Chapter 31: First Target

First Target.

I stood face-to-face with the big guy.

His twisted wrist still gripped the spearhead that had threatened Yun Sola’s nape.

There was a sharp swish!

The sword, raised high, came down in an arc.

His right arm was sliced off smoothly.

And then—

Tick!

“……Pleeeeeease forgive uuuuus! H-huh?”

“Why are we even here…?”

The severed arm fell to the ground with a thud!

Fwoosh!

Blood gushed from his now-empty shoulder socket.

“U-uaaAAAAAAAH—!”

Seeing his own arm rolling by his feet, the big guy collapsed.

“Ch-cheoljoong! Are you okay?!”

“Y-you bastard! Do you even know what you’ve just done?!”

The other two stared in horror, stammering their questions, legs trembling as they tried to back away.

“Damn iiiiiit! It hurts! It hurts so bad!!”

The big guy shrieked, kicking wildly in pain, his face contorted.

“Looks like it hurts?”

“Are you serious?! You crazy bastard!!”

“But stabbing innocent kids’ throats was fine, huh?”

“……!”

He froze.

“What? You called it a hunt, didn’t you?”

His pupils quivered.

He’d finally realized—he might not be the hunter, but the prey.

Too late.

Step.

“D-don’t come closer! I said stay away!!”

“You said only the weak get preyed on, right?”

The kind to crush anyone weaker than himself without a second thought.

The ones who welcomed this damned restructuring, who laughed while taking lives.

【‘Bureau Crow’ nods in agreement, saying nothing wrong was said.】

【Most spectators wish to see the first prey trampled overwhelmingly.】

They’re just like those bastards up above.

Step.

I walked forward, weighed down by a heavy, bitter anger.

The big guy scooted back on his behind, matching my steps.

His right arm was gushing blood, but he didn’t seem to be dying—he just screamed all the louder.

“What are you doing, damn it! Kill that bastard already!!”

……No one was listening.

“If you want to live, get on your knees and beg those kids for forgiveness.”

If, by some chance, he sought Yun Sola’s forgiveness, he might be healed.

He didn’t know it, but the prey he had targeted—Sola—was his only remaining lifeline.

But—

“Damn iiiit! Kill him already, I said!”

He had no intention of grabbing that lifeline.

And to make matters worse—

“W-wait! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Yeah! It was all his idea! We’re victims too!”

Unlike the big guy, barking orders in rage, the other two were desperate to distance themselves.

Desperate to save themselves, each betraying the other.

Pathetic.

“Victims, my ass! You stuck around hoping for some crumbs, didn’t you?!”

So their relationship was built on fists.

The kind that breaks the moment a stronger fist appears.

“Crumbs? You never gave us anything anyway!”

“Yeah! You hogged all the good stuff for yourself!”

“Damn, we played lackeys while you acted like the boss…… tsk!”

Spit from his right-hand man landed right in front of the sprawled big guy’s nose.

A look of disbelief, outrage, and utter betrayal.

And then—

“You sons of bitches!!”

“!!”

“Why are you—d-don’t come near me!”

In a fit of rage, the big guy charged with his one remaining arm.

The lackey’s eyes widened in terror the moment he opened his mouth.

“S-summon!”

A steel sword materialized in his hand.

Thud!

He drove it straight into his charging friend’s body.

“Guhk……!”

“Hiiiik! I-I didn’t mean for this to happen…!”

“You, you bastard……”

Thud.

The big guy, bloody hand outstretched, grabbed his friend by the throat—the same friend who’d stabbed him.

His lips moved in disbelief.

“W-why’d you have to come at me…”

“S…son of a… bitch…”

Thump!

The big guy fell.

Blood poured from his empty shoulder and pierced abdomen, vitality draining away in seconds.

And then, moments later—

[Target ‘Cheoljoong Park’ has been eliminated.]

[You have obtained 750 Welfare Points!]

A payout came in.

Half the points of that 1,500-point man.

“…….”

The man who had killed his own friend and was now soaked in blood looked around, as if he, too, had heard the notification.

He met my eyes and opened his mouth in panic, as if he thought I’d come after him next…

“You—you got your payout, right? That’s it, we’re even!”

