Chapter 15

Chapter 15

– I’m not interested in the story anymore due to all the spoilers, damn it.

– The spoilers have ruined the fun.

The viewers ended up learning the stage’s story due to the ongoing chat about ‘survival’ during the stage. Felius had thought the giants’ leader was alone, and the stage was about the player surviving with the villagers who’d gone to defeat the giant and been ambushed.

– If you know it’s a trap, can’t you just not go?

– Yes. Can’t you just persuade them?

– How would you do that?

– Right? Hahaha.

– I’m a player, so I know. You can persuade them by saying the stage is a trap, lol.

– No, they were pre-set to go attack the giants’ leader and die.

Stopping Felius and the villagers, who were determined to risk their lives, wasn’t something the player could do. In order to proceed to the 5th stage, you had to go with Felius.

Crack—

BOOM—

The trees fell backward. At the same time, the giants that’d been waiting in ambush revealed themselves one by one.

Felius was bewildered. “Wh-what the...?

“They’re giants,” Su-hyeok pointed out.

“I... I know that, but...” Felius’s mind went blank as he quickly counted the giants. Even at a glance, there were over a dozen of them. Could each person take down one giant? No, that was impossible.

The soldiers, including himself, had only been expecting to fight the leader.

“Let’s retreat,” Felius said amidst his panic.

Su-hyeok, who had the Giant’s Heart on his finger and was wearing the Thunderous Sound, said, “You have to get ahold of yourself.”

Grab—

Su-hyeok’s grip on his shoulder brought the man back to his senses. “Y-yes...”

Crunch—

Felius bit his lips so hard that they started to bleed, and then he shouted to the soldiers behind him, “Run back down the mountain! Hurry!”

“GRRR-!” The giants roared, and the mountain shook.

“R-RUN-!”

“Hurry!”

“AAAHHH-!”

The soldiers were prepared to die from the start, but that didn’t mean they wanted to die. If there were even a small chance of winning, things might’ve been different, but when it looked like the chances were zero, they were engulfed by fear.

Grab—

“Benefactor, you must flee as well, hurry!” Felius tightly gripped his shield and stood alone to block the giants, prepared to die.

“That’s my line.” Ignoring the man’s noble attempt at a last stand, Su-hyeok drew his glowing red sword. “Aren’t you going?”

“What...?” Felius asked.

“You have to get out of here so you don’t get in my way.” Su-hyeok hurriedly hammered the nail into the coffin so that the man couldn’t argue. “If you don’t want to go, then we can both die here.”

“...”

– Lol.

– If you’re pissed, die, basically, lol.

– Even if he tries, he can retry.

– If he dies, wouldn’t it mean it becomes his 2nd try?

– He doesn’t know that, lol.

After a moment of hesitation, Felius lowered his shield. “Thank you...”

“Don’t even mention it.”

“Let’s make sure to survive and meet again.” Felius turned around and began descending the mountain.

Fwoosh—

Finally, Su-hyeok was the last one left.

– Wasn’t this supposed to be a survival stage? Why send the others first?

– The score depends on the number of surviving soldiers.

– Wasn’t it about surviving alone? The difficulty is quite high.

He managed to send the stubborn Felius down, so there was only one thing left to do.

BOOM—

Su-hyeok aimed his sword at one of the chasing giants and stabbed it in the thigh.

Swish—

“Groar—!” The wounded giant screamed, and all of the others looked over to see what was happening. Thus, the giants chasing the soldiers were momentarily stalled.

– Huh?? He’s going to fight them?

Two stat points were a small variable, but he was basically walking on a razor’s edge already, so it made all the difference.

– Where is he going?

– Right??

– He doesn’t seem to be escaping.

– ???

– Is he going to the leader??

– There’s no way.

WHOOM—

A giant’s club swished over Su-hyeok’s head, close enough to rustle his hair. Instead of retreating, Su-hyeok slashed his sword through the giant’s head.

‘I’m getting closer.’ Su-hyeok’s pupils reflected the giants’ leader. ‘Little by little...’

Paf—

Before the body of the giant he’d killed fell, he used it as another stepping stone.

‘I’m getting closer.’ From the moment he’d stepped foot on the stage, he’d been confident he could easily pass the trial of merely surviving. If he were an ordinary player, he would’ve been satisfied with just that.

When he’d seen the giants’ leader, though, he’d gone above that basic goal and thought, ‘What will happen if I defeat you?’ Defeating the leader was the first step in turning the tables.

“Aren’t you curious too?” Was he too absorbed in the situation? A mumble leaked from his masked mouth. Even the giants’ leader seemed to be aware of his intentions and mockingly laughed from afar.

– Is that even possible?

– There’s no way.

– A trial he was guaranteed to pass is going to end in suicide, lol.

– Stop talking nonsense and cheer a bit.

– Did some anti-believers join in?

– If he didn’t try anything strange, he would have easily gained the ‘Lightning’ skill. This is a bit frustrating to watch.

– Yes, to be honest, it’s a bit disappointing.

Cheers and complains mixed.

Su-hyeok’s acrobatic movements as he flew through the air and stepped on the giants were awe-inspiring, but still, breaking through so many of them to reach the giant’s leader seemed impossible.

The real problem began when Su-hyeok started closing in on his target.

“GUOO-!”

“GRR-!”

A group of giants surrounded the leader as if trying to protect him. Unlike before, the giants only became denser in number as he closed in on their leader. No wonder his viewers thought he was committing suicide.

– I bet all my points that he won’t be able to break through.

Thud—

As if agreeing with their comments, Su-hyeok stepped on the ground for the first time since he started taking on the giants.

– Huh?

– He made a mistake.

– Fact: Even monkeys fall from trees.

– GG.

It seemed that was the end of the line. The giants looked down at him, and their slow brains concluded that they’d finally caught him.

‘Now.’ Su-hyeok snapped his fingers.

Snap—

[You’ve used ‘Thunderous Sound.’]

[Thunder spreads across the battlefield.]

BOOM—!

A sound loud enough to burst eardrums reverberated outward, starting from Su-hyeok’s armor.

“GUOO-!”

“UOOO-!”

The giants dropped their clubs and grabbed their ears, thrown into temporary confusion by the sound. That brief gap in their defenses was what Su-hyeok was aiming for.

Su-hyeok used Thunderous Sound and the Giant’s Heart as if they were meant for that moment.

Amidst the giant’s confusion, he slipped through their numbers and reached their leader. “You thought I wouldn’t be able to get here, right?”

The leader, who’d laughed at him from afar, was also clutching his ears in agony, affected by the thunder.

“Uuuu—”

[The ‘Nameless Magic Sword’ absorbs the user’s Stamina.]

The sword glowed an even deeper red than before. Drawing out enough power to make blood trickle from one of his eyes, Su-hyeok reached the giant’s head.

Drip—

“I’m right here, you arrogant bastard.”

Stab—

____