I Killed the Game's Heroine - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Arc 01: Today, I killed one of the main characters in the game. Or maybe it was yesterday.

***

The weather is hot again today.

Wiping the sweat trickling down my chin with my arm, I thought to myself.

On days like this, you need to stay hydrated, or else you’ll collapse. I checked the remaining amount of the sports drink I had hastily shoved into my sweatpants.

Good, I’ll need to buy another bottle.

I didn’t mind spending money on sports drinks.

From a young age, I learned from working hard labor jobs that if you don’t take care of your hydration and electrolytes, you’ll faint.

At a convenience store, a bottle costs nearly 2,000 won, but in the possession store for possessors, they sell a 500ml sports drink for just 100 won. It’s essential and cheap too.

I selected the sports drink and pressed the purchase button. Immediately, with a soft thud, the drink fell into my hand.

What a convenient store. If only real-world prices were this good, I mused with a foolish grin, walking down the street with a sword slung over my shoulder—something that would get me arrested instantly in modern society.

People in Seoul barely glanced at me, even though I was walking around with a dangerous weapon. No one reported me or looked scared.

It was more like they were just casually observing me, the way you’d glance at a neighborhood cleaner in a fluorescent vest.

At first, I tried to hide my weapon during the day, rummaging through collection bins to find a shirt that didn’t match the weather.

But after learning that in this world, people assumed anyone carrying a sword was an exorcist, I started walking around confidently.

If I were in my original world, I’d call the police the moment I saw someone like me. People here, though, seem oddly nonchalant.

Or maybe they’re not so carefree—maybe they’re just used to danger?

After living in this world for a few months, I realized one thing: this world is a mess.

Malevolent spirits, born from the accumulation of human fears and dark emotions, don’t need a specific incident or accident to appear.

They emerge because of bizarre rumors, or because someone made up a creepy story on the internet.

People have become so used to the constant appearance of these spirits that unless an exorcist actually draws their sword, no one even pays attention.

Exorcists, few in number, walk around with dead eyes, fighting these spirits every day. That’s become the norm.

It’s ridiculous. But if it weren’t for this world, I’d just be a lunatic wandering around with a sharp sword in broad daylight.

Though I did wonder if there was something wrong with me, pretending to be an exorcist.

But since I carry a sword to fight malevolent spirits, just like the exorcists, I hope I can be forgiven.

Scratching my chin with a finger hooked around the strap of my hwandu, I continued my foolish thoughts.

Today’s spirit extermination was just like any other—or at least, I wanted to say that.

Normally, I earned money by either defeating spirits, which would drop money like monsters in a game, or by taking on requests through the connections I’d made.

[ General Quest ]

[ Eliminate the B-grade virtual spirit ‘Mr. Cuckoo’ that has appeared at the construction site in Cheonho-dong. ]

[ Reward – 3 million won ]

[ Quest accepted. ]

But this time, I had to deal with a task that came from accepting a quest that had appeared before my eyes.

I scratched my stomach, trying to recall the meaning of the term “virtual spirit” that appeared in the quest window.

I remember my younger brother going on about this game and explaining virtual spirits…

If natural spirits are born from the accumulation of fear and negative emotions, virtual spirits, as the name suggests, are born from urban legends that spread among people.

They act according to the story they’re based on, harming people in line with the legend.

The more people who know about the core urban legend that makes up the virtual spirit, the stronger it becomes.

Then Old Man Mangtae must be ridiculously strong. The only urban legends I know are Red Mask and Old Man Mangtae…

Thinking about how my younger brother had ranted at me to pick up gaming as a hobby, a smirk crept onto my face. But it didn’t last long.

Anyway, the reason I accepted this quest wasn’t just for the reward money.

The businessman who had been pleased with how I dealt with a spirit at his shopping mall last time had promised to give me an additional 5 million won if I handled this virtual spirit.

It was clear that this businessman was involved in some shady business and was probably planning to stab me in the back later. But I didn’t care.

That guy would definitely pay me for this job, but he’d probably try to drug me by offering snacks or bread.

Once I got addicted to the drugs, he’d stop paying me and use me as a toy, making me work for free.

But if he pulled that stunt from the start, I’d catch on immediately. So, at least for this job, he’d pay me properly.

I’d take the money and cut ties with him. Chuckling to myself, I tapped the scabbard of my hwandu, which made a clinking sound.

In my original world, I’d had some run-ins with gangsters and private investigators while trying to make money, so I had a rough idea of how that ecosystem worked.

If they saw me as just a kid and tried to pull something, I’d either run away or cut them down.

If I handled this job and got paid properly, I’d end up with about 8 million won. That’s already more than I spent on buying skills.

It’s much better to work steadily and save money like this than to attend some academy.

