episode_0020

Episode 20. I’m going to commit suicide.

The stench of men’s sweat, blood, and excrement from death creates a disgusting smell.

Now, only 4 humans have survived on this battlefield. John, Sarah, and a giant and a modern swordsman.

“How dare you! A mere woman! Ughwoaaaaaa!”

Clang! Kkaaang!

Sarah was dealing with the giant, and John was dealing with the swordsman.

The giant’s booming roar. He didn’t turn his gaze. All his attention is focused on the swordsman in front of him.

‘Sarah will win. First, this guy.’

Prioritization was certain, the basics of combat. No one ever taught him, but John did it instinctively.

“Heup!”

The swordsman extends his glossy longsword. It was ridiculous. A long time has passed since the battle began, but the sword is so clean?

This implies that the swordsman’s offense and defense were terrible. On the contrary, John’s sword was stained with all sorts of filth and bloodstains.

‘Magic Missile.’

An obvious attack. There is no need to use a shield. An oval sphere strikes the swordsman’s blade.

Jjeoooeeong!

“Keueut?!”

It is a magic missile fired at point-blank range. Instantly, the swordsman’s armpits are clearly exposed.

“Uaaaaaa!”

The swordsman tries to maintain his posture by forcibly contracting his gastrocnemius and oblique muscles. John widened his eyes slightly.

‘He has some agility. Is that why he survived?’

Shield.

Teoeong!

The swordsman’s left and right elbows are blocked by an invisible wall. Since only a small amount of magic power was injected, it is difficult to hold it for long.

Puuuwoook!

But from the beginning, what John wanted was a fleeting moment. He puts a hole in the swordsman’s neck, who is floundering like a mudskipper.

“Keck, keheeeeck······.”

His face is flushed with blood, his eyeballs are bloodshot, and his uvula twitches from time to time.

With a clang, the swordsman, who dropped his sword, grabs his neck.

“──!”

I don’t know what he’s saying now. He only makes beastly, filthy cries. John turned his head.

‘It’ll be over there soon too.’

Should I help or not? If he uses just one of the three skills, Sarah will quickly take the giant’s breath.

“······.”

John, who was twitching his fingers repeatedly, lowered his hand.

‘Combat experience is important. Let’s not interfere here.’

John sat on the swordsman’s corpse. It felt like a relief with a soft sensation.

He began to review the fight he just had.

‘When I created an opening with Magic Missile, I should have cut off his breath right away. Tsk, I’m still too inexperienced.’

There were many disappointing things in many ways. It was a thoroughly prepared battle, but nothing in the world is easy.

John’s thoughts continued endlessly. Based on his memory, which is different from others, he recalls every single trivial point and provides feedback.

‘What if I blocked the retreat with a shield and poured out magic missiles? A much more effective attack would have been made.’

Parts to be corrected, parts that were done well. Numerous situations branched out like branches in his head and are firmly remembered.

It was a moment when the wizard’s capabilities were evolving, different from simply increasing stats or skill levels.

Seogeoeok!

“Keueooooo······.”

Before long, the giant announced the end of the battle. How could even his groans be so loud?

“Sa, save······.”

His words were not continued and were slurred. Because Sarah cut off his neck with one stroke.

As the neck and torso separated, the air passing through the vocal cords naturally scattered.

Boo woong, boo woong!

Sarah swung her sword several times on the ground and then took out a cloth.

“······.”

The giant’s thick middle trapezius muscle. She sat on it and began to wipe the blade clean.

Suddenly, John and Sarah’s eyes met.

“······.”

“······.”

“Good job.”

“Yes. You too, John.”

The conversation was short, and they quickly immersed themselves in their own tasks.

Two men and women with indifferent expressions even after committing a brutal slaughter.

If someone saw this sight, they would say that the two are a perfect match.

***

John was looking at the corpses of the attackers with an interesting expression.

It wasn’t his first time seeing human death. However, he was curious about what changes would occur over a long period of time.

‘Even if the natives are like that, modern people may be different.’

He started a stopwatch in his head. Click, click. It is not actually heard, but the memories of the past are so vivid that he hears auditory hallucinations.

“John? What are you doing?”

“I am observing the changes in the corpses.”

“Yes? Why would you do that? It’s over once you die, isn’t it?”

How should I explain it? John remained silent for a moment and then said.

