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Chapter 364: Between Good Karma and Bad Karma (5)
"What? A ranking board?"
Yeongwoo, standing atop the fallen gorilla, gazed into the void.
However, the ranking board had yet to appear.
Without hesitation, Yeongwoo drove is Bastard into the creature's neck.
Splat!
The gorilla’s already melting skin, corroded by its own acidic blood, gave way like tofu.
-No... this is absurd.
-Oh my God...
The remaining members of Unit 002 were visibly demoralized by the spectacle.
Even the virtuous members of Unit 023, who were on the verge of descending to assist Yeongwoo, froze in their tracks.
-...Horrific.
Amana summed up the scene underfoot with a brief remark.
At that moment, a glowing entity from Unit 002, who had been wielding a lightning spear, glanced toward the plains behind them and muttered:
-I'm sorry.
Then, spreading its arms, it sent a current surging toward a chained knight who was still alive.
Crackle!
It had paralyzed the knight to buy itself time to escape.
-Damn it!
The chained knight stiffened instantly and fell to the ground, screaming in frustration.
Soon, the sickening sound of corrosion mixed with the pungent smell of blood emanated from right beside his head.
"......"
It was none other than Jeong Yeongwoo, the First Evil of Promotion.
-Pl-please spare me...
"There’s a saying on Earth."
"W-what are you suddenly talking about...?
-If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
"...What does that mean?
-It means whether you go fast or far, you're dying at my hands."
Bastard pierced the chained knight’s forehead in an instant.
Splat!
He then turned his gaze to the lone escapee who had chosen to flee and paralyze an ally rather than running together.
Had that enemy decided to split in opposite directions instead, it would have been far more challenging to chase them.
But thanks to their betrayal, Yeongwoo now had only one target to focus on.
This left him in a position where he didn’t even need to run to capture them.
"General, time to rack up some merit points. Let me give you the coordinates."
Yeongwoo pulled out a coordinate tracker from his pocket as he spoke.
In no time, the coordinates of the promotion arena appeared in his vision.
Flash!
〔||-Beset-007-469-2088-13〕
"Huh?"
Yeongwoo unconsciously parted his lips at a strange sense of discomfort.
The reason was none other than the identification code of this planet.
||-Beset
The planetary ID code, Beset, was strikingly shorter than any he had seen before.
‘What’s with this place? Why is its code so unusually short?’
The promotion evaluation was managed by the Planetary Court.
And this was the second test location, the Promotion Arena.
Thus, the owner of this planet was likely the Planetary Court, or in other words, the intergalactic government.
‘Could it be because it’s a government-owned planet?’
A short identification code could mean it was assigned early in the planetary classification process.
This implied that the planet was either relatively close to the center of the universe or—
‘It could mean it’s an ancient planet.’
Whatever the case, it was clear that this planet was no ordinary one.
Which raised the question—how could external bombardment occur here?
‘Does that mean the Planetary Court authorized it? That planetary bombardment weapons can be used within the Promotion Arena?’
Given that this was a venue where representatives of various planets showcased their accumulated might, it made sense for all firepower to be permitted.
"Beset, 007, 469, 2088, 13!"
That meant at least one team had been stationed there until moments ago.
‘Huh, so the world map updates in real time.’
This meant they could avoid pointless wandering if they watched the map closely.
“Amana, can you take us to that location as quickly as possible?”
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Yeongwoo pointed to the area above where the monster icon had vanished.
There was still an unknown shield icon there, and Yeongwoo believed it was the next destination of the team that had just dealt with the monster.
-That shield? We can reach it within three minutes.
“That’s plenty. Let’s go right now.”
At Yeongwoo’s command, Amana nodded and once again enveloped the team in wind rings, lifting them high into the sky.
* * *
At the same time, far above the promotion arena, the examination headquarters was abuzz as dozens of planetary examiners stared at a massive screen.
“Rankings will be revealed in one minute.”
In less than ten seconds, the power and scores of the second trial’s participants would be displayed.
Normally, the first leaderboard during the second trial was just a preliminary indicator of early trends. But today was different.
■ I heard Team 9 placed a bet?
■ On what?
■ Who knows?
■ Aren’t they just insane?
The examiners murmured.
A team had dared to challenge the “salary negotiation” system.
For planetary examiners, salary negotiations weren’t with their employer, such as the Planetary Management Bureau or the Planetary Court.
The only way to increase their salary was to correctly predict which team would place first on the initial leaderboard of the second trial’s promotion arena.
If successful, their salary would double.
If they failed, half of it would be slashed.
The peculiar purpose of this negotiation system was somewhat noble: encouraging examiners to spot and back promising candidates.
■ When was the last time this happened?
■ Feels like eight rounds ago.
■ Did Team 9 have any basis for their bet? Where have they been recently?
Predicting the final victor was one thing, but guessing the first leaderboard leader—a position influenced by momentum and luck—was near impossible.
As a result, many examiners saw the salary negotiation system as a malicious government trap to reduce payroll costs.
Yet today, Team 9 unexpectedly declared their intention to negotiate, drawing every other examiner team to the headquarters.
「10 seconds until rankings are revealed.」
A notice flashed on the massive screen, and the large steel doors at the back of the hall swung open, revealing Team 9.
■ Hah! Have you all come to witness history in the making?
The team’s senior examiner, Gern, clad in a heavy metal mask and a flowing cape, strode boldly through the crowd.
This was none other than the examiner who had accepted a bribe from Yeongwoo just the day before.
■ What’s this about, you lunatics?
■ Why would you risk a salary negotiation?
■ Who did you bet on?
As the other examiners bombarded them with questions, a gaunt examiner to Gern’s right let out a cackling laugh.
■ Heheh, today, we ascend to a higher plane.
Then, a massive floating water orb to Gern’s left rolled its eyes.
■ We saw something incredible... on Earth.
At this, the others blinked in confusion.
■ Earth?
■ Wait, Earth as in...
■ The home of Dogo...
Finally, the screen displayed:
「Rankings revealed.」
The headquarters rumbled, the screen glowing brightly.
Down below, the promotion arena’s leaderboard was simultaneously transmitted.
■ Hah.
Gern trembled as he slightly lifted the mask covering his face to check the screen.
He then lowered it again, murmuring softly.
■ We’ll have no choice but to offer a wedding gift to that lunatic.
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