The Monster

"Please, open and apply your bonuses here."

Unlike before, Han's voice seemed to possess far more urgency than before. Since he was planning to do that anyways, Yeon-woo slowly unlocked and opened the bag.

[1000 Survival Points has been credited to you.]

[You have acquired (1) Mark of Survival.]

Pulling out two boxes etched with runes and intricate symbols, Yeon-woo activated them to see their contents.

[The Random Box (x2) has been opened!]

[You have acquired (1) Talisman of Bind.]

[You have acquired (1) Talisman of Barrier.]

While Yeon-woo was inspecting his items, things were getting chaotic in the background.

"Shit, all this suspense is killing me here. Hey, is it fine if we open the box together?"

Kang Seok, who had been staring at Gold Invite's bag with barely disguised greed, stood halfway up from his chair. It was right then.

"Sit back down."

A powerful but still well-mannered voice slammed into Kang Seok's eardrums.

"No, I was just…."

"I told you to sit back down."

Han's voice sounded incredibly cold. Kang Seok nervously swallowed his saliva and parked his butt back down on the chair.

The Guide, Han, snorted out once, and then began fiddling with his monocle.

"…. His bonuses are reserved only for that person. They are things you, Mister Kang Seok, should neither see nor even desire."

Han then shifted his gaze back to Gold Invite.

The assembly hall fell into the grips of the deathly silence yet again. Not even the sounds of breathing could be heard now.

Yeon-woo was unfazed by the pressure in the hall, and opted to instead look towards the Gold Invite, who he had sensed staring at him.

The Gold Invite looked at him with shock, and Yeon-woo realized from the glow in his eyes that the man was using a skill.

The man quickly looked away, but Yeon-woo already caught on to what he did.

'Hmm, an appraisal skill? Well, the man was a Gold Invite, so it was to be expected.' With that thought, Yeon-woo decided to test out his own appraisal skill for the first time and return the favor.

[Draconic Eyes]

Hearing the announcement that he should check the Status Window, Yeon-woo raised his chin up, which led him to peek at the top of Seol Jihu's turned head.

[Seol Jihu's Status Window]

[1. General Information]

Summoned date: March 16th, 2017.

Marking Grade: Gold

Sex/Age: Male/26

Height/Weight: 180.5 cm/80.6 kg

Current Condition: Good

Job: LV. 0 (Invited)

Nationality: Republic of Korea (Area 1)

Affiliation: N/A

Alias: N/A

[2. Traits]

1. Temperament:

– Weak-willed. (Possesses a weak will, thus unable to make decisions alone, nor sticks to ones already made.)

– Short-tempered.

2. Aptitude:

– Average. (Normal in every way; possesses no particular talent or qualities.)

Although Yeon-woo's face behind the mask was as stone cold as always, inside, he was shocked.

'That's it?'.

In all honesty, Yeon-woo was expecting the man to have incredible talent to make up for his weak physique. As a military man, he had already judged that Gold Invite or Seol, was very unfit, so he expected him to be like his brother Jeong-woo and have the genius aptitude to balance it out.

Even if one accounts innate ability, with an average aptitude, weak stats and a bad temperament, he didn't have any idea how someone like that could gain a Gold-mark.

Of course, just because he looked weak didn't mean that Yeon-woo was going to underestimate him. His time in Africa had shown him that even the weakest recruit could kill with a well-placed bullet.

"Excuse me."

While Yeon-woo was in the midst of his thoughts, someone from the right side of the assembly hall piped up with a voice smaller than a mosquito buzzing around.

Han was still rubbing his chest while feeling rather relieved with himself. His eyes immediately shifted towards the group of the Contracted. A young woman sporting a bob-cut hair was dusting her butt while standing up.

"Uhm, is it, possibly…."

"What is it? We're just about ready to begin."

His attitude was clearly different from when interacting with the Invited. Hearing his voice full of annoyance akin to chasing away a pesky bug, a certain sense of dissatisfaction formed on the woman's face.

"You are not giving us anything?"

"?"

"You know, like those bags those people just got."

The Guide let off a cynical chuckle and then replied immediately.

"Yes. You don't get anything."

"B, But why not?"

"Those bonus items are reserved for the Invited only."

It was a simple and articulate answer, but a deep frown emerged on the woman's face.

"Why is there a difference?"

"It's simple."

The Guide smiled softly, and his right hand pointed towards his right – the left side of the hall.

"These guests have been invited here after going through a strict evaluation."

Next, Han's left index finger pointed to his left, the right side of the hall, in a somewhat accusatory manner.

"And you people got dragged here because of the Contracts."

Yeon-woo shook his head at the contractors that were trying to make demands from the Guide. He knew that Han's polite veneer was just a pretext.

The difference between an Invited and a Contracted was a wide gulf, and the Guide had no need to treat the contractors kindly. The people who were rebelling had no idea what they were in for.

"You know what, stop wasting time and get us some chairs, too. My legs are aching from all that standing around."

