Chapter 52
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Paradise's Master
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After resting for a bit, I climbed back up the cliff I'd fallen from.
Just before reaching the top of the steep cliff, I put the item Seung-hyeon Hunter had given me when I went to rescue Yoo A-han in my mouth. It was an item that hid my presence. Since Seung-hyeon Hunter hadn't said anything about it, I'd just kept it.
Once I reached the top, I poked my head out and looked around. There were monsters wandering about, one, two... damn, a lot of them.
‘Monsters that hunt in packs?’
They all looked similar. They resembled buffaloes but were much larger, with weeds and flowers growing on their backs. They seemed to blend into the scenery for hunting.
‘They look pretty attached to each other, so yeah, pack monsters. In that case.’
I scanned each monster one by one. One trait of pack monsters.
‘Ah, that one.’
I pulled a transparent cloth from my inventory. It felt like rice paper soaked in water and dried.
A 5-second invisibility cloak from the secret shop. Most hunters avoided it because of the short duration, but high-rankers found it appealing. After all, high-rankers could do a lot in five seconds.
As soon as I draped the cloth over myself, I climbed onto the ground. It hid both my presence and appearance, so none of the monsters noticed me.
4 seconds. I reached the center of the monsters.
3 seconds. I kicked off the ground and leaped up.
2 seconds. I drew my scythe and swung it at the largest monster.
Final 1 second. The monster's body split in half.
Shh. The cloth crumbled into powder and scattered.
The other monsters went berserk in confusion at the sight of the massive one dying. Some tried to attack me, but with the presence-hiding item, they couldn't properly track my quick escape.
Splurt. Transparent blood sprayed everywhere. Only after a pool of blood formed, large enough to mistake for a lake, did all the monsters finally die.
‘Not that strong, huh.’
Pack monsters. There's always a leader among them, and killing the leader causes confusion, making them easy to handle. I didn't expect basic knowledge like that to work, but monsters are monsters, I guess.
Only after clearing all the monsters could I finally look around.
‘A grassland?’
Lush grass, flowers and trees, and a faint cold mist rising. It looked like the threshold to the afterlife.
‘A bust?’
I checked the trees, but they were ordinary. Just as I thought it was a bust and turned away, a hologram window appeared before I could even finish reading it.
Splash—!
A transparent liquid swallowed me whole. I reached out to escape, but my fingertips went numb and wouldn't move.
‘Paralysis poison?’
I held my breath to avoid swallowing the liquid. I recalled the hologram window from earlier. It had been in my view briefly, so I remembered the content.
‘Definitely.’
[You have become the Master of Paradise.]
It made no sense, but one thing was clear. This place was ‘Paradise.’
‘What kind of paradise is this?’
Holding my breath grew tough, and I coughed, letting air escape. At the same moment, the transparent liquid rushed into my body. My vision spun dizzily.
By the time sensation faded from my entire body.
Boom!
“Guh.”
The liquid burst outward like an explosion, freeing me from it.
The liquid felt crammed inside me, triggering endless coughing. I dry-heaved, but oddly, only stomach acid came up.
“Ugh...”
What the hell was this solo performance?
I wiped my mouth and checked the hologram window again. Alongside the previous message, new text had appeared.
[Territory War Hidden Quest Activated]
[Defeat the new master who has defiled Paradise!]
[Defeating the Master of Paradise passes the Territory War and advances to the next game.]
[The final attacker who takes the Master of Paradise's breath receives tremendous rewards.]
[The Gate of Paradise opens.]
[The Master of Paradise is ……]
“...”
Damn it. So that's why I got separated. This game had targeted me from the start. The hologram messages were aimed right at me.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
I muttered while staring at the text.
[The Master of Paradise is Han Ji-eon.]
Ha, a hollow laugh escaped me.
Territory War meant teams fighting until the last territory standing wins. Passing by defeating the Paradise Master meant others could just peacefully kill one person without infighting.
Predictable plot.
‘Did I mess up?’
My mistake too. I acted on instinct to kill the monsters first, leading to this. But there hadn't been much choice. Or maybe it was designed that way.
‘Anyway.’
I clenched and unclenched my hand. No strength came. My overall stats were as weak as an ordinary person's. The transparent liquid must have caused it. I tried an antidote just in case, but no effect. Pattern Activation persisted, but it was hollow.
Clang. I dropped the scythe to the ground. It felt uncomfortable to hold.
Then I looked up at the sky. The dim sky had turned blue at some point, like an ocean overhead.
