Chapter 122
Through the installed speakers, a resounding voice echoed and spread in all directions. Soon, soone's figure was reflected on the large electronic display board. The emcee was wearing a ludicrous, unidentified puppet costu.
With the appearance of the emcee, the crowd began to stir.
"What the hell is this, a zodiac race?"
"This place looks too much like an amusent park for a horse race."
"Is this so kind of joke?"
As if trying to dispel the suspicions of those people, the emcee cheerfully continued speaking.
[Well then, before we start the zodiac race, let give a brief explanation for those who don't already know!]
With the lively voice, the screen on the electronic display board changed. There, like an animation for children, small animal characters were gathered.
[Do you all know about the Twelve Zodiac Legends?]
At those words, people looked at the screen as if asking, "What are you talking about?" The emcee continued with the explanation.
[A long ti ago, the Jade Emperor summoned twelve animals for a running race.]
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
The scene of the twelve animals lining up at the starting line was shown.
[As a result, the order in which the animals finished the race determined their positions. And their years ca around in that order!]
The screen showed the first-place rat with a joyful face. Then, the screen turned black, and the emcee appeared.
[You all know the story of the twelve zodiac animals, right? But what if the race were to unfold again? Who would win?]
[This event aims to recreate the ancient Twelve Zodiac Race! Please check your missions, everyone!]
As soon as the words ended, a notification window appeared in front of them.
[The second Great Demon Realm is starting.]
[Participate in the Twelve Zodiac Race and achieve a high score.]
[Ti limit: 5 hours]
The second Great Demon Realm is a running race, with greater rewards for a faster finishing order.
In the process, it would be expected to have conflict among the people, but since there were eyes watching from all directions, it wasn't as dangerous as the first Great Demon Realm.
[For this Great Demon Realm, we will have the assistance of the Twelve Zodiac Gods, and it will be broadcasted live! It will be sent nationwide via live broadcast!]
Nurous cara drones and monitor drones were floating around the hunters. Their images were reflected on electronic display boards installed in various locations.
The second Great Demon Realm was a kind of event for the Twelve Zodiac Gods to make themselves known. As hunters and manshins showcased their skills through the broadcast, the stature of the gods also rose.
People listening to the explanation comnted bluntly, "In the end, the manshins will monopolize this too."
"Isn't this really hopeless?"
Lower-ranked Awakened individuals were grumbling.
As if hearing those words, the emcee added to the explanation.
[For those of you who think you can't win because you're not strong, don't give up! If you look at yourselves, you'll each be wearing your own naplate!]
As the emcee said, people were suddenly wearing naplates. On Seo Gangrim's naplate, a cute white rat was drawn.
[Special rewards will be given to those who rank from 1st to 12th, and additional rewards will be given to those of the sa zodiac sign as the 1st place winner!]
[If the Twelve Zodiac sign of the 1st place winner is the Rat, then all participants with the Rat zodiac sign will receive rewards!]
In other words, it was both an individual competition and a team competition. Even if one was weak, one could get good rewards by assisting soone with the sa zodiac sign. People's eyes lit up at that statent.
[Fighting is good, but since it's being broadcasted, overly intense battles are inappropriate! Murder is, of course, not allowed.]
[Communication items cannot be used in this Demon Realm! Contact with the outside world will also be blocked!]
[In this Great Demon Realm, the effects of abilities, items, weapons, etc., related to the Twelve Zodiac animals will be maximized! Use them well.]
[Now, the event will start in 30 minutes, so please prepare before that! Good luck!]
With a cheerful voice, the electronic display board changed to the number 30:00. The group examined their naplates.
Yoon Geoul expressed disappointnt, saying, "Except for my sister, everyone has a different zodiac sign."
Indeed, everyone, excluding the twin siblings, had different zodiac signs.
Shin Sooah is the Tiger.
Yoon Bom and Yoon Geoul are Horse.
Jang Taeheon is Snake.
Yohan is Rooster.
Yu Harang is Pig.
Yoon Geoul scratched the back of his head and spoke as if in a dilemma.
"Oh, this got a bit tricky. I thought it was a group mission."
"I'm okay with this too. I wanted to have another match with HYoong! Let's bet on who will win!"
Jang Taeheon seed eager and ready to start the race right away. Shin Sooah nodded as well.
"Since it's being broadcasted this ti, it shouldn't be too risky. It might be fun to fight like this."
With Shin Sooah's agreent, the rest of the mbers nodded as if there was no other choice.
Yoon Bom, glancing around, said, "I'm sorry, Master. I want to help, but there's a command to win 1st place..."
It seed that Yoon Geoul and Yohan had similar circumstances. Seo Gangrim lightly nodded and said, "It's fine. Then, it seems this ti it will be an individual competition. Everyone can act independently, and Yu Harang can stick with ."
He glanced at Yu Harang. She smiled happily and said, "Sure! I'll carry you!"
'...I don't know when she learned such words. Did Yoon Geoul teach her?'
Seo Gangrim directed his words to another person who hadn't received divine guidance yet.
"Would you like to co with us, Shin Sooah-ssi?"
