Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: One-on-One Rock-Paper-Scissors (1)
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The space beyond the portal was a pure white room.
There was nothing but a desk with an hourglass on it and a chair.
There was a door on the opposite side, but it was obviously locked.
'Huh?'
Dokgo Hyun was the only one there.
'Looks like Baek Seonghui got sent to a different space.'
Right after that, the tutorial mission 4 clear message appeared.
Dokgo Hyun checked his own status.
"Welcome!"
A voice came from the corner on the side.
A man who looked like a casino dealer greeted Dokgo Hyun.
His bowtie and mustache suited him perfectly, and he carried the faint, slightly tangy scent of an expensive men's cologne.
"Um, what about the other people...?"
"The others will be taking boring awakening tests in different places."
The dealer smiled brightly.
Dokgo Hyun had already acquired his awakening skill [Time Distortion], so he didn't need to go through the 'skill awakening test mission' like everyone else.
"This is a place for those who awakened their skills ahead of others. It's a sort of bonus stage."
"If it's a bonus stage, does that mean we can skip it?"
"That's right. I'll explain the details once the others arrive."
After waiting five more minutes, a female student appeared.
"Eek!"
The girl, who was quite small in stature, let out a startled cry upon seeing Dokgo Hyun and the dealer.
"Haha! Rest assured. This is the bonus stage."
"Bonus...?"
The girl, who wore glasses and clutched a camera protectively, didn't seem reassured.
"Yes. It looks like you're the only two who awakened your skills early. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"
He was being considerate of their less outgoing personalities.
"I'm Dokgo Hyun, 3rd Year Class 4."
"M-Me too, I'm in 3rd year!"
"...And?"
"Oh, no, I just thought you might mistake me for a first-year because I'm short."
She was actually shorter than the average middle school student.
"I'm Oh Younghee, 3rd Year Class 10."
"Hm, did you kill a goblin supervisor and get an awakening skill too?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Impressive."
Oh Younghee looked small and weak.
'But she killed a goblin?'
As Dokgo Hyun gave her a look that was half curiosity and half skepticism, Oh Younghee spoke up.
"W-What are you staring at like that?"
"Just amazed. Here."
Dokgo Hyun handed her a piece of ginseng gum.
Oh Younghee reluctantly took the gum and put it in her pocket.
She then shared how she had acquired her skill.
"I-I drew a picture for it."
"A picture?"
"Yeah..."
Oh Younghee, a science track student, had been in a different staff room for her mission than Dokgo Hyun.
There, she had begged the goblin not to kill her and offered to draw it a picture.
The goblin, intrigued, requested a portrait, and Oh Younghee took her time drawing it.
Her hobby-level skill was actually quite impressive, and the goblin became engrossed.
The moment the drawing was complete.
Whoosh!
Half impulsively, she threw the picture out the window.
The particularly curious goblin leaped out after it, and since it went outside the mission area, it violated the rules and weakened.
In the end, it fell to its death in that state.
That's how Oh Younghee got a random box as kill reward, and luckily drew a skill awakening agent from it.
"Whoa, that's quite the story."
"What about you?"
"I beat the goblin to death with my fists."
In truth, there was the matter of [3-Minute Regression], but he omitted that part.
Revealing your skills carelessly was dangerous.
Oh Younghee accepted it when the guy who looked like a pro MMA fighter demonstrated by clenching his fist.
"...You're even more amazing."
Once the two had finished introducing themselves and sharing their skill acquisition stories, the dealer clapped.
The hollow applause echoed for a while.
"Well, this works out perfectly."
He stopped clapping and continued the explanation.
"Fortunately, you two make an even number. Odd numbers would make it hard to proceed."
The dealer smiled and made a proposal.
"What do you say? Shall we do the bonus mission? Or would you prefer to head to the next area and wait?"
Dokgo Hyun and Oh Younghee looked at each other.
Dokgo Hyun spoke first.
"I think we should do the bonus mission."
There was no guarantee such bonus missions would come up often in the future, so better to take it.
'Fitting for a bonus mission, the clear reward might be better. Better to do it even if it's a hassle.'
In games like this, you had to take risks and grow early to survive.
"Um, is it a hard mission?"
Oh Younghee asked the dealer.
"Not at all. Even a child could do it."
"Then... I guess doing it would be better..."
"Excellent. You two have agreed."
The dealer's eyes turned cold.
"This mission is as follows."
One-on-One Rock-Paper-Scissors
Goal: Win rock-paper-scissors against your opponent.
Best of three wins two.
Direct physical attacks during the mission are prohibited.
📍 Bonus on Success: Winner permanently acquires all of loser's Mana stat.
📍 Penalty on Failure: Loser loses all Mana stat to winner and dies.
📍 Special Notes: This bonus mission replaces Mission 5 for other players and counts as cleared.
You may choose not to participate.
However, once you view this bonus mission window, you cannot withdraw.
"What do you think? Pretty simple mission, right?"
"Well, it is simple, but..."
Dokgo Hyun scratched the back of his head.
'Calling it a bonus mission, but failure means death.'
The mission itself was easy and straightforward, but only the rules were.
'Losing means death, same as other missions. And they should've warned about key details like that special note upfront.'
Dokgo Hyun grumbled inwardly but stayed cool-headed.
"What the hell is this?! This is a scam!!!"
Oh Younghee screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Heh heh. I didn't lie. Rock-paper-scissors is simple enough for a child, and the bonus is huge."
