I finally read til Chapter 56. Thank god that there are some people Editing this series, because DICE not only gets more thrilling with each chapter, it is also overall way better than most other Webtoons I read.
I like Dongtae more when he is not obsessed with Taebin. That's why I didn't like him at the beginning but during the course of the series I came to like him more and more, since the plot didn't allow him to think much about Taebin.
It was splendid when Dongtae accepted X's quest to fodderize the group who tried to trap him. Action and artwork were amazing. I'm really curious about the final power of the Dice. I was a little bit sceptical whenever the scene changed to Mio, but watching her turned out to be pretty funny.
I was really shocked to hear that Eunju asked Taebin out. This must be heavy hit for Dongtae. Dunno what kind of role Eunju will play as the plot moves on, but things are going to be very interesting from now on. Aside from that, I'm asking myself if there are more/other Dicers in other countries or not.
Hey, we have new people and people returning here! For half a year now, this place has been populated by me, Jaemmin, Shaheer and Son-Derling only! Welcome (back), syx and EMS!
Well, chapter 57 marks the end of the Dongtae x Eunju ship. The purpose of the first panel in this chapter and in the two preceding ones couldn't be clearer. I'm a little sad, but the author did it in a credible way, so I can live with that. Now, say hello to the Dongtae x Mio ship!
The first purpose of which, by the way, is almost certainly to make Mio into an A Ranker. Dongtae is pissed with himself right now, feeling lovelorn and stupid for having made unwarranted assumptions about Eunju, and there he meets a girl ready to give him a place in her heart. Who wouldn't take the plunge in these circumstances?
So I can see Mio finally entering Dongtae's house and spending quality time with him. Quest accomplished!
… and that may be the problem.
First off, if Mio is rewarded right in front of Dongtae, he will feel himself in Eunju's position when he got his Gold Die in front of her after having protected her. An obvious question will be: "was she willing to spend time with me just because of a quest?"
Now, Dongtae would have to be stupid or a hypocrite to bite that bait. By now he knows that X uses desires to issue quests. Just as the reward in his case didn't change the fact that he wanted to protect Eunju no matter what, he must be able to conclude now that the same was the case with Mio: despite the reward, she really wanted to be with him. However, because X stretches and bends the desires, he won't be able to tell how far Mio was willing to go. The promise of a reward poisons the spontaneity, as I said before.
Still, just as Eunju and he eventually overcame the awkwardness, I'm sure Dongtae and Mio will as well, if both are willing.
But there is another problem. Taebin said, "A Rankers cannot be allies", and Moo Young said "There will be inevitable war between A Rankers". Does that mean that Mio and Dongtae will be enemies in a very near future?
Maybe. Or maybe Mio's role in the plot is the same as Eunju's, but in another level. Just as Eunju resisted the allure of Dice, Mio will resist, along with Dongtae and Taebin, the allure of falling into the immoral pit and losing their humanity in an attempt to become an S Ranker.
I'd say this is a very slippery slope. Even if they refuse to fight, the situation will be fraught with complications, two of which are:
i) Even if they choose not to fight in the war, how will they be able to ward off attacks from other A Rankers?
ii) Even if they do ward off these attacks, are they really okay with someone else - someone immoral and dangerous like Mooyoung - becoming an S Ranker and presumably achieving much greater power? Won't they have to fight out of necessity?
We'll have to wait and see, and I am more eager than ever!
Still… now that Eunju's role as Dongtae's love interest and moral beacon is (presumably) over, I am curious about what her role in the story will be. Maybe she will fall into temptation, use the Dice and become even worse than the other Dicers? (I'll be VERY annoyed if this happens.) Who knows, but I am curious.
Another thing I am also curious about is what readers will make of Eunju's last cursing of Dice existence. Clearly, from Eunju's point of view, Dice shouldn't exist, and who can blame her? Everyone around her except for Dongtae and Mio is giving free rein to their vilest instincts in pursuit of Dice. It's not only that her life is miserable now - that would be a selfish reason -, but that she can see friend turning on friend, and making themselves miserable in the process. Because she sees Dice for what they are, and the implications of the quest system, she understands how this is going to end.
But Dongtae doesn't. He still fails to see the larger picture: because he remains moral, and his life has generally improved because of Dice, he cannot accept that they shouldn't exist, because he is still thankful to them for letting him escape his wretched existence. Even now, with students going for the kill over Dice, he cannot bring himself to admit that their overall impact in the world has been detrimental.
And the irony doesn't escape me that Dongtae was shocked during the Pandora arc when Eunju said she was going to keep the Dice. He clearly couldn't conceive of her becoming a Dicer. The implication here is that deep down he expects her to be above those things, and cannot accept her debasing herself by using them. That's a little hypocritical: does he mean it's okay for him to debase himself? It's okay for him to improve himself by using Dice, but not for her.
