Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Words That Deserve a Beating
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[You have used 208,000 points.]
[Remaining Trial Points: 1,106,500.]
I immediately bought every item in the Theme 2 shop.
The effect was much like last time.
Just like swiping a credit card, my piled-up points vanished.
And items floated up before my eyes.
Scrolls with "Distance-Shortening" and "Distance-Extending" abilities.
Plus elixirs of the same type as before, random boxes, and World Tree roots.
Finally, even a wish-granting scroll.
"Nice."
Easy peasy.
Is this how chaebol heirs feel shopping at department stores?
I'd flexed hard on items that were impossible to even buy during past trials.
Of course, that didn't mean earning the points had been easy.
[You have fulfilled the hidden condition.]
[You have purchased all items in the Theme 2 shop.]
[The "Theme 2 Exclusive" VIP shop has opened.]
"Yes...!"
My heart pounded.
I'd expected it, of course.
But staying calm wasn't so simple.
And who could blame me?
This was the place that had gifted me an SSS-grade God-Slaying item.
What would it offer this time? Excitement squeezed my heart.
"You filthy pig."
Floa glared at me, green with envy.
"Monopolizer. Greedy bastard. Pig. Honey pig. Had to take it all to feel satisfied?"
"Quit yapping and open it quick. I've got points to burn."
"Sigh. Knew it, but damn... Hits different every time."
She shook her head and flicked her arm.
[Ding!]
[Examiner 'Floa' has opened the 'VIP Shop.']
[The currency for this shop is 'Trial Points.']
[All items are limited to one per person.]
[List - 1/1]
[1. Reward Probability Amplification Scroll – 1,000,000 points]
"Whoa."
As expected.
Same as before.
'A ridiculously overpowered scam scroll.'
It was a scroll that let you claim the tier-two superior reward after the trial ended.
Even if I only pulled an S-grade item this time...
'I'd get an SSS-grade item for sure.'
100% guaranteed.
No need to hesitate.
"I'll pay with all my remaining points. Buying it now. Passing on this would be a sin."
"So you did have more. Points."
"Why tell you? I said I've got plenty."
"Tch, lucky bastard."
Snap!
Floa snapped her fingers with a sour look.
[You have used 1,000,000 points.]
[Remaining Trial Points: 106,500.]
Done!
I could feel it instinctively.
'This theme's gonna be a total feast.'
Starting from the moment I took down that Poison Fog.
Everything felt rigged in my favor.
If points determined the dealer's color...
I was the diamond dealer of all time.
And barring some freak accident, no dirt-poor player could shatter a diamond dealer.
No matter how many of them there were.
* * *
When people gather in groups, conflict is inevitable.
Even among those who think they're close.
Now imagine hunters from different countries and cultures, total strangers.
Could things stay quiet?
"Fuck. These stares are burning holes. Stares are killing me."
And such conflicts always spark from one loose cannon.
The type who blurts out what normal people swallow.
Olivia Rodrigo was that type.
"Mister, why you keep side-eyeing me like that? Aren't we a team now?"
Freeze.
A middle-aged man's facial muscles stiffened. He'd been quiet till now.
Probably because the main instigator, Joo Dong-hoon, who'd been watching his step as team leader, was gone.
'Truth is...'
The middle-aged man shook his head.
Best to steer clear of crazy bitches.
Olivia, that girl.
She'd grumbled the whole march, and even sniped at the team leader last time.
"Here we go again."
"Doesn't she ever get tired?"
"Deputy leader. You gonna give her orders?"
Finally, some teammates who'd held back piped up.
"......"
I'd split from Floa and was heading back when I sensed the bad vibe and stopped.
Something happen while I was gone?
I crouched and observed.
"Olivia, your job was to set up a hideout with Olena. You done?"
That was Zhang Wei, the Judge Window, filling in as deputy leader.
"Bullshit."
But Olivia's response was unexpected.
Surprising, really.
She'd been rude, sure.
But when I was around, she hadn't been this vicious.
"Honestly, aside from the team leader, you're all trash. Think slapping on a deputy hat makes you hot shit?"
Clomp clomp.
Olivia strode to the center, face blank.
Trailing her like a lackey was some nameless flunky.
'Hmm.'
I circulated the Azure Pure Heart Technique to gauge her power.
'Not bad, actually?'
Thought she was all talk.
But she was about on par with Judge Window.
1. Judge Window, Zhang Wei
2. Olivia Rodrigo
3. Space Mage, Vladimir Rodigin
Those three felt roughly equal.
The rest were a bit lower... or way lower.
'But still.'
Compared to the grime under Floa's nails from her last rampage? Laughable.
"Isn't she going too far?"
"Yeah, talking like that to the deputy leader who's busting his ass."
