章 10: Chapter 10. The Door Test
Soon after Shibisu and Serena passed through the Shinsoo veil, the Pre-test ended and all Regulars that remained were led to a spacious plaza.
A cute-looking girl in a gold-black outfit with yellow hair bound into pigtails stood in front of everyone as she cheerfully announced: "Those of you who passed the test, make a line! The next test will be on a first come, first served basis!"
"Hi, I'm the test guide, Yellowy. The test will be conducted one team after another. For the remaining teams, please wait and follow the guide robot's instructions."
Following that, the many teams present slowly formed a very long line.
With many Regulars pushing each other to be the first to take the test, most still avoided bumping into Isaac and Khun, and Isaac's team ended up somewhere in the middle of the queue.
Once the queue was in place, Yellowy announced: "Well, the test will begin. The first team may enter now."
After the first team entered the testing room, silence descended among Isaac's group of three for a good while.
Staying outside, they had no way to know what the next test was about.
Minute after minute passed.
At one point, Khun sighed, "Sigh... Too bad we hadn't taken an earlier spot. Waiting is so boring."
Isaac replied, "... Well, it's always better to not be the first. It can give us a chance to observe the others and perhaps figure out some clues before the test. That's why I wanted us to be somewhere in the middle."
"I suppose so. But just what kind of clues can we gain while standing in line?" Khun said, not looking fully convinced.
Isaac said nothing.
After a while, upon noticing Isaac and Bam curiously looking around, Khun broke the silence again and asked, "What's so interesting, Isaac?"
Isaac looked back at Khun. He slightly smiled and replied, "Well, it's my first time on a floating ship, just that. There's some interesting tech here. And the architecture is interesting too."
"Ah, I see… And what about you, Bam? Is it also your first time on a ship?" Khun then asked Bam, who appeared even more excited.
Bam turned from Isaac to Khun, gently smiled and said, "That too... But… It's just that I've never been in such a bright place."
'He's never been… in a bright place?' Khun looked at Bam again. What?
"Um, guys…" Bam then muttered as he looked up toward a window on the roof.
"Yes?" Khun asked.
"That blue thing… is that what's called the 'Sky'?" Bam asked.
Khun looked at him weirdly. "... Yeah. Why are you asking about obvious things? It's like you've never seen the sky before."
"Oh! So it is the sky!" Bam exclaimed excitedly.
"What?" Khun wore dumbfounded expressions at this reaction.
[What? What is that kid smoking? Had he really never seen the sky before?]
"Haha." Isaac laughed after hearing Mordred's comment.
Meanwhile, Bam continued in high spirits: "I know that if you keep going up into the sky, you can get to the bright stars!"
"What?" Khun looked at Bam. "What are you talking about, Bam? Stars are just a legend."
As Bam's expression dimmed down, Khun glanced at Isaac for his reaction, then looked toward the window and continued, "Even if you go up, the only thing you'll reach is this floor's roof. That blue sky was created by Shinsoo, and the bright thing at night is just a light ball."
Bam: "..."
Isaac thought to himself, 'So it's a fake sky… No wonder there is no sun here and instead seven light orbs. Well, it's good enough for me. If you reach the top, I don't see how you wouldn't be able to make your way outside anyway.'
Khun continued, "I heard there are stars in the outside world… but they don't exist, at least not here in the Tower."
"Oh… I-I see…" Bam looked down as his visage turned somewhat disappointed.
Khun glanced at Isaac again as he secretly observed his reaction.
"""Aaaaaarhhhhh!"""
Suddenly, a miserable combined shout could be heard, coming from where the test took place.
"?!"
"Hm?"
Everyone in the area quietened down as they looked toward the door in front.
"What… What was that sound?" Khun asked.
[This sounded… like the screams of the dying,] Mordred bluntly commented.
At the same time, the Guide Yellowy smiled and pointed with her hand toward the door, announcing, "Next team, please."
Finally, the Regulars started reacting.
"Wha… What? What was that scream?!"
"Are they… dead?"
"W-what is this test?"
"Is this test… perhaps… super dangerous?"
Meanwhile Isaac glanced at the door and quietly muttered, "About ten minutes."
"What?"
When Khun quietly asked, Isaac faintly smiled at him and lightly replied, "Nothing. It's just… about ten minutes passed since the first team entered. And then the scream happened."
"I see," Khun muttered half-heartedly as he watched another team enter the room.
Isaac continued, "Time is kind of the only thing that we can keep track of in this test, so I guess it would be good to set up a timer."
"Hm, sure. It won't hurt... Pocket Visible Mode," Khun casually started a timer while secretly appraising Isaac.
