NOVEL NEXT chapter 89
89
“Is that so.”
Through the text that appeared on the status window, ‘Fortieth Trial’, the lost party, and my unharmed state, I understood the current situation.
The rocky hill. I saw the huge black rock that cast shadows over the sun, resembling a spider weaving its web.
Sssss…
A black cloak so typified that it was visible to the eye sways and approaches.
As if tempting, the whispers, like a coiled serpent, like Satan’s murmur, speak.
They promise an irresistible power.
And my response is.
“Get lost.”
Hwish─
Suddenly, a blue flame erupted, engulfing the approaching cloak like a wave.
Yet, an unknown whisper of ideology continued to resonate irresistibly in my mind like an unshakeable temptation.
However, to my engraved superior mental fortitude, it was merely a noisy ‘noise.’
Step by step.
I casually climbed the hill of rocks.
Standing in front of the black rocks, the noise circling my head shattered like glass.
[Overcame the trial of forty. Reward of 1000SP will be given.]
[Title, ‘The Unbowed’ is created.]
Ching ching, the sounds rang consecutively as the rewards were bestowed.
Title: 【The Unbowed】
─You have resisted the temptation of the cloak. The Unbowed bestows upon you a steely resolve and the demeanor of a hero······
I rummaged through the status window and opened ‘Discard.’
[Discard]
─In exchange for discarding the given abilities, you can receive corresponding SP.
+ [Projection of the Beyond]
+ [Vanguard of the Soul]
+ [Physical Acceleration]
.
.
.
[Would you really discard 【The Unbowed】?]
“Uh.”
[Title, 【The Unbowed】 has been discarded. 1500SP has been refunded.]
[Current Points: 19400SP]
“Just need to gather 600SP more.”
To enhance Projection of the Beyond, it seemed that I would soon have enough points as it required 20,000SP.
The reason for discarding The Unbowed was quite obvious.
Known for enhancing the mind, it was a title I had utilized well in the game. However, what is considered ‘good’ is always a matter of relative value.
To me, with the mark of superior mental fortitude, The Unbowed was just a waste occupying a slot in the status window.
By discarding such waste, earning 1500SP could be considered a decent deal.
After discarding the waste, I gazed at the crack in the black rock.
‘Forty.’
Here, the ideology of a being was enshrined.
It was not human, let alone akin to the transcendent minds of the abyss.
It was something far deeper and more grotesque than that.
“······.”
I turned to look at the still figures around me.
They were struggling in the illusions shown by their thoughts.
Each was constantly confronted with scenes they disliked or didn’t want to face.
Eungaye was frantically spewing all sorts of bizarre screams, wondering if she even studied, while Amelia meticulously chewed her lips, saying, “I can do it too… Why do I have this gift…” and various remarks stemming from inferiority complex.
And Cheon Woojin.
“Yes.”
“······.”
…Is he a monster?
The lad, with an innocent appearance, grinned happily and stylishly scratched his head.
“I thought I was fast, but I’m late again this time. hahahaha.”
“If you’re late, why are you happy?”
Is he a pervert?
“Well, if there are more stairs to climb, I’m full of enthusiasm and excitement, aren’t I?”
…He’s a pervert.
Watching the lad laugh cheerfully, saying he needs to try harder, I suddenly became curious about what Cheon Woojin’s nightmare was.
It made sense, as nightmares didn’t appear when playing Cheon Woojin in the game.
Once you approached forty, the ending would appear, leading to the next branching.
“What was the nightmare about?”
“Nightmare?”
The lad, as if not understanding English, tilted his head and said, “I woke up just by cutting my vein. Oh, that was a nightmare.”
I rolled my eyes at him finally realizing it was a nightmare.
Indeed, this lad was messed up.
Well, honestly, I didn’t care much about Cheon Woojin or other main characters. There was no need to care.
They were individuals who easily brushed off nightmares given by simple fragments of thoughts, moving forward.
However, there was an ‘extra’ who couldn’t.
I shifted my gaze towards the supporting role.
Han Seyeon.
As a contractee of Mordo, she was a fated supporting character who was originally entangled in the ‘Rampage of Magi.’
