Surviving in the Trash Hell Game by Tossing a Coin

Chapter 4 - Dark dog(3)

The name of the genre designated by this developer is as follows.

‘Modern Dark Fantasy Apocalypse Dystopian Strategy Exploration Management Turn-Based RPG’.

There was no element that could be called an ending or a main story.

You could only get minor clues about the world's lore as you explored the world.

Even then, it didn't interfere with playing the game at all.

It was good to know the story, but fine even if you didn't.

So what, then, was the goal of this game?

Literally, the goal was to ‘survive for a long time’.

And the turn-based combat was essential to achieving that goal.

Although it adopted the turn-based genre, which tends to divide opinions, as the main combat system, the game received more praise than criticism.

The reasons were as follows.

Dynamic animations were a given, and the speed wasn't slow either.

Also, unlike similar games, it wasn't as if each mercenary had hundreds of skills they could use.

Just a basic attack, a defense, and three skills.

However, despite being a party that could consist of up to 3 members, the direction of strategy changed depending on the combination.

The role of a party member changed depending on their skills and equipment.

A system fixed at exactly 3-on-3, where one could fully enjoy the fun of a ‘battle of wits’ that was neither too complex nor too simple.

That was how the system was in the game.

But what about now?

Now that the ‘transmigration’ has happened, how is the combat system being applied?

Does the system kindly create a 3-on-3 battlefield as a constraint?

Or, since I've been transmigrated, does it proceed like reality instead of a game system?

What exactly are my precise stats and skills?

What on earth can I do with a Dirt Spoon?

As if to answer my questions, the quest window updated and appeared again.

[ Lair of the Dark Dogs ]

This is the Dirt Spoon set, a symbol of what is commonly called 'no talent and no capital'.

It is very fitting for your situation, with no parents, no wealth, and no job.

Still, it's sturdy enough not to break even if it hits a rock.

Regrettably, momentum is more important than luck.

In the grand scheme of things, even chopsticks can become a hero's weapon.

Tails Reward: Obtain the +0 Dirt Spoon.

Includes a spoon made of dirt and a pair of chopsticks made of dirt.

‘Kang Woon’ must kill at least 1 Dark Dog with this weapon.

I didn't know if they were even serious.

You try catching a large dog with a Dirt Spoon.

As if my furious thoughts didn't reach it, a Dirt Spoon set fell from the sky.

A musty, earth-colored spoon and a pair of chopsticks fell limply onto the dirt ground with a thud.

It felt unpleasant, as if it were calling me a Dirt Spoon myself.

To be honest, it was true.

If I, who grew up in an orphanage without parents, wasn't a Dirt Spoon, then who was?

“Commander, what happened!”

As I bent down to pick up the spoon and chopsticks, Maletta, who was back-to-back with me, asked in an urgent voice.

Having checked the quest, she knew I was bending over to get the quest reward.

She was asking whether it was heads or tails.

It wasn't good news, but I couldn't lie, so I told her the truth.

“Ta, tails….”

“Tch, then I have to wipe out this entire area….”

Swallowing a groan at my words, Maletta spun her scythe and shrouded it in massive flames.

Of course, it was no big deal for Maletta to wipe out this area by herself.

However, the condition stated that I had to personally kill one Dark Dog.

And that was 'in a state where Maletta had no influence whatsoever'.

If that group was the last of them, then I wouldn't be able to kill a Dark Dog by myself.

And in the first place, that wasn't the only condition written.

Burning down the forest to handle it will result in immediate failure.

Shrouding herself in such massive flames meant she intended to wipe them out in one go by burning the forest.

I immediately turned and placed a hand on Maletta's shoulder to stop her.

“Wait, stop, Maletta! Didn't you see the penalty?”

“Penalty?”

“Yes, the penalty! If I can't complete the mission, you and I both get permanently weakened!”

Of course, the penalty of permanent weakening could be weaker than I thought.

But conversely, it could be stronger than I thought.

As long as it wasn't specified how much weaker we would become, I had to suspect everything.

To put it bluntly, the severity of the permanent weakening could be so immense that Maletta could become as weak as I am now, and I, too, could become so frail that just walking would be a feat.

