The Landslide Trap
Yeo Min-seo checked the note the moment the exam began. The passing condition for the first gateway was simple: "Enter the Ark within the time limit." Since the Ark sat atop the mountain, all the examinees had no choice but to climb it.
After finishing her calculations, Yeo Min-seo issued orders to Seong Ha-yeon and Han Su-ryeon, then used her blessings to tear across the plains.
"...This should do it?"
Soon, she found a suitable rock. Low and broad, like a slab of iron. She planted herself on it, drew a blessing circle, and slammed it into collision.
Boom!
The explosion from the impact. The resulting shockwave launched the rock skyward.
Yeo Min-seo clung to it, soaring through the air.
"Guh... huff. Huff... I can do this. I can do this. Huff."
She muttered to herself as she flew. Blood poured from her mouth. Her organs had ruptured a bit from the blast, and her leg bones felt shattered—but it didn't matter. Injuries inside the Ark weren't real injuries. Death wasn't real death. Just like dreaming of dying or getting hurt didn't actually kill or injure you.
Everything that happened in the Ark was mere illusion. The pain was all in her head.
Kaboom!
Her body plummeted near the summit. A thunderous roar echoed like a meteor strike.
Yeo Min-seo forced her mangled form upright.
"Fuckin' hell, this shit hurts way too much."
Of course, even illusions came with pain. She prodded her broken legs and arms, and the gut-spilling agony in her abdomen, staggering toward the peak. Each step was torture with wounds this severe, but emergency treatment via blessing and healing circles made it bearable enough to walk.
Using blessing and healing circles for self-treatment on a battered body was suicidal in the real world. The stamina needed for recovery got burned on divine power output—in the short term, fine, but the backlash later was brutal.
Yet Yeo Min-seo didn't care. It was all illusion anyway.
"Hoo."
She reached the top. Rain poured from the sky, and far below, water was slowly pooling across the plains. Kids fled in panic toward the mountain, looking like ants scrambling from the rain.
Yeo Min-seo channeled divine power into her holy relic, a piece of trembling wood. She held two: one linked to Seong Ha-yeon, one to Han Su-ryeon. This one was for Han Su-ryeon.
"Ah, ah. Han Su-ryeon. You hear me? Answer if you do."
"Where you headed?"
"Okay."
Yeo Min-seo nodded with a satisfied smirk. The Charity Holy Mark reelection exam—info she'd illegally obtained—was split into first and second gateways. The first weeded out failures; the second tallied records for final scores, from which the new Charity Holy Mark holder emerged.
Her plan's goal: Eliminate everyone in the first gateway except Do Seon-woo and Gu Jun-hyeok. Force a one-on-one in the second.
Her suicidal rush to claim the summit was all for that.
"What if? Suspension at worst. I'll take a break from school. Was wanna anyway."
Han Su-ryeon cheerfully cut the line. The ember on the relic dimmed, her voice fading.
Yeo Min-seo was under disciplinary suspension. Getting caught leaking exam info on top? No slap on the wrist—suspension minimum, expulsion possible.
Still, she wasn't scared. She wouldn't get caught.
With a creepy smile that turned stomachs, she silently drew blessing circles.
"All set here too."
She nodded at her work: a fusion blessing circle chaining twelve circles. But it wouldn't activate. It wasn't meant to.
The moment she finished, she poured divine power into Seong Ha-yeon's linked relic. It ignited, and her voice crackled through static.
"Seong Ha-yeon. Hear me? Answer."
"...What the hell? You hear me or not? Hey, answer!"
No reply, just static. But Seong Ha-yeon's and Do Seon-woo's voices filtered through. She'd gotten close to Do Seon-woo at least—unclear if she'd guided him to the shortcut.
"Hey! 'Shortcut' incoming? Hear me? You listening?"
"Hey, you spoiled daddy's-girl bug! Still no answer?"
Yeo Min-seo tilted her head. Connected, but they couldn't hear her. Fine—voices confirmed, plan on track.
