Suicide Squad Wanting to Escape from Demon Realm

Even after rubbing his eyes and checking again in case he was seeing things, the message’s content remained unchanged.

“What the hell…”

Yuseong unconsciously blurted out a curse as he took off the goggles and rubbed his eyes.

Suicide Squad Wanting to Escape from Demon Realm.

The venerable A+ rank quest that had existed since he first became a user appeared as a special quest.

‘Should I skip it?’

It’s not like there was any compulsion, nor would there be any disadvantages for not doing it.

However, the fact that it was a special quest bothered him.

Though special quests don’t specifically give more rewards for clearing them, they allow you to obtain what that user needs most.

From the [Twisted World] quest, he obtained Tyrant’s arms to fill his lacking attack power. From the [City Being Devoured] quest, he was able to modify the negative dimension virus into an ability awakening potion and secure an astronomical budget to make and modify the android and Dragonia.

The rewards from the [24-Member Suicide Squad Wanting to Escape from Demon Realm] quest would surely be what he needed most right now.

“Haah.”

Letting out a sigh, Yuseong put the goggles back on and started scanning through the content.

The story was the same as when he checked before, but the rewards had become quite meager.

The number of magic power stones, demon hearts, and items had clearly decreased, and the Fragment of Demon King’s Core that was in the additional rewards had changed to an item called Shadow King’s Boots.

“Did the rewards change as the survivors decreased? Having lower rewards means the difficulty is lower too, so it’s not bad. What concerns me is the Civilization Grade…”

2.02.

An overwhelming number that defied comparison with any world’s Civilization Grade he had seen so far.

“What kind of world has a Civilization Grade over 2?”

Earth, which handles nuclear energy and sends exploration vessels into space, has a Civilization Grade of 0.76.

But there are worlds that surpass 1 in Civilization Grade through magic and building magical civilizations despite having lower scientific capabilities than Earth.

There are also worlds with high Civilization Grades due to having beings strong enough to face the world alone despite lacking proper civilization or technology.

He couldn’t even imagine what the world of [24-Member Suicide Squad Wanting to Escape from Demon Realm] would look like.

“Damn it.”

There was no choice anyway.

After purchasing retry rights and checking his subspace, Yuseong took a deep breath and selected the quest.

[Starting ’24-Member Suicide Squad Wanting to Escape from Demon Realm’]

[Initiating Deus Ex Machina Program]

[Dimension coordinates specified and Ariadne’s Thread connection complete]

[Initiating spirit particle transfer]

* * *

Graaaaah!

Keeeeek!

“Argggh!”

“Walter! Damn it! Nathan! Help Walter!”

“Kuk! How am I supposed to help in this situation!”

Monstrous roars and people’s desperate cries coming from all directions.

Yuseong calmly surveyed his surroundings to assess the situation without panicking.

‘Forest, dark, so it must be night? Including me there are four people total being attacked by multiple monsters. Holding a staff so the client must be a mage?’

“Marcus! Is it ready yet?!”

The blonde beauty blocking an orc-like monster’s fierce attacks shouted in a desperate voice.

Currently there were three men including himself and one woman nearby.

Two of the men’s names were Walter and Nathan as mentioned earlier, so Marcus must be referring to himself.

‘Seems I was in the middle of casting a spell.’

Looking at the irregular flow of magic power, he was clearly trying to cast some spell but it got canceled when he possessed the body.

Though he could use magic again once synchronization completed, right now he was limited to just Thorny Vine at best.

And while Thorny Vine excelled at hindering movement, its killing power was sorely lacking.

‘I’ll use items.’

Yuseong quickly made his decision.

If these people fighting the monsters were part of the suicide squad, he’d lose 20 million karma points every time one died.

Though using unfamiliar items to defeat the monsters would mean having to explain things to people afterward which would be troublesome, it was better than losing 20 million karma points.

Thud!

First, Yuseong lifted his staff and lightly tapped the ground.

Dozens of Thorny Vines sprouted from the earth and began binding the monsters’ ankles.

[Spending 10 karma points to withdraw K2 Rifle(D)]

‘Only 10 points to take out a rifle?’

Yuseong who had momentarily hesitated came to his senses at the monsters’ roars and shouted.

“Everyone get down!”

Sharp gunshots rang out as 5.56mm rifle rounds embedded themselves in the monsters’ vital points.

However, though the monsters staggered, they didn’t fall.

Even shooting the exact same spots repeatedly only resulted in wounding their hide.

[Spending 5 karma points to withdraw 5.56mm armor-piercing magazine]

[Spending 10 karma points to withdraw 5.56mm special magazine]

Keeeng…

‘They look similar to orcs but why are they so tough?’

Regular rounds were completely ineffective, and he barely managed to take down one monster after emptying an entire magazine of armor-piercing rounds and special rounds developed for fighting monsters.

Seeing the other monsters breaking free from the vines’ restraints in that time, Yuseong threw away his staff and drew out the plasma axe.

Ziiiiing!

Swoosh!