Maybe he is better off with Mio. He has a great heart, but not quite yet in the same league as hers.
Dongtae turn into a bad ass, I know he will get the woman, I think dice is getter better each chapter , I'm just hoping that we get chapter more often..
I must say it: Dongtae and Mio do get along very well. I really liked this chapter.
I think I understand why. The problem with Eunju was that he had put her in a pedestal: Dongtae had never been able to relax around her. He was either nurturing a platonic love towards her, or struggling in the friend zone, or protecting her. The two have never been really level, although this is not her fault but his. The panels where he leaves her in chapter 57 are a good metaphor of this: she remains in the top of the staircase and Dongtae descends it, away from her. He seems to have realised that, as long as she is in a higher sphere, he cannot reach her, and he has finally given up trying.
But with Mio, he can relax, share present moments with her without the tension of unrequited love. If their relationship does evolve into love, it will be a natural consequence of being together, laughing together and sharing good moments. It doesn't have to do with their being equals (otherwise this manhwa would transmit a disturbing message that only people who are alike can go together) but with the fact that Dongtae treats Mio with a naturality that he has never been able to develop towards Eunju. He was unable to explain to Eunju the origin of the blood even though it had to do with her, but told everything to Mio matter-of-factly while eating (even though he seems to have omitted details). This probably means that, as a Dicer, he feels somewhat ashamed before Eunju, and not before Mio.
Still, there's one thing that disturbs me about Mio: she is too pushy. I guess it is okay to make Dongtae feel guilty in order to get him to take her to his home for dinner, but her last little ruse to get to stay in his house overnight was way over the top and I wouldn't be surprised if Dongtae freaks out in the next chapter. I fear that she may turn psycho the moment Dongtae crosses her for real. In any case, right now, their relationship is pretty healthy and makes me want to see more.
And she still doesn't get it: no matter what X says, she is being manipulated by him. Or does she think she would have gone so far as to enter his house in their first date if there weren't a quest riding on this? Even if dating Dongtae has been her intention all along, the fact is that X uses that wish to push the person a little further, with all sorts of possible consequences. That's the problem with the Quest System, and only Eunju seems to understand it.
This time, the consequences are going to be quite dramatic: she is the last A Ranker needed for the rules to change. I wonder whether she will be getting the See-through vision: Dongtae has Time Pause, Taebin has Teleportation, Daewoong has Cloaking, Sungchul has Flight and Gilma has Psychokinesis. There's Miju that we know of as well (the girl who kidnapped Eunju and has just thrown acid on the face of her friend), so it doesn't have to be one person for each skill. But we still have four chapters until the end of the first season, so I expect some plot twist to happen until there.
And of course, as I pointed out in a comment above, the Die is awarded at the moment and place where the quest is completed. I really hope that Dongtae isn't a hypocrite and sees Mio in a bad light the moment it materialises: he is far too familiar with X and his quests to blame Mio. Besides, if anything, the quest confirms that being with him was Mio's desire, and for this Dongtae ought to feel at least flattered.
I haven't read the spoilers - I'm resisting bravely - but chapter 59 took her pushiness to another level. When I first looked at the panel, I really thought she had crossed the bridge that must not be crossed and stolen Dongtae's first kiss, but then I saw it was in the cheek.
Still, I like the way the two are relating. On that respect, not much has changed since last chapter, so I have nothing to add.
So the mysterious Die is growing? What is that supposed to mean? I know that when the Prologue boy found the Dice, they were in all sizes, some bigger than a human being, so I guess this will have meaning later. How big it will become, I wonder…
As for Daewoong, he is going to witness something? I really hope he doesn't die, I like it when minor villains change to the good side and help the hero. And he really hasn't understood that if he is Cloaked, there is no need to hide behind a corner.
Finally, the author seems to be trying really hard to make us readers understand the moral slippery slope of the Dice and quest system. The analogy with Monopoly-like games is fitting, and not just because of the Desert Island card, but because in Monopoly, when you gain something, it is always at the expense of someone else and the goal of the game is to be the last man standing after everyone else is driven bankrupt. Mio is helplessly blind to the problem, but I hope at least Dongtae will realise it eventually.
@Son-Derling: I never said she didn't want it, I just said that she might not have been so audacious as to enter his house in the first date if she had not a quest to do it.
So, I've read Son-Derling's spoiler and chapter 60.
Okay, I admit Mio's pushiness is baffling, and she would probably have gone just as far if she had had no quest. Still, her fear that Dongtae finds out there is a quest is something that she is certainly factoring in. My argument that the quests poison the spontaneity of human desires stands: the other person will never be able to be completely sure that a Dicer isn't slowly changed by the quests they receive (and the story has shown that it is not even that slowly), and of how strong their desires would have been without quests.
