TRGBH 06

Chapter 6

As soon as the announcement ended, blue light rose from beneath my feet.

A moment later, the light swallowed my body.

I only closed and opened my eyes once, but when I did, I was standing alone in a dark, unfamiliar place instead of the evaluation center.

It was a Stage I had entered once, twenty years ago.

However, I didn’t remember much about it.

‘If I remember correctly, I barely cleared the second stage back then.’

If it was only the second stage, even with the Easter egg doubling the benefits, it was a pathetic result that wouldn’t give me much of an advantage.

It was so dark that I couldn’t see anything around me.

I didn’t bother looking around and simply waited.

Soon, I sensed a notification that a new message had arrived.

I opened my status window.

[Stage NO#7287. Welcome to your visit…]

[Special conditions have been met. Switching to Stage NO#7777.]

[Stage NO#7777. Welcome to your visit. This Stage has a tutorial prepared. Would you like to proceed with the tutorial?]

[Yes / No]

“No.”

Why would a regressed hunter need a tutorial?

[Entering Stage 1.]

[If any one of the following three conditions is met, you will advance to the next stage: the Gatekeeper’s death, the Gatekeeper being ruled out for leaving the arena, or the time limit expiring.]

Those were the conditions for clearing the Stage.

Conversely, if I died or was pushed out of the arena, the Stage would end.

[START]

[60:00]

[59:59]

[59:58]

…

I stood quietly in the darkness, waiting for my opponent in Stage 1.

Then, in an instant, the surroundings became brightly lit as if someone had turned on the lights.

I was standing on a dueling arena about one meter high.

Gray square tiles were neatly laid across the floor.

Judging by the number of tiles, it was a medium-sized space measuring twenty-five meters in both length and width.

Beyond the edge of the arena stretched an endless white space.

As I looked around, I suddenly sensed an unfamiliar presence.

When I looked straight ahead, I saw a being that hadn’t been there before.

I used my [System Observer] trait to check my opponent’s status window.

——————————

【Goblin】

【Level】: Unable to Confirm

【Performance Score】: 200

——————————

“Ki-kit!”

It was a monster with a small, agile body and rough, mottled green skin.

A goblin.

The creature looked around in confusion, then spotted me and pulled out the dagger hanging from its waist.

“Kiit!”

Without hesitation, it charged at me.

Goblins were sly and quick to judge situations.

After recognizing me as an enemy, it seemed determined to keep attacking without giving me a chance to react.

I easily avoided its attacks.

I might have been reborn, but this body had once been that of a Level 52, B-rank hunter.

There was no way I would feel threatened by a Stage 1 monster.

The creature kept charging at me without getting tired.

Its blood-red eyes rolled wildly as it desperately tried to drive the dagger in its hand into my neck.

A disgusting stench came from its heavy breathing.

The more its attacks cut through empty air, the stronger the killing intent coming from the goblin became.

For a participant who had never directly faced a monster before, this blind killing intent would inevitably make them shrink back.

After all, how many people who had lived only nineteen short years had ever faced a situation where someone was desperately trying to kill them with all their strength?

In my previous life, I had also struggled desperately while fighting this creature.

In the end, I had cleared Stage 1 by pushing it outside the arena.

‘This feels strangely nostalgic.’

I jumped and kicked the charging goblin hard in the stomach.

Then I summoned a Puppet Needle.

——————————

【Trait】

[Manipulation] Puppet (LV 1)

• Skill: Puppet Needle

└ Number Available: 2

└ Effect and Recharge: 1 hour

└ Controls the target the needle is embedded in.

——————————

Although it wasn’t stated in the skill description, the effect of Puppet Needle was determined by the difference in level between me and the target.

That difference could be accurately measured through the Performance Score displayed by my other trait, [System Observer].

For reference, my Performance Score was 27,000.

The goblin’s Performance Score was 200.

Heh heh heh.

This really made me want to hum a little tune.

Honestly, there was no need to use Puppet Needle against a mere goblin.

But I had to think ahead.

I intended to clear as many stages as possible this time without wasting the opportunity.

