Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 93

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

Player of the Ruined World – Episode 093
“Doyun! Are you alright?!”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Park Sangil confirmed that I could stand on my own, then shouldered his crossbow again and began firing rapidly at the Water Demon.
As my senses returned, I remembered an existence I had forgotten in that moment.
‘Euitaejong.’
I spun around urgently, only to find the Euitaejong had vanished, leaving behind only a trail of blood.
Judging by the thick blood trickling down the wall, it must have gone over the edge.
“Leave the Water Demon to me!”
“What?! Where are you going!”
“I have to catch the Euitaejong!”
“Don’t go! We need to take them down one at a time!”
“We don’t have time for that! Mutants have regenerative abilities, and even a moment’s delay will—”
“You need to think about Kim Hanna too!”
Kim Hanna?
Wait, now that I think about it, why did our group arrive first instead of Kim Hanna’s subordinates?
“Where is Kim Hanna?”
“The road here was a minefield!”
“What do you mean?”
“Mutants are everywhere! This is a Mutant den!”
At Park Sangil’s words, I headed toward the rooftop of the villa visible right beside us.
Rather than climbing the stairs floor by floor, I grabbed the window frames of each level and pulled myself up to the rooftop.
Beyond the hazy mist, massive silhouettes came into view.
The Euitaejong… there wasn’t just one.
Like the food storage we had seen earlier, the nearby apartments and villas were being used as food storage.
I could count at least three forms visible to my eyes.
And in the distance, I heard the screams of a Water Demon.
I couldn’t even gauge how many Mutants Kim Hanna was facing.
If things continued like this, Kim Hanna would be in danger.
After a brief internal struggle, I clicked my tongue sharply and called out to the group below.
“Can you handle the Water Demon?!”
“Leave it to us!”
The group’s physical abilities couldn’t match the Water Demon, but their weapons were different.
With enough bolts and ammunition, even a Stage 4 Mutant wouldn’t be able to withstand a barrage.
Hearing their response, I gripped my curved blade again and lowered my center of gravity.
Boom!!!
I kicked off the rooftop railing and launched myself toward Kim Hanna’s location.
The distance closed rapidly.
“Grraaaaaahhhhh!!!”
Kim Hanna’s figure came into view, blood streaming from her head as she roared.
Yet no matter how fiercely I roared, my subordinates had no way to prevent their limbs from being severed as the Mutants pressed their relentless assault.
“Single Strike.”
*Ting—!*
[Single Strike Lv.4: Attack an enemy with tremendous force.]
[Stacks with other Skills, delivering an attack equivalent to twice your Strength stat.]
-When Single Strike Skill activates, 50 consecutive attacks are possible.
-Cooldown: 6 hours.
Since I activated Single Strike while Balhwa remained active, my current Strength was 816.
I fixed my gaze on the Euitaejong’s head visible beneath my feet and swung my curved blade with all my might.
*Crack—!!!!!*
Like a guillotine falling without hesitation, a single strike severed the neck of the Stage 4 Euitaejong.
*Ting—!*
[Stage 4 Euitaejong has been eliminated.]
[10,000 Points awarded.]
I could not contain the power surging through my body.
My arms and the backs of my hands felt as though they might burst at any moment.
Like cracks forming in the floodgates of a dam that had reached its limit, it felt as though catastrophe would strike if I didn’t release this pressure soon.
Such excess power remained that even after cleaving through the Euitaejong’s head, my curved blade was still embedded in the ground.
*Thunk—!*
I wrenched the blade free from the earth and swiftly surveyed my surroundings.
The movements of Water Demons visible beyond the mist.
At Stage 4, even the Water Demons possessed frames exceeding three meters, making their positions easy to pinpoint.
‘Three of them.’
I rapidly assessed the enemy count and charged forward without hesitation.
*Boom—!!*
With each thrust of my legs, the mist around me dispersed, replaced by the blood of Mutants.
A hellscape drenched in blood.
The riverside apartment district had become a scene of absolute chaos, filled with screams and shrieks.
*Ting—!*
[Stage 4 Water Demon has been eliminated.]
[10,000 Points awarded.]
*Ting—!*
[Stage 4 Water Demon has been eliminated.]
[10,000 Points awarded.]
*Ting—!*
[Stage 4 Water Demon has been eliminated.]
