Chapter 45: 36,500

Limon hadn’t even moved his sword.

He couldn’t understand why Park had suddenly collapsed onto the floor spilling out blood when he hadn’t lifted a single finger.

‘What is this? Did a sudden rush of conscience and humanity make him commit suicide?’

“Overheat.”

“Eh? He got that heated up from a provocation?”

What kind of weak ass mind is that?

“It is what happens when one uses too many skills simultaneously.”

“Oh, like how you got all racked up and almost died when you used those thousand skills on me at the same time?”

“Yes.”

Limon nodded for a moment, but he quickly became confused again with another look at Park.

“Then why does he look so much worse?”

Sure enough, Park was in an unspeakably gruesome state.

The way his orifices and groin were covered in blood and urine, with ruptured blood vessels all over his body, he was already halfway to becoming a vegetable.

Even after a thousand skills, Lee Chun-gi still hadn’t completely lost himself.

Park had only used a handful, so why?

Lee Chun-gi kept his answer simple.

“Secretary Park most likely has never gone through multi-skill activation training before.”

There was no doubt that Lee Chun-gi’s ability to acquire an infinite number of skills thanks to the absolute skill 「Technique Replication」.

But it was his years of constant training, conditioning, and specific gear assembly that made him able to use hundreds of those infinite skills simultaneously.

Not to mention, he was only able to use hundreds at a time while in his Overlord state.

Park’s problem was that he had only stolen Lee Chun-gi’s skills and status.

Effort was an entirely different matter.

“It’s amazing he’s still alive after carelessly using my skills without the needed gear and training.”

“……So you’re saying that this dickhead just self-annihilated after stealing your skills without even knowing his limits.”

“Basically.”

Limon stared at the squirming man on the floor.

How could someone this idiotic exist?

He turned around to face Lee chun-gi.

“To be honest, I was pretty damn floored when I saw you all triumphant with just an empty shell of my swordsmanship. But you really were on the sunny side, huh?”

Was this a compliment, or was he mocking him?

With the subject of comparison being as dumb as the man named ‘Park Hyun-gun’, Lee Chun-gi didn’t know what to say.

After a while, he finally broke his silence.

“I feel like I owe you an apology for this.”

“Leave it, that’s just how all players are.”

“……”

Lee chun-gi stopped talking without getting anywhere.

The bottom line was that Lee Chun-gi and Park were essentially the same — both were arrogant asshats that were each humiliated by Limon. The only difference was their severity of humiliation.

Although, he did think that putting every player into the same group as Park was a bit disrespectful.

“Why…”

It looked like the idiot was at least aware of his blunder.

Using a few recovery skills, he barely improved from acting like a squirming cockroach to a squirming human being.

Belching out more blood, he cried out.

“I…I worked hard! I really did!”

Lee Chun-gi had the shortcuts thanks to his cheat skill.

Unlike him, Park had worked his ass off with 「Counterfeit God’s Alias」 , which was good for nothing except lying.

He sweat dire blood and tears while the other helpless airheads made fools of themselves spewing shit about peace and the ‘little joys of a simple life’, or whatever the fuck it was.

He used the guild’s money to put together his gear and items.

He risked his life to level up.

“Why do I have to be the one eating horseshit!?”

Park couldn’t understand.

No, it was unacceptable.

The fact that he couldn’t do what Lee Chun-gi, the lucky bastard who was handed Monarchy, could do.

As he ridiculously became both the villain and the hero to slay said villain.

As he wiggled on the floor like some worm in his final moments.

“This isn’t fair!”

Park screamed as he shed blood like it was dead skin.

This was wrong.

If even a little bit of justice really did exist in this world, he deserved to be rewarded more than anyone else.

Such spite and fury spurred within his outcries.

Limon kept his thoughts short.

“You apeshit fucking nutcase.”

***

***

“…What did you say?!”

“Do I really have to spell it out to you? I mean, it’s so obvious…”

Too baffled to be angered, Limon looked down on Park with a look of dismay.

The fact he even had to say it was draining. He let out a sigh.

“Life isn’t a game, dipshit.”

Clearing the Dungeon gives you wealth and glory. Anyone could get stronger if they leveled up, and anyone could get good gear with money.

That was the mindset of players — that results came naturally with effort.

But that lead to them forgetting one crucial fact too easily.

“Do you really think that the light at the end of the tunnel really exists for everyone who works their ass off?” Limon pointed out in a tired voice.

Success comes from hard work?

People don’t succeed because they lacked hard work?

Limon knew better than anyone else: That was utter horseshit.

There are prodigies who see and learn one thing and understand a hundred.

There are people born with golden spoons in their mouth, guaranteed a life of wealth and glory.

There are the lucky who succeed with luck alone.

