Chapter 19. One-on-One (4)
Baaam—!
A massive, spiked mace whooshed past Eun-Ho’s ear, smashing into the wall with a thunderous crash.
Crack—!
The train’s metal panel buckled and shattered, debris and dust scattering like smoke.
[You have eliminated the Greater Ghost.]
[Car 17 has been cleared.]
That was close. Even in the face of death, the Greater Ghost had managed to hurl its weapon.
One more down at least, Eun-Ho thought, exhaling in relief.
Behind him, the massive Greater Ghost, now missing its left arm and leg, lost its balance and toppled over with a dull thud.
Thump!
Carefully, Eun-Ho stepped around the pooling, dark-red blood and unidentifiable gunk oozing from the corpse. Just as he reached for the door to exit, something small tugged on the edge of his shirt.
What the?
It was Yul, left behind after being separated from her father. Her black patent shoes and white socks were soaked in the Greater Ghost’s blood.
"Wait! You are... How did you even..."
“I was hiding,” she murmured.
“Hiding?” Eun-Ho echoed.
Was that even possible? Sure, she was small, but in such a narrow train car, there was nowhere good to hide. Still, this was not the time to question her.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
***
He found a small nook between Car 17 and Car 16 and hid Yul there safely. Then, he went on to take down the Greater Ghost in Car 16.
There’s no time to waste. I have to think fast.
Eun-Ho tried to come up with a way to clear the entire train in under ten minutes. Just then, he noticed the foul-mouthed guy standing outside the train.
“What are you doing out here?” Eun-Ho called out to him.
“I, uh... figured as long as I’m back before time’s up, I’m good, right?” the foul-mouthed guy replied.
“So you just left the train instead of fighting?” Eun-Ho asked.
Seeing that, Eun-Ho had to revise his original thought. He had to think of a way to clear the entire train in under ten minutes alone.
Just a second ago, he glanced down the hallway and spotted the foul-mouthed guy cowering near the bathroom, shaking with fear. Surprisingly, this was the same self-proclaimed tough guy who hadn’t stopped running his mouth earlier.
“Looks like you were really scared, huh?” Eun-Ho said.
“I, uh... Yeah.”
The man didn’t even realize his cap—almost like a tattoo on his head—had fallen off and was rolling away on the floor.
“Go to the store, grab any weapon. You're not saving those points for your grave, are you? And one more thing—”
The foul-mouthed guy blinked, trying to process Eun-Ho’s words, but totally lost.
“In round three, finish your fight quickly and help out in Car 14. I’m heading over now.”
“I nearly got killed without landing a single hit, and now you want me to—”
“Acceleration.”
“Whaaaat?!”
Clunk—!
The next moment, Eun-Ho flung open the door, calculating desperately as he moved. Through the glass, he saw the Greater Ghost in Car 14 wildly swinging its mace.
Next to it stood a petite figure with long hair, a pencil skirt, and a fitted suit jacket.
It’s Lee Ye-Ji, from accounting, Eun-Ho thought.
The Greater Ghost had a deep blue blade lodged in its gut—a clear sign that she, at the very least, had tried to fight back. Although the strike had not done any real damage, it was still impressive. Instead of freezing in fear, she had taken action.
Yet, one thing nagged at Eun-Ho.
Why are her eyes shut?
Even as she plunged the sword in, Ye-Ji had her eyes squeezed shut in fear.
She’s going to get herself killed at this rate.
Swoosh—!
Eun-Ho rushed forward and yanked out the shallowly lodged sword, driving it clean into the Greater Ghost’s heart. Compared to his own sword, the blue blade went in with a bit more resistance, but it was enough. It pierced through.
“Heeeeelp!”
[You have eliminated the Greater Ghost.]
[Car 14 has been cleared.]
A moment later, Ye-Ji finished screaming her lungs out, and the system notification finally chimed in.
“Hrrngh!”
Her face scrunched up so tightly that her features nearly collapsed into each other, her mouth making odd, stifled noises.
Eun-Ho looked at her and thought absently, She’s going to get wrinkles at this rate.
“You can open your eyes now.”
“Huh? W-what?!”
Their eyes met as Ye-Ji cautiously peeked through a squint.
“Eun-Ho? Where did you suddenly come from?!”
“You’ll have to stab the heart to kill it. Next time, keep your eyes open.”
“T-thank you!”
[06:35]
He’d just cleared five train cars from Car 18 to Car 14 in about forty seconds each. At this pace, Car 4 was the best he could hope for.
Round 3 would be the real battleground. For now, in round 2, all I need to do is to warn as many people as possible, Eun-Ho reminded himself.
However, he could only use Electric Surge five more times. His head felt like it was overheating from all the thinking.