[10,000 Points awarded.]
After dispatching all the Water Demons specialized in hunting, I focused on the two remaining Euitaejong.
Upon witnessing the slaughtered Water Demons, the two Euitaejong chose flight over engaging me.
Balhwa still had five minutes remaining before it would end.
Enough time to deal with these creatures.
Crash—!!
I plunged into their midst like a tidal wave.
Whoosh—!!
Using the momentum, I swung my curved blade straight through.
Slash—!!!
The Euitaejong’s leg before my eyes severed cleanly, like tender flesh.
“Kieeeeeek!!!”
It crashed to the ground, thrashing its arms like whips in desperation.
“Irritating.”
Slash-slash-crunch!!
As I severed both arms like sugarcane stalks, the Euitaejong’s terrified expression filled my vision.
Creatures that learned from humans.
Having acquired fear and dread, it would be experiencing despair now.
The meaning of helplessness.
Crunch—crackle—scrape—!
I crushed its long, tough neck with my curved blade and seized the severed head in my hand.
Ding—!
[You have eliminated a Stage 4 Euitaejong.]
[10,000 Points awarded.]
Gripping the massive head, nearly 70 centimeters in diameter, I hurled it with all my strength at the fleeing Euitaejong.
My intent was not merely to strike it.
Thud—! Thud! Roll-roll-splash—!
The head tumbled beneath the fleeing Euitaejong’s feet.
The creature stumbled backward as if it had stepped on a banana peel.
Crash!!!
Before it could rise, I rushed forward like an arrow and raised my curved blade.
The Euitaejong stared at the blade’s edge with a dazed expression.
Before it could even comprehend why it had fallen, I was already upon it—its mind must have gone blank.
Thrust—crunch—crackle!!
I drove my curved blade into its face as if driving a stake into solid ground, then twisted the blade mercilessly.
“Ki—kieek—! Kieeeeek!!”
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
Unless its neck was severed or its brain destroyed, these creatures did not die easily.
The regenerative ability that had once prolonged its life now only amplified its suffering.
After inflicting maximum pain, I wrenched out my chipped curved blade.
Whoosh—!!
The Euitaejong tried to strike me down with both arms.
Slash!!
Slow.
I’d cleanly sever both of its arms as well.
Szzzzzt-
The blade of the curved sword, which had lost its edge, began to repair itself automatically.
The curved sword enhanced with a weapon reinforcement coupon.
[Enhanced weapons cannot be destroyed and possess self-repair capabilities.]
No matter how much the blade was damaged, I didn’t need to ask Park Sangha to repair it one piece at a time.
That was the ability of a weapon infused with an enhancement coupon.
Euitaejong, with only one eye barely remaining, stared at me with an expression consumed by fear.
“That’s what despair is.”
I murmured softly and drove the curved sword into the space between its brows.
Thunk-!
Like an axe piercing through solid logs, the curved sword embedded itself between its brows.
[You have eliminated a Stage 4 Water Demon.]
[10,000 points awarded.]
In the blink of an eye, I had eliminated three Water Demons and three Euitaejong.
All Stage 4.
Through this opportunity, I could finally understand something.
My Baster had finally surpassed the stable orbit and reached a level where clearing the game was possible.
If I saw the ending before Stage 5 Mutants appeared at this rate, there would be no moment where I felt threatened by death.
“Uuuuuuung-”
At that moment, the strange sound reaching my ears caused the tension that had momentarily loosened to tighten once more.
This sound was….
‘A Resonance Species.’
With my eyes wide open, I surveyed the area and discovered a massive eye staring at this place from the rooftop of the villa across the way.
The creature’s entire skin appeared tan-colored.
A Stage 4 Resonance Species.
At Stage 1, you only suffer mental confusion if you maintain eye contact for more than 5 seconds, but at Stage 4….
Simply hearing that bizarre resonance sound causes mental confusion.
That was the reason Resonance Species were called Resonance Species.
Ding-!
[You have heard the Resonance Species’s vocalization for 2 seconds or more.]
My vision began to blur immediately after.
All the buildings in the area began to look like melting candle wax.
A world transforming into complete chaos.
But there was no need to worry.
I had a Skill learned in advance for moments like this.
Ding-!
[Challenge of the Tyrant activates.]
