Chapter 17: Challenge, Failure (2)

After easily succeeding in the first challenge, the next task appeared on the electronic display.

[Read the following sentence accurately without any mistakes within 5 seconds.]

[The manager of the soy sauce factory is Manager Kang, and the manager of the soybean paste factory is Manager Jang.]

It was a sentence like the pronunciation tests news anchors often practiced when we were kids.

Honestly, I wasn’t confident.

Lifting heavy barbells one after another like earlier would have been much better.

Even for the man who was trembling uncontrollably, it looked like too much.

He was bound to stumble over the pronunciation.

“…I’ll do this one.”

Then Rahee stepped forward.

She took a couple of deep breaths, inhaled sharply, and pressed the red button to take on the challenge.

“The manager of the soy sauce factory is Manager Kang, and the manager of the soybean paste factory is Manager Jang.”

She read the sentence perfectly with clear and precise pronunciation.

She paced herself well within the 5-second time limit, even pausing once to control her breathing.

It was quite skillful.

Even back at the underground hotel, Rahee was often scared, but when it counted, she showed courage.

[Success: 2/10 | Failures: 0/10]

[Reward after 10 successes / Penalty after 10 failures]

“Nice…!”

This time, I found myself clenching my fist without realizing it.

The next challenge involved identifying someone specifically.

[Mr. Choi, can you confess to your colleagues the most shameful secret you’ve been hiding?]

“Mr. Choi…?”

I looked around.

My name is Kim Min-jun, so it’s definitely not me.

And Rahee’s last name is Lee.

“…!”

The male teammate who met both mine and Rahee’s gaze turned pale.

He hesitated for a long time and mumbled before finally pressing the challenge button.

He confessed a secret he had never told anyone: he had wet his pants after seeing a bizarre creature recently.

The atmosphere became awkward, but it was still a success.

[Success: 3/10 | Failures: 0/10]

Up to this point, things had gone smoothly, somehow.

But the fourth challenge made our expressions harden.

[During the issuance of ‘Code Black’ as per Article 13, Clause 4 of the Emergency Action Protocol for the Permafrost Exploration Team, what is the top priority item to secure?]

“…?”

As soon as I read the question, I tilted my head in confusion.

The difficulty had definitely ramped up.

I didn’t even know Article 1, Clause 1, let alone Article 13, Clause 4.

I had never even heard of an Emergency Action Protocol.

Rahee, the male teammate, and I just stared at each other blankly.

“If it were the team leader, they would have known…”

As the male employee said this, we all looked with troubled expressions toward the unconscious Team Leader of Team 12.

He was still lying on the cold floor with his eyes closed as if in deep sleep.

This was not a challenge we could attempt.

“…I don’t know.”

In the end, we pressed the blue “Give Up” button.

The display briefly blinked with the message [One Forfeit], and the fifth challenge immediately appeared—far more malicious and grotesque than anything before.

[Can you sever the first joint of your left index finger and place it on the altar within one minute?]

Alongside the challenge, a small stone altar rose from the ground next to the podium.

In a twisted sense of courtesy, a small dagger had been placed beside it.

“What… what is this?!”

“This is insane…!”

Rahee shouted in horror.

This was no longer a quiz or a test.

It was unmistakably malevolent.

It was obviously impossible.

Without hesitation, we pressed the “Give Up” button again.

The message on the display changed:

[Two forfeits. Recorded as one failure.]

[Successes: 3/10 | Failures: 1/10]

Two forfeits had added up to one failure.

Seeing this cursed display dish out such tasks, I made up my mind.

‘If this is the kind of task it’s going to keep giving us, hitting ten failures is just a matter of time.’

I clenched my fists tightly.

To end this twisted quiz show, perhaps we didn’t need to solve the problems—we needed to do something about the display itself.

I had no intention of participating in a challenge that required sacrificing a finger.

Maybe we needed to cut its power… or destroy it…

While I was considering how to deal with it if more of these bizarre tasks kept coming, a new problem appeared on the screen.

[Summon the ‘Herald of the Night’ and defeat it within one minute.]

An image appeared on the display—of a massive, jet-black, crow-like creature with ominously glowing eyes.

It was certainly a step up from the severed finger challenge, but it clearly wasn’t just a regular crow.

The name itself, Herald of the Night, said it all.

It was obviously some kind of monster.

“Th-that thing!”

“A crow…!”

Rahee and the male teammate recoiled in fear at the same time.

Their reaction wasn’t just from seeing the image—it seemed to stem from something deeper.

“You two know that creature?”

I asked, and Rahee nodded frantically.

“Yes! We—we encountered it a week ago! It’s way faster than it looks, and its beak is hard as steel… Back then, our team leader suffered a serious shoulder injury because of it…”

Her voice trembled slightly, as if reliving the fear.

