With a dry clatter, Yoo Ri-Na’s items spilled across the floor.
“Whoa, that’s a lot of stuff, Hyungnim!” Jae-Hyuk shouted.
“Yeah... It seems like she’d been hoarding,” Eun-Ho replied.
It no longer mattered whether she’d gathered them by killing others or through trials. Now that they were in Eun-Ho’s hands, putting them to good use was the least he could do.
[White Serpent’s Venom Sac]
- A toxin sac extracted from the belly of a deadly snake.
- It contains concentrated poison. Once absorbed, it spreads through the body in under a minute, shutting down tabolism and hardening internal organs.
- Use Limit: 10 tis
Inside the small pouch, a pitch-black liquid sloshed ominously with every shake. It was a fast-acting poison, lethal in sixty seconds. He cautiously cracked the seal open, before sealing it just as fast.
This had to be the one she used in those earrings earlier. It didn’t seem like much when it was aid at him, but now that it was in his hands, it felt reassuring.
I hope this poison works on monsters too.
“Store,” Eun-Ho muttered, tucking it into his inventory.
Next up was a round sticker that seed like one of those skin-colored patches used for motion sickness.
[Compact Tracker]
- A location-tracking device developed by the Future Research Center.
- Once activated and attached to a target, their position becos visible on the map.
- Warning: Single-use only. Cannot be removed or reused.
I’m not sure when I’ll need a tracker, but it might co in handy, so let’s keep it.
[Refined Sleeping Draught]
- Drink to fall asleep within one minute. Duration is 2 hours.
- There are no side effects, but highly addictive. Overuse may lead to insomnia without the potion.
So a liquid sedative, basically.
The usefulness was apparent at a glance. Then, there was the last item, which was also the strangest one. The bizarre, ornanted gun with neither magazine nor chamber, and just intricate detailing.
[Soeju Handgun]
- A custom-crafted, single-shot pistol created by Soeju’s eccentric artisan.
- Decorated with elaborate gold inlay and adorned with stag horn for aesthetic value.
- Bullets are generated in response to the user’s willpower.
Huh? Generated by willpower?
That explained the lack of bullets. To test it, he gripped the pistol and pulled the trigger, making sure no one was nearby.
Bang!
The recoil was much stronger than he expected. It jolted through his shoulder, almost throwing off his aim. Then, a flash of gold shimred from the muzzle, so faint that it barely registered.
However, the impact was undeniable. There was a clean, round impact crater on the floor ahead. It was almost as powerful as his stone fist under the Petrification effect. Besides, the speed was far beyond human reaction.
“Hyungnim! That doesn’t have... How did you shoot it without bullets? I an...” Jae-Hyuk had wandered up without Eun-Ho noticing, full of awe.
“I think it makes its own bullets, but it’s probably weaker than a regular gun,” Eun-Ho replied.
“Ah... Got it.”
“With armor on, it might not even be fatal.”
Still, it will scale if it reacts to willpower... It’s only gonna get stronger.
Even Eun-Ho found the fact that he could fire this much force from a distance kind of terrifying.
I didn’t expect to walk away with all this...
Thanks to being targeted by Subject X, he’d not only survived a brush with death, but scored a deadly arsenal in return.
I guess that’s a win, right?
Eun-Ho sighed. Even in this situation, it was ridiculous how he weighed the usefulness of items left behind by the dead. That didn’t stop him from thodically storing the gun in his inventory, of course.
“Um, excuse ? Can I go now?” The voice ca hesitantly from the side. It was the chef, still kneeling obediently with Ji-Eun’s dagger inches from his throat. “I swear, I didn’t know she was going to do that! You’ve got to believe !”
“Then why did you lie?” Eun-Ho asked.
“She said you were suspicious and that she needed to talk privately. She told to play along so we could go sowhere quiet...”
That’s it? You were swayed by just that? Even though you haven’t known her for long? That decision doesn’t make sense to ...
Eun-Ho narrowed his eyes. It made the chef flinch, like a prey animal sensing a predator nearby.
“So you lied because she asked you to? You barely knew her. How can you trust her?”
“I an... She was really pretty!”
“... You’re telling you didn’t think a woman that attractive could commit mass murder?”
Wow. What a pathetic excuse for a partner in cri, so much so that it’s almost convincing.
