The Second Coming Of Avarice

"Are you crazy?! Open the barrier right now!!" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"Why should I? This here is my doorway. I choose when I open or close it." (Kahng Seok)

"Why are you acting like this? Do you have any idea just what we had to go through to get here?" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"Aigoo~. So, you had to go through so much, huh? But, what should we do? I"m an egocentric and a petty son of a b*tch, according to some woman." (Kahng Seok)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah gritted her teeth while listening to Kahng Seok"s sarcastic remarks. She could more or less tell why this as*hole was acting this way, after all - he was still holding a grudge against her for that verbal spat back in the a.s.sembly hall.

She held back her anger and spoke to him in a level voice.

"I apologise. I apologise for calling you names when we were in the a.s.sembly hall, so please open this barrier. It"s not just me here, too. And these people haven"t done anything to you, either. You know, you shouldn"t treat people"s lives as a joke." (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"Ohh…. Aren"t you a bit different from the a.s.sembly hall, when you were so full of righteous anger and all that? Are you being really serious and honest right now?" (Kahng Seok)

"….Yes." (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"Now you mention it, well, I guess I don"t have much choice here, then. Fine. Prove it to me." (Kahng Seok)

"Prove it?" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"The other four with you, I"ll let them in. You, stand back." (Kahng Seok)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah"s jaw dropped to the floor. Her expression screamed what kind of an as*hole would act like this? Too bad for her, Kahng Seok"s expression showed how relaxed he was, instead.

"You….. You….." (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"What are you going to do? That monster might show up soon, you know~." (Kahng Seok)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah didn"t expect Kahng Seok to behave like this, and her face reddened up considerably as a result. However, with the exception of Yi Sung-Jin, the other three were looking at her with pleading eyes. Their stares were laden with a certain pressure. She gritted her teeth, and took three, four steps back.

"Ohh, wow. Really, aren"t you a Good Samaritan? A Good Samaritan, I say!" (Kahng Seok)

Kahng Seok exclaimed out loudly, and he pressed the release b.u.t.ton. As soon as the barrier was lowered, the three rushed inside. Yi Sung-Jin dazedly stared at s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah for a bit, before belatedly trudging past the barrier as well. Only then the trio began calling out to her, crying out her name out in a helpless manner; the barrier closed shut regardless.

However, Yi Sung-Jin suddenly reached out towards the b.u.t.ton to press it. He"d been watching Kahng Seok"s hand quite intently just now.

Of course, nothing happened. Seeing this, Kahng Seok broke out in a laughter of ridicule.

"What a f*cking waste of time. Didn"t I tell you? Only I can open the barrier." (Kahng Seok)

Wordlessly, Yi Sung-Jin pounced on Kahng Seok. However, it couldn"t even be called a fight from the get-go. The teen boy got easily subdued by Lee Hyung-Sik and Jeong Min-Woo, and he could only glare at Kahng Seok in barely contained rage.

"Look at this idiot b*stard here. You feel like dying today? What, did that b*tch tell you she"ll become your new sister or something?" (Kahng Seok)

"The barrier…. Open it!!!" (Yi Sung-Jin)

"That"s up to me, and I kept my end of the deal." (Kahng Seok)

"You worked hard, didn"t you. Well, you should look for another path or something. I don"t care, so do whatever you want. Have a nice day." (Kahng Seok)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah couldn"t bring herself to leave just like that. She scanned the inside of the waiting room, hoping for something to save her, but that turned out to be a waste of time. The people inside were either simply watching on, or showed little to no interest.

In the end, she had turn around, utterly helpless.

"Should I let you in?" (Kahng Seok)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah"s steps came to a halt. She abruptly spun her head and shot Kahng Seok with a murderous glare.

"Do you actually enjoy toying with people?" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"Yup. When would I ever get to have fun like this, if it"s not today?" (Kahng Seok)

Kahng Seok nonchalantly replied and beckoned her to come closer.

"Stop being difficult and why don"t you come closer? You saw me letting people in just now, right? I"m the kind of guy who keeps his promises." (Kahng Seok)

Hearing his words of keeping promises, s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah was gripped by an intense bout of doubt and uncertainty. She had to go through so much to get here, so to find another path was just….

And, even if there was another path, she had to search for it alone. In that case, she figured it"d be better to get bitten by a rabid dog once. She made up her mind and turned around to face him.

