Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: End of the Third Trial
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[Hidden Trial rewards will be distributed.]
[Please choose one of the following three rewards.]
1. Equipment Purchase Voucher.
2. Equipment Exchange Voucher.
3. Equipment Enhancement Voucher.
Three options floated before Hae-jin's eyes.
This was the reward for clearing the hidden trial in the third Trials' Arena.
The first Trials' Arena offered rune-related rewards, the second focused on job-related ones, and the third centered on equipment.
Hidden trial rewards were generally tailored to what you'd need in the next Trials' Arena.
Hae-jin knew this well.
He knew exactly what mission awaited in the upcoming Trials' Arena.
‘Defeating the lich trying to conquer the dwarf village.’
While the third Trials' Arena had been a defense mission to protect the goddess statue, the fourth could be considered an offense to take down the lich.
You had to fight through hordes of undead armies to reach the lich's lair and ultimately defeat the boss monster itself.
Given that the fourth Trials' Arena was set in defending a dwarf village, players sometimes received equipment as rewards.
That's why the hidden trial reward for the third was structured this way.
A purchase voucher to buy dwarf-made gear right from the start.
An exchange voucher to swap existing gear—or gear obtained in the fourth Trials' Arena—for dwarf-made equivalents.
And finally, an enhancement voucher for gear you deemed good enough without needing to buy or exchange.
With the hidden trial cleared and its reward selected, the system spoke up.
[Survivors of the third Trials' Arena: up to 2,500th place.]
[See you in the fourth Trials' Arena.]
This was the standard wrap-up message at the end of a Trials' Arena.
As soon as it appeared, players from 2,501st place and beyond began vanishing one by one, those who hadn't survived.
Pababat-!
Amid the disappearances, Jung Nam-gil—left with only one arm—shouted at Hae-jin.
“We said we'd be your strength! Why the hell did you do this to us?!”
Jung Nam-gil's face was full of grievance and rage.
And he had every reason to feel that way.
Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon had volunteered to serve under Park Hae-jin, offering their strength.
In response, Park Hae-jin had seemed to accept, sharing info about the third Trials' Arena.
At the time, Jung Nam-gil thought Hae-jin was truly taking them in.
But it had been a trap from the start.
“Why?”
“Yeah!”
“I know.”
“Know what?”
Jung Nam-gil was baffled by Hae-jin's sudden words.
You know everything?
Was he referring to him being the ‘Crochet Serial Killer’?
Sure, it was shocking enough that Hae-jin knew he was the ‘Crochet Serial Killer.’
Until now, even the cops had only named him that based on his signature ‘crochet’ method—no one had ever pinned it on Jung Nam-gil himself.
No footprints, no fingerprints—his kills left zero traces.
Thus, the crochet serial murders remained perfect unsolved cases.
Yet Hae-jin knew he was the Crochet Serial Killer.
That alone was enough to render him speechless; Hae-jin truly knew who he was.
But...
From the nuance, it seemed Hae-jin's ‘I know’ meant something else.
‘What the hell does he know?’
Hae-jin read Jung Nam-gil's expression perfectly, curiosity killing him over what Hae-jin claimed to know.
But Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon were about to vanish anyway, having failed to survive the Trials' Arena.
So Hae-jin gave them a hint before they went.
“I know that once you Players grow stronger, you'll commit even more murders.”
That as Players, they'd rack up more kills once stronger.
Jung Nam-gil was dumbfounded.
Of course a serial killer growing stronger as a Player would kill more.
What kind of obvious bullshit was this?
And coming from Park Hae-jin of all people? Absurd.
Jung Nam-gil shot back incredulously.
“Ha! Hilarious! And what makes you any different?”
“Me, different?”
“Yeah! You killed countless people in the first Trials' Arena!”
Hae-jin couldn't deny slaughtering tons in the first Trials' Arena.
That much was true.
Still, there was a difference worth mentioning.
Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon had killed out of uncontrollable murder lust, while Hae-jin had only done so because the Trials' Arena forced his hand.
But Hae-jin had zero intention of explaining that to a lowlife like Jung Nam-gil.
He just smirked at the screaming man insisting they were the same.
“Yeah, yeah. Noted your last words. Bye now.”
Hae-jin waved dismissively, palm outward.
By then, all other survivors except him had returned to Earth.
Having said his piece to Jung Nam-gil, Hae-jin vanished.
As the final returnee.
Watching Hae-jin disappear before him, Jung Nam-gil let out a beastly roar.
“Park Hae-jiiiiiiiin!!!”
