Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Trapped in School
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Hanshin High School's back alley.
The delinquents giggled as they counted their cash.
"These first-years have a lot of money."
"Man, sweet."
They had just intimidated some freshmen and snatched their wallets.
It wasn't really about needing the money. The thrill came from intimidating the weak and taking their cash.
"Those punks won't snitch, right?"
"Like those nerds have the balls to tattle."
"Heh heh. Let's finish counting this dough."
That's when they let their guard down, focused on the bills.
Tadak tadak tadak...!
Someone was sprinting down the alley toward them.
"Wahahaha!!"
It was the mad laughter of a lunatic who loved fights so much he only targeted delinquents.
"I-is that guy?!"
The delinquents froze in horror.
They could tell just from the distant figure charging at them.
A musclebound beast who didn't even look like a high schooler.
The psycho who hunted down delinquents outside school grounds.
Dokgo Hyun.
"Eek!"
"It's really Dokgo Hyun!"
"He-he's been quiet for a while!"
Dokgo Hyun had a hobby: beating up delinquents.
Just like they stole from the weak for fun, he pummeled them as his pastime.
He had one rule, though: only outside school property.
"C-calm down! Stick to the plan!"
One delinquent clenched and unclenched his fist before thrusting it forward.
"Violence! Stop!"
The other two followed suit, arms outstretched.
"Stop!!"
"Stop!!!"
Even these bullies who tormented the weak feared Dokgo Hyun's ruthless beatdowns.
Dokgo Hyun didn't slow his charge. He just grinned.
"Stop saying stop."
With that, he unleashed his fists.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
Three brutal punches.
The three delinquents were wrecked in an instant.
"Ughhh..."
"He actually ignored 'stop'..."
Dokgo Hyun extended his hand to the whimpering thugs.
Swipe.
"Hand over the cash."
"H-here you go."
"Nah, don't need it."
"Huh?"
"I don't really need it, but give it anyway."
"If you don't need it, why—?!"
"It's only right to take it from you. Money stolen from the weak gets taken by the Delinquent Hunter. The ultimate humiliation for scum like you, right?"
"Guhh...!"
And so, Dokgo Hyun reclaimed the freshmen’s money.
"This all of it?"
"So?"
"Give me more."
"Wh-what?!"
"I was eating when I ran here. Muscle loss. Cough up more."
For a quick rundown of Dokgo Hyun's specs and background...
Smart, strong, the whole package.
Not a total gym rat, but he trained weekends at an MMA gym, so muscle loss hit him hard.
"Hand over everything in your pockets. Nicely."
"F-fuck."
In the end, the delinquents got stripped bare.
Dokgo Hyun emptied their pockets: rechargeable bus cards, lighters, even the cheap jackknives that symbolized their tough-guy image.
"If you had knives, why not pull 'em before I wrecked you?"
The delinquents looked bitter at his deadpan remark.
This was the level of delinquents at a co-ed liberal arts high school.
They carried knives to intimidate weaklings, but against someone stronger, they froze and got smashed without even thinking to draw.
"Confiscated for contraband. Now back to school."
Dokgo Hyun didn't even let them skip.
He herded them back inside.
'Man, I'm too nice. Sending delinquent kids back to class.'
Dokgo Hyun smiled contentedly and headed to school himself.
He went to the lost-and-found box next to the first-floor staff room.
Clank!
Crash!
He dumped all the freshmen’s money and wallets inside.
They could claim it or not; he didn't care.
'The extras are mine, though.'
The bonus cash, knife, lighter, and bus card he'd taken separately went straight into his pockets.
Dokgo Hyun, now a senior, had lost his parents two years ago.
His only family was his older brother, Dokgo Cheol.
Dokgo Cheol had been hospitalized for years.
He'd always had a chronic illness and a weak body, but pushing himself to support his little brother had worsened it.
"Alright then..."
Dokgo Hyun called his brother to check in.
"Hyun?"
Only two people called him "Hyun": his brother Dokgo Cheol, and his childhood female friend Baek Seonghui.
"Yeah, Cheol hyung. How's the body holding up?"
Dokgo Cheol, hospitalized long-term, had a constitution prone to chronic inflammation since childhood.
Even meds couldn't stop the enteritis, so tests revealed a rare rheumatic disease.
Inflammation hit his organs, joints, eyes—nothing spared.
"Fever's down a lot now. Feeling okay."
"Good to hear, hyung."
"Don't worry about me..."
"Just study hard?"
"Yeah. And no fighting."
"Precisely: no fighting in school?"
"..."
The day their parents died in a car crash, college-student Dokgo Cheol had pleaded with his high-school freshman brother.
'Hyun. You're stubborn, I know. But now we brothers gotta hustle. It's just us.'
'Got it, hyung. Let's hit the lawyer first, sort the inheritance.'
'Yeah, that's important, but I mean...'
'No more brawls?'
'Exactly. You get me.'
'Deal. No fights inside school. Ever.'
'Whoa, you mean it? Thanks, Hyun. Bro's... snff snff.'
'Don't cry, hyung. I'll keep my word.'
Dokgo Hyun kept his promise.
To the letter. Slyly.
'No fights inside school! I endure! But outside? Smash away!'
Hanshin High had plenty of delinquents for a liberal arts school.
Now? Just three left.
Dokgo Hyun had hunted them all.
Ruthlessly.
He scouted ambush spots in back alleys and hills off school grounds, luring them in.
Solos or pairs: straight-up charge and pummel.
Three or more: trap pits dug with shovels, then crush.
Delinquents wailing in the pits as shovels rained down:
'You psycho! Why torment us like this?!'
