Chapter 6

People panicked as they saw the insects running around the carriage .

“H-Hey! Why would you do such a thi―”

While some people were staring blankly, the quick-witted pushed toward me .

“You son of a bitch . ”

“…You better find them soon . There are only three minutes left . ”

These words were a signal as people started to look everywhere among the subway seats like beasts who had lost their minds .

“I got it! Aaack!”

The joy of those fortunate enough to obtain an insect, as well as the malicious attacks on them, caused the carriage to become chaotic .

“Hey, why did you do that? Couldn’t you have just given them the insects?” Looking back, I saw Kim Namwoon raising his body .

I responded cautiously to Kim Namwoon, who was stretching his neck, “There are 12 people remaining . ”

“…Huh?”

“There were three insects left in the collecting net . ”

Kim Namwoon frowned for a moment before smiling broadly . “12 to 3? Hahahahat! Yes . Not all of them can survive anyway? So you threw that thing?”

“Yes . ”

“Don’t make me laugh . ”

“…?”

“A person with common sense wouldn’t do such a thing for that reason . ” Kim Namwoon’s smile widened . “Tell me honestly . You just wanted to see this scene, didn’t you?”

I recalled the Kim Namwoon that I knew from Ways of Survival . At this moment, I heard a message in my ears, [Exclusive skill, ‘Character List’ is activated . ]

Next, a window opened in front of my eyes . I still didn’t know exactly what my attribute was, but I looked at the window in front of me .

[Character Information]

[Name: Kim Namwoon .

Age: 19 .

Constellation Support: None (Two constellations are currently showing interest in this person) .

Private Attribute: Chuunibyou (General)

Exclusive Skills: Unusual Adaptability Lv . 3, Knife Fighting Lv . 1, Blackening Lv . 1

Overall Stats: Physique Lv . 3, Strength Lv . 4, Agility Lv . 6, Magic Power Lv . 4

Overall Rating: A chuunibyou who was blackened by a special occasion . It is recommended that you don’t get involved with him . ]

Most of the chuunibyou that appeared in Ways of Survival committed suicide because they couldn’t endure the nightmare that had become real . However, the chuunibyou before me, Kim Namwoon, was different . He was the Delusion Demon, Kim Namwoon . The young man, who later became known by this nickname, wasn’t an ordinary chuuni . This young man had been waiting for the destruction of the world for a long time and adapted to this world at an ‘unusual speed . ‘

“Team up with me . How about it?” That young man was now making an offer to me .

[The character ‘Kim Namwoon’ has a favorable impression of you . ]

[Your understanding of the character ‘Kim Namwoon’ has increased . ]

My immediate survival was guaranteed if I held hands with Kim Namwoon . If I hadn’t read Ways of Survival, my choice might’ve been a little different .

“I’m sorry but I like to be alone . ”

“Really? Hmm, it is regrettable . ” Kim Namwoon licked his lips lightly and stood close to me . “Then can you step aside? I have something to do with that old lady behind you . ”

Hearing his words, I looked back to see that the bleeding and collapsed grandmother was barely breathing . “What do you want?”

“Do you have to ask?”

“You aren’t catching the insects?”

“Insects? Why would I catch that?” Kim Namwoon laughed . “I already have a caught insect in front of me . ”

I could feel Kim Namwoon’s murderous spirit . The character that had only existed in the novel was facing me with vivid madness . Therefore, I felt a little bit in awe . Kim Namwoon was really the person I had imagined .

[The character ‘Kim Namwoon’ has a slight decrease in favorability . ]

“What are you looking at? Aren’t you going to move aside quickly?”

“It is tough . ”

“What?”

“I won’t move aside . ”

“Haha, are you now going to imitate the apostle of justice? Do you have multiple personalities?” I didn’t answer . A dark shadow slowly crept onto Kim Namwoon’s face, and his shining eyes were becoming cold . “No, wait a minute . Did you throw the net over there to do this from the beginning? Really?”

