Chapter 7: I’m the Brutal Killer, Yu Il-Shin
Ding ding!
[No. 404 has exploded!]
[No. 808 has exploded!]
[No. 809 has exploded!]
…
Countless notifications flooded the phone that I had just hit. At the same time, blood trickled down from the small injury inflicted on my forehead. However, I had something far more pressing in mind. Shocked by the ants’ counterattack, I punched my phone out of instinct! Was my phone screen alright?!
“Phew.”
Thankfully, it was fine; my weak writer's punch had otherwise left the screen unscathed, and putting a slightly expensive protective film on it proved worth it. The ants weren’t as lucky, though. They were obliterated out of existence.
“How did those ants manage to attack me, though?”
It didn’t make sense at all. Well, considering I could get a coin for killing ants on my phone, nothing about this whole situation made sense. Still…
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Coins began popping out of my phone. A glance was enough for me to tell that I had earned hundreds. I had probably killed dozens of them, after all. However, that wasn’t the only surprise I received.
Ding!
[The Nameless God has accumulated 1,000 karma!]
[Congratulations. You have gained a title of the Malevolent God!]
“Huh? A title?”
The system message seemed as if it had come straight out of a game. Just to be sure, I clicked on the title in the message window.
Pzzt!
Along with a weird noise, the screen glitched, and a description appeared.
-----
[Brutal Killer (F)]
A title earned by accumulating 1,000 karma (evil deeds) or more. It increases the combat luck of the Nameless God.
“By training in combat, the one who walks the path of evil can become a true Malevolent God.”
-----
I seemed to have gained this title by getting 1,000 karma… Well, sure. Its description still seemed strange to me, though. What did it mean by “combat luck” and that I had to train in combat to become a true Malevolent God?
Am I part of some martial tribe from a certain webtoon?!
Pzzzzt!
Just then, the pile of cap coins on the floor began to merge into 100-unit coins. Moments later, I was left with four 100-unit coins and a few dozen 1-unit coins.
At that moment, amid the pile, I noticed something shiny
“What’s this?”
I picked up the green-colored ring. It was so small that it could barely fit my pinky. I looked closer, wondering if the sparkle was from the gemstone, but it was just made of wood.
“Sniff. Oh, this smell!”
The ring gave off the natural fragrance of phytoncide, making me feel like I was standing in the middle of a forest. As its scent cleared my head, I became so fascinated with it that I unknowingly stared at it for quite a while.
Soon, God-Maker sent me a notification, bringing me back to my senses. It informed me of the activation of an innate power.
Ding!
[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]
[Appraising the ring…]
[Appraisal complete!]
“Huh? Appraisal?”
-----
[Druid’s Ring]
A ring imbued with the vitality of the forest. No.808 never took it off.
Special note: Increases elemental power.
-----
No. 808 was probably the strange ant that had hit me with a beam of light.
Anyway, I can appraise items now? Woah.
Could I only use this skill on items from God-Maker? Or could I use it in my everyday life?
To test it out, I focused on an object in my room. I stared at it for so long that I felt like my eyes would pop out of their sockets.
Luckily, I soon received the notification alert I had been waiting for.
Ding!
[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]
[Appraisal complete!]
“Hell yeah!”
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[Yu Il-Shin’s TV]
Around for 1 year.
Special note: There are still 8 months of installment left to pay.
-----
[Yu Il-Shin’s Laptop]
Around for 1 year and 2 months.
Special note: There are still 6 months of installment left to pay.
-----
[Yu Il-Shin’s Bed]
Around for over 10 years.
Special note: An old bed. About time to throw it away.
-----
… I should stop.
They were all mine anyway, so All I had actually done was confirm what I already knew.
What if this ability also gave me an insight into other people’s information, though? At the very least, it would be beyond my G-rank rating. I had to test this out once I had gone outside. For now, I had this ring to think about.
“Druid’s Ring… It’s pretty small.”
I tried putting it on, but it was too small. It could only go as far as the first section of my pinky.
Sssss!
Nevertheless, at that moment, I felt a rush of revitalizing energy flow through me.
“Huh? Eh?”
I felt as light as a feather. Even the pain in my neck and shoulders, which were usually stiff from chronic fatigue and stress, had completely disappeared.
