Turning the Hunt Around

I kept running.

‘And—’

My legs didn’t stop for even a second, while my eyes scanned the map.

‘Green dots.’

Among the countless green dots, a few stood out—marked with a stamped symbol, “中.”

‘Those must be my territory’s people.’

At a glance, the numbers seemed about right.

This candidate’s phase is DAY 4.

A seed bound to this candidate’s ‘Model Garden’ exists.

Since the turn has passed, tax will soon be collected.

Time remaining until tax collection: 10 minutes

Damn it. Seriously.

Maybe the system didn’t intend this—but for me, this was the worst part.

‘Tax…?’

Being treated unfairly was one thing.

[N/S: If I failed to pay this, I had no idea what kind of penalty would follow.]

The fact it was marked N/S instead of R meant even the outcome wasn’t predictable.

This—this was the real crisis breathing down my neck.

Current points: 39,610

※ Points cannot be used to pay taxes.

Why the hell not?

If the system heard me, it’d probably sneer—asking why I thought I could pay income tax with convenience store points.

But it was the one that never explained anything properly in the first place.

‘There has to be a way.’

My thoughts raced.

‘39,610 points.’

I couldn’t use them for tax—but I could use them in the shop.

The missing 200 points? That was from buying the item “Divine Horse Georu’s Legs.”

A time-limited item, at that.

‘Still… shouldn’t I at least get some kind of achievement for running this hard?’

Actions performed via items are not considered proficient.

……

Time until ‘Lord (Central / Count / Item-bound)’ title removal shortened

Remaining time: 10:20

Remaining time: 8:03

Remaining time: 7:47

For a moment, I looked up.

It felt strange—like staring out from a spaceship window.

Pitch-black emptiness, filled with green lights scattered like a galaxy.

“!”

Then—something wrapped around my leg.

Before I could react, it tightened and yanked.

By the time I came to, my limbs were bound—shackled like some hunted animal.

“Got him!”

A voice shouted.

At first muffled—then quickly turning into cheers.

“We got him!”

“We caught him!”

One by one, people began to appear.

‘Let’s test something.’

Purchased item: Black Armor Spear (1-time use)

Current points: 39,200

Slice.

A spear from a tiny black-armored soldier—too small for the eye to catch—cut through the rope binding me.

My limbs were free again.

The cluster of green dots that had rushed toward me scattered instantly.

“The rope got cut!”

“How?!”

The confusion didn’t last long.

“Don’t panic!”

A cold voice cut through the noise.

Silence fell immediately.

I checked the map.

Amid the swarm of green dots, one orange dot stood out clearly.

Rank 2 or above.

A leader.

Then—my vision flipped.

I was bound again, hanging upside down.

‘…This reminds me of that dream.’

The punishment room.

As the thought crossed my mind, I adjusted the system.

Switching ‘Map Mode’ from Full Mode to Partial Mode.

The surroundings were still dark, but now only those nearby were visible.

Dots flickered faintly above them, marking their stats.

“Hmm, what an honor—to see such a noble face.”

I smiled at the one standing in front.

The orange dot.

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

A face I’d seen near Jeok-o.

“Hmm… what was your name again?”

“……”

“Ah. Oh-heum. Right?”

He didn’t answer—just stared at me coldly.

Clearly displeased.

I called DAY 4 the “Loyalty Test.”

While the Eastern and Northern factions struggled with it, the Western faction thrived.

‘Jeok-o had followers even before coming here.’

In all the routes I’d seen, he was never betrayed.

If Imok was the small king of the East—

Jeok-o was the undisputed “leader” among all youths in the West.

Sometimes admiration outweighed power.

“Which is why people hovered around him… trying to get noticed. Even sneaking into punishment rooms.”

Like the man in front of me.

Finally, he spoke.

“To think you were the Central Lord.”

“Oh? You recognize me too?”

I laughed.

He didn’t.

Rude bastard.

“Impressive. Someone close to your lord remembering someone like me.”

“I argued that you should be killed before coming to Bran.”

He ignored my tone completely.

His eyes were sharp.

“But our leader—no, the Western Lord—refused. I was disappointed. But he was right. Even someone like you can be useful.”

“Pick one—leader or lord.”

You’re confusing yourself.

“However you used dirty tricks to become the Central Lord…”

He glanced upward.

Time until title removal: 5:47

“You don’t have much time left to pretend.”

“Seems that way.”

Time until tax collection: 47 seconds

“I’ll cut off this rotten root here and now.”

The shackles tightened further.

He stepped closer.

His hand twisted unnaturally—turning into a massive claw.

“Ah, right.”

I muttered.

“Was it Oh-heum… or Oh-soon?”

Didn’t matter. No time to care.

I looked back at the map.

Green dots—dense, endless.

Like stars.

Watching me.

Among them—my own marked people.

‘Of course. I came here on purpose.’

Did they really think I’d been running blindly?

Time until title removal: 5:30

“If you kill me, you get the entire Central Territory.”

He scoffed.

“And it’ll belong to our leader.”

“But it’s a complete mess. I wrecked it pretty badly.”

The walls—everything.

“That can be fixed.”

“For West or North, sure.”

“Obviously—”

I cut him off.

“But not for your little model garden.”

That wasn’t meant for him.

“I’ll give it to you instead. I don’t need it.”

“What nonsense—”

God, I wish he’d shut up.

Too much loyalty was just as bad as none.

Unlike Imok—

Jeok-o had followers like this.

Time until title removal: 5:20

Time until tax collection: 20 seconds

“And I’ll throw in the power to survive.”

Current points: 39,200

“Let’s start with a welcome drink.”

Current points: 38,800

36,998

36,420

35,237

34,600

33,305

31,000

30,079

30,000

29,999

29,800

Buffing myself was pointless.

But others? Different story.

“How about it?”

The items I summoned from the shop began circling me.

Maybe others couldn’t see them—

But my ‘seeds’ definitely felt something.

If the target accepts, item effects will apply.

I spoke to those unseen followers.

“Which looks more useful?

A ruined wasteland you can’t even control—

or my buy-one-get-one deal?”

I didn’t need an answer.

Seeds have accepted item effects.

Seeds have accepted item effects.

Seeds have accepted item effects.

Seeds have accepted item effects.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

One by one, confirmations rang out.

On the map—

Several green dots turned golden.

At the same time—

Figures appeared behind me.

Below me.

All around me.

Blades flashed—

Swords, spears, knives tearing through the air.

And on the dark map—

The green dots surrounding me began to disappear.