Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Battle Royale - 4
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Geom-in staggered into the village house.
Why.
The word kept circling in his head.
Why had Kimbap Lover spared him?
'What the hell is the reason?'
Killing him would have netted 50 points and brought him one step closer to victory in the Battle Royale, right?
So why risk it all to break through that wall of monsters?
"...You can't die right now..."
He had said there were things left for him to do.
It even sounded like he was saying someone like you still has to live.
Maybe Kimbap Lover had acknowledged him after all.
"Hoo..."
Geom-in leaned back against the wall and let the tension drain from his body.
He had yelled at him harshly, but in the end, they had cooperated to take down that Owl Bear.
That insanely powerful monster.
—Good job.
—That was decent at the end today.
Praise he had never heard before.
Sure, he heard it often from his few allies, but never from someone like Kimbap Lover.
He might get flak at the auction house, but wasn't he the best?
He had the greatest trait and achievements no one else could match.
Geom-in had been struggling to beat him but eventually gave up because it was impossible.
And now, he had been acknowledged by that very person.
"He said I did well... that it was okay..."
Geom-in hadn't been recognized by the other veterans.
Dajeong had openly called him pathetic, and Bunny Duo had rejected him too.
But Kimbap Lover was different.
Not only had he acknowledged him, but he had saved him in the Battle Royale.
'Come to think of it, threatening me with the pistol was to save me, right?'
He had been rough, but if it was to trigger that bug, it made sense.
If anything, Geom-in should be grateful that he shared a bug only he knew about.
'He exposed the bug just to save me... He must see me as a friend.'
If he didn't think of him as a friend, he never would have done that.
Geom-in convinced himself and felt inexplicably proud.
Interpreting things in a positive light even made the gun in his hand seem unproblematic.
Having a strong friend was a good thing, right?
'I'll get a gun too, so it doesn't matter.'
Geom-in slowly stood and paced the room.
Being ejected from the battlefield had normalized all his stats.
With Blink's long-range teleport effect available, returning to the shelter wouldn't be hard.
Wonder if those auction house deadbeats knew about this.
Geom-in logged into the auction house and skimmed the Battle Royale comments.
The rare event had everyone's attention.
Of course, there was no proof, and people called him a coward.
Then came a sharp retort.
"Heh heh heh."
Bunny Duo wandering in just his panties and Strawberry Princess, a muscle-bound guy.
Geom-in chuckled imagining them, then sobered up.
This wasn't it.
Time to start praising Kimbap Lover.
His comment went public.
Kimbap Lover was so infamous for bad reasons that malicious comments poured in instantly.
Geom-in felt a thrill like schadenfreude.
He usually had no presence, but mentioning Kimbap Lover got him this attention.
He kept praising Kimbap Lover despite the abuse.
Naturally, the insults grew harsher.
"Fucking bastards."
Geom-in fumed for a while.
But thinking calmly, the auction house folks weren't entirely wrong.
Kimbap Lover was a powerhouse everyone acknowledged.
He got tons of hate, but no one denied his strength.
Those who claimed they'd kill him if they met would be lucky not to piss themselves.
Because Kimbap Lover had a gun.
'No idea how he got it...'
The key was that to be his friend, you had to be strong enough.
Regrettably, Geom-in had many shortcomings to stand by his side.
'Gun. I need a gun.'
Jang Won-taek had said this:
Right now, ability users were strutting around, but once the Metal Plague subsided, organizations would rise massively.
No ability user meant anything against a gun.
Geom-in had originally planned to recruit Dajeong to dominate the government shelter.
But she left without a word, leaving him like a dog chasing a chicken.
He had underlings, but none reliable enough to delegate to.
His forces were insufficient to take over the government shelter.
'Should I team up with that guy here...'
Joo Seung-cheol.
Geom-in had kept his distance because he was so suspicious.
Investing in Survival Life's developers was one thing.
Staying in the government shelter despite having his own was another.
'Above all, no one knows his trait.'
