Reincarnator

In the past.

There was a king who had annihilated an entire world with a single ungodly skill.

And this king who had erased the entire world with viruses was sure.

That his strength was not something that was so easily obtained.

............…..

Lauren spoke after thinking for a short time.

"...Watch us fight. To see what is wrong."

She didn't know what level the man in front of her had reached.

But one thing was clear.

It was that he had far more experience than them and was much stronger as well.

'...And he doesn't seem to dislike us that much at least. Isn't this doable?'

Hansoo laughed.

"Sure. You told me it wouldn't be free, so what will you give me?"

Lauren flinched but then carefully spoke.

"We'll judge it after we hear what you want. Since there might be things you want other than the box. And… There would be more things we can do once we get to the main base as well. There must be something we can do for you."

Hansoo thought for a bit.

'They must be a bit influential.'

If they were weaklings in the main base then they wouldn't be able to speak like this.

Of course he could clearly see the power level of these four.

'...About level 255?'

Of course the Body Enhancement Surgery, Mana Pool and the Spirit were taken into consideration.

Since they hadn't reached the limits with their runes, they would become even stronger.

And even more so if he helped them a bit here.

'...They were just kids with a powerful weapon.'

It was the same in games as well.

The same character would have the difference of heaven and earth depending on who used it.

These were just like that.

Though they were strong and though they had gained a powerful character, their judgement ability, reaction speed or battle experience were all pretty inferior.

'Though it's not bad for just being in here for 2 years… It's still a bit lacking.'

Which meant that there was still a lot to polish.

But that was a good thing.

Hansoo spoke with a bored expression.

"I just want to go the main base as quick as possible. There's really nothing else I want I right now other than the box."

Well, he had things he wanted but these guys could not help him.

And at Hansoo's words.

"...Then there's nothing we can do then. Let's go."

Lauren made a depressed expression but then backed off.

There was no method since this man didn't have anything he currently wanted.

'No need to annoy him.'

That would be dangerous.

As Lauren started to walk away.

Hansoo asked with an amused expression.

"You're just leaving? Without trying further?"

Misun was at a loss for words.

'The hell? Is he playing around with us?'

Didn't he say he only wanted the box?

Which meant that arriving at the main base as quickly as possible was the best thing to do.

Misun didn't really like that man.

No, she just didn't like how such a strong person stayed by them.

The thing Misun regretted the most was getting tangled up with him.

Though they might be able to become stronger if they learned from him, she didn't want to wag her tail and suck up to him just for that.

"We'll manage on our own. Let's just focus on getting to the main base. That was our previous trade."

They would guide him and give him information.

Hansoo would protect them and get the box.

But from her words.

Hansoo's smile turned bigger and bigger.

"Though you guys can't help me, there is something you can give me right?"

Lauren then turned around in confusion.

But then she instantly regretted it.

She regretted turning around.

The eyes that scanned her and Misun's body.

These were eyes that she had seen too many times in the 2 years she had been here.

The days when she had been forcibly dragged into the tutorial.

As order and law disappeared and strength became everything, those were the eyes of the males around her.

And as she saw those eyes.

The trauma that she had hidden away while growing through the Red, Orange and Yellow zones reappeared.

Then.

"What are you doing!"

Taesang and the other man, Ben, rushed up in front of Lauren and glared at Hansoo.

And Hansoo smirked at the two's actions and smiled.

"Why? It wouldn't be a bad trade. Even if I just fiddle a bit, you would become much stronger than now. Which means you guys would be able to survive in a situation where you would definitely die with your current abilities. Is that really a loss?"

"Look at the logic behind this bastard's words."

Misun, who had been enraged, stomped up to Lauren and clenched her teeth.

Though there was nothing as precious as a human life, one couldn't throw away everything for it.

"You bastard. We've lived well until now. We will live our life our own way so...Just focus on the one trade we agreed upon."

At these words.

The smirk of Hansoo was raised to the brim.

"You won't be able to live well like how you have been up until now. And… Even more so now the world has changed."

Then.

Whoosh!

Hansoo's hands reached out and grabbed ahold of Taesang and Ben's necks.

A tremendous amount of speed and strength.

Ben and Taesang wanted to resist but the attack was sudden and the speed the attack came at was not something they could react to.

They could only watch themselves being lifted up from the ground by their necks.

"Kuhuk...!"

"Arrgh!"

"Fucking bastard!"

Lauren and Misun freaked out and tried to attack as well.

But then.

"Woah, woah."

Hansoo shook the two men in front of him as shields.

As if he was daring them to attack.

"What a scoundrel!"

Hansoo merely stared at Misun with cold eyes despite her anger.

"Don't worry, the contract hasn't ended. My offer still stands. If you give me what I desire...You guys can become strong right? I will even release these guys."

"...Bastard."

'...Was he always like this?'

Misun was extremely troubled right now.

The lives of the four of them depended on her next choice.

And she could choose either side.

Either to give up her body.

Or her life.

And she knew the answer.

But it did not come out easily.

