Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 008
Chapter Title: The Tutorial Begins (7)
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It wasn't until morning that Alice finally appeared. Having watched over the Chosen Ones from atop the tree all that time, she launched straight into her assessment the moment she descended.
"First up, let's talk about Choi Tae-seong. Choi Tae-seong! You did outstandingly well. Your bravery and boldness are hands-down number one. No one can touch you!"
"?!!"
Choi Tae-seong couldn't hide his shock—he'd never dreamed she'd praise him.
'What...?'
In stark contrast, Kang Mu-hyuk's face stiffened, a chill settling over his features.
"But it's not flawless. That bravery tips into recklessness far too often. Just look at how you died the most out of everyone—that says it all. And fixating so hard on points leads to some truly off-base calls. You have to work on that. Still, your stellar performance netted you a top score!"
Burr!
The flaws fell on deaf ears for Choi Tae-seong. Only the echo of "top score" rang through his mind.
'Yes!!'
Alice turned to Lee Bo-ra next. Her warm expression soured in an instant.
"Lee Bo-ra. You lack any sense of tension or vigilance. That's why you were the first one hit when the Black Wolves showed up—pure carelessness. Clever Black Wolves always pick off the weakest prey first."
"That's...!"
"And you're sorely lacking in boldness too. You barely lifted a finger in the fights, just phoning it in. Your score reflects that, of course."
Lee Bo-ra's face burned crimson at the evaluation scraping the dirt.
The humiliation cut deeper than she'd imagined. But she had no comeback—it was undeniable fact.
"Next..."
Alice's sharp critiques rolled on after Lee Bo-ra. Bae Jin-cheol managed a sort of non-compliment, at least.
"Bae Jin-cheol, you're smack average. Not sharp, not dull—just average. Not good, not bad. At the very least, you're not rock bottom. Step it up next time. Being stuck in the middle is the most awkward spot there is."
Bae Jin-cheol bit his lip and choked down the sour feedback.
Alice turned to Kang Mu-hyuk, her face blooming into a bright smile.
"Kang Mu-hyuk, you never dropped your guard even when the tension eased, stayed cooler and more collected than anyone, took charge of the group, and led from the front."
It was so glowing, you half-expected them to be old pals. Choi Tae-seong's face twisted into rot in seconds.
Jealousy smeared across everyone else's expressions too.
"Your handling of the Black Wolves was brilliant. Dividing into teams, finishing off threats without slacking, jumping in to help fast—all top marks. But best of all, you kept your cool against the pack leader, figuring out how to counter without missing a beat. Sure, you died once, but otherwise? Spotless. You nailed it, Kang Mu-hyuk! That's 30-point material!!"
Burr!!
Kang Mu-hyuk shivered with the thrill of her praise. It hammered home his number-one spot once more.
Gazing at the massive gaps, the group felt jealousy and raw talent staring them down.
Especially those sliding down the ranks—they felt the talent divide in their bones.
'Started at 3rd... down to 8th. Can't get worse than this.'
Yeo Han-seol, who'd kicked off at joint 3rd, sighed at her plunge to 8th.
'At least 5th isn't terrible, I guess...'
Park Hye-min, who'd shared that 3rd with her, cracked a bitter smile at clinging to 5th by a thread—barely average.
'9th... basically dead last.'
Crunch.
Lee Bo-ra, who'd begun at 5th, reeled from being dead last (barring the outlier Lee Sang-hyun).
On the flip side, Bae Jin-cheol—who'd started at 9th—grinned in satisfaction at climbing to 4th.
'From 3 points early on... 4th's solid.'
Im Dong-gyu, who'd been 8th on 4 points, folded his arms at 6th—just 2 shy of 4th.
'With effort, I can catch up.'
Choi Tae-seong, starting at 6th, eyed his solo 2nd and rued those early stumbles.
'If I hadn't goofed at the start, 1st was mine... Damn it...!'
