Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Second Trial
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"But, hyung."
On the plane back to Korea with Hae-jin, after hearing about the next Trials' Arena.
One question popped into Raffaello's mind.
When Raffaello called out to him, Hae-jin tilted his head.
"Yes?"
"But hyung, how do you know all this?"
"Know what?"
"Yeah."
Hae-jin pondered how to explain it to Raffaello, then decided to just tell the truth.
"I came from the future."
"Huh? Come on, hyung. If you don't wanna tell me, just say so."
"......"
Even when he told the truth, no one believed him—what could he say?
Hae-jin just let Raffaello think whatever he wanted.
Raffaello assumed Hae-jin didn't want to share how he knew about the Trials' Arena and asked something else.
"But, hyung."
"Yes?"
"How'd you end up killing so many?"
Anyone who'd entered the Trials' Arena knew.
That Park Hae-jin had killed over 4,000 people in the first one.
Raffaello thought no normal person could do that.
Over 4,000? Unless they were some total psycho, how was that even possible?
But after teaming up with Hae-jin, Raffaello realized something.
[He doesn't seem like a psycho dying to kill people or anything...]
With that thought, Raffaello grew curious about Hae-jin.
Why had this guy killed over 4,000 people all by himself?
In response to Raffaello's question, Hae-jin said,
"Let's say there's a bottle of wine sitting in front of you, Raffaello, that's about to turn into vinegar. If it's wine that'd be thrown out anyway if you don't drink it, what would you do?"
"Drink it, obviously."
"That's it."
"Huh?"
Raffaello's face scrunched up in confusion.
What was this sudden talk about wine turning to vinegar, and how was that the answer?
Hae-jin elaborated for Raffaello, who clearly didn't get it.
"They were people who were going to die anyway, even if I hadn't killed them—because they couldn't meet the Trials' Arena system's demands. In that case, isn't it better for me to kill them and get some benefit out of it?"
"Oh......"
Raffaello understood from Hae-jin's explanation.
They were lives doomed to end pointlessly anyway, so he made use of them meaningfully for himself.
He couldn't really argue with that logic.
Doomed lives that would die without meaning—he gave them meaning for himself.
If Raffaello put himself in Hae-jin's shoes...
[......I'd probably do the same.]
From now on, Raffaello had no choice but to stick with Hae-jin anyway.
So he figured he should try to understand him on some level.
Then, another question occurred to Raffaello.
"Ah! Hyung!"
"Yes?"
"Those rewards—what are they like?"
"You open the box, and a few options pop up. You pick the one you need."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah."
"So what'd you get?"
"Haven't opened it yet."
" Gasp? Why not? Wait, but if you haven't opened it, how do you know what the rewards are?"
"I told you."
"What? That you came from the future again?"
"Yep."
"Ugh, fine. I won't ask if you don't wanna say."
Raffaello still thought Hae-jin's claim of coming from the future was a lie.
Hae-jin just shrugged.
No point explaining if he wasn't going to believe it.
Anyway, with that, Hae-jin wrapped up reconnecting with his four original teammates.
Since Raffaello had brought up rewards, Hae-jin thought,
[Guess it's about time to open mine when we get back.]
Right now, Hae-jin had a reward waiting.
The Zone Ranking 1st Reward Box.
He'd taken care of everything he needed to prepare right after regressing.
Now it was time to claim his reward.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Alright, shall we open the zone reward?"
These were Hae-jin's words after returning home with Raffaello.
Hae-jin started by using the Zone Ranking 1st Reward Box from his inventory.
[Item! Would you like to use the 'Zone Ranking 1st Reward Box'? Y/N.]
A system window asking if he wanted to use the item.
Since he'd gotten it to use, Hae-jin hit the 'Y' button.
Three reward options appeared.
[1. Experience +100% Potion]
[2. Advanced Stat Potion Selection Ticket]
[3. 1,000 Gold]
Hae-jin fell into thought as he looked at the three rewards.
[I was gonna go for the Experience Potion originally, but...]
It had basically lost all meaning now that he'd inherited everything from Joo-hyuk.
The Experience Potion boosted the amount of EXP gained from hunting.
He'd planned to use it for faster growth than others, but now that he'd inherited all of Joo-hyuk's power, his stats were ridiculous enough to skip it.
That left the Advanced Stat Potion Selection Ticket, which permanently boosted stats, or the gold reward—which had plenty of uses in the Trials' Arena.
Having inherited everything from Joo-hyuk, Hae-jin felt the other two rewards were pointless too.
