I Killed the Game's Heroine - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Arc 02: Today, I continue living in the game world. Today, and tomorrow as well.

After I told Nokra that I wanted to learn about Spirit Power, I started thinking.

People need to learn something, no matter what. Even though I didn’t properly finish school and wandered around construction sites since middle school, I know that much.

Honestly, I don’t hate learning. If I could, I even think it wouldn’t be bad to go to school… at least that much.

Back when I learned about car repair and maintenance from an older guy I knew, I even thought, “Ah, I want to keep doing this for a living.”

If it hadn’t been for the accident, I would’ve graduated from an online university or something, gotten a proper certificate, and proudly opened a repair shop in my name— but human life never goes as planned.

I knew that, but I realized it again. When a person decides to learn something, they should just dive in before they regret it. That’s the thought I had.

That thought led me to the realization that even if I save up money and return to my original body, I’d still be crippled and unable to use my legs.

So, wouldn’t it be better to gain something other than just money before I go back? That was the conclusion I reached.

Considering my level of intelligence, it was a miraculous realization. Maybe my intelligence changed because my body did.

Right after, I started wandering around places like boarding houses, picking up discarded books, and clumsily imitating Han Seok-bong as I read.

Fortunately, this body seemed to process things well, probably because it’s young. I could understand the content of the books, and I finally escaped the state of “black is text, white is paper.”

For me, it was a remarkable achievement. As I clung to those old books and studied, I came to a new realization.

They say if someone is destined to study, they’ll do it even if you beat them to death. But environment is important.

I’m not saying this because my brain is broken from reading and I’m laying the groundwork to say I want to go to an academy.

It’s just that, as you can tell from the name, malevolent spirits appear more at night, so I hunt them for money at night.

During the day, I save sleep and study on park benches. But then people think I’m a lost child and call the police, making me realize how important environment is when you’re trying to study.

Environment is crucial when learning anything, so I had no choice but to ask.

“In this situation, do we really have to do Spirit Power lessons here, where there are tons of malevolent spirits, you crazy— no, I mean, fascinating-brained person?”

“It’s easier to do it exactly because it’s a place like this!”

Nokra said that with a grin, a razor blade in her mouth, and gloves on her hands.

It had been exactly four days since the day Nokra gave me a meal.

Nokra suddenly appeared and said there was a place nearby with a lot of malevolent spirits, then dragged me there.

To be precise, she had personally received a request to exorcise some malevolent spirits from someone she knew.

She said if I handled the spirits there for her, she’d give me money, and I readily agreed.

Sure, if there’s a place with lots of malevolent spirits and she’ll take me there, that’s fine.

But if someone from a huge organization like the academy is giving me work like this, doesn’t that naturally raise suspicions?

So I was thinking that if she tried to drag me to the academy, I’d smash those weird sunglasses she wears even at night and run away.

But Nokra surpassed my expectations by several steps and said this.

“Normally~ I wouldn’t have time, so I asked you, but~ I found some time, so~ I’ll still give you the money, but I’ll also go with you to that abandoned house and teach you about Spirit Power like I promised!”

It was nonsense. The request was just an excuse; she clearly planned this from the start.

Sure, I’m getting money and learning about Spirit Power, so I should be happy!

But still, studying in an abandoned house crawling with malevolent spirits, in the dark, damp, and smelly place?

Do the students at the academy study in places like this too? That thought crossed my mind.

The game screen my younger brother used to shove in my face showed classrooms that were far more extravagant than the elementary school I attended as a kid.

Is this some kind of threat, like “If you want to study in a fancy classroom like that, come to the academy”?

I had such foolish thoughts.

But recently, I found it easier to study in abandoned places like this, so I decided to think of it as an extension of my usual study routine.

…That’s what I thought. But this is a bit unexpected.

I let out a deep sigh and stared ahead.

What I saw in front of me was something huge, large enough to reach the ceiling of the one-story building.

