Surviving in the Trash Hell Game by Tossing a Coin

Chapter 3 - Dark dog(2)

Cleanly cut in two.

No other word was more fitting.

The four Dark Dogs that had been chasing me were neatly severed in half at the waist, blazing in flames.

The immense heat was so fierce it felt like it would swallow everything in this forest, including me.

I was surprised and hurt by the sweat that flowed on its own and the pain, but I wasn't flustered.

Well, that was a given.

For this entire forest to go up in flames by her power alone was, in a way, a matter of course to me.

Maletta was a character I had raised with utmost care, one that was close to the ‘final spec’ of that time.

That's why I wasn't flustered even seeing her twirl a giant, crimson scythe.

“Hey. Are you not gonna put out the fire…?”

“This nature is ruined anyway. Isn't it fine to just burn it all away?”

“I, I’m going to burn to death!!”

“Ugh!”

Still, I had to say what needed to be said.

As I pounded my chest and shouted urgently, Maletta finally extinguished the flames and spun her scythe.

The cold wind generated from the scythe blew fiercely, completely putting out the forest fire in an instant.

It could be a fan and a stove; what an eco-friendly mercenary she was.

In the middle of the forest, which had been cleanly blown away leaving only ashes, just the two of us, Maletta and I, remained.

Once the danger was gone, what rushed in was the fatigue of the body.

The pain in the shoulder where the Dark Dog had grabbed me, and the pain in my legs from my muscles cramping up after running so hard since being summoned when I was just playing games.

“Ugh….”

So, I couldn't help but let out a dazed sound and plop down onto the ash-covered dirt ground.

“Commander, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just out of energy….”

I didn't even have the strength to look up at Maletta, who, upon seeing me, slung her scythe onto her back and rushed over.

So I just bowed my head low and feebly waved my hand.

As if my will to rest for a moment was conveyed, Maletta didn't say anything more.

She just stood still in front of me.

Phew… I’m tired.

Let’s just rest for a bit….

My elite troops, one of whom was the mercenary I was most attached to, who was with me from the very beginning to the end of the game.

Maletta Kreynoah, an elite mercenary whom I had invested a thousand hours into raising so as not to lose to others.

To see her alive and moving before my eyes was a feeling that couldn't be described in words.

There was no limit to the maximum number of mercenaries in the mercenary company, but there was a 3-person deployment limit for battles.

So, there was no need to raise many mercenaries.

Especially since 'standby mercenaries' also required resources to survive the seasons or for food.

Since you couldn't buy resources with real money, there was absolutely no merit in having many mercenaries.

So I only raised 5 second-string mercenaries for non-combat purposes, and 3 mercenaries for combat and main content.

And one of those first-string elites was Maletta.

She was also one of the two elite mercenaries who died back then when coin tosses and dice fumbles blew up in my face.

“Are you really okay?”

My energy had recovered moderately, and the pain in my leg and shoulder had subsided to a reasonable degree.

So I was about to get up.

But Maletta looked down at me with a strange expression, as if worried about me.

I simply lifted my head, met her eyes, and nodded.

I couldn't examine her properly before in all the chaos, but now that I had the composure to look up at her face, I could be certain.

Rose-red long hair tied up, flowing down like a waterfall.

Her eyes were slightly upturned, but they gave an impression of being cool-headed rather than malicious.

Dark eyelashes, double eyelids that I didn't have. A sharp nose and glossy lips….

Literally, an appearance I had customized to my own taste.

And gear that captured both specs and appearance at the same time.

A cloak that came down to thigh-length, fluttering in the gentle breeze.

A crimson outer coat designed based on a long coat, decorated with black belts and buttons according to my taste.

A matching set of red gear from 'Plenar Atelier', with flame-shaped fabric decorations as highlights on the arm parts….

It was a game I quit years ago, so I had forgotten all the detailed systems.

But the appearance I had spent three years creating was clearly etched in my memory.

And the appearance left in that memory perfectly matched the figure I was seeing now.

So I didn't doubt for a moment that the person before me was Maletta.

I was certain that I had really been transmigrated into the world of the game.

“Hmm, hmm. Are you feeling the same way as me now, Commander? That feeling of seeing someone in person for the first time~?”

She stared at me, then scratched her chin and held out her hand to me.

There was no reason to refuse, so I grabbed the firm hand she offered and shot to my feet.

“Alright! First, let’s get up, Commander. We can catch up while we walk.”

“Oh, right. We can’t stay like this forever.”

She grinned, turned around, and started walking ahead.

I couldn't start walking right away.

Because the warm sensation of a human's body temperature, not the cold touch of a mouse from a game character, was fascinating.

I could only clench and unclench my hand a few times.

***

“Just in case, I'm asking. You know my name, right?”

“Maletta Kreynoah.”

“Rank? Special achievements?”

“Association official recognition Grade 3, unofficial Grade 2. Successful participation in the Green Labyrinth subjugation.”

“Ahaha, you really are my Commander!”

We left the blackened place she had burned and walked through the forest untouched by the flames.

Even while walking, Maletta started asking me various questions.

I had nothing to hide, so I answered fluently.

Maletta was a little suspicious at first, but her face soon brightened at my unhesitating answers.

“Phew~ If you can answer all that, I have no choice but to believe you. Should I call you Commander Kang Woon?”

“Call me whatever’s comfortable. There’s no reason to address me so formally as Commander, either.”

“I heard 5 years have passed in that world, so wouldn't it be better to be called that~?”

Of course, through such conversation, it wasn't just her; I, too, was gaining information.

That for some reason, she knew my real name and identity.

