Arena

Time slipped by ruthlessly.

- Name: Kim Hyunho
- Cla.s.s: 3
- Karma: 0
- Mission: Rest until the next test.
- Time limit: 11 hrs.

"I"m feel restless just waiting."

I felt like I going crazy from being so nervous.

When I fall asleep today, I will be called back to fight in the "arena".

It"s too scary. Can I survive this?

After living 10 days with my family, my desire to live grew larger.

Just imagining my mom, older sister, Hyunji crying against my dead body makes me extremely sad.

"I going to survive. Kim Hyunho you can live."

I needed to a little shopping today so I left the house.

I arrived at a nearby outlet shopping mall.

The reason for coming here was to buy clothes to wear for the second test.

Thinking about the first test, I ran around a forest just in my underwear.

The lesson I could learn from that is "whatever clothes you were wearing when you went to bed is how you"ll be called to the test".

Then what would happen if I sleep with all my clothes and shoes on?

Thinking about it like this made clothes and shoes an important item to prepare. Basically I was here to buy war clothes.

"I do have my military clothes in the closet, but I don"t want to wear that again even if I die".

If I die during the second test I"ll be discovered wearing the military clothes. How much more pitiful would I look dying as a young with that!

I bought shoes first.

I chose shoes that were suitable for many different environments and was water proof. The price was outrageous but I closed my eyes once on this and bought them.

For the pants I bought cargo pants that had lots of pockets. I thought about exercise clothes or jeans that wasn"t restrictive, but the point that it had lots of pocket was most important.

"Ah wait! Should I also buy a pair of gloves and a hat?"

The glove and hat helps in protecting my hands and head.

Bringing whatever I could was best.

When I arrived back at home, it was already night time.

There was only 3 hours left.

After checking I haven"t forgotten anything, I sat down at the desk and wrote a letter.

[To my loving family]

This was a will just in case I couldn"t return back alive.

I wrote about how much I loved my family. I wanted to write it nice and simple but thinking that this was my last farewell, words just kept flowing out.

In my eyes tears started to gather.

I couldn"t hold back the tears so I blocked my mouth and cried.

I put the will inside my desk drawer and prepared to go to bed.

I put on three layers of underwear and socks. The test could be several days.

I wore the newly bought pants and shoes, then put on a shirt and a sweater. I even put on a outdoor jacket on top of that.

"I look like someone who is about to go on a hike."

Just hoping, I put in my pocket a swish army knife, a lighter, a small telescope, smartphone, and a pack of candy. I also wore a wrist watch.

"I probably won"t be able to bring this stuff."

There was a section in the reward category that said you can make any physical material into an item.

This meant that if I didn"t pay karma and made items out of them I couldn"t bring them with me.

But just hoping I brought them. You never know.

"Mom I"ll be back."

I turned the lights off and laid on my bed.

***

d.a.m.n....

I can"t sleep because of the nerves.

I was also uncomfortable from wearing all the extra clothes.

I usually sleep naked.

"Summon slate."

- Name: Kim Hyunho
- Cla.s.s: 3
- Karma: 0
- Mission: Rest until the next test.
- Time limit: 27 minutes and 41 seconds.

"f.u.c.k, the time goes by so quick."

I laughed. I never felt life was so precious before.

With my eyes open I watched the time count down 1 second at a time.
 

The 27 minutes went by like that. At some point it came to the final countdown. 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 .....

With 0 my consciousness became shaky. As expected it was a system that made me fall asleep automatically when the time was up. 

"Welcome back! Aren"t you glad to see me again?"

The baby angel teasingly welcomed me. 

"I would be if you wore some underwear. What are you so proud of? Why do you let your thing just hang there?"

"I gave you some special privileges but you curse at me the moment you see me. I"m disappointed."

"Special privilege?"

"I liked the pa.s.sion you showed preparing for the test so I gave you a freebie."

"What kind of freebie?"

"Why don"t you look round for yourself?"

It was only then I checked out my clothing. 

From my shoes to gloves and hat. It was exactly how I was before sleeping. 

"As expected you come as you were when you were sleeping."

"You"re right. The clothing you wear and shoes are allowed, but everything else is not."

When I checked again I couldn"t see the wrist watch and the stuff I had in my pocket. There was however the candy I put in my cargo pants. 

"The freebie is just candy?"

"Yes, I allowed it just this once. You"re thankful aren"t you?"

"I"m so~ grateful. Do you want one?"
 

"Yes."

The baby angel reached out with his two hands. I unwrapped one candy and gave him one. 

"How is it? This much should give me a 100 points for preparation right?"

"I"ll give you 98 points. You gave it your all for what you could do by yourself."

"What"s the extra 2% for?"

"What could it possibly be?"

