Chapter Twenty-Two: The Pawn's Gambit
The classroom was a ghost town, a silent testament to Minwoo's opening salvo. He had expected chaos, but he had gotten something far more dangerous: a fragile alliance built on a lie. Daehyeon, the self-proclaimed leader, stood at the front of the room, his face a mask of grim determination. He was a leader, but he was a fake.
Minwoo's gaze swept over the room, over the small, anxious clusters of students. He saw Jihun, the Gladiator, his face a mask of suspicion. He saw Soyeon, the timid Mage, her eyes darting from face to face. He saw them all, their classes and skills laid bare in his mind, and he knew that they were all pieces on a chessboard, and he was the only one who knew how to play.
"We will go by classes first," Daehyeon announced, his voice echoing in the sudden silence. "It's the easiest way to narrow down the suspects. Who here is a Mage?"
A girl in the back row, a quiet, studious girl named Soyeon, raised her hand. "I am," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But I haven't acquired any skills yet."
Daehyeon nodded, his gaze sweeping over the room. "And you, Daehyeon?" Minwoo's voice, a low and steady rumble, cut through the silence. "You said you were a Mage. Are you telling the truth?"
Daehyeon's eyes, full of a newfound resolve, met Minwoo's. "I am," he said, his voice firm. "And my level is 2. I have two stat points left to allocate."
The words hung in the air, a sign of trust. A few of the students seemed to relax, their shoulders slumping in relief. The plan was working. But Minwoo knew it was a lie. Daehyeon was a Level 1 hunter, with a single skill he hadn't even used. He had lied to gain their trust, to make them believe he was one of them. Minwoo said nothing. The game was far more complex than Daehyeon, or anyone else, realized.
"Who else is a Mage?" Daehyeon asked, his voice filled with a new kind of confidence.
A few more hands went up, a quiet, almost hesitant show of solidarity. Minwoo watched them, their classes and levels already known to him. He knew that one of them was the Captain, but he also knew that he had to play a longer game. The Captain was a cunning enemy, and they would not reveal themselves so easily. They would wait for the chaos to begin, and then they would strike.
"Now, who here is a Gladiator?" Daehyeon asked, his gaze sweeping over the room. Jihun, the burly boy from the football team, raised his hand. "Level 3," he said, his voice a low growl. "Two stat points."
"And you, Minwoo?" Daehyeon asked, his eyes filled with a quiet challenge. "What is your class?"
Minwoo smiled, a cold, empty expression that sent a shiver down Jihun's spine. "The Nameless One," he said, his voice a low, mocking whisper. "A class with no skills and a broken stat sheet. A pawn of a Demon Lord."
A few of the students scoffed, a few others looked at him with pity. They thought he was a joke. A broken hunter with a useless class. But Minwoo didn't care. He had a plan. He had a goal. And he had a secret that would win him the game.
He looked at the faces of his classmates, at the fear, the paranoia, and the fragile hope that was already beginning to fester. The hunt had begun, and he was ready for it. Now all he had to do was find out who was telling the truth and who was lying. The game was on, and he was the only one who knew the real rules.
Minwoo knew that the "Captain's Game" was a test of trust. The System wasn't just trying to find the Captain; it was trying to find out who was willing to betray their allies for a prize. Minwoo had no intention of betraying Hyejin, but he also had no intention of losing the game. He had to win. He had to get the Divine Sense skill.
He knew that the Captain would be a hunter with a natural gift for deception. They would be a person who could lie with a straight face, a person who could hide their true power. He looked at Daehyeon, at the student council president who had always been a master of manipulation. He was a natural leader, a natural liar. He was the perfect Captain.
Minwoo's eyes narrowed. He had a plan. A risky, dangerous plan that would put him in direct opposition to the entire class. He would not just win the game. He would expose Daehyeon's lie. He would shatter the fragile alliance that had been built on a false foundation, and in doing so, he would take control of the classroom.
"Daehyeon," Minwoo said, his voice a low, chilling whisper. "You said you were a Level 2 hunter. You said you had two stat points left. You're lying."
The words hung in the air, a poisoned arrow that struck its target with a deadly precision. The students' faces, which had been a mask of relief a moment ago, now contorted into a new, more potent fear. They looked at Minwoo, then at Daehyeon. They were caught in a trap. They had a choice to make. They could trust Minwoo, the terrifying, powerful hunter who had just exposed their leader's lie. Or they could trust Daehyeon, the student council president who had just been caught in a lie.
Daehyeon's face was a mask of utter shock. "How... how did you know that?" he stammered, his confident facade shattered.
"Because I know the rules," Minwoo replied, a cold, empty smile on his face. "And I know your class. You're a Strategist. A class that doesn't get its skills until a higher level. A class that is useless in a fight, but is a master of lies and manipulation. You lied about your level because you wanted to gain our trust. You lied because you wanted to control us."
Daehyeon's eyes widened. "That's not true!" he shouted, his voice high and shrill. "You're a monster! You're trying to turn them against me!"
Minwoo just shook his head. "No," he said, his voice a low, quiet challenge. "I'm just playing the game. And you just lost."
With a single, final word, Minwoo shattered the fragile alliance that had been built on a lie. The students, now convinced that their leader was a liar, began to disperse, their faces masks of paranoia. Daehyeon stood alone in the center of the room, his plan in tatters, his authority gone. The hunt had begun, and Minwoo, the master of this new game, had just made his opening move. He had won the first battle, but the war was far from over.