NOVEL NEXT chapter 13
13 – 1st Floor, Course Ticket Battle.
“I’ll give you some time to discuss with your team members as a break!”
The explanation was over.
The rules of the course ticket battle were simple, so there wasn’t much to talk about.
A huge waiting room.
Each team gathered together.
“Daehyup. I want to hear an explanation about the situation earlier.”
Eun Seoryeong approached me and asked in a soft voice.
What should I say?
‘Honestly?’
Is there any benefit in telling the truth?
‘No matter how I see it, there’s only loss.’
Silence was golden.
“Are you really a Black Dragon? Not a Black Dragon Chaeju or a Black Dragon Munju, but a real Black Dragon?”
“…What if I say yes?”
I watched the dragon manager’s reaction.
Would he get angry upon hearing the lie about impersonating his kin?
Honestly, I was a bit scared.
Whether it was fortunate or not, the dragon manager didn’t seem particularly interested in me.
He seemed busy whispering among themselves.
I glanced at Eun Seoryeong and asked.
I put on the most arrogant expression of my life.
“Are you thinking of attacking like other martial artists?”
“……”
This is different from when we were making the crew.
They had set out to ‘hunt’ the weakest Earthlings to gain even the slightest bit of power.
‘Challenging me knowing that I’m strong? That’s even more insane.’
Rather, this side is abnormal.
‘…She doesn’t seem like that kind of woman.’
Eun Seoryeong of the Jeomchang Sect.
Baeksong of the Hwasan Sect.
Both called themselves Taoists.
Taoists.
People who cultivate the Way.
‘It’s probably similar to Buddha.’
Come to think of it, Eun Seoryeong’s benevolent impression fits perfectly.
The same goes for Baeksong.
They feel different from the martial artists who simply go around wielding swords.
But that doesn’t mean I can let my guard down.
“No. I didn’t think of doing that.”
When I glared at her with a rather sharp look, Eun Seoryeong waved her hand and strongly denied it.
“Why would I do that when I’ve become a comrade with Oh Daehyeop?”
“……”
“I was just curious. Honestly, isn’t it fascinating? A black dragon, in this world. So let’s not glare at me like that.”
Eun Seoryeong smiled warmly, easing the atmosphere.
Thanks to that, I could also relax my eyes.
“By the way, what should we do now?”
Eun Seoryeong took the initiative to start the conversation.
“Do you have any intention of participating in the competition for the course ticket, Baek Do?”
At Eun Seoryeong’s question, Baek Song showed an ambiguous reaction.
It seemed difficult to answer readily.
‘I’d rather not participate, but I can’t bear the loss that would come from it.’
That conflict was evident on Baek Song’s face.
‘How should I persuade him?’
While pondering, Eun Seoryeong spoke first.
“Considering what has happened in the Tower of Struggle so far and what that manager said… It seems that those who do not participate will face tremendous disadvantages.”
A challenging assertion contrasting with her gentle tone.
Eun Seoryeong was thinking the same as me.
“…I understand that. But…”
“I think I know what you’re worried about, Baek Do.”
“……”
“You’re a master of the orthodox martial arts. You don’t like the idea of wielding your sword to satisfy personal desires, do you? It’s like having a thorn stuck in your throat.”
“……”
Eun Seoryeong whispered as she subtly approached Baek Song.
She continued speaking while patting his shoulder.
“I understand. Baek Do is a true seeker of the Way.”
Judging by appearances alone, Eun Seoryeong looks about six or seven years older than Baek Song.
‘There’s a subtle difference.’
I didn’t ask precisely, but…
Eun Seoryeong seemed to be in her mid-to-late twenties, while Baek Song felt like he was in his early twenties.
‘Like a senior and a freshman…’
Maybe that’s why.
It feels like a senior in the fourth year is advising a newly admitted freshman.
“We are not participating in the competition to obtain the course ticket.”
“…What?”
“Can you see that?”
Just as I was about to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Eun Seoryeong pointed somewhere.
At the tip of her finger was a group of martial artists who looked like bad guys no matter who saw them.
“Those guys. They’re from the Black Path. Trash that has been disturbing the lives of people somewhere in the Central Plains.”
“……”
“As righteous martial artists of the White Path, shouldn’t we stop them? We can’t let them take what they want.”
Black Path, White Path.
Bad guys, good guys.
Eun Seoryeong skillfully presented a rationalization.
“Baek Do-woo. Think about it. What will happen if that group of heretics over there gets the right to attend the lectures?”
“……”
“They’ll become unimaginably strong for us. Then who will suffer? The Jeomchang Sect? The Hwasan Sect? No. Innocent people will get hurt.”
Are you still not going?
If it felt like the last words were omitted, was it just my imagination?
“…Alright. Let’s participate in the battle for the lecture rights.”
It didn’t take long for Baek Song to declare surrender.
Eun Seoryeong, who finally got the answer she wanted.
Out of courtesy, she asked me too.
“What do you think, Oh Daehyup?”
“Of course, we have to participate.”