I planned to take full advantage of the Easter egg that had turned Korea into a hunter powerhouse.

So I intended to test any unknown variables during the early stages whenever possible.

“Come here.”

I beckoned the goblin toward me.

Perhaps it had finally realized the difference in strength, because the goblin that had been rolling on the ground began backing away.

The fierce killing intent it had shown when charging at me was completely gone.

“Kiik…”

“It’s okay. It won’t hurt at all!”

I rushed forward and drove the Puppet Needle into the goblin’s neck.

The goblin trembled once, then stood obediently in front of me.

“Hello?”

“Kiit!”

What a loud answer.

Now it was time to check whether the Puppet Needle was working properly.

Sometimes, certain functions could be restricted because of the rules or restrictions inside a Stage, so I needed to understand its limits.

“Do you want to stab your neck with the sword you’re holding?”

“Kiit!”

Without hesitation, the goblin turned the dagger around and tried to stab its own neck.

Just before the sharp tip pierced its throat, I kicked the dagger away with my toe.

The goblin ran to pick up the fallen dagger.

From its back, I could see how determined it was to carry out my command no matter what.

“That’s enough. You don’t have to stab yourself.”

“Kiit!”

The difference in Performance Score was so great that even control over life and death was within the Puppet Needle’s range.

Judging by the goblin’s actions, it didn’t seem like the Stage itself interfered with the skill.

Then, let’s move on to the next test.

“Do you want to walk outside the arena?”

The conditions for clearing the stage were to kill the Gatekeeper, survive until the time limit, or make the Gatekeeper leave the arena.

The goblin followed my command and jumped down from the arena.

“Kiiit!”

The moment the goblin left the arena, notification messages began appearing in my status window.

[Stage 1 Success.]

[Reward will be provided.]

At the same time, a black box that hadn’t been there before appeared in the center of the arena.

The goblin that had fallen outside the arena stood near its edge and cautiously poked its head up.

“Want to come back up?”

“Kiit!”

“Kiieek?”

Despite my command, the goblin was blocked by an invisible barrier and couldn’t climb back onto the arena.

“So once you’re ruled out, you can’t come back up. That’s unfortunate.”

“Kiit!”

I left the goblin alone.

Once I moved on to the next stage, it would naturally disappear.

I headed toward the center of the arena and opened the box.

Inside were five red fruits about the size of my thumbnail, five small blue beads, and a coin purse about the size of my palm.

I already knew what these items were used for.

Still, properly checking each clear reward was part of the fun.

I picked them up one by one and examined them.

[Purified Red Fruit]

└ Very sweet.

┕ Reduces Corruption Rate when consumed.

[Magic Orb]

┕ An orb containing mana.

These two items were essential for hunters who operated within the System.

Purified Red Fruits lowered an awakened person’s Corruption Rate.

Hunters who operated within the System inevitably experienced an increase in their Corruption Rate.

And once it exceeded 50%, they would begin suffering from some rather unpleasant symptoms.

If you wanted to survive in this industry for a long time while keeping your sanity, you had to eat these fruits like they were your staple food.

‘But it says very sweet. I’ve never seen that before.’

If it was sweet, that meant you had been extremely lucky.

Even bitter, sour, or spicy flavors were considered acceptable.

Rotten flavor, rusty flavor, dirt flavor, coal flavor, lava flavor…

Unfortunately, no matter what flavor it had, hunters had to eat it.

The higher the Stage you entered, the faster your Corruption Rate would rise, and the more fruits you would have to consume.

Even if it tasted like coal, you had to eat it if you didn’t want to become consumed by the System.

In that sense, very sweet could be considered the highest-quality flavor.

Next was the Magic Orb.

This was a kind of currency that could be used within the System.

It was also one of the reasons people all over the world were so obsessed with the System.

A single orb contained enough energy to equal the monthly output of a small power plant.

Finally, there was the palm-sized coin purse.

I hadn’t noticed it while it was inside the box, but when I picked it up, I saw a round eyeball embedded right in the center of the purse.

The eyeball even blinked at me as if greeting me.