Hence, she was someone who could easily resonate with the Magi influenced by thoughts.
For Han Seyeon, the difficulty of the trials in their forties was several times more nightmarish than for others.
It could even be dozens of times worse.
Magi users were the most susceptible to the influence of Magi…
Knowing this, the reason I brought Han Seyeon to her forties was none other than ‘Noah Maxwell.’
The figure who saved us in the Creation.
But I didn’t believe she saved us without any conditions.
She had a mindset that didn’t care whether it was mana or Magi, but precisely because of that, Noah Maxwell was the one who was more cautious of such beings.
‘If Han Seyeon is swayed by the thoughts of her forties…’
Noah would dispose of Han Seyeon without hesitation. Noah was not soft enough to spare a dangerous pawn that might fall into the hands of the enemy.
That’s why he had to ‘prove’ it through the trials of forty.
To prove that Han Seyeon was a reliable being who wouldn’t waver at forty.
‘Maybe I’m watching.’
Whether through cameras or through Soojeonggu, there was a high possibility that someone was observing Han Seyeon’s situation from somewhere. No, it was certain.
Noah was a person who wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t a fact confirmed by his own eyes.
That’s why, despite being able to intervene and stop the forty’s ordeal inflicted on Han Seyeon, I left her alone.
Because this was not a problem for me to get involved in.
It was solely an ordeal that Han Seyeon had to overcome on her own.
Well, even if that’s the case, I couldn’t continue to leave her like that. It seemed like it would take quite some time.
“Cheon Woojin, help me for a bit.”
“What for?”
“Help me sit her down.”
“Well, wouldn’t it be better to wake her up?”
Looking at the slightly uncomfortable Han Seyeon, Cheon Woojin asked.
“She’ll get up on her own if she passes.”
I said, glancing at Han Seyeon, who was breathing evenly.
Although Cheon Woojin couldn’t see it, it was clear to me.
The sight of Han Seyeon’s soul fiercely battling with the forty’s ordeal.
With Cheon Woojin’s help, I leaned Han Seyeon against the rock on the hill. Then, I took a seat myself.
If Han Seyeon were to go out of control, I was the only one here who could stop her.
‘Although that won’t happen.’
I muttered to myself as I looked at Han Seyeon leaning against the rock.
Compared to the trials she had faced so far, the ordeal was like a playful gesture. It would take some time, but she would surely overcome it.
And so, Han Seyeon opened her eyes well past 7 o’clock in the evening.
***
“Ugh…”
Han Seyeon let out a faint groan as she slowly opened her eyes. I, who was sitting beside her, turned my gaze towards her.
“Awake?”
“Yeah.”
The guy blinked a few times and then rested his head on my shoulder. Like someone who had found a pillow after waking up. Am I a pillow?
“…”
Slightly taken aback by the natural flow of events, I felt relieved by his usual behavior.
Although I was confident that she would pass, there was still a hint of unease since I hadn’t confirmed it myself. With that resolved, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders.
With that, Noah’s wariness towards Han Seyeon had somewhat diminished.
After leaning against the rock for a while, Han Seyeon, who seemed a bit groggy from leaning on it for too long, stretched and finally got up from her spot with a tired yawn.
Looking around the deserted hill with no one in sight, she turned to me with wide eyes.
“Did you wait for me?”
“Well, there are two more instructors besides me.”
All 100 students who passed the first round of the final exam, ‘Forty’, were all in by around 5 o’clock in the afternoon.
And then, the novices frighteningly left this place upon reaching ‘forty’.
I couldn’t endure the whispers of magic and the murmurs of consciousness flowing from ‘forty’ continuously.
Because the instructors were the same, I was the only one who could remain on the rocky hill.
As one bearing the flames of the phoenix and the unchanging sigil, the concept of ‘forty’ did not apply to me at all.
The novices had all moved into the temporary dormitories of the Taebaek Mountains to prepare for the second test tomorrow, leaving only two instructors waiting outside the hill. I, on the off chance, remained to prepare for a possible rampage of the unpredictable Mordo.
