Chapter 10 of 10

Chapter 10

9 min read2,325 words

"Minus Karma is overwhelmingly outweighed by Plus Karma."

"Reward: 'Awakening'."

"Error. Already an awakened Awakened One."

"Modifying reward."

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Hello.

I am Shimhaeng.

Thank you for visiting today. 🙂

Awakened One

Sssssss!

The spear flew with a chilling sound, piercing through the head of the muscular Greenskin and through the chest of the one behind it. As soon as this was confirmed,

"First Blood!"

"You have killed an invader for the first time in human history."

"Minus Karma is overwhelmingly outweighed by Plus Karma."

"Reward: 'Awakening'."

"Error. Already an awakened Awakened One."

"Modifying reward."

Messages popped up one after another, but I waved them away and picked up the spear again. I shouted at the priests of Earth, who were still swallowing their saliva.

"What are you doing? Didn't you say you all need to be in the rankings?"

"Everyone, get ready."

As soon as Olivia gave the command and manipulated the button in her hand,

Baaaaaaang!!!

An enormous noise echoed in all directions. Not only in this small village, which had been evacuated in advance, but also in the North Korean village across the border, the noise was so loud it could be heard.

"Kiiiiie!!"

Naturally, this action could not help but attract the attention of the monsters, and it was what we hoped for. Moreover, the priests chosen by the Will of Earth, gathered here, are overwhelmingly female.

To the Greenskins, who go crazy at the sight of human women without females, our group must seem like a goldmine. As expected, their gazes converged, and soon they were seen crossing the river and charging towards us at full speed.

"Don't be nervous. They're just workers, at best soldiers. I'll take care of the officers."

"Yes!"

Green-skinned monsters were swarming from all sides. Relatively small monsters, the size of adult women, were leading the charge, followed by muscular 2.5-meter-tall monsters with bloodshot eyes, drooling as they ran.

It's a terrifying and brutal scene for those who see it for the first time. I'm used to it, so I calmly pull out the spear embedded in the ground, infuse it with mana, and mechanically throw it.

"It's not hard. You've practiced a lot, haven't you?"

"Huh!"

"Huff! Huff!"

At this moment, the priests of the Will of Earth, who are seeing the creatures called Greenskins for the first time, are visibly tense. I understand why. Until now, they manifested weak abilities through their connection with the Will of Earth, but since the message signaling the start of the apocalypse was displayed, their direct connection with the Will of Earth has been severed.

In other words, except for Yuda-yeon, the priests of Earth are now ordinary people seeing the Greenskins for the first time. They are ordinary humans who have lost the protective aura that had been surrounding and protecting them.

In such a state, it's natural to be nervous when seeing Greenskins charging towards them. But it's okay. I prepared various equipment for this.

"Dorothy, prepare to fire."

"Prepare to fire!"

Despite her cute name, Dorothy, who wears a black leather jacket and matching leather pants, is a woman with a violent bust that makes the zipper on her chest unable to close. She is breathing heavily, and the device in her trembling hand is for firing the taser shockwave buried on the outer perimeter.

"Ugh! Don't be nervous. Just get ready."

I threw another spear, piercing the head of the largest and most threatening Greenskin, and gave the order in as calm a tone as possible, but

"Yes! Yes, yes! Yes!"

Dorothy was so nervous that she didn't even realize she had said "yes" four times.

"Answer once. Three seconds. One. Two. Fire."

"Fire!!"

Crack! Pachichichik!!

"First group, aim. The head is big, so it's an easy target. Start firing."

"Start!"

"Start firing!"

From the repeating crossbow, which we had practiced to the point of disassembly and reassembly, bolts were fired one by one into the heads or chests of the Greenskins, who were standing still, foaming at the mouth.

"Take your time. Take your time. Don't rush. There's a laser point, so they can't move. Aim carefully and shoot. You have plenty of time."

I realized for the first time that there were such tactically developed crossbows for killing when I bought the repeating crossbow. It's not just that it's easy to reload; it has a scope, incredible tension, and a laser point.

"Take care of the ones in the back. Start with the ones closest to you. You have plenty of time. If the first row has started awakening, the second row can start shooting."

As soon as the spears around me were used up, I picked up the large repeating crossbow leaning against the ground and didn't stop talking. With each bolt, thicker than an arrow, fired from the repeating crossbow, which is more than twice the size of the others, two or three Greenskins charging in a line were hit in the head and fell.

While slowly dealing with the Greenskins, who were charging towards the women like drug addicts who hadn't had their fix for a while, the people who had fired the repeating crossbows first finished their awakening and started to regain their senses.

Whether it was the aftereffect of the awakening or the change in their physical stats, they started to aim and shoot without trembling, reducing the numbers. By the time the second group, which had started awakening, finished their awakening,

"Dorothy, fire."

"Fire, sir~!"

Thanks to the effect of the awakening, Dorothy, who no longer trembled, fired the taser shockwave with a cheerful voice and quickly exchanged the cartridge on the ground and fired skillfully. This was not just Dorothy; others were also firing skillfully amidst the howls and unpleasant breathing sounds of the monsters, the eerie 'hong-tung' sound of the crossbows, which exceeded the legally allowed tension, cutting through the air, and the smell of fresh blood and the screams of the dying.

'It's been a while. This chaos.'

I didn't miss it, but I got used to it quickly.

"Warrior class, first row. The rest, second row. Form ranks."

"Form ranks!"

"Your mana awakening means you won't be overpowered by these creatures, and even if you're scratched or bitten, your cells won't necrotize. So don't be afraid. Prepare for impact."

"Prepare for impact!!"

