READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 16: 16
16. Seo Arin
[Actor Kong Ji-seok in cardiac arrest. Fans in tears at shocking news...]
[Hallyu star Cha Il-woo fails to wake from narcolepsy... An Asian star has fallen.]
[Shim Hwa-yeon, So Yi-hyun, Gung Seo-jin, and other major actors die in succession...]
[Investigation reveals only 58% of celebrities taken to the other world survived.]
[Even celebrities can't escape. Surviving celebrities report panic disorders and emotional instability...]
The finger scrolling through the articles stopped.
A message had popped up.
[Hong Seon-ah: Arin. Did you hear the news? About senior Gung's death?]
[Seo Arin: Yes...]
[Hong Seon-ah: Are you going to pay respects tomorrow?]
[Seo Arin: I should... She took care of us a lot when we were acting...]
[Hong Seon-ah: Then I'll tell my manager oppa. Let's go together tomorrow.]
[Seo Arin: Okay, got it.]
Seo Arin sighed deeply after finishing the message with her close actor friend.
'How has the world come to this...'
At 22 years old.
In the prime of her youth, she's been sighing more and more these days.
It's because the world has started going crazy.
'To think fellow celebrities are dying one after another...'
Among them, senior Gung Seo-jin, who was filming a drama with her, had died.
She promised to go pay respects with her fellow actor, but that wasn't all.
'Senior Kong, senior Shim, senior So too...'
There were many people she needed to pay respects to.
Dramas were being stopped one after another.
'To think seniors much more successful than me couldn't survive Round 1 and died...'
Compared to her seniors, she was just a rookie who had recently started on a growth trajectory.
Even she passed Round 1, but other seniors couldn't.
The reason was simple.
Luck wasn't on their side.
'It's fortunate I got a good rune, otherwise I might have taken up a corner of the news too...'
At that moment, a self-deprecating laugh escaped Seo Arin's lips.
'I've grown a lot too. Thinking I'd naturally make the news. In the past, I wouldn't have even had my name mentioned in a single line like other unknown actors...'
Some might think she's successful because she lives in a penthouse, but that's not the case.
Without the company's sponsorship, could she have grown this much?
"What are you thinking about, Ms. Arin?"
Just then, a man in a suit who had been checking the house approached.
It was bodyguard An Sang-cheol, who had been serving as her manager for the past half year.
"Oh, it's nothing, Mr. Bodyguard."
"Tell me. Didn't I say you could speak candidly to me?"
"Ah... I was just thinking about why the world has become like this, and how to survive the next round..."
"Don't worry about the next round. What's there to worry about when I'm here?"
"Haha... That's right."
The bodyguard smiled confidently and hung his suit jacket on the dining chair.
Then he took out wine from the cellar and poured himself a glass.
"Would you like a glass?"
"Ah, no. I'm fine."
Seo Arin was displeased with the bodyguard acting so comfortably as if it were his own home, but she couldn't do anything about it.
'In a way, this isn't even my house...'
The penthouse was just a residence provided by the sponsoring company, not Seo Arin's own.
The bodyguard was also personnel provided by the company, saying he was needed as both a manager and bodyguard.
'Strictly speaking, he was probably assigned to monitor rather than protect...'
She was perceptive enough to know he was sent to keep an eye on her.
"Ms. Seo Arin, you worry too much. Now please trust me and relax. Haven't I been working as your manager for over half a year?"
"Of course. Who else would I trust if not you, Mr. Bodyguard?"
Seo Arin didn't fall into the other world alone.
The 29-year-old bodyguard also went with her and completed the quest.
Killing 100 goblins in Round 1 wasn't an easy mission, but they somehow managed it.
Thanks to the bodyguard, she was able to deal with the goblins relatively easily.
Above all, the effect of the rune obtained from the random rune fragment was significant.
'I can trust Mr. Bodyguard.'
When the company first assigned a manager cum bodyguard, Seo Arin was more wary than anyone else.
Apart from suspecting him as a monitor, she didn't like a strange man coming in and out of the penthouse from the start.
But after seeing the bodyguard faithfully carrying out his duties for half a year, she was able to feel somewhat at ease.
And during this Round 1, she clearly realized.
The bodyguard's sincerity in trying to protect her among the goblins.
That's why Seo Arin trusted the bodyguard more than anyone else.
"We don't know what the Round 2 quest will be, but don't worry too much. If we cooperate, we can clear it somehow, right? I'll protect Ms. Arin no matter what, so don't give up."
"Yes. Thank you so much."
Seo Arin smiled as if reassured and recalled the earlier situation.
"By the way, seeing them giving out rice cakes earlier, it seems someone moved in downstairs."
"It seems so."
"The steamed rice cakes looked delicious..."
"You'll gain weight if you eat such things."
"Still, wouldn't it have been better to accept them even if we didn't eat them, rather than refusing so coldly? They came to greet us from next door, they must have felt hurt."
"It's fine. What greeting? They're all just trying to mooch off you. You have to be firm, if you accept out of courtesy, they'll keep pestering you endlessly."
"Hmm..."
Seo Arin recalled the neighboring men she encountered at the entrance.
'They didn't seem like such bad people...'
They both looked kind.
One of them didn't even seem surprised to see her, as if he didn't know who she was.
Even though she's become quite a popular actress among young people thanks to sponsorship.
"One of the neighbors we saw earlier looked over 15 years old, so he must have survived by killing 100 goblins too, right?"
"Well, I suppose so."
"It's amazing. To think someone who went through such a harsh experience is around us with such a normal face..."
"You did it too, so how hard could killing just 100 be? Only idiots can't do it."
"Haha..."
As confident as he spoke, the bodyguard's skills were outstanding even in the other world.
Enough to kill 100 goblins much faster than her.
