Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Stack the Blocks or Die
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'Stack the blocks into a tower form.'
That was this mission.
The students—no, the Players—of Class 4 were all dumbfounded.
"Blocks?"
"They want us to stack these?"
The Players eyed the blocks scattered across the floor suspiciously.
"Hey! No time to hesitate!"
"Huh?"
"Check the mission window! You have to stack at least one block every 20 seconds!"
Someone shouted and scooped up a handful of blocks from the floor.
"Oh!"
Only then did everyone snap to attention and lunge for the blocks.
There were plenty of blocks, so no one fought over them.
Dokgo Hyun grabbed a handful from the floor as well.
Then he started stacking them on his desk.
Click.
Click, click...
The students—no, Players—of 3rd Year Class 4 silently began stacking their blocks.
They figured out the trick in less than a minute.
First off, the rule of one block every 20 seconds was surprisingly lenient.
Second, the blocks varied slightly in size and shape depending on their color.
In other words, don't rush—gather blocks of the same color and stack them steadily for stability.
Dokgo Hyun thought the same and tried picking up mostly same-colored blocks from the floor.
That was when it happened.
Boom!
Crash!
A small explosion came from a nearby desk, followed by the sound of a block tower collapsing.
"Wha?! What the hell! The blocks just exploded on their own!"
Crunch!
The Supervisor swung his axe, killing the guy.
Schlop.
As the axe blade was pulled from the corpse, it turned into fresh blocks and scattered across the floor.
Similar block explosions started happening everywhere.
Boom! Boom!
BOOM!
"Ack!"
"Nooo!"
Crash!
Craaaash!
Two more block towers collapsed.
"Eek! Wait a sec!"
"We didn't knock it over! It exploded out of nowhe—"
Splat! Slash!
The protesting students were silenced forever.
Their corpses turned into colorful blocks once more, adding new piles to the classroom floor.
'This is insane...'
That's when Dokgo Hyun realized it.
The common thread among the exploded blocks.
'Stacking three or more of the same color in a row causes them to explode.'
Same-colored blocks stacked consecutively trigger a small blast.
The blast topples the tower.
One shaken Player gasped in panic and accidentally bumped his own tower with his hand.
Crash!
"Wait! It was an accide—!"
Crunch!
The one who slipped up died.
A few others tried forcing mismatched colors and lost their balance, dying as their towers fell.
Crash! Tumble!
Crunch! Crunch!
"..."
Biting his lip, Dokgo Hyun silently continued combining various colored blocks.
Click, click...
Using different shapes made it harder.
'But if I stay focused, I can do this.'
Balance and concentration.
With just those two, it was surprisingly manageable.
The moment Dokgo Hyun thought that.
Thwack!
The Supervisor suddenly slammed his axe into the teacher's desk.
It split in half and turned into blocks itself.
"Rule change. Rule change. By Supervisor authority, a minor adjustment to the rules."
The Supervisor said in a low voice.
"One! From now on, stack at least one block every 10 seconds. Two! Stack sturdy enough to withstand artificial wind."
With that, he pulled a traditional fan from his pocket.
Whoosh!
He dramatically opened it and fanned a nearby girl's tower.
Flutter flutter flutter...!
Her block tower wobbled.
Tumble, crash!
It finally collapsed.
"That's not fair! This is cheating!"
The girl yelled angrily.
Crunch!
She died and became blocks.
Click, slide...
Click, slide...
The nerd at the desk right next to Dokgo Hyun pulled out model glue.
He started gluing his existing tower together.
Their eyes met, and the nerd smirked smugly.
"Heh, this should do i—"
Crunch!
The nerd died for breaking the rules and turned into blocks.
Only two survivors remained in 3rd Year Class 4.
'Just two left?'
Ji Seungcheol in the front-left corner.
Dokgo Hyun in the back-left corner.
That was it.
'Already down to two...'
Even Dokgo Hyun, who rarely got rattled, wiped the sweat from his palms on his uniform pants.
"Heh."
Ji Seungcheol glanced back, realizing it was just him and Dokgo Hyun left.
His darkened expression broke into a cold sweat, but he grinned anyway.
"Hahaha! So it comes down to this, Dokgo Hyun! It's a showdown!!"
Fear, despair, and his long-held rivalry with Dokgo Hyun mixed into burning determination.
Ji Seungcheol reignited his fighting spirit and resumed stacking.
Meanwhile, the Supervisor...
Flutter flutter flutter...!
...fanned Dokgo Hyun's tower viciously.
But Dokgo Hyun's tower withstood the malicious gusts.
Thanks to stacking it plainly and properly, without tricks.
Those who built too high or cheated had all died.
Dokgo Hyun's opposite approach let him build a moderately sturdy, well-proportioned tower.
The Supervisor glanced at him, then approached Ji Seungcheol.
"Ugh, damn it. S-Slow down a bit."
Ji Seungcheol was sweating bullets.
Paradoxically...
'I stacked the blocks too enthusiastically...!'
This wasn't a height competition.
Durability was key.
But with just him and Dokgo Hyun left, Ji Seungcheol's competitive fire had made him stack way too fast.
