“Does anyone know about the privileges?”
“...Have you seen Osiris and his squad?”
“I would rather die. I can’t live like that. The high-ranking people told me that Osiris looks the same way.”
“Stop talking about them behind their backs. If you have the guts to say that in front of them, I’ll call you my father forever.”
“Hehe. Go on. Why did you mention Osiris?”
“Those from Revolucion (12) and the World Awakened Association(1) during Act Two, Stage One experienced something that we haven’t. Oh damn. Does no one know about this? This is disappointing.”
“You are talking about something that happened ages ago. How do you know that it was something we haven’t been through? I’m not asking this because I don’t trust you. We should be careful. There are a couple who died because of false rumors.”
“I heard about them.”
“From one of them?
“Yes.”
“From one of the guys in Osiris’s squad?”
“No, the one from the other side.”
“The resident in the Savior’s city?”
“Yes.”
“Wait, let’s get the facts straight. Are you a fanatic too…?”
“I don’t know, but there was nothing wrong with what they said. Now we all know that. But does that matter?”
“I’m asking if you are a fanatic or not.”
“No.”
“You’d better make sure. If you are a fanatic, then get out of here. If not, then just sit down. If you are going to leave, then make sure you know this one thing that you have already put your foot in here.”
“Do we really have to continue this conversation? If you don’t trust me, then I have no reason to trust you.”
“Sorry.”
“You guys seem to despise the residents from the Savior’s city…”
“We don’t hate them. We just think they are creepy.”
“Anyway, they were the ones who had been with Odin the most, and many secrets have been revealed by them. From the reason why the malicious parts of the System are gone, to the existence of the Seven Demon Kings.”
A quick look at .com will leave you more fulfilled.
“So what?”
“Listen to me until the end. You all must know that Act Two, Stage One was an important turning point, so I won’t comment on that. However, it’s a surprise that you don’t know anything about this. I can’t believe strong men like you are not aware of the horrors of those days.”
“...”
“In Act Two, Stage One, the so-called ‘top stages’ were destroyed. According to the people who are good at estimating, about twenty percent of the entire stage was evaporated through a single quest.”
“Quest?”
“It was a quest where three people were pulled into one group and only one out of the tree could survive.”
“Not any other time, but in Act Two, Stage One? The fucking shitty moment when we suffered from neverending night raids and traps? Well, the monsters will experience that shit now. Hehe.”
“What happened next is obvious. Even if the survivors cooperated, they still wouldn’t be able to protect the cities. They couldn’t afford to break the Light Pillar, even a small trap. Thus, all the leading groups at the time were exterminated.”
“Hehehe. All those strong players on the ‘top stages’ died back then? That’s something.”
“Maybe we were able to come all the way here because they are gone. Anyway, do you think you can complete Act Two, Stage One with a two-thirds reduction in force? Basically, what I’m trying to say is that Revolucion (12) and the World Awakened Association (1) were the stages that should have disappeared at that time.”
“But they managed to survive.”
“Only nine thousand people out of seventy thousand survived in Revolucion (12), and only ninety came out alive in Osiris’s World Awakened Association (1).”
“Gosh. Those who sit in the semicircle are different species from us. Osiris, Mary, …”
“First of all, I’ll put the Savior aside. I don’t want to say anything about him. But how did he, Osiris, survive Act Two, Stage One? In a situation where he must have died…”
“Oh, that’s what you are talking about? The Privilege?”
“The power to resist fate. The ability to create miracles. That’s how I want to define privileges. Fifty challenger boxes? Quest start items? A great deal of XP… Should I only focus on privileges?”
“Privilege of ‘Fast Growth’...even the name is dope. Don’t you think I’ll be able to reach the challenger section right away if I get all those XP from the Privilege? By the way, his whereabouts are crucial…”
They continued to whisper.
