Chapter 60
) [Illustration]
Nam Yoori, who possessed multiple branching points, could become either the antagonist or an ally of the protagonist Kang Hanbyeol depending on the player’s choices.
Because of this, Nam Yoori didn’t have just one exclusive ending, but two.
One as an enemy, the other as a comrade.
“The problem is, no matter which ending you choose, it all leads to a bad ending.”
It even extended to a destruction ending.
In a story where Nam Yoori succumbed to the persuasion of the mains, dropped out of the academy, and turned into a villain.
“Nam Yoori”
“What? Is this all you can do? Have you been using me all this time, Master? Not fun at all?”
Nam Yoori destroys the male protagonist and turns all the people of the clan who oppose her into chimeras.
With her chimera army, she invades the world alongside the mains.
The world fails to stop the chimera army and meets its demise.
“Then the words ‘bad ending’ naturally come to mind as Nam Yoori suddenly meets a fatal end.”
On the other hand, in a story where she becomes an ally.
“Nam Yoori”
“Kang… Han… Byeol…?”
Due to an experiment by the male protagonist, Nam Yoori horrifically transforms into a chimera.
Gradually losing herself, she tears apart and devours Kang Hanbyeol, leading to the complete loss of herself and the destruction of the world.
This was known as the Hanbyeol Devouring Ending.
“But the devouring ending doesn’t activate unconditionally. It only happens if one becomes a party member and makes the wrong choices at the branching points.”
Thus, I intended to bring Nam Yoori in as an ally rather than an enemy.
Unlike the moment when turning into an enemy confirms the destruction ending, when becoming an ally, it was not a definite outcome.
With every branching point in mind, I aimed to steer the story away from the Hanbyeol Devouring Ending.
With that determination, I engaged in a question game.
“This time, I’ll pick.”
Nam Yoori hums a tune.
Swaying lightly to the rhythm, she reaches out for a card.
“Picking from the top every time is boring, so this time, I’ll pick from the middle. Is that okay?”
“Go ahead.”
“You’re flexible. Thank you.”
Nam Yoori is moody.
That’s why she’s unpredictable and shouldn’t be controlled.
Interfering or trying to control her even slightly while she’s closed off could easily provoke resistance.
She might show hostility if she perceives an attack.
Even if she’s accepted as an ally, one must never forget and always be cautious.
“Reality is different from games.”
Unlike in games where once you join a party, you remain a party member forever, reality doesn’t work that way.
You can leave if you change your mind.
That’s why you need to manage it consistently.
In that sense, Nam Yuri was picky yet paradoxically simple.
“It seems like only boring questions are coming up, so I’ll shuffle the cards.”
“I was thinking the same thing! Seems like we’re on the same page.”
Nam Yuri acts on impulse to seek fun and stimulation.
She doesn’t like mundane and repetitive tasks; she prefers things that are fresh and outside the norm.
If you understand the psychological basis of her, it’s simpler to gain her favor than anyone else’s.
Shuffle, shuffle.
“Oh, shuffled well?”
“I’m quite good at shuffling cards.”
“Shuffling? What’s that? Is it fun?”
“I’ll tell you next time if the opportunity arises.”
“Really!? Then I’ll be looking forward to it!”
Even the slightest interest is fine.
As long as you provide something interesting enough to catch Nam Yuri’s attention, that’s all that matters.
By adding a bit of variation to her daily life, you can win her favor.
By steadily accumulating her favor as a colleague, she will follow even the most reckless orders.
So, I deliberately shuffled the cards in a flashy manner to attract her attention.
She seemed excited with just that, her purple eyes sparkling.
“Then I’ll pick.”
“What did it say?”
“If we play rock-paper-scissors, what do you think you’d choose first?”
“What would I choose?”
“And you?”
“Well… Scissors for now?”
“Then I’ll go with rock.”
“What! How reckless! What if I win!?”
“Who asked you to answer. I don’t engage in fights I can’t win.”
“Cancel! I’ll choose paper!”
“Then I’ll choose scissors.”
“Cancel again! I’ll go with rock!”
“If we keep going like this, it won’t end. How about we try it out for real?”
“Sure, let’s do it! It’s been a while. I’m definitely going to win.”
“We’ll play just one round. No objections if you lose. Rock, paper, scissors!”
“I won!”
“What are you talking about? It’s not over yet?”
“Huh? I won by choosing paper.”
“I have to win in Muk-Chi-PPa.”
“Huh? Is that so?”
“That’s how it is these days. Come on, quickly.”
“Ah! Rock, paper, scissors! Oops!”
“I won. It’s my turn now.”
“If you’re going to come at me, be prepared to dodge…!”
“Rock, paper, scissors.”
“Where’s the cowardice in playing like this!”
