***
<Hanguk University 2022 Academic Year First Semester Return-from-Leave Guide>
-Application Period: 2.18(Fri) ~ 3.1(Tue)
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
As soon as morning broke, Min-jun completed his return-from-leave application without delay.
Only after a text saying that his application had been received arrived right away did it feel real.
‘I really am going back to school.’
It was a school he had studied fairly hard to enter, but after the accident in the military, he had held out for years without going back.
He had thought he might never even be able to go near it again, but his mind changed in an instant.
Perhaps something had changed somewhere inside him because of what he had experienced in the game.
‘Or maybe it’s because I have a little more money now…… Ah.’
Min-jun sprang up and put on his prosthetic leg. He had remembered something he had forgotten.
‘Currency exchange!’
There was no point in having dollars if he could not use them.
At this rate, he would not even be able to pay for one delivery meal to celebrate.
“Should I get my hair cut too?”
As he touched his shaggy hair, Min-jun grinned.
It was an expression he had not worn even once while looking in the mirror for the past several years.
***
‘It feels really empty.’
After finishing his business at the bank and neatly getting his hair cut, Min-jun limped around outside.
Sweat poured down because of the hot weather from the morning, but his mood was fine.
‘Everything’s good, but my stamina is way too lacking.’
He walked to the crosswalk and leaned against the traffic light for a moment.
It was a moment when he missed the body he had in the game, the body that had even fought hideous monsters.
“Mister.”
Suddenly, he felt a touch below his waist.
Was she about five or six years old? She was a little girl wearing a kindergarten uniform and a yellow hat.
The child opened her clear eyes and was looking back and forth between him and the prosthetic leg on his right foot.
“Does your leg not hurt?”
“You! Oh, I’m so sorry! She’s still young, so she doesn’t know any better.”
The child’s mother, startled, hurriedly bowed her head, but Min-jun waved his hand as if to say it was fine.
In the past, he would have hated those words, but Min-jun was fine.
“It’s all right. I’m better than I look, you know. Want me to show you?”
For no particular reason, Min-jun jumped in place and stuck out his prosthetic leg as if showing it off.
“Are you really okay?”
“Of course.”
The child’s face grew even brighter than before.
“I scraped my knee last time too, and it hurt, but I’m okay now! It bled, but now it doesn’t!”
She fumbled with her knee and showed him her leg with a bandage stuck to it.
“Wow, you didn’t cry?”
“No!”
“You cried a lot, so why are you lying?”
“I didn’t cry!”
Watching the child flare up at her mother’s scolding, Min-jun chuckled.
“Let’s cross quickly. You’ll be late for kindergarten! Say goodbye to the mister.”
“Goodbye, mister!”
“You have to raise your hand while crossing.”
The sight of her walking bravely after her mother, who was urging her along.
Min-jun only walked far behind them with a bitter smile.
‘I’m not a mister, though.’
That was when it happened.
He felt as if time had stopped.
Thump.
The fine hairs all over his body stood on end, and an intense high-frequency noise filled his head.
‘It’s coming!’
Min-jun kicked out his uncomfortable leg with all his strength.
His prosthetic leg sprang hard off the asphalt as if it would break.
SCREEECH—!
THUD—!
He saw a bus that had missed its brakes crash into a vehicle stopped in front of the crosswalk.
In its path was the child, walking bravely with her hand raised high.
“No!”
Just before the car could hit the child and her mother, Min-jun snatched both of their arms.
He pulled them back with all his strength and fell backward.
“Oh my!”
“Ah!”
At Min-jun’s force, the two of them hurriedly fell back onto their bottoms, but there was no time to say anything about that.
SCREEECH—!
They saw an SUV skid past right in front of them, leaving tire marks behind.
It was clear that if they had been even a single instant late, it would have struck them and passed through.
“Waaaaah! Mom!”
The child cried at the top of her lungs, and the mother hugged her with dazed eyes.
“Is it an accident?”
“Call the police, the police!”
“Did someone get hit?”
People got out of the cars one by one, and the area grew noisy in an instant, but Min-jun simply stood there frozen like stone.
Because to him, there was a fact far more shocking than the traffic accident.
‘What was that just now?’
It had been the sensation of his five senses being pulled to the limit.
Even with this uncomfortable leg, he had predicted what would happen a few seconds later and prevented the accident.
‘No way…….’
But Min-jun felt like he knew why he had this ability…….
***
-Grade: Candidate
-Hero Name: Liz
-Level: 5
-Tier: Unranked
-Class: Fanatic Assassin
It was the first information Min-jun checked after returning home.
There was a clear difference from before.
The avatar information that had been “Cunning Assassin” had changed into “Fanatic Assassin.”
‘It changed when I gained a new Trait.’
Yes, it was because of the “Trait” he had obtained from rolling Diamond Roulette before.
Min-jun pressed Fanatic Assassin and checked its details.
-Ability: B+
-Potential: B-
-Trait: Touch of Darkness(S-Rank)
-The assassin who hunted people gained faith and began to regard his own actions as sublime. Darkness is a friend and companion that walks with him, so there will no longer be anguish at the tip of his blade.
