Chapter 16 – Altar (1)
Boooom
A strong shockwave resonated out of Mihee's mouth.
Kududuk
The carnivorous bird that was heading towards mihee tumbled around after getting entangled in the shockwave.
And in that moment the needle in Hansoo's right hand and the Katana in his left hand rapidly embroidered the air
Papapapak
An Elite Goblin's Katana that came out whilst hunting.
It fell behind in comparison to the needle in terms of hardness but it had a good balance and had a good edge so it was decent to use as a sub weapon.
Since as long as you can slash with it then a weapon that can slash is more comfortable to use then a weapon that stabs.
'Goddamit'
Mihee clenched her teeth.
Whilst she was unguarded for a moment, a bird had flown towards her.
But the reason why she clenched her teeth was not because it was dangerous.
Shugak
Mihee smacked her lips as she saw the katana that cut the carnivorous bird in a single sweep.
"I've received help again."
She tried to do it alone but had gained help again.
Hansoo watched her as he spoke
"There is a difference between don't rely on me and do everything alone. It's obvious to receive somebody's help when you use a skill that has a moment of pause. You need to clearly realize the pros and cons of your skills."
Hansoo then proceeded to divide up the runes on the ground.
Extremely accurately as usual.
'Has it already been two days'
It has been two days since the incident occurred.
It was almost the fourth day now.
And during this time Hansoo was indulged in hunting without rest.
Mihee checked her runes as she picked up the runes.
[Jin Mihee] Strength: 27.4
Stamina: 28.8
Agility: 18.1
Perception: 21.2
Mana: 18
Barb Snake's Shockwave: 2.4%
Rotating Ring: 2.1%
The rotating ring which they had gained during hunting was also something she had bought which Hansoo had obtained.
With just this much there was nothing lacking because in the real world it would be almost at the level of a superhuman.
She can easily beat down somebody with a gun at ease.
Since she can see where the bullet will be shot by looking at the trigger of the finger and dodge them all.
No, if she started a battle in a town it would be even more than that.
Hansoo, who had seen Mihee do this, checked his own stats.
[Kang Hansoo] Strength: 54.3
Stamina: 55.8
Agility: 42.1
Perception: 42.2
Mana: 22
Magic Resistance: 13
'Good'
Hansoo, who had raised up his agility and perception, nodded.
You couldn't compare stats in pairs but strength and stamina, agility and perception had a close relationship with each other.
Without enough stamina then no matter how much strength you have you won't be able to use it efficiently and no matter how high your stamina was, if your strength was low then it was just wasted talent.
If one were to move properly in the sped up time from agility they needed to have high perception and it wouldn't matter how high your perception was if your body didn't follow.
The best solution was keeping all the stats around the same number.
Thankfully he had Mihee who was rather lacking in strength and stamina so he raised his perception and agility while trading their runes around.
At that point a small voice was heard in Hansoo and Mihee ears.
Mihee frowned at the familiar voice
'Fairy…'
Hansoo spoke as he looked at Mihee.
"Let's go back."
Mihee nodded at those words.
But then she stopped turning around and then asked Hansoo.
"Do you perhaps have a girlfriend? Ah… would you even remember."
Mihee had developed quite a liking to Hansoo recently.
It was scary at first.
Since she knew what happened to the people who crossed the line.
But after watching for three days, she realized that crossing the line was rather difficult.
Since it was like an adult looking over a child, it was rather leisurely.
'He's almost like an old man…'
And her mind was much more at ease when she figured that out.
Because he felt like someone that would deal with her no matter what she did.
'Huh.'
Hansoo smirked at those lovey dovey words.
'Now that I think about it, if that Gangtae guy came he would've been so happy that he'd have thrown a fit'
Perhaps if that guy came back, he could've set up a harem kingdom.
But Hansoo shook his head.
'I can't lose one again'
He had too long of a road to travel to do that.
Hansoo organized his thoughts and spoke with a small laugh.
"I don't remember."
Hansoo walked towards the Gangnam station they had met at the beginning and Mihee followed him in a hurry shortly after watching him for a while.
.........…
The place where they had started was already swarming with people.
Because Hansoo had told them how to eat the goblin meat, it seemed like internal fights due to food hadn't risen up.
Without that it was likely that their numbers would've been much lower.
And there were some familiar faces out of the ones alive.
'They were all alive!'
Mihee felt her mind, which was rather full of worries due to not being able to see her friends due to following around Hansoo which was rather rigorous, settled down as she saw them alive afar.
'But the situation is a little strange'
Whilst she was frowning as she saw the weird tension, the air suddenly split.
And a familiar face popped out and shouted energetically.
"Greetings! Everybody! I'm here today with two very very good news!"
The fairy, who had shouted loudly, watched the people as it smiled.
"The first good news is that if you hold onto 72 more hours then you can get out of here!"
"…"
The people had heard the news but didn't really make a happy expression.
Because it sounded like that even if they had left this place, the place they will go to wouldn't really be safe.
No, since this was the tutorial it was obvious that they were going to a more dangerous location.
The fairy laughed at these people.
"I think I know what you're feeling. But when you hear the next story you will think that this is a very good news"
And as the people stared at the fairy, it flicked its fingers.
Kugugugugugu
Something rapidly shot up from the small movements of the hand.
A structure almost the size of a small building.
'…Altar?'
The people made a weird expression as they looked at the new building
It definitely had a similar form to the altars at the ancient aztec grounds.
The fairy laughed as it looked at the people
"It's a magical altar. There lives a very cute pet inside."
Then the altar shone bluish as it turned transparent.
The altar was an empty box-like structure unlike its outside appearance.
And the people gulped as they saw the creature within it.
Krrrrrr…
Something that resembled the Alien.
If you discard the fact that the size of it was 15m.
The thing inside the altar was scratching the wall of the altar as if it was pissed at something.
An even more frightening thing was that every time it scratched the wall, parts of it would fall apart as it made grinding sounds.
"Can you see it? Its called
"…"
"As you can see the Altar is very good in terms of looks but it isn't really useful. It will probably get destroyed soon. Since its a structure that is faithful it's design."
At these words the people made a frightened expression.
Everyone knew.
That the area they were in currently was limited.
If that altar fell then they would all get eaten.
Even if they were to hide, the beast will eat them alive as it chased them one by one at night.
The people then realized why the fairy said the earlier news was a good news.
Because in other words, after 72 hours they didn't have to be in the same space as the monster.
'Wait it said there were two good news before'
The fairy smiled as it spoke.
"I said there were 2 good news before right? Thankfully there is a way to make him fall asleep. If he falls asleep then he would naturally stop scratching the wall to come out right?"
But nobody asked a question.
Since it had shown what happened to someone who questioned it before.
As there were no reactions, the fairy made a dejected expression for a while then spoke again.
"The answer is very simple. Five a day."
"…?"
"If you give him five people as food then he would fall asleep. Since its 72 hours you would need to give him food three times right?"
Everyone clenched their teeth at these words.
'What the fuck. The number of people who are still surviving is only around 60…'
It meant that only if they use a quarter of the people they had now then that beast wouldn't escape.
'Damn. Then it's just better to fight'
As someone had this thought in their mind, the fairy spoke again.
"The choice is yours. Heehee. Give or not give. But I'll show you this in order to help you decide"
And then the fairy played a short clip in people's heads.
"These were people who decided to fight it together. From the tutorials before"
The people who had seen this made an extremely frightened expression.
The beast that was released was basically causing a massacre.
Ruthlessly ripping and smashing.
And the beast that had escaped didn't just stop after eating five.
The beast that had came outside devoured the humans in a craze.
They had fought with combined strength but every time it ate somebody its health rose and the injuries on its body healed.
Almost 70 people had charged it but they were all massacred and the ones who ran away were later eaten.
The beast which had eaten everybody was left alone as if nothing happened.
"…"
Everyone realized what kind of decision they had to make after the clip finished.
One of the people who had seen the clip asked whilst clenching their teeth.
"How do we choose!? The people to go in!"
Then the fairy answered with a strange expression
"Why are you asking me that?"
"…"
"Pulling out of a hat, forcibly chucking them in, figure it out yourselves. You just need to put them in while they're alive. No dead bodies"
"…"
The fairy which had emphasized
"By the way you should decide within an hour. If you put in a sacrifice then you will be safe for 24 hours. And then if you put in more in the next hour after that you will be safe again. Then be strong for the remaining 72 hours. Bye!"
And then the fairy disappeared just like that.
