Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Collapse (1)
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“Even the bridge…”
“Do these beasts even have that kind of intelligence?”
“You never know. There might be a high-level one with intelligence.”
“Damn it. If we have to deal with those too, it'll be a headache. They're at least B-rank.”
“Then we need to hurry and prepare our defenses!”
I was sure of it.
‘The Stadium Ambush’ event was unavoidable. It was guaranteed to happen.
‘Because that event has to happen for the others to trigger.’
And since the main quest was unfolding for me just like in the game, there was no doubt about it.
I glanced at the people voicing their worries about what to do next and shook my head.
I can't save them all.
Because this was an absurd event where most of them were destined to die.
“Do we really have to defend it? What if we just abandon the stadium and run…?”
“It would be a waste to abandon a place where we've already built up our defenses. To house this many people, we'd need somewhere at least the size of a department store. The nearest one is too far, and it would take a long time to fortify. We'd also have to clear out any beasts inside. On top of that, there's the question of how many beasts are lurking on the path there.”
“Ugh…”
Even knowing the beasts were coming, there was no clear solution.
The only option was to stay here and fight off the incoming enemies with all our might.
And for me, it was also better not to leave this place.
‘If it's unavoidable, I might as well get as much out of it as I can.’
After a brief pause, I spoke to Kim Ji-hyeon, who seemed to be organizing her thoughts.
“Kim Ji-hyeon.”
“If they attack a stadium like this from all sides, with so many weak people here, we definitely won't be able to hold them off… Hmm? Did you call me?”
“There is a way.”
“A way? What is it?”
Kim Ji-hyeon responded immediately.
The first step was to borrow the power of players with earth-related abilities.
The four elemental types are quite common, so it's not hard to find them.
I could see a few right now.
When I asked if there was anyone with earth-type abilities, Kim Ji-hyeon nodded.
“As it happens, we have a few. What's the plan? You're not thinking of digging up the ground, are you?”
“That's right.”
“…Seriously? Don't tell me you plan to hide in there afterward?”
“Yes.”
Kim Ji-hyeon slapped her forehead.
“You call that a plan…”
“Of course, that's not the main part.”
“Then what is?”
“We're going to set traps.”
A slow smile crept onto my face.
Simply running away won't change anything.
The moment the enemy lets their guard down is when you can gain the biggest advantage.
“We're going to hunt them.”
Instead of being the hunted, we'll become the hunters.
***
Although she was skeptical, Kim Ji-hyeon ultimately accepted my proposal.
Lee Seon-yul's support played a big part in that.
They decided to trust me, as I had already proven myself.
I looked up at the sky, which had grown dark.
It should be about time.
Just as I was thinking that, the cloudless night sky cracked with a sound like shattering glass.
*Crack!*
“Huh?”
“What's that?”
“I think something's coming out…?”
“Is it another angel?”
The sound was loud enough that everyone, without exception, turned their gaze toward it.
From the shattered space, something began to emerge.
Some worried it might be a new magical beast, while others hoped another angel would appear and awaken them as well.
However, what appeared shattered everyone's expectations.
“A demon…?”
Its appearance was unmistakably that of a demon.
It had the form of a child, complete with horns and a tail. The very image of what one would call an imp.
Its red and black tail, twitching like a curious cat's, was deeply unsettling.
[Ooh~ Look at all of you, still alive.]
The demon giggled, scanning its surroundings with a mischievous expression.
At the same time, my own face twisted into a scowl.
I knew it was coming, but facing it still filled me with irritation.
This thing wasn't an enemy.
The problem was, it wasn't here to help, either.
“Who are you?”
Kim Ji-hyeon's voice was hard.
Seeing the sword aimed at it, the demon reacted with exaggerated surprise and waved its hands.
[Whoa, scary! Could you put that sword away? I'm not here to fight you.]
“Then what's your business here?”
[I'm here to do what I have to do.]
“…What you have to do?”
[Wanna know?]
It was a demonic smile.
The kind of smile that amplified the anxiety of anyone who saw it.
[You call yourselves 'players,' right? Everyone who's awakened as a player will have to pay me 300 coins.]
“What!?”
“Pay 300 coins!?”
An immediate and fierce backlash erupted.
300 coins was by no means a small amount. Especially this early on.
The other players would have earned 500 coins at most from yesterday's settlement.
It would be strange to stay quiet when asked to give up more than half of that.
More importantly, they would have already used it all to raise their stats.
And that was true for our group as well.
“We don't have any spare coins…!”
“Wh-what do we do? It says we'll lose our powers if we can't pay…”
“Calm down. It'll be fine.”
The demon's coin collection was an event in the game, too.
As I was calming down my panicked companions, a shout erupted from another direction.
“Then what about them!? Are you saying they don't have to pay anything if they haven't awakened!?”
A player pointed at the non-awakened people, screaming.
The blame was suddenly shifted to those who were just watching the situation unfold blankly, but the demon tilted its head nonchalantly.
[If you didn't borrow anything, what is there to pay back?]
“Then what the hell did we borrow…!”
[Power.]
A sudden silence fell.
[If you're using supernatural powers, you ought to pay the usage fee. Kihihit!]
There was no need to ask what it was talking about.
The power of a player.
The demon before us was calling it 'borrowed power.'
It wasn't wrong.
After all, a player's power was power borrowed from the system.
And one of the beings involved with that system was none other than this demon.
“This power is a blessing bestowed upon us by the angel yesterday to save the world! Don't mock us, demon!!”
Someone wearing a cross around their neck stepped forward in protest.
