The center of the island.
Having occupied it early with the group following him, Ju-ho kicked the ground with an angry expression and shouted.
“Damn it! What the hell is going on?!”
His anger was born of disbelief at what was happening.
Of course, he had not felt that way from the beginning.
‘The hyenas will kill him soon enough.’
Up until the moment the game began, Ju-ho had believed Shin-hyeok would die quickly.
But that belief began to crumble when Shin-hyeok’s name started filling the kill log.
And as time passed, Shin-hyeok’s name showed no sign of disappearing from the kill log.
Ju-ho eventually stopped looting and fighting, heading for the center of the island.
Afterward, he set traps all around the central area and selected Players to team with him.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Even so, Ju-ho’s anger did not subside.
While he was making preparations, Shin-hyeok’s kill log continued to rise.
It was happening because of the bounty Ju-ho had offered, but Ju-ho had no way of knowing that.
He could only kick the innocent ground and rage.
“How many Players do we have on our side, including you and me?”
“Twenty-one.”
“Tch, can we catch that bastard with this?”
“A Useless Jack-of-All-Trades should be more than—”
“Idiot. He got thirty kills by himself. I think he is not the person we knew.”
The Player acting as Ju-ho’s lieutenant frowned at Ju-ho’s blunt rebuke.
But they could not defy him and merely lowered their head.
Ju-ho panted as he stared at the back of that Player’s head.
Then his eyes fell upon the number of survivors remaining.
[Survivors: 36]
“......It has fallen below half.”
“A third of them were killed by Choi Shin-hyeok?”
“Can we really win this?”
A Player who had killed one-third of a hundred participants alone.
The Players Ju-ho had gathered through teaming were greatly shaken at the prospect of facing such a person.
“Everyone, be quiet. The opponent is only one person. We just need to kill him! Just stay with me now, and I will give every one of you one hundred million won. That is separate from the bounty!”
“R-right. There are more than twenty of us.”
“We have all looted well too.”
“Let’s kill him and claim the bounty!”
But when Ju-ho promised every gathered Player one hundred million won, their unease quickly turned into heated enthusiasm.
Watching them, Ju-ho felt relieved but also let out a sigh and cursed.
“Damn it, everyone else must be watching this too. This is humiliating.”
The Dimension Arena could be viewed through every electronic device: televisions, computers, and phones.
Furthermore, because the Placement Exam happened only once a year, people in every country focused on their own nation’s Placement Exam.
In other words, every action Ju-ho was taking was being broadcast in full.
Of course, this was also a test of Ju-ho’s ability, so it was not an actual problem.
But because he could not avoid criticism and mockery, Ju-ho’s irritation was immense.
“He’s coming!”
“Choi Shin-hyeok is over there!”
“......Right. Let’s catch that bastard first, then think about the rest.”
At the cry of a Player who had gone out to scout, Ju-ho rose from his seat.
Then he climbed atop the wall built like a fortress and faced Shin-hyeok.
“Choi Shin-hyeok.”
“Lee Ju-ho. You look like a mole with its head buried in a hole.”
“......Tch, it looks like you had some sort of Fortuitous Encounter. But even so, the fact that you are a Useless Jack-of-All-Trades will not change.”
“Is that so? Then why don’t you come out and fight me?”
“......There is no need to dirty my hands. Kill him!”
“Yes!”
“That bastard is mine!”
At Ju-ho’s shout, prompted by Shin-hyeok’s taunting gesture, the Players sprang from their positions.
RATATATAT!
The sight of every Player except those with long-range Skills or Traits, such as Mages and Archers, charging toward Shin-hyeok was not enough to be described as spectacular.
Amid that scene, which resembled a moment from a movie, Shin-hyeok lazily crooked his finger.
“Charge.”
CLATTER!
At the same time, Shin-hyeok’s Skeleton soldiers, who had been hiding in the shadows of the buildings, revealed themselves.
“Wh-what are those?”