Dokgo Hyun replied kindly:
'Beat you, take your cash, invest in stocks and Bitcoin.'
They raged, but shovel handles knocked them out cold.
Thus, Dokgo Hyun picked them off outside school, turning them half-crippled or forcing transfers.
Teachers heard the rumors but couldn't touch him.
His intimidating aura didn't scream "high schooler," plus he only targeted delinquents.
On top of that, he ranked top 10 schoolwide and got scholarship chats in the principal's office.
By then, though, Dokgo Hyun could cover tuition and his brother's bills without scholarships.
Bitcoin and stocks had piled up enough for five 40-pyeong apartments in Seoul.
"Heh."
Recalling his packed freshman and sophomore years brought a grin.
As a senior, the delinquent pool had dried up, so he'd taken a break.
He'd just handled the last lurking trio(?).
"You're grinning all suspicious."
His brother grumbled over the line, but Dokgo Hyun played dumb.
"Rest up, hyung. Hospital bills are on me."
"Got it... Oh! Hyun, one more thing..."
"Yeah? What?"
"...Huh? Wh-what's that?"
"Huh?"
Static!
Crackle crackle...!
Click.
The call dropped.
"What?"
Dokgo Hyun redialed immediately, but no answer.
"My phone's fine."
He tilted his head and headed back to class.
Before Dokgo Hyun even reached 3rd Year Class 4, the chatter was loud.
The room was chaos.
"Dude! Emergency declared in the US!"
"Japan too!"
"Blue barriers popping up in cities everywhere. Everyone inside's trapped."
Most kids gripped smartphones, gaping at breaking news.
"Photoshop?"
"Worldwide reports, how's it fake?"
"SNS rumors are trash. Deepfakes fake presidents now."
"Ugh, does this look fake to you?"
Dokgo Hyun peeked at nearby screens.
Blue dome barriers over London spots looked way too real.
'Doesn't scream fake.'
Happening simultaneously: US, UK, Japan, China, etc.
Churches, schools, offices, neighborhoods.
Large buildings or dense small ones, all blue-barriered.
SNS pics? Only from outside. Zero from inside.
'Global phenomenon? If it hits Korea...!'
Pop!
All smartphones lost internet.
"Huh?!"
"What the hell?"
Classmates toggled their phones for news and SNS.
Then.
Bzzzzt!
"Gah?!"
"Whoa!"
Electricity sparked across everyone's left hand backs.
"Ngh."
Dokgo Hyun's too.
"What is this?!"
"Tattoo?!"
Black circle tattoos marked their hand backs.
"Look outside!"
Rooooar...!
A blue barrier descended from the sky, enveloping the entire school.
"What...!"
Even cool-headed Dokgo Hyun's heart pounded.
'Stay calm. Must stay calm.'
Absurd events demanded calm, or death.
'Composure first, intel second.'
He focused on tactical breathing, ten-second cycles, regaining control.
Others panicked.
"The school!"
"School's sealed by blue barrier... huh?"
"Call 112! 119! Emergency lines!"
"No calls, no net!!"
Chaos spread schoolwide.
Teachers couldn't contain it.
No—they flailed too.
Human first, teachers second.
Dokgo Hyun tried calling his brother again, left texts, hit 119 and 112.
'Nothing.'
Then.
Crrrrackle...!
All classroom TVs flicked on automatically.
"Ahem, ahem. Can you hear me? See me? Pay attention~."
A man in a black suit stood onscreen.
White mask with a red question mark over his face.
Students stared, terrified.
"Greetings. I am the Total Administrator overseeing the Apocalypse Game."
The Total Administrator bowed at 45 degrees.
"I know it's confusing, but listen up. The Apocalypse Game begins now. You've qualified as Players. You've stepped beyond laws and common sense—rejoice! Wooohoo!!"
Suddenly, he flailed limbs in a grotesque dance.
Uncannily bizarre.
Like a mannequin desperately mimicking human moves.
Everyone in school froze, plunged into uncanny valley dread.
"Emphasizing: You're no longer good students or delinquents. You're Players. Right after this, you'll enter the tutorial."
The mask seemed to smirk.
"The Apocalypse Game tutorial is simple missions. Fail? You die. No mercy."
Murmurs...
"I get it. Shocking, right? Prank? Hidden camera? AR scam? I hear the whispers."
The Total Administrator nodded to himself, arms crossed.
"For shock therapy, straight to tutorial mission!"
Fwoosh!
Semitransparent mission windows popped before everyone's eyes.
Visible only to each viewer. Identical content.
[Seating]
🎯 Objective: Sit in your assigned seat within the time limit.
✅ Success Bonus: 500 Coins
❌ Failure Penalty: Skull explosion death
⏰ Time Limit: 5 minutes
💡 Hint: Sitting in someone else's seat disqualifies you. Find and sit in your own chair.
Even quick-witted Dokgo Hyun reread the window multiple times.
"Kekeke. First tutorial's a gimme. Still, plenty won't make it."
The Total Administrator spread his arms expectantly.
"See you later. Good luck, Players!"
He flashed a thumbs-up.
Snick!
Class TV went dark.
Silence.
Then bigger chaos.
"What the fuck is this shit!!"
"Th-this is a joke, right?!"
Good students freaked hardest.
The quiet webtoon/webnovel readers adapted faster.
"What's with the hand tattoo?"
"Not just for style, I bet."
"Hm. Means something."
A kid tapped his hand absentmindedly.
Fwoosh!
Semitransparent mission window appeared.
"Whoa! Tap the hand mark, mission pops up!"
"For real?!"
A timer ticked at the window's bottom.
"Guys! Check the time limit at the bottom!"