All‑Master Who Regressed to Bronze - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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All Master Who Regressed to Bronze Episode 066

 

Whoooosh!

 

With a brilliant flash of light, 99 players revealed themselves.

 

As soon as they appeared, they immediately began surveying their surroundings and raising their guard.

 

Proving that each one was an exceptional player, their vigilance was excellent and their aura was sharp.

 

Moreover, since such power had increased by 30% thanks to the system, they were even feeling an exhilarating sense of elation.

 

Even for them to raise their guard in preparation for any possible situation was somewhat amusing, but since their opponent was who it was, they didn’t mind it at all.

 

Only after confirming that there was no one else around them did they finally lower their guard.

 

“Phew, Shin-hyeok Choi isn’t here.”

 

“I thought that would be the case, but he might have been nearby just in case.”

 

“Hah, but a Demon King subjugation battle. Are we supposed to be heroes subjugating some demon king?”

 

“If it’s Shin-hyeok Choi, he’s definitely a demon king. But are we at hero level?”

 

“You might be. I am.”

 

“Bullshit. You got your ass kicked recently. I saw it all on stream.”

 

“Get out of my stream!!!”

 

After finishing their conversation mixed with laughter and self-deprecation about their situation, they immediately checked the rule book.

 

Usually, it wasn’t something they particularly needed to look at.

 

Those gathered here had received more precise and extensive guides from guilds or nations than the rule book.

 

But since such information was useless now, they needed to examine the rule book to learn about this game, however briefly.

 

[1. The victory condition is to destroy the core of the Demon King’s Castle or defeat the Demon King.]

 

[2. The Demon King’s structures exist throughout the map. Destroying structures will weaken the Demon King.]

 

[3. Sacred relic repositories exist throughout the map. Activating repositories will grant buffs.]

 

[4. The Demon King can summon troops to defend the Demon King’s Castle.]

 

[5. As time passes, the quantity and quality of troops will increase.]

 

[6. As enemies decrease, the recovery speed of troops will accelerate.]

 

[7. When troops accumulate above a certain number, they can emerge outside the castle.]

 

“Hmm, it’s simple enough.”

 

“The point is to destroy structures and activate repositories to weaken the opponent while strengthening ourselves.”

 

“So after destroying structures or activating repositories to a certain level, we should attack the Demon King’s Castle?”

 

“Choosing the right timing will be important too. Problems will arise if we’re too fast or too slow.”

 

The players who quickly read through the rule book freely shared their thoughts and discussed methods to clear the game.

 

Befitting a gathering of the world’s greatest talents, they were soon able to decide what they needed to do.

 

“Let’s divide the players into two groups. One side as the Attack Faction, the other as the Peripheral Faction.”

 

“I think the same.”

 

“Good, then let’s split up according to what each of us is confident in.”

 

Most players agreed with Ellis’s words, and the players quickly divided into their preferred factions.

 

Those confident in combat joined the Attack Faction that would assault the Demon King’s Castle, while those confident in tracking and exploration joined the Peripheral Faction.

 

“Then I’ll also go to the Attack Faction…”

 

“Ellis Veronia. You’re better suited for the Peripheral Faction than the Attack Faction.”

 

“…Dong-pyeong Hong. What kind of bullshit is that all of a sudden? Are you going to say next that a bow suits me better than a sword?”

 

“Foul mouth. Just like a blood-crazed berserker. You acted all modest in front of that damn small country guy though.”

 

“Well, Shin Hyeok is handsome and capable, but you have a smashed face, smashed personality, and smashed bank account. Wow, that’s a perfect trifecta.”

 

“…Anyway, you need to go to the Peripheral Faction. The Peripheral Faction currently lacks offensive power. So you, who can be called a special offensive force, need to join them.”

 

“Can’t argue with that.”

 

“…So you won’t do it?”

 

Naturally, Ellis, who possessed excellent offensive power and destructive force, tried to join the Attack Faction, but Dong-pyeong Hong suddenly interfered and obstructed her.

 

Of course, despite her beautiful exterior, true to her reputation as someone with a crazy personality that everyone in the player industry knew about, she verbally destroyed Dong-pyeong Hong who had interfered with her, and Hong asked back with a displeased face.

