The God of Controls' One-Coin Clear: Street of Murder (4)
Taeyang swallowed a sigh.
Good thing it's real.
KKTheBest has donated 1,000,000 won!
Blessing → Shield
Prank → Buff
—Holy shit. Dropping a million won like it's nothing.
—That's my whole month's salary in three hours.
—Dude must be swimming in cash.
—For someone like KK, money's probably the least of his worries.
—Same goes for Yoon Taeyang, right?
—Yeah, fair point.
“So shield means a defensive buff and prank means an offensive one?”
—Yeah. That tracks.
Right then, a system window popped up.
Exchanging offense and defense.
A blue light descends upon Player Yoon Taeyang.
Blue light. That gave him one more reason to move even more quietly from now on.
Taeyang focused on suppressing his presence as he searched a few more buildings in the area.
“Hmm. Looks like I've cleared out most of the nearby spots.”
He checked the supplies he'd farmed.
Elixirs that boosted combat-related stats like strength and reflexes. The results weren't bad at all.
There weren't any legendary-grade doping items on the level of Apophis's Venom Gland, but honestly, finding that in the first place had been a miracle.
The only downside was the lack of doping ingredients he could use for crafting.
—Just eat these for now.
“Got it.”
Immediate power spikes were still necessary.
Kyaaaaaaaah!
As Taeyang downed the elixir, a blood-curdling scream tore through the air from somewhere nearby.
—Whoa, that scared the hell out of me.
“Sounds like a fight broke out.”
—Let's get out of here first.
The Street of Murder was divided into three distinct districts.
A residential zone full of apartments and villas,
An industrial zone packed with factories,
And a commercial zone lined with every kind of shop and market imaginable.
There were no people, but the buildings clearly marked the boundaries.
Each district had its own common supply drops.
The residential area tended to drop more elixirs, the factory district offered higher-quality equipment, and the commercial zone provided a balanced mix of both.
Taeyang was currently in the residential district.
“Should we head toward the factory district?”
The factory district.
The area with the highest concentration of equipment drops.
He hadn't managed to get his hands on the Goddess's Mischief elixir yet, but he already had Apophis's Venom Gland.
Even with such a short farming session, his doping item haul was more than decent.
—Yeah. Let's go gear up. Your current outfit looks like absolute trash.
He had gathered plenty of doping items, but the only piece of equipment he'd found was a single suit coat.
“Equipment is just as important as the doping items.”
—On a macro level, gear matters more.
Doping items only worked inside the Street of Murder stage, but equipment carried over.
That meant it could be used in the next stage as well.
Because of that, the factory district was where the highest number of players tended to gather.
If everyone could increase their power, it only made sense to chase permanent equipment over one-time-use elixirs.
—Isn't the factory district where the bloodiest fights happen?
—Still can't skip out on farming gear though.
—Yeah, stages that hand out equipment this generously don't come around often.
Farming equipment.
It was a crucial factor.
But that's not the most important thing about the factory district.
More than ten factories stood in the area.
Inside one of them was a key that could open the landmark at the center of the city—the clock tower.
On the outside, the clock tower looked like an ordinary building. Inside, however, it was a hidden stage packed with wind-up clockwork soldiers.
And at the very top was an artifact.
Not some mid-tier artifact like the Fire Storm one he'd encountered in the snake den. This was a monstrous piece of gear that could completely change a player's combat style.
In fact, there were several stages where simply obtaining this artifact practically guaranteed a clear.
People call it a graduation item.
This was exactly why Hyeonhye had gotten so excited when she saw Ophelia's Chocolate.
With the Goddess's Prank elixir, he could ignore the clockwork soldiers entirely and snatch the artifact.
As he headed toward the factory district, Taeyang suddenly asked,
“Is there normally one hidden stage per stage?”
—One? No. There can be two. Sometimes even three. That's just what I know about.
“Oh. Then other people might know about them too?”
