Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 21

21. Ability User Test (4)

“I surrender!”

As soon as Hyun-mu split the large man’s jaw, Ahn Hyun-soo quickly raised his hands.

Hyun-mu was taken aback by the surprisingly quick surrender, but Ahn Hyun-soo seemed to have no intention of fighting. Hyun-mu kicked the groaning man on the floor to retrieve the metal badge from his possession.

“You think I’ll let you off just because you surrender?”

In response, Ahn Hyun-soo pulled out his metal badge and quickly tossed it to Hyun-mu. Hyun-mu was even more dumbfounded. It seemed like a genuine surrender.

“No, what are you going to do if you hand over your metal badge without even fighting?”

“There was no rule saying we’d be disqualified for not having a metal badge. I can just take other people’s or monsters’ badges. But if I fight you right now, I’ll probably be incapacitated.”

Hyun-mu felt that Ahn Hyun-soo seemed to have some experience as a Hunter. He wondered how skilled he was, but suddenly sensed movement from above.

Three people jumped down from the barrier. Their shoulder patches bore the Ability User Management Bureau mark. They were staff members. Without a word, they provided first aid to the injured man and immediately dragged him away. Ahn Hyun-soo shrugged as he watched.

“It’s better to be in one piece than end up like that.”

“Why, don’t you think you might have had a chance if you tried?”

“That guy was our team’s defense. But you knocked him out in one hit without even using a skill. There’s no chance.”

Hyun-mu turned his gaze to the other two. As soon as they met Hyun-mu’s eyes, they quickly placed their metal badges on the ground.

They seemed reluctant to give them up, but after seeing what happened to the large man, no one dared to resist.

Hyun-mu scratched his head. He had no grudge against them, and it didn’t feel right to attack someone who was surrendering. Hyun-mu collected the metal badges. Ahn Hyun-soo spoke again.

“Hey, do you still need team members? You can just give us one out of the three.”

“No, thanks.”

Hyun-mu replied curtly.

“And you, you seem a bit shifty.”

Ahn Hyun-soo laughed awkwardly at Hyun-mu’s words. Hyun-mu turned his back on him and walked away.

***

“People are already collecting badges.”

In the third gymnasium’s ceiling, there was an observation deck overlooking the entire dungeon.

More precisely, it was a VIP section where figures from the political and business world interested in ability users, or headhunters from clans who paid substantial sponsorships, could enter.

Lee Ji-tae and Tae Min-soo were also watching the match from there.

The headhunters glanced at Lee Ji-tae, but their eyes held more wariness than envy. Their goals were not much different from Lee Ji-tae’s.

In addition to the transparent glass window overlooking the dungeon, a screen displaying the dungeon’s structure showed moving red dots.

Each red dot had the holder’s name written on it. The location tracker embedded in the metal badges indicated the possession status of each examinee.

“It’s Red Butterfly, as expected. She’s already taking other people’s badges from the start.”

Tae Min-soo pointed to a dot. The dot with Red Butterfly’s initials had already taken three metal badges and was tracking the remaining one.

The Red Butterfly team usually consisted of four members, but they were all scattered for the sake of fairness in the test.

However, each member was already quite skilled, so it was expected that they would reunite quickly. Among them, Red Butterfly’s skills were outstanding.

“Wow, she finally got her fifth. It looks like she’s tearing them off.”

Taking metal badges from the start meant taking on a 4:1 disadvantage, so it wasn’t an easy task. Lee Ji-tae entered the number assigned to Red Butterfly on his tablet. Soon, Red Butterfly’s image began to appear on the tablet.

The thousands of cameras installed in the dungeon to monitor the test captured the examinees wherever they were.

Red Butterfly, with her red-gradient hair fluttering as she chased her enemies, was certainly enough to attract people’s attention.

Unfortunately, the red trail at her fingertips, which was like her mascot, was not yet activated.

Red Butterfly ran around without hiding and ambushed new examinees as soon as she encountered them. Her accurate and quick strikes didn’t allow her opponents to respond properly.

A murmur spread among the headhunters. They had expected Red Butterfly to be active, but they didn’t expect her to be this good.