“The world of competition abides by a cold law, you know? Would you call it cowardice if a monster suddenly attacked?”
“Ugh… Fine, I’ll admit it. But only one more round!”
“Let’s agree to move on to the next question after getting signatures from others. We’ll play again when we meet at the Academy.”
“Just one more time… Alright, is that a promise?”
“Should we also bet on lunch then?”
“Betting lunch? Wow, that sounds fun!”
“Now, it’s your turn. Pick one.”
“If you could make one wish come true, what would it be?”
“What do I want to wish for?”
“I can’t think of anything right now… Oh! I want to play rock, paper, scissors with you!”
“A simple wish.”
“What about you?”
“…Do you have to call me that way?”
“You can call me ‘Yuri’ if you want!”
“Your wish to be fulfilled…”
“Am I being ignored?”
“I want to graduate from the Academy.”
“You haven’t even enrolled yet. Do you really want to become a Hunter?”
“That way… I feel like I could live comfortably without any worries. Maybe you wouldn’t understand. This time, I’ll pick.”
“No, I think I know what you mean. You just need a Hunter’s license to live freely in the New Continent, right? That’s not for me… What did you pick?”
“If you could be someone else for a day, who would you want to be?”
“Who would you want to become?”
“…A man with well-defined muscles, blonde hair, and sun-kissed skin that accentuates the muscles.”
“So specific? Why would you want to be that kind of man?”
“Well, it’s manly.”
“Is that so?”
“You’re still young and naive. You’ve never felt attracted to someone, have you?”
“We’re the same age, though.”
“But my mental age is higher.”
“What? You seem younger than me…”
“No, that’s not it. Anyway, if you ever feel attracted to a man, you’ll understand the appeal of muscles and blonde hair.”
“Hmm… I don’t think that’s the case…”
“You were like that when you were young.”
“So, what are the factors that attract Gyunwoo to Isung?”
“I… “
“Yeah.”
“Let’s play the question game.”
“Oh! Where can we find that?”
“When you start liking someone from Isung, tell me.”
“For sure, promise!”
“So, what kind of person do you want to be?”
“Hmm… Gyunwoo?”
“You seem to be speaking vaguely now….”
“No! I want to be Gyunwoo because I’m curious about what Gyunwoo is thinking in his head!”
“Let’s move on. Your turn.”
“I pick!”
“What did you get?”
“When you feel down or annoyed, what do you do?”
“What’s that?”
“Since you can’t just kill a random person, enter the artificial gate and kill monsters until you feel relieved.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“You’re good at creepy stuff.”
“But what else do I know besides solving things like this? Gyunwoo?”
“I… just swing my sword or meditate.”
“Oh, very knightly of you.”
“Because I’m a knight. And…”
“Anything else?”
“Take a walk. When you go outside and walk, the fresh air seems to clear your mind. Or find and eat delicious food.”
“I see.”
“You should try it later too.”
“I’ll consider it. Next!”
“It’s my turn now.”
“What did you get this time?”
“For sweet and sour pork, do you prefer crispy or saucy?”
“Which side does Gyunwoo choose?”
“I… You go first.”
“I…!”
And so, we continued our conversation.
—
“It was enjoyable chatting! Here, take this!”
“Your card is here as well.”
Thanks to Nam Yoori’s friendliness, our conversation took place in a warm atmosphere.
After finishing all ten questions, she had a joyful expression on her face.
She handed me a card with her signature on it.
It read ‘Yongha’ underneath.
“It was challenging to write because of the person in the first box, but it was quite fun nonetheless!”
“You could have written in the third box instead of the second… Well, if it was fun for you, then that’s what matters. Well, I should be going now.”
“Okay! Goodbye! And don’t forget our promise?”
“Got it. Let’s see after passing.”
“Of course!”
Now, I only needed signatures from 8 more people.
After shaking hands with Nam Yoori, I decided to look for someone else.
“Oh, right. Of course.”
“Why?”
At that moment, as if suddenly remembering something, Nam Yoori called out to me.
I stopped in my tracks and turned around.
She was holding a cup she had received from a passing attendant.
“I’ll make sure to inform you especially because I hope Gyunwoo passes.”
“….”
Nam Yoori gently shook the cup.
The drink inside the cup also swayed.
Soon, she took a sip.
“This drink contains ingredients that affect the central nervous system. It’s in very small amounts, so no one seemed to notice.”
“…Is it poisoned?”
“Well… It depends on the perspective. It’s not the kind of poison Gyunwoo would think of. If it were that type of poison, wouldn’t Gyunwoo have noticed? Just like me, Gyunwoo, too, from a young age, has been ingesting minimal amounts of poison to build tolerance, as many from prestigious families do.”
