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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Subduing the Killer
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I pondered for a moment.
Just suppose, by some tiny chance, that killing this guy would make it something I shouldn't do...
What if offing this bastard right now causes the fourth hidden trial to fail...
'I'd lose out on that fucking awesome skill. That means my backup extra life skill vanishes. No need to take unnecessary risks.'
I lowered the gun barrel slightly from aiming at his forehead and fired at his thigh instead.
- Pfft! -
"Gaaahhh!!!!!"
Jun-chang screamed, clutching his leg as he rolled around on the ground.
I'd deliberately avoided the artery and vein, so the bleeding wasn't as bad as it could have been...
But like anyone shot by a bullet, it had to hurt like hell.
And with one leg out of commission, Jun-chang had effectively lost all his mobility.
After a bit of groaning while clutching his leg where the bullet hit, Jun-chang slumped down.
His vile, sinister expression faded, and he reverted to his original self.
"...W-what? Ughhh...,
Wh-why am I here?
...No, why did I get shot...?
Wh-what's wrong with you?
Did you shoot me?
No way? Why...?"
Seeing me holding the silenced pistol, Jun-chang seemed to piece together the situation.
It looked like the dual personality 'Devil' had retreated inside, and the original Jun-chang personality had surfaced.
Yeah, that's how it would seem from here.
'But this bastard had that twist upon twist reveal,
where both Devil and Jun-chang were actually just one thing...
That was the final story, right?
I remember it was some forced-ass setup.
...Honestly, I barely remember.
...Eh. It wasn't fun, touching, or had any moral anyway.'
"Cut the fucking act, you piece of shit.
I already know everything, got it?
You were gonna go on a serial killing spree.
Want me to spell out your methods? Huh?
Your true identity as the dual personality 'Devil' is actually...
Just one side of your real self..., ah, fuck it, I don't know.
Anyway, it's some bullshit like you watched a pretentious anime with dogshit philosophy.
It was all you. That's the gist, right?"
"...!!!"
"And your naming sense is fucking trash.... 'Devil'? What the hell is 'Devil'? Huh?
It's so lame, next time ask someone else before naming shit. For real."
I'd basically spilled all his bullshit schemes.
Jun-chang looked utterly shocked.
I walked over, subdued him, and tied him up tight with rope and tape.
While I was at it, I patched up the bleeding just in case.
He probably wouldn't die anytime soon like this.
"Well, that's all wrapped up. Hmm, since I handled your little stunt..., maybe I'll go fuck those girls now...?"
I dusted off my hands, thinking about the girls I'd soon be banging.
'But doesn't this complete the trial?
I took down the mastermind behind this villa mess.
I think it said earlier that subduing or killing the murderer counts as survival.'
As I was thinking that,
sure enough, the system handed down the completion verdict.
You have completed the 4th Floor Trial, 'Survive the murderer until rescuers arrive at the villa or escape the villa,' in an alternate manner.
As completion reward for the 4th Floor Trial, you are granted the 'Survival Skills Lv.1 Set'.
Survival Skills Lv.1 Set: Survival Lv.1, Herbal Medicine Lv.1, Camping Lv.1, Defense Lv.1, Evasion Lv.1, Escape Lv.1, Ambush Lv.1, Drinking Lv.1, Recovery Lv.1, Accuracy Lv.1
By completely subduing Jun-chang, the perpetrator behind the serial killings and disappearances in the isolated villa, the trial was cleared.
Survive the murderer...? Well, there was no murderer anymore.
'There was a murderer? Not anymore.'
I received the 'Survival Skills Lv.1 Set' as the completion reward.
It came packed with ten pretty useful passive skills.
Survival Lv.1 granted all sorts of knowledge and experience needed for survival. It felt like I'd been working as a survival expert for about ten years.
Not quite on Bear Grylls' level, but I felt like a specialist in the field now.
Herbal Medicine Lv.1 gave me the experience and knowledge of someone who'd done nothing but study herbs for ten years.
