Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Challenge, Failure (3)
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"Again?!"
It was the exact same problem as before, but Rahee and the male team member had already moved past shock into despair.
Just looking at their faces made their thoughts crystal clear.
How were they supposed to deal with that crow without a weapon?
They'd only beaten it last time thanks to the weapon.
But inwardly, I was smiling.
It wasn't intentional, but the situation was turning in my favor.
I casually walked toward the podium and pressed the red button without hesitation.
"O-Oppa?!"
Rahee raised her voice in surprise, but I ignored her and took up position.
'It was definitely around here...'
Cawww!
Once again, the empty air in the same spot turned black, and the crow monster's head popped out.
This time, I moved first the moment it appeared.
Since it emerged from the exact same place, I could attack even faster now.
I lightly tapped twice beside the empty scabbard at my waist.
Tap, tap.
Click—!
Like a scene from a movie, the Returning Sword materialized inside the empty scabbard in an instant, accompanied by a faint glow.
It lived up to its item's name perfectly.
Flash!
For some reason, the electronic display board lit up brightly at that moment.
What was that reaction?
I drew the reappeared sword and swung it with all my might, just like before.
Shing—!
Slash!
Thud.
The second Herald of the Night died without even fully emerging, its head severed without a chance to resist, dropping to the floor.
The room fell into complete silence.
"H-Huh? But the sword was definitely offered up to the altar earlier...?"
"O-Oppa?"
Rahee and the male employee couldn't close their mouths, and I too made a slightly awkward expression as I sheathed the sword.
Just moments ago, Rahee had felt guilty for making me offer my sword as a sacrifice.
Because of that, I couldn't look her straight in the eye.
It was a bit embarrassing.
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly as I looked at the electronic display board, which seemed to speak a bit slower.
Normally, it would have immediately shown the success message, but it blinked without any response for a few seconds before belatedly updating the success count.
As if it couldn't comprehend what had just happened right in front of it, or like some kind of system error had occurred.
I hadn't deliberately tricked the monster.
It had just eavesdropped on our conversation and gotten caught.
"Oppa, where did that sword come from...?"
"It's actually a pretty special item. It... comes back after a while, once."
"...I see... That's amazing. I was shocked..."
"Phew... That really startled me!"
The male employee took deep breaths as if calming his pounding chest.
Rahee raised her voice unusually, her face a mix of relief and astonishment.
I lightly apologized to Rahee and glanced at the electronic display board.
Blink, blink.
Flash.
For a while, it flickered irregularly, unable to produce the next problem.
'Will the next one be another ridiculous impossibility?'
Honestly, after the fourth problem, I half-expected completely impossible challenges that couldn't be cleared.
After the finger-cutting demand, maybe next it'd tell us to gouge out an eye or something.
But that wasn't the case.
Was there some kind of rule to it?
At the end of the quiet interval, a new problem finally appeared on the electronic display board.
Then, on one wall, a narrow exit just big enough for one person smoothly appeared.
As if urging me to please just leave.
It was the expulsion order I'd half-expected.
"..."
"...Um, we probably can't leave, right?"
The male employee alternated his gaze between the entrance and me.
The moment he finished speaking, the entrance reverted to a smooth wall.
It seemed like an exit meant solely for me.
"...We should let him go... He's from another team anyway..."
"Y-Yeah, Oppa, you go ahead. We just need three more successes after you leave..."
"..."
I stared at the electronic display board.
The text was blinking emphatically, practically screaming for me to leave—
'...For some reason, I really don't want to go.'
I shook my head at the two of them.
"No, we all leave together."
They both looked shocked.
"W-Why? It's a chance to get out..."
"Ah..."
Truthfully, there were plenty of reasons.
Even without it kicking me out like this, I felt we could fill the success count and leave.
We still had the last resort of smashing the display board.
But more than that...
The monster going this far to try to send me away gave me a certain conviction.
'It finds me annoying, huh?'
Essentially, the monster was making me this offer.
'Come on, just leave already, okay?' 'How about we call it a draw?'
