novelraw Chapter 42 : Chapter 42
Chapter 42 : Chapter 42
Chapter 42
They were players who had paid a cost of 10 million won and departed from the hierarchy in order to oppose the King rank.
Instead of gaining the right to oppose the King, they lost the right to oppress the lowest rank, the Slave.
The only person who could exercise a privilege on me in this place was No Tae-jin.
The irony of this Money Game, where the person who is the least greedy can obtain the most money, was being consistently maintained.
No Tae-jin closed and opened his eyes deeply.
“Everyone, are you speaking sincerely?”
He openly revealed his disappointment at the players’ attitude.
Just how many times was this attitude shift already.
When they stood in the queue, when they vowed survival for everyone in Set 1, when they burst in anger in Set 2, and even in Set 3 alone, they changed their attitude several times.
Could they not see No Tae-jin’s open disappointment?
The players beat their chests as if frustrated and pressed No Tae-jin.
“If we don’t take the money that can be eaten for free, what are we if we are not suckers?”
“Ah, this person is really frustrating. Use the privilege quickly!”
“Who is the one who made the matter twisted first? Why should we be the only ones to endure!”
Even without calling a separate translator, their words were naturally paraphrased.
Isn’t 300 million more profitable than 90 million?
Isn’t it a problem that Lee Ju-seong disappeared in the middle and then reappeared?
Isn’t it because of that woman who backstabbed first?
Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?
Responses reflecting stress and ignorance were popping out evenly.
While the blaming of others to justify themselves was rampant, No Tae-jin quietly turned his body and escaped through the half-open door.
At the same time, he said sadly.
“I thought that even if there were twists and turns, we could smile at each other in the end if we shared the profits fairly. But it seems it was my delusion.”
No Tae-jin eventually left the room without using the privilege.
The players’ anger rapidly shifted toward No Tae-jin.
“Look at that idiot son of a bitch! Can’t you do math, math!”
“No Tae-jin! Come back! What are you doing right now! Ah, frustrating! Isn’t that guy a nutjob?”
“I’m the moron for treating that piece of trash like a person!”
Just as the players had the right to choose whether to betray or not, they did not perceive at all that No Tae-jin also had the right to choose whether to betray or not.
Because their actions led to profit, while No Tae-jin’s actions did not lead to profit.
Money was the only rule, and they could not understand the fact itself that there are people who sometimes value other things more than money.
I lowered the Hwando held in my hand and advanced one step at a time.
“Pitiful people. Do you know the reason why I recommended fair distribution until the end, even after seeing you all bloodthirsty the whole time?”
Every time I walked, the tip of the blade touching the floor made a thin frictional sound.
Skree! Skreeeee!
As the eerie sound approached, lumpy goosebumps broke out on the players’ forearms.
They had read the presence of a reaper from my appearance, boldly approaching while dragging the Hwando.
As if a cornered rat would reluctantly pounce, one player who had fallen into a state of panic out of fear rushed at me.
“Kuaaa! Who cares! If you had just behaved yourself, things wouldn't have gotten twisted this much!”
The person who popped out from the crowd was a dark-skinned man wearing a low-brand pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.
It was difficult to guess what position he held in society from his appearance.
I didn’t particularly want to know, and it didn't seem necessary to know.
The man inhaled deeply and then exhaled his breath all at once, like blowing out a cake candle.
Fffshhhhhh!
The man’s breath became a gale and swept over me.
Thanks to that, I could tell that he possessed the ability to turn breath into a gale.
The concentrated wind was as powerful as if a part of a typhoon had been torn off, and a strong headwind tried to push my body back.
On the other hand, the man added even more acceleration using the gale as a tailwind and pulled out a small dagger.
“What, it’s nothing! I got scared for nothing!”
If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have had the strength to go against the headwind head-on, so I would have chosen the path of escaping from the range of the headwind.
But it was different now.
Currently, the enhancement multiplier of Damage Doping was MAX.
Taking full advantage of my enhanced physical abilities, I exerted explosive leg strength in an instant.
As I kicked off the floor and ran, my body distorted the headwind and moved forward several meters in a single bound.
When my feet touched the floor, I was right before the dark-skinned man.
I had realized a movement close to Shukuchi (Instant movement).
At the movement that exceeded his expectations, the dark-skinned man gasped.
“Heugh! Why so fa—”
Slash!
I didn't even give him the time to leave words to be engraved on a tombstone.
The Hwando drew a silver trajectory, and before the afterimage of the trajectory could even disappear, dew formed on the Hwando.
As soon as the man’s head rolled on the floor, the other players closed their mouths all at once.
They finally realized that the law that the person with the loud voice wins did not apply against me.
I swung the Hwando vigorously in the air and shook off the red dew.
The feeling of strength entering the body is different from the start. Even though my weapon proficiency isn't high, it's a power that more than makes up for the clumsiness with physical strength.
If a car with a low-spec engine feels like it’s laboriously moving forward no matter how much you step on it, a car with a high-spec engine feels like it’s moving forward smoothly even if you step on it lightly.
My body was exactly like that right now.
Before, I had to use all my might and give my all to barely be able to cut an opponent, but now, aided by Damage Doping, I could cut an enemy as easily as slicing a radish.
“When you were busy trying to find the culprit, I happened to run into Mr. Tae-jin. Mr. Tae-jin earnestly asked me. To give one last chance to resume everyone's survival operation.”
