Chapter 26

* * *

“Se-Seong Jihan?!”

‘Wh-What? Why is he here? That guy who was far below the tower, how could he already…’

“Let’s start with you.”

Bang!

As Seong Jihan’s hand wrapped around Kim Gyuhyuk’s head, his head burst like a balloon.

Because it’s in the game, it’s like that, but if it were reality, it would have been a horrifying sight.

Seong Jihan looked at Masied and slightly lowered his head.

“Thank you for stopping him.”

Masied just shrugged his shoulders.

Thud! thud!

Seong Jihan walked to the place where Kim Gyuhyuk would resurrect.

“This damn game! How could a Bronze player get here so fast from over there…!”

Kim Gyuhyuk cursed as soon as he got resurrected.

Despite his head bursting, he still had the same spirit.

Afterall, dying here wouldn’t result in a penalty of losing levels or skills disappearing.

‘As if anyone’s going to save me, and the mission seems to be ruined anyway, might as well curse freely and gather some support.’

Thinking that way, Kim Gyuhyuk immediately opened his mouth.

“Hey! You bas-…”

His mouth, which was about to curse without hesitation, was caught in an instant by Seong Jihan’s left hand.

“You aren’t afraid because it’s inside the game.”

Seong Jihan said dully.

“Senses are mostly filtered out by the Battle Net connector. Even if you die, you’ll just lose levels… Yeah, that’s probably what you are thinking.”

“Ugh! B-Bubub!”

Buzz.

Seong Jihan’s right hand tightly gripped Kim Gyuhyuk’s shoulder.

“Let me show you a world you don’t know.”

Whoosh!

Through the captured, limp body of Kim Gyuhyuk, he felt an unfamiliar energy penetrating his entire body. It was similar to the sensation when a magician manipulates the magic power of the heart. But it was a completely different energy from Kim Gyuhyuk’s magic power, It was a very cold and sharp energy.

“Uh… Ugh…”

The penetrating energy tore through Kim Gyuhyuk’s whole body, twisted his muscles, and contorted his bones.

Among those who learned martial arts, it was a technique called “Disjoint” , which only a few could use.

Watching his own body twisting uncontrollably, Kim Gyuhyuk involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat.

‘It’s a good thing I bought an expensive Battle Net connector.’

It was the moment when the Korean characteristic of wanting the best possible equipment, even if their tier was low, showcased.

‘My body’s hurting right now, but if it’s this much…’

The top-tier Battle Net connector, which reduced pain by a whopping 95%, was indeed reliable.

‘By the way, I need to get damage and die asap.’

“Heal.”

Toward Kim Gyuhyuk, who was waiting for death, Seong Jihan used a healing spell.

As the twisted interior of his body recovered, it was immediately twisted again due to Disjoint.

‘Damn… What a ruthless jerk.’

Was he not going to let him die?

Seong Jihan just continued to use healing magic with an expressionless face.

“Heal.”

“Heal.”

Kim Gyuhyuk was able to stay alive because of healing magic several times.

‘Idiot. Does he think I’ll lose that easily… Huh?’

While enduring the pain somehow, Kim Gyuhyuk, who was determined to stand firm to the end.

At that moment.

“Uh… Ughhh!”

Maintaining his pride, he hadn’t even groaned before that,But the pain that suddenly surged like a thorn became unbearable.

“W-What? What happened? Why does it hurt so much!”

Kim Gyuhyuk screamed as he writhed on the ground.

It was a level of pain entirely different from what he had experienced so far.

Every hair on his body stood on end, a sensation that made him wish he could just die.

“Ughhh… System check!”

[Ding! Everything is normal.]

For a moment, he thought the Battle Net connector might have malfunctioned.

But the connector was working perfectly fine.

“Heal.”

And Seong Jihan mechanically cast healing magic, whether Kim Gyuhyuk was writhing on the ground or not.

“Heal.”

“Heal.”

The sound of recovery magic echoed multiple times.

“Ughhhh!”

Amidst the agony, Kim Gyuhyuk felt something ominous.

He felt as if something more painful was awaiting him.

More precisely, he thought there was no way Jihan would let it end like that, And he was right…

When healing had probably reached Kim Gyuhyuk’s body for the tenth time.

“Uh, uhh, ughhh!”

Suddenly, Kim Gyuhyuk let out an animalistic scream, then his body transformed into light and disappeared.

Even though healing had been used, he still died and the cause of death was fainting due to unbearable pain.

Seong Jihan looked at the spot where Kim Gyuhyuk had vanished and muttered blankly.

“Can’t endure even this.”

Seong Jihan waited quietly at the place where Kim Gyuhyuk would resurrect for the third time.

And then…

Pah-aat-

“Sorry! I’m really sorry! I was wrong… Ugh!”

Kim Gyuhyuk resurrected, his body trembling, Seong Jihan, with an expressionless face, covered his mouth again.

* * *

– …It’s scary.

– Suddenly, the atmosphere turned into horror.

– I…I can’t watch anymore T_T

Viewers who had been watching Seong Jihan’s channel were bewildered.

In fact, while the sight of Kim Gyuhyuk’s body twisting might appear repulsive to watch, most viewers found a certain satisfaction in his current state due to the curses he had been throwing around.

