Chapter 366

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Chapter 366: The Ultimate Evil of Promotion (2)

‘Damn it… Should I just kill these idiots?’

Yeongwoo glared sharply at the three virtuous aliens who were happily babbling absurd rules among themselves.

Honestly, if he wanted to win this trial, it would be much easier to send those three to heaven right now and proceed alone.

After all, didn’t he acquire the ridiculous ability to set the trial rules as he pleased?

‘I could send them all off in a single strike without any pain.’

But…

-How about we make the team that shakes the most hands the winner? Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?

-Right? I heard from Yeongwoo that on Earth, this symbolizes peace.

-Oh… such profound meaning.

Hearing his teammates earnestly spout such nonsense instantly cooled the murderous intent brewing inside him.

‘Idiots.’

Even Yeongwoo, before being a villain, was an Earthling, a human.

Earth, at least in theory, was a planet that revered benevolence and righteousness—human virtues, after all.

So even Yeongwoo, who had set foot on the path of villainy early on, had at least nominally espoused the principle of “cooperation.”

‘Cooperation…!’

For some reason, Yeongwoo’s steely heart grew warm.

Although he had accumulated nearly 200 million evil karma, there was still a trace of cooperation in his chest.

Of course, his belief that true cooperation in this harsh universe required immense wealth and power hadn’t wavered a bit.

And the first stepping stone toward that goal was this ascension trial.

‘I must win, no matter what. There’s no alternative.’

Yeongwoo clenched his fists.

However, the scenario of brutally killing the three virtuous aliens and embarking on a solo mission didn’t sit well with him.

Not because of his human conscience, but because it was simply too predictable and uninteresting.

It felt like facing the same dilemma he had when he first encountered the choice of Karma Monopoly or the Golden Ratio path.

Besides…

‘Everything I do here will be permanently recorded in the Karma Board. I can’t leave behind a legacy of bullying these simpletons.’

Imagine if the Chairman were present in this situation.

Would the Chairman attack those who couldn’t even fight back?

That would be unbecoming of their stature.

‘…Hmm. Though it’s hard to imagine. Knowing the Chairman, they’d probably start by punching the examiners.’

Either way, there was no denying he had encountered his greatest challenge since the Reset.

Killing them felt wrong, but sparing them would only allow them to enforce absurd rules that would hinder him.

“Are you done spouting nonsense, everyone?”

At last, Yeongwoo forcefully slammed a bastion into the ground and spoke in a domineering tone, silencing the noisy room instantly.

-Uh…

-I thought we agreed on shaking hands the most…

“Shut up. Nothing’s been decided yet.”

Whether it was fortunate or not, to finalize the new rules for this trial, they had to follow the “Game Maker” procedure.

[Rule-Setting Procedure]

[1] Discuss with your unit to determine the order of turns.

[2] Each member may input one primary rule in turn.

[3] Once a rule is input, it cannot be invalidated by subsequent members.

[4] When all members have input their rules, strike the device to confirm the rules.

[5] The confirmed rules will replace the existing rules of this trial, and previously earned points will be preserved.

‘So first, we need to officially decide the order.’

Each of the four team members could create one major rule, leading to a total of four new foundational principles.

Because of rule [3], rules set by earlier members couldn’t be nullified, making the first input position the most powerful.

‘Then I have no choice but to be the first to input a rule that gives me overwhelming control.’

For instance, he could input a rule stating that points could only be earned through killing.

This would preserve the existing points, allowing him to maintain his first-place position.

Just as Yeongwoo was about to seize the first position by grabbing the bastion again—

Swoosh.

-Ah, no! Yeongwoo!

Amazingly, Aldo stepped forward and blocked Yeongwoo and the bastion with his hand.

“What?”

Yeongwoo’s eyes flared with brief murderous intent, but fortunately, Aldo’s status as a valuable guest saved his head from being severed.

“…Your Highness, you may not block my weapon. This is your last warning.”

Yeongwoo warned as he easily pushed aside the bulky Aldo.

Thud.

Aldo fell backward and cried out pitifully.

-Are you going to threaten us again? I know you’re aiming for the first spot!

“…!”

Yeongwoo was momentarily stunned.

-You plan to input a wicked rule we can’t resist, don’t you?

