Chapter 103: The Meeting (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: The Meeting (3)
The hour was approaching midnight.
I sat with my back against the wall, staring blankly at the ceiling.
After hearing my first true confession, Seo Jeong-hee had disappeared without accepting or rejecting it.
Before leaving, she had said she needed some time.
“…I feel so empty.”
What was that saying? The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. I had naturally assumed she would accept on the spot.
“Was I being too selfish?”
I'd been going full throttle and had momentarily forgotten. Forgotten that her life had far too much at stake for her to answer me with her heart alone.
Choosing me was tantamount to giving up most of what she had.
So, of course, she couldn't give me an answer right away.
“Mmm.”
I felt I had been too hasty.
I didn't have to reveal everything all at once. I worried that I had forced something too heavy on her when our relationship was still half-baked.
“…Sigh. What can I do? The die is already cast.”
Caught up in the moment, I'd floored it and said everything I wanted to say. I couldn't take back the words I'd spoken.
From now on, there was only one thing I could do.
Continuously give her reasons to trust me.
To instill in her the conviction that, with me, she could overcome anything that came her way.
At the very least, I had to do that much so she could choose me with a slightly more peaceful heart.
To do that, first…
“I have to deal with the matter at hand.”
The clock on the screen of the smartphone lying beside the mattress changed to 00:00.
At the same time, a message appeared before my eyes.
[Preparations for the Face-to-Face Meeting are complete.]
[Will you accept the invitation? Y/N]
The first emotion I felt upon seeing the message was disbelief.
“What a bunch of jokers.”
We have a name for this, and it's not an ‘invitation.’ It's a ‘summons.’
They threatened to revoke my qualifications if I didn't comply. Invitation, my ass.
Still, they called it a face-to-face meeting, so nothing too crazy should happen, right?
I grew a little curious. I'd received countless system messages until now, but this was a first.
Would some kind of power activate the moment I accepted, teleporting my body somewhere?
I'd find out by seeing for myself.
“I accept the invitation.”
[You have accepted the invitation.]
[Moving to the banquet hall.]
Streaks of light shot out from the translucent message and began to wrap around my body.
Particles darted busily between the pure white streaks of light. It was mana.
I could feel it. The sensation of my physical body passing through a very thick wall.
Were the streaks of light wrapped around me acting as a protective barrier or a means of transport?
[You have arrived at the banquet hall.]
[To ensure user safety, all information of the Face-to-Face Meeting participants will be switched to a private state.]
[Please rest assured and enjoy the banquet.]
[Lifting the veil.]
The streaks of light that had sealed my vision slowly faded away.
The scene that gradually came into view was, quite literally, a banquet hall.
A chandelier scattering brilliant light from a high ceiling, a thick carpet that completely muffled footsteps, and foods from all over placed on a long table.
And numerous people milling about.
“Huh?”
The faces of everyone—those lightly eating, sipping wine, and chatting—were white.
Not that their skin was pale, but that their facial features were completely invisible, as if they'd been pixelated.
I finally understood the meaning of the message that had appeared before me.
“So this is what ‘information in a private state’ meant…”
My face was probably being processed in the same way.
In that case, as long as I avoided any actions that could identify me, I wouldn't have to worry about my identity being revealed, no matter what I did, right?
“That's a relief.”
One thing had been nagging at me: the fact that I was dead last among the 504 ‘Ones with Aptitude’ gathered here.
Being the last to receive the trait could also be interpreted as me being the weakest person here.
With 504 people having obtained the same trait, conflict was inevitable.
In such a situation, as number 504, I was the easiest prey.
I had thought of a few countermeasures in case they decided to target me first, but it seemed I wouldn't need to use them. I felt a little more at ease.
“Well then… shall I enjoy the banquet at my leisure?”
I wet my throat with some wine from the table. A deep aroma and a tart flavor coated the tip of my tongue.