The people started to mumble.
Their opinions were all heading to one path.
That fighting was impossible.
Which meant there was only one way.
Whilst they were guarding against each other a man spoke out.
"To be fair… how about we pull names out of a hat? We pick 5 on the first day. 5 more the next day… like that"
Then one person smirked.
"Why do we need to be fair?"
At those words everybody looked at that direction.
And Mihee, who had also turned towards that direction, also drooled.
'It's Sangjin… and friends'
The five were emitting a different aura at a single glance now.
The scars all over the body meant that they were converged in battles until now.
'And it seems there's something different about Sangjin…'
His confidence was overflowing. And he was standing in the middle as if he was doing the work that Taesoon was doing instead.
Whilst Mihee was watching Sangjin, the man who has spoken before frowned as he asked.
"Then what do you want to do?"
He didn't keep his formalities from the fact that his opinions were ignored and the one who had ignored it was a young person.
Sangjin replied to those words.
"Isn't it obvious that we should throw in the 5 most useless people first?"
Everyone frowned at those words.
They did have a thought like that but it was difficult to speak it out just like that.
Sangjin walked forward as he watched the people and spoke.
"It isn't the time to idle. We are separated right now but we will leave here in 72 hours! But what will happen after we get out?"
Everyone started to whisper and mumble.
"Think of the amount of people who went missing! It isn't simply just around 100. If we go out then the people who had gone through similar experiences will be crawling about everywhere. No, we don't know that an even stronger beast would come out. We might even have to fight a beast like that!"
Everyone nodded at those words.
Since they were all thinking along those lines too.
There wasn't a game where the difficulty lessened as you proceeded.
And the chances of meeting people who went through similar experiences like them was high.
As the people looked at him, Sangjin shouted loudly.
"Of course, to fight with them we need to combine our strength. And it's obvious we need stronger people more! Since if when we go out we will need to face stronger enemies!"
And then Sangjin smacked the building next to him
Boom!
The wall of the building blew off from Sangjin's fists.
And Mihee who saw this mumbled inwardly in shock
'When did he get so…'
She could be certain. Since she had followed Hansoo and hunted along with him she had grown faster than anybody.
But Sangjin was even stronger than her.
If his strength was that much than his other stats were probably similar.
Whilst Mihee was shocked Sangjin continued his speech.
"So isn't it obvious that we put in the weak ones first? Hansoo what are your thoughts?"
At those words everybody looked over to the direction Sangjin spoke to.
Chapter 17 – Altar (2)
'I'm different from that Taesoon guy.'
Sangjin thought inwardly.
Taesoon had met a cruel fate due to him being hostile towards Hansoo due to his stupid ego.
But he had no plans of becoming enemies with Hansoo.
'Definitely… don't want to become enemies'
Sangjin gulped as he thought of Hansoo's actions throughout the night on Taesoon and the gangsters.
Instead he wanted to on extremely close terms with Hansoo.
Why would he become enemy with such a useful and powerful friend?
'I've grown this much. How Am I?'
Sangjin was very happy with his current image.
A completely different situation than when he was getting pushed down without being able to say anything under Taesoon.
His friends who had been looking at Taesoon were now looking at him and everybody gathered here, and even those older than him, were focusing on him.
And even Sunmi, who he had a crush on all along, was looking at him with a mysterious expression.
He was not trying to show it in his thoughts but he could feel all the eyes on him.
'This world is about to become better and better'
As long as you have strength you can stand in the center of this world.
Like a main character inside a fantasy world.
'Hansoo, with your powers you could probably let somebody around Mihee go'
There are probably celebrities in this world.
If you become stronger then you can take women who are much prettier than Mihee.
If Hansoo was with him then it would become easier.
Sangjin looked at Hansoo with an anxious expression.
This suggestion was perfect in this thoughts.
And if everything went according to his plan Hansoo would probably agree.
Since the Hansoo he knew was a guy who wanted to see results without getting swept by with sympathy and emotions.
At those words, Hansoo spoke after pondering for a moment.
"Can I give a suggestion? If you follow my suggestion than you guys can all live. Without sacrificing anything."
"…What did you say?"
Everyone made a blank face at Hansoo words that sounded like a election strategy full of hope.
But one person shouted in a hurry.
"Are you trying to say to combine our powers to fight with that thing!? That's just too much!"
Everyone nodded at those words.
It wasn't that the sword didn't go through.
Since during the beginning of the clip the 70 of them pushed it back a little.
But the problem was after that.
That thing healed as it ate more and more people.
Even if you push it back with numbers, the monster did not get tired whilst the people were getting chewed up one by one.
Hansoo just shook his heads.
"Did anybody told you to fight? You guys will just get in the way."
"…Goddamit! Then what do you want to do!? Are you trying to fight it alone?"
As one person shouted in rebellion Hansoo nodded.
"That's it."
Everybody was shocked at those words.
'Did you really get strong enough to the point to fight against that?'
Sangjin bit down onto his teeth inwardly.
He did not have any confidence in fighting that monster.
Even if everyone combined their strength.
But that guy was saying that he will beat that thing up alone.
'Damnit… Damnit…'
Whilst his inferiority complex, which was hidden away from his recent earnings of confidence, started to rise up again Hansoo spoke again.
"I will fight it but it's hard currently"
While everybody was disappointed at Hansoo's words, Sangjin actually felt better
'Yeah. Even if it was you it would be too much'
If Hansoo were to ask him for help then he had the intentions to help.
Of course it wouldn't be free.
Sangjin spoke with a happy expression.
"Then are you saying we should fight with a small number of elites?"
And then Hansoo spoke whilst making an expression that was asking what he meant.
"I said you will only get in the way"
It might be different on a normal situation but the opponent wasn't good.
They will all become a potion for the monster.
Crunch
Sangjin clenched onto his teeth inwardly.
Basically he was still not qualified to be part of the hunt.
'Yeah. It's possible that I still lack the qualifications'
Since it has only been a short time since he started.
But since he was working diligently, he would probably catch up fast.
Sangjin settled down his anger and asked again.
"Then how are you trying to do it?"
Hansoo replied to those words.
"Simple. If my strength and stamina rose by 30 from this point I can fight him one on one"
30 of Strength and Stamina.
It was a bit overbearing currently but if he raised his strength and stamina by 30 and used the cloud snack then he could fight that thing one on one.
Strength and Stamina at 100, Perception and Agility needed to be around 50.
This was the bare minimum line Hansoo chose.
If the strength was lower than that then it was hard to penetrate the armor and if you lacked the stamina then you wouldn't be able to hold on until it died.
Your agility and perception needed to be around that in order to sense and dodge its attacks.
Since it was a estimate that came from a long time of battle experience so it wasn't wrong.
A number that calculated the cloud snack into it.
If it were other people then it wouldn't be close to enough but if it was him then it was possible.
And there were people who had actually done it.
'Kwang Goonju'
In reality the only person who found out about this was Kwang Goonju.
And he wouldn't have known about this hidden piece if Kwang Goonju didn't tell him about it teasingly.
'Well Kwang Goonju's trait was rather good for these things'
But even this Kwang Goonju barely beat this while he become half a corpse.
It was not something that was there to be killed.
It just wanted them to fight with each other and offer sacrifices.
That was why it was a hidden piece. No one had the thoughts of killing it and that was the reason why it was hidden.
Even him would have to invest around two to three days in order to reach that point.
But that meant for two to three days, 10 to 15 people would need to be sacrificed in order to buy time.
But if everyone gathered runes and helped him fill up the runes, he had the confidence to jump in the altar where that dumb looking beast was in.
"So I have a suggestions. If you guys can push all the stats onto me, I will take responsibility and kill that thing"
'And if I do that then the requirements to gain the second hidden piece will be complete'
Whilst Hansoo was thinking, somebody asked.
"Do the 15 people who will be selected to become the sacrifice need to give that rune? 60 runes?"
Hansoo shook his head as he answered.
"No way. I don't care who gives it to me. As long as that number is satisfied I will go into that altar right away."
Everyone frowned at those words.
It had already been 4 days since they came here.
Everyone felt the usefulness of the runes but the runes each person needed differed slightly.
The weaker ones focused on Strength or Stamina and the stronger ones wanted to raise Perception or Agility.
And within this weird balance, the rune was used as a form of currency in some way.
Since one perception or agility rune meant they could trade it for two of strength or stamina.
But not everyone had gathered runes.
The weak ones needed to use runes as they gained even just to raise their stamina a little bit.
