Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 22

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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 022
Park Sangil yawned so widely his mouth nearly split, then glanced at Park Sangha and Park Sanghun.
They all looked clueless.
Well, not all the Survivors in the Dae O Apartment would have escaped from the problematic Elementary School.
That meant someone had come from outside….
“Why, what’s wrong?”
As Park Sangil rubbed his eyes and asked, Park Sangha and Park Sanghun also studied my expression and waited for my answer.
I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth.
“This is merely my speculation, but it seems there’s a Player among the Survivors in Building 204.”
“…A Player? You mean No Way Home?”
“Yes.”
The three brothers seemed to have shaken off their drowsiness, listening intently to my explanation with serious expressions.
I laid out all the circumstances in orderly fashion.
“At first, I didn’t anticipate a Zombie Wave. So I thought the Survivors from Dae O Apartment might cross over to our side.”
“…That’s right.”
“But then a Mutant Egg was discovered, and a Zombie Wave occurred.”
“Correct.”
“Yet the Survivors from Dae O Apartment still came over here.”
Park Sangha, who grasped the situation first, snapped his fingers and spoke.
“Wait? That’s right? How did they get in here during the Zombie Wave? The front gate, back gate, and side entrances should have been swarming with Zombies.”
“Exactly. So my conclusion is… there’s someone among the Survivors in Building 204 who possesses information just like I do.”
Park Sangil crossed his arms and asked seriously.
“Your evidence?”
“They brought a Mutant with them.”
“…Is that evidence?”
“When a Mutant is present, Zombies don’t gather around it.”
“…What?”
In later episodes the situation changes, but in the early episodes, Zombies tend to avoid Mutants.
Like herbivores that won’t approach an area once they catch a predator’s scent.
Then Park Sangha, who had been thinking it over, spoke.
“So… you’re saying someone deliberately brought a Mutant and entered here? Among the Dae O Apartment Survivors?”
“Yes. Someone who possesses information like I do. They confirmed that the Dae O Apartment’s Mutant was a Mimicry Species, realized it wasn’t an immediate threat, and entered here.”
“But why specifically here….”
“Because they want to benefit from the Safe House’s effects.”
“But those people aren’t part of the Han O Apartment Group. They shouldn’t be able to use the Safe House’s effects?”
Yes, you could think of it that way.
But there’s a loophole here.
“The only effect we obtained was the ability to view the Safe House status board.”
“….”
“The Safe House’s effect of preventing Zombies from entering is a privilege anyone can enjoy, regardless of whether they belong to the Han O Apartment Group or not.”
Park Sangil, who had been listening quietly, furrowed his brow and asked.
“You’re saying he brought a Mutant here to receive that privilege along with him?”
“Yes.”
“That’s completely insane, isn’t it? Putting everyone in danger just to save himself?”
As Park Sangil’s expression flushed red and blue, Park Sangha calmed him down and asked.
“So… what should we do now?”
“It’s as good as confirmed that he’s a Mimicry Species. Anyone willing to use a Mutant like that is either truly insane or has ulterior motives. We don’t need to hesitate—we strike first.”
“Strike first?”
“Yes. They won’t expect us to make the first move.”
“…Why?”
“Because they’ll assume there’s a Player on this side too.”
The three brothers tilted their heads in unison without anyone speaking first.
Park Sanghun was the first to voice his doubt.
“Can they really predict that?”
“In a world overrun with Zombies, could we have moved this efficiently without my information?”
“…That’s true.”
“Plus, to clear the 1-1 Episode, we had to destroy the Mutant Egg.”
“…”
“Only a Player can recognize that as a Mutant Egg. Without being a Player, they’d just think it’s a lump of slime.”
“…You’re right?”
Regardless of what the other side is preparing, by now they’re likely thinking this.
That with a Mutant in Building 204, we won’t move easily.
That knowing the information, we’ll be even more cautious.
We need to exploit that arrogant assumption.
“Please gather everyone who can move right now.”
Park Sangil and Park Sanghun nodded readily and headed to the Living Room.
