Chapter 69. The Choice (1)
The atmosphere of the office was calm and orderly. Seung stood at attention, carefully pouring hot tea that steamed in the quiet room.
“Mmm... The aroma is lovely.”
Harona inhaled deeply, savoring the fragrance, and a satisfied smile tugged at her lips. Every motion—from lifting the teacup with her pinky extended, to blowing gently across the surface, to sipping with a soft slurp—radiated relief. Perhaps it was because the difficult report had been delivered successfully.
“Do you want some?” she offered.
“No, thank you,” Seung replied.
In contrast to his superior, the young man holding the teapot looked far from at ease.
“Is there something that’s bothering you?”
It took Harona a moment to notice his stiff expression. He had been like that ever since the debriefing ended and the Director had issued private instructions. The realization came late, but it couldn’t be helped.
Harona wasn’t the type to track a subordinate’s moods every second, while Seung wasn’t the type to easily reveal his emotions.
“I’m not exactly bothered, per se...” he said, trailing off.
He thought he knew what he wanted to say, but when the words reached his lips, they hesitated. The hard part was over because the report had been accepted. However, his heart still felt heavy, coiled tight with unease.
Am I still worried about something? Am I worried that the candidate might be shaken? No. Absolutely not.
As an administrator team, he couldn’t allow himself to feel sympathy for a candidate from a distant Earth sector.
Shaking his head, he gave the delayed answer. “I just feel a little uneasy.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Harona teased.
“It’s not because of him,” Seung insisted. “It’s just... Isn’t this trial a bit too cruel?”
His reasoning was inconsistent, but Harona nodded in understanding. The additional trial, the Choice, was the trial the Director had personally ordered. It was among the most merciless tests they had.
“They say everyone who faced the Choice trial ended up mentally broken,” Seung said quietly.
“That’s right. Whether they succeeded or failed...” Harona confirmed.
“And I can see why,” he muttered, his face pale.
Even someone as calm and emotionally distant as Seung—nicknamed “Machine” by his peers—couldn’t shake the thought that this trial was excessive.
“I just can’t believe the task requires killing their own companions with their own hands...”
“And deciding who lives and who dies,” Harona added smoothly.
That was the essence of the trial, Choice. The subjects would be forced to decide which of their closest allies to kill and which to spare.
“I think it’s too much,” Seung whispered.
“Too efficient, don’t you think?”
“Excuse me?”
Seung froze because where he saw a nightmare of forced betrayal, she saw elegance and utility.
“Think about it,” Harona said, clapping her hands almost gleefully. “It shows their will to achieve the goal. And by watching who they choose to save, we learn whether they can judge people’s worth.”
“Their ability to judge people?”
“Of course. They’ll calculate who is more useful and who has the most potential. That’s exactly the kind of judgment they will need in the company.”
Seung hesitated, a protest rising and fading in the same breath. Unable to fully explain the emotion in his chest, and not foolish enough to openly argue with his superior, he changed the subject.
“Who do you think the sacrifices will be?” Harona asked.
In trials like this, the sacrifices were usually the ones closest to the candidate.
Seung suggested after careful consideration, “Most likely Ji-Eun, Jae-Hyuk, Sol-Ah, and little Yul?”
However, Harona shook her head sharply.
“All of them.”
“What?”
“Every single one of his companions will be on the block.”
“Seriously? All of them?!”
Startled, Seung almost dropped the teapot. He barely caught it again.
“Careful! Watch it!”
“My apologies, Lady Harona!”
All of them? Every life at stake?
He had thought the scales would pit the little girl against one or two of the adults at most.
“No matter how cold-blooded he is, he’s still human,” Seung said, his voice tight. “That would drive anyone insane.”
“Hmm... Maybe. Maybe not,” she replied, utterly unconcerned.
“But last time, you said the Choice trial only involved three or four companions,” he pressed.
“The weight of the choice depends on the size of the reward,” Harona said lightly. “And this time, the reward is already set.”