We had prepared various weapons and equipment in advance. The reason for forming the PMC was precisely for this.

The priests of the Will of Earth, who had awakened as warriors, quickly equipped themselves with the appropriate gear from the pile inside.

However, all the warrior class awakeners were equipped with shields in their left hands. Transparent, light, but incredibly strong shields that can block bullets and swords.

They also had their main weapons attached to their waists and held high-powered taser guns in their right hands, aimed at the Greenskins charging towards us. Inside the formation, those who had awakened into other classes held repeating crossbows in both hands.

Not the medium or large repeating crossbows they had used before, but small repeating crossbows. The reason for the smaller size is that, as awakeners, they can handle mana, so the size of the crossbow bolts is not important.

"Fire at will based on your judgment."

"Fire~!"

"Yeeh!"

The tension from a moment ago was gone as they aimed at the charging Greenskins with their shields covering half their bodies, fired their taser guns, and quickly pulled out the weapons embedded in the ground to their right, beheading or impaling the trembling Greenskins.

"When changing magazines, say it out loud so your neighbor can cover you."

"Starting with me! Bang! Bang!"

I don't know what class Yuda-yeon awakened into, but after awakening, she became extremely cheerful, holding two taser guns, and had more than ten holsters around her waist and thighs.

She fired two tasers, discarded them, and pulled out two more taser guns from the holsters, firing them in a very skilled manner.

"What class did you awaken into?"

"Huh? No, I awakened as a priest. Why? Brother?"

"…Never mind."

Yeah, let it go. Your assigned Will of Earth was already strange. I noticed it when it pumped syrup five times into a black sugar latte.

While others were focused on killing the Greenskins, Yuda-yeon was subduing the closest Greenskins with her taser guns as if that was the goal.

"Use your unique abilities freely. Take care of it yourself. Now."

"Yes!"

"Yay!!"

They all ran out, having thrown off their gas masks. A faint red light enveloped the weapons of those in the front row, evidence of their Red Rank stats.

'Wait, wasn't I the only one who awakened at Red Rank? Why are they all Red Rank?'

I watched them for a moment, cutting the heads off the Greenskins, and then moved to do my part, heading towards the giant who was still staring at us from the water.

"Thought it was a cheap Orc chieftain? It's a Troll?"

A Greenskin officer. Its name is 'Troll'.

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※ All works posted on Joara are protected under copyright law. ※

Hello.

I am Shimhaeng.

Thank you for reading. 🙂

Troll Hunting Method for Old-Timers?

〈 Flashback 〉

"This time, the newbies are leading the field. One, two, three, and even you, Noodle? With just two squads, thirty people, and four newbies? Oh! This time, many will die. If you think you won't see someone again, hand over your points to me before you go. If you die, they'll just fly into the air. Isn't that a waste? Huh?"

"Does it seem too harsh for me to say this? I look like a thug. Even though the world is falling apart, can't I at least give a word of encouragement? Right?"

"Snap out of it! With that soft thinking, you'll just become food for the Greenskins or a breeding tool. Newbies, remember this! When you encounter a group of Greenskins, don't look at the front, look at the back. If you see a Greenskin that's so big it defies perspective, don't look back, just run."

"Why? Because if it's that big, it's not just a Greenskin officer or chieftain, but a different species altogether, like a Troll or an Ogre."

— Speech by the search team leader of [Landlord]'s shelter.

"I didn't expect a Troll."

Actually, the species name of that creature might not be a Troll. We just named it based on what we're familiar with from our human perspective.

Its bizarre recovery ability, incomprehensible jumping power, and strength that far surpasses humans, along with its brutal nature.

The only difference from the Trolls in novels and games is that it doesn't have fluffy fur and has the same green, strange skin all over.

For humans at this level, killing a Troll is almost impossible. The objective stats show that a Troll likely has the stats of a mid-level Red Rank, around 40-50.

A veteran who has lived a life of combat and slaughter, if they awaken to a White Rank, might have a 10% chance. But in reality, you should run as soon as you see its shadow from a distance.

Yet, I'm approaching it.

Why?

Because I'm strong? Because I have a lot of experience killing Trolls?

I can't say those reasons are entirely absent. Although my Red Rank mana stat is only 1, I can handle that small amount of mana more efficiently and overwhelmingly than any other Awakened One on Earth at this time. At least, as long as there's no one else who has regressed like me.

But that's only part of it. The reason I can confidently step forward to face the Greenskin officer, which survivors have named a Troll, is that it's not just familiar but has been "exploited."

Why do old-timers in old games sometimes do bizarre things and even become famous for it? It's similar to that.

About ten years later, the Greenskin officer, the Troll, became a common sight and was known to be stupid. The creatures that came after were even more incomprehensible.

But the humans who survived until then were those who had become stronger by killing such creatures. They had surpassed the limits of the human species and become different kinds of monsters.

To such Awakened Ones, the Greenskin officers like Trolls and Ogres were a kind of plaything and a means of showing off.

That's how it came to be. The bizarre methods of killing the incredibly strong creatures that would be called Trolls and Ogres with a single-pointed wooden spear.

'At least it's not an Ogre, which would be harder to deal with in this situation.'

An Ogre would be difficult to catch, not impossible, but it would take a lot of time and running. I had prepared a special cartridge for the large crossbow to use against officers. As I got closer to the creature, I could see its muscles twitching.

"Ugh."

Bang!

When it gets within about 5 meters, the creature uses its incredible jumping ability to close the distance instantly. No matter how strong it is, the impact of landing on the hard ground with such a jump must have some effect. In about 0.5 to 1 second, this is the first and most important attack point.

Thud!