REAPER SCANS

Reincarnator’s Stream

[Translator – SCM]

[Proofreader –  ilafy]

Chapter 132

After recovering for a bit, Su-hyeok immediately left the 5th floor. Hearing about the circumstances, he thought that it would be best to avoid Murim if possible. If a procedure was needed, it was better to come alone.

On the way to the 6th floor, after getting into the car, Su-hyeok fiddled with his kit.

'It's taking him quite some time.'

There had been no contact from Gret. The chances of Dark Map scamming him were low, but the investigation was taking a considerable amount of time.

There was nothing to regret. If it took time, he just needed to do what he had to do in the meantime. 

As they sat facing each other, fiddling with their kits, Un-hyang brought up a new topic. "Who do you think will win the Great Competition this time?"

The Great Competition was a massive festival where representatives from each world gathered to compete. It was something all players were interested in.

"Murim? Runeterra? Or maybe the Elves of Marlo?" The worlds she listed were the top contenders for victory. Although there were players from dozens of worlds in the tower, not many managed to win.

Su-hyeok asked out of curiosity, "Which world won most recently?"

"You don't know?" Un-hyang looked at him in surprise. 

Su-hyeok shrugged. "I'm not really interested."

"Well, I guess Earth is always in the upper ranks, so… Su-hyeok, do you plan to participate in the Great Competition?"

The Great Competition was a festival of rankers. Although it was still a bit early for Su-hyeok, in terms of skill alone, he wasn't far off—he was already capable of taking on multiple rankers by himself.

"Of course." Su-hyeok nodded. "Without a doubt." Even in his previous life, he had been serious about the Great Competition.

'That damn game.' 

Countless players were sacrificed in each Great Competition, those that lost died one by one, starting with those in the lower ranks. To fill those empty spots, the tower brought in more people from other worlds.

For worlds that could stay in the upper ranks, it was a festival, but for those in the lower ranks, it was a desperate struggle for survival. It was as if someone had fun playing with their lives, such was the cruelty of it.

'On top of that…'

A word lingered in Su-hyeok's mind.

"The Great Competition…'

The hint that Gret, the Dark Map's branch manager, gave him.

"Big guilds are all like that. They're rotten inside, and greedy too."

He’d spoken as if he knew something. Or rather, there was a chance that it was internal information from Dark Map.

His betrayal was related to the Great Competition, so did it have to do with monopolizing victory? If that were the only reason, Kim Ilsu's betrayal didn't make sense.

By participating in the Great Competition, he would surely learn something, but with his skills as they were, that wasn't enough.

'The only way to find out the truth is to do it myself.'

The Great Competition featured representatives from each world. He could handle rankers, but he was no match for the stars who represented each world.

He needed to become much stronger. Only when he could fully control lightning as his own could he leave a mark in the Great Competition.

"Last time, it was Pantera." Cheong-ryang answered Su-hyeok's question about the winner. “As long as the Great Magician is holding on, Pantera will probably keep winning."

"Are you talking about Hails?" Great Magician Hails. was someone Su-hyeok also knew. She was a top-ranked player even 20 years prior, a great magician who was considered to be the most talented in Pantera.

"As expected, even if you aren't interested in the Great Competition, you know the Great Magician." Pantera's dominance wasn't something recent, and that dominance was largely thanks to her.

"There's no one who can match Hails?"

"Unless the Heavenly Demon sides with Murim and joins the Great Competition, or Lee Su-hyeok is alive, it's hard to find someone capable of matching her."

The Heavenly Demon or Lee Su-hyeok—the names he mentioned were those of people who'd shaken up the tower. Although it was a personal opinion, the fact that Hails' name was mentioned showed how much she'd grown as a player.

"The odds of Pantera winning are 1.1. Even if you bet on them, you'd only make a 10% profit."

The betting system also played a big part in making the Great Competition the tower's biggest festival. First, second, and third place—the Great Competition was a gambling arena countless players focused on.

"Hey, are you really not going to quit gambling?" Un-hyang started scolding Cheong-ryang again at the mention of gambling.

Flinching for a moment, he tried to convince her once more. "Ah, but this is a sure move! Pantera's definitely going to win."

"Since when is anything sure in this world?"

"Trust me. I'll make a 10% profit and even predict 2nd place."

"You're going to bet on the 2nd place too?"

"Ah…" Cheong-ryang covered his mouth as if he'd said something he shouldn't have.

Soon after, Un-hyang grabbed him by the collar as usual, and he tapped her arm in surrender.

Su-hyeok asked, "What about Earth?" Among the contenders mentioned, Earth was missing. When he was alive, Earth always won the Great Competition. Not only were they no longer dominating, but they weren't even mentioned as winning contenders.