Though they withstood bullets, being living creatures they couldn’t withstand the plasma’s high temperature and cutting power.

After swinging the axe repeatedly like chopping firewood, Yuseong finally split the last monster’s head before letting out the breath he’d been holding and turning around.

“Whew, is everyone alright?”

“……”

All three people were looking at him with eyes full of wariness.

In that moment, Yuseong felt an intense sense of dissonance.

It’s understandable to be surprised when a mage suddenly takes out unfamiliar weapons and butchers monsters.

But there are limits even to that.

No matter how suspicious, they had just had their lives saved.

Yet instead of confusion or surprise, why wariness?

“Sun.”

“Pardon?”

At the sudden words, Yuseong blankly stared at the blonde woman.

In that moment, the wariness in people’s eyes changed to hostility.

“Sun.”

Second question.

Of course Yuseong couldn’t say anything, and the hostility soon changed to killing intent.

Yuseong instinctively realized the woman’s words were a password.

Though he didn’t know why they suddenly asked for a password, he could tell that if he didn’t give the correct response, a dangerous situation would arise.

[Synchronization with ‘Marcus’ is complete]

[You can now use ‘Marcus’s’ skills]

Perfect timing for synchronization to complete.

Before the woman’s mouth could open, Yuseong urgently spoke to Marcus.

‘I know you’re confused about your body suddenly moving on its own. I’ll explain everything later so for now please tell me the response to the password…’

-I have nothing I can tell to the likes of a user.

“What?”

Unable to help himself, his voice came out at the unexpected ridiculous words.

“Last time. Sun.”

“……”

Yuseong swallowed dryly and drew up magic power.

Though he didn’t know what was going on, it seemed best to get away first.

Just as he was about to use Flash Step to enter the forest, the woman’s voice rang out.

“Activate trap. Marcus.”

Ziiiing!

“Kuk!”

As intense shock swept through his whole body, Yuseong who was about to launch his body let out a short scream and planted his face in the ground.

His head rang and vision blurred.

Through his fading consciousness, he could hear people’s conversation.

“User… immediately… kill…”

“Only… companion… mage…”

‘…What in the world is going on?’

There was no one who could answer Yuseong’s question.

* * *

“Urgh……”

The first thing Yuseong felt upon regaining consciousness was constriction.

He couldn’t see anything, and no words would come out.

Even trying to move, he couldn’t twitch a single finger.

‘They didn’t kill me?’

He had definitely thought it would start over from the beginning, but he couldn’t even guess what was happening.

“Don’t move. Move and I’ll kill you.”

A familiar voice.

Yuseong stopped struggling as the voice commanded.

“I’ll remove your blindfold and gag next. If you want to live, don’t even open your mouth.”

With rustling sounds, his vision returned.

A dark narrow cave and a campfire spreading warmth.

And three men and one woman looking at him with eyes full of killing intent.

‘Marcus?’

-……

‘Marcus? Um, Mr. Marcus? Can you perhaps not hear me?’

-……

Though he desperately called out even using honorifics, Marcus maintained his silence, and instead the woman in front pointed a dagger and spoke.

“If you try anything strange, I’ll kill you. If you try to say anything strange, I’ll kill you. Only answer my questions. Understand?”

“Um, I’m too confused so first could you explain the situation…”

“Didn’t I say to only answer my questions?”

Swoosh.

The dagger in the woman’s hand drew an arc and a faint line of blood trickled down his chest.

Yuseong swallowed dryly and answered as calmly as possible.

“…I understand.”

“Are you a user?”

“Yes.”

“When did you enter Marcus’s body?”

“I entered during the fight with the monsters.”

While answering the woman’s questions, Yuseong desperately kept thinking.

People who immediately demanded a password after he took out otherworld items.

A trap that activates the moment he speaks.

Marcus who mentioned the word user and said he had nothing to tell before Yuseong could even explain.

There was only one answer that could be drawn from this situation.

‘These people have met users before.’

Judging by their hostility, it clearly wasn’t a good encounter.

And it definitely wasn’t just once but multiple times.

Looking at the series of events from demanding a password to activating a trap, these people seemed to understand to some extent what users were.

“Listen well. From now on I’m going to torture you. If you don’t want to suffer, give up the quest right now and return to your world.”

‘They even know about Quest Abandonment Rights?’

Yuseong’s eye twitched.

Let me correct that.

These people knew users very well and were wary of them.

In that instant, Yuseong racked his brain and found the only answer to escape the current situation.

“I don’t know what users you met, but I’m not the user you met before. This is my first time coming to this world and meeting you all.”

Thud!

“Kuk……”

“Didn’t I say to only answer my questions?”

A dagger pierced his shoulder.

Though burning pain surged through him, Yuseong didn’t stop and continued speaking.

“I came to help you all.”

“Ha! You came to help us? A user? How shameless!”

Madness beyond killing intent flashed in the woman’s eyes.

Sensing mortal danger, Yuseong quickly shouted before she could swing her dagger.

“I have a way to prove my innocence!”

Thunk!

The dagger in the woman’s hand plunged into his chest.