Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Interview (3)
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Creak—.
Thud.
As all the team members entered the labyrinth through the exclusive entrance for Group 8, the thick door automatically closed behind them.
The cool, eerie air inside the labyrinth brushed against their skin.
It was a pretty elaborate set.
Under the dim lighting, metal walls twisted in complex patterns, engraved with indecipherable symbols here and there.
On the surface, it looked like a convincing test environment.
'Even now, it looks like an incredible team.'
I took a moment to catch my breath and scanned the 'teammates' who had entered with me.
This hastily assembled group for the practical exam was anything but ordinary.
First, 'Hanbit'.
The youngest heir of Jinmyeong Group, famous for item sales and shaman work.
His seemingly ordinary clothes and accessories were surely items too.
I had no idea why someone like him would personally apply to Dongto's exploration team, but he was clearly no ordinary guy.
Next was 'Bora'.
A woman with the profession of exorcist. Bora, who already hunted monsters independently, was a famous figure anyone in the industry would have heard of.
Why would someone who could exorcise monsters on her own apply to an exploration team?
Her eyes held the composure and cold precision of a seasoned exorcist, not the tension of an amateur interviewee.
The talisman pouch at her waist proved her identity.
'The last one is the biggest mystery.'
'Shun'. An applicant from Japan.
There wasn't much info on him, but the company (White Tiger) had flagged him as a 'person of interest' for this interview and requested special surveillance.
Meaning he wasn't your average applicant.
And finally, me—Park Sunja. A spy from White Tiger's exploration team, infiltrating under the fake identity and name provided by the company.
Right now, I was going by the alias Park Soyoung.
Honestly, I liked this name better.
'...For interviewees, aren't we a bit over-specced?'
Including me, Group 8 was far from your typical batch of 'rookie applicants,' no matter who looked at us.
We had enough firepower to take on a real monster, not just the supervisor pretending to be one.
What the hell was Dongto thinking, putting us all in one group?
They couldn't have sniffed out that I was a spy, could they?
Dongto suddenly seemed enviable.
For them to have talents like this applying to their exploration teams.
"Alright, let's get ready."
Lost in thought, I heard Bora speak up first.
She quickly scanned the labyrinth, then turned to us.
"This isn't about escaping or surviving, right? Let's take out the supervisor assigned to us... the 'monster'... first and get started."
No one—Hanbit, Shun, or I—raised any objections to her words.
Our goal had been the same from the start.
Neutralize the amateur test supervisor first, then leisurely explore the Dongto-made labyrinth for the remaining time and pass the test.
We moved with perfect coordination.
Hanbit pulled a thin rope-like item from his pocket and skillfully set it up on the labyrinth entrance floor, in the spot shadowed most deeply.
It didn't seem like a mere trap rope; it looked like a special item that induced temporary paralysis on contact.
Bora drew a red-and-yellow talisman from her pouch and gripped it in both hands.
As she softly chanted a spell, a faint light seeped from the talisman.
She said it had an effect that dazed the mind on contact.
"...Does that even work?"
"Heh, it's a talisman that can calm a tiger starved for three days. Want me to stick one on your head?"
"...I'm ...fine."
When Shun asked in his clumsy Korean, Bora replied with a laugh.
It was hard to comprehend: inscribing characters on plain paper, chanting spells to turn it into an item-like talisman.
Well, anything involving monsters or abilities was hard to understand anyway.
Shun and I naturally took positions on either side of the trap, hiding in the shadows of the walls.
Our roles were clear.
Once the supervisor got caught in the trap and disoriented by the talisman, we would securely subdue and neutralize him.
I'd already received various drugs from White Tiger Pharmaceuticals, boosting my physical abilities far beyond an average adult male.
I'd even clashed with low-grade monsters multiple times.
Shun, judging by his build, seemed plenty capable of subduing the supervisor too.
All preparations were complete.
We held our breath and stared toward the entrance we'd come through.
The 10 minutes were almost up. The supervisor would enter soon.
Rumble...
As expected, the labyrinth door opened.
Footsteps echoed from beyond the entrance.
We held our positions, ready to welcome the approaching 'monster.'
Step, step.
A man wearing the Group 8 badge stepped out of the darkness.
Talk about method acting for a monster role.
He was clad in a hazmat suit festooned with creepy fake weapons and cloth bits.
