"Holy shit! Dojin, Dojin!" Ji-ah screamed out, as her sight fell on the floating window in front of her. "There are some words floating in the air! What is that? Holograms? What do I do; what do I do?" Her sight moved between Dojin and the screen.
"Relax," he said and placed his arms on her shoulders. "This is just like we talked about. You remember, right? Games."
"I, I see." Ji-ah nodded her head, though Dojin's words did not register. "So something like a Status Window." It all simply felt so incredulous. So out of nowhere. Her brain did not let her accept the facts, even though they lay right before her. Still, she kept on, her heartbeat accelerating.
"Exactly." Lee Dojin continued. "Take a deep breath, and try to relax. If you are done, try reading the instructions. And keep this in mind. Whatever notions you have learned throughout the years, discard them." His tone became serious. "Throw them away, for that will be the only way to survive."
Ji-ah listened attentively to Dojin, yet she could not help feel something amiss. "How do you know all this?" Her voice shook. "Who are you exactly?"
"We can talk about this after everything is over. And I do mean everything. Hopefully, by then, we still have ways of bequeathing a message—if you still wish to know at that time, I'll tell you my story. But for now, concentrate on the things in front." He rolled up his sleeves, as he knew what was to come. The playground turned silent, seemingly expecting it too.
"Right." She knew better than anyone else that some things are meant to be secrets thus did not pry, and it was unbecoming of a teacher to get too personal with a student's private affairs. "In the end, no matter what, you are still Lee Dojin." She only hoped, when the time came where things had become too tough, he'd be able to rely on her too. Baek Ji-ah started reading the introduction of The Mirage. However, she soon had to stop, because she could not comprehend everything. "Soon, the world you have known to be true will be no more. . ." She repeated the words. "You've been saying the same thing. What exactly does that mean?"
Lee Dojin rubbed his chin. "We should move past that. It would be too hard to explain everything at once."
"No can do," she replied. "I mean, you took me here without any warning, showed me some supernatural abilities, and then asked me to join you. The least you could do is tell me what I signed up for, right?"
"Are you sure?"
"Am I sure?" She humphed, "What do you mean, am I sure? Do I look so weak that I couldn't handle something that my student could?" The woman put both her hands on her hips. "So you better tell me, or I'm gonna force it out of you."
"It would seem that this new development has recharged your vigor." Lee Dojin laughed. "It does suit you a lot more to be energetic."
"Stop teasing your teacher." Her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment. "Moving on, moving on. Tell me what I should expect. Should I stock up on toilet paper?"
"No, but I recommend getting life insurance," he joked. "Well, have you ever read any web novels? You did? That's perfect. Well, what will happen soon is like those apocalyptic survival stories, where random game-like elements surface on Earth, threatening to wipe it out." He thought about his next words. "You know, like Dungeons suddenly appearing, Humans gaining superpowers, and of course RPG-like monsters and races surfacing."
There was a short pause between them. Ji-ah guffawed, waiting for Lee Dojin to laugh, but he never did. "Are you joking? Are you making fun of me?"
"Do I look like the type to do something like that?" Lee Dojin flicked her forehead. "Continue reading."
"I don't think I want to," she muttered, but when she saw his glare, she had no choice continuing. "Fine." She continued all the way, until the end. "Prove your worth, or be crushed by it. What does that mean?"
A breeze passed by them, rustling Lee Dojin's hair. He combed it back with his fingers. "Well, to explain, you have just gotten a privilege that people in the future would kill for. Not even winning the lottery is as attractive. You have entered the new world before it began, like some kind of beta tester." He smiled. "And right now, you will have to prove yourself."
"Right now?"
"Do you not want to?"
Ji-ah turned quiet. She mulled over her life and everything that led up to this. A flicker of determination flashed before her, and she felt so close to grabbing it. Just another step. Would this be it? She swallowed. "No, let us start."
Lee Dojin gave a tiny nod of approval. Truthfully speaking, he was excited to see where this Mother of Ravens would end up in this future. "Then, there's another chant to start the Hidden Quest. Say it with me." He told her the incantation.
"Are you serious? That's the one?" Her eyes opened wide. "It's like some kind of sick joke." A burst of wry laughter escaped her.
Still, she said it as she was supposed to, and as certain as the sun rising from the east, the dormant shadows awoke. Ji-ah shouted in shock, but her voice was overshadowed by the oozing pressure of those monsters.
Lee Dojin clenched his teeth. There had been a reason why he could not bring other people into this hidden quest.
The shadow below him rose. He clicked his tongue. "Welcome back, bastard." He punched down, but the shadow slithered away, and he only hit the dirt. The shadow reappeared few meters away, forming into another him. It grinned. Surrounding it, there were many other such monsters.
He couldn't, because he knew, the people he brought would die.
