Chapter 4 : An Odd One Discovered (1)

Chapter 4: An Odd One Discovered (1)

Giga Snail Essence.

Although it only applied to enemies level 6 and below.

An early-game-only slaughter item that could deal a monstrous fixed damage of 300 per second.

“And if it’s a situation like now, where the monsters’ movements are restricted…….”

There was no better environment than this to make use of the Giga Snail Essence.

All Dohyeong had to do was find a weapon with long range, imbue it with an attribute,

and just stab those things a few times from outside the perimeter.

‘Then I can monopolize the first-hunt achievements for all nearby monsters under level 6!’

Dohyeong swallowed hard and alternated his gaze between the brilliantly glowing Giga Snail Essence and the outside that resembled a hellscape.

‘……Damn it, am I really doing this?’

He had come up with a trick that could be called an exploit.

But Dohyeong couldn’t make a decision easily.

That was because all of the above scenarios assumed this was a game.

‘This situation isn’t a game, it’s reality…….’

Dohyeong’s expression grew grave.

In a game, it didn’t matter how many mistakes you made.

You could just restart anyway.

But now that Colossus had become reality, there was no concept of restarting.

It meant that life and death could be decided by a single mistake.

Naturally, he couldn’t help but be cautious about his choices.

‘Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with just heading to the safe zone like this.’

He had already obtained the Giga Snail Essence for rapid early growth,

and though he didn’t know what it was, there was also the ‘special gift’ the developer had prepared just for him.

And he was a veteran who had rolled around in Colossus for over ten years…….

There was no way his starting line wouldn’t be far ahead of ordinary people.

But paradoxically, precisely because he was a veteran with over ten years in Colossus, he felt uneasy.

‘Will that really be enough?’

Colossus was a game that truly boasted an atrocious level of difficulty.

The early growth phase, which could be called a newbie’s hell, was certainly insane,

but beyond that, there existed several impregnable walls that even veterans struggled with.

Among them.

‘……Uphold.’

An evil organization that one had to inevitably confront in order to survive in Colossus.

To survive against those guys, where each and every member was a peak-level monster,

it was absolutely impossible with ordinary growth methods.

When he thought about the inevitable challenges he would face as he continued playing Colossus,

it became hard to calmly head toward the safe zone like this.

‘If I go to the safe zone now, will I really be able to keep surviving after that?’

The answer to the question he asked himself was…… ‘NO’.

That was how hopelessly hellish Colossus’s difficulty was.

“Yeah, it can’t be helped.”

At this point, monopolizing the ‘first-hunt achievement rewards’ was not a choice but a necessity.

Once he simplified his thoughts, what he had to do next became clearly outlined.

Dohyeong immediately swept his gaze through the inside of the convenience store.

‘First, I need a weapon with long range.’

A kitchen knife with short reach would be hard to use for someone like him who couldn’t even handle weapons properly.

Dohyeong grabbed a long cleaning mop placed in the corner and snapped off the bottom.

Crunch!

Then, using duct tape that had fallen on the floor, he tightly wrapped the kitchen knife around the end.

As he carried out the series of actions quickly, the convenience store clerk spoke to him from behind.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“?”

Her voice trembled slightly, but

with calmer eyes than before, she looked up at Dohyeong.

“Are you also going to the Seogyo-dong Community Center?”

“……Not right now.”

When she asked about his destination, he wondered if she was trying to rely on him.

‘This isn’t good.’

He had been worried about this case since earlier.

When you show human kindness, and the other side takes that kindness as a right.

He didn’t want to worry about even someone he had met for the first time today, when he didn’t even know what would happen a few hours later.

But as if that concern was unfounded, she continued speaking.

“I see. Then I’ll head out first.”

At her unexpected response, Dohyeong was momentarily left speechless.

“……Pardon?”

“Ah, it looks like you’re doing something right now. It also seems like it’s not something I can help with, and I didn’t want to get in your way……. Did I perhaps say something rude?”

Dohyeong blinked at her as she spoke cautiously.

“No, it wasn’t rude. It’s just…….”

‘I thought you were going to latch onto me.’

He swallowed the last words internally.

She seemed to be more perceptive and considerate than he had expected.

