“What?”
“It’s empty. My Class and Talent…. It is followed by an empty space.”
From start to finish, Ha-taegyong had kept his composure, but this was the first time his poker face had cracked a little bit. The people, who had gathered around to watch, was taken aback, and some sent gazes that indicated they hadn’t expected much from him.
Soon, Ha-taegyong had a splitting headache. His opinion of Noguduk switched from ‘pending’ to ‘troublesome burden’. It would be different if he had a Class or Talent that would be of help to them, but he was just a regular person… No, by looking at his appearance, they would be fortunate if he didn’t grab their ankles.
Since they didn’t have much time, Ha-taegyong quickly composed his thoughts. If forced, he would throw him(TLN:the MC) away.
He was pretty sure the others wouldn’t object. Everyone had just met, so they didn’t really have any impressions about each other. There didn’t seem to be anyone nosy enough to give up on everything, and help out Noguduk. At the very least, this would serve as a wake-up call for him as to the seriousness of his situation.
“Mr. Noguduk.”
“Uh, yes?”
“If we exclude Mr. Noguduk… Mmmm. There are ten people here including Mr. Kim-jungin. We plan to travel to the next region as a group. Once the transfer is complete, this room will disappear not so long afterwards. Do you remember me telling you this? Any ways, Mr. Noguduk just have to exit the room with us.”
Noguduk listened to his words, while being depressed. Ha-taegyong glanced sideways at his figure before continuing to speak.
“No one knows where the next region is or what dangers await us. The only thing we are sure about is that it will be very dangerous. You can say this is some form of a test. Our goal is to pass this test with a ‘good’ grade. To say it again…..”
He further lowered his already low voice, and it built the tension. After he licked his lips, Ha-taegyong slowly finished speaking.
“If you don’t want to die, then you have to look out for your own safety.”
Several women looked at him with sympathetic eyes, but they did nothing else. They knew that the Draft was a challenging test, and they couldn’t afford to look after a stranger. If this was earth, then they wouldn’t have hesitated to put forth a helping hand to him, but it was a different story in this place.
Ha-taegyong’s statement explicitly distanced himself from Noguduk. The other’s stepped back and just watched him. Their attitude drenched his stretched mind with cold water. He stood up with agitation in his eyes, and he grabbed the shoulder of Ha-taegyong, who was closest to him.
“Hey, hey, hey! What are you saying? Are you playing around? I might die? Why would I die! What are you guys really up to? Are you some terrorists… Is that it?”
He unconsciously put some strength into the hands grabbing the shoulders, and he roughly shook Ha-taegyong’s upper body. This caused one man to step forward, and separate Noguduk from Ha-taegyong. The arm strength was so strong that he had let go of Ha-taeyong before he realized it, and he took a couple steps back. It was only for a moment, but the wrist that was grabbed by the youth was slightly numb.
The youth with a short sports cut hair style spat towards Noguduk, while his eyes narrowed slightly.
“Uncle. I get that you are in a bad situation, but you have to take care of your own business. Do you really think this is earth? Or maybe you think this is a dream? Do you want me to pinch you? If it’s pinching hard, then I’m confident in doing it for you.”
“You, you bastard! How dare you, a young man, speak to me that way…..!”
Noguduk was about to pop a vein, while yelling at the youth with the poor attitude. The youth cracked his neck from side to side, and he saw the youth raise his arm. One could see brawny arms protruding from his sleeveless shirt. This shut him up.
If he wasn’t careful then he really might be beaten.
“You… You are trying to hit an adult? I have a child your age!”
He barely squeezed out a rebuke, but the only thing that was returned was a cold snort.
“So what, you want to look for my parents?”
“What?”
“Cut the crap. We came here risking our lives. We don’t have the luxury to look after you, uncle. Do you understand me? If I break any part of you then no one would help you here.”
“Mr. Kim-gyushik. Stop it.”
He wanted to yell more, but the woman approached next to him. The woman’s restraint caused him to back off, and he held his tongue. The woman had kind eyes and she was very memorable. She approached him slowly, and she carefully supported the stunned Noguduk.
“I’m sorry. Everyone’s nerve is on edge.”
“Uh, uh, you are…., No, Miss…. Yoon-hweeji? You are actress Yoon-hweeji?”
“Ah. Yes… You are right.”
The woman acknowledged it, while smiling awkwardly. This was basically like a life line for Noguduk. The actress Yoon-hweeji was considered to be one of the top 10 young actress amongst the 20 and 30 year olds. She was considered to be top class. She had the face, the body and the acting chops. She wasn’t lacking in any aspect. She never had any bad rumors or scandal around her. She was the role model of the entertainment industry. Now that he thought about it, her newly released film was a block-buster.
“That’s it. So that’s how it is. This is a hidden camera show. You’ve been found out, so you can stop now.”
His words were correct, right? He wanted Yoon-hweeji to agree with him, but she heartlessly shook her head from side to side.
“No. That isn’t it.”
“Ha. This uncle really has no answer.”