"That's right! Now that I see, you look like still a young man, so, how can you even think that it's good to discriminate people like this?"

When more and more voices began chiming in, some amount of confidence and energy began filling up the expression of the nameless man. He glared at the Guide, waiting for a response.

As for Han, he was simply smirking back at them.

"…. Sometimes, we get people like you. Those who don't know their place, those who only know how to bark and nothing else."

"What did you say?"

"Well, I do understand you. I don't know which deplorable bastard reeled you in, but you must've jumped in first without even waiting to listen to an explanation – after being blinded by money and the promised reward."

The nameless man flinched.

"Whatever the case may be, you have already signed the Contract, haven't you? As long as you are here, you don't have a choice but to follow my guidance. If you want to complain, then you should meet up with the person you signed the Contract with later on and do so."

"So, what you're saying is I should sit here quietly?"

"Exactly."

"We don't deserve to know so we better shut up and do as told?"

"Correct. Excellent analysis."

"Ha, what should I do, then? Because I don't feel like doing that."

"Well, if you feel that way."

Seeing the nameless man's rebellious attitude, Han simply pointed at the lone exit of the assembly hall with his index finger.

"You can simply leave."

"You stinking son of a bitch. You think I won't leave?"

The nameless man venomously shot back and turned to address the group, shouting out loudly at them.

"He's telling us to leave, so let's leave, then! Tell them to do whatever the hell they want and let's go!"

Hearing this, three or four stood up hesitatingly. Ultimately, though, the number of those preparing to move was small.

"What are you all doing? I'm saying, we should leave, now!"

Even after the nameless man urged the crowd, no one else budged. And when the majority didn't move, even those who did stand up began sitting back down. Sure, there was the awkward atmosphere to consider, but also, it wasn't as if every Contracted here didn't receive an explanation or two before coming here.

"Hah, screw this. What a bunch of dumb cowards."

The nameless man muttered a few choice words, and then, angrily stomped his way towards the exit. The blonde maid with her quick wits was already there; she carefully creaked the door open. The man turned around, spat on the floor of the assembly hall, and made his exit.

"Is there anyone else who wishes to leave?"

The Guide asked, but no one else made a move. The maid silently closed the door and locked it.

Han didn't say anything else. He simply stared at the door with an expression of someone finding it all rather amusing. As this strange silence continued, the crowd alternated their gazes between the exit and the Guide for a while.

Yeon-woo gave it a while before the group were made examples of.

And so… a minute went by like that. And just as the second minute was about to tick by….

And then right on cue, they all could hear the hurried and scared running steps approaching the door. Then, the door handle was desperately yanked from the outside.

—Open the door!! Open the door!!

Then, there was heavy pounding on the door….

—Y, you, fucking sons of bitches! Open! Please!! Pleeeeaaaase!!! Ah, aaaaaahhhh!!!"

The noises from the outside suddenly cut off – both the screams of that nameless man and the pounding on the door.

While the screams echoed past the door, the Guide merely chuckled in amusement.

"I pray for an enjoyable school life for all of you."

Han placed his right hand across his chest and politely bowed. Then….

"Everyone, I wish you all a good fortune."

….He vanished into the thin air, just like when he made his first appearance. Not just him, but the blonde maid, as well.

Now left seemingly abandoned, people began standing up in haste, one by one.

Just as someone was about to shout out…

KWANG!!

An impact noise on a different scale from the previous pounding rocked the exit door, instantly silencing the uproar before it could even start.

One of the door's hinges couldn't endure the impact and broke off from the wall, hitting the ground with a sharp metallic clang. The door had been securely locked up, yet it was forced open just a crack before it was closed shut again.

The silence that settled within this confusion was deafening.

None of them knew what to do next. Only the instinctive reaction of the mouths silently bobbing up and down continued.

[Sender: the Guide]

[1. Escape from the assembly hall and arrive at the second floor waiting area of the main school building before the time runs out.]

[2. Remaining time: 03:59:38]

KWANG!!

The door seemed to almost break as the fierce pounding continued, and it issued a harsh metallic protest. No, it was better to describe that the door would break, very soon.

KWANG, KWANG!!

Even seeing with naked eyes, it was difficult to believe that it was really happening; the thick metal door was struck only twice, yet it caved in as if it was made up of paper. Several thick metal hinges were hanging dangerously loose, ready to fall at the slightest impact.

"W, we need to block that!!"

Rather than shouting, it was more like everyone fell into a frenzy.

The movements of humans when their lives were under threat were remarkably swift. Yi Seol-Ah picking up her chair and running towards the door signaled the beginning; dozens of bodies all rushed to the door.

Someone brought along unoccupied chairs, someone climbed up the stage to see if there was anything useful up there, while the rest simply used their bodies to push against the door.

Yeon-woo merely stood back and watched the others scramble to block the door and made no effort to blockade the door. Instead, he pulled out two of his military knives and dual wielded them, a blade in each hand.

He licked his lips as he waited for the doors to bust open.

The Tutorials were mostly different despite them having similar layouts, but they had alot of things in common between them.

