Chapter 8. Selection (3)

Eun-Ho suddenly remembered a trivial conversation from the past—one that he had with someone clearly into Ji-Eun.

“Eun-Ho, don’t you think Secretary Kim has such a great voice?”

“Is that so?”

Eun-Ho had asked, tilting his head slightly.

“She sounds just like an announcer. Looks kind of like one, too. Who was it again...?”

“Euuuun-Hoooo—!” Ji-Eun shouted, snapping him back to the present.

Right now, she sounded nothing like a professional announcer. Honestly, she didn't even sound like a normal human being. What came out of her mouth was a bizarre, stretched-out groan, like the audio from a glitched-out video slowed to a crawl.

Everything around me has slowed down.

Despite his thoughts racing, Eun-Ho moved into action. With his left hand, he gripped Ji-Eun, and with his right, he held onto the floor beneath him, which felt as solid as a wall. To move more easily, he had to get Ji-Eun to a safer place first.

Thud!

He flipped open a system box embedded in the floor, using it as a foothold to climb. First one foot, then the other. Finally, he pried his fingers free from the ledge and jammed them into the upper wall to gain height.

If it weren’t for that Petrify skill, I would’ve fallen for sure.

He had barely taken two or three steps when a spasm shot up his left arm. Luckily, just as his arm was about to give out, he reached the pillar where Jae-Hyuk was hanging on. He had barely avoided plunging Ji-Eun into the abyss.

Ugh... Ji-Eun is heavier than I thought.

He slung Ji-Eun over his shoulder, intending to catch his breath.

“Uuuup there! Huh?”

Tick.

Time snapped back into place. The massive table, which had seemed frozen midair, picked up speed and dropped like a guillotine.

Boom!

A heavy thud shook the entire space, followed by silence. If that thing had hit them, their heads would have been pulp.

“Wait, why am I even here?” Ji-Eun clutched her chest in confusion, her eyes growing even wider. She then blurted out, “Thank you, Eun-Ho! How did you move that fast?”

“I’ll explain later. First, I need to check something. Review skill.”

[You have one skill available for review.]

[Would you like to check the skill: Acceleration(Lv. 1)?]

“Yes.”

A translucent system window appeared before his eyes.

[Skills]

Acceleration(Lv. 1)

- Increases the caster’s relative speed. One second can be stretched to 5 seconds.

The number 5 glowed in blue. It seemed the skill’s effect could be extended further as its level increased.

One second becomes five... So that’s why everyone else seemed so slow.

To them, it must’ve looked like Eun-Ho was moving five times faster.

What if it isn't just five seconds? What if I extend it to ten, fifty, or even a hundred seconds?

At that point, it’d practically be stopping time. He could get an incredible amount of work done in just one normal second.

T-this is insane...

Just to test it, Eun-Ho tried to activate Acceleration again, only to receive a message saying it was on cooldown.

The same thing had happened with Petrify. There had to be some penalty for using such overpowered abilities. Anyway, he had about a minute left before both skills could be used again. Until then, he would have to manage without them.

“Noonim, doesn’t it feel like the fire’s dying down a little?” Jae-Hyuk asked.

“

Huh?

Oh, you’re right! And the slope's not as steep anymore.”

“I think it’s because we’ve moved up a bit!”

It was just as Jae-Hyuk had said. Though only a minor change, it was still significant. Eun-Ho felt that there had to be a pattern to this.

If I were the system administrator...

They were in a situation where the administrator had to cut down the number of people. On top of that, the floor was slippery, and she couldn’t be bothered with the finer details.

Let’s rethink everything from the beginning.

The floor first started tilting when the bickering couple walked off to a corner of the exhibition hall. Then, as the slope steepened sharply, people fell toward the couple. Afterward, once Eun-Ho and the other two had moved away and climbed higher, the incline gradually eased again.

Wait, could it be...?

“I think I have a theory,” Eun-Ho said. “Let’s go up a little more.”

“Did you figure something out?” Ji-Eun asked.

He wasn't sure, but he had a hunch.

“I think it might be a seesaw.”

“A seesaw?”

