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Chapter 68: Nightmare (3)
[Congrattions!]
[You have defeated all the Nightmares!]
[The nightmares flee.]
[You are free from the effects of fear and illusions.]
It was over.
As the effects of the elixir faded and the influence of the nightmare dissipated, I experienced just a few seconds of relief.
Only a few seconds, and only the weight of one leg, but it was far from light.
Grateful, I nodded slightly to the two people who supported me by holding my arms, then stood firmly on my own feet.
"What''s this, hyung?"
"I don''t know. Am I the only one who got something?"
"Oh, wow! Looks like this guy was the boss mob!"
"Congrattions, Eunho!"
Though the two had also fought hard, their contributions were smaller in number.
It felt awkward to hog the spoils and say nothing, so I bent down to add ament.
"There’s only one. It would’ve been nice if each of us got something..."
"Come on, we only managed because of you, Eunho! Go ahead and check it out!"
Swoosh!
I picked up the orb that had fallen from the nightmare at their encouragement.
Its smooth texture was alien—like a ss pane rolled into a perfect sphere.
? Orb of Illusions
When activated, shows hallucinations to the designated target.
-The content of the hallucinations can be customized by the user, and their duration is approximately 1 minute, depending on the target’s mental resilience.
‘Only one minute?’
… No, wait.
‘Isn''t this way too overpowered?’
If I could show anything I wanted, anytime I wanted...
Duringbat, it could make it impossible for enemies to locate me.
When ambushing, creating misleading illusions would dramatically increase my sess rate.
Even during a desperate escape, this item would be invaluable.
‘I need to save this.’
For when I truly needed it.
And finally—
─ Ding!
A wee notification sounded.
[Mission ''Nightmare''pleted.]
[Check your mission rewards!]
The tension coursing down my spine dissipated, and the cold sensation that had wrapped around my skin vanished.
People who had been trembling under various forms of terror began to lift their heads one by one.
The countless pairs of eyes that had been staring into nowhere returned to their proper ces.
"Wha—holy crap! I’m alive?!"
"Of course you are."
"Ha… I thought everyone but me had died..."
Though we had returned, only our senses were back.
The dream had ended, but the mistakes made within it weren’t erased.
"Ugh...!"
"!!"
Only the sensations had returned.
A spear held by one man was embedded in another man''s side.
"You bastard..."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Bro, why…?!"
He must have mistaken him for a nightmare.
Not as the brother who had protected him until now.
"Don’t move! It’ll hurt more…!"
"Wait a moment! I have a bandage item..."
Dropping the spear from his trembling hands, the man frantically shouted,
"Shop! Shop!"
Pulling out a bandage that appeared out of thin air, he quickly began wrapping it around the wound.
The desperation was evident in the trembling hands that carefully wrapped the bandage, inch by inch.
Thanks to his efforts—
"Haa…"
The man impaled by the spear let out a deep sigh.
"Bro! Are you okay?!"
"You idiot... What if I had really died?"
He seemed more relieved by the fact that his brother hadn’t killed him than by having escaped death itself.
Perhaps he foundfort in knowing his brother wouldn’t live a lifetime of guilt over a death he couldn’t me on anyone else.
"Ah... A littleter, and it would’ve been serious."
"Exactly, noona!"
Jieun and Jaehyuk, who had been watching, heaved sighs of relief.
And then, there was a near-crisis involving the couple wrongly used at Namsan Towerst night.
"Kyah! Let go of my hand!"
"…Who are you?!"
The man, startled, realized he was holding the wrist of a stranger instead of his girlfriend.
"Soojung! Where’s Soojung?!"
Frantically, he pushed through the crowd searching for her.
And then he found her—
"Hup…!"
"Soojung! Are you okay?!"
Copsed on the ground, trembling in front of the fallen nightmare I had in.
"I… I almost died…"
The man said nothing and pulled her into his arms.
After a brief reunion, the two approached me, holding each other’s hands tightly as if they would never let go again.
"You… saved my girlfriend… Thank you so much!"
"Thank you."
The man bowed deeply, and the pale-faced woman added her gratitude in a trembling voice.
