Chapter 97: A Madman Recognizes a Madman
—Riiip!
I boldly ripped open the second envelope.
[Opening the ‘The 2 Information’ (S-rank).]
—Thump thump.
Along with a flutter of excitent, I pulled out a black sheet of paper from the envelope. The amount of text written was similar to the The 1 information ticket. However…
[This is a region where information cannot yet be confird.]
[Only partial information is revealed.]
The content wasn’t as complete as I had hoped.
The old man clicked his tongue. “Tsk, tsk. The one who made this dungeon must be just as twisted as you are. Selling this for 10,000 points without showing it all?”
“I know, right?”
I furrowed my brow as well because hieroglyphic symbols obscured so of the information.
#1 and #2 were straightforward. The parts below, however, were a dizzying ss.
#1. Once The 2 begins, team selection starts.
– There will be a total of three teams. The first, second, and third ranks from the previous the will each select their team mbers.
– Each team can have up to 10 mbers.
– This ans that if the maximum number is reached, the remaining unselected participants will be eliminated.
#2. The selected team mbers must work together to find the ‘National Treasure’ hidden within a giant castle.
– The team that finds the National Treasure first wins, while the teams that fail will be eliminated.
#3. □□ appears ■■■ after □□□ ■□□.
The □□ of □□□ is □□□□□□ as □□ ■■□, and □□□ ■■ various □□□ of □□ to □□□ □■ □□□.
PS. Each □□ □□□□□□ □□ □□□.
4. There is a □□ ■■□ feature.
Participants □□ ■■□ the □□□ □□□ □□□ from a □□□stance.
If found, the participant □□■ □□■■□ the □□■■□ early.
#5. There are two ■■□□ □□ □□□ □ ■■□□ □□■ □□□■ □■:
– Purchase it with ■■■■■ through ■■□□ □□ □□□ ■■.
– Find the ■■□□ □□ □□□ hidden ■■□□ ■□□ □□□ the area.
“Good grief, what a heartless bunch. How are we supposed to make sense of this? Thinking about it makes furious. How dare they trick my disciple like this?” the old man snapped irritably.
Whether he was angry on my behalf or just curious about the content wasn’t clear, but either way…
“Well, at least the critical parts are intact. I think I understand why they’re doing this too.”
“Huh? You understand this gibberish?”
“Yes, look here.” I pointed to #4 and #5 on the black sheet.
The old man’s eyes widened. “What’s there to see?”
“Hmph, you always tease about not being a genius. It seems like you’re on the sa level as , Elder.”
“What nonsense! Let see that, you rascal.”
—Swish!
The old man leaned his face toward the paper. Since he couldn’t physically interact with it, that was his only option.
I smiled and held if out for easier viewing.
“Hm, hm…? What is this? It’s just a bunch of strange symbols.”
“Compare it with the The 1 information.” I slid the two sheets side by side.
#4. There is a special perk.
– Participants can locate the judges who are observing them from a distance.
– If found, the participant can access the shop early.
#5. There are two ways to obtain this information:
– Purchase it with trial points through a discovered judge.
– Find the information tickets hidden by the judges across the area.
I explained, “See? The spacing and text count for #4 and #5 are identical to the The 1 ticket. If you look closely, it’s the sa content.”
“Oh?” The old man blinked. “Ah, you’re right! Well, look at you!” He gazed at with amazent. Then he exclaid, “Aha! As expected! You’re gradually becoming complete, aren’t you?”
“Uh… What?”
“I’m talking about my Grand Technique of the Celestial Artisan! A technique that elevates even diocre individuals above genius. Hahaha, my disciple is becoming a genius. How admirable.”
“…” I glanced at the grinning old man with a sideways look.
It seed he felt embarrassed that I noticed sothing he hadn’t. Honestly… This wasn’t about genius; it was just about attention to detail.
Anyway, what I discovered was simple. #4 and #5 on the The 1 Information and the The 2 Information were identical!
“Perhaps the judges scattered The 2 tickets around as well. That’s why they hid the overlapping information in #4 and #5, to prevent anyone from gaining an advantage by finding only the The 2 ticket.”
“Well, that makes sense, I suppose. Though I don’t get why they’d go to such lengths.”
“It doesn’t matter.” I looked back at the paper.
Now, except for the content of #3, everything was decipherable.
I carefully summarized the keywords. “Hmm, The 2 revolves around teamwork. Participants with high ranks in The 1 will choose team mbers…”
“Then you’ll definitely have to rank in the top three. Well, I’d say the first place is a given for you.” The old man nodded contentedly.
“Team mbers will work together to find sothing called a National Treasure. This is… quite sothing.”
The mont I read the hints for The 2, I imdiately grasped the intention of the dungeon creator, Delilah.
“What’s so impressive? Teamwork?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then?”
“If you look closely… those who killed others and acted selfishly in The 1 are bound to be at a disadvantage in The 2.”
“…”
The 2 demanded cooperation, which required participants to unite to clear it. So what did that imply?
“Delilah is sending a ssage. That morality is also a virtue of the strong, so those with poor morals will fail her trials.”
Moreover, it was stated that unselected participants would be eliminated. This not only filtered out those with bad character but also weeded out incompetent individuals who survived through sheer luck.
“…Heh, this is amusing. Very amusing.” The old man chuckled like a child. “This place is wonderful. So much more thrilling than the world I lived in! How do you plan to proceed?”
“Hmm, I’ll need to think about it.”