As Dohyeong trailed off, she nodded once and quickly prepared to leave.

“Thank you for what you did earlier. If it weren’t for you, sir, I would’ve died like a dog without even knowing why. If I get the chance later……, I’ll definitely repay this kindness. Thank you so much.”

After bowing deeply and offering her heartfelt thanks, she left the convenience store, and Dohyeong, left alone, let out a small deep breath.

‘The timing is unbelievably perfect.’

What he was about to do now was something he didn’t want to show to anyone if possible.

If the convenience store clerk had cluelessly stuck to him,

he had even been prepared to forcibly shake her off.

That was why he was grateful that she had left the convenience store without complaint.

Clearing his stray thoughts, Dohyeong brought the Giga Snail Essence up to the makeshift spear.

Then, a system window covered his field of view.

Ding!

「Attribute Imbuement (Giga Snail Essence–Epic) is possible」

「Would you like to imbue an attribute? (Yes/No)」

A familiar system window he had often seen in the game.

He had worried that the spear he made might not be recognized as a weapon,

but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Without even a trace of hesitation, Dohyeong selected ‘Yes’.

Wooooong

In an instant, a green haze rose from the stone and began to seep into the spear.

Not long after, a green light ignited across the entire spear,

and the blade was covered in an even deeper shade of green.

Ding!

「[Crude Makeshift Spear] has been successfully imbued with [Giga Snail Essence]」

Ding!

[Giga Snail Essence-Infused Spear (Epic)]

Base Attack Power 13–15

Durability 32

= The power of the Giga Snail Essence has been imbued into a crudely made makeshift spear.

While its basic lethality is hard to greatly expect, its durability has been significantly increased along with the special power contained within the essence.

Giga Snail’s Corrosive Poison

Deals 300 fixed damage per second to opponents level 6 and below.

The crude makeshift spear was instantly transformed into a fairly sturdy weapon.

This was the power of game items that could be felt in reality.

“Phew…….”

After finishing everything he needed to do in the convenience store, Dohyeong was about to head straight outside,

when he picked up a pack of salt that had fallen on the floor.

“Just in case, I’ll bring one of these too.”

Then he stood in front of the convenience store entrance, wide open and clearly showing the outside.

The outside was even more of a scene of carnage than before.

“……Please, someone save me!”

“Ah, my leg! Help! My leg’s trapped!”

People soaked in terror screaming in fear, and traces of destruction visible everywhere.

Everyone, with frightened expressions, was running somewhere without exception.

Taking a deep breath, Dohyeong stepped forward.

Step

His toes pointed in the exact opposite direction of the people fleeing from despair.

.

.

.

Kwaaang!

A gigantic club, as large as a human, mercilessly smashed the asphalt road.

“Krraaaah!”

Above the head of the massive, muscular monster violently swinging the huge club, the word ‘Goliath’ was written in red.

As if displeased with the transparent wall blocking its path, the creature repeatedly pounded the ground.

Kwaang! Kwang!

Shattered asphalt, crushed flesh, and splattered blood. The area around it was nothing short of scorched earth.

The moment he stepped out of the convenience store and saw that sight, Dohyeong clenched his grip tightly.

‘This sends shivers down my spine.’

No matter how much there was a barrier, it was absolutely not safe.

If he were to mistakenly step inside there even once,

he would not be able to avoid ending up like the people crushed into fishcake paste.

‘First, Goliath is a pass.’

Not only was it out of the spear’s range,

but even if the blade managed to reach it by sheer luck, as far as Dohyeong knew, its level was 13.

Against a monster far exceeding level 6, the Giga Snail’s corrosive poison was useless.

Dohyeong’s gaze naturally shifted toward the sidewalk beside it.

“Grr! Grr!”

The Black Hound that had been hit by a stone from Dohyeong earlier.

The creature, identical to its game illustration, recognized Dohyeong and barked loudly.

‘Yeah, if I’m going to hunt something, it should be that one first.’

Just like the Giga Snail, it was a level 6 monster.

It was still a monster that a beginner couldn’t even imagine facing alone,

but Dohyeong had a cheating item limited to enemies level 6 and below.