Touch of Darkness.
Min-jun examined it.
<Touch of Darkness(S)>
-Intuits approaching danger.
It was simple, but the contents were by no means trivial.
Sensing danger in advance was an incredible attribute.
Depending on the situation, it would be like starting with several extra lives.
‘The problem is why this activated in reality. This isn’t a game, is it?’
That was what Min-jun found strange.
There was only one place he could check this fact.
‘Would the Hero Network know?’
Hero Network.
Since it was the group chat room of the game participants, they might know something about this information.
Min-jun quickly picked up his phone and entered it.
<Hero Network(Korean Server)>
-Participants: 250
-Brillante: It seems like the system gives more benefits the earlier you participate, so I think missing it would be a loss. A difference of 50 people is huge.
-Merlin: But we don’t know what that penalty from the Stage 2 Test onward is. I think it might be better to participate after understanding that first.
-Lightly: So are you saying we should participate now, or what?
-Merlin: I’m thinking about it. I’m also considering just watching the situation this time and doing it next time.
-Canaria: I participated.
-King: What are you scared of? Just participate. Don’t we have to do it anyway?
-Brillante: I’m participating. There seems to be more gain than loss. The next test will have 150 people, and this one has 100, so the competition is much lower now.
“Are they holding some kind of meetup?”
Min-jun, who had come to ask a question, instead got caught up in their conversation.
He scrolled down through the chat.
-Granado: After listening to Brillante, I think participating now should be fine. Competing with 100 people is better than competing with 150, isn’t it?
-Gent: I’ll do it now too. For people with jobs, you might feel reluctant since it’s starting suddenly today?
-Gnome: I’m one of those office workers! lol
-Astria: There are 15 spots left until 100~! We have to do it sooner or later, so let’s hurry up and participate~!
-King: I have a job too, and I’m participating. Just skip one day. What’s there to be scared of? Don’t you know this makes more money?
“Second test…….”
Min-jun recalled what the “test” mentioned in the Hero Network was.
‘It was the test to become a Hero from a Hero Candidate.’
If so, there was no need to hesitate. It was something he had to do someday anyway.
‘Do I get it from the Hero Guild?’
When he moved to the Hero Guild tab, as expected.
There was one unchecked notification.
<Stage 2 Test: Black Sun>
-Participant Limit: 71/100
-Time Remaining Until Summoning: 3 minutes 11 seconds
-Those who cannot participate in the first session will be gathered together and tested in the second session 30 days later.
Did that mean they would begin first with only 100 people, and the remaining people would wait a month before joining the next test?
“Why are they doing it like that?”
In other words, starting this time was absolutely advantageous, was it not?
It was just as the person called Brillante in the Hero Network had said.
Even if all 100 people participated in this test, 150 would remain.
Competition against 100 people and competition against 150 people. Which one would be more manageable?
‘Just from this, it sounds like I definitely have to do it this time.’
But somehow, it did not sit right.
Min-jun read the next part of the Stage 2 Test.
-In the Stage 2 Test, the candidates ranked 1st to 3rd in performance will be finally selected as “Heroes.”
-In this “Korean Channel,” a total of 6 Heroes will be selected.
-In other words, the number of Heroes selected in the first and second sessions is the same, at 3 each.
‘Three out of 100, three out of 150. No need to say which one is better.’
The more he heard, the more it sounded like they were luring people to participate in the first session.
If there was one thing that bothered him.
-Caution: From Stage 2 onward, there is a slight additional penalty.
‘A slight additional penalty. What the hell is that?’
That part felt especially ominous.
Of course, it was not enough to break his will to participate.
‘Whatever it is, I know it’s better to start early, so there’s no need to hesitate.’
Becoming a Hero.
That was the same as gaining the right to continue accumulating points through this “Hero Channel” application.
That was undoubtedly a privilege no one else in the world had. Where else could one obtain something like a medicine for immortality?
‘Participating now is right.’
-You have participated.
Fortunately, he joined before it was too late.
The number of participants pointed to 98, then soon became 100, and a “Closed” mark appeared.
“It filled up in an instant.”
It was a natural result.
Even people who had not known that participating was beneficial rode the flow in a rush once a few people began encouraging them.
-Skal: Last time, just participating got us 300 Hero Tickets and even points. If we pass Stage 2, they’ll give us more, right?
-Ban: Surely only 3 people won’t pass, right?
-Merlin: I don’t think that’s the case, is it? It seems like they’re giving special benefits to the top 3, not that only 3 people pass. Though I don’t plan to participate this time.
-Brillante: Whatever the case, participating this time has more benefits.
-Lapis: But what could the penalty be…….
-Shia: They’re not going to take points away, right? Surely not.
-Montmorency: Don’t think too much about the penalty. Since you participated anyway, there’s no backing out, lol. Penalty or not, we just have to pass, don’t we?
-King: You know what’s up. Why are grown men trembling? It makes you look pathetic.
Without saying a word in chat, Min-jun only loosened his stiff shoulders and prepared for summoning.
Before he knew it, only one minute remained until summoning.
