Chapter 38: Chapter 38

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 38: Aptitude Test (2)

A group of participants entered the tunnel hurriedly, while a man and a woman leisurely observed them from a distance.

[Seung.]

The girl called out to the man, who was twice her size.

[That guy, doesn’t he seem strange?]

[Who… oh, I see.]

Seung started to ask whom she was referring to but stopped and nodded instead.

There was only one person here who could catch the attention of his superior.

A participant with above-average intelligence, below-average physical strength, and average charm.

Overall evaluation: Average – Lee Eunho.

[It’s my first time seeing him in person, but… he's a cocky one. How dare he block a manager?]

And his opponent was none other than Harona.

A big name, mentioned as a candidate for the next team leader.

If not for her disciplinary history, she would’ve been promoted long ago.

She was a core asset.

And yet, this insolent guy dared to…

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became.

Just as he resolved to give the guy a proper lesson—

[I’ll go teach him a—]

[The atmosphere has changed.]

Harona muttered as she fiddled with her pigtails.

[What?]

[Why is he so confident?]

"It’s 10 seconds past 9."

Despite knowing her overwhelming power, Lee Eunho had boldly stepped forward.

As Seung pondered the scene, he nodded slightly.

[Now that I think about it, something does seem off.]

The guy they had been observing until now was not reckless.

He avoided taking risks unless his safety was guaranteed.

And yet, here he was, stepping forward himself.

"Please commence the exam."

With an unspoken pressure, as if to say—

[He acts like he knows we don’t have time to waste.]

[That’s…]

Punctuality.

An unspoken, absolute rule within the "Company."

‘Perform the mission at the registered time.’

While additional missions could be registered during unoccupied time, failure to start a registered mission on time was not an option.

It disrupted the entire schedule.

But—

[It must be a coincidence. There’s no way a preliminary candidate could know the Company’s system.]

Seung denied it outright.

And rightly so—it was an impossibility.

[That’s true, but… something feels off.]

A minor change.

A ridiculous worry, but her meticulous superior couldn't shake the feeling and started nitpicking.

[Besides, that guy, Lee Eunho. He’s not the type to step up just to save others, is he?]

[Could it be a hero complex? I heard Zone 13 values self-sacrifice highly.]

It was a reasonable hypothesis, but Harona didn’t seem to agree.

[Hmm—he doesn’t strike me as that kind of person.]

Judging by how she twisted her hair while deep in thought.

[Maybe there’s some benefit in it for him?]

[But there’s no gain in saving others, is there?]

[Ugh, it’s just unsettling. This blasted system, I can never figure out what it’s thinking!]

Harona sighed in frustration.

But what could they do?

Not even the ancestors of the managers could gain control of the system.

[It’s a shame. If we could just view the participants’ status windows, this wouldn’t be so frustrating.]

Harona nodded at Seung’s comment but then waved her hand dismissively.

[Well, whatever. No matter what tricks he’s gained, this mission won’t be easy.]

[You made sure of that, after all.]

[Hah, only because the higher-ups were so insistent.]

The petite girl let out an irritated sigh.

And added, almost like a cough—

[Besides, if we don’t manage it, they’ll hand it over to the 'Center.']

The reason they had taken time out of their busy schedules to personally come down.

It was because Project "Hunting" wasn’t working as planned.

Not a single deletion—a situation unprecedented in history.

Thanks to that, they had been bombarded with scoldings about "creating crises but saving everyone."

If they didn’t take responsibility and handle it, the task would be handed to another department.

[By the way, why is the 'Center' so interested?]

[How would I know? Anyway, I don’t like how they rush at anything promising… it’s annoying.]

Harona clicked her tongue in irritation.

Seung, worried she might cause another stir, kept an eye on her, but thankfully, she didn’t seem angry enough to act out.

[Orders are orders.]

If they were told to raise the difficulty, they raised it.

If told to reduce the number of participants, they reduced it.

Whatever the higher-ups commanded.

That’s what Harona thought.

All this trouble for one annoying participant.

[Hmm—]

But why?

[…You seem quite excited, Harona.]

Why did it feel a little exciting, even in the midst of all this?

Why did she find herself licking her lips unconsciously?

