One or two minutes was the time needed to cut down the heathens. Yoon-seok even slew the ones that tried to escape. Then, he calmly scanned the area to see any survivors before slowly returning to the carriage and his companions.
âWhoâŠwho the hell are you? How can a human possibly do this?â
It was Wellington who spoke. He unwittingly stepped back when he saw Yoon-seok approaching, but when Yoon-seok stopped in his tracks, he realized heâd made a mistake and bowed.
ââŠIâm sorry. I asked you a strange question. Thatâs not what Iâm supposed to say right now. Thank you for saving us.â
He still couldnât get used to this kind of greeting, not even when Jong-Il had done so. Yoon-seok turned his eyes away.
ââŠThen letâs go.â
Thatâs all he has to say after doing something close to a miracleâŠ? Was this routine for him? He was casual as if he only did what he had to. On the other hand, Wellington was starting to fear him, but it also made him feel reassured.
ââŠI will.â
Wellington, who seemed to sense what kind of personality Yoon-seok had, didnât say much. He just nodded and climbed up to the wagonerâs seat once more. When Yoon-seok climbed on the roof, he drove the wagon while avoiding the bodies littering the ground.
Yoon-seok just silently guarded his surroundings, while the others didnât talk much anymore. In a completely different atmosphere than before, the wagon rolled through the forest.
ââŠâ
It was only after they had been traveling that Yoon-seok broke the silence and talked to Wellington. Of course, it was far from small talk.
âDo you think there will be more heathens?â
ââŠMaybe not. It wouldâve been a huge risk for them to cross the border with a force that large.â
âI see.â
Coincidentally, Yoon-seokâs prediction matched Wellingtonâs. However, unlike his, it wasnât based on realistic probability. Since this was a mission given by the Tower, he just thought there might not be more enemies since heâd destroyed the heathens.
Gallop. Gallop.
The wheels of the wagon rolled peacefully. One, two, three, four daysâŠ
It was a mystery. Every night felt like the calm before the storm for Yoon-seok.
âMr. Rick! Mr. Rick!â
Yoon-seok opened his eyes to hearing his alias name. Opening the running wagon window, Elle was sticking out her upper body to call out to him. Perhaps Kanna was tired of trying to stop her from doing that, as she didnât make any move to stop her.
âWhatâs going on, Miss?â
âSeriously! Can you not speak comfortably?â
ââŠThis is comfortable.â
In response, Yoon-seok smiled awkwardly. He didnât insist on honorifics because of age but out of respect. Even though it was back to her childhood days, he still found it uncomfortable to drop honorifics when she was the same âElle.â Yoon-seok naturally changed the subject.
âAnyway, whatâs going on?â
âLook ahead! Itâs the ocean! Ocean!â
Maybe because she was only in the wagon, but the ocean was in sight since a few hours ago. But Yoon-seok felt like itâd be annoying to hear, so he didnât say anything.
âTwo days from nowâŠâ
It had been exactly forty-three days since heâd come to this world, and Wellington said they would reach Jarisman Harbor in two more. After meeting merchants heading inland ten times a day on the sloping hills, they would finally reach their destination after just a bit longer.
Yoon-seok felt a strange sentiment welling inside him.
âIt feels like a graduation ceremony.â
After the day he wiped out the heathens, the group was wary of Yoon-seok, except for Elle. But, they slowly got to know Yoon-seok and let their guard down as time went by. They now spoke without hesitation, and Yoon-seok enjoyed talking with them. Thanks to that, it gave him a deeper understanding of how the culture and society worked in this new world, and he also had the opportunity to learn about Elleâs unfortunate past. He also confirmed James Hambledon was the ancestor Ragna talked about.
Even if that wasnât the case, he still enjoyed it. When Elle and James started bickering, there were a lot of times where Yoon-seok couldnât hold it in and laughed. Wellingtonâs bad sense of humor occasionally made the atmosphere awkward, and Kanna always served bizarre dishes, unlike her mother-in-law-like imageâŠ
Yoon-seok didnât find it unpleasant. They couldnât get any friendlier because of their personalities, but he enjoyed their company.
âWe wonât see each other again, butâŠâ
They were very much alive and breathing, but they were just fictional recreations by the Tower. The moment the mission was over, it would all disappear. Suddenly, a sense of emptiness washed over him, but Yoon-seok wasnât overwhelmed by it. He wasnât soft enough to forget his goal, even though he felt comfortable around them for the first time in a while.
ââŠLetâs concentrate until the end.â
Yoon-seok also managed to relax without realizing it. He shouldnât let his guard down until the end of the mission. Elle knew about Yoon-seokâs level, but she seemed reluctant to let him come here.
âThereâs no way things would end like this.â
It was an adminâs wish to clear the only difficulty level on the eighth floor. Nevertheless, this mission remained uncleared for such a long time. In other words, it was reasonable to think that there was something more to this than just the heathens.
As he was thinkingâŠ
Rattle.
The carriage stopped. He didnât sense anything, so why? Yoon-seok instinctively reached out to his sword. And thenâŠ
The wagon door opened, and Elle and Kanna disembarked. Elle looked to the roof and shouted enthusiastically to Yoon-seok.
