_ Volume 5, Chapter 23
123. Deciding the King (4)
“You lost.”
Taesan spoke slowly as he pulled out the knife stuck in Seojangsan’s chest.
“What are you going to do? Are you going to continue? Then I won’t stop you either.”
A cold gaze pierced Seojangsan Mountain.
Seojangsan shook his head.
“…I don’t think so. I lost.”
He backed away neatly.
“I will withdraw.”
The strength of not knowing what to do. In fact, even if they attacked, they were defeated without using a hand.
It was their defeat. There was nothing more to say.
“good choice.”
Taesan laughed. The back of Seojangsan’s back got wet from that laugh.
he said, swallowing.
“…I want power, but not to the point of risking my life.”
If he resisted even a little, or if he raised his voice in denial of reality, he died. Seo Jang-san instinctively felt it.
“Then Kim Hwi-yeon.”
“yes? Ah yes.”
Kim Hwi-yeon, who had been watching blankly, came to her senses.
“I told you. I have no intention of becoming king. And you said you would handle it.”
“…yes.” Kim Hwi-yeon
nodded with a determined face .
She looked down at Seojangsan Mountain with a complex face.
“ Jangsan…
“Is the next king you?”
Seo Jang-san laughed bitterly.
“I don’t think I’m wrong. I couldn’t even use my hands and lost to him… In the end, it’s hard mode players who can stand against monsters. You have to sacrifice the weak and survive.”
Earth is hell.
In Hell, only the strong survive.
Seojangsan tried to do it with his own hands.
“Are you going to take care of them too? How will that end?”
“Shut up and give it up.”
Taesan hit Seojangsan on the head. Seo Jang-san wrapped his head around the dull pain.
“…ruler.”
[Seo Jang-san transferred the position of king to Kim Hwi-yeon.]
[The king was decided.] [
Kang Tae-san was the most involved in the change of the king .
There is a bonus when returning to the labyrinth.]
“Thank you.”
When the fallen hard mode players were being sorted out and people were accepting the king’s change, Kim Hwi-yeon came to Tae-san and bowed her head.
” what?”
“…You didn’t kill Seo Jang-san.”
she knows That Tae-san has no feelings for Seo Jang-san.
And that he was not so merciful as to deliberately leave his enemies alive.
If the change was requested and killed right away, confusion would have come. Hard mode players who did not see the process could have rebelled.
And that malice is Kim Hwi-yeon. It was most likely directed at her .
She was the one who benefited the most from Taishan killing Seo Jangsan and becoming king.
His right to speak must have been hit by suspicion of his relationship with Taesan. Even if he managed to survive and return to the labyrinth, there was a high possibility that he would be excluded from it.
Kim Hwi-yeon realized, albeit belatedly, that Tae-san had thought of all of this before moving.
“If you know, work hard. That’s what you can do in return.”
Kim Hwi-yeon gave Tae-san a strange look.
His gaze asked why he was being so good to himself.
Taesan smiled.
“Think of it as a debt.”
“Debt…?”
“okay.”
Taesan smiled.
previous life.
The third
return when he was weak and weak.
Because of Choi Jung-hyeok’s rebellion, Seo Jang-san and most of the hard mode play disappeared. Only ten thousand survived.
On my next return, the road to Seoul was hell. Monsters they could not resist appeared and humans died like toys.
There, Kim Hwi-yeon saved half of the lives.
There was also Taishan among them.
‘Because I don’t want to see people die.’
The night before Kim Hwi-yeon’s death. This was what she said when asked by Taesan if he could survive enough if he ran away
alone .
When order disappeared and the law became nothing, she kept the obvious in her mouth.
Taesan still remembered.
“Thank you very much. To think that she would do this for someone like me…
From her point of view, Tae-san was perfect by herself. who can do anything
Solve her troubles simply and save countless people. It was beyond
her ability to stand.
Kim Hwi-yeon even had a longing for him.
But to think that such a person cares so much about his weak self.
It was so painful that it is difficult to express it in words.
Taesan waved his hand.
