#14
“I don’t think now is the time to worry about teams.”
“That’s right. Shouldn’t we survive first?”
The people were in disarray, yet one thought came to mind first.
That now was not the time to be particular about groups.
They thought that in order to survive, everyone had to combine their strength.
However, Haron, who had noticed such signs, opened his mouth toward the survivors.
“Those who deem it dangerous may exit beyond the veil at any time. I cannot guarantee your lives. Furthermore, rankings will be assigned based on the number of demonic beasts slain by each group, and rewards shall be given. Of course, those rewards are not sold even in shops, and the higher the record you set, the better the rewards you will receive. For your information, the group with the worst record will be excluded from the Seonghwajeon at my discretion.”
At those words, the survivors’ actions changed again.
With a few words of carrot and stick, the survivors who had tried to join forces turned their backs.
As Haron said, those who lacked confidence in surviving could leave beyond the veil of their own accord and forfeit the Seonghwajeon.
“If I may offer a useful tip, please make use of the surrounding buildings. It should be possible to hold out against the Predathon horde.”
The survivors began occupying buildings and preparing to hold out according to Haron’s words.
With less than ten minutes remaining, they entered the buildings without even a moment to ask Haron anything.
“Mr. Hancheol, shouldn’t we prepare quickly too?”
Then Yi Sina opened her mouth to me with an anxious face.
Indeed, while other groups had already occupied buildings and were preparing to hold out, our group alone remained still, leisurely.
Perhaps she felt anxious seeing me doing nothing despite having robots. I opened my mouth to that Yi Sina.
“Just a moment. There’s something I want to ask before preparing.”
With those words, I approached Haron.
Haron also looked at me, seemingly puzzled.
“Hehe, will it be alright for you, Survivor, to not prepare?”
It was a voice strangely laced with amusement.
I spoke to Haron.
“I have a question.”
“Yes, please ask anything.”
“Is it possible to enter beyond the gate?”
“…….”
To that question, Haron’s answer did not come.
For some reason, he appeared flustered.
“Are you considering entering?”
Perhaps the question was so perplexing that, unlike a proxy, he instead asked back.
To that question, I merely nodded.
“Ah, my… I have committed the discourtesy of answering a question with a question. My apologies. For now, entering is at your liberty.”
“Then, do all those gates lead to one place?”
“Yes, they are gates that all lead to one place.”
With those words, Haron smiled.
No, though it could not be seen as his face was covered by a mask, for some reason he seemed to smile.
Because goodwill and kindness could be felt in his voice.
“Survivor Kim Hancheol, please survive. I shall pray for your good fortune.”
The next moment, Haron vanished in an instant.
As soon as Haron disappeared, I gave an order to the robots.
‘Aria, Meradon.’
[[[Yes, Master.]]]
‘Enter the gate and wipe them out.’
Those words were the beginning.
Thud!!
Meradon and three Aria units struck the ground with a thud and entered the gate that had appeared in the air without hesitation.
Yi Sina and Yi Hayun watched that scene with surprised eyes for a moment.
I opened my mouth to those two.
“Let’s enter the building before it’s too late.”
“Ah, yes!”
* * *
Ten minutes had passed.
It was about time for Predathons to pour out through the gates, but strangely, it was still—no, quiet.
The survivors who had taken refuge in the buildings couldn’t help but put on bewildered expressions.
“What is this?”
“Hasn’t it already been ten minutes?”
“It’s been a while, though?”
Everyone was puzzled.
They had prepared nervously to respond to the pouring horde of Predathons, but not even a single ant came out through the gate.
It was then.
“Ah! Over there!”
—Kieeek!
Finally, a demonic beast called Predathon appeared through the gate.
People prepared to respond with tense faces.
However, the tension was released within just a few seconds.
“One?”
“No, about three more are falling?”
“But why are they in that state?”
The condition of the demonic beasts coming through the gate was very strange.
They crashed to the ground with torn wings, gasping for breath.
Is this the trial?
It was the thought the survivors had simultaneously.
The situation continued.
Large numbers of Predathons in strange conditions fell from the sky.
When about twenty had fallen to the ground, the survivors eventually came out of the buildings with dazed faces. Then one survivor urgently ran toward a Predathon collapsed on the ground.
It was a woman named Shin Yua, who served as the leader of the first-place group.
Seeing that, people came to their senses and hurriedly ran toward the Predathons collapsed on the ground.
Come to think of it, the group with the lowest score would be eliminated from this Seonghwajeon.
People began competing against the demonic beasts that had crashed to the ground.
Meanwhile.
“Rock-paper-scissors!”
“Wow… Mister, how are you so good at rock-paper-scissors?”
“You didn’t know? Rock-paper-scissors is a skill too. It’s not done by luck.”
“Let’s try again.”
“Sure.”
Only Hancheol’s group was at ease.
Well, first place was practically guaranteed even if they did nothing.
The only problem was that they had nothing to do, so it was boring.
They would have to keep doing this for at least about eight hours, after all.
Then Hayun opened her mouth.
“But Mister, what is your skill?”
“Huh? My skill?”
“Yes. You just waved your hand and the demonic beasts all flew away?”