“In the future, we may have to fight a large number of people. Corpses that are piled up become a terrain that cannot be ignored.”

She exclaimed as if she understood then.

“Are you checking how many minutes it takes for the corpse to disappear?”

Her understanding was quite quick.

“But John, you don’t have a watch? How are you going to measure······.”

“I remember the stopwatch I used when I was studying before. I am measuring time based on that memory.”

“Ah······.”

Sarah was silent for a moment. It wasn’t really any of her business, so John kept his eyes on the corpse.

Then, he heard her voice from behind his head.

“Please let me know how many minutes it takes.”

“······? Okay.”

He was going to share it anyway. He doesn’t know what will happen later, but he is still a colleague.

“You might forget if you regress again, right? If that happens, I’ll let you know.”

“······Okay.”

John finally understood. Indeed, she has everything planned out.

‘9 minutes 51 seconds, 9 minutes 52 seconds······.’

10 minutes.

Srrr─

Immediately after, the body of the modern person began to fade away. He quickly waves his hand.

Swoosh.

‘It passes through. There is no physical force at all.’

You can see it in your sight, but it seemed like you could think of it as an existence that doesn’t really exist.

He obtained useful information. There will be a time when it will be used someday.

“Sarah. It’s 10 minutes. 10 minutes. After that, you can’t even touch it.”

“Hmm, that’s a bit long. It’ll be annoying······.”

“That’s right. The mass of the corpse will definitely be important on the battlefield.”

“We need to find a way to accelerate the disappearance of the body, or cremate it.”

Cremation······. Not a bad idea. He doesn’t have it now, but someday he will get fire-related magic.

‘No, it’s possible right now. If I regress, I can buy the skill.’

But the subject of the regression is not John. He can only hitchhike. It would be nice if she regressed on her own······

‘No one likes to die. That’s the same for Sarah.’

Then, Sarah spoke, breaking John’s thoughts.

“John. Are you going to continue hunting? How are you feeling?”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine. If you’re okay, Sarah, let’s go hunting right away.”

“I’m fine. I’ve also gained a lot of karma.”

As she said, she earned a good amount of karma from killing the men. It’s like a giving tree.

Even if the corpse disappears, the equipment remains. This is all gold. Gold.

“Let’s put everything in the inventory and leave quickly.”

“Yes. Shall we divide it in half?”

“Yes.”

As soon as his hand touches it, it disappears like a phantom.

‘It would be nice if it was possible during combat.’

It seemed like there were certain standards.

Anyway, she and John headed back into the forest. Deeper than before.

The passing scenery is familiar. It is a battle location that John and Sarah carefully selected.

Difficult terrain to ambush, low grasslands, narrow paths.

‘The shape of the space is so important.’

There is a clear difference between understanding with your head and seeing it with your own eyes.

The modern era is a sea of information. Just by glancing at war movies, various tactical knowledge accumulates in the brain.

Even more so for John, who has complete recall ability.

’19 years of life as a full year. From the time the brain was formed until now.’

John felt a little regretful. If he had read a little more novels or watched more YouTube, it would have been much more useful.

Right now, like this.

Piiiiiiing─ Bbeoeok!

A magic missile is embedded in the shield held by the skeleton. Intense damage just by looking at it!

But it didn’t kill him.

‘I should have watched YouTube or read books about shields and swords.

If I had a little more understanding of the structure, would I have gotten a different result?

Seogeoeok!

At least, it would be better than now.

John thought as he looked at the head of the skeleton slowly falling.

‘Now one.’

He extends his right index finger to the left. The karma acquisition message appears with the sound of air tearing.

‘End.’

Before he knew it, the hunt was over. He turned around and looked at Sarah.

“Shall we do more?”

“No. Let’s stop. We have to sell the equipment too.”

“That’s right.”

As she said, the natives are ordinary people too. It means there is a set work schedule and time.

“Based on that money, will I learn new magic, and Sarah, will you learn new combat skills?”

“Yes. And I’m going to commit suicide.”

“Ah, suicide? Certainly······ Huh?”

For a moment, John doubted his ears. What did this woman just say? Suicide?

“No, no. What are you talking about? Suicide?”

She tilted her head, as if wondering about John’s question, and said.

“Why? Of course, it’s because it’s more efficient.”

“······.”

“You have to get as strong as possible when you can. That way you won’t have any regrets later.”