ReLife Player

[Changing Futures (3)]

The International Mana Management Agency decides to categorize all monsters according to the degree to which they pose a threat to human peace as follows.

«Ninth Class: Monsters that pollute the environment or cause diseases.

Eighth Class: Monsters that cause physical harm in daily life.

Seventh Class: Monsters that commit major crimes such as robbery, murder, and rape.

Sixth Class: Monsters that paralyze urban administration on an individual or cluster level, or threaten human influence.

Fifth Class: Monsters that paralyze city administration on an individual or cluster level, or pose a similar level of threat.

Fourth Class: Monsters that manage monster clusters, or turn humans into livestock, or pose a threat to human prosperity.

Third Class: Monsters that cause damage equivalent to natural disasters and emergencies and paralyze national administration as an individual entity.

Second Class: Monsters that cause damage equivalent to catastrophes and paralyze national administration as an individual entity.

First Class: Monsters that pose a threat to human survival as an individual entity.»

-Excerpt from the International Mana Management Organization Declaration (2000)

☆

«Run away!»

«Gahhhhhh-!!!»

«Mom! Mom! Uhhhhhh….»

«Sa, help me─!»

The panic was instantly contagious.

Everyone was running around the driveway in panic.

The family members who hadn’t gotten out of the car yet were completely frozen. There was a tense atmosphere in the car, as if they had forgotten to breathe.

«Get out of the way, asshole!»

«I’m not pulling out!»

«Do you want to see me rummage through everything?»

«What the fuck are you players doing!»

«You assholes, what if you run away too!»

«You’re the only one who wants to live! Just move on already!»

«Mom! Where are you!»

«Uhhhhhh… Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph…!»

Witnessing what was happening in front of him, Eunha had to admit that his uneasy premonition was correct.

It was all futile.

He tried to stall by forcing them to go in different directions and claiming to go to the bathroom in the middle. I even punctured a wheel.

But nothing changed the future.

No matter how much time passed, the radio was only broadcasting the traffic jam on Seongsan Bridge (1). There was no news of the Kraken’s appearance. (E/N: picture below!)

So Eunha was optimistic that something he didn’t know would change the future, and that the Kraken would never appear.

But as if to mock his efforts, fate was replaying the exact same scene as the day he lost his family.

The turn of events only came suddenly when the family was halfway across the bridge.

As if fate cannot be changed.

A hideous-looking monster that seemed to embody human despair.

The Kraken, a third class disaster monster.

There was no foreshadowing….

It lifted its huge body out of the water without warning.

It appeared without warning, without the players guarding the road even noticing its third-class mana.

The Kraken’s camouflage was perfect. Even I, who had been detecting mana since entering the Seongsan Bridge, didn’t realize it until it rose from the river.

None of the players were good enough to deal with the Kraken.

Eunha bit his lip as he watched the players flee in disbelief.

Most of the players working on the Seongsan Bridge were in E or D class. The player leading the party was a C rank, but his strength was ridiculously insufficient to deal with a third-class monster.

Later, when he graduated from the Academy, the Kraken would be relegated to the fourth class due to the quality of players, but that didn’t change the fact that it was a monster with the power to at least paralyze city administration and threaten the prosperity of humanity.

The players gathered on the field could only hope to defeat a fifth-class monster at best. They had far too little power to deal with the fourth class.

and even worst against a third-class monster.

Even those who knew what they were capable of were prioritizing the evacuation of people or dealing with the monsters on the bridge.

It was the veteran players who were able to keep their cool. More than half of the players were too busy panicking and trying to get their heads out of their asses.

«…We should get off as well. It’s crowded outside, so be careful.»

His father, who had come to his senses late, spoke up.

«…It’s okay, just trust me, nothing bad will happen.»

«…Okay.»

Just like that, brainwashing.

In the rearview mirror, Dad’s eyes were agitated.

Even so, he knew that if he showed his emotions outwardly, it would unsettle his family.

He had to put on a front and hide his agitation.

There was no way his mother didn’t see through it.

She put her hand on his hand, which was still stiff with the sidebrake, and said, in a deliberately cheerful voice.

«Kids, you need to stay calm and get out of the car. The players will protect you, so don’t worry too much. Don’t panic.»

«Eunha, you must hold on to your sister hand, and Euna mustn’t let go of his.»

«Okay, Dad. I’ll keep an eye on him»

«Eunha, you can’t let go. You have to hold my hand»

«Yes, sis.»

Eunha grabbed Euna’s hand as if he wouldn’t let go.

She took after her father, and even though she didn’t try to show it, her trembling could be felt in her hands.

«Uh…, ah, huh?»

«Be careful, noona.»

