Chapter 7
Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Recruiting Speller Lee Sang
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sssrrk—.
Hae-jin, who had been in an invisibility state, revealed himself.
Of course, Lee Sang was so focused on his practice that he had no idea.
Hae-jin knew Lee Sang was concentrating, so he quietly watched.
Until the game he was playing ended.
Watching from behind like that, Hae-jin was inwardly amazed at just how incredible Lee Sang's play was.
'He really is a god.'
Speller was a god.
That was the constant talk among the users of whatever game Lee Sang happened to be playing.
He was the world's top pro gamer, 'Speller' Lee Sang, so skilled that memes suddenly popped up out of nowhere worshiping him.
Of course, now he was on the verge of becoming Archmage Lee Sang instead...
It wasn't long before Lee Sang won the game.
Seeing that, Hae-jin clapped.
Clap clap clap.
"Huh? Coach?"
Lee Sang, who had been absorbed in the game and unaware of Hae-jin behind him, finally reacted.
His face said, *Who the hell is clapping behind me?*
Unconsciously, Lee Sang assumed it was the national team coach.
And understandably so—ever since the Survival Game, the other team members had been slacking off on practice.
Of course, Lee Sang didn't blame them for it.
He'd heard the news that people around them were dying.
Especially since so many of the athletes were young, there were plenty like that even inside the Taereung Training Center.
Rumors were even turning into accepted fact:
That the national team matches they'd prepared so hard for might get canceled.
On top of grieving the deaths of teammates they'd trained with, the survivors couldn't help feeling a sense of deprivation.
Even so, Lee Sang thought:
*But all I can do is this.*
Unlike the other team members who were practicing half-heartedly, he felt he had to train even harder—at least by himself.
To cover for the share they weren't putting in.
In this situation, he figured the only one who would watch his games and clap was the coach.
But when he turned around, there stood a man he'd never seen before in his life.
Lee Sang tilted his head.
"...Who?"
Hae-jin spoke to Lee Sang, who was looking at him quizzically.
"I'm Park Hae-jin."
"Park Hae-jin...? No way, that..."
"Yes. The Park Hae-jin you're thinking of, Mr. Lee Sang."
Flinch!
Lee Sang startled at the confirmation that it was indeed the Park Hae-jin he'd thought of.
Seeing him like that, Hae-jin chuckled.
*His reaction's exactly like Na-yeon's.*
It had to be.
Lee Sang remembered the name Park Hae-jin in exactly the same way Na-ye had.
The existence that massacred the most people in the Survival Game.
And now this man standing before him was claiming to be that Park Hae-jin.
Should he believe it?
Before that, Lee Sang wondered how Hae-jin had even gotten in here.
"How did you get in?"
No matter how focused he'd been on practice, he should've heard the tightly shut door open.
Yet Hae-jin was inside the room without the door ever opening.
Lee Sang was utterly baffled.
To answer his puzzled expression, Hae-jin showed him with actions.
Snap!
Hae-jin snapped his fingers.
From Lee Sang's perspective, he had no idea what the guy was doing.
But he immediately understood what Hae-jin had done.
The Hae-jin who'd been standing right in front of him vanished from sight in an instant.
"Huh? Wha—?"
That was when it happened.
Poke.
As Lee Sang whipped his head left and right to check his surroundings, something jabbed his cheek.
It was Hae-jin's index finger.
Hae-jin had blinked to Lee Sang's side and was waiting there with his finger extended.
He prodded Lee Sang's cheek with it and said:
"Like this."
"What the...?"
"Think of it as magic or a skill."
"Magic...?"
"Yeah."
Lee Sang was flabbergasted.
Magic?
That was straight out of a fantasy novel or comic.
But he couldn't dismiss it as nonsense.
Because he'd experienced it himself.
The Trials' Arena.
After that utterly insane, unrealistic ordeal, magic didn't seem so far-fetched.
Having calmly assessed the situation, Lee Sang asked Hae-jin:
"So, what's the reason for coming to see me?"
He'd quickly grasped things and cut straight to why Hae-jin had sought him out.
Seeing that, Hae-jin chuckled.
*This guy's definitely rational.*
Na-ye had been all over the place with emotions every time they talked after learning who he was.
Lee Sang, on the other hand, had sized up the situation fast and zeroed in on the point.
What did he want?
Hae-jin saw no need to drag it out.
"I need your help, Mr. Lee Sang."
"My help?"
"Yes."
"With what...?"
Lee Sang couldn't make sense of it.
What kind of help could he possibly give this total stranger?
*Does he need money or something?*
From Lee Sang's view, if Hae-jin needed anything from him, money was the only option.
