I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

From the moment I took down the flower-faced monster in a single blow, I kept the map open in one corner of my vision at all times.
And now, for the first time, I was experiencing firsthand the true advantage of the enhanced map.

On the map, the names of my teammates—scattered somewhere in this massive ruined city—were clearly displayed.
[Cheolwoo], [Younghee], [Park Sunja], [Shun], [Bora].
It seemed they had all been transferred to this side as well.

And by some stroke of luck, maybe, Cheolwoo, Younghee, and Shun had landed in one spot, while Park Sunja and Bora had been grouped together somewhere else.
Did people who were nearby each other get transported to similar locations?
“…Then why was I…”

Looking at the map, I saw I was about four blocks away from the rest of them.
Still, it wasn’t too far.
Thankfully, Hanbit’s name didn’t appear, which likely meant he’d managed to avoid this incident unscathed—probably because he was assigned as the client for this mission.

But even as I felt relieved thanks to the upgraded map, I was immediately hit with a wave of despair.
“…Why are there so many monsters?”
The map in my field of vision was covered with countless red dots.

There were so many, they practically formed grotesque crimson lines in places.
This entire ruined city—was practically one massive den of monsters.
And the red dots? They were densely packed even right beneath my feet.

But since the area around me appeared intact, the monsters were probably hiding in the underground levels of the city… or maybe this damp moss and the tangled vines blanketing the ground—were all monsters themselves.
Either way, the fact that the situation was terrible didn’t change.
“There’s way too many…”

Staring at the sea of red dots crawling over the map like ants, I couldn’t risk moving recklessly.
Reuniting with the others was important, but barging ahead through a field of unknown red signatures? That didn’t sit right with me.
So the first thing I thought about was how to deal with multiple monsters at once.
Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was the combination that had worked wonders most recently—my Killing Intent skill combined with the talisman.

Back at the graveyard, just throwing one talisman had wiped out all the ghost-lights and lantern-faced monsters in an instant.
But now, while I still had the talisman papers, I didn’t have the most crucial part: the brush to inscribe energy into them.
Maybe I could get by with just activating my Killing Intent skill constantly, or infusing the talismans with raw killing intent even without the brush…

…but I came up with a different idea.
Shlring. Shlring.
It had been a while—I pulled my Recall Sword out from the inventory. Instead of the talisman, I would try imbuing the sword with my killing intent.

“Huph!”
Clutching the sword, I activated the skill, and channeled all the killing intent inside me into the blade.
My heart gave a heavy thud. Then a crimson energy began to ripple and surge from my body.

Like it was [N O V E L I G H T] being sucked into a black hole, the energy swiftly flowed into the sword.
The flow was smoother than I expected. Was it because it was an item?
Emboldened, I continued pouring in energy—until crrk, tiny cracks began to form on the blade’s surface.

“…Ah.”
Did it break?
It was disappointing, but if the sword shattered, I could always make another.

“Wait—huh?”
Just when I thought it couldn’t withstand my brute-force killing intent and would snap—the sword didn’t break.
It held its shape, merely fractured with visible cracks.

It felt like the crimson energy itself was clinging to the sword, holding it together.
Still, I wasn’t sure if it was usable as a weapon anymore.
To test it, I swung the blade at a nearby decaying utility pole, tangled in vines.

The moment the crimson-coated blade touched it, the vines instantly blackened and rotted away.
And with a dull thunk, the sword embedded itself a third of the way into the exposed concrete pole.
“…Was it always this strong?”

The blade was cracked all over, like it might break any moment—but its power and durability felt even stronger than before.
Crimson energy continued to leak from the cracks like heat haze, making the blade resemble a demon sword straight out of a fantasy novel.
If someone saw me right now, I’d probably look like a monster myself.

I gave a dry chuckle and sheathed the sword.
At the very least, I now had a way to deal with the monsters.
I checked the map again and began moving toward the location where three people—Cheolwoo, Younghee, and Shun—were grouped together.

Even on the way, I encountered several of those bizarre monsters with flowers blooming from their faces.
Whenever they saw me, they staggered forward in a trance, repeating the same phrase like parrots:
“Become one with us…”

Each time, I casually unsheathed the sword infused with killing intent, as if I were swatting flies with an electric bug zapper.
And the moment those monsters touched the crimson energy, they crumbled into fine powder without so much as a scream.
Even the overgrown moss and vines around them disintegrated, revealing the original cement ground and crumbling pavement—the true face of the city beneath the infestation.

“…Am I starting to look like the villain here?”
I was clearly taking down monsters that were trying to hurt humans, and yet—I couldn’t shake the feeling I was becoming the bad guy.
Wielding a cursed sword filled with ominous crimson energy, reducing humanoid monsters to dust, and even destroying the vibrant green plants and flowers in the process.

It felt like I was some eco-terrorist villain destroying nature itself.
And this Killing Intent skill—it was strange too.
Just going by the name, it sounded like it should merely frighten enemies. But in practice, it was pulverizing anything it touched.

