Chapter 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Zone Integration
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What did you prepare?"
[Zone integration.]
The angel's words were met with puzzled expressions.
No one was quite sure what that meant.
A brave man shot his hand up.
"Angel! Could you please explain what zone integration is in more detail...?"
[I said it once, you should get it. You're so annoying.]
"S-Sorry..."
[It means exactly what it sounds like. I'm going to integrate the zones. You may not know this, but in your country alone, there are hundreds of zones. 875, to be exact.]
"What! 875?"
"There were that many zones just in our country?"
[Kee-hee-hee, getting surprised over nothing. That's actually on the low side compared to other countries. I hear a country called China has over 26,000 zones.]
"Whoa..."
Though their jaws dropped, the players quickly accepted it.
It made sense for China, the country with the world's largest population.
"If each zone gets 10,000 people, it makes sense that countries with larger populations would have more zones."
"That's true. Huh? Wait, then if there's an angel assigned to each zone..."
"Doesn't that mean there are at least tens of thousands of them...?"
So there were that many angels?
The realization, something they had never considered before, shocked them.
The angel, having heard their murmurs, smiled as if to acknowledge it.
[Your guess is correct. We angels are assigned one to each zone. Don't tell me you're only just now realizing that? How foolish.]
Despite the angel's scorn, the people could only listen.
Not only was the angel not wrong, but they also couldn't defy someone who held all the power.
Instead, another question arose.
"A-Angel. Then... does that mean you didn't create this survival game?"
[...]
For the first time, a troubled look appeared on the angel's face.
But it was only for a moment.
The angel, regaining its poker face, asked expressionlessly.
[Why do you think so?]
"Well, it's unlikely that tens of thousands of angels would cooperate to create a single survival game."
[And what if we did cooperate to create it? Are you going to praise us or something?]
"..."
[Don't entertain useless questions. Meddle too much and your head might just explode, human.]
"S-Sorry..."
The chilling words forced everyone to lower their heads.
Everyone except for Ryu Min.
'Changing the subject like that... looks like I hit a nerve. I suppose they have a policy to remain silent about the creators.'
There was no way that angels, who could be killed by players, had created such a massive survival game.
Besides, the individualistic and selfish angels would never cooperate in the first place.
[From now on, I will not be taking questions from insects. Insects should act like insects and focus only on surviving.]
See?
Getting angry like that was proof in itself that they weren't the creators.
[What an annoying waste of time. In any case, as I announced, we will now begin the zone integration. Just think of it as a measure to deal with the low population. Don't make any other useless assumptions.]
As the angel flapped its wings to signal, the ground suddenly began to vibrate.
R-R-R-R-R-R-R-!
"W-What's happening!"
"Is it an earthquake?"
While the others panicked, Ryu Min remained calm.
He knew this was a natural phenomenon that occurred whenever zones were integrated.
'Strictly speaking, it isn't the ground shaking, but space itself.'
With a deafening sound, cracks appeared in space.
Craaaaaack-!
Black hairlines formed not only on the ground but in the sky as well.
Space, now split into ten pieces, flipped over like a cube.
Ruuuumble-
As space inverted, about 500 people appeared.
They were players from other zones.
Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!
The hairlines vanished with the sound of space merging together.
The once somewhat empty meadow was now packed with people.
"Is... is it over?"
"Those people are...?"
Everyone just eyed each other, no one moving from their spot.
[There, the zone integration is complete. Hm? What's the matter? You're all fellow humans, you should say hello. How long are you going to stand there so awkwardly?]
An angel with an unfamiliar face flew up with a bright smile.
It wasn't just one.
A total of ten angels had gathered in one place.
[Olive, hello?]
[Priscilla, hello?]
[Ellen, hello?]
The angels greeted each other in turn.
Though they were smiling, their voices were utterly flat.
[Olive, how many are in your zone?]
[442.]
[About the same as us, then?]
[They're probably all similar.]
[Anyway, who wants to speak on our behalf? I think these humans need an explanation. About the game and whatnot.]
[I'll do it.]
Olive, who had been in the same zone as Ryu Min, raised her hand and volunteered.
[Hold on. You're just trying to score points with the Archangel, aren't you?]
[Points? Me?]
[It's just suspicious that you'd volunteer so readily.]
[Then you do it. Why are you picking a fight?]
[Yeah, Priscilla, you do it.]
[What? Why should I? It's such a pain.]
[Guys, don't fight, just let anyone do it.]
[That's right. You think the Archangel cares about trivial things like this?]
[Ugh. Now that you mention it, you're right.]
[Just let Olive do it. Your voice is the prettiest out of all of us.]
[Sigh, how annoying. Fine.]
Even something as simple as stepping forward to explain was a chore the angels hated.
Olive flapped her wings and flew to the center of the meadow.
