Chapter 7

Chapter 2. Selection (2)

"......A rock?"

Thinking I must have seen it wrong, I closed and opened my eyes, but all that was revealed through the light was a dull rock.

A rock smaller than a golf ball.

And just one of them.

"Ah! Is this really a sword? What if I cut myself?"

"Hey, miss! A piece of metal came out, do you know what it is? It's so heavy I can barely hold it!"

The woman in the tight-fitting suit held a sword with a sharp blade, while the elderly security guard, whose eyesight was failing, received a bulletproof shield that looked like it belonged to a special forces unit.

"Whoa! Brother! Look at this!"

Even Jae-hyuk held a shiny suit of armor that looked like something a medieval knight would wear!

"Y, Yoon-ho! A rock just came out for you, right?"

At Ji-eun's words, everyone's attention focused on the box floating in front of me.

"Young man! A rock just came out, right now?"

"Rock? I thought the cloak was the worst, but I was wrong."

"Hey, hang in there…."

The items everyone held were, broadly speaking, things that could help with survival.

Of course, there was a gap between a shield and a cloak, given the randomness.

"Brother! Do you want to share my armor? We can take turns wearing it!"

"Are you saying you'll take off the armor in the middle of a fight to let me out?"

"Th, that's…."

"…Sigh. It's okay. Maybe a rock can be useful if thrown well."

But a rock is still just a rock, no matter how you throw it.

I tried to console myself, but my hand, gripping the golden string, trembled.

'I needed to make up for the disadvantage with this…'

The random box was truly random.

While there is a saying that luck is also a skill, it's not something that can be achieved through effort, so what can you do?

—Even so, my shoulders drooped involuntarily.

"…What about you, Ji-eun?"

"I got this…."

What Ji-eun pulled out of the box was a dagger, about the length from her wrist to her elbow.

She had a strange expression, her eyes sparkling, as if she liked it.

"You handle it well."

"Yes. It feels so natural in my hand. It's the first time I've held a knife other than a kitchen knife."

She seemed to like the grip, turning it this way and that.

The size fit her small hands perfectly, as if it had been custom-made for her.

"That's good. It will be useful in many ways."

At least Ji-eun and Jae-hyuk got something decent, which was fortunate.

Especially the dagger, which would be useful in daily life, not just in combat.

It would be good if she got used to it.

'Maybe I should get used to the rock too? Throwing it, rolling it…'

With a sense of resignation, I touched the rock, thinking of useless things.

Then.

—Pfft!

The surface of the rock, which my fingertips touched, suddenly liquefied as if it were melting in a hot fire.

'Skill? Suddenly?'

After all the data collection.

The skill I had diligently built up to 99% by jumping back and forth a hundred times didn't show up, and suddenly a skill came out of the random box?

—Squish.

The rock, or rather, the liquid that was once a rock, climbed up my fingertip where it touched me.

A hot sensation penetrated deep into my skin, muscles, and bones.

Petrification.

Feeling my fingertips harden from the inside, I realized my body was changing.

To what extent?

Legs? Arms? Fist?

'…Hm?'

* * *

—Pfft!

"Wow, this is amazing!"

Ji-eun clapped her hands and continued.

"It's not just an ordinary rock, right?"

'Abandoned Mountain Range Diamond.'

I thought it was suspicious that the rock had a name.

But it could pierce through concrete walls and marble floors.

"It's so amazing. It would be great for opening cans too!"

"Actually, you open cans with your thumb, not your index finger."

"Is that so?"

She nodded silently, and Ji-eun shrugged, saying, "Is that so?"

"Still, I like that it's a growth-type skill. The range will expand as the level goes up."

「Petrification (Lv.1): Hardens the user's body for 60 seconds.」

「Range: Right index finger」

I had confirmed the strength, so expanding the range would make it quite useful.

While a weapon like a sword or shield might seem more immediately useful, the best thing is to increase the base stats.

"Mission reward."

"I'll use the remaining 1 point to enhance the Petrification skill."

"Right thumb."

I said without hesitation.

I often use my thumb and index finger together, and I could crush things by applying force.

"Yoon-ho, are you trying to open a can…?"

"…Of course not."

I glanced around, leaving Ji-eun, who tilted her head, behind.

To see if anyone else had received a skill like me.

If there was, they would likely be my competitor.