Was this really killing intent? Or was it more like demonic energy or black magic?
Either way, using it left me with a weird, unpleasant feeling.
…But I couldn’t deny the raw power.

And another thing—
“…I think I’m starting to get it.”
As I kept swinging the sword imbued with killing intent, I was beginning to vaguely grasp the nature of this energy.

How to gather it. How to release it.
If I mastered that control, even if I couldn’t wield “energy” in the traditional sense… this killing intent—
I might be able to project it, like sword energy in a martial arts novel.

Huh? Wait a second—
“Using Killing Intent because I can’t control regular energy”...
Isn’t that exactly the kind of cliché where a demonic cultist learns dark arts because they failed to master orthodox inner energy?

As I followed that silly train of thought, I eventually reached the destination marked on the map.
“…This must be it.”
The location showing Cheolwoo and Younghee was a massive bookstore, half-covered in moss and vines.

At first I wasn’t even sure it was a bookstore, but the torn and scattered books near the entrance gave it away.
Had some nature-worshipping fanatics ripped them apart in a frenzy?
It was a sizable two-story building.

“…Hey! Over there!”
“Huh?”
There was noise coming from inside.
Muted somewhat by the walls, but I could hear someone shouting.

I approached a window and began tearing away the thick overgrowth with my hands, peering through the glass.
What I saw inside was far worse than I had imagined.
“…Fire.”

WHOOOOSH—!
Flames were already roaring through the interior of the bookstore.
With books and wooden furniture serving as perfect fuel, the fire was rapidly engulfing the building.

And in the middle of it all, several people were fighting for their lives.
“Drive the fire toward them!”
“Hide behind the flames!”
They were up against the same flower-faced monsters I’d fought before—and a massive, animated tree-like monster.

Judging by their combat proficiency, they were likely members of the Monster Office or part of Baekho’s exploration team.
They were fending off the monsters using their gear and hurling flaming books.
Fire was a double-edged sword.

The plant-based monsters instinctively recoiled from the flames—but the humans weren’t much better off.
Thick black smoke choked the air. People were coughing violently, and one person barely escaped as flames licked at their clothes.
At the front of the chaos—Shun, Cheolwoo, and Younghee were locked in desperate combat.

“Guh—!”
“Cheolwoo!”
There was no time to hesitate.
I slammed my fist into the glass pane and shattered it, launching myself inside.

CRAAASH—!
The loud crash drew everyone’s eyes—both the humans and the monsters.
Among them was a massive creature resembling a severed tree stump, with a horrifying single red eye embedded in its central trunk.

“…Ah, what was it called again…”
It looked exactly like one of those nostalgic monsters from an old game I used to play.
If someone stuck an axe in its head, it’d be a perfect match.

With that thought, I drew my sword, its crimson aura leaking from the hilt.
Maybe it was the aura that provoked them—
Before I could even move, all the monsters—including the massive cyclopean stump—surged toward me at once, as if on cue.

It felt half like a fear-driven attack… or maybe they just wanted to get rid of the one person not surrounded by fire.
“That guy’s… kind of terrifying…”
“Isn’t he a monster too?”
“Monsters wouldn’t fight each other…”
On the other side, the other survivors stared at me in wide-eyed fear.

In their eyes… had I become just another monster?
The hostile intent of the monsters pressing in from all sides. The frightened, trembling stares from the humans behind me.
And all around us—the crackling flames and choking smoke.

I decided I had no reason to waste time anymore.
Pivoting on my heel, I swung the sword in a wide horizontal arc.
I packed in just a bit more energy than usual, letting the crimson killing aura ripple out in a circular wave.

SSHHHHRRRAAAAAAA!
“Gyaaaaagh!”
The flower-faced monsters directly hit by my blade disintegrated instantly.

Even those that barely escaped contact were reduced to black dust the moment the aura brushed past them.
In just one spin, all the small fry were wiped out.
Now only the cyclopean stump monster remained.

Without hesitation, I lunged and leapt high into the air.
SWOOSH!
Countless branches lashed out from the monster, chasing after my afterimage.

Its weak spot was obvious—the single red eye.
But I didn’t aim there. I moved almost entirely on instinct.
Toward the center of its “head,” dense with thick age rings—I plunged the blade in with all my might.

CRRRRACK!
Like dry wood splitting apart, a dreadful sound echoed—not just around me, but through the entire bookstore.
The monster’s trunk split rapidly from the point of impact, and within seconds, the giant tree stump collapsed in two.

THUD!
It had all happened in an instant.
I flicked the blade once and turned to face the survivors still staring at me in a daze inside the burning bookstore.

“R-Run!”
“Don’t run—he’s one of us!”
Someone screamed, but Shun held them back.
In this chaotic moment, there was only one thing we needed to do.

“…Let’s get to another building.”
We had to move—before the fire spread any further.