HVG Ch 6

Episode 6

“Ah… It’s hot.”

The weather on Seonak Island was mostly dry and scorching, like the peak of summer. Yet, surrounded by the sea on all sides, the salty scent lingered in the air. When the wind blew in, the humidity made everything feel damp and sticky. People were gradually coming to terms with the fact that this place was completely cut off from the mainland.

The Awakened could not leave until they completed the “Tutorial.”

【 You can’t leave this place until the “Tutorial” is over! Yep, that’s right! We’ll be reducing the number of participants here! And how do we do that? The first team to break through from <Lv.1> to <Lv.5> will clear the Tutorial! So what does that mean? It means you start from <Lv.1>! 】

That thing had declared that the “Tutorial” could only be cleared by breaking through <Lv.5>. The first stage, <Lv.1>, was the “Relief Supplies Battle.” It had gathered 50,000 people but only provided food for 30,000, forcing them into a violent competition over supplies while laughing gleefully as it watched.   

As a result, 3,000 people lost their lives in the ensuing chaos. Then, without hesitation, it had moved on to <Lv.2>.

The theme of <Lv.2> was “Monster Wave.” Once a week, on a designated day, a horde of monsters would attack. By killing these creatures, the Awakened could earn points.

Well… at this point, it’s practically a scheduled event.

Points functioned as currency here, used to purchase food, supplies, and other necessities from the “System Shop.”

“Everyone, get ready! We need to rack up a lot of points this time!”

“It’d be nice if they gave out swords and shields as part of the supplies.”

“They said all weapons have to be bought with points, but there isn’t even a weapon that matches my attribute in the shop. Where the hell am I supposed to get one? Damn it!”

“Should’ve allocated your stats better, huh?”

Someone chuckled from atop the fortress wall, offering unsolicited advice.

As Haewon wiped down his rifle with a cloth, he closed one eye and checked the barrel for warping. The rifle he owned wasn’t an ordinary firearm but a magic-powered gun that fired using mana instead of bullets.

This, too, was a weapon purchased from the System Shop.

Among the many challenges people faced upon arriving here, perhaps the biggest struggle was obtaining the right weapon for their abilities. Each individual had different classes and weapon preferences, making adaptation even more difficult.

“Hey, look at my weapon. I spent all my points on this, and the durability is already garbage.”

“If you’re desperate, just borrow some guild points.”

“Come on… Do you think Kangyeol hyung would allow that? Forget it, I’ll just kill a few more monsters instead.”

As he idly observed the guild members chatting during their short break, Haewon clicked his tongue and gazed up at the sky.

If he looked at stats alone, he hadn’t exactly gained much either.

No, if he were being honest… he was completely screwed.

The day after the tutorial began, the system granted people stat points without any explanation.

Had it been 50 points in total?

If people had known that their class and attribute would be determined based on how they allocated them, they probably would have distributed their stats more carefully.

Each Awakened had 13 different stat categories to choose from, including Strength, Mana, and Stamina.

They invested points into the stats they wanted, but… the results were disastrous.

Some celebrated, while others despaired. Many wailed in regret, pounding the ground in frustration.

—”HUUUUHHH?! If I’d known it worked like this, I wouldn’t have invested in mana!!”

—”You bastards! Reset my stats right now! I swear, I’ll shoot my way out of this!”

—”Shit! I’m screwed! What the hell is this trash skill?!”

—”Oh… Jackpot.”

On the other hand, the ones who had gaming experience distributed their initial stats efficiently, and of course, those guys conveniently landed great classes.

As for Haewon, his stats had been assigned automatically due to the interference of the “Repentance System,” leaving him with no choice in the matter.

In his eyes, it was the worst possible class.

Necromancer? Seriously, a necromancer?

It had gone on and on about repentance, yet it had given him the villain’s skill set straight out of <The Strongest Villain in the World>.

What the hell was that about…?

In the end, “Necromancer” had an insanely high early-game difficulty, making it far from an ideal class.

For Haewon, who was already struggling to survive, its skills were practically useless, nothing more than a burden. After repeatedly regretting his choices, he eventually completely changed the direction of his stats during his second class advancement.  

That was how Seo Haewon’s current class became “Magic Gunner.”

“Status window.”

Seo Haewon

Attributes: White / Snow / Yin / Moon

Type: Combat / Spiritual Energy

Titles: [One Under Heaven’s Watchful Eye] [Mass Slayer] [A Sniper God, Perhaps?] [One Who Has Glimpsed ??]

Status

Health: 38,924

Mana: 293,892

Attack Power: 1,638

Defense: 896

Luck: 56

Skills

[Second Class Advancement – Hunter Skills] ▼ <Class Change Skills Available>

< Mana Shot LV.7> <Rapid Fire LV.9> <Silent Bullet LV.3> <Frost Snare LV.8> <Wide-Area Shot LV.8> <Survival Evasion LV.9> <Foresight LV.6> <Fog Disruption LV.11> <Combat Initiation LV.20>

His stats were all over the place for a reason, but even so, he was considered to have relatively high stats.

