Chapter 377
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 377
Chapter Title: The Team Assembles
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The lineup has been finalized.
Ten participants for Round 1.
Mother, Yeo Sun-woo, Yeo Min-ji, Jang Ha-jin, Kim Bong-gu.
That made five Koreans, plus James Marcus, Amelie Reina, Louis Verdant, and Sophia Stephanie Agalet.
Finally, Damien Loud, the chronicler who's been making waves, rounded out the total of ten.
'A week left until it starts.'
With the tournament underway, the red portals had vanished, bringing a brief peace.
But peace wasn't always a hundred percent good.
Seoul Mapo-gu: Murder Reported! Level 1,200 User Hammers Level 700 User to Death...
Gyeongnam Changwon City...
News feeds poured into Jeong Hoon, the lord of the dimension.
He sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
"Even without this power, crimes always happen..."
Society had been rife with all sorts of crimes even before New World.
Now with power added to the mix, crime rates were bound to skyrocket.
"The silver lining is that we can suppress them quickly."
New laws had passed, allowing suppression by forceand immediate execution if they resisted fiercely.
Laws unimaginable in old Korea, yet widely supported now, thanks to the status walls created by levels.
Why not just hunt down the bad seeds in advance and kill them?
I agree with Tenebris. Better to nip problems in the bud.
Jeong Hoon shook his head.
"That's dictatorship."
He could rule like Tenebris and Baal suggested, but that wasn't why he'd seized the lord's authority.
And he wasn't some saint trying to save everyone.
He was just protecting this Earth where his mother lived.
Knock knock.
"Hyungnim! I'm here!"
At Bong-gu's visit, Jeong Hoon opened the door.
"You're the first."
"Really?"
"Go wait inside. The others will be here soon."
"Yes! Mother, I'm here!"
Bong-gu greeted her cheekily.
"Oh, yeah. You're early."
Mother, who was in the kitchen, came out to the living room with a big smile and welcomed him.
I'd told her no need to prepare food, but she insisted on showing off her skills after so long.
Yeo Sun-woo and Yeo Min-ji arrived next, followed by Ha-jin.
Then came the real guests of honor: James Marcus and his old comrades.
'Who'd have thought I'd invite these guys to my house.'
After regression, he'd run single-mindedly on ending the game by gathering and wiping out all traitors.
"Uh... thanks for having me."
James Marcus thanked him awkwardly.
"Just come in and sit."
With so many people, the living room felt cramped.
"The house is small... I'll make some space right away!"
Mother, prepping food in the kitchen, started clearing out unnecessary stuff from the living room so they could sit comfortably.
Even after one round of tidying, it was still tight.
"Mother, let me help."
Yeo Min-ji helped clear things and scurried to the kitchen to assist with the food.
"Are all these people appearing on HoneyTube...?"
At James's question, Jeong Hoon nodded.
"Yeah. As you can see, they're all pros who've cleared the 6th advancement."
Ha-jin and Bong-gu puffed up their shoulders at the praise.
They knew James Marcus's face.
In New World, not knowing him marked you as crazyhe was a superstar.
Having a star like that admire them? Pure thrill.
"Ahem, we got lucky."
"The 6th is on another level from previous advancements. It was tough. Haha!"
Jeong Hoon barely held back a laugh at their reactions.
"Impressive. If it's not too rude, could you tell me how to start the 6th?"
James respectfully asked, giving Bong-gu and Ha-jin looks of respect.
"Uh... that's not really ours to share."
"Yeah. The conditions to start the 6th differ for everyone."
"They do?"
James tilted his head and looked to Jeong Hoon.
He nodded.
"Right. The starting conditions for the 6th are unique to each person. And they're not publicyou have to find them yourself."
"No way..."
The advancement process was tough enough, but the entry point was brutally hard.
"Pfft, passengers acting all high and mighty."
Then a irritated voice cut in.
It was the chronicler, Damien Loud.
Jeong Hoon's answer must've rubbed him wrong.
Well, that's just how the guy wasJeong Hoon was used to it.
But not Ha-jin and Bong-gu.
They frowned at his rudeness.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Something wrong? Shit, this guy's unbelievable?"
Bong-gu shot up but noticed Jeong Hoon beside him and held back.
"Hit a nerve, huh."
"Damien!"
James called his name in panic.
"James, no need to tiptoe around these passengers."
"Quit yapping, you're annoying as hell."
At Jeong Hoon's words, Damien's gaze turned to him.
