Surviving Restructuring

Thud!

The twins stomped their feet in perfect sync, and twin streaks of ice burst from the cracks in the asphalt, zipping toward him like lightning. A chilling blue frost slithered up from the ground, coiling around Eun-Ho’s legs like a snake.

Eun-Ho twitched. Before he knew it, his legs were frozen solid, fused with the ground. When he tried to move, his feet barely flinched.

The twins lifted their chins smugly, certain of their victory.

I let it happen once, but twice? That’s wishful thinking, one of the twins thought.

[Frostbite has been detected.]

[Due to the effect of Ice Fragment, skill Ice Resistance(Lv.1) has been activated.]

[Remaining duration: 2 minutes 41 seconds.]

As the twins confidently approached, all caution thrown into the wind, Eun-Ho moved his legs again.

Crack!

With a sharp sound, the thick armor of frost around his legs split open. He took one step forward, already feeling lighter.

“What the heck?! Frostbite didn’t work?!”

“No way!”

Pzzzz—

The frozen shards clinging to him scattered and melted into the air along with the twins’ confidence.

“But how?! How is that possible?!”

“I came prepared,” Eun-Ho said coolly.

“You! You monster!”

“Monster? When the two of you look straight out of a horror movie?”

Because really... Who walks around with things like that on their legs? Eun-Ho thought.

The twins clenched their teeth, their identical bowl cuts flaring as they launched toward him in tandem.

“Acceleration!” Eun-Ho shouted.

He wasn’t going to drag this out, so he decided to play with time and finish this.

Caught in mid-air like balloons in slow motion, the twins drifted toward him as if suspended in syrup.

With level four Acceleration, Eun-Ho had twenty seconds remaining. He crouched, blade raised, and launched himself off the ground.

The enemies quickly came into range. Dodging their projected paths, he swung his sword.

At that moment, one of the twins twisted mid-air.

“I’m gonnaaaa kiiiill youuuu!”

Even with time slowed twentyfold, the attack shot toward Eun-Ho’s gut with deadly precision.

Thud!

Thanks to him turning at the last second, it just grazed his side. It hit with such force that no human skull would survive the impact.

However, there was no time to feel the full brunt of it.

[Chitin Breastplate has absorbed part of the impact!]

The tough but flexible armor cushioned the blow like a shock absorber.

Crash!

As one twin slammed into him, the other wrapped around his head, ice spreading fast across themselves.

[Saetani has activated the skill, Frostbite.]

[Due to your title Ghost Slayer, you are unaffected by this skill.]

By now, they should’ve known that their skills wouldn’t directly affect him. Nevertheless, they persisted, as if trying to block his vision and drop his body temperature.

Even under Acceleration, they can still move this much?How impressive, Eun-Ho thought.

[Due to the effect of Ice Fragment, skill Ice Resistance(Lv.1) has been activated.]

[Remaining duration: 2 minutes 28 seconds.]

But like I said... It doesn’t work on me.

Thud!

The next moment, Eun-Ho slammed the one clinging to his head straight into the ground.

Swoosh—!

Then, he turned and slashed behind him, right at the calf of the other twin. More precisely, at the strange icicle exhaust pipe that jutted out like something off a motorcycle muffler.

Pzzzt—!

So this is it...

As his blade cut through the long, pale blue icicle, its glow began to fade. The frozen mass slowly lost its color, turning into a dull, sickly gray. The icicle-like appendage sputtered, spewing out a few chunks of ice.

Crash!

Then, they hit the ground and shattered into pieces.

“Aaaaargh!”

At the same time, the twin writhed in agony as if their flesh had just been gouged out.

Flesh! That’s what this was to them. To these creatures, those icy exhausts were probably just like arms or legs, extensions of their very being. So that’s the source of their freezing powers!

He always noticed the stomp that came with their ability. Besides, both of them always used the same leg.

Now, time to finish the job. With smooth, practiced movements, Eun-Ho severed the second twin’s exhaust in the same way.

Swoosh—! Swish—!

He made clean, precise cuts, while also being careful not to touch their actual bodies. That was enough to neutralize their skills.

As he worked the longblade with the delicacy of a sculptor, system messages chimed in.

[The proficiency of the skill Basic Swordsmanship(Lv. 2) has reached its max!]

[The level of the skill Basic Swordsmanship has increased (Lv. 2 to Lv. 3).]

His skill, Basic Swordsmanship, had finally leveled up. It barely budged no matter how many monsters he killed, but apparently, fighting in the Training Institute had made the difference.

