Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Second Loop Start
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#003_2nd Round Start
#009
1.
A narrow, hot, deep night had passed.
But my day was just beginning.
‘Citizens of Necropolis, it’s a blessed morning where you’ve been granted another day of labor. The current time is 5 a.m. Let’s spend the day grateful for the beds and nutrition blocks provided to you!’
That damn street broadcast.
I wanted to see the face of the bastard who wrote that script.
It was truly soul-crushing.
The sense of disconnect was terrifying.
Just moments ago, I’d gone from a dreamlike palace to the bottom of a sewer, and now I couldn’t muster any motivation at all.
Still, something to take comfort in...
The weight of the Universal Currency in my pocket, maybe?
I fiddled with the hefty gold coin with my fingertips.
“You look mighty tempting, you rascal.”
Universal Currency.
The only currency that allowed direct transactions with the ‘World.’
Inserting Universal Currency into a ‘vending machine’ would make the World grant the user’s chosen ‘wish.’
But with just one coin, the options were limited.
At best, suppressing aging and lifespan by one year,
strengthening mana circuits,
or engraving mana circuits into a body that lacked them.
Unfortunately, using it that way right now wouldn’t yield much efficiency.
What was the point of extending my lifespan by a year here? I couldn’t even access a vending machine.
It was practically worth ten million Bios in practice.
And ten million Bios alone was a massive haul.
Though we hadn’t exchanged any favors before, Arbel had left behind a truly grateful parting gift.
“......”
It made me feel unnecessarily melancholic, but anyway,
excluding Arbel’s disappearance, my goals remained unchanged.
Primary: Survival.
Secondary: Escape Necropolis.
Tertiary: Enter Ark City, recover 200 million Bios, and live a happy isekai life thereafter.
At least I had the seed money now.
What was the fastest route to achieving my goals?
“Triple it at the casino in one go?”
I wanted to rush to the casino, but I barely restrained the urge.
Even in Korea, having a large sum was dangerous.
If word got out that I had a fortune in this ghost town?
They’d come running with murder in their eyes.
In that case...
“Time to head to work first.”
I was sorely lacking in information.
The inner workings of Necropolis, how to grow money, how to get to Aden.
BigDick Agency was my one and only friendly ally.
Meaning they could gather intel for me in spades.
2.
The office was buzzing even in the early dawn.
“The rookie’s here.”
“James, already at work? No! What’s wrong with your eyes? They’re bloodshot! Something happen?”
“My family member finally died, so I went to the ossuary and came straight to work.”
“I see. Hang in there. You must be tired—have some of this at least.”
Team leader Ron offered condolences and coffee with an even more sullen expression than mine.
-Slurp
Cheap coffee whose taste I couldn’t even comprehend, but as long as it shook off the fatigue, that was fine.
“Team leader.”
“Yeah?”
“How do I get out of here and go to Aden?”
Ron pondered for a moment, scratched his scruffy beard, and spoke.
“I get where you’re coming from, but put those thoughts aside, rookie. Aden isn’t a place you can go to just because you have money.”
“Even with ten million Bios?”
“Of course it’s tough.”
“What? Why?”
The immediate answer surprised me.
No, even ten million wasn’t enough?
“Hmm.”
Ron, who had built up the suspense like it was some huge revelation, finally continued.
“Necropolis is Aden’s trash bin. You know how people who can’t pay taxes in Aden or commit crimes get exiled here, right?”
“Yeah, I know that.”
“Guys who’ve rolled all the way down here have seen hell. You think Aden would take back people who’ve once harbored resentment against the system? Especially when they’re already bursting at the seams with overpopulation?”
“......?”
“Plus, managing the ‘outer districts’ requires constantly feeding in fresh bodies. They absolutely block any population outflow. That’s why they’ve set the bar ridiculously high. To crush any dreams from the start.”
I was genuinely startled.
The brute of a team leader was suddenly speaking with perfect logic.
