I Regressed but the World Didn’t Fall Apart

Chapter 12

The Twin Axes Are Innocent (3) – [It Kills Two]

012.

Eughhhhh—

Lee Dohyuk and Jian entered the underground hatch.

They arrived at a sewage system exuding a grim aura.

A sewer filled with a nauseating smell.

Thanks to the reality mode, even the smell was realistically implemented.

“Ugh. I feel like I’m going to die.”

Jian complained about it.

But to Lee Dohyuk, the smell was quite familiar.

‘It reminds me of the old days.’

To be precise, it was the future.

Lee Dohyuk had spent a considerable amount of time in the sewers after the arrival of the dominant species from outer space on Earth, and humanity rapidly retreated on the front lines. He had embarked on a sort of reconnaissance mission.

During that time, he had struggled due to the lack of supplies from the main base.

‘Well… wasn’t like there was nothing to eat.’

In a world that was already half-destroyed, surviving for over ten years made one self-sufficient even without receiving food supplies.

Of course, by today’s standards, it wouldn’t be called food.

Yet, they were quite excellent sources of protein.

Snap-

“Eek!”

A sudden appearance of sewer rats.

Startled, Jian let out a small scream.

To Ido Hyuk, it was a reminder of nostalgia.

“Tsk.”

‘These guys are quite robust.’

The ones who used to supply protein to him and his comrades in the past looked quite different from the ordinary sewer rats.

Apart from their tails, they were almost 1 meter in size.

If Ido Hyuk and his comrades had stumbled upon such large rats back in the days when they roamed the sewers, they would have been delighted to feast on them today.

Several of those rat pups were visible.

Perhaps due to the influence of mutant germs in the game, they had grown larger, or maybe they had mutated by picking up and eating mutant corpses.

-So disgusting.

-Geez.

-Exploring the sewers is the toughest part of the hidden route.

Of course, the viewers’ reactions were miles apart from Ido Hyuk’s response.

Their repulsion at the sight of the large sewer rats.

Squeak!

Snap, squeak!

With red eyes gleaming, the sewer rats dashed towards Ido Hyuk and Jian.

Due to the mutant germs, they were faster than ordinary rats and had maximized aggressiveness.

Swish!

Thud!

Snap, squeak!

However, despite their size, rat pups were still rat pups.

To Ido Hyuk, sewer rats were not just excellent protein sources… but also very easy prey.

In front of Ido Hyuk, even if they were faster, they were just the same.

-Dead. Killed.

-5-second cut, what’s next?

-Smooth and quick, impressive.

-1 kill per second, lol.

After a few swings of the axe, all the sewer rats were dead.

But now, it was just a chat room where killing a few mobs didn’t surprise anyone anymore.

Of course, not everyone felt that way.

-What’s going on?

-Is this person a hacker?

The system where Tworke appears at the top as the number of viewers increases.

Even Ji-an’s broadcast was quite high up due to the viewers flowing in through BlackOrc.

Thanks to them, the newcomers were present in real time.

Newbie viewers who clicked, wondering what kind of broadcast this was.

However, what they saw as soon as they entered was Do-hyuk wielding a pair of axes, taking down giant rats in one shot.

To first-time viewers, Do-hyuk’s battle was naturally astonishing.

-Newbies are so cute, lol.

-Hey, take a seat.

And to these newbies, the existing viewers.

In fact, this had been repeated several times during the broadcast that had just passed the one-hour mark.

The new viewers were amazed, causing a stir, while the existing viewers tried to calm them down.

-Info) This streamer (not a guest) is a complete newbie without VR experience, and today is their first time playing this game. Currently playing in reality mode, boasting impressive stats, making the game difficulty…

-Long-winded and whatnot.

-Ugh, seriously.

-You typing in the chat alone?

For those who were witnessing Do-hyuk’s play for the first time, it was impossible not to be amazed.

The existing viewers found amusement in seeing them surprised and acting like seasoned veterans.

Anyway-

“Here it comes.”

Do-hyuk muttered softly.

“Huh? What’s coming?”

Ji-an asked, tilting her head at his words.

What’s coming?

