A Game of Hide-and-Seek

"Haaah..."

"Huuuh..."

Deep sighs filled the office of the Talent Management Team.

Only two survivors had returned safely from this tutorial.

The fact that two people had returned at once was shocking enough to make anyone faint.

But there was something even more astonishing.

Lee Taepyeong.

Not only had he wiped out the ratmen in the tutorial.

He was the very same Lee Taepyeong who had torn apart and killed both lizardmen and a vampire.

Taepyeong hadn't decided to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠climb the tower because he wanted to become a hunter.

He was a victim of rental fraud.

He belonged to the category of people who entered the tower with the mindset of, If things go south, I'll just die.

In cases like this, the government didn't hold high expectations.

Even if they luckily survived the tutorial, they wouldn't climb the tower to accumulate Contribution Points for South Korea.

Instead, they would climb only the low-level zones once a year and spend the rest of their time slacking off.

They were the so-called "freeloaders."

After finishing the tutorial, they would live off the government-provided housing for a year.

In these cases, they often neglected their training, lost their edge, and met absurd deaths even in the low-level zones.

What if Lee Taepyeong turned out like that too?

Even if he possessed the incredible trait known as the Heavenly Slaughter Star.

Just as a neglected blade is bound to rust, neglected skills are bound to dull.

No matter how great a trait is, it is meaningless if left unused.

There were plenty of rookies.

It was just that very few rookies actually survived.

So, what about Lee Taepyeong?

"Are we really going to let him go solo?"

Kang Mina, who was reviewing Taepyeong's solo application, muttered to herself.

In truth, when the application first arrived, the Talent Management Team was already in utter chaos.

How long had it been since he returned from the tutorial?

And he was already submitting an application?

A solo application, at that?

At that moment, the worry about Taepyeong being a freeloader vanished into thin air.

An even greater concern had descended upon the Talent Management Team.

What if Lee Taepyeong entered a solo map and died?

No matter how he had wiped out the ratmen and killed the lizardmen and the vampire, Taepyeong was still just a novice who had barely returned from the tutorial.

Even with a terrifying trait like the Heavenly Slaughter Star, he was still a rookie who hadn't even reached level 5.

The standard procedure for beginners was to run low-level zones with a government-matched party to safely reach level 5.

This was because reaching level 5 granted a second skill.

With two skills and the items acquired from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠running low-level zones, one could easily reach level 10.

From that point on, depending on their goals, they could challenge solo maps instead of party play.

However...

Taepyeong had ignored this standard procedure.

He had chosen to go solo from his very first climb.

"Shouldn't we stop him after all?" someone asked cautiously.

"Should I go stop him right now?"

Kang Mina jumped up from her seat as if she had been waiting for that cue.

But...

"..."

The Talent Management Team Leader remained silent.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke in a firm voice.

"No. Let's not. Let's just watch."

"Pardon? But..."

"He surely has a grand plan."

"...!"

"He's no ordinary guy. Let's let him do as he pleases."

"Entering the Babel Tower."

With that familiar yet strange sensation, my surroundings shifted in an instant.

When I opened my eyes again, a system window was floating before me.

Hide-and-seek?

A Seeker?

Survival?

Ah.

So it's a survival-type map.

I wondered what they meant by hide-and-seek.

The "Seeker" must refer to the boss.

I learned about this during training too.

The Seeker—the boss—is an absolute, unkillable entity.

So the goal is to avoid getting caught by the boss as much as possible, running away, and surviving.

It's a bit different from the tutorial.

Back then, I had to survive against a horde of miscellaneous monsters.

But this time, I only need to survive against the Seeker.

Though there's a possibility other races might be here too...

I got a survival-type map in the tutorial, and now I got another survival-type map for my official entry.

Honestly, I don't think survival maps suit me very well.

My trait is the Heavenly Slaughter Star, after all.

Wouldn't an annihilation-type map be much more advantageous for me?

But well, what can I do?

Since I'm already here, I might as well give it a shot.

"Hmm..."

I glanced around my surroundings.

The place I ended up in during the tutorial was a subterranean cave.

But the atmosphere here was completely different.

It felt like I had stepped right into a sci-fi movie.

An incredibly advanced future era? That was the vibe.

Compared to that, I was...

Basically a caveman.

Since I hadn't obtained any items yet, I was practically bare-handed.

Even during the tutorial, I couldn't find a weapon, so I had to steal the ratmen's and lizardmen's swords to use them.

Will I have to do the same this time?

By the way, thirty days?

That's way longer than I expected.

Of course, time inside the tower flows differently than in reality.

A month in the tower is just one day in the real world.

So no matter what, only a single day will have passed when I return.

I already heard about this during training too.

However, I didn't expect to be thrown into a long-term survival match so soon.

If I have to survive here for thirty whole days...

First, I'll need drinking water, food, and a place to sleep.

This is going to be tougher than I thought.

It's a map I've never seen before, too.

Well, since I only studied for three months during the tutorial preparation period, it might just be a map I never got around to learning.

Or maybe it's a brand-new map.

Even if it looks like something I know, it could be a completely different type.

Haha. There really was a reason why they said solo maps have a low survival rate.

But so what?

Whether it's a map I didn't learn, a new map, or something else entirely.

What does it matter?

I don't care.

I'll figure something out!

"Sigh..."

No matter how I look at it, my personality seems to have changed a bit.

Probably because of the Heavenly Slaughter Star.

But it doesn't seem like a bad thing.

I actually like how I've become strangely optimistic.

Before, I was so overwhelmed with worries that I even resolved to end my life, but now, I can't even worry even if I want to.

Why wouldn't it work out? That kind of mindset has basically become my default setting.

Let's start by exploring the surroundings.

The place I was in felt like a factory.