Nam Yoori said with a bright tone.
It wasn’t entirely incorrect.
Not all prestigious families did that, but many did.
The Shingyeo Do family was one of them.
Even though Mother didn’t desire it, the food served at family gatherings contained poison.
It was only in minimal amounts that wouldn’t harm life, but the effects of the poison could be unpredictable at times.
Being required to attend the gatherings regularly, Yaeun and I had to ingest the poison each time.
As a precaution, Mother ensured that Yaeun and I wouldn’t fall victim to the poison by administering minimal doses of it in our meals.
“Mother is now having it with us, though.”
Mother attended the family gatherings and, reluctantly, had to eat the meals, taking the antidote provided by the family beforehand.
However, was it after cutting off her head?
Mother, starting from that time, abruptly learned to manipulate her inner mana to extract the poison, no longer needing to take the antidote.
Anyway.
“If it’s not poison, then what is it?”
I decided to hear Nam Yuri’s answer.
She opened her mouth.
“It seems to contain drugs from the benzodiazepine class, generally like diazepam, triazolam, and lorazepam.”
“….”
“If I say it like this, you wouldn’t understand?”
“Tell me in simpler terms.”
“It’s a drug that induces sleep. Just think of it as a sleeping pill.”
“You should have said that from the beginning…. But if it’s a sleeping pill type of drug, I would have noticed.”
“It must be a drug developed independently by the evaluators for this test. Although it’s independent, if we analyze the combination, it seems like it was advised by our family.”
“If it was advised by the Yeonsung Namga, then it’s possible I wouldn’t have noticed.”
“Since we are quite famous in this field.”
“Is there no effect other than inducing sleep?”
“Yeah, that’s what my analysis shows. But the effect is a bit strong. Due to slow absorption and minimal amount, we may not know now, but as it accumulates bit by bit, the effects will start to show towards the end of the banquet.”
“….”
“And it’s not just in the drinks.”
“No way….”
“It was in all the food provided at this banquet hall.”
“….”
“It was even in the makeshift food storage. Aren’t you curious about what the evaluators are up to?”
No, not at all.
I had a flustered expression.
I didn’t expect that there would be drugs in the food and drinks at the hotel.
“I need to get rid of the drugs first.”
I tried to manifest my internal mana.
At that moment, Nam Yuri asserted.
“It’s useless.”
“….”
“This is not a typical combination, so you won’t be able to remove it the way you know. Among the examinees, maybe only I know?”
“Then since you shared information about the drug, could you also share the combination?”
“No. That’s not fun.”
“….”
“Even though I don’t like the family, I can’t casually reveal the knowledge that is essentially the family’s property, right? It’s also difficult to express in words. And since it’s not life-threatening, let’s just accept it.”
“You’re not going to detoxify?”
“Yeah, I’m not going to, you know? Because that’s more interesting. I look forward to what the evaluators are plotting.”
Nam Yuri was this kind of character.
A character who, in pursuit of the ‘thrill,’ sometimes puts herself in risky situations.
That’s why predictions were impossible.
She was different from Gyeongwoo, who tried to avoid danger as much as possible in the game.
“It can’t be helped.”
Knowing Nam Yuri’s personality, trying to persuade her was pointless.
I decided to be satisfied with the information I got from her.
“Alright, thank you.”
“Good luck on the exam!”
Nam Yuri waved her hand.
As I turned away from her and left, my mind was consumed with thoughts.
“What exactly is she planning?”
For the test takers, without a clue.
What reason could there be for the examiners to give sleeping pills to the test takers to make them fall asleep?
“If the goal is to make us sleep, they could just recommend sleeping pills. Why didn’t they inform us?”
One answer came to mind.
To catch us off guard.
“Then why?”
What could be the reason to catch us off guard?
Releasing monsters in the hotel out of the blue to ambush the test takers?
“If that’s the case, they could just wait for us to sleep and then ambush us.”
There was no need to give sleeping pills.
In fact, it would be risky to give sleeping pills.
Test takers who fall into a deep sleep cannot respond to external situations.
If they were attacked by monsters in that state, they would meet their demise.
Of course, the examiners couldn’t possibly have considered such a situation.
“So, it’s not an external ambush, but an internal one….”
What could an internal ambush be?
My thoughts spiraled.
“4th practical exam, different graded rooms, sleeping pills in the food, portraits that don’t match the room’s atmosphere….”
And this place, the Hotel of Dreams.
The pieces of the puzzle slowly came together.
“….”
I reached one conclusion.
The 4th practical exam is….
“Something seen in a dream.”
I was half convinced.
The likelihood was high.
I needed to inform Yeon Haneul quickly.
I wandered around, searching for her somewhere in the banquet hall.
“Where could Haneul be?”