The Final Division
Roll, roll...
The vampire's head tumbled across the ground.
Its face, already pale to begin with, now looked practically blue.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
At the sound of the bell ringing once more, I looked up at the sky.
White Team Victory!
What a dry congratulatory message.
I turned my head to scan the surroundings.
They're all dead.
Corpses littered the lush green meadow.
Half of the countless non-humans had been wiped out just like that.
Even though the White Team had won, a significant number of underqualified members on our own side had been slaughtered in the process.
And...
Whisper...
Mutter, mutter...
Despite being on the same team, the surviving non-humans stared at me with eyes full of terror.
It was only natural.
We might be allies now, but there was no telling when we might become enemies in the next round.
"..."
I didn't feel particularly guilty.
After all, everyone had come here with the exact same goal in mind.
Anyway.
"I'm hungry."
I glanced over at Nairin.
She was using a water spirit or something to wash off the werewolf blood.
Geez.
Was she planning on taking a mini-shower after every single round?
Why was she being so fussy about cleanliness?
I wiped the vampire blood off my face with the back of my hand and called out to her.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Aren't you hungry?"
Nairin flinched, startled.
"I-I will look for something to eat!"
Seriously, why was she so startled?
It wasn't like I had threatened to roast and eat an elf.
Just as Nairin began rummaging through her inventory...
Meals are being distributed to the White Team.
Please check your inventory.
Oh.
They even provide meals?
How considerate.
I quickly opened my inventory.
Inside was:
Ooh!
Just the name alone sounded delicious!
I immediately pulled the lunch box out of my inventory.
True to the description, steam was rising from the warm tin container.
"Ah, hot, hot."
I quickly found a spot to sit and popped open the lid.
Inside was glistening white rice, stir-fried kimchi smelling richly of toasted wild sesame oil, crispy stir-fried anchovies, and salty seaweed flakes.
And to top it all off, a few slices of pan-fried pink sausage and a perfectly round sunny-side-up egg!
Growl...
My stomach let out a loud protest.
"Is that... a meal from your hometown, Lord Taepyeong?"
"Yeah. It's a 'Mom's Old-School Lunch Box,' no less."
"Oh, so it was made by your mother..."
"Not really."
"Pardon?"
"I don't have a mom."
"...!!!"
Nairin's face turned pale in an instant, looking as if she had just committed a grave sin.
"Why are you so shocked? Don't elves have orphans too?"
"W-well, yes, but..."
"Whatever. Just open your own lunch box."
Nairin pulled something out of her inventory.
It was... wrapped in leaves?
What on earth was that?
"It is a travel ration called Moirat."
As she peeled away the leaves one by one, a white, snowball-like object revealed itself.
It wasn't a rice ball. What was it?
"It is made from golden wheat, salt, and eternal snow. Its clean, simple flavor is truly exquisite."
So it was basically just bread?
"It is a sacred meal given to pilgrims..."
"Let me have a bite."
"...Yes."
I broke off a small piece of the Moirat and popped it into my mouth.
"How is it? The pure flavor..."
"Wow, this is completely tasteless."
"..."
"I don't mean it tastes bad. I mean there is literally no flavor."
Zero. Nada. It was the definition of bland!
I quickly swallowed the Moirat and closed the lid of my lunch box.
"...Do you not have an appetite?"
Her tone was hopeful, as if she wanted to believe I couldn't appreciate the flavor because I wasn't hungry.
"What are you talking about? I told you I'm starving."
As soon as the words left my mouth...
Clatter-clatter-clatter!
I began to shake the lunch box like crazy.
Shaking it up was the unwritten law of eating an old-school lunch box.
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
"I-is that some sort of prayer before the meal?"
Clack-clack-clack!
"S-such a violent prayer...!"
Nairin seemed to be grossly misunderstanding, but I didn't have the time to explain.
Click.
I quickly opened the lid.
Sizzle...
Now this was what I was talking about.
A perfectly mixed, glistening bibimbap.
"Mmm!"
Unlike me, who was marveling at the sight, Nairin closed her eyes as if she had witnessed something she shouldn't have.
Whether she did or not, I didn't care.
"Thanks for the food!"
I picked up my spoon and began digging in aggressively.
Ah.
This was exactly the flavor I needed right now!
They say food tastes best after working up a sweat, and they weren't lying!
Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
With no one around to judge me, I devoured the food like a man possessed.
"L-Lord Taepyeong..."
Nairin's horrified expression gradually shifted to curiosity.
"Is it... really that delicious?"
She hesitated, then mustered up the courage.
"C-could I have just one bite..."
Right at that moment, I swallowed the very last spoonful.
"What did you say?"
"...It is nothing."
Tsk, tsk.
You should have asked when there was still some left.
Having cleared the lunch box without leaving a single grain of rice, I contentedly patted my stomach.
"Ah, that hit the spot."
This was real food.
Moirat? As if that could be considered a meal.
No wonder elves were all so scrawny—they ate stuff like that!
I watched Nairin nibble on her Moirat with a look of pity.
A short while later...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bell rang again.
I felt like I was going to throw up what I had just eaten.
I stood up and looked at the sky.
The same message as before appeared.
Looking around, I could still see eyes filled with dread.
