Episode 2 - Unfair Contract I

My breathing became heavy as I felt a huge pressure against my body. Then I felt my butt hit something and I realized I'd fallen somewhere. The pressure didn't lift up and I felt my bones starting to make a creaking noise. What was this? Where the hell did I end up at? 10 seconds 20 seconds. A few minutes passed and the pressure finally lifted.

I thanked the old man that instructed me to go to the gym in my teen years. My strong body was the only thing that made me survive the absurd force. I still felt it hard to open my eyes, but I couldn't fall unconscious right now. After a few seconds, I felt water tickle down my forehead and raised my head only to be crushed under a waterfall.

I helplessly flailed around and finally felt my hand hit something solid. I used all the remaining strength in my body to reinforce my grip on the object.

"U-uwegh" I raised my face outside of the stream of water and violently coughed up the water that had entered my lungs. After a few minutes, the water finally drained away and I felt myself fall on a rough floor.

Hyunseok that son of a bitch... If he hadn't dropped me I wouldn't have had to go through all this. That look on his face as he threw me was full of joy.

The last look I saw on his face. His serene eyes and a sort of distorted smile It felt like there was more emotion behind his words than I had originally thought of.

I didn't know whether I imagined it or not but I heard a few words come out of Hyunseok's mouth as he dropped me.

'Show me if you're worthy of being a companion.'

If I wanted to be his companion... It's not like I couldn't tell the weight of this word but for some reason, it felt as if it mattered a lot to Hyunseok.

If he wanted me to be his companion then it'd make sense why he dropped me from that cliff. It was a test. He was testing me to see if I was worthy of being called his companion.

Or I could just be imagining things and in reality, he never actually said that but if I looked at my predicament from his point of view... things started to make a lot more sense.

"But seriously being that guy's companion... He's a psychopath."

The landscape might've changed but my original plan remained the same. Honestly I hoped it wouldn't come to this, what I was about to do next was a huge gamble... I had to be patient for now.

After I adjusted myself a bit to the surroundings I took out my smartphone only to realize it got ruined due to the water, 'I should've invested in a waterproof phone...'. After a long time a loud message rang in front of me.

[You have failed to clear the trial.]

[You have failed to clear the trial.]

The message kept showing up in front of me as if reminding me of my failure... if it wasn't for Hyunseok I would've cleared it.

[Eh?! The broadcasting was interrupted? That means the first trial was useless...]

I could hear the faery's voice in front of me before it appeared, almost like a glitch. In the next second, the faery appeared with a big smile on its face, as if something nice had happened.

"You..?"

[Yes, that's right. You seem rather calm.]

"Is that what it looks like? I was expecting you to come but I'm also kind of wondering where I am right now."

[Haha, of course, you'd be scared.]

I never said anything about being scared but I'll let him indulge in his fantasy for a while.

[But you expected me to come...?]

"Yeah." I had to show my confidence.

[...Interesting. I guess I'll tell you where we are right now. This is my house.] He declared In a rather boastful manner. I couldn't see properly in the dark but even I could feel the deteriorating condition of this house...

"Is it a date?" I decided to tease him a little.

The faery had an Insanely disgusted and appalled look after I had said that... was the idea of being on a date with me that appalling?... I took a hit to my self-esteem.

Maybe noticing how dark it was the faery turned on a light and the scenery of the house entered my sight. It was poorly built. The worn-off paint was visible and the floor made a creaking noise with each step. A few things stood out to me but the faery's words interrupted my thinking.

[Ahem! So, you've failed to clear the trial.]

"I know. This annoying message keeps reminding me that every 5 seconds."

[Oh... I'll turn it off.] The faery snapped its fingers and the system window finally disappeared.

"So why are we at this place?"

[It's where people end up when they fail a wave. To be honest I'm really surprised, you're the first person I've seen fail to clear the second trial.]

"...Should I be proud of that?"

[Take it as you will.]

The faery was lying. Most of the time faeries only brought the humans they found interesting to their homes in hopes of some financial gain. The faeries had a greedy nature.

"Are you here to take the few coins I have?"

[Coins...? Why would I take coins?]

"Isn't that the penalty for failing the trial?"

[It wouldn't be your life?]

"If the penalty was my death you would've specified it in the failure column of the system message. Instead, you left it vague with three question marks. That means the penalty isn't specifically death, right?

[hm... interesting.]

"So? Is there room for negotiation?"

[I'm impressed. You managed to deduce all of that in the few minutes you had to clear the wave. You really are interesting.]

"So how many coins do I need to pay?"

[7,800 coins.]

I checked my balance.

[Coins: 1000.]

This brat. He knew I was broke right now and chose to mess around.

"Isn't that too expensive now? Even realtors in Gangnam don't rip people off that much. You're greedy."

[Hm, I don't know then. Isn't it up to me to decide? I could very well end your life right now if I choose to.]

"Do it then."

[What?]

"Go on. Kill me."

[...]

"What's wrong? Why are you hesitating now?"

[You...]

"I was wondering for a few hours. Why didn't you kill me out of spite when I first called you in front of the markhors putting your life in danger?"

[That was just a fluke...]

"There wasn't a need for you to come here, right? No, I shouldn't have come here as well. The only way to end up at a faeries home is if you managed to pique the Interest of a faery."

The faery's eyes widened at my words.

"You might want to fix your system, it has a lot of errors in it."

[Bullshit, our system is perfect.]

"Oh? How do you explain the glitch that happened before you appeared here? Does 'broadcasting being interrupted' ring a bell?

The faery's expression distorted for the first time.

[...A human wasn't supposed to find out about the broadcasting.]

I lightly grinned. Poor guy, he was completely at my mercy now.

"Faery outcast–Youngki."

[H-How do you know my name...?]

"...You're wearing a name tag."

[Eh?]

Youngki looked at the name tag stapled on its clothes and immediately broke it. After a while, he raised his head with an embarrassed look.

I continued to speak. "Failing to clear the test for getting the qualifications for a Xer Muri."

[What how–!]

The faeries that passed the test usually dwelled in the heart of the faery kingdom in lavish homes. Youngki's house confirmed my suspicions of him being an outcast. It was only a matter of if I managed to win his heart now.

"Don't you feel tired already? Being ridiculed whenever you're called to the capital of the kingdom? You must be tired of all the humiliation you must feel, right?".

[I don't know how a human like you knows all this...but if you aim to blackmail me you'd be dead wrong.]

Maybe I'd taken the taunts too far. Youngki's expression could be seen turning into that of anger. He clenched his small hands in anger ready to attack me anytime. But I couldn't back down here.

"Faery Youngki. I want you to listen to my next words carefully."

Youngki raised his head with suspense and gulped loudly. My next words might be nonsense, or they might be my saving grace. It was a wild gamble with a 99% chance of failure, if it provokes him enough I might just get killed here but I had to bet on that 1%. I believed in the myths I read.

"Youngki, have you ever dreamt of becoming a Xer Muri?"

[?!]

As if he had seen a ghost, Youngki had a pale expression at the mention of the 'Xer Muri' and his eyes frighteningly widened. This was the reaction I had hoped for.

[You–]

"Don't you finally want to end that humiliation, don't you wish to be on the same standing as those who look down on you?" Youngki's expression was changing and I could see goosebumps on his arms.

"Youngki. Sign a contract with me. I'll make you the Ruler of the Xer Muri."