The grotesque malevolent spirit looked like a lump of human fat and animal grease, all clumped together like clay. It extended its fat like tentacles, attacking me.

However, the fat spirit seemed to be of a lower grade, as its attacks were slow, and the tentacles didn’t seem to have much power.

Roughly… by my estimation, it was probably around D-grade? Most of the spirits here seemed to be around D-grade.

I dodged all the tentacles, then thrust the hwandu I was holding into the charging fat spirit.

I twisted my wrist, carving a long vertical wound into the fat spirit’s body.

Before I stabbed it, I thought it would feel like stirring my hand in water, but as soon as the blade went in, blood burst out like a water balloon popping.

“Ugh!”

The remains of the spirit would disappear without a trace soon enough, but in this summer heat! To be drenched in this disgusting blood!

Grinding my teeth in disgust, I pulled out my sword again as a monkey mummy spirit charged at me.

But— damn. The hwandu I had used for quite some time, which had served me well, snapped in half.

Cursing, I tried to kick the charging spirit with a foot full of Spirit Power, but before I could—

Nokra, who had been watching me the whole time, swiftly sliced through the monkey mummy spirit with her razor blade, then calmly stroked her chin.

“Hmm. As I thought. Kid, you’re using your Spirit Power too roughly.”

“What?”

I frowned at Nokra’s words.

It wasn’t that I was annoyed by her saying I use Spirit Power roughly.

It was the absurdity of trying to teach me something in this situation. I spat out the blood that had gotten into my mouth and let out a hollow laugh.

This woman was really trying to hold a lesson in this kind of situation. Sure, if it were just a dark ruin at night, there’d be no problem.

But here… as I said, there are a lot of malevolent spirits. Not just a few, but a ridiculous number.

There are no dangerous B-grade spirits, but there are enough to kill a person, and they’re swarming like a black mass, making this place feel less like an abandoned house and more like a cave.

From what I know, for this many spirits to gather, rumors about a haunted house would have to spread online, and people would have to be sufficiently scared for the spirits to gather like this.

After I fell into this world and learned that I could make money by dealing with malevolent spirits, I scoured the internet for information about them.

Could it be that some idiot’s made-up theory was actually true?

I clenched my jaw, feeling like the money I spent at the PC room back then was a waste.

Anyway, one thing was clear: now was not the time to be seriously listening to someone’s lesson.

So I repeated myself.

“In this situation, do we really have to do a Spirit Power lesson, with all these damn spirits around? You crazy woman.”

“It’s exactly because of this situation that I can teach you something! …And you don’t even bother to use a different word instead of ‘crazy woman’ anymore.”

Nokra pretended to be hurt by my words, but only for a moment.

She then stood in front of me, as if to protect me, and began slicing through the charging spirits with her small razor blade.

Her movements were light, almost like she was dancing. The way she cut through the spirits was so graceful that it was almost beautiful— I watched her in awe.

“The most basic knowledge. You need Spirit Power to kill malevolent spirits. It doesn’t matter how small that power is, as long as it exists, you can be blessed by a Spirit and, if you’re lucky, receive a skill and grow stronger. Let’s skip over that common knowledge.”

“Today, I’ll teach you the things we exorcists need to know first in order to survive!”

Her tone, usually drawn out, became more focused, as if for the sake of the lesson. As I listened to her clearer voice, I gathered Spirit Power into my fist, preparing to strike the spirits charging at me.

But before I could, Nokra sliced them vertically with her razor blade.

Well, if she’s protecting me, I’m grateful. I lowered my fist and focused on her words, even in this chaotic lesson.

“Spirit Power is similar to the magic you’d see in a fantasy novel, but there’s a clear difference. Spirit Power is directly connected to life force.”

“The survival instinct of a human who wants to live. Spirit Power strengthens or weakens according to this instinct. Exorcists use this property to enhance themselves.”

“They force themselves into situations that could be weaknesses or dangers, and by doing so, they strengthen themselves! Exorcists call this a ‘restriction.’ Ah— to give a specific example, it’s like how I’m fighting with this razor blade, which isn’t suited for combat!”

