5th place. It was a number anyone could easily laugh at.
My fingertips trembled slightly.
A tremble mixed with excitement and fear.
To others, it might be a 5th-rank ability, but to me, it was no different from 1st-rank.
Because depending on how I used it, I could borrow and use 1st-rank abilities as much as I wanted.
'It would indeed be a bad ability if it was one where I had to make others into my allies. But in the case of this ability, it's the exact opposite. I only need to make others perceive me as an ally, so I can utilize it strategically as much as I want.'
I didn't necessarily need to gain others' trust.
As long as I made another person mistakenly believe that someone named Lee Ju-seong was an ally, the ability would activate.
Whether I truly made them an ally because they were a good person, or committed emotional fraud by using them as a pawn to be discarded after one use.
How I utilized the ability depended entirely on my choice.
It was possible to differentiate it from other passive abilities in that it possessed an active nature.
The female doctor observed my complexion and breathing rate, then spoke in a cynical tone.
"If there's any sense of discomfort in your body, say it now."
"There is nothing particularly strange."
"And did you hear the phrase that the install is finished?"
"Yes."
"Then it's over, so exit through the back door. As you go out, make sure to wear the bracelet kept in the basket."
Next to the back door of the private room, an object of a dog holding a plate was placed.
Bracelets that looked like something you would see at a sauna were piled up on the object's plate.
When I picked up a bracelet and fastened it to my left wrist, the round machine attached to the bracelet turned on and a message appeared on the liquid crystal display.
[Money Watch has been activated.]
[The Money Watch is a device that provides various conveniences necessary for proceeding with the Money Game.]
[The prize money acquired in the game will be deposited into this Money Watch. You can use the Money Watch to purchase products at the Shopping Mall or conduct transactions between players.]
[The functions of the Money Watch can only be used by the owner, and for security, DNA registration will be conducted only once for the first time.]
A tiny needle popped out from the right side of the Money Watch device.
The method of use was simple.
I just had to press the needle with a finger to draw blood.
I exited the back door and walked through a long hallway leading to the outside. And utilizing the interval, I pressed the needle with my index finger so that the device would drink my blood.
Along with a stinging sensation, the message inside the screen was updated.
[Nano machines in the blood have been recognized.]
[User registration has been completed.]
Upon stepping out of the private room, a wide playground unfolded along with the sound of thumping footsteps.
To the west of the playground was the gymnasium I had stayed in until just now, to the south was the private room passage, and to the east was a worn-out one-story hall.
But what truly made my breath catch was the north.
To the north of the playground, a giant concrete tower soared as if to tear the sky, and below it, several doors that seemed firmly locked were lined up like dark clouds.
Between the sand of the playground, which was pitted here and there, hardened dust rose along my toes.
A suffocating sense of enclosure and tension covered the playground.
'When I saw it through the screen, I thought it was wide, but seeing it in person, it's truly stifling. It feels real that I'm in a state of being trapped in the organization's model garden.'
Inside the playground placed between structures arranged in a 'ㅁ'-shape, those who received their abilities a step ahead were waiting.
Because my turn was fast, the number of people gathered in the playground was only in the single digits.
Everyone seemed to have no room to pay attention to others as they were busy reviewing their own abilities or checking the functions of their Money Watch.
I took a place in the eastern corner of the playground and observed the other players skillfully.
'There are five key figures to watch. Bang Su-hyeok, the protagonist; Park So-yul, who is also like a protagonist; Yoon Ji-ho, whose daily life is causing trouble as an early villain; an old man who stands out from Season 2; and a male student who turns dark in Season 3.'
For now, I had to watch out for the players who stood out from Season 1 rather than the players who stood out after Season 2.
If I, who was supposed to die early, remain alive even after the early stage passes, the subsequent flow will be greatly different from the drama.
Even if a player stood out from Season 2 in the drama, in this world, the flow might be distorted and they might be eliminated without passing Season 1.
Therefore, prioritizing caution against those who flaunt a strong presence from the beginning in the drama was the priority.
While I was considering this and that, the number of players coming out to the playground through the back door of the private rooms gradually increased.
10 people, 50 people, 100 people....
Tension became rampant inside the playground as the number of heads increased.
It was a state where everyone was still completely unaware of who won what rank and who has what ability.
Those who won high ranks tried not to show signs of having a high rank to avoid receiving focused checks, and those who won low ranks were busy building strategies suitable for their abilities.
Already, a few were already going around and trying to talk to people to gather colleagues or exchange information.
Interacting right now was meaningless.
There was no guarantee that the shared information would be true, and in the end, once the main game starts, schemes and tricks will run rampant as if to ask when they ever held hands.
150 people, 175 people, and... 199 people.
When time passed and all players gathered in the playground, the side door connected to the gymnasium opened and the dealers walked out.
As expected, January took the lead.
The dealers stood in a single horizontal line, and January stepped three steps forward from the other dealers and brought a wireless microphone to the bottom of his mask.
"Congratulations to everyone on safely receiving your abilities. However, there was someone who was so happy to have an ability that he already attempted a test run."
There were only 199 people when there should have been 200.
