3.
Hunters sat around in the library.
"Um…"
The Hunters were sitting in a wide circle. In the middle of it, hundreds of [Apocalypse] were piled up. From now on, they had to choose one from all those books, but no one hastily approached the pile.
That was a given. Just a moment ago, their companions were eaten up by the book. And it was 50 people. Everyone was afraid or depressed.
If anyone could laugh energetically in this situation, wouldn't it be likely that they were some kind of nut job?
"Hahahaha!"
Surprisingly, there was such a nut job present.
"I can't believe 50 people got eliminated as soon as we started. This is a big hit from the get-go. "
A blonde-haired boy. A certified, top of all nut jobs in our world. Heretic Questioner stroked his chin.
"But there is always a sacrifice needed to go forward. Let's not forget their sacrifice! We'll have to work harder to clear the tower!"
"Let's cheer up! We're lucky we've only lost 50 people so far when it could've almost been 100 people. Instead of grieving for what was lost, we should be happy for what remained!"
The more Heretic Questioner opened his mouth, the more severe the mood became.
Bookmark maids still roamed around us. They served hot coffee and black tea that we had no idea about where it came from, and out of 250 hunters, only the Heretic Questioner said, "Ah! Thank you!" and accepted it at once.
"Hmm?"
Heretic Questioner sipped the black tea and tilted his head.
"Everyone, are you all not going to drink? It's very delicious though?"
"First…"
I cut off the Heretic Questioner.
There was nothing good about letting a psychopath talk for a long time.
"Heretic Questioner, please keep your mouth shut for a bit."
"Huh? Why should I?"
"The more you talk, the lower our morale becomes. We're losing motivation. It'll be big trouble if our morale drops any more from here on, so please shut up until I say it's okay."
"Oh. If that happens, it'll be a big problem."
Heretic Questioner gave me a broad smile.
"Okay, Death King! I'll happily shut up!"
The Hunters stared at the Heretic Questioner and me with a puzzled look.
Don't look at me like that. I just figured out how to deal with that nut job.
"Now."
I purposely raised my voice to change the mood.
"Everyone. I'm sure you all know now. You can't just go against that Constellation recklessly. Right now, we have no choice but to behave ourselves and follow the quest that the librarian gave us."
The Hunters' eyes slowly gathered on me.
Instinctively, I felt a burden, but I swallowed hard.
'I'm 3rd rank now.'
The third strongest hunter here with the right to speak!
I had to get used to getting people's attention as if I was breathing.
I opened my mouth while putting up my best poker face.
"But just because we're following the quest doesn't mean we're at a disadvantage. Everyone, please take a look at the quest window."
The Hunters' gazes were stuck in the air along with my words.
The same hologram I saw would've also been reflected in their eyes.
+
[Remake The World. Volume 1.]
Difficulty: To be determined (未定)
Mission Objective: As there are countless worlds, there is also countless destruction happening. The Constellation 'Librarian Bang Gu-seok' describes this as a Discontinued Serialization. Librarian Bang Gu-seok wants for the worlds that were discontinued for unjust reasons to continue their stories again.
First, choose one of the discontinued Apocalypse!
If you succeed in saving the world, that world will be registered as your 22nd floor.
※However, if the mission fails, the 22nd floor will not be opened.
+
"You've read all of it, right?"
The Hunters nodded. Some of them even answered "Yes." Was it an effect from making the Heretic Questioner shut up? For the time being, no Hunter looked like they would challenge my authority.
"The most important thing here is the last part. [If you succeed in saving the world, that world will be registered as your 22nd floor.] Do you all know what this means?"
The Hunters were puzzled.
They still didn't know how big of a reward this was.
I said.
"The rewards will change depending on what kind of world you save. Well, let's say we saved a world packed full of diamonds! Then, that world becomes our 22nd floor."
'....."
The Hunters' faces began to change drastically.
"Diamond is just an example. For people who live in the tower like us, there's no need to pick that piece of crap. But what if it's a world buried with an abundance of food, water, and all kinds of ore?"
"Self-sufficiency…"
The Witch murmured.
"Then being self-sufficient would really be possible."
"That's exactly it."
I stood up from my seat. And a pile of books in the middle. I walked towards the Apocalypses that the librarian told us to 'Pick from these books'.
"He-, hey now! Death King!"
Came the Venomous Snake's shout from behind my back.
"If you touch that recklessly, then the tentacle monster…!"
I picked up a random book from the pile. Hukkk! The Hunters screamed and shut their eyes. There was even a Hunter who ran away because he was afraid that the tentacle monster would pop out again.
But even after one, two, and three seconds passed, nothing happened.
The Apocalypse laid obediently still in my hands as if it were an ordinary book.
"Uh, huhhhhhh?"
