'Hmm... this is troublesome... I just barely managed to gather my prey and now they are all scattered.'

Swish—

The situation had taken an unexpected turn.

I had planned to use them as meat shields, suppressing my urge to kill right away, since it seemed impossible to clear the tutorial on my own. But I failed to notice the monsters hiding behind the bushes, and now things had gone south.

"Ha... I should've just gone through with it instead of holding back."

The fact that I had to abandon my hard-earned prey irritated me.

When I first woke up here and received what could only be described as superpowers, I was overjoyed. A world centered around martial strength!

How much stress had I endured back on Earth, restraining my urges and committing crimes without being caught? Compared to that, this place was heaven.

I could kill without anyone knowing. Because there were no CCTVs or police here. If no one saw, I could just kill them.

Now that I thought about it, there was still one piece of prey left.

The one who always ran her mouth and got on my nerves was following behind me.

"Huff... Huff… Byeong-ok, wait up! Slow down a bit!"

'The situation is beyond repair at this point... I should at least kill this woman, she's completely useless anyway.'

"Moon Gyeong-sil, are you okay? Shall we rest here for a bit?"

"...Oh, thank you, Byeong-ok. Who could've known monsters would come out from there... But it's a relief you're here... Huff... Huff..."

"...Moon Gyeong-sil, you're carrying food, right?"

"Phew... Of course~ I made sure to bring it. Just protect me from the monsters, and I'll take good care of the food."

This woman was, by far, the dumbest human I had ever encountered. This old hag hadn’t even thought to grab a weapon while running away.

Her ability to assess what was happening was laughable. The others seemed at least somewhat useful, so I had planned to gauge their skills later, but this woman was someone I had already intended to dispose of soon.

"Haha... Moon Gyeong-sil, I am not Byeong-ok."

"Huh? What do you mean? If you're not Byeong-ok, then who—"

Slice—

"Aaaaaaah! M-my leg! Hngh!"

"Puh-haha! Puhuhu... How could you lose your precious leg like that Ma’am?"

"Hngh... Byeong-ok... Save me... W-why are you doing this all of a sudden? Please, save me..."

"My name isn’t Jo Byeong-ok. It’s Jo Chan-ho, why are you calling me by the wrong name? That’s so disrespectful to me you should repent for your transgressions, hahahahahha."

I thoroughly enjoyed watching her squirm. I had wanted to do this every time she opened her mouth.

Kneeling down, I met the eyes of the writhing worm.

"You already know, don’t you? Once you've lost a leg, there's no way to survive in this world."

"Please... Please don't do this! B-Byeong-ok—no, Chan-ho! I-I was wrong!"

"Even in your dying moments, you're an idiot. If I were in your shoes, I would've cursed me out instead of begging to the one laughing at your demise."

I stood up, gripping my sword in a reverse grip, aiming at the pathetic, wriggling worm.

"Don't worry. In your next life, you won't be human. You'll be born as the insect you truly are."

"Hngh... W-wait! Spare me!"

hunk.

As I drove my sword down, a life that had been squirming moments ago slowly ceased to move. I loved this feeling.

It made me feel alive.

"Khh... this is the best."

My strategy with the group falling apart was a shame, but oh well, it didn’t matter.

People could always be gathered again, and monsters could either be killed or avoided.

Just as I flicked the blood off my sword and prepared to move, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Then, a figure appeared.

‘...A woman?’

She carried a spear, but what stood out was her striking beauty. She had long black hair and was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

The woman spoke.

"As expected... You’re still trash, Jo Chan-ho."

Flinch!

'How does she know my name...'

I had no idea how she knew my name, but the situation was bad. I was holding a sword, and right in front of me was the corpse of the woman I had just killed.

"Haha... This is a misunderstanding. She tried to steal my food, so I had no choice. But more importantly... Do you know me?"

The woman glanced at the corpse before answering.

"No need to make excuses, I already know you're a psychopathic murderer."

'Who the hell is this woman? How does she know about me? Have I seen her on Earth before?'

No, even if I had seen her on Earth, there was no way she would know I was a murderer. The police never caught me and none of the victims friends or family had any suspicion toward me.

Every time I killed, I meticulously planned everything and erased all evidence. There was no way anyone could have known.

'Well, it doesn’t matter if she knows or not... Besides, she’s pretty... Not bad at all for something just before killing her.'

"Hmm... Seems like you know me? I have no idea how, but what brings you here?

That too, all alone, fearlessly walking into a situation like this.

"Hah... Don’t worry. Things won’t go the way you expect. More importantly, I have a question for you."

"Quite confident, aren’t you? What’s your question?"

"You know Lee Yun-seong, right?"

"...Why are you looking for him?"

'What? Do they know each other?'

It didn’t matter. I was prepared to attack at any moment.

"Yes... I know him, but why does that matter?"

He slowly moved into a better position to swing his sword.

"Where is he?"

"Haha... Why should I tell you that?"

"If you answer, I’ll make sure you die painlessly."

"......Hahahahahah!"

The woman’s words made me laugh, but she didn’t react to my laughter.