She grinned as she proudly showed off the razor blade in her hand.

I nodded. It was indeed fascinating to see her cutting down spirits with a blade shorter than my palm.

But I thought, wouldn’t it be better to use a proper weapon instead of that? Now I understood there was a purpose behind it.

Satisfied with the new knowledge, I nodded again. Nokra smiled, clearly pleased with my reaction, and continued.

“By utilizing this property of Spirit Power, not only does your Spirit Power increase, but your physical abilities and skill power also become stronger. But as I said, depending on what your restriction is, the risk increases, so you have to choose carefully.”

“And it’s not just Spirit Power that strengthens; your understanding and usage of it also broadens. If you keep fighting as an exorcist, you should consider creating your own restriction.”

Thwack! This time, she stabbed and killed a blue-skinned, orangutan-like spirit.

I pondered over what I had just heard. If I could become stronger through this restriction, that would be great.

The more dangerous the restriction is for me, the stronger I’d become, but if I make a mistake, I could die. I understood that.

But how exactly do you decide on a restriction? Should I fight without using my full strength, like some kind of Frieza? Or maybe not use one arm?

I scratched my head, continuing to mull it over, but no perfect idea came to mind.

Fighting with just my fists seemed like an option— but I’d already spent money on buying multiple spare weapons, so not using them would be a waste.

I decided to think about the restriction later and focus on the current situation first.

I immediately pulled out a spear I had bought in advance from the shop, then tore apart the spirit that had appeared behind Nokra.

The creature that emerged with enough force to shatter the floor and the building seemed to be at least a C-grade spirit.

It looked like a grotesquely enlarged and twisted baby’s arm, and it seemed to be the strongest spirit in this abandoned house.

“[ ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!! ]”

It appeared furious, as if it was the master of this place, enraged by Nokra’s rampage.

But I didn’t care whether it was angry or not. I thrust my spear deep into its body.

With a powerful swing, the spear sliced through the spirit, splitting it in two with a loud crack, and the hand spirit disappeared, almost pathetically.

At the same time, the malevolent spirits that had filled the abandoned house scattered like cockroaches under a rock.

…Why does this feel familiar? Why? I’ve never seen these spirits before, yet their movements feel strangely familiar, but I can’t remember where I’ve seen them.

Something was off. From what I know, malevolent spirits don’t scatter just because the strongest one is gone.

They usually attack anyone who enters their territory. Since they lack intelligence, they typically rush at their opponent without thinking, which is the characteristic of lower-grade spirits.

Instead of overthinking it, I decided to ask Nokra, who had brought me to this place.

“So, why did you bring me to such a place? And why are there so many spirits in a normal abandoned house?”

“Don’t worry~ I’ll explain everything. But first, hold on! I need to check something—”

She said that as she looked around, as if to confirm that the area was indeed safe. She frowned as she inspected a hole in the floor, seeming dissatisfied.

But after a brief sigh, she relaxed her expression and continued speaking.

“As expected, it’s not here… Well, I figured. Anyway~ I brought you here today not only for the lesson but also to warn you about a danger.”

“Danger?”

I asked as I accepted the chocolate bar she handed me as a reward for my hard work.

Being an exorcist is dangerous by nature, so why go out of her way to warn me about something?

“Recently, a special malevolent spirit has appeared. It’s estimated to be B-grade. It looks like a child’s hand and controls lower-grade spirits around it. It also targets various people, especially homeless children.”

“Didn’t I just deal with it?”

“That… wasn’t the main body. No matter how many hands you destroy, another one will appear somewhere.”

“We don’t know exactly where the main body is or what it looks like. All we know is that it attracts malevolent spirits, targets people wandering at night or homeless children, and… that’s about it.”

Nokra sighed, saying that another troublesome spirit had appeared and that if it continued like this, it might become even stronger.