Except for the bodies of the two and the giant rats, there was nothing in this sewer right now.

It was at that moment.

*Squeak.*

A metallic friction sound coming from somewhere.

Followed by the loud sound of footsteps clanking.

-How did he know?;

-Huh?

-For real;;

-Dang, senses are sharp

-Is he using hacks?

-Lol, we don’t even know how we did it

Even though the battle was over, Do-hyuk didn’t let his guard down, a natural instinct for him.

That’s why he felt something approaching from afar and mentioned it, but from the viewers’ perspective, it was like a ghost whispering.

Thud-

With heavy footsteps, a dim light in the sewer revealed the figure of a mutant.

Do-hyuk gradually tensed up.

Clearly not an ordinary monster.

In one hand, a strange arm filled with pus and blisters, and in the other, tentacles split into six, surrounded by a massive physique comparable to the bosses encountered before.

“Gasp! Why is it already coming out?!”

Jian’s surprised reaction.

The chat window also buzzed along.

– Isn’t that Kias?

– Seriously, why is it out already?

– Wait, a boss popping out 3 minutes into the stage entry? Why, hahahaha

Kias, the third boss of “It Kills Two.”

“W-what is that…?”

“Calm down, Elli.”

An event cutscene unfolds at that moment.

The boss battle-exclusive BGM also echoes.

Thanks to the cutscene, Jian and Ido-hyuk find time to interact with the viewers.

Jian turned towards the chat window and asked, “Everyone! Is this a bug? Why is the boss coming out so soon?”

– We have no idea.

– It might be because of the real mode…

– Even so, it’s too quick for an appearance.

– Maybe the difficulty setting AI got messed up, lol

Usually, a boss creature that should appear in the latter part of the stage.

But it emerged shortly after entering the stage.

Both Jian and the viewers couldn’t help but be bewildered.

– ?

– ?!?

– What’s going on?

Moreover, the oddity didn’t stop there.

– It’s not just one?

– Wait;; how can there be two bosses?

– Shadow clone jutsu, lol

– I’ve never seen this before

– hahahaha, is this a bugged game?

“No. What is this really? Should we file a bug report?”

Not one, but two.

Kias, appearing from the depths of the sewer, turned out to be two in total.

One per stage, and to have two boss creatures usually seen in the latter part of the stage appear split into two in the early stages.

A situation that couldn’t help but raise suspicions of a bug.

Ding-

Then, a donation rang out.

[“BlackOrc” has donated 1,000 won.]

– The difficulty of It Kills Two’s real mode is variable, so it seems like that might be the reason, right…?

It belonged to Black Oak, a professional in competitive games. The assumption was that such a situation arose due to the variable difficulty of ＜It Kills Two＞.

-“Variable?”

-“What’s that supposed to mean?”

-“Seems like the difficulty changes based on how you play the game, right?”

The difficulty of ＜It Kills Two＞, meaning the difficulty when opting for Game Mode instead of Real Mode, was divided into three levels.

Support, which provided various ways to assist players.

The usual difficulty, ‘Normal’.

And the truly challenging ‘Hardcore’.

In total, there were three levels.

However, according to results discovered by users through various experiments, the difficulty of ＜It Kills Two＞ was not just three levels but actually 15 levels when examined in detail.

Support mode was divided into ranks 1-5, Normal mode into ranks 6-10, and Hardcore mode into ranks 11-15, with a system that changed in real-time based on the player’s progress and gameplay.

Within the same difficulty level, ranks would fluctuate due to several hidden elements within the game.

This was a method adopted by various arcade games during the video game era in the past.

-“Anyone get it?”

-“I’m lost for now hahahaha.”

-“I get it… So, why does it matter? Isn’t this Real Mode, so it’s irrelevant?”

Ding-

[“Black Oak” has donated 1,000 won.]

“So, what this means is… In Real Mode, the initial difficulty is determined by the player’s stats, but it seems like Idohyuk’s stats are so outrageous that he’s set at around Rank 14 or 15, right? In terms of the Game Mode, this would be the highest difficulty achievable around Stage 4…”

-“Long-winded… get to the point?”

-“Do you have to write a novel by yourself…?”