“Can we just leave him?”
When Yoon-hweeji heard the whispers from behind, her eyebrows, which looked to be drawn, raised slightly. She didn’t like the fact that they were trying to leave a civilian, who knew nothing about his situation. However, she also understood their situation, so she couldn’t be hasty in criticizing them. Moreover, she didn’t want to cause a division right before the draft was about to start.
First, she had to find a way to give Noguduk the maximum sense of security, so she gave him friendly smile. Then she handed over something to him.
“Even though everyone is talking that way, they aren’t cold-hearted. Please take this.”
She handed over a pea-sized white pill. Noguduk received the pill, but his expression was sour. He started to become suspicious. Maybe this was a sleeping pill or a anaesthetic.
“What is this?”
“It’s the Language Pack. The place we will go to is entirely different from earth. It is a different world that has its own official language and characters. If you eat this pill, you’ll acquire their language.”
It was hard to believe her words. While he hesitated, Yoon-hweeji gave an identical pill to Kim-jungin. Kim-Jungin received the pill like Noguduk, but he didn’t hesitate to use the pill. After seeing Kim-jungin taking the pill, he reluctantly swallowed the pill. The moment the pill touched his tongue it dissolved without any trace.
Clap clap clap!
Before the weird taste disappeared from his mouth, Ha-taegyong clapped to call attention from the surrounding.
“We really don’t have any more time. Mr Noguduk?”
“Uh, Mmm.”
“I understand this is hard to believe. I won’t force you. I have no thoughts of doing so. It is up to you to follow us or not. Only, I’ll say this up front. I cannot guarantee your safety. We aren’t here to play. Moreover, Mr Kim-Jungin.”
Ha-taegyong didn’t give him the chance to reply. He immediately called out to Kim-jungin.
“Yes.”
“I won’t ask you about your Talent or Class. It is forbidden. However, you’ll have to tell us what roles you will be able to fulfill.”
Several people nodded their heads. It seems they had already discussed and decided each of their roles. Kim-jungin seemed to be convinced, so he spoke while picking up an average lengthed sword from the weapon rack.
“I know how to handle a sword.”
“Good. This is the last confirmation. Raise your hand when your name is called. We haven’t exchanged names with Mr Kim-jungin. The forward group deals with close combat, and they are in charge of the preliminary action. Mr Kim-jungin is included in the forward group. The rest of you should memorize everyone’s face, and name. The forward group also includes Kim-gyushik, Park-junghwan, Ahn-haemi. There are four of you. Ah, Miss Ahn-haemi will guide us as the vanguard.”
The man with the sports cut hair, who had scuffled with Noguduk just now, raised his hand. Also, a man with a robust body and a woman as tall as a model also raised their hands.
“Next is the center group. Yoon-hweeji, Che-nayun, Hwang-gijong, and me. It’ll be the 4 of us. We are in charge of combat support.”
“Lastly, its the rear group. Shin-soyool, Lee-junghan. It’ll be the 2 of you. The two of you will defend our rear, and if something happens to the front group, you’ll immediately reinforce them. You’ll have to always be on standby. Both of you should not leave your spot simultaneously. Just know that Shin-soyool will be deployed first.”
The college student he saw first, and a normal looking man raised their hands. This ended the role allocation. Everyone carried a weapon, and after confirming this, Ha-taegyong turned his gaze towards the center of the room. There was an elementary student-sized hourglass dripping red sand. Unlike the heap at the bottom, the top only had about a fist-sized amount of sand. Even now, the sand was visibly decreasing.
“It is almost time. Let us move.”
Ha-taegyong strode to the front, and he unhesitatingly moved towards the door. Eventually, Ha-taeyong threw open the door and he was sucked into the black space across the door. Soon, the forward group of Kim-gyushik, Park-Junghwan and Ahn-haemi followed after him. Before Kim-jung in stepped into the black space, he stared at Noguduk with a complicated expression. Then he abruptly disappeared like the people in front of him.
Yoon-hweeji, who was watching the others transfer, picked up a bat-like iron rod. She gave it to Noguduk, who was absent-mindedly standing around.
“Since we are in a hurry, just come along with this. I’ve heard it is dangerous for a beginner to use a sword. Instead, this should be better. Let’s go.”
“I, I guess so…..”
At her insistence, Noguduk scrambled to move his body.
Nokguduk’s massive body was the last one to pass into the swaying darkness, and there were no one left inside the room. The bleak silence descended, and finally the last grain of sand that was suspended on the upper portion of the hour glass passed through the neck of the bottle. It dropped onto the red sand pile.
Then.
Crack! Craaaaaaack!
Spider web-like fissure started forming on the white walls. The marble floor, the desk made out of sturdy hardwood, and the weapons made from steel started to crack also. It nosily burst like stepping on thin ice.
The thick pieces split into smaller pieces, and the smaller pieces disintegrated into dust. This kept continuing until the large room was completely destroyed. This took only a moment. Finally, a deep darkness like the tongue of a snake whipped out and it swallowed the empty space.
