Lee Seonyeon looked at me.
"Why are you so calm?"
"Well, it's because I trust that you'll protect us."
Lee Seonyeon's eyes glowed.
"AAnd I feel too lazy to fight."
"Just die."
The people took out knives.
"You'll regret doing this to us."
"We aren't asking for much... we just want to play a little."
"You've got such a nice body... you'll die anyway, so let us fulfill your last wishes."
The big old man looked at me.
"First, we need to take care of him."
Tch.
Seems like I'll need to fight too.
Time to use Fire Ele—
Lee Seonyeon stepped in front of me.
"Hurt him or that girl... and you'll regret it."
They seemed frustrated.
"What kind of man hides behind a woman's back?"
"Stop hiding and face us!"
I smirked.
These idiots... they'll regret it if they fight against me.
Lee Seonyeon took a step forward.
"Hong... protect Chaeyoung."
I nodded and looked toward Chaeyoung. She was frightened and hiding behind my back.
I hadn't even noticed when she got there.
Lee Seonyeon aimed her knife at the creeps.
"You all will die by my hands."
They grew even more frustrated.
"Fuck. You really don't want to live anymore."
"You could live a good life if you joined us, but I guess you don't want to."
"I'll butcher you with my own hands!"
The big man screamed.
"WHATEVER YOU DO, LEAVE THE KID TO ME!! YOU, GET AWAY FROM THE KID!!"
He was yelling at me.
"I feel lazy... can you do it for me?"
"Y-You fucking dare joke with me?! I'll slaughter you! I'll rip out your heart and eat it in front of your girlfriend, who'll get r*ped by my friends!"
"She isn't my girlfriend."
"SHUT UP!"
They rushed toward us.
Lee Seonyeon smirked.
"Idiots."
[ LEE SEONYEON'S STRENGTH HAS INCREASED – LVL.1 → LVL.3 ]
SHING!
In the blink of an eye, Lee Seonyeon sliced off a man's hands and legs.
"ARGHHHH!! FUCK!! I CAN'T STAND!!! FUCKING GIRL!! I'LL R*PE YOU!! I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU!! YOU'LL REGRET IT!! FUCK Y—"
SLASH!
Lee Seonyeon sliced his neck open.
"You need hands to rape me."
The others froze, their faces drained of color.
"They're dangerous!! Run!!!"
"I don't wanna die!!"
"Fuck!! Move aside!! I want to live!!"
They bolted out of the destroyed building.
Hmph.
I had enough time to—
I stepped in front of them.
"Huh..? What do you want?"
"Go away, or you'll regret it!"
"Do you guys know how messed up it is to try to r*pe someone?"
"What are you talking about? This isn't the same world! We can do whatever we want!"
"That's right so that means I can-"
I took another step forward.
"...kill you all, right?"
"Fuck... what are you saying?"
"You'll die against us!"
"Get lost before we get angry!"
[ FIRE ELEMENT LVL.1 HAS BEEN ACTIVATED ]
FWOOOOSH!
Flames swirled around my fists.
I guess I can just burn them instead of punching them.
I stepped forward.
"You won't listen?"
"Then die."
They charged at me.
Fucking die, you creeps.
WHOOSH! FWAAAASH!
Flames erupted from my hands, engulfing everything in my line of sight.
"Fuck?! What?!"
"Someone, bring water!!"
"I don't wanna die!"
"AHHH FUCK, I'M BURNING! HELP ME!!"
"NOOOO!!"
They burned, screaming in agony.
Of course, I let someone live.
"Fuck... what was that fire?"
The big old man survived—I only burned him for five seconds.
He struggled to his feet.
"I'm your worst opponent. You'll regret fighting me."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Are you talking about yourself?"
I'm still weak, but against these newbies? I'm far stronger. They didn't even have any skills... such a waste.
At least I got something.
[ TOTAL SOULS COLLECTED – 6/100 ]
Flames started gathering around my fists.
I'll punch him to death.
"DIE!!!"
He rushed at me.
I rushed at him.
He threw a punch.
I threw a punch.
Our fists clashed.
The moment I felt his fist—
[ FLAMING PUNCH ACTIVATED ]
My fist connected with his, igniting his entire arm in flames.
"ARGHHHHH!! FUCK!!! DIE!! I'LL KILL YOU!!"
