Chapter 4 of 100
Chapter 4
7 min read1,813 words
<Chapter 4: The God of Combat Reverted to Level 2>
* * *
The tutorial for the Bronze League - Gangnam 1 Area.
‘Is it finally today?’
Hoo. Hoo.
Do Hyukgyu, a new Bronze player, took deep breaths to calm his nerves.
‘It will be fine. I’m lucky, after all.’
Do Hyukgyu looked at his status window.
Gift: Agility A (Grade A)
- Agility increases by 25.
- This ability ignores the league’s stat limits.
Agility A.
It was a simple gift with a grade attached to the stat, but it was highly valued for its ability to ignore the league’s stat limits.
‘This changed my life.’
Do Hyukgyu still vividly remembered his 18th birthday.
At the moment of awakening as a player, a gift that only a few could obtain.
And he got it!
Not only that, but he got it at the A grade.
‘It was like winning the lottery.’
That day, a banner was hung in the neighborhood: "Do Hyukgyu, Awakened with an A-grade Gift!"
It was even more prominent than when a neighborhood senior was accepted into Seoul National University!
And scouts from top domestic corporations and guilds came to him, a rural native, to offer recruitment.
He eventually joined the 'Lee Sung' guild, a subsidiary of the Lee Sung Group.
‘It was fun.’
The guild provided him with an apartment in Gangnam.
When he commuted to the guild in the guild uniform, many people turned to look at him.
After turning 18 and receiving the gift, his life became a smooth road.
‘I will somehow make it to the top 50.’
Now, the remaining task was to survive in the Bronze League Gangnam 1.
Do Hyukgyu gripped his sword tightly.
‘I can do it, I can do it...’
Before the battle began, he looked around.
A threatening group of monsters.
And players from other guilds, with their corporate logos on their armor, caught his eye.
‘That one is from LK. That one is from SG... and that one is from Han University Guild. None of them are easy opponents.’
Indeed, Gangnam 1 Area.
They are all from major corporations.
Seeing such formidable opponents, sweat dripped from Do Hyukgyu’s hand gripping the sword.
Flash.
At that moment, a player was summoned near him.
‘...What is this?’
A man in jogging pants and a short-sleeved shirt.
His hair was messy, as if he had just woken up, and he had no weapon in his hand.
Do Hyukgyu, upon seeing this, immediately realized his identity.
‘This guy... must have accidentally ended up in Gangnam 1!’
Originally, no one would think of participating in this area.
But in the human world, mistakes are bound to happen.
Even in the well-organized Korean league system.
Occasionally, an awakener would end up in Gangnam 1 at level 2 by mistake.
‘I should wait for him to give up the game...’
Leaving a player who entered by mistake until they press the game quit button.
That was the rule and etiquette of the Gangnam 1 Area.
But.
‘What good luck!’
To get a free kill point.
What use is a rule or etiquette in such a situation?
Do Hyukgyu’s eyes gleamed menacingly.
And.
[The tutorial has begun.]
[Eliminate your opponents until 50 players remain.]
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The drumbeat signaling the start of the battle rang out, and as his body, which had been stiff, relaxed.
‘Now is the time!’
Tada-tada-tada!
Do Hyukgyu quickly ran towards the man and drew his sword.
He had to kill him before he pressed the quit button!
As the gift of Agility A came into full play, Do Hyukgyu’s body moved like lightning.
And just as the tip of the sword was about to touch the man’s chest.
The sword stopped moving.
“Huh...?”
Crack.
In the blink of an eye, the sword blade was caught between the man’s index and middle fingers.
* * *
‘So this is how I died last time.’
Sung Jihan looked at the young man who had stabbed him.
For a level 2, he was quite fast.
Perhaps his gift was related to agility.
That’s why I couldn’t do anything and died last time.
“Gah... Gah...!”
On the other hand, Do Hyukgyu struggled to pull his sword free from Sung Jihan’s grip.
But the sword remained motionless.
‘What kind of strength is this...!’
His strength stat was 9, not a low number, yet the sword, held by just two fingers, did not budge at all.
“You should give me time to log out. That’s the etiquette.”
“You... You... What are you? How can you be faster than my Agility A...!”
“Agility A? How did you get to Gangnam 1 with such a skill?”
Sung Jihan looked at Do Hyukgyu with surprise.
Agility A.
Such an ancient relic of a gift...
‘Ah. This is the past.’
While Sung Jihan was thinking this, Do Hyukgyu looked bewildered.
“What? My Agility A is just a skill like that?”
“Hmm, I won’t deny it.”
Stat increase gift.
This gift only helps you become a strong early-game player in Bronze, but it becomes useless once you reach the Gold League.
And such a player is participating in Gangnam 1.
I really have come back to the past, Sung Jihan thought, and released the grip on his fingers.
Do Hyukgyu, who had been trying to pull the sword free, stumbled backward.
“Gah...!”
Do Hyukgyu quickly got up, but his face was flushed red.
He had planned to start with a glorious first kill, but this was a different story.
“Die!”
Whoosh!
He swung his sword wildly, as if to avenge this humiliation.
But Sung Jihan, with a bored expression, easily dodged the attack.
