Chapter 660: I'm Trying to Terminate My Contract with the Goddess, but She's Obsessed[R-18] (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 660: I'm Trying to Terminate My Contract with the Goddess, but She's Obsessed[R-18] (6)
As I walked down the corridor, I saw several rooms on either side: an infirmary, an equipment storage room, a lounge for participants, and so on.
I arrived at the door of the waiting room assigned to me.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, several participants were already gathered.
There were about thirty of them, each preparing in their own way.
Some were stretching in a corner, others were inspecting their weapons, and a few were meditating with their eyes closed.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Sharp gazes darted around the room, everyone wary of one another.
‘Only 10 out of 100 will pass.’
I quietly found a seat in a corner and sat down.
Then, I glanced around, looking for Park Seong-jun, who had been number 5 in the original story.
‘Park Seong-jun… where is he?’
As I slowly scanned the room, I spotted a man sitting in a corner with his eyes closed.
A neat, white martial arts uniform. Short-cropped hair. A sharp look about him.
‘So that’s him.’
Park Seong-jun.
A mixed-blood contractor who had made a pact with Chiwoo Cheonwang. He’d placed third in last year’s survival tournament.
‘He doesn’t look as threatening as I thought.’
He was undoubtedly strong, but not a major threat to me now. Still, he was clearly someone I needed to be careful around.
After about ten minutes, the waiting room door opened and a middle-aged woman in a suit entered.
“Attention, participants. I am Kim Min-ji of the Disaster Management Bureau, and I'm in charge of this survival preliminary.”
She continued, looking at the tablet in her hand.
“The total number of participants is one thousand. Of those, only ten will pass the preliminaries.”
The waiting room filled with tension.
“The preliminaries will consist of two rounds.”
Kim Min-ji explained, holding up her fingers.
“The first round is a survival battle. One hundred participants will be deployed simultaneously, and the round will continue until only twenty remain.”
“The second round is a one-on-one tournament. Of the remaining twenty, ten will ultimately pass.”
Kim Min-ji said, looking around at the participants.
“The rules are simple. Defeat your opponents. However, indiscriminate murder and rape are forbidden. Violators will be immediately disqualified and will face legal punishment.”
“Each participant will be issued a life-sensing bracelet. If your life signs reach a critical level, you will be automatically removed from the field, and a medical team will be dispatched immediately.”
Staff members began to hand out bracelets to the participants one by one.
A black bracelet. It was small but had an intricate design.
I received one and fastened it to my left wrist.
“Alright, the first round will begin in ten minutes. Everyone, please rise and follow me.”
Kim Min-ji and the staff led the way out the door.
One by one, the participants rose from their seats.
I got up and followed them down the corridor.
At the end of the corridor stood a massive iron door.
Kim Min-ji operated her tablet, and the iron door slowly slid open.
“Inside, you will find a teleportation gate. Passing through it will transport you to the Round 1 map.”
The participants filed inside one by one.
I followed behind them.
Inside was a vast, circular chamber. In the center stood a gate pulsing with blue light.
“The moment you step through the gate, the first round begins. Good luck.”
As soon as Kim Min-ji finished speaking, the participants began to leap into the gate one by one.
*
A blue light filled my vision.
My body felt like it was floating, as if gravity had vanished.
And a moment later.
Thud—!
My feet hit the ground.
When I opened my eyes, a completely different scene unfolded before me.
A ruined city.
Collapsed buildings, shattered windows, and cracked roads. It looked as if a war had just swept through.
The sky was heavily overcast, and a cold wind was blowing.
‘So it’s an artificially created space.’
Looking around, I saw that a massive, translucent wall enclosed the area.
‘That wall will probably close in over time.’
It was a mechanism to prevent people from hiding and camping, forcing the survivors into one area.
I looked around, but there was no one else in sight. It seemed the participants had been scattered randomly across the map.
—Ding!
Suddenly, an electronic sound rang in my ear.
A hologram projected from the bracelet on my wrist.
[Round 1 Start]
[Participants: 100]
[Objective: Survive (Until 20 remain)]
[Time Limit: None]
[Current Survivors: 100]
‘So that means 80 people have to be eliminated.’
Just then, I heard an explosion in the distance.
BOOM—!
A building collapsed, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
‘It’s already started.’
I quickly decided on my strategy.
Should I go all out, or should I hold back?
‘Every single one of my actions is probably being broadcast live right now.’
Not just the audience, but the gods are watching as well. And among them, there are surely factions targeting Verdandi.
‘If I reveal how strong I am, the gods might openly try to hinder me. The Chronos Organization could send even stronger opponents.’
That would be a hassle, so I should avoid it. I needed to move while moderating my power.
‘Strong enough… but not overwhelmingly so.’
I’ll act cautiously and only use my power when absolutely necessary.
Leaning my back against a building wall, I quietly surveyed my surroundings.
Far away, I could see two participants fighting fiercely.
One seemed to wield fire, the other ice.
Flames and frost collided, causing an explosion.
‘For now, I’ll move as inconspicuously as possible.’
