Chapter 16

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Hermes' Shoes

"Jin-woo Oppa... "

Kim Seo-yeon, with a look of embarrassment, tried to stop him from behind, but even that was pretense. I knew that the 'embarrassment' etched on her face was not because of what the man had done, but because of the lies she had told.

Honestly, it was ridiculous.

We didn't part on good terms, and yet, do people usually gossip about their ex-partners by calling them 'stalkers'?

'You've managed to completely drain the last bit of affection I had for you.'

Even the good memories I had were deteriorating. Reflecting on it, I felt like I had lived a truly foolish life.

And the one who believed her was no less abnormal.

Birds of a feather. There are no such things as soulmates.

"Hey, just listen for a moment. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

At that moment, Kim Hana stepped forward.

Her eyes blazing with anger, she leaped up from her seat.

The man, Jung Jin-woo, sneered.

"What are you, then? Are you getting paid to act as a lover?"

"What do you mean?"

"How much did you get? Judging by your size, about 50? With a 230 salary, it must have been a stretch, right? I'll give you double, so why don't you know your place?"

230, a specific number.

It seemed that Kim Seo-yeon had opened up about everything to me, mostly the bad things.

It was the moment when five years of memories were flushed down the drain.

"··· I booked this place myself and am treating everyone because I received some help. Don't talk so freely just because you have a big mouth..."

"Your price? 200 should do, right?"

Jung Jin-woo pulled out his wallet from his pocket and extended a bundle of 50,000 won bills.

Kim Hana, in response, looked at him with a face of utter disgust, as if she were looking at rotten filth.

"What kind of scumbag are you?"

"Scumbag?"

"Yeah, scumbag. Just because you have money, you think you can do anything? You're a failure as a person. What kind of life did you lead to become such a wretched person?"

"····· Are you crazy?"

Jung Jin-woo's expression hardened, and he raised his hand.

A normal person would only pretend, but Jung Jin-woo didn't stop there and swung his arm.

The moment Kim Hana instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

Thud!

As he grabbed Jung Jin-woo's wrist, the man's eyebrows slightly raised.

"Ha, look at you, a so-called guide, stepping in."

"Let's take this outside."

"There's no need to talk outside. Get down on your knees and apologize... Huh?!"

Kwaah!

Jung Jin-woo, who was continuing to speak, suddenly came to his senses.

The pain, as if his wrist was about to break, suddenly shot through his arm.

'What, what is this? Why is this guy so strong?'

It wasn't the grip strength of an ordinary person.

How many people on earth could have such strength?

But as far as Jung Jin-woo knew, Park Hyun-myeong was a guy who had nothing to do with exercise.

A pathetic life, stuck in his room playing games unless it was work, home, or a date. There was no way such a guy could have trained his grip strength professionally.

Then, could it be?

'Player?'

A player synchronized with a fragment of the broken Golden Rule?

No, that couldn't be. Synchronizing as a player means becoming a character in Pangea's game. But the Park Hyun-myeong in front of him was just Park Hyun-myeong.

So, he must have been born with such strength, but that was even more absurd.

"Are you going to take this outside now?"

"This guy... "

Shaking his freed wrist, Jung Jin-woo frowned.

Are you going to take this outside?

Forget it.

'You've picked the wrong person to mess with.'

He could tolerate anything else, but he couldn't stand being outdone by such a wretched person.

Park Hyun-myeong and himself were on different levels. If he showed any weakness to such a person, it would be the most embarrassing thing.

At that moment, a golden wave began to surge through Jung Jin-woo's entire body.

Jung Jin-woo was a player.

Using a fragment of the broken Golden Rule, he could synchronize with reality.

Becoming a warrior of Pangea, he gained a transcendence that even a thousand ordinary people couldn't defeat.

No matter how strong the grip, he was still an ordinary person. It was impossible to defeat a synchronized player.

Jung Jin-woo smiled meaningfully.

'I'll make you beg for forgiveness.'

The smile didn't fade as he thought about forcing him to kneel and apologize.

After all, the world had changed.

The future world would be led by players.

Already, he was being called a Dimension Warrior and celebrated.

Who would criticize him for incapacitating a mere ordinary person?

"What, what is that?"

"A Dimension Warrior!"

"Transforming? Really transforming?"

People began to murmur as they saw Jung Jin-woo's transformed appearance.

Blue hair. A muscular, well-built body. A true warrior holding a spear.