The system window kept pestering me to go to the academy. At first, it told me to go and get the highest grades, but when I ignored it, it changed tactics.

Now it was offering to pay me just to visit the academy grounds. I scoffed at the quest window.

At first, I thought it might be nice to get paid just to visit, but the more it insisted, the less I wanted to go.

“People naturally resist when someone forces them to do something. This quest window clearly doesn’t understand people.”

It can nag me forever. I won’t even piss in the direction of the academy.

Laughing to myself, I suddenly felt a prickling sensation on my skin, which wiped the smile off my face.

Lost in thought, I hadn’t realized I’d arrived at my destination.

Looking at the eerie alleyway in front of me, I recalled the incident I had been hired to investigate.

The street before me was once a well-known red-light district.

The abandoned shop windows and scattered furniture told the story of what kind of business used to operate here.

I heard that in my father’s generation, this place was bustling with people.

There were plenty of gangsters, and the area wasn’t particularly safe, but that was in the past.

Now, few people came here. Residential homes had sprung up nearby, and redevelopment had left only a handful of businesses clinging to the remnants of the past.

Naturally, the area wasn’t very safe, and unless you had a specific reason to come here, you wouldn’t.

Because negative emotions tend to gather in places like this, exorcists regularly cleared out the spirits to protect the nearby homes. As a result, the area was relatively safe from malevolent spirits.

But one day, a woman was suddenly murdered by a deranged man.

The man didn’t stop attacking her until her head was smashed open and her brain matter was scattered.

Of course, the man was caught, but the problem was that he wasn’t apprehended at the scene. He fled and was arrested the next day in another area.

People who heard the story began to wonder if the man wasn’t human but a spirit.

That fear, combined with an old urban legend about Mr. Cuckoo, turned the simple story of Mr. Cuckoo into a real virtual spirit—that’s what my investigation revealed.

What the hell is Mr. Cuckoo, anyway? As I’ve said before, the only urban legends I know are Red Mask and Old Man Mangtae.

The only reason I know those two is because I once found a small, worn-out book of urban legends someone had thrown away while working. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even care!

Still, to fight a virtual spirit, I needed to know the general story. I pulled out the notebook where I had written down the details of the Mr. Cuckoo legend I found online.

“When you hear a cuckoo sound while walking, if you turn around, Mr. Cuckoo will attack you…”

Simple urban legend. It sounds like something a crazy guy in the neighborhood would do, turned into a story by a bunch of middle or high school kids.

But if it’s this simple, I can just charge in and deal with it.

I blinked. My goal, for now, was to gather 10 million won.

With that, I could at least offer some help to my friend’s mother.

Yes, at least that much.

Even though the academy or the higher-ups had given her condolence money—which was really hush money—after the incident, and she had probably received some compensation, she was still waiting for her son’s body, unable to give up hope.

I had to prepare at least that much to face her.

Revenge for my friend was my own personal matter. Repaying the kindness of his mother was something else entirely.

Biting the inside of my cheek lightly, I sharpened my focus and walked toward the restricted area where the spirit had been reported.

I waited for the cuckoo sound that was supposed to echo through the street.

***

“Ugh… Why isn’t it showing up?”

It had been exactly 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 24 seconds since I started walking back and forth along this alley.

Not only had Mr. Cuckoo failed to appear, I hadn’t even heard the cuckoo sound.

This red-light district alley was only about 25 meters long. I had been pacing back and forth for two hours, but still, no sound.

Why wasn’t it showing up? I scratched my head, wondering if someone else had already dealt with the spirit before I arrived.

But the chill and discomfort I felt were the same as the aura of malevolent spirits I had sensed in this world. My instincts told me there was definitely a B-grade spirit here.

So why wasn’t it appearing? Did I need to do something else to trigger it?

If I knew as much about this game as my younger brother, I wouldn’t be so frustrated.

Still, knowing something is better than knowing nothing.

If my younger brother hadn’t spent years singing the praises of this game’s settings, story, and characters for at least an hour a day, I wouldn’t have remembered this much. I felt a bit grateful to him.

But I couldn’t help but regret not playing the game myself if I had known I’d end up in this world.

Still, what could I do? Even if my younger brother had begged me to play, I didn’t have time for games when I had to make money.

The past is the past. Now, why wasn’t Mr. Cuckoo showing up?

Virtual spirits born from urban legends must follow their rules strictly. Because of these limitations, they’re stronger than naturally occurring spirits.

Killing them is simple—just slash them with a sword—but whether they appear or not depends on whether the rules are followed to the letter.

That means Mr. Cuckoo must have a specific condition for appearing. Without knowing that, I could walk around here all day and never encounter him.

“Ah, damn it. I’ve been tricked.”