But we will have more to discuss on that respect in the future, I'm sure. Not least because, despite the clear tendency of the plot to gravitate towards Mio x Dongtae, Naver has chosen a picture of Dongtae and Eunju to illustrate the series when Season Two started. I take this to mean that, even if they don't end up together, Eunju and Dongtae will continue to be the male and female protagonists of this series.
About this chapter, though, I was very positively impressed by the interaction of Mio and Dongtae. I believed in a Eunju x Dongtae pairing just two weeks ago, but now I am fully in the Mio x Dongtae boat. Their ability to be frank to each other, and the slow overcoming of the awkwardness of their first date were really well plotted out by the manhwaga.
By the way, what is the age segment of DICE? At first I thought it was purely in the shoonen slot, but it is quite serious and although not gory, can be violent at times. I still believe it is shoonen, but if it is not, we can expect some naked flesh in the next chapter. I'd love to see Dongtae and Mio losing virginity to each other, but I guess that is too much for this kind of series.
And in any case, I don't think it is going to happen. Either X will choose to be a bastard again and interrupt the two with the arrival of the Gold Die for Mio, or Dongtae will lose his mettle in the last minute.
And there is something else. My gut feeling tells me that, whenever an author builds up a beautiful relationship this quickly, they mean to shatter it to pieces at the first opportunity. I don't know, Dongtae and Mio went from mere acquaintances to blushing, panting and sweating in the early hours of the morning in less than a week. And all of that fueled by Dice. It is too contrived for my taste, and at odds with the moral compass of this series. But I need to see more to decide what I believe.
Still, Dongtae has, for the first time, scowled while thinking of Eunju. I don't think he has any hard feelings towards her, but he is fed up with the futility of his attempts and mad at himself for having wasted his time in a fool's errand. He wants to leave her behind for serious, now, has the power and physical attributes to find a girl to offer him a place in her heart, and knows it, too.
Poor Eunju. It seems she can do no right, even though she IS right. People seem to get mad at her, or at themselves because of her, just because she is the way she is (as if she could help it). Whatever happens from now on, I still hope she can be happy in the end, no one is more deserving in my opinion.
On unrelated matters, it's time to die, traitors! Moo Young has arrived and I doubt he is there just to help those Dicer nullities with their wounds. I think he is about to do to them what he did to the previous group Taebin belonged to. Stay put and invisible, Daewoong, and then rush for help, from Dongtae preferably!
I can't believe we are almost catching up to the Korean raws! I'm on the edge of my chair!
So, chapter 61.
DONGTAE, YOU SEA ANEMONE!
How could you reject such a fine girl after having accepted all her advances!?
You have deserved all the punching and kicking, idiot.
Still, there isn't much to comment in this chapter on their relationship. They are growing closer, and Mio is playing her cards mostly right. However, I'm sure she won't get to tell him about becoming an A Ranker, because I think Dongtae is going to tell her about the incoming war.
I think this is coming to bite her back in the future.
Now, she has the See-through Vision. I wonder what it is exactly, and how useful it will be.
About Dongtae… he really needs to mature a little. Either he has given up on Eunju for good, or he hasn't. Being haunted by the past is no good way to start a new life.
By the way, did you notice the crossed "double date" on Mio's to-do list? I think the other couple will be Taebin and Eunju, and I think things will come to a head then. I hope it happens soon…
As for Eunju, I think this is the first time that the narration focuses exclusively on her, unrelated to Dongtae.
I guess there will be people who will regard her nostalgia for the good old times of the class photo as hypocritical. After all, there are a couple of bullied people in the photo - Mio and Dongtae - and a couple of bullies, too, like Hyunjo in the foreground. So of course that picture with people together and smiling doesn't reflect the reality of school life then. Life might havee been good for her, but it wasn't for others in the picture. I'm sure Mio and Dongtae wouldn't have fond memories of that photo.
But I don't think that's what Eunju has in mind. Given her opinion about Dice and the quest system, I think she regards that as a time when, despite the troubles, everyone at least was able to pose for a picture together, something that would be unthinkable now with the discord seeded by the appearance of Dice. They were not trying to hurt each other for good (I'm not underestimating the problem of bullying, but the scale is not comparable), and I think Eunju misses togetherness - the feeling that she is part of a group of friends taking life on together. That's her motivation to be part of a chorus: she doesn't want to shine alone, she wants to be part of something that shines. I can understand why she is so irked by Dice, and she is right, too.
(A nice touch is that she is not in the middle of the picture. So Eunju, despite all of her attributes, doesn't try to be the centre of the world.)
But I wonder why she clings so strongly to Taebin… they must have had really good moments together. That bastard, what is he doing?