Since he had awakened as a player after the angel's prayer, that was the truth to him.
But the demon's laughter only grew louder.
[Did you really believe that? You think you were given power for no reason? Idiots! That's the first thing you should have been suspicious about! Kihahaha!]
“You damn demon…!”
[Then why isn't your precious angel intervening while I'm here doing this?]
“This is a trial given to us!”
[What a load of crap.]
The demon slapped its forehead and turned away, as if the man wasn't even worth talking to anymore.
A short distance away, Jeong Ha-yeon snorted and muttered.
“As if I'd fall for such an obvious demonic trick.”
An obvious trick, she says.
I remained silent, turning my gaze back to the demon.
Demons don't lie.
Whether it's for good or for bad.
[Anyway, if you don't have the coins right now, there is one other way.]
The players' eyes changed.
As if enjoying the gazes urging it to hurry up, the demon deliberately paused before snapping its fingers and speaking.
[You can just earn them.]
[A Sub-Quest has been generated.]
[Sub-Quest – Usage Fee]
If you borrow power, you must pay the price.
If you do not pay, even by taking from others, your power will be confiscated.
Reward: Maintain Awakening
※Failure to pay the usage fee will result in the reset of your awakening.
※Gain 300 coins for each player you kill.
A heavy, suffocating silence took hold of the area.
Even as the demon's laughter mixed into the quiet, it didn't feel as though the silence had been broken.
Seeing how all the players were staring into empty space, it seemed the quest had appeared for everyone, not just me.
‘Even by taking from others.’
What the demon wanted was simple.
It wanted to see chaos.
Its intention was to amuse itself by watching humans fight and fracture even in a situation like this.
That much was clear from the demon's next words.
[For those unawakened ones, just surviving day by day is a tear-jerking affair. It's so much fun watching them struggle to live, even though they have no power. That ridiculous sight of them desperately flailing about, clinging to the tiny hope that they might one day awaken too!]
“Jeong Ha-yeon.”
I stopped Jeong Ha-yeon, who was stealthily trying to draw her sword.
Knowing her personality, there was no way she'd let the demon be.
But there was nothing to be gained from fighting the demon. Only things to lose.
“Don't stop me.”
“You can't let your emotions get the best of you. You have to endure it for now. Besides, you're still injured. Even Kim Ji-hyeon couldn't do anything to it.”
Jeong Ha-yeon bit her lip and lowered her hand.
Others looked just as displeased.
Since everyone would have invested all their coins into stats, practically no one had a spare 300 coins.
I glanced over at the demon.
It's really dragging this out.
Is it because people's reactions are so amusing?
From my perspective, I wish it would just move on to the next part.
[What are you doing? How long are you going to keep eyeing each other? You'll all get reset at this rate, you know?]
As the demon added with a chuckle, the atmosphere, which was already on the verge of exploding, intensified.
I could already see some people who seemed to have made up their minds, their eyes darting around as they chose their targets.
No one had acted yet, but the moment someone did, it would surely spread like a plague.
But for now, Kim Ji-hyeon, Lee Seon-yul, and their people were watching from all sides with sharp eyes, so no one would dare make a move so easily.
“H-how about I pay with money instead! I don't have coins, but I have plenty of money!”
A gruff voice momentarily shattered the tense, blade-like atmosphere.
A middle-aged man who looked like the type you'd occasionally see walking down a busy street drunk with his subordinates.
I remembered him being one of the people who awakened when the angel appeared.
“H-here, how about this! If this isn't enough, I can go smash an ATM and get more!”
He pulled out dozens of 50,000-won bills from his wallet.
There was an absurdly large amount, enough to make Jo Min-woo, who was standing nearby, wonder in disbelief why anyone would carry so much cash in their wallet.
Maybe he'd already smashed an ATM.
It wasn't impossible.
[Money? Money is good. A product of concentrated desire!]
The man's face lit up at the demon's words.
The demon smiled back.
In that moment, I knew.
That man was done for.
[But I like coins better.]
The 50,000-won bills went *poof* and were torn to shreds in an instant.
The sight of the bills, now just simple scraps of paper, falling was reflected in his clouded eyes.
As if pleased by the sight, the demon burst into convulsive laughter.
[That's it! That expression! That emotion! This is why I love humans!]
“Y-you…!!”
[What? You gonna attack me?]
With his face flushed red, he drew his sword and charged at the demon.
The demon was unarmed, but it was brimming with confidence.
[You were entertaining, so I was going to let you live, but…]
*Splat.*
It sounded like a watermelon bursting.
My vision was stained red.
Soon after, piercing screams filled the air as chaos erupted.
“Aaaaaah!!”
“His head, his head exploded!!”
The corpse, missing everything above the neck, teetered and then fell face-first to the ground.
Although the body disappeared immediately, whatever trick the demon had pulled, the commotion showed no signs of dying down.
And amidst that chaos, I overheard an ominous conversation.
“I just spent all my coins buying items from the shop. What should I do?”
“Me too. Damn it. I scraped together just enough to rank up my skill yesterday. I can't let it get reset now.”
“I've never seen anything like this in all my time doing this.”
They were Kim Ji-hyeon's and Lee Seon-yul's subordinates.
Being first-generation players didn't make a difference.
This was a situation even they were experiencing for the first time.
So they're just as desperate.
“…There is a way, though.”
A dangerous glint appeared in their eyes.
Their gazes fell upon those who had just become players.
The more you have, the more you fear losing it.
They were even more desperate than the newly awakened players.