Chapter 3: I am human. Before that, I am a man

“Well, since it’s come to this, it’s do or die.”

I couldn’t leave this spot anyway, without a tent or a parasol.

Even if I managed to escape safely now, it would soon be evening.

Which means, if I sleep here naked, I’ll fall into hypothermia and lose my mind.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to send a distress signal, even if I don’t know whether it’ll help or not, rather than waiting for the guaranteed hypothermia ending?’

Let’s think positively.

The probability of pulling a rare girl in a gacha game is 3%, but compared to that, I’m now in a situation where it’s all or nothing.

I’m waiting for rescue with a whopping 50% chance.

It was around the time the siren wailed so loudly that even the herbivores nearby ran away.

Tap tap tap.

Tap tap.

‘Oh…’

The sound of footsteps approaching from afar.

It sounded like three or four people running quickly.

Trying to listen more carefully, I pressed my ear to the ground while sticking my butt up in the air.

Then, with a powerful roar…

‘Wait… a roar?’

‘Do people roar?’

‘No, there are no people here.’

‘An android roaring?’

‘According to the setting, androids are mechanical lifeforms modeled after humans.’

‘So, they shouldn’t be able to make sounds like ‘roars,’ right?’

And as a veteran who’s played for over 20,000 hours, I immediately recognized what that precious sound was.

‘Grrr…’

‘Bark bark!’

‘Arrrr…’

‘Ah… damn it.’

Soul-like traits.

They die after a couple of hits, but they always travel in packs and are fast, so they overwhelm you with a rush.

In Star Child, those canine monsters are usually wolves.

A pack of fierce dog-like creatures charging toward the aging campsite where the distress signal is still blaring.

Back in my noob days, I thought they were weak monsters because one hit took half their health.

But I learned not to underestimate them.

But this is a world where humanity has gone extinct.

Maybe that’s why there are only bad dogs left.

One of the wolves I hit suddenly howled at the sky, ‘Awooo!’

And then, that guy—

In the 19+ mode, he even showed bestiality scenes, but now he’s calling over three or four friends to gang up on my character.

‘Is that about to become reality?’

‘Bark bark! Bark bark!’

‘Grrr… bark!’

‘Dodge on the beat, dodge on the beat, dodge on the beat, dodge on the beat, dodge on the beat, dodge on the beat, dodge on the beat!’

Surprisingly, in Soul-like games, animal-type enemies are trickier to deal with than humanoid abominations.

At least with humanoids, you can see how they’ll swing their arms or legs.

Even if you’re facing them for the first time, you can somewhat predict their moves.

But with these beasts, the only warning before they attack is a slight twitch of their face.

So, you have to rely more on instinct than sight to counter them.

‘When they come, dodge on the beat!’

Normally, the best strategy is to parry at the right moment, stagger them, and finish them off with an execution move.

But that’s something only combat androids can do.

For an ordinary guy like me (with a decent-sized dick), that’s impossible.

So, if I can’t parry, I’ll have to dodge!

If I time it right, I can roll and get a 0.1-second invincibility frame.

‘But how many years has it been since I last did a forward roll?’

I think the last time was in elementary school.

Since middle school, I’ve been told not to do it because it’s annoying and could hurt my back.

They said it’s something only flexible elementary school kids should do.

‘Bark bark bark bark!’

Ah, screw it, let’s just do it.

If the choice is between being eaten alive by wolves or hurting my back, the latter is obviously better.

The wolf pack is now 5 meters away.

As a veteran, I’ve memorized all their attack patterns, so I trust myself.

I planned to dodge to the side when they opened their mouths.

…At least, that was the plan.

‘Bark! Bark bark!’

‘Arrrr…’

‘Bark bark bark! Bark!’

The wolves literally brushed past me.

‘…Huh?’

‘Are they… full?’

‘Or did they give up the fight because they were intimidated by the size of my manhood?’

They didn’t even look at me and completely passed the aging campsite.

Seeing those wolves, I felt like I’d just cheated death…

Thud… thud…

‘Ah…’

A smile started to form on my lips, but no.

In Star Child, there were times when charging beasts would avoid my character and just pass by.

‘Was it because they were full?’

No way.

This isn’t some peaceful farm simulation game.

In the Soul-like universe, where you either kill or get killed, such ‘peaceful situations’ don’t exist.

