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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Round 3 Begins
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★Today's Item★
[Skull Bone Necklace]
-Category: Necklace
-Grade: Epic
-Effect: Intelligence +3, Attack Speed +1% per kill (stacks up to +25%, lasts until the end of the round)
-Durability: 500/500
-Requirement: Apprentice Grade or higher
-Description: A necklace made from the strung-together bones of an unknown skeleton.
The Skull Bone Necklace.
It was a good item that significantly boosted not only Intelligence but also Attack Speed.
'Plus, 4,600 Gold is a low price for its performance.'
It was so cost-effective that any player who had saved up a bit of gold would likely hit the buy button immediately, but…
'Surprisingly, not many people will buy it. Because of the Intelligence stat.'
Tapping on each stat in the status window brought up a detailed description.
The Intelligence stat was useful, increasing magic damage, mental power, and cognitive speed.
'But for physical classes, it often seems useless. Precisely because it raises magic damage.'
For that reason, physical classes would hesitate to buy an item with Intelligence.
Even if the increased attack speed was tempting.
'The reverse is also true. It's not a very appealing item for magic-using classes either.'
That was because of the attack speed option.
'There's no need for attack speed when you hunt mainly with skills.'
Thus, the Skull Bone Necklace was an item shunned by both sides.
'For me, though, it's the perfect item.'
For a hybrid class like the Reaper, both Intelligence and Attack Speed were important.
That made it a perfect fit for Ryu Min.
It was also the item he had expected to appear today.
However, there was an unexpected problem.
'I have more gold left over than I thought.'
His original plan was to buy the epic necklace and then use the remaining gold to get other pieces of equipment.
'A helmet, gloves, shoes, and two rings. Buying them all as Normal grade would cost 5,000 Gold.'
Although he could only afford Normal-grade items, it was better than wearing nothing, so that had been his plan.
But after running the numbers, he realized he had more gold left than he'd anticipated.
'Even if I buy all the remaining gear as Normal grade, I'll still have 9,000 Gold left. In previous regressions, I usually had between 2,000 and 5,000 Gold left over…'
His calculations were thrown off because he'd unintentionally hit the jackpot with the gold pouches.
This was why Ryu Min was belatedly flustered.
'Wait, so if I don't buy the Normal gear and just get the epic necklace…?'
If he used the 50% discount coupon and spent only 2,300 Gold?
'That means I'll have 14,000 Gold left, doesn't it?'
The unexpectedly large amount left Ryu Min deep in thought.
'If I just earn another 6,000 Gold, I'll have 20,000. Then I can buy another common skill.'
Instead of buying Normal gear, it would be better to save up more gold.
That way, he could buy a common skill sooner.
'I can move my future plans forward, too.'
Having reached that conclusion, Ryu Min used the discount coupon to purchase the Skull Bone Necklace.
[You have used the 50% discount coupon for Today's Item.]
[You have purchased the Skull Bone Necklace for 2,300 Gold.]
He had 13,949 Gold remaining.
He put off buying the Normal gear.
He decided to earn another 6,000 Gold in Round 3 and buy a common skill.
'Earning 6,000 Gold won't be that hard.'
Fortunately, a lot of monsters appeared in Round 3.
That meant plenty of opportunities to earn gold.
'Besides, I'll be able to stack up the Skull Bone Necklace's attack speed bonus quickly.'
This was why he had bought the epic item.
The corners of Ryu Min's mouth lifted into a smirk.
He couldn't wait for Round 3 to begin.
And as time flowed…
The day inevitably arrived.
* * *
March 1st.
The time had come, unchanging.
'Round 3 has begun.'
Jo Joong-sik looked around.
The scenery of the town, which was nothing short of ruins, was quite striking.
'What kind of mission is it this round, starting in a place like this?'
As he curiously scanned the town, he saw people appearing with a flash of light.
Most of their expressions were grim, realizing they had been dragged to another world yet again.
But Jo Joong-sik was different.
He actually smiled faintly as he watched the people.
After all, he had become this zone's representative.
He now held immense power.
'If I wanted to, I could work all these people like slaves?'
Jo Joong-sik's lips stretched into a wide grin, but it was short-lived.
Remembering what the angel had done last round, his face crumpled.
'That damn angel bastard. He did that just to screw me over!'
By blabbing about the limits of his authority, he had only made things difficult for himself.
'If he hadn't mentioned the 10-use limit, I could've had these people wrapped around my finger!'
Jo Joong-sik was worried.
He wondered if the players, now aware of his authority's limited uses, would look down on him.
If they would defy him.
And just as he feared.
"That's our zone representative, right? Life is a Documentary."
"What was his real name again? I heard he's some kind of gang boss."
"He even threatened us with a knife to make us vote for him last time."
"Did he just swing it? He killed someone without batting an eye."
"And he still has the nerve to show up, trying to survive."
"Someone like Black Scythe should have been the representative, not a murderer like him."
"Quiet, he'll hear you. Especially since he has that authority power."
"Who cares? It has limits, so there's no need to be scared."
"Right. He only has 10 uses, so he can't just use it recklessly."
The people whispered amongst themselves, looking at Jo Joong-sik.
Jo Joong-sik glared at them and shouted.
"Will you shut up? I can hear you, you sons of bitches!"
"Why are you cursing at us?"
"You think we can't curse? Tch."
"What? Who was that just now? Who said that?"
He heard the mumbling, but with so many people, he couldn't tell exactly who had spoken.
Jo Joong-sik's face contorted with rage.
The dignity of the zone representative had hit rock bottom.
All because the limits of his authority had been exposed.
'Fuck, I knew this would happen. Fucking bastards, fucking angel bastard!'
Since he had become the representative through coercion and threats, no one had a good opinion of him.
