1. New Year’s Eve bell
All humans have a desire to live.
The same goes for Ryumin.
‘Otherwise I wouldn’t have come this far.’
From round 1 to round 20.
He barely survived by giving up 98 lives.
And now, in the 99th session.
We have come to the end of this damn game of survival.
We finally arrived at the boss room of the last 20th round.
And be the last one standing.
But things didn’t go as expected.
[At least five players are required to open the boss room.]
“what?”
I was so dumbfounded that the words came out in a loud voice.
‘You need at least five people?’
Ryu Min was the only one who made it to the 20th round.
But you need five.
Ryumin looked dumbfounded at the quest that he couldn’t complete on his own in the first place.
‘What a case like this…’ … If you needed five people, you would have told me sooner!’
There were no signs in the quest message or before entering the boss room that could provide clues.
I felt like I had been stabbed in the back by ridiculous conditions, but that wasn’t the end.
[It has been confirmed that only one player accessed the boss room.]
[If the conditions are not met, the player will be destroyed.]
“under?”
There was no time to feel emptiness.
Before I knew it, my body was disappearing molecule by molecule.
Ryu Min’s last words before he died were one.
“f*ck you.”
[You are dead.]
[The conditions for ‘Time Reversion Rune’ have been met.]
[Go back in time to 1 round ago.]
[Chance used: 100/100]
[All remaining opportunities were used.]
[The engraved rune automatically disappears.]
As the shadow of death appeared before his eyes, Ryumin was reborn.
As a level 1 beginner player.
[The 100th regression begins.]
* * *
December 31, 2021.
Many people, including citizens and reporters, gathered in front of Bosingak in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
To hear the New Year’s Eve bell ringing.
“Many citizens are waiting for the bell-ringing event to welcome a hopeful new year.”
“This year’s bell ringing was attended by Seoul Mayor Ma Dong-won and various figures from all walks of life….”
At that place, where the broadcasting station cameras were rolling, Ryu Min came to his senses.
‘I’m back. Before I got caught up in this damn game.’
I looked around and saw that many people were waiting for midnight with excited faces.
Not knowing that soon my expectations would turn into despair.
‘If I could, I would like to stop time.’
But time passes.
Regardless of whether you are happy or bored, painful or difficult, time passes anyway.
No matter how crazy it gets, it never stops.
‘It’s possible to go back to the past, though.’
But that ends now.
All extra opportunities were used up by death.
‘This is your last chance. I will definitely kill the boss in 20 rounds and survive this crazy game.’
It was only our last chance, but there was hope.
Now that you know that the entry requirement for the boss room is five people, you can plan accordingly.
‘I need to completely revise my plans so far.’
In the meantime, he only cared about his own survival as a colleague.
To be honest, I didn’t have the presence of mind to think about anyone else.
Because it was a survival game where if you fell behind in the competition, you would die.
As a result, he reached the 20th round with unrivaled power.
‘It’s ridiculous that five people were needed for the final round… … If I didn’t have an extra life, I would have been killed for nothing, right?’
It turned out that it was a game that I couldn’t beat on my own.
Ryumin could only think that he had been tricked into an intentional trap created by God.
‘This is the last time. I can’t even go back anymore.’
In the meantime, there was no time to look around, but not anymore.
Unlike before, you must lead four people excluding yourself to the final round.
‘Of course, I don’t plan on giving it away like a babysitter. ‘It’s hard for me to become stronger.’
All I’m saying is that I’m going to use it for the last round.
‘Who should I be with? Since this is a boss fight, it would be better to fill it with capable allies, right?’
Several names that died in round 18 came to mind.
I had various plans drawn up in my head.
Since it was the last one, it was necessary to plan more carefully and thoroughly.
That time when you internally check your plans and make resolutions.
“It’s finally time. Let’s all count down together!”
The death count began with the host’s voice.
“20! 19! 18!”
People started counting from 20 seconds with expectant faces.
“……3, 2, 1!”
The mayor of Seoul and several celebrities stood in front of the New Year’s Eve bell and helped ring it by pushing the party tree.
Dae-aeng- Dae-aeng- Dae-aeng-!
“The new year of 2022 has arrived! Happy New Year, everyone!”
“Waaaaaa!”
Each person cheering has a smile on their face.
But even for a moment.
[Giggles. Humans are fun. Celebrating the New Year without knowing what kind of situation they are in.]
The smiles disappeared from people’s faces as a voice came into their heads out of nowhere.
“What? What did you just hear….”
“What did you just say?”
“I didn’t say anything?”
People looking around in panic.
People looking at each other thinking they were talking next to each other.
Even people tilting their heads as if they heard something wrong.
Each person’s reaction was slightly different, but the emotions they felt were the same.
Embarrassment.
But among them, only one person, Ryumin, was not embarrassed.
Because everything was going according to what he knew.
‘This is a situation I’ve already been through 99 times. ‘I can’t panic.’
After waiting with calm eyes, unpleasant laughter is heard again.
[Kyohohoho. They look just like monkeys locked in a cage when they panic. I guess it’s good. Humans are animals of adaptation, right?]
“W-what is this? Where does this sound come from?”
“Are you playing a prank on the broadcasting station?”
“Hey, does this make sense? Hidden cameras are being filmed at the bell-ringing event?”
“Then what is this voice?”
A crucible of confusion.