“Hey, did you see my brother yesterday?”

Out of nowhere, someone plopped down beside Haewon.

The guy had his lips jutted out in a pout, his large frame making him look even more imposing. His right hand was covered in tattoos, and his ears were weighed down with flashy piercings, adding to his intimidating presence.

“Why do you ask?”

“Hey, I’m asking if you met him or not. Answer me.”

Judging by his temper, he definitely took after his brother.

Haewon looked at him with mild distaste before giving him a half-hearted nod.

Kim Il-hong.

Though they had different surnames, he was Beom Ryeohan’s younger brother.

But were they close?

Not really.

Haewon had first met him, if he remembered correctly, in front of the department building.

—”Hey, do you know Beom Ryeohan?”

At the time, Kim Il-hong was stopping random passersby, asking the same question.

When every single one of them shook their heads, he turned to Haewon, who had just stepped out of the building and asked him the same thing.

At first, Haewon thought, What kind of weirdo is this?

Not only was he speaking informally to complete strangers, but he was also dressed like a delinquent—his school uniform paired with numerous piercings in his ears and bright yellow-dyed hair making him look the part.

—”Do you know Beom Ryeohan? The Fine Arts major? I heard he goes here.”

—”…Yeah. I know him.”

—”You do? He’s my brother. Where is he right now?”

—”You have a phone, don’t you? Call him.”

—”…He’s not picking up.”

And how had it gone after that?

Haewon had ended up calling Beom Ryeohan himself and delivering this so-called younger brother to him.

He still remembered the look on his senior’s face that day…

It had been terrifying.

So far, it seemed that Beom Ryeohan didn’t really consider Kim Il-hong his little brother. Kim Il-hong was the only one happily trailing after him, while Beom Ryeohan… Well, there was no point in even talking about it.

Haewon had never expected to run into both brothers here of all places.

“Did my brother ask about me?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Bullshit! You just didn’t hear him! Why the hell wouldn’t he ask about me?!”

“Maybe he forgot. And by the way, why do you keep talking down to me? Do you want to get hit?”

“Oh, go ahead. Like hell I’d care. You little shit, always acting tough and swinging your fists around. Ugh, whatever. More importantly, do you even bathe? Goddamn, you smell like a damn mutt!”

Haewon, who had been wiping down the stock of his rifle, suddenly paused.

The moment his pitch-black eyes locked onto Kim Il-hong, the latter abruptly sneezed, ducking his head—just as Haewon’s fist swung past where his head had been.

Did he just dodge that?

Haewon threw another punch, but Kim Il-hong bent down at that moment to pick up something he had dropped, and the rifle stock whizzed right over him.

“……”

“Damn, my controller almost broke. Why the hell did it slip out of my hand all of a sudden?”

The most infuriating part was that Kim Il-hong was completely oblivious to the attacks.

By sheer luck, he had dodged every single one of them.

“…Are you still investing all your stat points in Luck?”

“Why are you even asking? Of course, I am. That’s the only reason I’ve survived this long! Who am I? The man armed with luck—Kim Il-hong!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

With luck like that, it was no wonder people constantly accused him of cheating.

Everyone knew that ever since the tutorial began, Kim Il-hong had dumped every single stat point into Luck. Thanks to that, his Luck stat had skyrocketed, and almost every misfortune that should have befallen him miraculously missed.

“Damn it, just go take a bath. Your stench is enough to make people gag from 500 meters away! Seriously, how the hell can someone so ugly also be this filthy?”

Kim Il-hong grabbed the controller off the ground, wiped it off on his clothes, and barked like a dog before breaking into a hum.

Then, he pulled out a large drone camera from behind him and began carefully wiping down its propellers.

“I wonder how many viewers we’ll get today~ Hope they send a lot of points.”

The sight of him giggling made Haewon’s stomach churn, and he clenched his teeth.

But wasting energy on something this ridiculous wasn’t worth it.

Clicking his tongue, Haewon shook his head.

“You’re hopeless.”

Not all the Awakened made a living solely by fighting.

If he had to categorize the people stranded here, he would divide them into Combat, Support, Healing, Defense, and… the attention-seekers like Kim Il-hong.

And right now, the ones making the most points were precisely those attention-seekers.

After being isolated on Seonak Island, the Awakened were completely cut off from the outside world, making it difficult to obtain information.

However, as information-based Awakened started emerging, a way for people outside to see inside Seonak Island had been discovered.

By spending points, the Awakened could create broadcasting channels and receive sponsorships, which earned them the nickname “attention-seekers.”

Though the comment section was disabled, preventing direct interaction, viewers could still send donations.

When they really wanted to say something, they’d change their usernames to relay messages that way. But, of course, that didn’t always work.