"….And what do you want me to do so you"ll let me through?" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"I"m not asking for much. For the things you said back in the a.s.sembly hall, apologise in full." (Kahng Seok)

"But… I already apologised, didn"t I?" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"No, no, no. Anyone can see that you didn"t mean it just now. Besides, I"m not the type to believe in apologies coming out of a person"s mouth." (Kahng Seok)

"So? What do you want me to do instead, then?!" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah raised her voice when Kahng Seok remained sarcastic to the end. He rubbed his chin, but his eyes looking at her took on a rather sinister and s.e.xual undertone. s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah may not possess the same sort of "fresh" appeal as Yi Surl-Ah; but, her skin was pale smooth, plus her rack was commendably voluminous as well. Therefore, a villainous smirk formed on Kahng Seok"s lips.

"For now, take them off." (Kahng Seok)

"….What?" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah couldn"t help but question her own hearing, just then.

"Take your clothes off. Ahh, I"m a nice guy, so I"ll let you keep your panties. Cool?" (Kahng Seok)

Hearing Kahng Seok"s mock "benevolent" tone of voice, s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah even forgot to close her wide-open mouth.

"I"m thinking that, you start dancing around naked might soothe my troubled mind or something…. How about you do the twerking for me?" (Kahng Seok)

"You…. You insane… son of a b*tch!!" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"Don"t wanna do it? Fine. F*ck off, then." (Kahng Seok)

Kahng Seok shrugged his shoulders.

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah bit her lower lip until one could clearly see the teeth mark on her flesh, as she inwardly mumbled the words, You insane a*shole!!

And then, her body shook from the sense of humiliation rus.h.i.+ng in like a tidal wave. Tears welled up on her eyes, ready to fall at any moment.

Unfortunately for her, that moment when her group ran into the monster played heavily in her mind. What if, she went downstairs now and ended up encountering the monster again….?

"What are you waiting for? I said, if you don"t wanna do it, then get the h.e.l.l away from there." (Kahng Seok)

"….I"ll do it." (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

"If you"re gonna, then hurry the f*ck up. I"ll give you ten seconds for taking your pants off. Starting, now." (Kahng Seok)

When Kahng Seok really started with his countdown, s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah had no choice but to hurriedly undo the b.u.t.tons. She hesitated when it came to pulling the pants down but, after hearing the rapid countdown, she still forced her jeans down all the while shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Kahng Seok couldn"t help but perform a wolf whistle as her bare, smooth thighs were revealed to the cold air.

"Hiyaa~, you got a great figure, don"t you? Your underwear"s pretty cute, too." (Kahng Seok)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah squeezed her eyes shut. She thought that this might let her feel a smidgeon less humiliation.

"What are you doing? Keep stripping, girl. I"m gonna count again…. Huh? Huuuuh?! It"s the monster!! The monster!!" (Kahng Seok)

Kahng Seok suddenly cried out in alarm and pointed at the staircase behind her while hurriedly taking a step back. s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah"s eyes shot wide open in shock; she screamed in terror and tumbled forward in an ungainly fas.h.i.+on.

"Mommy!" (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

Out of reflex, she looked behind her, only to find nothing there. Rather than the monster, the staircase was as empty as it could possibly get. And sure enough, she could hear several loud and detestable chortles coming from beyond the barrier.

"Did you hear that? You heard that, right? She said, mommy! Mommyyyy!! Euhahahaha!!" (Kahng Seok)

"Fu-hat!! She"s so f*cking adorable!! Kyack!! Mommy!" (Lee Hyung-Sik)

Kahng Seok and Jeong Min-Woo laughed out loudly and applauded Lee Hyung-Sik"s perfect imitation of her cries. Stupefied into silence, all s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah could do was to let tears acc.u.mulate around the edges of her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just teasing you for a bit. You looked really cute just now." (Kahng Seok)

Too much.

"Well~ now. It"s time to remove your top, right?" (Kahng Seok)

This is too much.

In the end, she couldn"t hold it any longer and broke down in tears.

"You"re crying? Hey, now. You shouldn"t cry, you know~. You gotta take your clothes off and dance for me before…." (Kahng Seok)

Kahng Seok clapped his hands boisterously and laughed, before suddenly shutting his mouth. A dark shadow was looming over him in that moment.

Seol wasn"t angry to being with. He initially planned to shut out everything happening around him.