[I’m not excited! Not at all~!]

* * *

"What, what’s going on? I can’t see anything!"

"I think it’s a blackout! Do something!"

"Turn on a flashlight or something… huh?"

For some reason, all the lights—whether the tunnel’s built-in lighting or the participants’ flashlights—had gone out.

Pitch-black darkness surrounded them.

"Why is it so dark? Don’t tell me the entrance is blocked too?"

"Ah! Who stepped on my foot?!"

Confused murmurs echoed through the tunnel as panic began to spread.

With vision completely blocked, the other senses seemed to grow sharper.

Rustle!

Every annoyed remark and rustle of fabric sounded louder.

Swoosh.

The brush of someone’s hand against mine transmitted warmth.

Shuffle!

The faint scent of shampoo lingered on a tugged shirt hem.

"Uh, Eunho! Are you there?!"

"Yes. You’re stepping on my foot right now, Jieun."

"Eek! I’m so sorry!"

Jieun’s startled reaction was palpable.

Though she didn’t let go of the shirt hem she was gripping.

Was she afraid of the dark?

It made me think she might even be biting her nails.

At that moment—

Snap!

The expected sound confirmed it.

[The defensive formation has been established.]

[Safely traverse the ‘Dark Path’!]

A voice-guided marker echoed through the air.

“A defensive formation... does that mean there are traps?”

“Go ahead, oppa!”

“What? I’m scared too…”

The murmurs of people were filled with confusion and fear.

Amidst the noise, Jaehyuk, who was nearby, timed his question.

“Hyung! Is it time now?”

He was asking if it was time to use the ‘fire.’

But.

“Not yet.”

We had to wait until ‘they’ revealed themselves.

If we lit the fire too soon, it would only expose our location.

For now, the focus was to calm the frightened crowd to avoid panic.

“Everyone, you can see the map, right?”

In the pitch darkness, I opened the map, and a faint green light flickered in a circular shape.

Like a lighthouse in a vast ocean, the green light was a beacon.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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It was too faint to be considered ‘light’ under normal circumstances, but now it was a sufficient glimmer of hope.

“I-I can see the map!”

“It’s real! I can see it too!”

“The safe zone must be at the end of the tunnel!”

The ‘safe zone’ indicated on the map was at the far end of the tunnel.

This meant we had to pass through the ‘Dark Path,’ or the tunnel, to reach it.

Completely blind.

Realizing the situation, the crowd began to murmur.

“How the hell are we supposed to walk all the way there when we can’t even see our feet?”

“Damn, it’s so far!”

The fear masked as anger was palpable.

「9:40」

9 minutes and 40 seconds remained.

While I was gathering my thoughts, the sharp-minded Sora suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!” as if she had an idea.

“Ahjussi! The sign earlier said this tunnel was 1.3 km long. We can make it in 9 minutes, right?”

“Yeah, if we run, we can.”

Of course.

“…Assuming there are no obstacles.”

“Huh? Obstacles?”

Obstacles, meaning…

Difficulty: Medium-high to Ultra-high.

Varies depending on the defensive formation.

Somewhere in the tunnel, a ‘defensive formation’ awaited us.

The archives described them as nocturnal monsters capable of distinguishing objects in total darkness.

Lethal to survivors who had their sight compromised.

But.

You can choose between fire and smoke, each lasting up to one hour.

Critical handicaps can be dealt with.

“We’re moving! Watch your steps to avoid bumping into each other!”

“Yes, Eunho!”

“Understood, hyung!”

We could handle the obstacles.

After running for a few minutes—

Thud.

“Did… did you hear something?”

“What sound?”

Thud. Thud.

In the absolute darkness, a faint crunching noise tickled our ears.

It was coming from deep within the tunnel.

“!!”

It was them.

The ones blocking the tunnel with pitch-black darkness, moving freely within it, and slicing survivors apart…

This mission’s ‘defensive formation.’

“Everyone, ready your weapons!”

“Huh?”

“Why, ahjussi?!”

There was no time to explain.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud…

They were already close enough to hear clearly.

This was it.

“Jaehyuk! Now!”

“Yes!”

Boom!