I'm hopeless when it comes to wine, so I had no idea if it was good or bad.
On the wallpaper, which made tasteful use of deep greens and reds, hung paintings that looked expensive at a glance.
“I've never seen any of these before.”
I'd been to many exhibitions of famous artists with Han Ju-hee, but everything here was unfamiliar.
Either they were simply works I didn't know, or they were from another world. It had to be one of the two.
I was walking slowly along the wall, mindlessly looking at the paintings, when…
“Oh, you!”
Suddenly, a man approached, pointing a finger at me.
“You're the one who closed the door and entered!”
“What?”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“Haha! This, I mean this.” The man pointed to his own chest.
A badge was pinned there. In the center of the golden badge, which glittered in the light, was the number ‘382’.
I looked down at my own chest. Sure enough, there was a badge pinned there.
The number was ‘504’.
“That's what people are calling you. ‘The One Who Closed the Door and Entered.’ Haha!”
So… because everything started after I, the 504th person, obtained the trait, they were calling me the one who closed the door. I see.
I thought it was some profound statement, but it was just a silly remark.
“If I may offer a piece of advice… it would be best not to leak any information.”
Number 382 suddenly offered his unsolicited advice.
It was obvious. He was telling me to be careful not to get caught, since I, number 504, was the easiest prey.
I suddenly felt indifferent.
“Anyone with a brain could figure that out. Don't lecture me with your ‘advice’ and just be on your way.”
“Oh, you have quite the sharp tongue.”
I didn't know about anything else, but I knew one thing for sure. Number 382 was a foreigner.
It seemed that the languages of various countries were being interpreted for my convenience. His tone was so cheesy it was making me sick.
“I do hope we meet again if there's another occasion like this. Until then, survive well, my friend.”
Was it a warning or a wish?
Leaving behind those ambiguous words, Number 382 disappeared.
Who decided we were friends? Sheesh.
I walked around slowly, eavesdropping on the conversations of those nearby.
But there wasn't a single meaningful conversation to be heard.
They were laughing and chatting, but every topic was far from the core issue.
It meant they were all extremely wary of each other.
I also spoke with a few people who approached me, but they were all formidable characters, and I failed to extract any significant information.
Just as I was growing tired of this frustrating situation, a bizarre voice echoed through the banquet hall.
[A message for all those attending the banquet.]
[The Face-to-Face Meeting will now commence. We ask our distinguished guests to please proceed to the next location.]
A voice so bizarre you couldn't tell if it was male or female, old or young.
At the same time, a large door on one side of the hall opened by itself.
So this is where it really begins.
A great exodus began. The other 503 people started moving in a line through the open door.
I watched them calmly for a moment before quietly joining the line and passing through the door.
The place that was revealed was a space not much different from the previous banquet hall.
The only differences were the round tables placed here and there, and the presence of a dais.
And on that dais… seven worn-out chairs sat forlornly.
I stared at them, wondering what they were, before realizing they weren't just simple chairs.
“Whoa… what is all that?”
A very thick barrier of mana was spread around each of the chairs.
From left to right, they were red, blue, green, yellow, pink, white, and black.
As I closely observed the mana flowing around the chairs, information seeped into my mind.
“A device to identify its owner… is that it?”
Each color had a completely different mana pattern. Watching them carefully, I was seized by a strange sensation.
For example, looking at the red mana pattern made my killing intent surge. Looking at the pink one strangely stirred my lust.
“Hmm…”
In other words, each of those mana types possessed a unique characteristic.
And at the same time, they rejected everyone except those with mana that emitted the same wavelength.
At this point, I had to assume they were chairs waiting for their masters.
“So that's it.”
I was finally getting a sense of it—what those who had obtained the trait ‘One with Aptitude’ were ultimately supposed to aim for.
To be acknowledged as the master by one of the seven chairs on the dais.
And everyone gathered here possessed the minimum qualifications to do so.
I was curious. What could you do if you sat in one of those chairs? What would change?
