Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 123

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Player of the Ruined World – Episode 123
“Why won’t this come off?!”
Park Sangha shouted with a furrowed brow, and Park Sangil quickly grabbed the steering wheel and spoke.
“Switch places.”
Park Sangha obediently complied with Park Sangil’s command.
Usually Park Sangha looked more like the older brother, but in moments like this, it was clear Park Sangil was the real hyung.
Park Sangil remained composed in urgent situations.
The moment Park Sangil sat down, he grabbed the radio.
“Elder Chulmin, do you see the Giant Zombie?”
-Which one? The fallen one or the one without arms?
“Not those two. The remaining one.”
-We’re dealing with it. Almost got it.
Successive explosions echoed from a distance.
Elder Chulmin and Han Hye-ri were relentlessly firing bullets at the Giant Zombie, and the sound of the Hellhound ramming into its body.
Park Sangil peered through the world visible beyond the flesh stuck to the front windshield and spoke.
“Elder, Vehicle 1 needs to stop for a moment. Can you provide support?”
-Why, what’s the problem?
“Something’s stuck to the front windshield and won’t come off.”
-Can’t you wipe it with the wipers?
“It won’t work. It seems like the Giant Zombie’s skin is stuck to the glass.”
-I can’t come now. The Giant Zombie we’re dealing with should be finished in about five minutes. Can you hold out until then?
“Five minutes… We’ll figure something out on our end.”
-I’ll handle this as quickly as possible and come over.
Park Sangil finished the radio call and turned to look back.
“Doyun, can I ask you for a favor?”
I was already putting on gloves while listening to the radio conversation.
I pulled out my curved sword from my inventory, fastened it to my side, and looked at Park Sangil as I spoke.
“Is there a good place nearby to stop the vehicle?”
“I’m going to break through a building entrance.”
“I’ll jump out as soon as we stop.”
“Okay.”
Vrroooom-!!!
Park Sangil accelerated roughly and turned the steering wheel.
The Hellhound crashed through the flower bed separating the sidewalk and road, continuing forward.
Crash-!!
It burst through the first-floor glass door of some unknown building before finally coming to a stop.
Without hesitation, we all jumped out of the vehicle and moved to our positions.
Park Sangil and Park Sangha tearing away the skin pressed against the front windshield.
And I…
Slash! Slash- Scrape-!
I tore through the zombies pouring through the entrance like sheets of paper, buying time.
Ding—!
—Skill ‘Balhwa’ has been activated!
—For 10 minutes while Balhwa is maintained, strength, agility, stamina, and movement speed increase by 2x.
Ding—!
—The ‘Baldo’ effect of the Hwan Sword has been activated!
—Movement speed increases by 20% for 30 seconds.
My blood flow accelerated, and my heartbeat became vivid and clear.
My mind sharpened and my senses honed to a razor’s edge.
As I severed a zombie’s neck with the Hwan Sword, I felt no resistance whatsoever.
It was as effortless as snapping a dried stalk with a club.
The weight of the Hwan Sword had completely vanished.
The street zombies posed no threat to me anymore.
So… should I test out the newly learned skill while I have the chance?
“Shockwave.”
Ding—!
[Shockwave Lv.3: A shockwave is added to attacks directed at enemies.]
[Swordsmanship: The shockwave expands progressively in the direction the blade is swung. In exchange for the wider range, the shockwave’s distance is limited to 12 meters.]
Was it because I was holding the Hwan Sword?
The swordsmanship effect had been applied.
“Kaaaahhhhh!!”
Zombies charged forward, grinding their throats.
Without hesitation, I swung the Hwan Sword.
Whoosh—Shhhhwaaaack—!!!
A fan-shaped wave of force extended outward, sweeping away all the zombies at the 12-meter distance in a single strike.
It wasn’t just their heads that were severed—entire sections from their waists to their philtrum simply vanished.
“Are you insane?! What are you?!”
Park Sanghun behind me grabbed his own hair with both hands and screamed.
When I turned my head, Sanghun continued to gasp in amazement, uttering “wow” over and over.
Even I, who had swung the blade, couldn’t close my gaping mouth in shock.
“Ahead, hey, ahead!”
As Sanghun pointed forward, I regained my composure and looked straight ahead.
The zombies 12 meters ahead had fallen in a single strike, but new ones quickly filled the gap.
