Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Game Begins Now
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After checking in, Lee Si-woo followed an employee's guidance, shouldered the backpack he had chosen, and stepped onto a teleportation circle.
With a bright flash of light, he was transported to a shabby one-room apartment. He surveyed his surroundings.
Crumbling furniture and a window blocked by a steel plate.
The exit wouldn't open, likely due to some kind of magical treatment, and a message was posted on the door.
*Unfortunately, you were not very lucky.*
*You have been assigned to an ‘empty room’ with no resources, and you must wait here until the selection begins tomorrow.*
*May fortune favor your unfortunate future.*
Reading the message, Lee Si-woo let out a dry laugh.
The fact that his luck was bad meant that someone else’s must have been good.
That meant that while he would have to starve for twenty-four hours, others would be able to face the selection after a full meal and a good rest.
‘Tricks from the very beginning.’
He had a feeling.
A conviction that this was a manipulated result, not something left purely to chance.
The entire system for the selection was designed by the organizers from top to bottom.
In other words, they could easily manipulate things and disguise it as an element of luck.
‘The only silver lining is that I won’t have to enter the selection on an empty stomach.’
Si-woo took off his backpack and pulled out the food items inside.
It contained a day’s worth of food—three instant meal boxes and two liters of water—along with daily necessities and tools like tissues, shampoo, soap, a flashlight, and a Swiss Army knife.
‘The backpack is the artifact, not the compass or rope that anyone would have chosen. This just reeks of malice.’
Anyone with a brain wouldn't have picked the backpack.
Unlike the compass, which could track an enemy's position, or the rope, which could be a useful weapon in a pinch, the backpack felt less significant, even with its subspace function.
Most participants would have chosen something other than the backpack.
When you have nothing to lose, it’s human nature to pick something that seems useful.
‘But they left a hint.’
One thing was clear: while their values might differ, all three items were undoubtedly meaningful for the selection.
*No meaningless items will be included.* That was one of the core rules of the selection.
‘The value of the compass and rope is obvious. But a backpack? It’s ambiguous. It’s nice to have if you don’t have an inventory ring, but you can get by without it. That is, unless it contained food and supplies.’
The key was that the backpack contained only a single day’s worth of food.
This meant that food would be a critical factor in this selection.
‘They must have confiscated the inventory rings to increase the value of food. Hah… these bastards. They plan to release only a tiny amount of food from now on. Maybe… enough for ten people?’
In the end, the goal of this survival-based preliminary round was to leave only ten survivors to make it into the Top 10, killing off everyone else.
He was certain, then, that the total amount of food released throughout the entire ruined city would be just enough for ten people.
In a city that had to have at least several hundred participants.
Si-woo’s hand, which had unconsciously started to open a meal box, froze.
He realized he needed to consume his supplies as efficiently as possible.
Feeling thirsty, Si-woo licked his lips.
‘It won’t even take a week for this city to descend into chaos.’
* * *
In a hall equipped with a large holographic TV, officials from the magic towers and corporations who were watching Lee Si-woo’s screen murmured among themselves.
“The human mage, Lee Si-woo. He seems to be sharper than we thought.”
“Yes. He may be unlucky, but it doesn’t seem like he’s lacking in skill. From the looks of it, he’s realized the importance of food.”
Isabelle, who had been anxiously watching the live feed from a luxurious sofa, shot them a fierce glare.
“Bullshit. Luck, my ass.”
Kenyon slapped the back of Isabelle’s hand.
Clutching her stinging hand, Isabelle’s eyes turned murderous.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“Compose yourself. Many eyes are watching.”
“What am I supposed to do when what those bastards are doing is so damn infuriating?”
“…Must you speak so crudely in front of so many people?”
“You can save the lecture, Father. The moment Si-woo is eliminated, I’m no longer your daughter.”
Kenyon let out a hollow laugh at Isabelle’s complete lack of restraint.
“Ha. Ha. Ha. What am I going to do with this wretched girl?”
Isabelle pouted her purple lips and scowled.
“Girl? Did you just insult me? You want me to embarrass you in front of everyone here?”
A chill ran down Kenyon’s spine. He knew all too well that this troublesome daughter of his was a woman of her word.
Realizing that he could suffer irreparable damage to his image in a gathering of Granada’s most influential figures, Kenyon quickly apologized.
“…My apologies. It was a slip of the tongue. I’ll be more careful.”
“I’ve gone all-in on Si-woo, so I’m not seeing straight right now. You’d better watch yourself. If you try to pick a fight with me… you know what’ll happen, right?”
“Ugh, fine.”
Just then, the holographic TV screen changed, showing another participant.
A lion beastman, who would be second to none in terms of strength among the beastkin, was devouring all sorts of delicacies while stroking his golden mane.
Isabelle scoffed as she watched the lion beastman, so engrossed in his meal that he was getting sauce on his golden mane.
“Ha, fuck, he’s practically filming a mukbang. Father, is this right? Are you just going to take this? You saw Si-woo. He’s in a rotten room without even a bottle of water. But look at that guy.”
