NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Hwang Yongmin (2)
The crowd went wild.
In the midst of it all, Yongmin and his friends exchanged greetings.
“Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year!”
“Finally, we’re adults now! Let’s make our dreams come true this year!”
“Ha, ha, ha!”
Yongmin was about to make a joke when an unfamiliar voice interrupted him.
“Kyo-ho-ho-ho. You guys look like trapped monkeys.”
The voice wiped the smiles off their faces, Yongmin included.
“Is this a joke?”
At first, he thought it was a prank from the broadcasting company, but then he saw the angel appearing in the sky with a flash of light.
“This…this is real. It’s not a joke.”
Despite the shock, he couldn’t deny what he was seeing with his own eyes. The floating angel left him speechless.
Furthermore.
Pop-!
The young man who spoke informally to the angel saw his head explode.
“Kyaaah!”
“Cough!”
Hwang Yongmin’s expression could only stiffen like the other citizens.
“A damn beheading…! What kind of bullshit is this on New Year’s Day!”
He had never witnessed a person dying in his life, especially not in such a violent death like a firework exploding in their head. That’s why Hwang Yongmin couldn’t even catch his breath in front of the angel.
Turning his head, he saw that his friends were in the same boat.
“But…”
Hwang Yongmin’s gaze turned to Ryu Min.
“Why doesn’t that shuttle bastard change his expression?”
If it were someone he knew like Ryu Min, they should have been frightened or frozen in place.
But Ryu Min had a calm expression, even more so…
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, he turned his head and made direct eye contact with him.
“How did that bastard know I was here…?”
He even lifted the corner of his mouth, as if mocking him.
“That bastard…!”
Although Hwang Yongmin’s judgment was distorted by the shuttle’s arrogant expression, he knew that now was not the time to express his anger. He had realized that he was now caught up in a hellish survival game where he had to survive 20 rounds.
“Well, since the explanation is roughly over, shall we go now? Kyo-ho-ho-ho.”
With the devilish angel’s laughter echoing in the background, Hwang Yongmin’s vision went black.
“Of course, Hwang Yongmin was watching.”
When Ryu Min was in high school, he was a quiet kid.
He was a plain student without any noticeable quirks or oddities.
“I thought everything would be fine as long as I didn’t cause trouble for anyone else.”
But things didn’t go as planned.
Just because he sat close to Hwang Yongmin, Ryu Min was targeted.
He didn’t do anything particularly bothersome or eccentric.
“After that…I endured all kinds of harassment.”
During breaks, he was teased, and when he was bored, he was dragged to the back of the school and beaten up.
Bread Shuttle was tasked with not only buying bread but also buying alcohol and cigarettes.
When the convenience store owner called the police and his parents were summoned, he had to speak with a bitter face.
“My parents… are not here.”
If he was asked why he had to answer reluctantly.
“They passed away in a car accident during middle school.”
By this point, the pitiful police officer only scolded him not to do it again and sent him home.
“Then the cycle of torment repeats once again.”
A vicious cycle.
Ryu Min couldn’t do anything in front of the strong.
He suffered all sorts of misfortunes to the point where he was afraid to go to school.
“But not anymore.”
After repeating countless regressions and deaths, Ryu Min became a completely different person.
The timid and weak self was gone.
99 regressions had turned him from an ordinary person into an extraordinary one.
So maybe that’s why?
He was able to maintain his composure even when he saw Hwang Yongmin, who had tormented him.
“In fact, I feel no emotions even when I see that bastard.”
The reason was simple.
He had already avenged himself to the point of boredom through his regressions.
“Did I start avenging myself against him from the seventh round?”
After gaining confidence and becoming stronger through his strategies, Ryu Min took revenge on Hwang Yongmin.
He repaid what he suffered.
Even though he begged for mercy, Ryu Min never forgive him.
He killed him.
Not just once.
He killed him over and over again as he repeated the cycles.
Until all the wrath he had held in his heart had been fulfilled.
“But after doing that for more than twenty times it became meaningless.”
Because he had grown tired of revenge, now in the 100th round, he felt no emotions even when he saw Hwang Yongmin.
“There is no point in seeking revenge anymore. There is no benefit to it. If he has to die he must be used first.”
He had already planned how to use the guy.
But he had no intention of taking him to the final round.
“First things first…”
Ryu Min looked up.
He found himself standing alone in an empty white space.
After a moment, the courteous voice of the devil echoed through the void.
“Kyohoho, I’m sure you’re all wondering where you are. You’re in a private space where you can’t see each other. Before the transfer of the soul, you need to create a physical body. It’s like creating an avatar in the games that humans enjoy.”
“A kind of customization,” Ryu Min murmured calmly.
Most people were probably flustered by the term ‘avatar’, but Ryu Min had created dozens of avatars before, so he remained composed.
Soon, an avatar identical to himself appeared in the white space.
The avatar moved like a mirror image of himself.
“Now you can adjust your face and body as you wish. You can also choose a nickname to use in another dimension. It’s the same process as creating a character in a game, so there shouldn’t be any difficulty.”
There should be no problem with the progress since most teenagers and young adults are already familiar with games.
“This opportunity only comes once, so you must all make your decision carefully. Shall we start with choosing a nickname?”
Shortly after, a mechanical voice different from the angel’s voice was heard.
[Please state your nickname to register in the system within 30 seconds.]
[If you do not decide within the time limit, your real name will be automatically registered.]
“My nickname is…”
Ryu Min’s lips moved without hesitation.