But why was she telling me this? Why had she gone out of her way to bring me here, under the pretense of teaching me about Spirit Power, and shown me that hand spirit?

I looked at Nokra, and she glanced around nervously before removing her sunglasses and speaking honestly.

“…I told you, didn’t I? This spirit targets people wandering the streets and lost children. You’re also one of its targets. I wanted to ask if you’d stay with me until this spirit is dealt with.”

So that’s what it was.

Now I understood why she had brought me here in her car, all the way to this abandoned house.

Nokra had not only wanted to teach me about Spirit Power but also to warn me because I was one of the people being targeted by that hand spirit.

If I were to become the target of that spirit, I wouldn’t die immediately because of my skills, but…

I might end up fighting malevolent spirits like this every day without rest, which could be truly dangerous. From her perspective, she was worried about that.

I was touched. Her kindness was truly appreciated.

To be precise, the cash she gave me before we came to this abandoned house was especially appreciated.

There’s no way she actually pushed aside a request she received just to help out a street kid like me, so she must have used her own money, right?

And if a malevolent spirit is targeting lost children, it’s better to rest in a safe place if possible.

The fact that she wasn’t trying to drag me to the academy but offering to help on a personal level was the best part.

There was no reason to refuse after thinking it over a hundred times.

“Alright. I’ll stay with you until the case is resolved.”

“As expected… you’re going to say— huh? Really?”

“Really.”

She widened her eyes as if she truly hadn’t expected me to agree.

Then she stammered, asking if I was really going to stay with her.

I understood her reaction, considering I had always drawn a line before, but…

I just didn’t like the idea of that damn academy trying to manipulate people with money and force them to join.

I didn’t have any bad feelings toward Nokra. I didn’t care about her giving up her power as a Spirit or whatever.

The suspicion that she might be a pedophile? As long as she didn’t lay a hand on me, it didn’t matter.

If someone offers to help you, you should accept it gratefully and refuse what you don’t need.

That’s what I thought as I half-listened to Nokra talking about how I’d be staying at her place for a while and how she’d take good care of me.

Instead, I focused on figuring out the source of the nagging sense of déjà vu that had been stuck in my mind.

If I had no idea what it was, that would be one thing, but the fact that I felt something about that hand spirit meant there was definitely something.

What could it be?

“Oh… sorry, but my place is a bit… messy. It might be too dirty for a kid to stay in… W-Well, I haven’t been home much, so it’s not really suitable for kids… Ah, don’t worry! I’ll call a cleaning service! It’ll be fine! Just get through tonight, and it’ll be perfectly clean…”

“Ah.”

As Nokra rambled, I finally realized the source of the déjà vu when she mentioned the phrase “messy for kids.”

It was the spirit from a game storyline, around chapter two.

An A-grade malevolent spirit, Sethani, born from the vengeful soul of a child who was brutally murdered by terrible parents, even though they were exorcists.

It hated adults and killed them, but it would take in children like itself, though in the end, it was still a spirit that had to be killed.

My younger brother, who usually spouted nonsense like “Uhyoo!” or “Kitaaa!” had used the fancy-sounding name “Sethani,” so it must have stuck in my head.

[Special Quest]

[Your strength is needed. Help the exorcists deal with the ‘A-grade Malevolent Spirit Sethani.’ We promise you a substantial reward.]

[Reward – 15 million won]

[Do you accept? Y / N]

As soon as I realized that, a window popped up.

The moment I saw that window, all the information about Sethani, its weaknesses, and everything else my brother had told me came flooding back.

But I confidently pressed N and dismissed the window.

If I had planned to fight that thing, I wouldn’t have followed Nokra in the first place.

This stupid window was trying to force me into something I didn’t want to be involved in.

I laughed at the absurdity of the window and tucked the cash Nokra had given me into my inventory, chuckling to myself.

With the money I earned from today’s hunt and the cash Nokra gave me, I had finally reached 5 million won.

What a great day. I smiled as I looked up at the bright moon and its halo.

End of Chapter