Their existence alone proved the theory of ‘hard work’ wrong.

They were living proof that not everybody got rewarded for their efforts, and there were limits that couldn’t be pushed by working hard.

“That’s why people praise effort and respect the hardworking.”

If there was fair, surefire success to effort, it would be no different from donkey work.

They already know that the world is unfair.

They know they might not succeed.

They know there is a limit they can’t pass.

And yet, they still try to challenge their limits to fight this unfairness, even if they don't succeed.

That is what makes effort valuable.

‘Work hard!’

Working hard does not mean ‘achieving results’.

It meant having a steadfast mindset and proactive attitude that wouldn’t falter in the face of failure.

But all there were were lucky rugrats who have never failed after trying.

People who didn’t even know what ‘failing’ meant, crying, “hard work!” as if it was the answer to everything.

“Just because you put some effort in doesn’t give you the right to kill, deceive, and rob others however you want.”

Trying harder than anyone else?

Deserving results?

Scorning and laughing at those who don’t try?

That’s not hard work, and it’s not even logical!

It’s groundless fanaticism and obstinacy.

In fact, the people who say such garbage are the ones who overestimate their own worth and look down on others. It’s quite impressive, really.

“Well, if you wanna shut your eyes to law and reason and live life like a game, go ahead. Free will’s all yours,” Limon smirked.

Whether he committed murder like he was PKing, leveling up, or making an effort because he felt like it…

How one chooses to live their life is their own free will. That’s life.

“Just like how it’s my free will to fucking kill you and get my blood debt.”

Just one important thing:

Doing whatever you want in a game will get your account suspended.

In real life, you’ll die.

“Ki… Kill? Kill me?”

“What else is there? Don’t tell me you thought I came all the way here to hand you over to the police.”

Limon icily mocked.

Park could feel his blood run cold.

It finally settled in that Limon was seriously there to kill him.

One wrong move wouldn’t just cost him his future, but his life.

He screamed at the top of his lungs.

“That’s bloody murder!”

The court of law existed to decide the price one pays for their crimes.

Killing a person because of a personal grudge was unjustified in the eyes of the law — a crime.

Limon’s response to his desperate cries were simple and concise.

“And what about it?”

He wasn’t playing dumb, nor was he mocking him.

Limon tilted his head like he genuinely didn’t know what Park’s outburst meant as his eyes bore into a frozen Park.

“If you made your profits through crime, then you should have known that anyone can piss on the law to kill you. You absolute buffoon.”

“……!”

Park hyun-gun had just registered that the man in front of him was Limon Asphelder.

The mad dog who violently slaughtered 200 people— including the PAB director —held the President hostage, and struck down a Monarch.

There was no way the law could do fuck all to stop such a monster.

And in that moment, Park finally understood what Limon’s earlier statement meant.

Life isn’t a game.

A game had system operators — admins, moderators.

All real life had was just the powerless law.

There was no such thing as a system operator who could protect him after he’d broken the law and stolen what he believed was the rightful fruits of his labor.

And even if there was, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

Whether it be operators, the Gods, even the Constellations.

Limon wouldn’t hesitate to cut down anyone who he thought got in the way of his blood debt.

“S-Sir! Are you just going to let this happen?!”

Park clung onto Lee Chun-gi.

He was driven to a point where he could only demand help from the person he had just tried to kill moments before.

But Lee Chun-gi paid him no heed.

“Is one day enough?” he asked stoically.

“Make it four.”

“That’s…”

“I said four.”

Not taking any objection, Limon dictated in a cold and sluggish voice.

Lee Chun-gi looked into the man’s golden eyes.

After a while, he closed his own without another word.

“No one will step foot in this place for four days, starting now.”

“…Sir?”

Park didn’t understand what Limon’s decision of four days or Lee Chun-gi’s promise had meant.

His body started to shake as anxiety welled up inside of him.

“Be grateful. I lessened what should have taken three months and ten days to collect into four.”

“Huh……? Grateful… for what? D-Do what in here for four days?”

“I believe I told you already.”

Limon effortlessly held up his sword and rammed it into Park’s twitching shoulder.

“I’m here to kill you.”

“Aagh?!”

Park’s eyes widened like they were about to burst.

It wasn’t only because Limon’s sword had just plowed through his guts and dug into his spine.

As soon as the tip of the sword met with a certain part of his spine…

Nausea and a burning pain.

Pain that felt like his entire body was getting pricked by needles as his lungs lit on fire.

“Don’t worry. You’re not going to die for another four days, at least.”

His limbs trembled from the overwhelming agony. He couldn’t even scream.

“Second to swordsmanship, I excel in the 36,500 torture techniques I learnt in my time with the Seven Dragons Association.”

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