The Beginning of the End IV

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〔You're the first to pioneer the Monolith. You'll receive a special skill as a reward.〕

〔Analyzing Challenger…〕

〔Analyzing Planet…〕

〔You have received the special skill — Eros' Touch.〕

Leandro walked through the smooth hallway that led to the Test Floor. The trek was a short and uneventful one, but the appearance of a special skill slowed him down. 'Eros' Touch?'

He frowned. 

〔Eros' Touch (Active): Where a simple hug feels like a warm, fuzzy blanket for your senses, and a kiss turns into a flavor explosion. It's the upgrade that makes every touch tingle a little more and every moment a lot more memorable. It's a reminder that true pleasure can indeed come in the smallest gestures. Get ready for the good vibes, one contact at a time. This skill increases sexual stimulation and pleasure by 50% — and by 100% if the selected target harbors romantic feelings for the user.〕

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Leandro stared in jaw-slacked disbelief at the description of the skill. Out of all the skills and rewards he could've been granted, it had to be a sex-related one?

What was he supposed to do with it? Turn his opponents on?

The thought of a square-jawed, ugly Orc blushing in apparent bliss almost made him gag. Sure. It could be useful outside the tower, but he'd rather have something more efficient against monsters.

Eros' Touch was more like a subtle encouragement for him to turn back and overindulge instead of challenging the Monolith. 

With a scoff, Leandro shook his head and continued forth.

The dark hallway morphed around him before giving way to a large room.

The Test Floor. An isolated stage to conquer your fear of battle. You can say anything you want about the Monolith, but at least it gives ample opportunity for growth.

〔Welcome to the Test Floor. To proceed further, you have to eliminate the designated enemy. In this floor, you won't have to fear death; however, the potential for injury remains an inherent aspect of the assessment.〕

In layman's terms, whether you win or lose, you won't die. After all, it was a simple test. The pain, however, would not be muted. A stab wound would still hurt like hell. 

Leandro walked up to the arena. The Test Floor was a circular area with rocky walls. Sand covered the arena, with a lone path that led to it. 

The moment he stepped on the reinforced concrete, the sconces surrounding the arena lit up in a bright blue flame.

〔Challenger ID: Leandro Reyes.〕

〔Evaluating the overall strength of 'Leandro Reyes'.〕

With a soft hum, a gentle ripple of luminescent energy briefly enveloped him.

〔Matchmaking...〕

〔Matchmaking...〕

〔A suitable opponent has been found.〕

〔Challengee ID: Elder Kobold.〕

As far as Leandro knew, most ordinary people would simply face a goblin to start, since it was also the primary race to be found in the 1st floor. 

The Monolith analyzed the Challenger's hypertrophied body, and depending on how strong or weak someone was, a fitting opponent would be selected. It was exactly this fairness in matchmaking that made the Test Floor not particularly demanding to clear. It was all about your mental strength and determination. 

Of course, since he had Aura, the system would likely take that into account. However, there was still a limit to how strong a designated opponent could be. 

Leandro stared ahead, right when another wave of light unfurled, and the thick, furry body of an Elder Kobold was revealed.

It had blue-hued skin, like frozen, wet fur. Ragged leather draped around its frame and its right hand gripped a hefty iron-hammer. Its eyes gleamed like rubies embedded in its large, fleshy eye sockets.

Kobolds were like bipedal hyenas that would love to run away if given the opportunity. 

An Elder Kobold was stronger though.

〔Please, select a weapon.〕

A wooden, weapon rack materialized next to Leandro. Organized in a neat row were a sword, a spear, a hammer, a shield, and an axe. Simple weapons, but it was enough for the job. 

He'd have taken his own sword with him, but he didn't want to wear it down on the 1st floor; he needed it nice and sharp for the 2nd floor. 

Leandro grabbed the hilt of the sword, and the moment he tucked it out, the rack dematerialized. Throughout the whole weapon selection, the Kobold didn't move from its spot.