***
「You have seen it yourself, haven’t you?」
「I was only thinking about rewards back then. I was staring at Mary’s neck, but she only killed Rodriguez.」
「That’s good. Otherwise, no one would have been able to intervene, including me. But you shouldn’t be relieved too early. Mary is trying to rule by punishing Rodriguez as a warning to the others. And think about it. Mary’s Mind Control skill doesn’t seem to have a cooldown time. The quantity doesn’t matter to her. She will make us kill ourselves and fight for her like the way she made the Baclans turn on each other. In fact, it’s very dangerous for us to even have this discussion.」
「Then, how did May die[1]? Moreover, Mary’s Empathy ability is probably even better now than it was before. I wonder if she can get quality sleep at night. It is bound to be fatal to her. What if those with mental attributes go crazy?」
「Then, they cause slaughter.」
「The shit show that Mary will cause will be even more devastating, so I’ll find the opportunity then. If I succeed, I will distribute half of the fifty challenger boxes to you guys. All items. I’m not going to take them all by myself.」
「I trust you, and I have never violated your rules.」
「I’m also afraid of Mary. She is fucking scary. But I want the items from killing her more than anything.」
「I understand, but I want you to stop. At times like this, you should show loyalty to Mary so that everything comes up rosy for now. Everyone knows that Mary is the savior’s girl, sir. Also, do you think those who sit in the semicircle would overlook this?」
「That’s why this must end before they arrive. Before they take up the reward. It will be after the first weakening.」
「I don’t think so. You should never show any sign until it is confirmed that the fight between him and Doom Deijire ended in victory. Of course, there’s no way to hide one’s feelings, but that’s what has happened to Mary anyway… 」
「I have no intention of moving hastily until Mary starts slaughtering people.」
「No, sir. Even if that happens, you shouldn’t think about quests only for survival. People sitting in the semicircle have stronger ties than you think.」
「Some people have deluded themselves that they were better than others. But why would they have died at my hands if they were better than me? Why didn’t they get my spot?」
「I am so sorry. I was being presumptuous.」
「Do you believe that Doom Kaos is focusing all of his malicious intention on the savior?」
「Yes, sir.」
「So why do you think the System has given out an assassination quest at this point? Because the savior is up against Doom Dejire? According to the logic of the ‘residents of the savior’s city,’ he passed away.」
「If Doom Dejire defeated Odin, then why is it so quiet? Oh... I… I crossed the line again. I’m sorry. I’ll figure out more about the situation.」
「Is this quiet? You will find out sooner or later. If neither Odin nor Doom Dejire appear, it means Odin is dead.」
「Yes, that’s correct.」
「Then, who will succeed him in power? Mary? Osiris? The King of Hell? Lee Tae-Han? I’m certain that the guy who kills Mary and takes the reward will be the one. This is not limited to those who sit in the semicircle. This also applies to us, the thirty people who sit in the five rows in front of them. It’s possible since there are fifty challenger boxes. It still makes sense even if I share the half with you.」
「That’s right.」
「All the strong men of the corps will come to kill Mary. They will come before or after the first weakening by breaking through monsters.」
「Yes.」
「You probably wonder if Mary could ever live to the end and occupy what had been Odin’s power.」
「No, she’s become the public enemy, so I don’t see that happening.」
「So, we have five more days. Exactly 5 days 18 hours 22 minutes 40 seconds. The time left until the first weakening is our only chance to kill Mary.」
「Yes.」
「But we should also go through the scenario if Mary doesn’t kill anyone during that period. We should also not question whether Odin really lost or not.」
「Give me the order, please.」
「If nothing happens until the first weakening, then go through the central area faster than anyone else and check if Odin is actually dead.」
「If he is still fighting against Doom Dejire or if he is there for any other reason, I will return as soon as possible and report to you.」
「Yes, you can take all the necessary supplies like A-Class insignias. Mary wouldn’t be able to afford to think that far.」
「Let me say one last thing. Things will go quickly if Odin was killed or, if, for whatever reason, Doom Dejire meddles with us.」
「I will prepare contingencies for something like that. We should admit that our group is inferior to others now, but if we take advantage of the preparation time, we will have an opportunity.」
「Yes, sir.」
「Trust me. I will remove Mary and sit in the center of the semicircle.」
Crack!
***
Yeon-Hee killed an executive to set an example, but people continued planning on how to backstab her.
Fucking bastards.
Those who only heard about the greatness of Sense in the challenger section didn’t know how far it could be increased. They were trying their best to whisper, and some even passed notes to converse with each other.
I could hear pencils squeaking everywhere, but there was a moment when all the sounds disappeared. It happened when Yeon-Hee suppressed her Sense, which was very dangerous.
[You have blocked Empathy.]
She even turned off her trait, but fortunately, she did it temporarily as she knew the consequences of dropping her Sense to the level of civilians. In the meantime, Yeon-Hee had been recovering her bright personality. I was concerned that she would become negative again.
“Ah, I can’t stand this. I have no choice but to check. What? I shouldn’t go to the central area?” she mumbled.
Of course, she wasn’t responding to Kciphos as it couldn’t talk to her. She was just pretending to have a conversation with her pet.
“Then, what should I do? I’m going to lose my mind if I stay here longer. Again and again… No. They don’t deserve to live, but I really don’t want to do that. No!”
Yeon-Hee couldn’t sleep that night.
The next day, Location Seekers began to pile up in her room as her subordinates were collecting them as she had ordered. However, she knew that she couldn’t retrieve all of them in this world.
These items were naturally destroyed if the owners died or the duration of the quest ended. However, there were bound to be cases where people were reported as dead and were actually alive with the Location Seeker.
There were at least a hundred thousand people in Yeon-Hee’s corps, and if there were unrecovered seekers, then they were definitely aiming at her back. On the surface, it seemed like things were going smoothly and quietly. Even the desperation of the Baclans, who tried breaking the boundary[2] on the first floor and the Awakened trying to protect the boundary looked like nothing worse would happen.
However, there were thousands of eyes chasing her inside the boundary, and it was noisy with sounds coming from everyone. Yeon-Hee was drying up. She was barely holding herself by compromising her Sense and Empathy, but she was getting weakened as she lost her appetite.
The incident happened a day before the first weakening.
1. Not a typo, this person named May apparently existed ☜
2. The multiple layers of 'trap' in the red zone (light pillar) should actually be 'boundary' instead. We'll be changing all instances of 'trap' in this context from ch258. Apologies for the confusion! ☜