Well, the final Die enables one to change the world. I bet the A Rankers will react differently when they find it out. Mooyoung has embraced the notion completely and has begun another killing spree. I just hope Daewoong survives, but this may be the common set up when the witness who thinks themselves safe is suddenly found out and killed to highlight just how powerful the villain is. Maybe Mooyoung can see through Cloaking using some skill?
In any case, I wonder how Mio will react to the idea. That may be the beginning of her descent.
Well, we are only two chapters behind now, but the people at Dicescans have said that after 62 there will be no releases until after the 27th. Next week will be a difficult one for waiting…
Wow, we almost catched up with the raws, which are only 2-3 chapters ahead of us. That's great!
Dongtae and Mio really works fine for me. I don't feel annyoed nor bored watching them. In fact, after the action filled chapters before, this is exactly those kind of chapters I need to calm down before heading to the next arc. The interaction between Dongtae and Mio was both hilarious and intense, always at the right time. Nothing felt forced or out of character. Just thinking back when Mio attacked Dongtae and a note saying that Mio's attack was super effective or when Mio kicked Dongtae's balls saying that he wouldn't need them anyway (after he stopped making out with her) puts a big smile on my face.
Anyway, it seems that there are enough A-Rankers to change the rules. Things will get more interesting from now on I think. And we have confirmation that X is indeed a human being. At least it appears so from the looks of it. I'm really liking the direction the author takes!
Anyway, it seems that there are enough A-Rankers to change the rules. Things will get more interesting from now on I think. And we have confirmation that X is indeed a human being. At least it appears so from the looks of it. I'm really liking the direction the author takes!
Hear, hear, I am also more and more interested in this (as if that were possible… the last time I wrote a mini-essay on each chapter I read as it came out was with Beelzebub, almost two years ago). Still, I must point out that I wasn't surprised by getting a better look at X. I had always assumed he was the boy in the prologue (the theory of it being about Dongtae's past life always seemed far-fetched and unwarranted to me).
Dicescans people are really fast (I'm surprised how a three-person team working in Blogger is essentially mopping the floor with Lonemanga, an upstart group who has earned a reputation for quick releases - although they also have my gratitude and I read all English versions as they come out), so my fingers are crossed for a release this weekend as well.
chapter 62 will be out on tuesday (usualy when he says that it is the late evening before that day...so in around 48 hours) and chapter 63 and 64(where the raw will come out tomorrow) on the next weekend....chapter 65 we will basicaly get scanlated live...raw comes out on sunday(28th) and they will release it monday (29th september)
Still, I must point out that I wasn't surprised by getting a better look at X. I had always assumed he was the boy in the prologue (the theory of it being about Dongtae's past life always seemed far-fetched and unwarranted to me).
Well, many people think the prologue kid is X, but even though it may be the case, I'm more inclined to believe that he will turn out to be a good guy who is currently hunting X and will ally with Dongtae in the future. To make it short, I imagine him as someone who fell into X's hands and later realized that X is a real threat who has to be dealt with. Similar to Dongtae, but with far more knowledge about the Dice and ways, tricks as well as loopholes to fight off X. Or let's just say I would prefer such an outcome more, since it would have a greater surprise effect than the other way around.
Isnt the battle a bit mismatched? i mean tabeins whole team failed to deal with this guy and from then this guy got a lot powerful i bet on this. Dontage just became a dicer its like pitching pickachu against Goku and expecting an outcome from pickachu...
Dontage would be slaughtered if he fights this guy
It was a magnificent chapter, so much to write about… let's go bit by bit.
i) Mooyoung
He is even more dangerous than I expected. I thought it was only killing the victims (and they do seem to die from what I've seen), but it's worse, he steals their Dice and makes himself stronger in the process.
(Although I must admit I cheered to see Gilma's end… the bastard lived to be necklifted and strangled, so it was fitting. Good riddance, traitor.)
There are people saying that Dongtae is no match to Mooyoung right now but, while this is certainly true, I don't think the gap in power is that big. Remember, human skills can only be maxed out within the limits of the human body. Hence, Mooyoung is probably someone who maxed out all of his physical and intellectual attributes, and is a perfect human being.
But Dongtae and Taebin are probably not far behind. Dongtae has maxed out Agility, and both can crack concrete with their bare fists, so their strength and endurance must be close to maximum as well (Taebin, for example, is so strong that his punch hurt Daewoong more than a car could). Mooyoung's edge is probably more due to the fact that, with so many blue Dice snatched from his victims, he can use his special skills for much longer times and distances than the other two.
And still, he has lost to X once. I wonder what the challenge is, but losing means being back to square zero, because if he has only three skills now, it must mean he lost all the six (or maybe just five, his original one remaining in the end) he had accumulated when X defeated him.
Personally, I think Mooyoung is on a fool's errand. X is probably much beyond humanity now, and he probably can read Mooyoung easily as a book.
