Chapter 9

Chapter 2. Selection (4)

— Click.

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

The dimly lit room.

A heavy silence settled where light should have been.

A sharp voice, like an arrow, cut through the air.

Before he could even plant his feet, the room's owner barked, but the man remained steadfast.

It wasn't because his superior was a child with feet that didn't touch the ground, fidgeting with the desk and chair.

It wasn't out of fear that he would lose his head if he were treated like a child.

Only then did Harona, who had been hidden behind the screens floating in the air, reveal her irritable face.

The man flinched for a moment but then mustered his courage.

This is definitely something 'unusual.'

Harona was annoyed.

If it were a total annihilation arena, everything would have been 'deleted' automatically. What could possibly go wrong?

Harona doubted her own ears.

A total annihilation arena is exactly that.

Once the ground gives way, it all washes away in an instant, and the gathered people are consumed by flames.

Unless the number of people is small, it's impossible for over a dozen participants to work together and find balance.

I left before I could see it activate because I was swamped with work.

But now, I remember one thing.

There was a safety zone that was covered with cloth, allowing more people to survive than planned.

However...

Participants facing death would not follow others' orders with their lives on the line.

Do they have the observational skills, judgment, and charisma to do so?

What kind of person is it?

It happens occasionally.

Participants who have yearned for something their entire lives, something they would give their soul to obtain.

But such people tend to have a narrow perspective and are often twisted in some way.

Harona thought deeply and muttered to herself.

And without realizing it, she smiled.

As the man bowed and turned to leave, his superior's voice followed, "Wait."

The monsters sent to the area with many smart participants to grow stronger.

The man, sensing his superior's hidden intentions, stiffened.

It was a place where the elite gathered.

Expecting the top 1% with intelligence and charisma, but they were swept away in an instant.

Without a proper fight, they just flailed around.

Probably because they couldn't overcome their physical limits.

If the mission difficulty is too high, a proper evaluation is impossible.

She knows that, doesn't she?

The man shouted, but Harona, as if she had finished speaking, disappeared among the many screens.

* * *

"Run 100 laps of 10 meters each. No breaks."

"Huh?"

The people who had been eagerly waiting for my words now closed their mouths and frowned.

Was that not the answer they expected?

An awkward silence, like a deflated balloon, filled the air.

"Are you joking?"

"Of course, it's a joke. It's not like we aced the college entrance exam or anything..."

Some people waved their hands, thinking it was a bad joke.

"It's serious."

"Then, will we get that skill or something?"

"I did."

"Huh... More unique than I thought."

Despite their puzzled expressions, people started to loosen up.

"Well, shall we... start running...?"

"Me too!"

"But there's no guarantee that it will apply to you... Hey?"

— Thud!

The people who had been surrounding me scattered like a receding tide before he finished speaking.

Then they started running around the exhibition hall.

"It won't work..."

I said, "It's a 'unique skill.'"

Each person will likely receive a skill suitable for them.

So, just because they run like that, they won't get the same skill as me.

"You all run well."

"Yeah, they usually don't exercise."

Except for Ji and Jae-hyuk, everyone was running around breathlessly.

The exhibition hall of the game company turned into a gym preparing for a sports meet.

"..."

Suddenly, a silence fell over the noisy crowd.

A strange dissonance, as if time had been cut and forcibly reconnected.

"Something's happening..."

Someone, startled by the ominous feeling, spoke up, and from beyond the silence, a strange sound came.

— Creak!

Everyone's gaze turned to where the sound came from.

"Bro, bro, bro, bro! The ceiling...!"

A crack appeared in the air, which was thought to be empty.

With a sound like shattering glass, the space split open.

"The sky is collapsing!"

"AAAAH! Save me!"

The security guard ran to a corner, the accounting team woman covered her head and trembled, and the foul-mouthed man...

"Damn! Is this my skill?!"

He took off his cap and rejoiced.

And what slowly revealed itself through the crack was...

"Eyes..."

Huge eyes, almost covering the ceiling.

The dissonance of the translucent white and the pitch-black pupil in the center was bizarre.

And the moment I met those eyes...

"!!"

A feeling of being scanned, as if my soul was being stripped, sent shivers down my spine.

Is this what the mysterious circles left by aliens look like?

The familiar system announced the start of the mission, but people were still fixated on the giant 'eye.'

Of course, I was included.