Just the sound of his voice made people panic.
Celebrities even forgot to ring the bell.
It’s not that it wasn’t, because I couldn’t dismiss the voice I heard in my head as manipulation.
‘The angel cub will make his appearance soon. Playing around.’
They say they talk like angels, but they act like devils.
Ryumin was painfully aware of that fact through 99 regressions.
‘Of course, it’s not something that low-class bitches like angels would do.’
Clearly there is another organizer of this crazy game.
Angels are just NPCs to explain the game.
‘It’s a serious situation to compare to just a game.’
After a while, a brilliant light came down from the sky.
Everyone murmured in unison at the woman who appeared with the light.
“angel?”
A pair of wings, white skin, and a beauty that would make even celebrities jealous.
The woman who came down from heaven matched the appearance of an angel that people knew.
‘Even though humanity is the devil itself.’
Only Ryumin was not deceived by the angel’s appearance.
Others will find out soon.
How much angels ignore humans.
[Trash people. It seems like they all fell in love with my appearance. I see everyone looking at me like an idiot.]
“…….”
[It’s better not to have foolish thoughts. Because I have no intention of hanging out with people like scum.]
The grinning angel’s smile was beautiful, but people couldn’t just smile.
There’s no way you can laugh even after being cursed, right?
[Looking at all of them with straight faces, I guess my voice is being heard properly. Giggling.]
It was then.
One brave young man loudly asked the question everyone was curious about.
“What are you? An angel? Are you the one talking to me?”
The angel’s gaze fell on the young man.
Ryumin looked at that with sad eyes.
‘May the souls of the deceased refrain.’
The young man who disobeys the angel’s will soon dies.
[I’m annoyed.]
just now.
Wow!
The young man’s head exploded like a watermelon.
People nearby screamed in surprise as blood splattered everywhere.
“Aaaah!”
“Huh!”
Only angels have annoying wrinkles between their fair eyebrows.
[How dare you speak informally to me, a noble person, over a trivial human being. It’s unpleasant.]
Although he was already dead and could not hear, the angel continued to complain.
[And who said it was okay to ask questions? You humans have no right to ask me. Don’t try to be c*cky. Unless you want your head to explode and die like that person.]
“…….”
Tens of thousands of people simultaneously held their breath at the frost-like voice.
The fear that one might say one wrong word and one’s head might explode dominated the audience.
‘That’s exactly what an angel would wish for.’
People in panic had no time to make rational decisions.
Except for Ryumin.
[Are you wondering what the situation is now? I don’t even know what you’re talking about? Well, what do inferior humans know? I will explain each step easily. Because that is my role as well.]
The angel said with a disdainful look in his eyes.
[On the first day of every month, you humans will fall asleep as a group. And your soul will be forcibly transferred and you will wake up in a new dimension.]
Soul transfer? A new dimension?
It was an absurd statement, but no one could refute it.
The situation in which the angel appeared was absurd.
[There is only one thing for you humans to do there. Achieving the given quest. Once you complete the quest, you can return to reality. You also get generous rewards.]
No one was happy to hear that they could return if they succeeded in the quest.
In other words, if you fail, you can’t come back.
But some also had expectations.
I don’t know what kind of quest it is, but if you succeed, you can survive, right?
If you take your time and attack slowly, you will definitely be able to survive.
However, the angel’s next words completely shattered those expectations.
[Not everyone can survive even if they complete the quest. We’ll only spare the half that passed the quest the fastest. So it would be better not to delay. Giggling.]
“I can’t believe only half of us can survive….”
In other words, it was a competitive survival game with a set TO.
[A total of 20 rounds will be held once on the 1st of every month. As mentioned before, only half of the players can survive each round, and the quest will become increasingly more difficult.]
“Well, like that….”
You can survive not just once, but 20 times.
Despair appeared on people’s faces.
[Giggle, but don’t worry too much. Because I won’t take everything. At this point, only humans between the ages of 15 and 29 will participate in the survival game.]
There is an age limit.
The impact of those words was significant.
‘Phew… … thank god.’
‘I don’t think it applies.’
While adults who are not in the mentioned age group are secretly relieved.
“Me, I’m included, right?”
“What should I do? My birthday is January 1st, so I’m 15 years old this year!”
People in their teens and twenties felt the despair of the sky falling.
‘Well, I have nothing to feel unfair about.’
Ryu Min, whose birthday was January 1st, is 19 years old this year.
I was at an age where I couldn’t protest.
‘If you think about it, he’s already over 100 years old.’
Although he appeared to be a normal high school student, he spent countless years going through 99 regressions.
The days filled with survival come to mind as clearly as yesterday or today.
‘I couldn’t believe I ended up in such a shitty event on my birthday.’
I wonder if it won’t be like this even if I’m unlucky.
It feels a little unfair.
[When I look at it, I see some people feeling unfairly treated, but there is no need for that. Because we will take not only the people here, but also people from all over the world.]
No longer did anyone think that a giggling angel was beautiful.
devil.
At least the angel I see now was closer to the devil.
[Let’s see… … If we count people aged 15 to 29, the number of participants would be 1,801,029,290. Well, now that the brief explanation is over, shall we get going? Kyohohoho.]
As soon as those words were finished, it became dark before my eyes, as if the lights had been turned off.
It was a moment when about 1.8 billion people participated in a deadly survival game.
