Chapter 5 (1/2)

It was a dismal space. Everything was blocked with musty cement, and all he could see was a worn out desk, window, and a door leading outside.

No matter how much a game was like reality, there were some significant differences when compared. The key difference was the experience. Experiencing it with the body.

“My body?”

-[It is your body, not the character you used in the virtual version.]

Discomfort from the heat and a fishy smell came through his nose.

There was also an ominous feeling that could not be explained. There were no elements of convenience to a gamer. He was being awakened to reality more and more.

Kikik!

Seuseuk.

There was the sound of life outside the building. They must be mutants.

It must have been because he had 10 years of experience in Life Mission, but he stuck his back against the wall and moved towards the window. He wanted to examine the situation outside.

“There are more than a few buildings. Just looking out, there must be hundreds.”

-[They are all for the reserved lifer. This entire region is at difficulty level C, so the building you are starting at is just the tip of the iceberg.]

Cha Jun Sung listened to Odin’s explanation as he geared his hearing to the movement outside. He intended to move slowly since there was not an allotted time.

Click!

-[Level 1 mutant Kawod is approaching. Take out your odorless spray and use it on your body. You need to complete this in 1 minute.]

“Keuk!”

Cha Jun Sung looked through his bag and took the spray out.

He had flipped everything out of his bag while trying to take it out quickly. It was an item he had used thousands of times in the virtual version. His brain was not functioning when he thought of it as real.

Chiik.

A transparent powder floated in the air. There was no scent. Just like its name, it was odorless.

-[There is a large vent on the right. Go up and hide.]

The vent was installed 3 meters above the ground. It was a height that could not be reached without tall height or muscular strength.

Cha Jun Sung looked at the desk and shook his head. The place was completely silent. The desk was too heavy to lift. If he dragged it, there would be too much noise.

Pat!

He put force into both feet and kicked off from the ground. His 184cm height and body moved through exercise went through the air.

“Hup!”

It felt like he was doing a pull-up. He had thrown his bag to the floor. There was no need to hang on to it if it would not help him live, and it was too heavy for him to bring up.

Once he was inside, it was not hard to crawl around because the ventilator was torn.

Kiik.

Right when Cha Jun Sung hid himself, the worn door opened and a Level 1 Kawod entered the room sniffing around just as Odin had anticipated.

‘It’s the same!’

With a smashed and deformed face, it was the size of an 8 or 9 year old elementary school student. The only weapons that could be of danger were its sharp teeth and nails.

A coward. It was exactly the same as the Kawod he had seen in the virtual version.

Weak alone and weak as a crowd, they were at the bottom of the mutant food chain. An adult man could take one on with his bare hands even if he was wounded.

-[There are 21 Kawods in this building. I recommend that you avoid them since you are not armed to take them all on.]

The only weapon Cha Jun Sung had was a dagger. If it were only a few, he could have done something, but he would become a piece of meat if 21 came at him.

Sniff sniff!

The Kawod bent over and went around the room. Cha Jun Sung’s heart beat to the sound of its sniffing. It was a fear-inducing game of hide-and-seek.

The Kawod that had been sniffing around everywhere put his nose to Cha Jun Sung’s bag. It seemed there was a remaining odor because he had not sprayed it.

Seuruk.

An unexpected situation, the Kawod laid down next to the bag. Does it like the smell?

Since the building was their home, it was their business where they lay. But why, of all places, next to his bag? Cha Jun Sung almost threw a fit.

“Hey there. Do I have to take that bag?”