Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Blood Dice
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Tens of thousands of hunters scoured the sandy hell of the field.
One wrong move and they could get buried in the sand.
But unlike the outer sandy hell, there were no underground streams flowing beneath, so if they put their minds to it, they could pull themselves out of the sand.
Tens of thousands of hunters—two or three per pit—leaped into each crater.
Yet it was spacious enough that their movements weren't greatly restricted, and among them, many cheered at finding golden dice.
And...
"Ooh! Ruby, it's a ruby dice!"
A vivid ruby-red hue, transparent all the way to its core.
A Chinese hunter picked up a dice that hadn't been there before and rejoiced.
If everyone simply accepted it with a cheerful 'Haha, congratulations. You were born to be loved,' Babel's peaceful society would have no issues.
'Tsk.'
A man clicked his tongue and slyly passed by.
'One punch to the jaw and snatch it.'
Snatching the dice from a guy whose guard was down from joy wouldn't be hard. If he made a quick decision and acted before the guy came to his senses, it seemed simple.
Whoosh.
As he naturally yawned and stretched his arm, a circular shadow spread around him.
Boom!
"Argh!"
"That's... a finger?"
A pinky finger the size of an elephant pinned down the hunter who had tried to steal the ruby dice.
"The use of any force, including robbery, is not permitted."
The majestic voice boomed, and the hunter beneath spat out sand as he apologized.
"I'm sorry! Just once, please spare me!"
"No killing."
As the pinky lifted, the hunter staggered to his feet from the shallow crater.
"Puhahaha. Stupid bastard. This is mine now! You can't take it!"
Tucking the ruby dice into his chest, the Chinese hunter continued searching for more dice.
People shook their heads, watching the hunter remove sand from his ears and hair, thinking to themselves.
'So that's how it works.'
'We really can't use any tricks.'
As other hunters stroked their chins in thought, Diego from Uruguay spat on the ground and left the sandy hell.
"This kind of bullshit fair method doesn't suit me."
If he could only use his avatar 'Falcon,' he could hover in the sky and snatch it in one go.
'If these slave-like bastards pick up something good, just snatch it and threaten to drop them to the floor or kill them and take it. That'd be way easier.'
Thinking that, he spread his hand and gathered his avatar's power.
[The current area prohibits avatar use.]
'Falcon, you okay?'
= Beep─
The high-pitched tone indicated Falcon was fine.
Yet it still wouldn't summon.
Just as the rules stated, forcing a summon was impossible.
Diego chewed on the 'pleasant grass leaf' he'd brought from the 3rd floor.
'If they're running the mission like this, it'd be better with just the angel alone. But with demons hostile to them around, there must be some loophole to exploit.'
As Diego racked his brain and tested various things, his eyes caught sight of a madman far off, leisurely munching on sausages and chatting with Fork.
'What the hell is that guy doing, lounging around like that? Doing nothing.'
He himself was just walking around doing nothing, though.
Suddenly, he recalled a snippet from the 5th-floor recruitment plaza.
'Come to think of it, that bastard... is he the one those guys were betting on?'
Being on the outermost edge of the crowd, Diego had overheard the unique city folks' chatter clearest.
"Pantango! Wanna bet how many of these guys make it to the 'fourth room'?"
"Sure. With 80,000... under or over 2,000?"
"The company gamblers are setting it at exactly 2,218."
"Not those casino gamblers way over there, but from what I've seen myself...
These guys look pretty dumb. Under."
"Me too. Under."
"Under for sure."
As his comrades all shouted under, the betting man clutched his head.
"You guys don't even get the fun of gambling. Then the bet doesn't work? Fine, under for me too."
"2,200 is too high, how about lowering it to around 1,800?"
"Sigh, forget this one, let's do that one instead."
A finger pointed to the man at the forefront of the newbies.
An unremarkable East Asian man.
"That's the guy, right? Number one pick from each city."
"Our scouts already checked him out thoroughly.
That guy's stats are the highest."
"How high?"
"Rumor is he's got almost all C-rank."
