Sovereign of Judgment Chapter 13:

Since the corpses turned into ash, the gym was cleaner than he thought . Not only did the Recovery stat decreased the time it took to use Karma again but it was excellent for wounds as well . Most wounds would slowly close up . The seriously wounded would die of shock and turn into ash . As expected, didn’t leave a single trace .

If not for the blood stained clothes, he would have thought that everything was a dream .

The sudden peace actually made people nervous .

The one who took the lead was Jung Minji . Although the rule about absolutely following a king’s orders disappeared, no one could question Jung Minji’s leadership skills . Out of the 483 people, Jung Minji had gathered 258 . Due to the actions of the ethics teacher Park Solam, who was her subject, there were an especially large number of teachers in her group .

Jung Minji stood in front of the teachers and brought order .

 

[You cannot leave the school until nightfall . ]

 

First, she checked that this included the surrounding school field as well . Then she divided everyone into teams and let everyone use the washrooms to wash themselves off . Afterwards, she raided the cafeteria and the snack store and ordered the distribution of food . The Slave King Song Simin followed Jung Minji’s commands as well . Choi Hyuk didn’t line up for food but took it directly, however, he didn’t take more than the distributed amount .

But the Heckler King Kim Hyunbaek was worried his leadership would be stolen .

“You don’t know when things will happen and you want to mix together like this?”

“Then?”

“There’s no need to do everything yourself . Just fairly divide the goods and let each group decide how to distribute it . ”

Jung Minji glared at Kim Hyunbaek before giving him provisions and supplies . Kim Hyunbaek smiled . He thought that Jung Minji was definitely a pushover . Even if she was like a ghost in the battlefield, she couldn’t be heartless in situations like these .

‘If it was me, I would have never divided it . Tsk, tsk . What’s the point in having power? When you don’t even know how to use it . ’

Kim Hyunbaek secretly looked down on Jung Minji . Because of her, he was able to obtain several things . First, he understood Jung Minji’s personality and he could show off his ability to his group . Since his orders weren’t absolute, creating a public image was important . Unlike Jung Minji who distributed supplies sparingly, Kim Hyunbaek let his subjects eat as much as they wanted that day .

 

After washing, changing clothes in the locker and eating, it was break time . As there was nothing to do, people suddenly felt everything was new . Everything happened in only a day .

“I can’t believe it… We killed people?”

They were all normal teachers and students this morning but now there wasn’t anyone here who hadn’t murdered before . It was scary . The shock came after everything had happened . They didn’t know during that time but the mushy feeling when a sword sliced into someone, the warmth they felt when blood splattered on their sleeves and the last breath of their victims were now coming back to them .

The thing they couldn’t handle .

“Don’t tell me, it’ll be like this tomorrow?”

“…Fuck . It might even be tonight . ”

If they had something to do, it might not have been so overwhelming . But since they weren’t allowed to leave the school until night, their anxiety couldn’t help but rise .

When they were endlessly beaten, it was natural they would become desperate . The real moment their hearts felt like they were being scraped was when it was peaceful .   Sobs sounded out around them . There were some looking for their dead friends and some who entered an empty classroom and wept .

 

It was night .

The student who waited at the school entrance let out a shout .

“The wall is gone! We can go out!”

People swarmed towards the entrance once they heard the shout . However, at that moment, a separate message was given to the kings .

 

[All troops are to standby until tomorrow morning . ]

Choi Hyuk mumbled .

“Fuck… just what are they planning now?”

The message to standby wasn’t given to everyone but only to the kings .

 

“Everyone stop!!!”

A female voice resonated out from the school . It was Jung Minji . She ran as fast as she could and blocked the entrance with Chu Youngjin . Luckily, no one had left yet . It could be because the streetlights were all off . It would be scary to walk by yourself in a dark night . Too many people had already died .

 

“A message was sent only to the kings . ‘Standby until morning, those that leave will perish .

Jung Minji lied outright . There was nothing about ‘perishing’ . It only said to standby . However, Choi Hyuk couldn’t help but be amazed at her quick thinking . They wouldn’t be well off if they refused the message anyways .

People were agitated .

“Why did only the kings receive it?”

They were suspicious . No, they didn’t want to believe it . The person who came out afterwards was the Slave King Song Simin .

“I got it too . It’s true . ”

A heavy silence came over the noisy people . If another king came out and confirmed it, it would be almost certain . The person who messed it up was the Heckler King Kim Hyunbaek .

“I got it as well . But perishing is a lie . It just said to ‘standby’ . ”

Everyone became noisy once again . Jung Minji gave a death stare to Kim Hyunbaek . He only shrugged his shoulders .

“There really wasn’t anything about perishing?”