Well, it's clear now why he is not interested in fighting Dongtae: he already has Time Pause. By the same token, Taebin is also safe. Sungchul, Mio and Daewoong should beware the danger (although Sungchul can die for all I care). Mio is not so much in danger, though, because right now Mooyoung doesn't know she is an A Ranker or what her skill is, and her ability allows her to detect him before he detects her.
ii) Dice
Their true nature is even scarier than I thought. I believe no one can now say there's anything benign about them. Even Mio, Taebin and Dongtae, at best, are fools, or deluded to think that they can come clean. Let's not forget that Mio created Gilma by giving him a Die in exchange for information on Eunju.
It's even scarier that losing all Dice means death. But it is in the rules: no one can revoke their Dicership.
iii) Mio
I am really glad for her that the skill is not passive (we know it isn't, otherwise she would have noticed it the moment she acquired it and looked at Dongtae), otherwise she would go crazy. However, the irony of being reminded of her hated previous appearance whenever she sees herself in the mirror with the skill on… may be too much for her to cope with. The skill is very useful, but she may be the most vulnerable one right now: unless she allies with someone to provide protection or attack power, she can only hide effectively, nothing more.
Ironically, she is a little closer to Eunju, metaphorically. Now she can see the pre-Dicership versions of Dicers, she can see beyond appearances just as Eunju can. Only for Mio this looks a lot like some sort of punishment.
iv) Dongtae
Frankly, I'm a little ticked off by his immaturity. "I don't want to fight!?" Please, Dongtae, accept the consequences of your decisions. This has never had anything to do with what you wanted. You should've listened to Eunju or your own conciousness.
it seems however DOntages time pause can have no effect on this guy, I remember Dontage seeing this guys silhouette moving when he paused time once. Teleportation against him wont be too effective either Tabein did try to fight but he ran out seeing the last of his friend die. Not to mention he is seriously scared of him. I m sure he is as far as human ability is concerned stronger than Dontage yet even he is scared. The battle is too mismatched....
I think Time Pause users are immune to Time Pause itself, even if it is cast by another Dicer.
Now, about chapter 63.
I'm still not sure whether losing all your Dice means dying. Maybe only A Rankers die, and B Rankers just revert to their pre-Dicership condition. If that is so, whether they can begin collecting Dice from scratch is also something we will have to find out, but I'm not sure that during the PVP stage the usual forms of acquiring Dice - completing quests and satisfying desires - are still valid. Maybe not.
I guess we have to see more Dicers be defeated: for example, this fight on the roof is going to tell us something. I doubt they will kill each other in broad daylight, in the middle of the school.
Other than that, there's little to comment on this chapter. I was curious as to why X gathers exactly 16 A Rankers to before starting the PVP stage (as this clearly happened before). Then I realised: there are 16 chess pieces of each colour, and X is constantly shown playing chess. Which essentially tells readers, once again, that Dicers are mere puppets, or pawns, in his hands.
I wonder whether the author will carry this metaphor further and assign pieces to the main characters. I'd say Taebin is a Bishop, Daewoong may be a Tower, and Dongtae is a Knight. The King is probably Moo Young, but who would be the Queen? Logic says it would be Mio (Miju is too unimportant to be more than a pawn), but I get the feeling it is Eunju.
As for the rest of the chapter, we have a few A Rankers that have not been introduced properly yet, but for now I'll just wait and see. Can't wait for the next one!
Wonderful chapters (62-64)! This series is getting better and better.
Even though PVP is not really what I hoped for when X talked about changing the rules, I have to admit that seeing how the story goes on, PVP seems inevitable under such circumstances. PVP may be even the better (simpler) choice instead of implementing tons of rules hampering the progress of the story. So I'm fine with it.
So, Mooyoung already lost to X once. That was indeed a surprise to hear. Sadly, this fact made Mooyung instantly uninteresting. It's like kendama said, X can read him like a book. He is no threat to X at all. I'm sure that X doesn't even care about Mooyoung, as he expects him to lose/die anyway at given time by someone with much more potential. But for now, Mooyoung is probably the most dangerous A-Ranker out there. He is experienced, has far more knowledge and abilities than any other. He will surely be one of the last man standing and neither Taebin or Dongtae are a match to him at this point imo.
Mio's ability is actually pretty cool. As long as she isn't confronted in direct combat, she can do some crazy shit with that ability in the backgroud. Just imagine her telling Dongtae about her ability and teaming up with him. She could identify any A Ranker in range without them noticing. Maybe she can even see more than the chapter showed so far.
As for Taebin vs. Dongtae, I don't expect much action here. The guy with the headphones will surely interrupt them before shit hits the fan.
Now, what a great day this is! Double release on the series and we caught up to the raws! The down side is that now we will have to wait a whole week for each chapter, which is nothing less than torture in the case of DICE.