 

Though Dong-pyeong Hong was clearly asking for her opinion, Ellis knew that her own wishes weren’t the important issue here.

 

“…Looks like you quickly found your match?”

 

“I don’t know what you mean.”

 

“You’ve already coordinated and prepared to shove me into the Peripheral Faction, then pretend you don’t know. Why? Are you scared? Afraid I’ll steal your contribution if I join the Attack Faction?”

 

“…”

 

The system clearly stated that rankings would be determined by order of death, but there was no way the players didn’t know about the hidden aspects within that.

 

Would all players who survived until the end receive the same ranking?

 

No way.

 

Contribution.

 

The rankings would be measured by evaluating the contribution of the activities that players who survived until the end displayed in this game.

 

Knowing this, Dong-pyeong Hong and the other Attack Faction players were trying to push Ellis, who would become their strongest rival, into the Peripheral Faction.

 

“If you really want it, let’s do it by vote. Democracy.”

 

“You’re from a country with zero democracy talking about democracy. What, are you going to show us a 120% voter turnout?”

 

“…There has never been a single case of vote manipulation in our homeland-”

 

“Yes yes, I’m sure. Anyway, even if we vote, those people who’ve completely fallen for you won’t vote for me.”

 

“…”

 

Since Dong-pyeong Hong himself knew how absurd and petty what he was saying was, he could only blush at Ellis’s sharp criticism.

 

He couldn’t give a proper response.

 

Ellis looked around at her surroundings.

 

The other players avoided her gaze.

 

Even the American players weren’t much different, so Ellis smiled bitterly.

 

‘So even within the same country and guild, factions split like this. Well, I was too much of a maverick.’

 

Ellis was an outstanding player.

 

She was one of the Two Emperors and had her talent directly recognized by the Demon Emperor, the world’s number one player, so it was natural.

 

But behind outstanding talent, envy and jealousy always follow.

 

The same was true for American players.

 

The same was true for American Heroes players.

 

Of course, it wasn’t like that from the beginning.

 

They had tried to push Ellis into their factions and forces, and trouble started when Ellis rejected that.

 

They tried to tear down and drag Ellis down whenever they had the chance.

 

Whether matched in the same game or during training outside games.

 

Knowing that all of this had accumulated to create the current situation, Ellis nodded with a sigh.

 

“I’ll go to the Peripheral Faction.”

 

“Good choice. Then please support us well.”

 

“Yes, go to the Demon King’s Castle and die miserably.”

 

“…”

 

Of course, she had no intention of saying nice things to Dong-pyeong Hong.

 

At the unbelievably sharp greeting she delivered with a bright smile, Dong-pyeong Hong mumbled his mouth trying to say something, then soon turned around and disappeared.

 

Where Dong-pyeong Hong had disappeared.

 

Ellis also began moving in earnest with about fifty Peripheral Faction players.

 

‘I don’t necessarily need to secure contribution by destroying the core or defeating the Demon King himself. I should be able to secure contribution by destroying and activating the structures and repositories that exist in the periphery. Actually, this is better. Since “that” monster will be in the Demon King’s Castle, the periphery where I can safely secure contribution might be better.’

 

Crush the Attack Faction that abandoned her.

 

That was the only thought left in Ellis’s mind.

 

Of course, thinking that the Demon King in the Demon King’s Castle would take care of the crushing, Ellis began moving the Peripheral Faction players to start searching for structures and repositories.

 

* * *

 

Whoosh!

 

A brilliant flash of light burst forth, brightly coloring the surroundings.

 

Since this was something she had repeated several times already, Ellis clenched her fist, feeling her slightly strengthened body.

 

‘I’ve activated three sacred relic repositories over about two hours. There was some damage in the process, but it’s minor compared to the results. Now I can gradually move on to destroying structures.’

 

Ellis, who had led the Peripheral Faction players around the map for about two hours, succeeded in activating a total of three sacred relic repositories.

 

Each sacred relic repository provided roughly a 5% buff, so about 15% worth of buffs were given to all players.

 

Thinking that with this much, they could also attempt attacking the structures guarded by Demon King forces that were more powerful than the sacred relic repositories, Ellis immediately moved.