The chance of survival was around 1/4 if he remembered correctly. There was no way for a normal human with no combat experience to come on top. And he did not wish to risk the lives of innocents and nip their potential by the bud, just because he may have had a chance to grow stronger. It was fine as he knew he was strong, even if alone. If necessary, he'd dominate above everyone else, and bear the burden of humanity himself—for that was the responsibility of the strong.
Ji-ah panicked, she asked him. "What should I do?"
"Take a look at the new windows popping up." He tried holding the shadows back. "There are Affinities you need to choose. Just take whatever you want." He also added, "And do it fast, they don't stay forever!"
But Baek Ji-ah was different. She was not just an ordinary citizen. That woman would become one of the strongest lifeforms in the future—at least in his future. Thus, he trusted her as a former enemy to survive.
"Dojin, something is happening underneath me," she shouted and stepped back. Naturally, a shadow of her had been created. It hissed fiendishly and swung its claw, grazing her chest and leaving a bloody mark.
"Ji-ah," he shouted and activated Cosmic Steps.
Another problem had been the interaction with those shadows. This Hidden Quest was all about individuality. Ordinary people, not part of The Mirage, could not associate with the shadows and vice-versa. They'd pass each other, as if from other dimensions. Players, who had activated the Quest, of course, could destroy those shadows, but had to watch out not to die themselves.
Lee Dojin tried grabbing her shadow, but it simply slipped away, out his reach. It felt like he had touched nothing. At the same time, the shadow swung around, enraged, and stabbed Lee Dojin's shoulder. He barely avoided it, but a red wound still appeared.
Now, for players not part of the quest, they could not interact with the shadows, but the shadows could still kill them. Such unfairness was just like the system. In other words, Players were all on their own. Splendid individuality.
"Also, based on my plans, it would not be good to have that many players in Korea, especially if they are on my side," he muttered and stopped the bleeding.
"There are two," she said, sweating from dodging the shadows, but also concentrating. Even though she was an active girl, her worsening lungs made it impossible for her stamina to hold on. "Lake of Tranquility and Mother of Ravens."
Lee Dojin nodded. He knew both of them. One, of course, being Decay, and the other being Emptiness, an A-Class Affinity. Personally, he thought Emptiness was good, but the past Ji-ah chose differently, and in the end, it was compatibility that mattered the most. "You have to hurry, as they will disappear after a while. In this situation, being without Affinity is tantamount to suicide," he emphasized.
Out of the blue, he felt his back turn cold, and as he turned around, there had already been his own shadow, grinning mischievously. "Shi—" he shouted, as the thing slashed his back, tearing open his shirt.
"Dojin," Ji-ah screamed in worry, but he only told her to focus. She had to because unless she won, these creatures would continue attacking. She bit her lips and read through the descriptions. She didn't know much, but she did understand that this decision would be the most important of her life, which made it all the harder. After some time, the window began fading out, alerting that it would soon disappear. Still, at the same instant, she could not concentrate, as she saw the boy falling into deeper trouble by the second.
Suddenly, while busy with the other things, Ji-ah realized her shadow was nowhere to be seen. Her instincts told her that something severe was about to happen. Her mind churned on what to do (standing on tippy-toes), and in the end, she disregarded the window and jumped at Lee Dojin, pulling him away. Right after, 3 spikes fell from the sky, embedding themselves in the ground. They then shapeshifted into Ji-ahs shadow, which seemed upset as she could not achieve her goal.
"What are you doing? Did you choose," he asked.
"Not yet! How can I when you were about to turn into skewers? I'm going to do it now," she replied, and at the exact moment. The screen disappeared. "Ah. Nevermind."
"We're ruined." Lee Dojin closed his eyes and massaged his temples. This was not what he expected.
Ji-ahs face turned white. But at the same time, she did not regret her choice. Her life, which was close to the end, was worth the sacrifice, she believed. "Wait, something is appearing." She squinted her eyes. "The Saintess?"
"What?" He had never heard of that one. "Read the description."
In the background, the shadows began assimilating again.
She began narrating. "Born from emptiness, the Warrior came bearing nothing. Broken before birth, crushed by life, and destroyed by fate—even when doing everything right, you lose." Her voice quivered as she read that passage. "Destiny gave you two choices: A false heaven, or eternal hell. But what is a world without truth? Lament the unfairness, quiver in jealousy. Rebel. Rebel. Rebel. And maybe, at last, the Warrior shall become the beacon for those without hope. You shall be the first thing that came from nothing."
As she continued reading, Lee Dojin felt his heart palpating like crazy. He had to hold his chest, as the beating overwhelmed even her voice. He breathed out, trying to relax. But he had a strong hunch he knew what that Affinity was.
"What do I chose?"
"It is your choice."
"You say that, but your face shows otherwise." She clicked on the screen. "The Saintess it is." And as she did, a feeling of comfort washed over her. She felt as if all her problems had vanished at once, forgetting even the shadows that were inching closer. And when she opened her eyes, the system window had changed, leaving behind a succinct, yet devastating message—
Affinity: Light (S).