Venomous Snake's eye silently went wide.
"Nothing's happening…?"
"Hur hur."
The librarian, who was floating in the air, laughed.
"That's right! As long as the great me doesn't activate my powers, the Apocalypses are just plain old books. Of course, there are forbidden books (禁書) that could prove to be dangerous just by touching them. Those books are sealed somewhere secluded, so don't worry."
"Yes."
I nodded.
And when I opened the book in my hand, another hologram popped up.
It was information about the book.
+
[Tales of Sormewin Academy]
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Difficulty Level: D Class
Player Limit: 4 to 5 people
※The Serialization is currently suspended.
Introduction: Sormewin is a historical magic academy. It's an ordinary academy where friendship and competition, love, and jealousy comes and goes. This Apocalypse could have remained as an ordinary academy. If only it wasn't for the World Destruction-class artefact that was sealed in the academy's basement of all things!
Reason for Discontinuation: The evil lady lost her fiancé (Crown Prince) to a schoolgirl who was reincarnated twice. She then changed for the worse, and unsealed the artefact, liberating the Great Devils and causing the world to be destroyed.
+
The reason for discontinuation, in short, the cause of the world's destruction, was very pitiful.
It would've been better if the world was destroyed because of meteorites or tsunamis.
'What a pity. The world was destroyed because of the children's love quarrels.'
It was obvious why the librarian got angry.
Let's think about it.
******
(ED/N: Dear readers this is definitely SSS-Class Suicide Hunter, please don't be confused and keep on reading)
"Ahhhh."
Like a crack in a blue jewel, the ice-cold eyes of the Crown Prince began to gain an understanding.
The long misunderstanding that had driven a wedge between the two of them all this while had finally melted and collapsed after the second life.
"My half was here. Dear Silvia. She was my half."
The Crown Prince, muttering, let out a sigh and knelt on one knee. Silvia sobbed silently as if holding her breath.
The two of them unwittingly realized that they would never forget this moment until they died.
At that very moment.
With a bang, the Crown Prince burst entirely.
"Eeeek?"
The next moment, Silvia burst.
What came to the consciousness of Silvia as she was blown away, was a flurry of screams.
"Kyaaaaaaak!"
"It's the Devil! The Devil has appeared!"
"What bad luck."
The world.
It was the moment where everything came to an end.
******
Imagine that the romance novel that you had been reading was discontinued because of something like this. Any reader would've been pissed off.
It was like that even in a novel, so it would've been worse if it was the real world.
'Anyways.'
This wasn't important right now.
"Everyone! Come here and take a look at this book."
I yelled at the Hunters.
"Every book has a different difficulty level and content. There are levels that we can clear more easily among these books. We have to choose the books that will benefit us the most among these!"
Several Hunters stood up from their seats.
But still, the majority just stared at each other.
-Stupid. They're like that because you're using honorifics. You still don't understand how hard it takes for these Hunter bastards to listen?
Bae Hu-ryeong said.
-There are 250 Hunters you have to deal with right now. 250 people. You'll have to drop the honorifics to at least make them listen.
'Really?'
-Every time you level up, you hear [Your presence has become clearer], right. Do you know what that means? It's [Your pride has grown stronger]. By nature, the higher the level a Hunter has, the stronger their pride will be. They'd never listen to you.
Indeed.
I gave a declamatory speech that was filled with my aura.
"There are hundreds of Apocalypses here, how can I read them all by myself?! Come and read!"
Flinching.
Only then did the heavy hips of the Hunters picked themselves up.
"Listen, everybody!"
I continued ordering without a break.
"Let's split into groups. Those that have read some novels or history books, to the left! Those that really don't know anything about novels or history, to the right! Come on now! Quickly!"
Their steps quickened.
Thump thump thump!
The people were divided into two sides.
"People who have read books, divide according to your favourite genres! Romance lovers to the romance group! Fantasy lovers to the fantasy group! If you're a mystery novel lover, to the mystery novel group! Chop, chop, get to it now!"
At last, the atmosphere of the library became a little busy.
Hunters under my command began to go around.
"Now. From now on, we're all going to read!"
I picked up an Apocalypse and tapped on it.
"We will divide the hundreds of books into genres. [Romance] group reads romance books. Other groups too, read the books according to your genre! Read the book, and decide for yourself if it's a hit or a flop."
"Hup! Hup!"
The Heretic Questioner shook his arm hard.
He was still keeping his mouth shut and following my orders.
"…Yes, you can speak."
"Death King! I don't know what a flop is! Please tell me the standard! If the story is good, it's a hit, if the story is bad, is it a flop?"
"No. That's not it at all."
I opened up an Apocalypse and showed it to him.
"For example, this is a flop."
+
[Survive the Volcano!]