Now, chapter 64 is really uneventful in terms of plot progression. It is more of a set-up chapter. Still, a couple of comments are in good order.
First, I am really curious as to what Dokgo Kim is getting at. Hyungmo Wun has a point: as far as I can see there is no reason for B Rankers to fight, as only A Rankers qualify for the final Die. Unless Dokgo Kim thinks that if he maxes out every human skill he can take on an A Ranker even without a special skill of his own, his actions make no sense. If that is what he is thinking, and he intends to fill the 16th "slot" that became vacant with Gilma's death/defeat, the man has a death wish: he doesn't even know what all the special skills are, and he thinks he can hold his ground against an A Ranker? He would last what, 15 seconds?
As for Dongtae and Taebin, I loved the "unlike someone, I liked studying from the start". It's true, Dongtae wasn't even a hard-working student like Mio, and I loved to see that thrown at his face (his expression was priceless).
Of course, the fight is not going to happen. But man, if it did, it would be a sight to behold. We are talking about the two most powerful Dicers other than Mooyoung: both are extremely strong and agile, and know more about Dice than everyone else.
At first, I thought Taebin was crazy to pick up a fight with Dongtae, because with the possible exception of Cloaking, Time Pause is probably the strongest skill.
Then I realised that Time Pause only gives Dongtae a first strike advantage. Of course, he can one-hit knock out an average B Ranker and for that Time Pause is more than enough. But in the case of Taebin (or Daewoong, for that matter) that would hardly work, and then his opponent would be released from Time Pause by having made contact with Dongtae. After Dongtae's first attack failed, the fight would begin for good, and then it could go anywhere. Quite possibly Taebin would win, as he is a veteran Dicer relative to Dongtae and probably has maxed out more skills, like Stamina and Endurance.
Still, I don't think Taebin would go for the kill in Dongtae's case. His past indicates he is more moral than that. He will probably only extract Dice from people who attack him first. He probably just wants to give Dongtae a sense of the danger of PVP, and of how vulnerable he is, maybe to compel Dongtae to lie low and avoid fighting. And of course, he wants information on Mooyoung.
The kid with the headphones is almost certainly an A Ranker, and I'll just guess out of the blue that he is of the traitor kind: he will pretend to want to ally and be friendly, Taebin will want nothing of it but Dongtae will bite the bait, and later he will turn on Dongtae to extract his Dice. I wonder what his skill is.
As for Eunju, I really miss her when she is absent. Poor Dongtae… the moment he decided not to waste his time on her, she becomes free for the taking again! I bet she is not very inclined to date Dicers now, and I bet Taebin broke up with her to protect her from what is coming. I wonder whether he finally told her he is a Dicer. So better try your chances with Mio, Dongtae… if she doesn't go crazy from her skill, that is.
Oh well, just two days for the next chapter, I hope Dicescans do it soon!
Well, chapter 65 has proved us all wrong.
(By the way, awesome to read it seamlessly in an online reader!)
They DID fight. Or worse, they are still fighting, and how I hate these cliffhangers!
Before someone calls this an Ass Pull, the fact is that we don't know the limits and specs of Time Pause yet (or of any A Rank skill, for that matter). It's almost certain that Time Pausers are immune to its effects themselves, and we know that there is an action radius (the blond boy on the roof was unaffected, probably because of that), but other than that we are pretty much in the dark.
I must admit that Taebin is very clever in his strategy, as is his decision to train against Dongtae in order to face Mooyoung later. (Although I doubt his techniques as they are now would work on him.)
The fight itself was amazing, very dynamic and realistic, no wonder this is my favourite webtoon for both graphics and plot! I loved everything about it, but my best moment was the face Dongtae made when he was preparing to rip Taebin a new one. I bet he has been longing to punch him black and blue for a long while now.
And yet, I am still of the opinion that these two will end up working together. How couldn't they? They are the most powerful Dicers after Mooyoung and have lots of shared interests, including (perhaps) Eunju.
I cannot wait to see how Taebin managed to foil Dongtae's Time Pause. The wait will be the end of me.
One more thing: why the hell is Dongtae so intent on knowing why Eunju is absent and about the circumstances of her and Taebin's break-up, to the point of picking a dangerous fight against a veteran A Ranker and wasting precious Die points on Time Pause? For all he knows Eunju is just skipping classes to cry on her pillow undisturbed, as many a girl does when their boyfriend dumps her. Wasn't he intent on forgetting about her and moving on?
Oh, yes, I forgot to mention this when chapter 63 came out: Daewoong is comedy at its best! He is so simple-minded and stupid… all A Rankers either drunk with philosophical ambitions or worried about their physical integrity and he is laughing gleefully about the possibility of getting himself money and women!
Chapter 66 is out!