"Almost all? Crazy... higher than me. Is he even human?"
"In a few years, he'll snag a top spot somewhere."
The woman who'd mentioned the scouts shook her head.
"Nah, the avatar's the issue. Only sensing recon-type avatars."
"Recon-type? Then the rank is at most..."
"C-rank at best."
The surrounding hunters gave ambiguous smiles.
"Ah~ stats are freakishly high, but yeah, with an avatar like that, potential's low."
"They say the avatar reflects the hunter's potential. Unless he rots for 200 years without decaying, no way he'll make front-line executive. Heh heh."
"At that level, we can rank him 4th or 5th, right? Though avatars can evolve or multiply later, so maybe they're factoring that in?"
"He could grow big in this mission too. If he rolls 80+ in the Evolution Room or enters the fourth room."
"Come on, put personal opinions aside."
The man leading the bet livened up the mood and summed up.
"Point is this: will that super rookie full of talent enter the 'fourth room' or not? Let's bet on that. Me first."
He cheekily thumbs-upped.
"Over."
The surrounding hunters nodded and grinned.
"Under."
"Under."
"Under."
"Under."
"Under."
"~Damn. You bastards don't know how to have fun. Hey! Think about the upset! Huh? He didn't get number one pick for noth─"
"Next one's ruin for you."
Recalling their snickering, Diego thought.
C-rank is definitely a step above him, but not unbeatable.
With the right situation and numbers, he could take him easily.
Plus, if the avatar wasn't combat-type, the fight's efficiency would differ vastly.
With his superior combat avatar 'Falcon,' even 1:1 would be avoidable.
'That bastard... should I pick my moment and mess him up?'
Diego's eyes turned hunter-sharp, measuring the distance to his prey.
And as Gonghyeok brought a sausage to his mouth, ringing Nathaniel who'd become Fork, he felt that prickling gaze.
Eyes.
Annoying.
The eyes of a child-killing demon narrowed like a snake's.
＊＊＊
Starting with ruby dice, sapphire, topaz, and various gem dice began appearing.
Free from the tension of hunters killing each other for once, they entrusted everything to luck and dug through the sand fervently.
As Gonghyeok watched sprawled out, an alert appeared before him.
[28,424 people have learned the principle of 'Rigged Dice' thanks to you]
[Achievement 'Teachings of the Shell Game Master' achieved]
[Rewards: 56 indigo coins and 5,684 purple coins granted]
[Debt from unpaid buff costs deducted.
Current coin balance:
56 indigo coins deducted. Remaining indigo coins: 9.
5,684 purple coins deducted. Remaining purple coins: -12,349]
"Debtor, huh."
- Debtor, yep.
Nathaniel, his hair sticky with saliva, muttered soullessly.
Gonghyeok scratched his chin gently and closed the alert.
An alert giving rewards now meant the mission time limit had passed.
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
Above the hunters dripping thick beads of labor sweat, Lilianne appeared holding the whistle.
"Hunters dreaming of striking it rich! Excavation time is over. Please stop your hands."
"Demon lady, that bastard won't stop!"
"Hey, hey! Stop it!"
"Eat shit. Jealous? Then you do it too!"
Lilianne shook her head as if they were beyond saving.
"Do whatever, work hard. A few more minutes won't change much.
But now it's time to decide which door to enter."
Three choices glowed before all hunters.
1. Door of Occupation
2. Door of Matter
3. Door of Evolution
"Fill what's lacking in yourself, or strengthen what you have. Choose carefully within 1 minute."
"Hmm..."
As hunters pondered, Lilianne wagged her finger as if remembering something.
"Oh, and an announcement. If you enter a door, roll the dice, and get your reward, this 5th-floor mission ends.
Work, enter door, get reward.
Rewards depend on luck, so not entirely equal, but a mission where everyone gets a bit happy."
"But you know. If it was all happy-happy like this, Sandalphon could've done it alone.
Missions need choices too, right? Some prefer our demons' fierce missions over simple ones.
Plus, for those unhappy with their dice or who need to punch someone once a day to feel satisfied, we've prepared an extension with different rules."