But unfortunately, the surreal situation we faced didn't end with the giant eyeball.

— Screech!

"What's that sound?"

"Ugh! Isn't that the sound of nails on a chalkboard?"

A piercing scream came from a distance.

And what appeared in the air was...

A blade... no, a beak, reflecting the light like a shiny knife.

"Is that... a bird?"

A bird, about 3 meters from wingtip to wingtip.

With black feathers, a few horn-like crests, and a beak sharp enough to cut.

"Jae-hyuk! Hide!"

— Screech!

The bird's beak, which flew in an instant, grazed Jae-hyuk's ear.

— Slice!

"Ugh, AAAH!"

It cleanly cut off the corner of a wooden shelf right next to him.

"What the hell is this?!"

Jae-hyuk, faster than the sound coming from his own mouth, hid under a nearby display.

— Clang!

The bird's beak, which should have pierced Jae-hyuk's head, instead embedded itself in the stainless steel display.

— Cluck?

At that speed, it should have broken.

But the bird, with its beak stuck, flapped its wings and rolled its round eyes.

"Hey, black guy! Are you okay?"

"Is it over?"

Some innocent people, trying to calm their hearts, asked.

"No way."

— Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!

The bird, unable to move, made unpleasant sounds.

As if it were a victim caught in a trap set by a ruthless human.

In such situations...

"Other birds are coming! Everyone, hide!"

— Screech!

A wall distorted, and a sharp beak, head, and body appeared.

They took turns making sounds, as if signaling to each other.

"Damn! Why aren't you running?!"

"But, the exit is blocked! I can't get out!"

People tried to escape the exhibition hall but were blocked by an invisible wall.

Thuds could be heard as people hit their heads.

— Flap!

This is bad.

I scanned the area, but there was no good place to hide.

And the speed was too fast.

"Bro! I... I'm fine, just run!"

Jae-hyuk, uncharacteristically brave, but his feet wouldn't move.

Where could we run to?

We're trapped in here anyway.

— Screech!

The birds flew in, slicing the air.

Aiming for Jae-hyuk, who was trembling, and the bird with its beak stuck.

"Yun-ho! Can't you do something with your skill?!"

I quickly ducked to avoid the flying blade and shouted.

"With my skill... the best I can do is dodge. We have no weapons..."

Using the skill to slow down the speed doesn't mean I can take out the birds in the air.

I can't attack with just two fingers.

"Weapons..."

Ji, with a nervous expression, bit her lower lip.

Then she approached a woman hiding behind a display.

"Yejee! The sword!"

"Wh-What?"

Yejee, in a business skirt, was crouched, hugging her knees and trembling.

She looked similar to Ji, who was trembling under a body during the second mission.

"Can I borrow it for a moment?"

"But, what about me?"

— Clang!

Avoiding the bird's beak, which came closer than before, Ji said urgently.

"You saw Yun-ho's skill, right? This sword can only save us if she uses it properly. Hurry!"

'Even so, asking for the reward item...'

"Yejee can't use it anyway, right?"

"But..."

"I'll return it. Really, thank you!"

'It's possible.'

Ji, who had forcibly borrowed Yejee's sword, ran to the security guard.

"Shield..."

"Sh-Shield! Here it is!"

Ji has definitely gotten stronger.

Maybe because of her mental strength, or because she's a straight-shooter, or both.

"Yun-ho! Here!"

— Whoosh!

I shielded myself with the shield Ji pushed towards me and gripped the sword.

The only sword I've ever used is the kendo I learned for a few months when I was young.

"Mission reward."

"Enhance acceleration skill."

I have 'time.'

Time to get used to the sword.

"Yun-ho! Be careful!"

"I don't think I can be careful..."

I gave Ji an awkward smile and muttered.

The method to deal with the nine winged monsters, with a 60-second cooldown, is...

— Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Bro! Why are you drawing their attention...?"

The only way is to gather them and attack.

— Cluck? Cluck?

Raising the blue sword, the stupid bird struggled to free its beak.

Swinging its sharp claws endlessly.

But it was helpless against the attack from the back of its neck.

— Thud!

— Screech!

— Scream!

The rage of the birds, feeling the death of their comrade, could be felt in the air, in the sound, in the aura.

One. Two. Three. Four... Eight.

— Thud!

Kicking off the ground, I ran towards the last one.

And as the nine birds finally dived, beaks gleaming, I shouted.

"Acceleration!"