"And I’m sorry for yesterday."
"Excuse me?"
"Honestly, at first, I was so annoyed, wondering why you were suspecting us for no reason. It felt like we were being unfairly used with no evidence..."
No reason, huh?
From their perspective, they were just taking a walk when they got used of attempted murder, so I could understand their feelings.
"It’s fine. Don’t worry about it."
"...I’m really sorry. I didn’t know."
After profusely apologizing, the couple left.
I wasn’t particrly offended or upset.
Perhaps their apologies were meant to express gratitude for saving her life.
That aside—
"So many people have died."
"…Looks like at least fifty."
And even more were injured.
During the "Observer" mission, there had been about 200 survivors in Yongsan District.
There are about a hundred and fifty left now.
If we hadn’t taken down the nightmares, we might have been trapped in an endless loop of killing each other in those dark dreams.
As I unconsciously rubbed my arms, feeling a chill despite the bright daylight, our group approached.
"…S! Are you okay?!"
Jieun rushed over in a panic to S, who was pale and slumped on the ground.
“Hah….”
“Student! Drink this!”
A cleaningdy hurriedly handed over a round vial containing a blue liquid.
It was a familiar bottle — a diluted fatigue recovery potion.
"Here! For you too, young man!"
She handed one to me as well.
"For me too?"
"Of course! You worked hard to protect us, didn’t you?"
“Um…”
"Goodness… You''re too kind. How are you supposed to survive in this harsh world?"
I didn’t think it was such a big deal, though... The nightmares were just part of the mission to clear, after all.
Feeling a mix of embarrassment and awkwardness, I tried to refuse.
"Not exactly..."
"Don’t be ridiculous! Look how much you’re sweating!"
Ah, right.
Even walking a bit on these sore legs had left me sweaty.
Given how nightmarish it all was, it wasn’t surprising.
“Thank you.”
In the end, I epted it.
Her determined hands, firmly thrusting the vial into mine, left me little choice.
As I did, S held her vial silently and stared at it.
“You’ve been drinking a lot of potions today.”
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“That’s how adults get by—with medicine.”
“Isn’t that just you, though?”
“It’s everyone.”
As S and I reluctantly epted our second dose of recovery, struggling to stand again...
[A message for survivors in the Yongsan district.]
The announcement we’d been waiting for burst out over our heads like celebratory fireworks.
[Congrattions!]
[The ''Employment Exam'' has concluded!]
“Wow… It’s finally over?”
“Looks like the personality test was the final part!”
From the ‘Dark Path’ mission in the tunnel to here, the employment exam had finally reached its end.
“Wow, I feel like I just finished a real test!”
“You always look forward to the end of tests you didn’t even study for, don’t you?”
“What?! Yoon S, do you want to die?”
Now that the test was over, there was only one thing left to do.
[The results of the aptitude and personality tests will bebined to assign a grade for the ''Employment Exam.'']
[Reevaluation for ''Lee Eunho'' is underway,bining assessment scores.]
Check the scores.
“Eek! We’re getting evaluated too?”
“That’s a good thing. They give additional rewards.”
“Well, of course, someone like you would get an S and be happy! I won’t, though!”
The foul-mouthed one was tearing at their hair, yelling.
Ah, right.
This guy had never once received additional rewards, now that I think about it.
Saying anything here would only feel like adding fuel to the fire, so I kept quiet.
[The evaluation results will now be announced.]
While waiting for the results:
‘Well… I can’t help but hope.’
I had received S and S+ in the previous two evaluations.
Naturally, expectations rose.
Might as well aim for another S+.
‘With S+, I even got education credits.’
And the welfare points would be substantial, too.
Speaking of which, I’d umted quite a few welfare points.
Once this mission wrapped up, I’d need to raid the mid-tier shop.
[Candidate ''Lee Eunho,'' your evaluation grade is…]
Weapons, defenses, anything would—
[X!]
…What?
‘X?’
* * *
[Thank you for your efforts!]
Phew.
As Harona let out a long-held sigh, Seung quickly ran over and handed her some water.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
The tension, piled up like sand, was barely swallowed down.
