[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 105: The Domain of Talent (2)
Smack!
I grabbed the foul mouthed oneâs shoulder and asked,
"Are you collecting skill data?"
"Huh� Oh."
The startled foul mouthed one nodded.
ă'Prince of the Investigation Bureau' chuckles, saying the birth of the most vulgar ability is imminent.ă
ă'Night Owl of the Audit Bureau' claps, saying they are witnessing the creation of a revolutionary unique ability!ă
ă'External Affairs Department's Rookie' shouts that theyâll bring their colleagues, so just wait a little longer!ă
ă500 welfare points donated!ă
'Itâs absurd, butâŠ'
If this can strengthen my powerâŠ
Then the story changes.
"Summon."
"W-What?! Why are you pulling out a rope?!"
The vine I had cut from the training center when I fell from Namsan Tower.
The same vine I had used to tie up the twin demons.
With thatâ
"Aaah! Youâre gonna kill me!"
"âŠYou wonât die from this."
Without even using a blade, I tied up Myung Seungtae, who was already wailing.
"I-Is this poisoned?! Let me go! Let go of me!"
"Want me to make you end up like them?"
"âŠâŠ!"
His eight subordinates were already sprawled on the ground, bloodied messes.
"UghâŠ"
"A monster⊠he's a damn monsterâŠ"
And yet, the reason I only restrained Myung Seungtae without beating him was simple.
"Foul mouthed one."
"Agh! Why are you calling me that?!"
"Keep going."
"W-What do you mean, keep going?"
"Swearing."
Because I needed it.
"As fast, as much, and as varied as possible. If something works, repeat it."
"Huh?"
The foul mouthed one looked like he had misheard me.
For someone who cursed all the time without prompting, his mouth sure was hesitant when given a stage.
"Go all out. Ah, just in case, make sure he canât shut your mouth."
As I made sure I got his agreement, murmurs spread around us.
"What are you doing?"
"You can't just tie someone up like that! Let him go!"
Myung Seungtaeâs followers had gathered before I knew it.
Surrounding me and my party, trying to intimidate us in their own way.
ă'Prince of the Investigation Bureau' asks who all these nobodies are.ă
ă'The Raven of the Administration Bureau' clenches their fist, saying any real man should be able to wipe these guys out in one go.ă
ă'Night Owl of the Audit Bureau' urges me to try 60 vs. 1 since I already did 6 vs. 1.ă
And in the midst of it allâ
"Kim Jiwoong?!"
"Noona."
A familiar face appeared among the crowd.
'That guyâŠ'
The man I had brushed past the first time I met Myung Seungtae.
Tall, stylish, with round glasses.
A man who looked just like Jieun.
To exaggerate a littleâ
'Jieun with glasses.'
Jieun, shocked, rushed forward and grabbed the manâs wrist.
"Why are you with this guy? Have you been hanging out with him all this time?"
Jieunâs younger brother.
Same age as Jaehyuk, and supposedly a top student since his school days.
I knew he had survived safely thanks to Jieunâs detection skill, so I figured Iâd meet him eventually.
Just didnât expect it to be like this.
"Noona, whatâs going on? What did Seungtae hyung do to deserve this?"
"Kim Jiwoong, are you crazy? Why are you taking his side?"
"Noona, whatâs wrong with you? This is a crime!"
So Jieunâs little brother was one of Myung Seungtaeâs followers too.
"A c-crime?"
Judging by Jieunâs dumbfounded expression, she was at a loss for words.
'So much for being smart.'
Turns out he was just book-smart.
But his words spread like wildfire.
"T-This is scaryâŠ"
"Whatâs going on?"
"Tying someone up like thatâŠ"
They were afraid.
Afraid that my party and I were violent thugs who would crush them too.
"You bastards talking about us? That piece of shit Seungtae hit us first!"
The foul mouthed one spewed curses like a summer downpour.
"Every time you open your mouthâŠ"
"How crudeâŠ"
But that wouldnât solve the situation.
"Enough."
"What do you mean, enough?!"
It was frustrating, but from their perspective, this reaction was natural.
Right now, it was unclear who was friend or foe.
And when someone overwhelmingly powerful appears, itâs normal to be wary.
Just because weâre from the same country doesnât mean they wonât stab us in the back.
"Hyung! More people are gathering! Should we take them out quickly?"
"No."
Jaehyuk, looking nervous, made the suggestion, but I shook my head.
"Seungtae isnât the issue right now."
"Huh? Then what is�"
"The atmosphere."
If this tension kept up, it wouldnât end well.
Not just for us and them, but for all survivors.
'Gotta set up the talent show stage soon too.'
In that caseâ
"Jiwoong, right?"
"âŠYes?"
"Can we talk for a moment?"
* * *
"So what you're saying isâŠ"
Jiwoong furrowed his brows and asked,
"Are you asking if Iâm being forced to hang out together?"
"Yeah. If that's the case, I want to help, but if not, I'm trying not to worry about it."
Maybe it was just me, but his eyes looked strangely unfocused.
"Since you're Jieun's younger brother, I do want to look out for you, but I'm not the type to get so passionate about other people's business that I'd go out of my way to train you."
"âŠâŠ."
Jiwoong started to speak but stopped.
A brief silence followed.
After a moment, Jiwoong closed his eyes, then opened them again and said,
"Seungtae hyung is the one who saved my life. If I want to fully repay that debt, I have to help him even more."
A rather solemn declaration, especially for someone whose eyes looked so dull, as if he hadnât slept in days.