“Sangha, please gather the Makers and ask them to craft equipment.”
“What kind of equipment?”
“We need to start with protective gear and weapons.”
“Protective gear?”
“Yes. When you equip gear crafted by a Maker, your overall stats increase. We need to craft every piece.”
“Got it. I’ll gather as many Points as possible and give it a try.”
After confirming the three brothers left, I began preparing for battle.
“Check current stats and available Points.”
[Current Stats: Health 45, Strength 25, Agility 30, Epidermis 5]
[Available Points: 10,514]
[Available Coins: 5]
With the 1-2 Episode clear reward and the first clear bonus combined, I now had over 10,000 Points.
Adding the Points earned from eliminating Zombies, I possessed a total of 10,514 Points.
After checking my remaining Points and Coins, I reinforced my Epidermis without hesitation.
“Epidermis Enhancement 105 times.”
[Consuming 10,500 points to increase Epidermis by 105.]
Ssshhh—
As if I’d plunged into scalding hot water, a searing heat spread throughout my entire body.
“Haaah….”
I repeated deep breaths while contorting my face in agony.
I clenched my fists tight, enduring the pain from the scorching heat radiating within my body.
It was because I’d raised the Epidermis stat excessively all at once.
Before long, the heat sensation gradually faded, and I exhaled the breath I’d been holding while checking the System Message before my eyes.
[Stats: Stamina 45, Strength 25, Agility 30, Epidermis 110]
[Your Epidermis stat has reached 100!]
[Buster’s hidden function activates.]
[A skill is generated for Buster.]
[Please select your desired skill.]
Along with the message to select a skill, two skills I could currently learn were displayed.
[Balhwa: Strength, Agility, and Stamina increase by 2x for 10 minutes, and movement speed increases by 1.5x.]
-Cooldown: 1 hour.
[Challenge of the Tyrant: All status ailments are removed, and you become immune to status ailments for 1 hour.]
-Can be used twice per day.
-Challenge of the Tyrant can be used whenever the player desires, and automatically activates if afflicted with a status ailment.
Balhwa is a skill specialized for hunting Zombies.
Challenge of the Tyrant is an essential skill when fighting Mutants with multiple status ailment effects.
The time to decide wasn’t long.
“Select skill Balhwa.”
[You acquire skill ‘Balhwa Lv.1’.]
[You have acquired a skill. Skill Enhancement opens.]
Increased movement speed makes escape convenient, and it’s incredibly helpful in combat against Mutants.
Worried about status ailments?
Just run away before getting hit.
The 1.5x movement speed increase buff attached to Balhwa.
When I encountered the Water Demon at No Way Home, I’d heard its wailing for about a minute.
Before I completely lost my mind, I used Balhwa and escaped, managing to evade the Water Demon’s pursuit.
So learning Balhwa, which is efficient in many ways, is beneficial.
Since I’ve selected the skill, shall I now check how different it is from the game?
“Skill Enhancement.”
[Checking Skill Enhancement list.]
[Balhwa Lv.1]
[30,000 points are required to enhance Balhwa.]
What?
In the game, it could be enhanced with 10,000 points.
Thirty thousand points for a single enhancement?
This is basically telling me not to strengthen skills early on.
It seems better to learn other skills before enhancing Balhwa.
I can always strengthen skills later—there’s no rush.
I’ve spent all my points, so why not check out the Coin Shop as well?
“Open the Coin Shop.”
[Accessing the Coin Shop.]
Finally.
When I only had 1 coin, the shop wouldn’t even open. But now that I’ve gathered 5 coins, it’s available.
[Skill Book: 5 Coins]
-You can learn one skill you haven’t yet acquired.
[Weapon Enhancement Coupon: 5 Coins]
-Enhances your equipped weapon.
-Enhanced weapons cannot be destroyed and possess self-repair capabilities.
[Point Conversion Coupon: 5 Coins]
-Spend 5 coins to obtain 5,000 points.
“This is…”
So this is what the Coin Shop was.
These were the event items that No Way Home had sold.
