Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 25

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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 025
Jo Yunhwan was subdued in an instant, his body crashing to the floor.
“Stop! Please don’t hurt our uncle!”
The 7-year-old girl screamed, tears streaming down her face.
I had no time to listen to the child’s words in the midst of the struggle.
Chaos erupted in the living room in mere seconds.
After confirming my companions had subdued Jo Yunhwan, I approached the child sitting on a kitchen chair.
The child stared at my face with an expression devoid of all emotion.
A stranger might have mistaken her for a child who had lost her parents and lost her mind.
But I knew better.
This child’s parents had likely passed away just days ago, or perhaps yesterday.
A child in such circumstances could not have eyes like these.
Her eyes should be swollen from excessive crying, or she should display utter helplessness.
Yet the eyes of the child before me held no sorrow whatsoever.
Those strange eyes that never blinked, staring directly at me.
Could she be a child with aphasia?
Those with aphasia struggle with language expression, not the absence of emotion.
I could sense this instinctively because there had been a child with aphasia at the orphanage where I grew up.
The child before me was neither someone struggling to speak but unable to, nor someone distressed by words different from what she intended to say.
This child’s expression conveyed absolutely nothing.
Just a child staring intensely without blinking.
This was exactly like…
‘The eyes of something observing.’
There was one way to distinguish the Mimicry Species that appeared in the early episodes from humans.
The fact that they never blinked their eyes, just like the child before me, was the proof.
I gripped the blade’s handle and pointed it directly at the child in front of me.
I had suspicions, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility that reality differed from No Way Home.
I needed to confirm this more certainly.
“Can you talk, kid?”
“….”
“Can you hear me, mister?”
I was the one holding the blade.
When I swung this blade, I could kill the child or capture the Mutant.
I spoke to gain confirmation, but the child remained silent.
Still not blinking.
The moment I became certain she was a Mimicry Species and tightened my grip on the blade.
“Ehehehehe?”
It happened in an instant.
The child’s emotionless expression twisted grotesquely.
Her mouth corners stretched abnormally up toward her ears, and her eyes transformed like a Hahoe mask.
Yet the eyebrows and space between them furrowed as if in anger—a face contorted with rage.
Whether to smile or grow furious, it was the reaction of the Mimicry Species, still uneducated in emotion.
I had to kill it.
Chills raced down my spine and spread through my entire body at the child’s alien expression, but I quickly gathered myself and swung the curved blade.
Whoosh!
The curved blade slashed diagonally with the speed of an arrow.
Screech!
“Kiiieeeek!!”
A scream tore from its mouth like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard.
In that split second, it twisted its upper body to evade the fatal blow.
The curved blade failed to sever the Mimicry Species’ breath—it only carved a wound across its chest.
Fast.
Was it because of its small frame combined with a Mutant’s senses?
An ordinary person could never have dodged from that distance.
Its reflexes were inhuman.
I quickly adjusted my grip on the hilt and swung again.
Tap-tap-tap!!
It bolted toward the entrance in an instant.
“Catch it!!”
I rushed after the Mimicry Species.
How is it so fast?
This is different from the Mimicry Species I encountered at No Way Home.
In the game, it wasn’t a Mutant with superior mobility, but the Mimicry Species I met in reality displayed impossible speed.
Was this because the episode was different?
I encountered the Mimicry Species at No Way Home in the third episode.
A point where my stats had risen to a certain level.
Yet I was meeting it in the first episode.
Perhaps as it grows larger, its movements become sluggish?
Since its body isn’t large yet, maybe its defense is lower while its mobility is faster.
We both rushed out of the entrance without hesitation.
The Mimicry Species had already vanished from the corridor.
I hurried to the stairs and peered over the railing, but the Mimicry Species was nowhere to be seen there either.
“There it is!”
At the sound of Park Sangil’s voice from behind, I turned my head—he was leaning over the corridor railing.
I leaned over as well and scanned the outer wall of Building 204, where I spotted the Mimicry Species crawling up the exterior with its long, elongated arms.
Already?
At No Way Home, it took about thirty seconds to transform into its true form like Gakdagwi.
But this creature—less than ten seconds had passed, and its arms had already transformed like Gakdagwi’s, while its legs were growing longer by the moment.
Such speed in the early episode.
Clang!!
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
The moment the Mimicry Species shattered through the 20th floor balcony, a piercing scream erupted from within.