Except for one person.
"Uh, g-greetings!"
Suddenly, a large man approached and bowed a full 90 degrees. Jo Joong-sik glanced at his nickname first.
"Hwang Yong-min? Who the hell are you?"
"Life is a Documentary-nim! No, Boss Jo Joong-sik of the Joongsik Gang, sir! I respect you!"
"..."
Suddenly bowing his head and declaring his respect.
It was absurd, but Jo Joong-sik didn't laugh.
Instead, he asked with a wary look.
"Who are you? Calling me 'sir' makes you sound like you're in the business… what family are you from?"
"Ah, I'm not part of a family yet. I'm a young man in my twenties who hopes to become a gangster."
"What?"
Hoping to become a gangster.
'What kind of psycho is this?'
Even Jo Joong-sik had never seen someone like this, and he couldn't hide his bewilderment.
"Boss Jo Joong-sik, you are my role model. The Joongsik Gang is an organization I've always wanted to join."
"So? What do you want?"
"I want to serve you as my boss for life! Please take me in!"
Watching Hwang Yong-min prostrate himself with his large frame, Jo Joong-sik thought.
'I've seen a lot of psychos in my life, but never one like this.'
He'd seen guys show up with knives to test his skills, but never one who bowed his head in respect.
'He's got guts, I'll give him that.'
A smirk escaped Jo Joong-sik's lips.
There was no way he would dislike someone who respected him.
"Hey, get up."
"Yes, sir!"
"You don't see how everyone's looking at you?"
"I see it, sir!"
"You don't know my reputation is shot to hell?"
"I-I am aware, sir."
"And you still want to latch onto me?"
Hwang Yong-min glanced around.
People were staring at him with contempt.
"Yes! It's fine, sir!"
"Why?"
"Because I respect you, Boss. As long as I'm with you, I don't care what they think!"
"Is that so?"
A broad smile spread across Jo Joong-sik's face.
"That's an answer I like. Alright. I'll take responsibility for you and train you myself."
"Th-thank you! I am honored!"
Hwang Yong-min bowed 90 degrees again.
When he lifted his head, his face was flushed red.
He seemed genuinely moved to be under Jo Joong-sik's command.
[Is everyone gathered? Humans? Kee-hee-hee!]
Just then, the angel appeared, drawing everyone's attention.
[Looks like there are about 90 fewer of you than before. Did you get into a little squabble?]
"The number of people dropped?"
As if to answer their question, the angel flapped its wings.
└Protect the Relic for 3 Hours
[All Zones]
└Participants: 856,030,200
└Achievers: 0/214,007,550
[Current Zone ESKS45-5]
└Participants: 4,900
└Achievers: 0/1,225
"Huh? It really did go down."
The number of participants in their zone, which had been 4,988, was now 4,900.
[Humans at their prime age wouldn't just drop dead… It seems you've been fighting in the real world, too. Honestly, you humans are always at each other's throats, aren't you? Kee-hee-hee.]
"Players fought in the real world?"
"I haven't seen any news about that."
The angel's words left people bewildered, but Ryu Min's reaction was different.
'The news articles are probably already out there. They just haven't gotten much attention because they're being reported as simple murder cases.'
It hadn't become a major issue yet, but players were already secretly checking each other.
The reduced number of participants was proof of that.
'Soon, people will realize it. That Players are dangerous beings.'
Conflict between Players was inevitable.
In his 99 regressions, Ryu Min had never seen players band together in harmony.
'They were too busy seeing each other as competitors and trying to push one another out.'
They might join hands for cooperative missions, but that was always temporary.
As soon as it was over, they'd be plotting how to get rid of each other.
Even when they desperately needed to work together.
'It's not just our zone. The number of people has decreased worldwide.'
A drop of around 90 was nothing.
Far more participants would be eliminated in the future.
'And it will happen periodically.'
In the real world, if they didn't like someone, they'd immediately pull out their weapons.
All sorts of crimes would run rampant, and eventually, even ordinary people would become victims.
A world run rampant by Players was coming.
'It's not far off. Until then, I have to get as strong as possible. Power to protect myself and my sister—power so great that no one would dare challenge me.'
As Ryu Min was firming his resolve, someone shouted.
"W-wait! Look at the number of achievers for this round!"
"Angel-nim! This is strange! Is this an error?"
There were 4,900 participants, but the number of achievers was 1,225.
The number of spots, which was usually half, had been cut down to a quarter.
As the people grew flustered, the angel covered its mouth with a wing and burst into laughter.
[Kee-hee-hee-hee! Look at the flustered humans. Surprised that the number of achievers is so low? An error, you say? No, this is perfectly normal.]
"N-normal, you say!"
"What's going on, Angel-nim!"
Faced with the people's protests, the angel flashed a cruel smile.
[Have you all forgotten? The rule is that only half of you survive each round. But you all survived the last round because of the vote, didn't you? So, doesn't it make sense that only one-fourth of you will survive this round?]
"Th-that's..."
He wasn't wrong.
Considering the number of survivors there should have been, it was logical that only a quarter would survive now.
The people knew that too.
They were just in chaos because they hadn't been told beforehand.
"Only one-fourth of us can survive..."
"I knew last round was too easy."
"Damn it, I can't believe a trap like this was hidden in Round 3..."
It felt like being told this month's credit card bill was waived, only to have it added to next month's payment.
[No need to feel wronged. We're just culling the survivors we couldn't last time. Just work hard and make it into the top 25%, right?]
"..."
It was absurd, but no one could argue.
Getting on the angel's bad side could mean getting their head blown off.
They had been forced into this survival game in the first place.
As the ones in the weaker position, they had no choice but to follow the rules.
[Well then, let me explain Round 3.]
◀ ROUND 3 ▶