If they do, it’s only the calm before the storm of despair.

‘…I smell it.’

The ground trembles faintly.

***

At the same time, a familiar, pungent odor wafts into my nose—the scent of a Soul-like world.

My nose, trained by various Soul-like games, can detect when something above average is about to happen.

So, I knew immediately.

The reason the wolf pack passed by me, a perfectly edible target.

They hadn’t come running to devour me from the start.

They were just desperate to escape.

As if to prove my thoughts, a long shadow slowly emerged from around the corner of the building where the wolf pack had fled earlier.

At the same time, the constant tremors in the ground came to an abrupt halt.

“Gulp.”

‘Typical of the Soul genre, isn’t it?

Look at how it’s not immediately pouncing.

It’s downright cruel, really.’

As if savoring the current terror, something lingered just beyond the corner, refusing to reveal itself fully.

But running away now would be amateurish.

Such a ‘gap’ would only signal an ‘ambush.’

The moment I turned my back, I’d be caught and killed.

My instincts were screaming that at me.

So, for now, I decided to play along and keep watching, just as it wanted.

Swish.

“Huh?”

Soon, a grotesque creature slowly emerged from around the corner.

But contrary to my expectations, it was just a tall, lanky thing—about 3 meters in height.

It had an incredibly frail frame, like a walking blue skeleton.

‘In the original work, I don’t recall any creature like this… Then again, the world was Earth itself. I can’t assume I’ve encountered every type of grotesque being.’

‘Still, isn’t it too skinny?’

If my grandmother saw it, she’d probably say it’s too thin and force-feed it something out of Korean hospitality.

Shiver, shiver.

“Goodness, look at it.”

With every step, its body swayed in the wind, trembling like a leaf.

At this point, maybe the wolf pack just ran away because they were intimidated by its size.

This bamboo-like creature looked like it would snap if you poked it.

Coincidentally, I had already used up all my emergency power, and the rescue signal had just ended.

In the now eerily quiet, deserted city, I couldn’t let my guard down—not in a Soul-like genre.

‘Was it just passing by? It doesn’t seem interested in me.’

The blue skeletal creature silently moved from right to left, completely ignoring me.

Perhaps because I felt relieved, my legs gave out, and I plopped down on the spot.

I let out a sigh of relief…

“Phew.”

“Craaack?!”

“Huh?”

“Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha?!”

I take back what I said about it looking frail.

When it turned to face me, its face was a grotesque, inhuman mess—bloodshot eyes, sharp protruding teeth, and a gaze that seemed like a mix of bone and skin.

And it wasn’t just its face.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud!

“Uh, uh-uh?!”

Just moments ago, it was wobbling unsteadily on its feet.

Now, it dropped to all fours and began leaping toward me like a frog, shattering the concrete with each bound.

It was a grotesque spectacle.

“Damn it. Do I really have no choice?!”

As a veteran with 50,000 hours in Soul-like games, I could usually predict a monster’s movements after just a minute or two of observation.

But my current perspective wasn’t third-person or even first-person—it was VR itself.

Even if my eyes could keep up, ‘would my body follow like a game protagonist?’

“Grah-rah-rah-rah-rah!”

The creature was already in front of me, raising its right arm to swing down.

A textbook horizontal slash pattern.

I prepared to roll, timing it perfectly.

Such a simple attack was child’s play to me.

Whoosh.

But as I bent down, a massive palm—large enough to tear my upper body apart—loomed right in front of my face.

It was inches away.

What I was seeing now felt like the fabled life-flashing-before-your-eyes moment.

“What…”

‘Is my body failing to keep up with my eyes and mind?’

But then.

Schwak.

“Kyaaaaak?!”

***

The next moment, the familiar sound of a blade slicing through flesh echoed, and the skeletal creature’s arm flew in an arc before crashing to the ground.

Simultaneously, an android landed in front of me.

“I came in response to the rescue signal… huh?”

Snow-white hair.

Golden, beautiful eyes.

Thanks to the bodysuit she was wearing, her voluptuous figure was on full display.

Ah, of course, I was even more exposed—completely naked.

“Human?!”

“Yes, I’m human.”

“And that thing below… is that…?”

“It’s my dear friend, my penis.”

“Pe-penis?! No, then… are you… a man?”

Snap.

“Yes, I’m a man.”