The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 121

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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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Chapter 121. The Eyes Game

“What is it?”
Seol Jihoo asked, tensing in sympathy, and Kazuki opened his mouth quietly.
“I can’t see Jun anywhere.”
“Sakamoto Jun?”
Kazuki nodded, exhaling white smoke.
“There are forty stairs total. If we assume eight people per building, that means at least 320 people participated…”
As his words grew faint, Kazuki’s expression darkened by degrees.
“Thirty-six teams have made it up so far, which arithmetically should mean 288 people. But clearly, something’s off.”
“But in between—”
“I know. But even so, don’t you think it’s excessive that only 165 made it up?”
Seol Jihoo swallowed hard. Nearly half the participants had died or been eliminated at just Stage 1?
“Your team still has people left, but you’d better hope they’re among the dropouts.”
Kazuki smiled bitterly and politely asked for another cigarette. In his bewilderment, Seol Jihoo handed over the entire pack.
“By the way, I heard you did rather well. Second place, was it?”
“Who said that?”
“Some archer named Lara Wolf. She wouldn’t stop singing your praises.”
Kazuki had apparently been making the rounds gathering information since arriving. Seol Jihoo fell silent, rueful that he’d done nothing of the sort.
Glancing sidelong, Kazuki noticed the young man’s complexion had darkened considerably.
“…Not really.”
His voice was hollow. Since Seol Jihoo had no real reason to be despondent, Kazuki’s expression grew curious.
“Something happen?”
After hesitating for a long moment, Seol Jihoo finally spoke.
“…Leading people is harder than I thought.”
He let out a sigh he’d been holding back.
“Things don’t go the way I planned. Honestly, I’m not even sure what I did right.”
It was an unexpected confession, and Kazuki’s eyes widened as he rolled the cigarette between his lips.
But only for a moment.
“It is hard.”
As Umitsubame’s leader, he couldn’t help but understand, so he continued.
“Right. It’s hard. You have to make me and all these different people into one cohesive unit.”
“It’s suffocating.”
The root of Seol Jihoo’s distress lay in not knowing what to do or how to do it.
He might have felt regret instead—if only he could think, I should have done it this way, or I shouldn’t have done it that way.
But he couldn’t even make those excuses. If he could rewind time and enter Stage 1 again, knowing everything, he still wouldn’t be confident he could produce a better outcome.
“Kazuki.”
“Yeah?”
“I wanted to talk to you about something too.”
“…Well, handing me a whole pack of cigarettes earns you that much.”
Troubled by his own thoughts, he opened up to Kazuki, a leader he respected. Perhaps, all along, he’d been waiting for someone to listen and empathize and offer counsel.
After listening intently, Kazuki spoke in a level tone.
“Maybe it’s just not the right fit.”
Seol Jihoo’s expression showed confusion.
“If I were you.”
Kazuki continued without pause.
“I’d have revealed my position from the start.”
“Why?”
“Carpe Diem has its name and reputation. And you have plenty of credentials to leverage.”
“People might resent it if I put myself forward.”
“That would be arrogant to assume. It depends on the situation and your attitude, doesn’t it?”
Kazuki snorted softly.
“Besides, your main method of leading those six was persuasion—or rather, eloquence.”
“That’s… true.”
“But words carry different weight depending on who speaks them. There’s a difference between what a respected, famous person says and what some unknown kid says.”
Kazuki’s words rang true, each one precisely on target.
“And your reputation is your most powerful card. Why is using what you’ve built fairly and squarely such a bad thing?”
Faced with such lucid reasoning, Seol Jihoo was left speechless.
“It’s only speculation, but if I’d known from the start, things might’ve gone differently. At the very least, I wouldn’t have looked down on you.”
“Would you really have felt that way?”
“I would have.”
“I see.”
“You need to recognize your own worth a little better.”
Kazuki smiled faintly, watching Seol Jihoo’s disbelieving expression.
“Anyway, that’s what I said, but… I don’t think the process itself was bad.”
“The process?”
“You mentioned Ora Hee and Audrey Basler were there, right?”
“Yes.”
“Those two… hmm.”
Kazuki glanced carefully around them,
“The team could’ve been torn to pieces without anyone being surprised. Just coming out together in one piece—I’d say that’s a good defense.”
and spoke in a lowered voice.
…….
Seol Jihoo shuddered, feeling as though he’d heard something frightening.
“Do you know who they are?”
“Of course I do.”
Kazuki replied with a look that asked why he wouldn’t.
“Ora Hee is Upper Tier Rank, but she was famous even before that. There are a few stories about her—if you’re curious, look into it yourself.”
“Just tell me instead. Even a little would help.”
“If I had to compare, think of her as having Zhao Zilong’s military prowess combined with Sima Yi’s intellect and political acumen.”
Seol Jihoo let out a bitter laugh, joking that no such broken character existed in the world and telling him not to be ridiculous. But Kazuki remained serious.