But she was still young and tiny. When she got out of the car, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground.

«Uh, uh, why can’t I get up? I’m supposed to get up….»

«Sis….»

Euna tries to get up, but her legs give out and she falls to her knees.

She was on the verge of tears as her body refused to move.

«I’ll carry you, Euna. Eunha, can you walk?»

«Yes, I can walk, Dad. Please carry her.»

«Daddy, I’m fine, I can get up by myself.»

«Yes, Daddy, knows you’re okay. I just want to hold you.»

«I’m really fine….»

Euna somehow managed to hold back the tears that were streaming down her face.

But when her father picked her up, she couldn’t hold back the tears and buried her face in his shoulder.

At 10 years old, the fear was too much for her to bear.

«What are you doing without evacuating? You’re going to die if you stay there!»

«This way! Stay calm and come this way!»

«Group C, you guys take care of those guys coming up the bridge, if they block the way, there’s no way out!»

«Hey, fuck you! Do your job, have your head on straight!»

«Back up, back up, …I want back up, asshole, why don’t you get over here now!»

By this time, the players were pulling away from the front.

Eunha’s family followed behind them.

«Watch out!»

«Kuck…!»

«Crack!»

The players scrambled to clear a path of escape.

Before he knew it, a harpoon had pierced their side. It had been thrown by the monster that had climbed the opposite guardrail.

A seventh-class monster diver.

A monster with an amphibian-like appearance and skin covered in blue slime drew the harpoon.

«Ah…, ah…!»

The player’s face slowly contorted as he looked down at the hole in his abdomen.

His words were very short as he denied the unbelievable reality.

The monster glanced back at him, and the harpoon it was holding completely cut off his breath.

«Fuck! Get over here!»

«Heal! Doesn’t anyone have a healing spell?»

«What the hell are these guys!»

It was a crucible of chaos.

Mana fluctuates greatly depending on emotions. Mana spilled by panicked people spreads without dispersing, and monsters are attracted to the mana. Divers who jumped out of the river began to occupy the exit that players had made difficult.

People who were running away in a daze lost their lives. Some were so frightened that their necks trembled and they stumbled, some were ruthlessly eaten, and some were dragged under the railing. Finally, some fell into the water and struggled, turning the river red.

«Hey guys! Do you believe in Dad?! Dad will always protect you no matter what happens! Keep running forward without looking back!»

«It’s not long, just a little more running…, we’ll be able to get off the bridge…, let’s just hold on until then. Euna and Eunha can do it, right?»

The father and mother run, weaving through cars, vehicles, and people.

Holding onto his mother’s hand as he ran, Eunha scanned his surroundings for a safe path. Then he sensed the mana of a monster in the car ahead.

«Watch out Dad!»

Almost at the same time as Eunha shouted, his father quickly lifted his leg.

If he had been any slower, he might have gotten his ankle chewed off by the monster that crawled out from under the car.

Life and death could have come and gone in an instant.

He had to keep his wits about him.

Especially since he was carrying Euna.

«Don’t go that way, go that way! Keep running!»

As he shouted, Eunha, pulling her mother, pointed to an exit that had been cleared by the players.

He took the lead again and started running, and she followed, gasping for breath.

They ran and ran and ran, ignoring the incessant screams.

Then,

«Oh, my God, it’s crazy!!!»

«Aahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!»

«Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!»

The asphalt pavement shook.

Just once. Only once.

The moment the Kraken made its decision and struck, the pillars supporting the bridge collapsed and the road tilted.

People lost their balance and fell, and those running near the railing fell straight off the bridge.

«C…foot….»

Someone barely managed to get a word out in the midst of all that had happened.

Bodies rolled from the front as if swept by a wave.

The sight of a small object in the distance expanding in volume like a snowball could not help but stun.

«Run-!!!»

Eunha screamed.

But only a handful of people managed to recover their senses from the looming horror of death that had become a high tide.

«Guardian-!!!»

Someone shouted afterward, and the players straightened up.

The shield-bearing Guardians deployed their shields in unison, as if in unison with each other.

«Boom…!»

They couldn’t take it all.

The shields shook violently as each wave passed over them, and then over them again.

Cracks began to appear where the impacts were concentrated, and the monsters that were being born even now were rushing in without giving them a moment’s respite.

«Just a little longer, just a little longer…!»

Flames burning the entire bridge.

A series of explosions.

The bridge beginning to collapse.

Father who raised his head in hell comforted his family.

Although the father was relieved to confirm that his family was safe, it was not enough to be relieved.

Despair still lingered around.

The guardians had consumed all their mana to withstand hell, and monsters filled the road.

Notes!

(1) Seongsan Bridge