This b.i.t.c.h....

The baby angel laughingly spoke. 

"If you get it right I"ll give you 2 karma points. Time limit is 60 seconds! Sta~rt!"

I was shocked at the sudden quiz. 2 karma points was a 100 bullets. 

What could it be?

What did I forget?

I thought hard. I couldn"t think of anything no matter how hard I thought.

"Wait, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d just said that I did the best I can by myself right? Then?"

At that moment I thought of the answer. 

"What kind of bulls.h.i.t is this!"

I unknowingly cursed. I was angry from my own idiocy. 

"You figured it out?"

I answered while grinding my teeth. 

"I didn"t meet up with any other candidates."

"Correct. Candidate Kim Hyunho will receive 2 karma points. You"re must be happy. 

"What do you mean happy!"

I left out too important of a detail. 

There was plenty of hints too!

"Saying this again candidate Kim Hyunho achieved an incredible score in your first test."

"Most candidates can"t do it like you."

The baby angel didn"t hide the fact that there were people like me. 

But I couldn"t figure it out. 

The first thing I should have done was to find other candidates and gather bunch of different information and advice. 

"Wait, does that mean it doesn"t matter if we run around talking about the test or the "arena"?"

"It doesn"t matter. It doesn"t matter if you use Silpi to become a YouTube star either. 

"....."

The baby angel patted my shoulders where my face has become ugly. 

"But on the bright side you earned 2 karma points for free and got a bag of candy right?"

"Can I use the 2 karma points right now?"

"Sure, go ahead."

I summoned the slate and bought a 100 bullets. 

It was a relief that I acquired more bullets at the very least. 

Okay, if you"re finished let"s formally find out about the second test. 

"Isn"t is like last time where you don"t tell me anything and just drop me off somewhere?"

"Hehe, of course I enjoy seeing candidate Kim Hyunho struggle."

I wanted to punch him

I wonder if I can use karma points to hit that b.a.s.t.a.r.d once?

"My face is expensive."

"......"

The baby angel read my thoughts.

"Anyway, the first test was a warm up. The second test is where it really starts."

Getting back on topic I became nervous and concentrated on the baby angel"s words. I can"t miss a single word. A single word could mean I miss an important hint. 

"Front now on you are going to take the test with other candidates."

"Other candidates?"

That"s why he gave that kind of quiz.

"How many are there?"

"Excluding you, there are 4 of them."

"What kind of people are they?"

"See for yourself. They"re beside you."

"Huh? What do you mean besides... what!"

I was shocked. That wasn"t just it. 

"Kaaaa!" 

"What! What the f.u.c.k is this!"

"What?!"

"......!"

The four people that was around me yelled in surprise. 

There were four more people in the s.p.a.ce where before there were only me and the baby angel. 

We looked at each other with shocked eyes. 

A girl in her twenties wearing exercise clothes and running shoes. 

A large middle aged man that looks to be about 40. 

A young man who looked to be a university student. 

And a man that had cold impression who seemed to be in his mid thirties. 

After looking at each one of them I looked back at the baby angel. 

The baby angel clapped his hands. 

"Attention please. You are all candidates that just finished their first test.  There were people who got great scores, average scores and those who got seriously worrisome scores. But anyway from now on  you have to carry on the test all together so cooperate."

After saying that a test door appeared. 

"You small b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You have to explain about the test first!"

The man in his forties shouted at him. 

The baby angel smiled brightly and said "I don"t want to?"

"This little b.a.s.t.a.r.d.....!"

"Do you want to be hit by lightning again?"

He finally flinched. That old man was also hit by that lightning. 

Seeing how his speech was rough and was behaving I feel like he was a gangster. 

"Is this going to be okay? I"m not sure if we will be a good team together."

But it doesn"t seem like I"m the only one whose thinking this. 

The girl in her twenties and the university student nervously looked at the middle aged man. 

The man in his twenties did not bat an eye and just maintained a cold, expressionless face.

This is not the time for this. I need to first figure out what the test is. 

"Summon slate."

I summoned the slate.

Everyone else followed my example and summoned their slate. It was the truth when he said that you couldn"t see other people"s slate. 

- Name: Kim Hyunho
- Cla.s.s: 3
- Karma: 0
- Mission: Survive until the time limit.
- Time limit: 7 days.

"One week?"

"Survive?"

The girl and the student was shocked.

"Ay bird! Do I just need to have my keep my life for one week?"

The gangster like man asked the baby angel. The baby angel nodded his head.

"Yes you"re right. It"s bothersome so go in already. I"m let down the lightning in one, two, three. four...."

"Ah f.u.c.k! I"ll go, I"ll go already!"

The gangster was so afraid of the lightning that he went in the test door first.

The rest of us followed suit and entered the test door.