Kang Jin-woo leaned against the dark alley wall behind the hospital. His body felt strange; there was no pain anymore, only a pleasurable numbness coursing through his veins. The "Oath" tattoo on his chest pulsed with a faint purple light beneath his torn shirt.
Suddenly, the system screen appeared before his eyes, obscuring normal vision:
[Oath System Notification]
Status: Reincarnation successful.Viewer Satisfaction Level: 5% (Extremely bored).Alert: Silence kills excitement. Start the "first paragraph" immediately.
Jin-woo looked at the screen coldly. He didn't need demons' orders to kill, but the idea of a "viewing audience" watching him made the corners of his mouth curl into a strange smile.
The Sacred Randomness
At the end of the alley, a young delivery worker appeared, muttering about the delay while looking at his phone. He hadn't committed any crime and had no connection to Jin-woo. He was merely an unlucky "bystander."
[Skill Activated: Predator's Instinct!] [Target Set: Ordinary Human] [Viewers are betting on the method of execution!]
Jin-woo moved. His motion wasn't human; it was like a shadow sliding over the ground. Before the young man realized Jin-woo was there, he was right behind him.
A short scream was stifled before it even began. A food container fell to the ground, and the walls were stained dark red. Jin-woo didn't kill for money; he was fascinated by the scientific curiosity of watching the light fade from the victim's eyes.
[You have successfully killed a random target!] [Viewers cheer! "Good start!"] [Reward: +200 XP] [New Skill Unlocked: "Steps of Nothingness" (Level 1)]
Thirty minutes later, the alley was crowded with police officers.
Detective Lee Do-hyun arrived. He stepped out of his old car and walked heavily through the puddles of blood. His hands were in his crumpled coat, and his eyes scanned the scene with terrifying precision.
— "Sir, the crime is brutal with no clear motive," said the assistant, pointing at the body. "The victim was just a delivery worker. Nothing was stolen, no past grudges. It seems like a random attack."
Do-hyun bent down, picked up the victim's broken phone with a corner of a tissue, and looked at the blood-stained wall. His expression didn't show surprise, only intense focus.
— "Randomness is the hardest kind of case, son," Do-hyun whispered in a viscous tone. "A thief leaves traces. A revenge killer leaves a message. But this… this person kills just to kill. Maybe he vents anger… or practices a hobby. Look at the cleanliness of the wound—it was done in an instant with surgical precision."
Do-hyun stood and took out a cigarette, but didn't light it, instead turning it between his fingers as he stared into the darkness at the end of the alley.
— "This pattern… reminds me of old files of a killer we thought we'd finished with. I don't care who it is, but he ruined my night. I won't stop until I see his face behind bars."
Do-hyun began collecting evidence the usual way, unaware that his opponent was watching him from above on rooftops, through system screens only visible to him.
The system panel before Jin-woo flashed:
[Warning!]
Target Entity: Detective Lee Do-hyunStatus: Has started connecting the criminal dots.Viewer Note: "The detective looks confident… Humiliate him!"New Mission: Leave a misleading clue at the next crime scene to confuse the detective.