Chapter 9: Chapter 9

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Chapter 9: Selection (4)

Click.

A man dressed in a sharp black suit opened the massive door and stepped inside.

The room was dim and heavy with silence.

Instead of light, the atmosphere was filled with an oppressive weight.

Cutting through the stillness, a sharp voice pierced the air like an arrow.

"I told you not to disturb me during work, didn’t I?"

The man hadn't even fully stepped in before the occupant’s reprimand landed.

But he held his ground.

Not because his boss—who sat on a desk and chair too high for her feet to even touch the floor—looked like a child.

Not even because he feared losing his head for treating her as one.

"It’s urgent, Ms. Harona."

"Urgent?"

At last, Harona's prickly face emerged from behind a cluster of floating screens obscuring her.

"What is it? If it’s nothing, you’re getting smacked."

The man flinched slightly but steeled himself.

This was definitely something.

"Zone 107. The mission has concluded."

"Zone 107?"

"The extermination arena you activated. It was meant only for… trash. I mean, subjects with no potential."

"And?"

"Well…"

"Can’t you see I’m busy? Spit it out and get lost."

Harona was irritated.

An extermination arena was exactly what it sounded like—meant for complete obliteration. What could possibly have gone wrong?

"There are survivors… thirteen of them."

"What?"

Harona couldn’t believe her ears.

An extermination arena was absolute.

The ground tilts, swallowing everything in an instant.

Those gathered are consumed by flames.

Unless the number of participants was minuscule, it was impossible for over ten people to somehow maintain balance and survive.

"That’s absurd. Was the mechanism faulty?"

She’d been too busy to watch the activation process herself but hadn’t expected any issues.

"The mechanism worked perfectly. Two subjects were confirmed consumed by the ‘Flames of Balance.’"

"Then how…?"

"Didn’t you mention there was a particularly cunning subject in Zone 107?"

Now that he mentioned it, there was one.

The one who covered the safety zone with cloth, leaving more survivors than anticipated.

But…

"Even if they figured out the rules, that should’ve been the end of it. How could they possibly achieve balance in such a short time?"

"Maybe they persuaded the others effectively?"

"In that short time?"

Facing death, it’s hard to imagine anyone blindly following another’s instructions.

Observation, judgment, decisiveness, charisma—it would take all that and more.

Who was this person?

"Their initial stats were all unremarkable, though."

"Perhaps they ‘unlocked’ something after the mission started."

"Already?"

It happened occasionally.

Subjects with desires so consuming, they would sacrifice their very soul.

But those individuals often had narrow vision and were usually fundamentally broken.

"An interesting one has entered the game,"

Harona muttered to herself, deep in thought.

Without realizing it, a smile curled at her lips.

"I need to see them myself. Send down the ‘Eyes.’"

"Understood."

The man bowed and turned to leave, but Harona called out after him.

"Wait. The monsters that wiped out Zones 101 and 102—how many are left?"

The monsters she had sent to toughen up the more intelligent subjects in those zones.

The man stiffened, sensing her intentions.

"…You’re not planning to send them, are you?"

"How many?"

"All ten are still intact. Each zone had five, but not a single one was defeated."

Those zones had been full of elites, individuals supposedly among the top 1% in intelligence and charisma.

But they had been wiped out in an instant, scrambling without putting up any real resistance.

It was likely they had failed to overcome their physical limitations.

"The mobility gap is too large. They won’t even be able to land a proper hit before being slaughtered."

When the mission difficulty is too high, it’s impossible to conduct a proper evaluation.

Surely Harona knew this.

"How about sending just one?"

"Send all ten."

"Ms. Harona!"

The man, uncharacteristically, raised his voice, but Harona had already disappeared back behind her screens.

"I’m curious."

"About what?"

"Whether they’re just a schemer or someone who knows how to fight too."

"Ten meters, back and forth, 100 times. No breaks."

"What?"

The people around me, who had been eagerly waiting for my instructions, frowned and fell silent.

Not the answer they’d expected, apparently.

An awkward silence hung in the air, like a balloon deflating.

