Episode 1 - Starting the Paid Service (2)

「With two small horns and a kind of straw mattress, the strange fluffy creature was floating in the air」

「It was far too strange to be called a fairy, too evil to be called an angel, and too quiet to be called a demon」

「That's why it was named dokkaebi」

I didn't know why, but these two sentences had suddenly popped up inside my head. Yet, this was indeed the first time something like this had happened to me, and yet, I already knew what the next words were going to be

「&아#@!&아#@! ...」

「&아#@!&아#@! ...」

「&아#@!&아#@! ...」

「&아#@!&아#@! ...」

Instantly, several people began to scream, either in fright or surprise. I, however, was not one of them. My head hurt excruciatingly, as if my brain had become one of the bells of a church and I was being excruciatingly beaten again and again

"What is this?!"

"An augmented reality?!"

It was obviously not an augmented reality. One only had to look closely at the creature floating in the air to understand that no augmented reality could be this detailed and realistic. I took a deep breath to try and calm my mind, then closed my eyes for a few seconds to slow my heartbeat, even if only for a moment

[E-Excuse me! Are you able to hear me? The Korean patch is a bit old, so it took a while to get it right]

Hearing a language they could easily understand, the people in the subway train started to calm down. The first person to come forward was a man in a tracksuit. His face was familiar, but I couldn't put a name to it

"Hey, what are you doing right now?"

Pushing the other passengers in the subway to get as close as possible to the flying creature, a man who seemed to be in the most impressive physical condition was wearing a face where it was easy to discern anger. Although I could clearly see the features of his face, being only a few meters away from him, I could not remember his name exactly, but I knew that he had been a member of the South Korean Olympic volleyball team at one time

[A-Ah. Well, I... I was about to-]

"You were about to do what?! Can't you see that you're terrifying everyone? Get out of here, this is no time for such jokes!"

There were as many ways to deal with the unknown as there were people on planet Earth, yet I remained skeptical of this approach to something new. Of course, I had preferred to stay away from all this to have time to understand it all, but this way of doing things did not seem to me to be the right one at this moment. It was still a white hairy creature that managed to stay in the air without making any visible effort.

[I... I... I... SILENCE!]

Involuntarily, when I noticed that the dokkaebi's eyes were about to turn red, I closed my eyes and waited. There was the sound of an explosion, followed by a loud noise. There was now a large hole inside the head of the man who was closest to the dokkaebi. Blood came out like a geyser from both sides of his head, and I quickly backed away from the horror of it.

[Ah... Ah... Ah... You don't seem to understand what you've just gotten yourself into. Let me remind you]

Several heads then exploded in the aftermath. Their bodies instantly fell to the ground, just as the body of the former athlete had done. They were obviously dead. Screams of fright could be heard amidst the cries of pain echoing through the subway train. Looking closely, it seemed that two thirds of the people present had just lost their lives. I then heard a thud and looked behind me, several men and women were trying to open the metal doors or break the windows of the subway train, without much success

[Now, you're going to shut up and listen to what I have to say, okay?]

No one answered. Everyone looked at the dokkaebi as primitive men would look at an overpowering predator. I felt my own heart start to beat much faster than usual. So this was all real, I was not dreaming or having a nightmare

[You have all lived your lives comfortably so far, haven't you? You eat, sleep and breathe as you please]

[But this good time has come to an end, do you really think you could still enjoy all this for free?]

Upon hearing the dokkaebi's words, many people felt as if they were being laughed at. I could totally understand them because I felt the same way. We were not living freely in any way. If we had to work, it wasn't for fun, but rather because we needed to earn money in order to live at least one step above poverty for some. It was all for one purpose, to survive in this world...

[You have to fight if you want to survive. Ah, I've taken too long to explain everything to you and you haven't even started the script yet. What an idiot I am! Instead of explaining everything to you, you'll probably understand it better on your own if you face it directly, right?]

The dokkaebi's horns then started to turn pink and his body moved with ease inside the whole subway train, as if it was nothing to him

A few seconds later, a message was heard

[Channel #BI-8376 is open]

[The constellations enter]

A small window appeared before the surprised eyes of all

+

[The main scenario has arrived!]

+

<Main Scenario #1 - Prove your worth>

Category : Main

Difficulty: F

Time limit: 30 minutes

Conditions to be met: Kill at least one living thing

Reward: 300 coins

In case of failure : Death

+

A slight smile appeared on the dokkaebi's face as he became transparent. Before disappearing completely, in the same way as he had appeared, his last words were addressed to all the survivors of his murderous madness

[I wish you all good luck.]

As soon as the dokkaebi disappeared, there was a deep silence. No one knew what to make of what had just happened. No one knew what to do with what had just happened. No one wanted to die. Suddenly, people started to look at each other. I was in the same situation as them, so I quickly understood what they were doing. They were looking for the easiest target so they could kill it

"..."

A most terrifying silence had taken place inside the subway train, previously filled with happy people talking to each other or on the phone. These same people only wanted one thing and you could see it in their eyes, their survival. I would be lying to myself if I said that I didn't feel some fear in front of all this, but nevertheless, I forced myself to maintain a calm and serene expression on my face not to give in to panic

There was soon going to be a powerful confrontation between the various people present in this subway train, and I was going to have to take part in it too if I didn't want to die at someone else's hand. For that, I had to take the life of another, as a criminal or a murderer would do. I didn't have to think like that, but rather I had to think tactically in order to put all the chances on my side, and for that I had to be ready to react to anything that might happen.

'Allright. Let's take it easy, I need to stay focused...'

From what I'd seen, there was no way to get out, as the doors were apparently blocked, and the windows appeared to be unbreakable. What's more, we had no way of communicating with the outside world, as the metro was stuck in a tunnel and there was no network to communicate with anyone. Damn it, we were really trapped in the same way as rats in a cage...

"Shit...."

While paying close attention to the people who were starting to get restless next to me, I calmly and methodically observed the other people in the subway train, hoping with all my heart to find something or someone that would allow me to get through this scenario without too much difficulty and, above all, without having to kill anyone with my own hands. Unfortunately, I didn't see any animal or insect that would have allowed me to complete the first scenario without having to kill another human being. Killing each other was mandatory if only a few people were to survive.

"Everyone! Please, everyone, calm down!"