Chapter 5

005. Payment Review. (4)

005.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a new world.

Not really, though.

“Did only my soul come here?”

Somehow, I knew.

I realized that I was not in a real world and that only my soul had been brought here.

Knowing this fact gave me a strange sense of calm, so I wasn’t surprised.

‘Is this the Awakening Room? Is that what it’s called?’

I turned my head slightly to look around, and I saw that I was in a large, old room.

The only source of light in the dark room was the torches hanging on the walls.

The knowledge that entered my mind explained that this place was called the Awakening Room.

Following the information in my head, I slowly walked through the dark room.

Clearly, my body was left behind, and only my soul had come here.

Even though it felt like a dream, there was no problem with walking.

I slowly walked to the opposite side of the room.

There, five small boxes were placed.

As soon as I recognized the boxes, something appeared before my eyes.

Ding!

It was a system message.

However, it didn’t explain the boxes but rather that the system had opened.

The message arrived, and the corresponding system information also entered my mind.

‘Status window, inventory, and even skills. It’s just like a game.’

I didn’t know why the awakening process took this form.

However, since the system resembled a game familiar to people on Earth, there was no sense of alienation.

Naturally, the new knowledge became mine.

‘There are levels and stats too.’

I hadn’t opened the status system yet, so I didn’t know exactly what items were there.

However, I could guess the form based on the mentioned levels and abilities.

I should open it and check.

But the message was still there.

Ding!

The system had more to say.

“Ah... first-come, first-served.”

Area 257 probably referred to where I was now.

I don’t know how wide an area was considered one region, but I was among the top 100.

Thanks to that, I could choose one more reward, which was quite encouraging.

‘Is this the end?’

I waited for a moment to see if the system had more to say, but it was silent.

Now, I just needed to choose a reward and leave.

Naturally, my eyes were drawn to the boxes.

The five boxes were all the same shape, and the selection method was a kind of random draw.

I don’t like relying on luck, so it was better to set a standard.

‘Middle one, no matter what.’

The middle box of the three on the top row.

I decided that if I were in this situation again, I would always choose this position.

Then, I slowly extended my hand and touched the box.

Ding!

As I felt the cold box in my hand, a message appeared.

I still had one more step to take.

‘Second one, the right one.’

I wondered if I would have another chance to receive two rewards, but my choice was the right box on the top row.

Again, as I extended my hand and touched the box, a message sounded.

And once more, my consciousness became hazy.

* * *

‘Hmm...’

My soul, which had been out of my body, returned home.

I felt like I had spent a long time, but it wasn’t the case.

Time seemed to have stopped, as my spear was still embedded in the goblin’s chest.

Perhaps the time spent in the Awakening Room existed on a different time axis from reality.

I feigned a calm expression and pulled out my spear.

Then, I glanced at Cha Soohyun’s face.

“Ah.”

She let out a gasp, a step behind me, her eyes wavering.

I could see the unhidden surprise in her eyes.

‘We’ve completed 10.’

Even the slightest change made me aware of Cha Soohyun’s current situation.

And the way she looked at me.

Her eyes clearly showed that she had noticed my change.

“We’ll withdraw for now.”

Cha Soohyun, who quickly regained her composure, chose to withdraw.

It seemed like it would be noisy when we returned.

“Both of you rest. Mr. Seohu, let’s talk for a moment.”

After safely returning to the 13th floor, Cha Soohyun called me separately.

I knew what her business was, so I followed her into a small meeting room.

After closing the door and confirming that no one was around, Cha Soohyun’s face turned cold.

“Mr. Seohu, you also went through the awakening, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Indeed, that’s the case.”

Cha Soohyun, who spoke as if she had expected it.

Since we had killed the same number of goblins, it wasn’t an unpredictable situation.

Hiding it would only build distrust, so I admitted it frankly.

“This is something that can’t be left unreported. Let’s go together.”

“Understood. Before that, I have a question. What reward did you receive?”

“...I received a skill. A common-grade skill.”

Cha Soohyun hesitated for a moment before answering my question.

She received a skill but didn’t mention other rewards.

As I expected.

‘I was the 100th, so I received one more. If I had been a bit later, I would have received only one.’

I had expected that she wouldn’t reveal the exact rewards she received.

I didn’t expect her to mention the existence of a skill, which could be a significant piece of information.

What I wanted to know was the number of rewards.

“Mr. Seohu?”

“I received... an item. This one.”

I received two rewards, but I only mentioned one.

On the surface, this would be my only reward.

Since no one would believe the situation, it was natural to keep a trump card.

Unlike Cha Soohyun, who didn’t reveal what skill she received, I didn’t plan to hide the information about the item I received.

So, I took out the item from my ‘inventory’.

Ding!

──── ◆ ITEM ◆ ────

──────────────

As soon as I held it, the item information appeared again.

A small window with the item’s name, type, grade, and abilities.

It appeared automatically as soon as I thought about it.