At any rate, it seemed to be a facility for manufacturing something.

I didn't know exactly what they used to make, but it had the vibe of an abandoned factory.

Beyond the unbreakable transparent walls, there were strange traces.

Broken debris and dried black slime.

I walked down the corridor, observing what lay beyond the glass walls.

There were directory signs, but they were useless since they were written in an unknown script.

How long had I been walking?

"Is this a room?"

A door appeared.

It was still labeled with those incomprehensible characters.

Could this be a trap?

*Click.*

I opened the door, tense with anticipation.

Fortunately, it wasn't a trap.

"It's a restroom."

Just a normal restroom.

I was getting thirsty anyway.

*Whoosh.*

Clean water flowed smoothly from the sink.

I sniffed it. The smell passed the test.

I cupped my hands to scoop up the water and drank.

*Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.*

"Whew."

The taste was perfectly fine.

Not bad.

Does this mean I've secured drinking water for now?

I need to make sure I remember this spot.

Drinking water is the most crucial thing for survival, after all!

I continued my exploration.

I found a couple more restroom-like places, but no water came out of those.

I had been lucky to find that first restroom.

If worst came to worst, I could use that place as my base.

As for sleep, I could just sleep in a janitor's closet or something.

By the way...

...

It was remarkably quiet.

Aside from the occasional low hum of machinery, there was absolutely no sign of any living creature.

Is it because this is hide-and-seek?

Unlike the subterranean cave map, there were no monsters.

Maybe they weren't necessary because the Seeker was here.

"Tsk..."

A bit of a shame.

No, wait. What do I mean, a shame?

It's a good thing.

Since there are no monsters, it's much easier to explore!

I cautiously approached the door at the end of the corridor.

There was a button, but the power supply seemed to have cut out long ago, so I had to force it open with raw strength.

*Screeech.*

Ugh. I thought my strength had improved as I leveled up, but this was still pretty tough.

"Whew."

Unable to open the door all the way, I just pried open a small gap and squeezed myself through.

Stepping inside, I found myself in a massive space.

There were countless tables and chairs.

Flickering screens hung from the ceiling.

Once again, the text was incomprehensible, but I could make a rough guess.

"Is this a cafeteria...?"

Looking around, it seemed so.

There was even something resembling a menu board.

However, there was nothing that looked like food.

Was this place already ruined too?

Still, I might find something, so should I search it first?

I walked past the tables and headed toward what looked like a kitchen.

Fortunately, the kitchen door opened easily.

The moment I pushed the door open and stepped inside—

"...!"

*Slash!*

Something flashed rapidly just beneath my chin.

If I hadn't dodged, my head would have been clean off.

But...

What was that?

The moment I grabbed the doorknob, I had felt it.

A thick, foul-smelling wave of killing intent.

Thanks to my instincts picking up on it, I had easily dodged.

"Keke..."

Then came a low chuckle.

An Orc?

It was another demi-human race.

Was this why there were no other monsters around?

"Bwahaha! Was it just a human?"

The Orc burst into loud laughter upon seeing my face.

It was a similar situation to the lizardman.

"A weakling!"

"..."

"Keke, die!"

Muttering to himself, the Orc suddenly swung his blade.

I easily avoided the slash by slightly twisting my body.

Too slow.

This was actually easier than the lizardman.

Maybe because he relied solely on brute strength, his movements were unnecessarily large.

Which made him even slower.

*Whoosh!*

*Swish!*

When I effortlessly dodged his blade a few more times, the look in the Orc's eyes changed.

"Y-you bastard!"

As the Orc gripped his sword tighter, preparing to fight in earnest—

*Grab!*

I picked up a heavy cutting board resting on the kitchen counter.

It would have been better if I had a knife.

Unfortunately, there wasn't one.

Well, whatever. I could just kill the Orc and take his.

*WHACK!*

I swung the cutting board with all my might.

The board slammed directly into his already hideous face.

His flat nose was crushed beyond recognition.

Before he could even register that he had been hit hard—

*BAM!*

I began to beat his head mercilessly with the cutting board.

*Thud.*

*Crack.*

*Smash.*

*Thwack.*

*Crunch.*

Until I heard the sound of something breaking.

Of course, this wasn't enough to kill him.

Orcs had such massive bodies that it wasn't easy to snap their necks like I did with the ratmen.

In the end, I needed a blade.

Seriously, this was a kitchen. You'd think there'd be at least one cleaver lying around.

Why was it so clean?

*THUD!*

Unable to withstand the impact, the Orc collapsed backward.

It felt as if the floor shook.

Wait, he fell down just from getting hit in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the head a few times?

Orcs are nothing special either.

And here they said they were terrifyingly strong.

Ah, maybe the fact that he was still alive after taking such a beating was proof of his strength?

Anyway.

"Oh, here it is."

I began to search the fallen Orc's body.

He had a few weapons at his waist, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but most of them were clubs.

The only useful one was...

"This?"

It was a mottled, reddish-brown knife, whether from dried blood or rust.

It looked exactly like a Chinese cleaver.

The moment I gripped the knife, goosebumps broke out across my back.

My Heavenly Slaughter Star trait was probably acting up again, making me excited.

"Whew. Calm down. Let's calm down. Stay cool."

Taking a deep breath, I gripped the cleaver tightly.

The Orc was staring up at me with eyes full of disbelief.

"It's okay. It's okay. It's okay."

His gaze was exactly how one would look at a complete lunatic.

"I am not excited. I am not excited. I'm not..."

Muttering to myself, I raised the cleaver high.

"I am!"

*Whoosh!*

"Not!"

*Thwack!*

"Excited!"

*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*

The Orc's head split in half.

Reflected in the blood-drenched cleaver, my face...

...was wearing a smile.