Even Kenyon felt this was going too far.
That lion beastman was Kakan.
He was the ace the Wilderness Magic Tower had bet on, a man who would be at the top of the list if you ranked wandering mages by skill.
And yet, he was given such a preferential environment?
Their intentions were painfully obvious.
But while Kenyon’s expression hardened, he didn’t make the foolish mistake of protesting.
“I understand how you feel, but be patient. They claim this is the result of a random room lottery, so we have no grounds to object.”
“Ha, still…”
The situation remained largely the same afterward.
The candidates backed by the Wilderness Magic Tower, the Old Tree Magic Tower, and the corporations were all enjoying luxurious rests in fine rooms, while most of the wandering mages who entered solo, like Si-woo, were either assigned to empty rooms or, at best, rooms with a single bottle of water.
“Ho ho, that fellow Kakan. He certainly eats with gusto.”
As Hirkhus of the Wilderness Magic Tower, a goat beastman, spoke while stroking his chest-length beard, two eye sockets in the center of a large tree standing beside him like a part of the scenery slowly opened.
Arbor, the Master of the Old Tree Magic Tower, an Ent with branches for hands and roots for legs, opened his mouth.
“Did I not tell you? I asked that our Viridia be assigned a vegetarian diet. And what is that? Giving a Wood Elf a carnivorous menu? What is that, if not telling her to starve?”
On the screen, a Wood Elf was shown with her eyes closed in meditation, not touching the grand feast before her.
Skin with the texture of bark, an artificial beauty as if carved from wood.
A dress of leaves gently wrapped around a body that moved with the stiffness of a wooden doll.
Seeing Viridia of the Wood Elves—a race born from trees and said to return to them—fasting, Hirkhus nudged Arbor in the ribs and whispered.
“My friend, watch your words. Kenyon is here. Are you trying to advertise our collusion to everyone? Besides, I couldn’t help Viridia. We insisted the room assignments were random. If we had also arranged a vegetarian meal for a Wood Elf, Kenyon wouldn’t have stayed quiet.”
After glancing at Kenyon with his wrinkled eyes, Arbor slowly closed them and said.
“I’ll let it slide this time. But if such an unfair situation happens again, our alliance is over. Understood?”
Hirkhus grinned, stroking his magnificent beard.
“Don’t you worry. This was unavoidable for both of us. It won’t happen next time. More importantly, just you watch. That Si-woo fellow. He’s in for quite a predicament.”
No sooner had Hirkhus’s sinister laughter echoed than an announcer wearing a headset microphone stood next to the holographic TV.
After giving a deep bow to the VIPs in the hall, the announcer pressed a remote control. The holographic TV screen flattened horizontally, displaying a 3D map of the ruined city’s terrain.
The announcer spoke.
“This is the current location status of the participants. VIPs, please confirm the location of the individual you have bet on.”
After confirming Si-woo’s position on the 3D map, Isabelle cursed under her breath.
“These absolute bastards…”
There were three other wandering mages in the same apartment building as Si-woo.
Meanwhile, the aces from the other factions were positioned in remote areas, far from the central zone where most participants were concentrated.
It was obvious that the other aces would leisurely advance to the center after the initial chaotic phase was over.
Just as Isabelle was about to explode at the blatantly unfair situation, Kenyon, who was watching Si-woo’s dedicated channel on his smart pad, lit up.
“Wait, hold on a moment.”
“Why? Are you going to tell me to be patient again? Ugh, seriously, Father, are you a pushover? We’re just going to take this? Since when did we become such suckers…”
Kenyon cut Isabelle off.
“Hush now. Stop making a fuss and just watch. This one… he knows how to do some interesting things.”
As Kenyon showed interest in Si-woo, Isabelle looked puzzled and tapped her smart pad to access Si-woo’s channel.
On the screen, Si-woo was sitting cross-legged, scattering waves of mana around him.
Isabelle’s pupils trembled as she realized what he was doing.
“Is that… Search?”
Kenyon’s voice grew heavier and more serious as he asked.
“Isabelle, from this moment on, tell me everything you know about Lee Si-woo. In detail. Don’t leave a single thing out.”
* * *
Having absorbed Harman’s knowledge and experience, Lee Si-woo’s mana control had improved by leaps and bounds.
It was all thanks to instantly assimilating the various techniques a 4th Circle Master had accumulated over decades.
Of course, it was merely theoretical knowledge, so it wasn’t perfect, but that didn’t matter.
Unlike other mages who started from scratch without a clue, Si-woo was solving problems with the answer key already in his head. He was on a completely different starting line.
‘Search.’
Waves of mana flowed from Si-woo’s body, passing through the one-room apartment and eventually sweeping through the entire building.
This was ‘Search,’ a mana control technique that scanned a certain radius centered on oneself. It was an intermediate technique that only a 2nd Circle mage could even attempt to cast.
It was by no means a technique that a 1st Circle mage, a beginner at that, could handle.
‘Three other mages besides me in one building? Well, well, they really are determined to see me fail.’
