Damn System

Episode 4

Chapter 1 Beta Test (3)

I found a way to absorb mana, but there were more restrictions than I thought.

Killing animals was too risky.

You may be reported for violating the Animal Protection Act.

I felt a sense of reluctance to kill one life indiscriminately.

At least for me, the struggle for survival and senseless slaughter were different.

However, it is something that cannot be left alone.

I compromised between conscience and survival.

Even though animals were excluded, let’s pull out plants.

‘I have to live for now.’

I wasn’t a good enough person to take care of the life of the grass I eat every day.

But unfortunately, I couldn’t touch a plant as big as a tree.

This is because breaking branches did not work.

You have to pull it out by the root and kill it, but the mana is absorbed.

In the end, all the trees scattered around the back mountain became rice cakes for the painting.

Instead, the weeds were trampled on by visible footsteps.

It wasn’t that much because it was winter, but still.

I was able to collect a little more mana through such crazy labor.

However, it was still a long way from feeling or using magic.

I decided to do a realistic comparison as well.

It was the reason why I couldn’t let go of my phone even though it was late at night.

Animal hunting, how to kill beasts, knife hunting.

I tried to enter various search terms while raising the heat, but I did not come up with satisfactory results.

‘They’re all guns.’

Going crazy. In a fit of rage, I threw my phone to the side of the bed.

But it wasn’t long before I picked it up again.

Because I couldn’t forget what happened this morning.

Horrible pain and screams of evil.

My body remembers that moment clearly.

When you think of unfamiliar pain and fear, your muscles tighten and your heart beats faster.

Every time that happened, I took a long breath. To manage emotions and maintain composure.

Even after that, I devoted myself to searching for a couple of hours.

And after a short hesitation just before falling asleep, I entered another search term.

‘A big dog.’

I was wondering if I could find the guy who bit me.

Fortunately, I was soon able to find a dog that looked exactly the same.

“Kangal… … .”

Kangal, the national dog of Turkey, is a dog with strong jaws comparable to wild animals.

‘This is the first step.’

The phenomenon I am experiencing now is similar to that of a game.

And in normal games, the difficulty gradually increases.

A total of 3 stages, of which there was only one.

If a beast appears in the remaining two times, at least one more dangerous than Kangal will appear.

Sweat broke out in the hand holding the phone.

Even so, I gritted my teeth and managed to get some sleep.

* * *

My HP increased by 7.4 to 42.4.

On the other hand, the way to use magic was still far away.

Even so, it was the fifth day after the first mission ended.

A sound I never wanted to hear again hit my eardrums.

belt ring.

「A new test will be held soon.」

After work, I was sleeping at home, and I jumped up.

The pure white space I had seen before was spreading out in front of me.

I shook my head roughly and chased away sleep.

‘locker.’

He opened the locker immediately, but his face was crumpled.

Four of the five squares were empty.

It was unknown when the second mission would begin.

So, I always put the prepared items in the storage box.

Baseball bats, kitchen knives, protective gear, painkillers and hemostatic agents were meticulously packed.

However, the only thing left in the inventory was the dagger provided by the system.

Other than that, the only thing that came with it was the clothes I was wearing when I slept.

A black tee, cargo pants, and military boots sold in the market.

Of all the things I had prepared, that was all that was left in my hands.

“A new weapon, the Longsword, is provided.”

When you are gnashing your teeth in an unfair mind.

A long sword about the length of my arm fell with a clanging sound.

When I picked it up, the mission window popped up.

MISSION

[Tutorial (Beta Test 2/3)]

Eliminate the target.

Time limit: 00:10:00

Start timer : 00:01:00

A twitch occurred on his cheek.

“Oh sh*t… … .”

The beast seen through the mission window was a lioness.

If you look at the size, it’s about the same as the Kangal I saw before.

But it’s three.

A mixture of fear and anger made my head dizzy.

Even in the midst of that, the timer steadily decreased.

Soon the number reached zero, and I screamed at the same time as the lionesses came running.

