Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Deathmatch and Russian Roulette
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This was the first time he'd been completely surrounded by all eight stones.
He could leap out of the encirclement right now and avoid instant death, but he'd definitely lose at least one limb in the process.
"Don't move, hyung."
Lee Jong-eun, standing by the door, took a few steps forward and issued the command.
"If you don't move, I'll kill you painlessly."
"Interesting. I was about to say the same thing."
"Pardon?"
"[Object Rewind]."
Whirr...!
The power of [Time Distortion], focused along Dokgo Hyun's line of sight, latched onto the knife embedded in the doorframe behind Lee Jong-eun instead.
Fwoosh!
Only the time of the knife stuck in the wall rewound.
Pew!
The knife lodged in the doorframe flew back toward Dokgo Hyun's hand at the exact speed it had been thrown.
Thud!
And on its path, it buried deep into Lee Jong-eun's back.
"Gah...!"
Clatter clatter clatter!
The Go stones surrounding Dokgo Hyun dropped to the floor.
Tat!
With the encirclement broken, Dokgo Hyun charged at Lee Jong-eun.
Dokgo Hyun's current Stamina was a whopping 47 points.
His running speed was number one at Hanshin High.
'Ah, too late.'
Lee Jong-eun sensed his defeat.
Even if he tried to summon the Go stones again for defense, Dokgo Hyun was too fast.
Especially with that Venom Knife buried in his back, he couldn't focus properly.
Dokgo Hyun swung his fist at full running speed.
Bam!!
'Urk!!'
Lee Jong-eun was knocked flying to the side.
As he writhed on the ground, he spat blood and muttered.
"I... get it...!"
Lee Jong-eun had figured out Dokgo Hyun's skill.
"A skill... that manipulates time...!"
"Correct. My skill is [Time Distortion]."
"Ah...!"
It was a skill name that drew a sigh.
"[Time Distortion], huh. Just hearing the name screams cheat skill. Ugh...!"
Lee Jong-eun thought his defeat was inevitable.
"You've got great Stamina, punch like a truck, a sharp mind, and now a skill like [Time Distortion]... Cough! From the start, this was a fight I could never win."
Lee Jong-eun painfully crossed his legs into a lotus position.
"I lost."
He cleanly admitted defeat.
Not flipping the board in frustration, but politely collecting the stones and acknowledging loss.
That was the way of the Baduk Club ace, Lee Jong-eun.
"Hmm."
Now, one swing from Dokgo Hyun would end him.
But Dokgo Hyun made a different proposal.
"Killing you outright feels like a waste. How about a draw?"
"Pardon...?"
"A draw. Draw."
"No, how?"
"Check the mission description again. What happens when the time limit ends?"
"Both fail?"
"No. Nothing like that anywhere."
Dokgo Hyun pulled up the mission window and showed it again.
-Objective: Enter the sparring stage and kill the opposing participant. Whoever survives wins, no matter how.
"No clause saying it's a failure if the time runs out, right?"
"Ah... "
"That means when the time limit hits, we could both get a draw judgment."
"...Doubtful. That's way too convenient an interpretation."
"True. The supervisors have a lot of authority."
Even if there was room for a draw, they could just say, 'If there's no winner, everyone's a loser,' and kill them both.
"Still worth a shot? We both take the draw, and I heal your wounds with my Healing Potion."
"No."
Lee Jong-eun shook his head.
"It won't fly like that, and it shouldn't anyway."
"Why? It's your life on the line."
"Yes, exactly because it's life or death."
Lee Jong-eun's eyes burned with pro-level resolve.
He'd given up his dream of going pro in elementary school after hitting his talent limit.
But his mindset never fell short of a professional's.
"Two people sitting at a life-or-death Go board can't both walk away happy."
Blood trickled from his mouth, his breaths ragged, but he pressed on.
"A fierce half-point victory can end with one dying, but fudging the win-loss for everyone to live? No such path."
"I see."
Dokgo Hyun understood.
"Our fight was a life-on-the-line match, and as a Go player, you want to die properly."
Nod.
Lee Jong-eun nodded instead of answering.
Dokgo Hyun solemnly nodded back.
"Short time, met as enemies, but you're really someone worth sparing."
Dokgo Hyun regretted that if they'd met in the finals after Lee Jong-eun's skill had grown more, it might've been different.
Seeing Dokgo Hyun's genuine regret, Lee Jong-eun forced a grin.
"Hyung."
"Yeah."
"One promise. Go to the end of this game."
"Was planning to anyway."
"Heh... "
Lee Jong-eun smiled and closed his eyes.
Slash!
A [Instant Acceleration]-enhanced hand blade sliced his throat.
Crack.
Thud!
Lee Jong-eun collapsed.
A brutally cold message.
Dokgo Hyun retrieved the Venom Knife from Lee Jong-eun's back.
Flash!
In a burst of light, Dokgo Hyun's wounds and Stamina depletion were completely healed.
At the same time, he was teleported back to the cafeteria.
About three hours later.
The one-on-one deathmatches for all 20 participants had ended.
Cases like Dokgo Hyun and Na Youngho, who finished early, were rare; most players dragged it out for a long time.
In total, 10 survivors waited.
"Sob, heh heh sob... "
"Heh heh sob... I really killed someone weaker than me with my own hands... Mom, I'm sorry... "
Two crying students.
Baek Seonghui was among them.
"Fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck...!!"
"Kill them all. Kill. Kill them. I'll kill you all, kill kill...!"
Two gnashing their teeth in rage and murderous intent.
"Kekeke. This is it, this is it. I'm chosen... Kekekeke."
One second-year in creepy self-absorbed laughter.
"......"
"......"
Five resting in silence.
