Damned System

Chapter 2. Beta Test (1)

I dodged sideways to avoid the charging dog. Unfortunately, the dog was faster than me. As it leapt with all its might, its wide-open jaws drew dangerously close.

My side burned hot, and soon a searing pain of torn flesh overtook me.

“Aaaaagh!”

A scream escaped my mouth before I could even think to hold it in. I could vividly feel the sensation of my flesh ripping and tearing away.

There was no time to process this, no luxury for thoughts. Tears, saliva, and blood flowed and dripped down my face.

The dagger that had been in my right hand had long since fallen to the ground.

Each time the dog shook its head, my body followed, and more of my flesh was shredded.

“Heeeuugh!”

A sound, unidentifiable as a cry or scream, broke out. If only all of this were just a dream.

The pain that began at my side took over my entire body and crushed any hopes of waking from a nightmare.

My instincts were correct. This isn’t a dream. This could never be a dream.

That simple realization was the beginning. With the fear of death came the flicker of my siblings’ faces. Was I going to die here?

‘No way!’

If I died, that day from seven years ago would repeat.

Thinking about my siblings, who would be left behind with no preparation after losing their guardian, invigorated my once-paralyzed mind.

Unlike the dog, I didn’t have sharp teeth or a powerful bite. How could I win against the dog in this situation?

‘The knife!’

I needed a way to fight back against the dog.

‘I have to get it off!’

I needed to escape this situation and reclaim the dagger.

Right after making this decision, I pushed against the dog’s head.

But it didn’t easily let go of me. Instead, it bit down on me with even more force, as if resisting my strength.

“Aaaaagh!”

Blood vessels burst, and my eyes filled with red. It felt as if my eyes might explode from the pressure. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck me.

The dog has eyes!

“You bastard dog!”

I shoved my thumb into the dog’s eye. Normally, I would have shuddered at the resistance of its jelly-like texture.

But with my life on the line, the unfamiliar sensation failed to affect me. The only thing that mattered was that I had struck back at it.

Skreeech.

The creature backed off, yelping in pain, pulling its teeth out of my side in the process.

“Huuuh!”

It wasn’t pain; it was agony. It was even worse upon extraction than upon embedding.

My whole body trembled as strange noises erupted from my mouth. I wanted nothing more than to lose consciousness then and there.

But my eyes caught sight of the dog rubbing its head with its front paws.

What if it attacked again while I was out cold?

What if it went for my neck instead of my side?

Imagining the worst-case scenario, I gritted my teeth, reaching out with trembling hands.

The dagger, which I had let go when the dog bit me, lay abandoned in a puddle of blood. I flailed, trying to reach it, but my fingers would not connect.

“Eeeek!”

Fueled by desperation, I crawled across the bloodstained floor.

But before my outstretched hand could grab the dagger, I heard heavy footsteps approaching rapidly.

By the time I’d realized the proximity of the dog, it was already too late.

Crunch—!

I heard a bone-chilling sound. This time, sound preceded pain. As the bones in my pelvis were crushed by the dog’s bite, my vision darkened, only to brighten again like a flickering lightbulb.

This time, even a scream wouldn’t come out.

“Guh!”

All that escaped my gaping mouth were ragged breaths that seemed ready to spill out in an instant.

Turning my head, I saw the jaws of the dog, clamped onto my pelvis. As it shook its head violently, it felt as if my lower body would be torn off.

Seeing red creeping into my vision, something had undoubtedly ruptured. Even so, I gritted my teeth and flailed my arms.

Miraculously, my fingertips found something solid.

Without hesitation, I plunged the dagger into the dog’s side. The creature jumped as if wrestling with a pain of its own.

“Heeugh!”

Still clamped onto me, I was jerked around by its movement.

That was the beginning of a tug-of-war between the dog and me. I began twisting the dagger, which stubbornly remained lodged in its flesh.

The creature increased the pressure of its bite on me. Finally, after that excruciating tug-of-war, I succeeded in pulling the dagger out of the dog’s body.

“Die!”

Without delay, I stabbed again. Once, twice, three times. With each strike, I grew faster at withdrawing the blade.

Smack, smack, smack. The sound of the blade piercing the dog’s skin became monotonous.

“Damn you, just die, die already!”

Amidst my frenzied shouting, my hands didn’t stop. And finally…

“The target has been eliminated. 8 mana points absorbed.”

“Congratulations! MISSION – Tutorial (Beta Test 1/3) completed.”

“You will receive 10 mana points as a reward. All injuries will be healed.”

“Calculating grades.”

“Server activation commencing.”

“Beta server activation 0%”

“Beta server activation 1%”

“Beta server activat….”

With a ding and rapidly scrolling text, I had no mental capacity left to pay attention. Something hot and unknown began to crawl into my body.

I thought maybe this was what it felt like to go insane. I writhed in this bizarre sensation. This was not mine. It wasn’t a conclusion I came to through reasoning but a visceral rejection.

I wanted to immediately purge what had entered my body. After retching out the bitterness trapped inside me, the tormenting sensation finally vanished.

Only then could I breathe again.

* * *

“Uhhh!”

My hands and feet clawed at the air. My body sprang up like a coil, then froze as I took in the scene before me.

Stuffed hangers without attention to season, a tightly shut wooden door, and worn wallpaper.

A familiar space—it was my room.

There was no sign of the dog’s corpse.

