Chapter 114. Role-Playing (1/2)

“Paeeeeeeek!” A sorrowful screech resounded in the room. Having become a flattened squid twice, the tears Maria had been holding back finally burst out.

As a result, the newcomer had to deal with a terrifying amount of pure anger. Thankfully, she seemed to have a mild personality, as she simply took Maria’s screaming.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry….”

She apologized repeatedly, and after a while, the fuming Maria finished venting her anger and stomped away to the corner of the room before squatting down.

From the way she held her crucifix close, it seemed she was debating casting a barrier around herself. But since she couldn’t waste her precious saved spells, she only gritted her teeth.

Seol Jihu contemplated consoling her but chose to just sit against the wall. Since he realized what situation he was in, he needed some time to organize his thoughts.

‘Why?’

The rule that had never been broken in the past four Banquets had just been broken. But why?

‘…There’s no way to find out.’

If there was an existence supervising the Banquet, Seol Jihu wouldn’t hesitate to grab him by the collar and shake him around. He was secretly hoping to discover the secret behind the biannual Banquets, but things had only gotten more confusing.

If there was one thing he could be glad about, it was that he wasn’t separated from Maria.

‘Get a grip.’

Chak! Seol Jihu slapped his cheeks hard. Immediately, he felt several gazes fall on him. However, he paid no attention to them.

‘Pause everything.’

The plans prepared under the assumption of moving as a team, the thoughts about discovering the Banquet’s secret - he put them all on hold.

He set his first and foremost goal to survival. He had to escape from this place alive and meet up with his comrades before thinking about anything else.

Once he changed his mindset and focused on this one thing, he felt his head had gotten a little lighter.

Seol Jihu slowly looked around the room, but no matter how many times he looked at it, it was still the same, simplistic room. The only noteworthy thing was that he couldn’t see an entrance or an exit.

That wasn’t good news.

After thinking about the matter once more, he activated Nine Eyes. When the room changed color, Seol Jihu immediately dropped his jaw in shock.

‘Gold?’

The entire room shone in a golden hue. His entire vision became filled with a rolling golden wave.

Seol Jihu barely kept himself silent. Looking at the dazzling golden light, he immediately became less tense, but he tightened himself up in the next moment.

After going through multiple incidents, he knew that the Golden Commandment wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

‘To do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’

An effect always followed a cause, and a cause always followed a reason. In that sense, how should he interpret this room being gold?

There had to be a reason. A reason that this room was giving off the color of the Golden Rule.

Depending on his choices, there was a chance he could obtain more than just ‘survival’.

Seol Jihu closed his eyes to concentrate. Because his nerves were all focused on his head, he didn’t realize that the pale girl was leaning on her knees and staring fixedly at him.

As the youth was absorbed in this new problem, more people began to appear.

The room only had four people at first, but in just a few hours, the number increased to seven. Each newcomer had different reactions. Some were flustered about being separated from their teams, while others leisurely walked around the room.

In any case, none of them straight out panicked, as they were all Earthlings who had some level of experience in Paradise. However, a somewhat competitive atmosphere descended in the room.

Among the seven people that now filled the room, there were two that especially grabbed the others’ attention.

One was a young woman with straight, shoulder-length hair. She seemed to be a Warrior, judging by her silver composite armor and stylish longsword. Although she gave off a temperamental, easily-offended impression, her face was expressionless. Not a hint of emotion could be found on her straight face. Compared to her, even Kazuki seemed like an expressive person.

The other one was also a young woman. She had her long, brown hair tied up in a ponytail. The bow on her back and the quiver on her waist easily let others know what her class was. For whatever reason, she was smiling nonstop. However, it was the kind of sinister smile that sent chills down others’ backs.

With her serpentine, almond eyes and her gleaming pupils, she gave off a dangerous vibe that would make her look like a venomous snake if she stuck out her tongue.

‘What?’

When Seol Jihu took another look around, he gasped in his heart. All six members excluding him were female.

Bob Cut, Straight Face, Snake Eyes, the white headband girl, Maria, and the good-natured girl who apologized again and again….

None of them were beauties that would stick out in a crowd, but Seol Jihu felt weird just because he was surrounded by women of all nationalities. It wasn’t as if he felt awkward or uncomfortable. He just felt… strange.

‘Surely there’s gotta be another guy, right?’

As if to answer his question, someone fell from the air.

Splat! Seol Jihu heard a muddy splash. His expression brightened when he saw the newcomer’s short hair, but it instantly contorted. When he touched his face, a crimson liquid came off.

“Hehe… hehehehe….”

A lifeless laughter resounded.

“I entered…. I did it…. I entered….”

The dozens of arrows stuck on the man’s back made him look like a hedgehog. From the looks of it, he must have been in a fierce competition over the entrance. Perhaps, he had fought through hundreds of people just to get here.

He should be rejoicing, but his complexion distorted instead. Tk. He clutched at the floor hard enough to break his nails. Then, he opened his mouth painfully.

“Some… someone….”

Seol Jihu was about to get up and take a look when he felt someone tugging at his clothes. Turning to the side, he saw Maria shaking her head.

“Don’t go near him.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s too late.”

“But—”

When Seol Jihu turned back to the man, he became speechless. Tears of blood were falling from his bloodshot eyes.

“Healing his wounds is difficult enough…. But poison already spread through his organs. It will be better to send him off painlessly.”

She was implying that treating his wounds would only make him suffer longer from the poison.

“N… no….”

Did he hear Maria? The man began to desperately flail his arms and legs.

“I… I finally managed to enter… the Banquet….”

He tried to push himself up, but he soon collapsed, as if he lost control of his limbs.

“I can’t… die here….”

His voice trembled.

“I need to… find the cure… and go back….”

His back curled up like the back of a shrimp.

“Mom….”

Tears poured out of his eyes as if he was overcome with grief.

“Mom… Mom….”

He cried for his mother for a long time before his eyes turned faint. Then at one point, he suddenly stopped talking and moving.

‘He died as soon as he came in….’

Seol Jihu rubbed his mouth to shake off the bitter taste inside. He wanted to help close his eyes, but he couldn’t since he might also get afflicted with the poison.

However, it seemed Seol Jihu wasn’t the only one feeling sympathy. Both the bob cut girl and the good-natured girl showed signs of pitying him.

Of course, there was also someone who was completely opposite.

“Kik!”