So the weak ones who would've been chosen as sacrifices didn't have any runes to spare.
But the stronger ones had some strength to spare so they could collect a little bit.
Since they could fight whilst having some runes collected.
But even the stronger ones didn't have a large amount of them stored.
In order to fulfill Hansoo's requirements they had to empty their pockets of runes.
Everyone made a reluctant expression.
It wasn't ok to not give the runes.
Because if they didn't hand in the runes then it meant they basically wanted to sacrifice 15 weak people.
But it wasn't ok to give the runes either.
If the people who would be chosen as sacrifices gave the runes then it would be ok but the situation wasn't that clear
The one who were weak enough to become a sacrifice had no runes. But then there was no time for these weak people to go hunt for the runes either.
The limit was 1 hour and the sound of the altar being crushed was getting louder and louder at this moment.
Which meant that the people who could spare strength, who wouldn't have had become sacrificed in accordance to Sangjin's suggestion, would have to pay the runes instead.
And then one of those weaker people shouted loudly.
A person who would be chosen first as a sacrifice because he was weak due to him hating fights.
"Shit! Somebody please gather the runes and hand it to him! Damnit! Or pick names out of a hat!"
Sneers were heard from one side at those words.
"What a selfish bastard"
"What did you say?"
The man glared into the corner swiftly.
But the woman didn't get startled at those sharp eyes and spoke.
Though it was a male against a female, such a man who only had his height going for him wasn't a match for her.
She had confidence to go into the high ranks if they started choosing.
Since she tried harder because she was a female and had an unfair disadvantageous start.
"Isn't it obvious? Why should I give runes because of you? When there is such a huge difference in one or two of these? And somebody like you could die anytime so why what would I trust and lend it to him"
"Euuuu…"
The man couldn't rebute.
The reason why he was weak was because he was frightened of fights and had hid in the back.
Four runes meant 40 goblins.
He didn't have the confidence to hunt that much.
If he were to repay the runes, he didn't know how long it would take
"And what do you mean picking out of a hat. You might get thrown in there with broken limbs so don't act out."
"Fuck…"
The male grinded his teeth but he could only shrivel up because the Podao in the woman's hand was too frightening.
But backing off here meant he was basically being sent into that altar.
So the man shouted once again.
"But then are you saying the weaker ones should just go die? What is this nonsense! Damnit! Weren't you all raised in a democratic society?"
And the woman who spoke before spoke again.
"Democracy is good. Then let's vote for majority"
"What?"
"Majority rules. We will vote. Between those to want to block it by giving runes and the side that wants to sacrifice. Of cause it will be a secret vote like the democracy you like so much"
"Kuue…"
"Doing this much means I've given you a lot of face. In actuality could you guys do anything if I break your limbs and shove five of you in there?"
Most people nodded at those words.
They couldn't say it out loud because of a guilty conscious but that nod meant that they agreed.
"Ahh…"
The man made a dejected expression at those words.
Since the result was very clear if they went for majority rule.
The order of weakness couldn't be seen clearly but one could guess somewhat.
Around twenty would know they're weak and would go against it but the remaining forty or so would agree.
And since it was a secret vote there was no situation where their guilty conscious would haunt them.
The man hurriedly looked at Hansoo and shouted anxiously.
"You! Can't you take the runes from those guys?"
Then Hansoo shook his head.
He did not steal runes. Since it was the result of one's hard work.
This was one of the rules of the great unification.
Because that was the same as taking the salary of somebody in the streets because you had strength.
"If not.. then can't you kill a few people and then gain the runes like that! If you kill around five to ten strong people then the amount of runes you set would probably come out!"
Hansoo nodded at those words.
Killing stronger people gave more runes then weaker people.
For weaker people, he would need to kill around over fifteen but only about ten or less of the stronger people in order to fulfill the sixty he set as the goal.
"Well. That is true."
Then the man shouted in a hopeful voice.
"But then can't you kill those guys then fight with the runes they drop? It's better for ten to die then 15 to di… ahhhhk!"
"This fucking bitch!"
One of the other men who were listening to this got pissed and had kicked the man who was talking.
That guy was definitely one of the ten strongest people.
He felt anxious whilst he was listening so he rushed out.
He had seen clearly how Hansoo had fought on the first day.
If Hansoo decided to chop down head by head from the top, eat the runes and then went into the altar, there was nobody to stop him
They had gotten strong as well but this wasn't something that could be compared with just the amount of runes.
Their breed was different from the start.
A pig who had gotten a bit of muscle and speed couldn't fight against a tiger of a similar size.
And that tiger was probably much larger and much faster. Since it had eaten more runes since then.
If that Hansoo decided with a lame counting method of
He was listening in leisure because the talks seem to be leaning towards the female but if it were to go this way then he would be perished.
And when he looked around he felt that everybody was mumbling around.
And then everybody started to shout.
"Damnit! Just throw in fifteen weaker guys!"
"Are you telling us to die! It's better for ten stronger people to die!"
"What nonsense! Then just kill the people in the middle and take their runes! We are going to be of help when we get out of here! It wouldn't account to fifteen if you kill the ones in the middle!"
Hansoo sighed as he saw the chaos.
Because he knew this would happen
The Moon. Then the Altar.
There was no time to get used to things because the environment was constantly changing.
And since they weren't familiar with it they couldn't back off a single step.
It might've been different if they knew that there were flat land behind them but in this situation where they couldn't see behind them, they could fall down a cliff and die if they backed off a single step.
'I need to do some traffic control'
Hansoo, who had expectations that it would be solved by self control, spoke out.
"Be quiet"
Everybody stood up straight and stared at Hansoo's lips at those words.
Chapter 18 – Altar (3)
"I will give you a solution"
And then Hansoo started to count.
15 from the bottom.
"One, Two, Three.. fifteen like this. These fifteen people are the weakest"
"What?"
The fifteen who had been chosen made a blank expression for a moment and then shouted in despair.
"No way!"
"Though I have more runes then him?"
But Hansoo shook his head.
He could guess who would win and who would lose at a glance.
It would differ slightly depending on the condition but even if you take all of that into consideration, the people who would go in were rather obvious.
And at Hansoo's pointings, joy and sorrow were shown.
The fifteen who were chosen showed rage and felt wronged.
And the fifteen who weren't chosen let out a sigh of relief because they could save runes.
And in Hansoo's words the man shouted in despair.
"You bitch! You're the same! How dare you throw us off because we're weak! And those bastards over there throw lives away because a of a few runes!"
Hansoo stopped his steps.
"Hmm. It seems you are mistaken about something"
Then Hansoo spoke as he scratched his head.
"You don't get thrown off because you're weak. If you are weak you simply can't follow up with others. Nothing to do with being thrown off"
"…"
"What were you doing whilst everybody was running? It doesn't matter whether you rested or did something else but you need to take all responsibility for it in this place"
Those words were driven into everyone's words.
And that they all realized at the same time.
That they had really entered a screwed up world.
It wasn't like the modern society where you had a chance of bouncing back if you fail and fall behind others.
No, it was actually much more cruel.
Since that fairy thing came out from time to time and tries to cut off the tail which was falling behind.
If you do not want to be cut off, you need to run fanatically.
They had to realize this within the 1st tutorial area.
That this was a world where you needed to be greedy in order to survive.
If you are greedy you will probably receive the curses of others but you will gain the rights to survive during a decisive moment.
Like this situation.
"Damnit! Damnit!"
The man's voice of despair could be heard behind the disappearing back of Hansoo.
But Hansoo spoke quietly.
"Listen till the end. I'm not telling you to go in there."
"What?"
Then was there a different solution?
The man looked at Hansoo with a expression full of hope.
Then Hansoo nodded his head.
"The fifteen will borrow the runes from others. Two of strength and stamina each. And then give it to me."
"Hmm…"
"And hunt during the remaining 72 hours in order to pay the runes back to them"
Everyone nodded after pondering for a moment
There was nothing to lose.
Even the people who were left out were feeling a bit off because of the thoughts of throwing in fifteen people alive into that altar but if this new method were to be followed they had nothing to lose so everything was solved.
And of course in the fifteen people's situation, hunting monsters to pay back the runes is better then going into the monster's mouth as food.
Since it wasn't that hard to collect 2 strength and 2 stamina runes in three days.
But then one person mumbled as if he felt he was mistreated.
Because then only these fifteen had to pay the runes.
"…Isn't that unfair then? 1 per person is fair"
But then Hansoo shrugged his shoulders
"But the one who will be going in is you, you know? Why would the remaining 45 pay?"
