novelraw Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
I, Lee Ju-seong, carefully scanned the inside of the game site while moving to the designated location.
The game site looked like it had recreated the interior of a primitive Western-style castle.
Centered around a wide-open lobby, there were dozens of large and small corridors, and spiral staircases were installed in each corridor.
The width was about half that of a typical grand park, so the cross-sectional width was narrower than the sites of the previous games, but because it consisted of a total of three floors, the combined area was much larger than the previous game site.
‘I wonder what kind of strategy August will use. Her goal must be to empty my balance without killing me. Furthermore, even as a dealer, she can't be free from the condition of having to follow the game rules. If so, the strategies she can use are limited.’
I reviewed the possible cases August could attempt in my head.
Since Money Game forces a limited environment for data collection, the fact that the number of possible moves a player can take is limited was both an advantage and a disadvantage.
Just as game users can only exercise creativity within the scope intended by the game company, this Money Game was no exception.
Of course, even if the number of cases is finite, it ranges from at least a dozen to as many as several hundred.
Unless one has a considerably rich imagination, it is impossible to review all the cases.
Unless, like me, you are someone who has played various roles every single day and played around with settings to portray that role beyond what was given.
As I walked in a trance, lost in thought, I arrived at my destination.
The place I arrived at was the eastern end of the second floor of the castle.
As if it were a place used as a conference room, a round table that could seat ten people sat alone in a large square space.
Decorative swords hung on the walls, and decorative armor was placed in each corner of the room.
Even if they were for decoration, they were items that could be utilized as weapons at any time if one intended to use them.
Depending on the perspective, it could be interpreted as providing separate equipment in consideration of the ability sealing, which was a penalty.
After a while, a mechanical sound flowed from the indoor speaker, the only non-primitive object in the room.
[All players have arrived at their starting points. We will now begin the 1st set of the Musical Chairs game.]
No matter what operation was used, I couldn't even start if I didn't find a chair.
So, the top priority task was to find a chair.
Fortunately, I didn't need to run around frantically to find a chair in this wide game site.
A map the size of an A4 sheet of paper was placed on the round table.
A single line of text was written at the top of the map.
[Game Hint]
-This is a map indicating the location of one chair closest to the current location.
The total area of this game site is 1.5 to 2 times that of other game sites.
Thirty minutes is too short a time to wander around every nook and cranny of the game site looking for chairs.
It wouldn't be what the organization wants for the players to waste time looking for chairs.
That's why they provided a hint so that one could definitely find one chair.
I picked up the map.
“Let's see. There are 3 corridors and 10 large and small rooms on the 2nd floor. Stairs that can move to the 1st or 3rd floor are attached to all corridors, rooms, and spaces. It's safe to assume there are no perfect closed rooms in this game site.”
The chair placed in the closest spot was in the adjacent corridor.
It would take about a minute to walk there.
It was really close.
Leaving the room and walking down the long hallway, I soon arrived in front of arched double doors.
It was a huge door with a height of as much as 3 meters.
When I pushed the door, a corridor with a long red carpet appeared.
At the end of the red carpet was a diamond-shaped platform equipped with 5-step stairs.
A ‘Throne’ made of a gold frame and red cushions was placed right on top of the platform.
“It's the same as the location marked on the map. My chair is a throne. It's not like the organization would have shown consideration…… was I simply lucky.”
Just because it's a Musical Chairs game doesn't mean ordinary chairs must be used.
A throne is also strictly a chair.
And there is a separate reason why they placed a throne as a chair in this game.
I climbed the platform to check if the rules I knew were correct. And I checked the back of the chair's backrest.
Letters were densely engraved on the back of the backrest.
[Musical Chairs Game - Grade Information]
-There are various grades of chairs in this game.
-Each player's ‘Rank’ is determined according to the grade of the chair found during Search Time.
-The ranks consist of ‘King-Prince-Noble-Knight-Commoner (5 people)-Slave’.
-The set prize money according to the rank is as follows.
King : 200 million won.
Prince : 50 million won.