Genre: Survival, Romance
Difficulty Level: D Class
Player Limit: 2 people
※The Serialization is currently suspended.
Introduction: This world has been devastated by nuclear warfare. But the vitality of humanity is amazing! Even on the ground where the nuclear warfare broke out, the main character and his lover survived. After overcoming all the adversities and hardships, the main character couple vow to be the new Adam and Eve.
Reason for Discontinuation: Of all places, the main character couple had to spend the last night in the active volcano zone. The volcano erupted during the night. The main character and the main character's lover were smashed to death by a rock that flew from a volcano. Humanity thus perished.
+
I spoke in a wretched tone.
"It's not just a common flop, it's a shitty flop."
"Why?"
Heretic Questioner tilted his head.
"New Adam and Eve. Isn't it romantic and nice?!"
"It's useless saving this world. It's a world where there's already nuclear warfare."
I sighed and closed the book.
"What can we do if we get a world full of radiation as the 22nd floor? Do you want us all to die of radiation contamination?"
"Aha."
For instance, in the past, the Flame Emperor had cleared the Great Library in an amazing way.
From the 22nd to 29th floors, he only targeted worlds that had [Lava] or [Volcano].
'What a crazy bastard.'
The Flame Emperor was immune to fire. Even in a disastrous world where there was flowing lava and volcanic eruptions, he could leisurely take a stroll.
He chose the Apocalypses based solely on the criteria of [how easily he can attack].
He really didn't consider what kind of Apocalypse he should have saved so that it'd be a benefit to all of us, not even a little.
'If he did well, there was a chance where he'd be able to get eight treasure troves!'
At any rate, a man who feeds off his own pride wouldn't be of help.
After all, it'd be a loss to other people living in the tower.
'This time, I'll only pick out the best possible Apocalypses so that it'd benefit us.'
Apocalypses where monsters sprang out which could help the Hunters gain combat experience, or an Apocalypses which was filled with rare minerals, or Apocalypses which were set in ruins full of treasures, or an Apocalypse, where seasoned chicken and sweet & sour pork run through the forest and shrimp fritters dance in the sea.
No. Let's cancel the last one. It would be quite scary if it actually exists.
Anyway!
"Bear in mind! It doesn't matter whether the story is shit or not!"
I shouted while handing out books to Hunters.
"Whether the main character has cancer, or if the story's no fun, pay no heed to anything like that. Just read it! Read it from beginning to end, and evaluate whether saving this world will benefit all of us…."
Paused.
I paused when I was handing out a book.
One Hunter made eye contact with me.
"…Excuse me. Black Dragon Witch?"
"Mmm. What's wrong?"
It was the Witch.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"This is the [Mystery] group."
A gathering of people who enjoyed reading mystery novels normally.
For some reason, the Witch was sitting there proudly.
This person, didn't it show that she was a romance fan when the Character Window popped up just now?
"I know."
The Witch nodded as if it was natural.
"Would I have sat here without knowing where I was?"
"Uh…. Black Dragon Witch. Did you always like the mystery genre?"
"Of course."
Slurp.
The Witch modestly drank some black coffee.
"I'm an intelligent woman."
"....."
Crazy.
Why was this guild leader suddenly cosplaying as a normal person? She liked dramas. She liked romance. Anyone who knew her could tell she was an enthusiastic reader of nonsense romances even at a glance.
'No way.'
I realized something.
'Does she not want to let people around her know that she's obsessed with Romance…?'
Come to think of it, the [Romance] group particularly had very few Hunters. There was not even a single man. On the other hand, for some reason, the [Martial Arts] group was full of men.
I assure you, less than a handful among them actually read Martial Arts novels.
'Wow.'
My mind went blank.
'Are these people cosplaying even in this situation!?'
-I told you.
Bae Hu-ryeong murmured sullenly.
-High-level Hunters feed on their pride. Besides, they're all people who received a Title. They'd rather die than lose face. Didn't you see? Just now, the 50 people that were doing a suicide special all at once? They're all crazy dudes.
It drove me crazy.
"No, Black Dragon Witch… No matter how much you want to…."
"What do you mean no matter what?"
The Witch asked back calmly.
Her calm face had the feel of an impregnable fortress.
I thought desperately of what to say, and I spoke slowly.
"No… I thought you were a pretty romantic person… That's what I thought. So to see that you aren't in the [Romance], but in the [Mystery] group, is a little surprising…."
The hand with which she was drinking coffee paused mid-action.
"Hmmm. Is that so?"
Her voice was exactly the same as usual.
"Do I look like someone who goes well with romance?"
"Yes. That's why it's weird that you're not in the [Romance] group but somewhere else….It feels like you're wearing something that doesn't suit you…."
"Haa."