Now that I thought about it, it made sense. The businessman hadn’t mentioned any penalty for failing the mission, nor did he seem like he was trying to scam me. He must have known I wouldn’t be able to find Mr. Cuckoo.

Realizing that continuing to pace the alley would just be a waste of time, I felt my body relax.

I pulled out the sports drink I had stuffed into my pocket, finished it off, and tossed the empty bottle onto a nearby pile of trash.

I still had time before the quest deadline, so I decided to investigate Mr. Cuckoo further. If necessary, I could come back later tonight.

As I gathered my thoughts and prepared to leave, I heard it.

“Coo—coo! Coo-coo! Coooo!”

It was a strange sound, too awkward to be mistaken for a real bird.

It sounded like an old man, his voice cracked and hoarse, awkwardly imitating a bird.

The moment I heard that eerie sound, I sharpened my senses and drew my sword, turning around—only to find nothing there.

What the hell? I was sure I’d heard the sound, yet there was nothing behind me.

Then I realized—the sound wasn’t coming from where I was standing. It was coming from the opposite end of the alley.

Not here. Mr. Cuckoo had appeared on the other side of the street.

I immediately pushed my body to its limits, sprinting toward where I suspected Mr. Cuckoo had appeared.

In the blink of an eye, I closed the 15-meter distance and reached my destination.

There, I saw a grotesque figure, a twisted amalgamation of human and bird parts, designed to evoke maximum disgust in anyone who looked at it.

The creature was raising its enormous talons, preparing to strike someone.

Though Mr. Cuckoo’s twisted body obscured my view, I could see that the person was holding a sword and trying to fight back.

An exorcist, perhaps. It didn’t matter. I was just grateful that this exorcist had triggered Mr. Cuckoo’s appearance.

With a sense of gratitude, I drew my hwandu and infused it with spirit power, driving the blade into Mr. Cuckoo’s head.

Even as the sword pierced through its skull, Mr. Cuckoo, in a display of B-grade strength, twisted its neck 180 degrees and tried to attack me.

But I wasn’t fazed. With a strengthened arm, I twisted the blade and slashed at Mr. Cuckoo’s distorted neck, cutting it to shreds.

Its foul-smelling blood splattered across my face, but only for a moment. Mr. Cuckoo’s head and body separated, and the creature collapsed to the ground.

[ Quest completed. ]

[ 3 million won has been deposited as a reward. ]

[ Total funds – 4,591,100 won ]

Hell yeah! The money came in. I grinned.

It had been easier than expected.

Considering the urban legend said Mr. Cuckoo attacked people who turned around after hearing the sound, I figured it hadn’t used its full strength since I hadn’t turned around.

Or maybe it was just because this body’s physical strength is so damn good.

I had confidence in my physical abilities after all the odd jobs I did to make money.

Before my legs gave out, I had managed to pay off my debts, thanks to my stronger-than-average body.

It wasn’t as good as my current body, though.

“You are…”

As I wiped the unpleasant blood off my face, even though I knew it would disappear soon, someone spoke to me.

I glanced at the exorcist who had been attacked by Mr. Cuckoo and felt my face involuntarily scrunch up.

The person who had been attacked was wearing the academy uniform.

If it had just been a regular academy student, I would’ve shrugged it off.

But the kid standing in front of me looked exactly like the protagonist from the illustration my younger brother had shown me.

A kid with blonde hair and red eyes, wearing an uncomfortable expression that seemed to be a mix of guilt, sadness, or maybe even anger, avoided my gaze.

Why is she here? Out of habit, I rubbed my masseter muscle under my ear to ease the tension.

But I quickly dismissed any unnecessary thoughts about someone I didn’t care about and blinked, sheathing my sword.

The protagonist seemed uncomfortable with me, and I had no interest in him. There was no need to overthink it.

As I stopped my train of thought and yawned, something suddenly blocked my view.

[ Linked Quest ]

[ Listen to the concerns of this world’s protagonist at the nearest academy. ]

[ Reward – 10 million won ]

[ Do you accept? Y / N ]

Another window popped up.

Seeing it, I snorted.

This damn window just won’t give up. Now it’s offering 10 million?

Sure, I care about money, and I’m willing to swallow my pride for it, but I won’t cross certain lines as a human being.

I can’t call myself a brother if I become a butcher who only cares about money when I have a younger brother to think about.

People can throw away their pride for money, sure.

But if you treat someone like garbage and offer them money like you’re throwing scraps to a stray dog, who would accept that?

And if you get caught in a scam that promises easy money, you’ll end up with nothing in the end.

So…

“Uh… Excuse me…”

“Haha.”

With a heart full of disdain, I pressed the reject button and angrily dismissed the window. All I cared about now was getting my money from the businessman.

Laughing, I left the alley. The protagonist seemed to say something, but I decided to forget about it.

It was a hot day.

End of Chapter