“Ah, I see”
After all, this optional trial promised double the normal prize.
“Remember,” Harona continued, “his original evaluation was S+. That alone is remarkable. To give him twice the reward, the stakes must justify it.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
If one wanted something great, one had to pay the price. Therefore, understanding that logic, Seung nodded reluctantly.
“Now I’m dying of curiosity,” Harona said, folding her arms and grinning. “Who do you think he’ll choose to save?”
“My guess is the child. Subject Kim Yul.”
“Hmm... Really?” Harona tilted her chin in thought, then smirked. “Wanna bet? I say he’ll choose Kim Ji-Eun.”
It was a plausible guess. Eun-Ho and Ji-Eun had always shared something, a quiet connection only the two of them seemed to understand.
“That’s possible,” Seung agreed. “They did seem close.”
“Close? Pfft! What nonsense.”
He blinked at the sudden derision.
“Do you think he makes decisions based on feelings?” she said, amused.
“Then why Ji-Eun?”
“Because she’s useful, obviously,” Harona said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. “She has potential. After the last trial, Eun-Ho must’ve noticed her mental fortitude. He’ll see her value clearly now.”
“Well, she does have high growth potential,” Seung admitted.
“The little girl has some value too,” Harona added, “but hiding and running isn’t Eun-Ho’s style.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“I’m still not sure,” Seung said. “He’s quite unpredictable.”
“That’s the fun part.”
Eun-Ho had never once behaved the way anyone expected.
“So, are you in for the bet or not?”
“I’m in.”
“Five thousand Welfare Points. I pick Ji-Eun. You take Yul.”
“Understood, Lady Harona.”
Who knows what unexpected choice he will make this time? Harona thought.
“But why hasn’t he accepted the trial yet?”
“Good question.”
***
“Mr. Eun-Ho! Have some more pasta!”
“Ah... I’m fine, thank you. I’m full.”
“If you want seconds, just say so! You’re our savior, after all!”
“Haha...”
The survivors gathered in small groups, the tension finally bleeding out of their shoulders. Once everyone settled, hunger naturally followed.
It took less than two hours for them to scrounge up the remaining ingredients in the area, have the hotel chef work his magic, and sit down to a proper meal. Of course, every time a plate of pasta was cooked or a steak came off the pan, it was personally carried to Eun-Ho.
“Wow, that guy is really doting on you, Eun-Ho,” someone whispered.
“He probably feels guilty for siding with X yesterday!”
The attention was a bit much. Good thing he’d already cut it off politely with the “I’m full” excuse. If he had asked for more, the man probably would have handed over his own plate too.
“So...” Ji-Eun swallowed her mouthful of food and continued. “When does it start?”
“Start?” Eun-Ho asked.
“The extra trial. It’s almost one o’clock, so I figured it would’ve started by now.”
“She’s right, Hyungnim! Should we start getting ready?” Jae-Hyuk added, excited.
The selection screen for the additional trial had appeared, but...
“I haven’t accepted it yet,” Eun-Ho replied.
“What?! You can do that?”
He had postponed it. He hadn’t pressed accept, but he hadn’t closed the prompt either.
[An additional trial has been arranged for your final evaluation. Do you wish to accept?]
[Yes or No]
That was why the translucent system window hovered in the air, right in front of his eyes.
“You did the right thing,” Ji-Eun said calmly. “It’s better to eat first.”
Her voice was steady, her gaze unwavering. She clearly assumed he would accept, despite his earlier warning that they could be dragged into danger with him.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“Hmm? About what?” Ji-Eun asked.
“I don’t have to participate. I could just take the standard reward.”
He stared at her seriously, but she only shook her head with a soft smile.
“I know you wouldn’t be satisfied with that. I thought we were finally at the point where we wouldn’t hold you back anymore, but... Are we still not enough?”
Her gentle words struck him harder than any accusation. Eun-Ho opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. He had no real rebuttal.
“No,” he admitted. “You’re both enough.”
