Damned System

Chapter 7. Promotion Test (1)

“Ugh!”

At the moment I let out a loud and interrupted curse, my body flinched in fear.

Suddenly, a space full of lush greenery appeared before me.

I felt the humidity and heat pressing down.

Just standing there made it seem like I might sweat buckets.

「Entering the mission site.」

「This area is not a player protection zone.」

「3 Purification Pills provided.」

Seizing upon my confusion, the system delivered its messages.

‘Not a protection zone?’

The phrase had changed.

During the tutorial, there was always a notice designating it as a protection zone.

Did that mean this place was different from that one? In what sense was it so?

If I had time, I might have ruminated my questions more deeply.

But before I could properly digest my thoughts, every hair on my body stood on end.

Beyond the newly appeared mission window, something unfamiliar stood there.

It was about the same size as me, but the physical features were completely different.

Its feet resembled those of a beast, but its hands were like those of a human.

Moreover, it was covered in a thick layer of black fur.

Its claws, both on its hands and feet, were as long as those of a polar bear.

It had sharp ears reminiscent of a fox.

Its snout protruded like that of a dog or wolf.

There were four long fangs jutting upwards, and eyes that glowed a deep red without distinction between the sclera and the pupils.

“Kieeek?”

Something with a tilted head, observing me curiously.

What should such a creature, standing on two feet like a human, even be called?

I could assure you; I had never seen anything like it since I was born.

My muscles tensed as if petrified with fear.

The creature was staring intently at me from beyond the mission window.

And when the window disappeared, leaving nothing between us.

「Mission begins.」

“Kiiaaaak!”

As the message appeared, the monster opened its maw wide and let out a roar.

I could see its tongue splitting into three ends, and teeth crowding its palate like a hedgehog.

My body flinched involuntarily.

‘Th-those jaws….’

When it opened its mouth, the sides of its maw seemed to rip open.

If it had been a human, that meant its lips were torn at both corners.

Yet when it closed its maw again, it returned to its original state.

It was no illusion. Every hair on my body stood on end, a shiver crawling up my spine.

‘What in the world is that?’

What was that monster?

The shocking encounter froze both my body and my thoughts.

“Keeik?”

Then it tilted its head quizzically and started stepping around me.

It began circling me in wide arcs, and then, in an instant.

The beast’s mouth was right in front of me as it clawed the ground.

My frozen body instinctively thrust forward the spear it held.

The shaft blocked the monster’s maw.

The monster swiftly backed off with a leap.

And once again, it tilted its head and began circling me.

‘What is this?’

The behavior of the monster seemed as though….

‘It was testing me?’

Seeing if I was strong or weak.

Realizing this, I felt a twitch on my cheek.

‘And once it figures out?’

The moment it decided I was easy prey.

Gulping nervously, the monster bared its fangs in a threatening manner.

I forced my rigid body to move.

I stepped forward, shifting my weight as if I would attack at any moment.

Flinch.

Was my action the correct one? The monster shuddered.

And it lowered its stance. Ready to pounce at any moment.

It felt like a declaration that it wouldn’t lose to me.

The tension was palpable.

As the monster and I stood still, locked in a tense stare down.

“Aaaagh!”

A scream that was unmistakably human rang out from a distance.

That was the trigger.

The monster and I charged at each other simultaneously.

It was a reaction almost akin to instinct.

Backing down here would mean the monster would think of me as beneath it.

Not wanting to fall for its ploy, I too had to charge forward.

“——!”

The desperate cries continued, but I had no time to look back.

I focused on my Mana Manipulation and thrust my spear forward.

The monster twisted its body to evade the spear blade.

But that wasn’t the end.

The creature pushed past the spear to lunge deeper, swiping its claws toward my legs.

I hastily retreated the targeted leg.

Just as it changed direction to attack the other leg.

‘You damn!’

I threw my entire body backward to dodge the monster’s claws.

“Damn!”

I made a mistake! Before I knew it, I had lost my balance and was tumbling backward as the monster clawed the earth.

‘At this rate, I’ll be bitten to death!’

I swung the spear shaft at the approaching monster.

Thwack.

The creature’s head snapped to the side, and I fell to the ground.

Though I tried to roll and get back up, the monster was one step ahead of me.

Its head turned back toward me, maw open wide.

I hadn’t anticipated the tongue that would leap out.

“Ugh!”

I cried out at the unbelievable sight.

The snake-like tongue had already wrapped around my neck.

“Ugh!”

While I was being choked, its sharp claws dug into my shoulder.

Without the swift concentration of Mana, it would have pierced deeply.

I let go of the spear and drew a dagger from the inventory.

There was no hesitation as I plunged it into the creature’s eye.

Squisssh.

“Kieeeek!”

The monster leapt, clutching its head.

I immediately took out my longsword, intending to stab its chest.

“Wha…?”

I exclaimed, dazed and frozen.

“What is this…?”

The monster with the dagger in its eye began to flee.

I watched, stupefied, as the monster fled.

“—!”

A desperate cry broke the silence that followed, shrouding the area in stillness.

I hurriedly got to my feet and stared in the direction of the sound.

‘Surely….’

If I hadn’t misheard, that was Japanese.

* * *

After the monster fled, I first staunched the bleeding on my shoulder.

Tearing clothing to wrap around it was a temporary measure.

‘Better than doing nothing.’

Luckily, the wound wasn’t deep.

It wasn’t a piercing or a cut.

No damage to the muscle.

Just a shallow tear in the skin.

Although there was pain, it wasn’t severe enough to restrict shoulder movement.

Thanks to enveloping it with Mana in time.

“Haa.”

It was ridiculous how I shrugged off the wound as minor now.

I sighed and got to my feet.

