Chapter 291
Chapter 291
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: The Fourth Night (10)
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That day.
The day all of humanity "awakened."
The first thing Adrianna felt was a profound sense of liberation.
"I don't have to go to the office anymore, right?"
The Abyss had crashed into the world, turning it into a hellscape of utter chaos.
An "apocalypse" straight out of some old B-movie had become reality.
From that day on, Adrianna picked up an axe.
She vented her stress by butchering the monsters from the created Abysses.
Only then did she truly feel alive.
Because the tense daily grind of her internship at the company had been the real hell.
"One coin is worth 100 million? What is this, Bitcoin?"
A coin she'd stumbled upon by chance in her first Abyss.
When she saw one sell for 100 million at the auction house, she knew—this was it.
For someone like her who preferred solitude, there could be no better calling.
After that, Adrianna roamed countless created Abysses.
She didn't miss a single one that might drop a coin.
She joined every night, relentlessly leveling up without rest.
Yet no one knew of Adrianna's existence.
It wasn't like she'd deliberately hidden herself.
She was just too lazy for the hassle.
'Getting famous isn't gonna make coins rain from the sky.'
In the future world, coins were everything.
Hoards 'em all, HODL, and you'll be rich!
She wouldn't miss a single one.
She only did things that could net her coins.
Building achievements or chasing fame? Not interested.
She hit accept without a second thought.
One coin was still a coin.
Later on, a single one would fetch billions.
She had no doubt it'd pierce the heavens and shoot straight to the stars.
Best to stockpile as many as possible while she could.
The monsters that showed up?
The risk of maybe dying?
Some incarnation or whatever—she didn't care.
"Hey! 499,519! I'll sweep 'em all solo, so how about five coins?"
...Adrianna's personality was exactly the same as ever.
A textbook mercenary who'd do anything for coins.
Of course, she drew the line at things like assassination gigs.
"...That woman. Who is she?"
"One of the hidden masters from the wilds, I guess."
"She accepted a hire for just one coin?"
"This has gotta be staged, right?"
Voices thick with suspicion.
You could hire the strong, sure.
But not for a measly "one coin."
She maximized profits with the bare minimum spend.
Once all "participants" finished the hidden game.
Park Chan-woo nodded inwardly.
He was first, Han Shin second, Lee Hyuk-soo third.
Han Shin would've scanned the Fallen Ghost's stats with his "Divine Sight," no doubt.
He could've even gauged them just from the "hire profile."
It was a game tailor-made for Han Shin, by the looks of it.
'A clash between Han Shin's Divine Sight and my mana detection ability.'
Plus, he had future memories and knowledge to boot, but Han Shin was fully backed by the Demon King of Flames, so it promised a thrilling matchup.
The rest of the message was straightforward.
'Asking if I want to double or nothing.'
Defer the reward.
Win the next game, and you'd get double on top of the usual coin reward.
You could keep doubling indefinitely, but one loss wiped it all out.
...Park Chan-woo cracked a small smile.
This game was getting interesting.
The longer you deferred rewards, the bigger they ballooned.
It tempted you to keep investing coins in the meantime.
Win without a single loss, and you could multiply coins infinitely.
At a glance, it seemed the Demon King of Flames got nothing out of it.
But.
'He takes the coins from defeated mercenaries.'
There was a catch.
The way he collected coins: when mercenaries lost and died, he reclaimed everything.
The coins they'd earned from hires, and maybe even all they carried.
As games progressed and rewards swelled, he'd rig the board to make you bet more and more.
"Have three people take on Death Knights?"
"I hear their minimum level's over 60."
"Who the hell do we even hire?"
Chaos erupted among the crowd.
No rehiring the same merc, so Adrianna was off-limits.
'One Death Knight has unusually strong mana.'
He scanned the Death Knights first.
The others were standard, but one stood out.
Beyond its high level, it likely packed other potent abilities.
