Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Mid-Rankings 1st Place in the Preliminaries
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The old man jumped straight into a lecture on life.
The players in Group 41 turned to look at each other.
"Hmm."
"Ugh. What should we say?"
As they whispered among themselves, the old man irritably urged them on.
"Hurry up and decide! Jeez, you there, kid? You're the group leader, right? You answer. What's the most important thing in life?"
"The most important thing in life is time."
Dokgo Hyun stated his usual philosophy.
"Ho ho? That's a bit different from the answer I had in mind. Tell me why."
"The explanation's kind of long."
"Make it short."
"I've always thought unconsciously, 'I'm strong.'"
It wasn't arrogance—it was simply the truth.
Dokgo Hyun surpassed the level of an average high school senior in both thought and action.
He was smarter than anyone.
He was tougher than anyone.
Ever since precise hospital tests as a child revealed his superior physique, he'd honed it even further.
When someone with talent polishes that talent, they can become something extraordinary.
Age becomes irrelevant in the face of properly developed talent.
Before such overwhelming ability, hunting down delinquents or topping the school rankings were mere light challenges.
Each time, a hard-to-articulate dissatisfaction built up inside Dokgo Hyun.
'How can I be equal to these worthless trash?'
It wasn't a matter of human rights.
It was from a perspective of time.
'The time of the good is the same as the time of the wicked. The time I, with my talent, spend on self-improvement is the same as the time delinquents waste lounging in indulgence. No amount of effort or talent can change the total amount of time given to an individual.'
Even in this death game, where Dokgo Hyun lashed out with every trick in the book, there was one absolute he had to acknowledge as beyond his control.
That was time.
Perhaps his awakening of the [Time Distortion] skill was a manifestation of that unconscious drive...
"What's wrong? Why'd you trail off?"
The old man snapped irritably.
"Sorry. Let me explain again."
Dokgo Hyun set aside his original explanation and opted for a different one.
Sticking to the first one would just annoy the old man more.
"My parents passed away early. I'm not the nicest person, and my brother was sick. They must have worried a lot. Then one day, they died suddenly in a car accident."
Choi Han-pung and Eun Jua sighed at his words.
"Ah, that's awful..."
"He couldn't fulfill his filial duties, so that's why time is important."
The kind pair's eyes even welled up with tears.
"If I could turn back time, there's one thing I'd say to my parents."
"What would that be?"
"'In a few years, the world will turn into a brutal death game. So don't stress over your kids—live it up, spend all your money wildly, and enjoy yourselves.'"
"......"
"Of course, I can't rewind time like that, so it's just wishful thinking."
"Hmph, ahem. I see."
"Anyway, what's the right answer?"
"The answer I had in mind was patience."
He'd rushed them to answer quickly, yet patience was what he valued most in life.
"Still, your answer was a good one. I acknowledge it."
"Thank you."
"Now, we've wasted enough time—let's get to the point."
"Hm?"
"What? Got a problem?"
"Why ask about the most important thing in life? Won't you explain the reason?"
"That? I was just curious. Got a problem?"
"......"
"The [Mana Circulation Method] has two paths: fast acquisition and slow acquisition."
The old man pulled a syringe from his pocket.
"Use the [Mana Circulation Method] Acceleration Syringe, and you can master it in five minutes."
"Acceleration syringe, huh. Any side effects?"
"Side effects? Obviously death."
"Then tell me about slow acquisition."
"Slow acquisition takes a bit longer."
"How long?"
"For those without talent, about two hours."
Too long.
Considering the mission's three-hour limit, almost no one could afford slow acquisition.
"And for those with talent?"
"Talented ones usually already know how to use the [Mana Circulation Method] by the time they get here."
"Hm. From what you've said, it sounds like the time it takes to learn depends more on the teacher's ability than the student's."
The old man's eye twitched at that.
"What's your name, kid?"
"Dokgo Hyun."
"My name is ■■■. Remember it if you can hear it."
Kkiiigiik.
Noise buzzed in his ears, and the name didn't register.
'He's way stronger than he looks. Not just some supervisor or helper—he's on another level!'
Dokgo Hyun tensed, sensing the old man was hiding immense power.
The old man grinned in satisfaction.
"Alright, since I came here with good intentions to teach, let's go with a compromise."
He held up the syringe.
"We'll inject exactly half the dosage. That way, we can aim for 30 to 35 minutes to master the [Mana Circulation Method]. What do you say?"
They all checked the remaining time and agreed.
In the empty gymnasium, only the countdown ticked away.
Paat!
Players appeared in the gymnasium.
Those who'd cleared the dungeon.
They arrived in groups, but full groups of ten were rare now.
"Hoo..."
"That was tough."
The surviving groups eyed each other from afar, sharing the same thought.
