Author Of Worlds: I Reincarnated Into My Novel As A Random Character
Chapter 11: The Corruption Has Advanced To Fifty Percent! Please... Survive!

Chapter 11: The Corruption Has Advanced To Fifty Percent! Please... Survive!

Due to the death of the thug, which marked the fifteenth casualty, the corruption had finally reached thirty percent.

[Trialist Eliminated: Barka Xane]

[Corruption +2% to remaining 35 participants]

[Current Corruption: 30%]

[With the increase in corruption rate, the passive pressure and active corruption have increased by three times.]

[Warped shadows emerge from the distant sky. Gaze into the abyss and fall into eternal damnation.]

As soon as the mysterious rune appeared in front of everyone, black mist immediately began seeping through the cracks of the hollow sphere.

The mist gradually condensed and formed a pitch-black eyeball embedded in the sky. The eerie, ominous eye radiated an intense dark aura.

Matthew, upon noticing that the corruption had already advanced to thirty percent, immediately shifted his gaze away from it.

After all, as the one who had written the novel, he understood the negative effects of the eyeball. However, most of the trialists were unaware of its dangers.

They stared at it as though entranced, trying to decipher its mysteries.

In the next moment, about ten trialists felt a strange shift within them.

"So painful," all ten muttered at once. In the following instant, their expressions contorted in horror as though faced with an unimaginable nightmare.

To think they would be affected so easily by the hollow eye... Matthew frowned. With a quick leap, he stepped into the fourth wall to address the readers for a moment.

The hollow eye essentially reveals one’s greatest fear, and when their mental state breaks, it devours them like nutrients.

Stepping back into the narrative after his brief interjection, Matthew glanced around at the others who had now averted their gaze from the eye.

He furrowed his brows. He was a little too late with his warning, and that had led to the deaths of ten people. Does that mean...

[Ten Trialists Eliminated]

[Corruption +20% to remaining 25 participants]

[Current Corruption: 50%]

[With the increase in corruption rate, the passive pressure and active corruption have increased by five times.]

[Each person’s shadow gains sentience. Feeling any negative emotion at all will result in death.]

Just as Matthew had written in the novel, once the corruption reached fifty percent, every shadow gained sentience and mirrored the host’s emotions.

Any display of negative emotion would cause the shadow to immediately kill the person.

Although this development was extreme, Matthew had no time to reflect on it. The priority now was to warn the others.

Fortunately, this time, because he was prepared, no one had died yet when Matthew’s voice echoed clearly.

"Everyone, do not express any negative emotion. Not even a hint. Doing so will result in immediate death."

All eyes turned toward the speaker and recognized Matthew. Recalling how he seemed to know more about the trial than what met the eyes, they quickly obeyed his instructions.

Because of this, there was no abnormal death rate as before. However, everyone still felt immense strain. After all, the pressure had now increased fivefold.

Some trembled faintly, barely able to move. At that very moment, the hunger they had been ignoring for a while surged forth, forcing many to clench their teeth in agony.

Matthew also felt the strain and increase in corruption but refused to let it get to him. He had to act if he wanted to win the trial.

He began taking light steps in a specific direction. However, no one noticed since he did it subtly, moving only one step at a time.

"Heh!" A sneer sliced through the tense air.

Jin, who had previously paused his destruction of the Decay Heart due to the system notifications, suddenly resumed his actions.

Now that nothing hindered him, Jin’s dagger moved with deadly precision.

Before the others realized what was happening, it had already struck the pulsating surface of the black Decay Heart.

Bang.

A loud noise echoed, and Jin felt a violent recoil in his hand. He was thrown backward instantly.

"What?" Jin was stunned and stared at the Decay Heart in disbelief.

What is going on? It cannot be destroyed?

Doubt crept in. Without hesitation, Jin launched another swift strike at the Decay Heart. He could already sense others approaching and knew a new massacre was imminent.

Bang.

Just like before, all he felt was a recoil. The Decay Heart remained almost completely undamaged.

Damn it. Jin was furious and could hardly believe it. But as if remembering something, he quickly turned toward the crowd in front of him.

That young man from earlier... he must know something. He must know how to destroy it.

Jin’s eyes narrowed, and he scanned the group for Matthew. But Matthew was nowhere to be seen, and Jin was now surrounded.

Move! Get out of my way! Jin’s fury erupted. He readjusted his glasses, and his speed spiked. In a blink, he appeared in front of a young man standing slightly ahead.

Knowing that killing would only increase the corruption, Jin aimed to incapacitate instead.

He darted forward and drove a vicious punch into the man’s face. The crack of breaking bone echoed as the man’s nose collapsed under the blow, blood spurting instantly.

Jin grabbed his arm with iron strength and twisted it brutally. A sickening snap followed as bone gave way.

Without pause, Jin spun low and delivered a sweeping kick to the back of the man’s knees.

The man collapsed like a sack of stones, landing hard on the ground. A groan escaped his bloodied lips as he clutched his shattered arm and leaking mouth.

Jin did not even glance at him again. He turned his attention to the next two trialists blocking his path.

From the corner of his eye, he sensed a disturbance behind him.

Reacting instantly, he twisted his body just enough to evade a razor-sharp synth that came slicing through the air, narrowly missing his ribs.

Jin’s expression darkened.

He didn’t have time for this.

The female warrior who had attacked him leapt back, maintaining a defensive stance, her synth shimmering faintly in the dim light. Jin’s eyes narrowed as he realized she intended to delay him.

"Get out of my way!" he roared, retrieving his dagger in a swift motion. His body shot forward with serpent-like fluidity, weaving unpredictably between the lines of attack.

He lashed out with a barrage of strikes, testing her reactions. His blade aimed for joints, arteries, and soft tissue with surgical precision.

Each slash came faster than the last, the air itself hissing from the force of his movements.

The female warrior tried to hold her ground, blocking with the synth, but she was rapidly losing rhythm.

Each of Jin’s attacks pushed her closer to the edge. She gritted her teeth and parried again, sweat beading on her brow as her arm trembled from the impact.

Not caring for defense, Jin lunged forward recklessly. The warrior, in desperation, thrust her dagger forward in a counterstrike aimed at his abdomen.

But it was a bluff.

She hoped he would flinch.

Jin, however, saw only an opening. With no hesitation, he let the dagger sink slightly into his side, and in that same moment, he drove his own blade upward in a clean arc.

His dagger slipped beneath her guard and carved through the soft skin of her throat.

A wet gasp escaped her lips as her eyes widened. Blood welled up immediately, and her grip on the synth faltered.

She staggered back, her hands flying to her neck as her breathing turned into faint gurgles.

Her knees buckled as she collapsed to the floor, glaring up at Jin with pure hatred burning in her eyes.

Jin didn’t acknowledge her. He turned away, his attention locked on the others ahead.

With one hand, he reached for the synth lodged in his stomach and yanked it out.

The blade came free with a wet sound, followed by a spurt of blood.

Pain flared across his features, but instead of wincing, he grinned. His smile was manic.

His bloodied form turned toward the twenty trialists rushing at him from all directions.

His blade gleamed crimson.

"Matthew! I’m coming for you... hahaha!"

A massacre had begun.