At those words, I grinned and answered.
“I’ll tell you later. Ah, why don’t we practice skills while we’re at it?”
“Skills?”
“Yes. What about you, Ms. Sina? I’ll watch over you.”
“Uh… my skill seems to be creating ice, but after using it once, it wouldn’t come out anymore. My body is tired too.”
“Ah! Me too. When I activated my skill, my body suddenly felt tired.”
It’s probably because of mana.
The stronger the skill, the more skills require consuming mana to use.
I answered them as if explaining.
“Your bodies are probably tired because you’ve exhausted all your mana. Of course, the more you use skills, the more your mana will increase, so you’ll be fine later. The less mana you have, the faster it recovers, so you should be able to use it again now.”
“Aha… But Mister, how do you know that so well?”
“Me? I just heard it from a constellation I know.”
With those words, I rose from my seat.
I looked at them and opened my mouth.
“It would be better to try using it in practice rather than just talking. Let’s go to a corner and try using your skills once. I’ll watch over you.”
“Ah! Yes!”
* * *
Time passed, and when it was past 8 PM, the second trial finally ended.
As soon as the trial ended, people could understand why the demonic beasts called Predathons hadn’t come down much.
“Hey! Look over there!”
“Haah….”
Admiration and helplessness burst from people’s mouths before they knew it.
It was because robots of a familiar appearance leisurely crossed through the gates and descended to the ground.
The robots that landed on the ground paid no heed to people’s gazes and simply stood still.
People were certain.
That first place in this trial would probably belong to the sisters who owned the rest area.
Because people thought the owners of the robots were the sisters.
‘Hmm… I suppose their activity time is almost up now?’
Meanwhile, I had to send the robots back to Sky Island as soon as they descended.
I could use points to extend their activity time, but points were too precious for that.
Still, just in case, I decided to leave one unit behind.
I gave an order to the robots.
‘All except for one Alt unit, return to Sky Island.’
[[[Yes, understood.]]]
With my order, all robots except for one Alt unit disappeared in an instant.
They had returned to Sky Island.
“The trial has ended.”
Then, as if timed, Haron appeared in the air and descended among the people again.
Though his face was hidden by a mask and could not be seen, Haron somehow looked pleased.
“I never imagined that not a single person would die in the second test. I am truly delighted.”
Hearing such words from the one who had imposed the trial, people’s expressions couldn’t help but become displeased.
Of course, I knew those words of Haron’s were sincere.
Because for him, the more survivors in the trial, the better.
“But promises must be kept. As per the rules, the group with the lowest score will be excluded from the Seonghwajeon.”
At the same time as his words, one group vanished in an instant.
People couldn’t help but feel a faint tension at that sight.
Toward such people, Haron opened his mouth in a calm tone.
“Please do not worry too much. From the next trial, the rule eliminating the lowest-scoring group will be removed. More importantly, it is time to give rewards now.”
Rewards!
Honestly, I had been looking forward to this.
After all, I had sent the robots to the gate to take first place and receive the second trial’s reward.
I waited for the reward to appear before my eyes with an expectant heart.
At that moment, a notification window rose before my eyes.
[800,000 points are given as a reward.]
[The Rare-grade item Shield of Parma is given as a reward.]
Along with the rising notification window, white particles gathered before my eyes and an item appeared.
And the moment the item appeared, my face couldn’t help but harden.
Because it was not the item I had wanted.
‘Why is this…’
The Shield of Parma is a usable item, if one were to say so.
Because it is an item that reflects an opponent’s attack back.
But it was not an item I particularly needed, nor was it the item I had seen in the game.
Because in the game, a different item had been given as a reward for the second trial.
Then, someone’s voice was heard in my head.
It was Haron speaking to me.
‘Survivor, is there a problem?’
‘Is this the reward?’
‘It is, but…’
Seeing Haron’s face, I could finally recall what I had missed.
Am I an idiot?
Yes, this is a different region.
Precisely, it is a different region from where the Seonghwajeon began in the game.
Since the region is different and the proxy overseeing the Seonghwajeon is different, I should have anticipated that the rewards given would be different.
That thought only occurred to me now.
“Tch.”
I smacked my lips in regret.
It can’t be helped.
It wasn’t the item I wanted, but I should be grateful for what I received.
I had lost half the purpose for participating in the Seonghwajeon, but the rewards given were not yet over.
Of course, the rewards I knew of wouldn’t appear, but who knows?
Perhaps a more useful reward than what was seen in the game might appear.
Moreover, it was clear that the next reward given would be the same even if the region was different.
Haron took his eyes off me, looked around at the people, and opened his mouth.
“Next, I shall give rewards to the survivors who safely completed the second trial.”
With his words, some kind of window rose before every survivor.
A notification window engraved with numerous slots—in other words, an inventory window.
“It is an inventory window. You may think of it as a warehouse where you can conveniently store your items.”
Following Haron’s words, I placed the Shield of Parma into the inventory window.
It is common in games, but a useful function in reality.
Because no matter how heavy an item is, you can put it in the inventory and carry it conveniently.
“Now then, it seems all rewards have been given, so I shall grant you a rest period. The next trial will be announced at 9 AM.”