Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 742: White Rank (6)

A whopping six choices.

Yeongwoo couldn't help but gape.

"What... There's more to this than I thought."

It was only after looking at the guide items that he learned this dungeon had monsters and traps.

He still hadn't experienced everything in this dungeon yet.

"This won't be easy."

As Yeongwoo looked over the guide's contents again, the Anti-Government Pistol wagged an index finger.

× Care to hear my expert opinion?

"Shut up and wait. If I pick at random here, we could ruin everything."

As the current 1st place in the Stake Rank, Yeongwoo could choose a total of two options.

After that, once the 2nd place ranked person picked one option, the remaining participants would get to use the guide function.

However, it was unknown how the turn order would be decided at that point.

In any case, the remaining participants, including 'Ban,' would be making their choices with three of the currently visible functions removed.

‘If Ban were a perfect ally... I would have chosen the guides taking his selection opportunity into consideration.’

But since he couldn't expect deep trust from Ban, he had to make a choice solely for himself.

In that regard, the first thing that caught his eye was...

[Sniper]

Weakens all combat power of a designated target by 20%. This effect lasts until the dungeon ends.

‘All combat power by 20%...? This means even their movements will become sluggish. At this rate, even if that guy has some hidden strength left, it seems worth a try.’

Ban wasn't the only one who had been carefully observing his partner all this time.

Yeongwoo had also been continuously gauging his opponent's level.

Although Ban was an incredible expert, Yeongwoo thought there would be a few chances if the guy fought while under the effect of Sniper.

Because he had his own secret techniques as well.

‘Then what should I pick for the remaining one?’

There were only two functions he could choose.

So if he locked in Sniper, he'd only have one function left to choose.

Special Intelligence, Second Wind, Treasure Chest, Explorer, and Classified.

"Hmm."

At this, Yeongwoo's gaze naturally landed on 'Classified,' which was attached to the very bottom of the list.

[Classified]

Check the hidden reward conditions of this dungeon. These conditions are exposed only to the buyer.

A dungeon's hidden reward was generally an Illustrated Guide.

Of course, since this was an Epic Dungeon, he couldn't be certain if an Illustrated Guide was prepared in the same way.

‘Anyway, it means a hidden reward exists here too, and the fact that its acquisition condition was specifically commercialized like this means...’

That meant it was likely a condition that would be difficult to figure out easily without selecting this item.

In other words, there was no telling how demanding the hidden reward condition would be, but it meant he couldn't even attempt it without purchasing Classified.

‘Then... is it Sniper and Classified?’

If so, he'd be giving up on 'Special Intelligence,' which told him the location of the exit.

‘But the next person in line has a high chance of picking Special Intelligence. So if I keep that guy alive and follow him, I'll be able to find the exit's location.’

Taking it a step further, after taking down Ban—who had been hit with Sniper—he could even swap his partner for the guy who obtained 'Special Intelligence.'

‘Even if by some chance the opponent doesn't buy Special Intelligence and picks something like the Treasure Chest, it's the same.’

Things would get a bit more complicated this way, but he could chase the opponent around and steal their tokens, so there was a high probability that his final score itself would be much better.

And ultimately, all of this...

‘I'll need to buy Classified first and find out what the hidden condition is to decide my direction.’

As Yeongwoo, having organized his thoughts to some extent, tried to purchase 'Classified' first, a system message immediately appeared.

「You have remaining purchase counts. Confirm your second choice, or forfeit your purchasing rights.」

‘So it's saying I can't just buy one first and open it up to see.’

It wasn't a hard rule to accept.

So Yeongwoo thought for a moment before finally choosing Classified and Sniper.

Flash!

Then, a large system message appeared in the air for everyone to see.

「Classified, Sniper. Selection complete.」

It was a format where what the previous selector took was fully revealed.

And sure enough, upon seeing that 'Sniper' was included in the functions Yeongwoo selected, Ban contorted his face beneath his mask.

—...Sniper? What on earth are you thinking? Things would be easier if you picked Special Intelligence. At least go find the Treasure Chest.

"Treasure Chest? Would you really try to split that half-and-half with me?"

—That depends on how you act.

"It's a shame, but I'm a newbie, so I figured I needed to buy some insurance first."

While Yeongwoo was speaking, a new system message appeared.

「2nd place in the Stake Rank will now make a selection.」

At this, the tall participant with light green skin briefly swept a glance at his surroundings and stepped up to the mechanical device.

—Surprisingly, there are a lot of useful things left.

He was talking about Special Intelligence and the Treasure Chest.

Depending on the situation, Second Wind would also be a good choice.

However, the problem was...

—My partner died earlier. So I need a new teammate... but it seems those two over there are already in the same group.

The tall participant looked back and forth between Yeongwoo and Ban.

Then, he turned his head and looked at the other participant standing alone.

The last participant, who had probably lost their partner here as well, was a beastman with a large, lion-like mane covering half his upper body.

