Became the Transcendent Monarch of the Corner of the Room - Chapter 71
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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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Episode 71
“What the hell is supposed to be here?”
“That’s what I’m saying. We’ve done nothing but dig for four days straight.”
“Isn’t this just the system messing with us? Telling the Hunters to go screw themselves.”
“At this point, I’m starting to think the same thing.”
Park Dae-yun, the 9th ranked ranker.
He muttered with a blank expression, holding a shovel instead of a sword in his hand.
The day the Quest promising an EX-grade reward appeared.
He abandoned everything and immediately headed to the 25th Floor.
“What are they trying to do by gathering so many people in one place?”
But the Quest wasn’t as easy as he thought.
First, the people.
Was he not the only one enchanted by the promise of an EX-grade reward?
He expected many people to flock here, but.
‘This is way too many people.’
It was truly a sea of people.
He was disgusted seeing people packed together like sardines in a can.
And the real problem was something else entirely.
“So. What do we need to do to clear the Quest?”
“I don’t know. Is there anyone here who knows that?”
“Right. Everyone just saw one line of the Quest and came rushing here like a pack of dogs.”
Due to the incomplete Quest content.
All these people were just wandering around the 25th Floor.
Without even knowing what to do.
“Well, those who need to leave should leave. Do you know how much money we’re losing per day just staying here?”
“Right. If we had hunted on our usual floors during this time, we would have made at least a few hundred.”
“Ah, damn it! What EX-grade for someone like me. I’m leaving, good luck to the rest of you!”
Because of this, quite a number left early.
Either exhausted from waiting.
Or people who calculated their losses and returned home numbered well over half.
What remained were some rankers.
And the majority were guild-affiliated Hunters.
And while these people glared with hyena-like eyes.
-There are many people.
Dehof appeared.
Up until that point, people didn’t think much of it.
The place was already packed with Hunters with no room to step.
What could happen with one more Dehof added to the mix?
There were only people glancing at him because of his unique fashion(?).
Until that message appeared.
[The Quest will now begin.]
“What?”
“Did you just hear that?”
“The Quest is starting now?”
“Damn it. What kind of nonsense is this? Then what have we been doing all this time?”
There had been no changes for four whole days.
But as soon as Dehof arrived on the 25th Floor, a message rang out.
Choi Hyun-min was watching this from beyond the screen.
‘No way. It wasn’t waiting for us to come, was it?’
Goosebumps spread all over his body.
The timing was too perfect to call it a coincidence.
“Dehof. Can you hear me?”
-I can hear you.
“From now on, you need to move while protecting yourself as much as possible. It’s called a Quest, but we don’t know what might happen.”
-Understood.
He finished the brief conversation and focused on the screen again.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Meanwhile.
The 25th Floor, where many people had gathered, began to vibrate violently.
It felt as if an earthquake had struck.
The Hunters inside all crouched down in unison.
“It’s an earthquake!”
Along with that, huge stone pillars began rising from the floor.
No, to be precise.
‘Tablets? Or… should I call them blocks?’
Square stone tablets with strange patterns carved on them.
Rose up slightly to ankle height.
There were nine such stone tablets in total.
They were stuck together closely like telephone buttons.
“What is this?”
“There are strange pictures or something drawn on them?”
“Aren’t those letters?”
“They look just like phone dials. Though there are no numbers.”
Once the stone tablets were completely raised, the vibration stopped.
Then Hunters swarmed around them.
Dehof also carefully squeezed in among them.
“They’re letters, right?”
“Different letters are written on each one.”
“Is it English? Or Japanese?”
“Does that look like Japanese to you?”
“I lived in China for 15 years, and that’s not Chinese either.”
There were nine letters written in total.
But none of the Hunters there could recognize the letters above them.
Dehof was the same.
-I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before. But I’m not sure.
He shook his head while looking at the letters.
The only one who knew about those strange characters.
Was Choi Hyun-min beyond the screen.
He was the only one.
‘Wait a minute. Those letters… they’re exactly the same as the characters on my pendant!’
He was startled and flipped over his pendant to check.
Sure enough.
He still couldn’t interpret what letters they were.
But he could see letters that overlapped with those there, one by one.
‘That’s right! The characters written here and those are the same characters!’
There might be something to this.
He alternately looked at the back of the pendant and the screen.
[We will now begin qualification assessment of the participants.]
“Qualification assessment?”
“What are you talking about?!”
“A Quest?!”
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the minds of the people inside.
Strangely, Choi Hyun-min was outside the maze.
Yet the voice was transmitted to him vividly as well.
[If you are qualified, please choose the first letter written in XXX.]
XXX?
What’s that?
Clearly the other words were heard distinctly.
But exactly that part was distorted, the sound garbled.
“What’s written where?”
“Damn it- shouldn’t you speak clearly first?!”
“Just bring monsters instead! I’ll cut them all down!”
Hunters panicking at the sudden change in situation.
They couldn’t even understand what the voice was saying in the first place.
And there was no way they could read the letters on the stone tablet.
Such reactions were perfectly natural.