All those stinking bugs he had sliced up were indeed worth the trouble.

[Would you like to check the effects of the skill, Basic Swordsmanship(Lv. 3)?]

“Not now.”

Although he was curious, he had to deal with these two first.

“Gyaaaargh!”

The twins’ pupils dilated slowly, pain blooming across their faces. For creatures that seemed like ghosts, their screams were disturbingly human. It was so loud and anguished that Eun-Ho half-expected a curse to follow.

“I doooon’t waaaant tooo dieeee!”

Still, there was a reason why he hadn’t killed them.

Rustle!

He grabbed the vine he had sliced earlier. Then, before his Acceleration ran out, he quickly bound the twins’ hands and feet. He simply did what they had done to him earlier.

The twins squirmed frantically, albeit their movements were slow and clumsy due to his skill. Before long, they were sprawled out, restrained on the very icy patch they had created.

“Leeeet uuuus goooo!”

Tick.

“Please!”

Their pitiful screams echoed, drowning out even the ticking of the second hand.

“Come on!”

“It hurts too much!”

“Stop hitting us!”

Even after seeing that they were tied up, the twins began twisting in place, trying to kneel.

Turned out their mental game was even weaker than expected. Then again, most of their dialogue so far had been stuff like “We’re scared we’ll get in trouble,” so it was somewhat predictable.

“You can keep the report! We won’t take it from you!”

“Please! Just please don’t kill us!”

Hmm. This is going a lot easier than I thought.

“Should I let you go, then?” Eun-Ho asked.

“Yes!”

“Please do!”

Their eyes went wide as saucers, bowl-cut hair bobbing as they nodded furiously. IHad their hands not tied behind their backs, they would probably be groveling at his feet.

Definitely small fry.

They were cowards who were more afraid of being scolded than taking responsibility, the type that always left the real decisions to someone higher up.

“In that case, I’ve got a condition,” Eun-Ho said.

“A condition?”

“What is it! Tell us!”

Small fry should be treated like small fry. Eun-Ho knew the game well because he had been on the receiving end enough times to recognize it.

“You know that report from earlier?” Eun-Ho asked.

[Sector 13: Investigation Report and Restructuring Efficiency Plan.]

The document was plastered with words like Confidential and Do Not Distribute. It broke down everything including Earth’s ecosystem, population distribution, national traits, and hierarchical structures.

“... Among Asians, Koreans in particular—accustomed to extreme academic and workplace competition—demonstrate strong mental resilience, but relatively poor physical aptitude. Simulation data also suggests their likelihood of unlocking Unique Abilities is the lowest, likely due to social norms that discourage individualism...”

Besides, it had a full analysis of the world, from top to bottom.

“... Therefore, the key to effective restructuring lies in how efficiently we can identify Subjects who fit our company’s ideal employee profile.”

All of it laid out from a cold, business perspective.

“... Thus, the design of the ‘Entrance Exam’ trial must be precise above all else...”

“It was great reading material, really. But the important part? That wasn’t in there,” Eun-Ho continued.

Gulp.

The twins looked up at Eun-Ho with faces caught somewhere between anxiety and dread.

“Umm... The important part?”

“What are you talking about?!”

They were visibly nervous. Perhaps, they could already sense what was coming. Seeing no point in dragging it out, Eun-Ho cut to the case.

“I want a sneak peek at the Entrance Exam trial.”

Their jaws dropped like cartoon characters.

“You’ve got the info, don’t you?” he asked.

“N-no way!”

“No! We don’t! Things like that don’t exist!”

They shook their heads frantically, clearly rattled. However, Eun-Ho had already seen the relevant line.

“... Detailed trial structures and procedures will be further elaborated in the Sector 13 Restructuring Efficiency Plan: Entrance Exam Project by District.”

Knowing it existed, he didn’t bother playing coy.

“Bring me that,” he said.

“N-no! That’s cheating!”

“That’s against the rules!”

He needed to know what kind of trial awaited them before it began. If that intel gave him even the slightest edge, so be it.

Let them call it cheating. If it meant surviving—if it meant helping others survive too—he would take it without hesitation.

“What? You don’t want to help?” Eun-Ho asked.

“We’ll get caught!”

“And they’ll cut our heads off!”

“Come on. You two are just field agents anyway. Even if you do get caught, they won’t go that far,” Eun-Ho replied.

He had already seen how the company viewed them: just more disposable tools.

“To cut personnel costs, dispatch highly-mobile Saetanies to perform initial fieldwork. Deploy formal investigators only when anomalies are detected.”