Currently, there were fewer than a hundred known Dimension Warriors in Korea. Although Jung Jin-woo wasn't one of them, everyone was amazed by the appearance of such a rare being.

A hero had appeared!

Jung Jin-woo's shoulders soared to the sky.

"Kneel, you scumbag."

Jung Jin-woo was relaxed. Although the duration of the Golden Rule was precious, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He wanted to completely erase Park Hyun-myeong from Kim Seo-yeon's eyes.

But his smile didn't last long.

Rumble!

'... An earthquake?'

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and cracks started to appear in the building.

The strange phenomenon didn't stop there.

"Monsters!"

"Aah!!"

Giant bean beetles.

Bean beetles about a meter in size with sharp teeth emerged from the ground.

Monsters that shouldn't exist on Earth.

But they were familiar in appearance.

'Chidworms! An erosion?'

The erosion had started again.

Jung Jin-woo clenched his fist.

'Just level 2 monsters.'

No matter how many level 2 bean beetles there were, they were still just bean beetles.

They were slow and had low aggression.

In fact, the chidworms had only emerged from the ground and hadn't attacked humans.

But monsters themselves instill fear.

People were screaming in terror.

"You... you're lucky."

With the erosion starting, Park Hyun-myeong was no longer a problem.

Jung Jin-woo didn't miss the opportunity and stepped forward.

This was a golden chance to become a hero.

"People! Don't worry! I, Jung Jin-woo, will protect you!"

How many people had become stars overnight after the previous Giant Mantis attack?

There was no rule that Jung Jin-woo couldn't become a real hero.

Swish!

He thrust his spear directly into a chidworm.

The chidworm's skin split, and it exploded. Although slime splattered everywhere, Jung Jin-woo didn't stop.

Four chidworms had entered the restaurant.

In an instant, Jung Jin-woo dealt with all four, turned his spear, and surveyed the surroundings with a relaxed expression.

Click! Click!

People, without exception, raised their phones to capture Jung Jin-woo's image.

'It's done.'

Jung Jin-woo inwardly cheered.

It's done. Once the video is uploaded, he would become a star overnight.

The thought made him feel pleased.

Rumble!

But the erosion and invasion were not over.

Chidworms began to crawl in from outside.

A large number of chidworms poured in.

"These bug bastards... "

Though there were many, it was actually a good thing.

It was a chance to show his heroic side to the world.

How many more chidworms did he catch as they pushed into the entrance?

-... Who killed my children?

Something other than a chidworm entered.

A Chid Mamba.

A monster with a fat human-like appearance on the skin of a chidworm!

Seeing the creature that appeared, spreading a poisonous fog, Jung Jin-woo's expression instantly hardened.

'Why is a main raid boss here?'

The Giant Mantis was also a field raid boss.

But the Chid Mamba was on a different level from a field raid boss.

It was a main raid boss, like the Hydra, requiring at least ten people to defeat. But it was even higher in rank than the Hydra.

"A... "

Jung Jin-woo's entire body stiffened.

The chidworm's slime, transformed into a neurotoxin by the Chid Mamba's skill, paralyzed Jung Jin-woo's body.

The Chid Mamba glared at the dead chidworms.

-My poor children. That human killed you, innocent as you were.

"Aa... "

Drip, drip, drip.

As the Chid Mamba approached, Jung Jin-woo's urine trickled down his legs and onto the floor.

He was going to die. If he stayed still, he would die.

But his body wouldn't move. The Chid Mamba's hand swept across Jung Jin-woo's cheek. Trapped in the poisonous fog, Jung Jin-woo's body trembled, and his eyes rolled back.

And then.

"I'll kill them all! These monster bastards!"

Hallucinations began.

Jung Jin-woo, swinging his spear, started attacking people.

"Run, run!"

"Why are you doing this all of a sudden!"

Panic. To Jung Jin-woo, the people looked like chidworms.

Eventually, Jung Jin-woo's eyes landed on Kim Hana.

Instantly, fear filled Kim Hana's eyes.

'A... '

Jung Jin-woo was not in his right mind.

She had seen many people who were not in their right mind, but Jung Jin-woo was at the top of the list.

A mad, bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

Her feet felt glued to the ground, unable to move.

"Grh, grh, grh!"

Madness. There was no other word for it.

Thud, thud, thud!

With his spear in hand, Jung Jin-woo began running madly toward Kim Hana.

"Die!"

Kim Hana squeezed her eyes shut.

And then.

Squish!