Just as he turned to leave Car 14, Ye-Ji called out from behind him, trembling, “Eun-Ho! I-I cleared my trial, right?”
She quivered with desperation. As much as Eun-Ho wanted to tell her yes, she had made it and she was safe, he couldn’t lie.
“No, probably not.”
“W-why?! We just killed the monster! Well, you did, but still!”
“I think this trial requires us to clear every car. The entire train.”
“No way.”
Thump.
Ye-Ji sank to the floor, face etched with despair. Eun-Ho felt a twinge of sympathy, but not enough time to soothe it. He turned silently to go, but then paused.
Wait, hold on.
A new thought crossed his mind.
If I’m going to abandon this round anyway...
There was no point in wasting a precious skill. Thanks to the high-voltage surge skill, he couldn’t use his blade without Petrify. Besides, he needed to save his better skills for round three.
“Ye-Ji?”
“Y-yes?”
“You’re grateful, right? I mean, if it weren’t for me, you’d be dead.”
“O-of course I’m grateful! Obviously!”
“Then, do you mind lending me your sword?” he asked politely just like Ji-Eun had once taught him. He couldn’t just snatch someone’s weapon, after all.
“Huh? But then, what about me?”
“You’ll lend it to me, right? I helped you up earlier, and I just saved your life again.”
“Well yeah, but—”
“I’m doing this so we can all survive. Isn’t that what you also want?” he asked again, even more politely than before.
“... Here you go.”
***
Thunk!
Instead of using his prized Razor Beak Blade, Eun-Ho drove Ye-Ji’s sword straight into the Greater Ghost’s skull. The dark blue blade pierced cleanly into the creature’s crown.
Screech—! Screech!
[You have eliminated the Greater Ghost.]
[Car 13 has been cleared.]
“Cleared...” Yoon Sol-Ah sank to the floor of Car 13, muttering the word under her breath. Her leg was smeared with blood, likely grazed by a spiked club. She used her healing ability, emitting a soft blue light over the wound. “But, the trial... didn't count as a success.”
She froze. The bluish glow that had been trailing down Yoon Sol-Ah’s legs suddenly fizzled out. For a brief moment, it reminded Eun-Ho of a humidifier running out of water.
“To succeed, we probably have to—” Yoon Sol-Ah said.
“Clear the entire train,” Eun-Ho finished her sentence.
Yoon Sol-Ah remained silent.
“And that’s why I’m here.”
Her chest rose and fell with shaky breaths, and a shadow of despair crossed her face. The realization hit her hard.
Maybe it’s because she was young, but her emotions are really easy to read, Eun-Ho thought.
“Is there any way you can contact someone else? A friend or anyone?” Eun-Ho asked.
“I tried everything. Calls, texts, even social media, but nothing works.” She shook her head bitterly, biting her lip in frustration, like she hated being useless.
He figured as much, but it was worth asking.
“If someone could just clear the front cars, even just a few... That would be awesome,” Eun-Ho muttered.
“Would that be enough to clear the trial?”
“Yeah. Based on my calculation, if someone can clear up to Car 4, it should be doable on this round.”
If Ji-Eun, who would be in Car 1, knew about this...
“But, the problem is, we’ve got no way to tell them.”
Sol-Ah frowned, deep in thought. “Hmm... A way to tell them.”
“I mean, in a perfect world, we could just pass the message along. One car at a time,” Eun-Ho said.
“Like a relay?”
“Exactly. Since we need to clear every car, the fastest people could move ahead, then double back to help the ones nearby.”
“That might work in theory, but...” she trailed off, eyes dropping to the floor. “Most people can’t handle those monsters on their own. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I probably would’ve died a gruesome death.”
It wouldn’t have been quick, either. A long, drawn-out nightmare of running, getting hurt, patching myself up, then running again, only to be injured all over. Just imagining it made her shiver. She clutched her long hair in both hands, as if the thought alone was too much to bear.
Eun-Ho felt a pang of sympathy watching this kid teeter on the edge of life and death.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll figure something—”
Ding!
He was about to reassure her when a soft chime echoed through the air.
[Congratulations!]
[Subject Lee Eun-Ho’s Eye has been upgraded to level two.]
A message appeared out of nowhere, congratulating him for something he was not quite aware of.
“The Eye?”
The massive eyeball that had been covering the ceiling slowly peeled back its eyelid. All the lights in the train flickered out at once, plunging everything into darkness.
“M-Mister! I can’t see anything!”
[The upgrade has been completed.]
[You can now communicate with observers in a limited capacity.]
[The synchronization rate of subject Lee Eun-Ho has significantly increased.]
Fwoosh—!
As if nothing had happened, the giant Eye casually opened once again, revealing a single eyeball no bigger than a palm.
Pop!