[Might as well use it to strengthen the team.]
He'd inherited all of Joo-hyuk's power, so these low-tier zone rewards meant nothing to him personally.
But that was only for him...
These would be a huge help to his teammates.
With that in mind, Hae-jin chose the reward that would bolster his team's strength.
[The Advanced Stat Potion is something Sage Raffaello can produce in limited quantities later on anyway. So...]
[Item! You have acquired the 'Experience +100% Potion.']
Hae-jin selected the Experience +100% Potion from the Zone Ranking 1st Reward Box.
The reason was simple.
Advanced Stat Potions were great for permanent stat boosts early on, but later, gear effects made base stat increases less fantastic.
Better to level up fast and enhance his runes instead.
After claiming the reward, Hae-jin said,
"For now, since this trial isn't all about focused hunting, let's save the Experience Potion."
With that, he shared info on the second trial with those he'd need to build his team from going forward.
Truth be told, the second trial didn't involve much hunting.
[Well, it could vary per person.]
It might differ for some.
There could even be players for whom it was hunting-focused.
But the next Trials' Arena had a specific goal, not centered on hunting.
In Hae-jin's view, with future hunting-heavy trials in mind, the second one wasn't ideal for using the Experience Potion.
So Hae-jin decided to save the reward from the first Trials' Arena.
Now all he had to do was wait.
For the second Trials' Arena.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
February 1, 2030.
This time, massive screens descended from the sky all over Earth.
The bizarre phenomenon humanity faced on January 1.
The Trials' Arena.
Or as some called it in reality, the Survival Game—it was happening again.
Some had prayed it wouldn't, but the screens' return brought wails like hell reborn.
But as if utterly indifferent to humanity's reactions...
The screens tossed a curt message to the players.
[Commencing the Second Trial.]
After the message about starting the second trial appeared, the players vanished from Earth.
When each player opened their eyes next...
They realized they stood in medieval European-style villages, each in different ones.
This time, they weren't all gathered in one spot—instead, a world was created for each zone's group, dropping them at random locations.
Hae-jin thought as he surveyed the second Trials' Arena.
[Babylonia's unchanged.]
Babylonia.
Occasionally, the Trials' Arena sent players to another world.
And whenever it did, it was always the Babylonia continent.
The reason for sending players here this time...
[To let each get a job fitting their aptitudes.]
Sure enough.
A system window soon appeared before Hae-jin.
Content: Survive for a fortnight on the Babylonia continent and undergo job change.
-33,333rd Zone Participants: 5,000
The system laid out the goal for the second Trials' Arena.
Hae-jin checked the number of survivors in this zone and smirked.
[Out of those 5,000, I wonder how many will actually snag a proper job within a fortnight?]
Previously, he'd met his four pre-regression party members and advised them on how to act in the next Trials' Arena.
His advice to each was the jobs that suited them best and how to acquire those jobs.
Because in the second Trials' Arena, the most important thing was claiming a job faster than anyone else.
For survival?
No.
There was an even bigger reason.
['Hidden Classes' are unique jobs.]
Hidden Classes.
They meant hidden jobs.
And as Hae-jin recalled, these hidden jobs were unique—only one person could have each.
So you had to claim them faster than anyone.
That way, Hae-jin could assemble the ultimate roster to clear even the final trial.
In fact, Joo-hyuk had said,
[Well, even without me stepping in after all those regressions, they all managed to grab their hidden classes on their own anyway.]
Apparently, his top roster picks got their hidden classes without his help.
Still, if he could give advice, he should—which was why he'd shared info with everyone except Manager Kim, who wasn't in Joo-hyuk's original lineup.
So Hae-jin had no worries about his teammates' survival.
[They got those jobs on their own before, and now I've shown them the shortcuts—they'll snag 'em faster than anyone.]
But even as he thought that, one nagging question he couldn't ignore weighed on him.
Hae-jin, who had inherited everything from Joo-hyuk.
He already possessed the job Joo-hyuk had in the previous run: Lord of Chaos.
So what should he do in the second Trials' Arena? Get a job?
Or since he already had one, would it auto-clear the trial?
Hae-jin got his answer the moment he entered the second Trials' Arena.
[You have completed the Second Trial.]
[Level up.]
Since he already had a job, the trial cleared instantly upon entry.
But.
That sparked a new question in Hae-jin.
[If I go do the Lord of Chaos job change again here—the one Joo-hyuk was supposed to get... what happens then?]
Hae-jin's eyes gleamed with interest.