“And… what about Audrey Basler?”
“If I were the leader, I’d never recruit her as a teammate.”
Kazuki spoke with finality.
“If I were in your position, there’d be no deliberation. Abandon her or kill her. One of those two, without question.”
“Why?”
“Because if I let her do as she pleases, my own life could be at risk.”
Seol Jihoo’s head tilted in confusion, but when he recalled the viper’s eyes, he could understand. In truth, while progressing through the dungeon, he’d been far more wary of Basler than he had been of Ora Hee.
“Still, killing her seems… couldn’t you find a way to bring her along regardless?”
“Seol.”
Kazuki sighed.
“I’m not a maniac. I’m not saying I’d kill her outright without hesitation. But I don’t think my reasoning was flawed.”
…….
“That said, I don’t think your reasoning was wrong either. You did produce results, so I won’t call it a failure.”
Kazuki continued with a sharp tone,
“Still…”
Then, suddenly:
“For Stage 1 at least, your approach seems to have been more sound.”
His voice carried a note of regret as he spoke.
That was when it happened.
A low rumble. Suddenly, commotion erupted around them.
“Just one person?”
Kazuki’s eyes went wide. A single man descended down one staircase and climbed toward the summit, his long hair hanging matted and disheveled.
He looked to be about two meters tall, an enormous giant with a massive frame.
The problem was that he was drenched in blood from head to toe. Fresh blood dripped steadily from his hair, and his appearance was so grotesque—almost like a Malevolent Spirit—that the people nearby recoiled in horror.
The moment the man reached the top, forty pillars burst into light simultaneously. The light shot toward the center all at once, forming streams that gradually began to take shape.
Something was finally appearing atop the mountain that had been empty before.
Namely:
“A Portal?”
It was the signal that Stage 1 had ended.
“Kazuki.”
Seol Jihoo asked softly, watching as people gathered in small clusters toward the shimmering light.
“There’s one more thing I’m curious about.”
“Just one?”
“What did you mean by ill-fitting clothes at the beginning?”
“I meant take off the mask.”
Kazuki answered immediately.
‘A mask?’
Seol Jihoo rubbed his face. What was he getting at now?
“In your eyes, what kind of leader do I seem like?”
The sudden question caught Seol Jihoo off guard. After a moment’s thought, he spoke.
“Well… cold-hearted, I’d say. Someone who does what needs to be done?”
“Why do you think that?”
Seol Jihoo didn’t answer immediately, but the memory was there nonetheless.
It was back when they’d participated in the rescue operation together. After all that struggle, they’d finally found her younger sister, yet without a trace of hesitation, he’d cut her down. Seol Jihoo had felt revulsion at the sight, and yet at the same time, there was something undeniably striking about that blade-like resolve.
“Just as each person differs, so too does every leader have their own style of drawing people forward.”
“I suppose so.”
“You tried to lead through words, but that wasn’t the method suited to you.”
……
“Frankly, even I can see you’re not the type to become a ‘brilliant orator’ or a ‘cunning agitator.’ You’re more the instinctual sort.”
Then Kazuki rose to his feet, his expression placid yet emphatic as he continued.
“Find the style that matches your nature. Wear clothes that fit you.”
With that, Kazuki stood. The Portal had been completed, and people were entering one by one.
“My nature…?”
“Yes. Do you remember? When you held a spear to my throat at Big Stone Rock Mountain?”
“That was—”
“In my view—”
Kazuki turned at the waist, looking back over his shoulder,
“that wild, frenzied side of you then strikes me as closer to your true self.”
He let out a soft laugh and walked toward the Portal.
‘A style suited to my nature?’
Seol Jihoo checked his Status Window, his expression uncertain.
‘An unruly leader doesn’t sound great.’
He smacked his lips once and rose from where he sat, gripping his Ice Spear. In the moment he moved to follow—
‘Wait.’
The dizzying haze that had filled his mind suddenly cleared, as peaceful as a still lake. The worries that had consumed his thoughts moments before seemed to have washed away entirely.
It was strange. Just a short conversation, yet his body and spirit had settled.
That was when Seol Jihoo understood.
‘That’s why his temperament hasn’t faded.’
You cannot be sated on the first spoonful, and pearls remain pearls only when they are strung together with care.
Neither Dylan nor Kazuki had been respected leaders from the start.
Most of all, having lived plainly for twenty-six years, expecting to reach their level this quickly was nothing but greed.
‘That’s right.’
Seol Jihoo was not a finished leader. He had only just taken his first step. There was much to experience ahead, countless things yet to learn.
Today’s failure would be merely one among the many trials and errors to come.
With that thought, the complexity melted away, and something solid and honest rose from within—a quiet courage.
‘In Stage 2…’
He wasn’t aiming for perfection. Only to do better, taking the failures of Stage 1 as his mirror.
Seol Jihoo gripped the Ice Spear more firmly, abandoning his loose hold. Then he moved toward the Portal with a lighter step.
His heart had begun to stir again.

