack thanks to Hee-Gyeong’s support and quickly widened his distance from it. The remaining Bodies melted away from Sledgehammer, Bow, and Yo-yo’s attacks.
The isolated Flesh Body roared, Nuuurrrrgh!
Jun shouted, “I will activate Immovable again! Clutch Bag, back me up! Sledgehammer, Sword, and Bow, wait for an opening!”
He pushed the manhole cover forward and charged at the Flesh Body. He knew how powerful the Chaos covered in dirty flesh was, hence he needed to give his all.
“Kurgh! Haaah!” Jun gritted his teeth to squeeze out his mana.
[Activating Skill: Immovable.]
He was covered in a faint brown color.
Graaah!
A barrage of punches far more powerful than those of the Bone Body rammed into Jun’s manhole cover.
“Argh!” Jun was pushed back despite activating Immovable.
At this rate—
Just then, he felt something cold on his back.
“Hold on! Ahhh!”
Seong-Tae had placed his shield on Jun’s back to support him.
“Hurgh!”
“Urgh! Hurry!”
Seung-Jun quickly charged into the Flesh Body’s blind spot as Jun and Seong-Tae endured the Flesh Body’s barrage.
“Chaaa!”
[Activating Skill: Double Slash.]
Seung-Jun’s cutlass slash became two and sliced the Flesh Body’s head.
Ahhh!
“Shut up, damn monster!”
[Activating Skill: Focus Strike.]
Ho-Geun charged from behind Seung-Jun and activated his skill, aiming for the Flesh Body’s head. Its skull was shattered after taking a direct hit from the sledgehammer, and it staggered backward. Seung-Jun’s Double Slash had torn off its flesh, and Ho-Geun’s Focus Strike shattered its skull, exposing a black orb. Min-Jae did not miss that opportunity. An iron arrow pierced its os.
Urrrhh!
The Flesh Body collapsed in agony, its os destroyed.
“Huff! Huff!”
“Huuu! Huuu!”
“Fucking hell, huuu. Damn monster!”
“God, I’m hurting all over. Nice shot, Bow!”
Jun and Seong-Tae, who had blocked the Flesh Body’s barrage head-on, collapsed without even the strength to speak. Seung-Jun kicked the Body’s flesh as he cursed, and Ho-Geun gave Min-Jae a thumbs-up. As Seong-Hwi mentioned, they were a well-balanced team.
Yoo Hwa-Yeon, the only one who hadn’t been of help in this battle, could only grit her teeth.
Why? Why am I so useless?! Why?!
1. That’s what it says in the original. Stop laughing, pfft. ☜