Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Death if You Don't Sit in Your Chair
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The time limit was already ticking down.
"R-right! The time limit!"
"Hurry and sit in our chairs!"
A stampede of footsteps...
The screech of chairs being dragged...
Not just in 3rd Year Class 4, but all over the school, the sounds of footsteps and chairs echoed.
Seeing the countdown with their own eyes made everyone think they had to sit down first if they wanted to survive.
But plenty had lost all reason.
"Mom! Mooom!"
"Everyone, run out of the school!"
"We gotta escape before it's too late!!"
Terrified students bolted for the school gates.
These idiots! There's no way you can escape!
Dokgo Hyun screamed inwardly.
These were the ones who had summoned mission windows out of thin air and draped the entire school in a blue barrier.
No chance of outrunning them.
But fear had stripped the runners of even basic thought.
All they could think was to run blindly.
They'd already lost their minds.
A massive crowd rushed toward the gates...
Over a hundred students had already gathered at the school entrance, screaming as they tried to flee.
Of course, not a single one made it out.
"Move! Get out of my way!!"
A PE teacher shoved students aside, trying to force his way through first.
But he couldn't even touch the gate.
Thud!
The moment he reached out, the blue barrier repelled him with brute force.
"Arrrgh!"
The crazed PE teacher clawed at the blue wall, heedless of his battered hands.
Thud! Thud!
Yet the barrier, thin as a curtain, repelled everything without a scratch.
"The front gate's blocked?"
"Wh-what about somewhere else?!"
"Back gate's sealed too, and we can't climb the fence!"
"Then...!"
Only then did the escapees realize every exit was sealed.
Like it or not, they had to return to their seats.
"B-back to the classrooms!"
"Everyone to your own desks!"
Students and teachers alike turned back to their rooms.
But it was too late.
"Nooooo!!"
Most of those on the sports field collapsed, legs giving out.
Splat!! Boom!!
Crunch!!
Explosions ripped through the sports field everywhere, and they were all dead.
"Eek..."
"Kyaa...!"
The dead didn't even scream. The survivors in their chairs barely managed stifled cries.
Over a hundred corpses strewn across the school field was pure shock.
"Th-they really exploded and died...!"
"Ugh... It's real...!"
"What do we do now...?"
Most of 3rd Year Class 4 trembled in their seats.
The horrific scene drove home that this wasn't a movie or game—it was reality.
Our class has a decent number of survivors, at least.
Dokgo Hyun steeled himself and deliberately peered out the window.
It was worse than expected, but he forced himself to watch, to get used to it.
Moments later, rewards appeared for all surviving students.
And an extra message popped up just for 3rd Year Class 4.
The other classes probably got similar messages.
This is insane. Totally insane.
Even displaying survivor counts meant they were dead serious about killing.
"B-bathroom..."
"Me too. Urp...!"
Students bolted—some to the restrooms, others to gather intel.
Dokgo Hyun stayed seated, thinking.
Stay calm. That blue barrier is impenetrable. Phones are dead too. Wired and wireless networks are all blocked.
He thought of his brother in the hospital bed.
Is the same thing happening at his hospital?
This was surely global, not just Hanshin High School or Korea.
In the worst case, his brother's hospital too...
I can't know if he's safe or not right now. To find out, I have to survive.
Dokgo Hyun resolved himself.
Just that calmed his worries about his brother a lot.
For a high schooler, this unnatural calm was half innate, half honed.
Years ago, when his brother's health issues surfaced, worried parents had Dokgo Hyun undergo full checkups at a university hospital too.
Blood tests, MRIs (even ones the doctor deemed unnecessary), autonomic neuropathy exams, and more—too many to count.
All results were normal. Better than normal.
His motor and sensory nerves exceeded average, and he had a rare talent for psychologically regulating his parasympathetic nervous system.
Young Dokgo Hyun latched onto that.
I don't scare as easily as others.
He'd suspected it even before the tests.
In extreme stress, most hyperactivate their sympathetic nerves: dilated pupils, racing heart, sweating, shaking hands.
But Dokgo Hyun could innately trigger parasympathetic antagonism with focus, unleashing his true potential in crises.
Above-average risk tolerance, high confidence, quick and precise judgment, bold action.
He'd polished this gift through studies, physical training, and real fights with delinquents.
Result: stamina and mental fortitude beyond his years.
"Hm. Brother worries linger longer than expected."
Dokgo Hyun muttered to himself.
He was the school's coolest head, but his only family drew out his softer side.
I have to survive to save him. Focus on staying alive first.
Footsteps approached.
Someone stood before Dokgo Hyun's desk, face twisted grotesquely.
"Ji Seungcheol? What do you want?"
It was Ji Seungcheol from class.
They vied for 1st and 2nd in grades.
Academics only—no real chats.
But Dokgo Hyun knew Ji Seungcheol envied him, burned with rivalry.
