Chapter 12 (2/2)
Kahng Seok arrogantly leaned his head back.
”I don't want to.” (Kahng Seok)
The corners of his lips slowly wiggled and twitched.
”What a f*cking a*shole. And here I was, planning to be in a cordial relations.h.i.+p with you, because of us being the same Invited and all, yet who knew you have a bleeding heart mentality?” (Kahng Seok)
Seol slowly raised his arm up, which prompted Lee Hyung-Sik and Jeong Min-Woo to move as well. However, Kahng Seok confidently stopped them by raising his own hand.
”What? You planning to hit me? Fine, go ahead. Since it's the most important Mister Gold Mark hitting me, this lowly me with a worthless Mark should just obediently get hit, no?” (Kahng Seok)
”However, remember this. The more you try to show off, the lesser I'll be inclined towards opening the…. Keuk!” (Kahng Seok)
Slam!
Seol's fist slammed into Kahng Seok's nose. Lee Hyung-Sik and Jeong Min-Woo were taken by surprise but even they had to cry out in pain while grasping their noses. The speed at which Seol's fist flew was so scarily fast, they couldn't even see it.
”Y, you son of a….. Kyaaaachk!!” (Kahng Seok)
Kahng Seok reflexively threw a fist of his own, but then, Seol simply s.n.a.t.c.hed it off the air and twisted, hard. The force was so severe, Kahng Seok's knees crumpled in one go. Seol then proceeded to drag that arm and forcibly pressed the b.u.t.ton. The barrier slid open, then.
”Come inside.” (Seol)
s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah carried a dazed expression as she stumbled into the waiting area, not even thinking of putting her pants back on. Only then did Seol release Kahng Seok's arm.
[Miss s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah has arrived on the second floor waiting area.] [The first Tutorial mission, 'Escape from the a.s.sembly Hall', has concluded. Number of remaining survivors: 12.] [A new message from the Guide has arrived.] [The second mission of the Tutorial, 'Breaking Through Traps' has begun.]
They all heard the new announcement, and at the same time, the st.u.r.dy locked gate at the end of the corridor automatically undid itself. It seemed that, regardless of the remaining time, the next mission would be triggered right away as long as all the survivors arrived at the waiting area.
*SFX for pained whimpers of grown men*
Kahng Seok was rolling on the floor in a fit of pain. He used the wall to support himself and somehow managed to stand up. Still holding his twisted arm, he glared at Seol full of murderous intent.
”You….!!” (Kahng Seok)
Kahng Seok was about to shout out something, but then, simply spun on his heels to leave.
”You…. We'll see what happens later, you f*cking son of a b*tch!” (Kahng Seok)
He picked up his own bag and hastily escaped through the now-open pa.s.sage. Seeing him retreat like that, both Lee Hyung-Sik and Jeong Min-Woo too slinked away out of sight.
Afterwards, it was Yun Seo-Rah's turn to leave, although she stopped and stared at Seol wordlessly for a while before moving away.
”T…. Thank you. Thank you so much….” (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)
Thick drops of tears fell from s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah's eyes, before she began wailing in honest. Next to her, Yi Sung-Jin's head also dropped low.
Unbeknownst to them, though, the recipient of their grat.i.tude, Seol, wasn't feeling all that good at the moment. He was painfully reminded of the fact that his actions were not entirely from his own will.
And also, his rage failing to cool down only drove him further into an even greater frenzy. He felt like destroying, rampaging, and making an utter mess of something. Anything. Everything.
[Sender: the Guide.] [1. Enter the cla.s.sroom ”3-1” on the fourth floor of the main building via annex's third floor before time runs out.] [Remaining time: 01:57:56]
Two hours, and a time-limit type mission. Seol's eyes confirming the details of the phone burned in a dangerous light.
”H, hey!! Hold up, man!” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Seol unhesitatingly walked forward. Hyun Sahng-Min hurriedly picked two bags and chased after him.
[Area 1. The second mission is now commencing.]
A robotic voice made an announcement as images flickered on a ma.s.sive semi-transparent screen. Several men and women were sitting in front of this screen, watching the proceedings unfold.
”It's only the second mission but…. d.a.m.n it, I'm gonna lose my mind at this rate!”
”24 people died by the first hurdle?! How does that even make sense? Why is every one of them such a G.o.dd.a.m.n trash this time?”
When a bald giant of a man spat out in anger, a woman wearing a purple robe next to him grumbled out unhappily as well. However, when another woman wearing a business suit sitting in front swept her icy gaze over them, the two shut their mouths up rather quickly.
”Really now. If this carries on, being called the 'Area 1' will become a huge joke in time. With the March's overall a.s.sessment looking this bad, how are we supposed to endure until September?” (the bald giant)
The bald giant couldn't resist and added a couple more sentences, and fearing that the business-suit woman would glare at him again, hurriedly turned his attention this way and that.
”Anyone know what's going on in other areas? Anyone with a news?” (the bald giant)
”I know a bit.”
A young man with a curly hair raised his hand.
”I overheard something while I was outside…. As far as clear speed is concerned, I hear the areas 2 and 7 are neck and neck for the first place.” (the curly haired young man)
”2 and 7? I get it with Europeans, but what's gotten into those Chinese b*stards?” (the bald giant)
”What's the point asking me that? You already know what dirty tricks they are using over there. Their Invited all conspire together and as soon as the Tutorial starts, they take the Contracted hostage. I'm sure they are pa.s.sing the missions while sacrificing the Contracted whenever necessary.” (the curly haired young man)
The balding giant spat out a groan.
