Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Total Administrator's Announcement (2)
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The Total Administrator continued his explanation.
"Don't be surprised. That's why I'm offering you reserve NPCs a very important choice. It might be your first and last one."
"On the other hand, raise your left hand? You'll die cleanly on the spot. You have 5 minutes, so think it over carefully."
After finishing his explanation, the Total Administrator shifted his gaze to another camera and added,
"Oh, and this offer is only for NPCs, so it doesn't apply to Players. Players, raising your hands won't do anything, so just sit back and watch."
With that, a timer appeared in the corner of the screen.
"Ahh..."
Baek Seonghui's mother was on the verge of fainting.
"Should I... raise my left hand and die...?"
Baek Seonghui's father could only mutter in a hollow tone.
In fact, their reactions were relatively mild.
The reporters outside the door were in an even worse state.
"Uwaaaak! Uwaaaak!"
"What are we gonna do now! Hwaaaak!"
"If, if we don't raise our hands?! Can't we just not raise them?"
These people who had been threatening Baek Seonghui and her family had completely lost their minds now that they themselves were caught up in the game.
The Total Administrator on TV chuckled as if he'd heard those voices, shrugging his shoulders.
"1,146,983 reserve NPCs worldwide so far are asking what happens if you don't raise your hand. Curious? Then don't raise it and see. Heh heh!"
It was undoubtedly a far more gruesome fate than raising a hand.
Time slipped away mercilessly.
"Honey. Seonghui. I... as your mother..."
Baek Seonghui's mother raised her left hand with a pale face.
It was the expression of someone who'd rather die.
Becoming an NPC where you couldn't even choose death freely seemed unacceptable to her.
"I see..."
Baek Seonghui's father nodded in agreement, head bowed.
There was nothing they could do against this unprecedented power that defied science.
But.
Craaaack!
"Aak!"
"Kyaaak!"
After much deliberation, the entire left arms of Baek Seonghui's parents, who had raised their left hands, turned bright red.
Nothing happened to Baek Seonghui, who had raised her right hand.
"Ugh... My left arm hurts..."
"W-We didn't die?"
The Total Administrator on TV sneered.
"Out of Earth's total population, excluding Players, there were about 5 billion left. Of them, only 10%—around 500 million—raised their left hands, while the remaining 90%, 4.5 billion, raised their right."
The Total Administrator announced.
"Those of you who raised your left hands are a disgrace to humanity."
He declared it in a venomous tone.
"Trying to run away by dying. Aren't you ashamed? While others—especially Players—are fighting through the Apocalypse Game for humanity's future right now?"
It was a one-sided scolding.
Not even Earth's Players, let alone most Supervisors, fully understood what this Apocalypse Game was or its true purpose.
Those who raised left hands went without saying.
"Your world has become a class society. In principle, Players are above, NPCs below. Adding one more thing to that framework: the pitiful ones with red left arms will be called 'Red Hands'."
The moment the Total Administrator snapped his fingers.
Flash!
All the Red Hands around the world vanished somewhere.
"D-Dad! Mom!"
Baek Seonghui cried out in shock, and the Total Administrator on TV laughed.
"The Red Hands are in for some re-education. Whether they'll be reassigned or not, even I don't know yet."
He seemed genuinely uninterested.
Perhaps those branded Red Hands were destined to be abandoned in some hellish place to suffer.
"That's all the announcements. The rest is a Player-only message, so NPCs, you're dismissed!"
Click!
The TV and smartphones cut off—all of them.
The Total Administrator had said his piece and vanished.
"Mom... Dad..."
Her parents had been dragged off right in front of her eyes.
Baek Seonghui felt like she was crumbling.
Ding-dong!
Someone rang the doorbell.
"Baek Seonghui? Are you inside?"
A suspicious man spoke in a trembling voice.
"P-Please open up! It's a letter! If you don't take it, I'll die!"
Startled, Baek Seonghui checked the intercom.
A real mailman was standing there.
Baek Seonghui cautiously approached the door.
Click.
She opened it, and the mailman thrust the letter at her with a look of relief at still being alive.
"You're Player Baek Seonghui, right? Please take it."
Above the man's head, text floated like in a game character.
Baek Seonghui took the letter and looked up at her own head.
"Well, I'll be going then."
The mailman hurried off.
Baek Seonghui tore open the letter.