There was no way two ordinary people like that could survive for two years in this dark fantasy world.

I had to be cautious.

“Then what should we do?”

“For now, please take care of the ones charging at us, Maletta.”

Nodding at my words, Maletta extinguished the flames on her scythe.

She moved the scythe's blade behind her back to intercept the charging enemies and finished her stance for an upward slash.

“Absolutely do not kill all of them.”

“Got it.”

But the Dark Dogs were clever.

They didn't charge one by one like a typical enemy.

All nine of them charged at once.

And not at Maletta, but at me.

“What!?”

A human body is not two.

It cannot perform two actions at the same time.

If you slash an enemy lunging from the east, you cannot slash an enemy lunging from the west.

That was the reason Maletta couldn't easily cut down all the enemies.

It was even more so because of the condition that 'I have to kill one myself'.

“Commander, it’s dangerous!”

“Ugh!?”

So Maletta chose to protect me instead of going on the offensive.

She pushed me down to evade the attack.

Then, she took the brunt of the charging Dark Dog's attack with her own body.

“Tch!”

To her, a Grade 3, an attack from a mob-level Dark Dog wouldn't even leave a scratch.

However, perhaps more stunned than hurt, Maletta let out a short groan.

As if they didn't think their attacks would work on Maletta, the Dark Dogs postured to charge at me again.

Maletta shook off the Dark Dog and urgently grabbed my hand to pull me up from where I had fallen.

“I can't fight while protecting you if so many of them charge at once!”

“Damn it, let's run for now! We need to buy time!”

In the end, if I couldn't handle it, this quest could not be completed.

I needed time to think.

A plan for me to defeat a Dark Dog myself.

“Right!”

Accepting my proposal, Maletta grabbed my hand and started running.

Of course, the Dark Dogs also quickly regrouped and began to pursue us.

Even though Maletta was running while holding my hand.

She was matching my pace so I wouldn't fall, so we weren't very fast.

Because of that, it was obvious that we would be caught if we slipped up even a little.

While thinking of a way to shake off the Dark Dogs.

The dirt spoon and chopsticks I was gripping tightly in my hand suddenly caught my eye.

Among them, what stood out was the spoon.

Don't dogs usually go crazy for sticks like this?

“Shoo! Fetch!”

With the feeling of clutching at straws, I threw the spoon far away.

The spoon flew far to the right of the direction we were running.

“Pant, pant, pant!”

Fortunately, as if I had stimulated their instincts, the bodies of the pursuers turned in that direction to bite the spoon.

Thanks to that, we were able to shake off the Dark Dogs' pursuit, even if only temporarily, and put quite a distance between us.

***

We succeeded in losing them.

Throwing the spoon was more effective than I thought.

Amazingly, all the Dark Dogs were drawn to the spoon and ran in the opposite direction from us.

But it was obvious that we wouldn't be able to catch our breath while leaning against a tree for long.

Aren't dogs animals of scent?

It was only a matter of time before they found our trail.

A plan was essential.

And it had to be a plan where Maletta was not involved.

Because the term ‘influence’ from Maletta was extremely vague in the first place.

It meant that even simple acts like blocking their path or cutting down a tree could be considered ‘influence’.

That was probably also a reason why Maletta couldn't act aggressively.

“How is it, thought of anything?”

“I'm trying.”

Maletta asked in a hushed voice, but I couldn't give her a clear answer yet.

At my vague attitude, Maletta lowered her head for a moment as if in thought, then lifted it as if she had made a big decision and looked me in the eye.

“Commander, let’s just take the penalty. If we can just get past this crisis, we'll manage somehow.”

That was the answer she came up with.

Giving up on the quest.

A judgment that overcoming the immediate threat was the right thing to do.

“No matter how I think about it, the condition is too difficult. It makes no sense to tell you to catch a Dark Dog with a spoon and chopsticks.”

Maletta fiddled with the tip of her scythe's blade.

Perhaps it was right to accept her suggestion and, for now, escape this crisis.

If she used her power, even thousands of Dark Dogs would be no match for her.

The weakening of her power would happen after this quest ended, so there would be no problem until then.