"…"
The man who had spoken before shut his mouth at these words but somebody else spoke up as if he felt the greed rising up.
"But then why are we paying them if you are the one getting the runes? Isn't the one who is taking the 60 runes you in the end?"
Hansoo nodded his head.
"I don't have a hobby in free public service. I can't force you to do it. This simply a suggestion I'm giving to the fifteen people. What I suggested isn't the correct solution nor is it the perfect solution. I'm just giving a suggestion on what I think is the best solution. If you don't think you will be within the 15 people or feel pressured by this choice, I will just come back in 3 days."
He could probably gather up 30 runes if he hunted.
The man quieted down at those words.
Because if Hansoo did leave, he would be thrown inside that altar.
"You need to at least be able to pay for the price of your life"
Another person asked as soon as Hansoo finished talking.
It was the woman who was arguing with the man from before.
"Wait! What happens if the ones we lend the runes to can't muster up the courage to hunt and cannot pay back? Then we're losing out on runes."
The fifteen people were weak because they had no courage to hunt.
They might not be able to return the rune within the next 3 days.
Hansoo replied very simply.
"What are you worrying about? Just chase them down during the night and take it from them. If it still isn't enough after that then come to me. I will compensate you"
"…"
He needed to set up rules but rules that would even apply to the ones who can't keep promises or take responsibility were not needed.
Since he hadn't come to preach to them about social welfare.
Everyone made a scared expression at those words.
Because they realized that they couldn't laze around from now on.
But at the same time everybody made a content face.
Because it was solved without anybody dying in the end.
"There's one hour left. Let's start now."
Everyone started to gather up the runes at those words.
.........
[Kang Hansoo] Strength: 84.3
Stamina: 85.8
Agility: 42.1
Perception: 42.2
Mana: 22
Magic resistance: 13
Hansoo nodded whilst looking at his Strength and Stamina that had risen by exactly 30.
'The balance has been destroyed but there's nothing I can do about that'
To be honest, even though you lose out a bit it is better to balance out your stats by trading runes around.
But this was an exception.
Hansoo knew instinctively by simply looking at the Carnivorous Monster.
With his current runes, his attacks wouldn't work properly.
He needed to get his strength over 100.
And he needed the stamina to follow up the increased strength.
Agility and perception was lacking but he would compensate for that with his experiences and battle skills.
'It seems I'll use a ton of these cloud snacks'
In order to go over 100, he will probably need to constantly use the cloud snack that increased his stats by 20%.
'But it's good that it's an environment where I can fight alone.'
Usually, even Hansoo preferred hunting in groups.
Since in reality the hunting speed was slightly faster when he hunted with Taesoon before.
But the situation was different.
If there are others it becomes disadvantageous.
No matter how many there were, their attacks wouldn't work against the monster and the monster will regenerate its health after devouring the people.
If that guy was released it would've been quite a headache.
When Hansoo was about to start heading towards the Altar in the distance, somebody approached him.
"Hansoo, Mihee. It's been a while."
"Sangjin…"
Mihee made a happy expression, stopped, then stole a glance at Hansoo.
Hansoo was looking at Sangjin with a impenitent expression.
"Since Taesoon isn't here anymore, let's be together. You too Mihee."
Hansoo shook his head at those words.
But Sangjin didn't give up and tried to approach him.
"Isn't it better being with us? With friends?"
Hansoo stared at Sangjin expressionlessly.
"Once we part, we need to go separate ways"
Hansoo had no thoughts of cutting off their relationship because they didn't want to follow him when he went into a dangerous place.
Since being weak wasn't a sin and he had no confidence in keeping them safe.
But you can't become friends with somebody who is always looking for chances as they follow you and then leave because things get dangerous.
This was a problem before strength came into play.
No, being stronger was actually more of a problem.
Since he can't show his back to them with trust.
There won't be a reason to see each other again.
'He's too much…'
Sangjin lost his determination from Hansoo's attitude and made a dejected expression.
Whilst that was going on, Mihee spoke to Hansoo after pondering for a moment.
"I'll stay here then."
Hansoo nodded his head.
"That's not a bad choice,"
Mihee had a bitter expression from Hansoo's words which he didn't ponder over.
Since it felt mean that he didn't realize her crush on him and had accepted her choice.
'I want to go with him but…'
She realized as she hunted with Hansoo over a few days.
The gap was growing larger as they went on.
And Hansoo was dashing off at a crazy pace. The hunting grounds were limited and she was able to follow up because she could hunt in these places but she had no confidence in fighting against that monster no matter what.
And in the area they move to after killing that beast, it would be even harder to catch up to him.
So she had to choose around now.
Companions around her level.
If she followed Hansoo like this, and then becomes thrown off after the tutorial area then she will be alone.
If that happens then it would be better to move as a six by becoming a comrade of five people.
'And it's better to split up now'
She understood Hansoo's standards whilst fighting roughly.
If she ran away while fighting because things got dangerous then their relationship will be cut off. Like the five in front of her eyes.
But if they split up now, Hansoo wouldn't ruthlessly cut her off when he sees her later.
Hansoo just didn't trust in opportunists, it wasn't that he didn't didn't like somebody who knew when to stay out and when to stick around.
'Though it's a little bit regrettable'
She thought about it before for a short moment.
If she became a couple with this man then wouldn't she be able to be with him for a very long time.
Since Hansoo wasn't the type of person who would throw off his lover.
But she knew after observing for a moment.
'There is no space in Hansoo's head for a lover to fit in'
So cleanly split up now and then aim for the next chance.
'Just wait. I haven't given up yet.'
Mihee put down her decisions and walked towards Sangjin.
And Hansoo laughed as he watched that.
The five others might be a bit different but he could meet Mihee in the future whilst laughing.
Sangjin didn't know how to act after watching this scene from happiness.
He was happy to the point where the depression from being rejected by Hansoo almost disappeared.
Mihee didn't choose Hansoo but his side instead.
Didn't this mean that his side was more trustworthy.
Mihee was extremely fast to catch onto things.
She had judged that he had better potential than Hansoo.
'Yeah. I'm still improving. I just never had the chances to do so'
Sangjin, who had laughed out loud, thanked Taesoon who was probably in the netherworld by now.
'Park Taesoon. I must really thank you'
A girl who he wouldn't even be able to talk to usually had chosen him.
And in his group there were three girls even if you disregard Gangtae's girlfriend Jisun.
He felt like he would fly threw the skies from the feeling as if he had set up a Harem.
This was all due to Taesoon.
The only reason why he was able to come this far was he filled the empty space after Taesoon had died.
Sunmi, who was standing behind Sangjin, watched him pathetically.
'Seriously. I have to trust this retard and follow him around.'
Would Mihee have not been able to distinguish between and sports car and a trash car and came here.
She had only come here because she thought she didn't have the ability to drive around the sports car.
'Well that's that.'
Sunmi decided to let go of past issues.
Since Sangjin and Mihee were the strongest of the six, no, strongest of the mob.
If you don't account for Hansoo then these guys are the two tops.
And the four of them were also part of the strongest if you don't count in Hansoo.
If they travel together then they wouldn't have any difficult times for a while.
And even more so since Mihee probably learned a lot of things from Hansoo.
Whilst Sunmi was making such thoughts, Sangjin was watching Hansoo and not Mihee.
'Am I not good enough yet'
Sangjin made a regrettable expression as he saw Hansoo's back as he walked towards the altar.
He was trying so hard to become a friend but Hansoo didn't even care about him.
Shouldn't he at least try to do something together.
Unlike Mihee, he was simply just hitting a wall.
'Something… I have to show him something more'
It was because he was still weak.
Since he wasn't a beauty like Mihee so he needed to show something more to Hansoo. A deciding factor.
But then at that moment somebody called Sangjin.
"Hey friend. Could we talk for a moment?"
'…Who could it be.'
When Sangjin went over there, a few people were standing there.
'These people are…'
These guys were the ones who were speaking aloud during the debate before.
The ones who represented the strong, and the real top rankers if you don't count for him and his friends.
"I'm called Suyeol. You're the leader of those friends over there right?"
"The leader?"
Sangjin's face blushed for a moment from the words of the thirty-something man, he then answered shyly.
"We're all friends so ehh. But for now they're listening to me well"
"Oh. Nice"
As Suyeol raised his thumb at him, Sangjin giggled from being happy.
Suyeol chuckled at Sangjin acting like that and then continued his words.
