Chapter 5: Their Own Judgment (1)

The goblins had gathered the people in one place.

Red blood flowed on the ground, and a foul stench pierced my nose.

‘I thought they were all dead.’

Surprisingly, besides the man in the hat, two others were still alive.

All of them looked like they could die at any moment.

It occurred to me that the goblins might have intentionally left them alive.

The people here were likely eaten alive piece by piece before dying or losing consciousness.

“Kkeuk.”

The man in the hat intermittently choked and spat blood.

Yet he still breathed.

Was it the effect of awakening?

His life force was incredible.

Looking at the man, I gripped the metal rod firmly.

‘Because it said everyone is an enemy.’

When I threw the woman into the Han River earlier, I leveled up unexpectedly.

My rough guess was that the level up was related to my fundamental skill.

【Exclusive Survivalist】

Now, everyone is an enemy.

You can gain the experience points needed to level up from all enemies.

To understand this message, I made a few assumptions.

First, I presumed all awakened individuals could level up.

And to level up, experience points are needed.

Experience is gained by killing monsters that didn’t exist on Earth before.

Just like in a game.

‘And I can gain experience even from non-monsters.’

That’s how I understood it.

If everyone could gain experience by killing any living being, there would be no reason for a skill like this to exist.

I can figure out the finer details later.

‘What I can confirm right now is…’

I raised the tightly gripped metal rod.

Shiiiik

I strike without hesitation.

Crack

I broke the hatted man’s neck in one go.

I immediately felt my level rise.

[Awakening a General Skill.]

I reached level 10, and my mother’s voice returned.

I knew now that this voice wasn’t actually my mother’s, but I accepted it as such anyway.

【Target Perception】

Detects the presence and emotions of targets within a certain range.

This confirmed it.

I could gain experience through murder as well.

---

Upon reaching level 10, I felt a distinct change.

Vitality returned to my exhausted body, making me feel much more comfortable.

‘Does it feel like my stamina, which was gradually improving, suddenly got much better?’

It felt like my total stamina had increased.

My strength also grew noticeably stronger.

My physical abilities themselves had significantly grown.

Thud Whack

I finished off the remaining two people who were barely breathing.

My level rose again.

However, I didn’t feel a dramatic change like when I reached level 10.

‘But… level up from killing two people?’

It seems there might be a hidden advantage to my fundamental skill.

‘Is killing humans more efficient than killing monsters?’

My fundamental skill says everyone is an enemy.

So I expected I could gain experience from animals, insects, and even plants.

That feeling probably isn’t wrong, but it seems killing humans yields the most experience points.

‘Because it said it remembers my life and soul…’

If I understand that an individual’s life and values influence their fundamental skill, the difference in experience efficiency makes sense.

Throughout my life, people caused me the most stress.

I avoided people and only interacted with a few individuals who gave me a sense of stability.

It was a choice made to blend into this society.

Could this perception of mine have influenced Exclusive Survivalist?

Simply put, I can gain more experience through more varied methods than others.

Especially through murder.

‘That aside…’

Organizing my thoughts, I began to move.

I laid the corpses side by side.

I tidied up the damaged internal organs and limbs as best I could.

I closed the eyelids of some corpses and gently shut their mouths so their lips met naturally.

‘Just this much.’

After doing so, I observed a brief moment of silence.

This was learned etiquette.

Even though I ended some of their lives, even though I gained experience from it.

They weren’t truly my enemies.

“Thank you.”

I survived using the people lying here as sacrifices.

Tidying up the corpses is my way of repaying that debt.

Step Step

Now it’s time to leave the bridge.

I need to find out the situation elsewhere.

As I walked towards the Gangnam area.

I felt something strange.

‘There’s something here.’

It seems to be the effect of the newly acquired skill.

Something like smoke shimmered near the bridge railing.

‘Fear…?’

It wasn’t something visible.

I just felt it.

An aura the size of a basketball shimmered, and several emotions were conveyed from it.

Chuck

Staring intently at where the aura was felt, I aimed the metal rod.

It looked like I was aiming at empty air, but someone was definitely there.

Grip

Despite aiming the rod, the aura didn’t move from its spot.

While debating whether to flee or stab the empty air.

“Surrender! I surrender. Don’t attack.”

A voice was heard.

Exactly from the direction I was looking.

“Um… Hello?”

Then, a man appeared.

He materialized from thin air like magic.

“Uh… I’m Jang Hoseop. 25 years old, and uh… a college student. Currently on leave…”

I wasn’t the only survivor on the bridge.

I silently observed the man named Jang Hoseop.

He had pale skin and a thin build.

‘Height in the early 170s, right-handed, weapon…’

Jang Hoseop held a very small hammer.

It looked like an emergency hammer, stained with green blood.

“But how did you know? I was invisible… This is a total counter.”

Habitually, I imagined fighting him.

Without much information about the opponent, a clear picture didn’t form.

Still, my reach was clearly longer than his.

“Uh… Are you okay? You look badly hurt.”

Jang Hoseop seemed quite talkative.

He kept talking by himself even though I didn’t respond.