Once I thought of it that way, I really didn't want to go.
Beep!
After getting their agreement, I pressed the forfeit button, and a disappointed voice emanated from the electronic display board.
Immediately after, the next question popped up.
"Suddenly another question like this...!"
"Wait a second!"
While the male employee freaked out, Rahee raised her hand as if something had occurred to her.
"...Didn't it demand we cut off a finger right after we forfeited a problem last time too?"
"N-Now that you mention it!"
Rahee's words made the male employee slap his palm in realization.
She was right.
Previously, right after forfeiting a regulation-related problem, it had thrown out the absurd finger-cutting demand, forcing another forfeit and incrementing the failure count.
There was a reason the display board kept throwing malicious problems.
It could only do so after we forfeited.
"So if we forfeit this one, another one like this..."
"No, it won't be. Because now the failure count will stack up—"
We naturally forfeited this one too, pressing the blue button, bringing the forfeit count to two.
Then, with two forfeits accumulated, the failure count increased—
And a new question appeared.
"See? No more weird questions like... Huh?"
Rahee started to say her guess had been right, then faltered upon reading the question.
"Spy...?"
Not just me—Rahee and the male team member exchanged confused glances too.
Why bring up a spy all of a sudden?
What kind of trap was this?
For now, at least it wasn't demanding self-harm or suicide like Rahee had predicted.
Instead—
"What kind of question is this...?"
Did we just have to say whether a spy was present or not?
Honestly, it might be the easiest problem so far.
There or not there.
Even guessing blindly in total ignorance gave a 50% chance.
But what if there really was a spy?
The intent to sow distrust among us was obvious.
The problem was a bit underhanded, but there wasn't a better one for racking up success counts.
"...There's no way one of us is a spy, right?"
Rahee spoke uneasily, but I couldn't answer readily.
Truthfully, in a massive corporation like Dongto, it was plausible they'd plant spies to steal info from competitors.
And looking back now, there were some suspicious circumstances.
The irregular situation occurring precisely when the top exploration teams were away on other missions.
Failing all the easy problems from the Interrogating Slab in a row, causing it to mutate into the electronic display board form and go berserk.
The experienced team leader—who wasn't even a rookie—and another team member knocked out helplessly.
And amid all this, the electronic display board suddenly mentioning a 'spy.'
Situations I'd brushed off clicked together, sparking ominous suspicions.
Could this have been the spy's plan from the start?
"Should we... just forfeit this? It's trying to pit us against each other."
The male employee said anxiously, but Rahee and I shook our heads.
"We have to challenge it."
Thanks to Rahee, we'd just learned valuable info.
'Forfeit, and the next one will be absurd.'
Challenging and failing, or forfeiting and facing malice next—it amounted to the same thing.
"Challenging is the way. But..."
"Ugh...!"
"...Team Leader?!"
Of the two lying on the floor, the middle-aged man—the Team 12 leader—let out a groan and slowly opened his eyes.
He looked dazed for a moment, as if unable to grasp the situation, scanning around blankly before checking the display board and hardening his face.
"No...!"
He somehow hauled his staggering body upright.
His steps were still unsteady, as if he hadn't fully recovered from the shock, but his eyes were strangely sharp and alert.
And before we could stop him, he rushed to the podium and slammed the red 'Challenge' button.
"Team Leader! What are you...!"
The male team member shouted in panic, but the awakened leader cut him off.
Panting heavily, he pointed a trembling finger directly at the male team member.
"Spy...!"
His voice was hoarse and raspy, but the accusation was utterly shocking.
"It's him! That guy's the spy!"
"...W-What? M-Me? T-Team Leader! What are you saying? Snap out of it!"
The pointed-out male team member went pale, stammering as he backed away.
Rahee alternated shocked glances between the leader and the man.
The male team member met my eyes, glanced at my sword, and began trembling.
"N-No, it's not me!"
"...?"
The leader's sudden awakening and bombshell revelation filled the air with tense standoff.
The electronic display board went quiet for a moment, then flashed as it announced the challenge result.