The dealer said without hiding his amusement.
"Steal all your opponent's Mana if you win! Few missions offer bonuses this juicy."
'Can't argue with that.'
Dokgo Hyun agreed inwardly.
Clearing Tutorial Mission 4 only gave all stats +1.
But getting all of an opponent's Mana? That was a solid reward.
"Now then, you two. Please take your seats."
Only then did Dokgo Hyun realize the purpose of the desk, chair, and hourglass there.
"If you're dragging out deciding what to throw in rock-paper-scissors, it's no fun. So we'll flip this 3-minute hourglass. And start right away!"
Tap.
Sand began pouring from the hourglass...
"The moment the 3 minutes are up, I'll immediately shout 'Rock! Paper! Scissors!' If you don't throw or are late, you lose automatically!"
The sound of sand grains falling was strangely loud...
"I have a strategy."
Dokgo Hyun said.
"W-What strategy?"
Oh Younghee asked with a suspicious face.
"A strategy where we both survive."
"That exists?"
Oh Younghee glanced at the dealer.
But the dealer focused only on the hourglass and didn't stop their talk.
"Yeah. All three rounds tie."
"Ah...!"
"If we both throw rock all three times? Three ties mean no winner, no loser. So neither of us dies."
"Right. The problem is..."
"Whether we can trust each other."
"I have a way."
Oh Younghee pointed her camera at Dokgo Hyun.
Click!
She took a photo.
"[Truth Quiz]!"
Flash!
The camera was a tool creation skill item: [Camera of Truth].
Taking a photo forces the subject to answer questions honestly.
"Was Dokgo Hyun's proposal just now the truth? Yes or no!"
Oh Younghee asked.
"Yes."
Dokgo Hyun answered.
Beep beep beep...
The [Camera of Truth] made an old computer processing sound.
A few seconds later, a system message appeared for all to see.
"Wow, it really is the truth?"
Oh Younghee looked surprised.
"What? Thought I was lying?"
"N-No, you just look kinda scary."
"Me?"
Dokgo Hyun touched his face and shoulders.
'Well, I do have a big frame. And sharp eyes, maybe.'
But Dokgo Hyun was more impressed by Oh Younghee's skill.
"That's an awesome skill. What's it called?"
"Tool creation skill [Camera of Truth]."
"Grade?"
"B-Grade."
"Isn't that basically cheat-level?"
A skill that detects truth itself was pretty strong.
Dokgo Hyun was impressed, but Oh Younghee looked a bit dissatisfied.
"The problem is it doesn't have much combat power..."
At that moment, the dealer cleared his throat.
"10 seconds left!"
Time was almost up.
"So we go with my plan?"
"Yeah! Rock for sure, right?"
"Right."
And the hourglass ran out.
The dealer shouted without warning.
"Time's up! Rock! Paper! Scissors!!"
The moment he shouted.
Flash!
Both threw rock.
Dokgo Hyun grinned, and Oh Younghee beamed.
"We did it! We're safe now!"
Oh Younghee hugged her [Camera of Truth] tight.
The dealer gave a warm smile too.
"Heh heh. Now, prepare for the second round."
Click.
He flipped the hourglass.
Sand poured again...
"Dokgo Hyun. Let me use the skill one more time."
"Sure."
Flash from the [Camera of Truth] enveloped Dokgo Hyun.
Flash!
"Dokgo Hyun. Will you definitely throw rock again this time?"
"Yes."
Oh Younghee sighed in relief.
But.
"Oh Younghee. Can that skill be used on yourself?"
"Huh?"
"If possible, use it on yourself too?"
Oh Younghee hesitated.
"Why? Don't trust me?"
"This strategy falls apart if someone betrays in the final round after two ties."
Dokgo Hyun spoke plainly.
"So we need to prove we're telling the truth. Use it on yourself to show that. If you think it's too much..."
"No. I'll do it."
Oh Younghee photographed herself with the [Camera of Truth].
Flash!
"You can ask the question, Dokgo Hyun."
"Will Oh Younghee not betray Dokgo Hyun in round two either?"
It was a compound question.
By slipping in 'either,' it gauged if she'd been scheming from round one.
The dealer, acting as referee, watched with a smile.
"Yes."
Oh Younghee answered firmly.
"Thanks."
Dokgo Hyun scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward.
"No biggie. Of course."
Oh Younghee smiled sweetly.
Of course, her true thoughts were...
'Doesn't look the type, but so suspicious. Big dumb brute. Suspect all you want. You don't even know what my hidden ability is.'
The special ability of the [Camera of Truth] created by Oh Younghee's skill wasn't detecting the truth of players photographed by it.
Strictly speaking, it detected the truth of 'other' players excluding Oh Younghee.
In other words, Oh Younghee could lie in front of the camera, and it would always register as truth.
'I felt bad about killing you over nothing personal, but that's over now. You suspected me, so die!'
Oh Younghee wasn't a total outcast, but she'd been ignored and belittled often.
She just liked drawing in the corner of the classroom, but people said stuff like it made her more of an otaku girl, and it bugged them.
So she had a personality that bristled easily at small suspicions or slights.
Low self-esteem leading to excessive persecution complex and passive-aggressiveness after repeated petty grievances—a textbook unhappy case.
So Dokgo Hyun suspecting her was enough to turn it into murderous intent.
"Time's up. Rock! Paper! Scissors!"