4 - Test

TL/Editor: raei Schedule:

Illustrations: None.

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[Human Qualification Exam]

-Hostility Level: Orange

-Danger Level: 3

-Importance Grade: C

-Details: An anomaly that randomly replaces exams to test human qualifications. Those who pass become human, and those who fail are no longer considered human.

The exam can appear in any place, whether in written or practical form, on the internet, or in reality.

-Countermeasure: Use AI in data centers to repeatedly conduct fake exams, reducing the probability of the real exam appearing. For every real exam, create 100 million fake exams.

***

[Special Cases and Risks of the Human Qualification Exam]

-An online lecture exam taken at home on a computer. A mother reported discovering a large beast in her home.

This was the first case of the exam appearing online, leading to it replacing internet personality and psychological tests.

-In the case of a culinary skills practical exam. The test required the candidate to cook using their body parts. Those who passed were left with permanent disabilities due to the loss of body parts.

This caused physical harm due to the Human Qualification Exam.

-When an animal took the Human Qualification Exam.

During a university study on animal intelligence, the exam appeared when animals were tested. It tested the animals.

The animals that failed appeared the same, but crows and monkeys that passed became human.

These crows and monkeys were used for [Redacted].

-Security tests conducted at an orbital space station and on Mars.

The physical areas in which the Human Qualification Exam can appear is increasing.

-Testing anomalies with [Redacted].

These cases indicate that this anomaly is clearly evolving. It has increased its media appearances, expanded its test subjects, and broadened its areas to include [Redacted].

In the worst case, every moment of human life could become a Human Qualification Exam.

Fake humans—bugs, animals, or fish—might at one point, outnumber real humans.

The grade must be elevated to Red.

***

[Regarding the Grade Elevation of the Human Qualification Exam.]

For now, we will maintain the current situation.

Of course, the Red grade is appropriate. An anomaly hostile to humans, an anomaly that does not contribute to the survival of humanity, must be destroyed.

However, we have seen usefulness in it.

How does it grant and revoke the components of humanity?

What are the components of humanity?

If we understand the principles, or if we can even make the exam appear at our desired time and place,

By turning animals into humans like those monkeys and crows, we can reduce unnecessary losses of real humans.

We protect humanity.

If using and studying anomalies benefits the long-term survival of humanity, we will take some risks.

But we cannot ignore the potential dangers completely.

Since we already have a Human Qualification Research Team, let’s establish another team to study destruction countermeasures.

When the danger level rises to 5, we will assign the Red grade and destroy it.

***

[Records of the Human Qualification Exam's Appearance]

-A high school in Korea. It replaced the 2026 local government level 9 civil service exam. Discovered after a 119 report of beasts entering during the civil service exam.

The number of victims was 33, with additional damages - the cursor blinked behind the text.

After staring at the monitor for a long time while writing the report, a middle-aged man let out a deep sigh. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Damn it. Isn’t the probability of this showing up in a real exam less than 0.00001 percent? Out of all the exams, why did it have to appear in Korea, and during a civil service exam?”

As he leaned his heavy body back, the chair creaked loudly.

A woman sitting at a distant desk, only looking at her monitor, responded roughly.

"They say the data center has its limits. It’s starting to appear in MBTI[1] tests and CAPTCHA tests. They can’t run more fake exams."

"Damn it. Then just destroy it. There are already so many anomalies in the world, why create something else to worry about?"

The man, irritably tapping his thigh, placed his hands back on the keyboard and continued typing the report.

The sound of typing filled the empty office.

It was a vast space, but it felt hollow with so many empty desks and only two people working there.

After a moment, the man spoke again.

“Are the follow-up measures for the victims being sent out today?”

“The local civilian response team has been dispatched.”

“They’ll probably just use memory erasers.”

“A new recruit might join us. It would be good if they came to our department.”

The woman spoke with a faint hope in her voice, but the man scoffed.

It was common to make recruitment offers to those who had experienced anomalies, but rarely did anyone who had been deeply affected by anomalies join the Humanity Protection Company.

No one who escaped hell would willingly walk back into it.

Especially since refusing the offer came with the benefit of having those horrific memories erased.

But the woman’s eyes still shone with hope as she spoke.

“People who failed the civil service exam. If they’ve been taking it for years, they might be desperate for a job.”

“...Is that so?”

The man, who had been scoffing just moments ago, now leaned forward with a serious expression.

“That makes sense. I have to go to the HR department. I’ll ask them to send any new recruits our way first.”

The man stood up abruptly and marched off, exuding the energy of someone about to pick a fight.

As he reached the entrance of the wide office, the woman raised a fist energetically.

“Leader! Make sure to bring them in!”

“Will do! Let’s fill this office up!”

He threw the door open and slammed it shut behind him, the noise echoing through the empty office.

The old nameplate on the closed door read “Anomaly Investigation Team,” with the paint peeling off.

It was the department with the highest turnover rate at the Humanity Protection Company’s Korean branch.

---

---

Knock knock-

“Is Lee Yeonwoo here?”

Yeonwoo was sitting in his gosiwon room in front of an empty desk.

The white desk lamp illuminated the desk as he stared blankly at the swirling wood grain, then turned his head.

His hollow eyes glared at the metal door.

Knock knock-

“We know you’re in there. Please open the door.”

“Who are you?”

A voice, hoarse from disuse, came out.

A man answered from beyond the door.

“You went through something big recently, right? We’re here about that.”

"...."

Something big.

The words made nightmarish scenes flash through his mind.

The exam.

The strange questions.

The people turning into beasts. The Human Qualification Certificate lying on one side of his desk.

His heart raced.

His breathing grew labored, and his vision blurred.

His mind went white.

Yeonwoo clutched his chest and forced himself to take a deep breath.

