Chapter 8: Chapter 8

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Chapter 8: Selection (3)

"Mr. Eunho. Hey, doesn't Secretary Kim have a really great voice?"

"Really?"

"Sounds like some announcer. Looks a bit like one, too. Who was it again?"

At that moment, a random, trivial conversation popped into my head.

A chat with someone who had a crush on Jieun.

"Euuuuuunhoooooo!"

But Jieun wasn't producing the voice of an announcer—or even something you’d expect from a human being.

Instead, it was a bizarre, distorted sound, like something from a glitched-out video slowed to a crawl.

'Time around me has slowed.'

While desperately trying to process this realization, I moved.

My left hand clung to Jieun, and my right hand gripped the wall-like floor.

To move freely, I had to get Jieun to a safe place.

— Thud.

I opened the system box embedded in the floor and climbed on top of it.

Quickly, I stepped both feet onto the surface and freed my fingers to grab higher on the wall.

'If it weren’t for the petrification skill, I’d have fallen for sure.'

After just two or three steps, my left arm started cramping.

Fortunately, I reached the pillar where Jaehyuk was hanging just in time, narrowly avoiding dropping Jieun into the fiery pit below.

"Hah… Jieun’s heavier than she looks."

I set Jieun down and took a moment to catch my breath.

"Therrrrre...! Up there—huh?"

Click.

Time's axis realigned itself.

The massive table, which had seemed frozen in slow motion, resumed its regular speed.

— Boom!

The heavy impact shook the room, followed by silence.

If I’d been hit, my head would’ve exploded for sure.

"Why am I... here?"

Jieun blinked wide, round eyes, her expression pure bewilderment.

Then she said:

"Thank you, Mr. Eunho! How did you move so fast?"

"I’ll explain later. First, let’s check the skill."

[You have one skill available to check.]

[Would you like to check the Acceleration (Lv.1) skill?]

"Yes."

「Acceleration (Lv.1): Increases the user's relative speed. Expands one second into (5) seconds.」

The translucent system window displayed white text, with the number (5) highlighted in blue.

It looked like leveling up the skill would further increase the length of that single second.

'One second becomes five... So that’s why everything else slowed down.'

To others, it must’ve looked like I was moving five times faster.

'But what if it wasn’t just five seconds? What if it were ten, fifty, or even a hundred seconds?'

That’d be no different than stopping time itself.

I could accomplish so much in just one second.

'This is incredible.'

I tried shouting "Acceleration" again, just to see, but a cooldown message appeared.

The same was true for the petrification skill.

It made sense that a skill this powerful would have penalties.

In any case, I had about a minute left where neither petrification nor acceleration would work.

"Noona, doesn’t the fire seem a little weaker now?"

"Huh? Oh, you’re right! And the slope isn’t as steep."

"Maybe it’s because we moved up a little!"

Jaehyuk had a point.

The only thing that had changed was that we’d climbed a few steps, but the fire did seem weaker, and the slope had eased slightly.

There must be a pattern.

'If I were the one managing this...'

A scenario designed to reduce the number of participants.

Slippery floors.

Minimal effort for maximum efficiency.

'Let’s go back to the beginning.'

The floor first tilted when a bickering couple walked to the corner of the exhibition hall.

After that, the steep slope sent everyone sliding toward the couple.

The slope only eased when the three of us moved away and climbed higher.

Could it be…?

"I think I have an idea. Let’s climb a little further."

"You figured something out?"

Not definitively, but I think so.

"I suspect it’s... like a seesaw."

"A seesaw?"

"There’s a sharp fulcrum in the center, and we’re all standing on it."

As we carefully climbed the slope to avoid slipping, I continued explaining.

"So when too many people gather on one side, the floor tips downward in that direction. It’s a shift in the weight distribution."

"Oh…."

"And I think the fire is triggered when the angle goes beyond a certain threshold."

'The goal of this mission is likely to group people together and incinerate them all at once.'

"So moving to the other side balances it out? Is that why we’re climbing?"

"Yes. Ideally, we’d calculate everyone’s weight and distribute people evenly, but…."

Realizing how impractical that would be, I trailed off.

Jieun’s eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, you want to calculate weights?"

"Yes, weights."

Not to mention, in this situation, asking people about their weights would probably make me look insane.

At least if we climb further, and the slope evens out a little more, the others might start to trust us.

Jieun suddenly blurted out, rapid-fire:

"No! I mean, we don’t have to do that, do we? It’s not because I don’t want to share my weight or anything! It’s just, uh, over there! Look at all that stuff piled up on that wall from the slope earlier. Doesn’t that count too?"

She was pointing at the pile of objects that had rolled to one side due to the incline.

'Maybe the count is based on headcount, not weight?'

She had a point.

Thinking it over, I decided to prioritize her suggestion.

"All right, we need four people to come up here! I think I’ve found the solution!"

"How are we supposed to climb? Didn’t you see people fall just now?"

"It’s not as steep now. It should be fine!"

Though hesitant, people began to cautiously move.

One, two, three, four... Five?

"Stop! That’s too many! The man in the hat, stay where you are!"

"What’s it to you if I come over?!"

"This mission requires us to balance the numbers on both sides! If too many cross, this side will tip!"

"Oh, so you’re just gonna leave us all here to burn?!"

