Chapter 4: Awakening (3)

The woman fell into the Han River and died, and I suddenly leveled up.

I reached level 5, but there was no time to figure out why.

Thump Thump Thump Thump

The orc charged recklessly towards me.

Its massive build and menacing appearance made it threatening.

‘A way to escape…’

I had made two plans when escaping this way.

One was to jump into the Han River.

The other was to hide and endure until the monsters disappeared.

Unfortunately, both plans failed.

Tap

I jumped back down from the subway car I had painstakingly climbed.

It seemed too difficult to hold out up there.

Instead, I considered luring the orc into the Han River.

Standing near the edge of the broken bridge, I prepared to leap.

Thump thump thump Thump Thump

‘Ah…’

The orc slowly reduced its speed.

I thought it would charge headlong like a wild boar, but unlike its appearance, it seemed intelligent.

“Grrrrrr.”

The orc made a strange breathing sound.

As if mocking my shallow strategy.

Then it swung its arm wide, trying to grab me.

I lowered my stance and used the steps ingrained in my body.

Whoosh

The thick arm passed over my head.

Getting behind the orc, I thrust the metal rod with all my might.

Scrape

It missed.

Because the orc turned quickly, I only managed to scratch its forearm.

‘Its reflexes and agility are manageable.’

The orc reached for me again.

Its hand was so large it instantly obscured my entire vision.

I quickly retreated backward.

“Hoo.”

In the brief opening, I pictured fighting the orc in my mind.

Taking in all the surrounding information without missing anything.

I adjusted its movements and mine by combining the information gathered from observing the orc from afar and facing it up close.

“Kuaaaargh!”

Was it angered because I wasn’t easily caught?

The orc let out a roar.

Then it charged straight ahead.

With its arms spread wide, it looked like it was going for a takedown.

Tadat Tat

I threw myself sideways, stepped on a passenger car, and jumped away.

Crash

The orc changed direction, crashed straight into the car, and fell.

‘Ah…’

I quickly tried to stab the orc’s nape, but it recovered its posture faster than expected.

‘Tricky.’

That thing is a real monster.

In a different sense than the goblins.

If the orc were human, it would have died by my hand long ago.

There was a chance just now too.

But because of its absurd physique, I missed all the opportunities.

A short, thick neck and unrealistically bulky shoulders.

Wrists as thick as two fists.

And despite that, its movements were even elastic.

‘The joints seem similar, though.’

It doesn’t possess technical movements.

However, no matter how I imagined it, there was no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.

‘If I get caught, I have to assume it’s certain death…’

Thinking its agility or reflexes were manageable was only in comparison to its strength.

Because the orc’s strength surpassed human limits.

Excluding muscular strength, its other elements were like those of an elite athlete.

‘If I drag it into a long fight…’

Could I win a battle of stamina?

Unfortunately, I’m more exhausted than the orc.

“Kuaaaargh!”

The orc roared again and charged.

I slipped away like an eel, repeatedly imagining.

---

I’ve been called a genius twice in my life.

The first time was at the hospital.

The doctor in charge of me said my spatial awareness and visualization abilities were at a genius level.

The second time was at the MMA gym.

Training there was incredibly fun, and it suited my aptitude.

The director thought I would definitely debut as a pro.

Swish Stab

Looking at the orc reminds me of heavyweight fighters.

But it has no technique.

No tactical battles, no feints.

Thanks to that, I was able to stab the orc’s body with the metal rod a few times.

“Kraaak!”

The orc, its calf slashed, grew angry.

The disappointing part is that I’ve never used a weapon like this before.

Not a single clean hit landed.

But I can’t fight it bare-handed either.

‘The screams have stopped…’

The voices of the people coming from over there have ceased.

Did the goblin horde finally kill everyone?

Thump Thump Thump Thump

Seeing the orc charge at me again, I decided to make a decisive move.

It was time to unleash the build-up I had steadily prepared.

Retreating, I stopped at a spot I had marked in my mind.

Taat

The orc, thinking it had cornered me, spread its arms wide.

