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Join the ServerChapter 19
Clad in a form-fitting black T-shirt, Yoon Geon-woo’s physique was fully on display. His naturally broad chest, a testament to his innate build, accentuated his taut upper body and a sleek, defined waist. With his remarkably pale skin, the faint blue veins tracing his forearms were visible, and despite the sharp, intense impression created by his prominent dark circles, his overall physique seemed almost too much to handle, a bit overwhelming.
Yet, even that appearance suited Yoon Geon-woo perfectly.
Of course, any tender sentiment I harbored for Yoon Geon-woo shattered in less than a minute. Having noticed me secretly observing him, he bared his teeth and began to snarl.
“Get rid of it.”
“…Get rid of what?”
“If you don’t keep your eyes in check, I’ll gouge them out.”
He wasn’t some animal, like Bok-sil; as a human, he should at least try to resolve things through conversation. Why threaten to stab my perfectly good eyes? It was just a glance born of envy, man to man… It’s not like looking would wear him down.
“No, I wasn’t trying to… Ugh!”
Perhaps it was my indignant haste that caused me to misstep. As I followed Yoon Geon-woo, still reeling from his threat, my foot caught, and I stumbled.
Just as I braced myself to hit the ground, certain I would fall, Yoon Geon-woo suddenly halted, perhaps having caught the single cry that escaped my lips. My face slammed squarely into his broad back.
Thanks to him, my nose wasn’t shattered against the bare ground, but whether this was a blessing or not, I couldn’t quite tell.
‘This guy… his body is a rock.’
The sheer musculature of his back made the impact feel no different from hitting the floor directly. I cautiously looked up at Yoon Geon-woo, whose expression remained impassive, as if asking what on earth I was doing.
“I told you to keep your eyes in check, and now you’re just outright shoving them into me.”
“That’s not it…”
“Don’t linger around in front of me. Just hide in here. You’re bothering me.”
In a harsh tone, he pointed towards a pile of rocks that seemed ideal for concealment. His words were undeniably blunt, yet I sensed a subtle shift in his demeanor from before.
‘Does this mean I succeeded?’
The simple trick to rein in the wild, rampaging Yoon Geon-woo was nothing complex: merely feigning illness in front of him.
Yoon Geon-woo had a soft spot for those weaker than himself, especially if they lacked abilities. Although I hadn’t spent a particularly long time with him, reflecting on his past actions made this observation rather easy to discern.
Perhaps Yoon Geon-woo didn’t actually dislike Guides, but rather found them difficult to deal with. Considering he never personally eliminated Guides who trembled in fear, and how he had given me his clothes when I was battered, such a thought began to take root.
Indeed, he accepted my suggestion to plan our movements carefully and proceed slowly, given my poor physical condition, without a single complaint. Considering he used to impulsively charge out and beat up Espers, this level of cooperation was a significant improvement.
“Yoon Geon-woo, let’s prioritize eliminating the teams I mentioned first.”
I had already shared with him a list of key individuals who had survived in previous timelines. By eliminating the prime suspects first, I hoped to uncover the culprit who had killed me.
“Forget it. I can handle it alone. Don’t follow me.”
“No, if you go, I’m going too… What if another team’s Esper shoots me if I stay here alone?”
Of course, this statement was imbued with ninety-nine percent sincerity. Recalling the events that had just transpired, the pain seemed to resurface, making my entire body tremble subtly.
While it would be fortunate to be eliminated without further incident, I adamantly refused to be truly killed again, repeating the regression, or never waking up at all, as had happened last time.
“Hmph… I won’t let you die. Get rid of such worries.”
“Really?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Yoon Geon-woo seemed to have interpreted my demeanor as being utterly terrified. Though he acted as if he’d taken on an inconvenient burden, having received his verbal promise to protect me, I felt considerably more reassured than before.
“You promised.”
“If you cling to me without permission, I might just shoot you first.”
“Oh, I’m so scared, I could die. Alright, shall we go then?”
Yoon Geon-woo’s threats, while initially frightening, had grown almost endearing with repetition. With his constant barking as background noise, I began to devise a plan to smoothly execute my strategy.
Simultaneously, an announcement heralded the start of the Death Game, and the faces of the students, along with the remaining time, materialized on the ceiling.
‘We have the greatest advantage. We’ve already experienced the terrain here once.’