Since it is an exposition chapter, there's a lot to comment on, although not much that we can analyse in depth since we know little yet.
But, first and foremost…
HELL YEAH, EUNJU IS BAAACK! WOO-HOO!!
Now, to lesser matters.
First, the blond kid is confirmed an A Ranker (otherwise X wouldn't offer the Strengthen Mode to him). He is self-confident and has an analytical mind. He will be a formidable foe, I'm predicting. I really wonder what his skill is.
The fight is going on nicely as before, but I must point out: Dongtae really wants to rip Taebin a new one, he even declined to bury the hatchet and trade information just to have the opportunity for a last attempt.
Now, the main novelty of this chapter: Battle Mode.
The first aspect of it that I want to emphasise is that I see a bleak future for B Rankers.
My prediction is that, from the point of view of the A Rankers they will become irresistible Dice bags ready for the taking. An average quest will give you some 3-5 Dice, but a B Ranker can yield dozens of Dice on defeat. They are weak and powerless against skills like Time Pause, Cloaking and Teleport, not to mention that the average A Ranker will have collected many more Dice than a B Ranker, and so even their human abilities must be far superior. I mean, Taebin could probably crush those two idiots fighting on the roof like bugs.
And since every benefit from Battle Mode needs to be acquired with Die points, whenever an A Ranker feels the need, what is there to stop them from thrashing a couple of hapless B Rankers and harvesting their Dice? Dicership had always been a caste system, but now it will be even more so. I mean, given the circumstances, even Dongtae might be tempted. What's worse, they are at the complete mercy of the A Rankers: A-Rank Roulette may give them some chance at escaping or even striking back, but it seems to be short-lived. Furthermore, the A Rankers, who have to fight each other, possibly to death, will be under enormous pressure to be constantly evolving, which will need Die points.
And speaking of evolution, I have to retract what I said before. Now that there are limitless opportunities for improvement, Mooyoung can be light-years ahead of Dongtae and Taebin. I wonder if Taebin is not miscalculating when he uses Dongtae as a sparring partner to take Mooyoung on later. I mean, if Mooyoung has been collecting Dice all this time and using points to expand the skill tree of each ability, how powerful can he be?
I am curious, too, about a strange aspect of the Strengthen Mode. How are the Distinguishing Characteristics decided? Is it just on X's whim? Why is Dongtae a pawn? I mean, I am happy that my speculation that the chess analogy would be carried further came to be, but now I want to find out what the criteria are.
I'm also wondering what the expanded trees of skills like Cloaking are. I mean, Cloaking already seems absolute, what is there to improve on it?
Suddenly, the possibilities for this series have expanded geometrically. I can't wait for what's coming!
About chapter 65, I never said they won't fight but only doubted the fight taking a erious direction, like a fight to the end. Anyway, the chapter was once more really good. Taebin isn't your average A-Ranker. But as you said kendama, I don't think his strategy would work against Mooyoung, it didn't even work perfect against Dongtae. However, Dongtae also isn't by any means an amateur.
It's good to see some limits and loopholes regarding the abilities. Chapter 66 provided us a lot of new information. This battle mode sounds really fun. Too bad Dongtae has no friggin idea what it is. He is at a big disadvantage here, but is still holding his ground and even has a plan. Next chapter will be interesting. Seems like Eunju will probably intervene and not the guy with the headphones, who by the way got a really good glimps on Taebin's and Dongtae's combat prowess.
I'll have a shot and try to predict what Dongtae's idea is. I've come up with something.
If the problem is that Taebin's Auto Dodge causes him to be released from Time Pause and teleport to an advantageous position whenever Dongtae tries to hit him, the solution is: don't hit him while Time Pause is active.
Instead, Dongtae should activate Time Pause and reposition himself to the place that is most advantageous for him to strike at Taebin, then lift Time Pause and strike accordingly. That way, Time Pause will act a little like Teleport (from the point of view of the target), with the advantage that because it's not instantaneous, Dongtae can take time to devise the perfect way of hitting Taebin based on his paralysed stance. He will actually turn Auto Dodge on its head: instead of allowing Taebin to teleport to an advantageous position, Dongtae will move to one.
So my prediction is that the "Hyaaa!" from the ending of chapter 66 was just Dongtae swinging a punch or kick at Taebin to put distance between the two so he can activate Time Pause without the risk of Taebin grabbing him.
This shows that Time Pause is still a huge advantage, even against Auto Dodge. And I'm sure Mooyoung would be able to devise such a scheme, so Taebin has some homework to do if he is to face off with his former mentor. If anything, Dongtae is the one who will benefit from this fight.
I predict Taebin will take a sound beating in the next chapter.
Well, chapter 67 was a slight diversion to tell readers what happened between Taebin and Eunju, so whether my guess above is right or not won't be known until the next week. Oh well, I'm still betting on it.
