Cinderella

Immediately after entering the house, I check the state of the hallway.

Seeing the sneakers thrown off haphazardly rolling around messily, it seemed Harang was already holed up inside the capsule.

I immediately open the shoe cabinet and put my sneakers and his inside together.

‘The shoes are gone.’

In one corner of my vision, the shining shoes that should have been in the shoe cabinet had disappeared.

In my faded memories, they were the shoes Mom used to enjoy wearing.

Since the shoes are gone, that means she went out.

I immediately take out my smartphone.

Hayeon wasn’t like a typical middle schooler. The smartphone’s screen was clean, without even a lock function.

If you swiped, it would open immediately, so I could check the message history we had exchanged as is.

With white fingers, I swipe the screen to check the messages from Mom.

Along with the message that she would be especially late today, it said that she had left a card in the living room and that I should order dinner.

If Mom isn’t home, there’s only one thing to do. I immediately start preparing to log into the game.

I take off my school uniform, neatly organize it, and change into comfortable clothes.

Since I’m going straight into the capsule, I don’t forget to go to the bathroom.

Not being able to pee standing up was a little inconvenient, but it wasn’t too bothersome.

***

The moment I log into the game, my vision expands. Based on the last login record, it starts loading the map.

A very short, fleeting moment passes, and the appearance of the forest is revealed beyond my vision.

A place where bandit-type monsters respawn. The midpoint of the Verdant Forest.

After logging in, if you don’t move beyond a certain radius, you are given invincibility time.

Monsters aren’t even aware of you. But right now, that function wasn’t needed. I move immediately.

The moment I take a step, the invincibility time breaks, and the gazes of the bandits scattered in all directions turn to me.

The number is three. A reconnaissance party consisting of two swordsmen and one archer.

The priority of the target is determined. The picture drawn in my head pursues the best combat efficiency.

One step forward, as if reacting to the lowered upper body, a skill is activated.

[Dash]

The moment the mana surrounding my body forms a blue barrier, my body shoots out like a ray of light.

The long, trailing blue tail bends in a bizarre direction, passing by the two bandit swordsmen blocking the way.

At the end of the dash’s impact point, the launched attack hits directly, and a stun mark appears above the archer’s head.

It’s a pleasant feeling of impact. But I don’t stop. I knew that if I missed this opportunity, it would become dangerous.

The shock of colliding with the monster is absorbed by the skill’s delay. Immediately after that, when I swing my sword, a much heavier weight than an iron sword is transmitted to my fingertips. It’s a stance using both hands. That means even more power has been put into it than before.

Skeok!

From the lower left to the upper right, the moment the sword strike flies, the bandit’s head flies off.

A critical strike explodes, and [Winning Streak] is immediately activated.

The buff, which lasts until the end of the battle, further accelerates my body.

A mere 1% speed increase, but the gap is misaligned. I will need time to adapt to the changed speed.

After blowing off the archer’s head, I immediately turned my body, but there wasn’t enough time to dodge the two sword strikes flying towards me.

I have to block them. The [Counterattack] skill is activated. System correction wasn’t needed.

Trusting my senses, I raise the blade to receive them. Geugeugeuk-! With an intense effect, two sword strikes hit the blade.

My health drains in an instant. That means the skill wasn’t activated properly. But I don’t care. What I needed was the minimum gap for a counterattack.

The body that endured the attack moves forward. The moment the leg stepping forward kicks off the ground, the long Highlander’s blade quickly brushes past the bandit swordsman’s neck.

The second kill counter goes up.

The [Winning Streak] buff is further enhanced. My head starts to burn white because I forcibly dragged the misaligned gap.

The realm of senses. I rely solely on my senses for every situation. My body draws bizarre curves, avoiding the bandit’s continuous attacks.

I follow the sword strike that grazed past me with my eyes until the end.

Because I dodged the attack, the distance was insufficient. But I follow up. The following action is a preparatory stance for swinging the sword.

The lowered upper body and raised arm, the sword raised as if rotating half a circle, sweeps away the bandit’s arm.

