My Assigned Hunters Climb the Tower - Chapter 27

========== CHAPTER 27 ==========

The sharp murmurs and screaming shouts coming from outside caused the tent’s magic barrier to tremble slightly.

Lee Seong-ha, who was the first to get up, straightened his crumpled priest’s uniform and poked his head out of the tent.

“Ugh, my back…. Why is it so noisy outside?”

As Lee Seong-ha came out with a scowl, he spotted the eyeball twitching above his head and quickly fixed his expression.

Kang Hoon and Kwon Do-geun, who came out rubbing their eyes, also froze as if their sleep had been instantly chased away by the crowd filling the center of the lobby and the brutal atmosphere.

However, the sight of Go Gyeol greeting them right in front of the tent was bizarrely out of place.

Go Gyeol was staring at his tablet, dressed in a neat suit without a single hair out of place, as if he had just finished showering.

His pale, bloodless cheeks and cold eyes shone even more sharply than yesterday.

Kang Ji-hyun, who had stepped out of the tent late, flinched and stopped as soon as she saw Go Gyeol’s perfect appearance.

Seemingly conscious of her own messy hair and smeared eye makeup, she immediately went back into the tent and zipped it all the way up.

From inside, the sound of someone frantically rummaging through a cosmetic pouch could be heard.

“Hey, Go Gyeol. Do you not sleep? Why is your face so clean?”

Lee Seong-ha asked, sounding dumbfounded, then added in a deliberately low voice, conscious of the camera again.

“Did you receive the Lord’s blessing or something? You’re the only one shining.”

Although he said that, Lee Seong-ha’s eyes held the sincere sentiment of, ‘You really are a tough bastard.’

Instead of replying, Go Gyeol pointed his chin toward the ceiling in the center of the lobby.

There, a giant red system message was flashing.

[Selection Match Stage 2: Survival of the Fittest II]

[Condition: The next stage will begin once 100 people are eliminated in the current zone.]

[Warning: If no eliminations occur, a certain amount of Abundance Supplies will vanish every 30 minutes.]

Below the message, in the middle of the lobby, steaming meat dishes, fresh fruit, various potions, and high-end equipment were piled up like a mountain.

However, the warning that those precious supplies would disappear every 30 minutes was enough to gnaw away at the hunters’ sanity.

“Huh? Hyung, this is weird.”

Kang Hoon looked back and forth between his wristwatch and the holographic clock in the air, flustered.

“They said we’d rest for 12 hours. It hasn’t even been half that time, so why has the next stage already started? Is it a system error?”

“It’s not an error. The Tower just canceled the rest time on a whim.”

At Go Gyeol’s cold reply, Lee Seong-ha tightened his grip on the Stigma Staff and muttered under his breath.

“What a… cruel trial. Hey, Go Gyeol. Shouldn’t we move first before these supplies disappear?”

Lee Seong-ha tightened his grip on the Stigma Staff and muttered under his breath.

Although he suppressed his usual cursing because of the camera, his eyes were filled with anxiety as he watched the supplies evaporate before his eyes.

Go Gyeol replied in a cold voice without taking his eyes off the tablet.

“Did you forget? That it’s being broadcast live to the whole world right now.”

“…….”

“There are two reasons why people are just standing there in a standoff and not moving. The first is moral conscience. And the second is because they’re hoping someone else will move first.”

Go Gyeol raised his head and scanned the 10,000 hunters filling the lobby.

Everyone was gripping their weapons tightly and swallowing hard, but no one was willing to step forward.

The gazes of 7 billion people were pouring down through the eyeballs above their heads.

“Moving first is like getting a stamp that says you’re the first person to commit murder, right in front of everyone watching this broadcast. That stigma will follow you for the rest of your life even after you leave the Tower. No one wants to be the one to shoulder that burden.”

At those words, Kwon Do-geun frowned above his mask and tilted his head.

“Then, boss, should we just keep waiting like this too? Until all the supplies are gone?”

Instead of answering, Go Gyeol looked down at his wristwatch.

The second hand was racing toward the final mark.

“No.”

Go Gyeol’s lips parted lightly.

“Because it’s time.”

Beeeeep—!

As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp buzzer sound that felt like it would tear eardrums echoed throughout the lobby.

Hunters covered their ears and screamed at the unpleasant sound, like fingernails scratching a chalkboard.

A dry, mechanical voice followed immediately after.

[Notification: 30 minutes have passed.]

[Notification: 30% of the Abundance Supplies will vanish.]

The steaming meat dishes and blue-glowing potions piled in the center of the lobby disappeared like a mirage along with crackling noise.

As the mountain of supplies suddenly collapsed and revealed the empty space, the tense silence among the hunters was cut away in one stroke.

“……!”

The lobby, where 30% of the supplies had evaporated, was absolute chaos.

The murmurs among the hunters grew as fierce as a wave, and the air was mixed with intense murderous intent and fear.

“Hey, everyone, get a grip! If this keeps up, there won’t be any supplies left!”

“Then what do you want us to do? Kill someone right now? Are we monsters?”

“Someone has to move! It’s only 100 people out of 10,000. We just need to pick the ones who are mortally wounded!”

Those trying to keep their conscience and those shouting for survival became entangled, shouting at the top of their lungs.