Simultaneously, the sound of shattering glass, breaking objects, and a cacophony of curses filled the air.
“That, over there….”
Jo Yunhwan, who had stepped outside the entrance, stared at our group with a bewildered expression.
There was no time to reproach him now.
I gripped the curved blade tightly and spoke.
“Stay inside. Don’t come out.”
“….”
“The young girl inside—you said she was your niece, correct?”
“Yes, she’s my sister’s daughter.”
“If the child cries, the Mimicry Species might descend this way. Stay quiet and still.”
Having said that much, I hurried toward the stairs.
I bounded up the steps, skipping several at a time, climbing higher and higher.
The moment I reached the 20th floor.
“Help…me….”
A man with his lower half already gone was crawling out through the entrance.
He looked at me with an expression mixing terror and despair, then quickly became a cold corpse.
Beyond the blood-stained entrance, screams and moans of agony continued to echo.
My legs trembled violently, and I reflexively swallowed hard.
Could I win?
No—could I even fight properly?
‘I have to.’
There was no time for hesitation.
If I didn’t act now, I wouldn’t be able to overcome the trials that awaited ahead.
Eyes wide open, I moved toward the shoe cabinet, and the sight of the living room—devoid of any light—came into view.
The windows were shattered, and wind and rain were pouring into the living room.
Torn curtains fluttered, potted plants from the balcony lay broken, and pitch-black soil scattered everywhere.
And….
Crunch—! Crack—! Snap!
A grotesque creature methodically chewing on something.
Scattered around it.
Things that had once been human, that were breathing and alive mere minutes ago… lay strewn about.
By rough count, there were easily twenty corpses.
In that brief span, the living room had become a slaughterhouse.
Blood spatters scattered everywhere, tattered flesh, body parts whose owners were unknown.
“That, that’s….”
“The Mimicry Species.”
Its torso alone was easily 1.5 meters, and each of its limbs measured 1.5 meters in length.
For a Mimicry Species I knew, this one was on the smaller side, but that was likely because we were still in the early episodes.
The creature chewed on human flesh methodically while watching us, then grinned and tilted its head with a mocking expression.
“Aaah… Paa? Kekek. Ummm… Maa. Kekik!”
As if mocking our language, speaking with a tone that showed utter contempt for humanity.
Was it acquiring language by devouring human brains?
“That damn bastard….”
Park Sangil muttered a curse while gripping the hilt of his blade.
There was no need to fall for such provocation.
If I threw a Molotov cocktail here, it would be troublesome for us to handle as well, so I needed to lure it into the master bedroom or toward the emergency stairwell.
If that didn’t work….
‘I’ll tear it to shreds right here.’
Given its smaller frame, its defensive capabilities would be lower as well.
“I’ll charge in first, so react based on the situation.”
“What? That’s the plan?”
“It might escape back to the balcony, so we have to finish this here no matter what!”
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, I charged at the Mimicry Species.
It spat out the flesh it was chewing and whipped its elongated right arm like a whip.
Whoosh—!
I quickly lowered my upper body to evade, and the creature’s mocking expression hardened.
Every person it had faced before must have been knocked out by that single strike.
People paralyzed by fear have rigid bodies and slow reactions.
But I am not prey.
I am the hunter.
The Mimicry Species’s right arm passed over my head.
Without even blinking, I drove myself into its embrace.
Simultaneously, I swung my curved blade toward the creature’s carotid artery.
Slash—!
“Kiieeeeek!!”
I aimed precisely at the carotid artery, but in that split second, the Mimicry Species raised its shoulder to defend its vital point.
My blade failed to sever the creature’s carotid artery and instead lodged itself in its shoulder.
Whoosh—!
In that instant, the creature’s right foot flew toward my ribs.
‘Insane…?!’
What kind of posture was that?
How would its bone structure have to be configured to achieve such a position?
I hastily defended my ribs with my left arm.
Crack!!
My bones crackled as if I’d been hit by a car, and my entire body was thrown to the right.
Boom!
I flew straight into the wall on my right side.
“Doyun!”
Park Sangil rushed forward as he watched the situation unfold, with Park Sangha and Park Sanghun following close behind.
The Mimicry Species swung its elongated limbs like whips, refusing to allow the group to approach.
“Everyone fall back!”