The male teammate also nodded with a pale face.

It was an enemy they had struggled against.

“…Is it significantly stronger than other monsters?”

“Yes, it is. It can fly, and it’s so fast… But if we’re comparing it to other monsters…”

He hesitated, seeming to weigh the threat level.

I got the general idea.

It was clearly a troublesome creature, but perhaps not the strongest.

‘An opponent that gave Team 12 trouble… But if it’s me now, and I have this sword—’

I tightened my grip on the hilt of the Sword of Return strapped to my waist.

For the safety of my teammates and to finally end this tiresome quiz show, there was no room for hesitation.

Right now, I had no choice but to take the challenge.

If it doesn’t work out, then I’ll break the scoreboard.

It was a more reasonable gamble to deal with the monster than to offer my finger.

“…I’ll try it.”

“Minjun oppa, it’s dangerous!”

“What? It’s okay, I have an item, so both of you stay back.”

Rahee tried to stop me, but I resolutely walked toward the red “Challenge” button.

Just to be safe, I made the two of them step back before pressing the red button.

As soon as I pressed the button, the air in the middle of the room turned black, and from it, a huge crow-like monster began to emerge.

Flap, flap!

The huge crow twisted its body, slowly revealing its face from the small dark space.

It had a sharp beak and blood-red eyes.

Every time it flapped its wings, jet-black feathers scattered on the floor like dust.

“Ugh…”

Was the crow always this terrifying?

It might just feel that way because it was so much bigger than I imagined.

Before long, the crow fully emerged and landed heavily on the floor.

The landing was light, as expected with wings.

I slowly stood before it.

Caw!

With an ominous cry, the creature spread its wings and was about to fly at me.

I tightly gripped the hilt of my sword and lowered my stance.

Perhaps because I had seen it somewhere before, I assumed a somewhat convincing posture.

Swoosh!

I drew my sword from my waist and swung it toward the front.

As if responding to my will and strength, the sword cleaved the air like a flash of light.

It wasn’t a special technique, just a slash relying solely on overwhelming strength and agility stats, and it rushed toward the creature’s body.

Screech!

Thud.

Thud.

The crow monster didn’t even have time to scream.

Its massive body was precisely split in two, falling helplessly to the ground.

Instead of blood, black feathers and dust scattered into the air like mist.

[Success 4/10 Failures: 1/10]

The numbers on the scoreboard changed.

A brief silence fell over the room.

Rahee and the male teammate, with their mouths open, couldn’t believe what had just happened.

They alternated between looking at me and the crow demon’s remains on the floor.

Their eyes were filled with shock and confusion.

I tried to act nonchalant, shaking off the black dust from my sword and sheathing it.

My heart was still a little shaken, but I pretended like it was nothing.

I spoke in an exaggerated tone, as if amazed.

“As expected, good items make all the difference… This sword made my body move on its own.”

After I said that, the two of them exchanged glances and then spoke, as if excited.

“Ah… I see now…! I thought you had become a warrior from a movie!”

Exactly.

It felt like watching a martial arts novel!

It must be the effect of the item…

The way they were speaking reminded me of a character from a martial arts novel.

As for my swordsmanship just now…

It was more like a magic show.

There were no techniques involved, just relying on strength and agility.

As the two of them continued praising my item, the next challenge appeared on the scoreboard.

[Offer the sword as a sacrifice. Place the sword on the altar.]

At the same time, a small stone altar, just like the one we had seen earlier, rose from the floor beside the platform.

“Huh?”

This was a completely different challenge than I expected.

It seemed like the scoreboard had overheard our conversation and was bothered by my item.

“No, this sword…”

I intentionally acted disappointed.

Rahee and the male teammate’s faces reflected the regret of “How could we lose such a good weapon!”

Rahee seemed to even feel a bit guilty and tried to persuade me.

“…Let’s give up on this challenge. Thanks to that item, we succeeded in one challenge already…”

“When you can succeed, you should increase the number of successes.”

I sighed, as if there was no other choice, and walked toward the altar.

I drew the Return Sword from my waist, caressed the blade as if it were the last time, and carefully placed it on the altar.

Then, as soon as I pressed the button, the sword slowly disappeared into the altar with a faint light.

[Challenge Successful!]

[Success 5/10 Failures: 1/10]

For the first time, the scoreboard sounded excited.

Then, as if it had been waiting for this moment, the next challenge appeared.

[Summon the ‘Herald of the Night’ and defeat it within 1 minute.]

It was the same challenge as before.

Now, I had no sword in hand.

Rahee and the male teammate’s faces showed despair once again.

‘Huh?’

A faint smile appeared on my lips.