Those with foolish expectations asked . Jung Minji said strictly .

“No . It definitely said perish . Kim Hyunbaek, why are you lying?”

Kim Hyunbaek showed a speechless expression at Jung Minji’s question before raising his voice .

“What? Why would I lie?”

Kim Hyunbaek felt dejected . Because it wasn’t a lie . Because his reaction really showed that, some even thought, ‘It looks like he’s right?’

“I got it too . It said perish . ”

 

As soon as three of the four kings said they would perish, the mood that felt like they would jump out at any moment died down . When Jung Minji said, “Let’s go in,” everyone started to make their way back . However, it wasn’t like there weren’t any more doubts .

“Ha! It’s easy to make someone a fool! I get it! I do! I’m sorry!”

It might have been partly because of the loudly shouting Kim Hyunbaek who made his way back to the classroom .

 

As the night deepened, Jung Minji came to Choi Hyuk,

“Can we gather for a second?”

The Jung Minji reflected in his eyes still continued to be colorless . No good or bad intentions .

“What is it?”

“I want to discuss just what kind of **** up situation we’re in . ”

For Choi Hyuk who wanted to know the mastermind behind this, it wasn’t a bad offer . He went to a classroom . The core members of Jung Minji’s group were already gathered . Even Song Simin and Kim Hyunbaek brought the core members of their groups .

Jung Minji spoke first .

“Two things caught my attention . First, the words written in the Ring of Rebirth . Kill . Only then will you kill . ”

Some people nodded at Jung Minji’s words while others showed expressions that they didn’t understand .

“Why is it not ‘will you live’ but ‘will you kill’?

Jung Minji didn’t stop there .

“One more thing . Today’s message . All ‘troops’ are to standby . They called us troops . ”

Choi Hyuk nodded his head . He had even seen the message on the window . The words that passed by like an illusion were ‘get angry’ .

“They… I don’t know if they are gods or devils . Anyways, I think they are trying to make us into an army . ”

She had already come to a conclusion .

“The Ring of Rebirth was for individuals . And they tested one’s talent for killing . They made us fight in groups and pick leaders in the Throne Game . Then what would be next? Just what would we fight against as an army?”

It was silent . Tomorrow… yes, just what would happen tomorrow?

Just then, Kim Hyunbaek’s voice sounded out . It seemed like he was drunk as he had a slight slur when he talked . The ones who searched the night duty room and found alcohol after hearing they had to wait until morning were Kim Hyunbaek’s group .

“Ah~ you really are a headache . I was wondering why you gathered us here at night . We will find out tomorrow morning so why are you in a panic already . ”

Kim Hyunbaek swayed as he got up from his seat . Jung Minji asked .

“Kim Hyunbaek . You’re drunk?”

“Fuck . Kim Hyunbaek… Am I your friend? Even if I don’t expect to hear ‘senior’, this is a bit too much . ”

He was already drunk . And the events today were so alien they already felt remote . Kim Hyunbaek started to show his real personality .

But Jung Minji didn’t blink an eye and demanded .

“Everyone’s sensitive . If you **** people off in your drunken stupor, they might really pull out their swords . Go out right now and stop the drinking party and sleep . ”

Kim Hyunbaek who heard her words only lifted his **** before leaving .

“I’m leaving~ You guys can chat til morning!”

Jung Minji’s face became cold .

 

**

The gathering didn’t produce any real results . There was Jung Minji’s plausible conclusion but that was it . They lacked information . The meeting ended with an agreement they would gather again once they had more information .

Choi Hyuk returned to the classroom . Students had grouped up with their friends and spread out into different classrooms . Choi Hyuk was alone . He sat by himself as he recalled the events that occurred today . First, his status .

 

——————–

[Choi Hyuk]

*Human

*Karma Points

Power: 71 (+5)   Speed: 75 (+5)  Control: 86

Endurance: 70  Stamina: 0 (★)  Recovery: 90 (+10)

*Free Karma Points: 10  *Retribution Point: 59

 

[Unique Skill]

Eyes of Distinction

 

[Accomplishments]

You have killed someone with karma before it was distributed to you Qualifications of a Sovereign 1/3

 

——————–

 

A long time had passed since his body filled with karma exceeded the human limit . He was curious what would happen if a stat hit 100 but it just returned to being a single digit and a star appeared next to it . It wasn’t simply an increase in stats . It felt like a qualitative change in karma . Afterwards, even if he killed someone, the stat wouldn’t rise . Was it because they weren’t his match anymore?

 

And in the accomplishments section, a part about qualifications of a sovereign appeared . It was the reward for taking a throne .