Sizzle!
A burning sound rang out, and the rules etched in the air erased.
(Deleted) Rule 1. No killing between hunters. No robbery. No conversation.
(Deleted) Rule 5. Time limit 6 hours. Choose after.
(★Added) Rule 6. Those who don't choose can compete for 'Blood Dice.'
Thud! Boom!
Ten red dice, 2 meters in diameter, fell from the air.
"Those willing to kill and risk death may stay."
At her subtle voice, some hesitated.
Some gulped, or...
Others' eyes gleamed as if they'd been waiting.
After 60 seconds, over 80,000 people scattered like light into the three doors.
Left behind were those who chose the unlisted fourth option.
96 outlaws remained on the field.
"I'll go tend to those over there. Sandalphon will handle your proceedings."
With those words, Lilianne vanished, and the faint silhouette of the massive Sandalphon solidified.
"Fight in pens of ten each."
The 96 divided into ten pens.
"Only one per ten gets the Blood Dice."
Sandalphon murmured with eyes closed.
"Fight, negotiate, kill—I don't care the method."
Trapped in glowing pens made by Sandalphon's power, the hunters eyed each other warily and drew weapons.
The last 10th pen holding Ju Gonghyeok and Diego was no different.
"What the. Still can't use skills or avatars."
Diego grumbled but assessed the situation.
Not bad.
The 10th pen luckily held only 6 remaining.
Meaning 5 instead of 9 to fight.
Plus, a common enemy.
The Korean-looking hunter lounging boredly.
Diego raised both hands, watching him.
"Hold on. Hold on, you guys. Hear me out."
Four gazes excluding Gonghyeok turned to him.
"If you came from 4th floor, some know.
That East Asian guy there—seen him before?"
At Diego's words, the other four paled.
"Now that you mention... the one who charged the demon alone?"
"What? That's him?"
As confusion spread, Diego pressed on.
"You all get it? He's the strongest here. So we need an order, right?"
"Right. Take him out first."
A Middle Eastern hunter in turban with scimitar stepped behind Gonghyeok, others encircling him in sync.
"No hard feelings."
"There's a saying in our country: 'The strongest lion doesn't always survive longest.'"
Gonghyeok raised one eyebrow mockingly at the menacing, armed group.
"Nah. Actually grateful. Your eyes were annoying anyway."
Diego frowned at the finger pointing at him.
"Don't like me? Come at me."
"Count of three."
"One."
"Two."
The unnatural tension made other hunters sync breaths nervously.
"Three!"
With Diego's shout, five hunters charged Gonghyeok.
Weapons swung in skilled rhythms.
'Ah. Lucky.'
Gonghyeok smiled brightly, thinking.
'Me, with One-Strike Sure-Kill, all skill and physical damage reduced to a measly 1% right now.'
He'd loaded up buffs to scare Guardland, and the aftereffects lingered.
One-Strike Sure-Kill boosted physical impact tenfold but debuffed total incompetence for 72 hours.
'My hands are like flyswatters now. Gotta borrow others' hands.'
Pivoting on left foot, his limbs moved fluidly.
Back of hand nudged scimitar blade aside, sole deflected spear rightward.
Iron mace trajectory shifted, knee parried gut-aimed blade upward.
Five slashes aimed at one lost target.
But too late to stop—the cunning strikes crossed toward blind allies opposite.
Ape God Flow Art. Borrowed Blade Murder .
Pstab, puke, crack.
Like a chain reaction, their strikes pierced bodies; they vomited blood and collapsed.
"Crazy, what... happened?"
In that instant, Diego realized.
No clue what happened, but this bastard was on another level.
Not a normal fight—just toying with them mockingly. As Diego stabbed his blade into the ground to prop himself up, the man approached.
A cheerfully excited voice reached Diego's ears.
"If we keep going, I can really kill you dead. Wanna continue?"
Diego spat blood-flecked phlegm, eyes bloodshot.
"Please spare me!"
[Chapter 60 - Blood Dice] End