Underworld Player

toward her objective with the paring knife in one hand and a broom in the other, looking oddly like an intrepid knight on the way to defeat the dragon.

It had been a crazy day.
She had searched an abandoned villa for the parts of a dismembered corpse with nothing but a flashlight—creepy, but manageable.
Then, she had to hurt herself on purpose, for the first time ever, and though the pain had shocked her to tears, she had suffered it bravely.
However, to have to pour gasoline over a corpse, even a part of one, then set it on fire was the last straw, and Late Night Kitty ’s lip quivered as she desperately fought the urge to bawl.

Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined that she, who still slept with a night light on, would end up doing something this extreme today, but at last, relief seemed close at hand.
As the flames greedily consumed the right arm of the corpse, the fabric of the Mirror World began to fracture, and she felt the same sensation that she had when crossing into the Mirror World earlier.
She opened her eyes to see the living room, gloomy as ever, but normal, with no unnatural red light.

”Finally… ”

Mustachio was tending to the fire and watching over Temperance Gentleheart when the insidious cold that had wormed its way through their bones suddenly dissipated, like fog under the morning sun.
A wave of relief ran through him, and with a gigantic sigh, he fell backward, crashing butt-first on the cold floor.

A second ago, he had been sure it was lights out for them.

With the curse of the black markings also lifted, a wan Temperance Gentleheart checked the time on her phone with trembling hands.
”Twenty…
no, ten minutes to dawn. ”

”Told you, the Newbie Run is basically a test to see if Players have what it takes to do the job.
Once you know what they ’re looking for, it ’s a piece of cake. ” said Bai Zhi calmly, despite having to prop himself up with the hiking backpacks, too exhausted to even stand.

”But we couldn ’t have done it without…
uh… ” He smirked as he glanced at the figure beside him, who was gripping her injured arm and weeping from the pain.

It was clear to him that Late Night Kitty was not only a scaredy-cat who was afraid of the dark, but also pitifully sensitive to pain.

”Do you want any medicine? I have some. ” With a grunt, Bai Zhi forcibly squashed the wave of exhaustion that welled up from deep within him.
Retrieving a first-aid kit from his Inventory, he said, ”I know you were trying to use pain to overcome fear, but you didn ’t have to hurt yourself this badly…
You cut yourself nearly to the bone! It ’s a miracle you didn ’t hit an artery…
Come on, let ’s stop you bleeding to death. ”

”I didn ’t expect the knife to be that sharp! I ’m definitely giving them a bad review after this— H-hey, hey, what are you doing with that stapler?! ”

As a teary-eyed Late Night Kitty raised her head, the sight of the tool in Bai Zhi ’s hands so alarmed her that her whole body tensed, drying her eyes instantly.

”Stopping the bleeding, like I said. ” A puzzled Bai Zhi held up the stapler as he explained his first aid technique.
”Clean the cut, staple it shut, wrap it all up in duct tape—works like a charm. ”

”Look, I fixed my own arm the same way, so rest assured, it works.
It just might… sting a little.
Be a good girl now, stay still.
If we delay any longer, you ’ll pass out from blood loss.
You ’re a chad now, remember? Chads aren ’t cowards! ”

’Y-you ’re the chad! Your whole family are chads! No, I don ’t want— Don ’t come any closer!!! ”

Temperance Gentleheart and Mustachio watched them in exasperated silence.