He stumbled back, screaming in pain. His arm was charred black.
He tried to stand up, but—
I stepped forward and drove my fist into his stomach.
SPURT!
Blood spewed from his mouth. A lot of it.
He'll regret fighting me.
"Stop... don't punch... it fucking hurts..."
[ TOTAL SOULS COLLECTED - 6/100 ]
I need to avoid killing people. I don't want to increase my soul count because this ??? thing seems pretty powerful. Of course, I'll get corrupted if I manifest it, so I need to avoid it as much as possible.
I looked at the entrance of the abandoned house.
So for now.. I know who should kill this bastard.
Lee Seonyeon walked out of the house with Chaeyoung.
"Chaeyoung... don't you want to kill this good guy?"
"I likes killing good guys."
Chaeyoung stepped forward.
Lee Seonyeon tossed a knife toward me.
I caught it and handed it to Chaeyoung.
"Chaeyoung... you'll see a lot of blood from now on. This is your first. Do it properly."
Chaeyoung nodded. She walked up to the big old man lying on the ground.
He looked up at her, desperate.
"Please... please let me have a taste of your lips... plea—"
SHIIINK!!
Chaeyoung stabbed him in the brain with all her force.
"Die, you fucking bastard. I'm not interested in old guys."
[ YOU HAVE RECEIVED 500 COINS FOR KILLING 5 PEOPLE ]
[ YOU HAVE RECEIVED 300 COINS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION IN THE FIGHT ]
The coin system… In this Endless Dream, the coin system works based on the number of kills we make or by completing quests—Dreamer's Delusion...
In the beginning, we get 100 per kill, but in the middle of the first Dreamer's Delusion, it will increase to 1000 per kill. Then, after each Dreamer's Delusion, it will increase by 10x.
For most people, it's too much, but it's actually low because, as the Dreamer's Delusion progresses, the prices of skills and equipment also increase by 20x… It was one of the obvious reasons for the decline of After The End.
This dream is designed to be impossible to complete… The hard difficulty, the coin system, and the increased chances of death make this dream unchangeable. In other words, this dream can never end.
If I want to become strong, I need to get as many coins as possible or use my skill, Plagiarist, to steal skills and sell them at auction. That will help me earn more coins…
I looked at Chaeyoung, who seemed sad. She must be terrified because of all this. She sat down and started crying.
"I-I don't want. I don't want to live here. This world is too brutal. I'd rather die than live here."
I looked at her with pitiful eyes.
"I want to go to Mom. I don't want to stay here. Mom will protect me. Go away, leave me. I don't want to see more blood."
She started puking at the sight of blood.
Lee Seonyeon rushed over to us.
"Chaeyoung... I understand that this killing stuff isn't healthy for a small kid like you, but we don't have a choice either... We need to protect ourselves, and you need to protect yourself."
Lee Seonyeon sat down and hugged her.
"It must've been hard, Chaeyoung... We also don't want to kill others, but we have no choice. This is the type of world it is now. Don't talk about leaving us... I'll be sad if you leave your unnie here... Let me protect you, Chaeyoung."
I smiled and started walking away to give them some time to talk.
I need to become stronger… I already feel like I'm much stronger now, but compared to the main protagonist, I'm still weak…
If I remember correctly… the main protagonist was fighting against multiple creeps who were after women…
In the beginning stages of this Endless Dream, multiple women, actresses, and girls were r*ped without mercy…
The beginning stages of the Endless Dream were like a lottery for creeps… Since the government failed, they took it as an opportunity to r*pe girls…
I need to slay these beasts without my companions knowing.
I think... I know what I need to do now.
I walked back toward Lee Seonyeon and Chaeyoung.
"Seonyeon..."
"What?"
"You guys go inside... I'll come back later."
"Do you have something to do?"
"Yeah, something."
I looked at Chaeyoung, who was staring at me. I gave her a gentle smile and patted her head.
"I'm your new brother... You can talk to me too."
"You're... my new brother?"
"Yeah... that's right. I'm your new brother, and I'm better than your old one. I'll protect you forever, Chaeyoung, no matter what situation we're in."
Chaeyoung nodded.
She's still nervous.
"When will you come back?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Lee Seonyeon took Chaeyoung inside the building.
Time to do my work.
[ TOTAL ACCOUNT BALANCE: 1100C ]
"Store."