“Because it’s done. It’s not just that I was saved.”
Seo Jang-san was different from Choi Joong-hyeok. While Choi Joong-hyeok was parasitic and useless to them by eating moths, Jangsan
tried to save mankind even though he was the center.
During the second return, Seo Jang-san took the lead and defeated the monsters in the waves.
‘His personality is a problem, but if he beats me up, he’ll listen.’
It could have been put to good use if kept alive. If he didn’t even listen to me, I thought I’d beat him until I heard him.
“And other than that, are there any problems?”
“…It’s a matter of food.” How
can we
feed more than 100,000 people ?
The problem still lingered.
The king was changed from Seojangsan to Kim Hwiyeon.
That fact is known to everyone as the system window. Even if that wasn’t the case, it would have been known before long since the majority of those who saw it in person were the majority.
The response was contrasting.
“Then are you okay now?”
“Can you live?”
Everyone in Easy and Normal mode was delighted. Hardmode players oppressed them and had to live with the pain as they literally lost their lives if they recklessly resisted.
But it was good for them if the new king cared about them.
On the other hand, the hard mode people didn’t have a good atmosphere.
“We are fighting for our lives
…
” “Shouldn’t there be benefits for that?”
Under the guidance of Seo Jang-san, they acted without hindrance. He couldn’t like it because the benefit was suddenly removed.
Kim Hwi-yeon knew that too.
“I am not denying the benefits. Everyone should receive benefits commensurate with their abilities.” It was also true that
they protected the majority of players
. Responsibility had to be given the right as well.
The reason she tried to push Seojangsan away was because he used Izzy and Normal Mode as discard words. He was going to leave Hae-tae alone except for him.
Hard mode players who heard that did not show much resistance. It was partly because Kim Hwi-yeon was popular in hard mode, and most of them didn’t like bullying that much. It was
because there were many cases where people in Hard Mode were friends with Normal Mode
.
In the first place, it was a choice that was close to coercion and entered the labyrinth. Parents in easy mode and children in hard mode were mixed.
No one wants to see their friends get tossed around by other hardmode players. It was a decision that there was no reason for them to refuse as long as the benefits were not removed.
Under such thoughts, they accepted Kim Hwi-yeon’s will.
“Then what are you going to do now?”
Geum Joong-geun asked. Kim Hwi-yeon closed
her eyes .
A hundred thousand lives were in her hands.
It was too heavy.
‘but.’
she opened her eyes
It’s something she accepted. There is no room or reason to complain.
“How much food do you have?”
“Very few. I don’t know if it only eats hard mode players, but if all 100,000 people eat it, it won’t take a day’s worth. Each of us has the food we brought, so
it will last for a few days… but the duration of the quest is longer than that.”
Junggeun said. It was a whopping month. There was no watermelon, which would not be enough with the food we had now.
Of course, basic magic for Taesan. There was food production. Consuming mana to create food. It was a very good magic in this situation, but the number was a problem.
Even if he used all of his mana, it wasn’t enough to feed 100,000 people.
I don’t know when I’m really pushed to the limit, but
there was no reason to use it now.
Kim Hwi-yeon, who closed her eyes and thought, said.
“Is there anywhere to get food nearby?”
At Kim Hwi-yeon’s words, Seo Jang-san glanced at Tae-san. Taesan nodded his head, and he spoke cautiously.
“There is a large mart nearby. But there won’t be any food nearby that we can rob and salvage.”
“You have to go far.”
she made a decision
“Let’s move.”
“How far?”
“okay. There is no choice but to get food.”
Most of them agreed with that statement. But after that it was a problem.
“Why do we have to go?”
Some of the hard mode expressed their disapproval. Their logic was simple. If it’s dangerous, it’s just an easy mode, so why should we risk our lives?
“Even if it’s like this, if Easy Mode doesn’t work, what are you doing?”
Since this was an expected reaction, Kim Hwi-yeon spoke calmly.
“After the first return, everyone got points when returning to the labyrinth, right? Everyone knows its efficacy because they have used it.”