〔The test will begin in 3…〕

〔2…〕

〔1...〕

The Elder Kobold didn't waste time and charged forward. Sand burst out in all directions. 

Its hulking body hunched as it lowered itself. A claw-riddled hand reached for Leandro as if it intended to tackle him. Leandro merely tilted his head and, right as the Elder Kobold reached ten paces, he dashed forth. 

In the blink of an eye, he evaded the kobold, slipped by its side and drew his sword over the monster's legs. His smooth footwork didn't let him trip up, and like an expert swordsman weaving a path through a pack of foes, he swept past the creature, slicing its limbs at the ankles in the process.

The kobold let out a groan as it toppled forward. But Leandro wasn't going to simply let it crash onto the ground. With his incredible mastery of Aura, he spat in the face of inertia and executed a backward dash towards the falling monster. He might as well have been a ghost with how moved.

Leandro's eyes glimmered subtly, his face impassive. With a languid grace, he traced a horizontal path with the tip of his blade. There was no excess movement, no unnecessary flourish of someone who wanted to show off. 

It was the pure and understated precision of a master artist lazily stroking a canvas with his brush. 

A purple line drew across the kobold's nape, its beady, crimson eyes widening in agony. 

Thick, purple blood spurted into the air before showering over Leandro and the sand.

Whatever artificial life was imbued into the monster's eyes, slowly faded before the severed corpse disappeared in a burst of pixelated light.

There was a moment of silence, as if the system itself needed time to process the swiftness in which Leandro, a low-level lifeform, took down his opponent. 

Then…

〔Congratulations, you have successfully completed the test. Do you wish to proceed to the 1st floor?〕

〔Yes〕〔No〕

"Yes."

The arena lit up in a mystifying glow, as if charging energy for the transfer.

Leandro felt himself being pulled away.

••••

•••

••

•

Yuhee had a rude awakening.

An eerie storm. An earthquake. And to top it all like whipped cream on her espresso—hallucinations. 'Have I been thinking too much of him lately?'

Shit.

It took Yuhee around five minutes to realize how serious the situation was. And this time, her inner woes were not because of a certain mixed-race handsome bastard. 

Hah, if only!

The world was ending. Not a hoax, this time.

She was skeptical initially, but the towering structure in the heart of Seoul couldn't have been built overnight. Yuhee stared out of the window. 4 AM. An inopportunely awful time for the judgment day. If it happened three hours later, after she had a caffeinated drink to kickstart her mental faculties, she would have been more appreciative.

Oh, well. Yuhee was the CEO of a big company; she was used to handling setbacks and market swings. Though, in this instance, an apocalyptic event could cause drastic upheavals in the world's economy—if they didn't die first.

"Hmm…"

Yuhee walked up to the window, tightening her silk, black night robe around her.

Despite having just been startled awake, she had this casual, lazy beauty about her. Not even the apocalypse could spoil her impeccable appearance.

In the distance, the Monolith stood like a heavenly pillar. If Earth had been stabbed by the claws of an enormous alien beast, Yuhee wouldn't have been surprised.

From 40 stories up, it was the grandest view in Seoul. Or now, the scariest, apparently.

She tapped her chin with a finger as she watched the hustle and bustle.

The authorities couldn't contain an unprecedented event like this.

Something of this magnitude was beyond what the government could handle. Yuhee could tell from a glance that martial law would soon be instituted to keep the panicking citizens in line.

People were running frantically down on the streets. Some began filming. Others were praying. Some curious daredevil approached the Monolith.

Yuhee wondered about Leandro. She didn't need the apocalypse as an excuse to think of him. He was a recurring, hateful thought. Hateful due to how frequent he appeared in her mind.

Whether she was working or simply witnessing the world about to end, he ambushed her from some corner of her mind, watching her from a quiet distance, neither smiling nor talking—simply watching. 

She shook her head, ridding herself of his beautiful mug.

The question now was, what to do next? Yuhee was always a quick thinker, but even she had to acknowledge that this situation was borderline ludicrous.

She grabbed the remote on the bed and turned the TV on.