“Her skills are already at the 2-star level… If all her teammates were together, they could enter a 3-star dungeon.”

“3-star? That’s unprecedentedly fast growth, but…”

“She’ll be able to perform if she’s given equipment. What Red Butterfly lacks right now is support.”

Everything was going as Lee Ji-tae had expected. In addition to Red Butterfly, there were a few others who started with multiple metal badges. They were presumed to be members of the Red Butterfly team or dungeon veterans.

“The early scores don’t matter anyway. They can’t keep dominating forever.”

Even if it’s the Red Butterfly team, they can’t be completely relieved until they’ve fully reunited. Unlike the early stages when they don’t know much about each other, a majority will exert their power from the point when they start to coordinate.

Some of them may be skilled and play as a team. Therefore, Lee Ji-tae thought it was unlikely that the entire Red Butterfly team would remain until the end.

“Besides… If they encounter what we’ve put into the dungeon, even Red Butterfly will have a hard time.”

Lee Ji-tae nodded.

“Those were created to warn talented friends.”

***

Hyun-mu walked through the ruins, quietly touching the walls. The subtle vibrations and noises transmitted through the walls entered his fingertips like needles.

Hyun-mu, whose senses had become extremely sensitive in hell, began to concentrate, and the surrounding structure was drawn in his mind.

‘It feels cozy compared to hell.’

Compared to that place where you don’t know what will pop out in even the slightest shade, where toxic air scatters your senses, where high-density mana confuses your senses, and where the noisy flapping of insects’ wings feels like digging into your brain, this place was like a peaceful garden.

It had only been about a month since Hyun-mu stayed in hell, but he couldn’t help but compare it.

Among them, Hyun-mu felt a noticeable presence. Something was standing motionless around the right corner, two steps behind. The movement wasn’t significant, so the presence was weak, but Hyun-mu could clearly sense it.

‘It’s about the size of a human, the movement is stiff, and there’s almost no breathing. It seems to be a living thing, but it’s definitely not human.’

Is this the identity of the monster they released into the dungeon?

It was definitely a type he had never encountered even in hell.

Hyun-mu cautiously peeked around the corner with half anticipation and half tension.

“…What is that?”

Hyun-mu’s expectations were shattered as soon as he spotted the opponent. A disgusted expression appeared on his face.

It was moving in the form of an unfinished mannequin, making a faint ticking sound.

It was a scarecrow for beginners.

***

Some of the headhunters looked perplexed when they saw the monster that Red Butterfly encountered. It looked like a mannequin, but it had no seams and was covered in white skin. Its expressionless face gave off a bizarre impression. One of the headhunters who knew Lee Ji-tae approached him and asked cautiously.

“What… is that?”

“It’s a work created by applying the materials of a mushroom monster captured in the Chernobyl dungeon to an independent learning exoskeleton developed by D&W Industries. That white skin is actually like a mushroom, but it’s said to be tough and durable, making it good for protecting the inside. D&W gave it a ridiculous name called ‘Mushroom Droid,’ but I just call it a scarecrow.”

“An exoskeleton with monster materials?”

“It’s cutting-edge technology. The exoskeleton learns the wearer’s movements down to the smallest detail, so it’s good for combat, and when spores completely take hold on the surface of the device, the durability and mana repulsion increase. They seem to be planning to use this advantage for capturing ability users.”

Lee Ji-tae muttered as if he found it interesting. As one of the leading figures in Korea and the heir to a *chaebol* [family-owned conglomerate] in the mana-related business, he couldn’t help but be interested in equipment for ability users.

The headhunters watched the battles taking place in various places through the screen.

Each of them tried to subdue this strange monster with their own skills, but the specially treated scarecrow simply bounced off mediocre skills. Some people couldn’t withstand the fight and eventually retreated.

“Doesn’t this mean we have to resort to pure hand-to-hand combat?”

“It’s not that strong yet. It’s too difficult to use in actual combat, and a five-person combined attack can quickly peel off the specially treated surface. It’ll probably be difficult for people traveling alone.”

Lee Ji-tae said, adding an explanation.

“The best thing about the scarecrow is that the skin regenerates over time. So you don’t have to worry about the repair budget.”