Differentially paid compensation. point. The effect was great. Gold and stat proficiency were raised without risk, so there was a big difference between getting a lot of points or not.
“This time, there was also a statement that differential payments were made according to performance. So
the more you work hard to find food, the more you can get.”
At that, they shut up. Definitely worth the risk if you can get the points.
“And I’m not going to be playing with Izzy in normal mode. We need to bring as much food as possible, so we will move as a team at a certain rate.”
“You want us to keep them?”
“I won’t tell you to risk your life. But keep it as long as possible. please.”
Kim Hwi-yeon lowered her head. Hard
mode players hesitated.
“Ah Okay.”
“This makes me look like a bad guy.”
When everyone accepted it, Seo Jang-san said.
“Still not enough.”
“What?”
“One hundred thousand. No matter how widespread it is to obtain food, there is a limit. No matter how you get one week, what about the next week? How are you going to last a month?”
“Jangsan-ah.”
Taesan said.
“I didn’t allow you to tell me that far, so shut up.”
“But your question is justified.”
“Then the reason I told you to shut up is…
“Because it’s noisy.”
Seo Jang-san closed his mouth with an unfair face.
Tae-san had ill feelings towards him. He persecuted Izzy and Normal Mode and did not even provide food properly.
The main logic was that the hard mode should fill the stomach and prepare.
Taesan was also a player in Easy Mode, so he did not receive food. The memory of grabbing a hungry stomach and peeling and eating tree roots was still there.
From his point of view, not killing him was a great mercy.
“I will care about what you said, so don’t worry. And, if possible, bring potato or corn seeds if you find them.”
“I will grow it? Wouldn’t that be a bit difficult?”
Growing corn and potatoes would be a great help, but the time was too short for that.
Since it is only a month old, it had to leave before it was fully grown, and there was a high possibility that it would be rotten when it returned.
Taesan shook his head.
“It’s not because of that. Anyway, if you can grow something, bring it.”
“Um… yes.”
Hwiyeon had a puzzled face, but nodded.
Joong-geun, who was quiet at that time, spoke.
“Is it good for food that can be grown?”
“Perhaps.”
Taesan didn’t know the details either. I only got potatoes back then. But if potatoes were available, others would be too.
“Then there is a place I know of nearby.”
“Then you move with me.”
After that, Lee Tae-yeon started forming a team, and
Tae-san moved with Jung-geun.
“where are you?”
“You can go this way. It’s not too far.”
Taesan followed Junggeun’s footsteps. Monsters popped up from time to time, but they were no match for Taesan or Junggeun.
“Here.”
The place where Jung-geun arrived was just next to a small building.
“It’s not broken.”
Joong-geun went inside. After passing through a room with no daily necessities, I reached the door to the basement.
Joong-geun entered the room after entering the password as he was accustomed to.
“Ohh?”
Taesan stood out. Numerous plants were filling the cellar. Now, they are all rotten because they are not managed by people, but when they were alive, the scenery must have been quite spectacular.
“Wait a minute.”
Joong-geun entered the plant room. After a while he brought some bags of
vacuum-packed seeds.
“Maybe it was stored well, so it didn’t rot or dry out. Maybe it can be grown.”
“What seeds are they?”
“Corn, watermelon, greens… I’m sure there’s something like that?”
“good.”
It was very good. Having so many seeds was of great help to survival.
“Sorry, but there are no potatoes. Because they are grown as seed potatoes, they are all rotten and exposed.”
“That’s fine. How did you know about this place?”
“Someone I know likes to grow. Sometimes I would bring them and guide them. I thought it was useless, but I didn’t know it would be used like this.”
Joong-geun smiled bitterly.
If he didn’t bring the culprit, that would mean he’s already dead. A gloom passed over his face.
“I would be happy if you wrote it in this way. But why are you collecting this?”
“There are skills you can acquire.”
Simple farming that allows you to quickly grow food anywhere. A skill that actually saved mankind to the end.
Taesan knew how to learn.
Level up with skill