As I lowered my stance, it lowered its stance too.

I had already slipped past its armpits several times.

Getting behind it like that, then stabbing with the metal rod.

It has intelligence.

The orc, having learned my movements, rolled its eyes around.

Shiiiik

I suddenly thrust the metal rod towards its face.

It was the first time I attempted a frontal attack.

“Krrk.”

The startled orc instinctively moved its hand.

Trying to grab the metal rod.

That act obscured its own vision.

Screeeech

I let go of the rod and slid between its legs.

My skin scraped against the glass fragments scattered on the ground.

Tap

Sliding, I grabbed one of its legs with all my might.

Pivoting on my hip, I rotated my body and pushed down on the back of its knee.

Its leg strength was so immense I almost lost my grip.

Thudoom

The orc tumbled forward.

Its center of gravity, already leaning forward, completely collapsed due to my tackle.

Squelch―

Success.

Rebar, thicker than a finger, tore through the nape of its neck and protruded.

It was rebar sticking out from the collapsed bridge.

I had repeatedly imagined while fighting the orc, and endured for this one tackle.

Drip

The orc stopped moving.

Its green blood dripped onto the ground.

That sound was particularly clear.

---

[Level Up.]

The longed-for voice was heard.

‘Ah.’

I feel an unparalleled sense of liberation.

Freedom, joy, satisfaction.

Such emotions swirled together and burst forth at once.

‘First time.’

It’s the first time.

That I fully materialized my imagination into reality without caring about anyone’s judgment.

When I trained at the gym, I received a lot of help from my visualization ability.

The director described it as innate talent.

But the reality was different.

I modified my imagination according to the rules and social conventions.

I couldn’t fully unleash what I wanted.

It was inefficient.

‘It’s fun.’

Now it’s different.

My muscles ache, and my skin is scraped, but.

I imagined freely and moved as I desired.

As a result, I seized victory.

‘And I even got stronger…’

I leveled up again, reaching level 6.

It took killing more than five goblins to level up, but killing just one orc resulted in a level up.

The correlation between a monster’s strength and leveling up.

The changes that occur as the level increases, etc.

There are many things to think about, and I want to fully savor this sense of liberation, but.

There’s no time for that yet.

‘Hiding is out of the question.’

Because the goblin horde is approaching this way.

An orc is also visible further back.

It seems everyone else is dead.

‘Where should I go…’

My body is a wreck.

There are no major injuries, but it feels like my whole body is screaming.

My blood-soaked clothes feel heavy.

“Hooo…”

Taking a long breath, I tried to calm my ragged breathing.

I racked my brain fiercely, searching for a way to survive this desperate situation.

‘That’s…’

An emergency ladder leading down to the underside of the bridge is visible.

If I go that way, I might be able to hold out.

It would have been better if I’d found it earlier; it wasn’t visible when coming from that direction.

‘Maybe those monsters will give up.’

Steeling my resolve, I ran.

The emergency ladder is between the monster horde and me.

“Kiririk.”

As I ran, the goblin horde ran too.

Shoving those goblins aside forcefully, the orc surged forward.

“Kuaaaargh!”

The orc arrived in front of the emergency ladder before me.

Without slowing down, it kept running and reached out for me.

Taat

I had no choice but to change course.

I fled between abandoned vehicles to avoid being surrounded.

The goblins arriving subsequently blocked the way.

Whoosh Thwack

I struck the hindering goblin with the metal rod held short.

Stabbing attacks take time to recover from.

‘Does it know?’

It feels like they know my destination.

They gathered more densely towards the emergency ladder.

Feeling like I was wandering through a maze, I kept moving between the vehicles.

If I get surrounded, it’s over.

“Krak!”

Just then, the orc jumped onto the roof of a vehicle.

It lunged at me as if falling, swinging its fist.

Whoosh Crash!

I barely dodged by rolling on the ground.

Then, a goblin suddenly jumped on top of me.

“Kup.”

It bit my shoulder.