But no one could draw the first sword.

Because the eyeballs twitching above their heads were broadcasting their faces to the entire nation in real-time.

But that was the extent of the Tower’s mercy.

Beeeeep—!

The eardrum-tearing buzzer sounded once again. The second 30 minutes had passed.

[Notification: 60 minutes have passed.]

[Notification: An additional 30% of the Abundance Supplies will vanish.]

With a crackling sound, the mountain of meat disappeared, leaving only a few bones, and more than half of the potion boxes, which were lifelines to treat the hunters’ wounds, scattered into thin air.

Now, only 40% of the original supplies remained.

It was an absurdly insufficient amount for 10,000 people to share.

“Fuck! Are you really planning to starve us all to death!”

“Move! You bastards, I need to eat first!”

The murmurs gradually turned into rough profanity.

Even the high-ranking hunters who had been acting dignified, and the rookies who had been shedding tears, now began to glare at each other with beast-like eyes.

Just before the taut string of reason snapped, the white wall of the Tower suddenly changed into a giant screen and became colored.

Bam- bambambam-!

Along with a cheerful fanfare, the screen was filled with a vivid Japanese flag.

[Notification: Japan Sector Pioneer Team – Survival of the Fittest 2 Selection Match 1st Place Clear!]

In an instant, the lobby, which had been full of profanity, went quiet as if cold water had been poured over it.

The hunters’ eyes were filled with shock.

Not even 5 seconds later, the screen changed in succession to the Stars and Stripes, the Five-Starred Red Flag, and the flags of unknown countries, announcing their clear status.

[Notification: USA Sector Clear!]

[Notification: China Sector Clear!]

It meant that hunters from other countries had already made their decision.

It was clear evidence that they had long since thrown away humanity or conscience and moved on to the next stage.

“……Ha.”

Go Gyeol, who was watching the scene, snorted briefly.

He tapped his tablet with his still-neat appearance and muttered under his breath.

“Only now is the Tower showing its true colors. It’s pushing us from behind so blatantly.”

“Hey, Go Gyeol. What does that mean? Does it mean other countries have already killed people?”

Lee Seong-ha asked, his hand gripping the Stigma Staff trembling.

Behind the benevolent priest’s expression, there was undeniable shock.

Go Gyeol answered coldly.

“To be precise, they chose efficiency. That fanfare might be a victory report to the viewers, but to the hunters here, it’s no different from a death sentence saying you’re the only ones falling behind.”

Go Gyeol’s gaze turned toward the center of the lobby.

“As if fear and hunger weren’t enough, now they’ve thrown jealousy and impatience as bait. Look, the real hunt is about to begin now.”

As soon as Go Gyeol’s words ended, someone’s scream erupted in the center of the lobby, and blood splattered everywhere.

The eyeball cameras were no longer an obstacle. Because the fear of falling behind other countries weighed on them more heavily than the gazes of 7 billion people.

“We… what on earth are we….”

Lee Seong-ha trailed off, still clutching the Stigma Staff. Terrible agony flashed behind the mask of the benevolent priest. Before this cruel formula that we only live if someone else dies, he could not bring himself to make a decision.

It was then.

Bam— bambambam—!

The ear-piercing fanfare rang through the lobby once again. Everyone’s gaze turned to the wall. In the place where the Japanese and American flags had disappeared, a vivid Taegeukgi (South Korean flag) appeared.

[Notification: Republic of Korea Sector – Survival of the Fittest 2 Mission Clear!]

[Confirmation: 100 eliminations have been confirmed in the current zone.]

[Notification: Please take a sufficient rest until the 3rd Selection Match begins.]

“……!”

Someone had dirtied their hands for us. It meant that out of 10,000 hunters, the 100 who lost their reason first, or the 100 who were sacrificed to them, had occurred.

The silence was momentary. As soon as the rest message appeared, thousands of hunters rushed toward the remaining 40% of supplies like starving beasts.

“Move! It’s mine!”

“Let go! I grabbed it first!”

“I’m the one who killed them! Don’t touch it!!”

“All you bastards who were just staring blankly earlier, get lost!”

The battle was over, but the chaos was just beginning.

Even though there was no longer a need for eliminations, the hunters pointed swords at their colleagues and poured out skills to grab one more handful of potions and a chunk of meat.

It was truly a hellish scramble.

Go Gyeol stood in front of the tent and watched the scene, where blood and spit flew and profanity was rampant, with an expressionless face.

“Ugly.”

By the time Go Gyeol’s low mutter was buried in the screams, a massive pressure poured down from the ceiling above.

“Stop! Are you not ashamed!”

A booming voice vibrated throughout the entire lobby.

The hunters who had been fighting, grabbing each other by the collars, rolled on the floor and screamed at the powerful wave of magic power that struck their eardrums.

The hunters’ eyes, looking up at the air, were filled with shock.

A man floating in the air with no auxiliary equipment, only by the flow of pure magic power.

He was a man wearing sophisticated light armor that shone with a golden light, with a huge greatsword strapped to his back.

“……Hwang Tae-ja.”

Lee Seong-ha spat out the name.

Affiliated directly with the Hunter Bureau, and the official Rank 1 of the Republic of Korea.

The man called the hope of humanity, Hwang Tae-ja, was there.