Jaehyuk dropped the load he’d been struggling to carry all this time onto the ground.

The movement was vivid even just by sound.

Then—

Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!

While he emptied his backpack, spilling out the firewood we had painstakingly gathered the night before—

“Ahhhh!”

“Who is it? What’s happening?!”

“I can’t see a thing!”

Screams of those attacked by invisible enemies echoed through the tunnel.

‘What kind of creatures are they?’

Slash! Shring!

‘Horns? Claws? No, this sound is…’

“Shit! Those bastards can see us, can’t they?!”

“Damn it… How are we supposed to fight in this situation? It’s so unfair!”

One side could see; the other could not.

A completely one-sided advantage.

But.

“Hyung! It’s ready! Over here!”

“Well done. Summon it!”

There was no way we’d just sit and take it.

[Activate the ‘Torch of Gyeongbongso’?]

[Choose between Beacon Fire and Beacon Smoke.]

“Beacon Fire!”

I felt the solid weight of the torch in my hand and shouted.

Instantly, flames burst to life.

— Whooosh!

‘Perfect!’

A smokeless fire.

It was unbelievable, but I was grateful nonetheless.

Holding the dried torch head over the rough firewood—

Crackle! Whooosh!

In the impenetrable darkness, a small but vivid red flame ignited at my feet.

Fwoooosh!

The flames quickly consumed the firewood, casting bright light across the tunnel and illuminating our surroundings.

“Focus and arm yourselves! Quickly!”

“!!”

The roaring flames reached the tunnel ceiling, painting everything in a reddish hue.

Shadows lined the floor and walls—dozens of them.

As if signaling this was as far as we could go, an opaque wall blocked the entire tunnel like a valve.

"Is that the defensive line?"

The wall shimmered like a red veil, perhaps due to the flames.

In front of it, dozens of enemies stood blocking the way.

‘Twenty? Twenty-one?’

People were startled by the intense heat that made sweat drip, while even those charging at us flinched and stepped back.

I quickly shouted,

"We have to break through them and get past that wall! We don't have time!"

I illuminated their sight.

Now it was time to cut down the enemies before us.

Let’s carve out a path to survive together.

"A—a monster?!"

"Ugh! I can see it!"

"Everyone, grab your weapons!"

Gradually, people snapped out of their panic and raised their weapons.

As visibility improved, they focused on the enemies before them.

But still.

-Difficulty: Mid-high to very high, depending on the structure of the defensive line.

So, the defensive line… were these enemies humanoid monsters?

The proposal had clearly described them as "nocturnal beasts accustomed to darkness."

And yet.

‘Armor and helmets too?’

Instead of bat-like monsters, soldiers fully clad in armor and helmets had appeared.

Well... no matter.

"Our numbers are double theirs! Pair up!"

We can do this.

Although we were at a disadvantage due to the ambush and their equipment, we outnumbered them significantly.

Once we adjust, we should be able to deal with them easily.

After all, we’ve driven away the "darkness," the key element of the "Path of Darkness" strategy.

Swish—!

I drew my sword and charged at the armored figure in front of me.

And then, the monster before me…

"Kyahhh!"

Let out a piercing scream and collapsed on the spot.

"…?!"

It went so far as to cover its head with its arms and tremble violently.

‘…A person?’

Although I couldn’t see the face due to the helmet covering their entire head, I could tell.

This one.

No… this woman.

"Lee Eunho?!"

Especially with that habit—it was unmistakably her.

She’s the woman I know.

"…Huh?"

As a stunned Jieun hesitated beside me, I approached and removed the helmet.

Srrrk!

The helmet came off.

Long wavy hair spilled out from underneath.

Tightly shut eyes, as if terrified.

"…Huh? Huh?!"

Ah…

So.

The enemies we had to defeat to advance were…

"…Lee Yeji?"

Yeji from the accounting team?

"Lee Eunho…!"

Yeji, who had drawn a sword from a random loot box by sheer luck but was trembling so much she couldn’t even swing it?

The same Yeji who, even after stabbing a ghost on the KTX, had been so scared she kept her eyes shut?

Sigh.

"I told you not to close your eyes in front of the enemy."

What am I supposed to do with this?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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