"It's okay. I want to try it alone."
She spoke calmly. It was a bit worrying to leave her alone, but as long as he didn't sense any malicious energy, it should be fine.
After nodding, he said to Yu Harang, "Then, let's go together. Yu Harang, hide your naplate inside your clothes."
Suddenly, people were walking around, looking for others with the sa zodiac sign.
There were people who took notice of Seo Gangrim. Unwilling to get entangled with others for no reason, he dispersed from the group while keeping his naplate hidden.
As he moved his feet to a less crowded area, an unexpected person caught his eye. He approached him.
"Team Leader, what brings you here?"
Among the crowd, Team Leader Gong Ju was mixed in with a casual outfit, but even that stood out in various ways. Gong Ju looked at him with a peculiar gaze.
"...It's been a while, Seo Gangrim. I've been hearing about your activities."
His expression hinted at regret for Seo Gangrim not joining the bureau. Ignoring that, Seo Gangrim threw a question at him.
"Why did you co here? Is there sothing going on?"
Generally, the bureau's agents didn't participate in the Great Demon Realm conquests. If an agent beca the first conqueror, it would attract a lot of attention in various ways.
Team Leader Gong Ju calmly replied to Seo Gangrim's question with a asured tone, "I just participated on a personal basis. It would be good if you could pretend not to know."
He said only that and quickly left the spot. It seed suspicious, no matter how one looked at it. If it were Kang Dohyeon, he might know about this situation, but currently, there was no way to contact him.
"Now the race is about to start! Participants, please get ready!"
Listening to the announcent, he looked at the electronic display board; there were barely three minutes left. As he headed toward the starting line, people were already lining up.
He whispered quietly to Yu Harang, "If it's urgent, we'll run."
"If you're in a hurry, I can pick you up and run."
"I can run on my feet now!"
He could feel sharp glances from the surroundings. In many ways, he seed to have a lot of bad luck, so he would likely beco a target in this Great Demon Realm as well.
Suddenly, everyone was standing in front of the starting line. Caras captured hundreds of people lined up in a row.
The air was tainted with excitent and tension as the numbers on the electronic display board began to decrease. The countdown went from 3 to 2, 2 to 1, and finally, 1 to 0.
[-The race started!]
With a thunderous roar, people surged forward, leaving their positions as if it was a horse race. The ground echoed with the sound of footsteps, and a cloud of dust rose. Excitent filled the air as the enthusiastic voice of the emcee rang out.
[The Twelve Zodiac Race has begun! Right from the start, an intense competition is unfolding! And the leading participant is―!]
Seo Gangrim's figure appeared on the monitor floating in mid-air.
[―Player Seo Gangrim and Player Yu Harang!]
He was running with Yu Harang nestled under his arm, giving it his all. Glancing back, he saw fierce battles breaking out among the participants. It seed that eliminations would occur rapidly right from the beginning.
[A fierce battle is happening between the top and middle ranks! Will they eliminate so competitors first?]
Hundreds of people were entangled, struggling and fighting against each other. As the emcee suggested, so might be aiming to defeat their rivals...
In the early stages of the race, it was expected that many participants would be eliminated with the course narrowing drastically after a short distance. Although several hundred people could stand side by side at the starting line, the course's width would reduce to less than a third in no ti. With such limited space, conflict was inevitable.
To avoid the fight, one had to either quickly break through or, conversely, stay at the very back.
Seo Gangrim chose the forr. There was no need to fall behind when he could potentially take the lead.
[Due to the scuffle, the path is blocked! Taking advantage of that, the leader is gradually pulling ahead... huh?]
-Shaaaak!
Before the announcer's comntary could finish, a gigantic tree appeared on the monitor screen. Branches extended over the people who were fighting.
And there was a person running alone on top.
[Player Shin Sooah! Soaring through the air!]
Shin Sooah was chasing Seo Gangrim with movents reminiscent of a flying tiger. The excited emcee shouted,
[As the path got blocked, a new route has been created through the air! Player Shin Sooah is quickly threatening the lead!]
In terms of agility alone, Shin Sooah had slightly higher stats than Seo Gangrim. Truly, her movents were like those of a tiger.
Before he knew it, she had co close to him. When their eyes t, Shin Sooah flashed a bright smile. Seed like she has no intention of going easy on him. Seo Gangrim couldn't afford to let her take the lead like this.
anwhile, it seed like the rear was getting organized.
[From the middle ranks, there's a fierce pursuit towards the leading group! They are quickly accelerating after the first!]
So hunters, leaving the fallen behind, were chasing at a rapid speed. Among them, a few had opted for flight. In this race, those who have the ability to accelerate and fly are the ones who are likely to stand out
Even if their stats were lower than Seo Gnagrim's, their rankings could change based on their abilities. Unbeknownst to him and Shin Sooah, quite a few people, excluding us, had also co close to the lead.
[Wouldn't it be boring if it continues like this? The leading group is entering Course 1!]
Suddenly, the color of the floor changed. Large colorful tiles of various hues appeared.
The mont Seo Gangrim stepped on one tile, his body stiffened.
[The 'Fate Card' is activated!]
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