Chapter 88 – The Outbreak (3)

Яҽ​ad̂ ｏn K‌&a;tRêadiｎgC̀a‍fｅ

“What on earth are you doing and where?”

I couldn’t help but ask. Especially now that I knew what the other Constellations were doing.

-“If you achieve something worthy, I’ll give you a reward worth about 1 million points separately.”

However, Agna smoothly ignored my words.

Instead, the huge reward of 1 million points made my ears perk up.

‘That kind of huge sum, without even fundraising from other users?’

I hadn’t seen Agna receiving donations in the fan gallery I checked daily.

That meant the reward he mentioned was purely from his personal wealth.

Just how much does this guy have?

“That…”

-“And stop there, don’t say another word. I don’t want others to know I’m talking to you yet.”

However, I couldn’t continue the conversation with him any further.

The words ‘stop talking because others are listening’ naturally shut me up, and I stood up from my spot with a dazed look.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Let’s go rest quickly. It’ll be like this tomorrow too.”

Just then, Kim Ji-eun, looking exhausted, trudged over to me and asked if I was okay.

Seeing her appearance, which looked worse than mine, I chuckled and stroked her hair, changing the subject.

It was only the first day. There were still many days to fight and many enemies to defeat.

Jung Chan-soo also said that the most important thing was condition management.

If you exhaust all your strength from the first day, your overall combat power will inevitably drop sharply after two or three days.

That’s how you end up dying in an instant. Reality is different from a game; if you die from a small mistake, you don’t get second chances.

‘It’s making me uneasy for no reason.’

Unlike other Constellations, Agna’s actions and purpose were hard to understand, which made me more nervous.

To resolve this, I needed to go back to the accommodation, wash up, and sleep, and then check the community.

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[Seems like they managed to get through day 1 smoothly?]

[It would be a real disaster if they got breached on day 1, which is basically just a reconnaissance mission lol]

[Did you guys see Reina’s achievement today? She neutralized the enemy’s magic power with a solo breakthrough]

[Reina’s skills are improving faster than I thought…]

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As expected, the fan gallery I accessed after getting into bed was bustling with users talking about the events of the day.

The atmosphere itself was similar to when the rifts had opened.

Because it was an event involving the entire Tower, discussions about others besides me were exceptionally allowed.

I had already received a rough report, but through the users’ posts with attached videos and photos, I could learn more details about what had happened on other floors.

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[There were casualties on Jung Chan-soo’s side, it’s a miracle that no one died on Reina’s side]

[Kim Ji-eun will probably raise her rank this time? As expected, it’s right to grab onto a top-tier powerhouse and stick by their side]

[Look at Shadis’s performance. She used to not even know how to fight properly, but now she’s completely on track. She’s surprisingly talented, isn’t she?]

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And above all, the people whom the fan gallery users mainly covered were those directly or indirectly related to me.

Not only the rival Jung Chan-soo faction but also Kim Ji-eun and other guild members who fought alongside me.

The Shadis party, who participated in the large-scale defense battle on the lower floors, and even Lienblad, who was currently competing with me in the rankings at 13th place.

I raised the corners of my mouth as I checked the things I had missed while fighting.

Sometimes, when I’m absorbed in fighting, I feel a fatigue as if I’m fighting alone.

Checking again through the posts that the users uploaded, I could see that other people were also fighting fiercely at the risk of their lives.

‘Ji-eun has to climb higher. And Shadis, it seems that the hints I gave her are helping a lot.’

Kim Ji-eun, who was increasing her skills and achievements by fighting alongside me and being forced to keep up, and Shadis, who was growing rapidly by picking up the Fate Road’s strategies bit by bit like me, were still doing well.

They were people who didn’t appear in the original work, people who were raised up only because of me.

I couldn’t even know their fate, so I couldn’t help but worry about them every time.

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ㄴ“Lienblad is active on the 140th floor, if he makes similar contributions, will Reina be valued more?”

ㄴ“Of course. The difference is whether you can do it or not, but if you can, the ranking competition is much more advantageous”

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And another thing that users were interested in. The one-month-long competition that was still ongoing, the ranking competition.