"Then are you friends with that guy called Hansoo over there too?"
Sangjin pondered for a moment and then nodded.
"Of course"
'We're friends. Yeah friends.'
Suyeol, who had confirmed up to that point, made a satisfied expression as he spoke.
"Yeah? Then I have something a proposal for you, shall we talk for a bit?"
He said whilst stealing a glance at Hansoo who was walking towards the altar.
Sangjin pondered for a moment but then followed him shortly after nodding his head.
Chapter 19 – Altar (4)
Hansoo checked his wrist before going into the Altar.
'Flying Cat's Marble'
Something that healed a small amount of health when consumed.
It was something that he had collected diligently while hunting for a few days and didn't really heal injuries but it was still helpful.
Since every artifact's effect differed on how and when you used it.
Hansoo put the marbles in a leather band that he tied on to his wrist.
If you pressed onto the pouch on the band made of goblin leather, than one marble would pop out.
Since there was no time to take it out from around his waist during a critical situation so he needed to make something like this.
Hansoo, who had even sharpened the tip of the needle, looked at the bottom of the Altar.
Grrrrrrrr!
Boom. Boom.
The Carnivorous Beast was smashing the insides of the Altar as if it was about to go crazy from hunger.
'Hmm. Goblin poison won't even work'
Poison would work since its Physical and Magic resistances were low but if you take into account of its regeneration speed than it was practically useless.
It would be much better to just smear on some Land Mermaid's Paralysis poison and then just stab it into where the nerves were gathered.
Hansoo looked down whilst putting a cloud snack up to this mouth after he squeezed the shampoo bottle and smeared a large amount of the paralysis poison on the needle.
And then he proceeded to inhale all the smoke that came out of it into his body.
'It's really been a while. Though it's really strong'
As the smoke swirled into his body, he felt the number of runes that determined the laws on his body skyrocket.
84. 85. 86…
And when it went over 100, a change occurred in Hansoo's body that hadn't appeared before.
Crack Crack
Hansoo nodded as he felt the change.
'Good. I've gone to the next stage'
Hansoo checked his current condition.
[Kang Hansoo] Strength(Colorless): 0.01% (Maniac's Cloud Snack: +20%)
Stamina(Colorless): 0.01% (Maniac's Cloud Snack: +20%)
Agility: 50.5 (Maniac's Cloud Snack: +20%)
Perception: 50.6 (Maniac's Cloud Snack: +20%)
Mana 26.4 (Maniac's Cloud Snack: +20%)
Magic resistance 15.6 (Maniac's Cloud Snack: +20%)
'It's been done'
A new energy, that was different from what had existed before, swirled throughout his body.
They show it in numbers in order to make it easy for people to understand in the beginning in the Tutorial but the runes were actually shown in a progressive way.
Like experience.
It said it was colorless but an aura that emitted a faint light twirled around Hansoo's body.
When a color becomes integrated like that then it truly becomes the Otherworld's rune from that point on.
In one sense, what they had to do was similar.
Just like how one got strong when the number of runes went up, when the percentage rose they would naturally get strong.
The fact that you needed to collect runes to become strong was the same.
If there was a difference then it was that when you hit 100%, then your rune will change into the rune of next stage.
From colorless to red, from red to orange, from orange to yellow and so on.
It rose stage by stage.
And every time your rune increased by a stage, you gained a large benefit.
There was only a very small difference between normal rune 99.9 and colorless rune 0.01% but there is a large gap in between.
Since the aura of activating the rune had grown by a stage.
'Good'
You needed at least this much in order to get through his defenses.
Since at a glance you could see that it was also using an aura of an colorless rune.
The strength of the monster could be felt much closer when he saw it from above.
'As I would expect, Kwang Goonju. He wasn't quite sane but he was still extraordinary'
Even if he had used his trait and skills, even if he had become half a corpse, the fact that he killed that thing was unbelievable.
That thing was something you will only see around the colorless area, which will become the background for the 2nd tutorial stage, and only around the mid-late stage of it.
In conclusion, it was not something that would come out in the 1st tutorial stage.
And it was even more burdensome to him since he couldn't use his trait and skills.
'Tsk. I would've crushed it to bits if I just learned something around a Troll's Essence'
But he also had a lot of expectations.
Even he didn't know what would come out of the hidden piece after he clears it.
Since the only person he knew who cleared this was only Kwang Goonju.
Eres, Gangtae and Keldian all failed.
So he didn't know what would come out but one thing was certain.
That this damnable world kept pushing people around but the reward itself was quite clear.
The harder and more impossible something seems the better the reward will be.
And this was a hidden piece that only one person had succeeded in before.
There was no way something scrubby would come out.
'It would be a jackpot if a Numbering Artifact or Skill would come out'
Double Numbering, no, even a triple Numbering would be a jackpot.
'Let's go'
Hansoo, who had finished his preparations, inserted a Flying Cat's Marble into his cheeks and jumped down ruthlessly with a cloud snack in his mouth.
The stamina depletion would start now anyways, if you take into account for the marble's regeneration speed then it would be helpful to go in biting onto it.
Kuaaaaaahhh!
And soon the giant beast's roar that was filled with rage blew out from the inside of the altar.
.........
Kuahhhh!
Sangjin gulped as he heard the roaring cries from afar.
Because it felt like his legs would shake just from the noise.
It wasn't a problem with strength but rather a problem of breed.
A cry from a predator created to eat humans was shaking their souls.
'So he's fighting one on one against that thing…'
The feeling of wanting to become like Hansoo and jealously, and the wanting of being accepted by Hansoo mixed around and filled his head.
And that acted as inertia and helped Sangjin's shaking legs to move.
'Yeah. If I suceed this then Hansoo wouldn't be able to ignore me anymore'
Then Sangjin looked behind him.
And behind there were 10 people whom he was speaking to before gathered there.
Suyeol, who was standing in the front, made a slightly fed up expression for a moment but then laughed as he looked at Sangjin
"It's good that you chose not to bring your friends right? Your friends could've been in danger"
Sangjin shook his head.
"You're right. I haven't thought of your words. That Hansoo could be danger right now.
And then Sangjin remembered that happened before.
Suyeol and Sangjin shared a lot of words.
And there was a question that Suyeol asked.
And when he thought of it after hearing that question, there was some logic into it.
There was a similar case before.
Hansoo pushed them back when he went to really dangerous places.
And the fact that he wanted to go alone this time meant that it was really dangerous.
And he had even asked for extra runes.
Hansoo wasn't a type to lie just in order to scam some runes.
Which meant it was an enemy that he needed at least that amount of runes to go up against.
'Yeah. Even if it's Hansoo, it doesn't make sense that he will have the upper hand against that monster'
Sangjin nodded as he answered.
Suyeol laughed at those words as he spoke
Sangjin nodded at those words.
Like Hansoo said before, it was better the more numbers you had.
The only time numbers would be disadvantageous is when things aren't clear and they are wandering around, the people here were the strongest of the 60.
They would be of great help even if they acted like meat shields.
Suyeol looked at Sangjin, who was making a confused expression, as he spoke.
<…monopolize?>
And then Sangjin made a slightly dejected face as he nodded.
There is definitely a possibility that that was the case.
It was like that in the train station and even on the first night Hansoo hadn't shared anything he had earned himself.
He was pretending to hand out trivial things such as runes, that could be gathered easily, while monopolizing all the good stuff himself.
As Sangjin remembered the clip he saw earlier and made an astringent face, Suyeol beat his chest.
Sangjin nodded at those words.
But then Suyeol shook his head.
Sangjin shook his heads at those words.
If Hansoo were to fall in danger before then he would lose an important chance.
'Yeah, If I help this time… then Hansoo wouldn't be able to ignore me>
"What are you thinking about? Let's follow him up."
"Ah.. yes…"
Sangjin nodded his head and then headed towards the top of the Altar and Suyeol grinned at that Sangjin.
Chapter 20 – Altar (5)
A skill that a race has ever since they are born.
There were two racial skills that the Carnivorous Beast in front of him could use.
It would paralyze the prey with fear and then eat it with devour to quickly regenerate its health.
The fear which contains the killing intent of the predator was a skill in itself.
Kuahhh!
The Carnivorous Beast's fear rumbled around the insides of the Altar.
The Fear was basically affected by the individual's mentality.
And to Hansoo who had fought with the Abyss's top rank devils, such a thing like fear was child's play.
But even then it was still a skill.
His body was honest so Hansoo's body momentarily stopped and in that small instant the front legs flew in aggressively.
