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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Lower Rankers in a Dilemma
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Thirty-two people had died.
Three days ago, Igor and Jacob—ranked 5th and 24th—had been killed by five lower rankers. Since then, the village reeked of blood nonstop.
The top rankers, having been ambushed once, were on high alert. They struck first at lower rankers before getting stabbed in the back, or kicked them out of their parties. The lower rankers, sensing all-out war, banded together and swarmed the outnumbered top rankers.
This was a game with rules, but lives were on the line only once. And in clashes between groups, casualties were inevitable.
Even top rankers only had about 100 more total stats—they weren't invincible against lower rankers. Fighting 1 against 2 made survival a long shot.
With no clean victories where everyone survived, both attackers and defenders bled out, cooling the heated frenzy of both sides.
After days of killing and ambushing, things settled into a stalemate. They'd pass each other warily in dungeons or fields, and in the village, they'd just glare with bloodshot eyes.
"Hey, you dog-eating bastard. What're you staring at?"
"...Watch your back in the dungeon. I'll rip off all your limbs to replace that arm you lost."
"Puhahaha, a punk not even in the top 70 talking big. Whine one more time and you'll lose the other arm too—keep your eyes down."
The hunter with only one arm left drew his sword.
As the two hunters squared off in the village, dozens more hunters rushed in within seconds.
"Why don't you summon your avatar too?"
"Hey, what the hell are you doing."
"Wanna go at it, coward?"
"Maledetto. I'll kill you all, you bastards."
"Oh yeah? Bring it!"
Starting with a general's avatar manifesting behind one man, dozens of shadows surged up.
"Grem! Sylph! Iq. Teutonic Sword. Pixie! Bartu! Shurgadmish! Scorpion of the Zodiac!"
Dozens of avatars and hunters faced off, grinding their teeth.
That was when it happened.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Stop it, stop, STOOOP!"
With the gunfire, every hunter's gaze snapped to one side.
Two men were visible in the distance, firing their guns into the sky. Raoul, ranked 7th, and Giovanni, 39th.
They were hunters from the real world who belonged to a mafia syndicate, having climbed Babel with their guns.
"Hey, hey, ease up. You can't even fight in the village anyway—wasting energy like that is pointless, right?"
Raoul stowed his gun back in his inventory and patted the shoulder of the nearest lower ranker.
"We're sorry~. The kids are a bit hot-blooded, you know. Fighting like maniacs any more just hurts both sides, and the guys sitting it out become top rankers by default. You don't want that either, right?"
The lower ranker facing Raoul, Guillermo, gritted his teeth.
"Come on, break it up~ Break it up~ Show's over~. Village gates open at 6 a.m. tomorrow, so if you wanna hunt early, hit the sack soon~"
Raoul and Giovanni clapped and shooed the crowd away. After a moment of mutual glaring, they dismissed their avatars and headed into empty houses in the village.
Once everyone had dispersed, only Guillermo remained standing there.
Blood dripped from his clenched fist.
'No. At this rate, we're all dead.'
Thirty people had given up hunting entirely, died while hunting, or killed themselves.
It had been a war between 50 top rankers and 120 lower rankers. Then another even 30 died, turning it into...
50 top rankers versus 90 lower rankers.
Even if top rankers died, they got replaced from the lower ranks, but the lower ranks just kept shrinking.
The score gap widened by the day. The lower ranker team not only lagged in stats and proficiency but half their avatars were from arts or crafts—useless in combat. That weakness meant they struggled against monsters on floors 1 and 2 of fields or dungeons, while top rankers with combat avatars and skill hunted monsters efficiently. Some parties had already cleared entire dungeons.
50th place had 1,650 points, 60th had 1,030.
No way to close that in a day or two.
Raoul, the 7th-ranked who just broke up the clash, knew it well. Top rankers cleared dungeons and nabbed rewards from named monsters. The longer it went, the stronger and more advantaged they got.
Too late to overtake via hunting? Then the only option was killing top rankers before they grew stronger still and taking their spots.
But top rankers were undeniably stronger. That fact bred natural fear in lower rankers. Intellectually, they knew ganging up could still win, but their bodies froze in terror. Like how three herbivores could overpower one carnivore if united, but most just fled. Unlike true herd animals, lower rankers could become top rankers. Fearless ones could kill tops first and claim their place.
That's why the 50s and 60s hopefuls were even more on edge.
Impossible to rally those blockheads into systematically hunting top ranker groups one by one.
Four days until two weeks were up. The village no-kill restriction would lift.