Ji Seungcheol spat it out.
"It's a bet, Dokgo Hyun."
"What bullshit is this."
"Heh heh heh! Isn't this straight out of a webtoon death game? Bet on who's the true survivor!"
"Why the sudden freakout? Lost your mind?"
Dokgo Hyun was baffled.
People snap in extremes, but a random bet? Absurd.
"Kekeke! Don't play dumb, Dokgo Hyun. You figured the tutorial, right?"
"Mission 1 just ended. What're you on about?"
"Tch, still pretending to be innocent?"
Ji Seungcheol's face twitched from grinning too hard.
Lips quivering, he kept laughing as he explained.
"Can't you see it after Mission 1? They culled the idiots who couldn't even sit, leaving only the smartest. That's the game's intent, right?"
"..."
Ji Seungcheol was spot on.
Tutorial Mission 1 was blatantly simple.
-Do you have basic situational judgment and discernment?
-Can you read and understand mission rules?
-Do you know to sit tight cautiously when unsure?
A easy test of key traits.
Those who failed it died.
So Ji Seungcheol quickly inferred the tutorial's direction.
Dokgo Hyun had too, if less sharply.
"Right! You smart guy wouldn't miss the intent! Wahahaha!"
Ji Seungcheol clapped and laughed alone, thrilled.
Dokgo Hyun's expression chilled each time.
"So, what do you want from me?"
"Leeeet's~ have a nice bet. Kekeke... Heh heh heh...!"
Ji Seungcheol cackled like a corrupted top student, then meekly returned to his seat.
Dokgo Hyun sighed watching him.
Even if right, saying that now... not normal.
Always some who crack in crises.
Ji Seungcheol just vented jealousy—mild madness—so Dokgo Hyun let it slide for now.
Class 4 buzzed.
"Coins?"
"Bitcoin?"
"No way."
"Stats though?"
As classmates fumbled, Dokgo Hyun tapped his left hand's back.
Nothing.
Then the quiet webtoon readers shouted answers.
"Status window!"
"Stat screen!"
Flash!
Flash!
Yelling either summoned the screen.
"Whoa!"
"It works!"
Dokgo Hyun called his too.
"Hm, so it shows up like this."
Status windows were private by default, but shareable if desired.
'Awakening Skill' entry bugs me.
Others rushed to upgrade stats, but Dokgo Hyun was cautious.
"Hey! Tap the stat you want, Coins deduct, it goes up!"
"Whoa, for real?"
"I'm dumping into Strength!!"
"Idiot? Speed and Stamina first! What if next mission's escape?"
"Dunno. I'll spread mine from Strength to Mana..."
Listening, Dokgo Hyun decided.
Skills can't be upgraded yet, looks like.
'Awakening Skill' didn't respond to taps.
For now, 200 Coins to Strength, 300 to Stamina.
He favored solo play.
Solo needed Strength and Stamina basics.
Just a small boost, but power surged through his body.
Good. Keep saving Coins steadily.
Students scrambled back.
Chairs scraped.
Desks thumped.
Like a theater before showtime: tense silence punctuated by rustles.
At the window in the back row, Dokgo Hyun glanced outside casually.
Huh? Where'd all the bodies go?
The hundred-plus corpses on the field had vanished.
A ripple on the blackboard, like melting.
A portal yawned open.
Out stepped a monstrous figure clutching an axe.
Black robe, name tag reading 'Supervisor' on his chest.
He carried a massive blood-soaked cloth bundle.
"Eek...?"
"Wh-what's in that cloth?"
As Class 4's 19 survivors tensed, the Supervisor upended the bundle.
Clatter.
Whoosh!
Colorful blocks spilled out wildly.
Scatter!
Clack!!
The Supervisor spread them across the classroom floor for easy pickup.
"Huh? Color blocks?"
"Giving them to us?"
"What for...?"
"Hey, don't touch!"
Students shuddered at the weirdness; Dokgo Hyun leaned from his seat to inspect.
Like the color blocks Brother and I played with as kids?
Plain plastic ones for toddlers.
Observing, he noticed something.
All different colors and shapes.
Red: small cubes. Yellow: long rectangular prisms.
Seven colors of the rainbow.
"..."
The axe-wielding monster—Supervisor—stood at attention before the teacher's desk, silent.
Then the mission appeared.
Tutorial Mission 2: Color Block Stacking
Goal: Stack blocks on your desk by the time limit.
Rules:
• Gather blocks and stack into the most colorful tower possible.
• Stack at least one block every 20 seconds.
• If your tower collapses, mission failed.
• Using any third tools to reinforce durability is cheating: mission failed.
• However, the player with the tallest tower at end succeeds regardless.
📍 Bonus for success: ???
⚠️ Penalty for failure: Death
⏰ Time limit: 20 minutes