Chapter 6: Life Lesson
Everyone in the room froze after seeing YuWon's reaction. It was uncharacteristic of Min-Joon to attack someone unprovoked. But they all saw it themselves. He was the one who kicked YuWon.
However, they were even more surprised by what happened next. YuWon, the weak and pathetic YuWon, grabbed Min-Joon's leg and carried him to the windows like he weighed nothing.
They all knew YuWon as the quiet outcast who never bothered standing up for himself, the ultimate pushover. That's why people bullied him so much. But they could feel like something inside him had changed, and it wasn't good news when the quiet kid finally snapped.
"Listen closely because I'll only say this once," YuWon hissed. "I don't have the time or patience to deal with you."
He continued, "Be a good lad and try not to get in my way or I won't mind killing you along with those monsters. Hell, killing you would be much easier than dealing with them either way."
The next moment, YuWon opened two fingers, leaving Min-Joon dangled with support from his thumb and two remaining fingers. He did it to make sure Min-Joon knew he wasn't joking about it.
"I-I'm sorry!" Min-Joon yelled, begging for his life.
Down below, some goblins seemed to have noticed him dangling in the air and were waiting for him to drop. Even if the fall didn't kill him, those hungry bastards would finish the job. But YuWon had a different idea.
He turned towards the crowd inside the classroom and then back to Min-Joon. An evil mind came to his mind, but it was more to teach the latter an important lesson.
"I'll pull you back up," YuWon announced. "As long as someone you saved volunteered to change places with you."
"W-Wait... are you for real?" Min-Joon laughed. "I-I'm sure someone... will be willing to... help me!"
Unfortunately for Min-Joon, the students watched in stunned silence, not daring to make a move or YuWon might turn on them instead. As glad as they were for Min-Joon's help earlier, they would not sacrifice themselves for his sake. No one in their right mind would.
"To think you wanted to help them... tsk, misplaced heroism would get you killed here," YuWon shook his head. "Don't blame me for this."
"No! I beg you! Don't do this!" Min-Joon yelled. "Someone please help me!"
Min-Joon begged, but his voice fell on deaf ears. No one was coming for his help.
"You should have minded your business, Joon. See you in the afterlife."
Despite his threat, YuWon didn't want to kill Min-Joon, but it would be a lie if he wasn't curious about the rewards he might get for it. Every time he did something unusual, he got rewarded for it. So he wondered how big the reward would be if he killed another human instead of a monster.
Moreover, hearing Min-Joon's desperate pleas wasn't doing him any help. If anything, it was making YuWon feel powerful, something he hadn't felt before... not in the last year at least.
Without even thinking, YuWon loosened his grip on Min-Joon's leg. Min-Joon noticed this and began crying like a baby, even wetting his pants in fear of being dropped. Unfortunately for him, all the pee flowed downwards, soaking him in his piss.
"No... No... Please! I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU!" Min-Joon yelled as his pee mixed with his tears.
A moment later, YuWon pulled him back before throwing him into the classroom. Everyone covered their nose because Min-Joon hadn't just pissed in his pants... he had done a lot more damage in there.
However, Min-Joon didn't care about all that. He was just happy to be alive and started laughing like crazy before heading toward YuWon and was about to grab his leg when YuWon kicked him while keeping his eyes on the screen.
[Awakeners cannot kill other Awakeners during the first tutorial round, and any attempts to do so will result in strict measures being taken against the individual in question.]
YuWon processed the information quickly, but didn't let it show on his face. It was an unexpected and infuriating rule, but he didn't want others to know about the restriction, either.
If people learn about it, they won't hesitate to create problems for me.
But YuWon was not only pissed about the stupid rule for that reason. He was angry because he had to postpone his plans to kill Hoon.
I need to kill this zone boss and end the tutorial fast. Once it's done, I can take my sweet time killing those bastards. For now, let's pretend to be Buddha's incarnation and preach forgiveness.
With that thought, YuWon turned to face the crowd with a smile, before directing his attention to Min-Joon.
"Do you get it now?" he asked. "In this world, no one will put their lives at risk for you, no matter what you do for them. Either way, don't think about testing my patience again."
Min-Joon looked at him, caressing his cheeks. But instead of hostility, YuWon saw reverence in his eyes. YuWon knew what those eyes meant and wasn't interested in carrying someone along in the apocalypse.
Not wanting to deal with them anymore, YuWon turned and left the room. What happened to them was none of his concerns anymore.
However, as soon as he left, something inside Min-Joon changed and he snatched the extinguisher from a girl who had been using it as her weapon.
"Hey!"
The girl protested, but Min-Joon ignored her and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going!? You can't just leave us here!"
Everyone in the room panicked, since Min-Joon was the only one in the group who knew how to fight.
Min-Joon stopped for a moment before turning around to face them, probably for the last time. He looked at the people he was willing to fight YuWon for before shaking his head.
"YuWon was right. In this world, good deeds don't matter," he said, stepping outside the gate. "Besides, it's better to stick around YuWon than stay here with backstabbers like all of you!"
The students looked taken aback by his words, but they couldn't refute his claim. Without waiting for a response, Min-Joon stormed out of the room hoping to change his clothes first before joining up with YuWon.