A Golden Execution

I narrowed my eyes and stared at the system window, wondering what on earth this ending was supposed to be. But staring didn't perform any miracles; the black blocks (■) didn't suddenly transform into readable letters. The subsequent system windows that popped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up were equally incomprehensible.

Recognition? I had no idea whose ears my name had reached to earn me "recognition," let alone such a pitiful 0.01% increase. As I was analyzing the system windows from every angle, the Smiley in front of me suddenly began to melt into a gooey, rainbow-colored liquid.

There wasn't even time to react. In the blink of an eye, as it dissolved, multiple streaks of light shot out from the collapsed factory. The light beams, descending like a meteor shower, merged into the rainbow liquid. Then, the Smiley vanished, leaving behind a strange candy. I slowly bent my knees and picked it up.

The rainbow-colored candy was shaped like Smiley's face. As I stood there in a daze, holding the candy in my hand, another system window popped up.

When I had forcibly accepted the system prompt earlier, I had harbored a secret hope. I wondered if Smiley and the toys would turn into items I could take outside... but I never imagined it would play out like this. I stared blankly at the candy for a moment before carefully placing it in my inventory.

"Th-this... is a True Ending, right?" I turned back to Mo Hae-in. Having read the system window, she stared at me with trembling eyes and asked, "It's a True Ending, right...? My eyes aren't playing tricks on me... Permanent closure..."

A True Ending of a Trial carried a special significance. It meant the permanent closure of the Trial and the return of all survivors. A Trial cleared with a True Ending would never regenerate, and it would spit out everyone trapped inside. All those who had been trapped, even those whose bodies had mutated, would be returned to normal, completely healed. In the case of the Happy Smile Factory, the employees who had been forced to work in the factory would be rescued.

While a True Ending was the only way to save the survivors trapped inside a Trial, its difficulty was so close to impossible that successful cases were extremely rare. When I first started playing the game in the Archive, an NPC had told me that there were only nine successful cases in the entire world.

"Yes, it's a True Ending." I gave Mo Hae-in a slight smile and offered my congratulations. "You did a wonderful job, Captain."

"..."

Mo Hae-in stared at me blankly. At some point, her face contorted, and she abruptly turned her head away. I could see the back of her neck flushing red from emotional overwhelm.

By nature, Mo Hae-in was not the type to show her emotions so openly. I looked away to give her some space until she calmed down. Fortunately, she quickly regained her usual composure. Having recovered her cool, she whispered slowly, "...Thank you."

I was at a loss as to how I would explain myself once we got out of here, but at the very least, it didn't seem like I'd be treated as a smuggler anymore. Right on cue, a system ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠window popped up.

When a True Ending or a specific ending was cleared, the player with the highest contribution could take an item from the Trial. In the case of the Happy Smile Factory, only the MVP was allowed to acquire an item. Without hesitation, I chose the Happy Smile Candy. Mo Hae-in seemed curious about what I had selected, but she didn't ask. She probably figured there would be plenty of time to interrogate me later, so there was no need to press the issue now.

After eighty seconds, along with the system window's closure notification, the scenery before my eyes crumpled and became saturated with various fluorescent colors. I was finally ejected from the Trial.

The place where the Happy Smile Factory had manifested was an abandoned factory site. All over the abandoned factory, which was cordoned off by a wide perimeter of police line tape, people of all walks of life lay unconscious. The wind was chilly. Wearing nothing but a white short-sleeved T-shirt and gray sweatpants, I went to rub my arms but swallowed a groan.

There were minor wounds scattered all over my body, not to mention my injured thigh. If this were a game, it would have been a no-hit clear. There was definitely a massive difference between clicking a keyboard and mouse and actually moving my body. Even though I had worked out diligently every single day without fail, my physical shortcomings felt glaring. Trying to pull off a no-hit clear with the default physical stats provided in this reality was simply impossible.

They'll treat my wounds if I get dragged to the Sidae Agency, right? Since things had turned out this way, I planned to get a clearer picture of my current situation at the Sidae Agency and crash there for food, clothing, and shelter for a while. Looking around, I spotted Mo Hae-in waking up a short distance away. Clad in her Sidae Agency uniform, she stood out quite a bit among the civilians. Just as I was limping over to her—

"Don't move."

A cold sensation pressed against my neck. Rolling my eyes to check, I saw a military fixed-blade knife.

Ah, Park Seong-gyeon.

I had completely forgotten about this bastard.

I couldn't help but let out a short, dry chuckle.

"You're laughing? Fuck, Goyo. Is this funny to you right now?"

"Should I cry instead?"

"...What?"

When I shot back informally, Park Seong-gyeon was momentarily taken aback. I looked down at him. He seemed to still think of me as a submissive, gentle college student.

"Park Seong-gyeon!"

Mo Hae-in, now fully conscious, aimed her gun and warned him. "I'm giving you one last chance. Step away."

However, the barrel of her gun was trembling slightly. Mo Hae-in had taken the brunt of the combat during the boss fight in the Happy Smile Factory. She was in a state where she should have been rushed to an ambulance immediately.

