Chapter 122 (1/2)
Chapter 122. Timing Game (2)
The sand fell down much quicker than Seol Jihu antic.i.p.ated. No, it actually wasn't all that different from a normal hourgla.s.s. But because of the sudden turn of events, everything seemed more urgent.
As the silence continued to stretch, everyone studied each other carefully. There wasn't a single person here who didn't understand the conditions. Every single one of them was on the lookout for any sort of change.
A full minute went by as everyone stood idly. The sand had already fallen to the point where it was starting to be noticeable.
“d.a.m.n!”
“f.u.c.k….”
All sorts of grunts flowed out. People's contorted faces distorted even further, to the point where they began to look like demons.
The conditions were s.h.i.+tty enough by themselves, but there was even a time limit? Whoever created this stage had to be s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with the partic.i.p.ants on purpose. Otherwise, would they have needed to force the situation this much?
In any case, about a tenth of the sand had already trickled down. In other words, they had to make some sort of a decision in the next nine minutes.
Eventually, someone who wasn't able to stand the tension spoke up, “Everyone go in!”
With a woman's shout as the starting point, the once silent plain became noisy.
“It says at least six people need to enter. There is no limit on the number of people that can enter!”
The woman was suggesting that everyone work together to conquer the Plaza of Sacrifice. It was the fairest method given the situation they were in.
However, this argument was only agreeable on the surface. It was difficult to expect all 166 people to come to an agreement with the same intention.
“Mm…. All of us going in is a bit….” A man standing near the woman rubbed his chin. “Only six people need to go in to activate the plaza. Wouldn't it be better to pick six people to enter the left pit and have others enter the Plaza of the Dissonant Wish…?”
The man's argument was also reasonable. However, it was too idealistic.
“Then how are you going to select the six people to enter the Plaza of the Dissonant Wish?”
“Well….” The man tried to say something but stopped and blinked repeatedly.
The woman clenched her teeth with an irritated look. “…That's not all.” Perhaps because of her clenched teeth, a suppressed voice rang out. “We know that the Plaza of Sacrifice has a 'static' difficulty, but we won't know whether it's a 1 or a 100 until someone goes in. Unless someone wants to volunteer, it's fair for everyone to go in.”
“So let's do that first. We'll need to confirm the difficulty before we can decide on anything.”
The man couldn't say anything at the woman's strong a.s.sertion. Although he found the idea difficult to swallow, he couldn't think of anything to say because the argument was logical.
“Then….”
“We won't be going in.” At that moment, another man spoke up. The woman frowned as she restlessly checked the hourgla.s.s.
“G.o.d d.a.m.n it…. Can't you see that hourgla.s.s? We have to hurry!”
“Why would we go in when we don't have a reason to?”
When the man didn't back down and fought back, the woman became stunned.
“What? You say you don't have a reason to go in?”
“Yep. I and the three guys behind me came to quit after Stage 2 anyways.” The man spoke with commanding confidence. “The four of us will return to Paradise after getting the Dissonant Wish. We're not interested in Stage 3 at all. The ones who are can fight or join hands or whatever. That's none of our concern.”
He looked around to the left and right, and his three comrades nodded their heads in agreement. Some people also pitched in, agreeing with the man's sentiment.
The man wasn't wrong in thinking this way either. After all, people had their own reasons for partic.i.p.ating in the Banquet.
A vast majority of people wanted to get to Stage 3 to obtain the 'Harmonious Wish', but there were quite a few who knew their place and wanted to stop after Stage 2.
As such, 'those who want to go to Stage 3 can work things out, and leave out the ones who want to quit after Stage 2,' was a valid argument.
“You're hilarious.”
Only if Stage 2's exit was separate.
Oh Rahee stared at the man who announced nonpartic.i.p.ation with a mocking smile.
“You say that after reading the conditions…. Are you boasting how r.e.t.a.r.ded you are?”
Just like Oh Rahee pointed out, for the man's argument to stand, the exit to Paradise and Stage 3 had to be separate. In addition, there had to be a way to monitor which exit one took.
The problem was that neither of these requirements was satisfied.
[Stepping on the red portal on top of the altar will transport the challenger to Stage 3 or Paradise…]
'Or' was the keyword. Since there was no way to tell where the partic.i.p.ant would end up after stepping on the red portal, the people who were aiming to enter Stage 3 would never just sit by.
“Interesting. How did a brainless monkey like you pa.s.s Stage 1?”
“What did you say!?”
Oh Rahee's unique, condescending manner of speech enraged the man who was speaking triumphantly.
“Say that again, you motherf.u.c.king wh.o.r.e….” Muttering with a grim face, he attempted to create a hostile atmosphere. However….
“Uuup!” Oh Rahee moved like the wind and blocked the man's mouth with her left hand.
“Wh.o.r.e?”
“Uuuuup!”
She curled her fingers until the man's cheeks sunk in. Next, she slowly raised him into the air. A bizarre scene played out of a burly man being held up by a slender woman.
“What do you think you're—”
One of the man's comrades quickly took out his bow and arrow, but… Clang! He couldn't finish his sentence either.
Oh Rahee's right hand moved like a bolt of lightning and sent his bow flying. The Archer who was about to nock his arrow stared at the longsword in her right hand and became stunned.
Oh Rahee snorted as if she found them to be a joke before looking back up at the man in her left hand.
“If you're going to be shameless, be more subtle about it. Seeing you act so proud makes people angry.”
“Uuuuk!”
The man's struggling feet slowed down as if Oh Rahee's glaring eyes had drained him of all energy.
“Do you want to shut up and enter? Or do you want to think again after I break your chin?”
When she released a little bit of her strength, the man became relieved of the terrifying pressure and could finally breathe again. He coughed a few times before barely managing to collect his breath. With a face stained with fury, he opened his mouth, “You…!”
“Ah, whatever.” Oh Rahee grinned. “A beast that doesn't listen just needs to be beaten a few times.” She grabbed his face again before stomping toward the Plaza of Sacrifice and extending her arm above the pit.
“Go in there and wait, little doggy.”
“Mmmp! Mmmmmp!”
“You sure know how to bark~”
The moment she let go, he would fall into the pit without a doubt. The man struggled desperately as if his life depended on it. However, Oh Rahee remained unmoving.
Seol Jihu swallowed his saliva as he watched the man flail helplessly. Despite Oh Rahee going so far, no one stepped up to stop her. The man's comrades only watched in a daze, and others who previously agreed with the man fell silent.
Oh Rahee couldn't be the strongest of the 166 people here. There had to be someone who could contend with her. But since there was no way an Earthling of such caliber wasn't aiming for Stage 3, not stopping Oh Rahee could be taken as a silent sign of agreement.
'Still….'
[Oh Rahee's Status Window]
Summoned Date: 2015. 09. 18
Marking Grade: Bronze
s.e.x/Age: Female/25
Height/Weight: 168.8cm/54.2kg
Current Condition: Healthy
Cla.s.s: Lv 5. Imperial Chevalier
Nationality: Korea (Area 1)
Affiliation: Blood Line
Alias: Top Graduate, c.u.n.t, One Slash Killer, Blue-eyed Sword Demon
[3. Physical Level]
Strength: High-Intermediate
Endurance: Low-Intermediate
Agility: Low-High
Stamina: High-Intermediate
Mana: Intermediate-Intermediate
Luck: High-Low
Remaining Ability Points: 2
[4. Abilities]
1. Innate Abilities (0)