'It wasn't an impossible mission. But the sacrifices were too many.'
With plenty of time, players ended up doubting the time limit and mission difficulty.
Many rushed, and even those who didn't lost focus.
Traps they'd spot easily normally went unnoticed until someone died.
The monsters were weak except the boss, but their bizarre looks and encirclement caused panic and heavy losses...
In short, they'd learned to overcome comrades' sacrifices and injuries to push through to victory.
Paat! Paat!
More groups appeared one after another.
The groups handpicked by the TV Girl and her supporters had minimal casualties.
Somehow, only Group 41 hadn't shown up yet.
"Mm, good work, everyone."
The TV Girl appeared with a click of her heels.
She held a box in her hand.
"Rest easy. Those who learned the [Mana Circulation Method] from the dungeon's hidden door can practice it."
Many were shocked by her words.
"What'd she just say?"
"[Mana Circulation Method]? It was taught in the dungeon?"
"Damn, we were so focused on the time we missed the hidden door."
Groups that cleared early regretted finishing too fast.
"Hee hee, once everyone's here, we'll move to the next mission."
Right after the TV Girl spoke.
Paat!
A large group appeared.
It was Kim Mingyeong's Group 3.
"Wh-what's that?!"
"Is that allowed?!"
The others were stunned because Group 3 had brought not just humans, but a two-headed ogre too.
"Heh."
Kim Mingyeong swept back her long hair and smiled.
'It wasn't easy, but we did it.'
Kim Mingyeong had confirmed she could infect monsters with her [Nerve Parasites] too.
She had her minions draw the two-headed ogre's aggro, then successfully implanted the parasites.
Of course, it cost some minions.
'It took too long to figure out I needed to implant into both heads at once.'
That's why so many minions died.
'But we gained a new ogre minion, so overall it's a huge win.'
Kim Mingyeong swept her hair back again.
This hair-sweeping habit started after awakening her skill.
Every time she turned her hair into nerve parasites, she lost a lot—whether it was psychological or not, sweeping it back seemed to speed up regrowth a bit.
"Group 41 is really late, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Weren't they down to just four?"
"Mm. Too short-handed."
"Well, even our full ten-man group lost half..."
"Group 41—did they maybe all wipe?"
At that moment.
Paat!
All of Group 41 appeared.
With just 15 seconds left on the clock.
"Huh?"
"They all look fine..."
"Don't they look way less beat than us?"
The players muttered, but Group 41 ignored them.
The TV Girl spoke.
"Everyone's here. Time to issue clear judgments."
It had been 145 just before—quite a drop.
This was the first time since the preliminaries' first phase began that survivors dipped into the double digits... no, wait, two digits meaning below 100.
"You've all received your clear rewards already, right? Now, time for the mid-rankings by group."
"Group rankings...?"
"Yes. Rankings based on estimated comprehensive combat power per group."
Clunk!
The rankings appeared on the screen behind the stage.
"That's the list."
"......!!"
Many were shocked.
"W-wait a sec."
"1st is Group 41?!"
"No way, how...!"
Astounded murmurs spread, and the TV Girl continued.
"Group 41 earned a massive amount of coins in this mission and found the hidden room to officially master the [Mana Circulation Method]."
Wungseong wungseong...!
"Hidden room?"
"Damn, we should've looked for the hidden door!"
"Ugh, if we hadn't been rushed by the timer, we could've found it too."
Those fixated on the clock sighed deeply.
The TV Girl finished the announcement.
"As a result, Group 41 takes mid-rankings 1st place..."
Kwang!!!
The gymnasium floor cracked.
Lee Hyun-jun had slammed it with his artifact, the Solid Cutter.
"...I can't accept this."
Lee Hyun-jun glared at Dokgo Hyun.
"How the hell did you rack up coins that fast?"
"It's a secret."
As Dokgo Hyun replied, Lee Hyun-jun strode toward him.
"Stop! Violence is prohibited!"
Only after the TV Girl intervened did Lee Hyun-jun halt, fuming.
'Thought he was cool-headed, but he's surprisingly hot-blooded?'
Dokgo Hyun observed him.
'I figured he killed others coldly to farm coins and judged rationally. But this side shows he's not purely that type.'
In other words, Lee Hyun-jun killed those around him out of desperate eagerness to grow stronger and farm coins.
Not someone moved solely by cold logic.
This observation gave Dokgo Hyun a crucial hint.
'Maybe he's weak mentally after all?'
It happened sometimes with those who seemed cool-headed.
They stayed stoic when things went their way, but lost composure and raged at the slightest deviation.
There was a guy like that in Dokgo Hyun's class, always second in rankings.
'Can't recall his name. The one who got crushed by a falling ceiling panel because of a rat.'