Sure, traits of key figures in the government shelter, including himself, were mostly hidden.
But there should at least be rumors.
There were whispers about Jang Won-taek's telepathy-like trait, but nothing on Joo Seung-cheol.
Geom-in recalled what he had said.
—Maybe you and I would get along, Mr. Geom-in. Come to my shelter anytime, and I'll treat you well.
'No deadline set...'
He could head back and reply now.
Geom-in hurriedly prepared to return to the government shelter.
While he was lost in a huge misunderstanding in Incheon, something big was happening in Seoul.
The blue dimension gate in central Seoul drew massive attention.
Rumors of the Battle Royale had everyone wanting to check it out.
Not to actually risk their lives.
Entry was allowed once per person.
But one person was there to fight for real.
Bunny Duo.
He entered the dimension gate wearing only panties, a cape, and a bunny headband.
No hesitation whatsoever.
The auction house then exploded.
People who entered through other gates spotted Bunny Duo.
He was doing a handstand on a fountain in the ruined village center.
Everyone complained it was too much.
And rightly so—Bunny Duo's infinite resurrection countered the Battle Royale perfectly.
What was the point of killing him if he just came back?
Someone argued:
Not even empty talk of rushing him.
Bunny Duo's combat prowess was unmatched.
After he appeared in Seoul, some shot arrows out of curiosity.
After a fierce fight, they ended up with broken limbs, forced to grand jeté.
He even kindly adjusted their form with a creepy grin—like a devil.
With rumors like that, Bunny Duo's status in the auction house was untouchable.
Thus, the Battle Royale winner in central Seoul was Bunny Duo Hwang Seok-hyun.
He got the scroll without a proper fight.
Exiting the gate, he drew massive interest, but no idiot approached.
Seok-hyun returned to the government shelter, where Yoon Jung, somewhat friendly, spoke to him.
She had returned to Seoul after vaguely parting in Changwon and was doing other work.
"Seok-hyun, you won the Battle Royale?"
"Yeah."
"Um, if it's not rude... what reward did you get?"
Seok-hyun silently pulled the scroll from his panties and unrolled it.
Yoon Jung, staring at his hand, squeezed her eyes shut.
She had seen something she absolutely didn't want to.
"You wanted to see, right? Look."
At Seok-hyun's urging, Yoon Jung opened her eyes and checked the scroll.
"Oh my god."
Her mouth fell open.
Resurrection...
What kind of ridiculous reward was this?
She unconsciously reached for the scroll, then flinched back.
What use was a resurrection scroll to someone whose trait was resurrection?
She hurried after the walking Seok-hyun.
"What are you gonna do with it? It's useless to you."
"Useless to me, but my friend needs it."
"Which friend?"
Seok-hyun shut his mouth there.
He blocked the hall with his arm, stopping Yoon Jung from following.
This was as far as she went.
Any closer, and she'd see his angry face.
Yoon Jung had traveled with him long enough to vividly remember his rage.
She quickly headed to Jang Won-taek's room.
He was in a serious talk with Lee Beom-seok and lit up at her info.
"Things have been awkward lately, but you came through, Yoon Jung. It revives the dead?"
"Yes."
"Transferable to others."
Jang Won-taek nodded at Beom-seok's interpretation.
"Yeah. Scrolls usually need tearing to activate, but holding it might trigger it. Nullifies death."
"Auction house would skyrocket the price."
But no one thought Seok-hyun would sell it.
Clear was that a few ability users now had an extra life.
The two men checked the map and talked among themselves.
"One battlefield per zone like this... probably 10+ scrolls nationwide."
"The future's the issue. Not just one Battle Royale event."
"Second one hits, shelters will shatter left and right."
"Prep in advance."
"Gather intel on that. Tell Geom-in when he returns."
"Got it."
Seok-hyun knew, but after that incident, starting conversations was tricky.
He didn't commit violence, and if asked through others, he complied readily.
Not close, but not enemies— an ambiguous relationship.