“Yeah. There might be a pivot point in the center, and we’re all standing on a giant board balanced on top of it,” he explained as they cautiously made their way up the sloped floor, being careful not to slip. “So, if too many people gather on one side, that side of the floor will dip because the center of mass shifts.”

“

Ah...

”

“It seems once it tilts beyond a certain point, flames are triggered.”

So it’s a trap designed to lure people into one area and burn them all at once.

That seemed to be the concept and purpose of this trial.

“

Ah!

So, are we going to the other side now? To balance things out?”

“Exactly. Ideally, we’d ask everyone their weight and calculate the perfect balance, but...” Eun-Ho trailed off, realizing how impractical it would be to get the weight of all thirteen remaining people.

However, before he could explain further, Ji-Eun gasped. “Y-you want to know our weight?”

“Yes, your weight,” Eun-Ho replied bluntly.

Asking something like that out of the blue could easily get him labeled as crazy, but if the three of them moved to the other side and leveled things out, maybe others would buy it.

As if trying to deflect, Ji-Eun said rapidly, “

Um,

wait. Do we really

have

to do that? I mean, if it’s just about weight, look over there. There’s already a whole pile of stuff leaning on that wall. And honestly, I don’t think just the three of us moving would’ve caused such a big shift.”

She pointed to the far wall, where items that had fallen in the earlier tilt were stacked like a mountain.

Then maybe it’s based on the number of people.

It made sense, and Eun-Ho paused to consider it.

Meanwhile, Ji-Eun quickly added, “Not that I’m trying to avoid sharing my weight or anything! Really!”

There were thirteen people left. If the goal was to balance the group evenly, they required six people on each side, with one person standing at the center of the exhibition hall like a fulcrum.

After finishing his calculations, Eun-Ho turned to the group still tangled in the corner, panicking and shouting.

“Over there! You four, come this way! I think I’ve figured it out!” Eun-Ho shouted.

“How are we supposed to get over? Didn’t you see how we just fell earlier?”

“It should be fine now. It’s not as steep as before!”

Though they were hesitant at first, people started to move one at a time. They looked around as they cautiously pulled themselves away.

One, two, three, four... five?

“Stop! That’s too many! The person with the hat, stay where you are!”

“What the hell! I decide where I want to go!”

“This trial requires everyone to be evenly distributed! If more come over, this side will tilt!”

“Oh, so we’re just supposed to sit here and burn to death?!”

The man’s angry shout rippled through the group. Even though things had settled down, panic had already taken hold. No one was thinking straight anymore.

“Move! I’m going next!”

“Screw you! I’m going first!”

Shoot, what should I do? They’re all freaking out.

Thud!

Thanks to the people who had followed him, the floor was almost flat again, but if anyone else moved, Eun-Ho’s side would begin to tilt.

“No more! Stop right there! Don’t take another step!” Eun-Ho shouted at the people running to escape the flames licking at their backs.

A woman and two men broke free, sprinting straight toward him.

“You want us to burn alive, you bastard?!”

Eun-Ho could feel the floor shifting ever so slightly again—toward the other side this time.

I have to stop them, but I doubt they'd listen.

Therefore, Eun-Ho stepped forward. Deliberately and calmly, he walked straight toward the flames.

“Eun-Ho! Where are you going?!” Ji-Eun cried behind him.

To the others, it probably looked like he was throwing himself into the fire, but he was approaching it to avoid it.

“What the hell is he doing?”

“Is that guy insane?”

The people charging toward him met Eun-Ho’s gaze.

“Acceleration

!

”

“Geeet ouuut ooof theeee waaaay—!”

The world froze. The people's faces contorted with grimaces, their breathing turned ragged, and their feet pushed off the ground as they tried to escape.

Let’s leave the woman as she is.

Swoosh!

Eun-Ho lunged forward and grabbed the two men by their necks. With a burst of strength, he dragged them along the floor, skimming across the dusty surface. It was not graceful, but it sure was better than burning to death.

Crackle!

I need to balance the number of people and keep the floor from tilting toward any one corner of the square.