“What?”

“There’s nothing else for you to gain! We’re both worth next to nothing!”

“Y-yeah! You already finished your quota even without us!”

…My worries had been for nothing.

Neither tried to collect their friend’s body, nor retrieve the sword embedded in it—they just bolted.

Tap!

Afraid I’d attack from behind, they hurried away, stumbling backward along the forest path.

And then…

“You’re trying to run that way?”

“Y-yeah! Just let us live! We won’t show up again!”

Far down the path, black energy spread from the center.

Sssssss—

【‘Bureau Ferryman’ shakes his head at the targets who hurry their own ends.】

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“So what, you want us to die by your hand?! Forget it, we’ll never see you again!”

Energy, neither mist nor water, covered the ground.

The men’s retreating feet stepped into it.

‘They’re gone?’

The black energy vanished as if it had never been.

Grrrrrrrrr—

[Eliminate the ‘Hungry Brown Bear’!]

Instead, a monster appeared.

A bear as massive as the one I’d just slain.

It caught the scent of blood and, like a shark drawn to meat, lumbered over and swung its paw without hesitation.

“UaaAAAH—!”

Splat! Splat!

Two heads burst in an instant.

[Target ‘Il-dong Kim’ has been eliminated.]

[You have obtained 775 Welfare Points!]

[Target ‘Jun-pyo Park’ has been eliminated.]

[You have obtained 400 Welfare Points!]

And then came the gruesome sight that explained why the bear was called “hungry.”

Crunch! Chomp!

“KyaAAAAAA!”

“……Urk!”

I hurried to shield Sola’s and Yeo-jin’s eyes.

Maybe a moment too late.

“Hmph…”

The children trembled in shock.

Ji-eun and Jae-hyuk kept their eyes tightly shut, unable to bear the sight.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together.”

Not even an hour since the project had begun.

The tightly packed circles on the map had already thinned out considerably.

It wasn’t just because of the safety zones…

‘The survivors’ payouts have increased a lot.’

Many have died, and someone else has taken their points.

“It’s only just beginning.”

The hunt, kill or be killed.

So, what could we do right now?

“You two, go take down that bear.”

I put my hands on Ji-eun’s and Jae-hyuk’s shoulders.

I’d already finished my daily quota, but they hadn’t.

A monster that had eaten two people and now topped a thousand points.

Even if they split it, it would help a lot.

“Y-yes…!”

“Understood, hyung.”

The two replied, faces pale.

And then—

“Sola, Yeo-jin, collect their weapons.”

“Huh?”

“What…do you mean?”

“Those.”

The steel sword stuck in the big guy’s corpse.

And the worn spear dropped by the ones fleeing from the monster.

Yeo-jin looked uneasy, clutching Sola’s jacket hem.

“Why do we need to…?”

“Monsters like them will keep showing up. So—”

“So we don’t look easy, right?”

Sola, who’d been biting her lip, opened her eyes and spoke as she gripped her friend’s hand.

“Right. Show them we’re not just prey.”

Yeo-jin gulped as she glanced between me and Sola.

“So they don’t even think about trying.”

The two girls’ eyes drifted from the big guy’s corpse to the sword still stuck in him.

For high school girls who once dreamed of saving lives as medics, it was a cruel world.

Kind-hearted Ji-eun stepped forward, but—

“Sola, unni can do it—”

“……I’m okay.”

Shing!

Sola moved first and pulled the sword out, crouched in front of the corpse, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Min Yeo-jin, come here.”

“Ah… I…”

“Don’t whine. I don’t want to lose you too.”

Nineteen.

She’d already learned: to protect someone precious, you have to be ready to harm others.

***

AM 09:50.

Eight hours left till quitting time.

At last, we arrived at Namsan Tower.

“It’s a red circle!”

“Shit, over 7,000 points?!”

“Damn it, that’s a one-shot jackpot…”

Hunters with weapons lurked everywhere.

“It’s real tense here, noona!”

“Right? Feels like everyone’s watching us.”

And then—

“Teacher!”

“Uncle!”

Familiar faces awaited.

“Yul! Were you good while we were gone?”