Whether Hanyeon was actually listening to my explanation, she seemed to mock me throughout.
Feeling a strange sense of awkwardness, I turned my back first.
“Let’s go. The instructors are waiting.”
“Okay.”
***
At the summit of the Taebaek Mountains stood the buildings of Eternity.
The 100 novices who passed the first test stayed there for a night.
So, the next morning when the novices came out to the front yard after finishing a simple exercise.
An instructor exclaimed like thunder.
“You all look good as if you slept well. From today on, everyone will sleep outside.”
“Pardon?”
“Outside?”
For the novices who didn’t understand the meaning, the instructor kindly explained.
“Fight each other. You get one point for each capture. Of course, if you capture someone with many points, all those points will be yours. The grades will be based on the points. However, the stage is outside this building.”
“······.”
The instructor’s words were simple.
It meant that the 100 novices at the Taebaek Mountains were to engage in a survival competition.
The grades would be determined by the novices with the most points, and those who failed would wait in the building.
However, since it was difficult to get food in the mountains, using the building was allowed.
Inside the building, fighting and sleeping were prohibited.
Earning points would inevitably require everyone to go outside the building.
“Points will be recorded on the bracelets you received, and if the shield embedded in the bracelet is completely lost, you are considered eliminated. Any questions?”
One novice raised their hand quickly.
“Where do we get food?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Pardon?”
The instructor clicked their tongue while looking at the puzzled novices.
“Hunt and eat animals or livestock.”
“······.”
“Or gather grass or mushrooms in the mountains. It means you have to find your own food and survive.”
“Is there no way to sleep inside the building at all?”
“There is.”
“Oh.”
As a sense of relief flickered in the novices’ eyes, the instructor chuckled.
“If you pay 10 points, you can sleep inside.”
“That, that’s impossible…”
When Sangdo, who had questioned the unbelievable score, looked flustered, the instructor clapped loudly!
“Well, then, it’s time for the survival to begin. Everyone, go outside.”
***
As the Sangdo were pushed outside the building, an implicit rule was established to finish quickly, as if they had no intention of sleeping on the mountain. Spending a night without any equipment in such a mountainous area was a hardship even for the elite Sangdo of Eternity.
They were exceptional, but still just teenagers in their early teens.
Therefore, when the survival started and half a day had passed, there were already 50 dropouts. They were the ones who had decided in advance to sleep in the building, avoiding the results.
However, not everyone shared the same thought.
There were Sangdo who believed that it was okay to sleep on the mountain if it was for their grades. So, as the evening approached, Sangdo began to visit the buildings one by one to find food and blankets.
“Oh, I’m dying.”
Eungaye entered the building looking worn out like a dead body. It had been an incredibly tough day, but there was a proud smile on her face after achieving an incredible 4 points in broad daylight combat.
“hehehe.”
With the thought that she could aim for first place if she did well, a smile kept appearing on her lips.
It was at that moment when Eungaye was about to enter the building cheerfully.
“Huh?”
Eungaye stopped in her tracks as she witnessed a bizarre sight.
“What’s this…”
Outside the building, the Sangdo were lined up in a long queue. She thought they were the dropouts, but most of them were survivors.
“Ah.”
Understanding the situation, Eungaye nodded her head.
“Of course, there’s no way we can just sleep outside.”
Clearly, this was the instructor’s way of distributing camping supplies.
Eungaye, who had been worried about how to camp, breathed a sigh of relief.
Thinking of waiting for the line to shorten while resting leisurely, Eungaye entered the building. However, the situation inside was completely different from what she had expected.
In front of the entrance, someone had set up what looked like a convenience store, with food, bottled water, sleeping bags, and more piled up. There was a variety of camping supplies, but it was excessive. While it made sense up to a point, the problem was the large fluorescent sign placed next to it.
[1 Point – Bread]
[2 Points – Melon Bread]
[2 Points – Ramen]
[2 Points – Kimchi]
[3 Points – Sleeping Bag]
[4 Points – Tent]
.
.
.
“What is this?”
Momentarily not understanding the situation, Eungaye blinked her eyes.