Chapter 372: Christine in Chapter 101 (Below) |
No one in the world could have imagined that it would turn into a living hell.
Christine didn’t know either.
She had no idea something so absurd would happen to her.
‘Kill 100 goblins and survive...’
It was a mission that everyone received.
But it was far too difficult to execute.
For Christine, killing a creature like a goblin was an impossible task.
She had never killed even a small animal in her life.
“Kiieeet!”
“Help me! Somebody hel...!”
As the horde of goblins approached, Christine and many others panicked and were confused.
There were not only many goblins, but they were also armed with daggers and clubs.
The humans had nothing they could use as weapons.
‘The only thing we can rely on is this rune.’
Christine checked the skill she had gained by breaking a random rune shard.
[Rune of Pain Relief]
-Effect: Reduces pain and damage received by 50%.
It was a rune that would typically be assigned to a tank in a game.
Anything she got wouldn’t be bad, but Christine couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
‘If I at least got an offensive rune, it would be easier to kill goblins...’
However, that was a mistaken idea.
This wasn’t a game; it was a real-life situation.
Christine didn’t realize how crucial a pain-reducing rune was in a survival game.
Until she was attacked multiple times by goblins.
“Piieet!”
“Aah!”
Christine writhed in pain as she saw a knife mark on her body.
Blood flowed from the open wound.
But realizing it wasn’t a serious injury, she plunged the dagger she had picked up earlier into the goblin’s chest.
“Puuc!”
“Kehehe!”
[You have killed a goblin.]
[Experience +4%]
[Gold +10]
[Mission progress: 10/100 goblins]
Christine, who had never killed even a small animal or insect, no longer had time to worry about such things now that her survival was on the line.
To survive, she had to do whatever it took.
Acknowledging that, she began taking the lives of the goblins.
“Kiieee!”
However, no matter how many she killed, she couldn’t get used to it.
‘This feeling is horrible.’
The sensation of penetrating flesh was terrifying, but she had no choice but to commit these destructive acts, counting each kill.
Thus, 10 goblins became 20, and 20 became 100.
Seeing the cylindrical pillar surrounding her, she collapsed to the ground in relief.
“Ha, it’s over.”
The Rune of Pain Relief had been a blessing.
She had endured despite the wounds covering her body.
‘I barely made it.’
When the first round ended, Christine realized something.
She could never be someone suited for combat.
The guilt and disgust she felt while killing goblins made it impossible for her to take the life of any creature.
‘No, I can’t keep killing...’
She hoped the mission in the second round wouldn’t involve killing, and so she entered the other world.
Her wish was granted, as the next mission was simple.
‘I just have to vote within the next three hours to survive.’
It was so easy that it seemed suspicious.
Still, she felt relieved.
‘I don’t have to kill anyone.’
The sensation of piercing flesh was really unpleasant.
Even though they were monsters trying to kill her, it was equally repulsive.
‘But it’s strange. Just voting to survive...’
Moreover, three hours seemed like a very generous amount of time for voting.
‘What’s around me?’
She looked around, but all she saw was a forest.
Was there something in the forest?
While pondering it, she saw three people entering the forest.
Curious, Christine followed them.
She kept a prudent distance and followed, when suddenly she heard startled voices.
“Kiaah!”
“Oh, oh!”
“What is this?”
Approaching, Christine saw the group facing a hobgoblin.
“Puuc!”
“Kieek!”
Fortunately, they were able to defeat the hobgoblin without anyone getting hurt, but then they turned toward Christine with suspicion.
“Who are you? Were you following us?”
“Oh, well... I was curious about what was in the forest, saw you guys go in, and followed... If it bothered you, I’m sorry.”
Knowing that following others was wrong, Christine was honest and apologized.
Luckily, her sincerity seemed well-received, and the three stopped being defensive.
“It’s fine. Understandable.”
“Since we’re here, why don’t we team up? Christine?”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
“No need for introductions. Just by looking above our heads, you can see everything.”
The others nodded, and Christine also checked the usernames of the others.
[Berber], [Lupin], [Douglas].
It seemed like the three didn’t know each other beforehand.
They had just teamed up in the first round to help with hunting.
“Anyway, we just have to vote to survive, right?”
“We don’t want to waste time debating, so we decided to explore the area.”
“But we didn’t expect to find monsters in the forest.”
“Neither did I.”
“Since we’re here, why don’t we hunt together?”
“Good idea.”
Christine agreed, and they scoured the forest together.
With a group of four, one or two monsters weren’t much of a concern.
‘Besides, I have the Rune of Pain Relief.’
She could endure the pain, but killing was difficult.
Had Douglas noticed her trembling hand when killing the monster?
Seeing Christine shake as she stabbed, Douglas asked:
“Are you scared of killing?”
“Huh?”
“I saw your hand shaking when you stabbed earlier.”
“Oh, you have a sharp eye. Honestly, yes. The sensation of piercing flesh isn’t pleasant...”
Hearing this, the others began to worry about her.
“There are many more rounds to get through.”
“Can you hunt monsters like this?”
“How did you get through the first round?”
“It was... difficult. I’ll probably be the first to fall.”
Though she said it jokingly, Christine managed to awaken the others’ sympathy.
Douglas also seemed concerned.
Then Douglas made an unexpected suggestion.
“How about we do this? Let’s give the monsters to Christine.”
“Give her the monsters...?”
“It’s not fair like this. There will be many monster-hunting missions in the future, and she’s not used to it.”
“Yeah, she doesn’t seem very good at it.”