…
"This team finished after five minutes and thirty seconds. And they didn't scream," Khun quietly commented while looking at his Pocket's timer.
"So far only four out of ten teams didn't scream," Isaac added.
"If only the soundless teams passed, then the pass rate is pretty low," Khun murmured.
"One thing is clear though," Isaac said. As Khun looked at him, he quietly voiced out what they both began suspecting, "All the teams that didn't scream finished the test at around five minutes, but those that screamed took way more than five minutes, most often even over ten minutes."
"That seems to be the case…" Khun murmured.
Recalling how things happened in the manhwa, Isaac continued, "But we should probably also include the time during which the administrator initially explains the rules of the test, so we have to subtract up to 30 seconds. And then the administrator might also hold a short conversation with the Regulars afterward, extending the test time, so let's subtract 30 to 45 seconds. This would mean without a doubt that the teams that didn't scream all took less than 5 minutes to complete the test."
"That's true." Khun nodded as he looked at Isaac with an expression of admiration.
In their situation, the time that the teams took to finish their tests and the screams was the only things they could take note of.
And Isaac noticed it immediately. His reasoning and deduction skills were outstanding.
No other sounds came out from within, but the screams that seemed to be let out on purpose, so it was a clear clue for those outside. A clue that no matter what they had to do inside, they needed to finish the test within 5 minutes!
…
At one point, the team in front of them finished their test and it was time for Isaac's team to enter.
Isaac told Khun, "I think you saw this too. The previous team overheard our conversation…"
Khun nodded at this with a knowing expression and finished: "...Yes. And they finished within five minutes without a scream, confirming our theory. Well, let's go crack this test!"
[Yeah, let's go, Master! I'm excited!]
…
Isaac, Khun and Bam entered the testing room together when the door opened before them.
After entering the room and once the doors closed behind them, the first thing they noticed was that it was eerily pitch black, except for 12 glowing red doors and a person sitting at the center in front of a decorated paper screen.
Isaac raised his eyebrows as he looked at the person who seemed to be the test administrator. 'Right. I remember this person from the manhwa. She's quite pretty... But wasn't it actually a dude?'
[This person should be even stronger than the Pikachu guy...]
"Nice to meet you Regulars. My name is Yu Han Sung, your next test administrator," Han Sung introduced himself with a bow and charming and placid smile, speaking in a voice that definitely belonged to a guy.
"Nice to meet you." Bam politely bowed back.
"Hello." Isaac also cupped his fists, reflecting the administrator's gesture.
Meanwhile, Khun silently looked at Han Sung blankly as if wondering whether the administrator was a male or a female.
Han Sung maintained a placid expression as he continued, "I'm usually just… the Test Director on Evanhkell's Floor. But this time I will be directly in charge of the test."
'Just the Test Director?' Isaac thought to himself, raising his eyebrows in mild amusement.
He originally ignored it when reading the manhwa, but it was clear that this guy was here just to observe the Regulars during the test, and probably especially to observe him and Bam - the Irregulars.
Without a change in expression, Han Sung continued, "This time the test is simple. Do you see all these doors behind me? Within ten minutes… find the real door and open it."
"Ah, within ten minutes? Not within five?" Bam asked bluntly with a confused face.
At this question, Yu Han Sung's expression remained unchanged and he continued speaking: "You have ten minutes. There are 12 doors in total. And among them, find the 'real door' that will take you outside."
"Find the real door? Amongst all of those?" Khun parroted, faintly raising his eyebrows at the test administrator.
"Yes, if you find the real door and open it… you will pass this test. However, if you don't find the door in ten minutes and give up… you'll fail. And if you open the wrong door within ten minutes… You will… die."
"D-die, you said?!" Bam stuttered in fright.
"Then... What is the secret to finding the real door?" Khun asked.
"There aren't… any more hints," the administrator added slowly as he smiled in a mysterious manner.
"What? Aah, what is this test?" Bam panicked.
[Eh, what the hell is this bullshit test?!]
"Well, then… the test begins." Yu Hang Sun made a break sign with his hands, signaling that he'll no longer speak.
The test started.
Both Bam and Mordred panicked.
On the other hand, Khun and Isaac were calm and simply deep in thought.
Mordred saw this, then said, [... Oi, Master, do I get it right? Since there are no hints… We just have to open any door within five minutes, right?]
Isaac was a bit stunned when he heard Mordred immediately figure out the answer. Truly, being simple-minded was sometimes a blessing.
章 11: Chapter 11. The Door test 2
Isaac already knew the answer from the manhwa. But he still had to pretend to be thinking about it, and he was also looking for clues purely for peace of mind.
After all, how could he rely on an answer from a comic when his life was on the line, and the test was flawed in his eyes in the first place.