“Besides, all we have left of the cutlery is the chopsticks now, right?”

As she said, completely killing a Dark Dog with cutlery was practically impossible.

It's not like I gained a special skill by being transmigrated.

Nor had I learned any fighting techniques in the real world.

Just an unfortunate adult male.

With no connection to fighting and even less to a situation like this.

How could such a person overcome this difficulty?

“But if we do that, you and I will both get weaker, you know?”

However, in this game, power was everything.

A dark fantasy apocalypse genre. A world where you didn't know when or where a strong enemy might appear.

To discard strength in such a world was tantamount to shortening one's own lifeline.

Moreover, her pride in her own strength must be immense.

To have her power taken away as soon as she was revived after being dead for several years must be tied to her pride as a mercenary.

So I really didn't want to recommend that choice.

“How much weaker can I get? It’s fine, Commander. I’ll still be strong even with a penalty like that!”

But Maletta, on the contrary, showed a broad, hearty smile.

Her meaning was to look at the present, not to worry about the unknowable future.

“It’s a bit much that you’ll get weaker too, Commander. But still, the drop won't be as big as mine, right?”

As if reading my expression, such a jest followed.

Of course, I knew that she wasn't truly unconcerned but was only pretending to be.

Damn it.

If you say it like that, I have no choice but to try my best, do I?

“Don't you dare say such weak things, Maletta.”

“Commander?”

“I never raised you to be such a weak mercenary!!”

“Ugh!”

A stern rebuke!

To be honest, my heart was also leaning somewhat towards giving up.

How could I kill a beast much stronger than me with just chopsticks?

I am human, too. It's natural to be afraid of death.

Even more so now that I've been knocked down once by that huge body and claws.

Rather than betting my life on uncertainty, it was rational to bet on a certain outcome for now and plan for the next step.

“In any case, the chances are fifty-fifty, success or failure. There are no difficult conditions.”

But isn't that how it is?

Not all success stories in the world can be packaged as rational.

If the world were one where you should only follow the higher probability, the word ‘luck’ would have no reason to exist.

And for that very reason, there's no such thing as impossible in the world.

I know because I've experienced it and done it.

Even when they pointed fingers and said that orphan kid would die soon, I ultimately lived.

Even when they swore at me, calling me trash for being bad at studies and sports, I ultimately lived.

Even when I wandered the streets with no place to take me in, barely getting by on part-time jobs, I am still alive now.

I survived splendidly and am here. The human ‘Kang Woon’, who overcame all that misfortune, is alive here.

It's not because I am special or chosen.

It's simply because I have lived.

Because I 'did' it.

Because I did whatever it took to live.

If my head didn't work, I used my body; if my body didn't work, I used my head. If neither worked, I used grit.

If once didn't work, then twice; if twice didn't work, then three times. If three times didn't work, then four.

In the end, if you do it, it gets done.

You just have to do it until it works.

If you want the coin to land on heads, you just have to keep flipping it until it does.

This is the conclusion I've reached after living for 20 years.

After solidifying my thoughts like that, my racing heart calms down.

The thought process that had been shut down until now starts turning and brings a solution to my mind.

“But Commander, it’s dangerous! How can you with chopsticks! In terms of probability, it's barely 0.01%!”

“That means it succeeds once out of ten thousand times. That's much higher than the lottery.”

“You could die, for real!”

At my firm words, Maletta began to raise her voice as if desperately trying to persuade me.

But if the true intention of her words was not 'rationality' but only concern for me, then my resolve would only harden.

“Then all we need is for that one time out of ten thousand to be now, right?”

“Commander!”

I looked at the flustered, voice-raising Maletta and raised my index finger to my lips.

Because it only came to me after I calmed my thoughts.

The brilliant move to get through this situation.

“What if I told you I have an awesome plan?”

“An awesome plan? You thought of one?”

“Yes, an awesome plan.”

At my words, Maletta stopped her worried shouts.

So, to prove my words to her, I began to grind the tip of the dirt chopsticks on a stone.

It was a small but sufficient action for the starting point of a grand plan.

“Though it’ll need a bit of luck.”