NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 2
Episode 2
A gate followed by an aptitude test? Today was shaping up to be one chaotic mess.
I immediately opened a search engine and looked up the Van Gogh exhibition.
“Damn it!”
One hour and thirty minutes by subway.
Horrified by the distance, I bolted out of the café. There was no time to waste.
The moment I turned into a deserted alley, I messaged the guild members.
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Who has checked the request?!
The number of views was going up, but no replies came. These guys had been so chatty just moments ago!
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Who’s currently in Seocho District?
Still no answer.
Damn it! These jerks only know how to stay silent when it actually matters!
I had no choice but to pull out my final card.
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Mage! Mage!!
| 9th Circle Archmage |: ?
Thank the stars. Tomorrow, the sun might just rise in the west. At least I got a response this time. I quickly sent another message.
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Open a portal!
| 9th Circle Archmage |: Busy.
| 9th Circle Archmage |: Nope.
| 9th Circle Archmage |: Lazy.
You bastard!!
Swallowing the stream of curses bubbling up, I typed furiously.
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Do you want to turn your 10 PM shift into an all-night one?
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Open the portal before I track down your workplace. ^^
I didn’t actually have a way to track his workplace. Heck, I didn’t even know what he looked like.
But still, threats like this often worked.
| 9th Circle Archmage |: Where shall I take you, dear Guild Master?
There it was—a polite reply. I ground my teeth in frustration.
Guild requests appeared before every member, but until someone accepted the request, it wouldn’t disappear.
Look at this! The message vanished as soon as I accepted it. Grinding my teeth again, I sent the coordinates of the exhibition venue.
A crimson magic circle appeared in the air shortly after. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, I quickly stepped through it.
This is why I kept failing my classes.
Heavenly Constellations constantly bombarded me with requests that couldn’t be refused, and ignoring them came with consequences too horrifying to contemplate.
Guild: Return (歸還)
Our guild wasn’t known to the public. It exclusively handled requests from the supreme Constellations, solving their problems.
“Ticket, please!”
Of course, since I had somehow become the Guild Master due to my “experience,” I was the only one resolving those requests.
[You have arrived at the designated location.]
[The authority of the title, Godslayer (神殺者), is partially unlocked.]
[The first shackle of the title, Godslayer (神殺者), is loosened.]
Only I could use even a fraction of the title’s power when accepting a Constellation’s request. The other guild members seemed to use their powers freely. Actually, I wasn’t even sure if they truly relied on their titles’ powers.
Considering how the mage opened a portal, it seemed possible that the others could use their abilities as well.
“Guess I’ll figure it out when I meet them.”
Honestly, I could have ignored this request, letting it sit there until someone else took it.
But…
“Mom! Look at that!”
“Please don’t touch anything.”
“Hey! Let’s take a picture over there!”
How could I ignore people I could save?
That’s why…
I used to want a simple life.
Luckily, I had enough money on me.
After purchasing a ticket, I headed into the exhibition hall.
【00:51:48】
The timing was just right.
I had no idea when or how the aptitude test would begin, but it was definitely happening inside this exhibition hall.
Should I just sit around and wait?
Or…
[Please locate the stolen A-grade holy relic, Starry Night.]
Maybe I should start by looking for traces of the relic. Yeah, let’s at least try that.
Having made up my mind, I decided to search for the counterfeit relic imbued with the holy relic’s power.
“Nuna.”
“Huh?”
Just as I was about to start, a small child grabbed me by the sleeve. The kid, with a hesitant expression, muttered softly.
“Mommy disappeared.”
“Oh… well, that’s…”
The kid stared up at me as if waiting for more. As if that wasn’t enough, their big eyes began to well up with tears.
Great. A challenge right from the start.
I glanced around awkwardly, forcing a smile. The hall was packed with people, probably because this was an exhibition for a famous artist.
Still, shouldn’t people be more cautious? A gate had just opened, for crying out loud!
I couldn’t hear anyone calling for a lost child. Sighing deeply, I took the kid’s hand.
“Should we go find your mom together?”
“Okay.”
At least the kid was cooperative. I figured I’d drop them off at the lost-and-found center and then continue my search.
That was the plan.
Whoosh!
As I approached the entrance, a black barrier shot up, blocking the way.
“…”
The kid, startled, tightened their grip on my hand. I swallowed another sigh, my face twisting in frustration.
The lights illuminating the hall flickered and then went out completely. The murmur of voices around us grew louder.