His angry shout sparked unrest.

Despite the visibly shallower slope and weaker flames, it seemed no one was thinking clearly anymore.

Instead, panic took over.

"Move! I’m going up!"

"Get out of the way! I’m going first!"

'What do I do? Everyone's too worked up.'

— Boom!

Thanks to the people running after me, the ground quickly leveled out, but...

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'If we move further, this side will tip over.'

"That's enough! Don't move any further!"

I shouted toward the people running to escape the flames roaring behind us.

A woman and two men.

"Damn it, are you telling us to die?!"

I could faintly feel the ground tilting again.

This time in the opposite direction.

I need to stop them...

'Words won’t work!'

— Step!

So I stepped forward.

Striding boldly toward the flames that people had barely managed to escape.

"Mr. Eunho! Where are you going?!"

To the onlookers, it probably seemed like I was running straight into the fire.

But I was actually moving closer to avoid it.

"What, what's that guy doing?"

"Is he crazy?!"

I soon came face-to-face with the people rushing forward.

Now then...

"Acceleration."

"Get ooooooout of the waaaaay!"

Time stopped.

A face contorted in panic, gasping breaths, feet pushing off the ground.

'Leave the woman as is.'

— Grab.

I seized the two men by the scruffs of their necks with both hands and leaped.

The two men were dragged along the ground, sweeping up dust, but it was far better than dying.

— Tap!

'I need to distribute the people evenly. Make sure the square doesn't tilt to any one side.'

In my head, I marked thirteen virtual points on a square.

Like playing a soccer game from a bird's-eye view, I placed the people in positions.

'One person... here.'

I set the man in the hat in an empty spot like a toy soldier.

'And one here.'

I placed the other in his spot too.

Finally, the spot where I needed to be was...

'Of all places...'

Right in front of the roaring flames.

Even with time manipulated, I could feel the heat searing from the blaze.

'Well, this will definitely grab everyone's attention.'

As long as they’re focused on me, they won’t abandon their assigned positions.

I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking hard as my forehead burned.

Tick.

Time resumed.

"Why don’t you just die alrea—huh?"

"What’s this?!"

"Mr. Eunho? Why are you there?! Run!"

The raging flames licked at the edge of my nose.

I turned back to the people, feeling the heat pressing against my body, and shouted.

"Stay still, everyone!"

Standing there as if swallowed by the fire, I neither ran nor panicked.

Seeing this, the people froze, their eyes darting nervously.

"W-What? Why is he there all of a sudden...?"

"If you don’t want to die, don’t move! All of you!"

'I didn’t want to show them my skill, but... there’s no time to convince them otherwise.'

The calculations were perfect.

It should end soon.

If my prediction is correct.

— Fwoosh.

"It’s working!"

"The fire’s dying out!"

The flames, which had reached my height, slowly shrank—down to my shoulders, my waist, my knees, and finally, to barely brushing my toes before disappearing completely.

[Project "Selection," First Mission Completed.]

[The "Arena" is now deactivated.]

— Collapse.

"It’s over..."

Before I knew it, my legs gave out, and I sank to the ground.

"Mr. Eunho! What was that just now? Are you okay?"

"Why didn’t you take me with you?! Running into the fire alone, seriously!"

"Haha..."

I opened my mouth to say I was fine, but the tension that had been holding me together vanished, and all I could muster was a weak laugh.

At least we survived.

"Phew... is everyone okay? I thought we were all going to burn to death..."

"Tell me about it. Honestly, I think dying in that flickering chaos earlier might’ve been better—oh, no, I didn’t mean that."

The people cautiously glanced at the spot where the couple had burned to death.

A mix of fear from the sudden disaster, anxiety at the deaths piling up, and relief that they had survived hung in the air.

"But really, if it weren’t for that young man, we’d all be dead."

"Thanks to him, we’re alive. Thank you!"

"Thank you so much. If it weren’t for you taking care of those idiots, I’d be dead."

Yejin from accounting gestured toward "those idiots" with her chin as she spoke, prompting the guy in the hat to snap back.

"What are you looking at, huh? Damn it!"

"What! Did I say something wrong? All you do is swear every time you open your mouth!"

This guy had been cursing nonstop since earlier.

Wearing jeans and a hoodie in the middle of the day, a cap pulled low, and Adidas slides—he clearly wasn’t a professional.

Probably just a bum who lived nearby and came to the food court underground for a meal.

'People like him ruin the image of hardworking folks...'

"……"

"What are you mumbling? You look younger than me, yet you’re bossing me around?"

"I was scared to death, but I’m damn thankful for saving me! Seriously... uh, sir!"

'...Oh.'

"The fire was freaking chasing us, stuff was falling from above like crazy, and I thought my head was going to split open! Damn it, if it weren’t for you, I’d be either dead or crippled! Uh, sir!"

Maybe he just has a foul mouth.

As I listened to his confused mix of swearing and gratitude, others started chiming in.

Then someone cautiously raised a question.

"Um... but how did you move so fast?"

The man with glasses asked, and all eyes turned to him.

A brief silence followed.

"The speed you showed... it didn’t seem possible. Oh, not that I’m questioning you or anything..."

Everyone had been curious.

They saw me as their savior and didn’t dare ask, but now they couldn’t contain their curiosity.

'Should I tell them about the skill...?'

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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