“Come on!”

Even so, it seemed that the fear had to be driven away.

The one who jumped from the front was the fastest.

I held out the longsword with both hands.

I was lucky. It disappeared right into the lion’s gaping jaws.

The heavy weight pushed me, but I persevered with strength.

Thanks to that, I was able to avoid falling out.

The guy stabbed by the longsword convulsed.

I caught one as soon as I started, but I couldn’t afford to be happy.

“Huh!”

Because the guy who climbed over the lion with a sword stuck in it spread his snout right in front of me and rushed at me.

I hurriedly put my sword down and grabbed the leather that was hanging down next to the snout with my hand.

This time, my body, unable to withstand the power of the one who rushed at me, was pushed back.

I fell to the floor.

“The target has died. 11 mana is absorbed.」

In the meantime, mana flowed from the dead man.

It was an incomparable amount of mana compared to when he absorbed plant mana.

Things that had crawled into my body were harassing me.

But there was no room for distraction there.

“Keugh!”

Right, tight!

Right in front of my eyes, the lion’s muzzle repeatedly closed and opened menacingly.

I had to stop the lion while enduring the maddening sensation.

The time when I was holding on to his skin and pushing him away so that he couldn’t get any closer.

I felt a terrible pain in my left leg.

fast.

The sound was foreign, but it echoed loudly like thunder.

“Quaaagh!”

The desperate screams didn’t help anything.

With a sigh, the flesh and muscles were torn, and the area below the knee completely fell off.

Blood gushed out like a fountain.

The pure white space had long since been painted over with red puddles.

The other guy had bitten off my leg.

“Huh, big… … !”

Tears and saliva flowed down.

It’s been 25 years since I’ve lived.

The crossroads of life and death were fleeting, and the fear of death was absolute.

It was scary. It looked like it would be eaten by them.

If I was going to die, I prayed that I would die in peace and without pain.

And I regretted it.

‘I know how to search here!’

The moment you give up, it’s over.

It is today because I did not give up in the past when it was difficult to stick it in my mouth.

The moment I made up my mind to be stronger instead of collapsing in front of fear.

Something foreign to me slowly bloomed inside my body.

“Magic operation begins.”

「The characteristic magic power operation is created.」

There was no time to carefully examine the letters that appeared in front of my eyes.

I shove my palm into the lion’s upper teeth, and with the other hand I grasp the lower muzzle.

Immediately after the muscles in his forearm swelled, the lion’s muzzle began to flare up and down.

Then, when I let out an angry roar.

“aaa!”

The lion’s muzzle spread wide beyond the limits of its joints.

Chow.

Red blood poured over my face.

Kek, kek.

I pushed the collapsed lion to the side with a strange sound, and I opened my eyes and shouted.

“locker!”

I felt a solid feel in my hand.

All that’s left is one guy!

I shouted as I grabbed the dagger.

“Come on, you bastard!”

* * *

After the mission was over, something started creeping into my body again.

I endured the sensation while being mentally pushed to my limits.

It felt like being tortured.

As soon as I got out of the white space, I vomited everything inside.

“Wow!”

The last one didn’t die easily.

First of all, my condition was not very good.

My vision was blurry, perhaps because I had lost so much blood, and my hands slipped a lot.

As a result, I saw the intestines spilling out of my stomach. I heard the chewing of my flesh.

At the last minute, I almost lost my breath because I was bitten on the neck.

Even so, Geary cut open the belly of the last lion.

Thanks to you, I survived.

“Huh, breath!”

I wanted to scream why did this happen to me.

Wasn’t life already intense enough?

Why do you put up with such a crappy situation!

I vividly remember the pain of the moment the lion bit my leg.

I will never forget the horror and despair I felt as its teeth dug into my throat.

I let out a few suppressed tears for a while, covered with terrible memories.

“congratulations! MISSION – The tutorial (beta test 2/3) was successful.」

“As a reward for success, you will receive 10 magic points. All injuries will be healed.”

