BXBX NOVEL Chapter 219
Chapter 219
Chapter 219: Unexpectedness (4)
Beep!
With a long beep, a series of simple personal profiles and face photos numbered 1 to 20 appeared on the ceiling of the waiting room.
It signaled the beginning of the voting process.
‘When was that photo taken?’
Yeongwoo tilted his head as he saw his own face in the frontal photo attached under number 19.
The same went for the number 20 participant, who still seemed bewildered.
“What, what is that?”
Looking up at the ceiling, he asked this question.
Yeongwoo, who had been staring intently at his photo, realized belatedly that the ‘number 20’ was addressing him.
“…Were you asking me?”
When Yeongwoo asked to confirm, number 20 stepped back half a step with a terrified expression.
“If I offended you, I apologize.”
“No, it’s not that it’s offensive…”
It was more bewildering than anything else.
Out of all these participants, why did he specifically ask number 19?
“I don’t know either. I was the one who entered right before you.”
Yeongwoo kindly pointed to his face next to the number 20 participant with his finger, making number 20 scratch his empty scalp and laugh awkwardly.
“Ah… Now that you mention it, you’re right. I just asked because our numbers are close…”
Number 20 explained that he felt a sense of internal familiarity purely because their numbers were adjacent.
‘Not much of a thinker, is he?’
Yeongwoo wondered how he had survived in this harsh world with such judgment.
Ironically, the person number 20 had chosen for his first conversation was Jeong Yeongwoo, a strong candidate for the title of East Asia’s strongest.
“You’re supposed to pick the person you think is the strongest and the person you think is the weakest among those here.”
While Yeongwoo explained this, an interface for voting appeared in everyone’s view, including his own.
「Please enter the numbers in the blanks below.」
|Strongest:
|Weakest:
Then a warning message appeared.
「Abstentions and invalid votes are not allowed. Both blanks must be filled in, and the time limit is 10 minutes.」
‘Oh, 10 minutes? That’s more time than I expected.’
Compared to the first dungeon, Pain of Iria, where only 10 seconds were given to choose a boatman, this was quite a courteous game.
“What happens after we pick the strongest and the weakest?”
The problematic number 20 asked another question.
Yeongwoo sighed inwardly and replied as kindly as possible.
“I’m not exactly sure. It seems like some sort of betting.”
Then he checked number 20’s name through the photo on the ceiling.
「Dragos Korban24」
|Romania, Transylvania, Brașov.
|49 years old.
‘Dragos Korban? Sounds like a game character’s name.’
Although Yeongwoo had seen quite a few foreign ‘notable names’, this was his first time encountering a Romanian.
『Brașov’s Second Sword』
‘So, in Romania, they go by titles like First Sword, Second Sword.’
After confirming the other’s title, Yeongwoo slowly looked around.
He, too, had to choose the strongest and weakest.
Following Yeongwoo’s lead, Dragos also looked around the waiting room, then said uncertainly,
“How do you judge who’s strong or weak?”
“Well, that’s…”
You have to judge by looking at the state of their equipment or their aura.
Just as Yeongwoo was about to say this, a sharp beep sounded, and a system message appeared in the air.
Beep!
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
Then, a large number ‘1’ was marked on the photo of participant number 20, Dragos, displayed on the ceiling.
Someone had voted for him as the weakest.
“Huh?”
Dragos Korban could not hide his dismay.
This reaction made him appear even weaker, and three more votes for the weakest quickly accumulated.
Beep, beep, beep!
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
‘The tide has already turned. It’s like stocks.’
Yeongwoo stared blankly at Dragos’ photo, which had quickly garnered four votes.
Unless there was a significant shift, Dragos would likely end up as the ‘weakest’.
It wasn’t entirely an unfounded vote.
The Romanian was very likely a dungeon novice, and judging by his height in the late 170s, he probably hadn’t earned enough money to invest in physical modifications.
‘Still, he isn’t that short, so if he hadn’t stood near me, he might have gone unnoticed.’
In this room, Yeongwoo could see at least three people who seemed weaker than Dragos.
They were shorter than Dragos and didn’t have any particularly noticeable equipment.
Perhaps they were the ones who immediately cast their votes for Dragos as the weakest.
‘Well, psychological warfare is also a skill in these kinds of rules.’
Beep!
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
As another vote for the weakest was thrown, the number 5 appeared above Dragos’s picture.
Now, with just six more votes, he would have a majority.
It was almost certain.
“Are you sure this person is the weakest? Once more votes pile up, we can’t change it.”
As Yeongwoo said this, glancing around, martial artists from around the world muttered in response.
“He might not be the absolute weakest, but he seems relatively weak.”
“His ID number is 24. He’s bound to be weak.”
“So who are you going to vote for? Are we going to fight each other in the next eight minutes?”
They didn’t seem very serious about selecting the weakest.
After all, it was still unclear what exactly they would be betting on.
Most of the people here had been proving their strength from the early stages of the reset.
Hence, they didn’t care much who was designated the weakest as long as it wasn’t themselves.
So eventually,
Beep, beep, beep!
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
Following Yeongwoo’s remark, more votes poured in for Dragos, who had attracted further attention.
“Oh… no!”
Seeing the numbers continue to rise next to his picture, Dragos was clearly not an exceptional figure.
Even he thought he wouldn’t rank among the top in this waiting room of 20 people.
Beep!
「A vote for the weakest has been cast.」
Ultimately, Dragos was elected as the weakest with a total of 12 votes.
Now the remaining issue for the 20 people in the room was.
“No one has voted for the strongest yet.”
“Right. Who’s the strongest here?”
“Isn’t it more likely that taller people are stronger?”
Due to someone’s comment, those with their natural height stepped back a few paces.
