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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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Chapter 228: Match Fixing (6)
Great Powers.
What does it mean to be a great power in the post-Reset world?
In truth, no one had seriously pondered this concept until now.
This was because the entire human race had been thrown into a fierce survival test during the initial stages of the ‘Reset.’
On the first day of the Reset, the vast majority of people moved solely for their own survival or at most for their families, and this was not much different on the second day.
Then came the third day of the Reset.
Although there were slight differences from country to country, a sense of regional consciousness began to emerge.
Just as people in Korea rallied around the Strongest Sword and obeyed him, similar things were happening worldwide.
Then on the fourth day.
From this point, strong individuals representing each region started to form alliances.
The reason was simple: there was too much to lose by fighting recklessly.
The fact that someone had survived until the fourth day suggested a lot about their capabilities, so even those confident in their skills hesitated to pick fights.
Especially in regions like Europe, surrounded by other countries, such alliances were formed as early as the second or third day.
With “outsiders” so close by, regional and national consciousness arose almost simultaneously.
The definition of “allies” expanded from family and local residents to include fellow countrymen.
However, even then, the concept of a “great power” could not exist.
No strong individual truly knew the situation in countries on the other side of the world.
Until the fourth day, only a handful of people ventured into the night dungeons, and even those who did rarely encountered foreigners.
Then finally, on the fifth day.
Twenty of the world’s top warriors, who had maintained their “named” status and gained dungeon experience, gathered.
This was in the Batum’s Casino, the night dungeon of the fifth day.
‘…20 entrants. By some coincidence, people of all races are gathered here. This place is practically a world expo.’
In that sense.
‘Damn.’
Tuende Mussa01, the nightmare of Limpopo, kept rubbing his throbbing jaw after being hit by the Oriental07 earlier.
Perhaps this was the first time he had encountered the firepower of a great power since the Reset.
And if that were truly the case.
‘It’s humiliating, but at least I got a taste of it at a cheap price.’
Tuende felt a reluctant sense of relief.
In the post-Reset world, mistakes usually led to death.
Normally, Tuende should already be dead.
After all, he had challenged that monster who was clearing the fifth stage match.
“…Unbelievable.”
“……”
“Is that…all real?”
Everyone in the waiting room was mesmerized by the bizarre scene unfolding in Arena 1.
A guy named Jeong Yeongwoo07 from South Korea was now summoning mutants and destroying copies of the arena.
“Is summoning reinforcements a top-tier trend?”
“Shit… How many more of these guys are there?”
“Among the twenty gathered here, at least two… so, no less than 10%.”
“That’s insane. Are there really that many?”
They were all discussing ‘how many more of these guys there might be’ as they watched the arena.
The shock came firstly from realizing that despite each of them thinking they were top-ranked, they were actually far from it.
And secondly.
“We’ll be on the ground with these guys tomorrow… Mixing with them… really?”
“At least we’re learning not to fight against Korea and Romania.”
There was an instinctive sense of threat from realizing that countries with ‘these kinds of people’ would become great powers.
Previously, the ‘world’ for most was merely the tense relationships with a few neighboring countries, but today, they were experiencing the world level for the first time.
The one saving grace.
“Romania? Well. I don’t think Dragos will survive in there today.”
As someone pointed out, it was likely that Dragos from Romania wouldn’t come out of Arena 2 alive.
He was struggling against the remaining copies in the arena.
“Isn’t he the one who bet on the weak to die?”
“Come to think of it, yeah. He seems like he’ll try to kill him no matter what.”
Everyone knew that the Asian who had caught their attention was the only one who had bet on the weak to die.
Wouldn’t the guy who even beat up Mara’s knights to chase them out be able to kill a lone human left in the arena?
While everyone was betting on Dragos’s death, the last mutant in Arena 1 finally fell to the ground.
* * *
Boom!
As the giant bull running around the arena collapsed, Yeongtae punched its head and shouted.
「It’s over! This one’s the last!」
General Kim Younghyeom, who was on guard for any more incoming mutants, grimaced.
「Really? That’s good to hear.」
With that, he let out a rough cough and bristled all over.
Due to the effects of the poisonous storm Yeongwoo had unleashed, Kim Younghyeom and the other three friends were having their skin and even their bronchial tubes worn away.
“I apologize. I didn’t realize it would affect allies as well…”
Yeongwoo bowed his head in apology.
He had deactivated the poisonous storm as soon as his friends screamed upon entering the arena, but it was a belated move.
「At least we scored a lot of points with this.」
Kim Taejoon, always the optimist, managed to say this while leaning against the arena wall, panting heavily.
「This is all good, but there’s no early exit button.」
General Kim looked up at the sky and grumbled.
Then, noticing the broadcast of the ongoing battle in Arena 2, he asked Yeongwoo.
「What are you going to do about that guy?」
“Ah.”
Yeongwoo looked up at the broadcast.
There was Dragos, looking like he had crossed the line between life and death several times.
While his prowess shown in the first and second stages was impressive, it was not enough to handle twenty mutants.