The nickname I used was 'kISSmEdd', not Kang Woon.

If she didn't have information, it would have been correct to call me Commander Kissmedd, or Kissmedd.

Not call me by my personal information name, Kang Woon.

Also, there was no need to distinguish the time between that world and this world.

Meaning, there was no reason to refer to 'that world' without any basis.

If so, what was the basis that made her make that statement? I, too, needed confirmation.

So I softly called her name, about to get to the main point, but.

“Maletta.“

“Yes?”

“You….”

In that moment.

My words were cut off by the quest window that popped up again, announcing an update.

The quest window updated even though I hadn't called out for the status window.

Curious about the change, I immediately checked the updated content.

[ Lair of the Dark Dogs ]

You have gained a reliable ally, your precious mercenary ‘Maletta’.

But that is not enough. Your ‘luck’ has been proven, but your ‘momentum’ has not.

This forest happens to be the lair where tens, hundreds of ‘Dark Dogs’ lie in wait.

To prove your ‘momentum’, escape safely from the Lair of the Dark Dogs.

However, an additional objective will be given depending on the result of a newly provided coin toss.

Objectives:

‘Kang Woon’ must survive and either annihilate the Dark Dogs’ lair or escape from it.

‘Kang Woon’ must throw the coin and kill at least 1 Dark Dog with the given weapon.

Objective 2 takes precedence over Objective 1.

Completion will be marked immediately via the quest window.

However, burning down the forest to handle it will result in failure.

Reward: One month's worth of supply cubes and a map of the vicinity

Upon Failure: Permanent weakening of player ‘Kang Woon’ and mercenary ‘Maletta’

Heads Reward: Obtain the +5 Returned Warrior Set.

Includes armor, skill card, and weapon.

Tails Reward: Obtain the +0 Dirt Spoon.

I clicked my tongue and examined the quest's content.

I had predicted that another ordeal would come soon, but I hadn't known it would be this fast.

“What’s this?”

“Gosh, you scared me. What?”

However, I couldn't check all the details.

Because Maletta, who had been walking beside me, suddenly stuck her head close to the quest window and asked.

“This thing, this. Lair of the Dark Dogs? It looks like a quest window, doesn't it?”

“Huh? This? Uh, right.”

I thought she was just asking out of a sense of déjà vu from seeing me stop and stare into empty space.

But she went beyond my expectations and pointed exactly at the quest window I was reading.

She even accurately named it a ‘quest window’.

I naturally thought she couldn't see it, so that was quite a surprise.

Of course, if that were the case, it explained some things.

It would make sense if she, like me, had received a ‘main quest’.

It would make sense if she heard my real name and the fact that I was a ‘transmigrator’ from there.

In fact, that was almost a certainty, but I decided to ask about it later.

For now, there was something more important.

“What is the definition of 'kill'?”

After looking over the entire quest, I closed the window and asked aloud, as if for it to hear.

I wasn't trying to split hairs.

It's not a bad thing to prepare for such a situation, just in case it came.

“If a kill is just inflicting damage, doesn’t that mean I can just land the final blow on a corpse or a dying creature?”

Indeed, if what I just said was accepted, this quest could be cleared easily regardless of the outcome.

Maletta was strong enough not to lose even if you brought a truckload, a billion Dark Dogs.

She could just control her strength, maim one, and bring it before me.

And then I would just stab the helpless thing's head, thwack.

It meant I could clear it easily, whether with chopsticks or a spoon.

I was naturally thinking this was the intention.

Of course, a normal adult male cannot kill a large dog or a wolf with a spoon.

It was obvious that anyone you brought here would draw a line and say that was impossible.

So I watched the quest window update without any worries.

Because I had no doubt that a ‘common sense’ result would appear.

The definition of kill in this quest is as follows:

It means to eliminate a Dark Dog in a state unaffected by ‘Maletta’.

Surprisingly, it seemed I was the only one who thought so.

“Does that make any sense?”

This is absurd.

You guys come down here and try it, you bastards.

Try killing a wolf cub with a spoon.

I scratched my head in annoyance and bewilderment as I irritably closed the quest window for only a moment.

“Commander.”

Maletta, who had been watching me talk to myself with a grin.

Her expression hardened in an instant, and she drew the scythe from her back, then stood back-to-back with me.

The content of the quest, her drawing her weapon.

There was no need to ask what all these actions signified.

“They're coming, be careful.”

Her low, subdued warning was enough to put my body on high alert.

Nine Dark Dogs had walked out from the forest's shadows and had already surrounded us.

It said 'lair', so it wouldn't end with nine.

The option to burn down the forest itself was also gone.

No matter how much of a mob they were, Maletta wouldn't be able to protect me forever.

It meant that I, with no combat ability, would soon be reduced to a burden.

“Of course.”

Of course, that's if I had no ‘means to resist’.

I didn't know what that Returned Warrior Set was, but it had to be better than being bare-bodied.

If I received armor, a weapon, and a skill card, I should be able to pull my own weight against mobs.

Just like before, I rummaged through my pocket and took out a new coin that had appeared without my knowledge.

A coin distinctly different on the front and back, similar to the ‘Coin of Revival’.

The front was a patternless blue, the back was black with a skull drawn on it. That coin, I tossed it.

Placing it on my thumb, I flicked it high into the sky, high enough to hear a clear 'ting' of metal.

Soon, the coin pierced through the sky, shadowed by the lush trees, and fell.

The coin tumbled on the ground, revealing its metallic color to me.

I was always strong in unfavorable situations.

So, as a matter of course, this time too, it would be heads….

…….

The black side came up.

No.