The Witch put down the coffee cup and stood up.
"I can't help it if Death King says so. I've never read romance novels in my life, but yes. Should I take this chance to get used to a new genre this time? It's the right attitude as a Hunter to challenge new things no matter what the task is."
"It's just as you've said…."
"Mmhmm. Got it."
The Witch headed for the [Romance] group with light steps.
It was like a cowboy walking to the far side of the wilderness in a western movie.
I couldn't help but to look at her back with a very subtle feeling.
"Well done, Death King!"
Heretic Questioner looked at me with sparkling eyes. He was sitting in the Mystery group too.
"When the Black Dragon Witch sits somewhere, she doesn't get up easily. Aha. For real, an incredible rookie showed up!"
"…Ten Thousand Temple Guild Leader. Do you read mystery novels, too?"
Heretic Questioner smiled like an angel.
"I know Sherlock Holmes!"
"Oh. I know Doctor Watson too."
I chanted the command quietly in my mind.
'Character window.'
Snikttttt.
Messages flashed before my eyes.
+
Name: Heretic Questioner(異端審問官)
Favourability: 50
Favourite Genres: [Fairy Tale] [Myth] [Legend]
Unfavourable Genres: None
Favourite Characters: [Human]
Unfavourable Characters: None
Preferred Plots: [Greatest Happiness of the Greatest Number]
Undesired Plots: None
Psychological State: 'I know Sherlock Holmes! Oh. I know Doctor Watson too.'
+
Crazy.
I got goosebumps.
'How come his outward demeanour and his innermost thoughts are exactly the same?'
Furthermore, there was nothing he hated or disliked.
'Is he really a human?'
I genuinely felt fear and shock.
In a literal sense, he was purely a Natural Born Crazy Psycho.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Death King?"
The Crazy Psycho tilted his head.
I was pondering over how to deal with it.
Then I took out a pen and wrote down some letters on the back of the hand of the Heretic Questioner.
[Fairy Tale]
I said with a solemn expression.
"Heretic Questioner-nim."
"Yes!"
"You're in the [Fairy Tale] group from now on."
"Fairy Tale, you say!"
"That's right. Heretic Questioner-nim is the only person in this group. You have to verify and screen all the books that come into the group alone, Heretic Questioner-nim."
"Ohhh! What a heavy responsibility!"
The Crazy Psycho's eyes glistened.
I nodded.
"Yes, it's very important. So I'll leave it in your good hands."
"Ahahaha. Don't worry! Death King. I'll screen it properly!"
That's right.
Out of the hundreds of Apocalypses, there was not a single fairy tale.
I searched thoroughly to see if there was any other Hunter who tried to cosplay as an ordinary person. The result was unbelievable. Out of the 250 people, as many as 100 of them were lying about their taste.
'These crazy assholes….'
In the end, it took three hours just to split them into groups.
As many as 112 cosplayers were sent to their rightful places.
But even for him….
As the last one, he couldn't help but keep silent.
+
Name: Venomous Snake (毒能)
Favourability: 32
Favourite Genres: [Otherworldly Fiction], [Strongest Fiction], [Destruction Fiction], [Harem Fiction] …
Unfavourable Genres: [Political Fiction], [Crime Fiction]
Favourite Characters: [Older Sister], [Younger Sister], [Married Woman], [Pure], [Coy], [Girlish Youths] …
Unfavourable Character: [Mafia], [Gangsters], [Blonde-haired and tanned bully]
Preferred Plots: [I've been summoned to this world, and it turns out that I have the blood of the world's strongest Dragon and the Devil Realms strongest Empress, I'm going to show you what a purely peerless cheat character is, but something seems to be the problem?], [I think my younger sister became a God of Creation for me, but I just want to be an ordinary high school student who just wants to have a quiet day, and it is only troubling me] and as follows [Cheat], [Peerless], [Harem], [Well well, it seems I have no choice but to come forward]
Undesired Plots: [NTR]
Psychological status: 'Wow, fuck. What's with this Old File Room? What's up with the Martial Arts group. Every time I read a line, I feel like my eyes are falling out and it feels like a sign, it's full of sweaty guys. Shit. Isn't this too inconsiderate for the readers?'
+
That person had an eye patch covering one of his eyes.
That person was a swordsman called Chen Mu-mun Master.
That person was… …the Emperor of light novels.
"Huh?"
Venomous Snake looked back at me.
"What, what are you looking at? I'm busy reading."
And Venomous Snake was sitting in the [Martial Arts] group.
"Nothing…"
I couldn't bear to say anything.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you while you're reading. Continue reading…."
"Okay."
I turned my back and walked feebly.
I realized for sure when I came to the 21st floor this time.
The top-ranking Hunters were all crazy.
And I had to carry these crazy madmen.