How annoying. He’d just recently gotten into so much trouble and now it was back, as if to mock him.
<Choose an option from below.> ▶ (´▽`)ﾉ (Available) ▷ *˘◡˘* (Available) ▷ Kiss (Available) ▷ /-//-- (Unavailable) ▷ /=/!!## (Absolutely Not Available)
What is it trying to make me do? Seol-Hwi wanted to cuss but it wouldn’t achieve anything.
I need to choose carefully.
However, the choices were extremely confusing.
▶ (´▽`)ﾉ (Available)
This was even weirder than the “—.”
▷ *˘◡˘* (Available) ▷ Kiss (Available)
Hug was gone, but kiss had stayed. He couldn’t choose any of the options below that, so they didn’t matter.
First or second.
▶ (´▽`)ﾉ (Available) ▷ *˘◡˘* (Available)
One of them had to be a trap—but how could he tell?
5… 4…
Shit! Time was running out. Okay. Let’s look at the patterns.
They looked like human faces. The first one looked like it was raising its hand.
This time… please!
<You have chosen "(´▽`)ﾉ">
She’s smiling! Seol-Hwi’s expression brightened. Seems he’d made the right choice this time.
“Really…”
Seol-Hwi nodded. “Right, you are—ugh!”
Seo Ryeong’s slap almost ripped his mask off.
“Your perverted mind hasn’t changed.”
P-pervert… His expression fell.
<Seo Ryeong's favorability has decreased by 99> <Favorability has changed from "Curious" to "Disgusted">
It was hard to believe their relationship was in the pits again.
<Seo Ryeong's favorability> (Before) 5% [Curious] → (After) -94% [Disgust]
“I hope we never meet again.” She spun around on her heel and walked away—she even used some footwork to get away from him faster.
“Wow…” Seol-Hwi was still reeling from being called a pervert.
“Wow…”
Seol-Hwi went back to his residence and pulled off his sweaty mask.
“Don’t need this anymore.”
He’d been wearing it for Seo Ryeong so he could meet her in different circumstances, when he was stronger.
That hope was dead now. She despised him.
“For such a little thing…” Seol-Hwi slumped into his chair.
The system always tested him, but the absurd situations it created and its performance turned out excellent. If there was a reason it gave him the mask, it wasn’t just because of Seo Ryeong.
“There was a reason why time stopped in front of those two people…” Was there something he didn’t know?
[Do you want to save?]
This seemed nice, after all the days of work he’d put in.
◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 2-1: Three Choices from the Earth Demon. ◻ Year 96 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-1: [Became a Core Warrior] Year Two of Bonus Story ◼ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-8 [Became a Core Warrior] Year One of Bonus Story. [Are you sure you want to overwrite this slot?] ◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 2-1: Three Choices from the Earth Demon. ◼ Year 96 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 4-4: Part 2: The Private Guards Captain Appears ◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-8 [Became a Core Warrior] Year One of Bonus Story.
Seol-Hwi eyed the new entry as he laid in bed.
The captain of the Private Guard appears… He had a feeling they’d be meeting sooner or later.
So why the mask? Seol-Hwi didn’t know, but it felt like he was beginning to put the pieces together.
Is today the day? It was the end of the month, so he’d usually be moved back to his home. This time, however, he’d stopped at the Black Tortoise Hall instead, possibly to meet Seo Ryeong again.
Seol-Hwi felt a little bit of energy outside the door from time to time. He went over to check, and, as expected, the captain of the Private Guards was outside.
[Would you like to meet The Private Guards Captain? Yes/No]
I don’t think he’s just going to leave… He came all this way, after all, and he’d probably done his homework beforehand.
The man had to have a reason to attack him here, but Seol-Hwi did just kill his subordinate. They couldn’t fight blindly, being from the same squad, but he was definitely here for Seol-Hwi.
Wait, can I refuse this? His eyes were drawn towards the Yes/No.
<You refused the meeting. Where would you like to hide?>
What? Seol-Hwi cocked his head. Hide?
▶ Under the bed ▷ Under the desk ▷ In the wooden box ▷ In the wardrobe
Seriously?! Seol-Hwi was taken aback. He should have just vanished—why hide? And hide “under the desk?” It was right in the open!
If I had to choose… He looked around.
The empty wardrobe. Like the wooden box, he wouldn’t have to lay down but he also wouldn’t have to close the cover. It’d be comfortable, and none of the other options really compared.
<You have selected "In the wardrobe">
Seol-Hwi’s vision immediately darkened as he hid in the wardrobe.
Well, all I have to do is avoid a confrontation…
He heard something from outside, but didn’t respond. There was a long silence, and he assumed the person had left.
And then the door opened. Bigun walked in.
“Come out.”
<Seol-Hwi, hiding in the wardrobe like an idiot, has been found>
Ah, fuck! Why did it even bother asking him to hide? Should he have chosen the wooden box?
[Would you like to wear the mask?]
There had to be a point to this now.
“Ahem.”
Seol-Hwi wanted to hide himself again as soon as he walked out. Good thing he had the mask.
“Sit down.” Seol-Hwi guided the man, although he wanted to rebuke him for coming in without permission.
Bigun [Captain of the Private Guards] Health: 5.5 million Internal Energy: 4.2 million Combat Power: 6.37 million (+12% when enraged)
After seeing the other man’s power, Seol-Hwi decided not to press the issue. Since he’d already introduced himself, he went straight in.
“What did you come here for?”
“Try guessing, command unit captain.” Bigun crossed his legs.
Seol-Hwi’s expression went stiff. Bigun had introduced himself, but Seol-Hwi hadn’t. That meant he already knew who Seol-Hwi was.
“Well, since you asked, I have two ideas.”
“…And they would be?” Bigun raised an eyebrow.
Seol-Hwi frowned thoughtfully. “First of all, my mask looks really cool—otherwise you wouldn’t have come here.”
Bigun’s eyes narrowed; whether in anger or irritation, Soel-Hwi didn’t know. At the very least, he wasn’t happy.
“And the other…”
It didn’t matter what he said, he just wanted to provoke Bigun. Seol-Hwi avoided him because he made him uncomfortable, not because he was afraid. If he was afraid, he wouldn’t have killed those men.
“…you want to be friends with me!”
“Hah. Haha. Ahahahaha.”
Seol-Hwi knew what that laugh meant. So he waited.
“Seriously…” Bigun’s face held no trace of humor. “You’re a funny person.”
“I hear that a lot.”
The room went silent again. Unlike before, Seol-Hwi felt the atmosphere change.
Just seeing him like this made Seol-Hwi feel warm.
“…Actually, the reason I came… Recently, one of the captains killed one of my beloved subordinates. While investigating, we discovered that one of your unit’s members was involved.”
Seol-Hwi listened intently.
“And we found out that someone close to them stepped in and killed my man, so I came to find out if you knew anything.”
Look at this bastard. He remembered what this man said to his vice-captain. This bastard was pretending not to know.
“Before that,” Seol-Hwi calmly said, “I want to ask you a question.”
“Please.”
“Did the man wear a mask?”
Only Seol-Hwi and someone who was there would know that, and Bigun couldn’t afford to show all his cards right now.
“Well…”
“Someone must have used it.”
What Bigun thought he knew, Seol-Hwi could use too.
“There are people who want to take down not just my command unit, but the entire Hidden Truth Corps as well.”
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