But at this moment the Magic resistance showed its might.
Hansoo dodged the leg of the beast with only a hair's length and then then ruthlessly stabbed whilst its guard was down.
It was the first time fighting this here it was rather common if you go beyond the tutorial.
'Anyways, it's good that it's not fully grown yet'
If this thing grew more and reached 20m then it can use another Racial Skill,
As it implied, it constantly drained the blood of the nearby lifeforms.
If it even had this, Hansoo probably wouldn't have came in.
Since you would become a mummy and die a very quick death if you didn't have magic and physical resistances.
But even this much wasn't easy to go against though possible.
'Second location of Primary Nerves between the joints.'
Hansoo, after applying some paralysis poison on the tip, strained all his muscles and stabbed between the joints ruthlessly.
Kududuk
Kuaaak!
Due to its very thick shell there was a moment of resistance but Hansoo's strength which had reached the colorless rune stage plus his ability to find weak points and the hardness of the needle made it so that holes started appearing on the black shell.
Due it its enormous size, even when Hansoo shoved in a 1m long needle it went in for a long while.
'A little bit more'
Though he had penetrated the skin but there is no point if he doesn't reach the goal point.
Since the injury made from the needle was basically the same as a hole where the hairs grew out of.
He needed to hit the pinpoint.
Kachak
'It's done!'
Hansoo, who had felt the needle's tip penetrate the primary nerve, quickly pulled it out.
Stabbing it in was important but taking out was also important.
Since if you didn't pull this out on the right time then you will get ravaged by the beast's outrage whilst the needle was still in its body.
Kuahhhh!
As he expected, the beast which had felt extreme pain and stopped for a moment from paralysis started smashing the ground in order to beat down Hansoo.
Boooom!
But it's already been a long time since Hansoo moved away from that location.
The sound of the monster's breath and the sound of bones cracking entered Hansoo's ears constantly.
And at the same time Hansoo's eyes looked over its body.
The images of its squirming muscles, the way the tail held balance and the contraction of its thigh muscles came into Hansoo's head and created a three dimensional image of the monster.
As the image of the monster came into his head, his experience and knowledge merged with it.
All of this happened in an instant.
And as this happened, the next movement of the monster could be seen on Hansoo's eyes.
It wasn't a trait, martial ability or a skill.
It was simply an god-like ability developed from an immeasurable amount of battle experience and knowledge.
Since Hansoo could only learn seven skills, the only way for this trait to shine was to become strong in a different way than others.
And because of that, unlike the strong people who climbed relatively easily, he had to go through many more times worth of battles and struggles in order to climb up slowly.
But this had made him stronger after.
Since being able to read the enemy and knowing their next move was an overwhelming advantage.
Well most high level adventurers could do this do an extent but Hansoo was unique even out of these people.
Hansoo, who had thought of the past situations with Gangtae, overcome his extreme lack of perception and agility through reading ahead and pushed the beast back.
Boom
'He's still not that easy'
Hansoo barely dodged another attack as he stabbed the needle again.
Puk. Pukpuk.
The needle which had entered its body in an instant, cut off part of the nerve cell cluster on his skin.
It would now have trouble sensing his movements through the vibrations in the air.
From one angle it would seem like that the fight was very one sided but Hansoo's wasn't in much of an ease.
There was nothing like hp in this world.
In other words, if your magic and physical resistances are equal than being larger would be a huge advantage.
A human body like his would get shredded even if an attack were to skitch them.
And because of that the high level adventurers basically stacked a lot of magic and physical resistances on their body.
And these high level adventures who had stacked these would show a miracle like view where they receive the blow of a monstrous beast with just their human bodies.
But you couldn't gain those runes or items in the tutorial area so you needed to dodge every attack.
If he hadn't raised his strength and stamina, he would've gotten thrown off from exhaustion whilst attacking the monster.
Hansoo quickly pulled out a flying cat's marble as he stabbed the shampoo bottle tied onto his waist.
Since he had no leisure to squeeze it out with this hands.
Squirt
As the paralysis poison came out smeared onto the needle, Hansoo quickly stabbed it again.
Tudududk
It's regeneration speed had been slowing down at an extreme rate as if it used all the materials it had stored.
The nerves which had been recovering despite being broken by the needle and melting from the paralysis poison had stopped regenerating at a point.
And to prove that, it's movements had become rigid and its senses had dulled.
'As I expected, fighting it inside the altar is the answer'
If he had fought this while it ate humans after escaping the altar, it would've been much more tiring.
Since the needle's area of damage was small, eating one human can heal the damaged nerves for quite a while.
And if that happened even he would have to choose a different tactic.
But if this kept going on, he can lay the monster on the ground and put a hole in his heart before his stamina depleted.
'Let's smoke another one first'
As the effect of the cloud snack disappeared, Hansoo quickly bit into the eighth cloud snack and then jumped back in to resume the fight.
But at this moment something unexpected happened
"Hansoo! I came to help!"
'Haha. Look at this thing'
Hansoo chuckled as he heard the voice that came down from the top of the altar.
.........
Suyeol made a fed up expression after watching Hansoo for a while from above.
'Isn't this guy just a monster's spawn'
A physical difference so large that one hit would've turned him into a bloody mess.
But Hansoo hadn't received a single hit and stuck to the monster like a storm and then proceeded to attack in a one-sided fight.
And he was making the monster into a bee's hive with that needle.
'That bitch. Did he do this to scam us of runes?'
This thought was very normal because the fight seems like that he didn't lack strength or stamina at all.
Since Hansoo looked very laid back in their eyes.
He was so laid back that he was fighting the battle whilst smoking a cigarette one at a time.
So they reassured themselves.
'It won't be dangerous to help out a little bit down there'
They couldn't go down because they were scared from the power of the Carnivorous beast but it seemed like its movements had slowed down a lot.
And wasn't Hansoo in front of them.
Hansoo was dodging the attacks with ease with a speed that was not that much slower than theirs.
So they confirmed in an instant.
'He's trying to monopolize it'
As they saw him fight it with such ease, it was very possible that he felt greed for monopolizing it.
Suyeol's insides twisted and turned.
He couldn't even imagine what kind of a reward would come out if you killed that thing.
No, even if the reward wasn't good a lot of runes would come out
'As I thought… We have to kill him today. Greedy bitch'
The carnivorous beast was obvious but killing Hansoo would result in a lot of runes.
Since the stronger someone was, the more runes they would drop.
No, he was actually jealous of the items that guy had.
And Suyeol definitely did not want to be trapped in the same space as that guy.
It was like being with a tiger whose stomach was full and not a human.
His personality didn't seem that bad usually but no matter how timid a tiger is, you cannot live with it.
Suyeol felt more pressure from Hansoo than from the Carnivorous beast.
The beast was trapped in the altar but that guy was spreading his arms everywhere.
And in that moment the scene from the first night came up in Suyeol's head.
'Uuk'
He suppressed the curses that were coming up his throat and then glanced at the guy next to him.
That guy called Sangjin.
'Stupid bastard. This is why you gotta have good friends'
He had struck up a conversation just in case he could squeeze out information about that guy called Hansoo but the talk went way too smoothly.
If that guy called Hansoo wasn't much stronger then he didn't really want to come this far but after hearing it was actually a rather close competition.
Then there is a chance for a third person to take everything whilst these guys fight.
And he had agreed to a plan to kill his friend this easily.
'If I take care of this guy then everything becomes clean'
After using this guy as a bait in order to divert the beast's eyes he would just simply take care of everyone once they are tired.
If he got rid of this guy and Hansoo then only five of their friends remain.
And then he could crush them with numbers.
'Haa. That girl'
Whilst Suyeol was gulping from the thoughts of Mihee, Sangjin, who was watching the fight below, shouted.
"It looked like the beast has become slower than Hansoo so let's go down!"
At these words they could see that the beast, who was originally much faster than Hansoo, had slowed down to the point where he was much slower than Hansoo.
If the beast had slowed down this much, and if Hansoo fought on the front these guys could probably dodge the attacks somewhat.
"Let's go down"
Whilst they were running down after Suyeol's words from the top of the altar on the stairways that connected the top and the bottom, Sangjin made an unexpected action.
"Hansoo! I came to help!"
As Sangjin shouted before going down, Suyeol was flustered as he cursed inwardly.
'This retarded bastard'
As he saw, Hansoo couldn't spread his awareness to other places due to him and the monster fighting each other with everything they've got.