Then, I raised my head.

“… Crazy.”

A white sky greeted me.

I noticed it while checking the wound.

I’d bet my life that the white sky wasn’t comprised of clouds.

Truthfully, calling it a sky felt off; it was too close for that.

More over, that unnatural feeling was familiar.

‘It’s similar to the tutorial room….’

Both the color and the unique whiteness were reminiscent of that place.

After a moment, I wiped my face with my hand.

My palm was soaked with sweat.

“It’s disgustingly hot.”

I had only been in this place for a few minutes. At most, 5 minutes.

Yet sweat was already pouring from my body.

Clicking my tongue, I looked back and forth between two directions.

One was the path where the monster had fled, the other where the scream mixed with Japanese had come from.

‘Which way to go?’

Heading toward the scream might allow me to join other people.

It seemed this mission placed other players in the same space as me for once.

Staying in a group could reduce the danger if we encountered the monster again.

But…

‘Why is it so quiet, making it unnerving…’

Nothing was heard after the desperate scream ended.

That silence lent weight to an ominous assumption.

‘That side might already be done for.’

The scream closely resembled the final cries of the beasts I had slain.

The immediate silence afterward made survival doubtful.

If they had won a fierce battle, there should have been some sound from the monster.

What I heard was clearly a person’s scream.

Just the thought that someone might really be dead sent chills down my spine.

‘Had I not known how to use Mana, I too…’

I would have been crying and shrieking upon encountering the monster.

Just like when I was bitten by the lions.

Recalling that time, the fear of death crept up.

Swallowing dryly, I muttered softly.

“Mission window.”

My encounter with the monster right after arriving left no time to check the mission details.

I needed to know how to complete this mission.

That was the only way back to my room.

MISSION

「Promotion Test (Beta Test)」

Eliminate the enemies. (0/13)

「Rewards」

Rewards based on performance will be given.

• Attribute Mana 10

• Promotion (Based on performance)

• Attribute Stone (Based on performance)

• Currency (10,000,000 )

There was no time limit or start timer for this mission.

The content was lengthier compared to before.

But only one word stood out to me.

‘Ten million won?’

Gulp.

My throat bobbed visibly.

* * *

Ethan, born and raised in England, was a student who had just turned 20 this year.

With his unassuming personality, he led a fairly ordinary life except for his large build.

But suddenly, due to the commencement of the game, everything changed.

On the day of the first mission, he had been with friends.

In an unfortunate coincidence, at a shopping center.

His sudden disappearance followed by a return with blood on him caused quite a commotion.

He was arrested and interrogated.

Luckily or not, during his detention, the missions kept happening.

The repeated summoning and the system information Ethan provided.

Weapons and dramatically enhanced physical abilities that appeared and vanished from thin air.

The British government took action before the third mission began.

They took Ethan to the MI5 (Military Intelligence, section 5).

There, they prepped him with protection, supervision, and basic military training, albeit most of it was useless.

All firearms stored in his inventory vanished once the mission began.

He faced the bear with nothing but his bare hands.

‘I should have learned martial arts.’

Ethan focused more on marksmanship over the past five days.

That miscalculation led to injuries.

In an attempt to kill the bear, he had to sacrifice an arm.

He could still hear the sound of his bones being crunched in the bear’s jaws.

He remembered the sight of his completely severed arm flying away.

Unfortunately, there was no time to recover from the shock of his severed limb.

The fourth mission began before he could manage the trauma.

“Ugh!”

His body, standing 191cm tall, was easily tossed through the air like a piece of paper.

The encounter with the monster that oozed black liquid from an empty eye socket hadn’t even lasted a minute.

The monster charged at him before he could react, and the situation escalated quickly.

Thud!

Ethan’s body collided with a tree amidst the foliage and tumbled to the ground.

The monster’s tongue, extending several meters, wrapped around Ethan’s neck as it swung him around.

‘Such strength!’

He tried to endure somehow, but the difference in strength was stark.

Without any chance, Ethan was overwhelmed by the creature.

Royally clubbed with its tongue, an overwhelming feeling of weightlessness followed as he was swung and mercilessly slammed to the ground.

“Ugh!”

The impact coursed through his entire body, forcing a painful groan from his mouth.

‘Need to regain balance…’

Continuing to be manhandled like this wasn’t going to solve anything.

To counter the monster, he needed to gain control somehow.

But the creature showed no mercy, giving him no chance.

Thud, thud, thud.

Using just its tongue, the monster began to batter Ethan’s body.

Ethan was utterly helpless against the monster’s brute force.

The creature overwhelmed him in every aspect.

His face had already turned a ghastly shade from the lack of air.

“Kraaaah!”

With that, the monster dragged Ethan along the ground.

As if intending to finish him off.

Death, rapidly closing in, seized Ethan.

‘I don’t want to die!’

He struggled, but no escape from the monster was visible.

In a moment of despair.

As Ethan, gripping the creature’s tongue, flailed, a voice reached his ears.

“I leon mi chin! Geu sa lam nea lyeo nwa!”

It was an incomprehensible language.

Simultaneously, swoooosh!

A sharp piercing sound sliced the air.

“Kieeeek!”

A terrifying screech echoed as the monster’s tongue loosened its grip.

“Gasp!”

Breathing heavily, catching his desperately reclaimed breath, a shadow passed overhead.

“Ya I sae kki ya, geo gi seo!”

Amid harsh coughing, Ethan raised his head laboriously.

There was an Asian man with his top off, chasing the fleeing monster.

“Cheon man won!”

With incomprehensible words, black fluid scattered into the air.

The creature that had been the harbinger of Ethan’s demise began to slowly crumble.

TL’s Corner:
Money money money!!!
Capitalism!!!