"You’re joking, right?"

"O-Obviously a joke. I mean, it’s not like studying a textbook and getting a perfect score on the college entrance exam or something…"

A few waved dismissively, convinced it was just a dull joke.

"I’m serious."

"Th-Then, does that mean we can acquire that skill or whatever it is?"

"Well, that’s what happened to me."

"Huh... That’s pretty unusual."

People began warming up, their faces painted with a mix of curiosity and determination.

"Alright then... How about I try running?"

"Me too!"

"But there’s no guarantee that will apply to all of you—hey, wait!"

— Tap! Tap!

Before I could even finish my sentence, the people who had been circling me scattered like the tide retreating from the shore.

Soon, they were running wildly back and forth throughout the exhibition hall.

"That’s not going to work, though..."

[Congratulations! Based on your unparalleled adaptability, your intense desire to run until your heart bursts, and the memories of surpassing your limits etched into your body, a unique skill has been generated!]

It was called a "unique skill."

That probably meant that each person would be granted a skill tailored to themselves.

In other words, even if they ran like that, they wouldn’t gain the same skill I had.

"You’re all really good runners."

"Indeed. Some of them don’t even look like they exercise regularly."

While Jieun, Jaehyuk, and I stood watching, everyone else was running breathlessly.

The exhibition hall, originally filled with game-related displays, had transformed into what looked like a gymnasium preparing for a sports day.

"..."

The noisy chatter abruptly quieted, as if time itself had been forcibly spliced and sewn together, leaving an eerie dissonance.

"Something’s... off."

A creeping unease crawled across my skin.

Just as someone muttered nervously, a strange sound echoed from beyond the silence.

— Creak!

All eyes turned to where the sound came from.

"Hy-hyung! The ceiling!"

In what seemed like empty space—or what we thought was empty—cracks began forming.

With a sharp shatter, like glass breaking, the air itself split open.

"The sky is falling!"

"Kyahhh! Somebody help!"

The security guard bolted for the corner, the accountant clutched her head and trembled, and the foul-mouthed guy...

"Shit! Is this my skill?!"

...took off his hat and cheered.

[By the administrator's authority, 'The Eye' is now open.]

And through the cracks, something began to appear.

"An eye..."

It was a colossal eye, nearly covering the entire ceiling.

Its translucent sclera, contrasted with an abyss-black pupil in the center, created an unnerving, grotesque image.

The moment its gaze locked onto mine...

"!!"

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A chilling sensation swept over me, as if my soul had been wrung out.

Goosebumps erupted all over my body.

Could this be what a mystery circle left by aliens looked like?

[Mission begins.]

The familiar system notification announced the start of a mission.

But everyone was still transfixed by the gigantic "Eye," myself included.

Unfortunately, the bizarre reality we were facing wasn’t about to end with just one enormous eye.

— Screeeeech!

"Do you hear that?"

"Ugh! It’s like nails on a chalkboard!"

A piercing scream echoed from afar.

Appearing out of thin air, reflecting what might be sunlight or artificial light, were shimmering blades.

No, it was a beak.

"A... bird?"

[Eliminate the ‘Razor Beak Bird.']

The bird stretched about three meters from wingtip to wingtip, with jet-black feathers, a few horn-like crests, and a beak sharp enough to slice through anything.

A blade?

"Jaehyuk! Hide!"

— Screeeech!

The bird dove, its razor-sharp beak slicing just past Jaehyuk’s ear.

— Slash!

"Ahhhh!"

It cleanly severed the edge of a nearby wooden shelf.

"What the hell is this!"

Jaehyuk scrambled under a display cabinet faster than his screams could leave his mouth.

— Clang!

The bird's beak struck the stainless-steel display case instead of Jaehyuk’s head.

— Chirrup?

The force should’ve broken its beak, but the bird just flapped its wings, rolling its beady eyes as if trying to process the situation.

"Hey, you in black! Are you alright?"

"Th-This means it’s over, right?"

Some naive folks began to calm their racing hearts and asked.

"As if that’s going to happen."