“Earn money, earn points. Two birds with one stone.”
Now that he had realized the gains were certain, there was no hesitation.
-30 seconds until summoning.
-We will provide guidance regarding the failure penalty of the Stage 2 Request. We sincerely apologize for the delay.
-Shia: You sure tell us early.
-Astria: Yeah, I already finished applying.
-Granado: At least they know they’re late.
-20 seconds until summoning.
-The failure penalty of the Stage 2 Request is “Resurrection Unavailable.”
“……What does that mean?”
Reactions similar to Min-jun’s came up in a row. They were all asking what “Resurrection Unavailable” meant.
-If the request is not completed, and all participants. In other words, if all 100 Hero Candidates die.
And in the guide message that followed, content no one had imagined.
No.
-Heroes cannot be resurrected.
Content no one had wanted to imagine.
-In other words, if even one person does not remain and complete the request, the participating Heroes will.
It flowed out in unbelievably calm lines.
Thump, thump.
His heart beat violently.
The noisy Hero Network went as quiet as a dead mouse.
-10 seconds until summoning.
Hah—.
Only a suppressed sigh slipped out from his lungs.
-Die.
“Die……?”
The blood that had been pumping hot through the veins all over his body instantly turned into cold coolant and chilled his head.
-We wish you good fortune, Hero Candidates.
-5 seconds until summoning.
-4 seconds until summoning.
-3 seconds until summoning.
An intense light burst from his phone.
Min-jun’s expression hardened.
“……They’re going to do it like this……?”
-Summoning begins.
THUD—!
Along with the sound of something collapsing, his vision flickered.
The world he had been standing in began changing into something else.
-Test information will be revealed.
-A country that worships martial might. The Rivelhardt Empire. Their most fervently loved festival, the “Victory Festival,” has already gone 10 years without anyone seeing its end. Hero Candidate, head toward that end.
That was his final memory of the twenty-first century.
***
THUD—!
He opened his eyes at the sound of the earth shaking.
Iron bars blocking every direction.
A sealed room reminiscent of a prison.
“Where is this……?”
Min-jun came to his senses with narrowed eyes.
‘A dungeon?’
It was clearly a space meant to imprison people.
It was an endlessly narrow space that made it hard to breathe.
‘What kind of situation is this?’
Min-jun began checking his condition.
He was standing barefoot on a hard stone floor, and his body was roughly wrapped in leather armor no better than rags.
He held a long spear in one hand and a shield in the other, but they were just as shabby.
The spear had been made by carving wood into a point, and the shield was merely several old oak planks layered together.
‘What pathetic equipment.’
Min-jun felt dumbfounded. He did not know what kind of request this was, but he already had a bad feeling about it.
In the previous game, they had at least given him one iron sword…….
And Min-jun was not alone.
“They should’ve told us the penalty first, fuck…… There’s no answer to this…….”
“Sniff…….”
He saw one man and one woman.
They were holding messy armor, spears, and shields similar to his.
“What are we going to do?”
The woman looked ready to cry as thick tears dripped down her face.
“What do you mean, what are we going to do? Fuck.”
The man sitting on the ground kept tearing at his hair without rest as he answered.
“This is just screwed. We got played properly by those bastards from Hero Channel or whatever, those sons of bitches…… When they said penalty, we should’ve tested the waters once before going in.”
Was it because no one had dared to expect that this would be a game with their lives on the line?
The two were in a terrible state.
Min-jun was the same. His breathing grew rough, and his chest pounded.
‘This is literally real combat…… This isn’t a game anymore.’
Yes.
This was real combat.
Real combat with nothing to enjoy.
They were being forced to complete the Hero Test with their lives held hostage.
‘Come to think of it, that was right. A Hero always meant a sucker from the start.’
Min-jun pressed down on his head and massaged it as he looked back at the two.
“Enough. Get your heads together. It isn’t over yet.”
“What isn’t over? We might die!”
Then.
“Cage No. 1. Prepare!”
A booming voice rang out from somewhere.
“Wh-What is that?”
“Are there people besides us?”
Bewilderment burst across the two people’s faces.
The unfamiliar voice continued.
“Raise it!”
“Raise Cage No. 1!”
“He says to raise Cage No. 1!”
Min-jun felt a tingling sensation rush over his whole body.
It was the warning sent by his Class Trait, “Touch of Darkness.”
‘Something is coming!’
Rattle-rattle—!
The sound of chains winding.
Min-jun staggered and had to catch his balance.
“Wh-What is this!”
“Kyaaa!”
The floor was rising upward.
Like an elevator.
His mouth went dry.
“Don’t let go of your weapons. Be careful!”
The floor headed toward the sky at high speed.
Bright light flew in from the ceiling and pierced through the iron bars.
They had reached the surface from the dark underground all at once.
‘A prison?’
The moment he emerged onto the surface, Min-jun realized he was inside a cage like a cubical pigpen.
And the next moment.
“Waaaaaaa!”
“Fight!”
“Wooooaaaah!”
Ear-splitting cheers poured down.
“This is…….”
It was the moment the three of them stood there dumbfounded.