‘This idiot isn’t a complete fool after all.’

Yeongwoo was inwardly impressed and withdrew his hand from the bastion.

Swoosh.

He then gazed down at Aldo, who had landed on his backside.

“So, what do you want?”

-No.

“What?”

-You can’t be the first, Yeongwoo.

Aldo twisted his head awkwardly while standing his ground against the ultimate villain.

Meanwhile, Amana and Taru quietly took their places behind Aldo, signaling their support.

A rebellion of the virtuous.

“…These weaklings.”

Yeongwoo couldn’t help but laugh incredulously.

If he wanted, he could kill everyone here in an instant.

“Do you really think you have a choice?”

Yeongwoo’s words hung heavy in the air, but Aldo shook his tightly wound head left and right.

-Ah… No! We know we can’t stop you!

“What?”

-But we can at least try.

“Try what?”

Yeongwoo furrowed his brow in confusion, and Aldo gazed vaguely into the distance.

-You’re strong and clever, Yeongwoo, so you’ll probably come up with an incredible rule. But if that happens, the weaker teams or those who prefer peaceful competition will all perish.

“That’s obvious.”

Yeongwoo sighed, as if this was a trivial matter, but Aldo suddenly tightened his resolve.

-It’s not obvious!

“…What?”

-No one agreed to these new rules of the trial! Stripping everyone’s options with a sudden rule change is unfair!

In other words, these virtuous aliens were not only thinking of themselves but also the potential other good or weak contestants scattered throughout the trial.

-We’re the only ones who can propose something to you. Even if it’s just once… we must try. If we don’t, there will be no hope left in this trial.

“Don’t talk about hope. The universe doesn’t work that way.”

Yeongwoo found their words ridiculous.

But so did Aldo and the two virtuous aliens.

-We are part of this universe too, Yeongwoo!

“…Damn it.”

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It was both true and untrue.

If Yeongwoo swung his bastion now, they would no longer exist in the universe.

“Honestly, with just one attack, I could…”

Before Yeongwoo could finish, Aldo spoke as if reading his thoughts.

-We’d vanish, and so would countless planetary guardians in this trial. That would be the outcome of the karma we’ve built. And you, Yeongwoo, would add another burden of karma to your shoulders.

“……”

The karma that would arise the moment Yeongwoo wielded his blade of death at this very juncture.

Yeongwoo himself was well aware that it would be evil karma.

And Aldo, in his long-winded way, was explaining that if they erased good people through the logic of power, one day, only beings of evil karma would remain in this universe.

“Hey, no, seriously, why is it that so-called ‘virtuous beings’ are always so weak? If you guys had been stronger in the first place, none of this would’ve happened, right?”

As Yeongwoo voiced the doubts that had been vaguely forming in his mind, Aldo immediately responded.

-Evil beings aren’t strong, and good beings aren’t weak. A strong being who makes virtuous choices becomes a truly powerful bearer of good karma.

These words came from none other than the second prince of Doatel, a planet known as a sanctuary in the universe.

Having never done a single virtuous deed in his life, Yeongwoo couldn’t find a rebuttal.

“Well, but…”

Didn’t you have to be evil first, in order to become strong?

At least, that was the law of the universe Yeongwoo had learned.

And indeed, even Yeongwoo himself hadn’t done anything virtuous...

‘Ah.’

As he unconsciously rewound his past, Yeongwoo’s eyes suddenly opened wide.

Just once.

Perhaps there had been one act he could call virtuous.

Like the golden box visible in the distance, hadn’t he once painted the sky gold himself?

Instead of monopolizing three million karma, he distributed thirty thousand.

The Golden Ratio Act.

-Good and evil are not absolutely divided. Though Yeongwoo-nim carries as much as two hundred million points of evil karma, the evil karma of our team has ultimately converged to zero. We still exist within balance. And now, we, in this balance, have reached the point of establishing new rules for this Promotion Grounds.

Aldo, with his non-existent eyes, gazed at Yeongwoo’s blade of death.

In truth, the balance had been maintained simply because Yeongwoo hadn’t slaughtered his teammates as soon as he arrived at the Hall.

After all, hadn’t he decided to go through this test with them?

And finally, the balance of Team 023 faced a genuine trial.

If Yeongwoo slew the three virtuous beings here and set his own rules, the scales would undoubtedly tip.