“Anyway, you’re really amazing. How you dealt with those brutal monsters…”

An overturned bus lay nearby.

A goblin corpse was on top of it.

He likely watched me fight from atop the bus.

“Wow… But when the dragon passed by earlier, I really thought we were all dead. I couldn’t move until just now…”

Jang Hoseop had also witnessed the murders.

That’s why the feeling of fear emanated from him.

Should I eliminate the witness?

‘An ability to turn invisible like magic… would attacks even work?’

I’m not a pleasure killer.

Nor do I intend to kill people indiscriminately just for experience points.

Because I know that’s the path to ruin.

“Uh… I’m sorry. For not being able to help.”

Yet, the reason I killed those people was because several circumstances aligned.

An unreal situation occurred, and I fought risking my life.

Imagining the worst-case scenario, I felt I needed to level up to survive.

In that moment, the bridge was the entirety of my world.

All the CCTV cameras on that bridge were broken, and the fallen people were fated to die soon even if it wasn’t by my hand.

“Handling the bodies all by yourself… You really went through a lot.”

If necessary, I could kill Jang Hoseop anytime.

Whether it’s possible or not is a separate issue.

The reason I hesitate, however, is because it’s strange.

The strongest emotion felt from him is fear, but the next strongest emotion is incomprehensible.

‘What is this feeling… Awe?’

I don’t think the skill is wrong.

I can sense it from the man’s expression too.

Unless he’s an incredibly skilled actor.

Unless he’s acting in a way that deceives even himself.

“I wouldn’t have even dared. But Hyungnim fought fiercely… and ultimately won. Plus, taking care of the deceased…”

Jang Hoseop sees me not as a trash murderer, but with a look of respect.

“So please let me live. I know. You must be wary of me.”

I am still aiming the metal rod at Jang Hoseop.

Filled with unresolved questions.

Could the emotions conveyed by the skill be faked?

Could the road outside the bridge see this spot, and so on?

These questions of mine turned into hesitation, and that hesitation was conveyed to Jang Hoseop.

“If you just let me live, I can be helpful!”

Jang Hoseop takes a step towards me.

Then he throws the hammer in his hand aside.

“Could you at least hear me out first?”

I nodded.

---

Jang Hoseop poured out his story rapidly, as if he had practiced.

His assessment of the current situation.

Why I didn’t need to be hostile towards him.

And even about his own fundamental skill.

After hearing everything, I decided to accompany him temporarily.

“But what should I call you? Ah, you are older, right, Hyungnim?”

He seems relaxed now.

Jang Hoseop asks with an awkward smile.

“Sa Ihyeon. 27 years old.”

“Ah~ So I’m younger! Please speak comfortably! By the way, I’ve never met someone with the Sa surname before.”

We’ll leave the bridge.

Before that, we decided to climb onto the overturned bus.

He said we could see the road situation outside the bridge from up there.

Tat

I jumped and landed on the bus in one go.

I jumped thinking I could make it, but it was easier than expected.

Jang Hoseop stares at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Wow, what kind of jumping power…”

Ignoring Jang Hoseop reaching up from below, I set my gaze far away.

As he said, not a single car was moving.

“Ugh. Haa… See, I was right? It’s total hell. You know? Chaos, destruction, ruin… Ah, maybe you don’t know.”

Jang Hoseop struggled to climb up and looked in the same direction as me.

The road was cracked and overturned, and streetlights were uprooted and fallen.

Many buildings had completely collapsed, making it faster to count the intact ones.

Amidst that, a few goblins were tearing at corpses here and there.

“Communication failure, massive earthquake, the penalty the system mentioned. This is the apocalypse.”

Jang Hoseop had said something when trying to persuade me.

That despite all this chaos, not a single helicopter flew by.

Not even a siren sound could be heard, let alone helicopters.

Jang Hoseop’s opinion is that the nation’s administrative power is paralyzed.

He also said the trials humanity must face likely aren’t just monsters and earthquakes.

“It’s probably not just this area. Maybe the whole world is like this?”

“How do you know that?”

“Because the system specifically said ‘Earth’.”

Jang Hoseop calls the voice I heard as my mother’s, the System.

He spoke of the worst-case scenario I imagined as if it were obvious.

Therefore, he also said there would be nowhere to report my killings.

Furthermore, he praised me, saying I had eased the suffering of those without hope.

“So I plan to stick close to someone strong and decisive like Hyungnim.”

Now, the strongest emotion felt from Jang Hoseop is awe.

The fear has lessened, replaced by a favorable feeling.

“If Hyungnim is, like… the protagonist, then I’m the right-hand man?”

Jang Hoseop speaks with conviction in his eyes.

It’s absurd.

“Ah, if you allow it, of course. If not the right hand, maybe the left hand?”

I find Jang Hoseop strange.

This type of human is a first for me.

One fortunate thing is that Jang Hoseop’s voice isn’t grating.

His light attitude seems to be lessening my guard as well.

“Do you know what that is?”

Ignoring the nonsensical talk, I pointed to something that had been catching my eye.

It was something like a hologram, with a different art style from its surroundings.

It was green and oval-shaped, about human size.

