Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Regarding the Tutorial Final Mission
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‘Even if I drop out and leave the school, I don’t think the death game will just end.’
Dropping out here would probably send me back to the outside world.
I might even enjoy some peace for a while.
But there’s no guarantee something like this won’t happen out there again.
‘No, by now, the whole world might already have turned into this crap game.’
According to what the Bunny Girl said earlier, this tutorial was underway in various places around the world, with about 20% of the total population selected.
‘That was 20% at the start, but there’s no saying it hasn’t grown since then.’
In a situation where I couldn’t rule out that possibility, dropping out carried its own risks.
‘Maybe I’m overthinking it, and dropping out really would let me go free peacefully. The problem is, right now, there’s no way to verify that.’
So Dokgo Hyun decided to let Baek Seonghui go freely while he stuck it out to the end.
At least to figure out what was really going on—one of them leaves, the other sees the tutorial through to its conclusion.
That seemed the most rational choice.
“I have a favor to ask, Baek Seonghui.”
Dokgo Hyun handed over his share of the elixir.
“Give this to my brother. He’s at Seongmo Peace General Hospital. Sixth floor, room six, the bed by the window. His name’s Dokgo Cheol.”
Dokgo Hyun pulled out a pen and jotted down the key details on her palm, adding the date and his signature.
“Make sure my brother gets this elixir from me. Promise?”
Hearing that, Baek Seonghui let out a sigh.
“You’re not gonna listen no matter how much I try to talk you out of it now, huh?”
“Of course not!”
“……Fine. I’ll do it.”
Baek Seonghui carefully stowed Dokgo Hyun’s elixir, then pulled out her own in exchange.
She handed it to Dokgo Hyun.
“Here’s mine in return. I’m dropping out anyway, so I don’t need it, but you’ll need it for the final round.”
“You sure? Things might still be dangerous out there.”
“Maybe. But if my theory’s right, the risk is low.”
Her reasoning was simple: if the outside was just as dangerous as in here, there’d be no point isolating the school with that blue barrier.
Of course, the only way to confirm if her theory held water was to actually go out there.
“More than that, this is my choice. Paying back the favor I owe you. I’ll do exactly what you asked.”
“……Thanks.”
“Does this square us up? The debt I owed you?”
“Yeah.”
Whoosh!
Baek Seonghui suddenly pulled Dokgo Hyun into a hug.
“But in exchange, you have to survive to the end and come back. Got it?”
“I’ll try.”
With her face buried in his chest, Baek Seonghui raised her left hand.
“Drop out.”
Flash!
And just like that, Baek Seonghui returned to the outside world.
“Okay, three minutes left. Choose quick!”
The Total Administrator urged them on.
Only Dokgo Hyun and Oh Sua remained.
“Um……”
Oh Sua spoke up to Dokgo Hyun.
“Yeah?”
“Why aren’t you dropping out?”
“Because of my brother.”
Dokgo Hyun answered curtly.
Truth be told, he wanted to bolt out of there right away for his brother’s sake, but long-term considerations had kept him here.
“Kinda like me, then.”
“Huh?”
“I’m staying because of money.”
“What?”
Dokgo Hyun turned to look at Oh Sua.
Instead of averting her gaze, she stared right back at him with wide eyes.
“Because of debt……”
Most people would blush sharing something like that, but Oh Sua looked him straight in the eye, almost challengingly.
Dokgo Hyun felt her gaze as defiant.
‘She must’ve inherited her parents’ debt or something like that.’
He could guess that much, but it still didn’t click.
He almost asked how debt tied into sticking around for a death game, but that felt too prying, so he asked something else instead.
“You got some special skill or something?”
“Special skill? Well, I’m in the mystery novel club……”
‘Our school’s got clubs for everything, huh.’
Dokgo Hyun let it slide with that thought.
“Still, staying here without some standout ability means you’re probably gonna die nine times out of ten.”
He said it skeptically.
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve got an amazing skill.”
“Fair enough. You’ve survived this far, so it must be something special. Mind telling me what it is?”
“Sure! It’s [Luck +10% If You Listen to Me].”
“……”
Dokgo Hyun took a moment to imagine what a skill called [Luck +10% If You Listen to Me] could possibly be.
“……I can’t even picture what that skill does, but it sounds ridiculously half-assed.”
“Anyway! I’m going all the way, so take good care of me.”
Snap.
The short Oh Sua stuck out her hand confidently, looking up at him.
Dokgo Hyun glanced between her bold eyes and her hand.
“Take good care of you?”
He tilted his head.
Entering the final round meant they’d probably end up competing—and killing—each other nine times out of ten.
But Oh Sua seemed to see it differently.
“We made it this far…… so the final mission’s probably something like teaming up to beat the final boss, right?”