He got requests like that all the time during his internet streams—whispers, DMs, SNS direct messages.
*I'm going through a tough time. Could you lend me some money?*
No hospital bills, no meds, debts—whatever.
Of course, Lee Sang ignored them all.
Help one sucker, and he'd have to help everyone else.
He was frugal anyway; he banked his entire pro gamer salary. But he didn't want to spend his hard-earned cash like that.
Maybe if it was a big donation somewhere.
But this was a bit different.
Who was the guy standing right in front of him?
Lee Sang still remembered.
The number of people Hae-jin had killed in the first Trials' Arena.
*4,572, right?*
Lee Sang had a great memory.
He recalled the exact number Hae-jin had racked up.
A guy who'd killed that many wouldn't have trouble killing him too.
As he'd just seen, Hae-jin could kill him anytime and stroll out like nothing happened.
But then...
Hae-jin looked at Lee Sang and chuckled.
"I'm not here asking for money, so don't worry."
"Yes?!"
Lee Sang startled again.
How could he not?
It was like Hae-jin already knew exactly what he was thinking.
To the flustered Lee Sang, Hae-jin got straight to the point.
"Would you join my party?"
"Your party?"
"Yeah."
Lee Sang couldn't wrap his head around this situation.
Hae-jin, who already knew this was coming after meeting Na-ye, moved right into the deal.
"I'll give you info on the next Trials' Arena. If it helps you profit, join my side."
"Yes?"
Lee Sang was stunned by Hae-jin's sudden proposal.
*Info on the next Trials' Arena?*
Honestly, if it was true, Lee Sang had no choice but to accept.
The Trials' Arena.
In the real world, people called it the Survival Game.
Why?
Because dying there meant dying for real.
And here was info on the second one, when they had zero hints on what to do.
If it helped, join his side.
Lee Sang thought it over.
*No downside for me, right?*
No demand for cash, and info that could boost survival in the next Trials' Arena.
That alone could massively raise his odds.
And that wasn't all.
Park Hae-jin—the sole guy who'd cleared a hidden trial in the first one—was asking him to join his team.
Teaming up with him would naturally skyrocket survival chances, no matter what.
For Lee Sang, it was a no-lose deal.
But that made it even weirder.
*Why offer this to me?*
Hae-jin addressed it without Lee Sang even asking, as if he'd predicted it.
"Too one-sided in my favor, so you're suspicious? Should I not tell you then? You won't lose anything either way."
To Lee Sang, it sounded like:
*No skin off your back anyway, so why not hear it? If you don't want to, fine—I just won't share the next Trials' Arena info.*
Even if suspicious, it was worth hearing out.
"Alright. If the info you give me really helps survival in the next Trials' Arena, I'll join your team. Of course, only if what you tell me turns out true there."
Lee Sang nailed down the terms precisely.
That actually made it easier for Hae-jin.
"Good. Then I'll tell you what Lee Sang should do in the next Trials' Arena."
Just like with Na-ye, Hae-jin shared the second Trials' Arena info with Lee Sang.
Afterward, they chatted about this and that. Lee Sang showed a range of reactions—surprised one moment, deep in thought the next—and at the end of the conversation, he tossed a question at Hae-jin.
"Could I share this info with others?"
"Well, that's up to you, Mr. Lee Sang. But I wouldn't."
"...Why?"
Having gotten info and advice on the second Trials' Arena from Hae-jin, Lee Sang wondered if he should share it so the people heading into it with him in February could survive.
But apparently not.
Curious, he asked for the reason, and Hae-jin explained.
"If you share the info I gave you with others, they might kick away that chance with their own feet and choose death themselves."
"Choose death..."
Lee Sang got what Hae-jin meant.
After all, they'd named it the 'Survival Game' in reality for a reason—the Trials' Arena was a lawless zone where hordes died and killed.
Plus, anyone who didn't meet the survival conditions got forcibly killed on return to reality.
As Hae-jin said, spilling the info could make Lee Sang the target of that system instead.
In the end, Lee Sang followed Hae-jin's advice.
"Got it. I'll use the info you gave me just for my own survival."
"Smart choice. Shall we exchange numbers? We'll need to meet again after the second Trials' Arena on February 1st."
"Oh, sure!"
And so Hae-jin and Lee Sang swapped numbers.
But the moment Hae-jin saved him simply as "Lee Sang"...
Lee Sang, who'd gotten Hae-jin's number, hesitated.
*What should I save him as?*
This was a worry Lee Sang hadn't voiced yet, but Hae-jin addressed it like he knew anyway.
"Just save me as 'Hyung Hae-jin'."
As he said it, Hae-jin thought:
*That's how you saved me originally anyway.*