On the other hand, Park Seong-gyeon was perfectly fine. It was only natural, considering he had hidden away waiting for the clear while Mo Hae-in and I ran ourselves ragged to the point of exhaustion.

"Captain Mo Hae-in!"

Knowing this full well, Park Seong-gyeon sneered openly. "I'll give you a chance too. Hand over the Black Obsidian Halberd."

"Are you not afraid of the Sidae Agency?"

"Oh, not at all."

"How much were you promised? If it's money, I can give you..."

"Ha, Hae-in, Hae-in."

"..."

"Are you deaf? I said, hand over the Black Obsidian Halberd!"

Sliiiide. The blade nicked my neck, leaving a thin red line. And while Mo Hae-in and Park Seong-gyeon were bickering, I—

I was busy reading the system windows that kept popping up relentlessly. I had no idea what "Execution" was, or why the system was so eager for me to try it. Judging by the nuance, it doesn't sound like anything pleasant. But at this rate, Mo Hae-in would lose the Black Obsidian Halberd, and I would bleed to death. Blood was still seeping from my thigh.

Execute Park Seong-gyeon.

Even as my vision grew hazy, the sheer absurdity of the system window made me chuckle.

"Hey, Park Seong-gyeon."

Locked in a standoff with Mo Hae-in, Park Seong-gyeon flinched and looked down at me.

I offered a weak, lazy smile. "I'm giving you one last chance. Let go."

"Has this bastard lost his mind...?"

For some reason, Park Seong-gyeon's voice trembled slightly, as if he were suddenly gripped by fear.

I selected 'Dooo it!'.

A fanfare rang out. It was a cheerful sound, as if confetti were about to rain down. Right after, the sound of firecrackers echoed. No, it wasn't firecrackers... it was the sound of Park Seong-gyeon's head exploding. His ruptured head dissolved into gold dust, sparkling brilliantly as if scattering stars in all directions. His headless body soon followed, crumbling into golden fragments.

Through the glittering haze, I saw Mo Hae-in. She stood frozen, her gun still raised. Until the last of the golden dust vanished, she simply stared at me, keeping her weapon trained on me.

Well, this is bad.

I figured Park Seong-gyeon might die, but I hadn't expected it to be handled in such a spectacular fashion. To have such a bizarre phenomenon occur outside a Trial, in the real world...

It's way too suspicious.

A cold sweat broke out down my spine from the sheer awkwardness of the situation, but the system window, completely unbothered, merely popped up another casual box.

Ignoring the system window hovering in front of me, I opened my mouth.

"Um, Captain...?"

It was the moment I cautiously called out to her.

"What are you doing, Captain Mo Hae-in? Did you get your ass kicked in the Trial?"

I turned around.

The air split open, and a man wearing a Sidae Agency uniform hopped out. He was tall with a lean, muscular ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠build. His dyed red hair fluttered messily in the wind. Landing on the ground in his combat boots, he stood with his weight shifted to one side and smirked playfully.

"What took you so long to crawl out, Captain Mo?"

The smirk vanished from the man's face. His eyes hardened as he swept his gaze across the abandoned factory. Hundreds of people lay scattered unconscious. He immediately understood what this meant.

In a low, subdued voice, the man asked, "Hae-in. Is it a True Ending?"

I couldn't check because I was looking at him, but Mo Hae-in must have nodded behind me. The man stood there in stunned silence for a moment.

I knew who he was.

Captain Kwak Han-muk. Leader of Field Response Team 3 at the Sidae Agency.

Along with Mo Hae-in, he was one of the strongest combatants in the Sidae Agency.

Captain Kwak really is tall. I wasn't short by any means, but his eye level was significantly higher than mine. While I was observing Kwak Han-muk with curiosity, he finally noticed me. Seeing my injured state, he seemed to instantly realize that I had contributed to clearing the Trial. Just as Kwak Han-muk's gaze sharpened, Mo Hae-in muttered softly, "I guess there really are times in life when I'm actually glad to see you, Han-muk."

I was about to turn around at her words but froze.

Grab.

Mo Hae-in had suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist from behind. It felt a bit too intense to be a celebratory back-hug for escaping the Happy Smile Factory...

"Han-muk."

Uh-oh.

"Bind."

The moment Mo Hae-in's short command fell, a long rosary shot forward with a sharp clattering sound. In the blink of an eye, I was wound tight by Kwak Han-muk's rosary. He had skillfully avoided Mo Hae-in and bound only me, and as if that weren't enough, he slapped a pair of handcuffs on my wrists. Looking like some heinous criminal, I stared at Mo Hae-in in utter bewilderment.

"Han Goyo, you are under emergency arrest on suspicion of posing a national threat."

She spoke rapidly. "You have the right to remain silent. You do not have the right to an attorney, and anything you say or do from this point forward can and will be used against you in a court of law."

It was the Sidae Agency's version of the Miranda rights. Having delivered a speech I never in my wildest dreams expected to hear, she concluded coldly, "Knock him out."

A bright light flashed from the rosary.

I lost consciousness.