Truthfully, the moment the option appeared, he had wanted to accept. After all, his previous evaluations had been S and S+. If he could pull off another success, the result would be extraordinary. The monsters were getting deadlier, while the survivors were getting stronger.
The gap with the others is closing.
Yoo Ri-Na, with her venom, and the blond tattoo artist, who created bizarre living constructs, were proof enough.
I need to get stronger, faster.
He couldn’t stand the thought of being caught from behind, whether by monsters or by people. If he fell behind, he would never even get the chance to fight those who watched from above.
That was the kind of man he was, someone willing to risk his companions for the sake of growth. Someone who’d rather bleed on a thorny path and gain the strength to protect everyone, than take the safe road with the group. Eun-Ho thought he was that kind of a man.
“Hyungnim, we can’t hide behind you forever.”
“That’s right, Eun-Ho! Though we don’t know what the trial will be...”
I’ll need to fight, become stronger, and protect who I need to protect.
“I know,” he said finally.
“Huh?”
“I know what the trial will be like.”
Ji-Eun’s eyes widened. “You do?!”
But I’ll choose the side with less risk and more reward using everything at my disposal. That’s my goal.
The proposal he had taken from the Ghosts came to mind, the one that outlined advanced evaluation trials.
If I hadn’t read that proposal, I might have accepted without a second thought, dragging everyone into hell...
Perhaps, he’d rejected it outright, afraid to gamble on an uncertain prize.
I’ll have to thank that thing next time, maybe with candy...
Now that he had made up his mind, preparation came first. Preparation meant knowing the strength of his allies.
“Ji-Eun,” he said.
“Yes?”
“What level is your Psychokinesis?”
“Oh! I just hit level 10!”
Already?
She had likely dumped nearly all her rewards into that skill, including the ones she earned during the Character Evaluation.
“That means you can control ten objects at once, right?”
“Well yes, technically. But it’s not perfect. If they’re too heavy or I can’t focus, it doesn’t work well.”
So the skill has limitations, likely because it relies on her mental strength.
Either way, she wasn’t a concern. He already had a plan for her.
“And Jae-Hyuk, what are your stats?”
“My Stamina is 18 and Strength is 23, Hyungnim!”
“And your Ultra Regeneration?”
“Uh... That’s level 2 now.”
His skill level was low, but that was to be expected. The enemies they’d faced until now weren’t strong enough to push him to the brink of death. However, that was about to change soon.
“Put all your new rewards into it,” Eun-Ho ordered.
“Yes, Hyungnim!”
The real problem is... This trial may demand more than just prepping the two of them.
Eun-Ho tried to remember what he read on the proposal.
“Select the closest companions in the vicinity, and sacrifice one of them. Through this, the system will assess the subject’s goal orientation and rationality based on an irreversible choice.”
The system’s definition of closest companions was unclear. The phrase “sacrifice one of them” could mean anything.
So, it’s better to prepare for the worst.
He stood, determined to start gathering the others.
Immediately, the Swear-Master and Lee Ye-Ji stormed over.
“Hey! What’s with the three of you whispering over here?”
“Yeah! Why aren’t we included?”
Whether they understood the gravity of the moment or not, they pouted and complained.
“Haha... There’s just a bit of an issue.”
“An issue? You were eating just fine a second ago.”
“What is it, Mr. Eun-Ho? You’re making me nervous!”
“Wait, did you just hear something from the heavens? Like a divine message?”
“Kyaa! For real?! Are we all gonna die?!”
Their noise drew the attention of the others.
“Huh? Young Man! What’s this about us all dying?”
“Sir! Is that true?!”
In seconds, he was surrounded. Eun-Ho stifled a deep sigh and answered as calmly as he could, “No, no... It’s not like that. I just need to ask you all something.”
“What! What is it?!”
“Tell us already!”
“Yeah! We’re ready for anything!”
He paused, put on the kindest, most innocent face he could muster and asked, “...Do you have any money?”
“Huh?”