“…”

“You want to save the grandmother? Hahaha! Amazing! Really amazing! No? Yes?”

I still didn’t answer . As I looked closely at this guy, old memories resurfaced .

“Ah, it turns out that you are the type of person I hate the most . All old bastards are the same . ”

They were memories of all the times I had been frustrated by this brat during Ways of Survival .

[The character ‘Kim Namwoon’ despises you . ]

“What did you say?”

I considered the timing and lowered my head, avoiding the fist that flew before the words were even over .

“Oh, not bad?” Kim Namwoon muttered .

Despite knowing it was coming, I felt a sense of heat from above my head . It wasn’t an ordinary punch .

[Blackening Lv . 1]

A dark aura rose from Kim Namwoon’s whole body . This was the exclusive skill of the ‘chuunibyou’ attribute . It was rare to release a skill before the end of the first scenario, but Kim Namwoon was already showing a skill . There was a reason why the main character had recruited him, despite his psychopath nature .

Peeok!

After he hit it, my right shoulder spasmed . There was no way to win if I kept fighting this way .

…Should I use ‘that’ now? I was calculating the time when I heard a message .

[Your understanding of the character ‘Kim Namwoon’ has increased . ]

[You are close to the conditions of use for the exclusive skill ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Lv . 1 . ]

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint? What was this?

[The conditions of use for the exclusive skill ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ Lv . 1 have been reached!]

Kim Namwoon’s fist missed me and struck the ground .

“Haha, what? Haven’t I become stronger?

A faint fist mark was left on the ground . Kim Namwoon was realizing his current strength little by little . The fist that could break a bone with a single blow kept hitting the ground . Kim Namwoon was frustrated and couldn’t control his temper . “Ah, why can’t I hit you?”

Of course, he couldn’t hit me . It was all thanks to my second skill .

[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Lv . 1 has been activated!]

As soon as this skill was activated, I was able to observe Kim Namwoon’s attack direction like I was reading his inner thoughts . For example, like this…

「 Right side . 」

I quickly moved away from the direction of the attack .

「Right eye . 」

Then I quickly bent down and avoided the flying fist .

“You really are good at not being hit!”

It was unreasonable to counterattack because I was poor at sports, but I could at least avoid most of the attacks .

「 Left thigh . 」

This was enough to endure it . The important thing was to buy time . I avoided Kim Namwoon’s first and pointed at the clock in the air . “There are two minutes left, Kid . ”

The distressed Kim Namwoon alternated looking between me and the grandmother . “Dammit!”

At the moment of choice, Kim Namwoon’s gaze was fixed on the grandmother’s side . I was forced to grab the grandmother and roll away . If the grandmother died, Kim Namwoon would clear the scenario . No matter what, I absolutely couldn’t send this guy onto the next scenario .

“Haha, I knew you would move like that . ” As Kim Namwoon took something out of his bag, I had an ominous feeling . A blade shone in the fluorescent light . It was a portable MacGyver Knife . I had forgotten . This person was a diehard military otaku .

There was a link between the technical skill ‘Knife Fighting’ and the strengthening skill ‘Blackening’ . The direction that the blade was pointing was obvious .

「Heart . 」

It was an attack that couldn’t be avoided even if I knew the direction . So, I made a quick judgment . If I couldn’t avoid the attack, it was better to be hit somewhere with minimal damage, if possible . Chiiiik! The blade narrowly missed my heart and made a deep cut on my shoulder .

It hurt . It really hurt . There was a searing pain in my skin . My vision shook, and it felt like death was approaching .

“Haha, now die!”

The time remaining to the end of the scenario was 1 minute and 30 seconds . I glanced toward the grandmother . I was sorry for the grandmother, but now I really had to use ‘that . ‘

“Chungil High School, 2nd year, Kim Namwoon . I have one question for you . ”

“…What?”

“Do you think an insect egg is a living thing?”