Gates of various colors appeared in the air: red, green, purple, yellow, and blue. Just like the doors I'd seen before entering.
People poured out from the gates in droves. They spotted me immediately and shouted.
“Found him! That's the guy, right?! I'll be the one to kill him!”
“Out of my way! It's me! Finally, my entry pays off!”
Everyone prepared massive attacks, claiming they'd be the killer. They could just stab my heart and done. Why bother with all that effort?
As if reading my mind, an arrow pierced my shoulder. A long line yanked my arm hard. My body staggered. Even then, my thought was.
‘...Glad it's not someone else in my place.’
Blinded by rewards, they started fighting over who’d kill me. In the chaos, I got shoved around. Blades sliced my skin.
‘If sacrificing myself gets us to the next floor, fine.’
If my brother dies, I return anyway. Even if it takes long, or if he finishes without dying and I can't return, I'd be satisfied.
My goal was saving the world. Dying to save it wasn't bad. From the start, I...
My normal body took repeated hits, and my vision blurred quickly.
Boom! A massive roar echoed. Extension of the earlier blasts? But then, something yanked me, and someone called my name.
“Han Ji-eon!”
“...”
It was my brother again. A blue mark hovered over his head. Probably indicating his faction.
My left eye stung. Something flowed in—blood from my head, it seemed.
My brother defended the surroundings while pulling out a potion. Someone interrupted, bursting the potion and piercing his hand. At that sight, I mumbled.
“Just kill me, why make it, so tiring...”
“...”
But I was the exhausted one. My eyes drooped heavily. Ji Hwa-yeon's voice came faintly from afar.
“Defense …… Han Ji-eon Hun …… territory ……”
Liquid trickled into my mouth. The arrow in my shoulder felt pulled out. My ringing ears cleared, heavy eyes opened.
But maybe because my body was normal. Even with the potion, I felt sunk.
“You can't use your abilities right now, right?”
“...”
I nodded faintly. I glanced at my brother, who didn't seem intent on killing me, then spoke.
“Just—”
“For you.”
But he cut me off before I could finish. He seemed to bite his lip briefly before continuing.
“I must look like a scoundrel who’d kill family for profit.”
Then he turned his head, hiding his face.
That wasn't what I meant.
‘Not that...’
Then what was it?
The tower raid doesn't end with my death. Just one floor. There might be another way.
‘Why me?’
I didn't mind dying.
Yeah. Rewards are generous. Killing me now for them and stopping the end could work. Who knows, maybe it clears a tower or something.
‘...What am I thinking?’
Probably lost too much blood.
Rumble. Repeated shocks crumbled Paradise's mountain. Another window peeked by my brother. I rolled my eyes to read it.
[The green faction's castle has been destroyed!]
[Green faction game over!]
[The purple faction's castle has been destroyed!]
[Purple faction game over!]
[The yellow faction's castle has been destroyed!]
[Yellow faction game over!]
Territory War alerts, it seemed. Matching colors vanished with each notice.
Now only blue and red factions left. Ji Hwa-yeon, after handling charging foes, stood before my brother and spoke.
“We've cleared everyone else. Seems attention on Han Ji-eon left our faction with minimal defenders.”
“...”
“Looks like he can barely stand. Han Ji-eon Hunter, can you speak?”
“…Yes.”
“Good. Then, Han Ji-un Hunter.”
“...”
“Who stays?”
One faction left, or my death, ends the game.
Killing me was purely beneficial. No telling how many more games ahead; dropping people here was a loss. Few survivors would struggle later. Better to kill me now, less damage.
“...”
But words stuck. Telling them to kill me here was weird. People hate dying. It'd seem abnormal. Thinking that, I stayed silent.
As I did, my brother and Ji Hwa-yeon continued.
“Thanks to Han Ji-un Hunter, elimination doesn't mean death. Lucky.”
“...”
“Han Ji-un Hunter. Staying silent forever?”
“I'll stay.”
“I want to stay.”
Their mood chilled instantly. Ji Hwa-yeon sighed and spoke.
“Only one way left, after all.”
Slash! She swung her rapier in the air, flinging thick blood everywhere. She pointed it at my brother like conducting.
“Shall we duel after so long? Loser gets eliminated.”
“...”
My brother handed me to Ethan from our team. Ethan took me in surprise. Then my brother approached Ji Hwa-yeon, drawing his black sword.
No, these damn people.
‘Just rock-paper-scissors or something...’