Multiple products appeared on my screen... It looked like an online shopping website.
There were multiple ads for equipment, skills, etc.
[ BUY SKILL - "SEX CHANGER" AND CHANGE THE SEX OF ANYONE YOU WANT ]
What the... Did anyone actually buy this kind of skill?
[ 20,000 DREAMERS HAVE ALREADY ORDERED "SEX CHANGER" ]
They must be psychopaths. I removed the ad and clicked on the search bar.
"Endless Stride Cloak Edition Version 2.4"
[ ENDLESS STRIDE ]
[ TYPE - CLOAK ]
[ VERSION - 2.4 ]
[ WILL PROVIDE YOU ENDLESS STAMINA FOR 10 MINUTES ]
[ COLOR - BLACK ]
[ RATINGS - 4.5/5.0 ]
[ ITEM RANK - B ]
[ PRICE - 600C ]
In Dreamer's Delusion 1, its price will be 12,000. It's the best choice to buy it right now… It got a lot of hype later... It's useful in the upcoming Dreamer's Delusion and quests.
"Buy."
[ ENDLESS STRIDE CLOAK EDITION BOUGHT ]
"Void Fang."
One of the best items we can get from the store is Void Fang... It has a good grip and a lot of durability.
[ VOID FANG ]
[ TYPE - DAGGER ]
[ HEALTH - 30,000/30,000 ]
[ RATINGS - 4.0/5.0 ]
[ ITEM RANK - A ]
[ PRICE - 7000C ]
I don't have enough coins for this… I already knew that, but I still wanted to check if it was available.
For now, I can't buy it.
I should look for something that can be used with the Fire Element.
"Ah... That one. Inferno Grasp."
[ INFERNO GRASP ]
[ TYPE - GLOVES ]
[ HELPS IN CONTROLLING FIRE ELEMENT ]
[ RATINGS - NONE ]
[ ITEM RANK - C ]
[ PRICE - 500C ]
It's not that great, but it's worth it if I'm going to use Fire Element recklessly.
"Buy."
[ INFERNO GRASP BOUGHT ]
No one has the Fire Element, so of course, no one buys it.
The cloak appeared in my hands... After that, the gloves too.
I wore them and started walking.
I wasted all my coins again on equipment… I need to save them to increase my stats.
I can feel it… I'm becoming stronger… I need to become stronger…
I need to become stronger to protect my companions… They need to live.
I don't want it to turn out like it did in the novel.
I should hurry. I don't have a lot of time to waste...
I started running.
I started manifesting a new feeling inside me as I sensed myself growing stronger.
This feeling… It feels like I'm becoming hungry for skills.
Am I turning into a killer who craves skills, willing to kill others just to obtain them?
I felt a strange sensation on my back.
Suddenly, it was as if multiple hands were reaching for my back, but then, in a moment, the feeling vanished.
Again.
Again.
Again and again.
My heart began to feel uneasy as I sensed hands reaching for my eyes.
But then, the feeling suddenly vanished.
Just what is happening?
Am I becoming corrupted?
In the first place, I don't even know how it feels to be corrupted.
Whatever it is, I know one thing: Skill Plagiarist is trying to control my mind and make it hunger for skills. I feel a powerful, insatiable thirst for them.
In the blink of an eye, everything around me vanished, and I found myself in a dark place.
My mind went blank… I stopped thinking about anything. It was silent...
Then, I heard a voice behind me.
Kill them. Kill them. Kill everyone who has a skill. Kill everyone…
It wasn't happening in the Endless Dream. It was something occurring within my inner mind.
I couldn't sense anyone behind me, but my inner mind perceived something different.
Suddenly, a light shone over me in the darkness. This dark place was probably my inner mind.
Behind me, lights were cast too… over something.
Multiple souls… Countless souls chasing me. They might be the previous wielders of the Fire Element. I wasn't sure.
Their hands began reaching for my face. They covered my ears… then my neck… It seemed like they were trying to stop me.
I started feeling the pressure of these souls trying to hold me back.
My eyes. They covered my eyes. My lips. My whole face.
They were whispering one thing.
Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KANG HONG. KILL EVERYONE.
My entire body was being surrounded by countless hands belonging to countless souls… My soul had started to darken… It felt like I was finally being influenced by them.
I was slowly falling under their control…
I was becoming corrupt.
Or…
Possessed