At that time, Khun looked at Isaac. As the two exchanged meaningful glances, Khun said, "It seems that we need to open a door within five minutes, but let's look for other clues."
"Mhm." Isaac nodded, tacitly agreeing.
After briefly glancing at the twelve look-alike doors, his eyes landed on a large digital clock with red numbers that started moving the moment Han Sung announced the beginning of the test.
He immediately noted that this clok's dials were moving at an abnormally fast rate.
Hang Sun secretly looked at Isaac. 'It seems he's a smart one. But I'm sorry to say this. This isn't a test that can be solved with smarts alone.'
At that time, Khun followed the direction of Isaac's gaze and his expression flashed with surprise.
'Weird. Why is there a clock here when we have Pockets?'
The moment the test began, their Pockets also automatically launched a timer just like during the first test. In that case, why would there also be a digital clock inside the room? That clock was obviously suspicious.
Wearing a focused mask, Isaac observed the clock at the well, sometimes turning to the Pocket's timer and at the twelve doors.
After watching the clock for a while, he then examined the doors.
Khun followed him and did the same.
However, in Isaac's eyes all of the doors looked somewhat the same; there seemed to be no point in examining them.
Taking a step back, Isaac looked around the dark room in search of any other clues.
Apart from the digital clock and the 12 doors, there was only the administrator himself there sitting down and leisurely drinking coffee, and an ornate paper wall behind him.
Isaac looked at the paper wall, but saw that it only consisted of abstract paint marks with no order to them at all. If he kept searching for anything in it, he would probably only waste his time.
Soon enough, three minutes passed on the Pocket.
At that time, both Isaac and Khun thought of the same thing - it was obvious that no matter what, if they cannot figure out any more clues, they must choose any door within five minutes.
Khun thought, 'The clock seems to have a five minute cycle. Within five minutes, a full resolution happens. The teams that didn't scream finished the test within five minutes as well, so does it matter which door we choose? But why? Why is it fine to choose any door when we're supposed to pick the correct one? What is the point of this test? Just what is it testing?'
He hesitated.
Just because the teams that didn't scream finished early, didn't mean that they passed - they could have been killed silently. It could have been another trap.
In addition, it was a very weird test.
How's that clock a proper clue toward the true time limit?
And why would they have to rely on what they could have noticed before the test, when the test's rules was to open a door within TEN MINUTES, not five.
Those teams which have entered first, would have no chance of figuring the clues that they did.
It simply didn't feel right.
There are no more hints.
We can't make any mistakes. If we do, we die.
Don't trust anyone.
There are no more hints.
Why would it be possible to choose any door?
The answer… Is it so simple? Or is it a trap?
What's the point of this test?
Are there any more hints? What are the hints? Did I miss something?
[Aaah! This is so annoying! If there are no hints, let's just open any door!] Mordred whined.
Isaac smiled as he felt that Mordred might be up to something, but he had a certain suspicion. He turned to Khun and asked, "Khun, it was said that we have to find the correct door, was it?"
Khun looked at Isaac for a moment, being pulled out from his thoughts, and wrinkled his eyebrows. "Yes, why?"
"No, I mean - what was the wording used? Was it to find the 'correct' door or the 'real' door?" Isaac rephrased his question.
"Uh, I think it was the 'real door'…" Bam softly answered.
"Yeah, I'm also sure it was the 'real door'." Khun nodded with a thoughtful expression as he corrected himself.
[Yep, 'real door' for sure. But I'm sure why it matters.]
And Isaac smirked at this.
"Did you notice something?" Khun asked him.
Isaac smiled. "I think so… Well, aren't all of these doors… real?"
Khun stared at Isaac for a moment and then his eyes suddenly flashed with realization.
Real - meaning non-virtual, existing in reality.
This was another clue hidden within Han Sung's words!
It was obvious that the ten minutes time limit was some kind of trap, but in regards to the doors - aren't all of these doors 'real' as well?
"So… We really just have to open any of the doors before the real time limit is up?... Because they are all real doors?" Khun concluded, wearing an expression of wonder.
Isaac slowly nodded. "It seems so. But let's think about it a bit more, just in case."
"Right." Khun nodded.
Meanwhile Yu Han Sung's eyes secretly glinted, as he looked at Isaac. 'Amazing. He noticed all the clues.'
So far, most teams simply open a random door soon after entry upon hearing that there are no clues. They thought that since there are no clues, it doesn't matter which door they open. They might have also been influenced by the tips from his subordinates.
They passed, but they didn't solve this test at all.
Even the Regular Shibisu Leesoo, who had performed the best so far, did not pick up on that one clue!
Isaac was the first so far.