He was not a Good Samaritan, a man of justice and all that; just like how it was with most people, he was disinclined to interfere in other people"s business. He might go as far as frown a little after seeing some unfair things happen, while thinking, "That"s going too far, isn"t it?"

Unless it was someone he knew, Seol wouldn"t personally get up and do something for a total stranger. Definitely not.

However….

It happened when his eyes landed on Yi Sung-Jin. Or, more specifically, it was when he heard the whispers of "Help us" coming from the mouth of Yi Sung-Jin currently being pinned down to the ground. Should he chalk all of it up to coincidence, because this scene just so happened to remind him of the time when Yi Surl-Ah asked him for help back in the a.s.sembly hall.

Seol"s emotions trembled. The small tremors soon spread out like some sort of a mutated b.u.t.terfly effect and it violently quaked, eventually transforming into rage.

That was why he stood up.

….Just like the moment he got to dream that dream.

….Just like the experience he had in the a.s.sembly hall.

….Just like the way his emotions were leading him to.

"What now? You also want to join in on the fun….?" (Kahng Seok)

"That is enough from you. Open the barrier now, please." (Seol)

Kahng Seok dazedly stared up at Seol. He hadn"t realised it until now, but Seol was taller than he was.

"I"ll open it. When I feel like it." (Kahng Seok)

"Open. The. Barrier." (Seol)

Kahng Seok shut his mouth up. Judging from his expression, he couldn"t seem to understand what was going on here.

"Did you inhale something weird? Who the h.e.l.l are you to order me around?" (Kahng Seok)

"Open it." (Seol)

Kahng Seok"s complexion hardened.

For some strange reason, he found it difficult to meet Seol"s gaze. Even his b.a.l.l.s seemed to shrink a bit. He didn"t want to admit it out loud, but well, Kahng Seok was feeling scared of this guy. If he was being honest here, it was as if he was staring at a choice of whether he should cross a line he should never even consider crossing in the first place.

His instincts forced him to press the b.u.t.ton. However, just before that, Kahng Seok"s defiant streak reared its head: why should he follow the order of this unknown a*shole?

Was it because he was the so-called gold Mark? What a f*cking joke.

Kahng Seok arrogantly leaned his head back.

"I don"t want to." (Kahng Seok)

The corners of his lips slowly wiggled and twitched.

"What a f*cking a*shole. And here I was, planning to be in a cordial relations.h.i.+p with you, because of us being the same Invited and all, yet who knew you have a bleeding heart mentality?" (Kahng Seok)

Seol slowly raised his arm up, which prompted Lee Hyung-Sik and Jeong Min-Woo to move as well. However, Kahng Seok confidently stopped them by raising his own hand.

"What? You planning to hit me? Fine, go ahead. Since it"s the most important Mister Gold Mark hitting me, this lowly me with a worthless Mark should just obediently get hit, no?" (Kahng Seok)

"However, remember this. The more you try to show off, the lesser I"ll be inclined towards opening the…. Keuk!" (Kahng Seok)

Slam!

Seol"s fist slammed into Kahng Seok"s nose. Lee Hyung-Sik and Jeong Min-Woo were taken by surprise but even they had to cry out in pain while grasping their noses. The speed at which Seol"s fist flew was so scarily fast, they couldn"t even see it.

"Y, you son of a….. Kyaaaachk!!" (Kahng Seok)

Kahng Seok reflexively threw a fist of his own, but then, Seol simply s.n.a.t.c.hed it off the air and twisted, hard. The force was so severe, Kahng Seok"s knees crumpled in one go. Seol then proceeded to drag that arm and forcibly pressed the b.u.t.ton. The barrier slid open, then.

"Come inside." (Seol)

s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah carried a dazed expression as she stumbled into the waiting area, not even thinking of putting her pants back on. Only then did Seol release Kahng Seok"s arm.

They all heard the new announcement, and at the same time, the st.u.r.dy locked gate at the end of the corridor automatically undid itself. It seemed that, regardless of the remaining time, the next mission would be triggered right away as long as all the survivors arrived at the waiting area.

*SFX for pained whimpers of grown men*

Kahng Seok was rolling on the floor in a fit of pain. He used the wall to support himself and somehow managed to stand up. Still holding his twisted arm, he glared at Seol full of murderous intent.

"You….!!" (Kahng Seok)

Kahng Seok was about to shout out something, but then, simply spun on his heels to leave.