Step.
The moment he stepped into the zone with Hanbit's rope trap—
Snap!
The hidden rope sprang up from the floor, instantly binding his arms and legs.
At the same time, Bora, hidden on the opposite side, hurled the talisman in her hand. It flew straight to his forehead like a magnet and stuck fast.
"...Clean work."
I muttered to myself and stepped out from behind the pillar where I'd hidden.
Shun appeared silently from the other side. Now we just had to approach the immobilized supervisor and begin the necessary 'subdual.'
We approached him leisurely.
But the next moment, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
Snap!
The item-rope snapped like an old rubber band, futilely giving way.
The bindings on Kim Minjun's limbs loosened in less than two seconds.
At the same time, the red talisman on his forehead burst into dark red flames without exerting any effect!
Whoosh!
The talisman burned up in an instant, scattering as a handful of ash on the floor.
Far from disorienting him, it vanished the moment it touched him.
"...!"
"How did my talisman—!"
My feet froze in place.
What the hell was this? Hanbit's binding item could hold even a Grade 2 or 3 monster for a bit.
Bora's mind-disrupting talisman was the same.
Yet it did nothing to this rookie supervisor.
'The plan failed. Should we keep going?'
While I froze, Shun reacted first.
He charged at Kim Minjun with speed beyond human limits and grabbed the sword-shaped weapon at his waist.
His physical prowess far exceeded my expectations.
"Hup!"
Shun gripped the sword with both hands and yanked.
Judging it best to disarm him first and neutralize the threat.
But—
"Urk...!"
Despite pulling with all his might, the sword in Kim Minjun's hand didn't budge, like it was lodged in rock.
Instead, the supervisor just blankly stared at Shun.
I could see Shun's eyes widen in bewilderment.
That's when it hit me.
'...Something's wrong.'
Our trap had failed completely, and his strength far surpassed our expectations.
This wasn't the level of a rookie supervisor.
Why was someone like that even in Team 15?
'Don't tell me Dongto is full of monsters like this?'
I wasn't the only one rattled.
Hanbit, who'd set the trap, and Bora, who'd thrown the talisman, wore clear looks of shock and dawning crisis.
We exchanged glances.
Further engagement was pointless. No, it was dangerous.
Group 8 was quick on the uptake.
The moment we realized we'd picked the wrong opponent, we all decided to retreat almost simultaneously.
Bora tossed a talisman to the floor, where it ignited and began billowing white smoke.
Using the smoke to obscure vision, we turned and fled deeper into the labyrinth.
But our opponent's reaction was just as swift.
No, faster than we anticipated.
"Ugh!"
Crackle! Zzt!
Thud.
The instant we turned to run, a cold mechanical whir came from behind, followed by a burst of blue flash.
At the same time, someone let out a short scream and collapsed.
Even through the smoke, I could make out that faint blue glow.
'I thought it was a fake sword, but it's a taser...!'
The supervisor must have used the sword-shaped taser in his hand while pursuing us.
Real taser or item, unclear.
Probably Shun, who'd gone for the sword.
'It's fine, we've got enough distance.'
The blue light was quite a ways off, even through the smoke screen.
If we kept running—
Crackle!
"Argh!"
Then, a blue flash erupted right behind me.
'What?'
Someone got hit.
Too fast.
We'd definitely put enough distance...
How did he pinpoint someone in this smoke?
I stopped in my tracks.
Instinct told me not to make a sound, reducing the fleeing footsteps to one.
We were pretty far now.
Far enough to escape, maybe.
Tap—
Crackle!
"...Ugh!"
"..."
A short footstep, and another victim of the taser.
I swallowed hard.
In the end, only I remained in the smoke, silent.
Time passed, the smoke cleared, revealing my fallen teammates on the floor.
And my eyes met those of the man holding the sword, scanning the surroundings.
The hazmat suit, which had looked a bit comical at first mimicking a monster, now seemed downright terrifying.
"Shit, we blew it..."
The man strode over and thrust the sword at me.
Crackle—!
"Mmph...!"
An intense shock that paralyzed every muscle in my body.
No time to resist.
Me, Hanbit, Bora, and Shun—we four collapsed to the floor without even a proper scream, losing consciousness.
'Totally... picked the wrong...'
As my consciousness faded, that was my last thought.