Before the Setup – IV

I jumped out of the subway tunnel, somersaulting through the air while holding tight to Jinhee and Yuri.

The moment after I did, a thunderous explosion shook the surroundings, followed by the sound of the ceiling collapsing behind us.

I landed on the ground, making sure to immediately kill the momentum so that Jinhee and Yuri wouldn't get flung away and fall on the ground.

Not that it mattered since both of them immediately moved away from me.

"Urgh..." Jinhee clutched her stomach and staggered. "Never. Never again."

Yuri immediately straightened and laughed. "That was fun! It was just like we were in a movie!"

I let out a wry smile. "Yeah, a movie..."

Let's not point out how it was definitely just a Halloween edition of subway surfers...

But anyway.

While Jinhee was recovering from her nausea and vertigo, and while Yuri was calming down from her excitement, I took a look around.

We had arrived in a central hub of a subway station. Essentially, a circular station in the middle with tracks jutting out like wheel spokes.

A completely nonsensical design in terms of actual transportation, but it looked cool. Kind of.

There was already a crowd of people present by the time we arrived. And, just like us, it looked like they had a similar experience.

Looking around, all the different tunnels except for one had collapsed.

However, I noticed that most of said collapsed tunnels were stained red.

But that was the obvious result. After all, not everyone had the luxury to be escorted by crazy people like me and Seonhwa.

And speaking of Seonhwa, I could see her standing off to the side talking with her younger sister, Seunghae.

Both of them caught me staring.

Seonhwa waved, but Seunghae rolled her eyes and looked away.

Yep, another thing to clear up later.

But again, later.

Right now...

There looked to be around a hundred people including us. A bigger turn out than expected, actually.

But the interesting part was that they were all bunched together on one side, with Seonhwa and Seunghae standing alone on the other side.

Which meant that they were all Contracted instead of Invited... which made sense considering we monopolized the entire Tutorial.

As to for the Guide of this whole event...

"Fucking finally." Sora shot me a cold glare.

Unlike her usual outfit, she was dressed in a sleek gray suit with an office skirt and... thigh-high boots?

Well. That was a fashion choice.

...And considering from the fact that I could see a few red stains on the right side of the platform along with some flecks on said boots, it seemed to be a fairly practical fashion choice.

Flicking her crimson hair, Sora glanced at Jinhee and Yuri before turning her attention to the crowd. "It's late and we're on a short time table, so I'll just cut to the chase. You guys." She pointed at the crowd of Contracted and said, "You're unlucky. Because of this crazy bastard-"

"I resent that statement."

Sora ignored me and continued. "The setting changed. Instead of a school, we're stuck in this shitty apocalypse movie set instead."

A low murmur erupted from the Contracted. More than a few of them also shot me a cold look.

It was cute. Seemed like their backers didn't pass along the memo.

The rest seemed fairly calm. Probably since they were people sent in by my bro Hao and my... In-law? Big Sis?

...Whatever I called Cinzia now that I was with Claire.

Anyway, those Contracted were curious, but they didn't hold any animosity towards me.

Sora continued talking, her eyes focusing on thin air as if reading a message.

No, since she was the Guide, she was definitely reading a message. And as for what that was...

"Since it's complicated, I'll just read off the exact message. The Neutral Zone is an area to learn and develop while the Tutorial is to screen those qualified to learn. But those Invited with a special method have proven those qualifications. And due to the special among special methods implemented by a certain ridiculous individual..."

I coughed.

Jinhee shot me a cold glare.

Yuri hid her face, giggling.

Sora continued and said, "The Seven Gods have had to craft an extra stage specifically for the pre-qualified. Of course, they understand this is unexpected and will allow the others to join this Extra Stage. But they would like to emphasize that death is near certain as there will be variables beyond even their control."

One of the Contracted spoke up. "What do you mean beyond the gods' control? Aren't they all-powerful? I mean, they're gods, right?"

Sora ignored the guy and gave me a pointed look.

I coughed again.

Off to the side, I heard Seonhwa laugh.

Hey! It's not my fault that things ended up like this!

...At least not completely.

How was I supposed to know that I was breaking the system by stealing the divinity all that time ago? My eyes said it'd be fine!

Sora shook her head and said, "Whatever. Just think of it like the stage having things even the gods can't expect. If you think that's unfair, then go do the Basic Tutorial."

Perfectly timed with her words, a pair of portals emerged.

On the right, in front of the Contracted, a glowing blue portal appeared.

And on the left, in front of me, Jinhee, Yuri, Seonhwa, and Seunghae, and ominous and oily looking black portal appeared, sparkling with dark lightning.

When it appeared, Jinhee immediately tilted her head. "Huh? Is that a Gate?"

I blinked and said, "It's a portal, Jinhee. I mean, you can call it a gate, but-"

"No." Jinhee shook her head and said, "I mean like-"

Yuri gasped and said, "Like the dimension gates in your Hunter story!"

Okay, I was confused. "Hunter Story?"