"From middle to upper ranks… Ack." Cheong-ryang, who was more knowledgeable about the Great Competition due to his gambling addiction, answered.

As the conversation resumed, Un-hyang let go of his collar.

"Earth has been hovering around 10th place. Recently, it's been 11th or 12th."

"12th…?" Su-hyeok's brow furrowed. The ranking was dropping. Even considering his absence, it was too drastic a change.

"What could they do? Not only is Su-hyeok gone, but the guild that represented Earth also disappeared." The guild that Un-hyang mentioned was, of course, Blue Eyes.

20 years prior, Blue Eyes fell. Although a few members might’ve still been alive, for some reason, they had vanished.

Even though he knew it in his head, he found it hard to accept.

'12th…'

It wasn't a dangerously low rank, but it wasn't a satisfying one either.

"You're concerned about the Great Competition?" Un-hyang looked puzzled. He didn't know what Earth's ranking was and who had won, yet he was determined to participate in the Great Competition. It was hard to tell if he was indifferent or not.

"The tower prepared three systems." It wasn't hard to recall two of the three Su-hyeok mentioned. "Trials and the Great Competition."

"Yes. We raise our ranks through the trials and, through the Great Competition, sacrifice the low-ranked players."

Outwardly, things looked stable, but that peace applied only to strong worlds. Players from the weaker worlds were risking their lives even at that very moment, taking trials to raise their ranks and preparing for the Great Competition.

The peace of the world was built on corpses.

"In a broad sense, this world is one big trial. You must live and survive. The trials and the Great Competition are connected in that sense."

That was an old thought: trials, ranking, and the Great Competition—the system the Tower had created looked like one big trial.

"If this is a trial, there must be an end." The third thing the Tower had prepared…

"Something that will start one day." Un-hyang finally recalled the last one, a message heard when first chosen as a player, a warning buried deep in memory, as if it would never happen.

"That's right.” Su-hyeok made sure to never forget it. "Everything is connected. The trials, the Great Competition, and that thing that will start someday."

It was like he was living for that day.

* * *

The first place Su-hyeok went to after arriving on the 6th floor was Kindre's workshop.

According to Kindre's estimate, it would take her five days to complete the items. Going down to the 4th floor and receiving Jinwoon's procedure took him about eight days, so there was more than enough time to have completed it.

"I'm excited to see what was made." Un-hyang was as excited as if they were about to go to an amusement park.

The Thunder Heart was related to lightning—a treasure so valuable that even Asgard coveted it. Su-hyeok was, of course, looking forward to it too. Naturally, his steps quickened.

After arriving at Kindre's workshop underground, they descended the stairs, and Su-hyeok felt a colder chill than before.

'It's freezing.'

The temperature was so cold that it probably could freeze the hearts of most players. Cheong-ryang shivered and stopped in his tracks.

"I… I'll stay here."

"Go up." Un-hyang, as if she were worried all along, quickly sent Cheong-ryang back up.

Just what was going on downstairs? Leaving Cheong-ryang behind, Su-hyeok continued walking.

"Are you okay?"

"My Stamina is top-notch." Su-hyeok shrugged at Un-hyang's concern. "This much is nothing." It wasn't an empty boast. Su-hyeok's Stamina far surpassed that of most rankers. It wasn't like they were walking into a pit of fire, so that level of cold was no problem.

However, what was strange was…

'What is she doing?'

They had come because the requested item was supposed to be completed, but when he felt a strange chill, he couldn't help but feel both anxious and excited.

They finished descending the stairs.

"You're indeed this item’s owner." Kindre greeted both Su-hyeok and Un-hyang as they arrived. "You came just as it was completed."

She had numerous tools like hammers, awls, and needles scattered messily on the workshop's floor; her eyes looked sunken. 

Su-hyeok asked, "Did you perhaps not sleep at all?"

"Of course I did. I got about four hours of sleep in between." No wonder her dark circles looked like they could touch the ground.

Su-hyeok looked at the faintly glowing blue gloves placed beside her—an item made using the fragment of a star and the Thunder Heart.

"Is it complete?"

"Yes. It took a bit longer than expected." The original estimate was five days, but the item was completed just as Su-hyeok arrived, well past the deadline.

'Was it that hard of a job?'

There were two options: either Kindre's skills didn't live up to her reputation, or the materials were harder to work with than she'd anticipated.

The reason became clear soon enough.

As if she couldn't contain herself, Kindre, who had stayed up for nights on end since meeting Su-hyeok, asked with shining eyes, "Just what is that thing?"

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