Chapter 234
Chapter 234
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: Cogwheel Freak
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“Hmm. So, what kind of place is this?”
Lee Seojun casually scanned our surroundings with a calm expression.
Unlike me, who was worried about the events about to unfold, his face looked utterly serene.
“Finding the Self in Dreams” was a test conducted as an individual battle, not a team one.
If you encountered someone else during the test,
it was standard to fight them to eliminate competition.
But Lee Seojun showed no sign of wariness toward me, as if he didn’t even consider me a potential enemy.
He always let his guard down completely around comrades he trusted.
It was one of his few flaws.
“Kim Sunwoo? What are you thinking about by yourself?”
Lee Seojun’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Nothing.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
Lee Seojun pressed again.
“No, I was just thinking you’re way too defenseless.”
Ugh...
His face said, *What kind of nonsense is that?*
Sighing deeply at his expression,
I decided it was better to say it after all, even though I hadn’t planned to.
“This is an individual battle. What if I’d suddenly ambushed you?”
“Well, you wouldn’t do that.”
“...What?”
His response left me momentarily dumbfounded.
Seeing my reaction, Lee Seojun scratched his cheek and stammered on.
“I mean, it’s hard to put into words, but at some point, I started sensing people’s mentality—or emotions? Something like that.”
“......You can sense emotions?”
His words slightly startled me.
Sensing human emotions meant he had naturally awakened a new trait.
“Yeah, it’s not exact or anything—just a hunch. But it’s pretty accurate. I’ve hardly ever been wrong.”
That confirmed it for me: Lee Seojun had awakened a trait.
It was probably called “Emotion Detection.”
“Emotion Detection” was similar to my “Killing Intent Detection,” but with subtle differences.
While my trait precisely pinpointed a person’s “killing intent,”
his allowed him to faintly sense “all emotions” from others.
This was surprising, though.
In the original story, “Emotion Detection” was a power he gained after graduation.
It had come a full year early.
I had no idea what triggered it, but since Lee Seojun was growing faster than in the original,
I figured it was connected to that.
“I see. I didn’t know.”
“......You’re accepting this way too easily?”
“I already knew about a similar ability.”
“......Really? Well, that’s good then. Anyway, let’s find a way out of here quick.”
I nodded at Lee Seojun’s words.
Unless we were going to duke it out in a deathmatch right here, we needed to cooperate and move to the next stage fast.
I slowly looked around.
Countless stairs arranged in a labyrinthine maze.
And gears meshing and turning on the ceiling above.
I pointed at the ceiling with my finger.
“That’s it, right there.”
Uh? Ah.
“See that small gap in the middle of those gears?”
Lee Seojun looked up, following my finger.
“I don’t see it.”
“Look closely. There’s a tiny one right there.”
“Where? Ah! Is that it?”
Lee Seojun narrowed his eyes, squinting as if he could barely make it out.
“Yeah, a little hole about 5cm wide.”
“Oh yeah, I see it. You spotted something that small? Impressive.”
“If we find the gear that fits in there, that should do it.”
Lee Seojun gave me an odd look at my words.
“......A gear in there? Hmm. Sounds plausible.”
“It’s not just plausible—it’s right.”
Saying that, I stepped forward. Lee Seojun blinked at the ceiling for a moment before quietly following behind me.
I headed to a nearby staircase. Climbing it revealed a single door.
“You sure you know where you’re going?”
“Of course not. No clues, so we’re just trial and error.”
That’s what I said, but I actually knew that no matter which door we chose, it led to the same place.
Creak—
Pushing the door open, a vast wasteland stretched out before us.
At the same time, the clacking of gears grew louder. Click! Clack!
I peered into the distance across the wasteland.
Not far off stood a bipedal monster formed from interlocking gears.
[Nightmare Encounter: ‘Cogwheel Freak’!]
It was the first “nightmare” we’d faced since the test began.
The nightmare creaked as it turned its gaze toward us.
Click! Clack! Click!
Lee Seojun, already in battle stance, drew his sword from his waist.
I summoned mana to my hand right away.
Screeech—
The cogwheel freak took a step toward us.
In that instant, a flash of light—and Lee Seojun vanished.
A moment later, he reappeared right in front of the freak’s face.
Whoooosh!
A sword of light swung toward it.
The sharp mana compressed in the blade collided with the cogwheel freak.
Boom——
A massive explosion erupted from the blade of light.
The aftermath sent up black smoke that enveloped the freak’s body.
Soon, the smoke completely obscured it.
Sensing something off, Lee Seojun quickly retreated.
At that moment.
Crackle—
Electricity surged across the ground, carrying a powerful wave of mana.
Lee Seojun, detecting the danger, turned toward me.
“Kim Sunwoo! Dodge!”
Whoosh——!
The black smoke dispersed in the mana surge.
And a straight beam of blue light shot toward me.
A “laser” straight out of a movie or comic fired at me.
It happened in an instant—too late to dodge.
With no choice, I activated “Instant Acceleration.”
Sloooow—
Perceived time slowed.
I stretched out my hand and focused.
A magic circle unfolded above my palm.
This was only my second time using it in real combat, but I’d practiced enough to nail the timing.
Just as the laser reached the magic circle in my palm,
I took a deep breath.
And activated the invincible defense spell, Reversal Strike.
Baaaang——
Reversal Strike succeeded.
The laser, brimming with intense mana, retained all its power as it shot back toward the cogwheel freak.
The freak tried to dodge in panic, but it was too late.
Boom——
[Defeated ‘Cogwheel Freak’!]