The upper body is completely empty. I didn’t miss that gap. I put strength into the long outstretched sword and push it in as is.

A stab, not a slash. The choice was excellent.

The sharp stab pierces the swordsman’s neck. The critical strike stuns the opponent.

I act without stopping. I grab the hand holding the sword in reverse and swing it as if tearing it sideways.

The moment a pleasant cutting sound bursts, the swordsman’s head flies off.

I handled the bandit group alone. What made the impossible possible was the overwhelming talent this body possesses.

My head throbs because I overdid it. But I don’t stop. It only throbs as if I’ve used muscles I hadn’t used before.

I instinctively realize. The more I use this sense, the sharper I will become.

I turn my gaze to check the time. There’s still plenty of time left before dinner.

That meant I could continue hunting even more in the future.

I move immediately before the [Winning Streak] buff disappears.

Since it was a buff that disappeared after the battle ended, that flow had to continue uninterrupted.

The more battles continue, the more the buff accumulates. As that speed increases, hunting also accelerates.

Every time I swing my sword, the bandit’s head flies off. Even if the attack is blocked, it’s fine. I just take advantage of my overwhelming mobility to look for another opportunity.

As expected of a place originally planned as a party hunting ground, experience points rise quickly. Level-up messages popped up quickly.

Was it because the hunting speed had increased? The monsters’ respawn rate couldn’t keep up.

Naturally, the hunting radius widened, and I encountered other users.

A hunting method consisting of a party, high stability, but slow speed.

It’s annoying. They didn’t invade my hunting spot, but if I went back to it according to the respawn rate, the respawn cycle would be messed up by their hunting speed.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t cover the entire hunting ground alone.

But it’s not like there’s no way. If it’s not about taking down one group at a time, but rather mob hunting, the story changes.

It’s an impossible story for an ordinary user, especially a character without AoE skills.

But if it’s me now, it would be possible. No, it was possible. I could say that with certainty.

A sprint utilizing overwhelming mobility begins. The mobility using the [Winning Streak] buff and the light leather armor buff far surpassed the speed of the monsters.

I gather the respawning monsters in one place. The number of mobs I can handle alone is 5.

Since the number of monsters respawning per mob was 3, I had to deal with a total of 15 monsters alone.

Even a tank-type job with a shield would have a hard time enduring that number for long without a healer.

Because I moved endlessly, the monsters following me lined up in a row.

Those left at the very back were archers capable of ranged attacks. Those close to me were swordsmen.

As if peeling an apple, I take advantage of my mobility to draw a circle and spin around. I swing my sword to block the swordsmen’s attacks, and every time the [Dash] cooldown comes around, I jump into the archer formation and blow off the heads of 2-3 of them.

As a result of repeating that action, I was able to blow off the head of the last bandit.

Chwaak!

A total of 15 corpses disappear in an instant. My head throbbed because I showed off overwhelming skill.

Since the headache wouldn’t stop, it seemed I should take a short break.

I turn my head to check the time.

9:55 PM.

The moment I checked the time, I blankly opened my mouth.

When did the time flow like this? The character who was level 10 had grown even more and was now level 15.

Confirming that growth, I could nod my head.

I was so immersed that I didn’t even realize the passage of time.

9:56 PM. Time continued to flow.

The flow was interrupted. The [Winning Streak] buff also disappears.

I was thinking of slowly returning.

“Hey, you.”

The voice, lowered deeply, was awkward.

I turned my head to check the owner of the voice, and a group of party members was approaching me.

The number was three. A tank, a swordsman, and a healer. A typical party composition.

“Me?”

I asked back, slinging my sword over my shoulder.

Then, the man with the shield at the very front nodded his head and opened his mouth.

“You, are you intentionally interfering with our hunting?”

“Intentionally? Me?”

“I saw you taking monsters from our spot.”

I frowned at his words. It seemed that the slow, cumbersome party was those guys.

But his words were wrong. A spot? With that hunting speed, are they saying they can handle that range?

