Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 150

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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 150
I hadn’t intended to leap upward, yet the mere thought of “standing” sent my body rocketing two hundred meters into the sky.
“Wh—?! Wh-wh-what?!”
Overwhelmed by shock, my body betrayed me, spilling out incoherent sounds against my will.
What is this?
A physics engine glitch?
Whiiiiiiiiii—!!
A sharp whistling wind tore past my ears as my body plummeted rapidly toward the ground.
‘This is too high…!’
I felt an acrophobia I’d never experienced before taking root within me.
Seized by terror, I kicked desperately against the empty air.
Boom—!!!
A sonic boom erupted as my body shot skyward once more.
Thanks to my passive skill Alert, I managed to avoid crashing into the ground.
A crushing pressure seized my organs as if they might burst, but nausea was all I felt—nothing ruptured.
Could I land safely from here?
If my body could launch this high, wouldn’t it survive a landing at this altitude?
‘I don’t think it will.’
Fear wrapped around my entire body, and simultaneously, my mind went blank.
How did this happen?
The answer came to me belatedly.
[Lightning Flash Lv.5: Powerful force is added to all starting movements.]
Lightning Flash—a skill that adds tremendous power to every initiating action.
Then right now…
[Upon Movement: The instant the first step is taken, movement occurs at five times the current movement speed.]
The act of “standing” from a seated position had been interpreted as movement.
This is… completely insane, isn’t it?
Just as the saying goes—humans cannot imagine what they’ve never experienced—my brain, not the system, was overloading from a sensation I’d never felt before.
‘I need to land.’
I stared at the ground below with wide, unblinking eyes.
My body, which had shot vertically upward, began plummeting rapidly toward the earth once more.
Worried I might crash into the apartment complex where my companions were, I adjusted my trajectory toward the already-collapsed Shelter instead.
And then.
Crash!!!
With a deafening roar that inverted the world, I crashed through the ruins of the collapsed building and landed.
This is… literally like a moving bunker buster.
-Baek Doyun, what’s happening?! Is it a Mutant?!
Park Sanghun’s voice reached my ears immediately after.
It seemed my companions, who had been enjoying their gathering, had heard the commotion and were alarmed.
I needed to return to the apartment where my group was, but now even the smallest movement felt unpredictable in its consequences.
To safely conduct the experiment, I turned my head toward Ansim Station.
‘I’ll take a step forward.’
That’s what I thought.
Boom!!!
My body pierced through the ruins in an instant, advancing toward Ansim Station.
With just a single step, I seemed to have traveled roughly 500 meters.
The surrounding scenery blurred past in a flash.
It was almost amusing how my visual processing could keep up with this absurd speed.
One saving grace, though…
‘I still have control over my body.’
Was it thanks to my base stats increasing?
Because Frenzy and One Strike had become my default state, I didn’t lose control of my body even when using other skills.
The only problem was that my physical capabilities exceeded 10,000, making it impossible to regulate my strength.
-Baek Doyun, where are you?! What’s going on?!
Park Sanghun’s voice continued echoing in my mind.
This… I’m definitely going to get scolded when I get back.
Everyone must be worried.
I’m sorry, but there’s no helping it.
At least until Balhwa and Whirlwind end, I have no choice but to stand here like a scarecrow.

* * *
“You should’ve told me beforehand! You scared me, damn it!”
After Whirlwind and Balhwa’s duration ended, I quietly returned to the apartment.
But the atmosphere inside was far from something we could let slide quietly.
“…Sorry.”
“Phew, at least it wasn’t a dangerous situation.”
Park Sanghun tapped my forearm and let out a sigh of relief.
Crack—
At the same moment, a strange sound came from Park Sanghun’s wrist.
“…Huh?”
“Huh?”
Both he and I were startled.
Balhwa and Whirlwind had ended, but my epidermis and muscle strength base stats were now over 1,000.
Having struck that forearm, it was only natural that Park Sanghun’s wrist would break.
“Ah… Aaaagh!”
As pain gradually flooded in, Park Sanghun grabbed his broken wrist and began rolling on the floor.