“Are the lights out?”
“Is this some kind of event?”
Oh, there’s an event all right.
[A Sudden Test of Aptitude will now begin.]
“—!!”
A very big event.
Scarlet letters appeared in the air, glowing ominously in the pitch-black space. The murmuring ceased instantly, replaced by an eerie silence.
“Nuna, what’s that?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I crouched down to the child’s eye level.
“Hey, kid.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you an Aptitude Candidate?”
“What’s that?”
As expected, a child who looked no older than five couldn’t possibly understand what was happening.
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: What are the odds of a kid surviving a Sudden Test of Aptitude?
| Northern Grand Duke |: Zero!!
Thanks for the honesty, Grand Duke.
I sighed deeply and picked the kid up in my arms. Just then, screams erupted around us.
“Not my child! He’s only seven!!”
“Move! Damn it! Let me out of here!!”
I held the kid tightly, shielding their ears from the chaos. My gaze locked onto the crimson text hanging in the air.
[Sudden Test of Aptitude]
Unlike the regularly scheduled tests, where invitations were sent to specific candidates, the Sudden Test of Aptitude occurred without warning, in random locations.
Candidates, or as some called them, “Awakened,” were said to be chosen individuals. Others referred to them as “the next stage of humanity.”
Call them what you want, they were supposedly the chosen ones.
My brother? He definitely deserved to be chosen.
But my little brother? No, he can get lost.
“Nuna, I’m scared.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I spoke words I didn’t mean and stared intently at the red letters.
[‘Sudden Test of Aptitude’ is now commencing.]
“Baby! Baby!!”
“Mommy!”
The woman calling for her child disappeared before my eyes. It seemed the kid’s mother had been chosen as an “Aptitude Candidate.”
That was just the beginning.
From every corner, desperate cries echoed through the exhibition hall. The process of separating “Candidates” from “Non-Candidates” had begun.
“Ah…”
A sigh of resignation escaped someone nearby as the selection process came to an end.
“Wha—No, no, no! I don’t want to die! Let me out! Please, let me out!!”
People rushed toward the walls that now surrounded us, banging and screaming for a way out. The noise was deafening.
Thankfully, I had soundproofed the area around the kid. The child in my arms stared wide-eyed but seemed more bewildered than terrified.
“Nuna.”
“Yeah?”
“Why are they acting like that?”
Covering the kid’s eyes with my hand, I carefully chose my words.
“Um… because they’re scared?”
“Why?”
The barrage of questions began.
“Who knows?”
I opted for evasion. Answering this would lead to an endless series of why questions.
The Sudden Test of Aptitude didn’t discriminate by age; it encompassed everyone within its range. If it were just a simple test, people wouldn’t be so terrified.
[Sudden Test of Aptitude—‘Starry Night: In Search of the Lost Face’—is now commencing.]
Suddenly, the darkened exhibition hall was flooded with light. The people who had been pressed against the black walls screamed and shielded their eyes, stumbling inward in panic.
On the now-illuminated walls hung numerous masterpieces, paintings of unparalleled beauty. These were the relics the Constellation had tasked me with finding.
But there was one big problem…
It wasn’t just one. There were dozens—no, hundreds—of them. Each painting exuded the power of the Supreme Star.
[‘Starry Night: In Search of the Lost Face’—find the traveler’s face lost in the beauty of the masterpiece.]
▷ Live together or die together.
What a terrible set of options.
As soon as the message vanished, the walls began to close in from all sides.
It was clear: either we would all be crushed to death or find a way to survive before that happened.
This is why the Sudden Test of Aptitude was so infamous. There was no such thing as moderation.
“Hey, kid.”
“Yeah?”
“You want to see your mom?”
“Yeah!”
The child’s cheerful response was almost too bright for the dire situation. I smiled wryly and adjusted my grip on them.
“Alright, let’s go find her.”
With that, I began walking toward the narrowing walls.
《The effects of the title, ‘Godslayer (神殺者),’ have been activated.》
[Effects are reduced by half.]
[Effects are reduced by half.]
…[Effects are reduced by half.]
[The authority, ‘Eye of Truth,’ has been activated.]
[The duration of ‘Eye of Truth’ has been forcibly set.]
【00:00:29】
[The ultimate authority, ‘Sovereign Above Laws,’ has been activated.]
[The duration of ‘Eye of Truth’ has been reset to unlimited.]