[Hah… my heart’s still pounding…]
Known for her outspokenness in front of anyone, even Harona had struggled with this report.
Especially with the unforeseen variables that had cropped up at the end.
[We almost ruined everything at thest moment.]
[Exactly. Of all times, with the executives present, there were mission interferences and penalties…]
[Right? I was so worried they might overturn the decision. It’s such a relief.]
A relief indeed, yet Harona wore a conflicted expression unbefitting her words.
Because—
[Is it really… a relief?]
[…]
The penalty wasn’t the end of the unexpected variables.
[The director…]
Seung trailed off, ncing around uneasily.
Likely holding back words no one should hear, like “What was he thinking?”
Noticing this, Harona muttered an answer, almost to herself.
[He wanted to test his worth.]
To see how much potential the candidate possessed.
And to gauge Harona’s own judgment in selecting them.
[He’s exceptional, but… can he satisfy the director?]
[What can we do? We’ll have to wait and see.]
[Aren’t you worried?]
Unlike the anxious Seung, his superior’s face mixed concern with anticipation.
[Worried, yes, but also… excited.]
The concern of being in the same boat, and the excitement of wondering what he’d do next.
And it was obvious which feeling was stronger.
Harona’s dark eyes sparkled like a gourmet before a rare dish.
[Let’s begin.]
* * *
Of all the letters, why X?
X.
As in, the day before, when I killed Yurina with my own hands.
While my head throbbed, the others seemedpletely carefree.
"Uwoooo! It''s an A, an A!"
"Congrattions, Jaehyuk!"
"That''s awesome! What grade did you get, Noona?"
"I got an A too. Maybe capturing the nightmare yed a big role?"
Jaehyuk, who had been sincerely congratting Jieun, asked without the slightest doubt.
"Of course, you must have gotten an S, Hyung, right?"
"……."
"Uh? Why aren''t you answering?"
Since I didn''t respond, the group''s attention naturally focused on me.
One by one, they turned to see what was going on.
"X... it says."
Out of curiosity, I asked, hoping there might be someone else like me.
"What?"
"Not Ex, but X?"
"What is X?"
As expected, there wasn''t much of a reaction.
Then S, who had been quietly listening, muttered.
"X means ''unknown''…"
Unknown.
That''s right, unknown.
A mysterious grade that neither seemed good nor bad.
"They didn''t even tell me about the rewards or welfare points."
Out of suspicion, I opened my status window, and a detailed screen popped up.
[Lee Eunho]
Affiliation: District 13, ROK-SEO-106
Rank: Probationary Selector (S+) → Selector (X)
Stats: Stamina (17), Strength (14), Intelligence (10), Judgement (15), Agility (15), Endurance (31), Resistance (1,544)
Traits: Rebel
Skills: [eleration (Lv.4)], [Petrification (Lv.12)], [Basic Swordsmanship (Lv.3)], [Sword Wind (Lv.1)], [Revive (Lv.-)]
Trait-Specific Skills: [Counterattack (Lv.1)], [Disobedience (Lv.-)]
As I scrutinized the familiar yet strange evaluation sheet to see if I had missed anything, a dyed announcement yed.
[Congrattions!]
[An additional mission has been assigned for the grade evaluation of ''Lee Eunho.'']
"Additional mission? Just for me?"
Seeing Jieun''s puzzled expression after I identally spoke aloud, it seemed the announcement was only audible to me.
I couldn''t help but wonder why an additional mission was necessary for my grade evaluation after all the missions I''d alreadypleted.
[The additional mission is optional. If you seed, you will receive double the rewards based on your grade, along with a special bonus.]
This definitely caught my attention.
A double-reward event for sess?
"What happens if I don''t ept?"
[If you decline, you will still receive the standard rewards.]
The fact that there were no penalties for refusal was also reassuring.
Hmm.
[However, please note that the additional mission is an opportunity provided only to exceptional candidates who have demonstrated outstanding achievements.]
An "opportunity" for "exceptional candidates" who showed "outstanding achievements," huh.
They really dressed it up nicely with all the right words.
[Do you wish to ept the challenge?]
What should I do?
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