"And he was picked on the team leader's orders. Isn't following the team leader's picks just basic?"
Murmurs rose.
The team looked uneasy.
"Hmm."
Olivia snorted.
"You guys are all such goody-two-shoes? Tsk tsk. No clue how to hype your own value."
"Value?"
That was when martial artist James stepped up.
"You think you bring any value to this team?"
"Oho, picking a fight?"
"I'm asking seriously. Why you gotta be so twisted, ruining the team vibe solo?"
"Oh dear, getting all serious?"
Olivia smirked.
"Fine, whatever. Since you're curious, I'll spell it out. The team leader picked him, sure. But this trial's about teamwork, right? Means all ten of us are essential, no exceptions. So why bow to the leader just 'cause he's strong? We're not suckers."
"Exactly because it's teamwork."
"Heh, how you know it's teamwork?"
"What?"
"Team leader took like 99% of the contribution in Theme 1. Know what that means another way?"
A smile crept across Olivia's lips.
"He stole our shares, you idiots."
Her venom had no filter.
"And the deputy? Same deal. Orders this, control that. Just wants to boss us around to his taste. What, 'cause he's a Chinese commie? We call that dictatorship back home."
"What the hell...!"
A Miao clansman started forward.
But Olivia cut him off with a raised hand.
"Fine, cards on the table. I fucking hate this setup. Honestly, aside from that spear Chinese guy and the Russian space mage, you all look like freeloaders riding the team leader's coattails."
"What?"
James scowled.
She'd just called the other six dead weight.
No one with any pride could stay quiet.
"This bitch thinks she can...?"
Whoosh!
A near-sonic punch flew at Olivia.
"......!"
But she was already gone from the swing's path.
'What the...?'
James whipped his head around in confusion.
Splash!
Something black slithered like a snake, coiling his calf.
'This is...'
James's eyes bulged.
'A whip?'
Right.
Olena's main weapon, debuting now: whips.
Two of them, no less.
The second one reared to lash the bound James.
"Hey, enough."
"Stand down."
Judge Window and Space Mage blocked her path.
And Olivia's apparent boyfriend positioned himself with them.
Her crew, obviously.
'Whoa.'
I sighed inwardly from afar.
Thought I'd just play nice and it'd blow over.
But Olivia was the real deal.
Dizzyingly so.
'That twisted... No way she has friends, let alone a job...'
Some might say foreigners are just brutally honest.
That bluntness without Confucian politeness is more charming.
'No.'
That's not honesty.
That's psychopathy.
Someone who bulldozes others' feelings for their own logic, no empathy.
"......"
What to do?
I'd never been one to step up and posture.
Not a pushover, but no hothead either.
'But...'
Can't let this slide.
I'm the team leader. Gotta win this trial.
That settled it.
'Time to posture.'
A festering cyst doesn't vanish on its own.
You lance it or inject meds to drain it.
Not about right or wrong.
My view might be right, or Olivia's.
But for the team to move as one...
Someone's gotta fold.
'Fold her. If not, break her in half.'
Clomp, clomp.
I strode forward boldly.
Straight toward the standoff.
"Huh? Team leader?"
I kept walking.
"Team leader! You're back? Hurry! You see what's going down? Olivia's...!"
Walked on.
Someone called out, but I ignored them.
My eyes locked solely on Olivia's.
"......"
No idea how I looked.
But apparently not too soft.
They parted like the Red Sea for Moses.
"Ha?"
Olivia let out a hollow laugh at my approach.
Seeing her, my already cold mood plunged deeper.
'That face.'
If there was a contest for most punchable...
Floa had a foul mouth too.
But this was different.
"What, you heard it all? Shit, team leader's a voyeur."
Going all-in?
Or faking nonchalance?
"Yeah, well. Happened to catch it all."
"Yeah?"
Olivia grinned.
"Makes talk easier then. You heard, so you know—I hate freeloaders. World's gotta be fair, treat people by ability, right?"
"......"
"Same now. Everyone's busting ass, but team leader wanders off playing and no one says shit? Fair enough, I get it."
Olivia twirled her twin whips both ways.
"But dragging weaklings just 'cause they're 'team,' while strong ones get no respect?"
She might have a point.
Maybe my plan to save everyone against unknowns was wrong.
'But...'
I'm the team leader.
Right or wrong, irrelevant.
I've gotta steer this ten-man ship to the goal.
And right now...
Olivia's mindset is a massive roadblock.
"Huh? I gonna babysit this rude old perv here? Nah."
"You're right."
I nodded.
Pleased, her smile widened.
"Right? See, team leader gets it! Unlike that serious-ass James!"
"Dunno."
Gets it? Sure.
But not in agreement.
I drew my staff.
"You're right. It's words that deserve a beating."
And stomped the ground.