I left Lee Suhye and Soo Jinyoung alone on the University rooftop and made my way towards the warehouse. I needed to meet you with the others to begin my next step.
Lee Suhye was unreliable and Soo Jinyoung was sleeping like a sleeping beauty. Naturally, I was annoyed. The protagonist was having a nice dream while I was suffering because of the trial.
Maybe I was being too insensitive here. If that person is really dreaming then it's not going to be a good dream. In the novel, it was stated that Soo Jinyoung couldn't sleep properly because of the trauma of her past lives.
If it was possible for her to overcome the accumulated trauma from her previous lives, even if it was just a little, then it would be good for me as well.
When I arrived at the warehouse, I noticed the place was noisy. What was going on? Did something happen?
At first, I thought Jung Donghyun was making trouble but I discarded that thought. The tax collectors were no longer here so it would be dumb of him if he caused any problem.
When I reached the scene, I came across an unexpected sight.
A few people were tied up and placed in the middle while the group members surrounded them. I moved closer to know what was happening.
I spotted Lee Jongho and approached, "Hey, who are these people?"
"I don't know. But they say they came from Sindaebang."
"I see. Did they attack?"
Lee Jongho wore a strange expression. "Um, no. They didn't. They said they wanted to see you."
"They want to meet me?"
I raised my brows at Lee Jongho's wotds. Currently, I had the appearance of Soo Jinyoung because of the white mask. Meaning, these people came here to meet Soo Jinyoung.
I see. I understand what was happening. If these guys came here for Soo Jinyoung then it was probably because of the apostles.
I studied the expressions of the foreign people one by one and opened my mouth.
"Who is the leader of this group?"
"Ah, that will be me."
A man spoke out from the small group. Once I narrowed my eyes, I noticed it was a lean man with a gentle expression.
"What is your name?"
"My name is Kim Ilho and we are from the Sindaebang group."
Kim IIho. Was there a character like this in the Song of the Fall? More importantly, he said he was the vice representative. Meaning, he was not the main representative. They came here without their group representative. It was suspicious.
[Exclusive skill 'Omniscient Wall' has activated.]
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[Private Information]
Name: Kim Ilho
Age: 35 years old
Constellation Sponsor: Master of Escape.
Exclusive Attribute: Con Artist (Common)
Unique Skills: Poker Face Lv. 3, Distraction Lv. 2, Disarming Traps and Binds Lv. 3, Pick Pocket Lv. 5, Riding Lv. 3
Authority: Escape
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 12, Strength Lv. 10, Agility Lv. 15, Magic Power Lv. 12.
Description: A character with no talent in fighting. However, he has talent in information gathering and can escape from any situation. He used to be a great pickpocket before the tragedy.
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So he was a character as well but I couldn't remember him. Maybe he was an unimportant character that got killed off during the boarding games.
"You said you were a messenger, correct?"
"Yes. Are you perhaps the representative of this group, Soo Jinyoung?"
"Yes. I'm Soo Jinyoung."
The man was stunned for a bit then regained his composure shortly. Anyone that met Soo Jinyoung for the first time would have such a reaction but this guy was more calm than I expected.
I opened my mouth impatiently, "Why did you come here? What message do you have for me?"
"Just like I told that man over there, we did not come here to fight. We came here with a good offer."
"You want to form an alliance?"
"Seems like you already know. The Sindaebang group wants to form an alliance with the Soo Jinyoung's Company."
The people of the Soo Jinyoung's Company heard these words and murmured among themselves. Kim IIho looked into my eyes, waiting for an answer.
"It's a strange offer. We already have enough pieces."
"Is that what you think? Maybe you don't know this but the situation is not good."
"What do you mean?"
Kim IIho began to explain, "The fourth trial has already been in progress for a few days so alliances have already been formed. The groups are currently in a position where they're at risk of complete annihilation if they attack the wrong party."
Only a few minutes had passed. A sudden thought emerged and I opened my mouth.
"Your group representative, what kind of man is he?"
"Oh, that..."
There was a change in his expression. He went from wearing a calm expression to a complicated expression.
"To be honest, the boss is a person that says strange things all the time like 'the story should have flowed llike this' or 'why is it different from the chapters'. It's as if he thinks the world is a novel. It's ridiculous."
"That kind of person would be insane, wouldn't he?"
In response, Kim IIho only laughed. "At first, I thought the same. But after spending time with him, he's not that bad. He's a person that cares for his companions. He even accepted a good for nothing like me. He's truly a great guy."
"You seem to like him alot."
"That's natural." A walm smile formed on Kim IIho's face. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive today. For that matter, none of the Sindaebang group members would have been alive."
"How did you survive the first trial?"
"Ah, that. It's a funny story. We all survived by killing grasshoppers."
"Grasshoppers?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"That's right. We were in the train going to next station at the time when the trial begun. Everyone was panicking and one guy even wanted to start killing. That was when..."
The man paused then continued his story. "That was when the boss addressed the people and explained that situation. 'The trial is to kill a living being, not a human'. He really looked like a hero. You should have seen him."
"What happened next?"
"T-That..."
Kim IIho wore a dark expression. Even if they could survive by killing grasshoppers, not everyone can be saved. Someone must have brought a grasshopper box on the train but there will not enough grasshoppers to go around. Only a few people can be saved.
Kim IIho finally opened his mouth.
"Obviously, the grasshoppers were not enough so only a few could survive by killing grasshoppers. You can already guess what happened afterwards."
"I see."
"Anyways, we'll soon reach the station if we continue moving in a straight line."
Kim IIho closed his mouth and focused on the road. Perhaps it was a difficult story for Kim IIho.
A character from a novel could also feel such emotions, huh?
Soo Jinyoung would never ask such questions. She only focused on her goal alone. In fact, I only asked those questions because I was curious about the 'general' of the Sindaebang station.
From what I could gather from Kim IIho's story, I realised that person was also a 'reader' like me. Thinking about it, the way the prophet survived the first trial seemed similar to how the protagonist of ORV survived the first scenario.
"...!"
My eyes suddenly noticed something in the distance and I shouted.
"Everyone, stop!"
"Wha.."
"Stop right now!"
At my words, the riders abruptly hit the brakes, causing the bikes to screech on the pavement. It was sudden, but we ultimately came to a halt.
I came down from the back seat and everyone looked at me. Kim IIho spoken.
"Jinyoung-ssi, why did you..."
"Look forward."
"Where?"
"Over there. There's something on the floor."
"...!"
Kim IIho looked where I was pointing and his eyes widened. Everyone looked as well and someone gulped.
The road was littered with sharp objects. These were spikes designed to puncture the tires of moving vehicles. If we hadn't noticed them in time and stopped, our bikes would have been damaged.
Yes, someone had intentionally placed those spikes on the road to ruin our vehicles. But where are those people now?
Well, that question was answered in the next moment.
Thud, thud—
Several people dressed like street thugs jumped out from their hiding spots and approached the group. Rather, these people were actually 'thugs' both in their rough appearance and the weapons they were carrying.
My face contorted into a frown. It looked like things were about to become even more troublesome.
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N/B: This time, my tongue was set as the wand' is a reference to sorcery. A wand is a tool wielded by wizards, witches, or other magical beings to cast spells, perform enchantments, or channel magical power. It's rather strange since a ward cannot be a tongue. However, it's possible to channel magic power or cast spells through incantations which makes use of the tongue.
There is something called 'Idol Theory' which refers to the phenomenon wherein an imitation of a whole or parts of a subject, the source, gains properties and attributes that are inherent to that source.