“Grade counting is complete.”

“congratulations! Player Hyeonu Kang removed the target at 00:08:51.”

「Depending on your grades, you will receive the 3rd Rank Reward attribute Magic 3.」

The following message did not catch my eye.

It was because the fear of what would come next was greater than the relief of having solved the problem right away.

The resentment I didn’t know who to pour out filled me.

* * *

As the day passed, I had to force myself to clear my mind.

Even if I shout that I am tired, time flies by.

Now is not the time to sit down and cry, it is the time to get up and run.

Because of that, I decided to take a break from night work for the time being.

Because preparing for the mission has become a top priority.

It was around 10:30 when the first mission was over.

The second mission ended around 10:10.

Given the time spent in the white space, it is likely that it started at 10 o’clock.

The first one took some time to stabilize, so maybe.

‘It was the same time twice in a row.’

The next one won’t be too different.

I had to sleep at night and stay in shape.

It seemed better than waking up and being bitten by beasts.

I didn’t even dare to go to work casually.

Of course, I moved without rest even during my break from work.

After the second mission was over, it was to check the body that had changed significantly.

I get out early in the morning and go for a long run.

Arriving near the house, I stopped with a broken breath.

“A real star… … .”

The record left on the app was shocking.

I ran for 2 hours without stopping at 20km/h.

Still, I did not feel that my legs were loosening or that I was about to collapse.

Short of breath and tired.

I thought I could run for an hour or so if I wanted to.

It was enough stamina to hit the cheeks of most marathon runners.

“Whoa… … .”

It is said that when a person is in danger of dying, they can exert superhuman strength, but this is beyond that level.

Wouldn’t it tear out the lion’s jaws, wouldn’t it lift a 100kg refrigerator by itself?

It is also possible to leap 2 meters longer than the Olympic champion in a single jump.

Above all, the biggest change is in the senses of the body, such as vision and hearing.

It has become so sensitive and clear that it cannot be compared to before.

I felt like I was stepping out of the human realm.

Changes that were not common sense were accompanied by anxiety.

‘What the hell is going on… … .’

A mission that suddenly started.

A reality that has become like a game.

Even the crisis that might die and unfamiliar scars.

Anxiety and fear were vivid.

But I couldn’t hold on to it.

I had to accept the current situation.

The game has already begun, and I must live.

‘I have to adapt.’

Otherwise you might die playing this crazy game.

That simple conclusion has been a great help in organizing what I have to do.

You need information to adapt to this game.

If you haven’t pondered about magic after the first mission.

So if you didn’t realize that magic power is the basic power of life.

He wouldn’t have thought of pulling out a plant and absorbing mana.

‘Then it might have been more dangerous.’

What if the minimum required level for mana management was 50?

I would have been attacked by the second lion.

really might be dead

So, like this time, you have to constantly think and ponder to find out about the system.

You shouldn’t stop even if you make a mistake, and you shouldn’t give up even if it’s hard.

“Whoa.”

Taking a deep breath and calming myself down, I called out the manual.

Since the file itself is corrupted, I have to infer from what is written here.

In fact, the structure of this game is slightly different from ordinary games.

Concepts such as levels and stats do not appear at all.

All that decorated the status window was simple words.

Magical power, affiliation, race, rank, attribute, and characteristics.

‘Of these, four are mentioned in the manual.’

It is magic power and grade, attribute and characteristic.

I went through the manual step by step.

I’ve read it once, but I can’t remember everything.

I was thinking of re-reading them one by one.

As I read slowly, I was able to find the word displayed on the status window.

[characteristic]

Refers to a player’s personal ability, and for some characteristics, @#(! ◎¡!# ◎ː&△** ^&ㅃ(=…….

[property]

#◎!*ㅳ $^! It means a natural tendency to use ▲ ◎〗※ː¿¿#!*ㅃ&^¿■■■ is possible. also… … .

“Whoa.”

Really, I’m angry.