Chapter 8

Chapter 8

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 8: The Level 4 Extra (1)

‘This is insane...’

Yeongwoo, who had made a hole in the large man’s body in an instant, took a few steps back with a bewildered expression.

‘This is the Gumi Sword Technique.’

To be more precise, it could be called real-time swordsmanship training.

The hologram only demonstrated where to attack and how to defend, leaving it entirely up to Yeongwoo to execute it.

Moreover,

‘The hologram disappeared without a trace again. Does it only appear during battles?’

Yeongwoo looked at the two challengers frozen about six steps away.

Their gazes were shifting between the bodies on the ground and Yeongwoo, indicating that they sensed something significant.

“Hey... Sorry. It seems we made a mistake.”

“We’ll step back quietly if you just let us go.”

At the mention of letting them go, Yeongwoo finally realized.

They were still under the influence of the ‘Authority,’ after all.

‘What’s going on?’

Yeongwoo then glanced at Yechan, who had been acting normally for some time.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yes. I was really scared earlier; my legs almost gave out, but I’m fine now.”

“Really?”

This meant one of two things.

First, Yechan’s energy was strong enough to quickly shake off the Authority’s influence.

Or second,

‘Since I didn’t consider this guy an enemy...’

This was a problem that could be easily verified by showing hostility to the other person, but it wasn’t easy to genuinely want to kill someone.

‘Just staring at someone won’t cut it. Do I really have to be willing to kill?’

If anyone could have murderous intent, they wouldn’t be an ordinary human.

‘Then, on the other side...’

Swish.

As Yeongwoo approached the two challengers, a sudden change occurred.

“...!”

Symbols of ‘kill’ appeared all over their bodies, but the hologram was still not visible.

‘Anyway, I genuinely feel like killing them.’

For some reason, it felt bitter.

However, he had no more time or reason to hesitate.

‘It makes no sense to let people like them go.’

As Yeongwoo twisted the angle of the Early Bird threateningly, the two men, who felt the impending danger, screamed like mad.

“No, please!”

“Stop! I’m really sorry!”

Nevertheless, Yeongwoo mercilessly stabbed their throats one after the other.

Shwoop, pith!

Then, before the blood had a chance to pool on the ground, he searched their pockets and found some coins.

1,000, 3,000.

The big man holding the ax didn’t have a single penny.

Despite his robust physique, he hadn’t even managed to bring basic funds from the currency exchange.

‘So, that’s why he clung to my backpack.’

Maybe he, too, had been robbed at the currency exchange.

Yeongwoo glanced briefly at the area status in the corner of his vision.

| The current region is ‘Gumi.’

| The Strongest Sword in this region is ‘Jeong Yeongwoo07.’ Rank 1, 3 Defenses.

‘Three defenses...?’

He calculated the recent battle as three consecutive title defenses.

People were still passing by the area, most avoiding Yeongwoo and the scattered bodies.

“Uh... Should I take all of this?”

“....?”

When Yechan spoke, Yeongwoo turned his head, and saw him carrying various weapons.

Hammer, spear, shield, sword.

Spoils of the battle.

“You wouldn’t be able to walk far with all that.”

“Yeah, I-I guess.”

Yeongwoo stared at Yechan’s thin forearms.

“Take the spear and shield. Discard the rest. You can’t use them anyway.”

“You want me to throw all this away?”

Yechan looked at the weapons with an expression of regret, but Yeongwoo had already made up his mind.

Swoosh.

Just then, Park Dohwan’s figure disappeared and reappeared.

It felt unsettlingly alien.

Additionally, there was a red circle drawn around him, about a 10-meter radius, preventing anyone from approaching recklessly.

‘There’s no way that’s the real Park Dohwan. It makes no sense for him to come here out of all the cities.’

Then what could it be?

Could an unknown entity be using Park Dohwan’s appearance to manifest here?

Perhaps similar entities had appeared in every city across the country.

“....”

Yeongwoo once again confirmed that the arrow of the Early Bird was pointing at Park Dohwan.

And then, simultaneously,

Swoosh.

Park Dohwan made a gesture as if checking his wristwatch.

Then he looked around the crowd, before speaking.

–Time’s up. I will now reveal each of your predetermined destinies.

“...Destiny?”

“Destiny is destiny, but what is this predetermined destiny?”

“There was something about changing your destiny in the quest. I think that might be it.”

Amidst the buzzing crowd, a yellow-tinted rectangular object appeared in front of everyone’s heads.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

Then followed Park Dohwan’s explanation.

–What you are currently seeing is the pre-reset destiny log. If the reset hadn’t occurred, all of you would have lived and died exactly as written there.

“What did he just say?”

“Does that make sense?”

Upon hearing Park Dohwan’s words, everyone’s eyes widened, focusing on their respective destiny logs.

Yeongwoo was no exception.

Right from the first line of his destiny log, something caught his attention.

[Jeong Yeongwoo-49523-IIIIII_II-Level 4-Extra]

Level 4... Extra.’

Amongst unknown numbers and barcodes, he could clearly recognize his name and the designation of Level 4 Extra.

And the subsequent contents confirmed what it meant.

[This character is a random combination of Level 4 settings.]

[Influenced by parental settings, this individual possesses the following immutable elements from birth: #Level4 #Orphan.]

[As a Level 4 combination character, it’ll receive reverse compensation for acquiring settings of Level 2 or higher throughout its lifecycle.]

To put it simply, this meant that it would be difficult for someone born as a Level 4 person to become a Level 2 human even if they worked hard throughout their lives.

And parents seemed to have a huge influence on the Level at birth.

‘...Is this for real? Was it predetermined from the start?’

The destiny log continued downwards.

[Father]: Level 6 Extra

[Mother]: Level 1 Supporting Role

‘My father was a Level 6 Extra. But my mother...’

A Supporting Role, not an Extra, and a Level 1 at that, 5 Levels higher than his father – likely the highest Level.

Then what kind of person was a Level 1 Supporting Role?

‘No, even before that, how did the man who was a Level 6 Extra meet a Level 1 Supporting Role?’

Yeongwoo knew nothing about his parents except for being abandoned as an infant in front of an orphanage. So, he had no idea about their identities, let alone their whereabouts.

It was only after the world reset that he indirectly learned about his parents’ status, peering into the internal settings of the former world.

“....”

As Yeongwoo wore a perplexed expression, the destiny log pushed upward once more, revealing the next content.

|Name: Jeong Yeongwoo

|Role: Level 4 Extra

|Function: Background, Maintenance Crew

|Creation: April 8th, 1992, 11:41 PM, edited due to unintentional deliberate intervention.

|Annihilation: November 7th, 2028, 8:36 PM, fatally assaulted by a drunk passerby while returning home.

‘Fuck, what is this?’

A nauseating feeling engulfed him.

Yeongwoo couldn’t endure it any longer and turned away from the destiny log.

Right beside him, he noticed Yechan with a pale face, staring at his destiny log as well.

And the log floating before him revealed:

|Name: Kang Yechan

|Role: Level 6 Extra

|Function: Background, Eraser

|Creation: July 16th, 2006, 2:30 AM, edited due to forced adultery.

|Annihilation: February 1st, 2039, 8:36 PM, committed murder in a bar while working and then committed s*ic*de.

[Translator – Peptobismol]