He thought he could've used the element of surprise attack but if they shout from up above like this wouldn't Hansoo be aware of this side.
But it was too late to become soft.
And when he saw the fight, there wasn't much change.
'Yeah. It probably isn't the time to care about other things'
Since the beast was getting pushed back it couldn't pay attention to things like them and since Hansoo probably thinks that they are backup he probably thinks that he doesn't need to care.
'Good. Good.'
Suyeol slowly walked down as he looked downwards.
The altar was very tall to the point where it reached 30~40m high.
The beast was occupied fighting Hansoo that it hadn't been able to pay any attention to them who had already came down to the 10m height.
Suyeol, who was walking down, stopped and talked as he turned around.
"How about we wait here awhile? If we go in now we might become a nuisance."
At those words, everybody nodded as if they were waiting for it.
But at that moment a huge amount of fear exploded from below.
Kuuuuuuaaaaangg!
As the fear that blew out from below bounced off the insides of the altar and got amplified, it exploded upwards as it hit everyone's ears.
Shake
"Kuhuk!"
The power of the fear that was amplified from the altar's structure was much more different.
The 11 had expected the fear to be like what they heard from the outside so they were shaking around without being able to catch their balance.
"Huuuak!"
But these guys were one of the stronger people.
Since they had put up the number of runes, they weren't around the level where they would all fall from just a fear.
"Wow… Be almost got wrecked"
While one of them was still shaking as if he couldn't catch his balance yet, something unexpected happened.
As if something ran up the stairs like a tank charging from the front.
Kudududududk
"Uuk!"
"Uaaaaak!"
It probably wouldn't have worked but they were all in a state where their balances were off from the unexpected attack.
They couldn't hold onto the thin stairs and had all fallen after being hit by something.
Bududuk
"Kuak!"
Their legs didn't break since they barely caught their balance due to their increased perception and agility but they couldn't clear up their mentality for a while after falling from a height of 10m.
Suyeol then felt a chill as he looked at one corner.
Krrrrrrrrr
The beast was drooling while staring at them.
While blocking the entrance to the stairs above.
And even had an happy expression.
Suyeol realized something from that expression.
'Fuck… this bitch. It wasn't that it didn't know that we were approaching it'
It wasn't that the monster didn't know.
It feigned its ignorance and waited until they came into the range of his fear perfectly
'Kang Hansoo this bitch. He should've told us something like this earlier!'
Hansoo probably knew all about this.
How could he not tell them about this.
No, that wasn't the important part currently.
'Fuck… what made us all fall?'
Suyeol hurriedly looked up.
And then made a dumbfounded expression as he saw Sangjin run up the stairs crazily while covering his ears.
'Did that dumbass just…'
It seems he had been blocking his ears alone.
And that was the reason why he was somewhat immune to the fear.
The guy who was pretty much in normal shape had charged up from the front as he pushed them off.
They had no way of countering it when they were pushed back in terms of stats and had even lost their balance.
'Is that crazy bastard trying to run away alone?'
Suyeol felt like his soul was about to escape his body but he quickly regained his senses.
There wasn't much of a problem because he was going to fight with Hansoo anyway.
If Hansoo fought from the front and they support from the back, it will still go according to his plans.
Suyeol shouted loudly as he moved around slowly.
"Hey! I came to help! Let's combine our strengths and end it quickly!"
And then a voice from above, the top of the stairs where they had come from, was heard.
"Why should I?"
And then the 10 looked up at the sky in panic.
'…When did he get there'
Hansoo, who was fighting the beast like a maniac just until then, had already climbed up that far.
To the entrance of the altar at the top.
Suyeol desperatly shouted.
"What are you talking about? To not kill something that you almost killed already?"
And then Hansoo shook his head.
"I was about to but it failed. Because of you guys. Now his health is going to regenerate."
The beast's attack was something that even he was barely dodging.
These guys had no possibility of dodging.
And if that happened he would devour everyone below, recover his health instantly and cause Hansoo to fall behind on stamina.
Why would he fight in such a situation.
The beast goes for the weaker ones first.
If guys like these guys come he could just simply go out and come back in.
No, it would be easier. Since the ground would be littered with runes.
'Though there was something I didn't expect'
Whilst Hansoo was watching somebody outside the altar, Suyeol, who had become desperate, shouted out.
"You… You maniac! Then isn't it bad for you too! If this guy breaks the altar apart after getting healed…"
"I think it'll be alright"
"…what?"
"Didn't you guys come into become sacrifices on your own accord? I will send praises for your samaritanism"
"Fuck…"
They understood the situation finally.
That there was enough sacrifices inside the altar to make the beast fall asleep.
Hansoo had earned 24 hours.
Hansoo could just start all over tomorrow after exiting and sleeping for a day.
He would be able to defeat a foe a second time whom he had already defeated once.
Grrrrrrr
Suyeol made a expression filled with despair as he looked at the beast slowly approaching him.
And then the beast ruthlessly charged at the 10 of them.
Grrrrrrr!
"Uaaaak!"
"Aaak!"
"Kyaaak!"
And soon the altar was filled with roars, screams and plosives.
.........
"Hoo."
Hansoo, who had bit on the cloud snack that he was smoking before, slowly walked up the rest of the stairs after hearing the screams that came down from below expressionlessly.
And he had met with Sangjin who was waiting at the top expressionlessly with the look of stupidity from before nowhere be to seen.
Hansoo, who had gazed at that Sangjin, chuckled as he opened his mouth.
"Why did you do that?"
And Sanjin's eyes became deeper at those words.
Then soon after he opened his mouth.
"Because I finally realized what I needed to do in order to be of a help to you"
Sangjin mumbled as he listened to the screams of the people whom he had thrown in.
Chapter 20 – Altar (6)
Hansoo, who was smoking on the cloud snack, opened his mouth while he looked at Sangjin.
"What do you seek for?"
Hansoo could vaguely guess.
That this guy had killed those guys for him instead.
If he had the thoughts of getting rid of him then he could've just pushed them in while he was busy fighting the beast.
But Sangjin had helped in a way that he could survive.
By warning him with a shout from above and acting after the beast's movements had slowed down.
'Hoo'
Sangjin breathed in and out as he looked at Hansoo.
He had been thinking Hansoo only until now.
'I want to follow Hansoo'
This was clear.
This had sprung up from three things: Longing, envy and a pursuit for safety.
But he didn't know what exactly would happen from now.
But he thought he couldn't be with Hansoo because he was weak and because of this he thought that he just needed to become stronger.
But whilst he was pondering over this, Suyeol had approached him.
When Sangjin saw Suyeol and his friends approach him he thought of something.
That this was a trap in order to bring harm to Hansoo.
But he followed just to see hear their story.
If they crossed the line he was going to beat them down.
It was clear that he was the strongest after Hansoo and he had created a large gap between him and the others.
And so he had thought that he could become like Hansoo.
Maybe not as much as Hansoo but he thought that he could at least beat around 10 people.
But this was a very big misunderstanding.
There only a single number between him and Hansoo in ranking but there was a gap between them that could not be caught up and smashing down a large group was something only Hansoo could do.
He understood the moment he got surrounded by the ten people.
That he could not beat them.
But he could not deject them here.
Then they will definitely kill him in a manner so that Hansoo wouldn't notice.
From the way they were talking it seemed like that they were going to go hit Hansoo from the back no matter what happened.
Kill him or take him alive then kill Hansoo with him there.
There were only two options.
So he followed.
Since he couldn't die on that spot.
They had told him to try going to his friends but if he had turned around in that situation then he probably would've been stabbed from behind at that spot.
Sangjin thought of countless things whilst he walked.
How he would get out of this situation.
The anxiousness of possibly dying had calmed down as he walked with the ten.
The thought of him having become a lot stronger had been replaced with the thoughts of his lack of strength.
These guys were scared of Hansoo so they couldn't act out in the front and had stayed behind him.
While they were throwing empty threats at them straightforwardly.
He had to look good in Hansoo's eyes but if he couldn't even take care of these ten guys what could he do.
His head started spinning at a crazy rate while in was in danger.
And at the same time he, who had seemed very big, started to look smaller and something became clear to him.
Very very clear.
'There is no way that I can be with Hansoo by becoming strong independently.'
The thought of being approved after becoming strong and then following him was arrogant in itself.
And the thought of being approved after leading a large group was the same.
He realized after calming down and judging himself objectively.
That no matter how hard he struggled alone or even with a bunch of scrubs, the gap between Hansoo would only become wider.
