ALL NOVEL Chapter 21: The Debate (1)
“Why not just kill them? It’s simple, there’s nothing to gain from killing them,” Ryu Min explained.
“Nothing to gain?” Sang-cheol asked, feeling disappointed by the response.
“Yeah, killing them won’t benefit us,” Ryu Min replied, glancing over at Hwang Yong-min’s group, who were all avoiding eye contact. “Also if we kill them it will backlash….”
“Backlash?” An Sang-cheol asked, confused.
Hwang Yongmin and his friends breathed a sigh of relief when Ryu Min confirmed that they didn’t have to kill anyone.
In this game, only half of the survivors can live through each round. The achievers take their place, but if the population decreases, the achievers’ chances decrease as well. It was important to keep as many survivors alive as possible.
As Ryu Min turned to leave, Sang-cheol called out to him. “Black Scythe, can we at least get your bank account number so we can repay you in real life?”
“Not necessary,” Ryu Min replied coolly, disappearing into the forest.
Sang-cheol was impressed by Ryu Min’s generosity. “He helped us without asking for anything in return.”
Sang-cheol felt a great deal of admiration for Ryu Min’s lack of greed.
“We won’t bother with those trash anymore,” Sang-cheol said, feeling grateful.
Now he needed to report back this incident to the representative as soon as possible.
As he turned to leave, he noticed the men who had attacked him earlier whimpering in pain. He wanted to kill them, but as Ryu Min had said, there was nothing to gain from it.
An Sang-cheol also noticed Seo Arin’s gaze. “Let’s go, Arin.”
“Yes,” Seo Arin replied, and they both left the area together.
***
In the forest, some players hunted and leveled up while in the open field, a heated debate was taking place.
The discussion quickly turned into a market-like atmosphere, with people vying for attention.
“Vote for me, I have what it takes to be the district representative!” one person shouted.
“No, I’m more qualified than any of these small fries! Vote for me!” another argued.
“What? Small fry? Do you want me to tear your head off, you son of a bitch?”
“Hey, you two! Don’t fight! Wouldn’t it be better to work together instead of fighting?”
“Right. Someone who gets so easily agitated like that isn’t fit to be a representative. I’d rather be the representative. Please support me!”
“You don’t need any of them. My father is a member of the National Assembly! Wouldn’t it be better for someone like me to be the representative?”
“What bullshit. Prove it, you bastard!”
Insults and curses were flying back and forth from every direction.
Many people spoke as they pleased, perhaps because they had customized their appearance.
Suddenly, a young man with a firm face clapped his hands and calmed the crowd. He went by the nickname of “Minchul Youth.”
“Hey, everyone! We don’t have time to waste like this. We need to choose a representative quickly! We only have two hours left!”
His loud and commanding voice caught everyone’s attention.
“So how are we going to choose our representative?”
“Does anyone have a good idea?”
As people listened closely, the young man smiled inwardly.
“As expected, [Rune of Persuasion] is working!”
He was disappointed when he first pulled the random rune piece and got the Rune of Persuasion. After all, it was a useless rune that didn’t work on monsters. However, it wasn’t the case with people. No matter what he said, people listened and acknowledged him. That’s what the Rune of Persuasion was all about.
“It’s not a scammy rune either. It just says that the chances of persuasion increase with proper explanation.”
His words didn’t always get through, but he could persuade people most of the time. With the Rune of Persuasion, he easily passed the first round by using people as shields to defeat 100 goblins.
“If I use it wisely, I could become the district representative. Hehe.”
While he was laughing to himself, people started to argue again.
“Mincho Young! Tell us quickly! Don’t you have any good ideas?”
“I do.”
“What is it?”
“Why don’t we choose candidates not just one candidate first? After we pick five candidates, we can choose one of them them.”
“Well, that’s not a bad idea, is it?”
“Well, it’s not gonna work if we just ask each other to vote for ourselves like a bunch of sheep.”
People nodded in agreement with the young man’s opinion. However, there were opposing opinions.
“I mean, who’s going to be the candidates, and what criteria will be used to choose them?”
“Exactly. If we’re not on the candidate list, we won’t even have a chance.”
“How about we just draw lots so it can be fair?”
Despite some objections, the young man never lost his smile.
“If persuasion doesn’t work at first, then I’ll just have to keep persuading.”
As long as their levels were the same, the Rune of Persuasion worked. Eventually, things would go his way.
And it did.
“Without paper or pen, how are we going to draw lots and control 5,000 people?”
“Uh….”
“Well, I guess you have a point.”
The young man persuaded the objectors again, and they nodded in agreement.
“It’s easy to incite these pigs. Hahaha.”
The young man laughed and spoke again.
“Then, shall we nominate five candidates? If you have any recommendations, raise your hand and speak up one by one. However, you cannot nominate yourself. Otherwise, everyone will try to become a candidate.”
“Ah…”
“That makes sense.”
“Ugh, I was going to recommend myself…”
No one nominated any candidates.
After they agreed on nominating someone else, there was no one that came to mind.