Chapter 2

The Chaebols Turn Into Dragons (2)

“...Huh.”

Witnessing Bong-hee’s disappearance, Young-woo froze stiffly in place.

W-What was that just now?

His fingertips trembled slightly, but it wasn’t because of Bong-hee’s death.

What had truly seized Young-woo’s attention was the fact that something supernatural had just exerted a physical force.

He had just confirmed that this massive purge called Reset was being carried out by a real, tangible power.

The shock and disgust of learning that the person he had shared a room with for nearly a year was actually a rapist only hit him much later.

“Hah.”

Only now did the reality of the situation truly begin to sink in.

Young-woo swallowed dryly and stared intently at the spot where Bong-hee had been.

Then, as if urging him onward, a new message appeared before him.

「1 minute remaining until the end of Individual Filtering.」
| Current remaining Karma Points for Jung Young-woo: 3

Three Karma Points.

Three opportunities to kill someone of his choosing.

Yet Young-woo could not bring himself to use them.

The first reason was that there was no one he wanted to kill badly enough to borrow the power of some incomprehensible force.

The second reason was...

This feels ominous. The elimination vote I saw earlier too... Whatever this is, it seems people are ultimately held accountable for their actions.

Wasn’t Bong-hee, now among the dead, proof enough?

If he had not recklessly targeted celebrities during the first stage of filtering, he likely would not have ended up being struck down and killed in the second stage.

At the start of all this, Bong-hee had possessed as many as 20 points.

In other words—

Let's not do anything unnecessary. Even if all my remaining points end up disappearing, there's no reason to spend them on purpose.

Having made up his mind, Young-woo remained silent as the countdown began before his eyes.

「The deadline for Individual Filtering is approaching.」

...3 seconds.

...2 seconds.

...1 second.

...Filtering complete.

Beep!

A sharp signal sounded from somewhere beyond the ceiling, announcing that the filtering process had come to an end.

And then—

“......”

Nothing happened.

Young-woo stood motionless in the middle of the room, staring up at the ceiling.

Since the results of the earlier First-Stage Filtering had not yet been announced, the Reset itself could not be completely over.

Are they giving us a short break until the vote count is finished?

After a moment of thought, Young-woo cautiously opened the door.

Creak.

As he poked his head into the dormitory hallway, he saw other people opening their doors one by one after noticing signs of movement.

“E-Everyone, are you okay?”

“What the hell is going on...?”

Just by looking at the expressions in their eyes, Young-woo felt he could tell how each of them had experienced the Reset.

For starters, those whose eyes were filled with hostility and killing intent had probably been struck by arrows themselves.

People in that group didn’t bother asking about anyone else’s well-being. Instead, they either slammed their doors shut again or came out into the hallway and headed straight outside the building.

On the other hand, there were some who looked as though they were actually enjoying the situation. Young-woo guessed that these were the snipers from the First-Stage Filtering.

After all, Bong-hee had worn the exact same expression before he died.

And then there were a few who still looked completely dazed.

The ones who weren't hit by an arrow and didn't see anyone else get hit, either.

In other words, they were probably still unsure whether this was a dream or reality, Young-woo thought.

Then what about me?

Young-woo looked down at his palm once more.

Even though the Second-Stage Filtering had ended, the number 3 was still written on it.

Don't tell me Karma Points are going to be used in the next stage too...?

There was no way to know.

And just as Young-woo reached that thought, the ominous message appeared once again.

「Vote counting has been completed.」

「The resulting elimination process will be carried out publicly. Those selected for elimination will be granted the right to choose one of the following: Elimination, Mutation, or Dissolution.」

There it is again. Elimination, Mutation, Dissolution... What on earth do those mean?

Young-woo did not have to wonder for long.

— [Chaebol Chairman – Kang Heung-tae] has stepped before the choices.
— He is filled with immense rage.
— selected.
— Applying possessed Karma Points.
— A new monster type, “Dragon,” has been added to this world.
— [Chaebol Chairman – Kang Heung-tae] has now become a Fire Dragon and will threaten all of you.

“What...?”

Even Young-woo, who had already accepted that the Reset was real, could not help but be horrified by the message he had just seen.

“A dragon? What are they even talking about?”

Meanwhile, Kang Hong-tae’s turn had passed, and it seemed that the next person had stepped before the choices.

This time, however, the person's decision was somewhat different.

— [President – Park Do-hwan] has stepped before the choices.
— He feels bewilderment.
— selected.
— Applying possessed Karma Points.
— A new component, 『Quest』, has been added to this world.

Unlike Kang Hong-tae, who had apparently become a Fire Dragon, no additional message followed this announcement.

H-He definitely chose Dissolution... So did he disappear in exchange for adding Quests to the world?

Young-woo desperately tried to make sense of what was happening.

Because this was no longer someone else’s story.

It was a story about the world he would now have to live in.

A world with dragons and quests.

They were things Young-woo had often seen in games and novels, but he had never once stopped to consider what would happen if such things became reality.

However, the real problem was only beginning now.

Wait. Only two people have made their choices so far, right? The First-Stage Filtering must have purged at least several thousand people...

His mind went blank.

And right on cue, the next person was presented with the choices.

— [Actress – Park So-young] has stepped before the choices.
— She feels great sorrow.
— selected.
— [Actress – Park So-young] has disappeared without having any effect on the world.

Huh...?