In a low, subdued voice, I upheld the dignity of the Black Dragon.
One hour of rest.
During that time, the players decided whether to participate.
「More players than I expected have expressed their intention to participate. It means that everyone was secretly coveting the lecture rights. That’s why I like quick-witted guys.」
The dragon manager seemed to be quite pleased with the current situation.
「The size of the field will be adjusted according to the number of participants. So don’t worry too much.」
“……”
No one responded.
Everyone waited for the battle with tense faces.
“Ready! I wish everyone a safe return!”
Lose your course ticket and you’re out.
Elimination means death.
But return safely?
It was absurd.
Tzzzz-.
The players are transported.
My body, Eun Seoryeong, and Baek Song also scattered into blue particles.
When I opened my eyes.
I was standing in the field the administrator mentioned.
“Alone?”
I thought I would fall with my teammates.
“Did you think the course ticket battle was a team event? Wrong! The course ticket battle is an individual event! Each person must collect their own course tickets!”
“Damn it.”
“Of course, you can stick with your teammates! But I don’t know if time will allow it!”
With the administrator’s words, a timer appeared in one corner of my vision.
[239:59]
The course ticket battle lasts for 4 hours.
But if you want to meet your teammates, you have to worry about time?
‘…How wide is this field?’
Searching for Eun Seoryeong and Baek Song is a bad plan.
Securing course tickets first is the best plan.
I checked the course ticket in my hand.
[Super Special Lecture Course Ticket! (Alpha)]
I started with Alpha, now I need to find Beta and Omega.
‘There are two ways.’
Pick up the ones hidden all over the field as the dragon administrator told us.
Or, take them from other players.
“Hey.”
There was a player nearby just in time.
They dropped so many players into the field that it was inevitable to run into someone wherever you went.
“Hello?”
He approached me, pretending to know me.
Hair sticking out in all directions, awkwardly dyed highlights, not easy to pull off.
‘…Does he not recognize me?’
I thought I had left a strong impression, especially with the Hatchling Breath.
Was I mistaken?
He waved the course ticket gently and said,
“That course ticket. Won’t you tell me which part it is?”
The way he swaggered over was unusual.
The combination of a suit jacket casually draped over his shoulders and a giant katana was too unfamiliar.
“If it’s the same part as mine, I’ll let you live.”
“…Let me live?”
“Yeah. I’m Beta.”
Looking at his course ticket, it was definitely different from mine.
“You’re not going to tell me?”
“It’s a different part.”
“Really?”
His demeanor changed instantly.
He raised the katana and pointed it at me.
“Then I guess I’ll have to kill you.”
A twisted grin spread across his face.
At that moment.
I felt a vibration under my feet.
I quickly took a backstep.
Boom-!
A small explosion.
The dirt ground shook, and something shot up from the earth.
‘A mole?’
Continuing the momentum from the backstep, I kicked the mole that appeared right in front of me.
Thwack-!
A light roundhouse kick landed squarely on the torso.
Just because it was a light kick didn’t mean the damage was light.
‘Because I wrapped it with a powerful strike.’
The squishy sensation and the bursting feeling.
Both were felt simultaneously at the tip of my foot.
The mole was dead.
“Reaper!”
The guy screamed in a voice filled with agony.
“You b*stard! My Reaper, Reaper…!”
Was the name of the mole that just died Reaper?
“Reaper’s revenge!”
The man lowered his stance and gripped his katana.
A sharp momentum as if he would draw his sword at any moment.
‘Ah. This could be dangerous.’
I didn’t feel the same intimidation as I did with the white man I met in Crew Making.
But my body warned me not to let my guard down.
‘…I should use Hatchling Breath.’
The duration of the battle for the course ticket was 4 hours.
The cooldown of the Hatchling Breath, which received a racial specialization bonus, was 3 hours.
With this one shot, I would get Beta, and with the next shot, I would get Omega.
A perfect plan.
Fwooosh-!
I put it into action immediately.
Darkness swallowed him.
[Absorbing the soul of Kurakane Shuntaro (Psychic).]
[Intelligence increases by 0.01.]
So he was a psychic.
I didn’t know what kind of ability it was, but it was intriguing.
At that moment.
A sudden message.
[Soul System has successfully implemented a part of Kurakane Shuntaro’s soul.]
[You can acquire ‘Animal Empathy (E)’.]
“Huh?”
A status window popped up.
【Skills in possession – (2/2)】
【Smash (F)】 【Hatchling Breath (C)】
I didn’t even choose anything, but the process was rapidly progressing.
[Would you like to delete Smash (F) and acquire Animal Empathy (E)?]
I shook my head urgently.
It was an absolutely unacceptable proposal.
‘Animal Empathy? I don’t need that kind of thing.’
[The remnants of Kurakane Shuntaro’s soul are scattering.]
“……”
Seeing the last message, I snapped back to reality.
“This… Killing players doesn’t just give you stats.”
The tower’s will to kill and be killed seemed too blatant.
I gritted my teeth.