Noble : 30 million won.
Knight : 10 million won.
Commoner : 2 million won.
Slave : 0 won.
Depending on which chair one occupied, the amount of money that could be obtained was as different as heaven and earth.
If one wanted more prize money, they had to take a higher-grade chair from someone else.
They called it Musical Chairs, but in reality, it was no different from a game of usurpation.
The higher the grade, the easier it was to become a public enemy.
Perhaps that's why privileges for the higher ranks were prepared.
[Musical Chairs Game - Rank Information]
-When it becomes Rule Time, you can exercise power according to your rank.
-You can impose a ‘10-minute ability sealing’ penalty on players with a lower rank than yourself once per person.
-However, the Slave has the revolution privilege and is the only one among all ranks who can exercise a penalty on the King.
King : Can exercise privilege on all ranks except the Slave.
Prince : Can exercise privilege on all ranks except the King.
Noble : Can exercise privilege on all ranks except the King and Prince.
Knight : Can exercise privilege on all ranks except the King, Prince, and Noble.
Commoner : Can exercise privilege only on the Slave.
Slave : Can exercise privilege only on the King.
-In this game, it is possible to move the chairs.
-Instead, the act of destroying the chair is strictly prohibited.
-If a chair is destroyed, all possessed money will be confiscated as a fine and a debt of 1 billion won will be imposed.
If one thought normally, the person who becomes the King in the 1st set was overwhelmingly advantageous.
If one went around looking for other players and slaughtered them during Rule Time, they could significantly increase their possessed money.
Instead, since one would end up in a one-on-one confrontation with the Slave, there was a risk that it could result in helping the Slave take all the prize money as a bystander if things went wrong.
‘The rank compatibility is King>Prince>Noble>Knight>Commoner>Slave>King. It's a structure where they bite each other's tails. It's exactly the rules I know. Since there is still plenty of Search Time left, I should take various measures at this time when the ranks are not yet finalized.’
Money is money, but I must not forget that my ultimate goal is to copy August's ability.
If I were August, at what timing would I move?
If it were me, I would watch the 1st set and move from the 2nd set.
August's ability is very powerful, and like me, she has the advantage of knowing this game well.
On the other hand, I also possess a powerful weapon against August.
That is the fact that I know August is a dealer.
To put it the other way around, it meant August didn't know that I knew her identity.
August's misunderstanding would soon serve as a great weapon to strike her blind spot.
As a test, I tried pushing the throne's backrest with my body.
“Let's verify everything that can be verified while there's time. First, I should try to see if the chair can be moved.”
I tried pushing it with my weight, but the throne didn't budge.
It was not a weight that could be moved by human strength at all.
It might be possible if tools were used, but even if I invested all the given 30 minutes, it was difficult to leave this corridor.
‘It was written that moving the chair is possible. It seems they made only the throne particularly difficult to move.’
Hiding the throne is impossible.
It was the moment I obtained one piece of important information.
As the scale of the prize money and special benefits were far superior, they had placed small restrictions.
Since the rank is finalized only when one is sitting in the chair when Search Time ends, I could move around freely for now.
‘Now that I've secured a chair, I should make preparations to keep August from moving an inch.’
I went out of the corridor to use the Search Time thriftily.
While walking down the hallway and imprinting the structure of the 2nd floor with my own eyes.
I encountered No Tae-jin walking from the opposite side of the hallway.
No Tae-jin reflexively took a fighting pose and was wary of me.
“Ah, of all people…….”
Although he took a response stance unconsciously, his mental state was already after accepting defeat.
His complexion was pale, and his two clenched fists were trembling slightly.
He must have wanted to say why he had to run into me from the very beginning.
Actually, it's better this way.
Thanks to the fact that the first person I met was No Tae-jin, who has a sociable personality, it became much easier to carry out the operation.
I said while raising both hands with my palms facing forward.
“Your name was Mr. No Tae-jin, right? I have no intention of fighting, so please rest assured.”
No Tae-jin's arms were about to drop before going back up again.
His guard was not yet lowered.
