Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: Demon Hunt Exam
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Creak-.
The rolling rack came to a halt in front of Adolf.
Adolf lightly leaped up, landing beside the demon strung up on the rack, and scanned the crowd.
"As you can see, these are demons. The devilish scum who dared to invade our territory."
The participants looked up at Adolf, who had climbed onto the rack.
Of course, among them was Soo-hyuk, wearing a pathetic expression.
For a brief moment, Soo-hyuk and Adolf's eyes met.
'Are you pitying these bastards?'
To Adolf, Soo-hyuk's expression could only be interpreted that way.
Pitying demons, of all things.
Without breaking eye contact, Adolf continued.
"Your task from here on is simple. Hunt the demons and bring back proof of your kills."
"Proof? What kind?"
"Anything works. An ear, a nose, a heart—whatever. You can even bring their severed heads."
"......"
"We'll select the top ten who bring back the most kills."
"Ten?"
"Only ten......"
"That's too few."
It was unprecedented.
To cut down to just ten after only the second trial. Passing this one meant the summit was practically in sight.
And atop that summit waited fruit sweeter than atop any mountain peak.
'The greater the difficulty, the greater the opportunity.'
'I can definitely pass.'
'Don't need to kill many. Maybe I can just steal from others......'
'An executive in Blue Zone.'
Blue Zone was one of the top five guilds in the Tower. Becoming an executive there meant entering the ruling class of the Tower.
Power, authority, fame. A chance to seize it all.
Survive this trial once, and you'd be striding right toward it.
"The trial ends tomorrow night."
Dong-!
A massive bell tolled from somewhere.
"Then let's begin."
The abrupt start caused a stir among the crowd.
Only ten slots available, combined with the somewhat dangerous theme of demon hunting.
'Perfect for a trial.'
A perilous test, but one laden with meaning.
To exterminate demons and gauge their real combat sense. From Blue Zone's perspective, it was killing two birds with one stone.
Of course.
'......The timing isn't ideal.'
Soo-hyuk frowned as he headed into the forest.
'Should I welcome this or not?'
As he pondered that.
"Mind if we talk for a sec?"
Someone called out from behind, stopping Soo-hyuk as he walked toward the demon forest.
He paused and turned, seeing five people approaching him.
The one who had spoken was the blue-eyed man at the front.
"You're Jeong Chan-young, right?"
"Yeah. And you?"
"Just call me Dylan."
An out-of-the-blue introduction.
Soo-hyuk gauged the mood before asking.
"You want to form a party, by any chance?"
"I saw your skills. Impressive."
A loaded statement.
Impressive it must have been. The martial art Soo-hyuk displayed in the first trial was crude and sloppy at a glance.
Yet he'd won with it, so the name Jeong Chan-young was bound to stick deep in the participants' minds.
"Seemed like you were holding back on something......"
Dylan grinned and shook his head.
"Nah, forget it. Not important."
"Not important?"
"Pardon?"
"You don't even know what I do. And I've got plenty of secrets. How do you plan to party up?"
"......"
"Can you trust me?"
Though Soo-hyuk posed the question, everyone present grasped its intent.
I just met you today—how can I trust you? That was Soo-hyuk's point.
The answer was obvious without asking.
See?
Glance-.
At Soo-hyuk's question, Dylan and the other four began eyeing each other suspiciously.
Could they really trust the guy next to them?
Of course not.
As no immediate answer came, Soo-hyuk said, as if to prove his point.
"Same goes for me."
"You can't make it alone, can you?"
Dylan grabbed Soo-hyuk again as he turned to leave, signaling he had nothing more to say.
Despite Soo-hyuk's visibly annoyed expression, Dylan pressed on steadfastly.
"Only ten can pass this trial. It's cutthroat."
"So?"
"It'll be a fight over stealing other participants' kills rather than hunting demons."
Pfft-.
A puff of air escaped Soo-hyuk's lips.
Feeling mocked, Dylan and his group scowled fiercely.
"What's so funny?"
Dylan's tone shifted sharply.
"Just didn't think you'd worry about that right now."
"What?"
"Has anyone here fought demons before?"
Dylan glanced around at Soo-hyuk's question. None of those whose eyes he met nodded.
As if he'd expected as much, Soo-hyuk let out a small sigh.
'Must've been pretty peaceful lately.'
The Tower was in a time of peace.
Raiding guardians, advancing to the next floor, pioneering new worlds. Soo-hyuk had endured those ceaseless changes.
In that process, clashes with demons had been frequent. Pioneering a new world meant fighting to claim territory.
In other words, it was war.
But for quite some time, the Tower had stalled.
Blocked by those very guardians.
"You don't know either, do you?"