"Is that so? That’s quite an offer. Heh... If you can do it, go ahead and try bitch!"

With that, I kicked off the ground. The distance was just right. The woman hadn't even picked up her spear yet. I wasn't sure if she had gone through a class change, but to not even grab her weapon—her confidence was ridiculous.

"I'll at least let you live! Though you might lose a limb or two!"

It happened in an instant. The woman dodged my sword by lowering her body and countered with a kick to my exposed abdomen.

'What the hell?! That movement… it’s way too fast?!'

I quickly blocked with my free arm.

Crack—!

"Kuaaaagh!"

Just from taking a kick, my arm felt like it had shattered. The unexpected pain made me scream. Gritting my teeth, I quickly stepped back.

"Ghh... Sh-shit, what the fuck is this power?!"

How could a human’s kick have such destructive power? It made no sense. A single kick had broken my arm—this was beyond common sense.

"You actually managed to block it. I was aiming to cripple you."

"You... you fucking bitch I’ll kill you!"

I needed to stay calm, this woman was different from the prey I had hunted so far.

"...You wanted to know where Lee Yun-seong is, right?"

"Yeah, where is he? You must’ve met him."

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"Tell me, and I’ll let you go. Just answer first."

"......."

"Speak."

"......Puhuh... You're lying, you plan to kill me."

"......."

The woman’s claim was a lie. As someone who had killed many, I could tell just by looking at her face. She had the same expression I made when I deceived my prey before killing them.

"Hah... you bitch..."

The hunter had become the hunted. I couldn't tolerate this situation.

I picked up my sword again and moved toward the corpse. There was no way I could win as I am right now.

That woman might not know it, but I had a unique trait. And thanks to the woman I just killed, the conditions were set for me to have a chance.

[ Name: Jo Chan-ho ]

[ Age: 29 ]

[ Job: Intermediate Swordsman (Rare Grade) ]

[ Title: None ]

[ Unique Traits ]

Silent Footsteps (Grade Evaluation in Progress) - Reduces the chance of being detected when approaching someone.

Blood Festival (Grade Evaluation in Progress) - Strength and Agility temporarily increase with each kill, up to a maximum of 10. If blood is present, the user can absorb it for healing. Cannot heal with their own blood.

[ Traits ]

Intermediate Swordsmanship Understanding (Rare Grade) - Increases comprehension of swordsmanship.

[ Stats ]

Strength - 18 Agility - 20

Stamina - 16 Luck - 05

Magic - 00 Resistance - 10

When I placed my hand in the pool of blood, I could feel the pain gradually subside. My broken arm didn’t fully heal, but the pain was almost gone.

“Phew… This is good, now I see why you were so confident when you have power overflowing like this.”

“Ha… Why don’t you drop the formalities? Do you only revert to informal speech when things get tough?”

Ignoring the woman’s provocation, I slowly approached her. Rushing in like before would be a mistake.

I walked forward carefully, observing how she reacted, and spoke.

“But I’m curious, why are you asking about Lee Yun-seong’s whereabouts?”

“Why do you care?”

“I was just wondering if there was some romance involved. If so, that’s unfortunate. I already sent him to the same place as that old lady lying over there.”

As soon as she heard my words, her expression twisted into something fierce.

“...I know you’re trying to provoke me, but that still pisses me off.”

The moment she finished speaking, she gripped her spear and kicked off the ground. I flinched. She was too fast.

‘This crazy bitch! How can she be this fast?!’

I quickly swung my sword at the spear aiming for my legs and barely deflected it.

Ting—!

‘Ugh… What the hell are her Strength and Agility stats?!’

I had only blocked a simple thrust, yet my arm was numb from the impact.

She disappeared from sight in an instant. Suddenly, she swung her spear from behind me.

“You… You crazy bitch!”

I lashed out with my sword several times, but none of my attacks landed. While I had to use all my strength just to block her strikes, she dodged mine effortlessly.

‘Now!’

After several exchanges, I saw an opening in her side. Her spear was locked with my sword, and now her flank was exposed. Seizing the opportunity, I threw a kick at her side.

“...What the hell?! Ugh!”

But the result was the opposite of what I expected. Instead of me landing a hit, I found myself rolling on the ground. Before my kick could connect, she had used her spear shaft to hook my leg and trip me.

Thud!

“Gaaahhh!”

The pain of a spear piercing my sword arm made me drop my weapon.

“Urgh…”

“...Don’t act tough. Now, are you ready to answer? Where is Lee Yun-seong?”

“Khuhuhu… That bastard? I chopped off his limbs and fed him to the monsters long ago…”

Slash—

“Ahhhhh! You crazy bitch!”

“Next, it won’t be a finger. It’ll be your wrist. Now, I’ll ask again. Where. Did. He. Go?”

“Huff… How many times do I have to say it… That bastard is already— Gahhhhh!”

“...Where. Did. He. Go?”

“Kuhhh… You psycho bitch!”

Throughout the forest, the sounds of slicing flesh and agonized screams continued to echo.