Items that were sold for real money during the event period only.
I still remember the details of that event even now.
Good memories fade quickly, but bad ones linger.
I’d painstakingly leveled my character by purchasing items with real money, only to have them disappear along with my character when it died in the game.
Because of that, countless players cursed the creator of Battlesteam, and the event ended after just one week.
I never imagined I’d be using items from that old event like this.
Was this intentional on their part?
A preview of sorts for the open beta that would come someday.
The most popular items from that event were the Skill Books and Weapon Enhancement Coupons.
Other characters without skills could acquire them through Skill Books.
Wait, then could the system still have skills from other characters stored somewhere?
Since other people can’t access the Coin Shop, they might acquire skills through second-class advancement instead.
This is just my hypothesis, but I don’t think it’s impossible.
The system must still have the programming in place.
But who would buy a Point Conversion Coupon at these rates?
Spending 5 coins for 5,000 points?
In No Way Home, it was 10,000 points.
They’re essentially selling it at a 50% discount at their own discretion.
The Point Conversion Coupon was originally an item meant for early game progression.
Especially for Busters—raising their epidermis with 10,000 points would unlock skills, making it useful early on.
But 5,000 points?
This is far too few options.
There are currently only 3 items I can buy with 5 coins.
If I purchase the Weapon Enhancement Coupon, my current curved sword’s durability will be restored, and it will become a much sturdier and sharper weapon.
It’s even a high-performance item that gains self-repair functionality.
I know it’s good, I know it’s necessary, but….
‘Not yet.’
The Weapon Enhancement Coupon is an item that shines far more in the late game.
So there’s only one item truly suited for the current situation.
“Purchase the Skill Book.”
[You consume 5 coins to purchase a Skill Book.]
The Buster’s skill acquisition path.
I can learn a skill once when my Epidermis stat reaches 100, again at 150, and then every 150 points of increase thereafter.
Once it reaches 600, I obtain my unique skill and can no longer learn new skills.
However, after achieving an Epidermis stat of 600, there are things I can obtain irregularly when using Skill Books.
Hidden skills or enhancement vouchers.
In other words, if I learn the five predetermined skills first, I can acquire hidden skills or enhancement vouchers much faster.
Since I’m already doing well, I should prepare gradually for the future rather than greedily chase 5,000 points.
Tssss-!
Following that, sparks began erupting brilliantly from the System Message.
“Why, why is this happening?”
Ding-!
[The Battlesteam Honor Player has purchased a Skill Book.]
[A special privilege is granted to you who have witnessed the end of all worlds.]
The relentless explosions of light left my mind in chaos.
Shielding my face with both hands to protect my eyes, I watched as the System Message flashed brilliantly and two books materialized.
[Skill Book: Challenge of the Tyrant Lv.1]
[Skill Book: Frenzy Lv.1(Special Privilege)]
In that moment, I could only doubt my own eyes.
“F-Frenzy?!”
It appears here?!
Already?!
At the point of clearing just the first episode?!
Frenzy is a skill obtainable only after clearing at least the sixth episode.
Furthermore, when I was playing the game, I only obtained it after raising my Epidermis stat to 600, and it was a skill with bizarre and vicious performance.
Mutants appeared quickly, and now skills appear quickly too.
Is this… positive?
To increase safety, choosing Challenge of the Tyrant would be correct.
But for rapid growth and preparing for the worst situation, the latter is obviously the choice.
The problem is….
Frenzy is not a simple skill.
It was a skill that required me to temporarily abandon my humanity.
[Frenzy: For the duration of 1 hour while this effect persists, you gain immunity to viruses and status abnormalities, and all physical abilities increase threefold.]
-Cooldown: 24 hours.
-While Frenzy is active, you lose your rationality.
-When Frenzy ends, you fall into a sleep state for 12 hours.
-Upon acquiring the skill Frenzy, Mental Power is added to your stats.
-For every 50 Mental Power gained, rationality maintenance time increases by 5 minutes and sleep state duration decreases by 1 hour.

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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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