Then, those who had modified their height to 2 meters drew attention.
Out of the 20 people in the waiting room, there were about 9 who were 2 meters tall.
“There are more than I thought…”
“Just because they’re tall doesn’t mean they’re strong. We need to consider other factors.”
Overall build, muscle mass, and the equipment they were wearing were also taken into account.
Unlike the selection of the weakest, no vote for the strongest was cast lightly.
As these individuals prided themselves on their strength, they took the task of predicting the strongest very seriously.
Inevitably, the one who stood out the most among the 9 candidates was.
“…Isn’t that Asian guy suspicious?”
“Why isn’t he wearing armor?”
“His ID number is 07, which isn’t bad. He seems quite strong.”
Unsurprisingly, Yeongwoo07 was the most mentioned.
Despite arriving late, he had fearlessly spoken to everyone, and above all.
-Whirrr…
Even though it was currently just floating in the air, the 2-meter-long golden greatsword, which looked like a crazy killing machine, captured everyone’s attention.
Then someone leaning against the corner of the waiting room sealed the deal with one line.
“That guy is definitely strong. He’s wanted all over China.”
“……!”
Looking at his opponent after this unexpected ‘sniper’ comment, Yeongwoo immediately understood.
『The Double Immortal of China』
‘Ah, he’s Chinese.’
The Chinese master, who would have been in an uproar over Yeongwoo stealing his title, was present in this place.
And from this point.
Beep!
「A vote for the strongest has been cast.」
A long-unused vote for the strongest was cast for Yeongwoo.
“Are we going to pick number 19 and 20 together?”
“Isn’t that too much of a coincidence? Could it be a trap?”
Even as some remained uncertain, votes for the strongest continued to be cast for the Asian07.
Beep, beep!
「A vote for the strongest has been cast.」
「A vote for the strongest has been cast.」
「A vote for the strongest has been cast.」
Despite his suspicious appearance, people’s gambling instincts led them to believe he was strong.
In a way, the theme of ‘gambling’ in this dungeon had already begun.
“Mr. Yeongwoo, at this rate…”
Already confirmed as the weakest, Dragos watched in awe as Yeongwoo’s votes for the strongest increased.
If the main game of this dungeon involved a battle between the strongest and the weakest, he did not want to fight this gigantic Asian.
However, the votes for Yeongwoo continued, and as he approached a majority with 8 votes.
Beep! Clang!
Suddenly, a sword shot up towards the ceiling of the waiting room and pierced Yeongwoo’s picture, which displayed 8 votes.
“What?”
“Who did that?”
“…!”
The unexpected show of force caused a temporary halt in the voting, and soon after, a large black man shoved aside the other martial artists around him and walked up to Yeongwoo.
Thunk!
“Why are all the votes going to him? Do you really think this guy should represent us?”
『Nightmare of Limpopo』
The one who stepped forward to challenge the Asian07 was none other than Tuende Musa01, the martial artist from Limpopo in northern South Africa, known as ‘Nightmare of Limpopo.’
‘Damn, I’ve really made a name for myself, getting challenged by some black guy now.’
Moreover, Tuende’s identification number was 01.
However, Tuende’s and Yeongwoo’s eye level were almost the same.
This was a prime example of transcending innate ranks, something explained on the first day of the reset.
“I can’t accept that you’re the strongest among us. You don’t seem like the top fighter at all. Right?”
As Tuende pointed at Yeongwoo and looked around, the other participants began nodding one by one.
“Well, that’s true.”
“We haven’t fought each other, so we can’t really tell who’s the strongest.”
“The person we elect might represent us in something. It makes sense to choose the ‘actually’ strong person.”
The atmosphere in the room was significantly more focused compared to when they were selecting the weakest.
Finally,
“So how about you two fight each other? We’ll judge.”
The Chinese participant who had nominated Yeongwoo as a strong candidate eagerly proposed a duel.
Then,
“Oh? That’s a good idea.”
“Yeah. A duel! Let’s decide with a fight.”
“That’s the most reliable method.”
The waiting room quickly heated up with everyone chanting for a duel.
“Duel! Duel!”
“Fight! There are only 4 minutes left!”
They even stepped back to create space for the two to fight.
In response, Yeongwoo looked at the voting interface on the ceiling, seeming troubled.
“Is it wise to fight in the waiting room when we don’t even know the main game rules yet?”
At Yeongwoo’s words, Tuende twisted his dark face into a wicked grin.
“Getting scared when it comes to an actual fight?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Cowards always have long tongues!”
Swish!
Tuende Musa01 tried to draw another sword from his waist.
However, to Yeongwoo, the movement seemed incredibly slow.
‘What’s this? Why is he so slow?’
It wasn’t just because of the effects of the three types of catalogs and all the equipment he was decked out in.
Having just faced a dragon and Kim Il-Sung returned from hell, the movements of a mere human seemed slow in comparison.
So, Yeongwoo,
Grab!
He seized Tuende’s arm before the sword could be drawn.
Then, with a rather serious expression, he said,
“Let’s stop here. I don’t want to become Africa’s enemy.”
Considering that all the continents were supposed to be connected tomorrow…
‘It’s bad enough I’m going to be fighting against China and Japan. I don’t want to provoke the whole African legion.’
As Yeongwoo was thinking this, something unexpected happened.
It was…
Beeep!
“Oh…!”
At the ominous sound, Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.
It was the sound that occurred whenever the source of countless evils, Dogo, issued a quest.
And sure enough,
Flash!
One side of Yeongwoo’s vision lit up as a new quest from the Dogor appeared.
[Dogo] “Hierarchy Establishment”
[Mission] Win the duel against Tuende Musa01.
[Reward] 5 million Karma.
[Special Condition] Obtain more than 11 votes as the strongest.