I would avoid unnecessary battles and let the weak ones fight among themselves.
Once the numbers have thinned out, I’ll make my move.
I began to move quietly between the buildings.
I moved like a shadow, muffling my footsteps and concealing my presence.
—BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions and screams could be heard from all over.
[Current Survivors: 87]
The hologram on my bracelet updated. Less than five minutes had passed, and thirteen people were already out.
‘The numbers are dropping faster than I thought.’
I went up to a building’s rooftop and surveyed the area.
The entire ruined city was visible at a glance.
Fights were breaking out all over. Fire, ice, lightning, wind… powers of various elements were flying everywhere.
A massive explosion erupted in the distance. Several presences were concentrated in one spot, and one of the auras felt familiar.
‘Park Seong-jun.’
And the multiple presences surrounding him.
‘They’ve teamed up to take out Park Seong-jun all at once.’
While the aggro was focused over there, I moved in the opposite direction.
I’ll thin the herd by quietly picking off the weaker ones from the shadows.
I jumped down from the rooftop and entered an alley.
Not long after, I ran into a man.
The moment the man saw me, he drew a knife.
“Get out of the way. Or else—”
Before he could finish his words, I lightly flicked my finger.
Fwip—!
The projectile I flicked from my fingertip pierced his shoulder. I immediately fired another.
“Gah!”
The man screamed and collapsed.
—Ding!
A red light burst from his bracelet, and he was ejected via teleportation.
[Current Survivors: 73]
‘This should be about right.’
I once again moved quietly through the alleys.
*
I passed the time by hunting down some small fry.
I mostly targeted those moving alone or weak groups of two or three. I avoided the strong ones and only picked off easy prey.
[Current Survivors: 45]
‘With so many people, this is taking a while.’
The tedious wait was finally coming to an end.
The ruined city was now gone without a trace, literally wiped clean by area-of-effect attacks.
The surroundings had turned into a flat wasteland, and there was almost nowhere to hide.
And I could see the translucent wall slowly closing in.
‘It’s getting harder to hide now.’
I could sense a large group of presences nearby. Judging by the way they were moving together, they must have formed a pact.
And those presences were heading straight for me.
‘I’ve completely hidden my presence, so if they found me… is it a detection-related power?’
It seemed I couldn’t hide anymore.
I stood up from my spot and waited for them.
Before long, a group of people appeared.
Seven in total.
Each of them held a weapon, their faces grim and hostile.
“Well, look what we have here. An idiot wandering around all by himself.”
A man with rat-like features, who seemed to be their leader, stepped forward.
I said nonchalantly.
“Just walk away. Unless you all want to be eliminated.”
“Kekeke, this bastard has a talent for comedy. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all year.”
The men around him snickered.
“Haaah…”
A sigh escaped me.
Watching these insignificant bugs act tough in front of me was starting to get on my nerves.
‘But why do I have to put up with this…?’
I shook my head.
I decided to show the Rat-Faced Guy one last bit of mercy.
“This is your last warning. Get lost.”
“Hey, this guy’s a real comedian. What’s he gonna do all by himself—”
Showing mercy to these rats was a mistake, just as I thought.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Three projectiles flew from my fingertips in quick succession.
“Gah!”
“Aargh!”
“Wha- what?!”
Three of them collapsed simultaneously, pierced through the shoulder, leg, and abdomen.
—Ding! Ding! Ding!
A red light burst, and the three were ejected.
The remaining four stared at me with horrified expressions.
“Th-this bastard…!”
The Rat-Faced Guy raised his hand. Blue electricity sparked and crackled from his palm.
‘Lightning, huh.’
I didn’t really need to dodge it, but since I had to pretend to be weak, I lightly stepped aside.
CRACKLE—!
The lightning struck the spot where I had been. The ground was scorched black.
“You sneaky bastard… but!”
The Rat-Faced Guy fired off a continuous stream of lightning.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
I dodged all the attacks with minimal movement.
The Rat-Faced Guy’s expression hardened.
“Th-this guy… what are you?!”
I flicked my finger again.
Fwip!
The projectile pierced the Rat-Faced Guy’s leg.
“Kuaargh!”
I’d personally shown him mercy and even given him a warning, but he was the one who refused it.
‘As long as I don’t kill him, it’s not against the rules.’
I slowly raised my hand, my knuckles cracking ominously.
I walked up to the fallen Rat-Faced Guy and, without hesitation, broke his arms and legs, one by one.
“Gyaaaaaah!”
“You’re loud.”
I quietly clenched my fist and planted it straight into the man’s face.
Thwack.
Teeth scattered across the floor from his ruined face.
—Ding!
He vanished in a flash of red light.
[Current Survivors: 34]
The remaining three backed away with terrified expressions.
“R-run!”
But it was too late.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Three projectiles pierced their bodies with perfect accuracy.
I quietly lowered my hand.
Looking around, I could feel several participants watching me from a distance.
‘They’re the ones who just saw the fight.’
It seemed they had no intention of rushing me right now.