The same headlines flooded every channel.

"Seoul: What is the Monolith? Holographic Messages Spark Widespread Concern."

Outside, helicopters flew past Yuhee's penthouse apartment. Armed personnel were sent in to quell the fear in the citizens' hearts. What was once the night's hush had been disturbed.

"Good evening, Seoul. We interrupt your regular programming with a breaking story that has left our city in a state of disbelief and uncertainty. A mysterious tower has emerged in the heart of Seoul, along with holographic messages we do not know the origin of.

Our cameras fly over the anomaly right now. It has been speculated as the work of a terrorist organization, however, due to Seoul's low profile when it comes to terrorist activity, such a hypothesis has been put into question—"

Yuhee clicked her tongue. 'Terrorist attack? Are they underestimating our military might, or are they simply scared shitless to say alien invasion on live TV…?'

"Shit… I need a drink for this."

With a sigh, Yuhee went straight for her kitchen. Château Margaux? Perfect. A classy wine.

She liked to keep a particular air of sophistication, so going all out and popping open some hundred dollars whiskey wasn't very palatable to her. Even when stressed out, Yuhee maintained her demeanor.

She grabbed a glass cup and twisted the wine bottle. As she did so, she couldn't help but think of Leandro. How was he dealing with such a situation? Did his unflippable, always composed face finally break?

'Haah… the ending of the world would probably not even faze him.'

It was an addiction for Yuhee—to become the one who could break him.

Break him down so bad she'd become an obsession for him. 

To be the only face in his eyes. 

The only voice in his head. 

The only shadow that followed him, no matter where he tried to hide.

The only pain he couldn't live without, and the only solace he sought. 

However…

No matter how much Yuhee had tried to sink her teeth in his stoic composure, no matter how much she tried to get a rise out of him. Nothing worked. He seemed to regard her with lazy amusement more than anything else, as if entertaining a child.

This fixation of hers was showing signs of biting her back in the ass. But this was why the game was so fun. There was so much to lose and so much more to win.

Except that Leandro continued to prove her wrong. 

Sometimes he was cold. Sometimes he was unexpectedly gentle. He was thoughtful, but mostly uncaring.

Vicious? Yes. She had seen that first hand. But not evil, though Yuhee was sure his perception on right and wrong were drastically different than what was expected from someone living in a society.

The thought that he was capable of murder tickled a spot within her. Good or bad—she didn't know. She could hardly understand him. Then again, it was exactly this complexity of Leandro that drew Yuhee to him. Like an irresistible thirst that needed to be sated.

Yuhee wasn't an ordinary woman, and her thoughts weren't ordinary either.

If she got what she wanted in the end, she wouldn't be afraid to kiss ass and sell her soul to do so. And if all else failed, Leandro would eventually let his guard down, right? It wasn't the worst situation to be in.

She opened the wine bottle and let the crimson red elixir pour into the glass. A gentle, sweet, fragrance diffused from it.

She drank around a third of the content. The pleasant burn in her throat gave some comfort to her tumultuous night.

Her home had a balcony that overlooked Seoul, offering a marvelous vista that almost anyone would be happy to enjoy. Unfortunately, Yuhee wasn't in the mood to see Seoul go into panic and become a living hell.

Bzztt.

Yuhee took a sip of the wine as she glanced at her buzzing phone.

—Bada.

Bada: Unnie, are you alright? Did you see what happened? :c

Bada: I'm scared… >.<

It seemed that Bada had woken up. Not surprising. At this point, the entirety of Seoul had woken up. 

Yuhee scrolled down to see even more missed messages. She had turned off her phone after her previous conversation with Leandro, in which he pointedly ignored her attempts at some saucy texting. That bastard. 

Bada: Leandro isn't replying! (╥﹏╥)

'He never does.' She thought, rolling her eyes. Besides, he was a big boy, he could take care of himself. 

Bada: Nari told me he's gone out and has yet to go back.

Bada: Unnie, he's out there… what if he's in there, in that thing?

"..."

'That motherfucking idiot…!'