Protagonist (4)
At that moment, Yoo Sang-ah shouted.
"Dokja! Behind you!"
I reflexively ducked, and a bloodstained fist whistled through the air where my head had been. It was a familiar fist, wrapped in a dark, murky aura.
As I fell, my reflexive kick struck something, sending it tumbling away. Even without turning around, I knew what it was.
A Grade 9 Non-Human Species — a Demonkin (魔人).
A mutated human infected by black Aether.
Despite being a Grade 9 species, Demonkin were classified as high-risk monsters. Most were little more than glorified zombies, but when the host was exceptional—like now—they became especially dangerous.
I looked down at the name tag on the high school boy whose head had exploded earlier.
"...Kim Namwoon."
The kid whose head had burst open not even half an hour ago was now a Demonkin, gunning for me.
His ruptured vocal cords twitched grotesquely.
"Guwaaaagh."
[Activating exclusive skill, 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint'!]
[This individual does not possess consciousness. 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' has been canceled.]
Damn, as I thought.
Shraaak!
Kim Namwoon's blackened claws slashed across my thigh.
The burning pain spread down my leg like wildfire. Skin that hadn't so much as flinched under a knife had been torn open by a claw swipe.
This is why Demonkin are dangerous.
Once transformed, a human becomes several times stronger than they were in life.
"Yoo Sang-ah, run—!"
Even as I spoke, a chilling feeling crept up my spine. I didn't need to turn to know what was happening behind me.
"Let go! Let go of me! Dokja! Dokja!"
Just moments ago, Han Myung-oh had been limping—and now, he was sprinting across the bridge, carrying a struggling Yoo Sang-ah on his back at astonishing speed.
[The constellation 'Scheming Schemer' is impressed by your gullibility.]
[The constellation 'Demonic Fire Judge' is moved by your selflessness.]
[You have received 100 coins.]
...So that's how it is.
He left me behind.
But something about the way he was running seemed... off.
Despite having only one functional leg, he moved with the speed of an Olympic sprinter.
It clearly wasn't Han Myung-oh's natural ability. It had to be a stigma granted by a constellation.
[One-Legged Speedster]
And I knew exactly which constellation bestowed that stigma.
I activated 'Character List' on the retreating Han Myung-oh.
[Information on this character is not available through 'Character List'.]
As expected, it didn't work.
If I recalled correctly, [One-Legged Speedster] was a stigma from the constellation 'Crippled Swindler'.
And that constellation didn't grant any mental shielding abilities. Nor did Han Myung-oh have anything like that innately.
Which meant my skill had failed not because of Han Myung-oh's power.
...I was an idiot.
I looked at the message floating before me with a bitter laugh.
[This character is not registered in the 'Character List'.]
I'd overthought it instead of taking it literally.
'Character List' only works on characters that appear in the original story.
Yoo Sang-ah and Han Myung-oh were never part of The Ways of Destruction. If I hadn't saved them, they would've died like background characters. No wonder the skill didn't work.
"Grrrk! Grrrk! Grrrk!"
On one side, Kim Namwoon and several Demonkin approached, growling incoherently. On the other, Han Myung-oh had already crossed over halfway with Yoo Sang-ah. Lee Hyun-sung and Lee Gil-young had already reached the safety zone across the bridge, so they were no longer an option.
It was a textbook no-win scenario.
I couldn't cross the bridge alone.
I ran through options in my head.
Take out a Demonkin and make a break for it? Worth a try, but the success rate was far too low. Despite their name, Demonkin were non-human—inhuman.
"Aaaargh!"
Several Demonkin lost their footing and tumbled off the bridge.
KWAJIIIK!
They were instantly devoured by river beasts below, torn apart like scraps of meat by piranha-like jaws.
Fear crept up my spine.
If the number of people on the bridge became odd, even for a second, I'd be next.
Crossing alone was suicide.
Then...
"...Let's take it slow."
I muttered it like a mantra.
I needed that kind of composure now.
There were still a few tricks left. But first, I needed to handle what was right in front of me.
I controlled my breathing and swept one of the Demonkin's legs out from under it.
"Gwurgh?"
Fortunately, they had no eyes, so it wasn't hard to use their momentum against them and send them toppling off.
Gyaaaah—KWAJIJIK!
One by one, I dropped them off the bridge. A countdown from the dokkaebi's floating timer continued to blink overhead.
Only 15 minutes left until scenario completion.
"Hoo…"
A surprise swipe caught my shoulder. No matter how calm my mind was, or how much information I had, an untrained body could only do so much.
"GRAAAUGH!"
Kim Namwoon's frenzied attacks were getting faster.
Left shoulder.
Right thigh.
Crown of the head.
I had to break the flow. I dodged a claw swipe by a hair and stomped on his leg.
"Gyaaa?"
But he felt no pain—he didn't even flinch.
As I backed away, my heel caught on a broken piece of bridge scaffolding.
Below, I heard the snapping jaws of the river beasts waiting for their next meal.
[A few constellations are enjoying your struggle.]
[A few constellations have donated 200 coins.]
The coins kept stacking. I had 5,000 coins now. Quite a lot for this early in the game.