She gazed down the open path at kids struggling up through the rain. Their grimacing, scrambling climb was hilarious. Like a bear watching salmon swim upstream.
Prey marching into the trap—laughter bubbled up.
"Well then..."
She murmured low, firing divine power.
"Sorry, and good job climbing."
Whump!
Her shot blessing circle merged with the fusion one. They tangled, collided—twelve simultaneous blasts chaining into catastrophe.
Rumble...
Gravel, rocks, and rain-soaked mud screamed as they lumped and rolled downhill. Swelling along ridges, uprooting trees into a massive wave.
Her meticulously crafted landslide swept the climbers away. They'd be ruled dead on the spot, ejected from the Ark.
One safe path: Her "shortcut."
Others knew neither its existence nor location—all swept out. Only Do Seon-woo and Gu Jun-hyeok, guided by Seong Ha-yeon and Han Su-ryeon, survive.
First gateway survivors: Just those two. Second? Leave to fate and cash.
"Whoa, that’s gonna sting."
She muttered, watching kids scream, wail, faces twisted in despair as the slide took them.
*
The landslide barreled down. No escaping it, even optimistically—a colossal wall about to crush me and Seo Ha-rin.
"Wh-what, uh, this?"
Seo Ha-rin muttered blankly at the disaster, words meaningless, scattering.
Roooar!
"—...?"
The roar drowned her as it neared. The world filled with collapsing mountain. Occasional screams: Kids caught in it.
I stared blankly at the doom inches away. Time seemed to slow.
Was Seong Ha-yeon right? This path a trap, guaranteeing failure? Her absurd claim true?
Her "shortcut" real? She right, me wrong for doubting?
I didn't want to admit it.
"—."
Landslide! Bosu likes landslides. Noisy.
"—."
I ignored Bosu's nonsense, issued one order.
[...Prophet's command obeyed. But dangerous. No regrets?]
Cold warning, unlike usual. But no change.
I unleashed his power. Blood boiled. Rain-chilled body heated. Hackles rose. Eyes throbbed behind—pressure spiking, optic nerve damaged? Vision blurred.
[Power exceeds prophet's limits. Backlash coming.]
"—."
[Not okay. Might lose sight.]
No, fine. Ark illusions. Blindness here? Just dream-blind. Body-tearing pain? Phantom. All heals on exit.
Only now, no body worries, max Bosu power.
Roooar!
Split-second before it hit. I grabbed Seo Ha-rin's wrist, climbed nearest tree.
Tree swayed, doomed by slide. Temporary perch—no staying.
"Aaaah...!"
Seo Ha-rin screamed, clutching shoulder. Dislocated grabbing her. Bosu power—no control. Unavoidable.
Still, uncomfortable watching her writhe.
I laid pained Seo Ha-rin on branch. Crack! Slammed father's ring into wood. Gem cracked; fog of my engraved spell seeped.
Fog toward half-conscious her.
"Ah...?"
She yelped faintly, passed out. Eyes half-open, pupils unfocused, chasing something beyond.
Spell in ring: Illusion, high-intensity hallucination.
Unlike knockout, consciousness lingers. Blurs conscious-unconscious line, drops cognition below normal. No questioning reality. Subtle commands? Puppet.
Versatile over knockout—why I chose it. Now? Just sleepy-time.
Regretful, but needed her asleep. For "that hypothesis," she stays close.
She'd sleep fifteen minutes. Fire doused.
"...Hah, fuck."
Curse slipped anyway. Real problem: Not her.
Roooar!
Mud, stones, gravel, trees cascading. Slide unending. Time ticking—no end in sight.
Can't tree-hop; all swept.
This last tree.
[Bosu recommends: Punch through landslide.]
Punch through. Max-output Bosu, trading optic nerve? Possible. Certain.
"...."
But momentum brutal. Grazed? Flesh shreds. Pain immense regardless.
Fear surged, doubt crept. Possible? Bosu crazy?
Snap!
No time. Tree snapped under slide. Decide.
*
"...What? Where's everyone?"
