HACKED 45

‘Random killing impulses? And they only lift after killing 1,000 people?’

This is the absolute worst-case scenario among the status ailments that appear when contamination hits 100. It is not 10, not 100, but a staggering 1,000 people that must be killed.

To make matters worse, the activation timing is even random. If the timing for the killing impulse were constant, I could avoid disaster by sending him into battle each time to kill only monsters. That method is fundamentally impossible.

The Gumiho right now is simply that. A walking time bomb that can switch to maniacal murderer mode at any time, regardless of whether it is an ally or the owner. No, not even a bomb. A bomb is done once it explodes, but this guy even regens infinitely…

If I had to pick the absolute most hopeful part, I suppose it would be that it is not a permanent status ailment. They say it is lifted after killing 1,000 people. The problem is when on earth he will reach that 1,000 kill count.

Except for that one single point, every part of that two-sentence description is so shitty that I have no words. It has reached the point where I even think San Gun’s status ailment is better.

At this moment, I feel truly lucky to be possessed inside the game. In the game, there naturally is no function like ‘Imprisoning a crazed Incarnation in solitary confinement.’

If this were the game… the Gumiho would continue to exist in my Incarnation list without any restrictions.

Even if I sent him out to battle repeatedly without rest to keep him from encountering other Incarnations, he would return to the Pantheon for a brief moment between battles. And he possesses the lethality to cause horrific damage in even that short window of time.

What if I posted this on the game community to consult other users? Comments like these would naturally follow.

― Oh shit, something nasty came out.

― What are you doing? Grind him up right now.

ㅤ└ No, but still, he’s a 5-star… shudder.

ㅤ└ That Incarnation probably cost hundreds of thousands of won, isn’t telling him to grind it up too easy?

ㅤㅤ└ You can’t let everyone else die because of one 5-star.

ㅤㅤㅤ└ That’s true, though.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ└ Quick realization, success.

― A thousand livers? LOL. Hey, hey, No-Lifer-Player-Post-Author, take a good look at your Incarnations’ status windows. See if there’s anyone who had their liver extracted while alive. LOL.

ㅤ└ Out of all the special parts, raw liver is the tastiest.

ㅤㅤ└ Real, LOL. Gumiho bastard knows his flavors.

― What happens to him once he fills the 1,000 kill count? Does he become human and marry the author?

ㅤ└ Unexpected dating sim ending? “Actually better.”

― I’ve had a similar status ailment… that thing is just a pest infestation. If you leave that one alone, all the other Incarnations will die too… It’s upsetting, but I recommend grinding him quickly, forgetting about it, and raising another character.

ㅤ└ No, how did you even get it? You have to hit 100 contamination + it appears with an atrocious probability.

ㅤㅤ└ Since there’s no auto-hunt repeat function in-game, I made a macro manually to run it… but I forgot to turn it off and woke up to find the kids hit 100 contamination… They were killing each other, it was a total mess. T_T Eventually, an entire unit was wiped out. T_T_T_T I even inquired at the customer center, but they never restored it…. I don’t know if they’re doing it to encourage spending, but I honestly felt it was a bit malicious.

ㅤㅤㅤ└ I honestly felt you were a bit stupid.

ㅤㅤㅤ└ LOL, this is why the developers didn’t put in an auto-repeat function. LOL. You brought the disaster on yourself by mindlessly running an illegal macro, and now you’re like >>Honestly a bit malicious.<< Such bullshit.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ└ Shout out for King-Gye-God-Lab.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ└ No, it’s Shitty-Gye-Shitty-Lab.

― (Author) Thank you all for the comments. I’ve been stressed lately because of this guy, and looking at this has given me a mental illness. I was hesitant about going to the hospital, but I should go now.

I can see it, I can see it. A version of me in some parallel universe who would receive a massive mental blow after reading comments that aren’t helpful at all…

“What are you thinking about so deeply with me right in front of you?”

The Gumiho, sensing sensitively that my mind was elsewhere, asked. He fixed his mouth in a pout and glanced over here coquettishly.

‘This bastard looks like he’s about 190cm too. With that bulk and those eerie looks, the fact that that expression suits him is even more of a horror…’

I was a few centimeters taller than average. This was a good result considering I hadn’t eaten properly during my growing years. Naturally, I had more experience looking down on people rather than looking up at them in my life.

However, since falling into this world, strangely, I have been having one experience after another where I feel intimidated. Not to mention the goblins who boast a height that would slap the cheeks of any basketball player, both San Gun and the Gumiho were quite bulky, and even the <Nameless Star> was taller than me.