“It’s Necromancy!”
The Players who had charged in high spirits came to an abrupt halt at Shin-hyeok’s allies suddenly appearing.
“But does that make any sense? You cannot control that many Skeleton soldiers with F-grade Necromancy.”
“Could he have acquired the Skill directly?”
There were two ways to acquire Skills in the Dimension Arena.
The first was to learn them from Skill Books received as rewards.
The other was to have the Dimension Arena recognize one’s abilities and grant a Skill through one’s own merit.
The former always resulted in an F-grade Skill, while the latter could grant a higher grade.
As the Players panicked, unable to imagine that Shin-hyeok had acquired Necromancy directly—
TWANG— THUNK!
[Choi Shin-hyeok -> Lee Do-geon]
“......He can shoot a bow too?”
Shin-hyeok had already drawn his bow and pulled its string.
After instantly killing one Player, Shin-hyeok began firing arrows like mad while protected by his Skeleton soldiers.
TWANG-TWANG-TWANG-TWANG!
“Damn it! Why does he have so many arrows?”
“He must have killed the others and looted them!”
“Damn, Necromancy and Archery too. He must have prepared properly.”
“A Useless Jack-of-All-Trades like him......”
Unlike his first attack, the accuracy of the arrows was rather poor, and because the Players hid behind cover, none of them died.
STEP— STEP—
“The Skeleton soldiers are coming!”
“Break through them somehow!”
But while their movements were stalled, dozens of Skeleton soldiers slowly moved in to surround them.
Eventually, caught between Shin-hyeok’s arrows and the approaching Skeleton soldiers, the Players wavered before running.
“Run!”
“Let’s run back to the base first!”
Some fled back to their base.
“Kill him!”
“Necromancy ends if we kill the Summoner!”
“Are you bastards afraid of one person?!”
Others charged toward Shin-hyeok.
CRUMBLE! THUNK! CRUMBLE! THUNK!
Unable to withstand their assault, the Skeleton soldiers began to collapse rapidly.
TWANG— THUNK-THUNK-THUNK!
[Choi Shin-hyeok -> Kwon Se-hee]
[Choi Shin-hyeok -> Min Hye-ri]
[Choi Shin-hyeok -> Jeon Ju-wan]
Of course, the number of Players steadily decreased in return.
And—
“Rise.”
RATTLE!
There was no need to mention that the Skeleton soldiers were replenished by the same number as the Players whose numbers had fallen.
The Players were briefly sickened by the endless flood of Skeleton soldiers, who seemed to have no end no matter how many they killed.
“We broke through!”
“I broke through too!”
“Kill him already!”
Then some of the Players began breaking through the Skeleton soldiers’ protection and reaching Shin-hyeok.
Laughing in delight, they rushed at Shin-hyeok.
SLASH!
[Choi Shin-hyeok -> Hong Dae-in]
[Choi Shin-hyeok -> Lee Seong-sun]
[Choi Shin-hyeok -> Pyo Jin-tae]
Their heads flew from their bodies beneath Shin-hyeok’s sword.
[Skill: Swordsmanship [B] acquired.]
“As expected, Swordsmanship is evaluated highly.”
Before his regression, Shin-hyeok’s primary weapon had been the sword.
As such, Swordsmanship had also been his highest-grade Skill.
Perhaps that had been reflected in this acquisition, because Shin-hyeok was satisfied with the B-grade Swordsmanship he had obtained from the very beginning.
Then he picked up the weapons scattered across the ground.
“An axe, a spear, and gauntlets.”
Shin-hyeok equipped the weapons dropped by the three Players.
He slipped on the gauntlets and held the axe and spear, one in each hand.
The Players laughed at Shin-hyeok.
“I understand that Necromancy, Archery, and Swordsmanship are impressive, but does he not know that Axe Mastery, Spearmanship, and Fist Arts are completely different?”
“He is just stupid. That is good for us.”