Whoosh—! Shhhhwaaaack!!!
As I swung the Hwan Sword again, the zombies were erased at an unbelievable speed.
I could use this 30 times per hour?
I had forgotten to check it at the rest stop, but using it now was the right call.
Even seeing it with my own eyes and performing it with my own hands, I couldn’t believe the skill I had obtained.
Since I’m testing it anyway, I should verify the other effects too.
I quickly sheathed the Hwan Sword in my hand and raised my guard.
Ding-!
[Barehanded Attack: Delivers a cone-shaped shockwave in the direction of the attack. The shockwave extends up to a maximum distance of 20 meters.]
A shockwave that shares the number of uses.
Still, I could use it 28 more times.
“Kaaaaahhh!!”
“Grrr… Kahahh!”
Since these zombies lacked any semblance of reason, they instinctively lunged at me, shoving each other’s shoulders.
The moment the zombies entered my reach.
Boom-!!!
As I threw my fist with all my strength, a heavy resistance met my knuckles at the edge of my reach, and a thunderous crack like a massive boulder splitting echoed through the air.
The shockwave extended outward in a cone shape.
The zombies within 20 meters ahead became unrecognizable.
My heart began to race with exhilaration.
Step by step, I advanced forward, throwing punches at the zombies.
Boom-!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!
The roar erupting from my fists and the shockwave spreading like buckshot.
With a single blow, the zombies within 20 meters vanished without a trace, and I was seized by an electrifying rush of pleasure.
Tap-tap-tap-!
At that moment, something rushed toward me from the building across the way.
Sensing the presence, I turned my head to see an enhanced Creeper reaching toward my shin.
I reflexively threw a punch.
Crash!!!
The Creeper’s entire body exploded, and a massive fissure opened in the ground.
Was it because the shockwave that should have extended 20 meters concentrated on the ground instead?
The spider web-like fissure stretched at least 10 meters.
As if the area had been bombed.
“Doyun!”
While I was absorbed in testing the skill, I heard a voice calling me from the building entrance.
Park Sangil was already peeling away the skin of the Giant Zombie stuck to the vehicle’s windshield and was gesturing for me to hurry over.
Reluctantly, I ended the experiment here.
I rushed to the vehicle and climbed in.
Park Sangil, who boarded right after, put the vehicle in reverse and laughed flatly.
“Baek Doyun, you really… seem to be playing a completely different game on your own.”
“I was surprised too. We didn’t have a skill like this in No Way Home.”
“A completely new skill?”
“There’s a similar skill in Last Odyssey… I think I just learned the skill that can be acquired there.”
….
Park Sangil said nothing in response to those words.
He simply focused on driving and dealt with the approaching zombies.
Park Sangha observed Park Sangil’s expression, and before long, tilted his head curiously and asked.
“What are you thinking about, hyung?”
“Just… something’s bothering me.”
“What is?”
“Last Odyssey.”
Last Odyssey? Why that?
I stared at Park Sangil silently, and he glanced at my face through the rearview mirror before asking.
“Doyun, you said the inventory function is also a feature from Last Odyssey, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“What if… even after we finish No Way Home, the game continues?”
The game continues even after finishing No Way Home?
I tilted my head and asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Remember the message that appeared at the beginning? The text that showed up before we were summoned into the rain.”
The message from the beginning?
It was a memory from several months ago.
I’d been too busy growing stronger to think deeply about it, but as I recalled it carefully, the sentence that had appeared in the night sky back then came to mind.
-Time remaining until new game release: 3 years.
-Open beta for the existing game will be conducted until the new game release.
It was something like that.
Park Sangil continued speaking as he relentlessly rammed into the zombies.
“Three years until the new game release. That’s referring to the fourth game, Another World.”
“That’s right.”
“We still have a long way to go before three years pass.”
“…”
“What if we have to clear the remaining two games after finishing No Way Home?”
“…”
“Or what if we have to go to other countries playing No Way Home and see different endings?”
I’d never considered this aspect before.
It was natural, since I’d been focused on clearing Korea’s No Way Home right in front of me.
Perhaps worrying about such things was… a thought that only came now that we had a chance to survive.
Park Sangha glanced between Park Sangil and me, then snapped his fingers and spoke.
“Come on, let’s talk about that later. For now, focus on the Brain Researcher.”
Park Sangha was right.
