Chapter 64. Character Evaluation (4)
Whoosh!
As the sword swung through the air, a razor-sharp gust shot out like a boomerang. The wind sliced through the White Serpent’s smooth hide in a single clean line.
However, just as expected, its lost stamina was restored instantly.
[99.3%]
[100.0%]
“Attacking it doesn’t work! It heals right away!” Jin-Sol shouted.
“I know,” Eun-Ho replied.
“Then why are you...”
At that moment, the Serpent turned its head toward Eun-Ho. Its glowing eyes met his, and its tongue flicked out with a hiss. Was it just his imagination, or did it just lick its lips, salivating?
“Wind Blade!” Eun-Ho shouted.
He swung his blade, sending another gust slicing toward the white predator. Of course, he knew how futile it was, he just did it so he could run away.
“Wind Blade!”
Eun-Ho slashed and sprinted, zigzagging through the massive cylindrical chamber—across, up, down, and diagonally. Sometimes he stabbed with the tip of his Razor Beak Blade as he passed.
Sssss—
The serpent hissed, its red tongue flicking out like a spear. Then, Eun-Ho darted back the way he came, dodging, stepping on, and springing off the monster’s massive coils.
“What are you doing?!” Jin-Sol shouted. “Either attack or don’t! Why are you taunting it?!”
“It’s all done,” Eun-Ho said.
“What do you mean?!”
Then came the final move.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Eun-Ho leaped from one jutting block to another along the wall. The White Serpent chased tirelessly, writhing upward along the wall after him. When he was sure it was following, he twisted in midair to dodge its gaping jaws. He dropped straight into the coil of its circularly wrapped form.
Thud!
Like a bungee cord, the White Serpent plunged down after him, arrowing toward the ground.
Sssss—!
Poison dripped from its gaping mouth.
Crackle!
However, Eun-Ho blocked with his petrified right arm, squeezing through a gap beneath the White Serpent’s belly. As expected, it frantically chased him.
Snap!
Its own head snagged in its coiled self, as if wearing its own tail as a scarf.
Sssss—!
It thrashed and snapped its jaws wide, trying to free itself, but the harder it struggled, the tighter the knot became.
Crack!
“You tied it up?! Seriously?!” Jin-Sol yelled in shock.
“Why do you think I was running around like crazy?” Eun-Ho said.
“I thought you were just scared!”
He ignored the yellow-haired head peeking from behind a corner.
Step by step, Eun-Ho approached the thrashing snake, its spit-like venom spraying everywhere. When he got close enough to see his reflection in its glaring yellow eyes, the White Serpent lunged, jaws stretched wide to swallow him whole.
Kyaaaaa!
“Acceleration! Petrify!” Eun-Ho shouted.
His right arm and leg hardened to stone, and he drove them straight into the creature’s gaping mouth.
[You have been exposed to a large amount of poison!]
Crackle!
Poison dripped from its upper jaw, and the sole of his right shoe sizzled, but Eun-Ho had the stone gifts from the Mystery Box and the Golem.
[Due to Petrification, the toxin does not enter your body!]
Besides, he also had the weapon left behind by that serial killer.
“Summon.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...!
Golden mental energy poured forth like a waterfall. He fired again and again into the White Serpent’s softest interior, the bullets of willpower tearing into it.
He even lost count of the shots.
Tick—!
When the accumulated damage struck all at once, the white scales, the yellow eyes, and the crimson tongue all lost their luster.
[The White Serpent has entered a disabled state!]
[The match cannot continue!]
[The Cooperation trial has terminated early!]
***
“... That concludes my report.”
The moment Harona finished speaking, Seung finally let out the breath he’d been holding. His boss was the one giving the briefing, so why did his own throat feel like it was burning? He couldn’t understand at all.
The conference room was filled with a noisy kind of silence. It was noisy, because everyone’s minds were busy calculating gains and losses. It was also silent, because one man’s words outweighed the combined thoughts of all the others.
“So...”
The voice rolled through the room, deep as the sky and heavy as the earth. It belonged to the Director, the sky and ground of everyone present.
“Is that man really worth turning the Center into your enemy?”
“Well...” Harona mumbled, then clamped her mouth shut.
The division chief sitting next to the Director shook his head slightly. It was a warning of don’t say something that would stir up trouble.
“It’s just unbelievable how you want to refuse the Center Director’s request just to protect one candidate.”
“It’s not that I’m trying to protect him—”
The division chief cut her off sharply. “Administrator Harona!”
A mere manager couldn’t contradict the words of the Director, the very sky itself.
Then, the Director lifted his hand, silencing the chief instead. “If not to protect him, then what?”
He stared at her as if to say, go on.
“They’re not just after one subject. I’m certain this is the start of a plan to strip away the Bureau of Management’s authority, piece by piece.”
“Isn’t that an excessive leap of logic?”
“Then why would the Center Director make a personal, official request for just one subject?”
“... Hmm. I am curious. What kind of talent makes them all so desperate to get him?”
