'A school…'
Lenoch didn't know why he suddenly appeared here. However, a more serious matter bothered him. It seemed like the air was devoid of mana.
Trying to summon a simple flame, the spell failed. It appeared that it wasn't only a problem with the air—his mana reserves didn't respond either; he was unable to control mana. None of his other abilities were able to work as well.
"…"
Lenoch saw his reflection in the window.
An abnormally pale complexion, dark eye circles, black hair, and wearing a plain white T-shirt.
The disguise magic had also worn off.
Looking around the room, it was devoid of people. The faint sound of voices outside indicated that classes were ongoing.
"…Davi?"
There was no answer.
His head hurt less than usual, breathing was easier, and his stamina was exhausted less easily. Checking his body, his condition had improved significantly. His state seemed the same as he had been when he first woke up in the factory.
The more he thought about it, the more puzzling it was.
An unknown place, no mana, Davi didn't answer, and—although he was still dying—his condition got better.
Through the window, there was no sign of the usual airplanes and ads covering the sky. On the contrary, it seemed almost as if…
"…"
As if he had returned to his world. However, the fact that his face was still 'Lenoch''s contradicted this hypothesis.
Documents on the desk caught his eye. Rummaging through it, a particular logo informed him that he was currently in 'Taepung Girls' High School'.
Is this Seoul?
Stepping out of the room, Lenoch walked down the desert corridors, reflecting on his next course of action.
His trousers pockets were empty, meaning he was left with no identification papers in an unknown place, and there was a possibility that he was a stranger illegally trespassing school grounds if he didn't magically get a professor status without him knowing.
To determine if he had a job here, the simplest way was to blend among the crowd by pretending to be new and look through the list of employees. After all, it was better to actively search for information rather than blindly exit the building with no money nor phone.
According to a clock on the wall, it was currently 6:53 PM.
Slowly advancing, he encountered a young man with black hair, brown eyes, clothes reminiscent of the Victorian era, and a distinct scholarly air. Since it was a girls' high school, probably a professor.
"Excuse me."
Lenoch turned his gaze toward the polite voice. The other man made a friendly smile and asked, "I'm new here, do you know where the bathroom is?"
Lenoch, also being 'new' here, fortunately saw a map with the layout of the building before meeting him, and had memorized it to blend in more easily while searching for the employees' list.
"Go downstairs. If you continue in this direction, go down and turn right, you will eventually find the staff's bathroom."
"I see. Thank you."
About to go, the young man gave a worried look at Lenoch's pale complexion and inquired, "But, are you okay?"
Lenoch made a bitter smile.
"Yes, don't worry."
The other man nodded and went on his way, whether he had believed him unknown.
After the other man had disappeared, Lenoch put his hand against the wall to support himself. Although his condition was far better than before, without drugs, the time his stamina could endure was limited. (He also missed his cane a little.)
Catching his breath, he straightened himself again, and headed to a staff room bustling with people.
Fortunately, no one paid attention to him, so he naturally went to the one in charge of paperwork, and with a few lies, finally looked through the list.
6:59 PM.
Reading through it, his name was nowhere to be found. He indeed wasn't employed here and would have to find another source of money. Or should he steal someone's wallet?
Handing back the documents, he was about to make an excuse that his phone's battery was dead to borrow someone else's and look for a few things online before leaving, when the lights suddenly went out.
7:00 PM.
Tick, it felt like the world was stopping.
[The free service of planetary system 8612 has been terminated.]
[The main scenario has started.]
Main scenario?
As Lenoch frowned slightly, others began to panic.
"W-what is going on?"
"Is there a power outage?"
"Send someone to bring back the lights."
However, as someone attempted to open the door, the handle didn't move.
"What? The door is stuck! Is this a joke?"
"Did someone lock it from outside?"
The lights started to turn back on and everyone saw a flurry creature that had appeared in the middle of the room.
Lenoch's gaze also naturally headed toward that place.
"Did a student make a prank?"
"I must say, this is quite an advanced hologram. I have never seen such a realistic prank."
"Enough! Once I catch who did this-"
The staff members gathered in the room to work talked among themselves, still unaware of the danger they were in. Observing all this in silence, Lenoch reflected on the situation.
'Scenarios', a supernatural creature appearing as if to guide people… This seemed oddly similar to the apocalyptic manhwas he had read before.
However, as they said, it could indeed be a hologram—the technology here may be more advanced than the Earth he knew and the fact that he suddenly appeared here 10 minutes ago was merely a coincidence.
[Now, now. All of you, relax in your seats and listen to me. From now on, I will tell you something very important!]
"Oh, interesting."
"Do you think it's interactive?"
Yet, as the staff members chatted without taking the dokkaebi seriously, Lenoch couldn't help but have an uneasy feeling.
He continued to quietly stare at the creature.
"Enough of this joke, we should get back to work."
"The door is still stuck."
Someone reached out toward the dokkaebi, likely expecting their hand to phase through the flurry creature.
"How do I turn this off…"
[Haha, you are really loud.]
"Step ba-"
Lenoch got a feeling of what would happen after.
[I told you to be quiet.]
The creature's eyes turned red and the head of the one reaching out toward it exploded.
Then, an eerie silence enveloped the room.
"Uh, uh. Uh…"
Someone's breathing became ragged.
At that moment, everyone realized what had happened.
"Mu-murder…!"
This wasn't a prank.
There was a cracking sound again, and another person's head exploded.
One by one, the ones who had made a fuss earlier died.
[It isn't a game. It isn't a dream either.]
Blood sprayed into the air as the heads of some people started to burst. In a few seconds, the room became a bloodbath.
[This isn't the 'reality' that you know. Do you understand? So everyone shut up and listen to me.]
'Not the 'reality' we know…'
Already accustomed to gruesome sights, Lenoch was calmer than others. Since he couldn't use mana right now and didn't know the working conditions of the attack the creature used to make their heads explode, he could only follow the dokkeabi's orders at the moment.
At the same time, he realized that he could feel mana in the air again. He didn't know if it was due to this 'end of free service', but with enough time, he should be able to control it once more.
More than half the people present here died. Blood and body pieces filled the place. Now, the people didn't scream. Like primitive apes in front of a powerful predator, everyone just watched the dokkaebi with terror.
If it indeed proceeded like in the fantasy novels he had read, they may soon have to fight monsters, and these 'scenarios' should be tasks given to entertain greater beings.
However, instead of feeling scared, he was a little excited. After all, he was originally a gamer (and he had been through far more dangerous situations).
[Everyone, your lives have been nice so far. Isn't that right?]
"…"
[You have been living too long for free. Isn't life too generous? You were born and paid no price for breathing, eating, pooping and breeding! Ha! You really live in a good world!]
"…"
[But now the good days are over. How long can you continue living for free? If you want to enjoy happiness, it is common sense to pay a price. Isn't that right?]
He was already paying the price for his magical talent with his health and lifespan, though.
As everyone kept their mouths shut in fear, the dokkaebi looked satisfied.
[Good. Now let's begin.]
The dokkaebi's horns rose like they were antennas, and its body floated to the ceiling of the room.
A moment later, a message rang out.
[#Bay-9845 channel is open.]
[The constellations have entered.]
A small window emerged in front of their eyes.
[The main scenario has arrived!]
+
[Main Scenario #1 – Proof of Value]
Category: Main
Difficulty: F
Clear Conditions: Kill one or more creatures.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Compensation: 300 coins
Failure: Death
+
The dokkaebi smiled faintly as it became transparent and disappeared into the next space.
[Then, good luck everyone. Please show me an interesting story.]