Because the Blue and White teams would soon be divided again.
If those two end up on different teams...
That alone gives us a chance...
Ah.
It seemed some of them were hoping Nairin and I would be split up so we would kill each other.
How pathetic.
Hoping to reap the benefits of others' conflict wouldn't help them in the slightest.
"Nairin."
"Yes, Lord Taepyeong?"
"We don't know when we might end up on different teams..."
Seeing Nairin turn pale, I scratched my cheek.
"I won't go easy on you then, okay?"
Nairin remained silent for a moment.
Then, her body began to tremble.
...Did she wet herself?
She grabbed both of my hands tightly.
"If you face me with all your might, it would be my honor," she said in a dead-serious voice.
"..."
Yet, despite her words, her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Well...
It was only natural. Any living being was bound to fear death.
Still, seeing her try to stay strong like this...
It's actually kind of cool.
I didn't say it out loud, though.
Knowing her, she would probably make a huge fuss about it.
I shook off her hands.
Immediately, the countdown began.
5
4
3
2
1
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With the sound of the bell, we reflexively looked up at each other's heads.
A blue bead...!
Were we just lucky?
This time, both of us had blue beads again.
Seeing that both Nairin and I were on the Blue Team, the other non-humans immediately scattered like startled prey.
I watched them run and muttered,
"Shall we?"
"Yes, Lord Taepyeong."
Whoosh!
Nairin dashed forward at high speed.
Her approach was a bit different this time.
Thud, thud, thud...
Like a sheepdog, she began herding the non-humans together.
I immediately understood her intention.
She's setting the table for me!
Indeed.
Her playstyle was designed entirely to trigger my Killing Time.
Well, well.
I couldn't let her efforts go to waste.
I took a short, sharp breath and lunged toward the non-humans huddled together like frightened sheep.
My half-moon sword slid smoothly from its sheath.
Screeech!
Slash!
Squeeeal!
Spurt!
Bzzzt!
Slice!
In a world where time seemed to have ground to a halt, I swung my sword to my heart's content.
Forgetting about Choi Muryeong, the 30th-floor raid, and everything else.
I simply lost myself in the raw instinct of the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
Thud!
Splurt!
I threw my sword into the back of a fleeing lizardman.
Crack!
Crunch!
I stomped down, snapping the neck of a moleman that had burrowed out of the ground.
Clang!
I shoved the sword lodged in the lizardman's back even deeper...
Zzzzt!
...rupturing the core of a cyborg.
By the time I snapped out of it...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Along with the bell, victory was declared.
Blue Team Victory!
Squilch!
I pulled my half-moon sword out of the corpse of a giant eyeball monster.
"Great work," Nairin said, approaching and bowing her head.
"Yeah, you too."
"It was a truly mesmerizing sight."
"Is that so?"
"Particularly when you shattered the cyborg's core, it was as if..."
Meals are being distributed to the Blue Team.
Please check your inventory.
Oh.
They're giving us food again?
Ignoring Nairin's praise, I quickly searched my inventory.
A hot dog?
And it's sprinkled with sugar and drizzled with ketchup?
I was actually craving exactly that.
The menu selection here was killer.
Frizzle...
On the disposable plate I pulled from my inventory sat two hot dogs coated in a thick layer of white sugar.
Oh man.
I couldn't resist!
I immediately took a huge bite.
The breadcrumbs were crispy, the batter was fluffy, the sausage was snappy, and the ketchup was sweet and tangy!
Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
I devoured the first hot dog in the blink of an eye.
Wow.
Was this freshly fried?
It was incredibly delicious.
Just as I was about to polish off the second one before it got cold...
Gulp.
I noticed Nairin staring at me, salivating.
What was this?
I thought elves only ate clean, refined meals or whatever.
"What?"
"Ah, it is nothing..."
Nairin quickly wiped away a stray drop of drool and shook her head in a panic.
Tsk, tsk.
It was obvious.
She was probably going to eat some bland wheat powder again.
It was unfortunate, but no matter how pitiful she looked, I couldn't bring myself to share this precious snack.
I stuffed the rest of the hot dog into my mouth before she could ask for a bite.
Even the second one tasted amazing.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bell rang the moment I finished eating.
Ugh, I'm going to get indigestion at this rate!
I brushed the spilled sugar off my clothes and stood up.
A moment later, blue beads appeared above both Nairin's and my heads.
We were on the Blue Team again.
"We're pretty lucky, huh?"
"It seems the Goddess of Fortune is watching over me today."
Nairin smiled, the anxiety completely gone from her face.
She must have been incredibly worried about ending up on a different team than me.
No matter how lucky we are...
Eventually, we would have no choice but to face each other on opposing teams.
At the end of this team battle, only one person could remain.
And that person would likely be...
Whoosh!
Before my thoughts could wander any further, I sliced through a merman that lunged at me.
The next one,
Slash!
And the one after that,
Spurt!
And all the ones after that.
I cut down everything in my path.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
How many times had the bell rung by now?
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Nairin and I had ended up on the same team every single time.
And then...
Blue Team: Annihilate the White Team.
White Team: Annihilate the Blue Team.
The moment only the two of us remained...
We were placed on opposing teams.