For me, it would have been enough to copy August’s ability and suddenly vanish after recovering my money intact.
It was the easiest method, where I could take my profit and leave quietly without needing to see blood anymore.
However, I had run into No Tae-jin while on my way to use the Slave privilege in August.
I had only disclosed some information to No Tae-jin, saying that I had been imprisoned and that I intended to recover the full amount from August.
After briefly hearing about my situation, No Tae-jin earnestly asked me.
“I won’t pry deeply since you must have your own reasons, Mr. Ju-seong. And I don’t want you to regard me, who can exercise the Prince privilege, as a risk factor either. So, please do me one favor conditionally.”
No Tae-jin's request was simple.
When I recovered the lost money, he would barge into the scene at the right timing, so he asked me to decide whether to resume the everyone survival operation or not according to the players’ reaction.
If the players do not ask No Tae-jin to use the privilege, share the prize money fairly.
If the players get greedy while telling No Tae-jin to use the privilege, Lee Ju-seong does as he pleases after that.
No Tae-jin, he wanted to obtain the conviction that humanity was greater than money until the very end.
However, the players’ choice brought disappointment to No Tae-jin.
The players who learned of the situation showed various reactions.
Those who regretted, thinking they should have endured a little longer.
Those who resented No Tae-jin, asking by what right he was testing them.
Those who were calculating in their heads whether they could fight and win against me.
The reactions were each different, but the decision made in the end was the same.
To resist me by joining forces somehow.
Someone mixed in the crowd shouted and acted as a leader.
“Anyway, anyway, there’s no answer other than fighting! Ki— Aaack!”
Slash!
The man fell as the second sacrifice of the Hwando while trying to convey his intentions noticeably for nothing.
The thick blood droplets formed on the blade fell down and left red spots on the floor along with a splatting sound.
As the second man who could not escape death left a smudge on the floor like red ink, the smell of blood spread thickly into the air.
An eerie silence rushed in.
It was the omen of a blood-stained storm.
I lowered my body in an instant.
Around the time my knee brushed the floor, the tip of the sword scoured the air.
The first trajectory slashed down through the shoulder of a person who was standing blankly, and the second trajectory brushed through a side and drew a bloody brushstroke.
Another scream erupted at the end of that brushstroke.
“A, aaack!”
The scream did not last long.
The throat of the one who made that sound was caught in an unceasing orbit as it rotated along with my arm.
As if a rain of blood were spreading out, red spots and screams increased one by one.
The players scattered in confusion and took out weapons in their own way, but those were already nothing more than ornaments that had lost their meaning.
Someone spat fire, someone sparked electricity from their fingertips, and someone else activated an ability to twist space.
But I lifted my sword faster and more surely than any bizarre talent.
“Is that really your best? Your capacity can't even follow half of your greed.”
Taking greed according to one's capacity as a vessel was the shortcut to survival.
What if one holds greed beyond the vessel? It overflows without fail.
In this case, what flowed outside the vessel was their own blood.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The sound of cutting and the number of screams were proportional.
The number of players decreased rapidly and soon left only the last person.
The last player was holding my Money Watch in his hand.
He was the man who had contributed the most to refusing everyone survival until the end.
The man predicted his own future from the corpses widespread around and stepped back.
“Th, there was a situation, so I couldn't help it! My kids are four years old and one year old! Even now, they are waiting, thinking I went out to work! I couldn't just stay inside here forever!”
He was appealing to emotions by mentioning his family.
Right now, I didn't have the talent to discern whether the man's words were true or false.
I spoke as I inserted the blood-stained Hwando into the gap of my left belt.
“You had a pathetic story.”
Hope dwelled on the man’s face as I withdrew the Hwando.
However, the withdrawal of the Hwando was only for a moment; I performed a draw by pulling out the Hwando in an instant.
Slash!
The man’s head fell as it was, with an expression full of hope, and hit the floor.
Amidst the dull sound of impact echoing, my voice landed callously on top of the man’s head like falling snowflakes.
“But I don't have the personality to change my attitude as easily as flipping my palm.”
When the battle came to an end, I was the only person standing in the room.
Of course, if counting the people whose breath was still attached, there were two in total: me and August.
As for August, she had surrendered from the start, so she was in a position where she wasn't even treated as an opponent.
[You killed multiple opposing players during play.]
[The Balance Seizure privilege is activated.]
[You have seized 365 million won possessed by the killed players.]
[Current balance : 3.1 billion won.]
From the amount I originally had to the King prize money for Set 2 and 3, and the amount obtained through the Balance Seizure privilege.
The balance surpassed 3 billion.
It was also the result of using Damage Doping for the first time.
It was not a bad result for a test run.
The satisfactory test run ended.
In the blood-stained space, I felt my racing heartbeat gradually regaining its stability.
At that moment, an announcement echoed throughout the game site.
It was the sound announcing the end of this game.
[The Musical Chairs game has ended.]
If it were according to the script I knew, Round 3 would end with this, and a rest period would be given for two days.
However, the modified script flowed in a different direction from my expectations.
The announcement did not stop at announcing the end of Round 3 but forewarned us that Round 4 had already begun.
[We will proceed with Round 4 immediately.]
“Is there no such thing as a break?”
In the space where the smell of blood had not yet disappeared, the announcement leading us to a new phase echoed like an afterimage.
[Survivors of the Musical Chairs game, please gather in the 1st floor lobby.]