I’m Just an Ordinary Human

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Lumi returned to the building she had made her stronghold and relaxed comfortably without doing anything at all.

She felt like she deserved a reward for rolling around tirelessly over the past two days to regain her strength, but she also knew she needed to rest her mind and body as much as possible, aware that trouble was brewing soon.

Truthfully, it would have been better to keep moving instead of resting, considering the quests, but the last couple of days had been downright grueling.

In fact, there was a part of her that wanted to delay the task of killing humans as long as possible.

“They should be coming soon…”

Still, she couldn’t afford to rest for too long.

Kim Min-seong.

That trash was about to invade.

It seemed he intended to keep his word and wouldn’t invade before three days were up, but the third day was fast approaching.

The sun hadn’t risen yet, but it wouldn’t be strange if he attacked right now.

The site of the battle would be our stronghold.

Even if we win, we are likely to suffer considerable damage.

At least, there was some comfort in knowing that we wouldn’t have to worry about surprise attacks thanks to the effects of the safe zone.

If someone were to ask why he hadn’t attacked yet despite having a date set, it’s probably because the odds are on his side.

Fighting at our stronghold would cause damage, but even considering that, it would be more advantageous to fight in a place we had prepared beforehand than at his stronghold.

She was clearly aware that she was the weaker one compared to Kim Min-seong.

“The traps on the first and second floors are ready.”

A man who had been managing the personnel in the stronghold came to her.

Lee Han-hyuk, originally a soldier, had joined their stronghold at the moment chaos erupted while on leave.

He was a useful asset who, despite his roughness, could set traps thanks to his hobby of survival.

“Thank you.”

Initially, they had hoped to receive help from the military, but now no one had those expectations anymore.

At first, Han-hyuk had sent texts requesting a return via his phone, but soon after, that too was cut off.

At that point, phones were still functioning normally, so the fact contact was lost…

‘No matter what, it seems that this is an era where we must solve things with our own strength now.’

They could no longer rely on help from the military or police.

The current world was a brutal survival of the fittest.

Just because the opponent is strong doesn’t mean they’ll roll over for them.

That was why she had been training to gain strength.

To increase her odds, she had remodeled the lower floors of the stronghold with traps.

By pushing herself to hunt and acquiring skills, she had advanced to silver rank.

Everything was for the sake of victory in today’s battle.

“Maybe I’m already stronger now.”

She was the same rank as a combat-type [Streamer].

From a simple perspective, it would be fair to say they were equal.

But, Kim Min-seong’s forces operated like slaves controlled by strength, and their organization was weaker than hers.

“There’s no need to be scared.”

Yeah, we can win.

It was at that moment she was sharpening her fighting spirit.

– [Streamer] Kim Min-seong has applied for a stronghold invasion.

– The battle will begin in 10 minutes.

The system alarm announcing Kim Min-seong’s attack rang out across the building.

Invasion.

A small war where factions with strongholds fight to devour everything as victors, blatantly inciting competition among [Streamers].

It was proof that the system absolutely did not want [Streamers] to lay back in their safe zones.

“No, I shouldn’t blame the system.”

It was guys like Kim Min-seong who were abusing it that were at fault.

Still, the sense of resentment inevitably brewed in her.

“Everyone, prepare at your positions….”

It was at that moment.

– A system error has occurred.

– Crackle_ System error beeping_

– The invasion has been approved.

“What?”

– The battle will begin.

“Oh, no!”

The personnel in the stronghold hadn’t even had the chance to relocate yet.

And now, if the battle starts…

Lumi, who was hurriedly trying to move, soon found she had to stop in her tracks.

A massive vibration struck the entirety of the building that was their stronghold.

“Ahhh!”

“Help me!”

“Gaaahhh!”

Screams echoed from all around.

And then…

Kwahkakakakak—

The war met its end before it even began.

*

The system of the [Broadcasting Station] was incredibly well-designed.

A system for training warriors to fight against the flood of [Abnormalities].

A [Safe Zone] created to protect humans from indiscriminate slaughter.

Through directives called quests, they could either mobilize [Streamers] to use their full strength or gather some of the thoughts that flowed in through their broadcasts to enhance the faction’s power.

A system designed to manage humans more efficiently in a world that was changing.

Indeed, it was powerful enough to declare it would replace the [Alliance].

However, it wasn’t exactly appealing.

A time had come when the suppressed [Abnormalities] were being liberated, yet the thoughts that should have spread across the world were being used to strengthen humans instead.

The human-based [Company] seemed to want to cling to the [Broadcasting Station], but other factions were unlikely to view such a system positively.

It was a good thing she had been hit by her opponent too.

Fortunately, there seemed to be some gaps in this system, perhaps due to lack of experience.

If so…

‘Before I leave, giving them a hard time wouldn’t be too bad.’

“Hihihi—”

The [Clown] laughed.