Dokgo Hyun and Na Youngho were naturally among them.
The eyes of those five resting in silence burned especially fierce.
Having stained their own hands with blood, stared their actions in the face, and steeled their resolve.
'Really unexpected.'
Dokgo Hyun glanced at Na Youngho and thought so, since the numerous Archery Club members had been wiped out, leaving only him.
'Sorry for those guys, but from my position, it's a relief. If the Archery Club had teamed up, I might've been in danger later.'
As the total of 10 rested with their own thoughts.
"Alright! All winners pass! Congrats!"
The Bunny Girl spread her palms wide with a grin.
Winners meant killers.
"I'm handling the next mission too. Hang in there till the final Tutorial Mission!"
The end of the Tutorial Missions was near.
Mission 6 had just ended, so they'd passed the halfway mark.
Dokgo Hyun shot to his feet and asked.
"Once the final Tutorial Mission ends, can we see the Total Administrator?"
The Total Administrator had debuted on TV saying something like meet after the Tutorial.
Dokgo Hyun had been waiting for that moment.
'Question him or kill him.'
The Bunny Girl smiled slyly.
"Want to know? Clear this mission. Tutorial Mission 7 is set!"
Bang!
A box appeared before the Bunny Girl, and the mission window popped up.
10-Continuous Russian Roulette
Objective: Survive Russian Roulette using a revolver with 10 cylinders total.
Follow standard Russian Roulette rules. Must aim the barrel at your own temple and pull the trigger.
Aiming elsewhere and pulling the trigger counts as immediate mission failure.
Only one bullet loaded. If fired at temple but player survives, reload with new bullet and restart from that player.
📍 Success Bonus: 1 Random Mini-Item Box
💀 Failure Penalty: Death
⏰ Time Limit: 1 min per person. Total 30 min.
"No one doesn't know Russian Roulette, right?"
At that moment, Baek Seonghui, sniffling from crying, raised her hand.
"Um, I don't know it... "
"Sigh... "
The Bunny Girl deflated but explained Russian Roulette anyway.
While explaining, she naturally gathered ten chairs in a circle.
The players sat comfortably and listened.
"On your turn, point the gun at your head and pull. Survive: success. Die: game over. Pass to the next if you live. Repeat till one definitely dies. That's it!"
Explanation over.
"Point a gun at our own heads and pull the trigger ourselves...?"
Baek Seonghui asked incredulously, and the Bunny Girl beamed.
"Yep! Super simple mission, right?"
"Then... "
"Speak freely! Go on!"
"Odds are 1 in 10, so first or last doesn't matter much...?"
"Exactly! Smart kid!"
The Bunny Girl arbitrarily hugged Baek Seonghui, rubbing her cheeks against hers wildly.
"Hehe! Wanna go first since you brought it up?"
"N-No!"
Baek Seonghui panicked.
She'd said order didn't matter, pure probability, but first turn still felt scary instinctively.
"Ahem. Anyone wanna volunteer first? Or vote."
At that moment.
Snap!
One hand shot up.
"Kekeke. I'll be number one."
The creepy self-absorbed second-year.
"Oh? So eager."
Click!
The Bunny Girl slid out the revolver's full cylinder.
Clack.
Loaded one bullet.
And.
Whirr...!
Rattle rattle...!
Spun it thoroughly.
Click!
Snapped it back in.
"Student's name?"
"Park Taehoon, second-year Class 1."
Cool-guy style.
"Juniors and seniors, remember: I'm Park Taehoon, blessed by God. Kekeke."
It sounded like pure bravado.
'A skill too?'
Many stirred.
After deathmatches with skills, they knew anything was possible.
'No way.'
Dokgo Hyun eyed Park Taehoon seriously.
'His skill... [God's Blessing] or something?'
Felt cheat-like, but Dokgo Hyun's own [Time Distortion] was cheat-tier too.
No rule saying Park Taehoon couldn't have one.
"Such confidence. Here."
Handed over the revolver.
"Loaded, just pull."
"Heh."
Park Taehoon pressed it to his right temple without hesitation.
"Kyahaha!!"
Click!
Bang!!!
The bullet fired.
Splat!!!
It blew his head apart.
Splatter splatter...
Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Gasp?!"
"Kyaa!!"
"What the fuck!!"
Everyone freaked.
Even Dokgo Hyun was shocked, struggling to process.
"Eh, just a moron."
The Bunny Girl nodded like she'd seen it before.
Bang!
Bang bang!
Cute explosions popped up, and nine mini-item boxes appeared before the nine survivors.
"Mini-items are one-use items with special powers. Check 'em!"
Dokgo Hyun opened his immediately.
Pop.
A syringe inside.
'Hmm. Risky stuff.'
Dokgo Hyun examined the syringe then tossed it into his Inventory.
'Wonder what others got?'
"I got a 'button-sized compressed first-aid kit.'"
"Mine's a 'large-capacity Mana Potion.'"
"This is an 'ultra-fast charger.' Would've been great in the old world."
"I got a 'boomerang that flies back to smack the back of my head if thrown far.' What even is this?"
Half grumbled, half slyly peeked and pocketed theirs quick.
No way they'd give freebies without reason.
Dokgo Hyun and Baek Seonghui whispered their items.
"Drew the 'Berserker's Syringe.' You?"
"Mine was 'Mana Boosting Syringe.' Both syringes."
They swapped info quick and split.
Meanwhile, Na Youngho scrutinized his purple spray seriously.
"Can we trade these?"
Na Youngho asked the Bunny Girl.
"Trades with other players allowed."
"Tch."
Na Youngho glared at his like who'd trade this crap.
It read:
'Purple hair dye spray, no hair damage.'
Random mini-item box indeed. Truly random.