Si-woo pinpointed the mages’ locations.
One was on the floor directly below, and the other two were a bit farther away.
Si-woo carefully swept his palm across the floor where he sat.
‘The selection starts tomorrow, they said… Well, since they’re so openly trying to screw me over, I don’t see any reason to play by their rules.’
Of course, if he went rogue, problems would arise.
But his backer was the Senior Magic Tower, one of Granada’s leading powers.
It would be a problem if they couldn’t even clean up a minor mess like this.
“Huuuuu…”
As Si-woo took a deep breath, his skin turned a golden hue, and power surged through his entire body.
The Mineral Body phenomenon had occurred, granting Si-woo, a 1st Circle beginner, physical abilities on par with a 1st Circle Master.
“Ha!”
With a light shout, Si-woo slammed his fist into the floor. The floor of the room shattered open, revealing the level below.
A canine beastman mage, who had been lying down and resting, shot up in surprise, but it was too late.
Si-woo dove down on him like a hawk hunting its prey.
*Paching!*
The opponent was no amateur who had joined the selection on a whim. He calmly deployed a mana shield even in the face of a surprise attack.
But it was useless.
*Crack!*
The blow to his abdomen shattered the mana shield into pieces.
Unable to absorb the full impact, he doubled over, coughing up blood.
The Mineral Body ability, having reached the golden state, had transformed Si-woo’s body into a weapon deadlier than an artifact. As a result, most 1st Circle mages couldn't even withstand a single blow from him.
Of course, a defensive artifact might have changed the situation, but what could they do? The organizers had confiscated all their inventory rings.
They probably never imagined it.
Their petty scheme to eliminate any potential variables had forced the mages to face a predator named Lee Si-woo with their bare hands.
Si-woo’s clear, glass-like eyes stared down at the mage at his feet.
*-If you harbor killing intent, show absolutely no mercy.*
Harman’s combat motto flashed through Si-woo’s mind like a warning.
Si-woo’s golden fist pierced through the canine mage’s back.
Drilling mercilessly into his back, Si-woo’s hand shattered the spine and crushed the heart beyond it like clay.
“Keoheok…”
The canine mage, who had lost his life less than thirty seconds after encountering Si-woo, trembled and collapsed to the floor.
*-Occasionally, there are mages who have mastered Forbidden Arts and have partially overcome even death. Therefore, be thorough in confirming the kill.*
At the warning sent by Harman’s combat motto, Si-woo gritted his teeth and stomped on the canine mage’s head, crushing it.
Sticky blood pooled around Si-woo’s feet.
After dealing with the enemy, Si-woo looked around.
Unfortunately, the canine mage had no items on him.
Still, it wasn't a total loss.
He managed to get a one-liter bottle of water.
Silently, Si-woo took the water. His emotionless black eyes stared into the empty air.
As if he were looking at the others, far beyond.
* * *
The announcer, catching the rapidly unfolding situation, quickly switched the large holographic TV to Si-woo’s channel. At the carnage that ensued, Hirkhus’s eyes turned bloodshot as he shouted.
“Foul! That’s a foul! The selection is supposed to start tomorrow, but there’s already a murder! Is this not an act of mockery toward the organizers?!”
At Hirkhus’s agitated outburst, Kenyon, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
“Foul? Rules? Since when did the selection have such things?”
At Kenyon’s remark, Hirkhus glared at him with burning eyes.
“Hah, the selection has no rules? Then can I storm in there right now and wring that insolent brat’s neck?”
“That sounds great. Then I’ll finally have a chance to properly stretch my limbs.”
“…Tower Master Kenyon, are you trying to start something with me?”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but how about we calm down first, Hirkhus? Or are you truly intent on turning this selection into a free-for-all? Well, I have nothing to lose. As you know, I have quite a few grievances with this selection myself.”
Hirkhus fell silent, swallowing his anger. He realized that saying anything more would only put him at a disadvantage.
“…”
Kenyon spoke, as if enjoying the gazes of the VIPs focused on him.
“I’m sure many of you disapprove of the actions of Lee Si-woo, the man I bet on. But is it really such a big deal that the selection, which was going to start tomorrow anyway, has started now? Besides… wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that the ones assigned to the same building as Si-woo were simply unlucky, rather than that Si-woo did something wrong?”
Kenyon clasped his hands behind his back and swept his gaze over the officials.
His eyes seemed to say, *Did you really think I wouldn't see through your little scheme of disguising all this corruption as Si-woo's misfortune?*
Under that silent pressure, Rios, the head of the Dongbanhoe, reluctantly opened his mouth.
“That’s enough. As Tower Master Kenyon said, this incident is merely the misfortune of those assigned to the same building as Lee Si-woo, and the selection starting now instead of tomorrow is not a particularly significant issue.”
Having said that, Rios turned to the announcer.
“Announcer, from this moment, release the locking magic on all the rooms and broadcast my message throughout the ruined city.”
Taking a breath, Rios continued.
“Announce that the selection begins now.”