Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

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Chapter 368: The Ultimate Evil of Promotion (4)

「28」

‘What? These bastards are even putting a timer on me, who's already aligned with Dogo?’

While Yeongwoo widened his eyes in disbelief, chaos had already erupted on the other side.

-Do, Dogo?

-Dogo...!

-Dogo!!!

The three aliens of Team 023 were reaching toward the sky, repeatedly shouting "Dogo" at the top of their lungs.

Like the other participants, the aliens didn’t want to return to their home planet as lifeless corpses.

Thus, they screamed "Dogo" until their throats were sore.

「24」

...

「23」

But the fatal countdown timer showed no signs of stopping.

-Huh?

-W-We definitely did it, right?

-Dogo! Dogo...!

The three aliens’ faces turned pale with fear.

Meanwhile...

“D-Dogo!”

Yeongwoo, like the other participants, watched the unrelenting countdown timer with growing anxiety.

「18」

“What the hell is going on here?”

No matter how desperately they shouted, the timer didn’t stop.

According to the rules, the timer hitting zero meant death.

「Unfortunately, anyone who does not worship ‘Dogo’ with utmost desperation within 30 seconds will die instantly.」

“D-Dogo! Chairman...!”

Even Yeongwoo, who was supposedly endorsed by Dogo, looked up at the sky in panic.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the three aliens shouted as if they were about to burst into tears.

-Dogo! Dogo!

-Dogo! Save us!

-Dogo! Please!

The arena descended into utter pandemonium.

This wasn’t limited to just this section; every team in the promotion match was likely experiencing the same chaos.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Who gave you permission to change the rules like this?”

Yeongwoo cursed as the timer dropped to 13 seconds.

「13」

The final rule Yeongwoo had submitted to the game maker was to "shout Dogo as loud as you can."

But the game maker had gone beyond that, twisting the rule into something catastrophic.

「Anyone who does not worship ‘Dogo’ with utmost desperation will die instantly.」

Desperately worship Dogo.

What exactly did the system mean by "utmost desperation"?

“「Dogo!」 This promotion match! With the mercy of the great ‘Dogo’...!”

Yeongwoo tried once again, screaming with all his might in an almost transcendent tone, but the timer before him remained unmoved.

「10」

Now just 10 seconds.

「9」

The countdown continued without mercy.

‘Damn it. I fell into my own trap!’

What on earth did he have to do to satisfy the condition of "utmost desperation"?

‘Are you saying what I’ve been doing isn’t desperate enough? How could I possibly be more desperate than this?’

As Yeongwoo struggled to comprehend, his gaze landed on the three aliens who were clinging to each other.

-Dogo...!

-Dogo!

-Lord Dogo! Can’t you hear us?

The sight of them wailing and almost weeping was both absurd and pitiable.

At this point, one might assume their behavior qualified as "utmost desperation."

Yet, even in their vision, the fatal timer showed no sign of disappearing, and soon it ticked down to the final five seconds.

「5」

-Aah!

-Are we really doomed here...?

「4」

With only 4 seconds remaining, the aliens rushed to Yeongwoo.

-Y-Yeongwoo!

-Isn’t there something else we can do?

-No matter how hard we try, it’s not working!

Now genuinely desperate, they turned to him for answers, fearing their impending demise.

「3」

But at that moment, Yeongwoo...

“「DOOGOOOOOOO!!!」...!”

He screamed "Dogo" with every ounce of strength he had, leaving no room to respond to the aliens.

After all, the idea that someone like him—Dogo’s official sponsor—might fail to worship properly and die was utterly unacceptable.

Yet...

「2」

The timer didn’t stop, finally reaching its last digit.

「1」

“What?”

A reality too unbelievable to accept.

For the first time, everyone, including Yeongwoo, looked genuinely terrified.

-D-Dogo...

Prince Aldo, the second son of the Shelbir royal family, muttered "Dogo" one last time.

And then...

「-」

The timer expired and vanished before everyone’s eyes.

“......!”

Gasp.

-T-The timer...!

-Wait, what happens now?

-Was death truly the outcome?

As everyone braced for the worst, squeezing their eyes shut, only Yeongwoo kept his eyes open, glaring at the sky.

Something felt off.

‘Those bastards, don’t tell me...’

The game maker’s announcement had been clear: failing to desperately worship Dogo within 30 seconds would result in death.

But nowhere did it state that succeeding in worshiping would stop the timer.

In other words...

‘Are they seriously making us scream Dogo for the full 30 seconds?’

As Yeongwoo’s jaw dropped in disbelief, a large system message flashed in the air, glowing a menacing red.

「Team 018, eliminated.」

-What?

-Gasp.

-E-Eliminated? That wasn’t even a battle, was it?

Taru pointed at the elimination message with his massive finger.

As he said, it was unlikely the elimination was due to combat.

Just moments ago, all teams had been too preoccupied with worshiping Dogo.

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This meant their deaths were for another reason entirely.