He was contemplating whether to believe my words or not.
I took three steps back to add certainty to No Tae-jin.
“If you can't believe me, then just listen to me while not believing me. Mr. No Tae-jin, you said this before the game started. That this Money Game is a structure where everyone can make money if they don't get greedy with each other.”
A line thrown based on No Tae-jin's words.
My line was the very act of finding a common topic that No Tae-jin had been trying to attempt against me all this time.
No Tae-jin's attempt had come to nothing, but my attempt worked very well on No Tae-jin.
No Tae-jin reacted to my line while softening his vigilance.
“I, I definitely said that. We failed in the 1st round, but in the last 2nd round, we succeeded in everyone's survival thanks to not being greedy. I think the 3rd round is also fully possible if we unite everyone's hearts as one.”
“It's truly amazing that you succeeded in everyone's survival, even if it was just once. I also want to go through this game without conflict if possible.”
“Are you speaking sincerely?”
“I will prove my sincerity during this Rule Time. Please deliver these words every time you meet a player while walking around.”
I paused for a moment, then delivered the content to be spread through word of mouth via No Tae-jin.
“Lee Ju-seong wants everyone to survive. Let's divide the prize money of this game fairly among the ten of us. If you agree to Lee Ju-seong's proposal, please gather in the 1st-floor lobby during Rule Time…… is what I'd like you to convey.”
If the person who heard it passed the message to another person, the message could be delivered to everyone within the time.
The action of me securing a safe distance first was effective.
No Tae-jin lowered his guard and he also took three steps back.
“I, I understand. I will make sure to deliver it exactly without missing a single word.”
“For now, I'll take it that you, Tae-jin, have agreed.”
“There's no reason to refuse. I'm someone who wants everyone to survive more than anyone else, after all.”
It was proven that what No Tae-jin said to me before the game was sincere.
Occasionally, there are people like No Tae-jin.
The type who says it's fine even if they don't leave a profit in this game, as long as there is an amount that can pay off the debt.
I went back the way I came and sat on the throne.
‘I should spend the remaining time guarding the throne. Because whether I become the King in the 1st set or not will be the key to this operation.’
No one came to the corridor where I was.
Everyone must be taking the first set as a time to play it safe.
This was also because of the rule that everyone except the Slave could receive a small amount of prize money.
Nine out of ten people have already secured a profit.
There was nothing good about being branded as a dangerous person by taking a ‘protruding action’ of aiming for a larger profit.
When all the given 30 minutes had passed like that, an announcement flowed out.
[The 1st set Search Time has ended.]
[The ranks have been finalized.]
[We are now entering the 1st set Rule Time.]
My rank was King.
As the light came on the Money Watch, I could encounter a message that allowed me to be sure I had become the King.
[You have been granted the King rank in the 1st set of the Musical Chairs game.]
[200 million won has been deposited as prize money.]
[Current balance : 2.505 billion won.]
I headed to the 1st-floor lobby to distribute the prize money equally as promised.
How many people would have gathered in the 1st-floor lobby?
Commonly, it was natural that one couldn't believe others' words at face value.
Perhaps it wouldn't be strange even if they took it as a trick of mine to gather people in the lobby and massacre them all at once.
Going down the stairs, walking through the long hallway, I arrived at the long-awaited 1st-floor lobby.
Unexpectedly, many people were gathered in the lobby.
Counting them, there were nine.
Including me, there were a total of ten people.
Everyone responded to the rumors and gathered at the meeting place.
Among the crowd, No Tae-jin was looking at me with an expectant expression.
On his face, traces of sweat flowing from his forehead to his cheeks and then drying remained.
He had run around hard while pinning his hopes on my words.
No Tae-jin's sales ability, it's unexpectedly useful.
I stood proudly before the nine people who were filled with vigilance and expectation and declared.
“Since you've trusted me and gathered here, I should live up to the expectations. I'll reveal it coolly. The King of this 1st set is me. And I will share the prize money I received equally with you all. Whether to accept the negotiation or not is up to you. What will you do?”