Hmm.
So he owes that guy his life.
But even so...
"What exactly are you helping him with?"
"Lending."
"Lend what?"
"Stats."
Huh?
"The total stats I've lent so far are: Stamina 20, Strength 10, Agility 8, Endurance 15âŠâŠ."
"W-Wait a second. You lent him that? Your stats?"
Jiwoong nodded.
Feeling dumbfounded, I asked,
"âŠâŠWhy?"
"Seungtae hyung is the one who saved my life. If I want to fully repay that debt, I have to help him even more."
"âŠâŠ."
So.
If I understood correctly...
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
"That's your ability?"
"Yes."
"You have a skill that lets you transfer stats, and yet you've been acting as that guy's lackey this whole time?"
"Well, rather than calling it 'acting as a lackey'âŠâŠ."
When I asked in disbelief, Jiwoong had a blank expression for a moment before opening his mouth again.
"Seungtae hyung is the one who saved my life. If I want to fully repay thatâ"
"Stop. I get it already."
I waved my hand to cut him off.
Alright.
Now I understand how this guy has survived until now.
And I also understand what his ability is.
Looks like I need to change my plan.
"Instead of just beating you up, I should be giving you a proper lesson."
"Huh? But Seungtae hyung isnât that bad of a personâŠâŠ."
A way to kill two birds with one stone.
"Youâre getting one tooâa lesson."
"âŠâŠWhat?"
* * *
"âŠâŠso please, let Seungtae hyung go already. Heâs not a bad person!"
"I heard you, now quit it."
I half-listened to his repeated plea, letting it go in one ear and out the other, as I returned to my group.
Just as I was about to sigh at the increased number of people gatheredâ
â Ding!
A cheerful notification sound.
â Ding! Ding! Ding! âŠâŠ.
âŠâŠNo, a barrage of notifications.
ăA new observer has entered.ă
ăA new observer has entered.ă
ăA new observer has entered.ă
âŠâŠ
ăâSales Bureau Top Performerâ greets everyone, saying they heard there's never a dull moment when this guy is around.ă
ăâSales Department Old-Timerâ follows their junior in, waving.ă
ăâInvestigation Department Kittyâ smiles and says itâs been a while!ă
ăâInvestigation Department Druidâ looks around, asking when the soap opera is going to start.ă
"Why is there suddenly such a crowd?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, I was just talking to myself."
ăâExternal Affairs Department's Rookieâ rubs their nose, proudly saying they did some great advertising!ă
ăâPrince of the Investigation Bureauâ chuckles, saying the birth of the most disgraceful ability is imminent.ă
ăâNight Owl of the Audit Bureauâ claps, saying they get to witness the birth of a revolutionary new ability!ă
ăâExternal Affairs Department's Rookieâ shouts that theyâll go bring their coworkers, so wait just a moment!ă
Hah.
So these were the coworkers they were talking about earlier.
Anyway, while I was still adjusting to the sudden influx of observers, I arrived at a section that was completely divided into three groups.
"Hyung! Youâre here!"
"Uncle! There are about 2,000 people gathered here. What do we do now?"
"What about Myung Seungtae?"
"Ah, noona is keeping an eye on him!"
First, my group members who had been standing guard around the tightly bound Myung Seungtae, waiting for me to arrive.
"Let him go right now! What are you, gangsters? What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Yeah! Oppa just wanted to talk, thatâs all!"
Second, the group of women protesting and demanding Myung Seungtaeâs release.
And lastlyâ
"Hah, this atmosphere is absolute trash."
"They wouldnât actually kill someone just for losing a talent show, right? But this is already a disaster."
"I thought weâd win easily with some idols in the mix, but damn. This is already over."
"Can you guys stop being so negative?!"
âThe bystanders sighing and clicking their tongues in frustration.
'Wow, what a messâŠâŠ.'
It was hard to believe things could go this wrong right from the start.
It was a complete disaster.
If this were a university group project, even the professor who assigned it wouldnât be able to fix this mess.
But.
That doesnât mean we can all just give up and collapse.
"Young man!"
"Uncle!"
Tap!
As soon as they spotted me, my group members ran up and started talking.
"This is bad, kid! The atmosphere is awful. Thereâs no way we can pull off the talent show like this!"
"Weâre totally screwed. What do we do? If weâre fighting amongst ourselves like this, thereâs no way we can work as a teamâŠâŠ."
The janitor auntie flailed in distress, and Yeojin let out a deep, heavy sigh.
People huddled together in small, trusted circles, eyeing everyone else warily.
With the tension running high, forget about the talent showâno one would even be willing to speak openly about their abilities.
At this rate, not only would the talent show be impossible, but so would any future missions.
Instead of banding together to fight other zones, they were turning their weapons on each other.
The worst possible teamwork.
But.
"We have to do it."
I spoke calmly.
"Weâll prepare for the performance, build teamwork, and make it work."
"Huh?"
"What?"
Both of them blinked in confusion.
Jaehyuk, who had been quietly listening, clenched his fist.
"Y-Yeah, hyung! If it doesnât work, weâll just make it work!"
Well, itâs not like I was expecting any kind of dramatic "If we canât do it, weâll die trying!" determination.
ăâInvestigation Department Kittyâ smiles and says itâs been a while!ă
ăâInvestigation Department Druidâ looks around, asking when the soap opera is going to start.ă
Judging by the reactions of the observers...
"I just thought of a way to kill not two, but three birds with one stone."
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]