Like how KK had shared the hidden elixir recipe with him.
—……Yeah. In the past, people wouldn't share even if they knew. But things are different these days.
Taeyang glanced at the chat window.
It was eerily quiet.
—No way, right?
—Are there really 20,000 people watching this?
—Lmao.
—Every single one of them is useless lol.
—How is it possible for all of them to stay completely silent at the same time haha.
By the time he reached the factory district, the sun hung high in the sky.
The desolate city.
Even though it was fully daylight, there was still no sign of anyone moving around.
The only notable thing was that all the buildings damaged in fights had been completely restored.
Every object inside the Street of Murder would return to its original undamaged state after a certain amount of time.
Taeyang soon spotted the clock tower.
It stood at the exact center of the city, serving as the dividing line between the three districts.
“So I need to climb all the way to the top of that tower.”
Clunk. Clunk.
The door was, of course, locked.
“Too bad.”
Taeyang walked past the clock tower and stepped into the factory district.
Inside a private chamber, the Demon King Andromalius, Dantalion, and the 68th ranked Demon King Belial sat around a table.
Andromalius, legs crossed lazily, spoke first.
“The tiger beastman, Mute. That newcomer is the most entertaining to watch lately.”
Dantalion nodded in agreement.
“In the lower floors, the beastmen certainly have their moments where they pull ahead.”
“What about the beastmen who’ve climbed higher? The ones I’ve seen had real potential. The four on this floor included.”
The sensual, languid-looking woman—Belial—shook her head.
“Their individual combat potential isn’t bad, but the higher they climb, the more obvious their limits become. Especially starting from the 37th floor.”
“Why?”
“Because they refuse to cooperate with other players at all. Dantalion, unfortunately it seems your experiment was a failure. Beastmen simply don’t suit the Dimensional Labyrinth.”
Andromalius stroked the snake wrapped around his arm as he spoke.
“True. Cooperation becomes necessary from the 37th floor onward.”
“It’s gotten so bad that a few Demon Kings have started complaining. Saying that creatures who aren’t even part of the ‘human’ race are running wild in the human camp.”
“Hmm. I suppose I’ll have to design a stage that can properly tame them.”
“You think that’ll work? Their very DNA is wired that way from birth.”
Dantalion grinned slyly.
“Still, thanks to them, there are plenty of interesting moments in between. Like right now. For me, that alone is enough.”
Belial shook her head again.
“It’s not enough. Do you have any idea how many complaints we’re getting lately about the human side being pushed back on the frontlines? Purcas even said that if things keep going like this, he’ll switch sides.”
“Humans have never held the advantage over orcs or elves. It’s been that way since the early days of the labyrinth. The Demon Kings on our side knew they were betting against the odds from the start. There’s no need to pay attention to such talk.”
Dantalion nodded.
“Beastmen are difficult to handle, but their combat potential is undeniably high. If even a few of them manage to adapt, we’ll easily break even. By the way, where are you all placing your bets this time?”
“Ah, the wager.”
The wager.
In truth, it was a pruning process disguised as a bet—selecting promising players.
It weeded out the weak and hopeless ones while creating an environment that showered rewards on the strong and promising.
The better this pruning worked, the more entertaining it became for the Demon Kings watching.
The rules were simple.
Each Demon King picked one player.
The one who looked the most superior.
They would then pit those chosen players against each other, and the final victor would receive a reward.
Belial spoke first.
“What are the conditions? Clear? Number of achievements?”
Dantalion answered.
“How about we let them clash once? To see who’s truly the strongest. If we just set the mission and target for this stage, the picture should come together nicely.”
Andromalius’s eyebrow twitched.
“You’re suggesting we interfere with the stage?”
“Interfere? This much is well within the floor manager’s discretion, isn’t it? It’s not like we’re in the middle of a faction war after the 37th floor.”
“Doesn’t seem like it would cause any problems. I’m fine with it.”
Dantalion smiled brightly.
