Life Mission
He put his gun down and hit each of the gremlins one by one. He had made a series of mistakes as a beginner the first time in the virtual game.
Unlike then, he was being resourceful with his bullets because he would die if he did not have bullets when he needed them. For real. He had to maintain his reason at every moment.
Kyak!
Such as this very one.
Too bad for the gremlins, Cha Jun Sung was a predator they could not approach easily.
It had been 1 month since Cha Jun Sung delved into Life Mission in reality.
From the dwarf mission, his level had gone up little by little. Even with the same E-class missions, the difficulty depended on the reward points.
When the reward was under 1000 points, the only differences were in the number of Level 1 mutants and in the area they were in. It all went smoothly up to here.
Even if they came charging at him in numbers, they were just deadwood in front of the red fire.
The problem began when it reached over 1000 points. This was when the Level 2 mutants appeared. Though they came one by one, they were not to be underestimated.
The Level 2 mutants sent their underlings first and the bullet consumption increased. They had recognized a dangerous object. The intent was obvious, but they could not prevent it.
It was impossible to kill dozens of them at one time. He had purchased a generous amount of bullets because of this, but he used all of them before he could fight with Level 2.
At times, they hid amongst their underlings and waited it out. They did not come at him openly. If they had charged at him without any thought, he would have been faced with a difficult situation.
What was fortunate was that most of the Level 2 battles were one-on-one. When the minions were left over, there were not more than 10 of them.
He stood his ground with his steel katana and sturdy armor.
In contrast to Level 1, each hit was powerful and his plastic armor was damaged, but his impact tights absorbed most of the shock.
Cha Jun Sung had proved that his equipment worked on Level 2 mutants.
As he accumulated experience, his intuition was revived. Grenades were a definite, but he began to use equipment like the Claymore with ease.
Though it was exhausting, he could not describe the pleasure he felt when he overcame all of the hardships and completed each mission. He felt alive every time.
He had gathered 80,000 points like this. The total was close to 110,000, but he had used it on repairing his equipment or on buying expendables.
When he had completed a 1300 point mission thinking that he would annihilate mutants, he had gained 5000 points. 30% of that would evaporate into thin air.
At the worst, there were times when 70% disappeared. These were when his armor and tights had become so ragged he had to replace them.
Since he reached over 1500 points, his equipment had come back after missions as rags. It was already the second time and it seemed this would become the third.
Tutututu!
Cha Jun Sung brandished the red fire. He just wanted one to hit.
He tried his best to hit his target, but it was not easy because it moved in a zigzag. Nothing worked, so he was just hoping for luck.
Kwang!
Huk!
Cha Jun Sung went flying a few meters at the hit he took to his chest. His already ragged shoulder patch shattered into debris.
Tutu!
Even while he was falling, he did not let go of the red fire. Roads were tough. He needed to stay alert like this so that the opponent would not undermine him.
Crunk!
Cha Jun Sung used his sword as a cane to stand up. His legs trembled. He took a deep breath and created a greater distance between himself and his approaching enemy.
Level 2 Mad Dog.
It was a crazy dog.
It was as large as a bear. Its tight muscles grotesquely shook between its veins as if it had been skinned.
It was as strong as it is large. But more than anything, it was fast.
“One is hard enough, but 2!”
At first, he thought that there had just been one. But while they fought, another one suddenly came in. He was unprotected, but he had turned his body and avoided being harmed.
Its biting strength was incredible, so his protective plastic patch was smashed.
After that, it was a ruckus. He fought as though he were rabid because he was in a situation where he was fighting one against two. He set off a grenade, brandished his gun, and swung his sword.
He somehow killed 1, but could it be because its companion saw its death? The remaining Mad Dog’s actions became careful. He did not approach it without thought.
Pewpew
The Mad Dog followed the movement of his red fire.
The bullets’ speed surpassed the speed of sound. With the Level 2 mutants’ sight, they may not be able to see the bullets coming, but they could anticipate their direction.
Papat!
The Mad Dog hid behind a wall he had knocked over while jumping to avoid the bullets. The bullets could not penetrate the wall, and bounced off.
Snap!
“Ow!”
He swore automatically. He was out of bullets. He had brought 1000, but he had used half on 2 Mad Dogs. And he had not even been able to kill both.
Seurung!
Cha Jun Sung took his sword. It was a dangerous situation, but he did not feel threatened.
It was his 30th Level E mission. Though he had not suffered any fatal wounds, he had suffered comparable injuries. Even if his arms and legs were cut off, all he had to do was complete the mission.
Keurung!
The Mad Dog crept out when Cha Jun Sung held his sword. It knew. It was fully aware of what was and was not a threat to it.
“Come on! I’ll slice you up!”
Tatat!
Cha Jun Sung provoked the Mad Dog and made the first attack. Instead of swinging the sword, he jabbed with it as in fencing because it was easier to recover.
Shwish shwish!
Kwatuk!
The Mad Dog had gone off to the side to find a time when he could attack, and took the sword with his teeth. He shook it vigorously to get rid of Cha Jun Sung.
“I knew you would bite it.”
He had anticipated that it would try to incapacitate his sword, the only weapon he had after the red fire. He had not let it bite his sword on purpose, but he had waited for this moment.
Swish.
The last grenade fell near the Mad Dog’s rear.
“Blow up.”
Kwang!
The Mad Dog could not avoid it and received the grenade’s blast in his rear.
Right before it exploded, Cha Jun Sung threw the sword and jumped. It was a short window and the distance was too short to avoid the blast, so he was hit.
Kwajijijik!
Fragments of the grenade penetrated his plastic armor and ripped his impact tights. His protective helmet and glasses shattered as well.
“Ugh….. I won’t be able to save even a fourth of this.”
Cha Jun Sung laid down and complained. If he combined this mission’s reward with the mutants he had caught, he had gained around 6000 points.
If he thought about the equipment he would dispose of and the expendables, he had not earned as much as he had suffered.
“I can’t lower my expectations….. I’ll have to start party play soon.”
500 points was enough for manual labor. But under Level 2 was not fun because it was just an average massacre.
Even while he was playing the tutorial, he had directed himself to the safe play. Once he made up his mind however, he could not hold back.
He needed to hurry up and gather points to pay for body modification procedures and Level D equipment. If he did it as a party, he may gain less points than acting alone but there was also less waste.
In addition, his exhaustion would be distributed to different members of the party.
“I’ll go back, receive treatment, and prepare for a 3000 point mission.”
There was really no reason for him to go back to the briefing room unless it was to use the healing capsule. Body modification. Once synthesis becomes possible, he would visit it often.
He returned home once the mission was complete. This was when he needed to start being on guard the most. Mutants were mutants, but the party needed to be composed of people he could fully trust.
Life Mission was a place where one can gain anything but it was also a space free from others and free from conventional rules. He would need to watch his back at every moment.