At that time, Khun and Isaac both looked at the Test Administrator, but Yu Han Sung maintained his poker face without a slightest change in expression and didn't give them any hints.
Following that, although Khun and Isaac already felt that they had the answer, they still kept looking for any other clues just in case. It was for the chance that perhaps there was something that they had missed and the other one would notice.
Once the Pocket reached 4 minutes and 30 seconds and the digital clock was close to completing a full revolution, Isaac decided to not delay things any longer.
After approaching one of the doors, he said, "I'm going to open a random door."
Watching this, Khun was silent and was only slightly frowning.
Bam looked on anxiously and also did not say anything.
Isaac looked at them, then looked back at the door. Hearing no complaints, he placed his hand at the handle and then gently opened it.
Behind him, Khun and Bam looked at that door with differing expressions.
Slowly, the door opened.
And what greeted them was the brightness of the outside world.
"The… outside?" Bam muttered.
"So did we pass?" Khun asked as he then looked toward the Tower Administrator.
As the three turned with anxious and hopeful expressions, they saw the administrator start clapping his hands. "Congratulations! You've passed."
At this, all three let out breaths of relief.
"Sheesh."
"We passed!" Bam gripped his fists.
[Phew. Well, I knew the answer from the start...]
"Amazing. How did you get the answer?" Hang Sun asked with a placid smile.
And Isaac rolled his eyes inwardly with a plain smile, secretly thinking, 'I knew it from reading a comic.'
Keeping this truth to himself, Isaac answered, "The answer is to choose any of the twelve doors within five minutes, because after five minutes all doors turn into wrong doors, right?"
"Correct."
"Then isn't this test extremely disadvantageous for those who enter first?"
"That's also correct. Those who blindly rush into the unknown head first are at a disadvantage"
"At a disadvantage? You basically sentenced the first few teams to certain death," Isaac said coldly and frowned at this kind of excuse.
Yu Han Sung smiled and replied, "In truth, those teams received a clue from my subordinates that were mixed in with the Regulars. But whether they trusted it or not, it was also their test."
Isaac was slightly enlightened when he heard this, but he still continued to stare at Han Sung because in his honest opinion this test still had little to do with fairness and was quite absurd.
One thing was that they were asked to choose a door within ten minutes, these were the rules of the test, so how could anything picked up from outside the test be used to overturn this truth?
In addition, the first few teams normally wouldn't even have a chance to pick up on this clue, making it feel even more wrong for someone in the position of Isaac's team who went in later.
He didn't like it, it felt wrong. This test had too many holes.
Isaac shook his head inwardly and continued explaining, "Anyway, I think the answer is obvious now. We simply kept track of the screams and the time the various teams took to finish, and noted that we have to finish the test within 5 minutes, no matter what it is."
"I see."
"The clock having a five minute cycle is a weird clue, but it's also there. Then we noticed that all of those doors are 'real', so it made things even simpler. However, I still didn't like this test."
After he finished speaking, Isaac turned away in a cool manner and began slowly leaving.
"Interesting, why did you not like this test? Did you not perform very well?" Han Sung asked.
Isaac looked back at him and wavered. There was a lot that he could say.
In fact, if he was in charge of this floor, he would fire whichever idiot administered this kind of test. In the manhwa nearly everyone passed just by stumbling about randomly and it ended up testing nothing while more than half of the Regulars died pointless deaths.
But, if as a Regular that's being tested he suddenly started insulting the test administrator who held absolute power around here, it would only be stupid.
"I just didn't like it," said Isaac.
Han Sung maintained a tranquil smile, as he replied, "Well, that's alright. You all did well, but I would like to give you one piece of advice, Mr. Isaac and Mr. Khun."
'Hm?' Isaac and Khun both raised their eyebrows as they turned back.
Han Sung faintly smiled. "Don't try to always solve everything by yourselves. Don't forget to rely on your teammates. And sometimes… It's better to not overthink things and simply open the door in front of you."
[Master, he's right, you know…]
Isaac was a little taken aback, smiled and then nodded. "I'll remember it."
He was aware that it was indeed one of his problems back in the first life.
Because he felt that everyone around him was an idiot, he would make all the decisions by himself, but it didn't mean that he always made the right ones.
Meanwhile, Khun frowned.
Han Sung gently smiled and continued, "You have good teammates to go up the Tower with. Congratulations. The test is over, so let's say goodbye for now."
As the administrator cupped his fists and bowed, Isaac and Bam returned the gesture and began to leave while Khun stood expressionlessly at the side for a moment, before finally beginning to catch up.
"And one more thing, Mr. Khun," Yu Han Sung spoke once again before they all left. "Your bag… looks heavy, huh?"
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