“Hm…… could be.”
What the tutorial’s final mission would be was up to the Total Administrator.
‘Kinda naive attitude.’
Dokgo Hyun criticized her inwardly but nodded, since she might be right.
“Take good care of me too.”
“You got it!”
“So full of energy.”
“Just trust me, and everything’ll work out. No lie!”
Her eyes held an oddly confident gleam, and Dokgo Hyun avoided her gaze, focusing on her hand instead.
‘Doesn’t look like she’s hiding a thumbtack or anything.’
The two shook hands.
Oh Sua looked a bit disappointed that Dokgo Hyun had dodged her eyes.
“Alright then.”
“Let’s go.”
Dokgo Hyun and Oh Sua both raised their right hands.
As they teleported, clear reward messages flashed by.
Flash!
Dokgo Hyun and Oh Sua were teleported to Class 1-1 of the first-year wing.
“Huh?”
“Where’s this?”
The desks and chairs had been shoved into the corners, leaving a rectangular poker table alone in the center.
Three stools sat in front of it.
Na Youngho was already seated, looking grumpy.
“What’s this mission now?”
When Dokgo Hyun asked, Na Youngho jerked his chin toward the blackboard.
‘Guess we sit.’
Dokgo Hyun plopped down on a stool, and Oh Sua hesitated before sitting.
The moment they did, the mission window appeared.
“Gasp?!”
“What the hell is this?”
“Fucking gross.”
Fitting for the final tutorial, it showed long, complicated mission rules.
Goal: Compete according to the rules to become the final winner. Mission fails if you violate rules, die, or lose all chips. Becoming the last winner succeeds the mission.
Rules:
Play one-card poker showdowns in the designated poker room at designated times.
Each player starts with 20 chips to bet as stakes.
Only spades are used: 2, 3, 4, 5……, J, Q, K, A (13 cards total).
Card strength: 2 (weakest) < 3 < 4 < 5…… < J < Q < K < A (strongest).
Proceeds in Seating, Ante, Card Dealing, Betting, Open, Run phases.
Poker follows these phases; each player must act within 3 minutes per phase.
1. Seating Phase: Sit on the stools in the sealed poker room.
2. Ante Phase: Before cards, post mandatory 1 chip ante each.
3. Card Dealing Phase: Dealer distributes 1 card per player. Players check their own freely. Dealer sets deal order; betting follows unless specified otherwise. (First round: per tutorial preliminary scores.)
4. Betting Phase: In deal order, choose Raise, Call, Fold, or Check.
4-1. Raise: Increase pot, doubles only. (Ex: Ante 1 chip → first raise to 2. Next raises to 4, then 8, etc.)
4-2. Call: Match previous bet. (Ex: Previous raised 2 → call with 2.)
4-3. Fold: Quit; folder’s card revealed to all. (Important!)
4-4. Check: Pass without raising, only after first player checks.
5. Open Phase: Reveal cards to decide winner. Winner takes all chips in pot.
6. Run Phase: ???
One full 1-6 cycle = “one hand.” Repeat until winner.
Other Rules:
No direct player attacks in poker room.
No chip theft, stealing, or trading between players.
Player skills usable freely.
All other cheating forbidden; caught = 20-chip fine.
Cheating calls “immediate”; post-Open invalid.
Poker room rules may be restricted/varied by dealer.
Time Limit: Until 10:10 PM today. No winner = all fail.
Success Bonus: 1 Preliminary Invitation Ticket. Safe return home rights. 1,000 coins.
Failure Penalty: Explosion death.
The three pored over the long mission description repeatedly.
“Ugh…… in the end……”
Oh Sua said with resignation.
It wasn’t a team-up-against-the-boss mission. Another blatant kill-each-other one.
‘No direct attacks allowed in poker room,’ so not brute force, but still unfavorable for her.
Na Youngho and Dokgo Hyun showed no reaction to the kill order, staring intently at the window.
‘Long explanation, but it’s just a simple high-card game with one card each. Pure luck and mind games, fifty-fifty……’
Dokgo Hyun wondered if it was really just surface-level luck and psychology, or if something hidden lurked beneath.
Na Youngho felt the same.
Especially suspicious was the ‘???’ Run Phase.
“What the hell’s this ‘Run Phase’ anyway?”
Na Youngho muttered.
Then the Total Administrator popped up out of nowhere.
“Heh heh heh! Save that for later fun.”
Wearing his question-mark mask, the Total Administrator chuckled nonstop.
‘What an annoyingly punchable mask.’
Dokgo Hyun observed him.
The Total Administrator acted friendly toward the three survivors.
“Plenty of time before it starts, so feel free to ask mission questions. Heh heh heh……”