Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Free-for-all (1)

TL by Yoni

Edited by Yoni & Myoni

Sponsored by Anonymous

Muyoung could easily tell who the other four Judges were .

At the same time, he figured out the location of where they may be .

Vast plains . Although there were the sky and the Sun, this wasn’t the Underworld .

Muyoung noticed that the atmosphere and the concentration of magic power were completely different from the Underworld .

‘Box of Trials . ’

The ‘Box of Trials’ was an item that allowed people to set up their own trial and rewards .

It would automatically transport people who enter a particular area and it was set up behind the gates so that people who passed through would be forced to enter .

By seeing how elaborate the setup was, Muyoung could tell that they put in a lot of effort .

Those Judges… Kids from each group probably entered beforehand .

‘All rising talents were occasionally tested with trials like this . ’

The system wouldn’t have given trials to only the newcomers . Clearly, a similar message had to be given to those five kids as well .

Of course, the situations of those five kids and the thousand newcomers who gathered here were completely different .

It was because the establishments that have dominated the Underworld for about 50 years had spent all their mind-boggling treasures to create these five people .

Especially, due to the nature of clans, the clan heads would have more authority than guild masters . This could lead to a more drastic difference in allocated resources .

In fact, the meaning of clans was different from the general term .

Clan members would normally be related to each other by blood, however, the clans in the Underworld weren’t like that . They were tied together with bonds thicker than blood .

Even if these bonds had degraded over time, because the bonds still existed, it was possible for those of higher ranking to pool their resources together .

Muyoung gazed at Fire Dragon Woo .

The Fire Dragon Clan could not be part of the Five Great Clans and were very displeased with that fact . In a few words, they were just a lump of inferiority complex .

It was certain that they wanted to take advantage of this chance to prove that they were superior .

Unlike Fire Dragon Woo, the other four people seemed to be members of the Nine Guilds or the Five Great Clans .

“You bastards lower than bugs! Remember! If you stay still, you’ll all die!”

Blaze!

As his spear moved, a blazing fire spread around him .

“Gahhh!”

“My body, my body!!”

And in an instant, seven people were burned into ashes .

What should he do?

Fire Dragon Woo was overwhelming . The little monster was crazily blasting fire everywhere .

However, the people who were gathered here all survived a month at a temple . It was unexpected, but they weren’t taken back .

“Let’s stick together!”

“Let’s beat this kid first and think later . ”

The equipment they were carrying weren’t that bad . Of course, it wasn’t comparable to the five Judges, but, if a thousand newcomers fought together, it was definitely possible .

Some people within the group were even willing to risk their lives .

Literally, those people realized on their own that they need to fight with their lives on the line .

Every person realized themselves that they need to fight with their lives on the line .

Although Woo was a direct descendant of the Fire Dragon Clan, he was still only in his mid 20’s .

He couldn’t be experienced in fighting against a number this big on his own .

He wasn’t losing the fight, but he could only be taken back as the majority of the people who he called lower than bugs were grouping up against him .

“Hyungnim, shouldn’t we join them?”

Taehwan who was behind Muyoung asked .

Muyoung shook his head .

‘The four haven’t made their move yet . ’

The four Judges near Woo .

Two boys, two girls .

They haven’t made their move yet .

However, they wouldn’t just watch Woo suffer .

Even if they didn’t really care for him, that didn’t mean they would allow people to gossip about how a descendant of a Fire Dragon Clan died in the hands of newbies, as this will lower their status as well .

It was foolish to fight against the five Judges when they were all gathered in one place .

“Why is he showing off?”

“Ah… I don’t feel like it . ”

Finally, the rest of the four started to make their move .

As expected, they weren’t going to just sit and watch Woo get attacked .

They looked very relaxed as if they were all going on a walk, but as soon as they grabbed hold of their weapons, they turned into yakshas .

Thump!

Rumble!

A transparent sword split someone apart, some people were burned by a widespread lightning that came out of nowhere and there was even someone who ran on all fours like a beast .

The people who acted against the Judges were killed first . As the center fell apart, the rest could only follow suit .

Deserters cropped up on after another… Muyoung raised one of his hands .

“Fall back . ”

*

Even the plains had an end .

After walking straight for about 30 minutes, a wall blocked their path .

As Muyoung stretched out his hand to touch the transparent wall, he shook his head .

This was probably the limit of the Box of Trials .

‘Besides those five, no one else seemed to be different . ’

Muyoung sat on a nearby rock .

He carefully examined the thousand people, however, excluding the kids who were Judges, no one else looked foreign .

Although Muyoung returned from the past, he still kept his unique sharp senses . It seemed unlikely that someone who could deceive Muyoung’s senses could be in a place like this .

‘It’s difficult to target them when the five are together . I need to take them on one by one . ’

Like how Woo was in danger by acting by himself, there was a chance if he removed them one by one .

“Hyungnim . Are we just going to stay here and wait?”

Taehwan seemed a bit mad .

He didn’t seem satisfied in drawing back and not joining forces with the rest .

In fact, it wasn’t a bad idea to run away until there were 300 people left .