“Tsk, it’s a pity I can’t keep watching this. These summoning sessions feel so short lately. Already ten minutes have passed!”
“I’ll call you again, Elder.”
With a swish, the old man disappeared, leaving silence in its wake.
I closed my eyes. It was still night. There was plenty of ti before dawn. I had to make decisions on what to do with this information and how to proceed from here on.
The next morning…
“Olena, Jas, and Capu,” I called out to my party with a serious expression.
“Yes, did you call?”
“Ngh, you called us?”
“Hmm, another expedition today? Hopefully, we’ll gain sothing this ti.”
My companions, with tangled hair and rough skin from a week of camping, shuffled toward . Having spent a week together, we had grown sowhat accustod to one another.
I showed them the The 1 Information I purchased yesterday. “Will you take a look at this?”
That was right. I decided to share the information with them.
The 2 is all about cooperation anyway.
Although we might have been competitors now, drawing too firm a line might harm later. However, I wasn’t planning to reveal everything—only the information about The 1.
“Hoon, what’s this?”
“What is it?”
The three foreigners crowded around and examined the sheet. Their eyes widened in no ti.
“…What is this?”
“Poison mist? Judges? Shop? Poison bonus?”
They looked at with confused expressions.
“While scouting last night, my subordinates found it.”
I didn’t ntion buying it from the shop. It was a little white lie. Revealing that I’d been lying to them might only create resentnt.
“…How did you get this? If it’s true, this is huge.”
“It says the poison mist will spread in the central area in a month. And we’re supposed to survive it?”
“…”
Olena shook her head.
Jas looked shocked as he stared at .
Capu seed lost in thought with his eyes closed.
“The poison mist will likely be a significant threat to all of us.”
“…”
“The information doesn’t say anything about neutralizing the poison mist. It only says we must avoid it and survive.”
Capu nodded at my words. “If it erges in the central area, then we should move as far away from the center as possible to ensure our survival from now on.”
“Then shouldn’t we start moving imdiately?” Jas chid in after glancing at Capu. “Judging from this, the poison mist would start with the closest prey if it has intelligence. The further away we are, the better. Ah, so this trial favors those with early access to information.”
“I agree.” I nodded. “But.”
“…”
“I won’t run away.”
“What?” Olena blinked in surprise.
“So you’re staying here?”
“No. The poison mist is described as a monster. This ans it’s likely a creature that can be defeated rather than a natural disaster.”
“Don’t tell …”
“Yes, I’m heading to the center.”
“R-Really?”
“What? But why?”
“Hoon, I’d suggest you reconsider.”
The party tried to dissuade , but my decision was already made.
There was only one reason for revealing this information: to tell them to stay as far away from the center as possible and to survive so they could assist in the next the.
“Please survive by escaping as far as you can. Of course, if you choose to follow , I’ll respect that decision. The choice is yours.”
“…”
“Still, I strongly recomnd staying far away…”
“Mhm, how can we just leave you behind, Hoon…?” Olena hesitated, but I shook my head.
“Actually, I have so resistance to poison. I’m also confident in myself.”
“…Really?”
There was a brief silence.
Jas was the first to speak up. “Fine. I’ll leave this place as soon as I can. You know, you should let people act according to their choices in this kind of situation.”
“…I also think moving away from the center is the better option,” Capu agreed with Jas.
“Alright. Capu, let’s get moving.”
As they hastily prepared, Olena looked in the eyes as if asking if I was truly okay.
I smiled and nodded. “Let’s survive and et again.”
Approximately three weeks remained until the appearance of the poison mist. Once separated from my companions, I could finally be alone again for the first ti in a week.
* * *
On the weekend, in a pub located underground in the Gangnam District, five hunters gathered in a VIP room.
“Gahaha. I’m sure that kid is doing well right now.”
Each emanated an aura of undeniable strength. They were none other than the Five Stars of Seoul—the erging rankers who ruled Seoul, South Korea.
“Heh, I wonder what he’s up to now? The 1? The 2?”
When Jang Daewoong slamd his beer down, the Fine Bow shook his head. “Berserker. The flow of ti in that place is different from reality. No one knows what he’s doing now. If anyone does, it’s Delilah.”
“True, true. Man, that was fun back then. Do you all rember? Haha.”
“Fun? What fun?”
—Chomp, chomp.
The White Swine grumbled as he devoured food nearby. “Do you not rember how much we suffered during The 1?”
“Right! We almost died because of Berserker, didn’t we?” Lee Sunah responded with a sly grin, prompting Jang Daewoong to laugh even louder.
“Haha! How can a man flee in the face of a monster?”
“…”
Fine Bow let out a shallow sigh.
At the ti of the poison mist’s release, Jang Daewoong charged in, claiming he would deal with it himself, and the four others had to knock him out to escape. Had they been slightly slower, they might all have been six feet under instead of in this room.
“Madman, for goodness’ sake… Learn to restrain yourself.”
“Kahaha. Regardless, I’m excited about my little brother. Maybe he’ll finish what I couldn’t, unlike you cowards who ran away.”
“…You lunatic.” At that mont, Gi Soyul glared at him, sipping beer nearby.
“Hm?”
“Please stop saying such eerie things. Your words might co true.”
“Exactly! Skeleton King is a smart man! There’s no way he’d do sothing as crazy as Berserker,” Lee Sunah joined in with a laugh.
“Who knows?” Jang Daewoong smirked aningfully.
He thought to himself, The kid’s just as crazy as I am.
A madman recognizes a madman—such was the Berserker’s belief.
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