"Right. I don't."
In truth, he did.
But whether he knew or not wasn't the point.
"Still, I wouldn't underestimate them enough to think of fighting each other first."
Many players believed they knew demons well.
The reason was simple.
Players hunted daily. They took trials, experienced various ones.
In that process, some encountered demons during trials.
Thus the misconception.
That demons were just player prey. No different from dungeon monsters.
"......You're really dragging out the refusal."
"Should I have just told you to go die?"
"Fine. No need to talk more."
Dylan led his group away in another direction, apparently to recruit others.
Most participants began forming parties like that. Though the action was the same, their motives weren't all identical.
'Some have their heads screwed on straight.'
No one reached this point on luck alone. There might be individual variances, but they all possessed skills to strut anywhere.
Lack of demon knowledge aside, Dylan was the same.
And among them were some with demon knowledge or keen instinctual danger sense.
'Better than going solo, if that's the goal.'
A wise choice, in that case.
Of course, Soo-hyuk had no intention of partying with them.
More importantly, something nagged at him.
'Three demons with spots on their faces.'
The demons on the rack.
Per Adolf, they'd entered Blue Zone territory first.
'That means one of two things.'
Soo-hyuk's eyes narrowed as he walked into the forest.
'Exiled from their group.'
That was Adolf's thinking.
With demon numbers swelling, those ousted in power struggles had encroached on human lands.
But Soo-hyuk considered another possibility.
And if that were true, killing those three demons and hanging them on the rack was an utterly disastrous blunder.
'......Scouts.'
He hoped for the former, if possible.
If the latter, the problem would balloon beyond even Soo-hyuk's control.
Soo-hyuk resumed walking into the forest alone.
Those with their wits about them would realize it.
That place was one massive dungeon.
But Soo-hyuk's gaze upon it differed slightly.
'Ye-ryeong's already infiltrated Blue House ahead.'
For days now, Soo-hyuk had thought from two perspectives.
Ye-ryeong's actions weren't hard to predict. Her abilities were specialized for infiltration and assassination.
The uncertain one was Si-woo.
'And if it's Si-woo......'
It took considerable time to conclude on that.
And around last night.
After endlessly deliberating as if possessed by Si-woo, Soo-hyuk reached one conclusion.
'He thought the same as me.'
Therefore.
'He's on this path. That guy.'
Rustle-.
Entering the forest, towering trees and dense foliage blotted out the sky.
Dawn had broken, yet it remained dark as night here.
As Soo-hyuk ventured in, he searched for traces of ice.
He hadn't spotted Ye-ryeong, but Si-woo had no talent for hiding.
At the very moment the trial began.
Lee Won-jae prowled the guild stealthily.
No attendants. No set destination.
He thought he was acting normal, but it didn't look that way.
'Where the hell is Lee Hye-min?'
Lee Won-jae was searching for Hye-min.
He'd decided that right after meeting Jeong Chan-young.
'Secure Hye-min, and I control Kim Ye-ryeong and Kim Si-woo.'
Lee Won-jae had already met Hwang Gyu-seong.
Thus, he knew the strength of Blue Eyes' camaraderie and was convinced it was the only way to seize Blue Eyes' power.
Hye-min was Blue Eyes' sole weakness. That's why they'd stayed silent for over twenty years.
If he could secure her safety, using Ye-ryeong and Si-woo as chess pieces to eliminate Kim Il-su wasn't impossible.
Creak-.
His steps halted abruptly.
"Hey, you there."
"Pardon?"
Lee Won-jae beckoned with a finger.
Baek Jo-min, passing by, hurried over at the summons.
"What is it?"
"What about you? What's your deal?"
"Pardon?"
"Think I wouldn't notice? That you're tailing me."
It wasn't once or twice.
Today alone, Lee Won-jae had felt eyes on him repeatedly.
Coinciding twice by chance was possible. As vice-guildmaster, drawing attention was understandable.
But three, four times? That changed everything.
"Who sent you? Adolf?"
"......"
"There are more besides you."
Lee Won-jae scanned the surroundings, eyes gleaming.
"Not talking? Who ordered it?"
"Well......"
Baek Jo-min averted his gaze, unable to answer.
Getting no response, Lee Won-jae finally exuded killing intent.
"Won't talk, huh."
Shing-.
His sword half-drew from its sheath at his waist.
At that instant.
"I gave the order."
Lee Won-jae's gaze turned toward the voice.
Adolf, returning from finishing some business, approached the two from the corridor corner.
"Did my subordinate do something wrong?"
Drawing near, he positioned himself protectively in front of Baek Jo-min's shoulder.
"Lee Won-jae, Vice Guildmaster."