The One Who Only Knows War and Fighting Bursts into Laughter

No way. Why is it always just me?

Familiar system windows floated before my eyes. But right now, what bothered me most wasn’t the Constellations’ conversation or the changed status window.

“Eeeeek! Why are you licking something that fell on the floor?!”

The rabbit was throwing a fit, utterly horrified by the disgraceful sight of me slurping up the unidentified potion that had spilled onto the ground.

“I gave you a few more drops because it looked like it didn’t get in your mouth, and you just had to…! Where did you sell your sense of hygiene? Your pride? Your human dignity?!”

The rabbit kept scolding me without pause. But before my ears could even start ringing from his tirade, a primal question rose from deep inside my mind.

‘Why… is he only yelling with words?’

That rabbit was clearly an existence far removed from human common sense. A merciless being who could summon fire in midair and call forth monsters from within it. So why was this same Helper throwing a tantrum with nothing but words just because I’d licked up a potion that had fallen on the floor? It didn’t make sense.

If he’d accidentally given me an ability, couldn’t he just take it back? That was what I wanted to ask, but I didn’t voice the question. There was no telling what kind of trouble the creature might cause if he heard me.

‘No need to stir up unnecessary trouble.’

To avoid provoking him, I slowly pushed myself up. The rabbit immediately spoke to me in a tone heavy with concern. Of course, it wasn’t concern for my health.

“Can’t you please throw that back up? In your current state, the balance is a bit… you know…”

He muttered at me, genuinely aggrieved. I let out one sigh. Then another. And another. But when I simply stared at him blankly for a long while, he eventually gave up. Raising both hands in surrender, he glared at me.

“Haa… This one really was my mistake, so I’ll let it slide. Originally, Helpers aren’t supposed to interfere with players outside of scenarios. That’s the rule.”

His final words only deepened my confusion. He wasn’t supposed to interfere, yet he’d fed me medicine because I looked like I was about to die? His words and actions were in complete contradiction.

But the rabbit’s next grumble helped clear up at least some of my questions.

“Tsk. If it weren’t for those big-shot sponsors…!”

It seemed feeding me the elixir hadn’t been the rabbit’s own intention. Transcendent beings known as Constellations were watching me. From what I could infer, they were the ones who had nearly killed me—and also the ones who had chosen to save me.

‘They’re toying with us.’

Just like an elementary schooler observing and playing with ants lined up on the sidewalk, these beings were watching us. No—after experiencing my organs twisting and vomiting blood from nothing more than the pressure of their gaze, I had to admit they were far more threatening than any schoolkid looming over ants.

“The reward for clearing that hidden mission will be covered by the elixir you just drank! Now, shall we head down to the first floor? Once the break time ends, things are going to get really crazy.”

The rabbit sneered in a sulky tone. Break time? What was he—ah.

This is insane.

“Byeeee!”

I left the rabbit behind—he was waving with a nasty grin on his face—and immediately dashed out of the auditorium. The end of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the long corridor. Since I already knew the way, reaching the emergency exit was no problem at all.

But.

‘I’m late…!’

When I arrived in front of the emergency exit, I checked the remaining time and shifted my gaze to the elevator beside it.

There was no time to leisurely run down the stairs I’d used on the way up. Without slowing my sprint, I slammed my foot as hard as I could into the tightly closed elevator doors.

THUUUUUUD!!!

The sliding doors became swinging doors in an instant. The elevator entrance flew open cleanly, revealing an endless abyss before my eyes.

“……”

For a split second, a flurry of images flashed through my mind, and my gaze darted through three urgent calculations. The emergency exit once. The timer that had now reached nine seconds once. And the bottomless pit—whether shortcut or path to the afterlife—once more.

Tap—!

I stopped hesitating and leaped toward the opening. The shattered elevator doors rattled loosely on either side. But that sight lasted only a moment. In the blink of an eye, my vision plunged into the endless vertical shaft.

“Huuuup!”

This was the kind of insane stunt I couldn’t have imagined doing yesterday. But right now, my body had been dramatically strengthened. I decided to trust this enhanced physique just this once.

KWAAAANG!

I kicked off the wall directly in front of me. The direction of force was diagonally downward. It seemed to have some effect; I felt a slight braking force slow the acceleration that had begun to build.

‘I can do this!’

No. I had to do this.

I repeatedly kicked off both walls of the elevator shaft, gradually reducing the acceleration caused by gravity. The distance to the first floor grew closer and closer. Feeling the air resistance scraping against my skin and stinging my eyes, I made one final powerful leap toward the last foothold.

About one minute earlier.

“See! I told you he wasn’t coming back! He really ran off on his own!”

The middle-aged man who had been fidgeting anxiously in the corner suddenly shot to his feet and shouted. Since Han Gamin remained silent with a deliberately serious expression, the man grew even bolder and began running his mouth.

“You’ve all been fooled! You hunted monsters together? What does that even matter? He’s not even here right now!”

The middle-aged man wore a sneering smile. I could see veins bulging on Park Jocheol’s forehead from pure irritation, but the man paid it no mind.

Park Jocheol debated with himself. Should he just punch that smug face right now, or give him one warning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first and then punch him?

But the moment Park Jocheol showed signs of actually doing something, Namgung Cheonho subtly stepped in to mediate.

“For now, let’s prepare among ourselves. We don’t know what might happen, so let’s check the escape routes and spread out to positions where we can help each other if monsters appear.”

Even Namgung Cheonho was starting to feel annoyed watching such a uselessly negative person. However, in situations like this, staying calm was crucial. This tutorial had been designed as an individual trial from the start; it wasn’t built for people to rely on one another. The smart move was to quickly cut off a dead weight like him.

