Chapter 112: A Talent for Understanding

Episode 112

Kim Jinsung continued walking down the long corridor.

However, even after walking for a while, he hadn’t encountered a single monster. All nearby monsters had been swept away by the Void.

Thanks to this, Kim Jinsung could leisurely move while continuing his conversation with Dantalian.

Of course, he was conversing mentally to avoid detection by the broadcast.

‘You’re saying it was artificially created?’

Kim Jinsung asked Dantalian, his eyes narrowed in disbelief.

‘All those rifts that spawned the Tainted Ones and the Void?’

[That’s right.]

Dantalian answered immediately. He had seemed somewhat more compliant since earlier.

[Since I started observing you, I saw a few humans creating rifts with magic stones in your path. They were in stealth mode, but that’s useless against me.]

‘Hmm….’

If they were in stealth mode, they were likely trying to avoid detection not only by contestants but also by the broadcast cameras.

Why did they do this secretly?

‘…Could it have been staff members who entered and set it up?’

The most plausible guess was that Colosseum staff had entered and set it up.

‘But if it was a planned obstacle, wasn’t the Void a bit extreme?’

Even Kim Jinsung might have died without Dantalian’s help.

If Kim Jinsung had struggled so much, there was no way other contestants could overcome the Void.

‘…No matter how I think about it, the Void doesn’t seem like an appropriate obstacle right now.’

With that thought, Kim Jinsung immediately asked Dantalian,

‘Do you remember what those humans were wearing? Did it have ‘CSS’ written on it?’

[They were wearing armor, but there was no writing on it. Instead…]

‘Instead?’

Dantalian paused for a moment, as if recalling the scene, then continued.

[Yes, they all had a small circle drawn on their left chest.]

Kim Jinsung stopped in his tracks at Dantalian’s words.

A memory suddenly flashed through his mind.

‘…Tell me more details. Was there anything drawn inside the circle?’

[Details? Hmm, well…]

Dantalian suddenly trailed off, drawing out the moment.

Kim Jinsung, feeling impatient, urged him.

‘Hurry! Didn’t you say you remember everything you see once?’

[That’s right. Demon Gods don’t forget what they’ve seen. But I don’t feel like talking for free.]

‘What?’

[If you make a soul contract with me, I might feel inclined to tell you…]

Kim Jinsung frowned as Dantalian spoke in an insinuating tone.

‘Are you talking about contracts again? How many times is this now?’

Since overcoming the Void, he had heard at least five contract proposals while walking.

At first, he had simply refused, but after the fifth time, he was starting to get annoyed.

‘I clearly said I won’t do it. You’re really persistent, aren’t you?’

[You’re the stubborn one! After all this talk, shouldn’t you just give up and make the contract?!]

‘Why should I do something that only benefits you?’

[What nonsense! Only benefits me?! Haven’t I explained multiple times how you’d benefit more?!]

Dantalian started explaining about the contract to Kim Jinsung again. This was the fifth time.

[There’s nothing more beneficial to a mortal being than making a soul contract with a Demon God in the Demon World Dungeon! Like the power of resonance earlier!]

‘You’re making me respond again. I’ve told you I’m satisfied enough without needing to make any contract.’

[I’m not finished! If you contract with me, I can pass on to you abilities that only I possess in the entire demon world… no, across all dimensions!

Even just one of these would make you incomparably stronger than you are now!]

Kim Jinsung scoffed at Dantalian’s words.

Becoming stronger through a contract? It sounded like a typical demonic temptation.

‘Is that so? But didn’t you say you excel in knowledge? Wouldn’t it be better to contract with a Demon God who excels in combat?’

[W-what?!]

‘Well then, I should look at what other Demon Gods there are. Let’s see…’

[Wait!!]

Dantalian shouted urgently.

His voice, devoid of dignity, clearly conveyed his desperation.

Kim Jinsung smirked as he continued,

‘So, stop talking about contracts so much. It’s not worth your effort…’

[Y-you impudent brat…!]

Dantalian, trembling with anger again, suddenly exclaimed as if he had made a decision.

[Fine! Do as you please! But from now on, I won’t give you the answers you want! Even about that symbol you asked about…!]

‘The top was red, and the bottom was blue? With a wavy line between the two colors.’

Dantalian suddenly fell silent, as if at a loss for words.

Kim Jinsung chuckled at his honest reaction.

‘There’s only one clan in the New Continent that uses a circular mark.’

[……]

‘Did you think I wouldn’t know even this much? Even the humans you look down on know this from the internet.’

[Ugh… damn it…!]

Dantalian groaned in disappointment.

His plan to gain leverage and persuade Kim Jinsung had failed.

Kim Jinsung, still laughing at Dantalian’s reaction, fell into thought.

‘Why did the Daehan Clan create rifts? If they were helping at the production team’s request, shouldn’t they have moved with Colosseum staff…?’

Outsiders are never allowed to enter the set alone during a live broadcast.

This is a basic rule even listed on the official website of the Colosseum Survival program.

But now, Dantalian was saying that Daehan Clan hunters had entered without staff.

‘Something seems fishy…’

No matter how he thought about it, the Daehan Clan seemed very suspicious.

Just then, he sensed a familiar energy from far ahead. Kim Jinsung immediately focused his vision.

‘…Minions.’

Multiple black energy minions, upon spotting Kim Jinsung, were charging towards him at full speed.

‘And it looks like there are a few flame mana minions behind them.’

As Kim Jinsung was thinking this, Dantalian’s voice was heard again.

[Now, try resonating with those minions as I taught you earlier.]

