Coming up with a nickname on the spot was harder than it looked, Park Jin-ho thought.
He scanned the crowd, noticing that many had simply chosen to keep their real names.
Just then, his eyes met Lee Jun-ho’s. The other man looked away almost immediately.
He probably doesn’t recognize me, Park Jin-ho mused. I’ve changed completely.
While Park Jin-ho knew exactly who Lee Jun-ho was, the recognition wasn’t mutual.
That was fine. Having confirmed it, Park Jin-ho looked away as well.
His old thirst for revenge had been thoroughly slaked. Now, there was no interest left.
I’ll use him when the time is right.
For now, he was only worth keeping alive.
“Kyohoho, have you all gathered now?”
An Cheon-sa, wreathed in a blinding halo, descended from the sky.
Her name was Seo-rin, the same cruel Cheon-sa from before.
“Do you like the new avatar I’ve prepared?” she asked, her voice echoing in the sudden silence.
I suppose the first impression was a strong one, Seo-rin seemed to think. That’s why they’re so quiet.
They knew better than to talk back. The memory of what happened to the last person who spoke out of turn was still fresh enough to ensure their silence.
The Cheon-sa seemed to savor their fear, a slow, malicious smile twisting her lips.
“Kikikik, I do love seeing your frightened faces. Don’t worry. As long as you aren’t rude, I won’t kill you.”
Her words offered no comfort. No one relaxed.
“Let’s see… a total of 1,802,910 people. It seems everyone from Busan has been gathered.”
A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd as people glanced around the vast meadow. There were ten thousand at most.
The number didn’t add up. No matter how they looked at it, this clearing couldn't possibly hold 1.8 million people.
The Cheon-sa’s smile soured, and she ground her teeth in irritation at their confusion.
“Do you think this is the only meadow? Of course all 1.8 million aren’t here. You wouldn’t have any room to move, would you?” she snapped. “Honestly, you’re like a bunch of monkeys. You’re all participating in rounds with different angels in different meadows, so stop worrying about it.”
Still, ten thousand people was a considerable number. The meadow felt crowded enough as it was.
But this is only the beginning.
They were all forgetting that this was a survival game, one where only half of them could make it through each round.
As the rounds progressed, the number of survivors would plummet. The difficulty would ramp up, and more and more people would die without ever fulfilling the clear conditions.
Ultimately, the final round might have only a single survivor.
Park Jin-ho remembered round 15. The casualties had been catastrophic. Of the two thousand global players who had made it that far, only fifty remained. A 97.5% fatality rate.
And in the end, when he reached round 20, everyone else was dead. The game had started with 1.8 billion people worldwide; the number of dead was almost incomprehensible.
“Now that you’re all here, allow me to explain,” Seo-rin announced. “First, say the words ‘Status Window’ in your minds.”
Driven by a curiosity that outweighed their fear, people followed her instructions. A moment later, gasps of wonder and astonishment echoed across the meadow. They stared, slack-jawed, at empty air, for the windows were visible only to their user.
Park Jin-ho recited the activation phrase along with the others.
- Nickname: Huk-yeong
- Strength: 3, Intelligence: 3
- Exclusive Skills: None
- Remaining Stat Points: 0
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 10]
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 20]
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 40]
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 60]
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 99]
The status window was pathetic enough to draw a sigh. Below the basic stats were slots for functions that would unlock at higher levels.
I have to start from scratch, but that’s all right, Park Jin-ho thought, a spark of confidence flaring within him. I know I’ll be even stronger this time.
Even Park Jin-ho, the sole finalist, hadn’t been strong from the beginning. In his first life, it had taken him two deaths just to barely clear the first round. It was no surprise, really. He’d just been a high school student, bullied and broken by his classmates.
But with each regression, he grew stronger. His survival time increased, and he cleared more and more rounds. It wasn’t until his 99th regression that he finally reached the 20th round. It was a miracle that an ordinary person like him had made it so far, even if it had been on a mountain of his own corpses.
Of course, the real talents were the seven who had survived all the way to round 18 without a single regression.
In that 18th round, seven people survived, not including himself. Two of them made it past the 19th. Only Park Jin-ho reached the 20th.
I have to save at least four others to meet the requirements for the boss room.
He had already chosen his candidates. In his previous life, there had been no player in the world stronger than him, but that didn't mean he was blind to the potential of others. There were many powerful players who had been eliminated just before the final stretch.
The rules didn’t require exactly five people for the boss room, either. Five was the minimum. The more survivors, the better.
The challenge was that anyone who made it that far had to be a trustworthy ally. Or, failing that, weak enough for Park Jin-ho to control.
That shouldn’t be too difficult.
Now, on his 100th regression, Park Jin-ho was confident he could become stronger than anyone else. After all, he was the only one who had ever reached level 99.
“Now, have you all checked your status windows?” Seo-rin’s voice cut through his thoughts. “If you’ve ever played a game, you should know you’re all at rock bottom. So get stronger. Survive until the 20th round, and you’ll be more powerful than you can imagine. And if you clear it, you’ll be granted a wish!”
The Cheon-sa smirked. “We won’t just free you from this little game. We’ll grant your heart’s desire.”
The word “wish” drew a mixed reaction from the crowd.
“Does she really mean it? A wish?”
“No way. It has to be a trick.”
Some scoffed, others clung to a sliver of desperate hope, their eyes glinting with greed. Park Jin-ho belonged to neither group. He knew the truth: surviving to the end was a wish in and of itself.
“Before the round starts, one last thing,” Seo-rin said. “Say ‘Inventory’ in your minds.”
As they focused on the word, another window materialized before their eyes. Inside was a single item: a small, emerald-colored stone.
“You’ll find one item in your inventory by default. Now, extend your hand and take it out.”
People tentatively followed her instructions, reaching into the empty air before them. As they did, a solid object materialized in their grasp.
Simultaneously, information about the item flooded their vision.