Jin-hyuk, who dealt with the players instantly, retrieved his swords.
'The rest of them will be taken care of by the players.'
As long as the Breakers were gone, there was nothing these madmen could do.
At best, they would only be able to fight back using blades.
Now all that was left was to deal with the professor.
'Then I just need one person to guide me.'
He could go by himself, but there was a risk of delay since the professor could be hiding anywhere.
'And I don't want to take those chances.'
The answer he wanted required him to get out of this place first.
Jin-hyuk looked around.
Oh!
Finally, something caught his eye.
That one. The one who could guide him.
A person who wasn't a fanatic to the core.
A hard-to-find talent.
'Right, I choose you.'
Jin-hyuk flew over and subdued the target in an instant.
Since the person was too focused on running away, they were completely caught off guard.
"S-sorry! S-save me! Please… I don't want to…"
A girl with short hair.
'This is…'
He lightly pressed down on her shoulder. Anyone hearing her scream would think he was trying to rip her arm off.
"Calm down. If you stay calm, I won't kill you."
"Really?"
"If I was going to kill you, I wouldn't even be talking to you."
He spoke without emotion.
Strangely enough, those words felt more convincing to the girl than anything else.
Considering his skills, as Jin-hyuk said, he wouldn't need words at all.
"Instead, if you lie or play tricks, you're done."
Her role would be that of a guide.
"Yes, I understand."
The girl nodded.
"Do you know where the professor is?"
"Yes."
At least she seemed useful.
There were countless places he could be hiding, but she could narrow it down.
"Name?"
"Andrea. I am Andrea."
"Good. Andrea, guide me to him, and I guarantee your life."
[Lv4 'Stigma of the Soul' is activated.]
"Because I don't like promises made with words."
Wheik!
Jin-hyuk's finger glowed red as Andrea trembled.
"I promise."
With that, their contract was formed—an unfair one where betrayal meant burning to death.
Jin-hyuk moved through the dark passage Andrea guided him through.
'We're heading to the 12th stone chamber.'
He had expected her to lead him somewhere strange, but it didn't seem that way. Without Andrea, he would probably have chosen somewhere between the 7th and 12th chambers himself.
At that moment, a thought crossed his mind.
Why did this cowardly girl join the fanatics?
"Do you believe in that God?"
A demon king demanding blood and sacrifice? A cult god existing on the 5th floor?
Without faith strong enough to override reason, she shouldn't be here.
But her answer surprised him.
"No. I… I believe there is no such thing as God in the world. If there were, a hell like this wouldn't exist."
"Then why are you following the professor?"
"It wasn't my choice. I was sold."
"Sold?"
"Yes. Abandoned. By the family I trusted the most."
Andrea murmured with lifeless eyes.
'So that's why you're here.'
The 5th floor locations—the mines, the gladiator arena, the psychiatric ward—were all places where lives were easily discarded.
Selling children for a few coins wasn't uncommon.
Jin-hyuk bit his lip.
'Now this feels like a tragic story.'
The system said:
Kill the wicked and gain 0.1 points.
Then would those who sold their own child be considered wicked?
There was only one way to know.
But—
Jin-hyuk stopped thinking about it.
"This won't bring you much comfort, but I'm similar to you. I was abandoned at birth and grew up alone in an orphanage."
He grew up surrounded by loneliness and despair, forced to learn everything early.
"But nothing changes if you blame your parents, the world, or yourself."
Instead, do what you can now.
He hadn't been particularly talented as a BJ.
But at least he never forced viewers to support him by exploiting his circumstances.
He earned what he was given and used it properly.
"Of course, your situation is far darker than mine. I'm sorry if that sounded insensitive."
He knew their situations weren't the same.
So—
"I'll kill the professor and destroy this cult. No one will try to kill you again. So stop making that face like you've lost everything—you're making me depressed too."
"…"
Andrea's eyes trembled.
She hadn't expected that.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No… thank you. But the professor… I think he's much stronger than you. And he uses strange powers."
"I know."
"Uh?"
"How could I not know the power of the professor if I plan to kill him?"
Jin-hyuk smiled faintly.
Ba-dump!
Andrea's heart began to race.
It felt like a small light had appeared at the end of the dark road she had walked all her life.
A tiny flame lit up her broken heart.
They didn't speak after that, each focused on their role.
After some time—
They stopped before a massive black iron gate.
"Here."
Andrea spoke quietly.
"Good work."
Jin-hyuk nodded and examined the gate.
Blood-drawn runes covered its surface.
'A maintenance barrier.'
A mockery to anyone who thought entry would be easy.
'Interesting.'
Jin-hyuk reached out—
Kukuku!
The iron gate opened.
[You have entered the 'Path of Choice'.]
[There are two contestants.]
A room filled with rusty keys—the first gateway.
"H-here is…"
Andrea looked around, shocked by the sudden change.
"Stay calm and don't move."
He reassured her.
Then—
Chhh!
A doll wearing a white mask appeared on the screen, red patterns drawn on its cheeks.
It looked like it would say, Do you want to play a game?
[Congratulations. I am Valsetter, servant of the professor, commonly known as the 'Moderator'.]
"Uh? What's with the smelly feet?"
[Eik! It's not smelly feet—it's Valsetter! It's a pun!]
The more it spoke, the stranger it felt.
"That name's hard to remember. I'll call you Smelly Feet."
Jin-hyuk scratched his head.
[Ugh! You will regret that! Do you know why this place is called the Path of Choice? Because you can only advance by choosing between life and death! For your insolence, I'll make sure your bones remain here!]
"Ahem."
Jin-hyuk yawned.
Honestly.
Why did minor villains always ramble?
Only newbies listened to this nonsense.
[Enough! The game begins! The key is hidden here. You have five minutes. Fail, and the walls will crush you!]
Kukuku!
The walls began to move.
A timer appeared as the space slowly shrank.
Find the key—or die horribly.
[Hahaha! Beg me if you want a hint!]
Smelly Feet laughed.
But—
"Here."
Jin-hyuk picked up a key.
[Don't be ridiculous—]
Clack!
The door opened.
[H-how?!]
Smelly Feet's eyes widened.
Relax.
"Just a guess."
[Out of all those keys?!]
"Believe it or not."
As Smelly Feet froze, Jin-hyuk and Andrea entered the next gate.
This room was filled with clear glass syringes.
Push!
White smoke poured in.
[Fufu. The smoke you inhaled is poison—it will melt your body.]
"P-poison?!"
Andrea turned pale.
"She just said it."
Jin-hyuk didn't care.
[One syringe is an antidote. The rest are poison. Choose.]
Thirty syringes.
One chance.
[If you want a hint—]
"Don't need it."
Without hesitation, Jin-hyuk injected one.
Puak!
[Yah! At least listen first!]
Smelly Feet screamed in frustration.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on P@treon → patreon.com/FinalArcHero789
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/FinalArcHero789