But…

Seeing Gyuhyuk roll on the floor while he frothed at the mouth made them feel something beyond discomfort.

Kim Gyuhyuk genuinely appeared as if he was feeling pain.

– But why is he having such convulsions?

– Yeah, the Battle Net connector reduces pain, right?

– Is he acting?

– It feels too real for that…

Viewers might not have understood why Kim Gyuhyuk was acting that way. However, Battle Net experts engaged in heated discussions, sensing that there might be something underlying.

– That… Isn’t it a side effect of receiving healing?

– Side effects? Isn’t that a phenomenon that happens accidentally while treating continuous damage, right?

– If you think about it that way, it really seems like a side effect. Since Seong Jihan’s technique seems to cause continuous damage…

– Well, he’s using that so elaborately.

Side effects.

When you use healing magic on someone who was poisoned, a sudden burst of pain sometimes happens.

Though the cause was unknown, most players weren’t aware of this phenomenon as it disappeared even if the upgraded version of “Great Heal” was used.

“Uh, uhhhh… Aaack!”

Flash!

Perhaps because Disjoint was used with less force this time, Kim Gyuhyuk, who had withstood the pain longer than before, finally succumbed to agony and died.

“Hmm, I should weaken it a bit more.”

As Seong Jihan waited again at the spot where Kim Gyuhyuk would resurrect, viewers showed signs of impatience.

– Again?

-Seriously, he has no mercy.

– It’s the first time I’m feeling sorry for a troll.

“I’m sorry! Please spare me! No, please just kill me in one sweep!”

As soon as Kim Gyuhyuk resurrected, tears and snot streaming down, he clung to Seong Jihan’s ankle.

His previous stubborn appearance was nowhere to be found.

– Ugh, seriously, why did he burst out like that?

– The education seems satisfying, but… it’s a bit too much.

– But isn’t Battle Net originally rated R?

– Oh? That’s true, isn’t it? Someone always ends up being blown up in every game.

If it were a streaming site operating on Earth, it might have been blocked a long time ago due to its explicit content.

However, Battle Net was originally a combat game with blood and gore, so there was no such rating.

“I’ll go easy this time.”

“Ah… Aah… Please!”

Seong Jihan listened to Kim Gyuhyuk’s plea and reached out again.

He wanted to make a clear example of what happened when you talked too much out of him,

But…

[Seae0822 has donated 10,000GP.]

[Uncle! Stop! I’m fine! You’ll lose subscribers if you keep going on!]

Seong Jihan’s hand halted when he saw the sponsorship message.

August 22nd.

The ID that followed Yoon Seah’s birthday; it probably wasn’t a Yoon Seah impersonation.

‘But… it’s not enough.’

Seong Jihan looked at the hunched-over Kim Gyuhyuk.

From the perspective of his past life, he should have shown an even greater example, but…

‘…Yeah, let’s stop.’

It’s still a peaceful time.

The moral perspectives of the end-of-the-world time he lived through and the current time were quite different.

This was enough for now.

However, there was still one problem to solve.

“Whose Quest did you get?”

“Sa-save me. No, just kill me… huh?”

“Who told you to break that crystal? Was it your own decision?”

Under Seong Jihan’s cold gaze, Kim Gyuhyuk hurriedly answered.

“Swordking Fc…Swordking Fc asked me! There’s a quest on my channel! It’s worth 55,000GP!”

“Did Swordking Fc really stake such a huge GP?”

“Yes, yes. Th-that… that one! Swordking Fc 898! This guy! He asked me to curse you through his sponsorship!”

Kim Gyuhyuk recited the list of sponsorships one by one.

He seemed to be in awful pain.

“Really? Understood.”

Even if he was a fan of Swordking, would anyone spend 55 million won just to get back at him?

‘That’s Suspicious. I should remember this.’

Soon enough, Seong Jihan grabbed Kim Gyuhyuk’s collar.

“Be grateful to Seah who saved you.”

“I understand! Thank you, Seah-nim! Thank you!”

“Now, go.”

Whoosh!

Seong Jihan threw Kim Gyuhyuk out of the tower, and he descended while shouting “hurrah.”

Even in the face of imminent death, his face overflowed with delight.

Thud!

[Mage Class ‘Kim Gyuhyuk’ has died.]

[Kim Gyuhyuk has been eliminated from this game.]

Seong Jihan looked at the message with calm eyes.

He had killed mage Kim Gyuhyuk eight times since he regressed.

Now that he would resume the level-up race he had paused for a few days, he wouldn’t have to deal with nuisances like this anymore.

‘Due to pointless interference, I couldn’t complete the linked quest.’

Of course, if he went out to hunt zombies again, he could quickly achieve the goal of 1,000 kills.

[Tower No. 7 has been eliminated for the third time.]

Now that three towers of different players had been eliminated.

It seemed urgent to clear the linked quest in time.

Should he be satisfied with breaking through the Nameless martial art using the Flashing sky thunder steps?

Just as Seong Jihan was contemplating this.

[You’ve defeated 1,000 zombies on your own.]

[‘Linked Quest – Origin of Zombies (1)’ has been cleared.]

“…?”

Suddenly, an unexpected message window appeared before his eyes.