The same went for Camping, Defense, Evasion, and Escape.
A typical passive skill at Lv.1 was equivalent to ten years of dedicated practice, doing nothing else but eating rice and training in that one thing.
Ambush Lv.1 put me at the level of someone who'd spent ten years practicing nothing but hiding and ambushing.
I was probably the best at hide-and-seek among my peers now.
Drinking Lv.1 felt a bit unique.
Drinking skill? Meaning good at chugging stuff... but practicing to drink well for ten years? That didn't click.
From the description, it seemed like some race's secret technique that I'd practiced for ten years...?
Anyway, this passive boosted potion and buff effects by about 10%.
If others recovered 100 stamina from a stamina potion, I'd recover 110.
'What about Recovery and Accuracy? You practice those?'
The last two passive skills were even more unique.
Accuracy made sense, but Recovery...?
'...Huh? Recovery and Accuracy aren't those 1,000-point passives? These are 10,000-pointers.'
Survival, Herbal Medicine, Camping, Defense, Evasion, Escape, Ambush, and Drinking were all 1,000-point passives from the shop.
But Recovery and Accuracy were 10,000-point passives.
"Oh..., so these are a different breed of passive? They end with 'Power' instead of 'Skill,' so maybe that's the difference. Strength, Stamina, Magic Power are stat skills, not passives, so different concept.... Complicated."
The known concept of passive skills on Earth was 'ten years of rice-eating practice in that one thing.'
Swordsmanship Lv.5 = 50 years of sword practice. Shield Skill Lv.10 = 100 years of shield practice.
It was the meaning of living through the ages.
But Recovery and Accuracy seemed different.
"Too expensive. 10,000 points each. Hardly anyone bought them, so not much research yet.... Never seen anyone online who bought passives ending in 'Power.'"
Maybe I'd be the first in the world to reveal what 'Power' ending passives do, something like this...?
'No need to tell the world, though. Doesn't benefit me.'
As I was mulling over the 'Survival Skills Lv.1 Set,'
the system kept popping more trial completion alerts.
You have completed the 4th Floor Trial's perfect resolution condition: 'Capture the Culprit'.
As perfect resolution reward for the 4th Floor Trial, you are granted the 'Netherworld Binding Rope'.
Netherworld Binding Rope: An item that binds criminals, making it nearly impossible for them to escape.
A red rope with a golden sheen appeared in my hand.
When I unfurled it, it strangely kept extending as much as I wanted.
It felt like it could go on forever if I willed it.
Checking the shop, it was a 100,000-point item. Pretty pricey.
'Hmm..., no immediate use, but it'll come in handy someday.'
I tossed the Netherworld Binding Rope into a corner of my Subspace Storage.
You have completed the 4th Floor's First Hidden Trial: 'Identify the culprit before rescuers arrive or before escaping the villa'.
As completion reward for the 4th Floor's First Hidden Trial, you are granted 'Sixth Sense Lv.1'.
Sixth Sense Lv.1: A sixth sense similar to Foresight; greatly enhances crisis intuition. Not sold in the shop.
Got a new skill, so I opened the shop to check its value right away.
'Oh. 1 million points. Upgrade to Lv.2 costs 2 million, so base is 1 million.'
Sixth Sense Lv.1 was a super expensive 1-million-point skill, like Weapon Mastery Lv.1.
I was in a good mood.
You have completed the 4th Floor's Second Hidden Trial: 'Subdue or eliminate the culprit before they kill 3 or more people'.
As completion reward for the 4th Floor's Second Hidden Trial, you are granted 'Deduction Spoiler Lv.1'.
Deduction Spoiler Lv.1: Occasionally, at low probability, 'This guy's the culprit' appears over the culprit's head. Not sold in the shop.
Deduction Spoiler Lv.1 was a 100,000-point skill.
This skill wasn't passive or active...
It was some weird uncategorized type, similar to Subspace Storage.
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