It was absurd.

“Ha.”

“Are you laughing?”

The atmosphere becomes fierce.

9:57 PM.

3 minutes until the shutdown.

Is it the influence of the rejuvenated body? Uncharacteristically, anger boils up.

Why? Just because. Because it was frustrating. Watching their slow pace made me feel like I was going to explode.

That emotion is now bursting out.

And those guys were arguing with me.

“A spot, you say?”

“Yes. It’s our spot.”

The atmosphere becomes even fiercer.

The man in the front raises his shield, and the swordsman next to him draws his sword.

The priest was also frowning, preparing for battle.

Ah.

9:58 PM.

I manipulate the interface to create a party.

But the only party member is me.

But it was a necessary procedure to deal with those annoying bastards completely.

“You talk too much.”

As if entrusting my body to my senses, I let myself be swayed by my emotions.

I manipulate the interface to apply for a duel with the opponent.

Party versus party, the penalty is a 2-hour ban from accessing the game.

I don’t care if I lose. I’m going to be banned from accessing the game in 2 minutes anyway.

“What… you’re alone?”

“2 minutes.”

“2 minutes?”

“I’ll finish it in 2 minutes.”

The opponent laughed as if he was dumbfounded by my words.

And he accepted my proposal.

Then, a translucent flag fell from the sky.

9:59 PM.

“1 minute.”

The time to deal with those bastards.

The moment the duel starts, I run out immediately. Taking advantage of my overwhelming mobility, I rotate around the tank, looking for an opening.

Is it because they have little experience in PVP? The priest’s movements were slow. He didn’t try to hide behind the tank.

Full of openings. Is it really an opening? Is there a possibility of a trap?

Trust your senses. My mind quickly organizes itself, and my body starts to move.

The moment I lower my upper body as if shooting forward, the [Dash] skill is activated.

My faster body than before passed through the opponent’s gaze and struck the priest’s body.

Kwang! The priest’s body twists from the powerful impact that started from his shoulder. Since he was wearing low-defense cloth armor, he must have taken considerable damage.

It’s no different from dealing with bandits. Only the target has changed.

The same humanoid, the vitals were the same, so the trajectory of my sword was also the same.

Seogeok!

With one attack, the priest’s head flies off.

Immediately after that, I immediately move on to the next action.

It was the swordsman standing next to him who reacted to my attack.

He showed a more agile reaction than the tank holding the huge shield.

As if recovering the swung sword, I slightly rotate it and raise the sword.

Kagagak! The shock of receiving the sword comes in as is. But I don’t stop.

Because the next skill was activated immediately.

[Counterattack]

Activated at the perfect timing.

The body, receiving the system’s correction, delivered a faster and more powerful attack than before.

Chwaak!

The flashy [Counterattack] effect that scattered brilliantly blows off the opponent’s head.

But I didn’t stop. The given time was constantly decreasing, and there was an enemy remaining.

I don’t stop the speed of the swinging sword. As if rotating my body, I take advantage of that power to strike the remaining tank’s shoulder.

Taeng!

The attack is blocked by the huge shield.

Did he activate a job skill? Considerable counter damage comes in.

But I didn’t stop.

The sword that bounced off headed towards the sky, so the place where its end would point was the opponent’s head.

The sword raised as if a cow was raising its horns pointed downwards.

The attack that flew through the gap in the helmet pierced the opponent’s eye.

Kwajik!

There was no scream.

The opponent was just flustered.

But the character’s health decreased in an instant. It was judged that he had received damage to the extent of instant death in the game system.

The duel is over.

The winner is, of course, me.

It was the opposing party that received the access ban penalty.

I swung my sword while looking at the opponent who had fallen as a corpse.

At that moment, a message appeared in front of my eyes.

[Shutdown Notice]

You can no longer play the game.

The connection to the server will be terminated.

I made it in time.

‘What is this, it’s not like I’m Cinderella or something…’

As I came out of the capsule, a long sigh flowed out.