Indeed, if one were an entity like a [Clown] and had just enough means to connect to the [Broadcasting Station]’s system, getting to interfere with the indirectly connected system wouldn’t be too difficult, unless it was the main hub of the [Broadcasting Station].

“Oh, wow… So this really works.”

Kim Min-seong expressed awe.

The man dressed as a pierrot that the woman had brought.

A few seconds after he took her hand, the invasion of Lumi’s stronghold was declared, even without him moving.

Just as in wars, defending parties enjoyed advantages, the system’s invasions also had an unfavorable structure for attackers.

While they acknowledged that they would be consuming each other and growing in strength, they also seemed to want to prevent pointless fighting.

The attacking [Streamer] had to go in personally, but there was also a waiting period for the battle to occur at the opponent’s stronghold.

Sneak attacks were, of course, entirely impossible, and during the waiting time, even interfering with enemies was not allowed.

10 minutes.

It wasn’t a long time but it wasn’t exactly short either.

It would be insufficient for a faction that was completely unprepared, but a faction that had made some preparations would have more than enough time to finish defensive readiness.

The attackers had to plunge into the enemy’s stronghold that was full of traps, which was quite burdensome.

But now, with this man’s involvement, all those bad conditions were being ignored.

“By now, that side’s stronghold must be in disarray.”

“Hehehe….”

At the [Clown]‘s words, Kim Min-seong laughed.

Regardless of what preparations Lumi’s stronghold had made, it would now all be meaningless.

Not only had they lacked enough time to prepare, but the strategy they had set against Kim Min-seong was being countered by entirely different individuals.

The [Painter]‘s disciples.

Of course, typical disciples would be weaker than the silver-ranked [Streamer] Kim Min-seong, but to ordinary humans, both bears and wolves were equally as dangerous.

Even if wolves were deemed weaker than bears, both could easily take down humans.

The same was true here.

They had prepared for Kim Min-seong, but the ones that appeared as enemies were completely different individuals.

There was no way to respond.

It was truly a perfect betrayal.

Of course, just with the disciples alone, they couldn’t defeat the silver-ranked [Streamer] Lumi. But that wasn’t the intention; the only goal was to neutralize the Safe Zone.

The disciples weren’t even going to battle.

Lumi’s screams filled the broadcast.

The picture on Lumi’s broadcast was filled with the trunk of a tree.

[Soul-Eating Ancient Tree]

A work left behind by the [Painter].

The giant tree that burst forth from the painting the disciples had brought devoured the stronghold.

In the backdrop of the city, it had an incomprehensibly sinister pattern resembling a screaming human face.

Of course, it was significantly weakened, as it wasn’t under the [Painter]’s control.

While it couldn’t capture Lumi, what about the majority of the other humans in the stronghold?

“Hmmm, then I’ll take my leave now.”

The [Clown] stood up as if he had finished his business.

Having caused this much chaos and having touched the [Streamers], the [Broadcasting Station] would certainly notice his presence.

He absolutely wished to avoid another encounter with the monster while dragging his feet.

His disciples, who were vying for the new place of the [Painter], had the attitude of disappearing quickly, while the [Streamer] Kim Min-seong seemed somewhat disappointed.

The disciples acting that way meant they had no further benefit from receiving his help, but what about the [Streamer]?

Well, to Kim Min-seong, the [Clown] likely appeared as someone manipulating the system at will, so he might have been wishing for his power.

How foolish.

Both that [Streamer] and the disciples were equally foolish.

Though they had offered a little help, thinking they could cause some trouble for the [Broadcasting Station]…

‘Fools who don’t even know where the origin of their power comes from, boldly committing treason, and a delusional girl who can’t grasp the situation.’

As a [Clown] who had directly encountered that monster, he could easily predict how things would unfold.

“Crackling.”

The [Clown] laughed, looking down at both of them.

It would surely end in a disastrous manner.

There would be no chance of victory.

Those two would definitely meet a miserable fate.

But….

Even so, the [Clown] cheered for them.

Was there any comedy more entertaining than fools flapping their wings towards an inevitable end of destruction?

“Well, I wish you luck.”

Before leaving, the [Clown] offered a small favor to the two clowns that had given him a laugh.

Though he himself was in a position to run away from that monster in fear, he wasn’t sure how much help it would be.

‘But if I’m lucky, I might just get to cause them some trouble.’

The [Clown] turned his attention away from them.

This was the extent of his goodwill.

There was no sense of loyalty to offer any further assistance.

“You seem to be quite angry.”

The [Clown] gazed towards the direction of the [Broadcasting Station].

The desolate cityscape looked the same as always.

But in the [Clown]‘s eyes, it seemed as if hell was descending upon the world.

Powerful thoughts of rage were rising from afar.

Indeed, to think that was merely the possession of an individual.

“Crackle.”

He felt a chill all over.

“Next time, let’s meet when things are more prepared.”

The farewell that no one could hear floated in that spot, leaving behind only the cold corpse of a man.