Chapter 216

Unlike the 1st dungeon around Newtie City, the 12th dungeon didn’t have a single ant in sight.

“I thought it’d be crowded with players wanting the ticket, but seeing how it’s so quiet, it must be more difficult than we thought.”

Min Sung didn’t answer and walked toward the entrance.

Ho Sung Lee smirked at Min Sung’s fearless walk and shook his head.

Min Sung Kang was a human who didn’t know what being nervous even meant.

Ho Sung Lee put a cigarette in his mouth out of anxiousness.

That man was always able to tackle anything that came his way, but not Ho Sung Lee.

He always worried about his life, and he had to make a lot of effort just to be a supporter.

Ho Sung Lee made up his mind to become a great supporter as he threw his cigarette away and walked into the dungeon.

***

The world of Beatrice had strict rules.

One had to make a lot of effort.

And…

One had to be a good entertainer.

In other words, they had to know how to gain interest from the Dionysus Gods.

The way to grow in Beatrice wasn’t to hunt down monsters and gain experience points.

That only gained the smallest amount of points.

In order to catch up to the high-ranking players, they had to gain the attention of gods and become stars in the world of Beatrice.

Since they were playing on a gambling board, they couldn’t survive in Beatrice without using them to their advantage.

Min Sung was well-aware of this, and he was already gaining lots of attention from the gods.

But as the situation became less stimulating, the gods expressed their boredom.

The gods were weaker to stimulation more than anyone.

But that didn’t mean Min Sung was willing to play according to the gods’ wishes.

It wasn’t because he felt a sense of rebellion toward the gods but because he felt it was meaningless to go out of his way to stimulate them.

Interesting things were bound to happen on their own.

Once he faced off with a ranker, the real game would begin right there.

But right now, he wanted to face the situation in a calm manner and proceed forward toward his goal.

So he thought that trying to gain attention was nothing but a waste of time.

Roarrrr!

An ogre-looking monster with wings on its back swung a sword covered in an Aura.

Min Sung flashed his eyes and focused solely on the battle, and Min Sung’s focus showed great results.

Kaboom!

The deafening sound of thunder.

The loud noise made the monster flinch, and after that, the monster’s body got ripped to shreds.

Once Min Sung grew thanks to the experience points, the monster was nothing more than a petty little thing that was easy to defeat.

For Min Sung, the current dungeon was so easy to defeat that it was boring.

***

[You’ve secured the ticket!]

When he saw a system message confirming his receipt of the ticket, Min Sung checked his item window.

The ticket was automatically inserted into his item window.

The ticket contained a code that could only be used for the portal gate.

He was able to use that code in order to hop over to the next city.

Min Sung’s party went back to Newtie City.

“Tell the cat creature and elf that we’re going to the next city and to come over to the warp gate right now,” Min Sung instructed.

“Yes, Sir.”

Ho Sung Lee acted quickly.

Meanwhile, Min Sung took a look around the city on his way to the warp gate.

He saw many players, and among them were players that were at the 1st dungeon.

It was clear who the players that saw Min Sung fight were.

They showed stiff looks on their faces and avoided making eye contact with Min Sung.

As a result, no problems arose.

Thanks to the scenery of Newtie City on his way to the warp gate, he arrived in no time.

There was a large sign in front of the warp gate, and on that sign read, ‘Into the world of rankers’ in various colors.

And beside it was all sorts of advertisements, but they weren’t worth noting.

It was just enough to stimulate the hearts of the players who wanted to go over to the next city.

And that’s when Min Sung realized just how obsessed the players of Newcity City were about rankers.

There were many people talking about the ticket around the gate, and the topics contained many predictions and misconceptions about rankers.

Min Sung ignored them and sat at a nearby bench.

As soon as Min Sung sat down, Bowl and Ssol situated themselves nearby. The players immediately paid attention to Min Sung, Bowl, and Ssol.

But the attention only lasted for a moment before they talked about themselves again.

Since Min Sung had an extraordinary sense of hearing, he was able to hear everything they were talking about.