No, it was likely that he will become even weaker by being near weaker people.
And at the same time longing, envy and admiration had disappeared and a different mindset had risen up.
That jealousy or longing was something that he should have only when he had the leisure to.
The current him was in no state to do so.
If he acted arrogantly just because he got a little bit stronger and get attacked by a mob then he would just get killed.
He had to set somebody faster than him in front of him as the goal and chase them zealously.
When his thoughts had cleared up, one thing became clear.
That he wasn't in the situation to question a lot of things.
He just had to catch up while he was still within his eyesight.
He will approve of me if I become strong… he had been looking at this situation in a very laid back manner.
'But how?'
He had already lost his chance.
He had to prove his worthiness in order to catch up to him.
And at that moment he saw Suyeol and the others who were walking next to him.
'Aha. This is it.'
Hansoo's existence was fear in itself but at the same time he was a very temping existence which dropped numerous artifacts and ruins along with his death.
Like a tiger which was scary to no extent but drops a very tempting skin upon death.
People who would want to send Hansoo into traps like these would probably keep coming up.
If they don't die then they will bother him without giving up.
So he realized.
How he could get approved by Hansoo.
How he could help Hansoo.
"Hansoo. Use me"
"Hmm"
Hansoo showed a conspicuous color as he gazed at Sangjin.
And then Sangjin bit down on his teeth inwardly.
'I've had the wrong thoughts until now'
Since he had Hansoo were running towards the same goal, he thought that they could become acquaintances.
Because he was misled by useless thoughts and emotions he didn't realize the main point and thought that he just needed to become strong.
But he was wrong.
He and Hansoo had different goals from the start.
While he was looking out to survive day by day, Hansoo was running while looking at something in.
the distance without stopping.
While they were struggling in order to survive and become stronger, he was acting with his personal rules.
From dividing runes perfectly from the start to every little detail.
He had to keep moving but he didn't hurry and always followed the things he had to.
The moment he realized this was when he didn't kill Taesoon and his friends and just left them alive.
There was no such thing as being disabled here.
If you don't cut off their lifeline then they could come back even higher health but even so he had left them alive and created future troubles.
Even though it would've been more convenient to take their runes after killing them.
And it was like that on the altar too.
Though it would've been a piece of cake for Hansoo to just take the runes from them, he had given them the options.
Sangjin, who had pondered his actions for a while, realized it finally.
That Hansoo was ignoring the acts which would bring him instantaneous rewards because he was looking at something in the distance.
Though it would be of benefit to becoming stronger in the moment, he knew that it would bring harm to what he wanted to accomplish.
Sangjin didn't know if this was because of his psychic powers or because he was smart.
But once he figured this out, one thing became clear.
The way he could become useful to Hansoo.
"I don't know why you don't kill people. But as I see it, it isn't that you don't kill them because you don't want to kill them right?"
Even monkeys would realize it.
If he could do that much then killing was a piece of cake.
Which meant there was another reason why Hansoo didn't kill.
And by leaving them behind, it seemed like that he just needed to not dirty his hands.
Sangjin spoke as he looked at Hansoo.
"Use me. I will dirty my hands instead of you. But then take me with you. No, allow me to follow you"
Hansoo always acted with a clear goal.
But because he looked at things on the long term, it was likely that he needed to endure things that grabbed onto his ankles momentarily.
And in that moment, he could do things instead of Hansoo.
Like a cleans who cleans after Hansoo so he could focus on his own goals.
Since he had already threw away his first chances, this was the only chance for him to be accepted by him.
"I could only use a method that put you in danger as well because I was weak but I can make sure that there won't be a time where I even get close to your line"
Hansoo was special.
There will definitely be guys who will be jealous of and envy Hansoo and block his path.
And out of those people, there will be guys which Hansoo would leave alone because of this personal rules and his goals.
He was willing to thoroughly erase those guys.
So Hansoo can focus on his own goals.
And for that he will become strong by following Hansoo around.
Since he, who had followed him for a few days, had become the strongest after Hansoo.
By helping Hansoo to run faster, he, who is also following Hansoo, would also become faster.
And if he had another small wish he wanted to find out what Hansoo's goals were.
But this would be completed naturally if he stuck by Hansoo and helped him.
Hansoo, who had been listening to his story, chuckled.
"Even if I say yes, what would you if it's a situation where you cannot follow? For example getting pushed off forcefully"
Then Sangjin's expression froze.
He thought that he was being abandoned.
But his thoughts changed after seeing Hansoo who was smiling in amusement.
'…there must be something in the 2nd tutorial'
He didn't know what but he head seen it with his psychic powers.
That they would forcibly be separated in the 2nd tutorial area.
Sangjin clenched his teeth.
"Then… I will become stronger and come find you. Let's at least go back to our old relationship."
Hansoo laughed as he responded.
"Go down"
'Dammit, is it not possible?'
Sangjin bit his teeth for a moment and then shouted loudly.
"Kang Hansoo! Can't a person can make a mistake once in awhile! I had to make a choose something I didn't have a choice against because I was weak but I'm just starting! Fuck just try using me! And if I'm still useless then you can leave me behind!"
He wasn't worthy enough.
He wasn't enough until now and he wasn't still enough.
But he gained another chance he had the confidence to do better.
'Fuck. Just once! Please!'
Hansoo threw down the cloud snack which he had finished smoking and then spoke whilst looking at Sangjin.
"Don't misunderstand things. Come here tomorrow around one. I would have killed that thing below by then"
"Huh?"
"And then take all the runes that are below. You killed those 10 so you should take them. Well. Let's see each other later with smiles on our faces"
Sangjin's expression became bright at those words.
And Hansoo mumbled inwardly as he looked at that Sangjin.
'Hmm.. though it's a little awkward'
Hansoo thought of what he and Eres talked about in the past.
Hansoo nodded at those words.
Since that was always Eres' problem.
And because of Eres, there existed cleaners.
No, it was a necessity that every sovereign had even if they weren't Eres.
People who would dirty their hands instead of the sovereign.
And people who would help their owner head towards their goal.
And Eres looked at Hansoo as he spoke.
'I was actually going to Enbi Arin but… I will see first'
He would need to use the cloud snack again in order to kill the Carnivorous beast.
But it didn't seem like much of a loss.
Since it seems that a lot of things changed in a small moment.
'It's very cheap if it's just some runes and cloud snacks'
The cloud snack was just something that worked on the normal runes anyway.
It didn't work on the colorless runes so he couldn't use it for that long.
Of course he didn't know how far he could trust Sangjin.
When the second tutorial begins than everyone here would be forcibly separated around the second tutorial area and they would not know when they would meet again.
His mind might have changed by the time they meet again.
But investments were always something like this.
An investment of a few runes and eight cloud snacks in order to attain a chance of getting a decent Punisher was a very good investment.
'Well. If it fails then there's nothing I can do about that'
If that happened he could just follow his original plans.
Hansoo, after looking at Sangjin who was going down, started to regenerate his health.
.........
Kudududk
Hansoo cut off the Carnivorous beast's life as he ruthlessly stabbed the needle into its heart.
Kuuuhhhh…
It let out a last cry as it fell down.
He had went hunting and had already experience him so he only needed to smoke six of them to kill it.
The carnivorous beast didn't drop any runes as if it wasn't designed to be killed.
The floor was littered with the runes of the guys who had died yesterday but Hansoo didn't even take a glance at them as he started to walk towards a corner of the Altar.
The requirements of the Hidden piece was simple in some ways.
To kill the monster before it destroyed the Altar and jumped out.
For it to come out it needed to destroy the Altar but in that instant the chance of attaining the hidden piece disappears.
Which meant that if you wanted to kill him you needed to kill it inside the Altar where his fears got amplified.
'It's seriously not something that was designed for somebody to kill'
Hansoo went into the room in the corner of the Altar that Kwang Goonju had told him jokingly in the past.
And in the middle of the room there was a single artifact.
'It's not a skill but…'
He wasn't that disappointed, if he were to compare an artifact and a skill of the same quality then the artifact was more useful despite his trait.
If it was useful to a point.
'Let's see what they give'
Hansoo had a bit of anticipation as he walked to the middle of the pedestal.
And Hansoo's face, which did not get shocked easily, started to tremble at a minute level.
"…Ring of the Vampire King Nurmaha."
Solo ranking <9>
The strongest artifact which represented Kwang Goonju.
'Kwang Goonju this guy. I wondered where he had obtained this…'
Hansoo sighed as he saw this.