Chapter 8

Episode 1: New World / : Bonus Game (3)
TL: Myoni
Edited: Myoni, Yoni
Sponsored: tom555j
 
Who would they kill?
Of course, it would be the dropouts. They weren’t distributed karma since they had not gone up onto the {Ring of Rebirth}. On top of that, if he killed them, they would turn into items.
The problem was who to target. Normally, they would choose people that they had never met before.
 
However, Choi Hyuk didn’t target the dropouts.
‘I’ll kill the first one that receives an item and take it.’
It was a riskier strategy than facing the weak dropouts. But Choi Hyuk didn’t want to personally kill the dropouts. It was because he believed that his mother would have faced the same fate. However, he needed items. And, for the hidden rule, he need to kill three more.
That was why he decided. That if someone killed another, Choi Hyuk would kill that person. He couldn’t kill the innocent. He was confident he could handle that much risk.
If others saw him, they may denounce him as a hypocrite.
‘So? What’s wrong with that?’
Choi Hyuk just needed to set his own rules.
 
‘Aahhh!

A teacher’s scream filled the gym. The people who watched from afar thought, ‘Ah, so that’s killing violently.’ A sound they thought they would never become familiar with rang in their ears.
Choi Hyuk looked towards that direction. The social studies teacher was stabbing a young unknown teacher with a spear. Still, since he was a grown-up, he didn’t wait in front of a box with a student inside. The teachers targeted and gathered around boxes with teachers inside and the moment the box disappeared, they would attack in an organized manner. In that sense, they were grown-ups.
 

Cough…

The spear pierced right below the neck. A fatal blow. Although he didn’t die instantly, the young teacher flailed around on the floor in his own blood.
At that moment.

Huh?

A golden hammer the size of a human appeared above the dying teacher’s head.
 
Swish.
 
The hammer let out a mysterious sound,
 
Slam!!
 
And mercilessly smashed the teacher with a fatal wound.
 
Drip, drip.
 
Scraps of meat and blood splattered onto the clothes and the cheeks of the surrounding spectators.
 
The hammer, still in its smashing position, disappeared with another swish. In its place, a necklace appeared, floating in the air. The necklace automatically fell down towards the social studies teacher who had dealt the final blow.
 
The social studies teacher quickly grabbed the necklace and hung it around his neck.
He wanted to show a serious expression but the tips of his lips were slowly making their way up. The teachers who couldn’t obtain the necklace sent envious glares or went to hunt other dropouts. There were even some who glanced at the students.
 
Just then, Choi Hyuk charged.
 
Dadada, bam!
His footsteps rhythmically sounded out throughout the gym. He charged as fast as he could then with a bang, jumped up into the air.
Because the last footstep the social studies teacher heard was far away from him, he never thought that the footsteps were heading for him.
Choi Hyuk’s karma enhanced body shot out like an arrow. The condensed power in his body exploded. Choi Hyuk’s body jumped more than 8m forward. A world record class long jump. And it wasn’t a simple jump, he also quickly drew his sword.
 
Choi Hyuk’s ability allowed him to move in the best way possible. Even if he had never learned it before, he could control all his joints and muscles to move like an expert that had practiced for his whole life.
The critical moment Choi Hyuk drew his sword, the sword caught on its sheath and whipped forward in an instant. The quickest blow, quick draw. Until the moment Choi Hyuk’s sword broke, the social studies teacher had no idea that Choi Hyuk had approached him. However…
 
Ting!
 
The Japanese Sword broke in half in midair. One of the pieces brushed past Choi Hyuk’s palm and drew blood.
 
It was then when the social studies teacher finally turned and faced Choi Hyuk. The necklace on his neck flashed multiple times.
‘Was it because of that item?’
Even with his incredible vision, Choi Hyuk wasn’t able to see it properly. The moment it was about to hit, it looked like something flew out of the necklace and destroyed the Japanese Sword.
 

This!!!

The social studies teacher became enraged. He stabbed his long spear at Choi Hyuk.
Choi Hyuk stepped to one side and avoided the spear. The difference between life and death could be a single step. Choi Hyuk stepped another step closer to the social studies teacher and threw a punch at his throat. That moment.
 
Punch!
 
His arm throbbed. The necklace around the social studies teacher emitted a dimmer light.
‘Luckily, it seems to be dependent on the attack.’
If it used the same strength it did when breaking the Japanese Sword, his fist would have been shattered. When he thought that, his whole body began to pump with adrenaline. ‘Danger’ was a feeling that Choi Hyuk hadn’t felt for a long time.
It was different from the boring fights against Kang Minho and Bae Hyunsung.
‘How long will that necklace last?’
Choi Hyuk grinned as he avoided another stab and punched out again. This time, he used less power.
 
Slam!
 
His left arm bounced off. However, he didn’t lose his balance.
The expression of the teacher had when facing the pressure emitted by Choi Hyuk’s penetrating style of fighting.
And Choi Hyuk’s eyes saw the light from the necklace around the teacher’s neck go out. Choi Hyuk instinctively knew. That he had used all his chances!
‘Checkmate.’
The social studies teacher tried to sweep the spear in front of him to gain some distance but Choi Hyuk took a hit to the shoulder and stepped closer. Facing the unexpected actions of Choi Hyuk, the teacher’s response became a mess.
While Choi Hyuk used his left shoulder to continuously push the spear aside and limited the teacher’s actions, he took out a long, thin estoc that was meant for stabbing. Then, he stretched his left hand to grab the teacher’s collar and, at the same time, he raised his estoc behind his back and stabbed the teacher with a downwards stab. The sword had pierced above the teacher’s collarbone.
 

Urk, cough!

All of this was smooth and natural like flowing water and he had suppressed the teacher with only the right amount of physical strength. The teacher had no choice but to gaze at the sword that was stabbed into his throat.
He turned into ash and was absorbed into Choi Hyuk.

First one…

 
–
{Necklace of Protection}
Rank: E
Intercepts an opponent’s attack within a certain range.
Remaining interceptions: 0/3
You will gain an interception every 20 minutes.
–
 
When Choi Hyuk hung the necklace around his neck, the hammer appeared again in another area of the gym.
Swish.
Slam!!
This was the moment Choi Hyuk’s next target was decided.
 

The total student population was 1,938 people. With teachers, that number exceeded 2,000 and among those, 812 had survived past the {Ring of Rebirth}. And 150 of them participated in the Bonus Game. The rest moved aside as they watched the desperate hunt. Unlike in the {Ring of Rebirth} where people had no choice to kill, many took a passive stance.
 
On the other hand, the ones who participated to obtain items or to save their friends became more immersed in the situation.