“So let’s help her. So she can get used to hunting monsters.”
His proposal surprised Christine.
She was also surprised by the others’ reaction.
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
They genuinely wanted to help her.
“What do you think, Christine? Should we help you?”
“Oh... it would be really helpful, honestly.”
From then on, the group would injure the monsters without killing them, leaving them on the brink of death.
Christine would deliver the finishing blow.
In this way, she was able to level up quickly.
“Puuc!”
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 10!]
[You can now use the shop.]
[You have met the conditions for a class change.]
[A hidden side quest has appeared!]
Christine reached Level 10 faster than anyone.
“Great! That’s how you’re supposed to kill them. Get used to that feeling.”
“Yes, but I’ve already reached Level 10.”
“Oh, you’ve already hit that level?”
“When you focus on one person, they really level up quickly.”
The group was surprised, but what caught their attention most was something else.
“You say you have a side quest?”
“A side quest?”
“Yes. Before the vote, if you find a class change item and change your class, you get a discount coupon for the shop as a reward.”
“Class change?”
“Oh, now that you mention it, there was a class section on the status screen, right?”
“It seems you need to have a class when you reach Level 10.”
Up to that point, the group didn’t show too much surprise. That was until Christine revealed the item she had obtained.
“Recently, after killing a monster, I got a class change item called [Holy Relic]. It says I can change to a priest.”
“You already got a class change item?”
“Priest?”
“Perfect! Try changing your class right away.”
Encouraged by the group, Christine used the item.
[You have changed to the Priest class. Congratulations!]
[As a reward for changing class, you have obtained a ‘Staff.’]
[As a reward for changing class, you have obtained the ‘Rune of Life.’]
[The obtained rune will automatically engrave itself on the player’s body.]
[You have learned the Priest-exclusive skill ‘Heal.’]
[The next skill will automatically be learned at Level 20.]
[Rune of Life]
-Effect: When healing an injured player, you gain experience and gold. The amount gained depends on the degree of healing. If you save a player’s life in a near-death situation, you gain 1 stat point.
[Exclusive Skill – Heal]
-Effect: Heals the target’s internal and external wounds.
Christine received the rune and skill, and after reading the detailed description, her eyes widened.
‘This rune is incredible!’
As befitting a priest’s rune, just by healing someone, she could gain experience and gold. In other words, she could grow without needing to hunt.
‘I don’t know how much experience I’ll gain, but maybe I won’t need to kill monsters.’
Additionally, if she helped save a life, she would receive a permanent stat point.
Perhaps noticing the surprise on Christine’s face, Douglas asked curiously.
“What’s going on? Was your class change successful? It seems so, judging by the effects I saw...”
“Yes, it worked.”
“Is there anything different?”
Christine pondered. There were many differences, but sharing them with people she had just met today seemed unwise, even if they were good people who had helped her.
‘It’s better not to reveal anything about the rune to anyone.’
However, she decided that sharing information about her skill was safe.
“I have a skill now. It’s called Heal, and it can heal wounds.”
“Heal?”
“That’s amazing!”
“In games, healers are valuable characters.”
“Try using it on me.”
Lupin, who had a wound, extended his arm, asking her to try. Christine, naturally familiarizing herself with using the skill, placed her hand over the wound and murmured the skill’s name.
‘Heal.’
The wound closed and disappeared instantly.
The speed of the healing was astonishing.
Faced with the miraculous scene, all the players present were stunned.
“Oh, sh*t!”
“Jesus Christ!”
“Is this real? For real?”
The group’s reactions were explosive.
Seeing a wound heal miraculously was reason enough to be amazed.
“We did well focusing the experience on Christine! I’m really satisfied!”
“Christine, stay with us.”
“If we stick with Christine, we won’t have to worry about wounds.”
They instinctively knew how crucial a healing skill was in a survival game.
——————-
As the three-hour mark approached, it was time to vote.
Christine and her group returned to the starting point in time.
However, people were still debating whom to vote for. They hadn’t decided yet.
Then, Douglas took an unexpected action.
“Hey everyone! Pay attention!”
People looked over curiously.
“If you don’t know who to vote for, let me recommend someone. Christine!”
“Do, Douglas. What are you doing?”
“Relax, Christine. This is all for your benefit.”
Douglas winked and continued.
“Here’s Christine. In the forest, she changed her class to Priest. And she gained a miraculous skill called Heal, which cures wounds.”
Although he was revealing information, the crowd’s reaction wasn’t negative but one of amazement.
“What? Heals wounds?”
“Class change? Priest?”
“Is it true?”
“It’s true. Why would I lie? If you don’t believe it, come check. But you need to have a wound.”
The wounded approached Christine.
“Christine, please use Heal.”
At Douglas’s request, Christine used Heal on the people. The wounds healed miraculously.
“My wound has closed!”
“Is it real?”
“What an incredible skill!”
With all attention focused on her, Douglas delivered the final push.
“Look! I suggest we elect Christine as our representative. Anyone who’s played a game knows how important a healer is. In this uncertain situation, instead of choosing someone randomly, why not choose Christine?”
Douglas’s words convinced the crowd, and soon an angel appeared to carry out the vote.
And the result was:
<Voting Results for Area Representative Selection>
1st place. Christine (4,552 votes)
2nd place. Douglas (312 votes)
3rd place. Lupin (5 votes)
4th place. Traveler (5 votes)
5th place. Kate Garnet (4 votes)
..................
............
Christine was the overwhelming winner.