To gather 504 people in such a grand fashion, it clearly couldn't be for something trivial…
As I was lost in thought.
[Everyone, thank you for waiting.]
That same mysterious voice sounded from the dais again.
And from the shadows where darkness had fallen, a single tuxedo revealed itself.
“……”
Everyone began to murmur.
And for good reason. Who wouldn't be surprised to see a tuxedo walking around all by itself, with no one wearing it?
[Haha, are you all surprised? You need not worry. For I am right here.]
A cane, which had been separate from the tuxedo, waved as if gesturing with a hand.
That's when I realized. Someone was wearing the tuxedo; they were just invisible to our eyes.
“Invisibility?”
It didn't seem to be magic…
…because I couldn't see any flow of mana around it.
But I didn't think much of it. From the feel of it, this was either the mastermind who gathered us here or one of their underlings, so an ability like that was probably to be expected.
The tuxedo began its speech.
[Some of you, more than twenty years ago. Others, a mere few months ago.]
[Though the timing differs, you have all obtained the same trait.]
[That's right. The trait known as ‘One with Aptitude.’]
[You must have all been curious. What exactly is this ‘potential’ you are said to have?]
[The answer to that question is right here.]
The cane held in the hand of the speech-giving tuxedo pointed to the chairs behind it.
“Those chairs… are the answer?”
“What, are we supposed to play musical chairs with those worn-out things?”
Just then, the cane pointed directly at the man who had grumbled.
[That is precisely it!]
“Eek…!”
Whether the man was startled or not, the tuxedo continued as if it had places to be.
[This is a kind of musical chairs.]
[A game where all 504 of you will compete endlessly to sit in one of those seven chairs.]
Then, someone brave raised their hand.
“What changes if we sit in one of those chairs?”
[Good question! A very good question indeed.]
[What changes if you sit in a chair, you ask?]
The tuxedo paused for a moment. Then, it finally gave the answer everyone wanted to hear.
[What changes… is everything.]
[The entire world will be turned upside down.]
[With you, the one sitting in this chair, at its center.]
[In other words… it means that the one who sits in this chair becomes the protagonist of this world.]
The intermittent chatter came to a complete halt.
They must be imagining it: themselves as absolute beings, changing the world to their liking.
No one dislikes power. Especially not absolute power capable of controlling the world.
Someone asked.
“What are the conditions for claiming one of those chairs?”
The tuxedo gave its answer.
[You must prove it.]
“Prove what?”
[Your worthiness to sit in that chair, of course.]
[Your lives from now on will change dramatically.]
[You will face countless incidents and accidents, and in the process, you will come to face one another.]
The tuxedo's cane pointed to all of us.
[Overcome.]
[Triumph.]
[Survive.]
[Do so… and this chair shall rightfully become yours.]
When I first obtained the trait, the message had said, ‘Prepare for the coming destiny.’
The tuxedo on the dais had just explained that in concrete terms.
Our lives would now face all sorts of turmoil, and only those who overcame it would earn the right.
Just as motivation began to build within the crowd, I raised my hand toward the tuxedo.
“I have one more question.”
[Please, speak.]
Feeling the gazes of 503 people on me, I slowly walked forward.
My destination was the dais where the tuxedo stood.
I could feel a gaze from where its head should be.
It was watching me now with great interest.
Ignoring its gaze, I approached the chairs behind it.
The seventh chair, the one on the far right, around which black mana swirled.
I finally posed my question to it.
“If I sit here, does this chair become mine?”
[Haha… that will not happen.]
[The seven chairs are protected by powerful mana to prevent the unworthy from sitting.]
[If someone without the qualifications were to rashly attempt to sit, they could lose their life….]
Its words were cut short.
Because before it could finish, I broke through the seventh chair's mana and took my seat.
I leisurely crossed my legs and spoke to all 504 of them, including the tuxedo.
“This chair is mine now.”