At Chulmil Grandfather’s voice, Park Sangil turned his head just as a flaming bottle hurtled toward the Mimicry Species’ face.
Crash! Whoosh!
“Kyieeeek!!”
As flames engulfed the Mimicry Species’ face, it shrieked and thrashed about wildly.
Kim Suhan and Kang Haneul ignited more Molotov cocktails and hurled them at the Mimicry Species with all their strength.
Clang! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As fire consumed its entire body, the creature began clawing at its face with its elongated arms.
It writhed desperately trying to extinguish the flames, but they refused to die.
The problem was that the fire made it difficult for us to approach as well.
The acrid smoke and intense heat forced everyone to cover their noses and mouths with their left arms.
The Mimicry Species flailed its arms mindlessly and began backing away.
I tensed my throbbing limbs and clenched my jaw.
“Don’t let it escape to the balcony!!”
Outside, torrential rain was pouring down.
All Mutants possessed regenerative abilities, so if the rain extinguished the flames, it would recover quickly.
We had to finish this now, no matter what.
But the group hesitated to advance due to the intense heat.
‘I have to make the first move.’
Everything is hardest at the beginning.
If I charge forward first… surely the others will follow.
If no one follows, then I’ll need to leave this party.
I lowered my upper body and chanted while staring directly at the Mimicry Species.
“Balhwa.”
Hisssss—!
Every muscle in my body began contracting and expanding repeatedly.
My blood flow accelerated, and scorching heat spread throughout my entire body.
Simultaneously, like steam rising from the body during intense exercise on a cold winter day, vapor-like wisps began rising from my entire form.
Ding!
[For 10 minutes, your Stamina, Strength, and Agility stats increase by 2x, and your movement speed increases by 1.5x.]
I dismissed the system notification appearing before my eyes and focused on the Mimicry Species.
Now that I’d activated Balhwa, my current stats were Stamina 90, Strength 50, Agility 60.
The protective gear’s stats didn’t apply to skill effects, but that didn’t matter.
‘It’s enough.’
I felt confident I could face even the Mimicry Species that appeared at the episode’s beginning.
“Ugh….”
The problem was that I wasn’t entirely whole either.
In the game, using Balhwa skills carried no risk whatsoever, but now I could instinctively feel it—the moment the Balhwa’s duration ended, every joint in my body would scream in agony.
Every bone in my frame would cry out when the skill’s maintenance time expired.
Boom!
I kicked off the ground and drove forward like an arrow, plunging into the creature’s embrace.
“Kyieek?!”
The Mimicry Species’ eyes darted frantically.
It couldn’t follow my movements with its gaze—my speed had increased too suddenly.
All stats doubled except for epidermis.
Movement speed increased by 1.5 times on top of that.
I slashed at its entire body with eyes wide open like an axe.
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-!!
I had no idea how long the curved blade would hold, but I couldn’t stop now even if it shattered.
Swish-swish-swish! Slash! Crack!
Without pause, I severed each joint of its limbs while dodging attacks that flew toward my face and ribs.
Crack-! Snap!
In that moment, the chipped blade caught on the Mimicry Species’ bone and wouldn’t come free.
I exerted all my strength to pull the blade out, but it wouldn’t budge—like an arm sucked into the clenched jaws of a vice.
“Kyieeeek!!”
The Mimicry Species seized the opening and lunged forward, its gaze fixed on my trapezius.
It wouldn’t stop at just the trapezius.
If that massive maw bit down, my right arm would be torn clean off.
I abandoned the curved blade and quickly created distance, but the creature’s neck began stretching like a serpent’s.
Realizing I couldn’t evade, I grabbed its philtrum and lower jaw with both hands.
Squelch-!
My fingertips felt the hard teeth and slick viscosity.
“Kahahak! Hak!”
Each time it vocalized, foul stench and saliva sprayed forth.
Its neck was so rigid that the heavy pressure forced me backward.
“Everyone attack!! Now!!”
I shouted to my companions behind me, and the Park Brothers, finally snapping to attention, rushed forward.
The Mimicry Species’ muscles were already reduced to tatters by my assault.
Even the unbroken joints were now being mercilessly slashed by the three brothers.
“Kahahaaaaak!!!”
The Mimicry Species thrashed in agony, shrieking in pain.
Unsure what would happen if I released its head, I tightened my grip and held the creature’s skull firmly in place.

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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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