 

“Ryo. Where’s the location of the nearest structure?”

 

“There’s one to the east. Let’s go there.”

 

“Good, let’s destroy a few more structures and then head to the Demon King’s Castle ourselves. Three storage facilities and three structures. With about six total, those Attack Faction bastards won’t be able to stop us from participating.”

 

“…Hmm, but honestly, I don’t want to go.”

 

“I feel the same way. But even if we lose, I don’t plan to just lose quietly. Better to break than bend, after all.”

 

Mizuki Ryo from Japan.

 

Having identified the structure’s location through her familiar, she understood Mizuki’s reluctant feelings about going to the Demon King’s Castle, but she had no intention of just giving up.

 

When Ellis arrived at their destination to destroy the structure, her head went blank.

 

“Hello.”

 

“…Why are you here?”

 

“Because I’m an extrovert.”

 

“No, what does that… Why isn’t the Demon King at the Demon King’s Castle!”

 

“You totally hit the ‘core’ of it.”

 

“Ugh, everyone attack! The opponent is alone anyway! And covered in penalties too! We can definitely handle this! Most importantly, there are no troops from the Demon King’s Castle!”

 

Shin Hyeok being here instead of at his home base, the Demon King’s Castle, was exactly the reason.

 

While Ellis gritted her teeth at Shin Hyeok’s appearance as he made AI-like jokes with a sly smile, she immediately switched to offense.

 

Her thinking was correct.

 

The Demon King receives physical penalties in exchange for being able to command troops.

 

Therefore, the Demon King’s Castle where troops are stationed is Shin Hyeok’s home ground.

 

Being outside now would be the optimal time to catch Shin Hyeok.

 

“Colosseum.”

 

“…!”

 

Kwarrrrrrrrrrr!

 

-There was a time when Ellis thought that way too.

 

At least until Shin Hyeok leaned his back against empty air with a smile and activated Skill: Colosseum.

 

A massive arena that collapsed the surrounding space while swallowing them whole.

 

Along with the manifestation of the Colosseum, a message appeared before their eyes that would drive Ellis and the other Players to despair.

 

[Status Abnormality: Colosseum’s Intimidation has been generated.]

 

[All stats decreased by 20%.]

 

“Crazy! What kind of debuff level is this!”

 

“Th-this makes our two hours of suffering meaningless!”

 

“What’s really scary here is that usually these kinds of debuffs come with buffs. Meaning, Shin-hyeok Choi, the owner of this place, received at least a 20% buff.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“That we’re screwed?”

 

“Aha!”

 

A sudden 20% stat decrease.

 

While the Players, whose bodies had become as heavy as waterlogged cotton, rambled incoherently.

 

Shin Hyeok, who had somehow planted the Arcane Spear, holy sword, and great bow in the center of the Colosseum and was leaning against them, smiled.

 

“Welcome to my Colosseum.”

 

“…!!!”

 

At that line that seemed like he’d slick his hair back and stand in the sky at any moment, all Players froze.

 

“Everyone, do you know what month it is right now?”

 

“…?”

 

“February, right?”

 

“It’s almost March.”

 

“Why are you suddenly asking that…”

 

Questions arose on the faces of Players who had unconsciously answered Shin Hyeok’s unexpected question.

 

Shin Hyeok nodded and continued speaking.

 

“February to March. There’s a term for this period.”

 

“Wh-what is it?”

 

When the Players stared blankly, waiting only for Shin Hyeok’s answer as he continued speaking so calmly.

 

“Korea is a country of four seasons. The season that opens the first of them. Its name is…”

 

“Is…?”

 

Shin Hyeok gradually built tension and heightened the atmosphere, then with quick hand movements pulled something from his inventory and scattered it around.

 

The Players’ response was a beat late to Shin Hyeok’s sudden gift(?).

 

“Crazy! It’s alchemy bombs!”

 

At Ellis’s shout as she barely maintained her composure, the Players snapped to attention like receiving a cold water baptism while sleeping.

 

But by then it was already too late.

 

Spring, having endured the cold winter, was waiting for them.

 

“BOMB!”

 

Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!

 

The warm spring breeze enveloped the Players.

 

“Kyaaaaaaaaaak!!!”

 

It was warm, anyway.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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