As she did, she happened to glance at the back of her left hand.
'This mark?'
There was a half-circle on the back of her left hand.
Players had a full black circle engraved on theirs, but Baek Seonghui's was exactly half.
Puzzled, she read the letter, and at the top it said:
'Letter to Baek Seonghui, Reserve Revival Match Candidate and Quasi-Player Level NPC.'
The gymnasium housing Players from zones H-1 to H-50 of the tutorial.
The Players were watching the screen there.
"That's all the announcements. The rest is a Player-only message, so NPCs, you're dismissed!"
The Total Administrator gestured to the broadcast station to cut the feed partially, then turned his chair to face another camera.
"Now then, Players? Your Total Administrator has arrived. Enjoying the preliminary rounds? Heh heh heh."
A chilling laugh emanated from behind the mask.
"Shall we take some time to answer the most common questions from Players across all zones?"
Snap!
He held up three fingers.
"Revealing the three biggest questions from Players and their answers!"
As everyone focused intently, a Q&A appeared in the air as a system message.
Q: What is the reason for hosting this Apocalypse Game?
A: A deal with Transcendents. I can't reveal everything yet, but this Earth was doomed to destruction anyway.
The Apocalypse Game is entertainment for those Transcendents and, at the same time, a game to select hero-level beings to save Earth.
Q: How many stages is the Apocalypse Game exactly composed of, and when does it end?
A: To the extent I can disclose: Tutorial → Preliminaries → Main Round → Finals.
Especially, Preliminaries and Main Round are divided into multiple phases, with detailed mission content determined fluidly based on survivor numbers.
Q: What does the final winning Player obtain?
A: Infinite authority over all humanity (Players and NPCs).
"There, was that helpful? You'll figure out the rest in time. See you next time!"
Flash!
The screen went dark.
"Now, proceeding with the mission."
The TV girl declared the mission start as if nothing had happened.
- Objective: Defeat the mini dungeon boss or acquire the designated treasure, then return to the waiting room.
Clearing either defeating the dungeon boss or acquiring the designated treasure counts as success.
You may challenge both as long as you don't exceed the time limit.
🎁 Success Bonus: 2,000 Coins to team leader on clear.
Dungeon boss defeated: Additional 2,000 Coins to team leader.
Designated treasure acquired: Additional 3 hints and 3 Healing Potions to team leader.
💀 Failure Penalty: Death.
⏰ Time Limit: 3 hours.
💡 Hint: A hidden door exists somewhere in the dungeon. Find the hidden door.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd...
"Mini dungeon...?"
"Raid? Like the ones in games?"
"...It does fit a team mission, but a raid mission for real? Ugh."
"More than that, I wanted to ask more about the Total Administrator's message..."
Many were flustered.
But most team leaders stared calmly at the mission window, lost in thought.
'It's getting serious. This is a mission we can't clear without uniting team strength.'
Dokgo Hyun thought.
Not just Dokgo Hyun—other team leaders reached similar conclusions and hurriedly began assessing their team members' skills.
The problem was that with up to ten members including themselves, grasping and preparing with everyone's skills was a headache.
Moreover, there would always be members trying to hide skills even in danger or sneakily slip to the back.
Being a team leader was exhausting in every way.
Team 41 under Dokgo Hyun was different, though.
Fewer heads, but they got along well and he understood their skills.
'The issue is we have zero weapons in our team. I've got the Venom Knife, but the others...'
Then the TV girl spoke.
"Final explanation before transmission. Please quiet down."
The murmurs died as everyone listened intently.
"The 3-hour mission limit includes ample prep time. Soon, you'll be sent to your team's individual waiting room. There, you'll have three options."
"Details in the waiting room. Good luck."
Flash!
Everyone was transported by team.
A waiting room reminiscent of a cluttered university cafeteria on the first floor.
Team 41 materialized there.
A kiosk stood in the center, just as the TV girl had described.
A. Meal & Rest.
B. Weapon Selection.
C. Challenge.
"Let's pick weapons first."
The moment Dokgo Hyun selected B.
Clank! Clank!
A metal weapon rack appeared on the west side.
"Hm. Mostly medieval European weapons."
Kang Ohsu muttered.
Commonly lumped as longswords, but they varied wildly in size and era.
As Kang Ohsu carefully examined the swords, Choi Hanpoong reached for a different rack nearby first.
"I'll take this one."