Under extreme rules, countless planetary guardians would die, and in the process, the vast good karma would vanish forever from the universe.

-Good karma brings forth good rewards and maintains the balance of the universe. But if the bearer disappears before the reward arrives, that reward, too, will never be recorded in the ledger.

“But I’m a man in the violence business. A literal violence dealer. Isn’t it maintaining balance for me to wield violence, as long as dreamers like you exist?”

As Yeongwoo said this and turned his gaze toward the still-bright “Game Maker,” Aldo stood up, extending his right hand before Yeongwoo.

-I request a powerful handshake, Jeong Yeongwoo-nim from Earth.

“……!”

-Please grant me the first turn.

Unfamiliar with Earth’s culture, Aldo seemed to think that requesting a strong handshake also allowed one to make a strong request.

Yeongwoo alternated his gaze between Aldo and his blade of death.

“Why on earth should I bother dealing with people like you? If you just gathered all the virtuous beings together, wouldn’t they have died off on their own?”

Of course, if that had happened, the universe would have long become a monster-infested hell, and there would be no officials to maintain even minimal order, nor would there be systems like the Golden Ratio Reset.

Ultimately, the existence of a certain level of balance had paradoxically given rise to beings like Yeongwoo.

“What happens if I decide to spare you and those other so-called virtuous beings who may or may not be in this Promotion Grounds?”

Aldo alternated his gaze between the two virtuous beings on either side and replied.

-Honestly, I don’t know!

“What?”

-That is something only the records can…

“Ugh, shut up. If that’s the nonsense you’re going to spout, then zip it, Your Highness.”

Yeongwoo let out a deep sigh.

“This endless talk of the ledger, seriously convenient.”

With that, he pulled out his blade of death embedded in the ground.

Clang!

Seeing this, the three virtuous beings gathered together flinched, leaning their upper bodies back with surprised expressions.

It seemed inevitable that the crimson-black sword would soon slash toward them.

And indeed, Yeongwoo himself…

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Whish!

He swung his blade of death toward his teammates, stopping just before the blade could touch them.

Ssst.

“Your Highness.”

-…Yes? Yes?

“If I give you the first turn, what rule will you establish?”

-Well, uh…

Aldo broke into a cold sweat.

Then he mumbled something as nonsensical as before.

-The team that performs the most handshakes in the Promotion Grounds…

“No.”

“…?”

“How about this: if you take down the current first-place team, you claim first place?”

-…Huh?

“Then, of course, the evil ones will come after us, right? On the other hand, if your claim that many virtuous beings are in this Hall is true, they won’t come to kill us.”

-But those who come after us will…

“Well, they’re obviously evil, so wouldn’t it be better if they died? For the balance of the universe, no less? I’ve already got 200 million points of evil karma under my belt.”

-Uh, hmm…

At Yeongwoo’s rather extreme proposition, Aldo couldn’t find words, so Amana cautiously raised her hand.

-Then what about the rankings from second to fifth place? Don’t forget that up to fifth place gets to be promoted.

“Oh, right.”

Yeongwoo nodded as if he had just remembered.

“Then, Amana, you add that rule.”

-…Me?

“Yes, you include it during your turn. Rank second to fifth based on the number of handshakes.”

Then he pointed at Taru.

“Taru, you build a paradise for the defeated.”

-What do you mean by that?

“Set aside a corner of the Hall where those unwilling to fight can gather and shake hands until they’re bored. But anyone who enters won’t qualify for the rankings.”

In other words, a kind of neutral zone.

-Well… that’s not a bad idea.

Taru, seemingly the most mild-tempered of the group, nodded.

“Alright, done? Then let’s begin.”

As Yeongwoo gestured for Aldo to activate the Game Maker with his glowing blade, Amana asked a sharp question.

-Wait.

“What now?”

-What about you?

“Me?”

-One rule per teammate. That means you’ll get to establish a rule too, right? What exactly are you planning to do by letting us go first?

Indeed, as the last in turn, Yeongwoo could come up with an ingenious strategy to outwit everyone.

But what came out of Yeongwoo’s mouth was an unexpected proper noun.

“Dogo.”

-…What?

“I want everyone in the Promotion Grounds to chant Dogo.”

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