"What?"
"Hey, if you're gonna act superior, just leave. Plenty of better options without you."
"...."
"What? Want me to kick you out?"
The living room stirred at Jeong Hoon's words.
Mother and Yeo Min-ji in the kitchen looked over in surprise.
"...From your reaction, it's true then?"
Undeterred by the warning, Damien provoked him.
'Lord, who the hell is this guy?'
'Arrogant to the core.'
Even Muk-ho and Anima's reactions made sense.
Bad past experiences had made him despise people.
Even pre-regression, they'd never gotten closejust pure business.
His attitude might be a defense mechanism, but the problem was he'd always been rude like this.
"Funny."
Jeong Hoon smirked and unleashed his killing intent, crushing Damien Loud.
Overwhelmed by the gap, Damien froze in terror, will to resist gone.
Seeing his face drain white, Amelie Reina jumped up urgently.
"P-please. Could you stop here?"
"No can do. The punk judged my people without knowing his place. So..."
"Son! Enough!"
Mother finally stepped in from the kitchen.
"...Got it."
At her words, Jeong Hoon withdrew his intent obediently.
"Cough! Cough!"
His rigid body relaxed, and Damien hacked with ragged breaths.
"Damien... what the hell are you doing?!"
James yelled.
He'd barely built a friendly rapport with Hoon through full commitmentnow this idiot was wrecking it?
Sophia and Louis glared at Damien with contempt, understanding James's rage.
"I'll say it again: Fail to survive the league, and Earth ends that day. Remember, we're collaborators, not friends. If you can't handle that, speak now."
"Cough! Cough! ...Got it."
Damien nodded weakly.
The intent was gone, but terror etched in him made his body quake like a leaf.
"Done?"
He couldn't let ruining the mood slide.
Rudeness on first meeting demanded an apology.
Basics, especially when cooperating against higher racesfriction this early was trouble.
"S-sorry..."
Not completely clueless, Damien apologized readily.
"I'll apologize to everyone too! Damien's rash words are truly regrettable. Sorry, everyone."
James bowed deeply.
Damien was wrong, but as leader, apologizing for his teammate was right.
"Cross the line again?"
"Never happen."
"What do you all think?"
He'd put Damien in his place enough.
The guy wasn't dumbhe'd know not to push it.
"What do you all think?"
Jeong Hoon asked those beside him.
"Ah, it's fine."
"Hyungnim handled it, so I'm good."
Ha-jin and Bong-gu replied with smiles.
Yeo Sun-woo nodded silently in agreement.
Mother and Yeo Min-ji in the kitchen mouthed "that's enough."
Confirming all, Jeong Hoon approached Damien and used Divine Heal.
The struggling man recovered instantly.
"Damien."
Flinch.
Damien shuddered at his name.
Smartly, he dropped to his knees, slammed his forehead to the floor, and shouted.
"I'm sorry!"
Proper apologyJeong Hoon finally nodded.
"Now, to the main topic."
"Hoon, thanks."
James and his comrades sighed in relief.
Damien's antics had delayed what should've started ages ago.
"Alright, first up: info on the Round 1 venue and opponent race."
The real reason they'd gathered.
Sharing Survival League details.
Round 1 was keythey needed to memorize it for victory.
"But why drag it out?"
Race info.
Logos-crafted map.
Fine so far.
But Jeong Hoon wanted them to stall as long as possible in Round 1.
Longer time meant draining mental and physical stamina.
"There's something to do during that time."
"Something to do?"
"Yeah. Very important."
He stressed importance repeatedly.
They had to draw attention max to let him stay long in the divine realm.
"No way to just steamroll it?"
Ullion still hated the Survival League setup.
Sure, to catch him cleanly, but it felt like giving Earth's human a handicap.
"Why? Wanna go down there yourself?"
"...Tch."
Everyone here wanted to descend, kill the human.
But the massive penalties on descending Earth were beyond even them.
For now, this was best.
"Psyche, this will definitely catch him?"
Survival League was Psyche's plan.
"Tenebris's rider defies fate over and over. Can't guarantee, but better than anything now?"
"True. And I'm enjoying it."
Beelzebub grinned.
Imagining the one who screwed him squirm? Already thrilling.
"We must catch him this time. Miss, and it gets messy."
Logos hated the human too.
Daring delete grand rifts, steal dimensions?
Not just erasing Tenebrishe'd make the human beg for death in agony.