Seeing my dazed reaction, Ron grinned.
“James—no, whatever your real name is... I’m a case like you, booted from the Ark. Fifteen years ago, I was a pretty competent lawyer.”
“Tch, sounds like bullshit...”
“It’s true, punk.”
He let out a hearty laugh and continued.
“Anyway, to get a new identity and start a new life in Aden, you need 500 million Bios—or skills on par with a 5th-grade Fixer.”
“5th-grade Fixer?”
Become a 1st Rank Mage-level powerhouse?
No, 500 million Bios—what family pet was that?
No. Think positively here.
Wow! Still cheaper than a Dorambo Gold Visa Card!
“What if I sneak in?”
“If you can evade capture in Aden for a year without citizenship, you’re at least a 5th-grade Fixer.”
My head started to ache.
This threw my entire plan off from the premise.
If I went back cashless, even recovering 200 million Bios would leave me 300 million short.
“It’ll be tough, but hang in there. Things have a way of working out when you’re alive. Oh, and don’t tell anyone else you’re from Aden. They’ll see you as easy prey and swarm you.”
“......”
“You’ve got talent. Unlike me back then. You’ll adapt in no time.”
Ron patted my back like a grown-up.
I didn’t even have the energy to respond.
Ha.
Why was life’s difficulty set so high?
Or wait?
Was I overreacting?
-Clack clack clack
The hitman who attacked the mansion was real.
Head butler Albert had said my identity must never be revealed to anyone.
-Clack clack clack
But was that attacker really targeting me too?
A worthless, talentless wastrel?
If not, there was no need for citizenship at all.
I could just return to Aden and live leisurely as ‘Sedric.’
-Slide
The door to the rundown office opened.
Suddenly, the room seemed to brighten.
A beautiful woman in traditional Eastern attire had entered.
Hair smooth as ebony, eyes lovely as blooming violets.
With every small movement, the golden carp embroidered in gold thread on black silk gracefully flicked its fins.
Adding to that, a gaudy veil like those worn by courtesans, a long Japanese sword at her side, and towering geta clogs.
Unreal in every way.
She met my eyes and smiled faintly.
“Hello?”
I was starting to get the sense now.
In this city, anyone with that unreal presence was nine times out of ten a mage.
“Oh! Here to give us a job!”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve come to the right place. We’re the famous BigDick Agency! Boasting a 100% job completion rate!”
Especially if they looked down on others like insignificant bugs far beneath them.
Ron, who’d just given wise advice, took that contemptuous gaze without a hint of displeasure.
“Rookie! Brew some coffee! Th-there’s good stuff on the far shelf!”
Instead, he rubbed his hands eagerly and offered her a seat.
“It’s a mess, right? Our office is too shabby to host a beauty like you!”
“Yeah, and it smells bad too.”
“Oh no, how embarrassing... This is the cleanest spot, so please sit here.”
“It’s fine.”
The woman smiled brightly and placed her hand on her sword hilt.
She drew the sword about 3 cm from the scabbard,
-Clack
and sheathed it.
“Eung?”
Ron’s head flew into the air and rolled to my feet.
His eyes were still wide like a dead fish, as if he couldn’t comprehend the situation.
His standing body turned into a sprinkler, spraying blood everywhere before collapsing.
The sticky metallic stench filled the air.
“......?”
People scream in shock, but when something utterly unexpected happens, they freeze.
What the hell.
What was going on?
A rival company raid? Some WWE-style brawl common in Necropolis?
Or...
“You’re Sedric Montraven, right?”
Shit... bingo.
A guest who’d come for me.
Tension stiffened the back of my neck.
“Who’s that? I’m James.”
I tried to play it cool and buy time for now.
This was my hard-earned second life.
I couldn’t die like this. After all I’d endured!!
How did she find me?
Did I slip up somewhere?
No. That’s for later.
Prioritize and focus. Right now, survival first.
But was there a way?
She was obviously a bona fide mage.