“As for the reward the players will receive… since this is your floor, Andromalius, how about an Artifact Search?”
Artifact Search was a one-time-use Rare-grade skill card. When equipped, it granted +1 Poison, +1 Thief, and +1 Mage synergy. When used, it revealed the location of Unique-grade or higher cards within the current stage. It could only be used if such cards actually existed in that stage.
“Sounds good.”
After Belial’s agreement, Andromalius also nodded.
Now it was time for each of them to choose their player.
Belial made the first move.
“I’ll bet on the tiger beastman, Mute.”
“Oh? Weren’t you the one who disliked beastmen?”
“Emotions and judgment are separate matters. Based on skill, supply acquisition rate, and aggression, he is clearly the strongest within this fifth-floor stage.”
Dantalion turned to Andromalius.
“And you?”
“I’ll also bet on a beastman. The wolf beastman, Balkar. If you drag the fight out until both sides are tearing at each other’s throats, the one with more tenacity always wins in the end.”
Dantalion let out a small laugh.
“Both of you chose beastmen.”
Belial looked at Dantalion.
“I’m curious about your choice. The only one left is… hmm. The fox beastman, Arin? That’s unfortunate. Too bad the ‘one’ who already went up isn’t here.”
“Even if she were, you would’ve picked first anyway.”
“Oh my. Busted.”
“Indeed… none of the remaining players can compare to the beastmen.”
Dantalion opened his mouth.
“I will bet on Player Yoon Taeyang.”
Andromalius’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“Yoon Taeyang? His skill is top-tier, but hasn’t he only been here for less than a day? The difference in supplies should be massive, no?”
“Andromalius. You know this player too?”
Belial asked.
Since she managed floors seven through nine, she was relatively unfamiliar with players on the lower floors.
Andromalius answered.
“Among the players from ‘Earth,’ he’s one of the top contenders. His achievement acquisition speed is close to record-breaking.”
“Ah, Earth.”
Belial’s expression soured.
Most Demon Kings viewed humans from Earth as nothing more than numerous empty husks.
This tendency grew stronger the higher the floor a Demon King managed, because the limits of Earth-born players became painfully obvious the further up they climbed.
Lately, they had even started refusing to climb the labyrinth as a group.
While the refusal to climb was something time would solve, the fact that they lacked ability and diligence meant very few Demon Kings favored Earth humans.
“Precious jewels are always mixed among worthless stones. Player Yoon Taeyang is exactly that kind of jewel.”
“I’m not so sure. Doesn’t gold come from gold veins and silver from silver veins?”
At Belial’s words, Dantalion shrugged.
“I can’t imagine it. Is an Earth-born player really that impressive?”
Belial asked, half skeptical.
She had always believed that the very concept of Earth as a background was incompatible with the Dimensional Labyrinth.
“You don’t believe me?”
“Honestly? No. The ceiling for Earth players was the 45th floor. Beyond that, they all devolved into average players. You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you?”
Belial’s words were undeniably true.
Dantalion shrugged again.
“Well, I’m confident. For this bet, shall we wager something tangible?”
“Tangible?”
“Yes. I’ll put the Voice of the Sage on Yoon Taeyang winning.”
Andromalius frowned.
“Are we really turning this into a gambling match between ourselves?”
“It’s just for fun. For fun. There’s no reason we can’t, is there?”
Every sport was like that.
Watching was entertaining enough on its own, but the moment even a small bet was placed, people became far more immersed.
Andromalius leaned back in his chair.
“I’ll sit this one out.”
Dantalion looked at Belial.
“What about you?”
“Not bad. It should make for good entertainment. I’ll wager three Mage Souls.”
Her cherry-like lips curved into a smile.
“Very well. The bet is on.”
Dantalion clapped his hands together sharply.
Andromalius waved his hand, enlarging the screen showing the fifth floor.
“Then let’s see. Whose eye is the sharpest.”