Chapter 169: 169

Chapter 169

[If you move to the ‘Gwanghwamun D-Tower’, your survival chances will increase.]

The System’s kindness didn’t end there.

[The Primordial Fog will disappear for a set time.]

My vision began to clear. The Primordial Fog that had muddled my sense of direction and kept me from seeing no further than my nose disappeared, slowly revealing the tragedy around me.

‘Many people… died.’

The street was already littered with bodies. A few Lycanthropes and Goblins were ripping into the corpses. Smoke was billowing from one of the scattered cars.

Fwip–!

I hurled a dagger. It was just an ordinary dagger you could buy from the Beginner Shop, but it was more than enough to kill one of the feasting Goblins.

‘The System is being too kind.’

Before I regressed, almost everyone longed to be a Player. I was, of course, one of them. I envied them even while knowing it was a pipe dream. ‘Playing’ was a treasure I could not possess, and the only refuge in my life. That was why I knew a little more about Playing and the System than the average person. No, I knew a lot more. Researching Playing was pretty much the only hobby I had.

‘It’s very rare for the System to be this kind.’

Such cases were few and far between. The System prioritized ‘scenario progress’ above all else. That was what humanity had determined over ten years. The Guardians were a diverse cast with varying dispositions, but not the System.

‘If something exists, it’s because the System requires it, or it’s for the rules. That is how it operates.’

The System had several premises called ‘Rules’. It was because the System had several absolutes that I was able to talk to Senia at the beginning of the Tutorial and could keep my head high, even when opposing Yoohyun’s Streamer, Neptune. Though there were just a few of them, and humanity wasn’t able to figure out all of them, it was a definite fact that such guidelines existed.

‘The System wants the scenario to proceed.’

I put myself in the System’s shoes.

‘I would want to make the scenario progress as quickly as possible.’

From that, I could tell.

‘It’s a trap.’

A TIP wasn’t being given out because the difficulty was ‘Low’. This was a trap, the kind that lured in its prey before coming down with a snap. A creature on the level of a Fire Giant couldn’t be summoned for a mere flash scenario.

‘It can’t summon a Fire Giant, so it will hunt the prey with a slightly weaker monster.’

The System would lure the Players to one spot and hunt them. There was precedent for this kind of event. In the past, something like this happened in the ‘Battle of the Maldives’ that made Shin Yeonseo’s name of Sword Empress famous worldwide.

Many people were swarming towards the front doors of the D-Tower, people who didn’t know this was a trap.

That was probably the kind of scenario this was. If the objective of this scenario was ‘slaughter’, then we could not avoid that. You could think of this as a sort of natural disaster in a world following the advent of new culture. Just like how humans could not block a tsunami, we could not block the progress of this scenario.

‘However—’

Humanity couldn’t block a tsunami, but we could make a shield. We couldn’t stop earthquakes, but we developed technology to resist them.

‘I have to do what I can.’

I couldn’t stop what was to come, but I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. That was how humanity had survived all this time, and how we would continue to survive.

I moved towards the front doors to let the people know that this place was dangerous, that this was a trap created by the System. Whether they believed me or not came second. What I could do right now was ‘warn’. It was their choice to believe that warning or not.

But in front of the doors, I saw a certain person.

“You think you can just barge in here?”

I knew that face. The Gatekeeper Lee Sungcheol. He wasn’t a Ranker or that strong a Player, but his name and appearance were quite well known thanks to his unique ability.

“If you want to go in, you’d better pay the toll.”

I saw something. Something like a transparent barrier appeared in the front doors of the D-Tower, a thin barrier imbued with a weak power you couldn’t see with the naked eye.

‘The Entry Blocking authority.’

In truth, it was a bit iffy to call it an ‘authority’. That was a word that applied to things like the ‘powerful wish’ or the Shepherd Boy’s ‘fabricated authority’. The barrier Lee Sungcheol put up was too weak to be called an authority.

‘He’s causing trouble, even here.’

In the past, Lee Sungcheol caused problem after problem and then disappeared without a trace one day. The prevailing theory was that he was eliminated by Taeguk Shield, but there was no way to confirm it.

Lee Sungcheol smiled with an air of ease.

“Yep, you can’t get in. Cough up your money. I’ll take both Coins and items.”

The crowd protested loudly.

“What gives you the right to do something like this?!”

That moment, I saw it—the ‘weak authority’ covering the front doors pulsed with killing intent. I just watched from the back. It might be killing intent, but it was weak. An arrow shot out from the doors, flying towards the man who complained.

“Ngh…!”

The arrow wasn’t very deadly. It struck the man’s chest before turning into light and disappearing. The man fell to his knees, clutching his chest in obvious pain.

‘That’s exactly as strong as it gets.’

Lee Sangcheol’s ability was only strong enough to inflict intense pain. However, it was perfect for drawing attention.

“You crazy bastard…!”

Someone swung a sword at Lee Sangcheol.

Clang!

‘That weak authority… also includes a defensive ability.’

It was an annoying ability that could be used in front of any ‘door’. For example, at dungeon or gate entrances. At such places, Lee Sangcheol was powerful.

“Move!”

“What gives you the right to do this?!”

In the meantime, a Lycanthrope ran in and killed a few people. Many people had gathered here, the area steadily becoming more and more chaotic.