She heard he was ranked 153rd in their area.
'But not as much as that person.'
Seo Arin remembers.
The scene of a player with the nickname Black Scythe massacring goblins.
'The goblins looked pitiful in front of that person.'
The bodyguard fought well too, but compared to Black Scythe, he was at a child's level.
To that extent, even to Seo Arin's inexperienced eyes, Black Scythe was an overwhelmingly skilled player.
Doesn't the ranking result of 1st place say it all?
'That person must be living with a real job in reality too... I wonder what they do? Could they be working in a special forces unit?'
If she could team up with such a skilled person, her survival chances for Round 2 would increase.
If she knew their real identity, they would be her top priority to try to recruit with money to cooperate.
"Well, I've wet my whistle, so I'll be going now."
"Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Bodyguard."
"Given the situation, it seems there won't be any schedules except for paying respects for a while. Rest well until then. And don't worry about the next round."
"Yes, I understand."
The bodyguard put down his wine glass and left the house.
Only Seo Arin remained in the spacious 110-pyeong penthouse.
Feeling a chill, she wrapped her arms around herself.
'I survived luckily this time, but can I survive the next round too...'
As if anxious, Seo Arin's hands gripping her arms tightened.
* * *
Time passed and it was Monday, January 31st.
Ryumin visited Nonghyup Bank to collect his fifth first-place lottery winnings.
"...You're here again? Lucky customer?"
The bank president looked surprised, but that was all.
After winning 5 times in a row, he now nodded as if used to it.
"100 games won this time too, right?"
"Yes."
"What on earth is your secret?"
"I told you last week. It was revealed in a dream."
"..."
What kind of dream tells you the winning lottery numbers 5 times in a row?
"You're really amazing. I wish I could have that dream too... Oh."
The bank president, who inadvertently spoke his mind, scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.
"This way please. I'll guide you personally. Though you probably know where to go after visiting five times..."
After guiding him to the Lottery Business Team, the bank president greeted him and disappeared.
"Ah, our lucky customer is here?"
Even the employee who used to be shocked like seeing a ghost now doesn't get flustered.
"This time's prize money will be less than before. The total prize pool decreased by 15% compared to average."
It seems the anxious situation ahead of Round 2 is affecting society.
Still, over 12 billion won was deposited into Ryumin's VIP account.
'With this, I've earned a total of 68.5 billion from 5 draws?'
He had raked in almost 70 billion won from the lottery alone.
Ryumin left the bank and returned home with a satisfied face.
Not to a shabby multi-family house, but to a 100-pyeong apartment with a Han River view.
"Brother, you're back?"
Ryuwon, who was cleaning, greeted him as he came home.
"Did you collect the prize money?"
"Yeah. About 12 billion this time? Not much."
"What a joke..."
Ryuwon made a disgusted expression.
"Are you going to put it all in the Bitcoin account this time too?"
"Of course."
Ryumin was investing everything he earned from the lottery into coins.
As a result, his current funds have grown to 150 billion won.
Knowing this, Ryuwon didn't try to stop his brother.
However, because things were going so well, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
"Brother, shouldn't we start withdrawing soon? I'm scared it might plummet."
"Not yet."
'It will continue to rise until two weeks after Round 2 ends.'
Ryumin's plan was to sell only after it peaked, rising up to 4 times.
"Won. Don't worry about unnecessary things and let's go eat lunch."
The brothers ate lunch and dinner out, then spent time at home.
Time passed like that, and it was 10 minutes before midnight.
'Round 2 will start soon.'
Ryumin waited to fall asleep in his bedroom, the safest place.
"Brother. You must come back alive."
"Who am I? I'm the one who overwhelmed Bang Taegyu."
"That's true, but..."
"Don't worry and just go to sleep. When you open your eyes, I'll be awake from sleep too."
Ryumin smiled reassuringly at his brother.
It was time.
"I'm going."
February 1st. As soon as it became midnight.
Swish-
Ryumin's body collapsed onto the bed.
* * *
Flash-
When he opened his eyes, Ryumin was already in a different place.
In the middle of an open space with a forest visible nearby.
It was a different environment from Round 1's prairie.
This is the starting point of Round 2 that Ryumin remembers.
"H-have we arrived?"
"It really was instantaneous."
Looking around, he could see Round 1 survivors who had suddenly appeared.
Each with their nicknames above their heads.
"Oh? That person is..."
"Last round's 1st place?"
Some recognized Ryumin and started whispering.
The player Black Scythe had left such a strong impression in Round 1.
'As rounds pass, my nickname will become more and more valuable.'
It doesn't take long to become a so-called "named" player.
Regardless, Ryumin waited with the stiletto in his hand.
Unlike others, no one approached readily since he was holding a weapon.
This was Ryumin's intention.
While keeping his distance from people like this, Ryumin observed his surroundings.
'I see some familiar faces.'
It couldn't be helped.
The people gathering now were survivors from this area, that is, those who were at the bell-ringing site.
Of course, Hwang Yongmin and his friends were visible too.
With their large character builds, they were certainly easy to find.
Only after about 5,000 people appeared in the forest.
[Is everyone gathered?]
Along with a strange voice echoing in their heads, an angel appeared in the sky.
But it wasn't the angel seen in Round 1.
"Huh? It's a different angel."
"Yeah?"
Indeed, Briel, who was the guide for Round 1, had been killed by Ryumin.
Hearing the murmurs, the angel spoke.
[The angel in charge of Round 1 had an accident and couldn't come out. But don't be flustered, humans. From now on, I'll guide you well. Kihihihi.]
The newly changed angel also had an eerie laugh, unlike her beauty.
[Now that everyone's gathered, shall we reveal the Round 2 quest?]
As the angel flapped her wings, everyone stared into the air.