Hwarang belongs to the smaller side among the Incarnations I’ve seen in person. Even if I say smaller side, he’s about 180cm plus or minus 3cm, so his eye level is roughly the same as mine.

What is this? Is this Northern Europe? Isn’t this just a collection of Incarnations originating from Korea? How on earth is 180cm classified as small?

To summarize, the only ones I can clearly look down on are the twins, who look like children to anyone, and Ja-myeong-go, who has been lying in a sickbed the whole time. Even that Ja-myeong-go might be taller than me if he gets up and stands properly… Saying it like this makes me really sad.

“You’re sane right now, right? The killing impulse hasn’t flared up, has it? If you feel like you’re not in your right mind, tell me. I’ll come back later.”

“Since the moment you left me, I have not been sane for even a single second.”

“…”

My breath was taken away by the answer that came out boldly without a shred of hesitation. The Gumiho smiled narrowly with squinted eyes. His blood-red pupils, like freshly shed blood, curved enchantingly.

It felt like I would get swept into his pace again at this rate. I went straight to the main point.

“What you said before, what did it mean?”

“What words are you referring to?”

“You said it. That San Gun doesn’t even deserve to be called an Incarnation. The <Nameless Star> said something similar. What exactly does that mean?”

“It is exactly as I said.”

“I’m asking because I don’t understand what that ‘exactly as I said’ is.”

“Husband.”

The Gumiho, who had been standing with his back against the wall, suddenly poked his head forward. I flinched involuntarily. However, he could not approach me beyond a certain distance. Moving barely half a span from his spot was the extent of it.

That was only natural, as two giant swords, with blade lengths nearly reaching the height of an average adult, were thrust in a cross right in front of the Gumiho’s neck. Since I had thrust them with enough force to bury half the blades in the wall, it would not be easy for the Gumiho, who is in a Deadly state, to escape.

The two swords were not all. Both of his hands were pierced by arrows and fixed to the wall on either side. These arrows were also shoved in as deeply as possible, so only the fletching was visible above his palms.

Finally, the finishing touch. A hwan-do was deeply embedded in his abdomen. The tassel decoration hanging from the sword’s handle shook slightly according to the Gumiho’s movements, but the sword itself did not budge.

‘He’s a guy with a crazy status ailment like the 1,000-person-killing challenge, so this much is necessary.’

A triple-layered hard-line measure that a normal person would not even be alive through. This is the reason I could fearlessly enter this room alone.

“It is not just me. Everyone here went mad long ago. You must not trust them. No matter how normal they look, no matter how devotedly they act toward husband.”

“Do you also think that all the hardships I’ve suffered are because of San Gun?”

“Well. I suppose it would be right if I say it’s right, and not if I say it’s not.”

“Are you playing a game of riddles with me right now?”

“It might not be his sin alone, but it is true that his share is the largest.”

“I hate this kind of speech the most. If you’re going to answer, answer properly; otherwise, just don’t speak at all.”

“Do you trust that tiger?”

“Well? I suppose it would be right if I say it’s right, and not if I say it’s not.”

In a moment of irritation, I returned his words exactly as they were. However, it seemed the Gumiho did not take any particular hit.

“It seems you do trust him. I do not know with what words and actions he bought your favor during this short time.”

“Isn’t he at least better than you? That side also isn’t… sane, but at least he puts in the minimum effort to appear sane in front of me?”

“I hate him terribly. Because he did something that should never have been done. My thought that he lost the qualification of an Incarnation also remains unchanged. But right now… I am also envious. In exchange for that, he has gained husband’s trust.”

After muttering to himself, the Gumiho suddenly distorted his face sharply. He hung his head low. He did not care even as his skin was cut by the pair of blades crossing below his neck.

“He is someone not even worth trusting, so why? Why? The first turn was stolen by that man, but should I kill you now and at least become the second? Ah, I should have killed you when we first met.”

“A spectacle. This bastard is thinking about killing me again. Hey, speak honestly. Your killing impulse has flared up, hasn’t it?”

It activates at random timings? That sounds like a lie. It feels like it’s in a constant state of activation 24/7, 365 days a year.

“Then husband, shall I tell you another story?”

He suddenly raised his head again. Beneath the shadows created by the small flashlight beam, his red eyes revealed between his disheveled white hair were dismal.

As soon as his eyes met mine, he smiled broadly as if he had been waiting.

“Since coming here, have you ever been hungry or thirsty even once?”