The dagger plunged deep into the head of the strange man fiddling with something near the hotel wall.Three trainees rushed over, glanced at him for a second, then walked away without a second thought. No inspection, no curiosity — as if it was just another day at the office.
They continued their patrol like it was nothing.Killing? Eh, who cares? It was just another Tuesday for them.
One of them stared off into the wall art, muttering something under his breath, like he was reading a spell.They turned away, and that's when they met our eyes. Their faces shifted into a momentary panic as they noticed the glowing red alert on their wristbands.
Right. The red flashing alert. Red alert.
"Attention. Repeating: Attention. Immediate focus required in the designated zone."
Ding!A sharp tone sounded, and a 3D map materialized, hovering in the air with directions to the target location.The three of them muttered a quick thank you before leaving.As for me? I just stood there, staring at the strange man's head, confusion bubbling up, but it passed just as quickly.
"So... what the hell is going on here?"Janelus asked the tall man with shoulder-length black hair and a muscular build — Hadelus Otar, son of the Supreme Royal Judge.
They were both part of the survival exam, and now they were witnessing something... odd.
"Take it easy... relax," Hadelus replied calmly."Chill out. We haven't even hit the worst part yet."
A person, around 5'3", was bandaging and tending to a larger figure — a man about 6'0" and built like a tank, but currently lying helpless, poisoned, and at death's door.If you took out the gender and focused just on the scene, it would've fit right into some cheesy romance movie.That was the exact thought that crossed Janeus' mind — well, for two whole seconds.
Her confused expression melted away, replaced by a cold, sharp focus as she walked over to us.
"Hey, Ron..."
"What?"
"...Am I going to die?"
"Huh? No! Are you an idiot? Did the poison hit your brain?"
"...I just saw an angel, okay? It's normal."
"You're delusional. If there's an angel here, it's probably one of those crazy ape-..."
I turned around, and—
"Your Highness, it's an honor to meet you. How may I serve you today?"I bowed dramatically, placing my hand over my chest, executing a noble gesture that no one would ever guess came from an orphan with little education.
"Thank you," the princess said, smiling softly. "I didn't expect to hear myself called an angel again."But she wasn't talking to me. She was speaking to the one lying unconscious from poisoning.
"Oh, and..."Janeus smiled at me, an innocent, saintly grin that stood in stark contrast to her royal background."If it's not too much trouble... could you repeat that trade proposal you mentioned earlier?"
She pointed toward the approaching figure — a man dressed in a black T-shirt with long black hair.Suddenly, my neck itched, and I felt his eyes sharpen as he got closer.
...
How's it going? Better than I expected.No one tried to slit my throat, no one threatened to kill me — it was just... the usual paranoid questioning.
Even with Hadelus there, they still stared at me like I was a criminal, asking a ton of questions, and then just walked off, like they had better things to do.I wasn't expecting them to believe me. After all, that eye of his? It's not all-powerful. The world's just too unpredictable.
I should be thankful they didn't lock me up. At least not yet. Maybe after this week's patrol ends, or if she decides to detain me for more questioning.
"Hey, where are we going?"Marcus asked, now fully recovered. His body was no longer showing signs of poisoning, just a few bandaged wounds as evidence of the fight.
"To pick up the loot, obviously," I replied, walking briskly, scanning the area.
I remembered that in the original novel, I spent ages describing how we searched for loot and fought off enemies. But that's not what I'm here for.I'm here to survive — and to save people.
Of course, I still need to find a way to stop the terror, but the situation outside doesn't seem that urgent.What I should be worried about right now is stopping as many deaths as possible.
We entered an abandoned stone house and started searching through the rooms, gathering supplies and dividing them up.It was business as usual as we looted other buildings for more gear.
If I'm being honest, this felt just like a VR survival game.
We "played" until late into the night, before realizing the thing we should've remembered from the start:
"This is a survival game, right?""Yeah, a survival exam.""Right, right..."
We finally started gathering wood for fire and hunting for food.But in the end, we just curled up with empty stomachs and went to sleep.
We couldn't use mana — too risky, too obvious. And we weren't allowed to bring food, so we had to scavenge.With my survival=0 skills, I figured, dying from hunger might actually be less painful. At least then I could just lie around.
"Sleep, Tomorrow's gonna be a long day." I rolled up and prepared to doze off."...If we sleep, who's going to keep watch?"After that line, there was only silence — and the feeling of eyes staring at me from somewhere in the dark...
...
I grabbed the dagger, and we were back in the fight with the crazies ahead of us.When they said this was a survival exam, they should've been more specific.It's more like a survival exam against the madmen of Melody and Gray Wall — a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters.
Marcus was struggling to handle two opponents — an Elf and a Dwarf. The two of them covered each other's weaknesses perfectly, making it almost impossible for Marcus to get close.
As for me? I was fighting three people at once.The weakest guy in the tournament, fighting three opponents simultaneously. Why?Don't bother asking. You could probably tell just by looking at what I was wearing.
In a survival game, the basic rule is: wait for the others to kill each other, then swoop in and clean up.But not for most people in this 'game'.I'm playing a different game.
I pulled out a vial of poison, tossed it at them.They scattered, panicked... and that's when I yanked on the thread tied to my hand.
From it, dozens of strings shot out, wrapping around the three opponents.They screamed, flailing about.But who cares?
A blade was already at their throats.The last thing they saw — wicked, sadistic smile.