“Took a lot of effort to find you.”
The nameless guest clicked her tongue.
Her hand moved to her waist.
“Wait wait wait!”
If she drew the sword even slightly like before and sheathed it...
Whoosh.
A strange sound rang out.
Like a candle snuffed out, recorded with a hyper-sensitive mic.
My body seemed to tilt forward, and then my vision spun wildly.
“What a disappointment.”
As my dizzy, washing-machine vision settled,
I saw my own feet.
Blood pooled on my pant hems, reflecting my appearance.
Ah, right.
It wasn’t my body falling forward.
Just my head, cleanly severed, rolling across the floor.
“Your sister was boring... but I had high hopes for you.”
I’d had my throat slit.
This was my second death.
======
『 ED 1. I Don’t Know Your Name 』
Pitifully, you met your end in the most mundane way.
A predictable conclusion born of your ignorance and negligence.
Well, not sure if this comforts you, but...
You still have plenty of chances to fail.
[Round Settlement]
▶ Achievements Gained: None
▶ Titles Gained: 「Lucky for Now」
▶ Challenge Points: +221 pt
※ Death Penalty Applied ※
[ Delayed Response ]
- Cannot move for 24 hours after regression.
- Applies until the end of this route.
From the end of arrogance and folly, may you reach transcendence.
======
Laughter echoed.
2.
This made two rounds of dying.
First death: Fall.
Second death: Decapitation.
I was cast into the void once more.
This sensation again.
The horrific feeling of becoming less than dust, vanishing into utter emptiness and nihilism.
Time sense dulled, self dissolving like a drop of water in black ink.
The darkness chewed, bit, and swallowed me.
No, this wasn’t darkness.
We call this death.
.
.
.
“There’s no big sis at the Academy.”
“...What?”
“You can’t be with big sis if you go there.”
“You, you...?”
Huh?
Arbel was right in front of me.
Her once garish golden eyes, now like a corpse pit, brimmed with life and moved.
No time to think, no breathing room, but my body moved on its own.
“......Mmph!!!”
“Mm...?!”
“Mmph...! Mmph...?!”
That dawn when the mansion was attacked.
“Pha...!”
After selecting the choice.
“What are you... d-doing right now...?”
“Confessing.”
“C-Confessing...?”
“Yeah, yeah, I feel the same about you, big sis.”
The moment I’d kissed Arbel.
“No, not there...! Eek?!”
“Don’t tense up so much. I’m not doing anything bad.”
It was replaying exactly.
What was happening?
My throat had definitely been slit.
My body moved like a puppet, still remembering that sensation.
It still recalled the eternal time cast into death’s midst.
The goosebumps along my neck’s cut line were proof.
But I’d returned in the end.
To that day when I’d made the choice.
I realized.
Genre conventions.
Possession, and regression.
Humans are granted only one life.
No being can defy that.
Yet I had returned.
‘This is totally...’
Before all catastrophe began.
Back to a save point.
‘A game?’
The moment I thought that.
-Ding!
A clear alert sounded, and a translucent window appeared in my vision.
- ■■■■(LV.0) activated.
The redacted text peeled away letter by letter.
- Dea■■(LV.0) activated.
- Deat■■(LV.0) activated.
- Death Ga■(LV.0) activated.
When all letters appeared,
- Death Game(LV.0) activated.
A flashy system window like a game UI floated before my eyes.
======
[ Death Game(LV.0) ]
▶ User: Sedric Montraven
▶ Achievements: 「Zeroth Death」 「Lucky for Now」
▶ Titles Held: 「Hedonist」
▶ POINT: 221pt
▶ Relic Slots: [ ] [ ] [ ]
◆ Shop
◆ Playground (Locked)
◆ Enhancement (Locked)
※ Death Penalty Applied ※
[ Delayed Response ]
- Cannot move for [23h:58m:23s] after regression.
- Applies until the end of this route.
======
Why show up now!
My status screen!