I wanted to grab it and pull it off, but these things have no hair.

Reaching back with one hand, I squeezed what felt like the goblin’s eyeball hard.

Squish

“Kieeeeeeek!”

An unpleasant sensation filled my fingers, and the goblin’s scream pierced my eardrums.

“Fck.”

Barely pulling it off and getting up, another goblin leaped again.

I barely blocked it by raising my arm.

But I had to let it bite my forearm instead.

Whooooosh Thwack

Before I knew it, I had stopped moving.

I struggled amidst the goblins rushing from front and back.

Goblin bite marks and claw marks increased one by one on my body.

“Kuaaaargh!”

While barely protecting my vital spots, including the nape.

CRUNCH!

The orc’s shout was heard, and a strong impact hit my side.

“Kiiiik.”

That powerful monster slammed its body against the car I was using as a barrier.

I was sandwiched between the cars along with a goblin.

“Krak.”

Soon, the orc appeared before me.

Thwack Thwack Thwack Thwack

Elbowing the head of the goblin trapped with me repeatedly, I met the orc’s gaze.

It had a somehow triumphant expression.

“Kkeung.”

I strained, trying to pull myself out from between the cars.

But strength wouldn’t properly enter my body.

“Grrrrrrrk.”

“Laughing?”

The orc bared its yellow teeth.

It was indeed laughing.

It slammed its fist onto the car’s hood repeatedly, enjoying itself.

Whoooooosh

Death was right before my eyes.

Just as I resolved to kill that orc somehow, a wind blew from somewhere.

And for some unknown reason, I looked up.

‘Crazy…’

A gigantic creature was flying across the sky.

It was a winged dragon.

The word ‘dragon’ naturally came to mind.

The dragon soared higher and higher.

Piiiiiiiiing――――――――

Soon, a deafening sound filled my ears, and the world stopped.

---

The dragon continued to ascend into the sky until it vanished from sight.

And I barely managed to pull myself out from between the cars.

While I struggled, the monsters remained still.

I don’t understand.

Of course, I’ve been experiencing incomprehensible things continuously, but the sight before my eyes now is just that bizarre.

‘Is it because of that sound?’

As if time had stopped, all the monsters around me ceased moving.

If not for the flowing river and the distant explosions, I might have truly mistaken it for time having stopped.

Anyway, I safely freed myself and retrieved the metal rod.

Carefully, I approached the orc.

Swish Stab

The orc remained still until its neck was pierced.

I dispatched it with anticlimactic ease and recovered the rod.

My level rose again.

‘Wait a minute…’

I was about to flee hastily, but I saw the horde of goblins, still motionless.

My body needs immediate treatment.

Rest too.

But greed arises.

The motionless goblins all look like experience points.

‘It’s an opportunity.’

An opportunity like this seems rare.

Readjusting my grip on the metal rod, I stabbed the neck of the nearest goblin.

Stab

The goblin next to it too.

And the goblin a little further away too.

My level rises.

Dripping blood, I cleaned up the bridge.

I felt like collapsing at any moment, but I obsessed over the gain right before my eyes.

‘Level 9…’

Killing all the goblins like that, I reached level 9.

As the level increased, the number of goblins needed to kill also increased.

‘If I kill just a few more, I think I could hit level 10.’

Unfortunately, there are no goblins left.

As soon as I thought the experience point event was over, fatigue suddenly washed over me.

“Ugh.”

I feel dizzy.

Stumbling, I barely regain my balance.

“Kkeuk… Kkeuk.”

But suddenly, a pained groan was heard.

Shaking my head, I forced myself to focus and listened intently.

“Kkeup…”

It’s a human voice.

I follow the sound.

After a few steps, I found someone lying face down in a pool of blood.

‘That person is…’

The man in the hat.

The one who stepped up first and led people when everyone was confused.

The man who overcame the crisis through awakening.

Step Step

I approached his side.

The man is still breathing.

His arms and legs are mangled.

He looks like he could die at any moment.

Looking down at the man like that, I made a certain decision.