"You…. We"ll see what happens later, you f*cking son of a b*tch!" (Kahng Seok)

He picked up his own bag and hastily escaped through the now-open pa.s.sage. Seeing him retreat like that, both Lee Hyung-Sik and Jeong Min-Woo too slinked away out of sight.

Afterwards, it was Yun Seo-Rah"s turn to leave, although she stopped and stared at Seol wordlessly for a while before moving away.

"T…. Thank you. Thank you so much…." (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)

Thick drops of tears fell from s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah"s eyes, before she began wailing in honest. Next to her, Yi Sung-Jin"s head also dropped low.

Unbeknownst to them, though, the recipient of their grat.i.tude, Seol, wasn"t feeling all that good at the moment. He was painfully reminded of the fact that his actions were not entirely from his own will.

And also, his rage failing to cool down only drove him further into an even greater frenzy. He felt like destroying, rampaging, and making an utter mess of something. Anything. Everything.

Two hours, and a time-limit type mission. Seol"s eyes confirming the details of the phone burned in a dangerous light.

"H, hey!! Hold up, man!" (Hyun Sahng-Min)

Seol unhesitatingly walked forward. Hyun Sahng-Min hurriedly picked two bags and chased after him.

A robotic voice made an announcement as images flickered on a ma.s.sive semi-transparent screen. Several men and women were sitting in front of this screen, watching the proceedings unfold.

"It"s only the second mission but…. d.a.m.n it, I"m gonna lose my mind at this rate!"

"24 people died by the first hurdle?! How does that even make sense? Why is every one of them such a G.o.dd.a.m.n trash this time?"

When a bald giant of a man spat out in anger, a woman wearing a purple robe next to him grumbled out unhappily as well. However, when another woman wearing a business suit sitting in front swept her icy gaze over them, the two shut their mouths up rather quickly.

"Really now. If this carries on, being called the "Area 1" will become a huge joke in time. With the March"s overall a.s.sessment looking this bad, how are we supposed to endure until September?" (the bald giant)

The bald giant couldn"t resist and added a couple more sentences, and fearing that the business-suit woman would glare at him again, hurriedly turned his attention this way and that.

"Anyone know what"s going on in other areas? Anyone with a news?" (the bald giant)

"I know a bit."

A young man with a curly hair raised his hand.

"I overheard something while I was outside…. As far as clear speed is concerned, I hear the areas 2 and 7 are neck and neck for the first place." (the curly haired young man)

"2 and 7? I get it with Europeans, but what"s gotten into those Chinese b*stards?" (the bald giant)

"What"s the point asking me that? You already know what dirty tricks they are using over there. Their Invited all conspire together and as soon as the Tutorial starts, they take the Contracted hostage. I"m sure they are pa.s.sing the missions while sacrificing the Contracted whenever necessary." (the curly haired young man)

The balding giant spat out a groan.

"….Fine. What about 2?" (the bald giant)

"I heard they are the very example of perfection itself. A French girl named Odelette Delphine has taken over the show there, apparently. And only by using nothing but her own skills, no less. Well, her killing the phantom in front of everyone with the starting bonus she got during the first mission proved to be the decisive factor." (the curly haired young man)

"Huh. What"s her Mark?" (the bald giant)

"A silver. And then, as soon as the second mission began, she succeeded in opening up the path to the computer cla.s.sroom in one go. She"s bulldozing everything out of her way, it seems. I think she won"t even need a hour to get to the end. Maybe, 50 minutes, tops?" (the curly haired young man)

"Wow. She"s a beast, isn"t she? I guess the European b*stards found a proper good egg this time. What about the rest?" (the bald giant)

"Area 5 is also making a noise about doing rather well…. But, it"s so-so. They have the 30 minute head start for the second mission compared to our people, so there"s that." (the curly-haired young man)

The giant groaned out again.

"G.o.d d.a.m.n it. At this rate, we aren"t gonna have a single one remaining at the end of the Tutorial, no?" (the bald giant)

"Come on, now. We have a gold Mark, don"t forget. Besides, he even possesses the diary of the unknown student, so surely, he"d be able to clear it with no problems." (the curly haired young man)

"You think so?" (the bald giant)

"I mean, he chased that phantom away with nothing more than his glare, right?" (the curly haired young man)

The curly-haired youth spoke with the aim of consoling the big man, but the bald giant"s face continued to show how disappointed he was as his eyes remained locked on the screen. Seol, as shown on the screen, was entering the annex via the pedestrian overpa.s.s connecting the two buildings.

