Chapter 363: Democratic Party of the 101 (Middle) |
‘Where am I?’
Min Juri looked around, deeply confused.
A dark space without a single light.
Although her mind was clear, the darkness in front of her eyes filled her with fear.
‘No way… Am I dead?’
Death is feared by any human.
However, Min Juri was more worried about something other than herself.
‘Dad. My dad…’
If she died, who would take care of her father, who would be left alone?
And her father had a fragile heart.
‘If he finds out I’ve collapsed, he’ll definitely cry inconsolably…’
At that moment, a doubt arose.
‘Why did I collapse suddenly when I don’t have any illness?’
The reason was soon revealed.
Humans are amusing. They celebrate the New Year without knowing what situation they’re in.
Suddenly, an image appeared as if on a television screen.
Naturally, her gaze shifted towards it.
‘What’s that? An, an angel?’
It was undeniable that there was a beautiful angel on the screen.
And below him, there was a crowd participating in an event.
‘That’s the place I just saw on TV, right?’
As she watched carefully, something shocking happened.
Bang!
Aaaah!
Aaaaah!
When people’s heads exploded like fireworks, those nearby screamed and fled.
Insignificant humans. How dare you speak to me informally? You have no right to question me. Don’t try to challenge me if you don’t want your head to explode like that human.
‘What is this? CGI? A movie? Or a dream?’
Had she ever had such a vivid dream?
Never.
You must be wondering what’s going on, right? What could inferior humans know? I’ll explain it clearly, so listen carefully.
The angel explained the game.
An absurd story about being captured and taken to another dimension on the first day of each month.
A ridiculous claim that only half could survive each round.
Despite the unbelievable story, Min Juri couldn’t help but believe it.
From the beginning, the fact that she could see everything as a soul was already an absurd situation.
‘I wish this were a dream. I wish this were a dream…’
But her wish didn’t come true, and like the others, she was dragged into a space to customize her avatar.
[Please enter a nickname to register in the system within the next 30 seconds.]
[If one is not chosen within the time limit, your real name will be automatically registered.]
Dream or reality, whatever it was.
Min Juri wanted to return.
She couldn’t leave her father alone.
‘They said that if I pass the rounds, I can return.’
She had to survive and come back.
No matter what situation she found herself in.
[Time remaining: 3 seconds]
[Time remaining: 2 seconds]
“My nickname will be [Democracy].”
She changed her hairstyle and also her nickname.
At that moment, an angel appeared in the meadow.
It was different from the angel she had seen on TV.
[Hohoho, nice to meet you, despicable humans. Being dragged here in the middle of the night must be confusing, right? Don’t worry. The first round isn’t a very difficult mission. Before we begin, try saying ‘inventory’ in your mind.]
When she opened the inventory, there was an item inside.
[It’s a random rune fragment. It can only be used at level 1, so use it right now.]
As the angel said, people used their items.
Excitement and frustration mixed as they discovered the random Skills.
‘I should use it quickly too. Use.’
[You have used the random rune fragment.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the ‘Rune of Protection’!]
[The acquired rune will automatically be imprinted on the player’s body.]
[Rune of Protection]
Effect: A protective shield is stacked for each player within a 10-meter radius (maximum 10 stacks). Each player can only receive one shield.
After reading the description, Min Juri wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.
Although she understood the concept, she didn’t know how strong the protective shield was.
It seemed she could only confirm its performance by experiencing it directly.
‘So the best thing is to stay close to other people?’
She decided to stay near as many people as possible.
Most thought that being in a group would increase their chances of survival.
However,
“Kyayaak!”
“Kyaaa!”
When 50,000 goblins were generated and charged in hordes,
“Aaaah!”
“Run!”
Everyone tried to escape on their own.
Few stayed together to face them.
‘Ah! If they flee like that…’
Min Juri was about to run too, terrified, but she stopped.
According to the feature of her rune, it was better to be where there were people.
‘Better join a group!’
She saw a group gathering to face the goblins and quickly joined them.
Just as the goblins clashed with the front line,
Puak! Puak!
“Agh!”
“It hurts!”
“Sa-save me…”
Most of the people in the front line died stabbed by daggers.
Being stabbed once was the best that could happen.
Most were stabbed dozens of times.
With hordes of goblins armed with daggers, it was inevitable.
‘I-I need a weapon! Without a weapon, I can’t face them.’
She couldn’t defeat them with bare hands, even if they seemed like small children.
In fact, it was more appropriate to see them as wild beasts than children.
The goblins attacked like animals and were obsessed with killing humans.