Kim Sung-jin, slipping from steady 2nd to 3rd, scowled and clicked his tongue under his breath.
'...Messed up this time.'
Seong Nak-hyun, bobbing between 6th and 7th from a 7th start, pitied his mid-pack trap.
'...Do better next. 4th through 7th are all 1-point spreads anyway.'
Kang Mu-hyuk, holding firm 1st and stretching his lead to 19 points, brimmed with certainty.
'No rivals left. I'm number one!'
A 19-point chasm—not 1 or 2, but 19—left no room for doubt.
"......"
One person didn't bat an eye at the board: Lee Sang-hyun.
He alone, mired at 10th from start to finish on a measly 1 point, felt zero stir.
Alice began outlining the fourth trial.
"The fourth trial is a 'Survival Game.' Simple goal! Scatter across the island and spend a week dying as little as possible while hunting as much as you can."
Flinch!
"Dying as little as possible" as a core goal locked their faces in grim masks.
Kang Mu-hyuk cut in briefly. Less for bonus points, more pure curiosity.
"...What if we run into someone else?"
Out-of-left-field question, but Kang couldn't gloss over it.
Alice hadn't specified what to hunt.
She clapped sharply at his query.
"Great question! Bonus point +1! How you handle other players—other Chosen Ones—is up to you. Kill or spare, your call. But killing them racks up big points. Getting killed docks yours."
"!!"
The air turned leaden at her words.
Some—especially score-obsessed Choi Tae-seong—glared daggers at Kang's back.
'...I can flip this! Even if they die, they come back, right? I've died plenty...!'
Kim Sung-jin, bumped from 2nd to 3rd, eyed Kang and Choi Tae-seong while steeling himself.
'...If it comes to it. Gotta take them out.'
Kang Mu-hyuk, dominating 1st, pegged this as the toughest trial yet.
'Point theft... A slaughterfest disguised as survival. Bloodbath for the top spot! Hesitation over killing? They respawn anyway—what's the big deal? And deep down, they all get it. Escaping this place opens a whole new world.'
Alice grinned at the crowd, rubbing her palms with evident glee.
"Oh, and starting this trial, 'job' traits kick in. Archers get bows, mages spells, knights swords—simple as that."
"?!!"
The promise of job powers sparked fire in the Chosen Ones' eyes.
"Obvious, but jobs with low difficulty and high survivability have the edge! Potential shines late-game, after all! So shake up those ranks—maybe you're the new 1st! Or the old 1st drops to last!"
Gulp.
A chill colder than locking eyes with the alpha Black Wolf cooled Kang's blood.
But he felt no fear. If anything, he'd widen the gap here.
'I'm... the strongest.'
Even as the worst game yet—a 'slaughterfest' masked as Survival—loomed, one spot stayed utterly still.
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun. Dead last meant zero relevance to him, apparently.
The others wrote him off as competition too. No points worth stealing there.
'Ignore that guy. He's last.'
'Not aggressive anyway—skip him.'
'He'll just focus on surviving again. Guy's got top-tier staying power, sure.'
'...Fighting him only hurts me. Losers like him got nothing to lose.'
'Don't tangle with that type. Target others—8th or 9th will be easy pickings.'
17 points counted, sure—but losing their own loomed larger.
Even Kang Mu-hyuk, rivaling everyone, carved out an exception for last-place Lee Sang-hyun.
'No time for small fry. Right now... Choi Tae-seong! Gotta check this cocky punk.'
Lee Sang-hyun ignored them all, musing on his job trait instead.
Berserker.
What kind of class was that?
'A warrior lost to madness, pure and simple. No reason, just bloodlust instinct. Powerful... but cursed to self-destruct.'
So why pick Berserker out of all those options?
'Guess I'll see.'
Lee Sang-hyun didn't dwell. It wasn't worth it.
Besides, the truth was coming soon—no need to rush.
So he waited quietly.
"Alright then, time to awaken! It's incomplete, but it'll be fun. The moment you shed your humanity for superhuman power!"