Dohyeong glanced once at his spear, faintly glowing green, and steeled his resolve.

Thump, thump!

He slowly took one step at a time toward the creature clinging to the transparent wall and radiating killing intent.

Bang! Bang……!

The closer he got, the more excited the creature became, while Dohyeong’s mouth went dry with tension and cold sweat streamed down his body.

He knew for sure that the creature couldn’t come out beyond the barrier,

but.

“This is insane.”

Facing it up close was terrifying enough to make him forget that fact.

Its massive body, impossible to consider a mere dog, looked more than twice the size of a tiger, and sticky drool dripped from its muzzle, stained with someone’s flesh and blood.

Above all, an intense killing intent emanated from its bloodshot red eyes.

“……Grrrr!”

A monster that would freeze an ordinary person just by facing it.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—Dohyeong had already experienced facing the Giga Snail once,

so he was able to forcibly push that fear aside.

‘I can do this. Yeah, I can do it. I……!’

Dohyeong repeatedly took deep breaths with the transparent wall between them,

then opened his eyes wide and stared straight at the creature.

“……I can do this!”

With a loud shout, Dohyeong thrust the spear forward with all his strength.

.

.

.

.

……Thud!

They said humans were creatures of adaptation.

At first it was difficult, but after nearly two hours had passed,

hunting creatures with restricted movement quickly became familiar.

“Phew……, should I start moving toward the community center now?”

The Dohyeong who had nearly died without being able to do anything when he first encountered the Giga Snail was gone.

Inside the duffel pack he found at a nearby sportswear store,

were stacks of minimal hunting achievement bonuses he had obtained so far.

The heavy weight pressing down on his shoulders felt reassuring, as if he had gained an army of a thousand.

The decision he made at the convenience store had truly been the best choice.

‘Of course, there is something that worries me too…….’

It happened when he hunted a level 4 ‘Hop Goblin’.

It wasn’t on the level of a Giga Snail or a Black Hound,

but a Hop Goblin was still a monster difficult for a newbie to hunt.

Of course, that wasn’t a story that applied to Dohyeong, who possessed the power of the Giga Snail Essence.

Kieeek!

Just like other monsters, the one stabbed by the spear dissolved into gray light and vanished after about ten seconds.

The problem was what came after.

“……Huh?”

An empty ground, devoid of anything.

Strangely, he couldn’t obtain a single item from the creature.

At first, he wondered if it was just a simple error.

But Dohyeong quickly realized what that phenomenon meant.

‘Someone else hunted the Hop Goblin first?’

The first-hunt achievement bonus was a reward system granted to only one person.

If he didn’t receive that benefit, it meant that someone else had already hunted that monster.

‘……They said it was a worldwide patch, so I guess there could’ve been cases of monsters being hunted.’

Dohyeong once again realized that his choice had been correct.

If he had gone straight to the safe zone, the first-hunt achievement bonus opportunity might have gone to someone else.

After that incident, Dohyeong persistently searched for monsters and hunted them down.

Things like the Hop Goblin incident happened a few more times, but fortunately, it wasn’t common.

‘……About 20 minutes left now? If I run, I can get there in under five minutes, so slowly…….’

Just as he was checking the remaining time and calculating the distance.

……Gkk! Gkkuuuugh!

A scream echoed from somewhere.

Dohyeong reflexively broke into a sprint toward the sound.

In ordinary daily life, it would have sounded chilling,

but now it sounded like an opportunity to receive rewards.

It was true that he felt a sense of regret, but this was the reality of a world transformed into Colossus.

Gkkuuugh! Gk……!

In rhythm with Dohyeong’s sprint, the pitiful screams continued without pause.

“Huuh, huuh!”

Hearing the screams and the raw sound of flesh being torn from beyond the corner, Dohyeong’s heart sank heavily.

But when he actually arrived near where the screams were coming from,

Dohyeong hesitated.

‘What is it?’

Now that he listened closely, the screams didn’t seem to be coming from a human.

Sensing something was off, Dohyeong very carefully peeked his head out past the corner.

And the scene unfolding before his eyes was……!

‘What the hell is that?’

Puuuk! Thud!

It was the sight of some long-haired man wielding a machete, hacking goblins into pieces.