Chapter 9: The Path Forward

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 9: The Path Forward

[The promotion ceremony will now begin.]

‘Alright, so what’s the deal this time?’

There was no doubt that the boy in the video was connected to my possession.

If not that, then at the very least, it had something to do with this company’s secret.

I was certain of it.

Otherwise, why would I be shown someone else’s memory, especially of a child carrying around a creature?

[A forgotten memory of an employee resurfaces.]

‘Whatever it is, I need to gather more information here.’

[Tip: Sometimes employees die during promotion.]

A familiar message passed by.

– Pop.

My vision darkened for a moment, and soon a new scene unfolded before my eyes.

It was the boy I had seen before.

He was sitting alone, dressed in tattered clothes, poking something repeatedly while muttering to himself.

“98... 99. Just a bit more, and the book will grow. Then I won’t have to starve anymore.”

Seeing the boy’s figure made my mood plummet instantly.

[Your emotions are being synchronized.]

Suddenly, feelings of hunger, fear, and even exhilaration surged through my body.

‘Tsk. This gets synchronized too?’

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

[Negative energy gathers. 35%]

And for good reason—the boy in the video was stabbing a corpse.

It was then.

– You crazy brat!

Rough-looking men barged into the boy's shack.

The men, armed with knives and blades, threatened the boy, but he didn’t show any reaction.

He just hurried to finish stabbing the corpse, as if it were something he had to complete.

“...100. Now I can respond to emotions. It’s something useful to know.”

The boy pulled out the book that I had seen earlier, the one exuding that foul aura.

However, this time, there was no noise coming from it.

I clicked my tongue at the sight of the grotesque book.

“Tsk.”

The book gave off an eerie and horrifying atmosphere.

Its cover seemed to be made of dead wood, with an eyeball embedded in the center.

The eye moved constantly as if it were alive.

It felt like death itself had taken the form of a book.

The boy muttered something, and from the book, a black substance sprang out and dissolved the corpse.

In the spot where the body once lay, a dark stain remained.

After finishing his task, the boy dusted himself off and stood up.

“Damn, this freak!”

“Monster kid!”

“Kill him!”

Infuriated by the boy’s desecration of the corpse, the thugs charged at him.

But—

“Ugh... Ugh.”

Something sprang from the dark stain on the floor, subduing the thugs in an instant.

[Omen LV. 99]

It was a figure made of black smoke.

“Heh... Hic.”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Touched by the black smoke, the thugs went insane, stabbing themselves in the throat with their own weapons.

It was still an unpleasant sensation.

[Negative energy gathers. 70%]

After killing all the thugs, the boy opened the book and pulled out some food.

Then he brought over a chair and sat at a table.

The boy was staring straight at me.

“You understand ‘resonance’ now, right?”

A chill ran down my spine.

Though the boy’s face was distorted with noise, I could tell.

[Your Sixth Sense is activated.]

Everything the boy had said up until now was directed at me.

With that chilling image of the boy as the final scene, the screen ended.

And then.

[Negative energy gathers. 100%]

[The Omen awakens.]

The black smoke coalesced, forming the shape of a person.

It was the same figure I had just seen on the screen.

[Omen LV. 3]

Ssssss—

[The Omen attempts to corrupt you mentally.]

The black smoke enveloped me.

The unpleasant sensation I had felt earlier began to creep up again.

‘So this is what a proper promotion process looks like, huh?’

Reawakening an employee’s past memories.

In my case, it wasn’t even my memory...

“Well, it wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

Once was more than enough for this kind of nasty ordeal.

With a simple flick of my hand, I shook off the spirit’s aura.

Crack.

The hand I used to dispel the aura was covered in blood.

“I see. So, this is what they meant by 'you might die sometimes,' huh?”

It didn’t particularly hurt.

Perhaps it was the illusion that if I resisted, I might get hurt.

In other words, a type of mental attack.

There was no need to worry about it.

“I’ve encountered over 100 illusion-types before. This is nothing.”

I brushed away the darkness again.

This time, the darkness receded.

Sssss.

The omen, seemingly flustered, tried to emit an even stronger aura, but...

“You should have chosen your opponent more carefully.”

[Warning!]

[A severe level of mental contamination has been detected in the user.]

[The Foundation's Star is protecting you.]

Mental attacks don’t work on me.

“Disappear, you ghostly bastard. I don’t want to see you again.”

As I grabbed the omen and swung, it dissolved into black smoke and vanished.

[You've recovered forgotten memories. Your potential has grown by one level.]

[The latent power of the Foundation's Star is being unlocked.]

I involuntarily widened my eyes at the unexpected message that appeared before me.

“Well, this is a surprise.”

[Shin Seongjin LV. 5/10 (Rank 7)]

[Skills]

- Foundation's Star (LV. 2)

[Stats]

- Strength (20/39)

- Agility (19/39)

- Stamina (16/39)

- Durability (15/39)

- Mental Power (EX+/??)

A meaningful stat increase.

However, I already knew that abilities improve across the board upon ranking up.

What surprised me was something completely different.

The Foundation's Star, which hadn’t leveled up no matter what I did, had finally reached level 2.

‘So, the system allows it to level up as you rank up.’

LV. 1 was the domain of experts.

So, what was LV. 2?

In terms of weapon skills, it corresponds to the level of a master.

New traits emerged for magic or special abilities.

The Foundation's Star clearly belonged to the latter category.

I hurriedly exited the advancement screen and examined my status window.

Immediately, I clicked on Foundation's Star to check its traits.

[Your mental power increases by 10%.]

[Your work efficiency improves according to the company's achievements. (Current increase: 10%)]

[You can use the skills of collected creatures. (Current collection rate: 2%)]

* Beastfolk Language.

- You gain the ability to understand the language of kobolds.