“That looks like a Gate. Hyungnim, but really, please speak comfortably. I’m asking.”

The Gate is located near the entrance of the bridge.

To leave the bridge, we have no choice but to pass it.

“By the way, Hyungnim, what did you do before? A fighter? Or um… special forces?”

Finished scouting the surroundings, I came down from the bus.

It seems we need to make some preparations before leaving.

“We’re going to the pharmacy first, right?”

“Yes.”

There’s an intact commercial building nearby.

A pharmacy is on the first floor of that building.

“Hoo… Yes. We should go. Hoooah.”

Jang Hoseop takes a deep breath, seemingly nervous.

The pharmacy isn’t far.

However, that short distance definitely didn’t look easy.

---

We searched all the vehicles on the bridge.

Found a backpack, and packed some items like mineral water, a blanket, and a multitool.

One of the dead car owners must have played tennis.

Thanks to that, I changed out of the suit into a tracksuit.

Grip

I wrapped the tennis racket grip tape around the metal rod I used as a weapon.

Swinging it a few times, it definitely feels more comfortable.

“Hyungnim. This one won’t start either.”

Jang Hoseop gets out of a car, shaking his head.

Externally, the car looked undamaged.

“Not sure yet, but I think they might all be like this? Feels like the accidents weren’t just because of the earthquake?”

Jang Hoseop comes next to me and puts on a small backpack.

His weapon is still the same emergency hammer I saw initially.

“Yes. We’ll check more later. But shouldn’t you use a different weapon?”

There are weapons used by the dead people.

Things like broken steel pipes, baseball bats, golf clubs.

The commonality is their long reach.

The emergency hammer Jang Hoseop holds is too small.

“Well… If I hold a big weapon like that, I can’t use invisibility.”

“I see.”

Jang Hoseop’s fundamental skill is ‘Veiled Manager’.

He told me himself.

If my skill is related to ‘Growth’, his skill is related to ‘Information’.

“Invisibility is like a side effect, so it has many restrictions.”

“Still, it’s a good ability.”

He said he can’t move quickly while using invisibility.

There’s also a limit to its duration.

Still, it’s definitely a strange and good ability.

“Yeah. Just being grateful that clothes turn invisible too is enough.”

Suddenly, I wonder what kind of life Jang Hoseop has lived.

And what he usually thinks about.

Because fundamental skills are influenced by the person.

‘He just looks like an ordinary college student.’

Jang Hoseop smiles awkwardly as I stare at him.

“Um, can I ask one thing?”

“Yes.”

“I really wish Hyungnim would speak comfortably to me. But if I keep bringing this up, it’ll be uncomfortable for you, right?”

I don’t know what kind of life Jang Hoseop has lived, but I know this.

Like his skill, his personality itself is different from mine.

“Yes.”

“Understood. I’ll be mindful in the future.”

After finishing preparations, we exited towards the southern end of the bridge.

Hiding behind an overturned SUV, we scanned the road.

In front of us is the Gate.

[Inactive]

When we got closer to the Gate, this message was conveyed.

A message that seemed etched onto my retina.

At first, I thought I was having an illusion.

Like the patients admitted to psychiatric wards.

But since Jang Hoseop said he saw the same message, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“Hyungnim. What should we do? There are more than expected.”

The number of goblins spread out on the road is large.

More than when viewed from the bridge.

That’s because there were ones hidden by obstacles.

Fortunately, there are no orcs, which is a relief.

‘The path is like a maze.’

Various structures that were beneath the asphalt road are protruding.

Overturned vehicles and building debris are also factors complicating the path.

Remembering the view from the bus, I create a 3D map in my head.

“There’s no route to sneak past. We’ll have to fight.”

Goblins shriek in annoying voices when fighting.

I don’t know if it’s for intimidation or just habit, but anyway, it’s noisy.

So, it seems we’ll eventually have to deal with all the goblins in the vicinity.

“Gulp… Yes. Understood.”

“Mr. Jang Hoseop can hide.”

Having Jang Hoseop fight alongside me is more dangerous.

If we move together, Jang Hoseop is highly likely to become bait.

“What? I can help too… Ah… Understood.”

Whatever he thought, Jang Hoseop stopped mid-sentence and replied that he understood.

“Then.”

Leaving Jang Hoseop behind the SUV, I began to move alone.

Lowering my stance, I approached the nearest goblin.

Tat

Absurdly, the goblin was lying down with its hands clasped behind its head.

Even its eyes were closed.

Thwack

I broke its neck instantly.

Next is a goblin rummaging through a man’s corpse.

“Kirik.”

Using blind spots as much as possible, I got behind the goblin.

As I got closer, the goblin lifted its head and sniffed the air.

But it didn’t spot me immediately.

‘Its sense of smell doesn’t seem very good.’

This time too, I dispatched the goblin by breaking its neck in one swift motion.

Unfortunately, that was the extent of my ability to stealthily assassinate goblins.

“Kieeeeeeeeek!”

A goblin a little further away spotted me and shrieked loudly.

Tadadadak Stab

I immediately rushed over and pierced its chest with the metal rod.

Soon, goblins swarmed from all directions.