In his mind, he visualized a perfect square with thirteen dots placed over it, like a top-down tactical map from a soccer game. He assigned each position carefully.

One goes here.

He dropped the man with the hat in the empty spot, like a toy soldier.

Another one here.

The second man landed in place. There was just one spot left.

Oh well.

It was right in front of the flames. The heat was real, even with time slowed to a crawl. He could feel it radiating against his face, licking at his skin.

This will keep their attention on me, at least.

As long as they focused on him, they would not move from their spots and ruin the fragile balance that he had just set. Clenching his eyes shut, he forced his brain into overdrive.

Tick.

Then, time resumed.

“Juuust diiie ooon your own—

huh?

”

“What the hell?”

“E-Eun-Ho? Why are you there?! Run! Get away from the flames!” Ji-Eun shouted.

The fire curled at his nose, roaring close enough to singe his hair.

He turned toward the group, shouting with every bit of strength he had, “Don’t move!”

Standing right at the edge of the inferno, he did not even flinch or attempt to run. That was enough to throw everyone off. Confusion froze them where they stood.

“W-what is he doing?! Why’s he just standing there?”

“If you don’t want to die, then stay put! Every single one of you!”

I didn’t want to reveal my skill like this, but I didn't have time to explain.

The math was solid, and everyone was exactly where they had to be. If he was right, this trial would be over soon.

Fwoosh.

“It’s working!”

“The fire’s dying!”

The blaze that had once towered over him began to shrink inch by inch. From head height, it shrank to his shoulders, then his waist. Eventually, only flickers remained near his feet.

[The first trial of the Project ‘Selection’ has been completed.]

[The 'arena' has been closed.]

Thud.

“It’s finally over.”

Without realizing it, Eun-Ho’s legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground.

“Eun-Ho! What the hell was that? I mean, are you okay?” Ji-Eun asked.

“You should’ve taken me with you! Running into the fire alone like that... Are you crazy?!”

“

Haha.

”

He wanted to assure them he was fine, but the tension finally released, and all that came out was a weak laugh. At least they were alive.

“

Phew

. Is everyone okay? I thought we were all going to be burned alive.”

“Yeah, really. Honestly, maybe it would’ve been better to just die when the lights flickered earlier. I mean, not that I’m complaining.”

Then, people glanced nervously toward the spot where the couple had burned. Fear from the sudden chaos still clung to them, but so did the relief of survival.

“If that young man hadn’t been here, we’d all be dead.”

“You saved us. Thank you, really.”

“Yeah. Thanks to you, I didn’t get dragged down with those two morons.”

The last to thank him was Lee Ye-Ji from the accounting team. She jerked her chin toward the two men whom Eun-Ho had dragged into place. One of them—the guy with the cap—snapped back. “What the hell are you looking at?!”

“What?! Did I say something wrong? Every time you open your mouth, it’s just swearing!”

The guy had been swearing nonstop since they got here. Dressed in jeans, flip-flops, a cap pulled low, and a hoodie, he definitely didn’t look like someone who worked a regular job. He was probably a local unemployed guy who came to eat at the underground food court.

Guys like him are the reason people look down on everyone struggling to live decently.

“Th...” muttered the man.

“What was that? And, by the way, you look much younger than me, so don’t talk down to me like that. You understand?”

“I thought I was a goner, but that man saved me, so I’m fucking grateful, alright?”

Oh, that’s what it was.

“The flames were on our asses, and shit was falling from above. I thought my skull was gonna split! If it weren’t for you, I’d either be dead or a vegetable! Thank you, sir!”

Maybe he just had a filthy mouth. Eun-Ho listened to the barrage of profanity-disguised gratitude with a strange kind of amusement. The others began to chime in, one by one, offering thanks and also asking questions.

Then, a man in glasses asked what everyone had been thinking, “

Um...

but how did you move that fast?”

All eyes turned to Eun-Ho. A brief silence ensued.

“I-I’m not questioning you or anything! I swear! I’m just really curious because you moved at a speed I didn't even think was possible.”

They were all wondering the same thing. However, since they considered him their savior, they couldn't bring themselves to ask him.

Should I tell them about the skill...?