The opponent was definitely faster than his own 5 strength.
‘So what? I can see the trajectory.’
Knowing the start and end of the sword, the difference in speed was easy to compensate for.
‘I should finish this now.’
Sung Jihan decided to start breaking achievements.
Whoosh!
Do Hyukgyu, gritting his teeth, aimed his sword again.
‘Got it!’
Just as he thought it had definitely hit.
Thud!
Sung Jihan’s hands moved quickly, catching the sword in reverse.
“Huh...”
He had been holding the sword tightly, but suddenly it was in the other’s hand.
Do Hyukgyu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Thud!
Sung Jihan’s sword pierced Do Hyukgyu’s neck in one swift motion.
“You used the sword well.”
Crack. Crack.
Do Hyukgyu tried to say something, but his body soon glowed white and disappeared.
He had received a fatal wound and was declared dead.
Sung Jihan watched him silently.
‘It’s a good world. You don’t really die.’
The same went for the sword Sung Jihan was holding.
In the current Battle.net, it’s a ‘game’ after all.
Even if you take a weapon, complete theft is impossible.
‘I’ll just have to take and use it.’
As he thought this, a system window appeared.
[You have achieved your first kill in the tutorial.]
[Achievement points increased by 100.]
“Hmm.”
The achievement shop was added to the system window, so it now showed why he had gained achievement points.
Not only that.
As Sung Jihan’s gaze turned to the groups of monsters scattered around the Colosseum.
[Eliminate the Urk Group]
-The Urk group, numbering about thirty, is the strongest monster group in the Colosseum. Defeat them and show the difference in power.
[Reward: 500 achievement points]
A quest window related to achievements appeared above the monster groups.
‘Good.’ Generally, killing monsters in the Colosseum map is considered inefficient.
Monsters are only worth 0.1 kills each.
Especially for isolated monsters, but for a group like the Urks, which is so powerful that players avoid them.
But this is only true for regular players.
‘Urk bastards. I’ll take revenge for humanity.’
To kill the Urks who demoted humanity and get achievement points?
Ah, I can’t stand this.
Sung Jihan immediately rushed towards the Urk group.
“Kur, kur?”
“Human. You’re crazy!”
“Kill him! Human!”
Perhaps they didn’t expect him to charge in unarmed.
The Urk group, equipped with their own gear, sneered.
“Save your arrows!”
“Kur, understood!”
Three of the five leading Urks threw their hand axes at Sung Jihan.
Perhaps they thought this was enough for the reckless human.
There was no tension in the eyes of the Urks throwing the axes.
However.
“Tsk.”
Thud, thud, thud!
Sung Jihan caught the incoming hand axes with one hand, as if playing with them.
“Kur...?”
The Urks were momentarily stunned by this absurd situation.
“Hand axes are thrown like this.”
With a light flick of his wrist.
Each hand axe flew like a gale.
“Kuh... Kuh...!”
The hand axes embedded themselves in the Urks’ necks.
Surprisingly, all the Urks hit by the axes were the ones who had thrown them.
“Crazy human! You’re not crazy!”
“Prepare yourselves!”
Seeing the fallen Urks, the remaining ones, who had been on guard, quickly prepared for battle.
“Too late.”
Sung Jihan had already closed the distance.
Thud!
With each movement of his hand.
“Ki... Kiik...!”
“Ah, I can’t see!”
The Urks’ heads fell one by one.
An incredibly precise and clean technique.
Like a wolf among sheep.
The Urks, the strongest group in the Colosseum, had no choice but to be helpless.
Swish!
As another Urk’s head fell.
The handle of the hand axe, which had just decapitated ten of his comrades, snapped.
“It’s broken. It’s broken!”
“Kill him now! Kill him!”
The Urks, who had been cowering, charged at Sung Jihan.
“Carry better weapons.”
Sung Jihan, as if he had anticipated this, kicked the ground.
The weapons of the fallen Urks floated into the air.
He grabbed a spear of appropriate length and pierced the necks of the charging Urks one by one.
“...”
“Next?”
* * *
“M, monster.”
“Run. Run!”
It didn’t take long for the Urks to lose their fighting spirit.
With half their comrades wiped out in an instant, it was natural for them to lose the will to fight, but in front of Sung Jihan, a combat machine, they felt a primal fear.
Sung Jihan smiled widely.
The Urks’ decision was the worst possible action in front of him.
Sung Jihan gathered weapons and began the chase.
The Urks scattered in all directions, but Sung Jihan was well-versed in such pursuits.
He quickly assessed the number of fleeing opponents in each direction.
‘That’s the enemy.’
He threw weapons to subdue the Urks on the enemy side.
Whoosh!
The axes and spears, drawing parabolic arcs, embedded themselves in the heads of two Urks.
“Kraaah!”
“Kuh... Kuh...”
Sung Jihan, as if confirming the kills was unnecessary, pursued the remaining enemies.
And now it was a one-sided slaughter.
“M, monster...”
With the 30th Urk’s last words.
[‘Eliminate the Urk Group’ quest completed.]
[Achievement points increased by 500.]
As the quest was completed, achievement points were awarded.
And with that.
[Level up.]
A level-up message appeared before his eyes.