Nor was anything around me white. This was proof that what I had just experienced was an illusion.

Relief flooded over me, my tense muscles gradually loosening. I closed my eyes and collapsed back onto my bed.

Thump thump.

The pounding of my heart echoed through my body.

After catching my uneasy breath, I muttered, “What a ridiculous dream…”

Never had a “crazy dream” been so fitting a description. Rubbing my face with both hands, I felt sticky sweat. It was not just my face; my entire body was soaked in sweat.

That dream had been disturbingly vivid. I could still sense the metallic smell of blood.

“Hoo.”

A few deep breaths calmed my erratic breathing. The notion that one doesn’t feel pain in dreams was nonsense.

Recalling the agony of torn flesh and shattered bones made my body tremble involuntarily.

I forced myself to shake off the horrific memory and sat up. I didn’t think I could sleep again.

Even though the alarm hadn’t gone off yet, I decided just to get up and wash. But before I could leave the bed, I froze.

As I had awoken, I hadn’t noticed, but now I saw what filled my sight. My hands and clothes, along with the sheet and blanket I had been lying on, were drenched in red.

The blood smell hadn’t been a figment of my imagination. What I thought was sweat was actually blood.

『The Beta server is activating.』

Then, letters appeared in my vision again.

『External player connection enabled.』
『A guide to using the system (damaged) is provided.』
『Grade calculation complete.』
『Congratulations! Player Kang Hyunwoo eliminated the target in 00:02:37.』
『Top-tier reward attribute 5 mana points have been provided based on performance.』

“Whhaat!!”

My back bent, and I rolled off the side of the bed onto the floor.

That feeling was back; the one from the dream. Something was crawling into my body. As I writhed in the ground, the messages continued.

『A top-tier trait ????? is created based on your performance.』

Even in that moment, I was locked in a struggle with what had invaded my body.

‘Get out! Get out of me!’

I wanted anyone—anyone at all—to remove this intrusion. I flailed with all my might, but nothing changed.

My body jolted and thrashed repeatedly as if it was having a seizure. Then, when what felt like hours had been mere seconds, at last…

“Haaah, heeugh, huuugh….”

I drooled profusely, finally allowing myself to lose consciousness.

* * *

At 12:20 PM, Jinwoo and Yeonwoo returned home immediately after the spring break special lectures concluded at the academy.

While Yeonwoo went out to the balcony to gather the laundry, Jinwoo headed to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Today was his turn to cook.

“Oh…”

It happened when he opened the refrigerator to take out some side dishes. Jinwoo flinched.

The food he had prepared that morning remained untouched. It had been meant for Hyunwoo, his older brother.

“He didn’t eat before leaving?”

He peeked into Hyunwoo’s room just in case, but no one was there. Not even sheets were visible, as if it had been cleaned up.

‘He could have asked me to do it.’

Life was already challenging enough without taking on extra chores. Feeling upset, Jinwoo bit his lip, when the outdated door lock beeped obnoxiously.

“Huh?”

Jinwoo quickly exited the kitchen. Soon, Hyunwoo entered through the entrance, holding a pizza box.

“Hyung!”

“Oh, just on time. Where’s Yeonwoo?”

Jinwoo felt a lump rising in his throat upon seeing Hyunwoo’s ever-annoying smile and the pizza in his hands.

Hyunwoo was his older brother, whom he rarely saw due to his relentless work schedule, which didn’t distinguish between weekdays and weekends.

Meeting him in the early morning by chance was a rare occurrence. Now, Jinwoo was seeing him for the first time in nearly a month.

Jinwoo ran to Hyunwoo, taking the pizza box, while Hyunwoo gently tousled Jinwoo’s hair.

“Hyung’s here? Hyung’s really here?”

Meanwhile, Yeonwoo rushed in from the balcony and jumped into Hyunwoo’s embrace. With a chuckle, Hyunwoo held Yeonwoo tightly, prompting Jinwoo to join the hug after setting the pizza box aside.

“You two have grown more affectionate.”

Yeonwoo rubbed her cheek against Hyunwoo’s and asked, “Why are you here? Are you taking a break today? Skipping work? Staying home?”

“Yeah, I’m taking the day off.”

“You should’ve told us earlier. We were clueless and stuck at the academy!”

“Why? Would you have skipped if I’d told you?”

“N-no, but…can we stay at home today, too? We’ll study at home.”

Yeonwoo pleaded in a nasal voice, clinging to Hyunwoo’s waist. Days when Hyunwoo rested were rare, occurring only a few times a year.

The twins, who missed their hyung, wanted to stay with him as much as possible. But Hyunwoo tugged Yeonwoo’s cheek with a stern smile.

“Repeat what you just said.”

“Why not? We can study here too.”

“No nonsense, head to the library and study properly. I’ll drive you.”

“Fine….”

“Instead, I’ll allow a break in the evening.”

“Really?”

“Amazing!”

The twins’ eyes sparkled with excitement. Hyunwoo smiled wryly, pushing his siblings towards the washroom.

“Now go wash your hands so we can eat.”

“Yes, sir!”

Beaming, the twins bolted into the bathroom.

Watching their retreating figures, Hyunwoo’s face turned stern. His insides were churning.

‘As if I’ll die like that.’

Inside Hyunwoo’s eyes, a determination to survive at all costs burned fiercely. Damned System