Chapter 91: The Corridor of Choice (2)
“You should also use this remaining one. The poison we ingested is a gaseous type; without an antidote, we’d die.”
Jinhyuk passed the syringe, which was still half-full, to Andre.
“Eh? Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Andre, with rabbit-like eyes, took the syringe.
He cautiously injected himself in the arm.
‘This can’t be…’
It truly worked.
Just moments before, his veins had started to itch slightly, but the moment he injected the medicine, everything cleared up as if washed away.
Andre looked at Jinhyuk with piercing eyes.
‘…What kind of person is he?’
At first, he was simply a terrifying being.
He had killed the agents of god with his overwhelming power and even swept away the believers.
However, as the conversation went on, the fear gradually subsided. Now, curiosity sprang forth—curiosity to know more about the opponent.
Moreover.
‘He’s not simply strong.’
Andre himself had heard rumors about the Corridor of Choice.
It was said that no one who entered had ever come out alive.
They perished, lost in the myriad of choices.
But this man, as if to mock everything, had breezed through the gates in a moment.
So fast that one couldn’t even comprehend how he arrived.
Unparalleled strength, composure in any situation, and the ability to produce outcomes through known information.
All these were unbelievable even as he witnessed them.
Andre’s pupils quivered ever so slightly.
‘If it’s this man…’
Maybe he could really kill the cult leader and end this hellish life.
“What are you doing? We should go, right?”
“Eh? Yes!”
Andre quickly nodded his head.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The third gate opened immediately.
This room, unlike the previous ones, was quite simple.
There was a chair in the center, a black lever in front of it, and a pipe stretching towards the lever.
[Phew. The third gate is…]
Foot Odor, the monster from the tower, began to speak with a heavy tone.
His motivation seemed to have fallen; his voice lacked any strength.
“Cheer up.”
[What?]
“You’re the best manager… no, the best Foot Odor of the fifth floor. Don’t be so down. Cheer up and explain. I’ll listen to the hint before I make a choice this time.”
Considering the monsters in the tower, didn’t this gesture show what a true veteran player ought to be?
Jinhyuk was pleased with himself, nodding continuously.
Of course, to Foot Odor, having to witness this, it felt like his innards were crumbling.
[Fine. The third gate is about ‘self-sacrifice.’ As you can see, someone has to be seated and pull the lever for the door to the next gate to open.]
“That’s all? Just sit and pull the lever?”
Andre lightened up at the seemingly simple condition.
[Before you rejoice too soon, bear this in mind. The moment the lever is pulled, flames will burst from the pipe in front, burning the hand that pulled the lever.]
Bound by the chair’s mechanism, there was no way to avoid the flames.
A door that opens only by burning one’s self.
A gate perfectly fitting the theme of ‘self-sacrifice.’
“This can’t be…”
Andre stuttered his words, instinctively realizing that there was no easy escape this time.
At that moment.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
“Aha. Self-sacrifice! That’s a noble phrase. So, what’s the hint?”
Jinhyuk clapped his hands, jesting playfully.
[The hint is… You don’t necessarily have to sacrifice yourself. You understand what I mean, right?]
“So you’re saying, if you don’t want to get hurt, you just have to force someone else to sit there and pull it, right?”
[Exactly.]
On the surface, it was called self-sacrifice, but if one could force another person to sit, they could escape unscathed.
Jolted.
Andre’s body trembled slightly.
If one of the two had to be sacrificed, it was all too obvious who the target would be.
But Jinhyuk, without hesitation, sat down in the chair.
He strapped on the restraint and reached for the lever.
[What? Were you planning on sacrificing yourself? That’s unlike you, quite surprising.]
Huh?
“What sudden sacrifice?”
Sorry, but there’s still about three minutes left for the activation time of the magic book.
In other words.
He could still use ‘skills.’
[Lv8 ‘Glacier Sculpting (氷河造形)’ is activated!]
The chill emanating from Jinhyuk’s fingertips froze the entire pipe.
Clang!
Pulling the lever immediately.
Thud, thud, thud!
With a violent tremor, the door began to open. Naturally, no flame that would burn his hand appeared.
[…….]
Foot Odor, having lost his words, froze on the screen beyond.
This… to someone unaware, it might look like a paused frame?
“I’m sorry.”
Andre bowed apologetically to Foot Odor, then hurried off towards the next gate.
Jinhyuk too clicked his tongue in pity.
Should have chosen your opponent more carefully.
‘To meet me of all people.’
But don’t despair too much, or blame yourself.
Like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, this outcome was predestined.
＊＊＊
There were seven traps in the Corridor of Choice.
However, both the fourth and fifth gates were also breached.
All too easily.
“Isn’t there anything more original? Something that makes the heart race and sweat form on your back? That would be nice, right?”
Jinhyuk didn’t hide his boredom.
It’s great to clear it quickly, but you know?
He wanted to enjoy a bit more excitement.
The DNA of a seasoned veteran, soaked to the core, demanded Hell difficulty.
‘This is really a bad habit I need to break…’
But what can you do?
It was an instinct honed over 11 years.
[Something more original than this…? That, uh…]
“Why? Don’t tell me there’s nothing left? Weird. A passage designed by the named of the fifth floor shouldn’t be this easy.”
Jinhyuk tilted his head, seemingly in doubt, then clapped as if he had an epiphany.
“Ah! Maybe you deliberately placed the easier tasks at the front to let us lower our guard?”
[That’s right. The sixth gate is indeed my masterpiece, the work of my life.]
Foot Odor exclaimed urgently.
Three seconds later, the sixth gate was breached—in the shortest time among all of them.
“…….”
“…….”
[…….]
An awkward silence circulated.
But only for a moment.
[Fuck it. I’m done.]
Foot Odor cursed and turned off the screen.
Well…
Jinhyuk scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.
‘I’ve made the manager flee.’
This was unprecedented even when considering the tower as a whole.