The small, round eyeball suddenly appeared by his head, then floated upward. It was a semi-transparent white sphere, with a pitch-black pupil in the center, just hovering there in the air.
Did the Eye just spawn a baby?
Or maybe, it had shrunk itself to follow him around more discreetly.
“What was that just now?! Was that a blackout?!”
“Huh? You don’t see this?”
“See what?”
He pointed up at the floating eyeball above him, but Yoon Sol-Ah only stared at him blankly.
So, I’m the only one who can see it? I’m not losing my mind... right?
As Eun-Ho stared at the strange floating Eye, a new message appeared in the air.
[An anonymous observer is curious to see how you’ll overcome this situation.]
Then, a strange voice echoed inside his head, and unfamiliar text appeared at the edge of his vision.
“What the hell is that?”
[An anonymous observer is greeting you warmly.]
[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation crosses their arms, saying this round won’t be so easy.]
[The Crow from the Bureau of Management sighs, disappointed to see such a rare gem stuck already.]
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Eun-Ho muttered.
What is this? Some kind of livestream or something? And now there’s an Investigation Bureau and an Management Bureau involved?
The sheer absurdity of it made Eun-Ho scoff.
Yoon Sol-Ah frowned. “Did you hit your head or something?”
“No. Forget it. We’re running out of time.”
[01:45]
He tried to regain his focus.
“What we need right now is a way to contact everyone, especially Ji-Eun, who is all the way in the front car,” Eun-Ho muttered.
At that, Yoon Sol-Ah absentmindedly twirled her long hair from the roots, muttering under her breath, “Yeah, it’s not like we can stuff a note inside an energy bar and toss it forward like in the movies”
“Energy bar... A note... Wait, what?”
“Huh?”
Ah!
Eun-Ho thought of a plan that could just work.
***
Boom—!
A massive club narrowly missed Ji-Eun’s head, slicing through the air beside her ear. The Greater Ghost's weapon slammed into the floor instead, embedding itself deep in the steel.
While the creature struggled to yank it free, Ji-Eun sprinted to the opposite end of the car. She hadn’t even had time to breathe before the pain hit her.
“Ah—!”
Hot blood seeped into her ear canal. Her earlobe had been torn, perhaps even ripped open. It burned and buzzed like hell, and all she wanted to do was run.
I can’t cry over a scratch. Eun-Ho fought with actual burns.
She bit her lip and repeated the mantra she had told herself over and over for two days straight.
Pull it together, Ji-Eun. Kill the monster. Complete the trial. But, how am I supposed to clear it?
She had already defeated one of those things earlier. It was a lucky throw—her dagger had pierced the Ghost’s slow-moving heart. And yet, the system still declared it as a failure.
Ha... Eun-Ho would've figured out the rule by now.
He always found the best solution, no matter how dire the situation was. She had no doubt he already knew what to do. However, she couldn’t ask him because he was far away.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
While she was lost in thought, the Greater Ghost finally wrenched its weapon free and came staggering toward her.
What would Eun-Ho do right now?
He always moved with purpose—focused, calm, and decisive. She recalled what he had said earlier. If it had been him, he would’ve taken down the monster without a second thought.
Screech—! Screech!
Ji-Eun’s eyes sharpened, freed of fear and hesitation. Her gaze locked onto the Greater Ghost.
For just a heartbeat—one that felt like an entire night—she analyzed the enemy’s movement, and raised her dagger. She’d factored in the creature’s swaying torso, right then left, and aimed with calm precision.
Swish—!
The dagger tore through the air and sank deep into the Greater Ghost’s chest. It was a calculated throw, aimed with calm precision.
Then, she witnessed the second miracle just like in the first round.
Screech—!
“Phew. I killed it.”
Breathing hard, she slumped into a nearby seat. She was still scared and even shaking. However, she had done it.
However, the system message said otherwise.
[You have failed the trial.]
[Penalty will be applied due to trial failure.]
It was the announcement she had hoped never to hear again—yet there it was, echoing once more.
“No, no! Come on!”
If she entered round three like this, nothing would change. The monster would evolve again, and even if she managed to kill it, she would still fail the trial.
It felt like she was sinking, being pulled straight through the floor and into the cold, unyielding earth. There was no answer. Even if there was, it was buried too deep for her to reach.
Eun-Ho, what am I supposed to do?
She never imagined she’d desperately miss the guy from the neighboring team. Caught between panic and hope, she whispered his name like a prayer.
[A gift has arrived!]
[Would you like to check it?]
Then came the answer from Eun-Ho.
- To: Kim Ji-Eun
- From: Lee Eun-Ho
- Message: You can leave the safe zone during the trial. We need to clear the whole train. Help out if you can. Reply by sending a junk item.
What the heck?
Ji-Eun blinked after reading his message. Next to the message sat a moldy piece of bread.