However, this chapter exposed, for the first time in its entirety, Taebin's moral stance regarding Dice.
Personally, I bet Eunju haters will jump on his arguments and say: "See, this is what Eunju doesn't get. Dice don't change people, this world is dog-eat-dog with or without Dice".
I, and Eunju I believe (as well as the author, I daresay), beg to differ.
Actions matter.
This is not a world of philosophical abstractions. Even if we admit that most people, given the opportunity to exert power over other people, would jump at it, whether they actually do it in real life makes a world of difference.
X said so himself, when he told Mio that he uses people's inner desires to create quests. The desires themselves would probably never, for the most part, be realised in the real world because people have inner limiters that will stop them from harming other people and going against the perceived norms of society. What X does is to use Dice as a means to remove these limiters, and that is the crux of the matter: everyone has an inner monster, and he is doing his best to unleash it.
Actually, it wouldn't be unreasonable to speculate that X could use these same desires to design quests that are virtuous and lead people to do nice things to each other. I won't try to think of examples, but the point is that X chooses, invariably, to give out quests that are marked by malice.
Eunju never criticises Dice themselves: she always conditions her condemnation of their existence to the fact that people are doing horrible things to procure them. And for all the vitriol her character has received from readers all through the first season, lo and behold, the second season is precisely about Dice being used to make people fight each other, maybe even to the death. Even those who try to remain moral can be used by X to carry out tasks that will cause untoward consequences: Byungchul's death and Mio's "creation" of Gilma by giving him Dice come to mind.
Taebin's argument just doesn't cut it: essentially, he is comparing Dice to guns. With or without them, people are the same, and the guns don't commit crimes themselves. I will bypass the merit of this argument - there's a difference, in real terms, between being killed and being punched because a gun was or wasn't available - to remark that, as Eunju alone has perceived, Dice are worse than guns: to make the analogy proper, it wouldn't be just about giving people a gun. It would be about giving people a gun and telling them to shoot someone in return for more ammo. X isn's just distributing Dice around - it might be bad enough if he did, for different reasons - but is asking people to harm each other in exchange for them.
Dice are not neutral entities because of the way they are distributed.
I understand that, from Taebin's point of view, people are generally scum and so Dice only make a difference for the better, because people like him have a chance of coming out on top, and no one can become worse than they already are. From someone who was the target of vicious, relentless bullying from what he thought as absolutely everyone around him, he is excused for getting such a world view. However, this view is simply not true: most people may at worst be indifferent, and at best actually caring (like Eunju, for that matter). While our experiences are a determinant of the way we see other people, we must be able to take a step back and try to see the situation from a different angle. Not everyone is scum.
Even Taebin must recognise that not everyone, despite what it looked, was actively intent on making his life hell: most didn't care, and some might be afraid of showing him sympathy due to the possibility of retribution. Are those people to be condemned? According to Byungchul, their silence equals complicity - he accuses Dongtae of taking part in that behaviour - but even so, passive complicity does not mean agency, and leaves within reasonable doubt the possibility that the indifferent might be redeemed.
The Pandora arc shows what difference the Dice made. Many people who would have remained indifferent to a bully victim, and even some who otherwise would have shown sympathy towards them, this time around actually took part in bulllying Eunju because of the promise Dice represent of satisfying their desires. Even if - from a moral view - a person is guilty of falling into temptation, the person supplying the temptation (X) is just as blameworthy (Christian philosophers would argue they are even more so). What happened to Eunju was orders of magnitude worse - because her life was at stake - than anything that might have happened to Taebin before he became a Dicer.
That's why I say - and will always say so unless she changes - that Eunju is the moral cornerstone of this story and X' chief antagonist. Whether Dongtae will end up with her is inconsequential, but if he is to be the true hero of this story, he must learn and get his inspiration from her. If Mio learns, too, he may end up with her as most shippers want, but from Eunju emanates the invincible good of the plot, as she is the only person whom X cannot touch. It's no coincidence that she is the only person who really pissed him off.
(Of course, this series could turn darker by having her killed in a sort of ultimate sacrifice, but I'm hoping here the author shows her mercy. She has suffered enough as it is.)
Now, about the specific events of this chapter… I wonder what is in Taebin's mind, really. He is the most difficult character to read, in my opinion. He sounds like a real bastard in the way he broke up with Eunju, and how he taunts Dongtae by showing a disdainful attitude towards his relationship with her. But it may be a front, at least partially: when he says "sickening", he may be sickened at himself, and he may be taunting Dongtae because he wants him to fight his utmost. Because Taebin is generally contemptuous of people, it's hard to tell apart what is genuine and what is a defence mechanism on his part. Right now, I'm inclined to think that he is a broken personality - someone who could have been a good person but is too damaged from his past experiences to be able to open up to people.