Young-woo’s eyes widened dramatically.

There was no way of knowing whether Park So-young had been given a full explanation before choosing Elimination.

But one thing was certain.

If you choose Elimination, you leave this world without causing it any harm.

More precisely, it meant choosing death while leaving completely untouched the people who had targeted and condemned you.

In any case, thanks to the choices of the previous three individuals, everyone now understood what each option actually meant.

— If you wanted revenge on the world, even at the cost of becoming a monster.

— If you wanted to alter the very structure of the world itself.

— If you no longer wished to have any involvement with this world.

But who would willingly choose to die? Especially people who had been condemned through such an unjust process.

Young-woo figured that most of the selected individuals would spend their time deciding only between Mutation and Dissolution.

Even if they had no desire for revenge, disappearing from the world without leaving behind a single trace was simply too empty and unfair.

...because it would feel unbearably unfair.

And in fact, from the fourth person onward, no one chose .

— A new monster type, 「Ogre」, has been added to this world.
— A new monster type, 「Goblin」, has been added to this world.
— A new component, 『Equipment』, has been added to this world.
— A new monster type, 『Owlbear』, has been added to this world.
— A new component, 「Currency」, has been added to this world.

One after another, either monsters or entirely new elements meant to replace parts of the existing world appeared without pause.

Seeing this, Young-woo hurriedly began stuffing his belongings into his backpack.

He had a feeling that he would not be able to stay here much longer.

Then—

— A new component, 『Food』, has been added to this world.

When someone added “Food” to the world, Young-woo was so startled that he dropped his backpack.

Sssss...

Smoke was rising from the chocolate bar he had just put inside it.

What was that?

Carefully looking into the backpack, he saw that the chocolate bar had turned into stone while still wrapped in its packaging.

My God...

Young-woo picked up the chocolate bar with a look of disbelief.

It weighed exactly the same as before, but it was no longer food.

Which meant—

If this can happen to food, then any item from the old world could potentially turn to stone as well.

For example, since “Currency” had been added some time ago, the banknotes, coins, and cards that people had been using up until now might also...

...had likely turned to stone as well.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

Then what is this new currency, and where do people get it? If the old food can no longer be eaten, what are we supposed to eat from now on?

As if answering his questions, a new message appeared at the top of his vision.

「The QuestSystem has been activated.」

Then another message appeared on the left side of his vision, displayed in yellow.

It was none other than a Main Quest.

[Main Quest] "A New Life"

Follow the arrow and find the nearest Exchange Center.

Basic living funds

Additional rewards for early arrivals.

“......!”

Every part of the message was strange, but one word in particular caught Young-woo’s attention:

“Exchange.”

He had a feeling it was connected to the number 3 still engraved on his palm.

As the old world was gradually being erased, the only thing that seemed valuable enough to exchange for the new currency was Karma Points.

Whoosh.

Young-woo quickly snatched his backpack off the floor and immediately threw open the door, racing down the dormitory hallway.

The other people, who had been staring blankly at the messages before them, soon began running after him one by one.

After all, they too could see the enormous arrow that had suddenly appeared at their feet, along with the Main Quest.

“Uh—?!”

“H-Hey! Wait! Let's go together!”

Even amid the chaos, the results of the purged individuals’ choices continued to scroll endlessly at the edge of Young-woo’s vision.

— A new monster type, 「Golem」, has been added to this world.
— A new monster type, 「Man-Eater」, has been added to this world.
— A new component, 『World Map』, has been added to this world.

At that moment, Young-woo had already left the dormitory and was running near the parking lot.

The instant 『World Map』 was added, he watched in shock as every vehicle in the area turned to stone.

Sssshhh...!

For some reason, the use of vehicles had apparently been restricted.

But this time, Young-woo wasn't particularly surprised.

World Map? Is that something that affects transportation as well? What kind of person dissolved themselves to add something like this?

If he wanted, he could scroll up through the list of results and check.

But he had more urgent matters to deal with.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Even though he had been the first to dash out of the dormitory, the runners behind him were already catching up.

Even considering that he was thirty-four years old, Young-woo had never been particularly fast.

A body that had never been properly trained moved frustratingly sluggishly.

Damn it...!

Two... three... five...

Within mere seconds, six or seven people sprinted past him.

Then, finally—

Swish.

The arrow that had been pointing northeast the entire time began to tilt.

It meant he was getting close to the destination.

And then, without warning, an overwhelming sound tore through the sky.

KREEEEEEEE!

A deafening roar, reminiscent of a jet engine in flight, echoed across the heavens.

Hearing it, Young-woo instinctively looked up—

And his jaw dropped open.

Swoooooosh!

Swoooooosh!

Because hundreds of pitch-black pillar-like objects were raining down from the sky.

“...?”

They were black rectangular monoliths, each roughly ten meters tall.

At first, it seemed as though they were falling at random.

But in reality, each one appeared to have a designated landing point.

Fwoooosh!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Within Young-woo’s field of vision alone, eight of the rectangular structures crashed into the ground.

Looking more closely, he realized that they were spaced at regular intervals from one another.

And among them, the one that had landed closest to him began to emit a faint glow while vibrating softly.

...Hummm.

...Hummm.

Ah.

A realization struck Young-woo.

Seeing this, Young-woo finally realized.

That was the exchange station.

To be precise, the thing that was now vibrating and calling out in this direction was the exchange station assigned to him.