‘Ah! There.’
Fortunately, she saw a dagger a goblin had dropped a few meters away.
She tried to grab it quickly, but another person snatched it.
“Ah.”
She immediately looked around for another weapon on the ground.
She found a wooden club and picked it up.
She had no other choice.
“Die! Die, damn it!”
She saw a man stabbing goblins beside her.
It was the same man who had snatched the dagger from her.
Not wanting to be left behind, Min Juri raised the club toward the goblin charging at her.
Whoosh!
She missed.
She had never struck anything before, so she was clumsy.
“Kiit!”
The goblin laughed and lunged at her mistake.
The sharp dagger aimed at her body.
Puak!
Though she expected terrible pain, she didn’t feel it.
The sound came from the person next to her.
“Aaaah…!”
The man who had been killing goblins with the dagger was stabbed.
Puak! Puak!
The collapsed man was massacred by the goblins.
Meanwhile, Min Juri focused on the message that appeared in front of her.
[Current protective shield stack: 9/10]
[Current protection stack: 8/10]
[Current protection stack: 7/10]
……
……
……
The protection was decreasing.
Not because the person next to her had died, but because the goblin in front of her was stabbing her.
Clang! Clang!
“Kiiik! Kiiik!”
The creature struck the semi-transparent wall that had appeared in front of Min Juri.
With each strike of the dagger, the number of protective shields decreased.
‘No, no way.’
Paf!
Snapping out of it, Min Juri finally struck the goblin on the head.
Bam! Bam! Crack!
One, two, three times.
When blood splattered on the ground, a message appeared.
[You have defeated a goblin!]
[Experience +4%]
[Gold +10]
‘I-I killed one.’
Meanwhile, more people gathered around her.
Then another message appeared.
[Current protection stack: 10/10]
The shield that had decreased to 3 had filled back up to 10.
At that moment, Min Juri realized.
‘Ah, this… is really good.’
It was an incredible rune that guaranteed survival.
Catching 100 goblins was not difficult to achieve.
The Rune of Protection made it possible.
‘I survived. I survived, but…’
Thousands of people died or disappeared at the hands of the goblins.
With an inexplicable sense of guilt, Min Juri returned to reality.
“Ah…”
“Ju, Juri? Are you conscious?”
“Ah… Dad?”
Her father looked at her with tears in his eyes as she lay on the bed.
“Is… is this our house?”
“Yes. It’s our house. We brought you here after you collapsed at the store.”
“Ah! I was at the store, right?”
She remembered everything.
Even if it was a dream.
“Dad, I had a strange dream…”
It was so vivid that she couldn’t just consider it a dream.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to continue living sanely.
She had just passed the first round; how would she survive the 20 rounds?
Her father, who had been listening silently, sighed deeply.
“It doesn’t seem… like it was a dream.”
The reality of the situation became clear through the news headlines.
1.8 billion people collapsed due to narcolepsy.
Only half survived, and Min Juri was one of them.
‘Wasn’t it a dream?’
The status screen that appeared proved it wasn’t a dream.
Her father was happy that his daughter had returned alive, but he couldn’t fully smile knowing her life was at stake.
The new year had arrived, but it wasn’t a time for joy.
The dream of becoming a doctor, and everything else, had to be abandoned because of this national catastrophe.
From that day on, Min Juri searched for information to survive.
She visited online communities but found no information about the next round, only speculation.
As the time to be dragged into the second round approached, her anxiety grew more and more.
‘It’s okay. I have the Rune of Protection, right?’
The Rune of Protection also worked in reality.
Whenever she was near other players, the message would automatically appear.
It wasn’t difficult to accumulate 10 protections.
‘I wonder what happened to Ryu Min… Did he pass the first round like I did?’
Min Juri was able to survive thanks to her good rune, but what about Ryu Min?
‘I wonder how he’s doing, but I have no way to contact him… It’s vacation, so I can’t see him at school.’
Just in case, I went to the meat restaurant where he worked, but I didn’t see him anywhere.
Not being there at the time he usually worked filled me with an unknown unease.
‘No way… No way…’
Ryu Min is strong.
Despite being bullied by thugs, his determination and perseverance in his part-time job were proof that he would survive anything.
Although I tried to convince myself that he wouldn’t have died, negative thoughts kept surfacing.
‘He must have died… just like the others.’
What good is mental strength against a goblin armed with a dagger?
‘No, don’t assume that. Someday we’ll meet. If he’s alive.’
I had another reason to live.
I not only had to survive for my father, but also to see Ryu Min again.
Definitely in this game.