Whilst Misun was hesitating, Lauren stepped up and spoke.

"...Release them. I'll do as you say."

"What! How can you trust this guy!"

Lauren merely replied coldly to Misun

"...Whether you believe it or not, there's nothing we can do."

"...Fuck."

Misun was at a loss for words.

Lauren's words weren't wrong.

The lower floors had rules and laws as well as the main headquarters in this Zone.

Of course they knew that strength ruled over these so called 'rules'.

Since they had seen it with their own eyes, the acts of the transcendent.

But they had treated this as a catastrophe and had always thought that they could just slowly become stronger while dodging such cases.

But it seems their thoughts were wrong.

"You cursed monster…"

Misun started to remove her armor pieces one by one while making a dejected expression.

Then.

"I believe you know how it feels to be weak now."

Taesang and Ben's bodies dropped onto the ground.

"Ugh."

"Ahh…"

The guys both touched their necks but there weren't even bruises there.

And as they all made confused expression.

Hansoo continued to speak.

"You don't become strong when you get the opportunity to. Don't hesitate to use any methods to become stronger. There aren't kind teachers and exams that match your own pace here."

This wasn't a game.

One could find a suitable opponent for themselves in a game.

But this place was reality in itself.

A place where a level 100 could pop out in front of a level 1 out of the blue.

One needed to always be thankful of their luck for not meeting such an opponent and always be ready just in case.

Living in constant fear of the future.

But the attitudes of these guys were fundamentally wrong.

And Misun grinded her teeth.

Since she realized what Hansoo had done.

"You bastard… Who are you to test people?"

Though they had passed, it didn't feel good at all.

But Hansoo merely scoffed at her.

"What's so bad about a test? A test is a very good method created to give you guys a taste of the real deal before it actually comes to get you. Your thoughts will be very different if you start seeing your friends die out before you can even take a test."

"...Bastard."

"Be aware. If there's even the slimmest chance to become stronger, do whatever it takes to grasp it. That's the way to keep your friends by your side longer."

At least, this was how he had lived.

Though he couldn't argue that his own thoughts were correct, he had survived like so.

And these guys were way too weak to even voice their opinions in this world.

'Become stronger… And live the way you want.'

Hansoo liked these guys too much to let them just die.

And Misun spoke towards Hansoo in a frosty manner.

"So what? You want us to lick your boot or something?"

Hansoo chuckled.

"No, I'm a bit kinder. And… There's only one thing you can help me with, remember?"

"Hmm?"

"I told you, I want to get to the box faster. It would be faster with your help."

And with Hansoo's smile that followed this.

Everybody started to feel uneasy.

.............

Boooom!

Misun screamed after a clash against the scorpion-like creature from the Abyss, the Echiton-Filer race.

There were hundreds of these scorpions all around them.

'Fuck...I need to back up!'

But just as she was about to move back.

"If you back up then what about your friends behind you? They will barely be able to move from lack of space."

Boooom!

Hansoo smashed away four scorpions with a single strike and then released a cloud of darkness into the air.

The Dark Cloud he released penetrated into Misun's body and spread out all over inside her.

Then.

The seven skills within Misun's body got activated instantly as Hansoo controlled Misun to move forwards.

Though a complete control was impossible, due to the huge difference of strength it was more than enough to control her with the Dark Cloud.

"Ahhhhk!"

Misun was flustered but didn't resist as if she was already used to this.

Crunch!

Boom!

Hansoo smashed apart a few more Echiton-Filers as he spoke.

"Remember this flow. And don't always focus on yourself. It's not you killing as many as possible but rather the four of you killing as many as you guys can and still remaining intact.."

Hansoo laughed as he continued towards the main base in a straight line.

"Isn't it much faster since you guys are cooperating? See how fast you're improving."

Whoooosh.

"Fuck…"

Taesang cursed out of the blue.

Their abilities were indeed improving at a rapid pace.

Even he didn't know that he was this strong.

The skills he had exploded out controllably one by one.

Though he had always focused on getting powerful skills and a powerful body, he realized something after experiencing it for himself.

Though a sharp and heavy sword was good, the most important thing was the ability of the controller.

But there was something else that was getting on his nerves.

'But why the hell are your words different from your actions?'

Shouldn't he be looking for the box?

Though this man was strong, he shouldn't be at the pinnacle.

If he was then he would be at the old violet zone or the current 7th zone.

The land where the people who have reached the apex resided in.

As Taesang looked towards Hansoo.

Hansoo was also looking at himself.

..........

In a white space.

A single man was seated in a lotus position.

At that moment.

Squirm

The space distorted and ripped apart as it spat out a person.

'Did he come again?'

The man made an annoyed expression.

Though he was just a wisp of consciousness of the seed and the newcomer was the owner of this space, it was still annoying.

This was why the man was annoyed at the owner of this space.

"How greedy. If you've received something nice then just keep it. Why are you even looking over at my things."

The owner of the space, Hansoo, smiled towards the original creator of the Pandemic Blade.

"From what I hear there are a lot more powerful beings on this land, I need your strength."