Chapter 24 - Anonymous
Chapter 24: Anonymous
Dohyuk stopped at the lowest peak. Below was the were the desert and jungle. He could hear the sound of people talking as he carefully walked to the edge of the cliff. He peeked out to look below. There was a big cave on the ground and a voice came from there.was a big cave. 8 people were talking to themselves.
‘Fight?’
They weren’t fighting. At least for now. It was hard to hear, but he managed to hear some of the words.
“This is crazy!”
“Why there?”
“Find someplace else! We don’t got much time!”
“Why do you never do it yourself!”
“Go do it yourself!”
It seemed like it was 1 against 7. About five of them was objecting to one man and he was watching them with a relaxed look. He had a dark stick clipped to his waist.
‘Leader.’
As Dohyuk thought, the leader spoke. Dohyuk couldn’t hear what he said, but the others became silent.
<<Time before the main trial starts: 00:04:15>>
The seven of them then turned to the cave.
‘Is there something in it?’
Dohyuk realized the leader was looking up to him and he began running up. He was plainly running up the cliff as if he were walking on flat ground.
<<Time before the main trial starts: 00:03:51>>
The man would arrive within a few seconds. Dohyuk took a step back to the center of the peak. Would he be able to win? It did not matter. He had to fight. Dohyuk then clapped the ground with his hands.
The leader’s name was Kim Eunho, and he wasn’t a leader. He was a ‘officer’ of a certain group. Eunho had received certain order:
Find some underlings and obtain ‘Golden Mine’.
That was why Eunho was here. He didn’t tell them what this mine had in store as he lied that it was a scouting mission.
“This is crazy!”
3 out of 10 died the moment they walked into the cave. The remaining 7 fought back.
“Let’s look elsewhere! We don’t have much time!”
“Why do you never do it yourself!”
Eunho was calm as he quietly spoke.
“Shut up, you trash.”
“What…!”
“Why do you think we need that cave?”
“That’s…”
Everyone knew that there only a few minutes were left until the main trial. They needed a place to hide from the sun before the main trial began.
“Sadly, I’m not like you all.”
[Footsteps of a Spider]
Eunho had a Nature. He could climb any wall with it.
“Even if the timer reaches, I can move up, kill the rock crab, and hide in there. But you can’t.”
This was how Eunho lured everyone to move into the cave.
“If ‘they’ appear after the trial begins, you all have no choice but to die.”
“But… you can help! You’re strong and…”
“Why would I?”
It was a simple answer.
“You should look after yourself,” Eunho spoke and placed his hand on the stick.
<<Trusty Prison Guard Rod – C+>>
Seven of them flinched.
“If you still are hesitating, I can maybe give you some motivation.”
The people gasped and took a step back.
<<Ability>>
-Strength: 51(+19)(D)
-Stamina: 50(+18)(D)
-Agility: 51(+18)(D)
-Magic: 15(+14)(E)
-Endurance: 19(+12)(E)
-Charisma: 17(+13)(E)
He had D-rank in Strength, Stamina, and Agility with a lot of achievements that increased his stats to an average of 7~80. He was, after all, the officer of the group these people were relying on. He was much more powerful than the one in the cave.
“Bu-But… Eunho.”
“What.”
One of them mentioned, “Someone is watching us from above…”
It was a man who had a ‘Sensory’ Nature. Eunho ordered, “I’ll take care of that. Go into the cave. We don’t have much time.”
Eunho then ran up. He took out the rod to guard himself. The opponent would surely attack if he stepped up, but the attack didn’t come. There was only a wounded man.
The man had bloody linen wraps across his face and right arm. It seems the right arm was in a bad shape as he could see blood still dripping.
“You need to rest,” Eunho said, glancing at the opponent. Black armor. He had never seen it, but it surely had some value.
“I have no intention of fighting you. Have you heard of the name, Kim Eunho? Or Julian Dekin? I work for him. Do you recognize the name? We’re recruiting.”
They were recruiting, but Eunho wasn’t recruiting now. He wasn’t going to let the man go alive.
<<Time before the main trial starts: 00:02:31>>
There was no time and it was Eunho’s job to get the mine. Besides, he was an officer. He didn’t want any potential competitors.
“I know this isn’t the right moment, but we can relax and find….”
Eunho spoke, preparing for an ambush. But-
“…”
The man did not answer. Instead, he prepared himself for a fight.
“I gave you a chance.”
<<Time before the main trial starts: 00:01:51>>
“And you blew it. Or maybe you saw through my lies?”
Eunho glanced around to find the black spot.
‘A minute to kill the pincer and hide inside,’ Eunho thought as he planned to kill the man, hide in the crab cave until night fell when ‘they’ stopped working. He would then take control of the Golden Mine that his underlings had paved with their lives.
‘He uses a kicking skill,’ Eunho thought, but it was the man who was quicker.
‘…What!’
It was quick. If he had not expected it to be a kicking skill, he would have been crushed.
‘At least 80 Agility…’
Another kick swang past Eunho, which he dodged. He then deflected third kick with his rod.
‘Not only that…’
Eunho realized it through the shock that vibrated through the rod.
‘Strength and Stamina…’
The opponent was either equal to or stronger than him.
<<Time before the main trial starts: 00:01:23>>
Eunho charged forward. The fight became even weirder.
‘It feels like I’m fighting a monster.’
The stats made it seem like the man was really powerful, maybe even more powerful than his boss, but the skills with which he moved were too narrow and simple.
<<Time before the main trial starts: 00:01:07>>
Eunho now had to choose.
‘It will take longer, but I have no time.’
Eunho then tried to finish it off. He aimed for the weakness: the man’s wounded arm. When his rod struck the surface, however, instead of the man’s agonized scream, what Eunho felt was his weapon being stopped by a hand. It was the hand that had waited for this moment before it came out from the linen wrap.
“Digest.” Dohyuk spoke.
<<Digest complete>>
<<Using most of ‘calories’ for healing.>>
<<Obtained ‘Wave of Shock'(Lv.2)>>
The rod disappeared and Eunho knew he was screwed. Then, Dohyuk’s kick came flying toward Eunho, to which he blocked with his arm, but the result was devastating. His arm broke into pieces, and what happened next was extremely quick. After a few more kicks, Eunho fell to the ground.
<<Killed human>>
<<Acquired 521 coins>>
Dohyuk thought that if he had not covered his face and arm, he would not have ‘grabbed’ it. Everyone knew his face and his skills. Dohyuk now knew that there was a gap of experience between the others.
<<Wallet>>
-Coins: 3022
“Status.”
<<Used 3000 coins to increase agility by 3>>
Dohyuk then searched Eunho’s body. He didn’t have much, but Dohyuk eventually found a small bag. It was similar to the sleeping bag pouch, but different in size.
<<Time before the main trial starts: 00:00:14>>
Time was imminent. Dohyuk then jumped down. There was something in the cave.
‘Now? Or when they come out…’
<<Main Trial>>
<<Main Trial: Law Under the Sun Begins>>
-Ecosystem of Bermura Desert unlocked
-Released 26 races in detainment
The change that started to unfold in front of his eyes made it easy for him to choose. Green giants were coming up from the sand.
“Whoa.”
The smallest one was about 4 meters, and Dohyuk thought about fighting it, but he soon gave up because of the numbers. They were living cactus giants.
<<Tip: Avoid the sun>>
“…I see.”
Dohyuk jumped down and ran into the cave. It was the place where Julian Dekin, the strongest in the region, wanted to have as his own. It was the place where Dohyuk’s Compass of Tyrant was guiding him.
And not long after Dohyuk moved in, something inside faced him.