Jang Won-taek didn't mind.
As long as he didn't go berserk, he could be useful somehow. That was his true thought.
Yoon Jung slipped out as the men grew serious.
I sent Geom-in packing and focused on the Battle Royale.
Fierce battles raged around the snowy mountain and lake.
Surprisingly, I wasn't the star.
Chinese players who caught on to the rules started fighting among themselves.
"Gang fight's intense."
There was something called "jie tou" in China.
Didn't know details, but fights between natives and migrants.
So vicious the government couldn't touch it— they inherited that spirit, hurling unheard curses as people died.
The visible player count kept dropping.
3 left.
Numbers hiding at the mountain base.
I had a rough read on both from constant map updates.
Position favored me.
They hid behind trees; I was in dense woods and bushes.
My armament was leagues ahead, but no complacency.
"Stats so low..."
One arrow and they'd drop.
I scoped both trees with binoculars.
Monster breaths closed in from behind.
Wall narrowing—no hiding spots soon.
5 minutes max... end it before then.
Charge with dimension gate upfront?
My dilemma was simple; theirs far graver.
Rush out: die. Stay: die.
Stuck either way.
Usually, the impatient one moves first.
"Uwaaaah!"
A man bellowed and charged the opposite tree.
But before I could shoot, an arrow felled him.
Two left.
I sprang up and dashed forward.
As the monster wall closed, the last survivor emerged.
He aimed his bow at my chest, grinning wide.
Victory assured, no doubt.
"Exclusive Dimension Gate open."
But his arrow bounced harmlessly off the gate.
"What the hell..."
"Exclusive Dimension Gate close."
As the blue gate vanished, I aimed at his chest.
Bang!
With the gunshot, he crumpled.
Lights enveloped me, ejecting me from the battlefield.
Back on Ganghwa-eup's streets.
A scroll in my hand.
Unrolled: single-use resurrection skill, as expected.
"Perfect."
In apocalypse, an extra life was priceless.
Store it well for when needed.
Wonder where Dajeong is...
A nearby ghoul nodded at me fearlessly.
"Follow you?"
Cheeky for a ghoul, but seemed like Dajeong's minion—I'll play along.
Following it, Dajeong waited on a building's second floor.
What's with the ribbon tied around her?
She cut straight to it.
"How was Battle Royale?"
"Ran into Geom-in."
Her face darkened slightly.
"I see... Geom-in's dead..."
"Nah. Kicked him out of the battlefield."
"Huh? How?"
"I kicked him out. 50% chance, got lucky."
"...So Geom-in got nothing and just got booted?"
"Probably heading back to government shelter now, wondering what my intentions were."
"Tell me what happened inside."
"Hold on. Need a breather."
I drank water, then explained to her.
Dajeong listened eyes closed, then burst out laughing.
"What? He'll totally misunderstand from the praise. Wasn't the Owl Bear your first together?"
"I did all the work."
"Still, you two took it down. Praised him too—he'll wake up bolt upright. You planned that far?"
"Just treated him ambiguously. Be patient a bit despite the roughness—this is the only way to save you, that kinda thing."
"He's got a bit of delusion; he'll inflate your words and attitude hugely."
"Good."
If Geom-in did that, it was ideal.
Active moves create openings.
Dajeong told me Seok-hyun joined Battle Royale.
"Auction house is going nuts. Guy with resurrection trait got a resurrection scroll."
That's weird.
Few knew Battle Royale rewards were resurrection skills.
"Someone spread rumors. What's the ribbon?"
"This? Well..."
Dajeong slowly untied the ribbon and raised her arms.
"Ta-da! Battle Royale winner's prize! Me!"
"...Pass."
I opened a dimension gate and dove in.
Dajeong planted herself in front and knocked hard.
"Pay up your taxes and fees, customer!"
No need, take it.
I exchanged glances with the ducklings, then petted Dingo.
Looking out the window, big snowflakes were falling.
This winter would be long and cold.
End of Battle Royale - 4