But this frustrating coward of a villain couldn’t stay still for even a second. Just as Kim Siin had mentioned earlier, he was playing the role of ‘the one who causes unexpected problems’ to perfection.

“Take positions? And if I don’t want to? If a monster appears next to me, are you going to save me? How do I know you won’t just run away like that guy! I don’t trust any of you!”

He began striding toward the staircase. One person leaving. But it wasn’t as simple as just one person stepping away.

“C-can I just hide on another floor too?”

“M-me too!”

The people near the middle-aged man began flinching and turning their backs. With only ten seconds of break time left.

Thud…

But the moment they turned, an unfamiliar sound they had never heard before echoed through the building.

“…Did you guys hear that just now?”

At Namgung Cheonho’s sharp words, Park Jocheol perked up his ears. It sounded like something exploding—a bursting noise. And then came a sharp…

Piiiiiiii……

It was the sound of something tearing through the air.

Since the time the Helper had permitted was almost up, all sorts of wild imaginations began running through the people’s heads. Was a monster about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to appear? Was the building going to collapse? Or perhaps…

The color drained from everyone’s faces, and their bodies began to stiffen.

And then.

KWAAAAAAAAAA!!!

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”

AAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!

An enormous cloud of dust exploded out from the elevator, accompanied by an unimaginable, earth-shattering roar.

KUWOONG!

“Ugh, ughhhk, ughk!”

The middle-aged man was sent flying into the air along with the shattered elevator doors. He hit the floor and began rolling around in agony, his face twisted as if his herniated disc had finally given out.

Shaaaaaaa…

The sudden explosion from the elevator drew everyone’s attention. The swirling cloud of dust slowly cleared. Then the sound of one person’s footsteps began to echo through the first floor.

A single figure emerged from the elevator. Covered head to toe in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blood, he silently pushed his way through the dust cloud.

‘C-crazy…’

I had really almost died. Without any exaggeration, I had come within a hair’s breadth of ending my life.

“S-Siin! Are you okay?!”

“Uhh… I think I saw the three rivers of the afterlife for a second there…”

I shook my dizzy head from side to side as I looked at the people running toward me.

“Whoa! What is all this blood? Wait, no, of course you’d be covered in blood after jumping from that height… Huh? Is that not it?”

Namgung Cheonho approached me, looking completely at a loss. His expression was one of genuine shock. Seeing the mixture of astonishment, reverence, fear, and joy swirling in his eyes, I suddenly found it amusing.

Hmm… I really must not be in my right mind right now.

“Ahjussi, are you okay? What is all this blood? Is it yours?”

Blood? I lowered my gaze and carefully examined the clothes I was wearing. The only thing still somewhat intact was my pants. The white shirt I had put on at home this morning was dyed so deeply red that one might think it had always been a red shirt.

“Ah…”

I realized what the blood was. It was the blood that had poured out of my seven orifices when those Constellations stared at me upon reaching the twentieth floor.

“I’m fine. The treatment is already complete. More importantly, the others…”

I looked around. In the distance, people stood with their mouths agape, staring at me with fearful eyes. And lying on the ground across from the elevator I had jumped out of was that one middle-aged man.

“Excuse me, are you alri—”

“Hiiik! U-ugh!”

The moment I reached out my hand, the middle-aged man—who had been flopping around like a dried fish—began rolling on the floor again, clutching his neck as if it had seized up in pain.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet I somehow felt dirty.

Tap.

“Hm?”

As I tried to approach the middle-aged man, someone placed a firm hand on my shoulder. It was Han Gamin, frowning. She slowly shook her head, clearly conveying the nuance that ‘this person isn’t worth paying any attention to.’

“Fucking idiot.”

Han Gamin tossed the insult at the suffering middle-aged man. After that brief moment, the previously quiet atmosphere gradually began to rise in tension. A familiar sound effect came from the direction of the elevator.

Tzzt, tzzt.

Small sparks flew in the air, and the blue flames we had seen yesterday appeared. The flames slowly grew larger. Once they reached the size of a human torso, the small portal opened and the rabbit slowly revealed itself.

“Cough, cough!”

The rabbit appeared, stirring up the hazy cloud of dust. After coughing several times, he scrunched up his face and muttered toward me.

“……The Constellations certainly have good taste. You’re even crazier than I thought. It’s a bit bigger than what I saw on the twentieth floor.”

The creature, now the size of a human forearm, floated in the air wearing an ill-fitting tuxedo as he looked around.

“Ahem! Sorry for being late. I am the Helper ■■■ who has appeared to give you your second mission!”

Hmm… He nodded his head a few times before completely turning to face my direction. The moment our eyes met.

Twitch.

The corners of his mouth curled up.

“……?”

The surprised expression had vanished completely. Instead, he looked at me with a mocking smile. I racked my brain trying to figure out what that smile meant. But it seemed he had been waiting just as long for me to understand the meaning behind his smile as I had been trying to decipher it.

“Wow, I didn’t even give you a separate mission, yet everyone’s already gathered in one place? That’s amazing. But why is this person covered in blood? Did you jump down the elevator or something? Sigh, I know people in this country love doing things quickly, but this is a bit reckless, don’t you think?”

The rabbit began mocking me. The corners of his mouth refused to come back down. And the next thing he said was truly shocking.

“Aigoo, I was going to give you a separate gathering time! But this player is truly impressive! As expected of the number one ranked player in this coordinate! Uhehehet! Was there honey smeared on the first floor? There are stairs, so why take the elevator…”

In other words, there had been no need for me to risk my life jumping down the elevator because I was running out of time.

“Heh heh.”

I let out a hollow laugh as I stared at him.

“This son of a bitch…”

For the first time since the incident occurred, I felt a new emotion toward the rabbit—one that wasn’t fear.

“Hehet, I’m a rabbit, though. And it was very intense.”