Author Of Worlds: I Reincarnated Into My Novel As A Random Character
Chapter 9: Twenty Four Hours Passes! Jin Begins A Massacre

Chapter 9: Twenty Four Hours Passes! Jin Begins A Massacre

A series of flowing runes appeared in everyone’s line of sight, causing them to be shocked and mostly terrified.

[Detected: All trialists have been inside the Hollow Sphere for twenty-four hours. The destruction of the Hollow Sphere is advancing.]

[There will now be a passive corruption effect of 1 percent every hour.]

As soon as the information was displayed, they stared at each other with wide eyes.

Matthew stood up and glanced around briefly. Just as he had predicted, the cracks in the Hollow Sphere surrounding them had advanced significantly.

It seems there has been no plot deviation so far. Of course, Matthew wouldn’t waste his time blindly in the trial, not when he knew just how deadly it was.

During this time, he had been studying everything carefully to see whether the plot of the trial he had crafted would deviate in any way.

Fortunately, it hadn’t—at least not yet.

I just hope it doesn’t. If it does, things will truly become troublesome. Matthew sighed and then noticed a figure approaching.

It was Jin.

Jin readjusted his gaze, brushed the silvery strands of his white hair to the side, and spoke.

"It seems you were right. There’s now a passive corruption effect."

Although Jin suspected that Matthew knew more than he let on, he understood he couldn’t force those secrets out of him.

I’ll explore this place slowly with you, but once I discover how to pass the trial, you’ll definitely be the first one I kill.

Jin kept this thought buried in his heart, yet he smiled as he looked at Matthew and said,

"Yes, I guess I was." Matthew let out a breath and said solemnly, "So, how do we complete the trial? Are you going to kill everyone?"

Jin thought for a moment. Then, glancing at the others nearby, a cold glint flashed through his eyes, and he nodded slowly.

At that moment, Matthew felt a slight chill. He had already guessed that Jin might make that decision.

’Fortunately, in case anything happens, I can use that to guarantee my survival at any time.’

Matthew’s thoughts drifted briefly to a particular memory, and with that, he sighed in relief.

"Where do we start?" Matthew was about to ask when he noticed Jin walking toward a group of people. A small dagger was gripped tightly in his hand.

The dagger glinted under the fractured hollow light reflected from the cracks within the sphere.

As he reached the group, Jin’s hand moved like a snake. Before the first young lady could react, a thin gash appeared across her neck.

She bent down, trembling, as a pool of blood erupted from the wound.

Using the moment while everyone else was still in disbelief, Jin’s dagger moved again with surgical precision, striking an unsuspecting man by her side.

The man was stunned and immediately let out a scream. He reached out to grab the dagger, but how could Jin allow that?

It was as if Jin had read the man’s movements in advance. He quickly wrapped his left arm around the man’s raised hand.

Yanking slightly, Jin plunged the dagger into the man’s abdomen and twisted.

The third youth nearby stood frozen, his eyes wide. The horrifying scene scarred him instantly, flooding him with overwhelming fear.

Because of this, Jin didn’t even need to make a move. The shadow that had remained dormant until now wriggled and disappeared.

It reappeared at another location, and when it did, the young man’s head was gone.

Just like I wrote. The shadow grows stronger the more fear it consumes. Matthew recalled this detail and turned his attention to the others.

The scene, along with the cold-blooded murders Jin had just committed, did not go unnoticed. Shock and apprehension gripped the remaining trialists.

"What are you... doing?" a young man asked, his hands trembling as he tried to suppress his fear. He stared at Jin, who was now wiping the blood from his gloves onto the corpse he had just killed.

Jin showed no emotion, just cold indifference.

"I’m cleaning up the trash in this trial. Just hand over your lives and accept your place." Jin sneered and suddenly charged toward another young man standing a few feet away.

"Ahhh! Someone help!" the youth screamed and bolted, not waiting for any savior.

Although he felt fear, he didn’t let it reach a level that would alert the nearby shadow monster.

Meanwhile, underneath the cobblestones, something began to stir. The shadow pulsed with life and began to slither.

[Corruption is now at 20 percent.]

The notification flashed into existence.

’So it’s begun.’ Matthew frowned and stared at the ground.

[Passive ability: Hollow Corruption activated.]

The cobblestones beneath them began to writhe as though resisting something.

A few blackened tentacles leapt from the cracks and slowly reached toward the nearby corpses, including those who had died the previous day.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, they were drained of all essence, leaving behind only withered husks.

The young man fleeing from Jin tripped on one of the emerging tentacles and fell.

Panicked, he got back up and tried to flee again, but it was already too late.

Jin was upon him.

Flipping forward, Jin narrowly avoided an incoming shadow. Using the momentum, he hurled himself ahead and reached the fallen youth.

His cold blade flashed toward the man’s throat, causing the youth’s expression to turn pale.

He raised his hands weakly in defense, but it was futile.

There was nothing he could do to stop what came next.

Within the crowd, one of the thugs pointed at Jin, his hand trembling violently.

"He’s gone mad! The shadow has corrupted him! He’s going to kill all of us! If we don’t stop him now, we’re all going to die!"

He was trying to rally the others to his side. And it was working.

The moment he saw their expressions change, his eyes lit up with hope.

If they ganged up on Jin, there was no way he could kill them all at once. That was what the thug believed.

Within the crowd, a lady gripping a weapon narrowed her eyes.

She watched Jin and Matthew through the corner of her vision.

Her weapon was already drawn. Her stance made it clear that she could attack at any moment.

Her gaze held no fear, only icy resolve and indifference.

"It seems I have no choice. I’ll have to kill them," she muttered softly, and then she moved.

Before Jin could react, she—

To be continued.