'Legendary-grade mana field belt, and that sword it's holding is a serious treasure.'
He pieced it together.
Drawing on all his knowledge to gauge their power levels.
'Just Death Knights. Nail the combo, and we're good.'
Then he hired his "mercenaries."
The games pressed on.
By the time they hit the fifth game.
Only three had deferred all their rewards.
Park Chan-woo, Han Shin, and Lee Hyuk-soo.
But by now, Lee Hyuk-soo's expression had soured.
'...Running out of coins.'
His stockpile was dwindling.
No coins left to spend on hires.
Rewards just kept stacking until claimed.
They weren't paid out on the spot.
Time to bail?
"You can borrow coins from other players. You could borrow from me too, but it'd require solid collateral."
Aheta spoke up.
Coins could be transferred.
Of course you could lend, borrow, or pool them.
But no one lent them out lightly.
"20 minutes until the next game. You could hit the shop outside the VVIP room to scrape some together. The demon merchants won't cut losing deals, though."
There were other options.
Sell stuff to the casino's demon merchants for coins.
Lee Hyuk-soo bolted from the VVIP room.
And there, at the card tables, he spotted Han Min-oh.
"Han Min-oh."
"Master?"
Piles of coins towered before Han Min-oh.
...Against demons, it was a talent, alright.
"Lend me some coins."
"How many do you need?"
"As many as you can."
Han Min-oh's face hardened.
He knew his master Lee Hyuk-soo was deep in a hidden game.
"...500 enough?"
"Thanks."
"It's a gift, not a loan."
"I'll pay you back."
Han Min-oh handed over most of his hoard without hesitation.
Then he asked.
"Who's in the game with you right now? Gotta be people I know, right?"
"......"
Han Min-oh stayed silent.
He couldn't easily say Han Shin was alive.
Playing games from up there against him.
"Feels like that guy's there too. Park Chan-woo."
"The man from the third night?"
"Yeah. The one I figure saved me."
Lee Hyuk-soo tilted his head inwardly.
Park Chan-woo.
Come to think of it, he'd seen Han Min-oh's sketch of him.
Too hectic to recall till now.
Suddenly, one of the guys gaming in the VVIP room flashed in his mind.
'He's Aheta's lackey.'
But he shook his head.
Death's Marshal, they'd called him.
The monster summoning death's legions.
A bit odd, but Aheta wouldn't toss words lightly, so he couldn't be the guy who saved Han Min-oh.
"Dunno. Doesn't seem like anyone you'd know."
"...Really? Anyway, stay safe. The vibe's getting weird as time drags on."
"The vibe?"
"Talk's spreading not to join the 'hidden games.' Over a hundred dead already."
Hidden game results streamed live to everyone.
The issue? People killing people.
Indirectly, but hundreds of hires already dead.
Lee Hyuk-soo frowned.
"...'Fourth night.' Wouldn't be weird if tens of thousands died."
"They see it as dying to fellow humans, not monsters."
"Demons stirring it up on purpose?"
"Maybe, but... these kinds of games never end well."
"How do you see it playing out?"
"Well......"
Han Min-oh was a gaming pro.
He could predict the flow pretty well.
Soon, with a grim look, he answered.
"They'll make employers fight directly. As the ones who have to be 'killed,' instead of the monsters."
...Lee Hyuk-soo scowled.
Han Min-oh's prediction was spot on.
During the eighth game.
Lee Hyuk-soo now stood in an empty wasteland.
The battlefield.
Until now, monsters and mercs had clashed.
The rules had changed.
Shiiik!
Shiiiik!
Warps ripped open, hired mercenaries emerging.
And among them.
"...Master? Why are you here?"
Was Han Min-oh.
Not knowing the participant number, he'd answered the hire call without realizing it was his master.
Grind!
Lee Hyuk-soo gnashed his teeth, glaring murderously at the sky.
499,519 and 111,111.
One of them had dragged his disciple Han Min-oh onto this battlefield.