Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

acle which was different from those found in the Corridor of Death or the Wildlands stood in my way.

If someone just ran through the swamp ignorantly, they would fall into a swamp and get caught by kobolds who hide in the bushes.
Once they were caught, well… the only thing waiting for them is death.

But passing through this swamp wasn’t difficult at all for me.

“See you later!” I smirked.
After the speedrun event ends, I would have to fight against kobolds in reality until I was sick of it.
Therefore, there’s no need to fight them here.
I quickly broke through the obstacles while kicking the kobolds and headed for the deepest part.

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“Huh, huh.” I finally arrived in the deepest part of this event labyrinth.
However, it was not an actual end, but a temporary space created for the event.
All users who had reached this part had to enter their name here.
Their name will also be engraved in this place.
Naturally, the rewards would be given in this place too.
I looked through the books covered in light on top of the altar and the number 00:38:45 was waiting for me.

“38 minutes.
Whoa…” I plopped down on the floor with a smile plastered on my face.
As a result of reviewing the video, I was able to clear this place in less than one hour.
I’m quite sure nobody is going to be able to break my records.

“It was only achievable because I was well-prepared.” Knowing the route in advance, using the appropriate skills, and the help of the solar apples as well as the shadow grapes was the integral factor to my success.
If it weren’t for those things, I would never have been able to clear this place under the 1 hour mark.

It feels like I was cheating, but what can I do? This world was an unfair place in the first place.

I wrote something in the column marked as 1st.
Instead of I Love Gimbap, I used a new name…

“This is fine.” Now it’s my turn to get my rewards.
As I was about to catch my breath, a thick pouch appeared next to the book.
It was a quality leather pouch which was miles better than the ugly ones the goblins carried.

“Is this real?” When I opened it, I found a scroll and a pair of leather shoes.
First, I inspected the shoes.

「Leather Shoes: Vitality +2, Dexterity +2

The skill “Light Gait” will be automatically applied when the shoes is equipped」

“Oh, this is good!” Two stats items were still rare at this stage, and only a handful of people who were crazy enough to look for it would have it, just like Rapwi.
Moreover, I liked the Light Gait skill very much.
It reduces stamina consumption considerably.

“It works well for traveling.” I would be able to march several tens of kilometers far as if I was just going around the neighborhood.
However, it was not very effective for upper body-oriented labor.

“The design isn’t bad either…” I put the shoes into the portal and opened the scroll.

「Eyes of Truth: With 10 points, you will be able to see the ID of person you wanted」

“Well…” It’s a bit ambiguous.
Does it work only on people in real life or can it work on people in the Auction House? Then, what about people who didn’t have an ID because they never played the game? Guess I had no choice but to do some research myself.

As I packed all my belongings and climbed onto the circular ornament in front of the altar, the light enveloped me.
When I came to my senses, I was already in the parking lot where I entered the portal from.
When I looked at the place where the portal was located, it was already gone.

I went back to my hideout and opened the Auction House.
As I expected, it was still quiet.

“They are probably busy running as hard as they can right now…” It will take at least an hour for them to finish the labyrinth, so I could use a break in the meantime, maybe resting in the forest hideout is good enough.

I went into the cave and cooked dinner.
I cooked some rice in a stone pot, scraped it off, and boiled the miso soup with it.
The savory taste was excellent as it was a mixture of nurungji and miso soup.

“This is really delicious.” When I take out one of the ripe kimchi out of the fermentation bottle it becomes more delicious. 

Right now, I was the happiest man alive.

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The speedrun event was attracting a lot of people’s attention.
After all, even if someone didn’t have a great fighting skill, it’s an opportunity to get something good if they had a suitable unique ability.
In particular, a lot of awakeners with mobility-oriented unique abilities, such as blink and stealth types, were very excited.
They insisted that the one who will get 1st place will be among them.

The Auction House, as always, was a mess.