‘At this rate, he’ll die on his own.’
Yeongwoo pondered for a moment.
The first-place monopoly for this dungeon was already secured.
The remaining issue was whether to kill Dragos with a laser or let the dungeon kill him.
If he chose the former, he would gain a lot of evil karma points and a few Romanian titles.
However, he would also acquire the stigma of territorialism, spreading the infamous name of Jeong Yeongwoo07 in Romania.
On the other hand, if he chose the latter, there would be no special gains but no complications either.
A clean finish.
But the choice was not really his to make.
“Huh?”
「Oh?」
「Hey, Yeongwoo! That guy’s dying!」
Before Yeongwoo could make a decision, and before his friends could return to fire the laser, Dragos had died.
“Damn, he died in the meantime.”
Yeongwoo watched Dragos’s body being swept away by the mutants, a complex expression on his face.
‘Well, maybe he wasn’t destined to die by my hand anyway.’
In a way, this was a relief.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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With the continents set to clash today, it wasn’t beneficial to add another stigma.
Moreover, if a major world war broke out after the Pangaea incident, he would acquire foreign titles abundantly anyway.
「Stage 5, survival of the strong. Death of the weak.」
「Stage 5 complete.」
As the final match in the casino was declared complete, the ground beneath Yeongwoo’s feet began to glow brightly.
“Oh? Are we finally returning?”
And with this.
「Huh?」
「Huh, Yeongwoo?」
「Hey, is this for real?」
The ground under the feet of his three friends also turned bright white.
Since the arena was expelling all outsiders, the three who had come from the returnee’s room were also being teleported.
「Is this okay?」
General Kim asked, seeing the now blindingly white ground beneath his feet.
And then.
Flash!
The four from Arena 1 were all transported to the waiting room.
Pop, pop, pop!
They appeared with the massive silhouettes of the mutants they had just fought.
「One participant has gained one betting point.」
Though the results of the fifth-stage betting were announced, no one in the waiting room paid any attention.
“Huh… what?”
“What the heck is this?”
Everyone was busy retreating in shock at the sudden appearance of three mutants in the waiting room.
Especially since they all knew these mutants were the reinforcements of Jeong Yeongwoo07, who survived the fifth stage, no one dared to draw their swords.
This was, in essence, a show of force.
Although it was not Yeongwoo’s intention.
“Haha, one swipe of my paw, and half of you will be dead, so stay calm.”
Yeongtae, thrilled to be the center of attention for once, flashed an evil grin.
“……”
In any case, the fourteen strong individuals present had gained valuable experience.
They had seen firsthand what they would be up against if they ever faced Jeong Yeongwoo07.
「Grr…」
General Kim also made an even scarier face, thinking that some of these people might pose a threat to national defense in the future.
And finally…
Swoosh…
The bodies of Yeongwoo’s three summoned friends began to fade as their summoning time expired, dissolving into the air.
It was time for them to leave.
“Thank you for your hard work. See you again.”
Yeongwoo waved them off, and General Kim Younghyeom twitched his silver mustache as he looked at Yeongwoo.
「See you again. I look forward to seeing what kind of bizarre sight I witness next time.」
And then.
Pop!
He disappeared without a trace.
“Are… they gone?”
“How on earth do you summon mutants like that?”
With the uninvited guests gone, the participants finally started to speak.
Instead of answering the questions disguised as self-talk, Yeongwoo looked at the system message that appeared in his view.
[Jeong Yeongwoo07]
|Betting Points: 5
|Current Rank: 1st
‘Finally.’
He had achieved the long-desired first place.
‘Now all that’s left is the settlement. The key is whether there will be any bonus rewards.’
As Yeongwoo stared into the air with expectant eyes, the completion message, along with the dungeon information, appeared as usual.
Ping!
[Batum’s Casino]
|Dungeon Grade: Rare
|Difficulty: C
|Recommended Participants: 20
「The dungeon has been completed.」
「Survivors: 15.」
‘Out of 20, only 15 made it out.’
A total of five deaths.
This would correspond to the entire participant count for an average dungeon.
The other participants in the waiting room, aware of this, let out long breaths and patted their chests in relief.
「Calculating individual scores for rewards.」
“Now it’s really over.”
“The worst dungeon ever.”
“From now on, I should avoid dungeons with a high recommended participant count.”
As the tension began to ease, the participants started to talk more.
Those who managed to rank within the top five would soon receive their rewards, and even those who didn’t make the top ranks had at least survived this crazy dungeon, which was a reward in itself.
Of course, everyone was curious about one thing in particular.
“The first place is probably… that guy.”
“Weren’t all his bets valid?”
“How many points does he have?”
The total score of the likely first-place finisher, Jeong Yeongwoo07.
Most of the people here had never seen anyone reach the maximum score of 100 points.
However, the score revealed for Yeongwoo gave everyone present another new experience.
[1st Place] Yeongwoo – Total Score: 147/100
-Group Assault
-Gambling Fraud
-Property Damage
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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