And the more they listened, the less he understood their thoughts.

Min Sung secured the ticket.

And the way Min Sung saw it, the 12th dungeon, which allowed him to obtain the ticket, wasn’t very difficult.

So he couldn’t understand why they hesitated so much in approaching the 12th dungeon.

Min Sung cleared that dungeon in less than an hour.

And aside from his own standards, the dungeon didn’t take much longer than the 1st dungeon near Newtie City.

‘So why aren’t they trying to get a ticket?’

He realized there was something he was unaware of.

Min Sung got up from the bench and approached players who were chatting nearby.

“If you could clear the 1st dungeon, why aren’t you getting the ticket to hop over to the next stage?”

In response to Min Sung’s question, the 3 players laughed.

“I guess you don’t know anything. Come to think of it, you’re a novice without a guild, right?” A man with a knife scar on his chin scanned Min Sung as he asked.

Min Sung nodded.

“How do you expect to go to the next stage when you’re just a novice…?”

The man with the knife scar on his chin failed to finish.

His pupils dilated and his body froze up.

That was because Min Sung’s cold energy wrapped around the man with the knife scar on his chin.

If it was weaker, he would have laughed and pulled out his sword, but Min Sung’s energy was different.

He felt his instinctive fear climbing up to the surface and suffocating him.

The man with a knife scar on his chin dripped in sweat and looked in the distance as he gulped.

Min Sung’s cold energy began to subside.

That was when the man with a knife scar on his chin could breathe again.

“Huff…! Huff…”

Min Sung stared at the man with a knife scar on his chin and said, “Explain.”

Min Sung gave him a cold glare.

The man with a knife scar on his chin looked up at Min Sung, trembling.

And the players that were with him knitted their brows.

That was because they were unable to sense Min Sung’s cold energy.

His cold energy only targeted the man with a knife wound on his chin.

“The reason why we’re not getting a ticket to go on to the next stage is because of the rankers…”

The man with a knife scar on his chin finally explained.

“Is it because they get in the way?” Min Sung asked.

“That too. And even if we were to avoid the rankers and clear the dungeons, the dungeons are at a whole new level.”

“How do you know that if you’ve never been?”

“There are some who returned.”

“They returned?”

“Players who returned to Newtie City… never went to the next stage again… for the rest of their lives.”

Min Sung laughed.

The man with a knife scar on his chin continued, “Giving up on becoming a ranker doesn’t mean they lose their country, but they lose their entire star. Normally, they end up becoming invalids or live meaningless lives.”

Min Sung finally realized why he was unable to see other players at the 12th dungeon.

In order to survive the rankers and grow through hunting, they had to grow their power in Newtie City first.

He didn’t have to ask further.

He didn’t have much time.

And in Beatrice, time was even more precious.

After all, as time passed, the stars they came from were dying away.

It was possible that they had already given up.

Perhaps they abandoned their home stars and learned to be satisfied with their lives in the new world.

There was no other reason why they would be wasting time talking about the next stage without doing anything to make it happen.

And that also meant that the ticket came with very big risks.

As they said, if they faced off against a ranker without being ready, they would be done forever.

For that reason, the players saw the ticket as an express train to hell.

Min Sung smiled.

People were all different.

He understood, but he couldn’t imagine that choice for himself.

‘How can they back off just like that?’

‘How can they give up just like that?’

‘How can they put everything down just like that?’

Min Sung had never done that in his life.

He learned in the Demonic Realm that the most dangerous choice became the safest route.

“Sir!”

At that moment, Ho Sung Lee showed up with the elf and cat creature.

A moment later, they stood right in front of him.

Bowl hopped into Min Sung’s pocket while Ssol rubbed his head on Min Sung’s leg out of affection.

Ho Sung Lee bowed his head down to him while the cat creature and elf followed along.

The cat creature and elf.

They looked excited to go to a new place, but…

“You can’t come with us.”

In response to Min Sung’s remark, their faces stiffened up immediately.

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