It was foolish to worry about an uncertain future when we had pressing problems right in front of us.
Park Sangil understood this too, so he didn’t ask further questions and picked up the radio.
“Vehicle 1 problem resolved. Please provide the location of Vehicle 2.”
-We dealt with one Giant Zombie and are heading over there now.
“Have you confirmed the locations of the remaining two?”
-The Legless Monster is blocking the roadway. We’ll handle this one if support isn’t needed.
“Understood. There should be a Handless Monster as well—do you see it?”
—It’s at the Military Manpower Administration.
The Military Manpower Administration?
If you say it like that, I don’t know what you mean.
Just as Park Sangil was about to ask a question, Bae Hyeonseok beside me cried out in alarm.
“The building we were in earlier—that’s the Military Manpower Administration!”
“What?”
“It’s right behind us!”
CRASH—!!!
In that instant, a massive bus plummeted directly in front of the Hellhound.
Park Sangil’s eyes widened as he frantically wrenched the steering wheel.
CRASH!!! BANG!! BANG!!
Unidentified vehicles hurtled down in rapid succession.
Park Sangil checked his side mirror and rearview mirror in quick succession, then engaged the handbrake as he spoke.
“That bastard…”
“What is it? What’s happening?!”
As Bae Hyeonseok panicked, Park Sangil weaved through the incoming vehicles and explained.
“The one with the ruptured palm—it keeps throwing things.”
“…What?”
The creature that had struck us with its palm earlier and lost its right hand.
When its palm epidermis stuck to our windshield, we gained the opportunity to test the shockwave.
Realizing that direct impact was costly, the creature now hurled parked vehicles around it like a catapult.
“Everyone hold on tight.”
ROOOOOAAAAR—!!!
Park Sangil pressed the Hellhound’s accelerator to the floor and charged toward the Giant Zombie while dodging the incoming vehicles.
BANG—!!!
A sedan that failed to evade struck the Hellhound, but it sustained no damage.
The sedan split apart and exploded from the Hellhound’s effect.
Beyond it, the Giant Zombie’s foot came into view.
BANG!!!
As we rammed directly into the creature’s left foot, it exploded, and everything from the sole to the shin vanished.
Arterial spray scattered into the mist.
SCREEEECH—!!
Park Sangil didn’t stop there; he roughly turned the wheel and fixed his gaze on the remaining right foot.
Realizing what Park Sangil was thinking, I frantically grabbed the driver’s seat headrest and shouted.
“We can’t! We don’t have enough speed!”
“We can!”
From my vantage point, the distance was at most thirty meters.
Not nearly enough distance to build up sufficient momentum.
Yet Park Sangil insisted it was possible and pressed the accelerator with all his strength.
As the Hellhound’s effect intensified, the modified vehicle’s defensive capabilities no longer activated against ordinary impacts.
At this speed… the effect won’t activate.
Before I could stop Park Sangil, the Giant Zombie’s Achilles tendon filled my vision.
CRASH!!!
My entire body lurched forward, and without a seatbelt, I flew straight into the dashboard.
Park Sangil’s head slammed against the steering wheel from the impact, and from Park Sangha’s neck in the passenger seat came a sickening crack.
The back of my head throbbed with a dull ache.
As I stared blankly at my companions in the vehicle, they all clutched their necks and groaned in pain.
“Damn it… Older Brother!!”
Park Sanghun from the back seat called out irritably to Park Sangil, who rubbed his aching forehead with a dazed expression.
“Wait, this… you said the effect activates 10 times per hour?!”
The Hellhound only blocked impacts strong enough to destroy the vehicle—a maximum of 10 times per hour.
This impact wasn’t severe enough to damage the Hellhound, so the effect never triggered.
“GROOOOAAARRR!!!”
The Giant Zombie’s roar echoed from above.
Immediately after, a sudden weightlessness washed over me, followed by the crushing force of gravity pressing down on my entire body.
No way…
“Wha—?!”
Park Sangil’s eyes widened like saucers as he stared straight ahead.
The Giant Zombie had grabbed the vehicle with its left hand.
After hurling other vehicles, it was now preparing to throw ours.
Click!
I frantically opened the passenger door and leaned halfway out as I spoke.
“Fall back to Vehicle 2!”
“Where are you going?!”
“Whiplash lasts a while—get treated by So Hee first!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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