Do Sohee, who had been chewing snacks with her mouth full, rushed over before she could even swallow.
“Wha—? Who hit—gulp!”
“Sohee, swallow first and then speak.”
Do Sohee swallowed the snack in her mouth and spoke again.
“What?! Did Baek Doyun hit you?!”
“No, I didn’t do anything….”
“You didn’t do anything, so why is Sanghun’s wrist broken?!”
“Ask him.”
I’m just as bewildered as everyone else.
Park Sangil, who had been observing the situation, rubbed his forehead and asked.
“So… you were conducting a skill enhancement experiment?”
“Yes.”
“And your physical abilities have increased to an absurd degree right now?”
“That’s correct.”
“Everyone, be careful not to touch Doyun’s body.”
I didn’t expect this either.
Kang Haneul approached me and began examining my forearm intently.
He soon retrieved a kitchen knife and slowly thrust it toward my forearm.
Clang!
The knife shattered without piercing my skin.
“Wow. That’s insane.”
Kang Haneul uttered a short exclamation while staring at the broken knife.
“Why are you experimenting here?! What if you step on the children?!”
Kim Heejoo approached next and began picking up the broken knife fragments.
Kang Haneul wore an embarrassed expression and placed the knife on the shelf.
I laughed awkwardly and spoke.
“I’m… sorry for ruining the mood.”
“Hahaha! As expected of Doyun! That’s awesome!”
Regardless, Kim Suhan laughed heartily and shouted.
Park Sangha observed Kim Suhan’s behavior carefully, then grabbed his face to check his complexion.
Kim Suhan’s face had already turned as red as a beet.
Park Sangha looked at Elder Chulmin beside him and asked.
“Elder, how many glasses did Suhan drink?”
“I thought it was water, so I gave it to him… but it was soju.”
“….”
As Park Sangha glared at Elder Chulmin, the elder cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders.
“You should learn to drink from adults.”
“Even so, how could you let him drink that much? You should have stopped him.”
“I didn’t know, I tell you? I really thought it was water.”
Park Sangil, who had been watching the situation unfold, swept his bangs back and sighed.
This was maddening.
Feeling like it was somehow my fault, I slumped my shoulders and spoke.
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not your fault, Doyun.”
“I didn’t expect my body to change like this either.”
“Seriously… you’re basically Superman.”
Park Sangil chuckled as he spoke, and Kyeongeo approached me with bright, eager eyes looking up at me.
“Uncle Baek Doyun, are you Superman?!”
“Well…”
Her eyes were shining.
It felt like the moment called for me to say yes, so I smiled warmly and answered.
“That’s right! Uncle is Superman.”
“Yay!”
Kyeongeo bounced in place, then started demanding that I teach her how to fly.
It was a chaotic night in every way.

* * *
The drunk adults had fallen asleep, and the children, exhausted from laughing and playing, had drifted off as well.
Only the whispered voices of a few middle school students still awake tickled the quiet living room.
It felt like those late-night conversations with friends during a school trip.
I stood on the balcony, gazing out at the darkened world for a long time.
Then, wondering if I’d missed anything, I opened my player information.
“Current stats.”
[Current Stats: Stamina 1,224, Strength 1,224, Agility 1,326, Skin 1,800, Mentality 1,800]
[Damage Reduction: 15%]
[Available Points: 9,506,788,126.]
[Available Coins: 5]
With this many points, there’s nowhere left to spend them.
Will there be a use for them once I move on to Giant Punisher?
Wait, did Giant Punisher even have a point system?
I smacked my lips and murmured softly.
“Coin shop, purchase weapon enhancement coupon.”
[Purchasing weapon enhancement coupon.]
I remember seeing a message like this when I was setting up my character and chose Buster.
It said that all coins I possessed would disappear when moving to the next game.
I’d completely forgotten about it while desperately trying to survive, but now that I had a moment to breathe, memories were surfacing one by one.
I currently had five coins.
I could purchase one weapon enhancement coupon, so I used them without hesitation.
There was only one place to use it.
“Show me the current information on Ssangsudu.”