I took out the body of the grasshopper I had killed earlier from my pocket . The plump egg-sac was clearly abundant . There was the sound of something popping, and something fluid spilled out . The disgusting feeling spread over my hand as I heard a message .

. . . .

[You have killed a living thing . ]

[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation . ]

[You have killed a living thing . ]

[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation . ]

. . . .

Multiple messages bombarded my ears . Kim Namwoon frowned . “Insect egg? What are you suddenly saying? Are you trying to waste time?”

“I guess so . ”

“How would I know something like that? I was always sleeping in Biology class . ” Kim Namwoon looked at my bloody shoulder and laughed happily . “But there is one thing I know for sure . Do you know what it is?”

“What is it?”

“You will die right now!” Kim Namwoon moved his Swiss Army knife before I could answer . It was an attack that was hard to avoid .

[A large number of coins has been acquired! Do you want to check the coin usage tips?]

I omitted the explanation that entered my ears . There was no need to listen when I already knew the contents .

“No, it is you who will die,” I spat out while inwardly muttering something else .

[2,700 coins have been invested into ‘physique’ . ]

[Physique Lv . 1 -> Physique Lv . 10]

[Your physique level has increased dramatically!]

[The durability of your body has greatly increased!]

Kim Namwoon’s knife penetrated toward my heart . To be exact, it looked like it was penetrating . My skin was like solid rock, and the only thing that remained on it was a scratch . Kim Namwoon’s eyes showed that he was astonished . “How?”

“I’ll tell you the correct answer to my question . The answer is: an egg is a living thing . ”

“W-What?”

“And in spawning season, grasshoppers lay more than 100 eggs at a time . ”

Egg, living thing, 100…

Unfortunately, the time left to understand the meaning of the information was too short for the schoolboy with a bad brain .

“What are you saying?”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand . There is one minute left . ”

Now fear appeared on Kim Namwoon’s face . “Aaaah! Die! Die!”

The knife moved toward my neck . I didn’t even bother defending against the attack .

Kakakang!

Was it because the area was more vulnerable than the chest? The wound was a little deeper than before, but it still didn’t hurt much .

“Kim Namwoon . ” Behind Kim Namwoon, there were people who were still crawling and looking for insects, as well as those who were willing to hurt each other for their own survival . “You are right . I am the same type of human as you . ”

Maybe I could’ve saved some of those people .

“Shit! Why won’t you die! Why won’t you just die!”

55 seconds… 50 seconds… 45 seconds…

The knife kept leaving only scratches . Blood flowed but the blade couldn’t reach under the skin . There were 30 seconds left when Kim Namwoon opened his mouth . He dropped the knife and knelt before me .

“S-Save me . ”

25 seconds .

“Save me! Please! Help me!”

“Why should I?”

20 seconds .

“P-People’s lives are important! That’s obvious!”

“That is the rule of the old world . It is just as you said . A new world requires new laws . ”

10 seconds .

“I don’t want to, I don’t want to! I don’t want to die! Aaaaaaack!”

5 seconds . Kim Namwoon ran at me with a loud scream and aimed for my eye . The moment that the knife tried to dig at my retina…

[The given time has run out . ]

There was a loud sound, and Kim Namwoon’s head exploded .

[Paid settlement will begin . ]

Beginning with Kim Namwoon, people’s heads started exploding everywhere .

One, two, three, four…

The bursting heads were like fireworks announcing a new era . I watched the scene with a bit of joy, a bit of guilt, and a mysterious feeling . Why? Why was I so calm at the sight in front of me? It was like I was looking at a novel .

[You have killed 124 living things . ]

[Kill History: One grasshopper, 123 grasshopper eggs . ]

[You have killed non-resistance living things, so the number of coins you have acquired is reduced by half . ]

[6,200 coins have been acquired!]

[The number of coins used for the stats level up is automatically subtracted . ]

[You have a total of 3,500 coins . ]

[The ‘Mass Murderer’ achievement has been gained through excessive killing . ]