Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Shepherd Girl
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Whish!
She raked her claws through the empty air.
It was far from Dokgo Hyun.
Zzzip!
A sound erupted from the empty space behind Dokgo Hyun's neck.
“Ugh!”
Dokgo Hyun instinctively ducked to the side and dodged.
Whish!
Han Se-kyung's claw attack burst out right there, tearing through space.
‘Whoa! A space-tearing skill.’
Dokgo Hyun quickly realized that fighting at mid-range in the long corridor would put him at a disadvantage.
‘Wraith Han Se-kyung... I need to stick close and take her down.’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Han Se-kyung suddenly raised both hands high.
She mimed tearing the ceiling.
Riiip!!
A spatial rift about a meter wide opened in the ceiling, and Wraith Lee Woo-hyung jumped down from somewhere nearby.
The wraiths might have the ability to sense each other's locations.
“Hee hee. Die.”
Lee Woo-hyung pointed at Dokgo Hyun's head from above.
Rumble!!
Suddenly, a stone wall slammed down from the ceiling like a hammer.
Boom!!
Dokgo Hyun barely evaded being crushed by activating [Instant Acceleration] backward.
‘Tearing space to summon allied wraiths from elsewhere, huh.’
Dokgo Hyun grumbled to himself as a question arose.
‘But why are they only targeting me?’
In terms of looking like easy prey, Oh Sua on the opposite end of the corridor seemed weaker.
Yet Wraith Han Se-kyung and Wraith Lee Woo-hyung were fixated solely on Dokgo Hyun.
‘Are they ignoring the easy mark Oh Sua to focus on the tougher me first? Prioritizing the strong?’
That didn't feel quite right either.
If they were wraiths—vengeful spirits harboring grudges against surviving players—they should target the weak first.
‘Then... could it be?’
Dokgo Hyun sensed something off, but confirming it would require going back to Oh Sua.
But if his suspicion was correct...
‘I can't just approach Oh Sua carelessly...!’
Dokgo Hyun thought it was a headache, but he grinned anyway.
If Oh Sua wasn't as weak as she appeared, he could treat her as a serious opponent and fight mercilessly.
‘This is trouble. But this death game tutorial's final round is weirdly fun.’
The clash filled with violence and suspicion was honestly starting to grow on him.
Dokgo Hyun smiled at Oh Sua, beyond the two wraiths.
“...”
The wraiths exchanged glances at his smile, then slowly widened the distance.
“Hm? Why the sudden shift to a defensive stance?”
Dokgo Hyun asked.
The wraiths didn't answer.
‘Making me curious.’
Thud!
Dokgo Hyun charged with the Venom Knife in hand.
Na Youngho had been teleported to the underground folk games clubroom in the main building.
Staying underground was dangerous, so he tried to head up to the first floor immediately.
But suspicious noises made him slow down and listen.
Boom...!
Thud thud thud...!
It sounded like fighting around the third or fourth floor.
‘Who's fighting whom?’
The sounds suggested a group battle, not one-on-one.
Na Youngho hid at the base of the stairs with [Air Bow] activated.
Then, light footsteps of a girl echoed down the stairs.
Pat pat pat...!
Na Youngho held his breath until she reached the first floor.
Whoosh!
He stepped out in front of the stairs.
“Kyaa!”
The careless girl rushing down—Oh Sua—tumbled onto her butt on the stairs in surprise.
“No caution at all. Die.”
“W-Wait a sec!”
Oh Sua's eyes widened as she thrust out her hand and shouted.
“If you kill me now, you can't win!”
“What?”
“Please. Just hear me out first.”
“Make it quick.”
“Um, first, this bow...”
“Hmph.”
Swoosh.
Na Youngho aimed his [Air Bow] at Oh Sua's legs.
“One suspicious move or time-wasting, and I shoot.”
“Ugh...”
“Talk. Why can't I win if I kill you?”
“B-Because this game is a ‘1:1:1’ battle.”
“Who doesn't know that? Stop stalling.”
“No, if you kill me now, you'll end up in a 1:1 with Dokgo Hyun sunbae! Who'd that favor?”
“A 1:1 is fair by definition...”
He started to say, but checking their chip counts, Na Youngho was behind.
‘Dokgo Hyun has 25 chips. I have 19.’
A mere 6-chip gap wasn't huge, but...
Thud...!
Rumble...!
Sounds of Dokgo Hyun battling wraiths echoed from above.
If Dokgo Hyun beat them, he'd get the hint slips.
‘I see. In Skill & Run Poker, closing gaps isn't that easy...!’
Killing wraiths for hints was an unexpected variable.