In addition, in the middle of the playground, a blue-haired man with piercings was smirking with blood smeared all over him.
It was the early villain of Season 1, Yoon Ji-ho.
Yoon Ji-ho rolled his eyes as if licking the air with glistening pupils, and staggered as if dancing while flailing his arms.
And unable to control his laughter as if dopamine was gushing out, he scattered madness.
"Hehe, Hahahaha! You're going to make us kill each other anyway, aren't you? I just saved you guys the trouble of preparing the game. I feel like I should receive a word of thanks instead?"
"Thank you for your consideration. However, it is not a recommendation for eliminated players to emerge in situations excluding the main game. Please be careful as we plan to issue a suspension from one game only in case such an incident reoccurs."
"Whoa~ you're too much. Shouldn't you notify us of such important things in advance?"
"You are absolutely right. I didn't think there would be someone who uses their ability as soon as they receive it. Considering our side was complacent, I will overlook it this one time."
It was clever wordplay.
It was called a penalty, but it was only a suspension from one game where there was no practical loss from the disposition.
In other words, it was an implicit message to intelligently utilize not only the main game but also out-of-game matches.
The smell of blood exuded by Yoon Ji-ho made the players even more tense.
The players finally changed their gaze after recognizing the reality that they wouldn't live unless they were killed.
Of course, I maintained my own pace regardless of whether the surroundings were changing moment by moment.
'In the drama, the role I played was in a different game from Bang Su-hyeok or Yoon Ji-ho in the first game. That's why I was able to survive until Episode 3. They are certainly opponents difficult to handle if encountered in the first game. I must move so we don't overlap.'
There were two immediate tasks.
First, maintain a safe distance from strong players.
Second, work on players who possess useful abilities.
I had already picked out the first ability to copy.
I noted a woman dressed in gray work clothes staying in the opposite corner of the playground.
She was a woman who looked exactly like the Jung Ah-young I knew.
'Jung Ah-young on the outside, but don't forget that Park So-yul is on the inside. In this world, she's a woman who has become bright in calculations after living hard to pay back debts for the past few years due to family circumstances. I must approach her carefully.'
Originally, Bang Su-hyeok starts to slowly build a bond while sharing personal history with Park So-yul, but since I already know Park So-yul's personal history from watching the drama, I could approach her more easily.
Park So-yul's ability is a whopping 2nd-rank ability.
Since there is one person in 1st rank, nine people in 2nd rank, and 190 people in 3rd to 5th ranks, she was practically an ability user within the top 5 percent.
If I could copy Park So-yul's ability, I could secure competitiveness at once.
While I was building my own strategy, January tapped the microphone with his finger to draw the players' attention.
"We will start the main game from now on. Inside the tower you are looking at, we have prepared dozens of game sites where the Money Game will unfold. The game method and the acquirable amount are different for each game site, and it depends on your choice which game to choose."
A large sign was hung at each entrance going into the tower.
The total prize money amount acquirable when entering through the corresponding entrance was written on the sign.
[W1,000,000,000]
[W500,000,000]
[W100,000,000]
The game site with a total prize of 1 billion was the stage with the largest stakes, and the game site with a total prize of 100 million was the stage with the smallest stakes.
There were only three types of prize money, but there were twenty entrances in total.
January pointed to the entrances leading to the game sites and spoke.
"There are twenty entrances in total and we have prepared different games for each game site. The higher the prize money amount, the higher the difficulty of the capture. Since a maximum of ten people can participate per game, you won't be able to participate in the game you want if you dally. I hope you can make a wise judgment and participate in the game you want."
January finished speaking and snapped his fingers at the dealers.
The dealers who received the signal opened the tower entrances in order.
The opening of the entrances meant that the time for choice had begun.
The players initially dallied while eyeing each other.
However, soon a few players started running toward the tower with a whatever-happens-happens mindset.
"Eiy, I don't know! What's going to change just because I agonize! I'm going to aim for 1 billion!"
"There's only one game site for 1 billion! The guy who enters first is the owner!"
"Oh no! There's only one place but it's already about to be filled!"
1 billion game site: One.
500 million game sites: Four.
100 million game sites: Fifteen.
As scarcity fueled desire, people flocked to the 1 billion game site.
As the vanguard competed passionately, the competitive spirit spread to the rest of the people.
The players, one and all, just ran toward the nearest entrance for now.
In an instant, the 1 billion game site was filled to capacity, and people flocked to the 500 million game sites as a second-best plan.
I watched Park So-yul's movements rather than the total prize money amount.
'In the first game, Yoon Ji-ho entered the 1 billion, Bang Su-hyeok entered the 500 million, and Park So-yul entered the 100 million won game site. Now is the only chance to contact Park So-yul and copy her ability without colliding with the other two strong players.'
While I was approaching quickly while following Park So-yul with my eyes, Park So-yul walked straight ahead without being conscious of others' eyes and entered into a reasonably uncrowded entrance.
Above the entrance Park So-yul entered, a sign was hung with the prize money amount of the corresponding game site and the game event written on it.
[W100,000,000]
[Event : Cops and Robbers]