I subtly extended the Flame Dagger to Cha Soohyun, who had a glint in her eyes.

She flinched for a moment but took the dagger, reassured by my expression.

She examined it from all angles and looked into the air, probably reading the item information.

“Hot flames when striking? Is that the ability?”

“Yes. It’s a common-grade dagger, but it has some abilities. But can you check other people’s items?”

“I can see it clearly. It seems there’s no problem using it.”

Cha Soohyun, who received the item from me, read the abilities.

Through her, I gained a small piece of information.

‘It doesn’t belong to me. It can be taken away at any time, which is a headache.’

Since the item can be taken away, it would have been better to mention the other reward, the skill.

‘No, skills can’t be checked, so it’s better to keep it hidden.’

The other reward, the skill.

Unlike the item, it doesn’t show unless I use it.

If I can’t predict both rewards, it’s better to put the flashy one in the forefront.

“Let’s go. We have a lot to report.”

The building would likely become quite noisy.

* * *

The information that Cha Soohyun and I provided soon came from other teams as well.

The cross-verification was quickly completed, and as I expected, a meeting was immediately held.

I was brought to the meeting as a sample and a reference.

“We need to capture them. Killing 10 will grant us miraculous power. Naturally, the chairman and executives must gain this power first.”

I couldn’t understand it, but the meeting took a strange turn.

The secretary, Kim Hoyeol, was speaking like a revolutionary, demanding that goblins be captured to awaken the chairman and executives.

The heads of the executives, with their gray hair, were nodding, their faces full of greed.

Kim Hoyeol, the chairman’s secretary, was passionately speaking as if he were a revolutionary.

I felt a surge of disgust and wanted to run away immediately.

“Mr. Kim. What you say isn’t wrong, but the security personnel who fight on the front lines should come first. I will take responsibility for the chairman’s safety, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Hey, Team Leader Lee. Didn’t you hear what Ms. Cha Soohyun said? It makes you stronger and healthier. Is someone who knows the chairman’s health condition saying this?”

“It would be true if the chairman were in critical condition, but that’s not the case. Capturing them is not an easy task either.”

At least there was one sane person.

Team Leader Lee Chanwook, the security team leader, refused to back down.

It seemed like it would take a long time to reach a conclusion.

“Let’s go.”

“Understood.”

Since we had no authority to make decisions, Cha Soohyun and I had to leave.

Even after leaving the meeting room, my mind was not at ease.

‘Let’s just check the insurance money and decide from there.’

The old men, still immersed in the company game, were disgusting to look at.

I didn’t leave immediately because I was also scared and afraid.

But it wouldn’t take long.

I didn’t know what I would receive from the insurance money, but it wouldn’t be small.

My instinct told me so.

“My skill is Wind Claw. It’s a skill that creates claws of wind to attack the enemy.”

“Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”

“You gave me the item, so this is fair.”

“Fair. Yes, it is.”

“And I thought it would be okay to tell you, Mr. Seohu. Rest well. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Cha Soohyun, who suddenly blurted out these words, left the room.

Is she the type who can’t stand owing someone?

I shrugged and headed to my resting place.

“Excluded?”

The next morning, our team was excluded from all tasks.

“...I’m sorry. It’s a decision from above.”

“Really, that’s too much. To do this as soon as they found out about the awakening.”

“I’m really sorry. I have no face to show.”

“It’s really absurd and funny. I know it’s not Ms. Soohyun’s fault, but it’s really ridiculous.”

“There’s nothing to say.”

I never thought that even we, who volunteered to go out and capture goblins, would be excluded.

I couldn’t understand how such a conclusion was reached.

‘It’s for the best. There was no need to fight any further.’

I fought to qualify for the insurance money.

And I achieved that qualification yesterday.

The situation is absurd and infuriating, but it’s not a situation where I need to fight.

“Instead, the three of us can rest here. We don’t need to return to our departments. We can rest here and observe the situation.”

“Is this because of the awakening Mr. Seohu mentioned? Is that it?”

“It seems so.”

“I know it’s not Ms. Soohyun’s fault, but it’s really ridiculous. I don’t need to fight, so it’s not a big deal.”

Perhaps out of conscience or fear of information leaks, we were excluded from the tasks.

Lee Dongchan showed interest in the awakening but was satisfied with not having to fight.

Tak Daeri seemed to feel the same way.

“Will you give us a ride later?”

“Let’s see.”

“Hey, you know how well I can flatter, right?”

I chuckled at Lee Dongchan’s sudden change in attitude after Cha Soohyun left.

It seemed he preferred to stick with me rather than follow the others.

I felt like I had a potential companion for the journey.

“Ah, it’s going to be boring. Maybe we should have a drink. You lack common sense.”

“Let’s just sleep. Sleeping comfortably in this crazy world is a blessing.”

I pushed away the complaining Lee Dongchan and lay down.

I wanted to enjoy this rest, which might be my last.

And time quickly passed, and the promised three days were over.

Ding!

Finally, it was time to receive the insurance money.