I silently watched the situation unfold.

‘It’s good for me if he draws a lot of attention.’

Even if I warned people now, no one would listen. They would all stream inside the D-Tower without heeding my warning. But what if the warning came from someone who easily dispatched the opponent no one could do anything about? Things would be a little different then.

Several people angrily complained, but Lee Sangcheol was unmoved.

“If you wanna go in so badly, give me the money.”

“Do your eyes not see the dead people over there?”

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“Sure, I can see ‘em alright.”

A tussle broke out. Several Players attacked Lee Sangchul, but he was being protected by a special ability.

Arrows shot out from the D-Tower doors.

“Gah!”

A Player fell over, clutching his eye which an arrow had struck, and blood was streaming down his face.

“You really should have listened.” Lee Sangcheol kicked the collapsed man in the face, scowling. “People never fucking listen when you say things nicely. No more warnings from now on. If you don’t listen, I’ll kill you for real.”

I knew that was an empty threat. That arrow attack just now was Lee Sangcheol’s full power. If he tried using more strength than that, the ‘weak authority’ would probably fall apart. His air of ease was just an act.

A few people came to terms with reality.

“H-How much do you want?”

“Hmm, about as much as you think your life is worth?”

Another few protested and were taken down by arrows. As I watched, I was once again convinced that I was right.

‘Even though there are this many people here…

A crowd of this size should draw aggro, but no monsters came, other than the Lycanthrope at the beginning.

‘If there’s a limit to the power the System can materialize in this scenario…’

It was highly likely that power was all concentrated in the D-Tower. Which meant, as long as you didn’t go into the D-Tower, there was a high chance you could successfully survive for 24 hours.

The winner of the current situation was Lee Sangcheol.

Everyone was focused on him. I slowly walked over. In the Tutorial Field, I swore that I would never live like I had in the past. That I didn’t want to live like that ever again. The current me was different from the person I had been in the Tutorial Field.

I stopped in front of Lee Sangcheol.

[Using the special skill Cognitive Dissonance.]

* * *

Translator – Lei

Proofreader – Ash

* * *

Lee Sangcheol believed he was the true king of the hill. At least, until a ‘monster’ appeared.

“Gugh…!”

That monster suddenly showed up, ripped his innate ability [Entry Blocking] to pieces with a swipe of his sword, and sent him sprawling with a single punch.

“Urgh… sp-spare me,” he squealed, dazed out of his wits. “Sp-Spare me!”

Kim Hyukjin needed to draw people’s attention, so he intentionally made the scene more violent. He ground into Lee Sangcheol’s face with his foot.

“I have a warning to give you all.”

This place had long since descended into chaos. Even though Hyukjin had crushed Lee Sangcheol with overwhelming force, there were just too many people.

[Using the special skill Mettle.]

Kim Hyukjin’s level was 38. No one here had a higher level than him. The area in front of the D-Tower instantly hushed. Everyone froze in place like frogs before a snake.

A pin-drop silence that didn’t suit the pandemonium descended on the crowd.

‘It’s much more effective than I thought.’

Put another way, the level of the Players was lower than he thought. The Unawakened were one thing, but the Players around him were completely terrified.

“The D-Tower is dangerous. It is a trap created by the System.”

Someone mustered his courage. “Why should we believe you?”

“You don’t have to believe me.” Hyukjin gestured to the door. “Those of you who want to go in, feel free to do so. I won’t stop you.”

“I’ve warned you, make no mistake. Our goal is to survive for 24 hours. We just need to survive.” Hyukjin pointed to the buildings in the vicinity. “See the nearby buildings? There are many places to hide. The monsters aren’t very intelligent, so as long as you hide yourselves well, you can definitely survive.”

This was all the warning he could give.

“What if you’re tricking us and planning to go inside?”

So many people out there were prone to overcomplicating things. Hyukjin had no need to do that, nor did he have a reason to. It would be great if they would just believe him, but the world wasn’t so simple. And to be honest, it wasn’t all that strange that they doubted him. It was also true that the person on the other end of that doubt, Hyukjin, wasn’t feeling terribly happy either.

Hyukjin asked back, “Me?”

He walked forward. As someone with Observer’s Eye, he could see more than others.

‘The man wasn’t able to say a thing to Lee Sangcheol.’

Summary: Scaredy Cat Attention-Seeker Enthralled by Reasonable Doubt

His summary was extremely long, an indication of how complicated the man’s mental state was. Hyukjin smirked. This man was a coward who couldn’t even squeak at Lee Sungcheol, who was likely to retaliate, but he sure was loudmouthed with Kim Hyukjin, acting like he was some kind of genius.

“That’s right. Why should we believe you?”

Hyukjin went up to the man.

“I told you before,” Hyukjin said, putting a hand on the man’s shoulder. The man flinched in surprise. “You don’t have to believe me.”

He never said they had to believe him. Hyukjin casually walked past the man.

“If you want to go inside, feel free.”

He had done everything he could.

[The ‘Nameless Observer’ is observing.]

[The ‘Lady of the Scales’ finds your actions very agreeable.]

Hyukjin did his best. The choice was now up to these people.

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He continued to walk.

‘As for me…’

Thanks to the Lady of the Scales, he found ‘something else’ he needed to do here. A method to handle this flash scenario more actively than before occurred to him.

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