âIâll be back to pick up some flowers!â
It was slang for going to the bathroom. Yoon-seok nodded, and Kanna took Elle to the bushes beside the slope. Yoon-seok used his energy to cover his ears as a courtesy. However, this was the trial given by the Tower.
Yoon-seok belatedly realized that such consideration was a life-threatening act.
ăThere is a special challenge within a radius of 200m.ă
Suddenly, a phrase appeared in front of him. Yoon-seok immediately opened his sense and raised it to the limit.
âAhhhhhhhhhhhh!â
A sharp scream that sounded like a woman came from afar. It was estimated to be about two hundred meters away due to distance, which the challenge confirmed. Was it a coincidence?
âNo way.â
Yoon-seok immediately pulled out his sword and ran. He quickly found two women in disheveled clothes who fell on their hips in the bushes. It was Elle and Kanna.
Yoon-seok covered the two.
âToiletâŠno, why did you go so deep when you said you were going to pick flowers?â
Kanna replied, her face red.
âItâs so that you wouldnât hear usâŠbut itâs over there! Look over there!â
Yoon-seokâs eyes followed Kannaâs pointing. About ten meters away, there was a man wrapped in a black cape over comfortable clothing. It seemed like they were about to crouch down and screamed after spotting the guyâŠ
ăWithin a radius of 10m, there is a special challenge.ă
No doubt he meant the special challenge. When he wondered for a second if he was in trouble like James, the man sitting with his back to a tree and drinking water calmly looked at Yoon-seok. AndâŠ
ăYou have encountered Disaster.ă
The moment he saw black eyes, which were nothing unusual on Earth, he gasped. They were breathtaking. No, it took his breath away. His body froze as it did during the countdown before the start of the duel.
ăChoose a person who should die.ă
This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org
Deep inside Yoon-seokâs heart, his emotions stirred. Surprisingly, it wasnât like this with the Heavenly Devil or King of Steel. No, he didnât even have this feeling when the admin Heavenly Warrior tried to kill himâŠ
It was instinctual fear.
âThe Pontiff of the Triads and Heathen Lady of TrejansâŠeven if only remnants were left, itâs natural that your senses donât work since four gods have gathered.â
The man murmured while scanning through Yoon-seokâs companions. Who was this guy? He looked normal at first glance, but something was different. He was standing before their eyes, but something felt distinctly off as if he werenât real. It felt like something beyond a living creature.
âJust think you were unlucky and accept your fate. Thatâs all I can do for you.â
He didnât know what he was talking about or why the system notified him to choose who should die. However, things like this couldnât go on.
Drop.
A drop of blood fell from Yoon-seokâs lips. He relaxed his stiff body and bit his tongue, causing his body to move once more.
Yoon-seokâs first move was to point a sword at him. The man looked a little surprised.
At that point, Wellington and James showed up.
ââŠW-whoâs that?â
Wellington asked Yoon-seok. Yoon-seok replied briefly without even giving him a look.
âDisaster, he said.â
âD-disasterâŠno way heâs the strongest out of the Top 10âŠ?â
Yoon-seok just read the phrase that appeared; he didnât know if it was him. However, his identity was confirmed by the manâs following questions.
âWhat an unusual human being. How did you know about me?â
A question with a positive meaning.
Did the name Disaster intimidate them? Wellington, James, and Kanna began to tremble. The man didnât pay them any attention, as if he was used to it.
âWell, thatâs good, and you know about the curse Iâm under.â
ââŠâ
Curse. Yoon-seok recalled the story of the Disaster James told when he talked about the Top 10. Was it a terrible curse where every life heâd met had to be divided into two?
âThere are five of you, so only three people have to die. Choose who will die and who will survive.â
âChooseâŠ? Wasnât everyone who encountered you dead?â
âI havenât met anyone since I got the shield, so Iâm sure they were wrongly informed. That was a long time ago when I didnât know exactly about this curse.â
It seemed like James knew outdated informationâŠthe question was whether it was a fortunate thing or not.
âRickâŠâ
Wellington looked at Yoon-seok, asking him what they should do. Yoon-seok couldnât answer his gaze.
âThree of usâŠâ
There was an option the moment heâd heard the numbers. It was about sacrificing Elle, Wellington, and James. Then he would certainly succeed in the mission because they had nothing to do with the success. It was the ideal choice if efficiency was to be taken into consideration. ButâŠ
âThen how am I different from them?â
The only difference was that it was an inevitable situation. When his furrowed brows grew deeper and deeper as if to prove the confusion in his head, Wellington stepped forward for Yoon-seok.
âChoose me for now. I donât want to survive.â
âLord Wellington!â
Kanna screamed sharply. Wellington, who had always lost to her before, ignored her voice now. Looking at him, Yoon-seokâs mind cleared immediately.
âWhat the hell was I doingâŠ?â
Was he eaten by fear for a second there? How could he think about sacrificing someone without fighting? He felt so pathetic.
âYou donât have to.â
Yoon-seok came forward, beating Wellington to it.
And he stood in front of the man.
âIf I had to choose who would die here today, it would only be him.â
The man didnât laugh as if he were ridiculing him. Whether the situation itself was very interesting to him or not, the light in his eyes danced when he looked at Yoon-seok.
It was then that a new phrase appeared.
ăContent of the challenge varies depending on choices.ă