Horror Survival: I Speed-Ran the Kill Route

The rest of the class stood frozen with grim expressions. The scene before us was a living hell.The classmates who'd been standing here yesterday, smiling and reassuring us, now lay scattered on the ground with torn limbs and blood everywhere. Some had even been ripped into pieces.Isolde Adler, the prettiest girl in class, had her face slashed and her body mutilated until she looked nothing more than a human stump.Someone finally couldn't handle the sight anymore and stumbled aside to throw up, while another broke into panicked, helpless sobs.My hands trembled slightly, and my face was deathly pale. I was one of the calmer ones, but there was no denying that I was just a high school student.It all started yesterday, during our class trip. The bus plunged over a cliff, and we woke up to find ourselves here.A system appeared before us. It told us we were dead and that clearing this game, The Tyrant's Atonement, was our only way back.It was a game where we could choose our r

I frowned. The viewers behind the comments sounded no different from sadistic killers.When no one else spoke, the system's voice returned."Please select the next participant to enter the game before the timer ends. If no one enters, the game will be deemed a failure, and I will punish the remaining players."We exchanged glances and all saw the fear reflected in each other's eyes.The system continued, "Current death count totals 21. The remaining 195 merit points will be evenly distributed among 15 survivors."With that, my phone screen popped up with a notification showing that I'd just received 13 merit points, which brought my total to 25."Would you like to spend 75 merit points on redeeming memories of the deceased?"We looked at each other again. After everyone nodded, each of us contributed five points to redeem the memory fragments.When the scene flashed, Isolde's memory was the first to appear. It featured King Ragnar strangling her by the throat and carefully stud

"Did King Ragnar discover that she was an Atoner?" I asked, staring at the system.It seemed to hesitate before answering. "No. He was simply in a foul mood that day, and she happened to bring him confectionery."I sneered mockingly. "When has King Ragnar ever been in a good mood? He kills people on a whim, so what right do you have to send innocent players to atone for him?"People like him belong in hell. You do too, and so do all the viewers commenting in the livestream!"The system stayed cold and indifferent, while the comments were filled with gloating remarks."It's the first time King Ragnar has ever killed a consort. That's a new record!""This is fun. I wonder how many different deaths the remaining players will unlock."Furious, I lunged at the system's projection before someone caught me and said there were updates from Elara. She'd been delivering King Ragnar's laundry when an assassin attacked. Throwing all caution to the wind, she rushed forward to block the att

Hazel's atonement score kept climbing until it finally reached 100%. That was when it plummeted because King Ragnar had found a better hound.The two dogs were pitted against each other. Hazel was drugged by King Ragnar and gradually weakened before the other hound tore her apart alive.Out of 36 players, only I remained. By then, I'd lost track of how much time had passed. The comments were still full of mocking remarks. Some rooted for me to die early so they could watch the next batch of newcomers join the game.A few bet I'd break down and kill myself, but I didn't. Instead, I bought an hourglass, a broken sword, and a strip of red ribbon with my remaining merit points.Then, I selected my role. "System, I'd like to return to King Ragnar's childhood and become the King himself."After everything we'd been through, I finally understood King Ragnar's nature. He was selfish, cruel, and predatory, so only he himself could atone for someone like him.The comments were stunned.

"Troublesome brat," the old man grumbled under his breath and turned toward the table to fetch some water.This was my chance!I sawed faster at the ropes. When the knife was caught in the fibers, I yanked hard, and one strand snapped.The old man returned with a cup of water and held it to my lips. "Hurry up!" he barked. I opened my mouth to drink, but my eyes were fixed on his hands. The moment he let his guard down, I violently jerked my wrist, and the remaining rope snapped. I snatched the cup and smashed it into his face. The ceramic shattered, and hot water splashed across his skin.While he cried out in pain, I seized the chance to lunge at him and drive the small knife toward his neck.He was fast to react, throwing up an arm to block the attack. The knife sliced against his arm, and blood gushed out.Stumbling back, he knocked over the pot of medicine. Black sludge and soaked herbs spilled across the floor."You rebellious wretch!" he roared and charged. I dodged