Eun-Ho tilted his head slightly. “During the observation trial, what mory did you submit?”
He threw out the question casually, almost like a test. Not that it would prove guilt or innocence on its own. Nevertheless, it’d help him understand what kind of person this guy was.
“Why do you wanna kno—?”
“Answer.”
“Gah! Okay, okay!”
As Ji-Eun raised her dagger again, the chef scrambled to reply, “... bang...”
“What?”
“... I-It was a mukbang.”
The entire group blinked in confusion.
As if to prove it, the chef mid stuffing his face and made exaggerated slurping noises. “You know! Cooking and eating on cara! People seed to like it!”
Mukbang? Yeah, that guy. I rember seeing one.
“What did you cook?”
“It was rose pasta. Ten servings!”
Eun-Ho rembered the one who’d fild himself eating obscene amounts of pasta, slurping down ten servings of rose pasta like a starving hyena. It started out as a normal mukbang, but over ti, the guy went crazy over donations and started acting ridiculously. He was flinging noodles into the air, making a huge scene.
I thought it was gross... Who would’ve thought that soone who ate that ssily was actually a hotel chef? I never would’ve imagined it.
“... Well, I’ll hold judgnt for now.”
“But Hyungnim, what if he was her accomplice?”
“Are you okay letting him go?”
Jae-Hyuk and Ji-Eun both appeared concerned, but Eun-Ho nodded slowly. There wasn’t much to gain by roughing him up anyway.
“But, on one condition,” Eun-Ho continued, “give a statent.”
The chef seed confused. “A statent?”
“You have to make the statent that the model lady tried to kill and that she attacked first.”
People would be coming soon, so he might as well make use of the chef while he was still useful.
***
It had been a long night. Soone had tried to kill Eun-Ho, but in the end, he was the one who survived. None of it was dictated by the system—it was purely his and her will and choice.
“But strangely, I’m not shaking. Plus, my heart’s not racing like crazy or anything...”
Is this normal?
Eun-Ho said it aloud without really aning to. The words just slipped out.
Ji-Eun gave him a faint smile. “That’s a good thing. It ans you’re strong.”
Her drooping eyes, usually soft like a puppy’s, seed especially weary today. A quiet smile tugged at her lips, and she seed deep in thought.
“Eun-Ho.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think people beca evil because the world changed? Or were they always like that?”
That was what she’d been thinking the whole ti. She used to believe people were inherently good and that even bad actions had reasons, and with enough understanding, most people could be forgiven.
Therefore, he treaded carefully with his reply. “I don’t really know, but I think people change depending on their circumstances.”
Ji-Eun’s smile turned bitter. “Yeah. I guess it was a aningless question.”
She’s waking up.
She finally started to realize that not everyone’s heart was like her own. He didn’t know if he should be glad or feel sorry. In the end, he said nothing and just gently patted her shoulder.
“Hey! You two!”
The security guard and cleaning lady approached from across the plaza. It was 8:30 AM.
It’s that late already?
All around, people were beginning to stir. Survivors had gathered in the plaza, readying for whatever was next.
“You... you’re doing okay, right?”
“I'm worried sick! Oh, what a nightmare you’ve been through...”
The security guard seed unsure, while the cleaning lady fussed over him like he was her own son. It was all thanks to the Swear-Master. He exaggerated, saying that Yoo Ri-Na was a terrorist and Eun-Ho fought her off while risking his life.
Not everyone bought it, of course.
“That’s him, right?”
“Last night, it was him who...”
“He’s still standing fine? Ugh, that’s creepy.”
Most of the murmuring ca from the people who’d co from Itaewon. To them, even after just a day or two, Ri-Na had been soone they thought they knew. Hence, it was difficult to believe that the sa woman had tried to kill soone. It was easier to believe Eun-Ho had so ulterior motive and struck first.
At least the chef’s testimony helped cool things down, Eun-Ho thought, shrugging slightly.
The cleaning lady, who’d been nervously glancing at him, smacked him on the back. “You should be resting after all that! Why’re you up so early?”
“Haha... I’m fine, really.”
“Coming out here at the crack of dawn, just to hear people gossip about you? Hmph! And what are you all staring at?!”
A few onlookers jumped and quickly turned their eyes away. Still, it wasn’t a bad feeling, being seen and defended.