Someone like Dokgo Hyun would figure out efficient ways to take them down.
Na Youngho would too eventually, but there were only four wraiths total.
‘Suppose Oh Sua dies. Then Dokgo Hyun and I hunt wraiths—probably two each, two hints apiece. Info stays even, chip gap persists...!’
In other words, killing Oh Sua carelessly sabotaged creating variables to overcome his early disadvantage.
But.
“No guarantee you'll side with me, though?”
The tutorial finale was zero-sum—only one survivor.
Sparing Oh Sua to beat Dokgo Hyun still left her as a later threat.
“That's why I'll tell you the surefire way for Na Youngho sunbae to win.”
“What's that?”
“Within rule limits, just obey my orders. That's the winning strategy. No lie.”
“What?”
Na Youngho was dumbfounded.
‘Staring wide-eyed and spouting blatant nonsense.’
That was when it happened.
📋 Skill:[Shepherd Girl]🏷️ Type:Transfer Manifestation Skill⭐ Grade:C-Grade
📖 Description:
A deception skill that fools the target with lies. Activation conditions are somewhat complex.
Maintain eye contact for 5+ seconds while telling a lie, then add a phrase affirming "It's not a lie."
If conditions met, there's a chance to make the target believe the lie.
Success rate: 10% per second of eye contact. 5+ sec: 50%; 10+ sec: 100%.
Does not stack (can't reuse on same target, but normal lies ok). Irreversible until caster or target dies.
Any lie works except direct death-related ones (e.g., "Suicide and revive. Not a lie." forbidden).
If lie conflicts with target's benefit, causes emotional confusion (skill persists).
A flash gleamed in Oh Sua's eyes as she locked gazes with Na Youngho.
This was Oh Sua's true skill.
Oh Sua had been saving it on purpose.
The best moment was when alone with the target.
Third parties might notice something odd and uncover it.
So she'd hidden her real skill by lying about having [Luck +10% if you obey me].
Claiming a vague skill amid complexity drew mild suspicion from Na Youngho and Dokgo Hyun, but no deep interest.
‘Their presence was too overwhelming.’
Both were so capable they fixated on each other, lowering guards against Oh Sua.
That was her aim.
Being treated as "extra" by Dokgo Hyun and Na Youngho.
As a result, Na Youngho—close enough for an instant kill—listened instead of shooting.
At peak carelessness.
In that state, Oh Sua held eye contact for 10 seconds, fulfilling [Shepherd Girl] conditions. Success.
“So that's really the winning strategy?”
Na Youngho asked back.
No doubt in his voice—just habitual.
Oh Sua nodded, suppressing a smile.
“Yes. You believe me, right?”
“Think I'm an idiot? Of course I do.”
Na Youngho growled.
Oh Sua tested once more to confirm.
“Then you'll obey my orders as per that strategy?”
An absurd demand, but skill-bound Na Youngho didn't refuse.
Grouchy tone habitual, mind fully hers.
“Fine, no choice. Obeying your orders within rules—that's the ‘fact’ of victory.”
He believed it like natural law.
“Good. Then do this.”
“Do what?”
Gruff, but awaiting orders.
“Before the next poker round, kill Dokgo Hyun sunbae—without overexerting.”
She could've said "full force, any means"—but as a sniper, that risked his cool precision. So, moderately.
‘I have a sure win anyway.’
Oh Sua had her plan.
“Got it?”
“Yeah.”
Thud!
Na Youngho moved to kill Dokgo Hyun.
Alone now, Oh Sua smiled silently.
‘Time to make the other wraiths my minions?’
She'd already subjugated Wraith Han Se-kyung and Wraith Lee Woo-hyung.
In the first run phase, eye contact and [Shepherd Girl]: ‘Absolute obedience to me, Oh Sua, returns you human. Not a lie.’
They were bound.
Now, find the remaining two and repeat.
‘Hee hee. Thought C-Grade was weak, but it's subtly broken.’
Failed eye contact mid-lie? No penalty.
Retry. Wraiths glared hatefully anyway—perfect.
Why C-Grade? No direct combat help or solo survival.
Needs a conversation partner. Rare mental control with low failure risk, yet C-Grade.
“Hee hee hee.”
Oh Sua finally laughed aloud.
Her small frame disarmed foes, easing talks.
Even in tutorial mission 6's 1v1, opponent chatted: "How can we both survive?"
10 seconds eye contact: ‘Stay still, we both live. Not a lie.’ Then killed.
‘Now, hunt more wraiths.’
She didn't fear them.
‘Hee hee. Promise a way back to human, and the fools pause attacking.’