‘What the hell? I’ve never seen a purse with an eyeball on it in my previous life…’

Anyway, the coin purse itself was an item I was already familiar with.

[System Pouch]

┕ Stores various items.

┕ Storage Capacity: 1㎥

The System Pouch was exactly what its name suggested—a pouch that could store various items obtained from the System.

Only items originating from the System could be stored inside.

Although it was only the size of a palm, the storage capacity varied greatly from pouch to pouch.

This one appeared to be quite high-grade, with a storage capacity of 1 cubic meter.

That was enough space to hold 1,000 liters of water.

The System Pouch was also a guaranteed reward given to an awakened person after they entered the System and cleared their first Stage.

However, its capacity was normally ridiculously small.

Around 0.01㎥?

In other words, this was clearly a reward that had received the full benefit of the Easter egg.

Even in my previous life, I had used the System Pouch I obtained at this time until the moment I died.

‘It didn’t have an eyeball back then, though.’

I pressed the eyeball firmly with my finger.

The pouch blinked rapidly as if it were in pain.

Then it shed a single tear.

“Ugh, what is this…? It’s kind of creepy…”

Anyway, it would be extremely difficult to obtain a System Pouch this good anywhere else.

Since I’d received it, I had no choice but to put it to good use.

I put the fruits and orbs into the pouch and closed the lid of the box.

The box slowly became translucent and soon disappeared without a trace.

Then another status window notification appeared.

[Experience of all possessed traits increases by 10%.]

Yes.

This was it!

Hunters often said this:

“An awakened person is a trait wearing the shape of a human.”

That was how important a trait was to an awakened person.

I agreed.

A trait was the source and essence of an awakened person’s power.

However, that trait was granted like fate the moment someone tore their Red Ticket and stepped onto the path of an awakened person.

It was unavoidable.

You couldn’t choose it, and you couldn’t change it.

Someone lucky might be able to fly through the sky the moment they obtained their trait, while someone unlucky might only end up with slightly thicker hair.

Unable to accept such an unfair situation, the “Trait Equality Theory” was born.

Its supporters claimed that all traits had the same potential.

The only difference was when that potential manifested.

Nonsense.

The gap between traits absolutely existed.

If all traits were equal, I wouldn’t have suffered for ten years in my previous life.

Still, there was one part of their argument that I somewhat agreed with.

Once your trait was decided, you had to throw away useless regrets and devote yourself completely to developing and strengthening it, even if it meant risking your life.

In that sense, a 10% increase in the experience of all traits was an extremely welcome reward.

Raising trait levels was incredibly difficult, after all.

Once the rewards had been distributed, a new message appeared in the status window.

[Would you like to proceed to the next stage? Selecting No will automatically end the Stage.]

[Yes / No]

“Yes.”

[Entering Stage 2.]

[If any one of the following three conditions is met, you will advance to the next stage: the Gatekeeper’s death, the Gatekeeper being ruled out for leaving the arena, or the time limit expiring.]

[START]

[60:00]

[59:59]

[59:58]

…

“Ki-kiik.”

“Ki-ki-kik!”

Stage 2 had two goblins.

So far, this matched my memories.

However, I sensed an unexpected movement outside the arena.

“Kiit!”

The goblin I had fought in Stage 1 was still there.

“What? Why are you still here?”

In my previous life, I had also cleared Stage 1 by pushing this creature outside the arena.

I clearly remembered the goblin disappearing after I advanced to the next stage.

‘What’s different this time?’

The Puppet Needle.

As long as the goblin remained under the control of Puppet Needle, it was considered a being subservient to the awakened person rather than the Gatekeeper of Stage 1.

‘If that’s the case…’

“Come up here.”

“Kiit!”

Unlike before, the goblin was able to climb back onto the arena.

It ran over to my side and stopped at attention.

‘When the stage changed, the restriction preventing it from entering after being ruled out was removed.’

“Ki-kiik?”

“Ki-ki-kik?”

The two newly appearing goblins simply stared at us with confused expressions.

“Heh heh heh. What are you looking at, you bastards? Did you think you could win just because there are two of you?”

“Now it’s a tag-team match.”