— Screech! Screeeeech! Chirrup!

The trapped bird shrieked, making unsettling noises like a victim caught in a cruel trap.

And in situations like this...

"It calls for backup! Everyone hide!"

— Screeeeeeech!

One of the walls distorted, and another sharp beak, head, and body emerged into view.

They began exchanging cries, as if signaling each other.

"Shit! What are you all doing? Run!"

"I-I can’t! The exit’s blocked!"

People tried to flee the exhibition hall, but an invisible barrier stopped them.

Thuds echoed as foreheads smacked into the unseen walls.

People tried to flee from the exhibition hall, but they were blocked by an invisible wall.

Thuds echoed here and there, likely from people bumping their heads against the barrier.

Thud!

This is bad.

I scanned the surroundings, but there wasn’t anywhere to hide.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The speed was too fast.

“Hyung! Don’t worry about me, just run!”

Jaehyuk shouted something uncharacteristically brave, but it seemed his feet were frozen too.

Where could we even run to?

We were all trapped in here anyway.

Whoosh!

Birds sliced through the air as they flew toward us.

Toward me, standing near Jaehyuk, who was trembling in fear.

And toward the bird that had its beak stuck and couldn’t move.

“Eunho! Can’t you do something with your skill?!”

I ducked quickly to avoid the sharp beaks flying at me and shouted back.

“With skills… dodging is the best I can do. We don’t even have weapons…”

Even if I slowed them down, that wouldn’t magically let me take out all the airborne birds.

I couldn’t exactly attack them with just two fingers either.

“Weapons…”

Jieun bit her lower lip nervously, then approached a woman hiding behind a display case.

“Yeji! Your sword!”

“What? Huh?”

It was Lee Yeji from accounting, sitting in her pencil skirt, trembling with her knees hugged to her chest.

She looked just like Jieun during the second mission, shaking helplessly under the corpse of the business planning team leader.

“Can I borrow it for a bit?”

“What? But, then what about me?”

Clang!

Another bird swooped dangerously close, its beak just barely missing me.

Jieun, seeing this, spoke urgently.

“You saw Eunho using his skill, right? The only one who can properly use that sword to save us is him. Hurry!”

'Asking her to hand over a reward item…'

“Besides, you don’t even know how to use it anyway, do you?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“I’ll use it and give it back, I promise! Thank you so much!”

‘So it’s possible.’

Jieun “borrowed” Yeji’s sword—well, more like took it—and then sprinted toward the security guard.

“The shield…”

“The shield! Here it is!”

Jieun had definitely grown stronger.

Whether it was her mental strength, her inherently strong resolve, or both, I wasn’t sure.

“Eunho! Here!”

Swoosh!

I gripped the sword tightly, shielding myself with the shield Jieun had passed over.

The only experience I had with swords was a couple of months of kendo lessons when I was a kid.

“Mission reward.”

[Choose your mission reward.]

“Skill enhancement: Acceleration.”

I had time on my side.

Time to get used to the sword.

[Enhancing the Acceleration (Lv.1) skill to Acceleration (Lv.2).]

[Activation extends 1 second to 10 seconds.]

“Eunho! Be careful!”

“I don’t think I can afford to be careful…”

I gave Jieun an awkward smile and muttered under my breath.

A way to deal with these nine winged monsters, with a 60-second cooldown between uses of my skill.

There was only one option.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Hyung! Why are you drawing all the aggro…?”

I had to gather them all in one place and hit them all at once.

Screech?

As I raised the gleaming sword, the foolish bird stuck in the ground flailed desperately to free its beak.

Its sharp talons lashed out endlessly in attack.

But it had no way to counter my stab to the back of its neck.

Thud!

Screech! Screeeeech!

The remaining birds, enraged by their comrade’s death, flapped wildly and dove in from all directions.

Their murderous intent was palpable through the air and sound.

One. Two. Three. Four… Eight.

Leap!

Kicking off the ground, I jumped toward the last remaining bird.

And just as all nine birds simultaneously dived with their gleaming beaks aimed at me—

“Acceleration!”

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