I Regressed as a Legendary Bloodline Genius Chapter 19
《……Hoo……》
Shylock's brow twitched.
《It seems I've been taken lightly just for sitting back and watching! Looks like I need a change of pace!》
Another finger snap.
A deafening roar shook the earth.
The books embedded all around came crashing down. It was like watching a waterfall of paper. At the avant-garde sight, the hunters flattened themselves to the ground.
And then.
The papers.
Chrararararararararararak!
Unfolded in unison. The letters written on them flew like swarms of flies, forming sentences.
➊ Awakener Kim** — Total 14,677 deeds acquired
➋ Awakener Choi** — Total 23,915 deeds acquired
➌ Awakener Park** — Total 30,052 deeds acquired
➍ Awakener Lee** — Total 60,346 deeds acquired
Total — 128,990 deeds acquired
《Hm, not as impressive as I thought. But that's fine! Thanks to that last prolonged battle, I've broken even!》
“That goblin was filling his deeds with people?!”
“This psycho!”
Everyone would feel disgusted. After all, the prey had dared to appraise the hunters.
《I've been emphasizing it all along! I'm an intelligent being just like you all! Isn't it natural to acquire deeds by capturing me and other paper entities?》
“You little runt! Why the hell would we be the same as you?!”
《Oh dear, such rudeness!》
What followed happened in an instant.
The hunter who had openly shown his frustration became another of Shylock's deeds.
Total — 153,340 deeds acquired
《Regrettably, I suppose this is where we wrap things up.》
Shylock turned to Seo Wonseok.
《Now! Let's convert your deeds! Of course, since you've only been talking, you couldn't possibly have any!》
The letters piled onto the scale pan on Shylock's side.
Kiririk, kiririk.
Nothing on my side.
Everyone's expressions said it all: Of course. They offered silent prayers for yet another victim—me.
“……”
I didn't look at Shylock or the scales.
Instead, I peered at Han Biyeol, standing off to the side.
His face was a mix of complex emotions.
A flicker of hope that I might just drop dead right here crossed his mind.
'That bastard, seriously.'
I just smiled.
“Thanks, Han Biyeol.”
I opened all the status windows that had been pushed aside.
*Synergy weight applied*
Han Biyeol → Seo Wonseok
Transferred EXP: +1,999
Transferred EXP: +1,999
……
……
The letters stacked neatly onto my pan.
《Th-this is……!》
The scales nearly leveled out.
《How! The rules don't allow it!》
“As you can see, I haven't broken a single rule.”
《B-but! What a shame. In the end, no upset!》
Shylock's deeds were still heavier.
For now.
“About time.”
Piiiiiing……
The red thread connected to the Red Slime in my mouth grew taut.
Kwaaaaaang!
The bookshelf occupying an entire wall exploded inward.
“……!”
“……!”
Two presences approached through the falling books like a sudden frost.
“Wonseok!”
“Young master!”
It was my brother and Uncle Choi.
In my brother's hand was the Blood Shadow with the red thread attached. My lure had worked.
I spoke without looking at Shylock.
“Twin gates usually share a location.”
《Even if so!》
“Your space, Shylock, is just this library.”
The scales convulsed like a patient on the verge of cardiac arrest.
The next moment, the letters surged into my bowl.
Seo Boseok → Seo Wonseok
Transferred EXP: +999
Transferred EXP: +999
Transferred EXP: +999
Transferred EXP: +999
Transferred EXP: +999
Transferred EXP: +999
[The judgment is complete.]
A dry mechanical voice filled the library.
《H-how could the stars……!》
[Winner: Seo Wonseok.]
《Please, just one more chance!》
[The winner judges the loser.]
《Please! Oh stars! Pleeeeease!》
Shylock shrieked, but still thrust the dagger toward his own chest.
“Shylock.”
I issued my ultimatum.
“Carve out one pound of flesh near your heart.”
《You barbaric Homo sapiens……!》
Shylock's hand defied its master's will.
The dagger sliced into flesh.
Shylock writhed in agony.
Blood poured out, but the hand didn't stop.
Gurgle!
With a final death rattle, it died.
The ruler who had reigned like a god in the gate, toying with humans, met an end no different from any goblin.
No—
“D-did it die?”
“That runt died? How??”
Its form of death was suicide.
'Even more pathetic than a regular goblin.'
Don't feel wronged, Shylock.
You toyed with us that much, so your end is just as pathetic.