“Yes!”

The little lady ran over, her chubby eyes curling into crescent moons—a sight too adorable for words.

Sssssst!

I wanted to dote on her more, but—

“I’ll hold you later.”

“Huh? Why?”

I scooped up Yul and handed her to her father.

Now wasn’t the time for affection.

‘Nine? Ten?’

The prickling stares I’d felt all along.

We were now surrounded.

Men with weapons exchanged quick glances, clearly plotting.

“Teacher, I’m glad you’re safe—”

“Let’s save the reunion for later—can you please cover Yul’s eyes?”

“Huh? What do you—”

Han-ul cocked his head in confusion, but covered Yul’s eyes all the same.

Clatter!

“!!”

A dozen blades were leveled at us.

One man, apparently their leader, shouted a battle cry—“Haah!”—and at his signal—

Thud!

He and several others charged at me, Ji-eun, and Jae-hyuk.

And—

“We’re taking it! 7,000—”

“Accelerate.”

I swung the sword I’d summoned earlier at their waists.

Tap!

I spun in a circle among them, drawing an arc.

Jeans, sweatpants, hiking gear, more jeans…

Swish!

Belts and buckles all sliced through, pants falling down in waves.

Tick!

“Whaaaaat the heeeell…?!”

“Shit! How’d he do that so fast?!”

Panic. They scrambled to clutch their dropping pants, some tripping and falling.

“Kyaaa! Pull up your underwear!”

“You lunatics! What are you doing?!”

…Some lost even their underwear.

That one was my mistake.

I meant to hold back, but I guess I went too deep.

“Damn! How’d you do that?!”

“No idea! I didn’t even see him move!”

Embarrassed shrieks echoed all around.

Tap!

I used the chaos to press my sword to the neck of the man who’d shouted earlier.

“Who were you targeting?”

“T-that, uh…”

Overwhelming force.

They needed to realize they might become the prey instead.

“No one here can beat me at this level, you know.”

“Ugh…”

I didn’t want to play into the system’s hands, so I held back.

But if you show mercy, they’ll just keep coming, again and again.

So—

“Watch yourself.”

“A-alright, just please…”

“Next time, I’ll cut what’s inside, too.”

“!!”

【‘Bureau Crow’ slaps his knee, urging me to slice them now.】

【‘Investigation Prince’ scowls, saying he never wants to see this.】

The man trembled violently.

Whether from the cold steel under his chin, or the wind on his now-bare legs, who knows.

“Get lost.”

Tap!

He twisted away before I could even withdraw my sword.

‘That should keep the rabble off me for a while.’

Having been humiliated so badly, he’ll serve as a good example.

Sure enough, the rest scurried away in terror, looking out for themselves.

“Amazing… Teacher! You’ve gotten even stronger!”

“Mister, you’re a wizard, right? See, I told you there’d be wizards too!”

…Except for my own group, who just fussed in awe.

Soon, a broadcast rang out.

[The next safety zone will appear at 3:00 sharp.]

[Hunt down your prey and survive to clock out!]

AM 10:00.

We had five hours of free time.

“Um… Eunho!”

As I was wondering how to use that time most efficiently, Ji-eun spoke up nervously.

“What do you think about going somewhere with fewer people? Now that we’ve met up with Yul’s group.”

Her worried eyes told me her reasoning.

“Safety zones tend to appear near people. We still haven’t figured out the wall around Namsan, either.”

“But… I’m worried someone might attack you again.”

She feared another ambush like before.

But—

“Why do you think those guys try to hurt people?”

“Huh?”

Ji-eun faltered, startled by my sudden question.

‘Because they’re evil.’

…That would be one answer.

“It’s probably because hunting people is easier than hunting monsters, right?”

“I guess…? Monsters don’t give many points, and they’re harder to kill.”

“And there aren’t that many of them either, right?”

Vague, moralistic answers solve nothing.

You can’t make evil people act good.

So, then—

“We need to offer an alternative.”

“An alternative…?”

A way to survive without killing.

It’ll take some more research, but…

“Ji-eun, can you help me?”

I have to stop it.

Because there is a way.

Before this place turns into hell.