[The Cogwheel Freak leaves behind a trace.]
Thud!
The cogwheel freak collapsed in an unrecognizable heap.
“Phew...”
Victorious, I glanced down at my palm that had invoked Reversal Strike.
My fingertips trembled.
The thrill of pulling off Reversal Strike was indescribable.
“Whoa...”
Then came Lee Seojun’s voice, laced with awe.
“Reversal Strike is always amazing, no matter how many times I see it.”
Lee Seojun sheathed his sword at his waist and approached me.
“Good work, Kim Sunwoo.”
“You too.”
Lee Seojun smirked and walked over to the cogwheel freak’s corpse.
He crouched, rummaged through the body, and gripped something.
He held it up to me with a grin.
“Found the gear.”
Meanwhile, in some hideout in the real world where Jaun’s crew was holed up.
As Seongmuje’s final test began, Jaun’s group was having a busy time.
“Baek Eunseong. You done preparing or what?”
“Ah, don’t talk to me. Just be quiet.”
Baek Eunseong, sprawled on the sofa peering at his smartphone, grumbled.
Bert frowned at the sight.
“......You do know what day it is, right?”
“I know, so shut up.”
“What are you doing? Gaming right now?”
Bert approached and asked.
“......No, I invested in something and it’s not going well.”
Baek Eunseong muttered in a depressed tone.
“Stocks?”
“......Not stocks exactly, something similar. Ah! Anyway, you’re killing my focus—scram!”
Baek Eunseong flailed his legs in the air while lying on the sofa.
Bert looked at him pitifully before turning to Jin.
Jin was sitting on the sofa next to him, staring at his own smartphone.
“You into that investment stuff too?”
“No, I’m watching the Seongmuje text relay.”
Skar, munching snacks at the table, chimed in at Jin’s words.
“You understand it from the text relay? I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.”
“Hmm. I can tell who’s closest to winning.”
“Really? Yawwwn.”
Skar yawned hugely, looking uninterested.
Bert stepped closer, showing interest instead.
“How’s Daria doing?”
“She drank the enhancer, so she’s exceeding expectations. At this rate, she might not win, but reaching the finals is doable.”
Bert looked relieved at Jin’s words.
“That’s good to hear.”
As he spoke, Bert opened his mouth again.
“So, who do you think will take first?”
Jin, eyes fixed on his phone, replied.
“Lee Seojun or Kim Sunwoo.”
Having retrieved the gear, Lee Seojun and I returned to the starting spot and looked up at the ceiling.
“......We got the gear, but how do we get it up there?”
The ceiling was about five stories high—pretty damn tall.
There were footholds, but few and far between, making it nearly impossible to climb normally.
“Give me the gear. I’ll handle it.”
“...”
Lee Seojun handed it over with a curious expression.
I took the gear and climbed the stairs.
From there, I jumped to a higher staircase.
Stair-hopping like that brought me close to the ceiling.
“Kim Sunwoo! You’re not gonna jump from there, are you?!”
Lee Seojun shouted from below.
“Yeah!”
A brute-force method, but that’s how it went in the original story too.
Of course, it had to fit perfectly into the slot, so even in the original, it took several tries before succeeding.
Lee Seojun’s voice came from below again.
“Don’t get hurt!”
“Don’t worry!”
I replied, took a deep breath, and relaxed my legs.
Lee Seojun would’ve needed about ten attempts, but I was confident in two or fewer.
With luck, maybe just one.
I sprinted from the end of the stairs. Then activated “Air Walk,”
launching myself into the air.
Pop!
I used Air Walk to step on empty air.
Duration: 5 seconds.
Plenty of time to reach the gear slot.
That brought me right up to the gear’s slot.
As Air Walk ended, I grabbed the floating handrail in midair.
“Phew......”
I’d made it to my destination.
Now, all that remained was using arm strength to leap up and slot it in.
“Hup!”
I reinforced my arms with mana and propelled myself toward the ceiling.
While airborne, I pulled the gear from my pocket and tossed it toward the slot.
“Hey! What the—? You can’t just throw it like that?!”
Lee Seojun’s voice echoed from below.
But I had a plan.
I activated “Grasp of the Great Nature.”
A power that manipulated natural mana for telekinesis-like effects.
As I fell, I used the grasp to slot the gear perfectly.
Click!
Got it...!
My body plummeted straight to the floor.
At the same time, Lee Seojun’s shocked voice rang out from below.
“......Huh? What?! You slotted it by throwing?!”
I reinforced my body with mana, spun in midair,
and landed in a flashy three-point hero pose.
Boom!
“Awesome!”
Lee Seojun’s face lit up like a kid’s, eyes sparkling.
Seeing his reaction made me inwardly pleased.
Above all, I thought I looked pretty cool just now.
Click! Clack! Click! Clack!
The sound of gears turning grew louder.
[The Cogwheel World is complete!]
[A door to the next location opens!]
Creak.
The solidly sealed wall slid open like automatic doors.
“Ooh, next stage door. Good work, Kim Sunwoo.”
I shrugged instead of answering.
Lee Seojun stared at the door, then wore a thoughtful expression.
“But with only one door, does that mean we’re doing the next stage together too?”
“Probably.”
“Hmm. Then we might end up competing for first against each other at the end.”
I turned to Lee Seojun at his mutter.
It was time to say it.
The thing I’d been mulling over since meeting him here.
“Lee Seojun.”
He turned from the door at my sudden call.
“Yeah?”
“You take first place. But I have a condition.”