“Hey! Who cares! We cleared it! We cleared it!”
“Yaaaaah!”
“We survived! Survived! In a ∅∅-grade gate!!”
“Hunter-nim…… hic, truly. Thank you so much.”
Amid the cheers, I checked my fingertips.
The Red Slime.
One was on the Blood Shadow my brother held.
Another on the goblin's cooling corpse.
I retrieved the latter.
This second thread had been the conduit swapping Shylock's and my blood while Han Biyeol was slaying beasts. Like a pipeline carrying blood.
Shylock hunted itself.
And as a contracted subordinate.
Shylock → Seo Wonseok
Transferred EXP: +300,000
Level up!
It had to offer me a share of the EXP, as expected.
* * *
Not long after everyone had vented their relief at surviving.
The library filled with a proper white noise, as if nothing had happened.
It was the national rule: after intense excitement came a lull.
The first to break the prolonged silence were the scattered books.
Choruruk!
They floated up, controlled by telekinesis, baring their pale innards to us. Each book bore a single letter, conveying clear intent to deliver information to us hunters.
The letters were uneven and sloppy, hard to read. Like a collage cut from magazine clippings.
The hunters suppressed their joy at survival for a moment.
They read the letters one by one.
The content was astonishing.
〈COEX Gate Achievement Rankings〉
1st - Han Biyeol
2nd - Lee Jinseong (Deceased)
3rd - Seo Boseok
A list ranking the hunters who cleared the gate by EXP acquired.
First place, predictably, was Han Biyeol. He'd spent nearly 90 minutes slicing beasts to his heart's content. Second was the gang leader. Third was my brother, who'd taken out obstructing beasts on the way here.
“Huh?”
But the hunters focused on the bottom.
〈COEX Gate Clearers〉
MVP - Seo Wonseok
‘Special reward’ granted!
Additionally, for slaying the Golden Goblin: Shylock, a mana stone of immense cash value will be allocated separately.
My name shone boldly.
The hunters' gazes converged on me.
Scraping, abrasive stares scratched at me. I felt like a human dartboard.
Han Biyeol's eyes were especially fierce, like he'd chugged a bottle of soju.
He must have realized from that how I'd used him.
What a joke.
The guy who probably backstabbed people left and right. No better than scum.
His cooperative attitude had just been aligned interests at the time.
Han Biyeol and I were on parallel lines that shouldn't cross. We didn't match. So from now on, I'd suck him dry.
“Yaaah! Young master!”
Uncle Choi hugged me tight.
“How'd you do it! How……!”
He made a huge fuss, nearly bursting my eardrums.
The other hunters joined in late.
“How'd you do it?!”
“Never seen you before—what guild are you with?!”
“Dude, he was with the R&Y Guild hunters. Must be theirs! But even seeing it, I have no clue what happened!”
The hunters competed to gild me. Ugh, I felt like I was turning into a golden goblin.
“Hunter Seo, congratulations!”
The opportunist hunter chimed in.
Jeong Hamin shoved the hunters aside with brute force and approached me.
“I've got ∅∅-grade gate experience a few times, but never like this! How'd you kill the ruler?!”
I opened my mouth amid the attention.
“……I didn't kill it.”
“Didn't kill it?”
Jeong Hamin's head tilted like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I pushed aside Uncle Choi's stubbly cheek and said,
“A ∅∅-grade gate is the rules themselves. But the moment a discrepancy arises, the gate loses its purpose. Seo Boseok Hunter broke in midway, shattering the rules. A gate that's all rules can't stand.”
“No idea what that means, but!”
Jeong Hamin, that's the right reaction.
Understanding my blatant lie would be dangerous in itself.
“Anyway, point is, Seo Wonseok Hunter intended it, right?!”
“Obviously!”
Uncle Choi replied.
“This guy's like, huh? He sent his weapon with some red worm thing? Basically the young master cleared it……!”
As Uncle Choi rambled,
“Ooooooh!”
The hunters oohed like an audience.
“First time seeing a ruler slain in a ∅∅-grade gate!”
“You think you're the only one?! First in the world!”
In the chaos, people swarmed me, thrusting business cards desperately.
“Could you tell me your name, if it's okay?”
Stabbing with cards.
“My sister-in-law's a scout for the major guild Gwang-san Corp! She's been nagging me to hand these out if I find good hunters……!”
“M-me too, my acquaintance!”
“Wait your turn!”
The library turned into a bustling marketplace in seconds.