The white light that had flooded his vision gradually dimmed.
The moment Seol Jihoo opened his eyes, he took in his surroundings.
Fortunately, unlike Stage 1, he hadn’t been separated from his allies. He could see both Cho Hong and Hugo.
While it was good news that his companions had assembled, just counting the people visible nearby easily surpassed several hundred.
‘One hundred sixty-five… no, one hundred sixty-six.’
Remembering the one person who had come up alone at the end, Seol Jihoo moved slowly. He was about to slip closer and nudge Cho Hong at the waist when he suddenly felt his collar being tugged.
Maria was pulling at his jacket insistently.
“Wait. Stay still.”
“Hmm?”
“The atmosphere is strange.”
Maria whispered. Seol Jihoo looked around again.
There was indeed something off. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but the air felt wrong.
Take Cho Hong, for instance—her pupils gleamed with that familiar desolate light. Hugo was no different. Gone was his usual cheerfulness; now he stood hollow-eyed, staring blankly into empty space.
It was the expression of someone thinking, “I don’t care who—just let someone throw down a challenge.”
Nor was it only the two of them. Everyone in sight had their blood up, and a hostile atmosphere had taken hold. At this point, Seol Jihoo had no clue what could have happened in Stage 1.
‘No, wait.’
Come to think of it, he too had felt out of sorts when Stage 1 ended. If he hadn’t talked things through with Kazuki and worked through that knot, he would be standing here no different from the rest of them.
‘First, the location.’
With the Nine Eyes activated, Seol Jihoo swept his gaze across the surroundings and couldn’t mask his bewilderment.
A meadow. A beautiful expanse of grassland swaying gently in the breeze, its verdant carpet stretching to the horizon. One hundred and sixty-six people stood scattered across the boundless plain.
Of course, there was more than just grass. Near the point where they’d been transported, two massive pits about two meters in diameter lay sunken into the earth.
Separated by roughly ten meters, the two holes appeared similar in size, and between them stood a rectangular stone marker.
And perched atop the marker sat a familiar object—a colossal hourglass.
‘What is this?’
Just as people began moving toward the marker or studying it intently, having assessed the situation much as Seol Jihoo had—
Zing!
A sharp pain lanced through his skull, reminiscent of synchronization trauma. Groans echoed from all around, but the phenomenon lasted only a moment.
Seol Jihoo, gripping his temples, suddenly realized that information he hadn’t known moments before was surfacing in his mind, and his eyes flew wide open.
‘Information just… downloaded into my head?’
It felt less like information arriving than being forcibly injected, but since he’d experienced this phenomenon before, he didn’t panic.
He closed his eyes and focused on the implanted data.

[1. Plaza of Sacrifice (Left)]
Activation Condition: Minimum of six or more entrants
Difficulty: Constant
Upon entry, exit automatically seals
Exit automatically opens when enemies are annihilated or all entrants are annihilated

[2. Plaza of Distorted Desire (Right)]
Activation Condition: Plaza of Sacrifice is activated
Each time Plaza of Sacrifice activates, up to six of the remaining people may enter
Distorted Desire may be claimed
Entering through the red Portal above the altar transports to Paradise or Stage 3; exiting returns to Stage 2

[3. Additional Conditions]
Stage 3 entry is limited to ten people
Upon twenty consecutive successful clearings of the Plaza of Sacrifice, the Plaza of Distorted Desire becomes permanently active, and the maximum entry limit is removed (all may enter)
…….

After finishing the additional conditions, Seol Jihoo found himself thinking,
‘This is insane.’
He cursed silently.
There were many conditions, certainly, but the overall tenor was singular—pushing them toward the Plaza of Distorted Desire alone. It felt like a directive asking, deliberately, ‘how will you manage this?’
To put it plainly.
The meaning of these filthy conditions was unmistakable.
Thud!
Suddenly, the sound of something striking hard echoed across the field.
The information wasn’t finished yet. There was one more condition among the additional rules.

[If the Plaza of Sacrifice does not activate before all sand in the hourglass falls, a large swarm of monsters will appear across the field.]

Seol Jihoo opened his eyes. He could now see sand falling from the inverted hourglass.
“…….”
The faces of everyone staring at the marker had twisted into something sinister.
A heavy silence.
Whoooosh—
Only the sound of falling sand filled the air.
“Shouldn’t we… go in quickly?”
At the sound of a voice from somewhere, everyone began glancing at each other, exchanging looks.
The Eyes Game had already begun the moment the sand started falling.

(Continued in the next chapter)

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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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