“But if they find out—”

“We’ll be dead meat...”

Really, they were in a similar situation as Eun-Ho, which was why he shifted tactics.

“I’ll say I broke in and stole it myself,” he said.

“But...”

“Still...”

Even with a safety net, the twins still appeared uncertain.

So these two don’t really respond to carrots, huh? Then, I’ll have to use the stick.

“Or should I just go ahead and file a report that you took a bribe and handed over classified material?” Eun-Ho asked.

“What?!”

“But that’s a lie!”

“You’re bluffing!”

“You stole it!”

They shrieked in protest, faces turning beet red under their pale bowl-cuts.

“Oh? So you don’t like that option?” Eun-Ho asked.

“Of course not!”

“We hate that!”

“There’s no way you’re saying that!”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then bring me the proposal,” Eun-Ho demanded.

“Ugh...”

“Haaaa.”

They clammed up, eyes darting wildly as their brains worked overtime.

Hmm... They are almost there. Just a little nudge more.

“You know, whether it’s one screw-up or two, the punishment’s probably the same,” Eun-Ho said with a grin. “So do you want to shut me up or not?”

It was a stick disguised as a carrot. That was when the twins finally cracked. Their faces twisted, eyes squeezing shut. Then, with reluctant nods, they surrendered.

“F-fine!”

“We’ll go get it!”

“Good. Go bring that,” Eun-Ho said.

Now run along, you gullible little fools.

***

“Hyungni—”

Mid-sentence, Jae-Hyuk stopped dead in his tracks. Was he seeing things?! Did Eun-Ho just jump off the top of the Namsan Tower?!

“Hiiieeek! That’s dangerous! Wait, w-what?!”

Jae-Hyuk rubbed his eyes.

He didn’t just disappear mid-air, right? That can’t be... He can’t possibly just vanish into thin air? And of course, he definitely can’t just reappear, wrapped in weird green vines.

Thud!

And absolutely isn’t casually talking to himself in the middle of an empty clearing,

“This is it? This is the Restructuring Efficiency Plan? Nice. Such good kids!” Eun-Ho said in the air and nodded, smiling to himself in delight.

Jae-Hyuk blinked furiously, but still, only Eun-Ho was standing there.

What the hell is going on?

Then, he noticed that the green vines that had been binding Eun-Ho were floating in midair, as if wrapped around something—or someone—invisible.

Holy! Could it be something that I can’t see, but Eun-Ho can?

Then Eun-Ho untangled the vines and casually asked, “So, when exactly did you guys die?”

Die? What kind of conversation even is that?

“Fine, don’t answer if you don’t want to,” Eun-Ho said.

“No, no, no, no. It feels like he’s talking to a gho...”

Jae-Hyuk nearly screamed.He didn’t even want to finish the word. Just thinking it sent chills crawling down his back.

When Eun-Ho spotted him and started walking over, Jae-Hyuk squeezed his eyes shut. Then he forced them open again—somehow more scared with them closed.

“Jae-Hyuk!”

“Hieeek! H-Hyungnim!”

“Why are you shaking like that? And what’s with all the sweat?”

“T-that’s... Uh...” He swallowed hard. Just in case anyone—or anything—was listening, he blurted it out, “I didn’t see anything! I swear! I just got here, literally just now!”

“Huh?” Eun-Ho tilted his head, clearly confused by the outburst. However, he seemed to decide it wasn’t worth worrying about. “Come with me. There’s somewhere we need to go.”

“S-sorry? Where exactly are we going?”

Eun-Ho said it so casually, like it was a stroll in the park. However, Jae-Hyuk’s heart wasn’t on board with that energy. Just a few steps outside the training grounds, and it was already pitch-black wilderness.

“But today’s trial’s done and the sun’s already down,” Jae-Hyuk muttered.

Sure enough, the forest had turned frighteningly pitch-dark in seconds. Jae-Hyuk’s heart plummeted. Cold sweat poured down his back—especially right after seeing whatever that just was.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

However, whether he didn’t notice or just didn’t care, Eun-Ho just smiled and said, “It’s time to use a cheat code.”

“Huh?”

Cheat code? What is he even talking about? Jae-Hyuk thought.

“Can we wait until morning? You know, when the sun’s up? It’s dangerous at night and... I mean, if we don’t sleep properly we’ll be all tired tomorrow...” Jae-Hyuk added.

“But you’ve got Ultra Regeneration! You’ll bounce back easily,” Eun-Ho replied.

“Hyungnim...”

That’s not the issue! It’s the ghosts. I’m scared of ghosts...!