[You have received a part of the Qualifications of a Sovereign . ]

Like always, he couldn’t figure out anything else about it . Just he felt a stronger belief in Jung Minji’s words about an army .

He also received a weapon . His F rank estoc eventually broke during the fight and now he only had the Fang Saber and the new sword, Predator’s Blade, left .

Choi Hyuk raised the pitch black blade . The dirty blade looked crude but it was very sharp .   It was the reward he received from one of the hidden rules .

 

——————–

[Predator’s Blade]

Rank: E (Unique, Growth-type)

Sharp and sturdy . The more blood it spills of strong foes, the stronger it will get .

Durability: 1,000/1,000

——————–

 

Just looking at the rank, it was iffy . The reward was a weapon that was D rank or above but he received the lowest rank weapon he could get . On top of that, he didn’t receive any boosts in stats either . It was a blade that looked to be worse than the E rank Fang Saber . However, Choi Hyuk was completely happy with the weapon .

‘A sword just needs to be sharp and sturdy . ’

And as it could get stronger by cutting down foes, it was first-rate .

 

Choi Hyuk recalled the feeling of killing a countless number of people . It was unpleasant . It was a conflicting feeling . It was great that he could fight to his heart’s content but, at the same time, there was a psychological resistance . He felt guilty when he remembered his mother’s crying face pleading him to not hit people .

No… because of that, he became even angrier . Like the creator of this game wanted .

‘I can’t change the past . ’

Choi Hyuk ground his teeth . His mother could already be dead . Although she could be alive… it didn’t matter as he needed to become powerful enough to resist . Only then could he save or take revenge for her . He couldn’t just become a **** on a chessboard and suffer without knowing . If that was the case…

‘Does that mean I need to become a killer? Do I just need to become an indiscriminate killing machine after discarding my previous self?’

Choi Hyuk shook his head . He would definitely get his revenge . However, a minimum rule, he needed one . It was hypocritical . But that was the mark his mother left on him . He couldn’t give it up .

Choi Hyuk then made a few simple rules . The minimum to remember his past self .

Who to kill?

‘Those who try to kill me . And those who brag about their strength in front of me . ’

Luckily there was an overflowing amount of these people . To distinguish himself from others, he had no choice but to kill many… Even today, there was a countless number of candidates .

Now, who to save?

‘This… I don’t know . Those who are useful to me? First… Jung Minji?’

It was hard to set a clear standard .

Choi Hyuk closed his eyes .

‘Let’s do this slowly . Slowly . ’

Since it seemed like his rule about who to kill would be enough for a while anyways .

 

The night was peaceful and sounds of chatter and laughter could be heard from various places . A person couldn’t cry for 24 hours just because something shocking happened to him . The functions of laughter were various and sadness would come and go like a wave . Even in the saddest funeral, the chief mourner would occasionally laugh before crying suddenly .

Perhaps it was because of that, the night after a day of slaughtering was surprising filled with laughter . And there was a commotion that exceeded those noises . Choi Hyuk frowned .

The loud singing of Kim Hyunbaek’s drunk group .

‘There’s no need to kill those trash . ’

Although he was pissed, the uncomfortable feeling that would come after killing them would be greater . Choi Hyuk stopped paying attention and turned his body away . At that moment, someone knocked on the classroom door . When he opened it, he found Jung Minji had come with Chu Youngjin . They were completely armed .

Jung Minji suddenly asked .

“We are on our way to Kim Hyunbaek . ”

Then she read Choi Hyuk’s mood . To see if he was displeased or not . Choi Hyuk shrugged his shoulders .

“That has nothing to do with me . ”

Jung Minji nodded her head and left . Chu Youngjin followed behind her . Chu Youngjin emitted out a savage aura after Lee Hyejin died and showed absolute loyalty to Jung Minji who helped him get his revenge .

“Let’s go . ”

Jung Minji ran in the hallway with that . Behind her, followed the elite unit in Jung Minji’s troops .

 

“Huh? What’s this!”

The members of Kim Hyunbaek’s group who were drinking and singing suddenly became noisy . Crash! The sound of someone jumping over something . The groan of someone who was stabbed . A scream . And…

“Save me! I’m sorry! Minji! Okay!! Ah!! Ahhhhhh!!!”

Kim Hyunbaek’s desperate scream .

It became silent soon after . The sounds of the occasional chatter or laughter disappeared . A night filled with terror .

 

Choi Hyuk looked out his window . He saw students who couldn’t face reality and decided to defy the order to [standby] and run towards their homes . Choi Hyuk only guessed it then but he really never saw them again .

Choi Hyuk looked up at the moon .

A moon no different from yesterday’s . A classroom no different from yesterday’s .

 

However, what was in front of them was completely different from yesterday .

A new world .