Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Community Echoes and Fractured Dimensions
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The community window felt busier than yesterday, with far more eyes on it.
The view counts on the posts had changed, and even the numbers next to the nicknames had shifted units.
'Hmm? This guy's posting again.'
The Sword King—I remembered him as the first one to post.
His nickname had updated from Sword King [3] to Sword King [4], but it was clearly the same person. The community had already made it clear that duplicate nicknames weren't allowed.
I read Sword King's post.
Scrolling through the flood of comments, I let out a sigh of relief.
It'd just been luck.
Those guys were elites—tempered on Earth, with monster hunts and even unique ability trials under their belts before arriving.
Worlds apart from me, yanked here clueless and barely adapting to the system.
But in the end, my choice was right.
What if I'd spared them for shaky alliances?
Armed with superior physiques and adaptability, they'd have caught my level in no time.
That ability-wielding woman especially—she'd have become my biggest threat soon enough. I'd executed the perfect solution at the most dangerous moment.
'Gotta be more cautious from now on.'
Tomorrow's regional 1st could have anything up their sleeve.
Cockiness equals death.
My stats might let me tank a skill hit, but 1sts have sharper instincts. Like her.
I skimmed the rest of the community posts.
Mostly awkward roommate tales with newbies or vague survival anxieties. Peaceful as could be.
A faint smile crossed my lips as I closed the window.
While they dithered between fear and teamwork, I'd carve my own path.
The path of overwhelming growth.
And now I got the numbers next to nicknames: experience rankings, probably.
I glanced sideways at mine.
Transcendence [1]
This was me. And that 1 would stay glued to my side forever.
Kim Min-jun welcomed the four new joiners with a gentle smile.
Unlike the veterans, their eyes—hardened by Earth's competition—sparkled with curiosity and ambition for this unknown world.
"You folks arrived first. We came after hearing the system's voice. Looking forward to your help."
Before the awkward vibes could settle,
Yorn, the regional 1st, stepped up as rep with a polite bow.
Kim Min-jun waved it off reassuringly.
"Help? We've only been here a day ourselves. Truth is, we've got tons to ask about the outside. Strength in numbers if we want to survive."
He steered the talk effortlessly, cementing his leader role.
He taught the newbies slime-hunting basics, showed them village essentials, built trust.
Newbies got real level/system intel; veterans learned Earth's state and system's goals. Perfect symbiosis.
Soon, all eleven sat in the village square. Kim Min-jun tossed out the hook naturally.
"As you know, monsters are finite. For all eleven of us to grow fair, we need rules."
Stressing equity and structure, he rallied consensus.
Then pitched his prepped plan: mixed vanguard/rearguard hunt teams, gold pooling, contribution-based gear distrib with basics guaranteed.
Reasonable as hell, even if premature with just slimes around. Folks nodded approval.
"Solid idea. Let's do it."
Yorn and the rearguard agreed.
Ignorant of the system, they trusted the experienced Kim Min-jun's framework.
Thus, he absorbed their drive and knowledge while folding them into his rules.
His leadership solidified. But he stayed vigilant.
Forgetting their voluntary ambition could one day turn blades on his order? Not a chance.
"Actually, it's twelve, not eleven."
Hasr, right beside him, spoke up.
Kim Min-jun, about to hush her, gave up and continued.
"Truth is, there's one more besides us. Never properly talked to her, though. She barely speaks. Probably still denying this is real."
Amid the sympathetic murmurs,
The "her" they meant huddled in a village corner right now.
She—Bin—checked her unique ability again.
Her face was already bulging with veins.
Since arriving, Bin's mind had started shifting bit by bit.
She'd held back, but the hunger was unraveling.
"Hungry... blood... blood..."
Dimension 88's air hung heavy.
At its center stood a man with [3] by his nickname: the Lord.
Bafut. He was strong. Already level 6, his unique ability dominated group fights.
Day one, he flexed it fully.
As others struggled with single slimes, level 1 Bafut summoned soldiers and cleared half the meadow in a flash.
Those shortchanged grumbled, but knelt before his eight sword-and-shield soldiers.
To slime-fighters, eight coordinated troops were terror incarnate.
Bafut killed no one.
Didn't know their abilities well; might need allies later. And he knew better control methods than murder.
Today's four rearguard arrivals silenced before his might too.
Society's elite types, yet powerless ringed by eight black-armored soldiers.
"As you see, all hunting grounds in this dimension are under my control."
The Lord—Bafut—proclaimed from the village center's prime spot.
Eight black-armored soldiers flanked him.
"But I'll show mercy. You'll get growth chances—within my rules."
Rules were simple.
Every survivor in Dimension 88 could hunt only the minimum for daily quests: five slimes.
Anything more? Lord and soldiers only.
"Use the 100 gold from quests for survival—food, potions. But greed beyond that..."
Bafut gestured. One soldier stepped forward, slamming its sword down.
Boom!
Stone floor spiderwebbed.
"...and my soldiers will hunt you."
Unyielding decree. Survivors bit lips in humiliation but couldn't resist.
Henceforth, bare-minimum scraps to scrape by.
All other slimes? Lord and soldiers' monopoly.
Resource hoarding exploded growth gaps.
Bafut hit 6, then 7 steadily; others clung to level 1 quest gold, barely scraping level 2.
As Lord grew, so did soldiers. Resistance faded daily.
Those with strong uniques inevitably pondered hunt control.
But fear of sudden attacks, risk of control slipping—few tried.
Bafut's soldiers guarded constantly, numerous enough for omnidirectional defense.
No deaths in Dimension 88 by day two. But no hope either.
All alive, growth stalled.
A perfect controlled society, all stagnating to crown one king—the Lord—stripped of progress, forced into eternal weakness worse than death.