Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 157

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Player of the Ruined World – Episode 157
Through Sato and the Elders, I learned of the situation in Osaka.
The time period here was 2184.
What surprised me was that it was the future, not the past.
From what I heard, the emergence of a colossal monster triggered the Third World War, and humanity, defeated by the creature, fled underground with all civilization destroyed.
Then an earthquake collapsed the ceiling of the Underground City, and they began war anew against the giant monster they had forgotten.
These people also lived in the 2020s like us, yet they were suddenly thrust into this game world with such a setting.
After hearing a brief explanation, I looked at Sato and asked.
“Could you tell me the current progress?”
“Progress?”
“The progress of Stage 1.”
“Stage 1?”
“Yes?”
“…There are stages?”
Sato’s question left me speechless.
The system had said so.
Currently, B-1 (Japan) was progressing through the first stage.
But these people….
‘They don’t even know stages exist?’
I had said something I shouldn’t have.
I naturally assumed they would know.
Park Sangha, sensing the situation, spoke instead.
“He’s asking about the episode progress.”
Park Sangha brushed past my slip of the tongue and pushed forward with conviction.
Sato scratched his head, then opened the system and showed me the current situation.
“Roughly… it’s like this.”
A System Message written entirely in Japanese.
It provided interpretation but not translation.
When I asked for an explanation, Sato briefly described the current situation.
“We’re currently progressing through Episode 7, the Monster’s Breath.”
At Sato’s words, Do Sohee beside me startled and looked at me.
Glancing at Do Sohee, So Hee leaned close to my ear and whispered.
“Sir, this is the episode where Grade 3 Monsters first appear.”
“Right.”
Do Sohee, who had experience clearing Stage 1, was indeed knowledgeable.
Grade 1 and Grade 2 Monsters cannot use breath attacks.
From Grade 3 onward, monsters that use breath condensed with magical power.
The Monster’s Breath episode involved defeating these more evolved creatures and extracting magic stones from their corpses.
Since magic stones from powerful monsters became new power sources for giant weapons, they were essential elements for the growth and preservation of factions.
If this was the seventh episode of Stage 1, it would still be a while before Grade 4 Monsters appeared.
Then it becomes clear what I need to prepare from this moment forward.
“How many giant weapons do you possess?”
At my direct question, Sato’s expression grew troubled.
Sato Takuni’s face then took on a more serious demeanor.
“Before I answer… I have many questions for you as well. Would it be alright if I shared my answers after hearing yours?”
Information about weapons was a matter directly tied to a faction’s survival.
Even if they were someone who’d saved my life, revealing all their military strength would be a heavy burden.
Understanding their position completely, I nodded and spoke.
“Go ahead.”
“How did you… cross over into Japan? Are you a Korean who obtained Japanese citizenship?”
“Does nationality matter in the current situation?”
“Everyone here is from Osaka. Most factions are composed of residents from their respective regions.”
This was identical to Korea.
We too were summoned to the streets in the early days of No Way Home based on our registered addresses.
Was it the same in other countries?
I nodded slowly and asked.
“You asked if we were from Kyoto. Could I know the reason why?”
“The players from Kyoto dress similarly to you.”
“Similar clothing?”
“That bulletproof vest-like outfit. It looks like protective gear.”
Protective gear?
That’s from No Way Home…
‘Wait.’
With a hunch, I opened the system and entered the Point Shop.
The protective gear from No Way Home sold in the Point Shop.
This is equipment from No Way Home, but do they sell it in Giant Punisher too?
‘No, there’s similar equipment.’
Thinking it over, Giant Punisher also has protective gear with a similar feel to No Way Home’s.
The one difference is… Giant Punisher doesn’t have a system shop like No Way Home, does it?
“System, does Giant Punisher have a shop function?”
Ding!
[Would you like to check Giant Punisher’s shop?]
I asked on a whim, and a system message appeared before my eyes.
“Open it.”
[Checking Giant Punisher’s shop.]
[Low-Grade Mana Stone: 10 Tar]
[Mid-Grade Mana Stone: 100 Tar]
[High-Grade Mana Stone: 1,000 Tar]
[Highest-Grade Mana Stone: 10,000 Tar]
[Combat Protective Gear: 500 Tar]
[Force Index 1: 1,000 Tar]
…
….
There’s a shop here.
And it uses a different currency than No Way Home.
Tar or Points—aren’t they fundamentally the same concept, just called by different names?
‘Combat gear could only be crafted directly before, but they’ve moved it to the shop now.’
In the game, you couldn’t obtain combat gear without crafting it yourself.
But as the game became reality, they seem to have created a shop function and started selling items.
Perhaps sourcing materials for gear crafting is difficult in reality?
Or perhaps….
‘They might have followed the same system as No Way Home.’
No Way Home has two types of combat gear as well.
Gear crafted by the Maker.
Gear purchased from the shop.
Naturally, the Maker’s crafted gear had far superior performance and could be enhanced further.
Wouldn’t Giant Punisher follow a similar pattern?
I’m not certain, but if the shop sells combat gear, it would save considerable time.
Rather than sourcing materials one by one, I could simply hunt for Tar and equip myself accordingly.
More importantly, if the people of Kyoto are wearing gear similar to ours… it means there are players in Kyoto.
After assessing the situation, I looked at Sato and asked.
“Sato, has anyone here actually played Giant Punisher?”
“Well, there are some….”
Sato glanced at Natsumi beside him.
Natsumi looked back at Sato, then quietly placed her right hand on the back of his.
“Just Sato and me. The two of us.”
“Could you tell me how far you progressed?”