"Hey, hey…. Doesn"t that guy look a bit p*ssed off right now? What the h.e.l.l? What"s the matter with him all of a sudden?" (the curly haired youth)

The curly haired youth raised a shrill voice of surprise.

As the mission name suggested, the location reserved for the "Breaking Through Traps" wasn"t supposed to be tackled w.i.l.l.y-nilly. Yet, Seol didn"t even stop to take a look at his phone and simply strolled right in.

"….Can we really trust a guy like that?"

The bald giant tapped the woman wearing the business suit.

"Hey, say something, Kim Hahn-Nah."

"Shut your d.a.m.n mouth for a while, okay?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)

Kim Hahn-Nah spat out in a voice full of undisguised irritation. The big man immediately realised that, if he tried to provoke her any further here, then he"d be on the painful receiving end of the hysteria of an unmarried spinster.

The big man licked his lips as if he found the whole thing unsatisfactory, and got up from his seat. He thought that it"d be far more preferable to go for a smoke break outside rather than sit here and get p*ssed off at what was happening on screen.

The bald big guy wasted around 15 minutes outside while chain smoking. But, when he was about to enter the room again….

Clang! Clang!

He spat out a disappointed groan after hearing the noisy metallic clangs coming from inside. He thought that a brainless idiot was repeatedly stepping into traps, activating them inadvertently. While shaking his head, he opened the door to enter.

Clang!!!

And then, he tilted his head, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

In truth, the second mission wasn"t at all difficult for someone like this bald man. A highly trained Earthling would be able to clear it in around 30 minutes even if he was taking his sweet a*s time.

However, the ones doing the mission right now weren"t the trained Earthlings, but still a bunch of weak, powerless civilians. These people hadn"t even experienced a proper warfare yet.

The goal of the mission was simple enough - stop the activation of various traps by fulfilling a set of conditions beforehand. Or, leave it to lady luck to decide. That should"ve been the case. However….

"He"s evading, blocking, and deflecting?!" (the bald giant)

Not only did Seol not stop after performing those actions, he even deliberately triggered the traps that hadn"t been activated yet. He was progressing forward, while… destroying everything. It was like looking at an Earthling, not a powerless civilian.

A look of disbelief was etched on the bald man"s face as he hurriedly got closer to the screen. At the same time, three sharp metal spears were shooting out towards Seol from the ceiling and from both the right and left sides.

Clang! Claaaang!!

It was unknown where Seol had acquired a steel beam, but regardless, he spun it like a cartwheel; soon, the audience were treated to the cacophony of metallic clangs as well as a beam of cold silvery light flickering on the screen.

The result was all there to see. The moment spears from the right and left were sent flying, the spear from the ceiling brushed past Seol and pierced the ground. The woman wearing the purple robe stood up reflexively, her fists clenched in antic.i.p.ation.

"Is he dead? No? Just pa.s.sed him by?!"

"No, he dodged." (the bald giant)

The bald man closely watched the proceedings unfold, then confidently declared out loud.

"I"m sure of it. He slapped away the spears coming from both of his sides, and he was about to do the same to the one coming from the ceiling, but…." (the bald giant)

"But?"

"….Dunno. It"s like, his body couldn"t keep up with what he wanted to do. In any case, I definitely saw him tilt his head out of the way…. Eiii, what the f*ck, Kim Hahn-Nah!! Just what"s up with that guy?!" (the bald giant)

The bald guy seemed to be shocked by his own words, and belatedly shouted at Kim Hahn-Nah.

Kim Hahn-Nah remained quiet for a long while, before suddenly opening her mouth.

"For the second mission…. what is the fastest clear record in history?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)

"The record? Wasn"t that by Mister Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun? The legendary 29 minutes and 38 seconds?" (the bald giant)

Mm, mm. The bald giant nodded his head as if he was proud of something. Meanwhile, Kim Hahn-Nah"s head dropped low, and eventually, she began rubbing her face raw, as if she was feeling quite fatigued all of a sudden.

"….This is crazy." (Kim Hahn-Nah)

"What"s crazy?" (the bald giant)

The expressions of everyone present became dumbfounded by the sudden announcement.

16 minutes, 24 seconds….

This was precisely the moment when history would be rewritten.

< 12.="" the="" record="" in="" history=""> Fin.