'Except for Ji-eun and Jae-hyuk, the rest got swords, shields, cloaks, bombs…'

The items from the random box varied widely.

However, the reactions of the people holding them were mostly the same.

'What am I supposed to do with this?'

"Brother! How do we carry all this? It won't fit in our bags."

"Huh? Min-jeong, why is my money in your bag?"

"What are you talking about? It's our money. We'll use it for our new home, right?"

Amidst this, the couple who were excited about the 500 million won in cash were the most lively.

The problem was that their excitement led to a lovers' quarrel.

"New home? I don't want to get married!"

"Let's settle down and get married! This money is enough!"

"Sigh… Min-jeong, that…."

"Ha! Forget it. Get lost."

—Rattle.

At that moment.

The man looked troubled.

The angry woman walked to the corner.

When the man chased after her.

A palm-sized figurine on the display rolled to my feet.

'Hm?'

It rolled smoothly due to the slippery floor.

"Come to think of it, the manager said the floor was slippery…."

—Thud. Thud. Rattle.

Next, it was a tumbler someone had left.

"Oh, brother!"

"Ah! Min-jeong!"

The couple, trying to move to a corner, fell and screamed.

The couple fell forward.

Objects began to roll.

This is….

"…The floor is tilting! Everyone, be careful!"

As if to make a mockery of the warning, the floor of the exhibition hall began to tilt as soon as the words were spoken.

"Ah!"

"What's going on with this!"

"Brother! It's getting steeper!"

The tilt became steeper.

From a gentle hill, to a steep mountain, to a cliff-like slope.

People who couldn't maintain their balance began to stagger and fall.

Some people were seen rolling down the tilted floor.

"How much more will it tilt?!"

—Thud. Thud. Clang.

Pots and decorations fell and broke, and large furniture and display cases crashed and tumbled down the slope.

"Jae-hyuk! Grab a pillar!"

"Ah! What about you, brother?!"

Unlike Jae-hyuk, who clung to a pillar, I had nothing to hold onto.

Then.

"Petrification!"

—Pfft!

I stabbed my right thumb and index finger into the floor.

There was no time to hesitate, wondering if it would work.

People were already rolling and falling as my fingers sank into the floor.

"Ah!"

Thud!

I barely managed to grab Ji-eun's wrist as she fell.

"Are you okay? You must be heavy…."

"I can hold on. More importantly… everyone! Are you okay?"

I asked the people who had rolled and piled up in the corner, but the only response was screams like "Ah! Ah! Ugh!"

—Crack!

To make matters worse, flames began to rise from the feet of the couple who had fallen to the far corner.

"Damn! What is this!"

"It's fire! What do we do…!"

'Sudden fire? Why?'

The flames, which had no ignition point, grew larger and soon burst into flames.

"How do we put it out! Ah!"

The flames spread from the man's feet up his legs.

Perhaps he hadn't let go even as he fell, the flames spread through the bundle of yellow bills he held in his arms.

"Drop it! Quickly!"

"Brother! Drop the money! Huh…."

"Save me…."

Before they could react, the flames engulfed the man's entire body.

Fire Demon.

The red demon, which had devoured a person as if conquering them, moved to the side without giving them a chance to escape.

"Ah…!"

It happened in an instant.

Two people turned to ashes.

—Whoosh!

"Brother!"

There was no time to think about saving or helping the burning people.

—Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Overhead!"

A wooden table, at least 2 meters long, was plummeting straight toward my head.

'If I pull my fingers out here, I'll fall! Then the flames will…!'

Below, the flames were roaring, as if we were the next target.

"…!"

The skill that had stopped at 99%.

I prayed desperately.

'Anything, please… something I can use right now!'

'Acceleration…'

—Whoosh!

'It's just about getting faster, right?'

I was hanging on a tilted floor, not even able to run.

'Just moving faster won't help!'

"Brother! You have to get out of the way!"

Die from a head injury or burn to death.

There was no other way.

I had to try it.

"Acceleration!"

First, I tried to increase my speed to avoid it as much as possible….

'Huh?'

I didn't feel any faster.

As I tilted my head, Ji-eun's lips parted.

Very, very slowly.

"Uuuuuuunnnnnnghhhhhhh…."

'Huh?'

The Acceleration skill.

It wasn't that my speed was increasing…?