—What are you looking at so stupidly? There's no other choice. Either way, it takes two to get out of here.

Matching his fierce appearance, the beastman's words were quite rough.

Even so, he pointed at the mechanical device with his finger and added.

—Let's each pick one—Special Intelligence and the Treasure Chest. After that, let's clean up this place and start gathering tokens.

The words 'clean up this place' carried the meaning of killing the other group present: Yeongwoo and Ban.

Since the final number of tokens was directly tied to the dungeon grade, he knew it was impossible for everyone to amicably search for the Treasure Chest together.

And around this time, Ban spoke to Yeongwoo as if asking, Didn't you hear that too?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

—Use the Sniper on them. Don't do anything crazy for no reason.

"......."

However, Yeongwoo answered with silence, and in the meantime, the tall participant spoke to the beastman.

—I'll pick the Treasure Chest.

—You have priority anyway, don't you? Do as you wish.

The agreement between the tall man and the beastman didn't take very long.

Having finished their conversation, the tall man soon selected the 'Treasure Chest' just as he had said.

Paaat!

「Treasure Chest. Selection complete.」

「From now on, the guide function selection for participants without stake rights will begin.」

Along with this announcement, white light flashed above the heads of Ban and the beastman, and almost simultaneously, a chilling sound of tearing air sliced through the empty space.

Swiiiish!

Ban had abruptly swung his spear.

—You crazy bastard...!

At this, the beastman managed to lift the shield he had been resting on the floor to block the attack, but Ban seemed to have anticipated even this.

Because from the very beginning, what he had swung at the opponent wasn't the spear blade, but the blunt ornament at the end of the shaft.

Claaang!

The end of the spear shaft met the shield, letting out a deafening roar.

Following that, Ban stepped on the opponent's shield and leapt into the air, swinging the spear as if rotating it 180 degrees.

Whoooosh!

Then, this time, the spear blade drew a large arc and slammed down onto the beastman beyond the shield.

Smash!

It was the sound of a solid hit.

Then, a short groan from the beastman followed.

—Guh!

It was because about half of the spear blade had dug deeply into the guy's shoulder.

And the tall participant, who was watching this with wide eyes...

—These bastards...!

Fwoosh!

He urgently took a combat stance and tried to swing his sword at Yeongwoo.

He had judged that, in the urgency of the moment, he should take out the nearest enemy first.

So Yeongwoo pulled his body back and shook his head.

"It's not me, you punk!"

—...What?

"Wasn't that guy the one who didn't show any willingness to talk? So you should kill him."

When Yeongwoo said 'that guy' and pointed, it was none other than Ban.

—......?

At this, the tall participant made a blank expression for a moment, and seeing this, Yeongwoo gave him certainty by using 'Sniper' on his own partner.

「'Sniper' has been used on Participant Number 7.」

Then, a pitch-black blade mark appeared above the head of Ban, who was just about to cut off the beastman's neck.

Paaaang!

At the same time, a separate guide message appeared for Yeongwoo as well.

「Since you have initiated the guide, the remaining functions you possess will also be used automatically.」

It meant that Classified would be activated immediately.

And in reality, too.

Piiing!

Along with a sharp beep, the acquisition condition for the hidden reward was exposed to Yeongwoo alone.

[Classified]

Escape while holding 200 tokens.

‘What, 200?’

Yeongwoo barely suppressed the scream that was about to leak out.

Because 200 tokens was an amount he couldn't collect even if he killed every participant in the dungeon.

If so, how on earth was he supposed to gather that many tokens?

‘That's...’

Yeongwoo's gaze shifted and stuck to the tall participant, who was 2nd in the Stake Rank.

To the very person who had selected the 'Treasure Chest.'

And around this time, the head of the beastman who had been fighting Ban fell to the floor.

Thud!

—In the end, you made the most useless choice.

As Ban spoke coldly while brushing off the mane sticking to his body, Yeongwoo gripped Bastard and Aratubank tightly in his hands and told the tall participant.

"We don't have a choice now, do we? You have to go with me. If we make it out of here alive, let's go find the Treasure Chest together."

At that, the tall man cast a large shadow and took a step back.

—But... didn't you ultimately betray your partner as well? How can I trust that someone like you won't betray me?

"Then what, you bastard? Are you going to ally with that suspicious guy over there who won't even show his face? You're better off choosing the lesser of two evils!"

The moment Yeongwoo bellowed like that, Ban rested both arms on his spear shaft and began to approach, spinning like a windmill.

"Ah, fuck. What is that now?"

At the extraordinary movement, Yeongwoo prepared to defend himself for now, and a string of text that looked like blood-red flames appeared before his eyes.

『The lineage of Blazeflow is in jeopardy!』

‘What?’

『Recite the mantra to activate the First Sword Strike.』

‘......?’

『This is my fire. This trembling shall not be from fear.』

‘...What?’

『This is my fire. This trembling shall not be from fear.』

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!