”….Fine. What about 2?” (the bald giant)
”I heard they are the very example of perfection itself. A French girl named Odelette Delphine has taken over the show there, apparently. And only by using nothing but her own skills, no less. Well, her killing the phantom in front of everyone with the starting bonus she got during the first mission proved to be the decisive factor.” (the curly haired young man)
”Huh. What's her Mark?” (the bald giant)
”A silver. And then, as soon as the second mission began, she succeeded in opening up the path to the computer cla.s.sroom in one go. She's bulldozing everything out of her way, it seems. I think she won't even need a hour to get to the end. Maybe, 50 minutes, tops?” (the curly haired young man)
”Wow. She's a beast, isn't she? I guess the European b*stards found a proper good egg this time. What about the rest?” (the bald giant)
”Area 5 is also making a noise about doing rather well…. But, it's so-so. They have the 30 minute head start for the second mission compared to our people, so there's that.” (the curly-haired young man)
The giant groaned out again.
”G.o.d d.a.m.n it. At this rate, we aren't gonna have a single one remaining at the end of the Tutorial, no?” (the bald giant)
”Come on, now. We have a gold Mark, don't forget. Besides, he even possesses the diary of the unknown student, so surely, he'd be able to clear it with no problems.” (the curly haired young man)
”You think so?” (the bald giant)
”I mean, he chased that phantom away with nothing more than his glare, right?” (the curly haired young man)
The curly-haired youth spoke with the aim of consoling the big man, but the bald giant's face continued to show how disappointed he was as his eyes remained locked on the screen. Seol, as shown on the screen, was entering the annex via the pedestrian overpa.s.s connecting the two buildings.
”Hey, hey…. Doesn't that guy look a bit p*ssed off right now? What the h.e.l.l? What's the matter with him all of a sudden?” (the curly haired youth)
The curly haired youth raised a shrill voice of surprise.
As the mission name suggested, the location reserved for the 'Breaking Through Traps' wasn't supposed to be tackled w.i.l.l.y-nilly. Yet, Seol didn't even stop to take a look at his phone and simply strolled right in.
”….Can we really trust a guy like that?”
The bald giant tapped the woman wearing the business suit.
”Hey, say something, Kim Hahn-Nah.”
”Shut your d.a.m.n mouth for a while, okay?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah spat out in a voice full of undisguised irritation. The big man immediately realised that, if he tried to provoke her any further here, then he'd be on the painful receiving end of the hysteria of an unmarried spinster.
The big man licked his lips as if he found the whole thing unsatisfactory, and got up from his seat. He thought that it'd be far more preferable to go for a smoke break outside rather than sit here and get p*ssed off at what was happening on screen.
The bald big guy wasted around 15 minutes outside while chain smoking. But, when he was about to enter the room again….
Clang! Clang!
He spat out a disappointed groan after hearing the noisy metallic clangs coming from inside. He thought that a brainless idiot was repeatedly stepping into traps, activating them inadvertently. While shaking his head, he opened the door to enter.
Clang!!!
And then, he tilted his head, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
In truth, the second mission wasn't at all difficult for someone like this bald man. A highly trained Earthling would be able to clear it in around 30 minutes even if he was taking his sweet a*s time.
However, the ones doing the mission right now weren't the trained Earthlings, but still a bunch of weak, powerless civilians. These people hadn't even experienced a proper warfare yet.
The goal of the mission was simple enough - stop the activation of various traps by fulfilling a set of conditions beforehand. Or, leave it to lady luck to decide. That should've been the case. However….
'He's evading, blocking, and deflecting?!' (the bald giant)
Not only did Seol not stop after performing those actions, he even deliberately triggered the traps that hadn't been activated yet. He was progressing forward, while… destroying everything. It was like looking at an Earthling, not a powerless civilian.
A look of disbelief was etched on the bald man's face as he hurriedly got closer to the screen. At the same time, three sharp metal spears were shooting out towards Seol from the ceiling and from both the right and left sides.
Clang! Claaaang!!
It was unknown where Seol had acquired a steel beam, but regardless, he spun it like a cartwheel; soon, the audience were treated to the cacophony of metallic clangs as well as a beam of cold silvery light flickering on the screen.
The result was all there to see. The moment spears from the right and left were sent flying, the spear from the ceiling brushed past Seol and pierced the ground. The woman wearing the purple robe stood up reflexively, her fists clenched in antic.i.p.ation.
”Is he dead? No? Just pa.s.sed him by?!”
”No, he dodged.” (the bald giant)
The bald man closely watched the proceedings unfold, then confidently declared out loud.
”I'm sure of it. He slapped away the spears coming from both of his sides, and he was about to do the same to the one coming from the ceiling, but….” (the bald giant)
”But?”
”….Dunno. It's like, his body couldn't keep up with what he wanted to do. In any case, I definitely saw him tilt his head out of the way…. Eiii, what the f*ck, Kim Hahn-Nah!! Just what's up with that guy?!” (the bald giant)
The bald guy seemed to be shocked by his own words, and belatedly shouted at Kim Hahn-Nah.
Kim Hahn-Nah remained quiet for a long while, before suddenly opening her mouth.
”For the second mission…. what is the fastest clear record in history?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”The record? Wasn't that by Mister Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun? The legendary 29 minutes and 38 seconds?” (the bald giant)
Mm, mm. The bald giant nodded his head as if he was proud of something. Meanwhile, Kim Hahn-Nah's head dropped low, and eventually, she began rubbing her face raw, as if she was feeling quite fatigued all of a sudden.
”….This is crazy.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”What's crazy?” (the bald giant)
[Area 1's second mission has been cleared.]
The expressions of everyone present became dumbfounded by the sudden announcement.
16 minutes, 24 seconds….
This was precisely the moment when history would be rewritten.
< 12.=”” the=”” record=”” in=”” history=””> Fin.