Kim Jinsung recalled what Dantalian had told him earlier.

‘You said I could resonate with the Demon World minions using the same method as when I covered the Void, right?’

Dantalian had explained that these black minions were beings made purely of dark energy. Therefore, using resonance, one could control them like subordinates.

‘You said it would be much easier with minions within range… Let’s try it…’

Kim Jinsung raised his concentration to the maximum. He immediately activated the resonance state.

In that state, Kim Jinsung attempted to resonate with the black minions before him.

You, become my ally!

He felt as if he and the minions before him were connected by an invisible string.

It felt exactly like when he summoned a clone.

‘Did it work?’

Kim Jinsung immediately issued an order to the minions.

The black minions immediately turned and charged towards the flame mana minions.

‘It worked!’

Kim Jinsung inwardly rejoiced as he watched the two groups of minions engage in fierce combat.

[Yes, that’s it. How about that, quite easy, isn’t it?]

Dantalian’s voice was heard immediately, but Kim Jinsung ignored it without responding.

A good idea had suddenly occurred to him.

‘Then, can I do this too?’

Kim Jinsung issued a dissolve command to the minions before him.

At his command, issued as if to his clones, the black minions instantly vanished with a pop.

As they dispersed into dark energy in the air, a notification appeared in Kim Jinsung’s vision.

—

▶ You have defeated a monster.

▶ Acquired 150 Beast Karma points.

▶ You have already obtained the trait ‘Being of Dark Energy’ from this monster type.

—

‘This works too!’

He had tried it wondering if he would get points as if he had defeated them directly, and it had worked exactly as he thought.

‘Then, how about this?’

Kim Jinsung looked at the approaching flame mana minions.

What if he tried to resonate after changing his attribute to flame mana…?

Without further hesitation, Kim Jinsung immediately tried.

‘…It worked!’

Kim Jinsung cheered as he saw the flame mana minions stop in their tracks.

Then, Dantalian’s impressed voice echoed in Kim Jinsung’s mind.

[Hahaha! Incredible! Truly incredible! You grasp three concepts when taught just one! As expected of the human I’ve set my eyes on! Hahaha…!]

‘No matter how much you praise me, I won’t make a contract.’

[…Y-you disrespectful brat, really…!]

Ignoring Dantalian’s seething voice, Kim Jinsung completely dissolved all the flame mana monsters before him.

As he continued walking, Kim Jinsung soon came to a fork in the road.

At the fork that split left and right, Kim Jinsung approached the wall directly in front of him.

‘The exit was this way.’

When he had covered the Void space with resonance earlier, Kim Jinsung had realized another fact.

He had sensed the location of the exit portal far away.

It was something he had naturally learned while feeling the movement of dark energy in the dungeon through resonance.

Kim Jinsung immediately used his Shadow Concealment skill and created a Warp Hole.

As he created an exit right behind the wall, he thought to himself,

‘Moving by the shortest route like this should lower the chances of falling into any traps the Daehan Clan might have set up.’

And he had a hunch that the next rift might be even more difficult and dangerous to deal with than the ‘Void’.

Considering that the difficulty of the three rifts he had encountered so far had increased step by step, the probability was high.

‘Let’s get out quickly. This is too suspicious.’

With an inexplicable sense of foreboding, Kim Jinsung entered the Warp Hole with the exit he had created.

* * *

“Kim Jinsung has almost reached the exit?”

– Yes.

Jang Seungwook’s answer came through in response to Baek Jun’s question over the smartphone.

– He’s moving quickly in a straight line as if he knows the location of the exit. At this speed, he’ll definitely arrive within 30 minutes, even being generous.

“Hmm…”

– Is this okay? Looking at the viewers’ reactions, many are wondering how he knows the exit location….

“No, don’t worry about it.”

Baek Jun answered firmly.

“It might be questionable for other contestants, but it’s entirely possible for Kim Jinsung. He’s already exceeded our expectations by creating that phenomenon that engulfed the Void.”

– That’s true, but….

“Let’s just focus on the fact that Kim Jinsung, our most promising contestant, has safely passed through the survival. You know what the other purpose of our program is, right?”

– To discover outstanding prospects who can be sent to the New Continent, right?

“That’s right.”

Discovering exceptional talents among the ‘forced laborers’ – those who would otherwise live and die as slaves – who are worthy of being sent to the New Continent.

That was one of the government’s intended purposes for the Colosseum Survival program.

It was almost the only way to rehabilitate the image of forced laborers branded as criminals while putting them to good use.

“We’ve already achieved sufficient ratings and buzz, haven’t we?”

– Yes. We’re still breaking all-time viewership records, and the scene of Kim Jinsung eliminating the ‘Void’ has already hit number one on global trending videos.

“That’s enough. Tell the PD to focus more on other contestants now, rather than just Kim Jinsung.”

– Understood.

As they were having this conversation,

Yong Hangil, standing some distance away, was also having a serious conversation with Team Leader Hong Yeonseok.

“You’re saying he’s avoiding all the rifts if he goes in that direction?”

“Yes, Master. He’s been moving precisely through passages without rifts.”

The two were speaking in very low voices, their gazes fixed on the smartphone screen showing Kim Jinsung’s movements.

“So that means no rifts will be generated until he reaches the exit?”

“No, Master. One will definitely be generated.”

Yong Hangil looked up at Hong Yeonseok.

Hong Yeonseok continued,

“It’s the rift we set up near the exit. He’ll have to face it to get out.”

“What kind of rift is it this time?”

Yong Hangil immediately asked.

—