Jinhee waved her hand, focusing her attention on the portal. "It's complicated. I'll explain later, Oppa. But... If that's a Gate. And if it's anything like in The One who Levels is Me or EX-Ranked Disaster Hero-"

Yuri clapped her hands and said, "There's going to be hidden pieces!"

Jinhee nodded. "Probably- No, definitely. Especially if this is a mutated gate."

...Okay. I thought I didn't have common sense, but why did it seem like my sister was not only perfectly okay with this development but treated it like it was normal?

While we were chatting, Sora seemed to have finished her explanation to the Contracted. She pulled out her phone and then nodded. "With that, it's time to go." She chucked some pieces of paper towards us and then spun on her heel, walking towards the blue portal. "You guys who don't have a deathwish, follow me. If you're planning on killing yourself already, follow after those guys when they walk in."

Since Sora was doing a competent job as the Guide, I focused on my own duties. Namely, making sure Jinhee and Yuri were prepared.

...But again, it seemed like they were all too used to this sort of situation.

Clutching shimmering golden bags that had formed from the pieces of paper, Yuri and Jinhee huddled together, sharing hushed whispers.

"So these 'Necessary Boxes'..."

"Look! It's a text file installed on the phone, just like 'Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse'!"

...Maybe I should be a bit more involved in Jinhee's life. It seemed like she and Yuri might have jumped down a weird rabbithole in their spare time.

But anyway...

I stuck my hand in my pocket and said, "Let's get going. The sooner we finish this up, the sooner you two can have fun in the Neutral Zone."

And the sooner I can explain everything to Jinhee and earn the essential ally in buffering the drama in my life.

Jinhee tossed her bag over her shoulder and let out a bright smile. "I'm gonna be rich."

Yuri laughed and said, "It's the perfect inspiration! I can't wait for the next chapters!"

"...Kids these days." I shook my head and then led the way towards the portal.

Jinhee and Yuri followed right after me like excited children.

As I moved, Seonhwa, surprisingly as her real self instead of Baek Haeju, walked over to my side.

I glanced towards her and then looked back at Seunghae, who joined up with Jinhee and Yuri. "Everything turn out well with her?"

Seonhwa sighed and whispered, "Well enough." She shook her head and said, "She's not convinced, but I haven't told her about who 'you' really are yet."

I nodded. "Makes sense. It's hard to believe without context of all the crazy Paradise stuff."

Seonhwa blinked and said, "No. I mean the fact that you're not actually-" She paused and said, "Never mind."

"Hey now." I frowned and said, "You can't just cut off there."

Seonhwa laughed and said, "Well, you'll have to work hard to clear things up first then." She let out a mischievous smile and said, "We'll talk more in the Neutral Zone. Right now..." She turned to the ominous portal with a serious expression. "We need to get the kids through safely first."

"Right." I stared at the portal as well and then stopped in front of it. I glanced back at the others one more time and said, "You girls ready?"

Jinhee cackled. "Ready? You mean ready to bootstrap the hell out of this scenario?"

Yuri giggled. "Oh, this is going to be *fun*."

Seunghae looked at the two like they were crazy and said, "What did I even sign up for?"

Seonhwa spoke up and said, "The truth."

Seunghae pursed her lips and said, "At this rate, I think I would have preferred being blind to it... But since Unni is insisting... Hah..."

It looked like everyone was ready. Since that was the case, I nodded and stepped forward. At the same time, I activated <All is One> to tie our spatial locations together to prevent anything like random teleports...

And then...

"Eh?"

I blinked.

Walking through the portal, we popped up in the interior of a stopped subway train. Not only that, but one with people already standing there.

And not just people.

Floating in the air, with two small horns and a small straw mat. A strange and fluffy creature...

"Holy crap!" Jinhee shouted and pointed at the creature. "It's a Dokkaebi!"

"Oh my god!" Yuri shouted after that and said, "And this is the train!"

The crowd turned to look at us. The 'Dokkaebi' turned as well, its face scrunched up in surprise and confusion.

And the moment it did, a soft chime echoed. Something that the others heard as well since I noticed Jinhee and the rest suddenly look at something in mid-air.

[Sender: The Guide]

[1. Escape the first scenario]

[2. Time left: 29:55:11]

Shortly after that message appeared, the 'Dokkaebi' looked at Jinhee and said, "Haha... You are really loud. I don't know where you came out from, but I told you humans to be quiet."

Jinhee's eyes widened and she scrambled back, reaching into her bag.

At the same time, the dokkaebi's eyes started turning red. And with that change in color, an intangible force, like a bullet ready to fire, aimed at Jinhee's head.

I moved.

*SCREECH*

A high-pitched and grating sound, like steel against steel.

"What?" The dokkaebi's eyes widened. "You... How did such a powerful constellation descend in the first scenario? The sponsorships aren't even open!"

I clicked my tongue and then formed a basic sword from mana. "It's never just something simple, is it?"

Jinhee cleared her throat and said, "U-Uh... Oppa? If this place is what I think it is, you really shouldn't-"

I swung my sword. "Talk later! Explosion first!"

"EXPLO-?!"

*BOOM*