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-Wait a minute, as someone who is more than level 15, you didn’t even know the structure of the labyrinth? Have you ever tried it before?

-hehe

-hehe

-What are you laughing at, you idiots?

– Then do you know about it?

-Actually, I don’t know either.

-Lol

Because it was an anonymous forum, the delivery of accurate information couldn’t be expected.
When a great record came out of a speedrun, people on the forum spit it as nothing but bullshit without even checking the facts.
Even if it turns out to be correct, there’s nothing to refrain them from doing that.

Anonymity was just that powerful.

No matter how they enjoyed Survival Life, everyone in the Auction House was at least a semi-stagnant water.
The reason they couldn’t call themselves stagnant waters was because the difference between them and the three original stagnant waters was too high.

-Only the following three persons are recognized as Stagnant Water: Rabbit Pwincess, Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek and Survivor1.

-How about Gimbap?

-That bastard is just that bastard.

-LOL

Among the people, I Love Gimbap was a good object to mock.
The reason was simple.
They thought that since Gimbap didn’t reveal himself just like Rapwi or Duck Buttock, he must have gotten a bad ability.
Though his presence wasn’t as weak as Survivor 1, he must have been able to survive by hiding, so people were mocking him as a coward.
However, that’s not the only reason.
People were also still angry about the fact that he didn’t share his videos to the world.

-You dare to live well alone?

Though no one said so, there were probably quite a lot of people who thought so.

Anyway, at the Auction House, I Love Gimbap was treated as public enemy #1.
If he appeared in the Auction House, he would instantly experience just how colourful Korean curse words are.
It was all possible because the Auction House guarantees anonymity.

Anyway, the reason the speedrun event attracted quite a lot of people’s attention was because in this apocalyptic world, there were only a handful of things which were as fun as the event.
Most people thought that they should enjoy something like this to the fullest by either participating or just praising someone who got a good record or making fun of someone who did poorly.
It was an event which could take someone’s life if they’re not careful.
However, for the spectators, it was an irrelevant fact. 

-We just need to eat popcorn while waiting for the one who gets the first place.

-But there’s no popcorn…

-There’s only a lukewarm cola.

While people were chatting at the Auction House, users who had decided to try the speedrun event finally came back.
The comment section, which was messy as it is, turned even more chaotic as both real information and rumours came in.

-What kind of bastard can clear it in just 56 minutes? Is it really possible to do it in under one hour?

-You bastard, do you believe in that?

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-The fucking kobolds are the problem.
Those bastards live in a very dangerous swamp, so I spend all my time there.

-Can’t you just use your blink?

-What good is blink when there’s no vision at all?

…

-Woah… a few people just died.
They thought it was a goblin’s den and went in a group.

-You crazy bastard! Hahahahahahah! That portal could only be entered by one person at a time! Stop lying!

– So what’s going on? Is it finished yet? Who is the 1st place?

-People who had cleared the labyrinth, tell us the truth, how long is your record?

-It’s 1 hour and 52 minutes.
The kobold forest was a real challenge.

-When will the rankings come out?

-I heard that the ranking page will only appear when all the portals are closed.

-By the way, did you guys meet foreigners in the labyrinth?

-Ah right! I met some Japanese people.
The guys I met spoke Korean so well, so at first, I thought they were Korean.

-That’s worrying…

-However, the Japanese can’t play Seola, right?

-Hey! Hey! The ranking page is up.

When the information came, people immediately went to the ranking page almost at the same time.
Then, they lost all of their words. 

「1st place: That Bastard 

Clear time: 0:38:45」

-?

-What?

-Is that real?

-If it’s That Bastard, is it I Love Gimbap?

-That one is I Love Gimbap’s record?

-Is it really possible to clear it in under one hour? Everyone who had tried it said it’s impossible, though? Is it bugged?

-This is legit information.
I saw it too.

Soon after, all hell broke loose in the Auction House.