It was now 8:50 AM. He sat in that strange middle place between the familiar and the unfamiliar, waiting for ti to pass. So stared up at the clear blue sky with heavy sighs. Others kicked the dirt and sighed again.
A serene mountain morning, laced with a silent, buzzing tension.
“Noonim! What do you think today’s trial will be?”
“Good question. The aptitude test is already over so...”
“Man... I thought we were done with the Entrance Exam crap.”
The Swear-Master had a point. They were nearly at the end, with only one stage left.
And after an aptitude test, there’s only one thing that could co next.
Just then, the calm was pierced by a lively chi and a system announcent echoing through the forest.
[Attention all survivors in the Yongsan District.]
[At exactly 9:00 AM, the project Character Evaluation will begin.]
“What? Character evaluation?!”
It was a follow-up to the aptitude test.
[All survivors, please proceed to the designated safe zone by 9:00 AM.]
Fwoosh!
Then, a map flared into view, the semi-transparent overlay filling the corner of his vision. On the left was mountain and park terrain, and on the right were densely packed buildings.
“There’s only one safe zone!”
Eun-Ho could easily recognize the layout of the final trial location in Yongsan District. However, sothing felt a little off.
“But the safe zone is huge,” he muttered.
“Huh?”
The safe zone was easily over a hundred ters in diater, being far larger than any previous safe zone they had seen. Besides, with less than two hundred survivors left in Yongsan District, everyone could fit comfortably inside.
That ans... This isn’t the end.
He could tell that getting inside the safe zone was just the start.
If they need a space that big for the Character Evaluation trial, that can only an one thing.
“Jae-Hyuk! Take this for !”
“Huh? Oh, okay, for sure!”
With gear packed and ready, Eun-Ho nodded once.
“We’re heading to Noksapyeong Station! Move out!”
“Got it!”
***
“Huff...”
“We’re here!”
“Over there! That’s the safe zone!”
They had made it to the Noksapyeong Station intersection. Located just before the vibrant streets of Itaewon began, it was still and empty, save for the wide-open road.
“Whew... It seems like everyone’s arrived.”
“There’s so many people, Noonim!”
There were no cars in sight, but the place was packed. So stood gripping weapons taller than they were. Others nervously glanced around, sizing up every tool and talent in their vicinity.
There were those with sunken eyes and pale faces, clearly sleepless. Then there were others who did everything they could not to be noticed. A quiet pressure filled the space, with everyone watching, waiting, dreading what ca next.
“A character evaluation?” Ji-Eun panted beside him. “What are they trying to pull, gathering everyone like this?”
Eun-Ho didn’t bother answering because soone else already had.
[Attention survivors of Yongsan District.]
The system broadcast cut in right on cue as their ever-impatient Administrator wasn’t one to keep anyone waiting.
[We will now begin the preliminary stage of the Project, Character Evaluation.]
So the final stage of this surreal Entrance Exam begins...
It was the beginning of the one they couldn’t even study for, nor fake their way through. The true test of character had arrived.
[By the Administrator's authority, the Arena is now open.]
[The Eye is now open.]
With a sound like shattering glass, the sky above fractured. Then, a massive, grotesque eye blinked open across the heavens.
[The Crow from the Bureau of Managent greets a dear friend with joy!]
[The Ferry Man from the Bureau of Managent scoffs, wondering when they beca friends.]
[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation smiles, saying it feels like ages since their last visit.]
As soon as the Eye opened, the observers arrived, chattering away as if this were so kind of reunion. Then ca the next system prompt.
Fwoosh—!
[This preliminary trial is a character survey designed to assess your values and morality.]
[Your answers will be used to inform future trials, so please respond honestly.]
“A survey...?” Eun-Ho muttered, rembering he’d seen sothing like this once before during the Mock Battle trial. “Is it like the one from earlier where they asked us where we prefer to be buried alive?”
“Shit, are they gonna toss us in the dirt again if we answer wrong?”
The Swear-Master’s outburst made everyone fall silent. Even with the proposal docunts Eun-Ho had read, what happened after the survey was still a mystery.
At least the questions should be standard like a regular personality test.
[1. I could betray a teammate if it ant gaining sothing for myself.]
Yeah... Stuff like this.
[Character evaluation has started.]
[Please answer honestly.]
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