“Do you think something will change if we joined the rest?”

“How do we know if we haven’t even tried . ”

“The price for recklessness is death . Not just one person, but everyone here will die . ”

Knowing how to be objectively rational was the best way to survive in the Underworld . If Taehwan was skilled and strong, things might have been different, but for now, it was nothing more than nonsense .

Muyoung got up from the rock and approached Taehwan .

“About 100 people died over there . 900 people are scattered . It is realistically difficult to target 900 people with just five people . What do you think will happen next?”

“…I’m not sure . ”

“They will create and release hunting dogs . There will be some who surrender themselves to a more powerful force . ”

The Judges weren’t stupid .

They were young, but they were rational .

They would most likely know that it would be much more efficient if they created hunting dogs and released them out to hunt .

Muyoung walked forward .

Everyone, including Taehwan, looked at him .

“Where are you going?”

“This is a safe place . If you stay put, you will last until there are only 300 people left . ”

It was a suitable area as there were many rocks to hide under .

Muyoung thought he did what he had to do by evacuating them to a safe area .

“If you truly want to win, gather people who have the same goal as you . I will move by myself . ”

Again, the position of the leader was given back to Taehwan .

If the description of the trial was a free-for-all fight and if there were only five Judges, Muyoung still had a chance . However, to seek that chance, he needed to move alone .

‘Fire Dragon Woo . ’

That lump of inferiority complex wouldn’t get along with the other Judges .

A baby monster who was away from his group .

He was the perfect prey for Muyoung .

Muyoung’s eyes sunk in as he walked his path .

*

As Muyoung said, the Judges looked for hunting dogs .

They knew that it was realistically hard for the five of them to hunt down everyone .

“I want to end this fast and get out of here . ”

“What is he saying, Code?”

“His usual bad habits like always . ”

The three carelessly yawned as they had their hands clasped behind their back .

The girl called Code gathered up about 20 people and spoke to them as she zapped a corpse nearby .

“You guys are dogs . You know that as a dog you need to be loyal to your owner, right?”

“Woof, woof!”

“If you listen well, I will specially let you guys live . I will allow you guys to be my pets . ”

Zap .

Code shot out circular electric fields from both her hands and embedded them on people’s necks .

“This is a ‘Lightning Rune’ . If you guys don’t listen, then this will blow up and you will die . Like this!”

Kaboom!

A person’s neck and head blew up .

It wasn’t a corpse . It was a living person .

“Gasp…!”

People’s bodies shivered in fear .

In front of them was a real monster, incomparable to the monsters they had faced in the temple .

Code smiled coldly .

“It’s not only a bad thing . The Lightning Rune strengthens your body . So… Scatter and step on those bugs . If you don’t want to die . ”

“Wow, woof, woof!”

They desperately barked to try and stay alive somehow .

Afterwards, these improvised hunting dogs went out to hunt .

Behind them, the Judges talked as they watched the scene .

“Where did Woo go?”

“Isn’t it too much to ask for him to cooperate?”

“Let’s leave Woo for now and increase our number of hunting dogs . It will be fun to watch them dispute and fight against each other . ”

*

Woo was tracking down a prey by himself .

While the other four were taking their time, he didn’t stop .

‘Stupid bastards . You will be killed for taking it easy . ’

As a descendant of Fire Dragon Clan, he had lived his life in constant competition since he was young . To become a core member in the future, he had to endure harsh training and sufferings .

To Woo, the four looked lousy .

There would be no development for those who lived their lives relaxingly as they thought they were strong .

He was going to quickly end this trial and prove that he was superior .

Just then, when Woo was walking in between dried up trees .

Crack .

He stepped on something and numerous of daggers flew towards him .

Swish!

Dadadadadadak!

Woo quickly swung his spear and quickly rotated it to block all the daggers .

Blaze!

As flames fiercely lashed out, all the flying daggers dropped onto the floor .

But, that wasn’t the end .

Graaaaah!

The Fire Dragon on his helmet roared out loud .

At the same time, a fire protective shield appeared over his body .

It was the ‘Protection of the Fire Dragon’ which alerted and protected the user when their life was at risk .

“…!”

Instinctively, Woo rotated his spear towards the approaching danger .

“Ga!”

But, he could only hinder the swords that approached him from behind and could not block them .

His shoulder was cleaved .

If it wasn’t for the Protection of the Fire Dragon, he would have been seriously injured .

“You have sharp sense . Also, the Protection of the Fire Dragon?”

A deep voice .

The middle of Woo’s forehead shivered slightly .

Before he realized, a man was standing behind him .

“You bastard… what the fuck?”

The activation of the Protection of the Fire Dragon meant that his life was in danger .

His death was confirmed even before the sword touched him . His whole body was covered in goosebumps .

His skills in setting up a trap that would immediately aim for his life .

He was an expert .

He definitely wasn’t a beginner that could be found anywhere .

However, there was no reply .

Eyes layered in darkness .

Woo didn’t recognize his face .

The man was wearing a red helmet, a fluttering red cap and was just gently holding a sword .