‘So they’re really killing people! Who were the idiots who refused to worship Dogo?’

Of course, the fools who defied the rules were already dead, their faces unidentifiable.

「Team 046, eliminated.」

Another team was wiped out.

-H-Huh?

-They’re dropping like flies!

-Are they being dealt with in order?

Amana’s words rang true; the system seemed to be systematically eliminating participants.

Which meant that if anyone in Team 023 had performed subpar worship, they might be next.

「Team 008, eliminated.」

Yet another team vanished in an instant.

-Ah...

-Are we next? Is it going to be our turn soon?

As Taru looked at Yeongwoo with a fearful expression, he scratched his chin.

“Whether it's your turn or not really depends on you, doesn't it?”

-...?

-What do you mean?

“Ask yourself this: have you worshipped the System with such desperation that you could stand proud before it?”

And in that moment—

Thunk!

With a loud signal, another team was eliminated.

「Team 024, annihilated.」

“…!”

Team 024.

Being just one number apart from their own, even Yeongwoo couldn’t help but flinch.

‘008, 018, 024, 046... Four teams eliminated.’

Why did they perish?

Was it because they didn’t take the new rules seriously?

Or perhaps they worshipped under duress but lacked true desperation?

‘Whatever the case, it’s clear their entire teams slacked off.’

One more intriguing detail was that none of the annihilated teams had been on the leaderboard.

In other words, every team listed on the leaderboard had clearly screamed their devotion with everything they had.

‘People with more to lose always fight harder.’

That was why Yeongwoo himself had been wailing like a madman earlier.

And it had paid off.

Soon, a message appeared, announcing the end of the "purge."

Flash!

「Participants who refused to abide by the new rules have been eliminated.」

-Oh… Does that mean we made it?

-Looks like it.

-For sure… we gave it everything we had.

The three followers of virtue heaved sighs of relief.

Then, the next rule for the promotion match, newly set by Team 023, was revealed.

「From now on, a designated area in the eastern part of the promotion field will be marked as a safe zone.」

「Entering this area means you cannot re-enter the leaderboard, but you will also be safe from attacks by other teams.」

A green circle appeared on the eastern edge of the world map displayed in the sky.

Swoosh!

“That must be the safe zone,”

Yeongwoo said, pointing at the map with Bastard in hand.

At the same time, countless numbers began to appear on the map.

-Huh?

-Wait, is that…?

Even the three followers of virtue could immediately recognize what it was.

They were none other than the real-time locations of the surviving teams.

With the rules of the game shifting dramatically, the positions of all teams had now been revealed.

And the most obvious reason for this was, of course—

[023]

Team 023 was highlighted in bright yellow in the central-western part of the map, clearly marked as the creators of the new rules and the ultimate boss to beat for anyone aiming for first place.

“They’re outright broadcasting our location.”

Yeongwoo scrunched his nose and muttered, prompting Amana, who was studying the map, to add a comment.

-But every team’s location is visible, so it’s fair enough.

Indeed, Team 023 could see where other teams were heading—whether they were retreating to the safe zone or hesitating.

Among them, one stood out.

[004]

Stationary not far from the central-western area was Team 004.

‘004? Those guys? Second in power, second in score.’

By all measurable metrics, they were the strongest team in the promotion match apart from Team 023.

Knowing this, they were likely pausing to strategize.

Then came the announcement of a peculiar rule.

「The rankings from second to fifth place in the promotion match will now be determined by the total number of 'handshakes' executed.」

*Handshake: The act of making physical contact with another participant as a greeting, then parting ways without engaging in combat.

At this, the teams moving toward the safe zone froze in place on the world map.

The unexpected rule had thrown everyone into confusion.

But Team 023 had one more trick up their sleeve.

「The final rule has been activated! The first place in the promotion match can only be achieved by eliminating the current top team.」

And an additional message followed, unprompted:

「The ultimate victor will receive an incredibly powerful exclusive benefit. Aim for the throne to restore your planet’s glory.」

‘I figured as much.’

Having explored countless dungeons and claimed hidden rewards, this didn’t surprise Yeongwoo.

But for the other participants, it seemed to be a significant motivator.

Why?

-Hey, Yeongwoo!

As soon as the final rule was announced, Aldo pointed at the world map.

“What, is Team 004 charging straight at us?”

Such a scenario was already within Yeongwoo’s expectations.

He turned to the world map Aldo indicated with a calm expression.

Slide.

Then—

“…What?”

Numbers scattered across the map were converging in one direction.

Specifically, they were moving toward the central-western area, where Team 023 was located.

“What the…?”

Yeongwoo blinked, double-checking the map.

This time, it was unmistakable.

“Are these bastards for real?”

Nearly every team in the promotion field was now heading toward the throne.

“These morons! I said handshakes, and they’re doubling down on bad hands.”

Realizing the inevitable bloodshed ahead, Yeongwoo closed his eyes.

Behind him, the three followers of virtue could do nothing but squeeze their eyes shut as well.

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