-“hahahahaha.”

-“Explanation’s too long.”

Black Oak’s explanation continued.

His assumption was as follows.

The difficulty of Reality Mode, determined by the player’s stats, was only the initial difficulty.

Subsequently, the difficulty fluctuated in real-time based on the gameplay, similar to how Game Mode functioned.

From Noble mtl dot com

And up to this point, Idohyuk’s gameplay… met all the criteria for determining difficulty at an extraordinary level.

So, it was only natural for the rank to rise even further from the initial difficulty.

Black Oak stated that, in his judgment, the difficulty rank of ＜It Kills Two＞ being played by Jihan and Idohyuk was between 18 and 20.

However, another issue arose here.

The highest rank set in the original ＜It Kills Two＞ was 15.

Yet, Idohyuk’s estimated initial difficulty was nearly identical to or very close to 14 or 15.

He must have surpassed the limit rank long ago.

And the outcome was…

Thud-

Two Kias gradually approaching Idohyuk and Jihan from a distance.

“What… So, them appearing isn’t something usual, right? Like some sort of bug?”

-Yes. That’s right. Of course, it’s all just my speculation.

Not content with just increasing the number, stamina, and attack power of the appearing creatures, they brought out boss creatures that were supposed to show up in the latter part, in the early stages, and not just one, but two.

-Two Kias;;

-The difficulty level has pierced the ceiling, hasn’t it?

With the worsening stench, a grimace involuntarily formed on their faces.

The foul odor from the sewer even felt cute.

-Oh!

-That was Speedwagen.

-Just do well and understand the difficulty as being hardcore, right?

-You summarized it well.

As someone in the chat said, summarizing it in one line would be ‘Idohyuk is too strong, making the game difficulty too high.’

*Ding-*

As Black Oak’s explanation ended.

Just before the last cutscene ended.

Jian first paused the game.

“But with variable difficulty, can’t you rise even more here?”

-Uh… I suppose that’s possible, right? Unless they’re intentionally adjusting the difficulty…

“No. Are there really games like this?!”

Jian frowned at the idea that the already challenging game could become even more difficult.

No, upon further thought, worrying about the increasing difficulty ahead was premature.

Especially when faced with what lay immediately before them.

Two boss monsters.

Not even weakened by serum.

And they have to face them alone… No, does Oppa have to face them alone?

‘…Is it possible?’

Jian, who had witnessed up close how insane Oppa’s physical abilities were, doubted that it would be easy.

But the viewers shared the same sentiment.

-So, can they clear this?

-Even one without serum would be tough, but two;

-Seriously lol Shouldn’t they go get the serum now?

-Why did the difficulty suddenly become so insane? Oh, maybe they were meant to farm serum before attempting this.

A stage with a difficulty level that was hard to clear without serum from the start.

But they had to face not one, but two.

Doubts arose as to whether clearing it was even possible.

“Oppa… What should we do? Should we go back now? It seems like we can turn back before aggro is drawn.”

“Well… Is there really a need for that?”

However, unlike Jian and the viewers, Idohyuk remained calm and composed.

“It’d be nice to climb higher.”

“What? What’s good about it, Oppa.”

Even going as far as reacting like this.

It wasn’t like Lee Dohyuk was showing off for no reason.

Wasn’t it Lee Dohyuk himself who rejected the conventional route of serum farming from the start?

Already feeling unsatisfied despite it being a rare occasion of using his body, Lee Dohyuk was like that.

Even though his body was starting to heat up and cool down, due to the level of difficulty not being too high by his standards, he would often cool off in the middle.

“Now it’s starting to feel like a fight.”

“That side is more fun, isn’t it? Isn’t it better?”

-ㄷㄷ

-Even better?!

-Uh… Uh…

-Kya, the Lord has a great mindset.

Jian discreetly glanced at the chat window.

The chat room was ecstatic about Lee Dohyuk’s statement.

‘If I could, I’d persuade Oppa now, but…’

But then, they wouldn’t be able to maintain the viewers’ immersion.

In the end.

“Sigh. I can’t help it. But still, I’ll try my best to clear it with Oppa!”