Lee Ji-tae brought up the screen showing Red Butterfly. Red Butterfly also seemed to be struggling a bit around that time. The red trail, which was almost her trademark, was already forming in her hand.

When she attacked the scarecrow with her red-stained hand, the skin began to peel off. But it seemed to take time to completely break it.

Lee Ji-tae watched the scene and said.

“Team leader, what’s your rough estimate of the final score?”

“Well… No matter how much Red Butterfly flies and kicks, even if she gets used to that speed… Within the three-hour time limit, unless there’s a variable, wouldn’t it be about 50? If Red Butterfly’s team quickly joins up, she might exceed 80.”

It was similar to what Lee Ji-tae had expected. Red Butterfly was that overwhelming, but in the end, the restraining forces would also unite to check Red Butterfly.

However, Lee Ji-tae felt that something was strangely off. Among the 300 dots moving frantically on the screen, he felt a strange movement that deviated from Lee Ji-tae’s expectations.

“Over there.”

Lee Ji-tae whispered in Tae Min-soo’s ear, pointing to one side of the screen. Everyone else’s attention was focused on Red Butterfly’s performance, but Lee Ji-tae was paying attention to the corner of the screen. Tae Min-soo widened his eyes when he saw what Lee Ji-tae was pointing at.

“Wait, what the heck is that…?”

“It’s a variable.”

Lee Ji-tae muttered as if he was quite pleased.

***

“Ha, they put something like this out for the test. They scared me for nothing.”

Hyun-mu grumbled as he looked at the scarecrows piled up on the floor.

Unlike the scarecrows he had encountered in hell, these had no lines, their movements were simple, and they were uninteresting. Moreover, even their estimated stats seemed to be lower than Hyun-mu’s. If he had to guess, they were about level 5.

At that moment, one of the scarecrows staggered and walked towards the hallway where Hyun-mu was. As soon as the scarecrow saw Hyun-mu, it rushed at him.

Hyun-mu lightly dodged without even activating Battle Helper and used the scarecrow’s running speed to put his arm around its neck.

Due to the interplay of inertia, speed, and weight, the scarecrow’s neck instantly snapped with a crack. As its body slumped, the skin connecting its neck and body stretched out long.

“Well, I didn’t mean to do this… They won’t ask me to pay for it, will they?”

It’s the fault of the guy who put out such a weak thing. Hyun-mu grumbled and began rummaging through the scarecrow that had fallen to the floor.

The metal badge was visible below the right rib cage.

In a bad taste, the metal badge was embedded just enough to protrude slightly from the skin, so the surface had to be completely cut open to take it out.

Hyun-mu’s strength wasn’t strong enough to tear off the specially treated skin. He didn’t have a weapon either. But Hyun-mu didn’t need either.

“Disassemble.”

As Hyun-mu briefly activated the skill, the metal badge appeared between the peeled skin. Hyun-mu picked up the metal badge and put it in his pocket.

Only 30 minutes had passed since the start of the match, but he had already collected quite a few. A significant number of them were taken from humans.

‘Still, it’ll be impossible to collect them all within three hours.’

Not only people but also scarecrows have metal badges. But as time goes by, only a few with a large number of metal badges remain in the arena.

It wasn’t necessarily impossible. By then, it seemed like carrying metal badges would be a burden.

He was collecting them more easily than he thought, but it was hard to adapt to the fact that it was too easy.

Hyun-mu had never had an easy battle. He hadn’t even had to activate Battle Helper, let alone his official skill, Poison Blood. He simply suppressed his opponents with his physical abilities alone.

‘It’s a bit strange that it’s ending too easily.’

Hyun-mu suddenly remembered the red-haired woman he had seen in the waiting room. He had a feeling that she would remain until the end.

It was then. Suddenly, an announcement echoed throughout the arena.

[We inform you that 34 minutes have passed since the current match time, and the movement of metal badges has occurred by more than 30%, so we will announce the person with the most metal badges.]

[3rd place. Hong-ryun. 7 badges.]

[2nd place. Red Butterfly. 9 badges.]

And finally.

[1st place. Kang Hyun-mu. 16 badges.]