[The time limit is 30 seconds.]
Hunters instantly thrown into confusion.
They cursed and moved around frantically on the stone tablets.
-Master, which way should I go?
“Wait a moment…”
This must be related to it somehow.
He strained his eyes wide open and examined the back of the pendant.
Letters so faint they were barely visible.
[20 seconds remaining.]
He used the room’s lighting to change the pendant’s angle, desperately trying to find the letters.
“Damn… Should I have gone to Aldea if I knew this would happen…”
-Master! It seems like there’s no time…
[10 seconds remaining.]
Then suddenly.
He found a letter that was exactly the same as one of those written above.
“Uh… Is this it?”
He couldn’t be certain.
But since he found a matching one, that must be it.
‘I can’t just choose without knowing anything, right?’
Choi Hyun-min thought so.
He shouted toward Dehof beyond the screen.
“The center! Dehof, go to the center!”
-Ah, understood.
[5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds…]
A voice counting down every second.
Fortunately, when about 3 seconds remained.
Dehof jumped onto the stone tablet in the very center.
[Time’s up.]
Though grumbling, most hunters had stepped onto the stone tablets.
Of course, they were scattered evenly across all nine.
“What are you trying to do?”
“I’m not doing this crap.”
Only a few hunters were muttering and watching the situation from outside the stone tablets-
Pop!
“What, what?!”
“Th-their bodies suddenly exploded…!”
[Participants who did not select an answer are automatically disqualified for failure to follow instructions.]
The hunters who were outside.
The moment the countdown stopped.
Their bodies burst like balloons.
“This… crazy…!”
There had been no warning signs.
No monsters had attacked.
They hadn’t stepped on hidden traps or anything.
There was clearly nothing there.
They just exploded.
So helplessly.
[The remaining people need not be disturbed.]
“No, this is completely ridiculous…”
[If you calmly follow the instructions, no major problems will occur.]
Silence-
The voice that followed.
At the emotionless voice that was neither male nor female.
The hunters shut their mouths tight.
They only rolled their eyes around, trying to read the atmosphere.
[The correct answer is X.]
The correct answer is… what?
Again, the other words were clearly audible.
But just one word.
That is, only the part that was the answer was bizarrely garbled.
At the same time, the center stone tablet-
That is, only where Dehof was standing turned blue.
“…This was it?”
[Those who selected incorrect answers… please leave this place immediately.]
A correct answer rate of 1/9.
The moment eight or nine out of ten were eliminated.
The hunters burst out shouting.
“What bullshit! We’ve been here for days! We can’t leave until you give us that EX-grade reward or whatever!”
“What kind of crap is this! Bringing expensive hunters here just to mess around?”
“Or at least give us proper compensation-”
Pop!
The hunters who were furious at the one-sided notice.
Their voices of complaint didn’t last even 10 seconds.
The man who had been shouting the loudest.
The moment his head was blown to pieces.
The other hunters had to swallow their complaints back down their throats.
[This is the final warning.]
“O-okay, got it…”
When had they been so furious?
Seeing their colleague’s head explode.
Hunters leaving with bewildered faces.
Fortunately, the owner of the eerie voice didn’t seem to stop them from leaving.
‘Phew… I guess this was right after all.’
And Choi Hyun-min beyond the screen.
He let out a small sigh and brushed his chest.
Fortunately, it seemed that picking the same character had been the correct answer.
‘Let’s see… the remaining people…’
When he quickly switched the screen, he could see the faces of those who had stepped on the same stone tablet.
Roughly a hundred people?
Quite a lot of people had voluntarily left.
But there were still quite a few remaining.
[Please select the second character. You have 30 seconds as before.]
The voice came again.
Now that unknown voice was starting to sound unpleasant.
But what was important right now wasn’t that…
‘The answer. What’s the answer?’
Finding the answer.
Choi Hyun-min’s eyes moved rapidly.
And the remaining Hunters.
They began to look at each other and think about what the next answer might be.
“Is, is it this one…?”
“Damn it. What are we supposed to guess without any hints…”
“They should at least tell us what this is.”
People grumbling but each moving on their own.
Some muttered that cola was delicious and picked stones with their fingers.
Some moved toward where the most people had gathered.
And Dehof.
He waited for Choi Hyun-min’s instructions with calm eyes.
-Master?
“Wait a minute… I’m almost there, you know? Almost there…”
Wait.
Come to think of it…
I didn’t notice earlier, but the characters on the stone tablet.
They had all changed, hadn’t they?
Where is it? Where is it?
His eyes moved frantically.
Along with that, Choi Hyun-min’s heart rate also quickened.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
[20 seconds remaining.]
“Which one is the correct answer?”
[10 seconds remaining.]
“Please… why can’t I see this properly…”
Choi Hyun-min held the pendant, repeatedly laying it this way and flipping it that way.
[5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds…]
The moment when the second countdown was almost over.
As if he’d been struck in the head.
Something hit Choi Hyun-min’s mind like lightning.
Now… I get it.
What the correct answer is.
I know for sure.
“Dehof! Left! Move left from there!”
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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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