The Director rumbled thoughtfully and a faint glimmer of interest spread across his stone-like face.
“H-He’s someone we absolutely cannot lose!” Harona exclaimed. “If you see him for yourself, Director, you’ll understand!”
The sharp-minded girl seized the opportunity.
“If that is truly your conviction... Then protect him and prove it. Prove his worth.”
Harona had won. She wouldn’t have to hand over the subject she had scouted and trained herself.
“Otherwise, I will hold you personally responsible.”
“Thank you for trusting me, Director!”
The young woman bowed deeply, smiling radiantly like a newly blossoming flower. However, just then, an ominous alarm shrieked through the room.
Beep—!
“What is that sound?!”
[Warning!]
[Trial execution interference detected!]
[The verification protocol has been interrupted.]
[Penalty has been applied to Subject Lee Eun-Ho to resume proper operation!]
The very subject they had just won the right to keep had caused an incident.
“Hah...”
The blooming girl swallowed back a curse, only in her mind, of course.
***
[The trial, Cooperation, has been completed.]
[You have been rewarded with a point.]
[Please check your reward!]
The trial itself was over.
The yellow-haired guy slid down the wall, then shot upright. “W-what the hell are you doing?!”
Even though the trial was finished, he looked startled to see Eun-Ho raising his blade again.
“I’m not aiming at you,” Eun-Ho said, reassuring him.
Then Eun-Ho turned to face the White Serpent as the dissection had to begin.
“People say it’s really good for you,” Eun-Ho added.
“... What is?”
“The Serpent.”
“... Huh?”
Swoosh—!
Leaving him speechless, Eun-Ho stabbed the battered White Serpent’s head from top to bottom. The sword dug in with a wet, tearing sound, like slicing through raw meat. Then, with a final push, he split the space between its eyes.
[You have slain the White Serpent!]
Beep—!
Then, a piercing ring shot through his skull.
[Warning!]
[Emergency notification!]
“Huh? What now?”
“What kind of notice is this?”
“Don’t tell me it’s another Golem-like creature...”
Dread coiled in Eun-Ho’s gut as he listened.
[Penalty has been applied to you for interfering with trial execution.]
Me? What did I even do?
The system declared his grand crime of trial executive interference.
[For one hour, your vision will be blocked.]
[For one hour, you can only hear the system messages.]
[For one hour, all your speech will be muted.]
It was an utterly absurd penalty.
[The Crow from the Bureau of Management is outraged at this nonsense!]
[The Newbie from the Bureau of Corporate Relations wonders why this channel has so many penalties!]
[The Brain from the Bureau of Investigation complains that the fun part just started!]
[Multiple observers are furious at this frustrating development!]
I can see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing?
He cursed under his breath, but no sound left his lips. Besides, he couldn’t hear anything. Every noise in the world was erased, as if wiped clean. Even the shocked voices of his companions were silent, just mouths moving.
[You’ve developed the status effect, Mute.]
[You’ve developed the status effect, Deaf.]
Damn it...!
[You’ve developed the status effect, Blind.]
Swoosh—!
Then just like that, the world went dark. Both the weight of the sword in his hand and the resistance of the Serpent’s skull were real. The same went for the fishy stench of cold-blooded flesh and the late bloom of blood’s metallic scent.
However, his sight was gone. There was nothing but darkness.
This is...
All sense of direction dissolved and he felt like he was sinking endlessly. The sword slipped from his fingers, and he flinched, but there was no sound nor feedback. It was like none of the sensations he’d felt had ever truly been his.
Suddenly, someone shook his shoulder.
“... Ho!”
Fwoosh—!
Sunlight shattered the darkness, flooding over his face.
“... t happened?!”
“... ungnim!”
Clatter! Bang! Crash!
Noise assaulted his mind all at once.
Ding!
Then, a private message rang out, meant only for Eun-Ho.
[Penalty has been lifted due to exclusive trait Rebel.]
[Your vision has been restored.]
[Your hearing has been restored.]
[Your speech has been restored.]
Light and sound crashed in like a torrential downpour.
“Seriously, how is he supposed to do a trial like that?!”
“This system is complete trash!”
However, that trash system actually rewarded him with an exclusive trait-related title.
[Congratulations!]
[You have acquired an exclusive trait-related title, Order Opposer.]
[Would you like to check the effects of the title, Order Opposer?]
Order Opposer?
[Due to the effect of the title Order Opposer, all penalties have become benefits.]
[Duration: 1 hour.]
[Status effects, blind, deaf, and mute have now been reversed.]
Penalties became benefits? Ugh, how am I supposed to interpret this wordplay? So if it's the reverse, it’s going to work the opposite way?
Before he could fully ponder it, new messages flooded in.
[You can see the core of things.]
[You can hear what cannot be heard.]
[Your words gain power.]
Through this new perception, Eun-Ho quickly noticed something.
“... Huh?”
Wait a second. That White Serpent... What the hell is it hiding in its stomach?