IASDG 05

Chapter 5

“Shouldn’t you have asked for weapons or medicine?”

“Yeah. Considering the dangerous situations ahead, that seems right….”

“Wasting such a chance just to get a booklet and the right to contact the operator? What a waste.”

“Even if you contact the operator, it won’t really bring any real benefits….”

“But is it even possible to ask for contact with the operator? Isn’t that against the rules?”

“By the way, was there even a booklet in the room?”

“There was. But nothing important seemed written in it, so I stopped reading halfway.”

Everyone gave their opinions one after another.

“Caw! Quiet!”

The crow’s shout silenced the hall.

“Caw. After checking, it seems all are items you saw since the beginning of the test, so you can request them. But asking for contact with the operator? That was unexpected.”

“I only asked because it didn’t break the conditions you presented.”

“Caw. True. We only said you could request what you want, without specifying it had to be an item or a person. That was our oversight.”

Of course, the “operator” I had in mind wasn’t the crow in front of me, but that werewolf.

The others had no clue.

“In any case, unlike the other two, I cannot decide this one on my own. I will report it to higher-ups and bring back an answer.”

“I hope you can bring it quickly.”

“I will make sure it’s handled fast. Caw!”

‘Phew.’

After the event in the banquet hall, I returned to my room. It was past 2 a.m.

I slumped onto the sofa.

I was so tired that even sitting made me want to close my eyes. If I lay down, I’d fall asleep immediately.

‘The booklet isn’t on the table.’

I pulled the notice out of my pocket.

3. When you leave the room, it will be cleaned. Sometimes items originally in the hotel may disappear.

So, it must have vanished after I first left the room.

‘Then I did well to choose the booklet.’

Honestly, I hadn’t chosen it for any big reason. Just thought it might bring me luck.

At the end of the booklet was a folded A4 sheet with this sentence:

“Time is a capital given equally to everyone. Victory goes to those who use it well.”

That line had made me explore from the 89th floor down to the 85th.

If I hadn’t acted on it, I never would’ve gotten the survival backpack on the 87th floor.

‘Thanks to that, I have more items than others.’

The booklet unexpectedly gave me a good start.

It was worth calling a lucky charm.

And who knows? It might provide hints in the future too.

I pulled the survival backpack out of my inventory. It was waterproof, sturdy, and had many compartments.

I wanted to test something.

What happens if I put items inside the backpack and then put the backpack into the inventory?

‘If I’m right…’

I stuffed the booklet, drinks, water, and snacks into the backpack, then placed it in the inventory.

[Inventory: 1/10]

It worked!

This meant I could carry essential supplies without wasting slots.

Good. Time to search the whole room for useful things.

The rules never said we couldn’t take items from the room.

If it was forbidden, I wouldn’t even have been able to bring the notice in my pocket.

Besides, this wasn’t a real hotel anyway.

[Wake up! Wake up! The sun has been up for a while already! Get up immediately!]

A sharp female voice rang out across the room.

I checked my smartwatch. 6 a.m.

Damn it. They let us in after 2 a.m., and now, less than four hours later, they’re shouting at us to get up?

[Testers must all gather in the banquet hall by 6:30! The later you are, the more handicap you’ll get!]

The word “handicap” instantly cleared away my sleepiness.

Here, if they openly mentioned something, it was serious.

I quickly washed up and left the room.

The loudspeaker kept yelling until the moment I stepped out.

“Good morning.”

On the way to the hall, I ran into Ms. No-eun.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Not really. I was organizing my thoughts, so I barely slept.”

She rubbed her forehead with her fingers.

“What were you thinking about?”

“About what happened after you disappeared at the café yesterday.”

“Ah, that…”

Yesterday, I had met Warded, who claimed to be the operations team leader.

I wasn’t sure whether I should tell anyone.

When she asked, I considered saying I just went to a new place.

But she had hushed me midway.

“I went to a place I’d never seen before. Like an empty classroom.”

“Didn’t you meet someone there? Someone with decision-making power.”

Wow. She could be a fortune teller.

At this point, I was more curious than her. How could she be so sure?

“How did you know?”

“It’s obvious. Normally, after you disappeared, the rest of us—five people—should have had uncertain survival chances. Because of Rule 5.”

If someone contributed to achieving the goal, their survival is judged separately by the operators.

“But all five of us lived. And when we were transferred to the hall, you were already there waiting. Only someone with special access could do that.”

“You’ve already answered it yourself.”

Her expression stayed calm, as if she expected this all along.

“I won’t ask who you met or what you talked about. But it seems you’ve gained a debt. I’ll repay that debt someday.”

She bowed and walked ahead.

…She must really hate owing favors.

“After dreaming of home at dawn, put on your coat and helmet, and my heart feels new~”

When I arrived, the crow was on the platform, singing.

“Hey, not bad.”

“Yeah, but its voice is pretty bad.”

“Shh. You’ll get punished like yesterday’s people.”

“They only got punished because they openly said they hated it.”

People gossiped while watching like it was a zoo show.

Wait—that was a Korean military song. Why was it singing that?

Maybe the one behind the crow was Korean, or had learned it from one.

At least, it let me identify the Koreans in the room.

…Including me.

“Caw! It’s 6:30! I see 31 people still missing. As I said, they’ll get handicaps for every five minutes late!”

A large hologram lit up on one wall.

89F – Gallery
88F – Culture & Science
87F – Sports & Outdoor
86F – Restaurants
85F – Café Village

“From today, you’ll be tested on these five floors. You can choose the order, and take as many days as needed. Simple, right?”

No one agreed. No one knew what dangers lay on each floor.

“And this is fair—since you can choose your own order!”

Basic info about each floor appeared: capacity, warnings, and so on.

“Next, I’ll explain what you’ll receive. Caw!”

Bzzzt!

My smartwatch vibrated. A new hologram appeared.

[Status window is now available.]
[It shows stats and abilities based on your application form and tutorial performance.]

“Use this to understand yourselves and others, and get good results!”

The crow then gave us breakfast, saying we should eat before working.

Unlike dawn, more people now ate. Some even ate double.

The crow kept singing the same military song over and over.

Did it like the song? Or was there another reason?

Then it suddenly stopped.

“Caw! Time is 7:10. All testers are now here! As warned, the 31 latecomers will receive handicaps!”

Spotlights shone on certain people’s heads.

Some were green, some orange, some red.

“The red ones are eliminated! Such undisciplined testers are useless as samples!”

Seven capsules lit red.

With a loud crash, seven people collapsed in the hall, groaning in agony.

Even those who tried to help saw them die instantly.

[ID code RM35-AEMT11444 = Deceased (Subject)]
[ID code BF29-AEMT20155 = Deceased (Subject)]

Profiles and faces appeared on the hologram.

[Sterilization process for the eliminated subjects begins.]

The red capsules opened, white smoke pouring out.

From each fell a person identical to the dead tester.

Splash!

“The eliminated are dipped in disinfectant and returned to the real world for peace and safety. Oh, but I never said they’d be alive when sent back.”