'At this rate, it'll hit the ceiling!!'
No exaggeration—it was on the verge of touching the classroom ceiling.
"Nngh..."
Ji Seungcheol's groans grew louder.
'No. No. I don't wanna die!'
Dokgo Hyun could almost hear his thoughts.
The Supervisor pulled out his fan in front of Ji Seungcheol but didn't use it.
Even left alone, the tower's top would hit the ceiling soon.
He couldn't stack more—mission failure incoming.
But then.
Creak!
Ji Seungcheol abruptly stood on his chair.
And.
Smash!
He punched through the ceiling with his fist.
Crackle, thud!
He ripped the hole even wider.
Click...
Timing it to the 10-second rule, he kept stacking upward.
The Supervisor watched, fan put away, observing silently.
Impressed by Ji Seungcheol's ingenuity, resolve, passion, and focus in smashing the ceiling limit and using the new space.
But at that moment.
Squeak...
A rat, common in old schools, dropped from the ceiling.
"Gah!"
It landed right on the block tower.
Wobble wobble...
"No, nooooo!!"
Ji Seungcheol screamed.
CRASH!
Rumblle...
The collapse dragged on, and the Supervisor leisurely picked up his axe.
"Fuck this! If I'm going down alone—!"
Right before the axe hit, Ji Seungcheol grabbed the rat that toppled his tower.
Squeak!
He hurled it at Dokgo Hyun.
"Die, Dokgo Hyun!!"
Thwack!
The rat grazed Dokgo Hyun's tower and bounced off.
Wobble wobble...
'Damn! Close!'
Dokgo Hyun steadied the tower with both hands, using his chin to hold the top piece in place.
Steady...
The wobbling tower stabilized.
"Damn it! Even if your tower fell first—!"
Ji Seungcheol cursed Dokgo Hyun.
"You damn class-topping bastard! Losing once at the end wouldn't kill you! Faaaack!!"
Those were Ji Seungcheol's last words.
Crunch!
Crash!
Ji Seungcheol died and became blocks.
"Ha."
Dokgo Hyun was dumbfounded.
'I'm the only one left in Class 4...'
The moment his tension eased.
Clack.
The block right behind the one pinned by his chin lost balance and fell.
Plop!
"...What?!"
As Dokgo Hyun gasped in shock, the Supervisor strode over like a janitor cleaning up trash.
"Shit!"
Clatter!
Dokgo Hyun shoved his chair aside, standing ready to fight.
'Better die fighting than sitting here!'
He grabbed his chair.
Plan: Hurl it to keep distance, then rush and aim for the jaw.
"Come at me!!!"
Fear and fury amplified his roar.
His legs trembled slightly, but his will to fight didn't waver.
"..."
The Supervisor stopped at mid-range, staring at Dokgo Hyun.
"What're you waiting for?! Come on!!"
As Dokgo Hyun mustered his courage and yelled, a system message appeared.
"Huh?"
"I see...!"
Dokgo Hyun's tower had collapsed too, but all his classmates died first.
In other words, the moment he became the sole survivor, his tower—being the only one left—counted as the tallest.
'Unconditional success.'
"I... I survived..."
Dokgo Hyun collapsed into his seat without thinking.
His classmates' deaths.
The suddenly mad world.
Sadness or shock over those took a backseat to pure relief at surviving.
Step step.
The Supervisor approached Dokgo Hyun. Startled, he jumped up into a defensive stance again.
"..."
Standing right in front of Dokgo Hyun, the Supervisor lowered his axe to the side and bowed at a 45-degree angle.
"My utmost respects to the victor blessed with great fortune."
"Huh?"
It was remarkably polite from someone who'd been axing people left and right.
"Congratulations on your survival victory and bonus. Would you grant a lowly one like me the honor of shaking hands with one of such great fortune?"
"Uh, s-sure..."
The Supervisor removed his glove and shook hands.
His hand was cold metal.
'Not human. A robot?'
After the handshake, the Supervisor vanished through the portal on the blackboard.
'Oh...!'
Dokgo Hyun hadn't aimed for it, but surviving Tutorial Mission 2 alone unlocked new rewards.
Now he had to choose between standard and special.
No hesitation.
"Special reward. I'll take the hint."
The moment Dokgo Hyun spoke.
Pop!
A small note fluttered down in front of his eyes.
"A hint, huh."
Any info was welcome.
The hint listed three points.
Dokgo Hyun memorized them, reading repeatedly as if to devour the note.
Etched into his brain, he realized Hint 1 was chillingly ominous.
'100 Coins for killing another Player.'
Coins raised stats, and higher stats meant an edge—common sense.
'The others won't see this coming.'
Right after clearing Mission 2, no one knew about earning Coins by killing friends.
But.
'...This is a last resort.'
He was prepared to kill if justified.
But slaughtering for early Coin gains would make him public enemy number one—suicide.
And killing wasn't easy, no matter the world.
'Just mentally prepare for it.'
He noted Hints 2 and 3 but dismissed them—solo play suited him better.
Then, another message popped up.