“Woah!”
***
As soon as the day broke, I excitedly went to the Supernatural Phenomenon Center. There, I saw the bob-haired female official I had met on the day I received the G-rank awakening test results. She greeted me in a formal tone.
“You want to retake the test?”
“Yes.”
It didn’t make sense that I would still be a G-rank Hunter. Putting the appraisal skill aside, would a G-rank be able to create a ring that revitalized its wearer?
The female official stared at me for a few moments, then finally let out a sigh. She handed me a piece of wet tissue.
“Please clean yourself.”
“Thank you.”
Along the way, a pigeon shat on my hair. Then, I bumped into someone, and their coffee accidentally spilled onto my shirt. I also unknowingly sat on a piece of gum on the train, which was still stuck on my pants to this second.
My journey to the center had been riddled with hardships. I hadn’t always been on the lucky side, but I seemed to have become even more unlucky when I obtained the malevolent god’s title of Brutal Killer.
It’s probably just my imagination… right?
The female official frowned as she stared at me.
“The tests have a less than 1% chance of error. Do you really want to proceed?”
“Yes!” I eagerly replied.
Seeing my absolute confidence, the female official let out a defeated sigh. “If you say so. As you know, only the first test is subsidized. You will be charged for each subsequent test.”
“How much is it?”
“1,580,000 won, sir. After making the payment, you will have to wait for your turn in the examination room over there. Would you be paying with cash or a card?”
“...”
That’s fucking expensive.
After saying that I’d take some time to consider, I went to the waiting room and sank into one of the chairs. I thought of swiping my card, but I remembered that I only had 200,000 won left in my bank. Instead of letting the excitement over the ring get to my head, I should’ve looked up the test on the internet beforehand.
I stared down at the Druid’s Ring.
Maybe some other time?
My abilities wouldn’t vanish if I didn’t take the test now anyway. Moreover, to succeed as a Hunter, I had to at least be a B-rank. Honestly, I doubted I could reach that rank with my current abilities.
Humans considered B-rank Hunters and above to be miracles. After all, those people could lift a car or shoot flames like a flamethrower with their bare hands. With those standards in mind, my current abilities would barely hit D-rank at best. I should just postpone it until I was financially stable.
If things went well with my new work, then I shouldn’t be too hard-pressed once I had received the signing bonus anyway.
There are a lot of people here today…
Despite it being a weekday morning, the center was relatively crowded. Well, I couldn’t blame them. Many dreamed of getting rich overnight. Not wanting to waste my trip, I decided to turn my attention to the people in the center, hoping to gain inspiration for my work. After a minute or so…
[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]
[Appraising the targets..]
Oh, it works!
The information of those around me appeared before my eyes.
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[---]
A male human. Around for 30 years.
Special note: Suffering from hemorrhoids.
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[---]
A female human. Around for 24 years.
Special note: Currently pregnant.
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[---]
A male human. Around for 41 years.
Special note: Has erectile dysfunction.
-----
Hmm, how weird.
The fields where my targets’ names should be were left blank. The descriptions seemed callous as well, dividing humans as male or female, like animals and revealing their ages. It made me feel uneasy. Could this be a reflection of my psyche? Did I dislike people in general?
Even the special notes felt off to me.
Are these facts?
If they were, that would be incredible, but it wasn’t like I had a way to confirm it. I couldn’t just ask a random stranger if they had hemorrhoids or erectile dysfunction, could I? Moreover, approaching a slim and pure-looking woman to ask if she was pregnant was straight-up sexual harassment.
No matter how accurate this appraisal skill was, I wouldn’t just go around diagnosing people like some doctor, so this ability was bizarre to me. How was I supposed to make use of it? It would be way more handy if it allowed me to learn their names.
However, among the people around me, a teenage girl in a stylish and frilly high school uniform stood out the most. It was still early in the day, so there was still time before classes started. Perhaps that was why she was still here.
The girl was so beautiful that she could pass as an idol. She also seemed so out of place that I couldn't take my eyes off her.
More importantly, among the multitude of empty name fields, only hers actually had a name.
-----
[Sung Mi-Ri]
A female human. Around for 19 years.
Special note: Electrifying.
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Electrifying? What kind of bullshit is this?
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