“Hoooo. I’m coming out. Just a moment.”

Since the incident, he hadn’t slept properly.

When he lay down and closed his eyes, the memories of that day replayed, leading to panic attacks like now.

It got worse when he tried to study.

Every time he saw questions or exam papers, his hands shook, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Concentration was impossible.

He repeated deep breaths until he managed to calm down.

Thud—

Yeonwoo, resting his hands on the desk, stood up and opened the door.

The hallway light flooded into the windowless room, casting the shadows of two men inside.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

The two men wore fluorescent vests, looking perfectly at home in the gosiwon hallway.

The tall and short men hesitated before entering the room.

It was very dark, with the desk lamp being the only source of light.

"Let me turn on the light."

The tall man fumbled along the wall beside the door, searching for the switch.

Yeonwoo didn't say anything.

Even though he was the room’s owner, their actions felt natural.

There was no reason to stop them.

"Ah, here it is."

Click—

The ceiling light poured down a blinding brightness.

Their fluorescent vests shone brightly, causing Yeonwoo to squint.

"Let's go in. Oh, there's nowhere to sit."

"Sit on the bed."

"Thank you."

Yeonwoo let them in.

He gestured to the unmade bed, and they sat on the edge naturally, as if they were part of the room.

Creak—

Yeonwoo sat in his chair and turned to face them.

The room was small, and their eyes met at a very close distance.

Yeonwoo spoke first.

"You said you came because of that incident. What exactly do you mean?"

"You experienced the Human Qualification Exam, correct?"

"...."

The direct term, Human Qualification Exam, left Yeonwoo speechless.

Questions surged within him, leaving his throat tight.

He opened and closed his mouth like a fish, his eyes wide.

'How do they know? What do they know? Are they involved with the exam? Why did they come? Or are they other victims? Why me?'

As if understanding his thoughts, the short man smiled and spoke.

"There is an agency that deals with such anomalies. We are the people who handle the aftermath for victims like you."

Anomalies.

An agency.

Aftermath.

Yeonwoo had many questions, but he focused on the word aftermath.

"By aftermath, you mean...?"

It sounded ominous.

Creak—

He subtly inched his chair toward the door, positioning himself to block the men with the chair if necessary and make a quick exit.

The man quickly waved his hands, his voice friendly.

"It's nothing strange or bad. Do you know those old movies with aliens[2]? It's like that."

He mimed pressing a pen-like device.

Yeonwoo recognized the gesture from a film where agents erased witnesses' memories with a flash of light.

"Memory erasure?"

"Yes, that’s right. It’s a good offer for you. You seem to be struggling. You look exhausted, like you haven’t slept."

"That’s true…."

"We can erase those memories for you. You can return to a peaceful life."

"Oh…."

It was a good offer.

In his current state, he couldn’t study.

Those weren’t good memories—they were nightmares.

Yeonwoo leaned forward, showing interest in the offer.

Then the tall man spoke.

"There is another option besides memory erasure."

"What? What is it?"

"You could join our company."

"I will."

The words burst out instinctively.

Even Yeonwoo was surprised and covered his mouth.

The two men widened their eyes, then glanced around the small room with understanding expressions.

"First, hear us out."

"I was a bit hasty."

"That's understandable. Let us explain what our company is and what kind of world this is."

The short and tall men took turns explaining.

There were countless anomalies in the world, like the Human Qualification Exam.

The Humanity Protection Company was an organization that protected humanity from these anomalies.

The short man’s smile faded as he added seriously.

"Don’t decide lightly. Think it over many times before making a decision. No matter which department you join, you'll be risking your life. Many people actually die."

"...."

Yeonwoo closed his eyes.

A torrent of thoughts and considerations filled his mind.

His brain was overwhelmed.

Preparing further for the civil service exam didn’t seem promising.

Taking the exam had become an end in itself.

The recruitment offer was a stroke of luck and an opportunity.

But the fear he felt during the Human Qualification Exam, the dread still clinging to his mind, made him question whether he should face such things again.

Three minutes of contemplation that felt like three hours.

Yeonwoo opened his eyes.

The clear light of the ceiling reflected in his determined eyes.

His voice came out firmly.

“I’ll join.”

“If you join, we’ll leave your memories intact. You’ll continue to suffer. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“If I don’t join, I’ll suffer even more.”

That was the conclusion.

If he missed this opportunity, he couldn’t guarantee the rest of his life.

It would be risky, but he was willing to take that risk.

The tall and short men stood up.

With three people in the small room, it felt crowded.

“Then we’ll be going. We might meet as colleagues next time. See you then.”

“But how will I get details about the interview or further instructions?”

The short man, standing by the open door, smiled brightly after moving the chair aside.

“The company will contact you.”

Yeonwoo nodded.

After coming all the way to his room, contacting him wouldn’t be an issue.

The door closed.

He was left alone in the brightly lit room.

Yeonwoo touched his lips.

They were stretched into a wide smile. He burst out laughing.

“Heh. Haha.”

He had a job. He was employed.

It was a dangerous job, but at this moment, none of that mattered. Pure joy erupted within him.

He jumped up and down, the room echoing with his laughter, his arms reaching high toward the ceiling.

‘Yes. This is a real job. No, it’s even better. Isn’t it more impressive to work for a company that protects humanity than being a civil servant working for the country and its people?’

Yeonwoo hurriedly grabbed his phone.

His trembling hands dialed a number without hesitation.

“I got a job! Yeah, it’s at a really good company. How did it happen? They offered me a position!”

Yeonwoo had joined the Humanity Protection Company.

---

[1. raei: MBTI test is a personality test]

[2. raei: Men in black! Wait that's considered an old movie now.. damn I'm old]

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