[Challenge of the Tyrant: All abnormal status conditions are removed, and you become immune to abnormal status conditions for 1 hour.]
-Can be used twice per day.
-The Challenge of the Tyrant can be activated whenever the player wishes, and it automatically activates if you’re afflicted with a status abnormality.
My vision snapped back in an instant.
Strength flooded back into both my arms, and I could now clearly make out the enormous eyes fixed upon me.
I gripped the sword hilt once more and hurled it directly at the creature’s eyes.
The curved blade sliced through the thick mist, drawing a diagonal arc through the air.
Squelch!!
It pierced straight through the Resonance Species’ eye.
Ding-!
[You have defeated a Stage 4 Resonance Species.]
[8,000 Points awarded.]
The same Stage 4 Mutant, yet it only gave 8,000 points.
Without the confusion effect, it’s basically just a walking point dispenser anyway.
Ding-!
[Balhwa’s duration has ended.]
With that, Balhwa faded, and the heat that had enveloped my entire body began to dissipate gradually.
My accelerated blood flow returned to its normal pace, and a chill ran through me.
A wave of dizziness struck, and I staggered while pressing my temples.
As I took slow, deep breaths, my mind gradually cleared.
Whoosh-!
In that moment, sensing a presence behind me, I quickly raised my guard and took an offensive stance.
“I… calm.”
With a voice cracked and hoarse, Kim Hanna raised both her arms as if telling me to settle down.
“Ah, Hanna.”
“….”
Kim Hanna gazed at the corpses of Mutants scattered throughout the alley and swallowed a short breath.
She then pulled out the notebook she kept in her pocket, opened a section untouched by blood, and picked up her pen.
-Others went to find you.
“Yes, I actually met them.”
-Did you catch the escaped Euitaejong?
“I let it escape.”
-You now have the strength to catch it. Why did you let it go?
“Everyone said we should help you first, Hanna.”
Kim Hanna stared at my face blankly for a moment, then tilted her head and asked.
“I… am… just… a….”
“You said it yourself, Hanna. You said you’re a person.”
“….”
“We save our allies first.”
Suddenly, my own face seemed to overlap with the vacant expression on Kim Hanna’s.
When I first met the Park brothers, had they felt this way?
I think I finally understand why I appeared to be pushing myself too hard in their eyes.
Feeling oddly embarrassed, I laughed weakly and spoke.
“Are your subordinates alright? Your numbers must have taken quite a hit.”
Kim Hanna picked up her notebook and began writing characters.
-They’re fine. My subordinates have regeneration abilities.
“You had a skill like that?”
-It appeared when Episode 12 opened. A passive skill.
Did No Way Home have a skill like that?
No, that’s right—I’d never conversed with the Zombie King back then, so it was natural I wouldn’t know.
Even when I encountered the Zombie King’s subordinates, I was too busy eliminating them to verify whether they could regenerate.
Tug!
In that instant, Kim Hanna grabbed my arm and pulled.
Like a parent protecting a small child, she hid me behind her back.
What?
Bewildered, I lifted my head.
“…Huh?”
I could make out human figures in the villa across from us, staring in our direction.
Not just one.
People appearing in every window.
Could those people also be survivors trapped by Mutants, like the ones at the riverside apartment…?
“No. Not people.”
The moment those words escaped Kim Hanna’s lips, my mind snapped to attention.
Not people?
They looked unmistakably human…
‘Wait?’
I realized it only belatedly.
The thick fog had obscured a clear view, but looking closer, I could see dozens—hundreds—of figures all wearing identical faces and identical clothing.
Kim Hanna’s eyes darted rapidly as she stared directly at the beings in the windows, then she furrowed her brow and picked up her notebook.
She wrote quickly, then tossed the notebook over her shoulder toward me.
I caught Kim Hanna’s notebook and read what was written there.
-Mutant. But the scent is different.
A Mutant?
Are those all of them?
In the No Way Home I knew, there was no Mutant like that…
‘Could it be.’
There is one.
Since only Stage 4 Mutants had appeared so far, I’d assumed the twelfth episode had Stage 4 as its limit.
But when it reaches Stage 5, there’s one Mutant that develops this kind of ability.
A Mutant I’d never encountered even once.
A Mutant I desperately hoped not to meet until the very end.
The Severing Type.

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