Gu Jun-hyeok scanned summit, puzzled. Han Su-ryeon, who'd guided him via shortcut, smiled slyly.
"Dunno. Why, ya think?"
Suspicious, but he strode on unquestioning. Reached massive Ark on rock—like extra mountain atop.
"Whoa... They nailed the realism."
Thwack!
Fierce kick to his back. Han Su-ryeon's. He tumbled into Noah's Ark without scream.
"...You just—"
Shwooo!
Betrayed eyes stared up dumbly. White light engulfed, vanished him.
Examinee Number 065626, Gu Jun-hyeok. Ark entry. 1:02:32.72.
Mechanical voice confirmed first gateway pass, second entry.
Han Su-ryeon smirked, satisfied. Yeo Min-seo approached.
"Gu Jun-hyeok in?"
"Yup, just."
"Okay, one's done. Do Seon-woo..."
Scanning, eyes widened. Far off, Seong Ha-yeon via shortcut. No Do Seon-woo.
Her face twisted grotesquely.
"Hey. Where's Do Seon-woo?"
"He wouldn't budge despite persuasion. Nothing I could do."
"Isn't dragging him your job? Was I wrong about roles all this time?"
"That's why I said I'd take Gu Jun-hyeok."
Yeo Min-seo growled; Seong Ha-yeon stone-faced rebuttal. Han Su-ryeon watched neutrally. Normally mediate, but now? Fun show. All illusion.
"So Do Seon-woo's coming the mudslide way, not shortcut?"
"Yes."
No remorse. Incapable.
Yeo Min-seo's face crumpled.
"Hah, look at that mug. Daddy's pet needs limits?"
Mention parents—Seong Ha-yeon's impassive face twitched disgust. Tense, fight imminent.
Han Su-ryeon stepped back, pondering: They really hate each other.
Student council execs—now six— all clashed. Yeo Min-seo especially: Fight first, think later. Her usual referee.
"Guys, no infighting—"
"Guess some lack trustworthy dads."
"...."
Whoa. Han Su-ryeon froze, eyed Yeo Min-seo. Most twisted face yet. Blank stare at Seong Ha-yeon.
Line crossed. No mediating this. Fists or knives? Beyond her.
"...Handle it yourselves."
She turned away resigned.
Divine power leaked from Yeo Min-seo's fingertips. Seong Ha-yeon arms crossed, smug dare-you.
"Hit on impulse a habit? Not an animal."
"Yeah, types like you wise up after a beating. No daddy beatings?"
"...Your level shows in crude speech."
"You and that stuck-up tone—!"
Grind!
Yeo Min-seo halted mid-charge. Grinding from her landslide path.
Greeend!
Nearer to summit. All three perked ears. Too loud, alien to ignore.
Yeo Min-seo withdrew power, peered past slide. Steep scar; rain formed waterfall. Torrent impossible to climb.
Impossible—yet someone did. Board as shield blocking falls, steadily ascending.
Grind...
Stopped. Man crested, casually tossed plank, ignored glaring duo, walked silently to Ark.
"...."
Seong Ha-yeon stared. No inch unscathed. Clothes shredded, flesh flayed. Soaked hair plastered face; blood tears from dazed eyes.
"That crazy bastard—"
Examinee Number 041666, Do Seon-woo. Ark entry. 1:09:12.67.
Yeo Min-seo hollow-laughed at his back. Impressive.
Examinee Number 032811, Seo Ha-rin. Ark entry. 1:09:13.02.
Her eyes bulged.
"...No, that psycho—?"
Someone slung limp on his back. Board-shielded, waterfall-scaled, body shredded, blood tears dripping—with baggage.
She recalled his dazed eyes. Same as when he stoned a beast off Kim Jin-seo and Gu Jun-hyeok.
Examinee Number 041666, Do Seon-woo. Condition 2. [Classified] fulfilled.
Examinee Number 032811, Seo Ha-rin. Condition 2. [Classified] fulfilled.
He always had that look making impossible possible.
(Continued next chapter)