What would the even stronger top rankers do to lower rankers then?
When the three-week mission fully ended, lower rankers were 100% dead. They'd have no choice but to bare their teeth at top rankers to survive.
Of course.
Kill them before getting hit, loot their coins freely—that was the natural order.
'What do I do? What the hell do I do!'
Surrounded on all sides, no advance or retreat.
Dumb lower rankers froze in fear for their lives. Top rankers waited for hunt time with snake-like eyes.
In Guillermo's ears, the death countdown ticked louder.
= = =
"Kuhahaha, jackpot! Total jackpot!"
Ranked 44th, Ting Zie laughed loudly at the messages before him.
[Hellgate Labyrinth Zone 3 cleared in 20 minutes! Reward: 1 indigo coin!]
[Hellgate Labyrinth Zone 4 cleared in 20 minutes! Reward:...]
[Hellgate Labyrinth Zone 5 cleared in 20 minutes...]
[Hellgate Labyrinth Zone 6...], [Hellgate Labyrinth Zone 7...]
[Hellgate Labyrinth: All named monsters in each zone defeated!]
[Rewards: 500 purple coins and 3 indigo coins!]
"Ting, this is more indigo coins than I've ever seen in my life. Just the ones here are over 50."
"Man, I've never broken a first-come-first-served or time-attack achievement, so this is my first indigo coin ever."
"Plus 500 purple coins—that's enough to bump two stats to E-rank. We could even take on top 20s now."
"Nah, nah, those guys climbed by stacking smaller achievements, not big ones like this. Still, we can solidify our ranks."
The five hunters including Ting beamed at their achievements and coins.
[You have defeated the Hellfire Watchmen of the seven zones of Hellgate Labyrinth]
[Acquired title 'Hellfire Watchmen's Blessing'. Grants Fire Resistance (E) when equipped]
"Nice. Equipped the title like you said. You mentioned it'd be needed before the boss."
Ting glanced at the man perched on a black rock, quietly puffing smoke.
They'd 'happened' to meet him while struggling in Hellgate Labyrinth Zone 2, and he'd asked for help taking down the labyrinth boss, the Twin-Headed Hellhound.
"Yeah, good. Now let's go in. Just finish this smoke."
He wiped clean the blade that severed the Hellfire Watchman's head in one stroke and sheathed it at his waist.
Hellgate Labyrinth was one of the tougher dungeons on floor 1. A suspicious guy wandering solo. Naturally, Ting and his crew checked for backup, then planned to kill and loot him.
But he claimed to be ranked 1st, 'X'.
It checked out. No one in the village knew his identity because he hunted solo without a party, and he roamed Zone 2 fearlessly thanks to top-tier hunting skills befitting No. 1.
Proof: While Ting struggled against a Hellfire Watchman, the man ambushed from behind and bisected it in one hit.
He'd made this pitch:
'To really hurt the Twin-Headed Hellhound, you need to hit the four crystals in the boss room at once. Can't do it solo. I'll hook you up with like 10 achievements. Help me take the boss. If that's not enough, we'll farm more after.'
'...Isn't that too good to be true for us?'
'Don't see it that way. Even I gotta head back to the village eventually, and folks'll guess who X is soon. Can't block ten hands with one. Better have some reliable guys before shit hits the fan, right?'
Suspicious offer, but he proved it by delivering the achievements. Even if he betrayed mid-fight, five bodies plus their binding avatar 'Medusa' meant they wouldn't lose.
Of course, this world was too risky to trust calculations alone. Lives hung by a thread. Ting rubbed his axe blade, thinking.
'Stab him in the back while killing the Twin-Headed Hellhound.'
Sucks missing more achievements, but certainty was king.
The man before him, X, tapped out the tobacco from his pipe and stood.
"GM, expand buff permissions."
[Yes. Master. Please select from the list.]
"Swallower of Hellfire."
[Stats confirmed: E, E, D, D, E, D, F. Buff cost formula applied.]
[Consuming 320 purple coins to apply buff [Swallower of Hellfire].]
[Grants Fire Resistance (A) and 30% increased fire skill damage.]
[Fire-attribute monsters will revere or fear you.]
"Title: Boss Slicer."
[Title '1F Boss Slicer' equipped. Weapon cutting power x3 against floor 1 bosses.]
Gonghyeok stood before the door and turned back.
"Alright, heading in. Like we agreed—if I hold the Twin-Headed Hellhound, hit the four directional crystals at once."
'X' urged them that way, then flung open the Hellgate with flair.
= = =
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