“Well… we only created accounts and played for about a week before quitting.”
“I see….”
“Battlesteam’s games weren’t very popular in Japan.”
Right, different games trend in different countries.
Look at Spacecraft—it was wildly popular in Korea but not in Japan.
Now that I think about it… if Battlesteam’s games had become a global phenomenon, the current situation where we’re killing each other wouldn’t have happened.
Wouldn’t more people have focused on clearing the game instead of tearing each other down and fighting?
Since Sato and Natsumi only played for a week, it makes sense they don’t understand the concept of stages.
Maren Sesu and I fell silent for a moment.
I wasn’t sure where to even begin explaining.
Natsumi, who had been observing my expression carefully, spoke hesitantly.
“If you don’t mind, may I ask you something?”
“Of course, please go ahead.”
“How much do you know about this game?”
Instead of answering Natsumi’s question, I glanced at my companions beside me.
I wasn’t yet certain whether it was wise to reveal our true identities to them.
I wanted to hear what my companions thought, but they simply gazed at me with calm expressions, as if entrusting everything to my judgment.
As if they would follow whatever choice I made.
Then Elder Chulmin, who had been sitting silently with his eyes gently closed, slowly opened them and called my name.
“Baek Doyun.”
“Yes, Elder.”
“Relationships don’t progress when both sides harbor secrets.”
“….”
“Even if we reveal our hand, there’s nothing they can do about it.”
“But… I’ve been backstabbed more than once after laying everything bare honestly.”
That was purely from my personal experience.
The Elder exhaled deeply, crossed his arms, and spoke in a weary voice.
“Are you weak?”
“Pardon?”
“A harmless rabbit’s kindness is merely expected. But a monster’s kindness is mercy.”
“….”
“What of you now? Are you still a harmless rabbit? Or have you become a monster capable of showing mercy?”
“….”
“Carry a larger vessel.”
Currently, I was strong enough to handle a Grade 3 Monster alone.
Even if these people harbored ill intent, they couldn’t harm me.
Yet I still….
‘As they say, habits formed at three persist until eighty.’
The experiences from my childhood—watching others’ reactions, being ignored, living in constant wariness—had accumulated layer upon layer, and despite my newfound strength, I still reacted like a fearful rabbit.
Elder Chulmin spoke with a faint smile and a gentle voice.
“After all… no one would blame a benevolent monster for not showing kindness.”
“….”
“If a monster shows mercy, people are grateful. If it commits evil, no one feels wronged by it.”
“….”
“The key is in your hands.”
“It’s not as simple as you make it sound. My choice might harm all of you….”
“If you tell us to kill everyone, we’ll gladly do it. If you tell us to save them, we’ll gladly do that too. Don’t worry.”
Though he spoke that way, the members of the Hunting Dog Federation were fundamentally good-natured people.
If they were truly cold-blooded, they wouldn’t have thought to save Sato’s forces while they were fighting a Grade 3 Monster.
In the end….
We should act as we always have, do as we’ve always done, follow our true nature.
Elder Chulmin was truly unbeatable.
The very fact that we could do everything according to our will regardless of what others said proved we possessed that much strength.
“Elder, you make it sound difficult to simply live a good life.”
I spoke with a wry smile, and Elder Chulmin burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha! It’s because the children in this neighborhood have such bright expressions. My heart was moved by something.”
“….”
“Act boldly. You’re capable of it.”
With Elder Chulmin saying this much, I looked at Sato Takuni and Natsumi as I spoke.
“Sato, I have one question first.”
“…Please, go ahead.”
“You are the Lord of this place, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
When I arrived at this village, the people’s language came through clearly to me.
The others hadn’t even activated the translation function.
This could only mean that the Lord, the representative of the faction, had activated the translation function.
In other words, Sato was the Lord of this place.
And the name I’d seen in the system’s faction rankings.
“Sato Takuni, your faction is the third strongest in Japan, correct?”
It was definitely a name I’d seen in the rankings.
The faction of Watanabe Shota in first place.
Tanaka Kaito in second place.
Sato Takuni in third place.
Since there was a possibility of coincidental names, I wanted to confirm this clearly.
Sato gazed at my face calmly, his fingers interlaced.
After a brief moment, he drew a deep breath from the depths of his lungs and spoke.
“That’s correct. I am Sato Takuni, ranked third.”
Watanabe Shota’s faction in first place had a strength value of 228.
Tanaka Kaito in second place had 170.
Sato Takuni in third place had 92.
Then….
“You’ve absorbed 42 factions so far, haven’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
“Please tell me honestly the method and process by which you absorbed these factions.”
“What kind of answer are you looking for?”
What kind of answer am I looking for?
He countered my question with a question of his own.
Then Natsumi, standing beside Sato, grasped his hand tightly with an anxious expression.
I read every small gesture, movement, and shift in expression from the people around Sato.
Perhaps because I’d lived my entire life reading the room since childhood, I could discern their psychological state from the changes in their expressions and the light in their eyes.
They were….
‘Anxious.’
They feared us.
I opened my mouth calmly.
“I’m not looking for a particular answer. I’m not here to assign blame. I want to hear how you’ve managed to survive.”
Sato Takuni stared at me intently, his gaze unwavering.
He refused to look away, determined to judge rationally.
Natsumi, on the other hand, struggled to maintain composure in her eyes.
Whenever emotions stirred, she either misspoke or revealed the truth.
I directed my question at Sato Takuni, but my gaze fell on Natsumi.
From her perspective, it would seem as though the question was meant for her.
As I fixed my stare on Natsumi, she finally opened her mouth.
“We’ve… never done anything wrong.”

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