Oasis. The First City.
It looks like a warzone. Crumbled skyscrapers, shattered asphalt, and a sickly purple sky that offers no warmth.
The System panel flashes before our eyes.
[Main Quest: Secure a Safe Zone before nightfall.] [Time remaining: 4 hours.] [Warning: Nocturnal entities are highly hostile.]
Around me, the survivors from the tutorial are still recovering. Some are weeping quietly. Others are staring blankly at their bloodstained clothes.
I observe them. This is the critical window.
Things always change, and adaptability means you don't let your feelings about change become the source of emotional and performance roadblocks. While they are paralyzed by the shock of this new reality, I am already calculating my next move.
Kang Min-ho, my newly acquired meat shield, is helping the girl with glasses to her feet.
"Are you hurt?" he asks her.
She shakes her head, adjusting her broken frames. "No. I'm... I'm Yoo Jin-ah. Thank you for earlier."
"I'm Kang Min-ho," he replies, puffing his chest out just a fraction. He looks over at me. "And this is..."
"Seo," I say, offering a weak, trembling smile. "Just Seo. I'm not much of a fighter, as you saw."
Jin-ah looks at me, her eyes darting to the System interface only she can see, then back to me. "Your rank... what was your contribution score?"
"F," I say, looking down in mock shame.
Accurate self-assessment involves honestly investigating and acknowledging your emotional strengths and weaknesses. I know exactly how weak my physical avatar is right now. Hiding it would only make me suspicious. Admitting my 'weakness' immediately establishes my position at the bottom of the pecking order. Safe. Unthreatening.
Min-ho pats my shoulder. "Don't worry, Mr. Seo. We survived together. We'll stick together."
I nod gratefully.
Already, I can see the organizational awareness kicking in across the square. Organizational awareness refers to recognizing and understanding how the organizational structures in which you and others operate can influence emotions.
The survivors are naturally segregating. A large man with a bloody fire axe—who clearly scored a high contribution rank—is loudly gathering the able-bodied men. He is asserting dominance. Those with high ranks are standing taller, fueled by a desire for power. Those with low ranks are clustering together, driven by a fear of rejection and a fear of being left alone to die.
"Hey, you three!"
The man with the axe points at us. He walks over, flanked by two other men holding pipes. He looks Min-ho up and down.
"You look like you can swing that pipe. I'm Park Dong-soo. B-Rank contribution. We're forming a vanguard to clear a building. You're with us."
Min-ho looks relieved. "That's a great idea. We should pool our numbers. These two are with me."
Park Dong-soo sneers, looking at me and Jin-ah. "The girl can come if she has a high Intelligence stat. But the guy in the suit? He looks like dead weight. We aren't running a charity."
Min-ho stiffens. "He saved my life in the tutorial. I'm not leaving him."
I watch Dong-soo's grip tighten on his axe. His authority is being challenged.
I need to diffuse this. If Min-ho fights him now, my shield might get damaged. Or worse, Min-ho might win and become the leader of this large group, which means too much attention.
I step forward, keeping my head bowed.
"Min-ho, it's okay," I say softly. "He's right. I'm an F-Rank. I'll just hold you back."
I am using empathy, not to be kind, but to understand what is motivating Dong-soo's behavior. He wants unquestioned authority. By submitting to him, I validate his power.
Min-ho frowns, his sense of justice flaring. "No. We survived together. If we leave people behind just because they're weak, what makes us different from the monsters?"
Dong-soo spits on the ground. "Suit yourself, kid. Have fun dying." He turns and walks away with his group.
Jin-ah watches them go, then looks at Min-ho. "That wasn't smart. We need numbers."
"We need people we can trust," Min-ho says firmly.
I smile inwardly. He is so predictable.
I have successfully isolated my tools from the larger, unpredictable group.
"We should move," Jin-ah says, pulling up her holographic interface. "The System gave me a minimap because my 'Analysis' skill leveled up in the tutorial. There's a commercial building two blocks from here. It has a reinforced basement."
"Good," Min-ho says. "Lead the way."
We navigate the ruined streets. The silence is heavy. Every shadow looks like a wolf.
As we walk, I deliberately stay a half-step behind Min-ho.
Those who have a high level of self-confidence have certainty about their own value and capabilities, and believe they can control the direction of their lives - and do. I don't need a golden trait or an axe to be confident. My mind is the only weapon I need.
We reach the commercial building. The glass doors are shattered.
Min-ho steps inside first, pipe raised. "Clear."
We move toward the back stairwell leading to the basement.
Suddenly, a low hiss echoes from the ceiling.
A creature drops down, blocking the stairwell. It looks like a massive, hairless primate with elongated claws and no eyes.
[Blind Crawler (Lv. 3)]
Min-ho grips his pipe, but his hands are shaking. The adrenaline from the tutorial has worn off. Real fear is setting in.
"Min-ho," I whisper from behind him, keeping my voice utterly calm.
He glances back, his eyes wide.
I need him to fight. I need to act as a Change Catalyst. A person who is a change catalyst understands that change is part of life, recognizes that change often brings up fear in people, but does not allow that fear to prevent necessary actions.
"It's blind," I say quietly. "It hunts by sound. You are stronger than it. Remember what you did to the wolf."
I am rewiring his self-talk. I am reframing the situation so that his fear doesn't paralyze him.
"If you don't kill it," I add, injecting just a hint of fabricated terror into my voice, "it will kill Jin-ah. It will kill me."
Min-ho's eyes harden. His breathing steadies.
He doesn't realize I'm not encouraging him; I'm programming him. Those who have the skill of developing others recognize that helping others achieve their goals is a win-win situation. I am developing him into a ruthless killer who believes he is a righteous protector.
Min-ho lets out a sharp yell to draw the creature's attention, and swings his pipe.
The heavy thud of metal hitting flesh echoes through the empty lobby.
I stand back, hands in my pockets, watching my tool go to work.