Those were truly Jung Nam-gil's dying words.
With Hae-jin's return, the world of the third Trials' Arena met its end, dissolving entirely.
Paaat-!
Hae-jin's bed in his bedroom.
A cluster of light gathered above it.
Soon the light faded, revealing Hae-jin's figure.
He rose immediately upon arrival.
That's when it happened.
Clunk!
Someone opened Hae-jin's door and entered.
There was only one person in Hae-jin's house who would barge in like that.
Raffaello.
He too had returned to Earth after the third Trials' Arena ended and come straight to see Hae-jin.
“Big bro!”
“What?”
“You got 1st again?!”
“Obviously.”
What a ridiculous question.
Especially from someone who was supposed to be his party member.
Who was feeding his future party members info on every Trials' Arena?
Hae-jin.
Sure, one might think otherwise.
Since Hae-jin shared the next Trials' Arena info, weren't they all starting on equal footing?
So maybe they could snatch the zone-wide 1st if they played it right.
Fair enough thought.
But the results from this third Trials' Arena would have shown it was futile.
Plus, Hae-jin had even shared hidden trial info with his future party.
Anyone with a brain would realize: hidden trials weren't public knowledge, so if Hae-jin could clear one... 1st place was guaranteed his.
And indeed, Hae-jin took 1st this time.
He gave Raffaello a look like, ‘Why ask something so obvious?’
Raffaello's reaction was oddly strained.
“Ugh!”
“What?”
“Nah, it's just...”
He couldn't voice it, but seeing Hae-jin just now, Raffaello thought:
‘Something about this guy is just so damn annoying...’
Muttering it internally, but Hae-jin saw right through him.
“Annoying, huh?”
“Heh heh, how could I ever think that about you, big bro?”
Caught red-handed, Raffaello hurriedly denied it.
But his reaction screamed guilt.
“Anyone could see that look on your face.”
“Nah, no way.”
Raffaello waved it off, insisting it wasn't true.
Hae-jin saw through it all but saw no point in pressing.
“Fine, whatever.”
With Hae-jin dropping it, Raffaello piped up.
“Heh heh, yep! To celebrate your safe return, big bro, how about I whip up a big lunch?”
“What's with the celebration? Just eat.”
“But it's a major monthly event!”
“Event...”
Hae-jin muttered dryly at Raffaello calling the Trials' Arena an ‘event.’
Realizing his slip too late, Raffaello panicked.
“Ah! Sorry! Bad word choice on my part?”
The Trials' Arena wasn't exactly a good thing.
Sure, for those about to die or with fatal illnesses, it might feel like a blessing at first.
But fail to survive, and you died regardless.
No wonder the real world dubbed it the ‘Survival Game.’
Calling it an event could rub some the wrong way.
But Hae-jin brushed off the frantic apology.
“Eh, ‘event’ translates to ‘festival’ or whatever in Korean sometimes, so not wrong.”
“Still feels off since it's no picnic. My bad.”
“Better to just call it the Trials' Arena or the Survival Game like on the news.”
“Got it! I'll stick to that from now on!”
Hae-jin nodded at Raffaello's promise to watch his words.
“Alright, I'll nap a bit, then get up and prep food. I'll bring the others by then.”
“Huh? Others?”
“People I want to introduce you to.”
“Who?”
Raffaello blinked at the sudden topic.
People to introduce?
Too lazy to explain in detail, Hae-jin summarized.
“Yeah, folks we'll be teaming up with, so show off your skills. Prep for five, including you and me.”
“Five...”
“What? Too much?”
“No! Sounds great!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes!”
Raffaello beamed at prepping for five.
His enthusiasm was almost too much.
It sparked a vague worry in Hae-jin.
He quickly warned him.
“Oh! But no getting creative—stick exactly to the recipes.”
“Recipes exactly...”
Judging by his reaction, Raffaello had planned to go wild with creativity on that five-person meal.
Hence the sudden deflate.
Seeing him so down, Hae-jin almost relented and let him freestyle once.
‘No, absolutely not.’
He'd softened for a second but reined himself in.
Party maknae or not, no matter how pitiful he looked...
No need for the whole group to suffer death-by-cuisine.
Thus, before fetching his future party members, Hae-jin drilled it into Raffaello.
How to prep what might be their first group meal.
“Recipe. Exactly.”
“Yep, got it. Recipes only.”
“Good. I'll nap, see you later.”
“Yep!”
With that, Hae-jin instructed Raffaello on party meal prep and went to catch some sleep.