[Wow, hanging in there, huh? Now, now! Any constellations out there feeling generous enough to bless this pitiful soul?]
The dokkaebi's salesman-like voice grated on my nerves.
I wanted to strangle it.
[No one? Really? Nobody?]
Of course not.
After what happened during , it'd be weirder if I had a patron.
[See what I mean? Should've made better choices while you had the chance. Too bad~]
Kim Namwoon's claws struck my side again.
I'd managed to stab into his left flank and shoulder with my knife. His intestines dangled out like jump ropes.
To kill a Demonkin, you had to obliterate the heart.
But the skin around the heart was so tough, not even a MacGyver knife could pierce it.
Damn it. If I just had one combat skill, this wouldn't be so hard—
[Exclusive skill, 'Bookmark' has been activated.]
...Bookmark?
['Character Bookmark' has been activated.]
[Available bookmark slots: 3]
[Retrieving the list of bookmarkable characters.]
Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon (Understanding: 25)
Iron Sword Emperor Lee Hyunseong (Understanding: 35)
Empty Slot
Bookmark. I read 3,000 episodes of Ways of Destruction, but I had never seen a skill with this name before. Still, even without prior knowledge, I instinctively knew how to use it.
"Activate Bookmark No. 1."
With a rustling sensation, it felt as though pages were flipping inside my head. Scenes from Ways of Destruction featuring the character Kim Namwoon flashed before my eyes.
"Hahahaha! I'm overflowing with power!"
"Die! Die! Die! Die!"
"A new world needs new rules."
Kim Namwoon's memories surged into me, and every muscle and nerve in my body tensed. A foreign power, unlike anything I had ever known, stirred violently inside me.
[Bookmark No. 1 has been activated.]
[Due to the low level of the Bookmark skill, activation time is reduced.]
[Activation Time: 1 minute]
One minute. That's enough.
[Due to low understanding of the character, only a portion of their skills has been activated.]
["Corruption Lv.1" has been activated.]
Gasping heavily, Kim Namwoon charged at me, black energy coiling around him like a storm. I planted my feet firmly and rushed to meet him head-on.
If we have the same skills, there's no way I'll lose.
At that moment, I truly was Kim Namwoon—a murderous maniac who rampaged through the world of Ways of Destruction beside the protagonist. The battlefield's Delusional Demon.
"Gyaaaaah!"
The MacGyver knife tore through the air, slicing through twitching muscle and flesh with a grotesque sensation.
From his left shoulder blade to the vicinity of his heart, Kim Namwoon staggered as his body was slashed nearly in two. If he still had eyes, he would've been staring right at me.
"Guh… die… die…"
A youth who despised the world, who had long dreamed of breaking away from it all. And yet, had Ways of Destruction never begun, he might have just taken the college entrance exam, gone to university, and enjoyed an ordinary campus life.
"…I don't… want to… die…"
I silently watched as Kim Namwoon fell over the railing and plummeted below.
Even though I had once hated him, in that fleeting moment, I felt a strange sense of melancholy.
[Your understanding of character 'Kim Namwoon' has increased.]
[Bookmark No. 1 has been deactivated.]
A tremendous wave of fatigue surged through me.
I was exhausted. Truly.
"Gwooooh!"
Now there were only ten minutes left.
More Mines were still hesitantly approaching.
Even with level 10 stamina, there were too many to handle alone.
But I never intended to face them alone.
A bit late, aren't you?
Should be here any second now.
Crunch! Crash!
The sound of destruction rang out as if on cue.
Just as I thought.
I figured that guy would pull something reckless to claim all the achievements and sponsorship coins for himself.
Crack! Crunch!
Even though it was just human bodies clashing, it sounded like a massive mace pulverizing flesh.
Honestly, with all the coins I'd collected, I thought I might stand a chance against the protagonist.
But now I knew how wrong I'd been.
A perfect line of devastation extended from the point where the train had stopped, like a war tank charging through. The Mines exploded and scattered as if struck by a force of nature.
Could this really be called something done by a "human"?
"Gyaaah?"
Even the faceless Mines seemed to sense something was off and began to turn away one by one. But it was too late.
Smash!
The man tore through the horde of Mines in an instant and stood before me. Without a single weapon—just his two fists—he had utterly annihilated them.
Even though I had steeled myself, cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Face off against this guy?
No chance.
Even if my overall stats doubled, I couldn't beat him.
"You. What are you?"
The man's cold gaze pierced through me. I instinctively activated Character List to endure the fear.
[Exclusive skill, 'Character List', has been activated!]
[This individual contains excessive information. 'Character List' is converting to 'Summary List'.]
Name: Yoo Joonghyuk
Traits: Regressor <3rd Round> (Mythic), Pro Gamer (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: [Eye of the Sage Lv.8], [Close Combat Lv.8], [Weapon Mastery Lv.8], [Mental Barrier Lv.5], [Crowd Control Lv.5], [Deduction Lv.5], [Detect Lies Lv.4], …
A never-ending list of exclusive skills. At the end of it, a powerful hand reached out and grabbed me by the throat.
"You. How are you still alive?"
The first person to prove how to survive in this ruined world. The very man who marks the beginning of this great tragedy.
Yoo Joonghyuk, the Regressor.