* Strong Body.

- Your body can withstand any irrationality. (Nullifies attacks below rank D-.)

[Your mind will never waver.]

These were the abilities I was already aware of.

“So, this is the new addition, huh...?”

[Empathy (LV. 2)]

- You can borrow a collected creature's skill for 1 minute.

- You can use two abilities simultaneously. (NEW)

“There is a new effect added, after all.”

Since there were no immediate physical changes, it was likely an active-type ability.

Of course, I couldn’t test it immediately.

“Borrow a collected creature’s skill for 1 minute...”

This was useless in the waiting room, where all skills were already applied.

But.

“At least I don’t have to keep worrying about bringing employees with me anymore, huh?”

This ability would only truly shine when I entered a stage.

In the waiting room, I could use all the skills of employees and creatures.

But once I entered a stage, my skills were limited to those of the employees I brought with me.

It was a huge restriction.

‘Right now, it’s still the early stages, so no formidable creatures have appeared, but just in case.’

If a stage only allowed one person to enter, it would’ve been a real problem.

“I thought I’d have to find a solution someday... but I’ve unexpectedly found one here.”

This wasn’t bad at all.

When you gain an ability, you have to test it.

I crossed the empty waiting room and stood in front of the monument.

[Would you like to manage ‘Kobold Raid’?]

“Approve.”

[You are entering ‘Kobold Raid’.]

A blue portal formed in front of me.

I immediately jumped in.

Swoooosh.

Entering a stage alone for the first time.

[04:58]

Maybe that was why I felt a little nervous.

- Run!

- K-Kobolds!

I passed by the fleeing villagers and picked up a sword lying on the ground.

If Khan had been with me, I would have instinctively recalled a skill the moment I gripped the weapon.

And I would have instinctively known how to wield it.

But now, I felt none of that.

I swung the sword through the air to test it, but as expected... nothing.

It felt completely different from when I swung it using a low-level swordsmanship skill.

"As I thought, without a skill, I'm just a complete amateur."

Kieeeek!

[Kobold (LV. 1) * 3]

Well, even without a skill, I was confident I could overwhelm three kobolds, but...

"No need to take the hard way."

This time, instead of focusing on swordsmanship, I focused on the Foundation's Star I possessed.

Then, skills began to surface in my mind.

[Resonance (LV1)]

- Low-level Swordsmanship (LV. 3)

- Sixth Sense (LV. 1)

- Intermediate Archery (LV. 1)

- Tough Body

- Beastfolk Language

The Foundation's Star had responded.

"Let's start with low-level swordsmanship, shall we?"

As I selected the skill to use, the knowledge of a swordsmanship master flowed into my mind.

[Low-level Swordsmanship (LV. 3)]

I adjusted the awkward grip I had on the sword.

* * *

[Stage Clear (+13 Points)]

To conclude, it went as expected.

Resonance only lasted for one minute, and I could freely switch between skills during that minute.

‘Though it’s terribly exhausting.’

Still, once mastered, it would be quite a versatile skill.

"Hmm, I guess it’s about time to head to the dormitory."

It was also time to take a look around the company.

I had spent the last two days shuttling between the waiting room and the stage, but that couldn't be helped.

At the time, the education and growth of the employees were the top priority.

‘If you don’t establish control early on, the Administrator has to cater to the employees' whims.’

Since it was a game with such a high level of freedom, every employee expressed their opinions.

Naturally, if you cater to every employee’s demands, there was no end to it.

A company with too many uncontrollable employees was impossible to manage.

"Well, I’ve set things straight for now, so it should be fine for a while."

Plus, I gave them the carrot of break time, so that should alleviate some of the discontent.

“I need to prepare for tomorrow.”

I immediately opened the minimap to figure out the location of the dormitory.

The dormitory was at the very end of the hallway.

I crossed the hallway, passing through the isolation room.

Soon, I stood before a door at the end of the hall.

“This must be the dormitory.”

The nameplate read "Dormitory."

There was only one entrance.

The dormitory's design was exactly like it was in the game.

[Dormitory (LV. 1)]

I turned the handle to open the door.

The firmly shut door slowly revealed a crack with a soft sound, followed by a thud as it opened inward.

I stepped into the room.

Immediately, I closed the door behind me.

The interior was more neatly organized than I had expected.

There was a small desk, a bed, a wardrobe, and storage spaces for personal belongings.

It was a luxurious setup, better than most dormitories.

“For LV. 1, this is quite something.”

With benefits this good, upgrading the dormitory level was unnecessary.

Out of curiosity, I opened the mini-fridge, but...

As expected.

It was empty.

‘Is it too greedy to expect food?’

Given that food was the main sink for points, it was a reasonable outcome.

“Still, a disappointment is a disappointment. I should review my plans for the future.”

I sat at the small desk and opened a notebook right away.

Then I started jotting down notes on upcoming events.

"The most urgent thing right now is… two days from now. Or rather, in 40 hours, the headquarters visit event."

It was not just about offering points.

The visit from headquarters led to an evaluation of the company.

Receiving a good evaluation would accelerate future growth.

That’s why I’d been pushing my employees so hard.

"It’s fine. The timing is about right."

I plan to have the employees acquire skills in earnest as soon as the training grounds and forge are completed tomorrow.

‘About 40 hours left until the headquarters visit.’

I'm nearly ready to take advantage of all the support I can get from headquarters.

I stood up and headed to the bathroom.

Then, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

‘...’

I hadn’t actually checked my own face since coming here.

There hadn’t been any particular sense of discomfort with my body, and I hadn't had time to think about looking in a mirror.

Maybe that was why.

I was quite shocked.

The face in the mirror wasn’t the one I knew.

“…This, this is an unpleasant experience in its own way.”

A sharp, crimson-eyed, stern-faced man stared back at me.