Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Chapter 45
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Echoes of the Empty Dimension
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I paused upon seeing the post's title, then a moment later tapped the system window to check its contents.
Title: Announcement. There is no one in our dimension.
Author: Maze [3817]
Today, I passed the test on Earth and arrived in the Transcendent World. But aside from the four who came with me, there's no one else here. Monsters are overflowing, but there are no people. I searched the community info a bit, but nothing even similar to this came up. It's frustrating. I won't specify which dimension it is to avoid being pinpointed. Sorry. If anyone knows about this phenomenon, please leave a comment. Thank you. This is a matter of our survival.
The reactions in the comments were varied, but none came close to the truth.
No one seemed capable of even conceiving the extreme idea of 'a single person massacring everyone.'
That was the normal way of thinking, after all.
Even if someone did think that far, they definitely wouldn't know about dimension travel.
Comments kept pouring in, but seeing everyone's speculations miss the mark brought me a sense of relief.
I was just about to wrap it up.
Hold on.
I stopped myself from closing the window, just as I had when I first saw the post. Then I thought.
Assuming no one knows just because public opinion is like this could be a mistake.
There were plenty of people in the community like me who left no traces.
Especially the rankers.
The top-tier ones, in particular.
Ranks 2 through 5—aside from the Sword King, none were publicly active.
Someone who knew might be staying silent in the comments.
Until moments ago, I thought there were no clues, but there was one.
The Degraded Path of Evil title.
Those who possessed it could see the number one ranker's kill count.
It was degraded, though.
I didn't know what rewards it offered or if there was a degraded key.
If others had the key too, those competitors would know for sure.
That this incident was caused by someone's dimension travel.
But selfish types like that wouldn't do anyone a favor by spilling info. The chance of them revealing it was extremely low.
And the reason they probably didn't comment was not just to monopolize the info.
It was because explaining would require revealing what the Degraded Path of Evil title was.
Even now, nonsense comments kept piling up on the post.
To avoid that treatment, they'd have to explain too.
Lucky break.
If the title holders were good people, it might've been exposed, but the title's condition itself was murder, so no such luck.
Still, if I kept using the key to massacre nonstop, it'd eventually leak.
No law saying the killers would keep their mouths shut forever.
By then, even if exposed, it might not be a big deal, but who knows what abilities exist in the Transcendent World.
Until then, I had to avoid any actions that might reveal info.
This incident solidified the path I needed to take.
I closed the window and continued training until dawn broke.
The next day.
Day 13, daytime.
Oh Heon set out to hunt, having finished all preparations.
He swept through the monsters one by one, just like yesterday.
On the way back from Zone 3 to the village, he held a single longsword in his hand.
An item obtained not from the goblin shaman, but from the elite goblin guarding it.
This was the first item he'd gotten from Zone 3.
Items only dropped from elites so far, making any of them precious across the entire dimension.
The sword's effect was ordinary. Penetration boost?
It seemed less useful than his existing magic sword, so he stowed it in his inventory right away.
Yesterday involved skill tests too, but to save time, he'd hunted by collapsing bases entirely.
This method had greater advantages, but also drawbacks.
Hard to collect all the loot.
Inevitably, yesterday he'd only grabbed the large visible spoils before leaving.
Today, for quick hunting, he'd partially collapsed another base, but this time skipped item recovery.
Thanks to figuring out a way to eliminate that flaw.
Material and loot recovery would now be left to Siron and the managers under him.
Siron's group would be hunting the goblins Oh Heon left behind.
To meet them, he headed toward the forest entrance.
There, as expected, Siron's group was locked in combat.
Including Siron, five managers were hunting.
The number had increased by just one from yesterday.
Far fewer than he'd anticipated.
Oh Heon approached Siron, who was busily hunting.
Noticing his arrival, Siron's group urgently halted combat and rushed over.
Without even hearing Siron's report, Oh Heon spoke first.
"Too few managers. Pick two more and bring them."
Siron looked flustered for a moment but didn't argue, sprinting off to Zone 2 where people gathered.
As he ran, he thought.
'Damn, I messed up. Only adding one today was a huge mistake. More managers are always better.'
Manager appointments were fully delegated to Siron by Oh Heon.
It was a golden opportunity to select people to his taste, under his control.
In exchange, Siron bore full responsibility for the appointments.
Upon reaching Zone 2, Siron recalled his criteria: half from the top hierarchy, half loyal followers.
He selected two new managers fitting that, and brought them before Oh Heon.
With more people in tow, Oh Heon headed back into the depths of Zone 3.
Letting them recover materials, and checking the managers' unique abilities after a while.
Oh Heon commanded the tense-faced managers.
"Follow me."
His order was curt.
Including the two newcomers, seven managers cautiously trailed behind Oh Heon.
Then.
At a choke point leading into Zone 3, an ambushing goblin pack sprang out.
At that instant, one of today's newly appointed managers stepped forward abruptly.
"I'll quickly clear these pests out of the way!"
Was it to check the two new managers?
Overflowing with zeal, he engaged the goblins alone.
In that moment, the atmosphere chilled sharply.
Siron inwardly screamed at the sight.
'That crazy bastard!!'
Not content with overstepping, this guy had already completed today's quest quota.
Unnecessary hunting. That infringed on Oh Heon's gains.
Among the seven, he was the only one who hadn't personally endured that day's massacre.
He hadn't yet learned the terror of the blood-written rules through his body.
As he kept hunting, Oh Heon finally spoke.
"Stop."
With that single word, the zealous manager's movements froze.
Oh Heon thought.
'He crossed the line.'
'I could kill him right here. But that might undermine the manager system. And executing for this level of mistake feels off.'
This wasn't betrayal; it stemmed from excessive loyalty.
Still, an example needed to be set.
'...Should I use that?'
[King's Intimidation]
Crown-embedded skill unleashed on the reckless manager.
The moment the skill activated, an invisible crushing pressure slammed him down to his knees.
The manager trembled violently, eyes rolling back, too terrified to speak.
Oh Heon applied a milder pressure to Siron and the other managers too.
They too broke into cold sweats under the suffocating oppression.
It felt like that day's nightmare massacre was replaying.
In extreme tension, Siron pondered this power.
'Subduing without touching? Do all top dimension powerhouses have abilities like this?..'
His strength transcended mere physical might, dominating the mental realm as well.
Withdrawing the pressure, Oh Heon resumed walking as if nothing happened.
None among the trailing managers dared open their mouths.
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