Thud!

A sharp sound of something thick being cut, and the situation ended.

Kim Hana opened her tightly closed eyes.

She saw Jung Jin-woo, looking bewildered, staring at his own arms.

"Huh? What's wrong? Where's my arm? Why is it... on the floor...?"

The arm that should have been attached was gone.

Precisely from the elbow, it was cleanly cut off like paper.

It took a while for Jung Jin-woo to realize the reality.

"My, my arm. Ah! My arm!!"

He rolled on the floor, moaning in pain.

Someone had cut off both his arms.

Who could it be?

Jung Jin-woo managed to lift his head.

There was a man who had cut off his arms.

Holding a massive greatsword, his eyes were like the depths of a black hole, devoid of any emotion.

He was looking down at Jung Jin-woo as if he were a bug.

Just meeting his eyes sent shivers down her spine.

He was a destroyer.

Clearly, he had committed countless massacres, far beyond the likes of Jung Jin-woo.

"Please... please save me."

Begging for his life, the man turned his head and walked away.

As if Jung Jin-woo was not even worth his attention.

It was as if he had just cut him down for blocking his path.

There was no greater disregard than this.

But Jung Jin-woo could do nothing.

Whoosh!

The Golden Rule ended.

The transformation was undone, and Jung Jin-woo returned to an ordinary human.

But the two arms that were cut off did not return.

"A."

Jung Jin-woo's eyes, now aware of the reality, were filled with despair.

It must be a dream.

This must be a dream.

He had confidently stepped forward, wet his pants, and fallen into a hallucination, attacking people, and even lost both his arms.

Could there be a worse nightmare?

He thought he would become a hero like others the next day.

Hope turned to despair in an instant.

Click!

Even in this situation, there were people taking photos, recording videos, and live-streaming on social media.

And there, all his atrocities were captured.

... Yes, it's a dream. This can't be reality.

He would wake up and return to reality.

But no matter how many times he closed and opened his eyes, reality didn't change.

*

'Player.'

Jung Jin-woo had used a fragment of the broken Golden Rule.

Proof that he was a player.

【Lv. 4】

But his level was pitiful.

A player meant he had lived in Pangea for at least a year.

Yet his level was only 4.

Did he have so many talents that the required experience points increased exponentially?

But watching Jung Jin-woo hunt chidworms, I was sure that wasn't the case.

'Games and real situations are different. He must have been scared and neglected hunting.'

The reason his level was stuck at 4 was his fear of death.

Not everyone started with the heart of an iron-blooded overlord like me. In fact, Jung Jin-woo's level was more realistic.

But it was strange.

I had synchronized with Randolph and became quite strong in reality. In contrast, Jung Jin-woo, despite being a player, was not much different from an ordinary person.

Was I the odd one out? Or was Jung Jin-woo particularly weak?

There were many questions, but one thing was certain: Jung Jin-woo was the biggest fool in the world.

Suddenly killing a large number of chidworms.

He clearly hadn't pushed the main quests properly, not just hunting.

'His class is a fairly high-ranking spear specialist. He must have ranked in the top to get the logout privilege.'

His class was a waste.

From the fact that Jung Jin-woo logged out and used a fragment of the broken Golden Rule, it was clear he had ranked in the top for the main quest to get a class.

'... Where chidworms live in large numbers, there is always a Chid Mamba.'

Regardless, chidworms are not aggressive.

But they shouldn't be killed recklessly.

If they are, the Chid Mamba will surely seek revenge.

While everyone's attention was on Jung Jin-woo and the Chid Mamba, I quietly moved away to a deserted place and used a fragment of the broken Golden Rule.

Then, I used Michela's sword to cut off both of Jung Jin-woo's arms as he attacked Kim Hana.

-Oh, there's a human that looks delicious.

【Lv. 6】

A main raid boss, stronger than the Hydra.

The Chid Mamba licked its lips, looking at me.

My level is now just 3. Summoning the Hydra would be a tough fight.

But I wasn't worried.

《'Michela's Armor' equipped.》

《'Michela's Helmet' equipped.》

《Set option 'Heavenly Dragon' activated!》

《'Hermes' Shoes' equipped.》

《Ability is below the equipment limit.》

《'Fairy Queen's Tears' significantly lowers the equipment limit of 'Hermes' Shoes'.》

《'Swift' can be used.》

I smiled contentedly as I read the messages that appeared.

'I'm glad I raided the secret auction beforehand.'