“Kill him!”
As the number of Skeleton soldiers slowly decreased, more and more Players began breaking through their protection.
The Players who charged at Shin-hyeok while laughing at him all—
CRUNCH! THRUST! CRASH!
[Skill: Axe Mastery [D] acquired.]
[Skill: Spearmanship [D] acquired.]
[Skill: Fist Arts [E] acquired.]
Had their heads split open beneath the axe.
Had their chests pierced by the spear.
Had their heads burst beneath his fist.
“Crazy......”
“He can use those too?”
“They said he was a Jack-of-All-Trades! They said there was nothing he was better than average at! Then what the hell is this?!”
As the Players panicked at that fact,
the Archers and Mages who had remained at the base came to their aid.
TWANG-TWANG-TWANG-TWANG-TWANG! BOOOOM!
The Players looked at the incoming arrows and magic as though they were a ray of salvation.
But unfortunately, they were not.
“Gah!”
“Why are we getting hit too......?”
The Archers’ arrows and the Mages’ spells had no eyes.
They could not distinguish between their teammates and the other Players, sweeping through everyone without discrimination.
“Did we get him?”
“This bastard?”
As someone covered the mouth of the Player who had uttered the words they should never have said—
“Phew.”
Shin-hyeok, standing within a translucent barrier, ran a hand through his hair and exhaled.
[Skill: Shield acquired.]
[This is a sub-skill of Basic Magic.]
“......It’s Shield.”
“He can use magic too?”
Shield.
It was one of the spells belonging to Basic Magic, and the most basic defensive spell.
But Shin-hyeok had displayed yet another ability when he had already shown more than enough.
The Players’ sense of futility only grew.
The Players who had approached Shin-hyeok had all died at the hands of their own side.
But it was not over.
“He’s holding a saber......!”
“He grabbed a staff too?!”
“Surely he can’t use those as well?”
At the new weapons that appeared once again, the Players could no longer find anything to say.
Looking at those who had even lost the will to fight, Shin-hyeok pointed the weapons at them and crooked his finger.
“Come at me.”
“......!!”
There were still around ten people remaining.
Yet they had been completely overwhelmed by Shin-hyeok alone.
Every weapon scattered around them seemed to belong to Shin-hyeok.
Eventually, when no one moved, Ju-ho stepped forward.
“Damn it! Move! Move, you fucking bastards!”
“Um......”
“Uh......”
As Ju-ho stomped his feet and urged them to fight Shin-hyeok, the Players could only shuffle their feet in uncertainty.
Then—
“Ah. Or should we do this instead?”
“......?”
“If you capture Lee Ju-ho and drag him in front of me, I’ll give you one billion won.”
“......!”
Shin-hyeok made an offer with a faint smile.
An offer to capture Lee Ju-ho and drag him before Shin-hyeok.
The Players who had teamed with Ju-ho were flustered by Shin-hyeok’s unexpected offer.
“Will you really pay?”
“Do you think the name Shinhwa Group stands below Oseong Group?”
“......No, it does not.”
“You bastard!”
At the question of the Player who had appointed themself Ju-ho’s lieutenant, Ju-ho erupted in rage and grabbed the Player by the collar.
But that act became the catalyst.
“To be honest, I haven’t liked this.”
“You have done nothing but order us around since earlier.”
“In the end, your ranking will be high after you pile up our corpses.”
The resentment toward Ju-ho, who had treated them badly from the beginning, began to raise its head.
As Players slowly started surrounding him, Ju-ho desperately stretched out a hand.
“Two billion! No, I’ll give you three billion! So hurry up and go kill that bastard!”
“Hah, you are still ordering us around until the end.”
“And I do not think you will give money to people who have already betrayed you once.”
“Catch him.”
“Mmph! Mmph! Mmmph!!!”
One hand could not block ten hands.
In the end, Ju-ho was seized by the Players who had once been his team and dragged like a dog before Shin-hyeok.