‘With points and pride on the line, I have no choice but to be obsessed.’

The ranking competition would likely end when this defense war was over.

Both Lienblad and I were in a position where we had to accumulate more achievements to raise our ranks.

In that situation, the fan gallery users assessed that I definitely had potential.

“Only if I can do it.”

The only condition needed was whether I could do it or not.

I chuckled and recalled the feeling of pouring out everything I had accumulated so far.

From my mindset to the power and equipment that made me who I am now.

After learning about the existence of the Fate Road, I had changed so much that you could say I was a different person.

If it were the past me, who was struggling just to follow the original work, it might have been impossible, but I was confident that it was different now.

***

“Guild Leader. It seems that Charon needs to rest.”

“…Is it a miracle that he even saved his life?”

Jung Chan-soo’s guild wasn’t composed only of himself and a few others like Lee Se-jin.

The people who could be called the core force were definitely them, but there were also those who assisted them.

Charon, a guild member who suffered a major injury and had to leave the operation until he recovered, was one of them.

“Charon’s arm…”

“Arms can be reattached.”

He shook his head at Lee Se-jin’s words, who was muttering with a gloomy face at the sight of someone she knew being severely injured.

A calm face that wasn’t much different from usual. In fact, it was something that anyone living as a Challenger in the Tower had to get used to.

However, unlike what was visible on the surface, his mind wasn’t just calm.

‘It’s better than then. Definitely. But does that mean some things are unavoidable?’

Unlike others, he was recalling the past.

The past where everyone, including himself, had failed, a possibility that could no longer exist.

Although the defense war where they suffered a fatal blow and ultimately failed to defend, leading to the world’s destruction, was the large-scale defense war that came after this one, they wouldn’t have failed if they hadn’t suffered significant losses in this defense war in the first place.

It was only the first day, but this time it was different from the start.

First of all, Jung Chan-soo himself was on the top floor, and he had colleagues he had personally raised into top Rankers.

Much stronger than in the previous iteration, he blocked the enemies with overwhelming power.

But even so, the anxiety in the corner of his heart didn’t disappear.

The pressure to create a different outcome from the past at all costs was weighing him down.

‘Calculate. How can I save as many people as possible and climb up?’

Moreover, Jung Chan-soo himself knew.

That with the power he currently possessed, he couldn’t save everyone and bring them along.

Inevitably, sacrifices would occur somewhere, sometime.

It was a very heartbreaking thing, but he was certain that a moment to choose would come someday.

Who would disappear from around him? He couldn’t shake off the anxiety.

No one would tell him empty words to reassure him that such a thing wouldn’t happen.

Because there was no one who even knew that he harbored such fears.

“Reina fought like that.”

In the meantime, Sylvia and Diana, who had been assigned to Group 2 and acted separately, returned.

Jung Chan-soo’s face slightly hardened as he heard their report about the battle between Reina and the Over Moon Guild.

“Reina didn’t rest for a single moment. Because she knew that the moment she stopped, someone would surely die or get hurt. She was the first to step up in the most dangerous situations, and she threw herself into the hardest tasks without hesitation.”

Diana praised Reina quite highly for what she had seen.

From the beginning, her personal feelings were favorable, but even if she only spoke the facts, Reina’s actions could be summarized in one word.

“A hero, huh.”

The power of a hero shining in moments of crisis. Jung Chan-soo muttered blankly.

“Do you think that’s the right way?”

“Isn’t that just like Reina’s usual image? At least on the front lines, she was always noble, an indomitable warrior who never yielded.”

Diana nodded without hesitation at Jung Chan-soo’s question.

Diana had already received a lot of help from Reina and was so impressed by her that she voluntarily revealed her most important secret to Reina.

Sensing those feelings, Jung Chan-soo didn’t open his mouth any further.

“…A sword that is used too hard is easy to break.”

But when he was left alone.

He slumped into a chair and lit a cigarette with a complicated expression.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note)
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Even in a crisis, people will still somehow find ways to compete with each other.

Noob mc this time is the example, smh.