For one, defeating the boss monster before the final phase?

The points gathered would be enormous. But Yeon-woo's thought process was soon cut off by an unexpected movement.

Suddenly, the wooden floor of the assembly hall quaked upwards. The aged wooden floorboards began tearing up, pieces violently flying off one by one. People had to perform unsteady dances while trying to regain their lost balance as the floor rumbled.

"W, what the hell?!"

"An earthquake?"

That line of thought proved to be far too lackadaisical for the current situation.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The floor exploded as if a bomb had gone off. And from between the gaps of flying bits of wood, a lengthy and rotting arm shot out. There were six hook-like things attached to the end of this arm.

This arm drew a short but sharp arc in the air and came down to the floor, before grabbing the hair of the totally dazed and stiffly standing Yi Seol-Ah, proceeding to drag her down the newly-created hole.

"Kyaaaak!!"

Yi Seol-Ah's head slammed into the floorboard with vengeance and bounced up, and like a golf ball rolling towards the flag hole, she got rapidly sucked into the gaping black hole on the wooden floor.

"Noonaaaa!!!"

Yi Sungjin pounced on the upside-down pair of legs kicking helplessly in the air.

"Heeeeelp!!"

That cry sobered up everyone right away, and the crowd rushed in to grab hold of Yi Sungjin, as he was also getting dragged into the hole as well. As the ten-odd pairs of hands tugged and pulled and yanked, shoes flew away, and then, even loose socks came flying.

Amongst the hectic chaos, somehow some people managed to grab Yi Seol-Ah's flailing legs and ankles, and from there, a desperate tug of war unfolded.

"Hold on!! Don't let go!"

"Pull up!! I said, pull them up!!"

The whole place descended into pure, unbridled chaos. Cries and shouts were roared out; no one dared to hold back as they struggled hard.

Even with the combined strength of ten plus men, Yi Seol-Ah couldn't be pulled out of the hole. They were being roughly rocked from side to side due to the sheer force pulling down from below, causing many to lose their grips and crash to the floor.

"Euahahah!"

"Hey! Don't let go!"

It was then.

Kyaaaaaaak

The scream was definitely from Yi Seol-Ah, yet the horrifying screeching tone made it seemingly impossible for a human to issue such a sound.

Splash!

And from the hole, red liquid exploded upwards. It was like seeing a blender stuffed full of tomatoes switching on but with its lid not closed, and then, crushed bits of flesh and juice were flying off to everywhere.

The crimson blood rained down like a small fountain.

"Noona!! Noonaaaa!!"

Her legs that were kicking and twisting until now, suddenly went dead straight and still. All of her ten toes curled up simultaneously; her thighs trembled; and then, just like a puppet with its strings cut, her knees folded. A certain sickening sensation of something being cut was transmitted to the hands of all trying to pull her back out.

The pulling force from below was suddenly gone. Everyone fell back hard on their rear ends with loud thuds.

Among them, a man was rubbing his aching butt. And while frowning, he took a look at his hands.

He was still holding onto a slender ankle. Below that, a smooth, rather shapely leg. Even further below, a blue skirt soaked in blood.

Beyond that…. he couldn't see any other connecting body parts. All he could see was some remains of crushed intestines and bits of mangled flesh.

"Aaa….."

He saw the shape of something human slowly rising up from the hole in the floorboards.

"Aaah…."

Its long, unkempt hair seemed to dance around unrestrained, caked with blood and bits of human flesh from top to bottom.

"Aaah, ah….."

Its head was at least four times the size of a grown adult man's head. And there was a single giant eye that took up almost half of that large head.

"Ah, ah, ahhhhaaaack!!"

The man couldn't hold back it any longer and screamed. He got up as quickly as he could and ran for his life. He didn't know where to, but as long as he could get as far away from that creature as humanly possible, he'd be fine with that.

Soon, pure chaos descended on the assembly hall. There was no other fitting description. People got utterly, completely terrified by the creature's grotesque appearance, and while screaming their heads off, they scattered everywhere.

Yeon-woo, who did not run away like the others, started to approach the monster at the center of the massacre.

The monster was busy feasting on a corpse, but it stopped and abruptly turned its head around. It spun around in a manner akin to the second hand of a clock and found a single man approaching it. It ran there on all fours.

Kheehick?

Seeing that the man wasn't budging an inch, it tilted its head in confusion and craned its neck. And like how a person might appraise a plate of food before eating it, the monster studied Yeon-woo with great interest.

The foreign, unknown matter brushed by his cheeks and the disgusting odor assaulted his senses.

It was a rather familiar feeling and a welcoming smell.

[Sense Strengthening]

His sensory perception became incredibly sharp. Yeon-woo closed eyes cracked open a sliver. In front of his nose, a huge black vertical slit of a pupil, with bloodshot whites surrounding it, was waiting.

And when his gaze met with that eye brimming full of the desire to kill….

[Draconic Eyes]

"....."

A relaxed smile broke out on Yeon-woo's lips.