Taking note of each student I had targeted, I launched an attack primarily focusing on areas Yoon Geon-woo hadn’t previously ravaged. The remaining teams who had survived without being detected by him must have been hiding in unexpectedly ingenious spots. One of them, however, had secretly approached and shot me.
‘It was nothing but shattered rock piles, so where on earth had they been hiding?’
At the time, I had climbed to a high vantage point to cover Yoon Geon-woo’s rear, securing a spot with a clear overview of enemy movements. Yet, it had been such a perfectly executed ambush that I hadn’t even noticed it.
As I delved into my memories, wondering if I had missed something, a thought suddenly struck me.
‘Ah, could it be?’
Once my thoughts veered in that direction, it didn’t take long to reach a conclusion. I couldn’t believe I had overlooked it for so long. But perhaps this was a fact only I knew. After all, I had recalled it only because of my year of prior knowledge.
‘That place’ was the biggest loophole in the Death Game. It was a clandestine location that would later be sealed off by a barrier during practical training, preventing entry.
‘The boundary line. The person who killed me… must have walked along the invisible boundary line.’
This artifact, designed to open a virtual gate, possessed one fatal flaw. Specifically, entering the boundary dividing the real and virtual spaces rendered one invisible. This phenomenon was only discovered at the end of the first half of a year-long practical training.
The circumstances of its discovery were truly absurd.
During a Death Game, a student being chased by an opposing team accidentally stepped into the boundary line. Realizing that no one could see them while inside the ‘boundary line,’ they began to exploit this loophole. A student who consistently ranked at the bottom suddenly monopolized first place every time, prompting another student to investigate, thus uncovering the full story.
It was only after this critical error was revealed that a barrier was erected to prevent entry into the boundary line. For me, who had grown accustomed to training with the barrier in place for the past year, it was a detail I had completely forgotten.
“Yoon Geon-woo! Just a moment.”
In a hurried voice, I grabbed the hand of Yoon Geon-woo, who was walking ahead.
Fine lines of irritation etched themselves across Yoon Geon-woo’s face as he turned at the sudden contact. But what did that matter? This was no time to worry about such trivialities.
Sensing the gravity of my expression, Yoon Geon-woo stopped trying to shake off my hand and questioned me instead.
“What is it?”
“I… I think I’ve figured something out…”
“Figured something out?”
As I tried to vocalize the clue I had found, fear gripped me, and my head began to throb. A massive surge of anxiety, making me feel as though I needed to vomit, suddenly overwhelmed me.
Yoon Geon-woo’s horrified expression when I was shot. And the mysterious culprit who appeared without a sound and pulled the trigger. The hidden truth, which I hoped wasn’t the answer but probably was, rose to the surface.
“Yes, it might sound strange, but…”
Perhaps it was the plunge in my spirits, but even clinging to Yoon Geon-woo’s still-warm arm, my fingertips felt as if they were immersed in ice water, stiffening rapidly.
Yoon Geon-woo observed my pale complexion with a puzzled expression. Seeing that he didn’t push my hand away and slowly relaxed his grip, it seemed he intended to listen to my hesitant explanation.
“Tell me. I’ll listen.”
Only then, somewhat relieved by Yoon Geon-woo’s words, I haltingly explained the existence of the ‘boundary line.’ How I knew about it wasn’t particularly important. However, the more I told him, the more my suspicion that the culprit using the boundary line to kill me might not have been a simple shooting accident gradually solidified into certainty.
“So, what you’re saying is, if you enter this ‘boundary line,’ you become invisible?”
“Yes, it’s treated as a separate space, so you can’t be seen. But from inside, you can see everything where we are.”
It was much like looking out from behind a heavily tinted window. Finishing my explanation, I swallowed hard and looked up at Yoon Geon-woo.
He might have considered it a preposterous hypothesis, especially coming from someone who had just participated in the cross-class for the first time today. I expected him to scoff or scold me, yet an unexpected answer came from Yoon Geon-woo’s lips.
“So, what do you need my help with?”
“You… you believe my story?”
“What’s there not to believe? Are you lying, perhaps?”
“No! I’m not lying!”
As I shook my head with a startled expression, Yoon Geon-woo, as if it were no big deal, fiddled with the taser he held and took a step closer.
“Then what’s the problem? If your words are true.”
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