[Hello, humans. I assume you've all heard from your respective angels? The zones were integrated due to the low population.]
The players nodded silently.
[Currently, ten zones have merged into one, and the total number of people here is 4,844.]
"Ten zones merged?"
"That's almost 5,000 people."
"No wonder it seemed so crowded."
The murmuring players glanced at one another.
The thought of having to proceed through the rounds with all these unfamiliar faces made their hearts pound for some reason.
[Other zones have also undergone integration to fill their quotas. Naturally, with the integration, the zone name changes. For reference, this zone's designation is C-ESKS007. It's composed entirely of players from the country called Korea.]
"Ah... so everyone here is from our country?"
"That's a relief. At least we can communicate."
"Hmm, maybe we'll get mixed with other countries later..."
Zone integration wouldn't stop with just this one time.
Whenever the number of people dropped below 500, they would continue to be merged with other zones.
Eventually, as someone had just murmured, they would meet players from other nations.
'When the number of Korean players drops below 500, that is.'
Ryu Min knew exactly when that moment would come.
'In the 11th round, the fourth zone integration will occur, and we'll have to compete against players from other countries.'
This wasn't the only thing Ryu Min knew.
He also knew that in a moment, the angels would hold a bonus game.
Sure enough.
[Before announcing the main quest, we're going to have a simple bonus game to commemorate the zone integration.]
"A bonus game?"
The angel spoke, just as he had predicted.
[You all had a representative in your respective zones, right? But now that you're integrated, what should we do? We'll have to pick a new zone representative, of course.]
"A new... zone representative?"
It was a game held because there could only be one zone representative.
[The rules are simple. The ten existing zone representatives will come out and fight until they die. Only the one surviving winner will be promoted to the representative of this integrated zone.]
In other words, it was a deathmatch where they would fight until only one remained.
"We have to kill each other to become the integrated zone representative?"
"Wow... that's brutal."
The players whispered among themselves, but they didn't seem particularly concerned.
If anything, they seemed to be enjoying it as if it were someone else's problem.
"This should be fun. Heh heh."
"It'll be interesting to see who becomes the representative."
"This is when you need popcorn."
Since it was a duel between zone representatives that had nothing to do with them, they could watch with ease.
All except for the representatives themselves.
'Shit, we have to kill each other just to pick one person?'
'Haa... why did I even become the zone representative...'
'Maybe we'll be revived after we die this time, too?'
'Forget all that, can't I just give up my representative authority?'
While the nine zone representatives all wore expressions like they had stepped in crap, the tenth, Ryu Min, remained expressionless.
In fact, he was inwardly pleased.
He knew just how great a position the integrated zone representative was.
[Zone representatives? Kee-hee-hee, no need to look so worried. It's a deathmatch, but that doesn't mean you'll actually die. Once the game is over, all the dead representatives will be resurrected.]
"Ah! So we get resurrected this time, too."
"Hmm..."
Even hearing about the resurrection didn't cheer up the representatives.
After all, it was a game with nothing to gain.
But the angel wasn't finished.
[Judging by your expressions, you seem to think there's no real merit in becoming the integrated representative. You don't really think there are no perks, do you?]
"Are there special perks for the integrated representative?"
[Of course there are. The integrated representative can use the Right of Domination instead of the Right of Command.]
"The Right of Domination?"
[It's the authority to dominate players with a lower level than yourself. Regardless of whether they've changed classes, you can control players within the zone as you please. It's an upgraded version of the Right of Command.]
"As long as their level is lower..."
"You can control anyone you want...?"
"Regardless of their class...?"
The eyes of the zone representatives went wide.
The Right of Command had become useless since most had completed their class change, but now that restriction was gone.
It was essentially a powerful authority with no drawbacks.
[Of course, the rules about the 10-use limit and the authority being transferred if the integrated representative is killed still apply. But isn't it appealing? The ability to dominate your fellow humans.]
It certainly was.
An upgraded skill that removed the restrictions of the Right of Command. If one became the representative, they could truly reign like a king.
[Well? Is that enough motivation for you?]
It was.
More than enough.
Though they didn't answer, the murderous glint in the representatives' eyes said it all.
They would fight to the death to claim the position of integrated representative.
Ryu Min's thoughts were no different.
'Until now, there was no merit to being a zone representative, but from this round on, it's different. I must win the deathmatch and become the integrated representative.'
This was why he had killed Hwang Yong-min in the last round and taken the representative position.
Because he knew the representative's authority would become immense starting from the fifth round.
'Though I also killed him for the sub-quest.'
In any case, he was confident.
He had enough levels and experience to win even in a 9-on-1 fight.
'After all, I've never failed to secure the integrated representative position before.'
However, there was one thing that even Ryu Min, who had lived through multiple regressions, did not know.
That the angels had placed bets on who would become the integrated representative.