[4-Time Enhanced Ssangsudu]
[When using Ssangsudu, Strength increases by 1.2x.]
-20% chance to trigger the ‘Determination’ effect.
-Determination: Strength increases by 20% for 10 seconds.
The Ssangsudu and gloves, which had been converted to base stat values, were equipment enhanced five times.
Additionally, they had the effect of increasing physical abilities by a percentage.
If I enhanced Ssangsudu to five times right now and switched it to a dedicated weapon… wouldn’t the base values increase further?
“Enhance Ssangsudu.”
[Using a Weapon Enhancement Coupon to enhance Ssangsudu.]
Ding—!
[Baek Doyun’s Ssangsudu (Bound)]
[When using Ssangsudu, Strength increases by 30%.]
-30% chance for the ‘Fighting Spirit’ effect to activate.
-When Fighting Spirit activates, Strength increases by an additional 20% for 10 minutes.
Bzzzzt—
At the same time, noise erupted from the System Message.
Ding—!
[Beginning to apply base values.]
[Deleting all activation effects and converting physical ability increase values to current stats.]
Ding—!
[Current Stats: Vitality 1,224, Strength 1,591, Agility 1,326, Skin 1,800, Mentality 1,800]
Incredible.
This actually works.
Moreover, thanks to the 30% increase based on my current Strength, the growth was substantial.
I almost regretted enhancing the Hwandao back then.
‘No, I wouldn’t have survived without that enhanced Hwandao.’
The moment I was falling from L Tower with Kim Suhan, the instant the blade self-repaired despite being damaged, the binding effect that returned the weapon to my inventory even when thrown.
Without that enhanced Hwandao, clearing No Way Home would have been impossible.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Park Sangha’s voice came from behind me.
When I turned my head, I could see Park Sangha approaching with sleepy eyes.
“I can’t fall asleep.”
“That’s insomnia. You should get some rest….”
“Resting feels stranger.”
I smiled faintly and gazed at the full moon visible through the window, while Park Sangha leaned his upper body against the railing and asked.
“So… what happens now?”
“There won’t be situations where our lives hang in the balance like before.”
“True, unless we’re helping other Channel A teams, there shouldn’t be any dangerous situations.”
“We just need to be careful.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Not yet… I don’t have a clear plan yet.”
Speaking matter-of-factly, Park Sangha gazed at the full moon as well and asked.
“Yeah, I suppose that’s how it would be.”
….
“Even if we switch to Channel B, we won’t know which episode they’re currently on.”
“Giant Punisher doesn’t have episodes.”
“…What?”
“We only need to know the setting.”
At the word “setting,” Park Sangha fixed me with curious eyes.
“You mean the game’s lore?”
“Yes.”
“You said it was a game about fighting a massive enemy, right?”
“You remember?”
“Of course. How good is a writer’s memory?”
Park Sangha continued with a dry chuckle.
“What exactly is this enemy?”
“It’s a game where you face a colossal monster of unknown origin.”
“But you know where it came from, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. Humanity fled underground to escape such monsters.”
“That’s an interesting setting.”
Park Sangha showed interest in Giant Punisher.
I shared what information I possessed.
“As long as you don’t ascend to the surface, you won’t have to fight the monster. But complications arise.”
“Complications are necessary for the game to progress. What kind of problem?”
“Earthquakes occur.”
“…!”
At the word “earthquakes,” Park Sangha’s eyes twitched.
He swallowed dryly before asking.
“Do you have any idea which country might be playing Giant Punisher right now?”
“Just looking at your expression, I think we’re on the same page?”
“You too…?”
“Japan.”
Park Sangha let out a soft laugh and nodded.
It seemed he’d arrived at the same conclusion as I had.
The reason I’d considered Japan was straightforward.
“Countries near what’s commonly called the Ring of Fire—regions with active seismic and volcanic activity—are most likely to be playing Giant Punisher.”
“Exactly. That’s what I thought too.”
Park Sangha nodded with a faint smile.
He then furrowed his brow and looked at me calmly before asking.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“About the channel.”

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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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